Latest / Found-HER with Kimberley Hiebert / Belief Is the Business ft. Miriam Laundry

Transcript

Belief Is the Business ft. Miriam Laundry · Found-HER with Kimberley Hiebert

0:04
SPEAKER_00: Hey besties, you're in a for a tree.
0:07
SPEAKER_00: You have one of my real life besties joining me today.
0:09
SPEAKER_00: Welcome, my dear, dear friend Miriam Laundry.
0:12
SPEAKER_00: I don't even want to give you more of an introduction other than you are one of my in-real life besties.
0:17
SPEAKER_00: I couldn't be more thankful for you and my life.
0:19
SPEAKER_00: And it's been a we've had a hard time getting connected to get you on the podcast, like our schedules.
0:25
SPEAKER_00: So welcome to Founder.
0:27
SPEAKER_01: I am so glad to be here.
0:28
SPEAKER_01: I obviously listen to all your episodes.
0:31
SPEAKER_01: So yay! I get to be here and we get to have a real conversation.
0:35
SPEAKER_01: Record it.
0:37
SPEAKER_01: Record it.
0:38
SPEAKER_00: I think what makes me really excited is I get to share you with my listeners because just for the listeners to know, Miriam and I met probably four or five years ago in an American-based mastermind.
0:51
SPEAKER_00: But we of course drew together because we're Canadians.
0:55
SPEAKER_00: But more than that, your presence over the last four years, we have shared some personal trials, some business trials, health stuff.
1:04
SPEAKER_00: Like we've kind of and and we have grown this friendship to really be a crucial part of support, at least for me.
1:11
SPEAKER_00: You're brilliant, you're kind, you're expansive.
1:15
SPEAKER_00: I mean, all those things.
1:16
SPEAKER_00: So I just feel just so blessed to have you in my life.
1:19
SPEAKER_00: And I'm really excited for other people who are listening to hear from you as well.
1:24
SPEAKER_01: Well, likewise, I am so appreciative of you.
1:26
SPEAKER_01: And I tell people that I'm so glad I have friends who are leaders because you uh when we're in at these events and masterminding, at these masterminds, I should say, I tend to be quiet and just kind of observe a lot.
1:42
SPEAKER_01: And I'm always appreciative for people like you who after the event say, Hey, let's get on a group call, let's do a WhatsApp chat and really get to know each other a little bit more because that's when we really get to share life together.
1:55
SPEAKER_01: So I appreciate your leadership in reaching out and saying, Hey, do you want to be a part of this?
2:00
SPEAKER_01: Because I will always say yes.
2:02
SPEAKER_01: I will always say yes.
2:03
SPEAKER_01: Anything you come up with, yeah, I'm always like, Yep, I will fly to Edmonton, I'll fly to Victoria, I'm there.
2:10
SPEAKER_00: And I think that's one of the things that truly hit me this past year personally when you joined me at one of the live pitches I was doing.
2:18
SPEAKER_00: You brought your daughters, I think one or two of them, maybe both of them.
2:21
SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
2:21
SPEAKER_00: But you and your family came, as well as some other friends.
2:24
SPEAKER_00: But then also when I made it to the semifinalist, you were like, I'm but I'm changing my schedule.
2:29
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna get a ticket.
2:30
SPEAKER_00: You couldn't get a ticket, but the fact that you were willing to do that and fly and uh be there for that level of support, it's just incredible.
2:38
SPEAKER_00: So, you you guys, my listeners, are very lucky today.
2:40
SPEAKER_00: So, Miriam, tell everybody a little bit about kind of what governs your life right now.
2:45
SPEAKER_00: What is what are the things that light you up and what do you do and all that kind of stuff?
2:49
SPEAKER_00: So they have a little context about who you are.
2:51
SPEAKER_01: Yes, yes.
2:52
SPEAKER_01: Okay, when you say what lights me up right now, I'll say it's a little human being, she's two and a half, that just runs into my office and just, you know, says, Mimi, can you read me a book?
3:03
SPEAKER_01: Mimi, can we look at a book?
3:05
SPEAKER_01: So that's my first grand and only granddaughter so far.
3:08
SPEAKER_01: That's Adeline, Addie.
