In this episode, Kim Kasparian, The Success Genie, shares the mindset and steps she took to get her life back on track after this HUGE financial loss. Kim doesn’t mince words and doesn’t sugar-coat it. If you want to know what it really takes to recover from a financial disaster, she tells all!

Resources mentioned

11 Ways to Create Success Right Now,
you can do that at successisyourbirthright.com

Self-Assessment for how aligned you are with success
getyoursuccessscore.com

Facebook Group
businessownersgrowingtosevenfigures.com.

Rockstar Author’s Tool Kit
www.booksopendoors.com

3 Key Points

Having money is a choice
We can’t control what happens to us but we can control how we handle it
Use your network to ask for help when you are in trouble.

Transcript

Hi, and welcome to the Books Open Doors Podcast, Episode 97, with Kim Kasparian, part two. If you’ve been listening to this podcast, you’ll see some changes going forward. So, we have a slightly different format and new music to go with the new name. So, in this week’s episode, we’re going to pick up where we left off last week, after Kim’s wedding and how she dealt with losing all her money. So, let’s do this.

Voiceover: Welcome to the Books Open Doors Podcast. Are you a mission-driven speaker, coach, consultant, thought leader, creative entrepreneur, or author who wants more credibility, financial abundance, and wants to make a bigger impact in the world and have a lasting legacy? Then stay tuned for today’s inspiring podcast, with your host Ellen Violette.

Ellen (00:51): Kim is a long-time business coach, known as the Success Genie, and her framework grew out of the story she shared last week on how she learned all her money, $3.6 million of it, had disappeared. She said the lessons that she learned from that was that money is just a thought, money is energy, and when you decide you want some, it comes. So today, we’re going to pick up from there. Here’s Kim.

Kim ([01:16]): You know me, Ellen. I’m very direct, I’m very bold.

Ellen ([01:19]): Very, yeah.

Kim ([01:20]): Not having money is a choice. Life happening to you is not in your control. Life happens. Life can poop all over your plans. Life can come in like a wrecking ball. That we don’t have control over. Choosing how we handle it and how we show up to it, absolutely. And that’s why I say you’re only one conversation away from whatever you need.

([01:47]): Because I can remember going to lunch with my girlfriends. We call the group the Sushi Sisters, and there was about fifteen there. And I was just like, “Okay, I’m freaked out.” And telling them everything that’s going on, and all the details and all the roadblocks that I was getting and that my trusted network wasn’t going to help me or couldn’t help me. And I’m like, “There’s got to be help”, but I’m still like, “Give me some sake, I just can’t deal with myself.” Like” I just beside myself.”

([02:13]): And one of the girls just picked up her phone and said, “Call so-and-so.” They’re like, “Do not think there’s not a solution. We all don’t know what it is right now, but we’ve got to know somebody between all of us.” And I called, and he’s like, “I know what you need. Yes, she’s right. There is a solution for you. It’s not me. Call so-and-so.”

Called so-and-so. “Yeah, that used to be me. Yes, there’s a solution. That’s not me anymore. Call so-and-so.”  I called so-and-so, and I’m going, three’s got to be the charm. Even Goldilocks got it right on the third time. And he said, “I’m the one who can help you.”

Ellen ([02:54]): Oh, nice.

Kim ([02:55]): “And you’re going to come and talk to me, and I promise you, you’re going to be okay.” He’s like, “You’re going to come in.” So, he was the guy, and he was true to his word. Everything was okay. And he helped me through all of this and helped me navigate, and Angelus and I, it was all in my name, but Angelus was wearing the stress with me, and totally took the stress off my shoulders, and helped me figure out what I needed to figure out. And he’s like, “Your job is to go rebuild your business.”

([03:29]): So this is a little backstory. When people say, “God, she’s direct, God, she doesn’t like, she just tells you the way it is.” Yeah, because I’ve been through a few things that would make most people’s hair fall out of their head, and eyeballs just go, what? So, when I say money is easy to create when you have the right mindset and you’re only one conversation away from whatever you need, I mean it. But here in my heart, I also know that can feel like climbing Mount Everest when you have a limiting belief. That could be like, “I can dig my way to China and never get there.”

Ellen ([04:11]): Well, I don’t understand. Are you saying, you mean you won’t pick up the phone to make the conversation?

Kim ([04:14]): Well, some people won’t. Right? I know I struggled with feeling humiliated, being embarrassed. After two people telling me they’re not the person, I’m like, “Well, maybe I should just, you know, these things…” go through your head. There’s always a reason not to.

