6 Foundations You Can’t Afford to Ignore if You Want to Go Next Level

Hey Friend!

Get ready! Our topic is the six foundations you can’t afford to ignore if you want to go to the next level. I was struggling between calling these foundations or disciplines. There was one that made me choose the word’ foundations’ instead of ‘disciplines’.

We’re going to dig in, face some truths, and figure out what we need to do to grow.

Let’s do the hard things now.

6 Foundations You Can’t Afford to Ignore if You Want to Go Next Level

The six foundational pieces are non-negotiable. Non-negotiable means it’s something that must happen. 

When I say ‘next level,’ it means I’m not playing anymore. It’s a true, real business. This is a company, and I am the CEO. I’ve got people who count on me and the products I sell. I am serious about going from small potatoes to the whole enchilada!

Next Level Foundation #1: Consistency

You don’t get to skip the hard work. Consistency is key.

This is one of the most important foundational pieces you need to have if you want to take the next level. None of my students, who are from six- and seven-figure companies, got there in their first year. Some didn’t get there in the first two to three years. They had to be consistent in their businesses, and many had been working in their businesses before finding me. Once they found me, they were able to simplify things, but consistency was key.

Consistent in what? You need to be consistent in what you use to grow your business. For us, it is podcasting. You must be consistent. If there were something you needed to skimp on one week, podcasting would not be the thing you would not pour into.

One episode per week. Without fail.

If you want to go on vacation, batch record. Do you want to take a three-month Sabbath? Batch it out before you go on that break. 

Consistency is what’s going to grow your business.

You cannot go on a hiatus and disappear from the podcasting platform. That is not part of what it takes to be successful. You can batch the work and do it ahead of time.

When my son went to the hospital for appendicitis, I got some of my girlfriends to record episodes for me. I’ve skipped one episode in five and a half years. That’s it.

When life is “normal,” you are consistent.

Next Level Foundation #2: Confidence

If you want to take the next step, you need to grow in confidence. People buy from those they believe in; they choose to follow leaders. 

If you’re struggling with confidence in this area, practice. Put yourself in difficult situations that stretch you. If you can do one thing each week that stretches you, it will absolutely amplify your confidence.

I used to be terrified of public speaking. When I started my first entrepreneurial venture, network marketing, I always had to share. I also got a free car and had to share about it. I would black out, my voice would shake, my face would get bright red, and I would pee a little bit. This is way too much TMI.

Every time, I reverted to an 8-year-old kid peeing their pants out of fear. Now, I’ve been in front of a thousand people virtually. I’ve been in front of hundreds of people live on an actual stage. I speak for a living, doing this podcast every single week! I get paid to talk!

Your confidence comes from the pivotal moments of pushing through the pain and doing it over and over again.

This is NOT pretending to be someone you’re not. If you’re going to sell something or convey a message, you need to be heard and felt.

When you speak into that microphone, convey emotion. It’s your responsibility to transfer belief. When I talk about confidence, that is what I mean. And it is something that can be learned. It’s not something you have to be born with; some of you are, and that’s an amazing gift. 

We have to grow our confidence. With practice, it can become a reality.

Next Level Foundation #3: Focus

The third thing you can’t ignore if you want to take it to the next level is your focus. This one lights me up in two ways: I’m fired up and upset, and I’m excited. When you can be intentional about your time, you get your life back. 

Focus is not something I’m willing to compromise on, period. No notifications are going off on my phone. Ever. Nothing is pinging and dinging on my computer. Ever. I own my day and my time. I decide when I will email or text people. And I’m not sorry about it. Boundaries and intentionality will transform your life.

This includes focusing. Focus means knowing what you’re working on right now and letting everything else go away. Put your phone out of your reach. Set the time up to do the thing. Then do it.

Let me give you an example of where this is hard for me because I’m not perfect. I wake up an hour early for spiritual growth with God. It takes everything inside me not to check my phone to see my Voxers or find out what the team needs.

My curiosity and brain are screaming for the dopamine hit. Also, I’m a little ADD…  But I am serious about becoming an expert in this area, so I’m working on it.

I intentionally get into that focus mindset. For work blocks, I’d prefer to knock off the easy stuff. That is not how I operate. Hardest thing first always.

Pep talk: Sit down, close all other tabs, and get to work. Coach yourself. Be serious about your focus, or you’ll find yourself continuously behind, frustrated, distracted, and unable to move forward.

Next Level Foundation #4: Personal Growth

I thought I knew it all. I could figure it out myself, and YouTube University was going to get me where I wanted to go. But I have been schooled by people much farther along than I am!

Newsflash! There’s always someone farther along than you! 

When I’m a $5 million business, there will be someone further along than me. When, God willing, I’m a $10 million business, there will still be someone further ahead. That is amazing!

There’s always someone from whom you can learn. God created that on purpose so you can get out of your own way, be humble enough to learn, and be willing to receive and grow. 

For those who are avid learners, this doesn’t apply. But some of you experience analysis paralysis, take 500 courses, and don’t implement anything. Stop that. Don’t buy anything else until you apply what you’ve learned.

This doesn’t just have to be for your business. My husband and I invested in building a personal gym in our garage because we live in the mountains, and there’s no easy way to get to a gym.

Now I have no excuses. I work out. Every. Single. Day.

What is your thing for personal growth? Just pick one thing that will help you go to the next level. Who is the person who can teach you?

Sometimes, personal growth is the investment, a mentor, a course, or even hard conversations. Doing hard things outside your comfort zone helps you get to the next level.

