The Successful Living Podcast: Recent Episodes
Dinette Rivera
Entrepreneurship isn't perfect! It's exciting, messy, twisted, fun, and much like a motorcycle ride. So worth it.
This show is about helping people build businesses that allow them the freedom to live more, work less – and create the life they are meant to live.
In 2008, with less than five hundred dollars, I launched Rivera Business Development. I did it because of the belief that entrepreneurship could provide the means to rise above one’s circumstances — and it does.
Now I want to help you in your entrepreneurial journey.
Tired of the Impact External Forces have on your money?
Welcome back to The Successful Living Podcast. ! I'm thrilled to have you here today as we delve into a topic that's close to all our hearts: success, self-awareness, and the often-overlooked aspect of financial consciousness. In a world where we tend to point fingers at external factors for our financial struggles, it's high time we turn the spotlight inward and examine our own decisions. I'm your host Dinette Rivera, and in today's episode, we're going to explore how self-awareness and financial consciousness can pave the way for a more prosperous future.
Let’s start with the blame game
When financial difficulties strike, it's easy to play the blame game. We often find ourselves pointing fingers at the economy, politics, job market, and a plethora of external factors. But what if the real key to unlocking our financial woes lies within our own decisions? Let's face it – blaming external factors might offer temporary relief, but it doesn't provide a long-term solution.
The Power of Self-Awareness
So, what's the solution? Self-awareness. Understanding our own financial habits, behaviors, and tendencies is the first step towards achieving financial consciousness. By acknowledging our own role in our financial situation, we can take control and make conscious choices that lead to positive outcomes. Self-awareness empowers us to assess our spending patterns, recognize our strengths and weaknesses, and identify areas for improvement.
Income vs. Expenses
When faced with financial challenges, the knee-jerk reaction is often to focus solely on increasing our income. We look for better-paying jobs or even consider taking on additional part-time work. While these are valid strategies, they're just one side of the coin. It's equally important to scrutinize our expenses.
Financial Decision-Making
One of the best practices is to examine our current financial decisions. Are we truly conscious of how we're spending our money? Can we account for every dollar that leaves our wallets? Savings shouldn't be an afterthought – it should be a cornerstone of our financial planning. Building an emergency fund becomes essential to safeguard against unexpected events.
Shifting the Focus
Instead of immediately seeking external solutions, consider a paradigm shift. Turn your attention inwards and evaluate your own financial habits. Ask yourself: Am I making conscious choices when it comes to spending and saving? Am I prioritizing my financial well-being? By asking these questions, you're setting the stage for a more secure future.
Crafting a Financial Future
Crafting a successful financial future requires a holistic approach. It's not just about earning more money; it's about managing that money effectively. This means understanding your financial goals, creating a budget, tracking expenses, and consistently saving for the future.
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In this episode, I share a story about a conversation on financial planning. What is interesting about the conversation, is the idea that some people have that we shouldn't speak to people struggling with money because it may be disempowering. If someone is struggling financially and we speak about a financial plan, it may feel impossible to achieve. It made my stomach turn, but I realized the people in the conversation were not trained financial coaches and it is a common misconception that you cannot achieve financial wellness or build wealth without having a certain amount of money available to you. Everyone has the ability to start working on their finances, whatever their situation. The financial plan is the tool we use to help someone build the foundation for financial stability and wealth. It includes things like saving, an emergency fund, an estate plan, retirement, and more. For example, If you have children under the age of 18, you need a will and testament. I will speak about the reason for a will and testament, beyond what is typically shared in next episode of the Successful Living Podcast.
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The definition of success is the achievement of a goal or purpose.
Therefore, success is found within us first and reflected in our outer world. If you feel satisfied with your life and see opportunities everywhere, that will lead to success. Otherwise, if you believe that success escapes you for lack of education, money, or some other reason, you will never feel successful.
Success has to be measured from your point of view and not from the point of view of others. Think about everything you've accomplished in life. From childhood to adult you have had to overcome many challenges. Some bigger than others, but challenges none the less. Have you ever found yourself in a very difficult situation and thought that you were not going to be able to solve it and suddenly there are possibilities? How many moments like that have you had in your life?
Success for each person is unique. We define it according to our vision for our life. For some people, success is found in their professional career. Other people measure their success in terms of the quantity of material goods. Someone else measures your success in terms of where you've traveled and the experiences you've had.
Do you want to be successful; start by understanding what it is for you? How satisfied are you with your life? If you feel like you're missing something, what is it and why?
Success is living the life you want and feeling happy with it. Success should not be measured only by the amount of money you have or the power you possess.
Activity so you can see all the success you have achieved in your life:
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Name 10 things you've accomplished and are proud of. It doesn't matter how small or big.
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Think of a huge problem you've had that you easily solved
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You had a goal of buying a car, a house or taking a trip and you achieved it. What was that goal and what did you do to achieve it?
Remember that you decide what success is for you.
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In this episode of the podcast, Dinette talks about an important topic that is often overlooked in the world of small business: sales and sales strategies. While there are many workshops and resources available on marketing, very few focus specifically on sales, despite the fact that it is a crucial aspect of running a successful business. Dinette explains why it's so important to develop effective sales strategies and shares some tips and insights to help listeners get started. Whether you're a small business owner, an entrepreneur, or just someone looking to improve your sales skills, this episode is a must-listen. Learn how to set achievable sales goals, identify your ideal customers, and develop a sales plan that will help you get where you want to be at the end of the year. Don't miss out on this valuable information that could take your business to the next level!