Ellen ([04:31]): Yeah. I mean, a big part of being successful in business is persistence.

Kim ([04:35]): Right. And how many, me included, how many of us just fatigue out? And it’s okay to fatigue, but how many of us make up a story? You’re tired. You rest, you start over tomorrow. But if it ended there, we’d all be bigger than Bill Gates. But how many times do we build a story in our minds about the event? I told you mine. I’m thinking “I need to be branded and put my head in the oven,” and other people who have been through it are like, “Oh my God, sister, welcome to the club. You rock.” I kind of like that thought better than what I was thinking.

Ellen ([05:14]): Definitely.

Kim ([05:15]): I don’t know if it was true at the time, but I’m like, “Well, that feels a little bit better.” And it’s trust. Building a business is about trust. A lot of people said, “Well, how did you do it? I’m like, “What do you mean, how did I do it?” Like, “How did you get up the courage to do it again?” I’m like,” I didn’t see another alternative.”

Right?,Other people-

Ellen ([05:37]): I didn’t either.

Kim: But other people are like, “I’m done.” Like “One bad date, and I’ll never date again.” It happens. So that’s the backstory. And I basically, thank goodness, live what I teach. And believe me, I tested it. I took it to a whole new level. And the neat thing about when life happens, when life does kind of poop all over your plans, it’s usually an invitation to level up.

([06:11]): I got invited to bigger, like since I had survived, I don’t want to say solved that problem, I survived that problem, and got an education that money could have never bought, I got invited to bigger tables. They sought out my wisdom. They sought out my learning.

Ellen ([06:30]): Yeah, because you learned it.

Kim ([06:31]): Right.

Ellen ([06:32]): That’s the whole thing. It’s like when you have adversity, but you learn from it, you now have a new skill.

Kim ([06:38]): Yeah. And everyone was, this is the biggest question that I got. Listen. They’re like, “Can we ask you a question? “ I’m like, “Sure.” And I’m thinking it’s business. They’re like, “Are you on medication?”

Kim ([06:52]): And I said, “No, why? Should I be?” “Well, no, you’re just so calm and you’re so bubbly and you’re so enthusiastic. And we know you’re still living through this thing.” That’s what they were most intrigued by.

Ellen ([07:10]): Yeah. How do we get through it?

Kim ([07:12]): Well, how are you looking?” You look good. You look pretty, you look all well together, you look happy.” They had a lot less of a level problem, I guess, but they were not having that experience I was having. And they were like, “What are you … We understand the stress of what you’re going through. That you can’t hide.” I’m like, “Oh no, you don’t want, yeah, this is a lot of stress. I don’t recommend this ride.”

([07:38]): But they were like, “How are you doing this, what you’re doing?” And I guess they saw an energy in me or an affect or whatever you want to call it, that’s what they were interested in. Yes, they wanted me to solve their problem. Yes, they wanted me to add more zeros to their bank account. But what they leaned into is “How do we do what you’re doing? “And that’s where the mindset component … To me, if I could only keep one superpower, one skill that I’ve learned over the years, well, actually it would be two, mindset and networking.

Ellen ([08:24]): Yeah. I was going to say, yeah, I mean, relationships are key because when you need them, they were there.

Kim ([08:29]): And when they weren’t there, I was able to create new ones quickly. That was the big lesson. Because through that experience, I outgrew my old network, which I think is a common theme.

Ellen ([08:40]): Oh, interesting.

Kim ([08:40]): Especially with business owners, as we’re growing. And it was really scary when no one in your Rolodex can or is willing to help you. That’s a sobering moment. And my mindset was able to create a bridge for me to believe that there was somebody out there. I kind of felt like that little mouse in that movie … Somewhere, that Disney movie. I forget what it was. Linda Ronstadt did the soundtrack. “Somewhere out there, someone’s saying a prayer.” I just remember that movie and that little mouse. And I was like, okay, I’m a little mouse, but that’s when a whole new world opened.

Ellen ([09:29]): So, what would you say the steps are then? The steps are identifying the problem, right?

Kim ([09:34]): No, the problem is usually obvious. The problem is usually obvious. But the issue is your mindset. It is what it is. It happened. The first step is to decide the outcome you want. And it can’t be changing what is.

Ellen ([09:54]): Right, because it is what it is.

Kim: Well, I don’t want to be embezzled. Well, that’s denying what is. That’s resisting what is. “Okay, it happened.” Well, what’s the story to your happily ever after? So, step one would be decide that there is a happily ever after to whatever you’re living through and what it is. So, decide. Decide it happened, but decide the outcome or the end of-

Ellen ([10:26]): And then create a strategy?