3:10
SPEAKER_01: But in but with that, I'll say that it's all about the books right now.
3:14
SPEAKER_01: It's all about the children's books.
3:15
SPEAKER_01: So what I do is I teach and help aspiring children's book authors fulfill that lifelong dream and write and publish their children's books.
3:24
SPEAKER_01: So this is the other thing that is, you know, takes my full focus is building this company and helping more and more authors.
3:32
SPEAKER_00: Okay, first of all, welcome to the Grammy Club.
3:34
SPEAKER_00: We know that already.
3:35
SPEAKER_00: I knew you were a Grammy already, but it's something being grandparents, isn't it?
3:38
SPEAKER_00: It's just like next level blessing.
3:41
SPEAKER_01: It is the best.
3:42
SPEAKER_01: It's the best.
3:43
SPEAKER_01: She can just come around and put a smile on my face.
3:45
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I'm beautiful.
3:47
SPEAKER_00: So we've watched her grow for the last few years and just become her own cute individual self.
3:52
SPEAKER_00: But with the books, let's talk about the books.
3:54
SPEAKER_00: How were you always uh entrepreneur?
3:57
SPEAKER_00: Were you always wanting to write a children's book?
4:01
SPEAKER_00: How did you kind of find because you've built a business now doing that for the last six years or so?
4:06
SPEAKER_00: So what kind of how what how did you find your way there?
4:09
SPEAKER_01: I will say that I was never a writer.
4:11
SPEAKER_01: I never thought of writing a children's book up until 2012.
4:16
SPEAKER_01: And 2012 was a pivotal year for me.
4:19
SPEAKER_01: This is the year I gave birth to my son, my youngest son, my fourth one.
4:24
SPEAKER_01: And the day following that, we lost our 17-year-old niece to suicide.
4:29
SPEAKER_01: And as you can imagine, it was a horrible time.
4:34
SPEAKER_01: Uh, we were full of so many emotions.
4:36
SPEAKER_01: For me specifically, my husband noticed that I was spiraling, the baby blues, grieving, all of that.
4:42
SPEAKER_01: And he suggested that I attend a seminar that we had both attended the year before by Jack Campfield.
4:49
SPEAKER_01: So I said, okay, because I really needed to step away from everything.
4:53
SPEAKER_01: And I left my eight-week-old baby and the other children and just went to this seminar.
4:59
SPEAKER_01: And that week changed my life because, you know, I'm in a I was in a room of 400 people, all working on themselves, all setting goals, getting clear about the vision for their lives, all these amazing things.
5:12
SPEAKER_01: And I kept thinking that week, I wish I would have learned this when I was younger.
5:16
SPEAKER_01: Where would my life be had I learned this as a child?
5:20
SPEAKER_01: Where would my niece's life be had she learned some of these things as a child?
5:24
SPEAKER_01: So it was on the flight home that I thought, okay, I need to bring this back home and teach my kids a little something that I learned.
5:30
SPEAKER_01: But I knew that I couldn't just come home and dump the information on them, right?
5:34
SPEAKER_01: They're not gonna receive, they weren't gonna receive it.
5:36
SPEAKER_01: So I decided I need to be creative and I wrote the first draft to my first book on the flight home.
5:43
SPEAKER_00: Oh I wanted to that's cool.
5:45
SPEAKER_00: I didn't know that story.
5:46
SPEAKER_01: Yes, I wanted to teach the kids.
5:48
SPEAKER_01: So I decided the most important thing that I had learned that I could bring back to the kids was the concept of letting go of the word can't.
5:55
SPEAKER_01: And if can't wasn't part of their vocabulary, if they would say, I can and believe in themselves, then they were gonna go for whatever it was that they wanted.
6:04
SPEAKER_01: Maybe it was getting even through, I can get through this difficult day.
6:08
SPEAKER_01: So that was my thinking.
6:09
SPEAKER_01: So I wrote my first book.
6:11
SPEAKER_01: It's called I Can Believe in Myself.
6:13
SPEAKER_01: And that was that was the very first time I thought about writing a book.
6:18
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
6:19
SPEAKER_00: So I want to just connect some dots because as you're sharing that story, I also know who you are as a parent.
6:25
SPEAKER_00: And I've only seen you with your adult children-ish, like teenage to adult, like the older.
