1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,160 Welcome to Milestone Moments, the show where we explore the journeys that lead to success. 2 00:00:07,040 --> 00:00:14,000 I'm Sheila Slick, your host and founder of Five Milestones. In every episode, we will bring you 3 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:21,520 insights from the minds of entrepreneurs, leaders, and experts who will share not just their expertise 4 00:00:21,520 --> 00:00:27,440 but the milestone moments that have reshaped their journeys and led to significant achievements. 5 00:00:27,440 --> 00:00:33,120 So if you're looking for motivation, you're in the right place. Subscribe now and discover the 6 00:00:33,120 --> 00:00:36,160 milestones that mark the path to success. 7 00:00:39,440 --> 00:00:45,440 Welcome to another episode of Milestone Moments in Business and Leadership. I'm Sheila Slick, 8 00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:52,800 your host, and today my special guest is Allison Bowen. Allison is a real estate investor and life 9 00:00:52,800 --> 00:00:59,920 coach based in Tennessee. She is dedicated to empowering women through mentorship and encouragement. 10 00:00:59,920 --> 00:01:06,160 Allison Bowen is a positive intelligence coach who helps people unlock their potential by 11 00:01:06,160 --> 00:01:15,040 mastering the mental habits that lead up to greater clarity, focus, and success. Welcome back, Allison. 12 00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:21,520 Thank you so much for that introduction and for having me here again to continue our conversations. 13 00:01:21,520 --> 00:01:29,680 They have been so rich and I'm looking forward to the listeners' feedback about what's really hitting 14 00:01:29,680 --> 00:01:36,320 them and what they value and what they want to hear more about. So with that in mind, why don't we 15 00:01:36,320 --> 00:01:44,320 talk about that power of connection? How when you're either in a crossroads, in a transition, 16 00:01:44,320 --> 00:01:52,960 or in a major life change, how finding like-minded people, finding support in community and having 17 00:01:52,960 --> 00:02:00,560 those connections is beneficial, is so important. It's essential because I don't know if, I'm sure 18 00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:06,400 you're familiar with the thought leader Jim Rohn, but he says you are only as good as the average of 19 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:13,520 the five people you spend time with. And why is that? And that is because the way that people 20 00:02:13,520 --> 00:02:21,040 around you think impacts you. And the work that I do with my clients with the positive intelligence 21 00:02:21,040 --> 00:02:26,640 framework, there are mirror neurons and our positivity and our positive intelligence can 22 00:02:26,640 --> 00:02:33,200 impact others, but we also have to be aware of the fact that others can impact us. So just beginning 23 00:02:33,200 --> 00:02:39,920 to recognize, I know when I have stepped out into new opportunities, sometimes even my family hasn't 24 00:02:39,920 --> 00:02:46,080 been the best place for me to share some of those dreams because they had limiting beliefs and fears 25 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:52,000 that they lived with. So it was much better for me to go and find a tribe of people who were 26 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:58,080 successful, for example, in real estate investing. Because when I started learning about real estate 27 00:02:58,080 --> 00:03:04,400 investing eight years ago, I knew nothing. I had bought one house in my life. I knew nothing about 28 00:03:04,400 --> 00:03:11,680 it. So it was really important for me to surround myself with people because they inspired me. 29 00:03:12,240 --> 00:03:21,200 They were mentors to me. They were examples of what was possible. And they also became people 30 00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:26,960 that I turned to when I started getting into the nitty gritty of how to get there. Like, 31 00:03:26,960 --> 00:03:30,480 because you have a dream, but then you have the plan, the blueprint for getting there, right? We 32 00:03:30,480 --> 00:03:37,760 talked about that in a previous conversation. So building community is important. And I want to 33 00:03:37,760 --> 00:03:44,480 just comment for