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I have been going through some tough times as we all do at one time or another. So, I decided I would share it with you.
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Mariela Romero, talks about Cultural Mastery, joins us to share her insights on creating bridges between communities and fostering inclusion and equity. Mariela is a multilingual, passionate journalist, writer, producer, and public relations professional with over 30 years in broadcasting. – with a focus on empowering communities. In this powerful talk, she shares how we can all work to create more equitable and inclusive societies.
Thanks to her exceptional skill set for creating content, she has received 27 Emmy Awards from the Academy of Television Arts – Southeast region. Furthermore, the Latin American Association recognized her with the prestigious Olga C. de Goizueta award in 2019.
In 2020 Mariela Romero joined the National Juvenile Defender Center board, now The Gault Center, and the Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute in Washington, D.C.; she is also an Emeritus board member of the Community Foundation of North Georgia.
In 2021 the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce inducted her into the Most Influential Latinos Hall of Fame.
For more informacion, contact me Dinette Rivera at: 🌐 www.dinetterivera.com ✉️ me@dinetterivera.com
MarielaRomero #CulturalMastery #buildingbridges #communities #Latinos
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In this podcast, I'm going to talk about how you can unlock your potential by changing your beliefs.
Hey there, my name is Dinette Rivera and in this video I want to talk to you about something that's really important. Your beliefs play a huge role in determining your success in life. If you want to achieve more, then you need to start by changing the beliefs that are holding you back. So stick around and I'll show you how it's done.
Happy International Podcast Day !
Contact me at:
🌐 www.dinetterivera.com
📙 "The Successful Living Action Plan" on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/SUCCESSFUL-LIVING-ACTION-PLAN-Prosperity/dp/B0892792HW/
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Everyone engages in some form of sales. Getting comfortable with the sales conversation is a challenge for most people. When we "sell" ourselves for personal reasons, outside of our job or business, it seems natural to us. We don't consider ourselves to be selling.
Think about the first time you saw someone you were attracted to. What happened? I'm sure you found a creative way to approach that person and talk to them. You may have gone out of your way to impress that person. You felt emotionally charged.
Why then is the sales process so scary for most people? One of the problems with all targets is not having a compelling enough reason to get you over your barriers to network effectively, go out and make sales calls, or pick up the dreaded phone for a "cold call."
I've used some pretty powerful words to describe how little I enjoy cold calling. That process has never come naturally to me. I am very good at inside sales or those that come from relationship building. How did I combine the two? I had to build my own businesses, but even that wasn't enough.
Becoming comfortable with sales comes from having powerful reasons for what selling will mean to you and your company. Visualize the results that come from increased revenue, how the product or service will benefit the customer,
Point: When it comes to sales, there can be a level of discomfort. Think about what your product or service does for others. Next, think about the goals you will achieve if you are comfortable with the sales process.
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I have trained many financial coaches and have been involved with different training programs where the emergency fund is something you have no knowledge or management of.
People seem confused about what a savings account is or something else, raising questions like: Why can't I have a savings account? Why does it have to be an emergency fund? A savings account is for things like vacations or day-to-day management of your money, but an emergency fund is a safety net. It is set up for when you need money to manage a crisis.
If you have family living abroad, a sudden death or illness could make you want to live and be there with your family. If there is no emergency fund, you may have to rely on family and friends to help you financially.
There are people at all income levels living on the edge. It's like standing on the edge of a cliff and wondering when something is going to push you off the cliff.
"You shouldn't have to worry about finances when you're dealing with a crisis, such as the death of a loved one."
How can you start it? You start where you are and work toward behavior change. Anything we want to accomplish requires that our behavior align with what we want to accomplish. If you want to start an emergency fund, start by saving, the amount is not so important in the beginning, the important thing is to create a habit of saving.
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In this episode I will tell you what cash flow is and what is the best way to manage it.
It is of great value to start by identifying the month's income, since most people take into account the paydays and bills, but do not take into account the exact date when they have the income or when those payments are due, if that is your case you may be in a cash flow problem.
If you want to create your own financial stability, start by knowing when money comes in regularly and when bills are due. Next, consider monthly variable expenses, such as groceries, gas, tolls, gift giving, oil changes are variable.
They are not due at the same time every month and the amount we spend varies month to month. Think about the vacations and how different those months are from the rest of the year. Set aside funds for variable expenses based on previous months and what you anticipate as additional expenses. Depending on variable expenses and what you want for your future, start an emergency fund, followed by a savings account.
if you want to have accompaniment in this field contact me and I will show you step by step how to achieve it and you will see that your finances will never again be a difficulty.
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A challenge with managing money can be money in and money out (cash flow), It is not enough to track when we are paid by an employer or contractor and the amount we are paid monthly. The best way to overcome cash flow problems is tracking the exact dates when we are paid, the amount and when our debt payments are due.
Many debt payments are due at the beginning of the month. If you do not have fund coming in at that time, it is important to save funds from the previous month’s income to make those payments.
