Episode 34

Else Johnson From Else Johnson Coaching

In This Episode

In the latest episode of Marketing Panes, host Will Hanke sits down with Elsa Johnson, a mindset expert and CEO, to explore the crucial role of mindset in achieving business success. Johnson’s journey from the financial world to running a thriving window covering business offers valuable insights for entrepreneurs looking to overcome self-sabotage and unlock their full potential.

Key Takeaways

  • Mindset is crucial to business success as it allows for personalized approaches and decision-making that align with individual strengths and goals.​
  • Self-sabotage is a common barrier to business growth and can manifest as fear, imposter syndrome, or a lack of trust in oneself.​
  • Steps to reverse self-sabotage and grow a business include self-awareness, challenging limiting beliefs, setting clear goals, and taking focused time for reflection and planning.​
  • Daily practices, such as writing down three major tasks for the day and being honest with oneself about progress and challenges, can help cultivate a positive mindset and drive business success. Building new habits requires reminders and self-awareness.​
  • Books like ‘Atomic Habits’ and ‘Tiny Habits’ offer valuable insights on habit formation.​
  • Self-sabotage can hinder success, but awareness and mindset shifts can help overcome it.​
  • Stress management is crucial for overall well-being and productivity.​
  • Networking and learning from others in the industry can be beneficial for business growth.​

Guest Profile: Else Johnson

Elsa Johnson brings a unique perspective to the world of business and mindset coaching. Her background includes:

  • Experience in the financial sector
  • Successful transition to entrepreneurship as the owner of a window covering business
  • Expertise in mindset development and overcoming self-sabotage
  • CEO and mindset coach, helping other entrepreneurs achieve success

Johnson’s diverse background allows her to understand the challenges faced by business owners from various angles. As she explains, “What I do, what a lot of other coaches do in my space, we all come from the same philosophy, right? It started out with Socrates and Plato and all these great ancient philosophers, but with all of our individual experiences, we all of a sudden see new connections, new ways of opening up, new ways of seeing it.”

Her personal journey as an entrepreneur with an immigrant family history adds depth to her insights, particularly in “understanding what it takes for an immigrant with an immigrant family history to create a business in the US.”

Other Notes/Links:

To learn more about Else Johnson visit:

Morethanjustfine.com

pssst…. want to be a guest on the show?

Listen to other episodes

The Power of Mindset​

Johnson emphasizes that mindset is the cornerstone of business success. It’s not just about having the right skills or strategies; it’s about cultivating a mental approach that aligns with your goals and strengths. As she puts it, “Mindset is what we’re going to talk about. And that’s something that has drastically changed my business.”

Overcoming Self-Sabotage​

One of the key topics discussed in the episode is self-sabotage, which Johnson defines as “putting up barriers to getting what you want.” Common manifestations of self-sabotage include:

  1. Imposter syndrome
  2. Fear of making decisions
  3. Lack of trust in oneself

To combat these issues, Johnson recommends a multi-step approach:

  1. Develop self-awareness
  2. Challenge limiting beliefs
  3. Set clear goals
  4. Take focused time for reflection and planning

Building Effective Habits​

Johnson emphasizes the importance of daily practices in cultivating a positive mindset. She suggests:

  • Writing down three major tasks for the day
  • Being honest with yourself about progress and challenges
  • Using reminders to help build new habits

For those looking to dive deeper into habit formation, Johnson recommends books like “Atomic Habits” and “Tiny Habits.”

Stress Management and Self-Care​

Recognizing the toll that entrepreneurship can take, Johnson offers a free download of her “Five Easy Stress Busters.” She emphasizes that managing stress is crucial for overall well-being and productivity.

The Value of Networking​

Drawing from her experience in the window coverings industry, Johnson highlights the importance of networking and learning from others in your field. This collaborative approach can lead to new insights and opportunities for growth.

Taking Action​

Perhaps the most important takeaway from the conversation is the need for action. As Johnson states, “The biggest thing about building a new habit is the reminder, right? To help yourself do better.” She encourages listeners to move beyond self-sabotage and take concrete steps towards their goals.

In conclusion, Elsa Johnson’s insights offer a roadmap for entrepreneurs looking to harness the power of mindset. By addressing self-sabotage, building positive habits, managing stress, and embracing networking opportunities, business owners can set themselves up for long-term success.

Remember, as Johnson reminds us, success is not just about what you know, but how you apply that knowledge. So, take a moment to reflect on your own mindset and consider how you can implement these strategies in your own business journey.