a moment because as someone who I would characterize as being an ambivert, which is 34 00:03:45,600 --> 00:03:52,480 I'm an extrovert, but I have an introvert leaning aspect to myself as well. Because I 35 00:03:52,480 --> 00:03:57,520 love being around community, building community, being around people, but I do get tired as well 36 00:03:57,520 --> 00:04:04,080 because it takes energy. Community is important not only for extroverts, but for people who are 37 00:04:04,080 --> 00:04:10,800 introverts. So I just want to put that thought out there and encourage those of you who are introverts 38 00:04:10,800 --> 00:04:17,920 who are like, oh, I don't want to have to go to a meetup or a networking group and shake hands. 39 00:04:18,800 --> 00:04:25,280 Those things I know can be super scary for all of us, but particularly so for introverts, but the 40 00:04:25,280 --> 00:04:33,600 value that they have in store for you is really priceless. What was that term? Because I'm very 41 00:04:33,600 --> 00:04:40,400 extroverted, but, and this is probably where my computer encoding focus, I love math, right? So I 42 00:04:40,400 --> 00:04:46,560 call it my own internal geek, but I love it. Ambivert, it's just kind of being like ambidextrous 43 00:04:46,560 --> 00:04:53,200 where you can use weak right and left hand. Well, ambivert is someone who has both qualities of 44 00:04:53,200 --> 00:04:59,360 qualities of introversion and extroversion. I completely agree with you. So maybe we can 45 00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:04,560 talk about the differences in some of these groups because I see them out there. In my case, 46 00:05:04,560 --> 00:05:09,120 I do believe in the power of community. We had talked about how I had learned how to code and 47 00:05:09,680 --> 00:05:16,800 it was really hard. And it was like, if I could just, you know, have someone that could help me 48 00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:23,360 answer some of these questions. And I had no choice, but the start looking for groups and other 49 00:05:23,360 --> 00:05:30,560 developers. Fast forward when I ended up back in Florida and I did complete that master's degree, 50 00:05:31,920 --> 00:05:37,920 I looked up and I was like, oh my gosh, I've been going to school. I've been a mom. I've been 51 00:05:37,920 --> 00:05:42,960 relocating, restarting the house. I didn't have to build it from scratch. You know what it means to 52 00:05:42,960 --> 00:05:50,320 have to move your entire home and pack and unpack. Before I knew it, about three years of my life had 53 00:05:50,320 --> 00:05:56,320 passed since I had transitioned. And during that self-awareness, I was like, it's time for me to 54 00:05:56,320 --> 00:06:03,680 look for a like-minded community. And I started researching and that's how I found Score. And for 55 00:06:03,680 --> 00:06:11,200 those people that don't know what Score is, it is a national nonprofit organization of about 11,000 56 00:06:11,200 --> 00:06:19,200 mentors nationwide. Score is a partner of the SBA and they help people looking to start or grow 57 00:06:19,200 --> 00:06:25,200 their business. And I thought, maybe I'll meet other people interested in business. And at the same 58 00:06:25,200 --> 00:06:32,000 time, I'll find support. Yeah. Building that team for your business, it's just like in real estate 59 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:39,440 investing because investing in Nashville is not the same as investing in Michigan. And if I live 60 00:06:39,440 --> 00:06:44,240 in Tennessee and invest in Nashville, but I live in Tennessee and invest in Michigan, I'm going to 61 00:06:44,240 --> 00:06:54,640 need different support communities and a CPA or an attorney, a real estate agent potentially, lenders. 