Fun Business Fun Money Podcast
EP 081 – The happiness advantage: Create success on your own terms
The Universe has a way of throwing all kinds of crappy stuff at us, doesn’t it??
Its part of our job to find a way to be happy every day, no matter what’s going on around us.
In this coaching episode I’m celebrating a significant milestone with an example of how I used the ‘happy advantage’ during a crappy situation of epic proportions. The real story is way better than anything you or I could dream up!
Are you doing what makes you happy?
KEY MENTIONS
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TRANSCRIPT
Hey there, and welcome to the Fun Business Fun Money podcast! I’m your host, Deirdre Amies.
If you’re just tuning in for the FIRST TIME EVER, hey you! I hope you enjoy this and all the other episodes as much as I enjoy creating and sharing them.
And of course I hope you get something useful you can implement to make your business and your money a whole lot more FUN!
A special episode…
This is a special episode today, not because its number 81 or anything like that! Thats a totally random number! But because its released on my birthday! And even more special because today I’m 50 🥳
It still feels a little weird saying 50 because in my head I’m still in my 20s, but yet here I am, 5 decades on this earth already.
I’m not going to be ‘that person’ who decides to list out 50 lessons I’ve learnt over that time. There’s not even going to be 5 things, 5 lessons. I’ve got a significant day to celebrate, a beach to get to and some sunshine to enjoy!
Depending on the weather – obviously this is recorded in advance lol! – I may even get the paddle board out for a play. I’m happy to report all the signs are pointing towards it being a PERFECT paddle board day.
Rather than 50 random things I’ve got ONE big thing that I’ve learnt in my 50 circuits around the sun.
Are you ready for it?
THE HAPPINESS ADVANTAGE
And that is to do what makes you happy.
I know, eye roll, whatevs! We can’t all be happy, right?? WRONG! We CAN! Its all about finding the joy in anything and everything.
Lets call it the Happiness Advantage, the secret sauce on your success sandwich! That sounds really tasty, actually! lol
Doing what makes you happy is no less relevant today than it has been every single day up to this moment right here, when you’re listening to it. Whenever that might be.
If you’re not enjoying something, why the AF are you doing it?
I’m being mindful of little ears maybe listening, but you know what I mean!
I get theres a level of obligation to certain things in life, like being a responsible adult with your money, and raising kids.
I have two of those myself, even though they’re both adults now! They’re awesome AND challenging all at the same time, no matter what age they are!
If you’re trying to grow your business at the same time as you’re juggling family commitments, maybe a job as well, social events, all the things, its easy to see how some things are NOT so enjoyable. They don’t make you happy!
But thats why its even more important to do what makes you happy. Right now. Every day.
Take those small micro moments, if thats all you’ve got, and appreciate them.
How I used the Happiness Advantage
This was actually a lesson I learned waaaaayyyyy back in my 20s. Twice. That’ll make sense in a moment.
I’ve not shared this story on the podcast before, even though its not a secret by a long shot. But it was certainly the catalyst for some MAJOR mindset shifts to not settle for anyone else’s BS, and to simply do what makes me happy.
Once upon a time in 1998…
Let’s rewind the clock to 1998, way back last century. I was 24 years old and had been married about 18 months.
Chay and I had met at the ripe old age of 22, we were engaged 7 weeks after we met and got married 15 months later. Suffice to say we don’t muck around when things feel aligned and right!
Strange things are afoot…
I was noticing a few weird things with my left leg, it was losing muscle tone and I was losing weight overall. Which I thought was a good thing at the time!
I eventually saw my doctor to appease all the lovely people who were concerned about me. There was no pain, no indication that anything else was wrong.
However… A few tests and consults with neurologists led to the discovery of a tumour in my spine.
They had no idea what type or exactly how it was affecting me, the only option was to operate. They had no idea if I’d be walking afterwards. AND… I could die during surgery thanks to all the unknowns.
Thats a LOT to deal with! But because New Zealand doctors don’t muck around, two days after getting that diagnosis I woke up from a 3 and a half hour surgery to discover I could in fact still move my toes and all of my limbs – win!
Obviously I didn’t die either.
Although there WAS a post-op near death situation where my blood pressure dropped to 60/30. Apparently thats not a good thing.
It turned out to be a benign schwannoma about the size of your thumb – which is pretty big when its inside your spinal column!
Schwannomas grow from the cells that protect your nerves right throughout your body, they can occur absolutely anywhere.
Mine just happened to be wrapped around my spinal cord. It was likely growing VERY slowly for a VERY long time, there was no cause or trigger for it to have occurred.
Just a random thing!
It was removed easily, no chemo or radiation needed, and I got on with my recovery.
Enter the Happiness Advantage
Thats where the mindset stuff comes in.
Learning to walk again as an adult is HARD WORK! Its no wonder toddlers need extra sleep when they’re learning to walk!
It takes some SERIOUS brain power to consciously make each leg move.
Lift, step, don’t drag your toes and trip over, shift your balance, repeat with the other leg, and so on.
Your mindset is a powerful tool, and a positive one will get you a whole lot further than a negative one.
I was determined to make the best of a shitty situation.
Cause, thats a pretty shitty situation, right? Gotta do some exercises? I’m on it!
I was grateful for all the doctors and nurses who supported me through it.