Chapters

00:00 – Introduction: The Power of Mindset

04:41 – Chapter 1: Overcoming Self-Sabotage

11:22 – Chapter 2: Common Barriers to Business Growth

14:17 – Chapter 3: Steps to Reverse Self-Sabotage

17:55 – Chapter 4: Cultivating a Positive Mindset

24:23 – Building Effective Habits: Reminders and Self-Awareness

25:16 – Overcoming Self-Sabotage: Awareness and Mindset Shifts

29:54 – Taking Action: From Self-Sabotage to Success

31:38 – Stress Management: Five Easy Stress Busters

42:27 – Understanding the Window Coverings Industry: Networking and Learning

Video

Transcript

Will Hanke (00:00)

Hey everyone, Will Hanke here from Window Treatment Marketing Pros. We’re here with another exciting episode of Marketing Panes. I’m very excited about today’s guest. The big reason that I’m excited to talk to Else today is really because mindset is what we’re going to talk about. And that’s something that has drastically changed my business. I was in business for 20 years before I decided to give myself permission to succeed.

And just the last seven years have really exploded for my own business. And it was purely because of mindset. So I know a lot of you are probably struggling with very similar things, self -sabotage, all that kind of stuff. So we’re going to dig into some of that today with Else Johnson. Else, how are you today?

Else Johnson, Mindset Expert And CEO (00:45)

I fantastic, I’m so grateful to be here with you today.

Will Hanke (00:48)

Cool, thank you. So let me read your quick bio here and then we’ll jump into some questions if that’s all right. So Else Johnson is a mindset expert who successfully transitioned from the financial world to running a thriving high -end window covering business. Her experience in this industry has exposed her to the personal sacrifices and challenges of achieving success while maintaining well -being and happiness.

Now she empowers others like you to find alignment and genuine happiness through her coaching practice, leveraging her extensive knowledge and skills. I’m so excited to have you on today.

Else Johnson, Mindset Expert And CEO (01:25)

I said, I’m so excited. I can talk about this all day and with somebody as big as a witness as you, it’s even more thrilling to me. And to share it with your listeners is just a treat. Thank

Will Hanke (01:26)

Yeah.

Cool, cool, I’m excited. So let’s jump in. Tell me a little bit about your background, what led you into kind of focus on the mindset coaching piece of it, especially for business owners.

Else Johnson, Mindset Expert And CEO (01:48)

Sure. So from my name and probably also people would recognize from my accent, I am an import to the US. I’m born and raised in Denmark. When I came to the US, I worked for a lot of small entrepreneurial companies, know, one to up till 35 employees. And I was always on the operational side of that running the business because as you mentioned before, I come from a financial.

Then in the late 90s, I fell into a window coverings business. I’ve sewn since I was a little girl and you you start sewing and people say, can you make this for me? Can you make this for me? And before you knew it, I woke up one day and had a window coverings business. And then I just went from there. And you know, I knew the financials. I was smart, I’ve had sales training. I had all these things.

yet there was something that just fell off in my business. My husband and I also, because he was in a corporate career, we were relocated a couple of times. And the last time was in 2014 when I ended up in Scottsdale, Arizona. Thought like always, hey, I’m just gonna do this, I’m gonna start. But something in me was saying, this isn’t right. And I started focusing in on saying, where is it that things are off for me?

and I started understanding a couple of things happening in my personal life that really woke me up and saying also.

This is up to you and everything you, you are smart. You can do all these things, but you’re not thinking about it, right? You are just not thinking about it, right? And it was a really wake up lesson to me or wake up call because I had my whole life, my whole life decided, thought that I could handle myself. You know, not only had I moved on my own when I was 17, took and taking care of myself.

But I had moved 6 ,000 miles away from family and was thriving, but I wasn’t really thriving, I was just

Will Hanke (03:43)

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It really resonates with me because I was in a very similar situation, still in the same business, digital marketing, but it was 20 years for me. It 20 years of kind of just wandering around and wondering what am I missing? So what were some of the personal challenges that you faced? You know, it kind of helped you understand your approach to mindset.

Else Johnson, Mindset Expert And CEO (04:06)

Well, I think the first one that I faced, and I think many in the design, not only in window coverings, but in design industry, know, graphics design, architectural design, any kind of design is the big comparison trap. my God, they do so much better than me. They can do all these things. I could never do this. I would never be as good as the, you know, the person that costs from me.

That was the first one. That was like the biggest one for me. You that was a huge imposter syndrome in me. And that, know, imposter syndrome is not always bad. Let me put it that way. It’s always good to have healthy competition. But first and foremost, the competition has to be against yourself saying, how can I do better than I did yesterday? Not always look at somebody else’s outside versus your inside.