Once we make it a habit to track income and expenses by due dates, we are better positioned to avoid cash flow problems and avoid unnecessary overdraft and late payment fees, credit issues and more.
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If you want to keep yourself from spending more money than you should during the holidays, there are five questions you can ask yourself before going shopping. These questions are designed to help you think about who you are shopping for, why they are on that list and what you can do to show them your love without blowing your budget.
Understand that powerful reasons for wanting to achieve a goal will help us stay on track. We set most goals with superficial reasons. Those superficial reasons will not keep you from going overboard with gift giving.
The 5 questions I share here will give you the opportunity to give for all the right reasons, limit your spending and show your family and friends the love you have for them. All this and you can come out of the Christmas season debt free. Imagine that!
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Limiting beliefs are exactly what they seem. They limit your potential because they prevent you from believing in yourself.
You can want to do the best in anything. Your limiting beliefs will create doubts, fears, and make you think the effort isn't worth it. Why does this happen? It happens because you haven't faced those limiting beliefs. You've probably never stopped to question those beliefs.
Getting rid of limiting beliefs is possible. Your job is to believe differently.
What will it take?
· You have to identify those limiting beliefs.
· You have to face them and decide to let go.
· Become aware of those limiting beliefs every time they appear and tell yourself why they are not true.
· Replace your limiting beliefs with new and empowering beliefs
What will push you forward?
· You must have a powerful reason for wanting to change.
· You have to know how those beliefs are affecting you in a negative way and decide that they no longer serve you.
Where do they come from? Every bit of information you've been exposed to during your lifetime.
It's time to make a change and get rid of your limiting beliefs
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We talk a lot about how important it is to make time to discover who we are. If you want to increase the likelihood of achieving a goal, you have to understand who you are.
Is the problem how can I find out who I am?
Become the observer of your life, being aware of what you do every day.
Let me offer a small suggestion. Observe your way of brushing your teeth. If you think about it, on occasion your parents or perhaps a dentist gave you suggestions to take care of your dental health. Brushing your teeth is something that has become an unconscious act. You don't have to think about the steps. It's like being on autopilot.
The next time you brush your teeth, watch the process. This is a simple way to become an observer of your life. With this small step, you will see that you will begin to notice other things you do daily.
I hope that with this step you feel motivated to discover who you are. Don't judge yourself. Just be aware of what you're doing. Over time you will decide if you want to change something in your life and having observed who you are will help you make the changes you want.
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There is a method for changing our behavior to align with what we want to achieve, and it starts with the Successful Living Path to Prosperity, built on the 5 Pillars of Success:
· Self-Discovery/Inner Healing
· Lifelong Learning
· Income-Producing Activities
· Financial Capability
· Social Responsibility/Community
Today I want to talk about Self-Discovery. Why do I speak about this the most? Because without it, success will remain elusive.
Nothing changes until you change your mind. To change your mind, you must get to know yourself.
Who are you? You are the most important person you will ever meet. Do you really know how you think? Where do your beliefs come from? The come from so many influences during our lifetime. From the moment you are born, you start to see the world through the eyes of your family and everyone around you. Once you are off to school, you begin to be influenced by the world outside your home. From there you embrace the beliefs of coworkers, friends, and all sources of media.
You become what you focus on. The more you focus on a belief, it becomes part of who you are. It leads to your habits and how you interact with the world.
Knowing this, I ask you again, who are you? Are your beliefs and behaviors in alignment with the life you envision for yourself?
For today, I want to leave you with a small step towards self-discovery:
“Success cannot be achieved without a mind willing to change” Start by becoming aware of your beliefs by being present with your thoughts. Become “conscious” of what you feel, say, and do. If possible, write what you learn from this step.
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Who is in the driver’s seat of your life? Are you controlling the vehicle that is taking you where you want to go, or are you on autopilot? Are you getting to your destination and not realizing how you got there? Let’s talk about taking control of the wheel of life.
Do you believe you are a limited human being? I remember when I was a child, and I was taught that I was created in God’s image. I thought about how awesome that was. Imagine me, a little girl, thinking I could live the life I imagined. Of course, back then it was more about candy and toys and pretty clothes. At times it was about wanting my parents to be happy. If I was made in God’s image, there wasn’t anything I could not do. Then I grew up. It appeared what I had thought, wasn’t exactly what I understood. Slowly, I stopped believing in myself and the power I possessed inside to be, do, and have whatever I wanted. That was then.
As I began my journey of self-discovery and read thousands of books, magazines, books on beliefs, religions and so many interesting things, I rediscovered the power I possess to create the life I desire. I am in control of my life. How I live it is a choice. I cannot control the world around me. What I can control is how I handle it.
When the road gets bumpy and I get a flat, I don’t have to panic. I know what to do. I can change my own “tire”. I have options. Those options may not always be the one I wish to I could choose, but I have choice, nonetheless.
How you live your life is your choice. How can you choose to be happy when the world around you is violent or sad or full of hatred? You focus on something different. You choose to do something that will change your perspective. You decide if you are going to contribute to the hatred, the sadness and violence or you choose to find peace. You think about being loved and how grateful you are to be loved. You remind yourself of the things that have happened that made you laugh; made you feel good and make you happy.