Kim ([10:26]): Well, you can’t create a strategy, and this is where it gets … People, what I find, like what you’re saying, is totally where our minds go. We want to know the how first. The how doesn’t matter, because I did the how, right? I followed all the steps, and look where I was. I was in embezzlement through no fault on my own, but I was still dealing with the outcome. That was my how. I was going to be rich. I was going to be wealthy. I was going to be happy in all areas of my life, and real estate was going to be my path. And I thought I was there, though I wasn’t.

Ellen ([11:03]): Boy, I went through the same thing only in a completely different way. But yeah.

Kim ([11:06]): And you know what, I don’t think I’m unique. I’m just more dramatic, and I’m willing to share the story. But we’ve all had that moment where life as we knew it fundamentally fell apart, and it was bone crushing. It was like ”Ugh, and the ugh wasn’t like, it was bad enough whatever was happening was happening, but it was the belief about what was happening that just sucked the energy out of our soul. And that’s the part we can control, and not enough people know that.

Ellen ([11:41]): But going back to what I was saying, so you said, okay, so you know what the problem is. You have to figure out the outcome that you want. And then what’s the next step?

Kim ([11:50]): Then you figure out, you wait for the divine download, and you figure out a strategy.

Ellen (1[1:55]): Oh, that’s what I said.

Kim ([11:56]): That worked. But yeah, but you and I have had this conversation. You and I are both very good strategists. And we go to work, we go to town, only to find out, yeah, that one wasn’t our one. That wasn’t our door, like Goldilocks. “No. Too hard, too soft.” You know, this one made me money, but it sucked the energy out of my soul. So what’s the distinction? Choose upfront what strategy would sing to your soul, or for me, be salve to my soul, give me a lot of fun because I’m going to spend a lot of time doing it in the near future, and makes me the money that I can depend on. Because at that point, it really was a money stress. It was an emotional stress, but it was a money stress.

Ellen ([12:40]): Well, that’s one of the things I love about you. Have fun, get it done. That is just a great moniker.

Kim: Well, guess what? That came out of that event.

Ellen: Yeah, that’s really good. Okay. So, do you have any final tips for people?

Kim ([12:55]): My invitation to you, if you’re listening, is believe that what you want is possible, no matter how many episodes or dramatic events you’ve had. Figure out what it looks like. And more than the how, the feeling. Imagine yourself there and just tune into how you feel there. Feel the feeling first, and rather than make up a whole bunch of hoopla that has to be, as you tune into the feeling, allow yourself to see what you need to see. And usually, you can see the strategy when you do this. The strategy is very clear. Success leaves clues. So, find your there, like when I get out of this, I’m going to have so much fun. Where? There. Well, tell me what there is.

Ellen ([13:54]): I love that. You did a post on here and there. And I loved that post. That was just awesome, because you nailed it. I don’t know if you can explain that to people right now, but it was so good.

Kim ([14:07]): Well, all right, here’s mindset. Here’s quantum mechanics in a thing. Everyone starts from here. What we want, what we deeply want, what we yearn for, what we’re craving is there. But we make the mistake, we can take there and do it here. No, the invitation, the call to you, to all of us, is to move ourselves there to enjoy success. Success is there, waiting for us. So I did a post about basically how everyone insists on doing success backward. Using here, there, here, there. Your head was spinning. Like, what is she … So for some people-

Ellen: No, I got it immediately.

Kim: You got it.

Ellen: I thought it was so awesome.

Kim ([14:54]): You got it. So, it was basically learn, if you want to create success quickly, if you want to have fun and get it done, imagine yourself already there. See what you see, hear what you hear, feel what you feel there. And if you do this, you’ll notice you have very different thoughts there than you do from where you are now, which is called here. And the secret to getting there really fast is to bring those feelings and thoughts here, where you are. Because one of the mistakes that I see brilliant, brave business owners do is they create steps that are too far along on the journey from where they are. So, there’s this big gap.

And they’re all invested and they’re feeling all confident, but they’re at A and their plan starts at like H. And they wonder why they’re on their face the minute they take a step. The key to a sustainable business is to create steps from where you are all the way to there, which is the technique that we teach. It’s not hard. It’s just counterintuitive to the way you were taught.

([16:06]): And then, it’s just a matter of creating systems along the way to do the work for you. That’s basically the difference between a sustainable business and a do-it-yourself all- the-time job. It starts with you and your brilliance. And in the beginning, you need, like I had to sit there on my deck, saying, “No, we’re not going to meditate to the bottom of the pool. Let’s think about a strategy that might work for us.” And I had my criteria, how to make me X amount of dollars, get done in six weeks, and make me X amount of money. That was my there. It had to be fun, it had to happen in six weeks, needed a boatload of money. That was my there.

