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Welcome to Milestone Moments, the show where we explore the journeys that lead to success.

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I'm Sheila Slick, your host and founder of Five Milestones. In every episode, we will bring you

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insights from the minds of entrepreneurs, leaders, and experts who will share not just their expertise

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but the milestone moments that have reshaped their journeys and led to significant achievements.

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So if you're looking for motivation, you're in the right place. Subscribe now and discover the

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milestones that mark the path to success.

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Welcome to another episode of Milestone Moments in Business and Leadership. I'm Sheila Slick,

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your host, and today I am so excited to kick off season two with a powerful theme,

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Transformative Leadership Through Self-Growth. We'll be talking about the tools, mindset shifts,

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and practices that will help you lead your life with confidence, and not just in business but in

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every area of your life. In today's episode, I want to start with a core concept that will

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guide our journey together, and that's continuing your growth journey. Like me, you've already made

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it this far, and that is worth celebrating. But if you're anything like me, you're not here to

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remain the same. Why? Because growth is not a one-time achievement. It's a lifelong journey.

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So how do you keep the momentum going? How do you ensure that next year you're not just the same,

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but you're moving forward and you're becoming more developed than you are right now?

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So let's talk about how we can continue growing, and not just this year, but beyond any single goal

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you may have right now. It's about sustaining momentum and staying forward-focused, even if

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life presents challenges or unexpected changes. So first, let's talk about the mindset that you

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need to cultivate for ongoing growth. You've probably already heard the term growth mindset

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before, but it's so important. A growth mindset is the belief that abilities and intelligence

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can be developed through dedication, through hard work, and through learning. It's not just about

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talent or luck. It's about effort, and it's about resilience. I can remember many times when I have

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doubted my own abilities. I have feared failure, and I thought failure meant a weakness or a lack of

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capability, but then something shifted in me, and I realized that failure is a part of the process.

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It's a stepping stone to growth. Failure sometimes isn't the end. It's a lesson that pushes us forward,

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and maybe you've been there too feeling stuck or frustrated because you're not where you thought

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you'd be, and that's okay because growth isn't linear. The key is to learn to embrace those

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moments to shift your perspective from, I can't, to I'm learning. And when you adopt this mindset,

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you open up a world of new possibilities. So now that we've covered the foundation of mindset,

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how do you keep that growth moving forward? How do you stay motivated through the inevitable ups

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and downs of life? Well, it all comes down to recognizing and celebrating the small wins.

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It is these small wins that may seem minor that accumulate and create real momentum,

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and with each small success, you're setting yourself up for bigger progress. Growth doesn't

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happen all at once, and often it's the small wins that add up over time. When I first started my

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growth journey, I didn't aim for everything at once. I mean, I wanted everything done. I wanted

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to multitask, but the reality is you need to focus on small, manageable steps, and you do that by

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setting daily goals, by improving one skill at a time, and you celebrate each one of those wins.

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And measuring progress, no matter how small, will keep you motivated. You can't see the full impact

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of your growth without tracking it, so you have to make it a point to create these small wins each

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day. It's not about conquering everything at once. It's about moving forward one step at a time.

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Ask yourself, what can you do today to improve, even if it's just a little? Maybe it's writing a

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chapter of a book that you've been meaning to start, or maybe it's making a phone call you've

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been putting off. For me, today it's launching this episode. These small wins are the building

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blocks of momentum, and speaking of building momentum, that will lead us to our next step,

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and that's creating habits that can consistently support your growth. Why? Because growth is driven

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by the habits that you form, and if you want to keep growing, you need to build a routine that

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supports that, and that's not easy, but you can start by thinking about your daily habits. Are

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they helping you move forward, or are they holding you back? For me, it started with a simple routine

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that I added to my morning coffee. I did what I call a brained up first, and that's putting

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anything and everything that's on my mind on a sheet of paper, and then I circled the three