What makes life so complicated is how much time we spend thinking about what isn’t, instead of changing what is. So much about change comes down to taking a small step. I cannot change my environment overnight. What I could do is start thinking about other options. The more you spend time thinking about what you can do now, the more you begin to focus your brain on finding ways to make those changes possible. I know this may unrealistic. What if you give yourself permission to prove me wrong? What if you learn more about the power you possess to change your mind and change your life? What would it hurt?
Take a chance on you. Test the idea that you can genuinely choose the life you desire.
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What is mental fitness? I prefer Flinders University’s definition:
“Your ability to cope with and meet the psychological demands of life, without undue fatigue or damage to your mind or body”.
“A personal framework for understanding what we can do, as individuals, to build a happier and more productive life.”
In my book, The Successful Living Podcast, I speak extensively about self-discovery. Awareness is the first step when it comes to self-discovery. Without it nothing can change. If your goal is mental fitness, you must have the desire for it. The desire for mental fitness comes from the desire for feelings of well-being and good health.
This is where behavior change starts to happen. You must believe that mental fitness is desirable, important, and necessary. Therefore, you have to start with becoming aware of your beliefs around fitness. In particular, mental fitness.
This awareness leads to goals for achieving mental fitness. Like any fitness goal, you make choices based on those goals. Once those goals are established, your behavior must align with your goals.
Where can you start? Start by becoming aware of your habits and how they affect your mental health. The foods you eat, the physical environment in which you live and the beliefs you embrace lead to your habits. Becoming aware of those habits is a great start towards mental fitness.
If you are experiencing symptoms of depression or other mental health concerns, please seek guidance from your physician before considering any mental fitness goal or program.
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When I started my company I knew nothing about it. You would think I did because I worked in management my entire working career. I had the good fortune of working for a man in Italy, on a military base, that taught me everything he knew about running a business. I was twenty two then. Every job I ever did after that first job was in management. Of course I was able to start my business. What I didn't know was how to run it. Every company I worked for was already established. All the systems were in place. There were processes for hiring and they had an HR person. There admin people and other workers. Everything was in place. My years of business experience and continuing education gave me what I needed to have a business that in 2021 celebrated its 13th year. Only in recent times did I focus on improving the systems and processes I needed to run my business efficiently and limit the number of hats I have to wear. Not having a good plan for how to run and grow your business limits your potential to grow it into a company that can one day be sold as part of your succession plan. Make time to look at your business with fresh eyes. Take a day off. Put an away message on your phone and email. Tell your team that you cannot be reached that day and focus on the gaps, the holes and anything else that needs your attention for your business to grow. This is something we should all do at least once a year. I focus on my business with obsession. I am constantly improving what we're doing. If you want to have a succession plan, you have a business that can be sold. Whatever the future holds for your business it will be closely relatated to how you're running it today.
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How you start your day sets you up for how the rest of the day is going to go. I get up early in the morning and start working because I can feel tired in the afternoon. The sleep problems I've had most of my adult life, make it hard for me to do creative work or projects that require a lot of thinking and writing. Do you hit the snooze button ten times in the morning? Do you misplace your car keys and cannot find them in the morning? If you are not a morning person, do a few things the night before. As soon as you wake up, what are you thinking? Do you start complaining? I choose gratitude and meditation to get myself in the best mood.
I share a few ideas for making your morning and day better and why getting to know yourself is so important for this.
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In the United States, August starts the buying season. Even with the pandemic, people start getting into a buying and spending mindset because of back to school. We are bombarded with ads about the things we need to buy for children going back to school. This mindset stays with us, as we go into September and the end of the year. How prepared will you be to increase sales during this season?
Once everyone gets into the spending and buying mindset, it goes beyond back to school. The buying doesn't stop at gift giving either. Women typically do the buying in their homes. As women entrepreneurs, we have to keep that in mind and decide what products we have that we can sell while people are in purchasing mode.
You may not have a product or service that most people would buy as a gift. What you need to remember is that people in a buying mindset are buying for themselves too. Your job is to decide what product or service makes sense to advertise now and get ready.
What do you have to do to prepare? Most people are buying online. What technology will you need for online sales? If you do not have an online store, what will you do now to get ready? You will need to think about the purchase and what is needed. Shipping and handling services will have to be in place. What inventory needs must be met to be ready for an increase in sales.
I cannot predict what will happen during this season of buying. What I can predict is that those of us that prepare now will be better positioned to sell our products or services than those who do not.
As a financial coach I would feel terrible if I did not stress the importance of budgeting for this shopping season. The pandemic assistance programs for entrepreneurs and many others are ending in September in the United States. It will have some impact on the buying season, but it will not stop it. What do you offer that someone will consider a good investment in the next few months?
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People often apologize or become uncomfortable when we speak about wanting wealth or striving to get to a million dollars.
For some there is a belief that wanting money goes against their value. Many factors have given the impression that money is bad. There is the belief that rich people are greedy. There is the belief that money is at the root of all evil. We could spend hours talking about these beliefs and how they came to be, but my purpose today is to put things into perspective. To accumulate wealth of any amount requires understanding what you value and questioning if building wealth really goes against those values.
Do you want a better life for your family? What is the value? Does wanting money go against that value?
Money is something we exchange for goods and services. It is neither good nor bad. I like Mark Mason’s comment from his post, The Real Value of Money: “Money is inherently neutral. It’s merely a vessel for the exchange of experiences between two people”. What a great way to put it.