I walked out of the hospital under my own steam, on crutches, 10 days post op. I was back at work about 3 1/2, 4 weeks after the surgery, which in hindsight was still too soon, but I also needed the mental stimulation.
Through all of this I was reminding myself that I would never take another step for granted.
Every ‘extra’ day alive would be appreciated, I would find a way to do SOMETHING that made me happy. Every. Single. Day.
Thats simply a mindset that I chose, and its served me extremely well ever since. Not that I was a negative type before that, being optimistic seems to be coded into my DNA!
Even while I was in hospital though, I was reminding myself that someone else was worse off than me. I could move my body when others couldn’t.
I wanted to share this one with you as a reminder that even when the Universe is piling on layer after layer of crappy situations, all the circumstances and all the obstacles?
You can choose to be happy about something.
Those layers of Universal crap? Think of it like compost, or fertiliser. Add enough of it and eventually good things WILL grow from it.
My shitty tumour situation made me reassess SO MANY THINGS!
I stopped saying yes to things I REALLY didn’t want to do.
Creating healthy boundaries in your life helps create healthy boundaries in your business, your career, and even with your money.
It helped me say no to working overtime in a job where I didn’t get PAID for that overtime. I value my life outside of work.
Boundaries are your friend.
Its safe to say no to things that don’t make you happy, things that make you feel like crap. Ain’t nobody got time for THAT!
Its also safe to say not to things that don’t make you money and don’t add value to your life or the lives of others.
I started making more time for things I loved. Even down to playing the piano for a few minutes while the kids brushed their teeth in the morning before we rushed out the door to school and work. It was literally a couple of minutes window, take advantage of it!
What makes YOU happy? And are you doing those things?
Send me a DM and tell me about it! What makes you happy?
Connect with me on LinkedIn and DM me there – I’m the only Deirdre Amies in the world, I’m kinda easy to find, especially with this haircut!
You can email hello@deirdreamies.com if you prefer to email, and you will get ME!
Are you doing the things that make you happy?
Because let me tell you, the Universe has this fun way (or NOT so fun way!) of slapping you upside the head if you’re not.
It shows up in the form of health issues, redundancies, your car breaks down, a scammer drains your savings account, a deal you were counting on falls through right at a critical moment.
Those are all kind of heavy major things and I’m not saying anything as dramatic as that will ever happen if you’re not doing what makes you happy. But they COULD.
It could also be something as simple as losing your keys, which makes you late for an important appointment or event. Endless traffic jams, road works slowing you down, the cat threw up on your bed and the dog escaped the yard AGAIN.
Look for the patterns
When you notice a pattern of these kind of things happening its time to reassess – are you doing the things that make you HAPPY? Or are you letting life and external circumstances, demands on your time and energy, run YOU?
Make a choice to find the joy in the worst situations.
How can you do more of what makes you happy in your business? You’re doing this business by choice, right? 😉
🥰 If you love writing, don’t outsource your copywriting to anyone else.
🥰 If you love the connection with clients, do more of that.
🥰 If you love the intricacies of building websites and coding software, do more of that.
Do more of the things that make you happy, things that add value, and the things that make you money.
Those are themes I talk about on repeat, which you’ll know if you’ve been listening for a while!
I even made them into a handy dandy checklist to help you prioritise your business and life activities, and called it my Start Stop Continue guide. Because it helps you work out what to start, stop or continue doing.
Consider it my contribution to you feeling happy today!
You can grab your free copy over at www.poweredbypersonality.com/ssc – yes thats a new url that I’ve not mentioned before! You do need the www in the front of it. You’ll find the link in the description of this episode, and in the show notes to make it SUPER easy for you to get it.
Then you can work through the checklist and see what you want to start, stop or continue doing, based on whether its fun, it adds value, or it makes money. Or all three!
If you’ve got something that ticks all 3 boxes you should absolutely continue doing THAT!
www.poweredbypersonality.com/ssc – go get it!
The second chapter…
BTW there’s a second chapter to the tumour story – an unexpected repeat performance that came along in January 2002, it was another schwannoma.
I look on that one as a Universal correction – I had a much better surgeon who worked her magic during a 10 hour surgery, and actually improved my ability to walk, run and function with very few physical limitations.
Even though that one was over 21 years ago now, I’m still grateful every single day for the experience, and I’m still infusing what makes me happy into everything I do.
Plus, you know, I have a really cool scar down my spine.
Turns out its not chicks that dig scars, its mostly men who notice it and ask “What the hell happened to you, luv??”
Reality is better than a made up story
The actual story packs a bigger punch than anything I could dream up, so a little something that does make me happy is to see their face when I say “Had tumours crushing my spinal cord and learnt to walk again – twice. What the hell happened to you, mate?”
Its these little things that make me happy lol!
Thats what I’ve got for you today! The biggest lesson I’ve learnt in my 50 years on this beautiful blue planet – do what makes you happy. Every day. Big or small.
If you don’t know what makes you happy, it’s time to hit pause on everything else for just a moment and think about it.
Go watch or listen to some comedy, have a laugh at something! I guarantee you’ll be able to come up with at least a few things that make you happy just from doing that and having a laugh.
Thats one thing that makes ME happy. As is playing with my paddle board at the beach on a beautiful sunny day. That’s where you’re gonna find me today!
Take care, have fun being happy, appreciating every step you take whether its big or small, actual step or metaphorical steps. I’ll catch you in the next episode.
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