62 00:06:54,640 --> 00:07:02,320 So in any area of business that you're in, you're right. You're going to need different 63 00:07:02,320 --> 00:07:08,320 communities that you're going to want to be a part of to support your businesses. So that is something 64 00:07:08,320 --> 00:07:16,080 that is amazing because so many times if we walk into a networking situation like me, for example, 65 00:07:16,080 --> 00:07:22,880 when I joined my local REIA, it's called the Real Estate Investor Association, eight years ago, 66 00:07:24,400 --> 00:07:29,040 I walked into the room and it was primarily men. There weren't a lot of women in the room 67 00:07:29,680 --> 00:07:34,960 and that can be scary. Number one is someone who knew nothing about real estate investing, 68 00:07:34,960 --> 00:07:40,240 someone who had just moved to Tennessee. So I had no friends here. I was just building my network 69 00:07:41,200 --> 00:07:47,680 of friends even, and even like doctors and dentists, I was building all the networks, 70 00:07:47,680 --> 00:07:55,600 rebuilding them all over again. But so if we let those things stop us, then we won't get to 71 00:07:56,800 --> 00:08:02,880 realize the value and the benefit of being in that room. So my tip to the listeners, 72 00:08:02,880 --> 00:08:08,320 get okay with being uncomfortable, get okay with being the dumbest person in the room maybe, 73 00:08:09,280 --> 00:08:13,440 because that means you're in the right room. It doesn't mean you're dumb. 74 00:08:15,040 --> 00:08:19,360 One of the things that I used to do in the early days, people would use terminology. So every 75 00:08:19,360 --> 00:08:25,200 business has kind of its own set of terminology, right, that defines it. And there were all these 76 00:08:25,200 --> 00:08:29,520 terms that I had no idea what they meant. So I would sit there and my notes would be, I would 77 00:08:29,520 --> 00:08:36,720 write down these terms. And I would vow to myself to research these terms or reach, and I would also 78 00:08:36,720 --> 00:08:42,080 get phone numbers of people in the room. And I would reach out to people and say, Hey, would you 79 00:08:42,080 --> 00:08:47,200 mind taking a minute and explaining what does this mean? And that can be very difficult, 80 00:08:48,000 --> 00:08:54,240 because it's very humbling to acknowledge you don't know something. But it invites people to 81 00:08:54,240 --> 00:08:59,600 serve you in a way so many people that are entrepreneurs, that are solopreneurs, that are 82 00:08:59,600 --> 00:09:05,680 business owners, they love pouring into others, they typically have a heart to serve themselves. 83 00:09:05,680 --> 00:09:10,880 And so when you let them know that you're new, you are hungry to learn. They are usually more 84 00:09:10,880 --> 00:09:17,520 than willing to take a few minutes and help you understand a concept. And I did that for, I mean, 85 00:09:17,520 --> 00:09:24,320 I still do that because I'm still putting myself in rooms where I don't know it all because when 86 00:09:24,320 --> 00:09:29,840 you begin to learn something, I'm sure you realize this Sheila, the more you know, the more you 87 00:09:29,840 --> 00:09:31,360 realize you don't know. 88 00:09:32,480 --> 00:09:38,160 It's all about continuous learning. That's how you stay relevant and continue outside of that 89 00:09:38,160 --> 00:09:46,640 comfort zone. But I agree. And I did join score only to then serve as the actual leader of the 90 00:09:46,640 --> 00:09:55,200 two counties. I was one of the youngest members, but I bonded so much with the mentors. It was so 91 00:09:55,200 --> 00:09:59,920 rewarding to be able to lead them during that year. It was almost like a full time position, 92 00:09:59,920 --> 00:10:06,480 I felt it many times. But I've met some of my new besties and what I loved about them is they were 93 00:10:06,480 --> 00:10:12,880 all, you know, with a similar mission. And it was how can we help others with their business? 94 00:10:12,880 --> 00:10:20,400 With my tech skills, it came in really handy, especially with a lot of the retirees or baby 95 00:10:20,400 --> 00:10:26,240 boomers that needed that side gig either so that they're not ordered, they needed it for extra 96 00:10:26,240 --> 00:10:31,920 income, and they didn't know how to navigate, you know, social media. And I would have never 97 00:10:31,920 --> 00:10:35,040 known, you just think everyone knows how to use, you know, social media. 98 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:39,280 Our age and older, a lot of us are still figuring it all out. 99 00:10:39,280 --> 00:10:45,360 But when I did this podcast, and I heard myself, and I felt like imposter syndrome was hitting 100 00:10:45,360 --> 00:10:52,240 me all over again. And so I was like, no, I know what I got to do. So I joined Toastmasters. 101 00:10:52,240 --> 00:10:57,200 I did too. Just this past year. Yes, just this past year, I joined Toastmasters. 102 00:10:58,160 --> 00:11:01,760 So we're going to start counting ums and filler words. 