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Being open about our struggles with podcast timing, why Manny is not present and many other random thoughts. In this podcast I share the struggles we're experiencing with trying to honor our commitment to our listeners to show up regularly and at the expected times. Life is full of many responsibilities that get in the way of our goal of consistency, but I love entrepreneurship and wouldn't change a thing.
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Within Self-discovery there are many things we have to learn about ourselves. In this podcast we come clean and take responsibility for not showing up on our podcast for a month. While we had reasons, a little self-discipline and organization would have kept our podcast on schedule. We chose to speak about it because avoiding it or pretending it didn't happen we wanted to take honor our listeners and show respect.
Self-discipline is a skill, like all skills, in need of constant growth and development. When we do not accomplish our goals or do not keep our word and miss a deadline, making excuses is not the answer. After all the excuses we make are made to yourself. Taking responsibility for lack of self-discipline is a step in the right direction.
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Income-Producing Activities are a foundation for reaching our goals. There are many ways to make money work for you. It is not always about getting a job or a second job. Working for others is one way to make money. Working for yourself and taking advantage of passive income opportunities are others. Money is a resource to exchange goods for services. There are many ways to "make money".
Working for someone else, full time or part time, is still one of the most common ways to make money. In this episode we talk share a few examples of ways we make money. What we have to realize is that there are not enough hours in the day to work for money. Another way is to let money work for you. This is what we call passive income. Things like investments, rental properties, retirement accounts and residual income are other ways.
A skills checklist that I use to work with my clients is a tool to explore the many talents, skills and hobbies you can turn into income-producing activities. Things you can fit into your lifestyle as a way to reach your goals. You can go to www.dinetterivera.com and request the Skills Checklist. You can also find it with the video post for this podcast on our Facebook page at Rivera Business Development.
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In today's podcast we have a special guest with whom we will talk about the importance of organizing our lifestyle habits in order to meet the goals we set for ourselves daily, she is Tonya Thomas, who is the founder of Team Delegate, LLC, an executive virtual assistant company. We invite you to listen in and share this podcast with your community.
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In this episode Manny and I explore why remote work can be a problem for entrepreneurs and employees alike. I share my own experiences with remote work and we talk about what Manny and I do to make it better. This is not for everyone, but given the circumstances, there are skills that can be improved to make remote work more productive and manageable.
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In this chapter of The Successful Living I share what happens when we do not have a good strategic plan to navigate the changes that may affect us and how to adapt to those changes. In particular, the changes that affect companies. I share examples of what happens when we ignore what is happening around us. I also talk about ideas to be better prepared.
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You can also find this podcast on video at https://www.facebook.com/riverabusinessdevelopment
Every time you go through a difficult moment in your life, you stop to think about why?
In this podcast we will talk about the importance of gratitude as an option to observe what happens to you from different points of view, listen to us here
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In this episode I share why I changed my mind around the podcast format because I want to be open with you, my listening audience. I also share how and why I left a job I had loved because I decided that change was necessary for my own wellbeing and self-respect. I encourage you to understand why change must happen internally, if you want to see change in your life.
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In this episode, I share a story of how I saved $2000 a year by taking a step I share in this episode. When training financial coaches, I speak about how much money we allow to flow through our hands without noticing it because we look at our budget needs and go to adding income or cutting expenses. Nothing wrong with this. The problem is we are forgetting to renegotiate things like loan payments or insurance payments. How much money are you lending to the IRS for a year, interest free? When you do not benefit from the proper tax deductions, you are leaving money that could be helping you with your retirement, emergency funds and more. The ideas in this episode with help you look at your money differently. Every time I train coaches, it seems someone comes back with a story of how they were motivated, went home and made a call and found money hidden in plain sight.
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How can you boost your belief in your abilities when you have those moments of doubt? How often do you question your ability to reach a goal? Often we set a goal. We base it on the best available evidence. We know we have chosen how to reach it with facts and then the doubts creep in. Those doubts and insecurities come from thoughts planted deep in our mind. Most often with no basis. Yet they paralyze us. Keep us from moving forward.
Boosting our belief system to power up our success is part of the Self-Discovery Pillar. I speak about this in my book, The Successful Living Action Plan: Your Path to Prosperity. There are many ways power up, today I share one step that can help you keep the self-doubt from stopping you from reaching your goals.
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Can you recall the first time you met the person you felt you wanted in your life? How hard did you work at convincing them you were the one? We go out of our way to let them see all the good things we bring into their life. It is a natural talent. Why then, do we forget to use that same skill when we are interviewing for a job, trying to get funding or pitching our products? Instead of focusing on them, we go into convincing the person on why what we are selling is so good.
As an entrepreneur, you are never off from work. You are always thinking about your business. I was thinking about a new product we recently launched and the marketing, when I realized the focus is all wrong. It is so easy to think your focus is on the client and realize it is all about you. Even seasoned business owners can make this mistake. We do it in other relationships too.
Have you ever had a conversation with a relative and they tell you "they are not buying what your selling"? No one wants to be sold on something. We want to know how it will make our life better. The next time you are working on your sales strategy, think about that first love and draw on your natural talents. Focus on helping your potential buyer, boss or investor understand the benefit to them.