Will Hanke (04:57)

Right. Yeah. I like that. It’s very good. Yeah. So what, why do you think that mindset is so crucial to business success?

Else Johnson, Mindset Expert And CEO (05:06)

Well, first of all, because we’re all different. We all need things presented to us in a little different way. We all have to have our organizational just a little bit different for us. So it’s optimal for us. And the only way we can do that is when we think it through and saying, does this work for

You know, you can learn accounting, there’s 10 million ways that you can do accounting, but in the end, it’s all about profit and loss and your balance statement, right? But there’s so much to be done in between that. The same thing with graphics design and marketing like you are in, right? There’s so many ways to approach that, but if you don’t think about it and think, is this really only working for somebody else or will this work for me in the way that I am as a

You really have to trust yourself and that’s where the self -sabotage come in because 99 % of the time it’s because we do not trust ourselves to make the right decision.

Will Hanke (06:06)

Definitely. Yeah, and then there’s that little voice in the back your head,

Else Johnson, Mindset Expert And CEO (06:09)

Yeah, the good little one and the bad little one, they’re sitting there making a competition.

Will Hanke (06:14)

So you mentioned the kind of like that you were struggling with some different things, especially around imposter syndrome. What are some of the common barriers that people struggle with?

Else Johnson, Mindset Expert And CEO (06:26)

There’s a couple of them. First of all, it’s hiring too slow because I’m afraid to show either I’m afraid that somebody else is coming in to prove they’re better than me. You know, it sounds really strange, but in reality that can’t be. That wasn’t actually a thing for myself. When we talked at an earlier time, I think I mentioned to you me sitting in my basement at two o ‘clock in the morning crying, having to make long panels.

and wasn’t willing to actually hire that out. Had I hired that out, it would have cost less, it would be done better, and I would have had my mental sanity. And the client would have had their end product faster. That’s important too, right? So there was a whole bunch of things that I wasn’t really thinking through. So that’s one. The other thing

Will Hanke (07:02)

for sure.

Else Johnson, Mindset Expert And CEO (07:13)

is not understanding that it’s your business. You have to make the decisions. We all say the customer is always right. Yes, but they’re only right if you have laid out the terms and conditions for how you do business so you can measure it against it. Because otherwise, you have no rules. have no, you have

bumpers for which within you can run your business.

Will Hanke (07:38)

like that. I ran my business pretty passively, I think during that time. And kind of it’s kind of like, well, you know, if it’s supposed to happen, it’ll happen. And not not maybe taking the action, being the aggressive person, you know, and part of that probably speaks to the self sabotage as well, which we’ll talk about here in a second. But but boy, that really resonates with me too.

Else Johnson, Mindset Expert And CEO (08:01)

Yeah, and I think a lot of people that get into business like I did, right? I woke up and, my God, I have a business. And then you’re just, you’re already so deep into it, it’s like, how can I stop? How can I actually start thinking about this in a way that is really going to serve myself and serve my clients at a higher level? Because that’s the only way you can grow, right? When you can every day say,

Will Hanke (08:09)

Right.

Yeah.

Else Johnson, Mindset Expert And CEO (08:27)

I am serving my clients just a little bit better. I raising my level of standards for myself and for my clients.

Will Hanke (08:35)

Yep. Yeah, I like that. I’ve heard of the phrase building the airplane while you’re in the air. You know, that’s that’s that’s the typical business owner. my gosh.

Else Johnson, Mindset Expert And CEO (08:44)

Yeah. And how many design firms, especially in the construction side, they say, they call their design built. What does that mean? It means that you’re just like starting to slam up some walls and then go from there. I think part of it is we are so afraid of committing because we’ve all been raised to, you’re not a quitter. You’re not a quitter. You’re not a quitter, right?

I don’t think I’ve ever heard, not heard it, you know, an entrepreneur say that. I don’t quit, you know, I don’t quit. The problem with that is it can pull you away from decision -making because if you have to make a decision, then you have to think about if this doesn’t work out, I have to

Will Hanke (09:20)

Yeah. Yeah. One of the things that came out of me learning about mindset was exactly what you said. Permission to succeed. I finally gave myself permission that it’s OK to make more than whatever number I was cutting myself off at. That was huge for me. And we’ve mentioned self -sabotage a couple of times today. Tell me what that concept kind of means and how it manifests in a business.

Else Johnson, Mindset Expert And CEO (09:43)

So in its rawest form, right? It is basically you putting up barriers in order to get what you want. That is as simple as you can explain it. It is like wanting to cook a dish, but failing to go to the grocery store, right? You can’t do it, right? So there’s a component missing and you’re not willing to look at that component.