6:30
SPEAKER_00: And here's the one thing that is really impressive about you as a parent, and I now can see where it started way back then, is that I have watched you create opportunities for your kids.
6:43
SPEAKER_00: Like you, when you go to events, you bring your daughters.
6:47
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
6:47
SPEAKER_00: And so you put, you don't just say, I want them to experience or be and see all the things.
6:54
SPEAKER_00: You're like, no, uh, if that's what you want, let's do it.
6:57
SPEAKER_00: You help facilitate your son going to have a year of abroad in soccer, like things that most parents don't really like, they don't really put their money where their mouth is when it comes to those kinds of things.
7:10
SPEAKER_00: So I can see, you know, I've watched you do these things that are really expansive, and your kids will recognize the value of that when they get super they, I'm not saying they're not appreciative, but really understand the, you know, going to conferences, right?
7:23
SPEAKER_00: Where you're improving yourself, where you're looking at expansion.
7:26
SPEAKER_00: And so that I can really see where that started is that belief.
7:29
SPEAKER_00: And I see that in your kids.
7:30
SPEAKER_00: It's just amazing.
7:31
SPEAKER_00: So, so how did you how did you know to write a children's book?
7:34
SPEAKER_00: What made you like like you just like write the story and then what?
7:39
SPEAKER_00: What well okay, okay.
7:41
SPEAKER_01: Yes, I didn't write a great story on the flight home.
7:45
SPEAKER_01: I just started writing on the flight home.
7:47
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
7:49
SPEAKER_01: But that's where you start.
7:50
SPEAKER_01: You start messy, you start not knowing, and then you figure it out.
7:54
SPEAKER_01: So I I I came home and and it I wrote a children's book because that's the age my children were, right?
8:01
SPEAKER_01: An eight-week old up to nine years old.
8:04
SPEAKER_01: And I heard a statistic that children by the age of eight or nine make up their minds of who they are in the world and how they fit.
8:13
SPEAKER_01: They already know whether they're smart or not.
8:17
SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, they believe whether they're athletic or not, whether they're good looking or not.
8:22
SPEAKER_01: So I really wanted to get to kids at that age before they make up all these beliefs about themselves.
8:28
SPEAKER_01: And of course, we can change it later on, but we know that it takes a lot more work.
8:31
SPEAKER_00: It's hard to change it, yes.
8:32
SPEAKER_01: Yes, yes.
8:33
SPEAKER_01: So that's my children's picture books for me.
8:36
SPEAKER_01: So what did I do?
8:37
SPEAKER_01: So I came home and I researched as much as I could.
8:40
SPEAKER_01: I was looking for a mentor because we know, right?
8:44
SPEAKER_01: Everybody teaches us the fastest way to get there is find a mentor, find somebody that's done it before and ask for help or enroll in their programs or their classes.
8:52
SPEAKER_01: And I couldn't find one.
8:54
SPEAKER_01: I couldn't find one that was teaching children's books or that would take me in.
8:58
SPEAKER_01: Luckily, I had a friend who had written children's books.
9:02
SPEAKER_01: So I would pick his brain as much as I could, and he was very kind, you know, but I wanted it like point A to point, you know, to A to Z.
9:11
SPEAKER_01: And I also didn't want to be bothering him all the time because he wouldn't take a penny from me.
9:16
SPEAKER_01: But yeah, so then you yeah, that it's funny, hey, because then you feel like you can't really like I want to know more, but you know, we're we I can't call you every day.
9:25
SPEAKER_01: But I learned.
9:26
SPEAKER_01: I I mean I've I made a lot of mistakes with time, with money.
9:32
SPEAKER_01: I bought things that I didn't need to to publish the book.
9:36
SPEAKER_01: I overpaid for illustrations.
9:38
SPEAKER_01: I printed so many books because again, I didn't have a mentor, no or anybody to tell me.
9:44
SPEAKER_01: I ended up printing 6,000 copies of my book, 3,000 softcover.
9:47
SPEAKER_01: What?
9:47
SPEAKER_01: I yeah, 3,000 hardcover.
9:50
SPEAKER_01: And guess what happened with when these uh skids of books came in?
9:54
SPEAKER_01: My husband, yeah, yeah.