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Learning to tap into your subconscious mind is a skill we must develop. Those thoughts and ideas that come unexpectedly can serve you well, however they can vanish as quickly as they entered your consciousness. Today I want to share with you why lifelong learning creates the opportunity for quality information to be stored and accessed by your subconscious mind. I am not presenting this as a study of how our brain works. I leave that to the scientists. I want to explain in a simple way that the quality of your thoughts is fed by the lessons you learn.
My best ideas and decisions come from having learned to tap into the knowledge available to me in my subconscious mind. How do I know this? Because they come to me unexpectedly during moments of stillness and meditation. It also happens when I am driving with no distractions or during a walk in nature. Lifelong learning is feeding that subconscious vault of information to be accessed when you need it most. Just do not ask me how it happens. The next time you have one of those moments, listen to what it is telling you and write it down as fast as you can :)
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When was the last time you shopped for insurance? People feel proud to say they have been with their insurance company for 20 years. I have a problem with that. Have they been getting the best rates? I saved $2000 a year on my auto insurance by switching companies. Imagine? I was charged $2700 and people were suggesting I shop around because my vehicle is a Sling Shot which is classified as a motorcycle. I called and it went from $2700 for that year to $700. What decisions are you making about money that are costing you more than they should?
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Success is internal. It is not something you look for and find. The more you understand that you have more control over your life than you think, the more successful you become. We cannot control what happens in the world around us. What we can control is how we respond to it. In other words, how we react to the circumstances that happen.
Blaming others, losing control, getting angry are responses when you feel out of control. The secret to a more successful life is to realize you have more control over your life than you may think.
In today's podcast I talk about what it is like to live your life recognizing that you cannot control everything that happens, but you can take control of how you react. Join me and find out what I had to do to feel more successful at managing what happens in my life and how you can do it too.
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One of the top reasons that always shows up for business failure is the lack of financial projections. Most small businesses are started out of a need, something you want that your job cannot give you. Whatever the reason, most people start the business without any plan, other than to sell something and make money. I did not love the numbers either. Of course, I wanted to make money. Is it not why you start your business? The only numbers I loved were those on the deposits in my bank account. If you do not like working with spreadsheets and preparing financial projections, you can hire someone to do them for you or you have to find a way to manage the cash in and cash out process for yourself. If you are not borrowing, I do not care how you do it, but you have to understand the cash flow process. When is cash coming in and when is it going out. In other words, when does the money from sales go into your bank account and when are your bills due for payment? Listen in as I go into a bit of a rant, but this is keeping so many businesses from success. I want you to succeed. If you do not take control of your cash flow, you are setting yourself up for failure. The process can be easier than you think. I know. Formal financial projections have never been my thing either. It does not stop me from looking at my numbers. We fall in love with so many other things, why not your cash flow numbers?
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We have to talk more about money. We do not stop to think about the impact our financial decisions make on our way of life. A great place to start the conversation is to talk about an emergency fund. Listen in as I make the case for the emergency fund and how you can speak with someone to help them understand why it matters.
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In this episode I share the struggle that many of us have when identifying our client. Who is your client is not as easy to answer as it is made to appear. This episode was originally recorded on October 2019 and missed publication. Now that it is October and Consider how important this is in our marketing, I decided to share it. Listen in as I describe my own struggles and how to answer the question; who is your customer?
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In this episode I am pleased to introduce Shahram Heshmat is an emeritus (and currently Adjunct) profesor of addiction and Health Economics at the University of Illinois Springfield. He received a PhD in Managerial Economics in 1984 from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), whit a specialty in Health Economics. His research has focused particularly on the behavioral economics of addiction and self-control, whith broader implications for behavioral change. His recent books include Eating Behavior and Obesity: Behavioral Economics Strategies for Health Professionals, NY: Springer (2011); Addiction: A Behavioral Economics Perpective, NY: Routledge/Psychology Press (2015). Overall, these two texts expose readers to errors of judgment, oddities of choice, and identify obstacles to sensible and socially desirable choices that serve their best interests. He regularly writes the Addiction blog for the Psychology Today. He is regularly invited as an experto n Addiction for an interview by Radio talk show, podcast, and magazines.
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In this podcast I will talk about Triggers to change behavior.
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This is no time to give up on 2020 and your business because of the COVID 19 pandemic. There are 5 months left in 2020 to find ways to generate revenue. The year is not lost, as many make us believe. It is true that we have been affected by the pandemic at a global level impossible to anticipate or imagine before it happened to us. Individually, however, life brings us challenges that affect our lives and we have to overcome them. For each of us, this pandemic is the same. I have been here before during the twelve years I have had my company. In these twelve years I have been through many tragedies and very difficult times and I had to move on. Look at your projections for this year, make adjustments based on your circumstances and focus on your monthly goals. When you set goals for this year, you could not anticipate that we would have a pandemic. Go back to your projections and look at your projections for what is left of the year, under this situation. There is a lot of life left to live and work to do. Don't give up on 2020.
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Hello. Today I want to talk about what it really means to feel successful, and how we should be gauging and measuring our success.
For many, monetary success is key. For others, the perception of success in the eyes of their peers. But for me, true success looks a little different from these.