So that is in its rawest form a self -sabotage. You know what’s good for you, you’re just not doing

Will Hanke (10:11)

Yeah. For me, it was a physical revenue number, $10 ,000. If I got to the point where I was making 10 grand a month and some, new client came along, I did whatever I could to either not get that client or lose another one to keep me at, you know, keep me at that level. If I got to 12, I was like, oh my gosh, you know, this is crazy. But it is those barriers that are just crazy and there’s no reason for them, right?

Else Johnson, Mindset Expert And CEO (10:15)

Mm -hmm.

What you’re just describing is so, so, common because in our mind, we are starting to judge ourselves. How am I going to handle that extra work? What is that customer? You know, I can’t do this. And that’s why I mentioned before, like the hiring, right? Start with a contract worker that can maybe help you out a couple of hours a week instead of going full blown. But instead of saying, I can’t do that,

Stop and think what am I really telling myself

Will Hanke (11:04)

I love that tip of hiring somebody just for maybe just one off one project. See how they do and hire somebody else to do the next one, compare that kind of stuff is great.

Else Johnson, Mindset Expert And CEO (11:10)

Yeah.

You know, for me, as I mentioned before, sitting in the basement, right? There are a lot of people out there, all they do is make long panels all day long, and that’s what they love to do. So for me, it would have been so easy to just say, hey, here it is, you know, put your repeat here so I can match it with the top treatment if there was top treatments, right? But I wasn’t thinking that, I was just thinking,

Will Hanke (11:15)

So what are some…

Else Johnson, Mindset Expert And CEO (11:37)

This is a high end customer. How can I hire it out? And that was my self

Will Hanke (11:41)

Right. Yeah. Yeah. It’s a…

Else Johnson, Mindset Expert And CEO (11:43)

And I only have 24 hours in a day like you do. So if I had had taken on another client like you with your $10 ,000, right, for me I’ll say I could never make 20 panels in two weeks.

plus everything else.

Will Hanke (11:59)

Yeah, and the hiring thing might come across your mind, but you immediately dismiss it as not a viable option. I can definitely resonate with that as well. So all right, so we talked a little bit about what these things are that are kind of messing us up. Talk to me a little bit about some steps somebody could take to maybe kind of start reversing that and growing their business.

Else Johnson, Mindset Expert And CEO (12:20)

Yeah. All mindset work starts with self -awareness. Start with recognizing where is it that I always get myself in trouble? Like you started recognizing it as a revenue number. I get in trouble when I get

And that’s step one, just recognizing when is this happening? What is it really that I am doing? And then start telling yourself, listening to yourself and say, what stories am I telling myself about this thing? You shared about, I can’t do this. Maybe worthiness is big for a lot of people. that’s not me. I can’t make that kind of money. I’m not that rich person, right?

And all those stories we tell ourselves, they come from somewhere. We’ve been programmed since childhood to listen to those. know, money doesn’t grow on trees, know, a hard, know, a penny saved is a penny earned and all these kinds of things that we’ve been told our whole life. They sit in there and tell, you know, inform us saying, you can’t do this. You shouldn’t be doing this. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

Right? But once we start opening ourselves up to saying, me in my basement, why do I tell myself that I have to sew those panels?

What is it about me that’s so special that you make those panels? And then I realized, you know, for me in that particular incident when I got over that one, because, you know, let’s face it, we all have a million ways we do this. It’s not just one and you’re fixed, it’s fixed, but with the panel, I started telling myself my number one goal, and that’s the next step. What is your number one goal that you want to achieve?

You have to have that clarity.

Because once you know exactly what you want to achieve and you say to yourself, hmm, I’m never getting there because I’m telling myself this story. Now we can get somewhere because we can start looking at saying, what other story do you need to start writing? And what was it that actually made you write, tell yourself this story on a continuous basis? What is it? What fear is behind

Is it imposter? Is it worthiness? Is it trust? Is it confidence? What is it that really is inside of you that is telling you that no, no, no, no, just this is not for

Will Hanke (14:37)

of that. Yeah, it’s really good. What are some things we can do? Maybe you can’t just like all of a sudden change, right? You can’t just all of sudden change direction, but there are probably some things you could do daily that would help you move in that direction.

Else Johnson, Mindset Expert And CEO (14:48)

tons of things you can do daily. Actually, the best advice is that I have ever gotten and that I also use myself is start your day off with saying, or you can do it the night before depending on your routines and saying, what are three major things I want to accomplish today? Just three, because let’s face it, we can only have one first priority. A lot of people say, I have priorities.