9:56
SPEAKER_01: My husband said, Where are you gonna put them?
9:59
SPEAKER_01: I said, I think they were in the garage for a while, and then they were in the basement.
10:03
SPEAKER_01: And every time he went there, he saw them and he reminded me, Are you gonna sell these books?
10:07
SPEAKER_01: So I ended up selling them all, but it was you know it was just money I did not need to spend by so many books.
10:14
SPEAKER_01: I didn't know what I was doing.
10:15
SPEAKER_01: So, but that's that's how things started for me.
10:18
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, okay.
10:18
SPEAKER_00: So on that note with uh I can book, I also watched your TEDx talk the other day.
10:23
SPEAKER_00: Oh, you did?
10:24
SPEAKER_00: I had never seen it.
10:26
SPEAKER_00: It's so good.
10:27
SPEAKER_00: You need to recirculate that.
10:30
SPEAKER_00: Well, thank you.
10:31
SPEAKER_00: Especially, you know, you talk about youth, and I know you're an adult talking, but and I don't want to give away, I want everybody to go watch the TEDx talk, but I think it's really would really resonate with young people today because there is a lot of uh, and not to derail the conversation, but there's a lot of internalizing.
10:51
SPEAKER_00: I think it's a lot heavier for kids nowadays, younger, younger internalizing, um, based on probably mostly like social impact, right?
11:02
SPEAKER_00: Social media, digital media, all that kind of stuff.
11:04
SPEAKER_00: So anyway, it was very uh it was very good, your TEDx talk.
11:07
SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
11:07
SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
11:08
SPEAKER_01: So, so I'll just say because I I don't mind if people know about it.
11:12
SPEAKER_01: It's called A Bully in the Mirror, the TEDx Talk.
11:15
SPEAKER_01: But I actually wrote a story at a Toastmaster's speech, you know, Toastmasters competitions.
11:21
SPEAKER_01: I wrote a story that was inspired by my daughter who was in the sixth grade, and I share that book basically that I wrote in the TEDx talk.
11:29
SPEAKER_01: The book is called The Big Bad Bully.
11:31
SPEAKER_01: And it's a bully story with a twist in that it's the bully that we have inside our minds.
11:38
SPEAKER_01: It's that negative chatter, it's the limitations, it's the negative self-talk that we have.
11:43
SPEAKER_01: So I'm I'm very proud of that book.
11:45
SPEAKER_01: And like I said, that came out of a conversation with my daughter who was just being so critical of herself and basically bullying herself.
11:53
SPEAKER_00: So it's a good reminder to adults, though.
11:56
SPEAKER_00: That's what I mean.
11:56
SPEAKER_00: That TEDx is a great reminder to adults because quite often it is the bully in the mirror.
12:04
SPEAKER_00: It is the self-talk, it is when we look uh or when no one's watching and we look at ourself either physically or just you know, reflectively and holding ourselves to this horrid standard that you would not do to anybody else.
12:20
SPEAKER_00: It's true.
12:21
SPEAKER_00: It's so true.
12:22
SPEAKER_00: It's so true.
12:23
SPEAKER_00: That was good.
12:24
SPEAKER_00: But yeah, what is the one thing that has governed your life in terms of like these last five, six years in building, working with children's authors, even in your own expansion of what's possible in building a publishing company?
12:36
SPEAKER_00: Because that's what you have, right?
12:38
SPEAKER_00: You have a children's book publishing company.
12:41
SPEAKER_00: I don't know if I'm saying that right.
12:42
SPEAKER_00: Yes, you are.
12:43
SPEAKER_00: Um yeah, and so you've paved a trail, you're a bit of a trailblazer because there's not many of you.
12:51
SPEAKER_00: Um and so what has helped you and spurred you to keep trying and keep growing and uh expanding into that.
13:01
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
13:02
SPEAKER_01: Well, that's that's a that's a big question, and I could go so many ways with it.
13:06
SPEAKER_01: And what comes to mind is that I I think belief always the belief that we can, that I can do something, and and going and making it happen is important to me.
13:19
SPEAKER_01: So, you know, so at first I wanted to write this book because I wanted to impact the lives of my children and other children.