Once I had my there, and I’ll be honest, I had a margarita or two, I said, “Okay, I’m here.” And I knew enough, I wasn’t there. Because I knew what there felt like, and I knew what I was feeling here was not that. And you have to be honest with yourself. Sometimes, we don’t want to be honest that we’re here and we don’t like it, and we resist what we’re feeling. It is what it is.

([17:25]): Once I created baby steps, because in the beginning, everything’s baby steps. Once you get some confidence, you start realizing you’re doing it, and you repeat, you get good. At the beginning, everything’s clunky. And it’s like, ugh, but you keep doing it and you show up to it and you get some experience. You start going, “Oh, oh, oh, wait. I think I got it.” And some things become rote after time. Some things you’re like, “Oh my God, we’ve got to keep this in the sauce.” And other things, you’re like, “Yeah, I hope no one saw me do that. That’s going to go into the garbage.”

But you find that as things are starting to work for you, they’re not hard to systematize and maybe automate. And you get to a point where you’re like, “This is really easy, I bet I could delegate this. I bet I could delegate this.” So, that has been my journey. And over the past fifteen years, that has been the journey of our clients and our community, when I’m invited to teach and talk to you, like I’m talking now. Just making the steps really simple and easy to see, and giving, I guess, permission to make it yours. We were talking about this, Ellen, how many strategies have we tried, have we adopted, have we invested in? They’re great strategies, just not for us.

Ellen ([18:59]): I know. And I would love to talk about this more, but I know you have to go.

Kim: I know.

Ellen ([19:04]): So on the first part of this interview last week, you shared some resources. Do you want to give those out again?

Kim: Sure. If you want to grab my free 11 Ways to Create Success Right Now, you can do that at successisyourbirthright.com, S-U-C-C-E-S-S, is, I-S, your, Y-O-U-R, birthright, B-I-R-T-H-R-I-G-H-T.com. So successisyourbirthright.com.

If you want to check out to see where you are in alignment with the success that you are seeking, I have a fun self-assessment to show you where you’re hot and where you’re not, and give you some information on how to realign those misalignments. You can get that and have some access to me or other good stuff at getyoursuccessscore.com.

Ellen: Okay, cool. And I also … Huh?

Kim: We’re always creating stuff.

Ellen ([20:27]): Oh, okay, cool. And then I had mentioned that I love your Facebook group and I love your posts. So, how can people get to your Facebook group?

Kim: The Facebook group has its own URL. So either way, in Facebook, if you’re searching for me or you just want to go into www, it’s businessownersgrowingtosevenfigures.com.

Ellen: Yeah, and seven is spelled out.

Kim ([20:56]): Seven is spelled out. So businessownersgrowingtosevenfigures.com, or you can search within Facebook and you’ll find the group.

Ellen ([21:06]): Okay, great. So if they want to reach out to you directly, how do they do that?

Kim: You can do that at Kim@successgenie.com. You start to see a theme. You start to see a theme.

Ellen ([21:20]): Okay, well, thank you so much. Usually we only go likethirty minutes, but we went like forty. So, we made it into two weeks.

Kim: Well, I appreciate it.

Ellen: I was having such a good time, I didn’t want to stop.

Kim: We didn’t want it to end. So I guess this is until next time.

Ellen: Until next time. Okay, so that’s it for today. To get the transcript, go to www.booksopendoors.com/podcast/money-mindset2, because the other one is (www,booksopendoors.com/podcast/)money-mindset from last week, if you missed it.

And also, you’re welcome to pick up the Rockstar Authors toolkit that is on my website at booksopendoors.com. And in there you will find the Rapid Book Creation Secrets Checklist, the Secret Title Formula Checklist, the 21 Simple Strategies to Jumpstart your Book Marketing Checklist, and the Kindle Planner. So whatever stage you’re at, I have lots of hacks that will make it easier for you to write your book, market your book. So, be sure to pick those up. So, till next time, bye-bye.

Voiceover: You’ve been listening to the Books Open Doors Podcast, with your host Ellen Violette. If you’d like to connect with other mission-driven speakers, coaches, consultants, thought leaders, founders, creative entrepreneurs, and authors who are changing the world one book at a time, join us in the Books Open Doors community at facebook.com/groups/booksopendoors. And let’s rock your business with books.

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