Priority is in itself just one. But three major things that you want to get done today or three things you want to get done today. And then at the end of the day saying, did I get them done? And if you didn’t get them done, don’t beat yourself up over it. Make a record of it saying, just saying, hmm, also, why didn’t you do those three things today? you know, my son fell off the bike and broke his arm. Good reason, right?

Will Hanke (15:36)

Right.

Else Johnson, Mindset Expert And CEO (15:37)

or, no, you know, I was scared. Be honest with yourself. I was scared that I couldn’t get this

The more honest you are with yourself in this work, the faster you get to a new

but just start off by keeping record.

Will Hanke (15:50)

Yeah, you brought up another thing that I fell prey to, which was action by inaction. By just not doing something, I was still making a consciously to not do it.

Else Johnson, Mindset Expert And CEO (16:00)

Mm -hmm.

Yeah, a decision not taking is still a decision. A decision not made, You are handing over that decision and the result to somebody else.

Will Hanke (16:04)

It is.

Yeah.

Else Johnson, Mindset Expert And CEO (16:14)

And that brings up something that’s really important to understand about mindset work. It is all mindset work is sorry my quiet time went off on my computer. No, good, This is anyway.

Will Hanke (16:27)

We didn’t hear

Else Johnson, Mindset Expert And CEO (16:30)

Everything with mindset is in your head. So see, like right now, I got distracted, right? I got distracted from something outside my control. And that’s what happened. When we let those things outside our control interfere with our thought process, that is the biggest way we can self -sabotage. Not allowing ourselves the space to think things

We get distracted by cults, we get distracted by social media, we get distracted by family. We do need to allow ourselves some focused time. We would say, I just need to think for a minute.

Will Hanke (17:05)

like that. You said that was your quiet time alarm. How much time is that typically?

Else Johnson, Mindset Expert And CEO (17:10)

For me, it’s typically like 45 minutes. I set out 45 minutes depending on the week. Sometimes you look at the week and say, this week I can only allow myself 30 minutes per day that I think about what is really necessary. And some weeks you can allow yourself more time and depending on what project you have going. I don’t believe in one size fits all for these hacks.

You take them as guidelines. know, some people say get up at five in the morning, do your stretching, do your yoga, do your journaling, do your meditation, do, but for some people that doesn’t

They need to get up and they need to put themselves, they need to get the engine going right away. And they may need quiet time later.

But if you just get up, start your day moving around without any kind of direction.

then you go to bed without any kind of direction.

It is like putting yourself in the car and tell it, take me

And the GPS doesn’t work that way. We know

Will Hanke (18:06)

I think this. Yeah. Yeah. And your advice about, you know, writing down the three things. I think that that definitely includes some sort of practice, right? You got to get used to doing that. For me, my my daughter works with me and we talk every Monday on what are we going to do to win the day and what are we going to do to win the week? Right.

Else Johnson, Mindset Expert And CEO (18:13)

Mm -hmm.

Mm -hmm.

Will Hanke (18:28)

understanding that we’re not going to win the day every day for five days. But if we can win three out of five, we consider that we won the week, right? So some sort of practice around, like you said, just being cognizant of these are the goals. These are the rocks that I need to work on today, you know, and just start start doing. If you do all five, that’s fantastic. But most people can’t honestly do all five.

Else Johnson, Mindset Expert And CEO (18:51)

No, and you mentioned it just sort of on the side and say, how do you actually start this, right? Because if you’ve been in, our behaviors are habitual. If you’ve never really done this, how do you actually start it? There’s a really good book, there’s Atomic Habits and there’s Tiny

I like Tiny Habits better than Atomic Habits. It’s two habit -forming books. Tiny Habits talks about just make one step. Just have the first little baby step. So if you want to get up in the morning, the night before, put out your pencil and the book so you have it right there when you wake up or on your kitchen table. when you sit down and have your morning coffee, the pencil and the table is already

put it in my eyes so you can, actually get reminded of it. And that’s the biggest thing about building a new habit, the reminder, right? To help yourself do better.

Will Hanke (19:46)

Yeah. I like that. I sent the book Atomic Habits to all of my Mastermind members because I think it’s fantastic. I haven’t heard of Tiny. What is it? Tiny? Habits?

Else Johnson, Mindset Expert And CEO (19:56)

Tiny Habits, yeah, as I said, I actually personally like that book better. And again, it’s just because the way he talks about the habits, the ideas are more or less the same. It’s just the way that he has put them into, you know, his practice. And as I said again before, we have to look at a lot of different things and allow ourselves to make the decision that works for us.