13:27
SPEAKER_01: After losing my niece, I gave myself a goal that year that I was going to empower a hundred thousand children to believe in themselves.
13:34
SPEAKER_00: So I was able to do that, but through Don't you have a Guinness book of world records stats on this?
13:41
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
13:42
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I was like, wait, I think you actually even like validated this.
13:47
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna impact a hundred thousand kids.
13:50
SPEAKER_01: Yes, I wanted the proof for myself that I could do that.
13:54
SPEAKER_01: And it never starts like that, right?
13:56
SPEAKER_01: It it started with, I want to uh at a conference where somebody said, said that your BHAG, your big hairy, audacious goal, and I wrote down a hundred thousand children to impact.
14:05
SPEAKER_01: Well, that led to doing something big, and it led to getting uh going for a Guinness World record and getting that.
14:11
SPEAKER_01: So I have the proof that people were reading and then leaving a blog, you know, and we're being inspiring.
14:18
SPEAKER_01: Thank you, Kim.
14:20
SPEAKER_01: It was I I was so driven back then to make a difference in children's lives, right?
14:25
SPEAKER_01: When we think about where it came from.
14:27
SPEAKER_01: And uh and through the years, people asked me if I could help them with their children's books, right?
14:32
SPEAKER_01: So that opens the idea of this publishing company.
14:35
SPEAKER_01: So at the beginning of 2020, I did that.
14:38
SPEAKER_01: I I opened officially Miriam Laundry Publishing, and then I get to teach people how to do it and then publish their books.
14:46
SPEAKER_01: So for me, the belief is really important.
14:49
SPEAKER_01: And now I get to work with adults.
14:52
SPEAKER_01: A lot of them are women who have had a dream for decades.
14:57
SPEAKER_01: The majority of them is not a brand new dream.
14:59
SPEAKER_01: It's decades, 30, 40, 50 years.
15:02
SPEAKER_01: And for me, when I see that person who comes in, you know, shy, can barely say it out loud that they want to publish a book.
15:10
SPEAKER_01: And then at the end, they're holding their book in their hands.
15:13
SPEAKER_01: I love seeing that transformation, the belief that they get for themselves, how proud they are to accomplish something like that.
15:21
SPEAKER_01: So I think, you know, when I started doing the math for myself, because I do like to calculate things, I could reach, you know, so many kids with one book a year.
15:31
SPEAKER_01: But if I help people, then we're it's multiplying.
15:33
SPEAKER_01: It's multiplying your book.
15:34
SPEAKER_00: It's an exponential impact.
15:36
SPEAKER_01: For sure, for sure.
15:37
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
15:38
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
15:38
SPEAKER_01: So here's something interesting.
15:39
SPEAKER_01: I heard uh Rachel Hollis say this at a conference.
15:43
SPEAKER_01: She said, you write the book that you need for yourself.
15:47
SPEAKER_01: And I remember hearing that, thinking, okay, but it probably doesn't apply to me because I write children's books.
15:53
SPEAKER_01: And I left thinking about that.
15:54
SPEAKER_01: Well, the name of my book is called I Can Believe in Myself, my first book.
15:59
SPEAKER_01: And I wonder, did I need to believe in myself?
16:02
SPEAKER_01: And the answer is yes, I needed that book.
16:05
SPEAKER_01: So when you say what's the through line, I think that's it, believing, believing in myself.
16:10
SPEAKER_00: And so that's what I see.
16:12
SPEAKER_00: Like that's when when you look at because we we haven't talked about all the things you've done in your life.
16:16
SPEAKER_00: Uh, because one of the things that really surprised me was uh the alphabet photos.
16:21
SPEAKER_01: Alphabet photography, yes.
16:22
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
16:23
SPEAKER_00: And you guys, you know, you you guys used to do that as well.
16:26
SPEAKER_00: So you you know, you're very kind of expansive and entrepreneurial to begin with, but the one thing that you truly preach everywhere I go, it doesn't matter what room we're in, everything you do is really comes down to belief.
16:38
SPEAKER_00: And so I was thinking, like, even your children's book, I can't like the belief in yourself star.
16:44
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you wrote that book for you, perhaps, uh for children, but that's the one thing that covers everything.
16:50
SPEAKER_00: And so you have an event coming up.