103 00:11:01,760 --> 00:11:09,360 I remember the first TikTok live I did. It wasn't ums and filler words, but it was my throat clearing. 104 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:15,520 It just blew me away. It's so challenging when you first step into these spaces and outside of your 105 00:11:15,520 --> 00:11:21,840 comfort zone to start sharing yourself with, you know, the world. And then you list in, and you 106 00:11:21,840 --> 00:11:26,720 begin to see things that you never realized that you did. And I was like, okay, that has to go. So 107 00:11:26,720 --> 00:11:31,840 it was great. It's always so humbling and a little embarrassing to see those things, but 108 00:11:32,400 --> 00:11:38,480 that's how we grow. One of my mentors used to tell me if you're not embarrassed by the first 109 00:11:38,480 --> 00:11:44,080 time, the way that you did something for the first time, then you didn't step out of your comfort zone 110 00:11:44,080 --> 00:11:50,240 enough. Think about riding a bicycle. When we started learning how to ride a bicycle, when we 111 00:11:50,240 --> 00:11:56,000 were what, four or five years old, we were like, we're going to ride a bicycle. And then we were 112 00:11:56,000 --> 00:12:02,160 what, four or five or 10, however old you were. We were a little wobbly in the beginning, but it 113 00:12:02,160 --> 00:12:08,160 was only through doing it over and over again and skin to knees and sometimes falling down and crying 114 00:12:08,160 --> 00:12:14,000 that we mastered that skill. And so are all these other skills that we're talking about here today. 115 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:21,600 So I love it. So you joined Score, you joined Toastmasters. I can't wait to explore and learn 116 00:12:21,600 --> 00:12:27,840 more about Score here in middle Tennessee. And I'm inspired to do that because of knowing you. 117 00:12:27,840 --> 00:12:36,880 So this is a beautiful example of how networking expands your awareness. And because I'd heard of 118 00:12:36,880 --> 00:12:44,960 Score before through meeting you, it's brought it back to the forefront of my awareness and 119 00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:51,200 you've served in the community. And so I'm looking at that as maybe a sign that this is the time for 120 00:12:51,200 --> 00:12:58,640 me to explore a little bit more about Score. No rhyming intended. Well, lucky for you. You don't 121 00:12:58,640 --> 00:13:06,000 even have to leave your house. Feel free to visit score.org, put in your zip code and ask for a 122 00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:12,320 mentor. The mentors can work with you via Zoom. Now each chapter is different, but I think they all 123 00:13:12,320 --> 00:13:17,520 work via Zoom or in person a lot of times. Remember there are volunteers. It's a volunteer 124 00:13:17,520 --> 00:13:22,640 organization. So in person may require an appointment. So it's a great resource out there. 125 00:13:23,520 --> 00:13:27,600 I can't wait to learn more. So I hope our listeners take advantage of that as well. 126 00:13:27,600 --> 00:13:33,440 And that, you know, kind of leads us into other examples of community because we've talked about 127 00:13:33,440 --> 00:13:40,480 networking. We've talked about a couple of organizations to join and serve in other 128 00:13:41,360 --> 00:13:46,640 types of community. I've talked about the Real Estate Investor Association. So if you're 129 00:13:46,640 --> 00:13:53,920 interested in real estate investing, finding the Real Estate Investing Association in your area 130 00:13:53,920 --> 00:13:58,160 and join that because you will find other people with similar interests. 131 00:13:59,520 --> 00:14:04,720 So what are some of the other types of community that we want to highlight here, Sheila? 132 00:14:05,920 --> 00:14:09,440 All industries have associations. Even if you want to become a public speaker, 133 00:14:09,440 --> 00:14:14,000 yeah, like the Speakers Association. At the local level, you have the Chambers of Commerce. 134 00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:20,160 I know that there's online groups. We have masterminds, accountability groups. And I'd 135 00:14:20,160 --> 00:14:24,080 love to learn more from you. What do these groups look like? 136 00:14:24,080 --> 00:14:29,280 So I can tell you what my groups look like only really. So I started accountability 137 00:14:29,280 --> 00:14:34,960 prior to COVID, but I decided to do it virtually even before COVID brought us all into this new 138 00:14:34,960 --> 00:14:40,880 virtual world. And the reason I did was because it makes it more accessible for more people. 