Mentioned on today's show:
- Why successful living is living independently and free
- The importance of disconnecting from all things digital
- What success looks like
- Why happiness and peace is more important than money
- Why you should set specific times for communication
- Why you should find something creative to focus more on
- Making time for all the aspects of your life that you love
- Why you should set your day out to make the most of what you need to do
- Why tiny changes are the most effective when it comes to big transformations
Remember to connect with me at DinetteRivera.com where you will find my podcasts, blog, and other places online to continue the learning.
Connect with me:
- DinetteRivera.com
- Buy The Successful Living Plan
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Today I want to talk about the lessons I've learned from writing and publishing my first book. This book is something I've been planning for 12 years, but it was only in the last few months it came to fruition. So what changed?
I learned that I needed discipline, and to think differently when it came to the tasks and goals I had to meet in order for the book to come out.
It also meant understanding exactly why I wanted to publish the book, and what its legacy would be.
Mentioned on today's show:
- Why you need to rethink your processes when writing a book
- Why you need to overcome procrastination and just get things done
- Why setting yourself realistic goals will help you achieve them more easily
- Why leaving a legacy is more important than leaving just memories
Remember to connect with me at DinetteRivera.com where you will find my podcasts, blog, and other places online to continue the learning.
Connect with me:
- DinetteRivera.com
- Buy The Successful Living Plan
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If you've ever been frustrated because you go about planning your life and goals, only to find you've missed the deadline, you want to listen in for a method that is easy to follow and flows with how you think. We know so much more about our brain and the mind, and it's changing our approach to behavior change. After all, what is a goal, but a decision you make to change a behavior for the better. So many times I asked myself why I was so good at accomplishing certain things, but following the process of goal setting often led to failure. As a trainer and coach, I needed the answer so I could increase the chances for success. In this episode, I share with you a simple strategy to change how you approach goal setting. It is the first step towards improving how you change behavior to achieve what you want. It has changed my own life in ways I didn't imagine.
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As a financial coach and trainer I hear so many money stories. People are living above their means at all income levels. There are people making millions and they will fall harder than the person working for them for a minimum wage. Why? They don't know how to manage their money. Stop thinking it's a poor people problem. If you are not considering how money impacts every bit of your life, you're putting your financial stability at risk. Worse yet, you're putting everyone that trusts and relies on you at risk.
One small shift and everything changes financially. Listen to what it did to me and my family. Learn from my mistakes.
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I can't get to know you until you get to know yourself. When was the last time you asked yourself who you really are? Success is an inside job. Can you remember the last time you got mad because of something someone said to you? Sometimes our reaction is a reflex because it brought something up that hurts our feelings. Has that happened to you? Later, when you had time, did you reflect on it? Maybe it isn't about what happened now. Maybe it's about what happened long ago.
We can't live in the past. What we need is to know that everything that happens to us, becomes part of who we are. In this episode I talk about this and where to start to get to know the most important person in your life: YOU!
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In this episode, I share how I became obsessed with learning how to improve the lives of the people we trained, by delivering better programs. Where the search for answers took me and finally, how to implement Evidence-Based Practices in everything we do.
Evidence-Based Leadership is about making sound decisions. It's about making those decisions based on more than your experience and intuition. While your experiences play an important role in your work, after all you were hired as an employee or contractor for your experience and education. However, those decisions are still biased. They come from who you are.
Your beliefs, your past experiences, and your biases all contribute to the decisions you make in work and life. You can't escape it. If you're a leader determined to build a better company, solve a world problem or make better decisions for your own life, Evidence-Based Practices will be a game changer.
Even if you've heard of Evidence-Based Practices or Evidence-Based Decision-Making, you've likely heard it's time consuming, not cost effective and complicated. I'm the business consultant that looks to find solutions that make sense, are easy to implement and cost effective. We start small, and build towards the future. Evidence-Based Practices can be learned and applied in leadership to make decision-making more effective, without overwhelming your team or yourself.
Starting today, you will come to know that it's not impossible to make better decisions based on four important components:
- Your experience
- What the research tells you
- The values and concerns of the stakeholders
- The organizational data.
Sound complicated? Listen in on why it's easier than you think.
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Keeping your promise can be hard. You have the best intentions, but things are getting in the way. It comes down to your choice and what you prioritize.. For everything, you can choose to keep your word or make excuses. Your word is everything.
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I can’t believe it. How a mindset shift changed my sales process and how you can do it too. Everything in life is affected by how you see things unfolding. If you want more money, help more people understand why you have the solution.
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Are you uncomfortable with the sales process? If you're not selling you're broke. This week I share what it took for me to get comfortable with the sales process and what it took for me to get there. When I decided to take my business to the next growth phase, I knew I had to change how I felt about selling. Once again, I had to look at my sales process and find the problems. Before you look for the external factors affecting your business, do the internal checkup. Many of the breakthroughs we achieve in life come when we get uncomfortable and find a way out of the discomfort.
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Sometimes I really don't understand what makes people tick. I'm on a bit of a rant about an opportunity for business owners and wondering why you discard international business. What stops you from business travel outside the U.S.? Is your business doing so well, that you don't need new customers? Imagine you wanted to open a new market. You don't want to travel for fear of the unknown, so you hire a rep to go there for you. How much would that cost? Thousands of dollars in consulting, plus all travel expenses. How about all the research your rep will have to do before they go? What if you went, met people in-person, built relationships and could do it all for much less? Why wouldn't you go. This is what I don't get. According to research a face to face request is 34% more successful than email. I’m sharing a similar situation in this episode. What holds you back? I’m genuinely interested in your answers.