16:52
SPEAKER_00: Now I'm just trying to think, where are we?
16:53
SPEAKER_00: I'm just trying to think when this will be published, if it'll be before then.
16:57
SPEAKER_00: So depending on when you're hearing this, ladies and gentlemen, your let's talk about the name of your event.
17:02
SPEAKER_00: Because here's the thing.
17:03
SPEAKER_00: I see I you know, I I think connecting the name of the event, uh most people would think it's an event for children's uh authors, children's book authors, which it is inevitable, because that's who you're drawing to you.
17:16
SPEAKER_00: But it really is a transformation event, isn't it?
17:19
SPEAKER_00: Because you are Tony Robbins junkie, aren't you?
17:22
SPEAKER_01: Yes, I have been to a lot of his things and listened to him at a very young age.
17:28
SPEAKER_01: But you're right.
17:30
SPEAKER_01: Okay, so I have never really thought about this like you're painting the picture of believe.
17:35
SPEAKER_01: I hadn't I hadn't thought about it so much until like recently, till now.
17:40
SPEAKER_01: Obviously, not obviously, but the name of my event is Believe.
17:45
SPEAKER_01: Believe live is the full name.
17:47
SPEAKER_01: And but I didn't connect those two things.
17:49
SPEAKER_01: When when we named the event, I just thought this is what I want people to walk away with, believing in themselves.
17:55
SPEAKER_01: Uh, the theme is believe in your community, go there and meet other people going for their dreams, believe in your vision about getting clarity.
18:04
SPEAKER_01: Day one, what is it that you want?
18:06
SPEAKER_01: Believe in it, and then the last day is believe in your action.
18:09
SPEAKER_01: Okay, you've got your vision.
18:10
SPEAKER_01: Now we go off and we have to take action to make it real.
18:13
SPEAKER_01: So, yes, it's okay.
18:15
SPEAKER_01: Now I I'm laughing at myself because there's so much belief everywhere.
18:20
SPEAKER_00: And that really is like that.
18:22
SPEAKER_00: Is like a core value, and I I don't even know if it's a value, it's like a core operating system for you.
18:30
SPEAKER_00: Everything comes like even in this last year, and I won't get into details, but even in this last year, in some of the ups and downs, it comes back to your belief.
18:41
SPEAKER_00: You're holding a pattern of belief.
18:45
SPEAKER_00: You believe, and you say this to me and in our group when we're struggling.
18:49
SPEAKER_00: I'm guessing you say this to other people when they're having the ups and downs, and you know you're working towards whatever it is, whether it's a personal thing, a business thing.
18:57
SPEAKER_00: You are always that person to talk to remind us to believe in what we're doing, that the end result will get to the end result.
19:08
SPEAKER_00: And so I I this is really a core thing for you, and I love it.
19:12
SPEAKER_00: I feel like 100% blessed because it's in my life, and that's that's a thing that people need.
19:18
SPEAKER_00: And so in your event, it's like it's not just going to an event to write a children's book, it actually is about the transformation of believing in yourself and in what you know that dream is or vision is.
19:31
SPEAKER_00: So I think that's really your brand is believe.
19:34
SPEAKER_00: I I love that I I I love that.
19:37
SPEAKER_00: What would you say to somebody in your position maybe 10 years ago who is found themselves in a transition phase?
19:46
SPEAKER_00: What would you say to that person right now in helping them find some direction or clarity?
19:52
SPEAKER_01: Well, the thing that always comes up in my mind is find the people who are already doing it and don't do it alone.
20:00
SPEAKER_01: Because whether it's a children's book or or for you, building this franchise business or starting anything, whatever it may be, or even just raising a family, we're not supposed to do anything alone.
20:12
SPEAKER_01: So don't do it alone.
20:14
SPEAKER_01: Find somebody that's already done it, ask for help.
20:17
SPEAKER_01: That would be one of the things.
20:19
SPEAKER_01: And then, you know, practice, practice whatever it is until you're good at it, until you get it done.
20:25
SPEAKER_01: And at the beginning, it's going to be messy, and that's okay.
20:28
SPEAKER_01: It doesn't have to be perfect.
20:29
SPEAKER_01: It's not supposed to be perfect, but we're supposed to get started.
