Growth Mindset In A Digital World With Amy Bauman

Limiting beliefs, self doubt and fear plays into that feeling of being stuck for a lot of entrepreneurs and business professionals.

Today's guest is Amy Bauman, the owner of Your Development Resource, where she facilitates the personal and professional development of entrepreneurs and business professionals. Her presentations include topics like the Power of Positivity and Goal Setter To Go Getter.

Amy never wanted to be an entrepreneur. She didn’t want the headache and felt like being a business owner meant being on 24/7. Amy already had her degree in education from The Ohio State University and, because of her corporate job, felt like she needed a business degree. She graduated from Franklin University with a degree in business psychology and fell in love with it.

“I felt like I can really help women in this way. And then once I started doing some presentations on some different topics, I found that there was just really a need for women,” says Amy. She put together her education and business psychology background to start supporting women, when she discovered that she loved it so much that she was willing to take on the headaches and the 24/7 to become an entrepreneur. 

Amy says, “So I think the big lesson there is if you're really passionate about something, you should just go for it.”

How do you know you’re stuck?

It’s all in the phrases you use. Amy has heard everything from “I have this great idea, but I'm not sure if I'm ready yet,” or, “so and so's already doing this, and they're doing it so well, that I'm intimidated to enter the space.” 

Whether it’s feeling too young, too old, without enough experience or that you just need that one other degree to feel like you’re qualified enough to do A B and C, these roadblocks pop up for women constantly. Listen to what you’re saying and ask yourself if you’d say this to your best friend.

Recognizing negative beliefs and overcoming them.

“I really think it stems from the fear of failure,” says Amy, when asked about negative beliefs. “I think most things are a fear, in some way, shape, or form. And we just have to get down to what that fear really is.”

For some it’s the fear of putting themselves out there and being judged. For example, knowing that you get to do more Instagram videos and never tackling it because you fear judgement from others. “Getting over the fear of failure is huge, but I think you get to a point, at least I did, in my life, where I thought the fear of regret is bigger than any fear of failure,” says Amy. The regret could be worse than the current fear and negative beliefs. You don’t want to have the  could-haves and should-haves run through your mind 20 years later.

The power of positivity.

Amy is a big fan of the power of positivity and the laws of attraction. “So one of the shows that Oprah did was on the secret and the law of attraction, and it really resonated with me about that whole positive vibe.” Amy loved the idea of thinking good thoughts, visualizing and sending those vibrations out into the universe would then bring you back the positivity you’re seeking. 

“Now, the opposite side of that is a self fulfilling prophecy, like in the negative form,” she says. For example, if you're hosting a dinner party and expect no one to come then they won’t come.  Amy says, “it's kind of like you put that vibe out there. And I know that seems kind of woowoo. But I think there is some self sabotage that happens when we're thinking in the negative space.”

Circling back to our fears, your negative beliefs could have you self-sabotaging your goals. For example, thinking that you’re too old to learn social media gets you in a negative space where, when you do sit down to learn, you’ll be unable to. 

Planning your goals and checking them off your list.

Amy’s a planner and goal oriented. She thinks back to the corporate where everyone sits down and sets goals for the year. They get to be S.M.A.R.T. goals with a timeline so that everything can be put into motion and you always know what the target is. She points out that the biggest issue is that we sometimes don’t follow that guideline. We create the great goals that are never defined, written out or strategized. These are just dreams that are nice to have.

To create better goals, first, ask yourself what the end game is. Know the vision you have for your life - whether that’s sitting on a beach working or relaxing with your family.

Next, ask what’s going to get you there. Work backwards. What are the steps and mini goals you need to accomplish for that ultimate vision of your life.

Finally, start working on those micro steps and evaluate how you’re doing.

How to avoid overwhelm when it comes to goal-setting?

Remember that overnight successes aren’t really overnight successes. It’s about having enough confidence to follow your goals, take those small steps and continue to go back to that ultimate vision in order to stay motivated. 

If you do start feeling too overwhelmed, break down your goals into even smaller chunks.Amy says, “one of my favorite sayings, when I'm overwhelmed is, how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.”

Why and how to use accountability to achieve your goals.

According to Amy, there's studies that show that if you write down goals, you're much more likely to achieve the goals. Then, if you actually share those goals with someone, like an accountability partner, you’re even more likely to achieve them. It makes those goals more real when you’ve shared it with someone you trust.

Amy offers one-on-one coaching and a support group called Learn Connect Support, and that is for women entrepreneurs and business professionals. The group has been described as a sorority because it's very, very supportive and non competitive.

One thing that supports the members achieving their goals is the quarterly roundtable. Amy mentions that what really makes it successful is that members don’t just speak to the goals they have, they also talk about what didn’t work and what will be done to make it better. You also can’t just hide out. It’s the same members in each meeting who hear about your goals and they will ask you how it’s doing.

Finishing strong in 2020.

The one thing I learned from Amy was that you need to get support in order to achieve your goals. Whether that’s a group coaching program, a friend to hold you accountable or delegating what you can’t do (and don’t want to do). 

“As we regroup, [finishing strong] is looking at what goals can still be achieved,” says Amy. It’s also about your mindset. Just because the end of the year comes in, it doesn’t mean everything stops. You just roll into the next year. Keep taking the steps, no matter how small, to achieve your goals and your dreams.

You can follow Amy on Instagram, find her on Facebook and get a hold of her on her website.