Will Hanke (20:23)

Yeah, yeah, that’s great. I’ll check that book out for sure. I’ll link it in the show notes below too, in case anybody wants to grab it. And you know, it’s great to have a couple different things, because sometimes different books resonate with us different ways, even though they’re about the same topic.

Else Johnson, Mindset Expert And CEO (20:28)

Yes. Yeah.

Yes, and let’s face it, what I do, what a lot of other coaches do in my space, we all come from the same philosophy, right? It started out with Socrates and Plato and all these great ancient philosophers, but with all of our individual experiences, we all of a sudden see new connections, new ways of opening up, new ways of seeing it.

One of the things that I know people always talk to me about is, well, how do you know about this? How do you know about that? And it’s simply because I’ve had the luxury not only to be working in a lot of different industries, but I’ve also worked in different cultures. And just understanding what does it take for an immigrant with an immigrant family history to create a business in the US.

Will Hanke (21:24)

Nice.

Else Johnson, Mindset Expert And CEO (21:25)

know, work traditions, family, history, everything is different, right? So that’s what I bring in. I bring in a very broad knowledge of the world into a small scale. So you don’t have to think about all these things because even if it’s not for me, it might be the client who, one of my clients to have a very difficult client themselves because that client comes from another culture and another ritual.

And they say, well, I don’t understand why they keep doing this. And just to understand and meet the client saying, now I understand. Now I understand why you can’t make this decision. You have to go through X, Y, and Z.

Will Hanke (22:01)

Sure. Yeah. So tell me about one of your clients that maybe struggled with this a little bit and kind of, you know, how did they get through it? What were the steps? What did they

Else Johnson, Mindset Expert And CEO (22:10)

Well, I had a client who was negotiating contracts, a talented designer who was negotiating contract with a manufacturer to have her own design line within this

And the way she was self -sabotaging was a little bit like you. Who am I to be in this room? I cannot ask for X amount of money in this contract. I cannot ask for X amount of money upfront.

You know, it is for her, it was really about that understanding that saying they’re looking to you for the expertise. They don’t have it. You are sitting with the expertise. Don’t let them tell you what your value is on that expertise. They’re coming to you because you have what they want.

And so I successfully worked with her in order for her to get to the point where she felt she could negotiate these contracts because this wasn’t just a one -off. This was at the beginning of something very big for

And so she landed the contract and she has landed several more since then. So I’m very, very happy for

Will Hanke (23:18)

Yeah. Yeah. That’s interesting. Once you kind of start making that change and taking that action, helps. It happens over and over again. And of course, then you’re like, oh, that was easy. Why didn’t I do this 10 years ago, or in my case, 20 years ago?

Else Johnson, Mindset Expert And CEO (23:26)

Yes.

Yeah, it’s like anything is easy when you know how to do

Will Hanke (23:35)

Yeah, right. Very true. Yeah. So you mentioned things around stress management. I know that you have a download available. Tell me more about

Else Johnson, Mindset Expert And CEO (23:43)

Well, the thing about, we talked about self -sabotage, right? And 99 % of my clients don’t know that that’s what they’re doing. They don’t realize that that’s what, because they all, I’m sure you yourself too, felt like you were working really hard and you were doing your best. You were doing everything that you knew how to do best, right? You couldn’t see that it was actually yourself standing in your

Will Hanke (24:03)

Sure, of course.

Else Johnson, Mindset Expert And CEO (24:07)

But what does happen is we see the effects of

Just like we go to the doctor, we don’t know why we have a stomach pain. We have to have the doctor to help us figure out what it is, And some of the symptoms of, or strongest symptoms of self -sabotage is stress. Stress and burnout, maybe poor health, overeating, not exercising. And the last category is for me, which is very sad, is relationship.

you know, personal relationships, which can be absolutely crushed by our self -sabotage. But stress is an easy one for us to identify. When we can’t go to sleep at night, when we just feel like we are just running on empty and there’s just no more time in the day. And there’s a couple of different ways that we can actually help ourselves sort

become that valve to take away the stress, the buildup of that big stress factor. And my five easy stress busters, which will be in the show note as a download, it’s just an easy way for people to say, again, there’s not one that fits all, so that’s why there’s five different ways that you can do it. But the one that universally my clients have always loved is just take a

Because when you’re stressed, you’re out here. You’re everywhere but in your own body.

And just by open or closed eyes, doesn’t really matter. Take a nice deep breath in through your nose, hold it at the top and just let it

It is the best and simplest way that we can all try to at least eliminate a little bit of that edge of the stress.