139 00:14:40,880 --> 00:14:45,520 And frankly, it was easier for me. I didn't have to find a space. All I had to do was schedule a 140 00:14:45,520 --> 00:14:52,400 time and then invite people to show up. So we meet via Zoom twice a month. And I have a simple 141 00:14:52,400 --> 00:14:59,760 Google Sheet where you record your goals and then we break it down into, you could call them 142 00:14:59,760 --> 00:15:09,040 milestones or next steps, minimum next steps. And we meet twice a month. And it's a very 143 00:15:09,040 --> 00:15:14,160 structured meeting. And let me clarify, when I first started the accountability groups, 144 00:15:14,640 --> 00:15:20,480 I was an accountability group member. So I was facilitating the meeting and I was a member. 145 00:15:20,480 --> 00:15:25,920 I soon realized that I didn't get the most benefit out of it as myself and I wasn't offering the most 146 00:15:25,920 --> 00:15:30,720 value as the facilitator. So at this point, I have my own accountability group where I go to get 147 00:15:30,720 --> 00:15:39,520 support and encouragement and challenged. And in my groups, I just facilitate. So if you, Sheila, 148 00:15:39,520 --> 00:15:45,600 were to be a client, you would show up to our meeting and we would each have 10 to, you would 149 00:15:45,600 --> 00:15:51,200 each have 10 to 15 minutes to talk about your highs and your lows since we last met. What are 150 00:15:51,200 --> 00:15:56,560 the things you want to celebrate and what are the challenges that you faced? And then you would talk 151 00:15:56,560 --> 00:16:01,520 about, you would go through each of your milestones and you would report out quickly on, did I 152 00:16:01,520 --> 00:16:11,360 accomplish this? Did I not accomplish this? If not, why not? And what I'm telling you, if you've 153 00:16:11,360 --> 00:16:16,720 never experienced accountability in a supportive environment. Now, sometimes I say that word and 154 00:16:16,720 --> 00:16:23,200 people cringe and they're like, oh, I don't want to be. Using all these words that may scare people 155 00:16:23,200 --> 00:16:30,720 looking for some kind of a structure. Right. So it's very structured. Number one, because I want 156 00:16:30,720 --> 00:16:34,640 to make the best use of the time that we have together. And also depending on the size of the 157 00:16:34,640 --> 00:16:42,240 group, it goes by very quickly. I max my groups out at six people. I won't accept anymore in a 158 00:16:42,240 --> 00:16:48,000 particular group. I start a new group if I have more interest. Men and women are both invited to 159 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:53,760 be part of the group. I am not a subject matter expert in any other area other than real estate 160 00:16:53,760 --> 00:16:59,280 investing, which is where my accountability group started. But I will work with anybody who has 161 00:16:59,280 --> 00:17:05,040 goals that they're working towards. Now, I am not going to be able to advise you, for example, on 162 00:17:05,040 --> 00:17:10,320 your business and leadership, but I have life experience that the questions I ask you might 163 00:17:10,320 --> 00:17:16,800 support you to head in a direction if you're facing challenges. So that's the accountability 164 00:17:16,800 --> 00:17:25,760 group. Structure, arrive on time, report out, celebrate highs, share your loaves. And that 165 00:17:25,760 --> 00:17:33,920 community that you build is so powerful. Number one, because I only allow people to encourage 166 00:17:33,920 --> 00:17:40,000 each other. So we are there to support each other and moving the needle forward and overcoming 167 00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:44,800 challenges and seeing things that, you know, sometimes when you're a soloprenur, you're 168 00:17:44,800 --> 00:17:49,840 an entrepreneur, you're so close to the problem. You just can't see the opportunities that are 169 00:17:49,840 --> 00:17:55,280 right there in front of you or know the right questions to ask. So it's amazing how community 170 00:17:56,000 --> 00:18:02,880 changes your experience. Some people recommend accountability