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Two women business owners, on two different continents, willing to go where opportunities led us.
In this episode I share how a chance encounter in New York City during the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) leadership event, led to Aurelia Gavidia and I bringing a group of business women from Peru to Delaware, U.S. to create business relationships.
This was not an official trade mission. This was acting on an opportunity and having the courage to go for it. Listen to how we did it and what has happened for all the companies involved.
Connect online:
- Website
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In this week's show, I want to talk about how the 7 Ps of Planning will help you write a better business plan, by removing the barriers that might be keeping you from planning at all.
Perhaps you have heard about the Three P’s of business:
- People
- Process
- Product
They are the three areas you must manage. To break them down into manageable processes, I suggest my clients work on the Seven P’s of Planning. The 7 P’s includes additional focus areas for each.
The seven P’s give you the chance to consider smaller areas of management as you plan. The seven p’s of planning are:
- People
- Process
- Product
- Pre-profit plan
- Positioning
- Point of Contact
- Profit plan
As you can see, there’s much to do to manage a successful business. For more on the 7 P’s of Planning and other tips for managing business and life, contact me today at me@dinetterivera.com.
Connect online:
- Website
- Podcast
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Traumatic and challenging life events can throw our focus off course. In this episode I share how I dealt with recent events in our life that have left me with a heavy heart and feeling drained, in order to remain true to my goals.
I can't focus on the long range goals, but I can work on the small steps that create progress. I share things I do daily to keep me moving, when I don't feel like I can.
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“I’m so busy”, has become such a poor excuse for our own lack of self-Management. The reality is that we allow too many distractions and find ourselves out of time. We get frustrated because we have too much to do. We’ve lost control of our time, therefore we’ve lost control of our lives. Assess where your time is spent and take back control.
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In this episode I explore why more entrepreneurs don't reach a million and what may be holding them back, beyond operations issues.
The number of Women-owned and Hispanic-owned businesses that ever reach a million is 3% or less. The statistic for small businesses breaking through a million is low, when considering the number of new businesses formed.
Why aren't more businesses getting there? It's critical to put in place the processes and foundation for a successful business. While important, it appears there are reasons for not reaching a million beyond business basics.
It remains somewhat of a mystery, after speaking with many entrepreneurs, as to what keeps more of them going for this goal.
For some, it's about wanting to remain in control. For others it's about not wanting to manage employees. Some want to remain small enough to work from home.
Is there also fear? Is it fear of failure or fear of success? Are there limiting beliefs holding entrepreneurs back?
After all, many of the reasons mentioned, are easily dispelled when you recognize that a million is sales, is not a million in the pocket of the founder. If you want a six figure income, you need to grow beyond a million dollar business.
Listen in and contribute to the conversation. Share your thoughts with me on social media. Let's get more businesses to grow beyond the first million.
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Coaches and Consultants are being held to higher standards. Like products, our clients want more evidence that we deliver. Testimonials, case studies and referrals are not enough. Enter the world of Evidence-Based Practice Standards. It's here and now. Time to prepare or be left behind.
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In this episode I share my own stories of insecurities and fear that can appear as mind chatter. Most importantly, how do we become aware of it and dismiss it. Tips for redirecting our thoughts are shared.
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It is absolutely true that we attract what we focus on. I share this concept in a simple way, because it is so important to understand it, if we are to succeed.
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With so many great education and training programs, why aren’t more people successful? Why aren’t people implementing the lessons learned from these programs? It isn’t because the programs or the trainers aren’t qualified. The issue at hand, has to do with how we facilitate the learning and how we measure our results.
Today, we’re going to speak about measuring results. As trainers and coaches, we are guided by our own education, experiences and instinct. We trust the knowledge shared by some of the greatest thought leaders. We bring our own experience in our field of expertise. We design training programs that take the acquired knowledge and experience and turn it into “how to” lessons. How many training programs have you taken and put the lessons to practice? How many binders are on your shelves? How many of those programs were measured for success? https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/importance-applying-evidence-based-practice-standards-dinette-rivera/?published=t
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The most common question I'm asked when training coaches, is how do I know not to cross the line from coaching into therapy? In this episode, I share a few tips to help clarify when a coach should acknowledge that something has come up in the conversation that may require the help of a licensed therapist and how to address it.
Coaching and therapy share a very similar method for working with clients. Motivational Interviewing, used by Psychologists closely resembles Coaching. The therapist deals with the past and what has led to this person feeling the way they do. The coach works with the client on where they are today and how to move forward with their goals.
There is a fine line between coaching and therapy. A trained coach knows when it's time, in the coaching relationship, to recommend their client get some help.
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Recognizing that life happens, how can we manage those moments? This episode is part of the Self-Discovery/Inner Healing that is so important for success. Dinette Rivera shares an unexpected event that brought back the last days of her mother's life and how important it is to manage self-care, if we are to be successful.
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In this episode, I share why I decided to start the Entrepreneur's Lifeline Podcast. It’s all about the fun, excitement, imperfections and freedom that comes from being an entrepreneur.
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