Will Hanke (25:45)

Yeah, and back to tiny habits. One little thing, it’s not like you have to do all five of these immediately today, right?

Else Johnson, Mindset Expert And CEO (25:45)

takes such little time. Exactly.

No. I literally have clients that I’ve asked them to put a timer on their phone every hour.

to take a breath, to take a conscious

And the reason is that we talked about time before that we only have 24 hours in the day, right? But I bet you, like myself and many of my clients have come to the end of many days and say, what the heck did I do today? I’ve been busy all day. I don’t know what I’ve been doing.

And that’s because we have lived, we have gone through the day outside ourselves.

We have been focused on everything out here without actually taking it in and absorbing what we do. But if we can just stop, take that breath and say, what am I really doing right

then we remember what we’ve been doing.

And that starts helping us not only see, no wonder I’m exhausted today.

Will Hanke (26:39)

Yeah. Very true. Yeah. I love that. So we’ll link to the five stress busters. And that’s a free download. I love that you’re offering that. Thank you. Thank you for doing that. Another thing that you and I had talked about is you’re putting together like a little mini course on self -sabotage. So tell me a little bit more about

Else Johnson, Mindset Expert And CEO (26:47)

Yes. Yeah.

absolutely.

Well, as we talked about before, it all starts with awareness, right? And that’s really what the mini course is about. Opening up that channel for that awareness. Really helping you start saying that, well, how do I actually even do that? Because as I also mentioned before, we don’t see it ourselves. We often don’t see it. But because I’ve talked to so many, you know, thousands of people and just study shows that

There are patterns that you can start seeing for yourself. There’s ways that you can start observing yourself a little bit and saying, oh, this is what I do every time. Like, as you mentioned before, again, because you’re here and you have already shared it, is like that $10 ,000 mark. Ooh. And then just start, you know.

Through my positive intelligence certification as a coach, one of the things we talk about is becoming an anthropologist on your own life.

Start studying your life. What is it that I’m actually doing that is not getting the results that I

and what are the stories that I’m telling myself.

And we all have a certain amount of stories that we constantly have on repeat in our head that was planted there so long ago that we don’t even remember when, or we don’t even remember how 95 % of the time, because even though we can say, oh, this happened to me and this happened to me, it’s typically deeper than

We only remember the certain times in our lives where that came up. Again, so the mini course is about helping you to start raise that awareness so you actually know now what am I dealing with? How much work is really involved here? Sometimes it’s minor tweaks, sometimes it takes a little more deep.

I think you and I in a previous conversation talked about, and I think this is really important to note is that I used to never believe in this

I used to tell myself, I know how to take care of myself. I used to say, counseling, know, coaches, all that stuff. You know, I’ve been on my own since I was 17. I don’t need this help. I know how to take care of myself. But that was a big fat lie for me. We are just too close to

And the thing about it is, we deserve so much better, you deserve much better, the listeners deserve so much better, their families, their communities. Because once we do this work, we are able to generate so much more energy for ourselves, for the people that we love. And that’s why I do it. And that’s

I never answered your question early on in our conversation is this is why I love, love, love, love working with business owners. Because I know the pain they’re going through. I know all the stories they are hiding inside themselves, all the insecurities. And because they do that, they’re not giving it the gift of their full presence in their lives of their families, their communities. And they’re never able to actually give back in the big way that they want

Will Hanke (30:08)

awesome. Yeah. So thank you for offering the mini course as well. I think it’s gonna be huge. I wish I would have had it, you know. And the other thing I wish I would have had was a business coach. You mentioned that, that you know I thought I could do it. And hiring a business coach and someone to be accountable to, someone to give you some focus and direction, it’s totally changed everything for me.

Else Johnson, Mindset Expert And CEO (30:31)

Yeah,

I think it’s very interesting, right? When we look at our lives, from the day we were born, we have coaches and mentors. They teach us how to tie our shoes, they teach us how to go to the bathroom, they teach us how to play soccer, football, baseball. They teach us to read and write and do all these things, right?

Now, all of a sudden we’re in business for ourselves and we say, no, I can do it all by

What makes us do

We have never done it

It is like winning it is not really a good business strategy.

Will Hanke (31:07)

Yeah, I love

Else Johnson, Mindset Expert And CEO (31:07)

And my opinion is it starts with how you think about running your business.

because many of the other things are skill sets that you can learn or hire out.