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most important things in that paper, and then that helped me set a clear intention. It helped me

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write down my goals, and by dedicating a few hours to tackle those, to do my most important work,

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even though it wasn't glamorous, it worked. Small consistent habits lead to big results over time,

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so start by choosing one habit to focus on. Maybe it's setting aside 10 minutes each morning to

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plan your day, or committing to read for 30 minutes every day. These small actions, when repeated

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daily, they will compound and create major change over time, and once you've built these support

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habits, the next question is, how do you make sure that you're always moving forward and staying at

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the top of your game? In my opinion, it all comes down to continuous learning. I have always

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believed that if you stop learning, you stop growing, and I know it can be tempting to coast

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once you reach your comfortable place, but even when things feel stable, you have to keep pushing

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yourself to learn. Whether it's picking up a new skill, learning a new software, exploring a new

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strategy, or simply shifting your perspective, continuous learning is so important to staying

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ahead, and it also allows you to stay relevant. And I'll be honest, sometimes I have fallen into the

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trap of thinking that I know it all, but the more I learn, the more I realize how much more there is

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to discover. Adopting a mindset of continuous learning will always keep you growing and evolving.

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So what can you learn a day? Maybe it's a new course, a book, or maybe even this podcast,

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that aligns with your goals. Make it a point to learn something new every month, and it doesn't

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have to take a huge amount of time. Making learning a consistent part of your routine

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will always keep you ahead of the curb. Well, now that we've talked about continuous learning,

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let's talk about something that's equally important. And that's the people that you're

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surrounding yourself with. You've probably heard the saying, you are the best at learning.

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You've heard the saying, you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.

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If you want to keep growing, you need to surround yourself with people who also value growth. Being

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around others who challenge you, who inspire you, who push you to think differently can fuel your

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own development. Whether it's colleagues, your parents, mentors, or friends, having a supportive

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minded community makes all of the difference in the world. And if you don't have those kinds of

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people in your life right now, go find them. Join a group, attend a workshop, or connect with others

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online. The important thing is to seek out people who share your values and who can help you push

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past your limits. Now, let's explore something else that will help you stay on track with all of

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your goals. And that's taking care of yourself. Growth isn't just about mental or professional

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development. It's about physical and emotional well-being too. I've learned that if I don't take

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care of myself, my ability to grow is limited. So make time for self-care, exercise, be mindful of

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what you eat, get enough sleep, and do things that recharge your energy. When your body and your mind

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are in balance, you'll have more focus and energy to keep moving forward. And sometimes growth means

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stepping back and investing in your health. Taking care of yourself isn't a setback. It's an investment

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to your long-term success. And now that we're talking about planning for success, let's shift gears

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to setting powerful goals for the future. Yes, you've probably heard about goal setting, but I'm

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talking about truly visualizing where you want to be and then taking intentional steps to get there.

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When you set goals, you're not just creating a list. It's not like a to-do list. What you're doing

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is you're shaping your future. You're taking control. So before we wrap up, I want you to

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take a moment right now to think about where you want to be next year. What do you want to accomplish?

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What skills do you want to develop? And most importantly, what steps will you take to get

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there? To help you visualize your journey, I want to leave you with a powerful exercise that will

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help you clearly visualize your future. And that exercise is to write a letter to your future self.

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This exercise will encourage you to think beyond today and create a roadmap for your growth. So

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what are you going to write in this letter? In this letter, you're going to picture yourself at

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the end of next year, reflecting on everything you've accomplished. What has changed? What new

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skills have you developed? What challenges have you overcome? How do you feel? And how has your

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growth journey shaped you? Thank you for joining me today on this first episode of 2025. Remember,

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growth is a journey. It's not a destination. Keep embracing your growth mindset, celebrate your small

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wins, build good habits, seek learning, surround yourself with the right people, and most

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importantly, take care of yourself. I'll see you in the next episode. Until then, keep growing,

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keep leading, and keep moving forward.