20:33
SPEAKER_01: So that's what I would say to me 10 years ago, because truly anything is possible to me or to you 10 years ago.
20:40
SPEAKER_01: Anything and everything is possible.
20:43
SPEAKER_01: And the people you surround yourself with, I mean, we hear this over and over again, but there could be nothing truer than this.
20:49
SPEAKER_01: It's everything.
20:50
SPEAKER_01: The people that you're around is everything.
20:52
SPEAKER_01: It's it's whether you're surrounded by negative people that don't believe for themselves that that is possible.
20:57
SPEAKER_01: And then they're putting that onto you.
21:00
SPEAKER_01: And they're putting that on to you.
21:02
SPEAKER_01: Or it's you're in a group of people who believe that things are possible.
21:05
SPEAKER_01: Guess what's gonna happen?
21:06
SPEAKER_01: You're gonna believe it's possible and you're gonna go for it.
21:09
SPEAKER_01: So finding those core people is truly, truly so important.
21:13
SPEAKER_00: And it's so funny because you think it's like, yeah, the people that you surround yourself with, the importance of that, and you think, yeah, yeah, yeah, you hear that all the time, right?
21:21
SPEAKER_00: But when you actually so then the challenge would be, I would say to anybody listening, the challenge would be to go right now and in the next little while find some new people that have the kind of bigger vision than the people you currently associate with.
21:39
SPEAKER_00: Because the cliches of like the people you hang out with, if you hang out with people that don't believe that that's possible, you two will have the same, you don't believe it'll possibly, and vice versa.
21:49
SPEAKER_00: I was having a conversation with a someone that's new to having a vision bigger than themselves, and she has been in a very male-dominated.
22:00
SPEAKER_00: Industry and has always been kind of the helper or the you know the person behind the scenes and and she's starting to have a vision for something outside of herself that actually has some really great traction and it's positioning itself to be quite powerful in in impact and community impact.
22:22
SPEAKER_00: And when she started with the idea not too long ago, just a few months ago, everybody her employer, all of her friends, her coworkers, everybody was so excited.
22:35
SPEAKER_00: We are behind you 100%.
22:38
SPEAKER_00: We this is awesome, blah, blah, blah.
22:40
SPEAKER_00: She had the first event and it it was so well received.
22:45
SPEAKER_00: It was like nobody expected it, including herself.
22:49
SPEAKER_00: And now, guess what?
22:50
SPEAKER_00: All of those people that had said that they believed in her are now saying, Oh, that's dumb.
22:58
SPEAKER_00: That's a bad idea.
22:59
SPEAKER_00: Don't you do any of that on my time?
23:02
SPEAKER_00: I don't want to hear another word about do you know what I mean?
23:04
SPEAKER_00: And now all of a sudden she's like, I did not realize it seems like people believe in you until you take start taking the action.
23:12
SPEAKER_00: And that's when you really start to see the people that really truly believe in you and believe in what you're doing.
23:17
SPEAKER_00: It's a hard lesson.
23:18
SPEAKER_00: It's a hard, it can be hard when you realize that some people just can't, it's not, they just can't be there.
23:24
SPEAKER_00: So I said I had said this, and I had said this to my daughter once as well.
23:29
SPEAKER_00: Would you consider buying that person out?
23:32
SPEAKER_00: And she goes, She goes, Well, I don't have the money.
23:36
SPEAKER_00: And I said, But would you consider it?
23:39
SPEAKER_00: You don't have the money yet.
23:41
SPEAKER_00: You hang around with people that understand that those are just barriers that you have to overcome.
23:47
SPEAKER_00: And she her eyes lit up, and she was like, Oh, like that's a possibility.
23:54
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, there's money out there.
23:55
SPEAKER_00: There's there's the answer is out there.
23:58
SPEAKER_00: For sure.
23:59
SPEAKER_00: You gotta shift, you gotta shift that mindset.
24:00
SPEAKER_00: So it is very powerful.
24:01
SPEAKER_00: It seems contrite and simple, but I think that's the beauty, is those simple things are the most powerful and moving in our life.
24:10
SPEAKER_00: They really truly are.
24:11
SPEAKER_00: So I would tell anybody the same thing: start believing and finding those people because when you start to take action to do something that's never been done in your in a sphere of influence, people will be like, What are you doing?