Will Hanke (31:17)

sure yeah yeah thank you again for offering these these things we’ll definitely link to these in the show notes what other resources I know you mentioned tiny habits atomic habits what other resources tools things can we point the listeners in a direction to kind of check

Else Johnson, Mindset Expert And CEO (31:33)

It, so I could talk about books all day long. There are some of the very fundamentals that people talk about. Think and Grow Rich, by Earl Nightingale. It has a very specific message. There’s a shorter version that also gives sort of that message. It’s called Acres of Diamonds.

John Maxwell’s book on leadership is amazing. You know, the five levels of leadership, just understanding how you have to grow as a leader. And those are really great books. There are some great resources. I’m trying to think what his name is right now. It escaped me and I should have remembered it, but there is on Facebook, if you Google train tracks in cities.

There is a pastor from Florida who has a seven part series where he is presenting about how do you actually think about building a business? He’s a pastor, but he has a very good You know way of Thinking about because part of him is also saying you need to take time out to think about where you is your business going Because you have so many roles as a business There

Will Hanke (32:14)

Okay.

Else Johnson, Mindset Expert And CEO (32:37)

like you mentioned before, tons of resources on YouTube, on Google, networking. One of the most important things that we have to remember is we got to get in the rooms where the people are that are smarter than us.

It is not for us to get into the imposter side of it, but it’s for us to ask questions. It is for us to say, well, how did he really do

And again, listen and learn and then decide what works for me. And make sure that the people that we ask have actually done what they’re saying they’re going to do, the way they did it. Because a lot of people, unfortunately, out there in the industry have never run a business. They’ve never actually put it into practice themselves. They’ve learned it and they say, is how it works. This is how the formula goes.

I think it’s really important, especially for a small business owner, it’s somebody who’s been in their shoes.

Will Hanke (33:28)

So you’ve been in the window covering business for a while.

Else Johnson, Mindset Expert And CEO (33:31)

I had my business for about two decades, yes.

Will Hanke (33:34)

Yeah, yeah. So along the way, what was one of the biggest lessons that you learned that you wish more business owners knew?

Else Johnson, Mindset Expert And CEO (33:41)

First of all, the window coverings industry is a pretty amazing industry. I don’t think I’ve had any other industry I’ve been involved in where people were so ready to give you advice, so ready to share and just go on. You and I have been on a couple of Facebook groups, The outpour of support and teaching and it’s amazing. It’s absolutely amazing.

wonderful to see this camaraderie knowing that all well that at the end of the day we have to provide for our own business and for our own family but that doesn’t preclude us from lifting somebody else up because the better I do the better you do the better standards that we have in the industry the more we rise it

Will Hanke (34:25)

it. Yeah. So thank you. Thank you for that. Future plans. What you know, and now that you’ve kind of moved into the coaching piece of your life story, you know, what are some projects that you’re working

Else Johnson, Mindset Expert And CEO (34:39)

Some of the projects that I’m working on is to expand my group program. And also I’m really excited because I just launched a very new, it’s called a thinking partnership. And that’s more for the CEOs in those early stages of scaling or when they’re sitting in that vacuum of saying, what are I really doing?

came to the point and said, I can’t really figure out why I am not going higher. To help them really dig down and deeply see where is the clarity, where’s the piece that I’m missing. Because I feel so many of us are in that space and saying, I am so tired of banging my head against the

And because of the way that I coach, I know I am really good at helping them sort it through. Extract all the pieces and pull away what’s not needed and put it back together again to something that looked very cohesive and very usable. From that mindset, from that clarity perspective that they then can go and say to the business coach,

What do I do now? How do we make this

It’s like going on vacation.

and know that every piece of clothing you have in your suitcase is the right piece of clothing for that vacation.

Will Hanke (35:53)

You

I love that. I love that. Thank you. So that’s exciting. I love that you’re building some new things and being able to help more people. So we’ll link to the stress busters download. We’ll link to the mini course. We’ll link to the new one that you just launched. All of this will be in the show notes. If someone wants to get a hold of you, what are the best ways for them to do

Else Johnson, Mindset Expert And CEO (36:13)

The very best way to get hold of me is send me an email. Simply send me an email, Else at morethanjustfine .com.

Will Hanke (36:22)

thank you so much for being on the show today. I really do appreciate it.

I definitely appreciate you and your time and I think we’ve covered some fantastic topics today. So if you want to as a listener subscribe to the Marketing Panes podcast. We’d love to have you on as a subscriber. We’d love to have you know more episodes like this that can really help you grow your business.

and just expand beyond where you’re at now and quit that self -sabotage. We would love to be able to do that for you. So thank you again for listening. Hope you all have a fantastic day.

Take care, everyone. We’ll talk to you in the next episode.

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