This goes hand-in-hand with consistency. You don’t get to just learn. You have to learn and take action. Always. At all times. Do something with what you have learned. That’s non-negotiable. No one gets to go anywhere ‘next level’ if you aren’t consistently taking action.

Next Level Foundation #5: Boundaries

I see struggles here among people-pleasers. Is anyone raising their hand? Maybe you’re one of those extra selfless people. You can be that while also having boundaries. You need to focus on what God has called you to do. Are you serving, volunteering, and saying “yes” to everything?

What about selfish boundaries? Do you have boundaries on your phone, or do you just scroll? How many tabs do you have open? How many hours do you research before actually recording the episode? 

Boundary work is infinite. There is healthy and unhealthy boundary work. Just doing an inventory of your life for three days will be one of the most eye-opening and soul-awakening practices you can do for yourself. Every ten minutes, write down what you’re doing. 

After you complete your three-day inventory, take a look at how you’re using your time. Highlight the crap you should not have been doing or where there should have been a boundary.

I tell my friends and team that when I’m working with the black hole emoji, it means I’m unavailable. My team lets me know what their work blocks and boundaries are.

We have to take our boundaries seriously. I even have them around my work. When my kids get home from school and my husband is home for the evening, my laptop is closed unless there’s a deadline or live launch. If I had to do something, they would understand, but 90% of the time, it’s a solid boundary. I don’t work on the weekends unless it’s something I want to do creatively. 

This is something I’ve grown into based on where we are as a company. There were years when I was a solopreneur and I worked my butt off. You can still have boundaries even if you’re in that hard, building season.

Stretch Time

Those of you who are serious and taking me seriously will actually do this inventory. Those of you who are just here to hang out and listen may not do this work, which is 100% up to you. 

How you apply the hours of free coaching I give you on the podcast is one million percent up to you. I’m highlighting it to challenge you a little. When was the last time you listened to one of my free episodes, and you actually did the work? If you implement what you hear in these free episodes, you’d already be moving to the next level without ever investing with me. But when you do invest, you’ll be ahead of the game!

I’m stretching you, and if that’s triggering you a little, well, good. Let’s do the work. Are you here to do the work, or are you here to play?

Boundaries involve communication, intentionality, and eliminating anything that’s not actively serving the purpose of your life. What are the callings over your life in this season? That’s what you pour into and build boundaries to protect. The enemy uses distraction, distortion, and interruption to get you off-task and off your path. Do not allow it! You’re unavailable for that! 

Get serious about the life you live. Make the most of the time you have. Be serious about strategically saying “no.”  And even more strategic about when to say “yes.”

Next Level Foundation #6: Rest

This is the outlier in terms of consistency, action, focus, personal growth, and boundaries. Well, boundaries do have a little to do with rest.

Rest is critical. As we consistently show up and take action, we learn to be confident, grow, focus, and build boundaries. We can also become a little obsessive about performance, our work, and becoming an incredible CEO or leader. We can become obsessed with how we parent or whether we connect enough with our spouse. Maybe you’re looking for a spouse or are obsessed with serving in ministry.

We must be careful that even the great things in our lives don’t become idols. Rest is so important because it helps us to recalibrate with God.

There are different levels of rest. There’s Sabbath rest, where you take one day a week and you are fully unavailable for work. Maybe you need two hours away from your family because that’s what you’re being called to shepherd right now. What is that break for you? You must have a mental break.

This is not to avoid your work or to hide because it’s hard. This is a break from the good work you’ve done all week. You work diligently, and then you break. Just as God did in Genesis. God rested because He wanted to revel in what He had created. Be the same. We’re made in God’s image; let us take those breaks.

Plan them into your time.

Mini-Breaks as a Form Of Rest

We also need mini daily breaks. This is for those working 30+ hours in whatever you do, even if you have a career while building a side hustle. This includes stay-at-home and homeschool mamas. We have to take mental rest breaks.

We think if we continue to power through and keep digging, we will get more done, but that’s actually not true scientifically. Science shows that taking small mental breaks allows you to focus better, retain better memory, and produce higher-quality work. 

When I have a solid day, I go outside every two hours and take a walk. I’ll check on the rooster and hen. Sometimes, I’ll sit on the swing for just five minutes. Maybe I’ll grab a quick workout. But I try to get some sunshine and fresh air. 

Take a lunch break. I used to work through lunch, thinking I had to finish everything before my boys got home from school. I found that I enjoyed a 20-minute complete meditation. Here’s when I use Voxer to talk to my friends or watch a YouTube video. I’ll make lunch and eat it on the patio. 

I understand that I have the luxury of working from home. If you don’t, how can you break away? Can you go to a different room, drive to a park, pray, or journal? There are lots of different ways. 

Take a few five-minute breaks during the day and a 15-20 minute lunch. Get that revitalization you need.

What’s Your Next Step to Go to the Next Level?

There you have it: the six foundations you can’t afford to ignore if you want to go to the next level.

These six things have helped me get where I am and are super important for you.

Write them all down:

1. Consistency
2. Confidence
3. Focus
4. Personal Growth
5. Boundaries
6. Rest

Circle the one you want to work on this week. You can add another one next week. This is not an all-or-nothing process, and it doesn’t happen right away. It happens over the years of becoming who you are called to be as a leader in whatever area of your life you are being called to lead. 

Plug these into your planner and work on them diligently week after week. 

How can you focus on one thing this week? Then, do the work.

I pray this blesses you!

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