24:24
SPEAKER_00: Like, what did your friends and family think about your children's book publishing?
24:28
SPEAKER_00: Well, uh the 6,000 books, your husband was probably like, Hey, wait a second.
24:32
SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah.
24:32
SPEAKER_01: No, he didn't.
24:33
SPEAKER_01: I mean, I think at first they they thought, okay, that's that's cute.
24:37
SPEAKER_01: You're writing a children's book and didn't know where it was gonna go.
24:40
SPEAKER_01: Mark did not like me spending all the money, of course.
24:43
SPEAKER_01: Again, I made so many mistakes that I was just spending lots of money.
24:47
SPEAKER_01: I didn't need to.
24:47
SPEAKER_01: And there have been many doubts throughout the years, including from my husband, but we have to stay firm on what we believe for ourselves.
24:55
SPEAKER_01: So this is where it's really important to find your people, right?
24:59
SPEAKER_01: And I'm so grateful for you, Kim, because when we came back last year from our mastermind, you put together a group of women, Canadian women entrepreneurs, and we get on Zoom calls every other week.
25:12
SPEAKER_01: So it's important to if you're not finding it at home, not saying I didn't, or with your current friends, build your own mastermind.
25:21
SPEAKER_01: I have been a part of Masterminds.
25:23
SPEAKER_01: I love it.
25:24
SPEAKER_01: For sure, for sure.
25:25
SPEAKER_01: I've been a part of Masterminds for over a decade now, different forms for different times.
25:30
SPEAKER_01: But here's the importance of that.
25:32
SPEAKER_01: This group that we have, right?
25:34
SPEAKER_01: Every other week we get on a call, we share life and business.
25:38
SPEAKER_01: And we're on a WhatsApp channel and people are sharing the wins and we're celebrating each other and the struggles.
25:45
SPEAKER_01: Like they're both equally important because when we're having those bad days or when nobody else is believing in us and we're starting to doubt ourselves, the big bad bully in our minds, it's important to have those people around you who remind you, hey, you can do this.
25:58
SPEAKER_01: I just went through this.
26:00
SPEAKER_01: This won't last.
26:01
SPEAKER_01: It's just part of being an entrepreneur.
26:03
SPEAKER_01: So if you if you don't have the money to go and you know invest in a big mastermind, it's okay.
26:09
SPEAKER_01: Build your own.
26:09
SPEAKER_01: Just find quality people to be in it.
26:12
SPEAKER_00: That is wonderful, wonderful feedback.
26:14
SPEAKER_00: Okay, so our time is quickly running out.
26:17
SPEAKER_00: Believe it or not.
26:18
SPEAKER_00: I know we could spend you and I could spend.
26:20
SPEAKER_00: It's funny when we get together with our families, our husbands, Miriam and I, if we'll be in a restaurant or whatever, Miriam and I will be over in a corner and we'll be just like talking business, expansion, belief, like all those things.
26:31
SPEAKER_00: People, team, kids, and then Mark and Darren are like drinking their beer, and we're just like, leave us alone in the corner.
26:37
SPEAKER_00: We can talk for days and days and days and days.
26:38
SPEAKER_00: So come back on the podcast.
26:41
SPEAKER_00: I want you back in the fall.
26:42
SPEAKER_00: We know that.
26:43
SPEAKER_00: But where can people find you and start to really follow along, not just in the children's uh book industry, but also follow along.
26:50
SPEAKER_00: You you have some great thought leadership that will really be inspiring for others because I know it's inspiring for me.
26:56
SPEAKER_00: So where can they find you and how can they get in your world?
26:59
SPEAKER_01: Oh well, thank you, Kim.
27:00
SPEAKER_01: I'm Miriam Laundry.
27:02
SPEAKER_01: Laundry, just like think of doing your clean laundry, Miriamlaundry.com and Miriam Laundry Publishing on Instagram.
27:10
SPEAKER_00: Oh, okay.
27:11
SPEAKER_00: So they good.
27:12
SPEAKER_00: And we'll put all those uh in the notes when the episode's published.
27:16
SPEAKER_00: Thanks for sharing today.
27:18
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for having me.
27:19
SPEAKER_00: This was fun.