partners. And more often than not, 171 00:18:02,880 --> 00:18:09,440 I've seen those fail because it's very difficult when one person starts to waver. And sometimes 172 00:18:09,440 --> 00:18:12,960 that happens, you know, maybe there's a death in the family or there's a death in the family, 173 00:18:12,960 --> 00:18:17,120 you know, maybe there's a death in the family or there's an illness and they're unable to 174 00:18:17,120 --> 00:18:23,760 continue showing up or maybe they just aren't comfortable pushing the other person. So I find 175 00:18:23,760 --> 00:18:30,240 those dyads not to be the most effective. Now, if you create that with someone, that's beautiful. 176 00:18:30,800 --> 00:18:38,320 But that's why I decided to create the group and to facilitate that because I build what did that 177 00:18:38,320 --> 00:18:44,640 movie, build it and they will come. I build the space and then invite my clients into it. 178 00:18:45,600 --> 00:18:52,240 And they get to enjoy the benefit of that. And the value it brings to their lives is amazing. 179 00:18:52,240 --> 00:18:57,840 I mean, people make more money being held accountable. So is that kind of clarify a 180 00:18:57,840 --> 00:19:02,880 little bit about- Oh, a lot. Yes. You're giving me a behind the scenes. Thank you, Alice. And now 181 00:19:02,880 --> 00:19:09,120 where my experience lies is in programs, right? That have a beginning and an end. So for example, 182 00:19:09,120 --> 00:19:14,800 I've done the entrepreneurial mindset program and we've done it in 10 weeks. But then once the 183 00:19:14,800 --> 00:19:21,200 program ends, you have that option to just stay on one-on-one coaching. Like I still want you to 184 00:19:21,200 --> 00:19:28,480 keep me coaching or advising, so to speak, but to actually have a group like that is really interesting. 185 00:19:28,480 --> 00:19:36,240 And it's similar to a mastermind. The difference with a mastermind, if I'm not mistaken, is 186 00:19:36,240 --> 00:19:42,560 a mastermind is when you've got different experts and they're coming together so that they share 187 00:19:43,280 --> 00:19:50,480 resources, opinions. For me, I grew my accountability groups into masterminds 188 00:19:50,480 --> 00:19:58,160 because all of us are experts. We might not be a subject matter expert, but I have a client who's 189 00:19:58,160 --> 00:20:03,920 in her seventies and you can imagine the amount of life experience this woman has, right? So a 190 00:20:03,920 --> 00:20:11,760 mastermind invites people in the group to go around and talk about a little bit more in depth 191 00:20:11,760 --> 00:20:19,280 about the challenges they're facing and what kind of support they need. And the people in the 192 00:20:19,280 --> 00:20:25,200 accountability group mastermind get an opportunity to ask them questions, to clarify what the 193 00:20:25,200 --> 00:20:32,960 challenge is and help them to see their blocks and also make recommendations about how to reframe 194 00:20:32,960 --> 00:20:40,000 something. You and I have used that term in our conversations in other episodes. And there might 195 00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:46,800 be a limiting belief that's there that they uncover and someone might have an alternative way of 196 00:20:46,800 --> 00:20:55,120 believing that they can begin to help the client see. It might just be, have you called this bank? 197 00:20:55,120 --> 00:21:03,360 Or are you aware of score being available? So a mastermind is just a collection of minds that 198 00:21:03,360 --> 00:21:10,320 come together because I'm limited by what I know. And if it's just me trying to think through and 199 00:21:10,320 --> 00:21:16,640 solving my problems and challenges, I just don't have access to all the information that could be 200 00:21:16,640 --> 00:21:26,160 available if I partner with others and give them, first of all, a chance to see me a little bit more 201 00:21:26,160 --> 00:21:33,280 vulnerably. So these groups are confidential. You know, people have to make an agreement that 202 00:21:33,280 --> 00:21:38,080 they're not going to share the information that is shared because people talk about vulnerable 203 00:21:38,080 --> 00:21:41,760 things when people are talking about their businesses and they're talking about their P&Ls 204 00:21:41,760 --> 00:21:48,000 and their gross profits and net profits. Sometimes those numbers are very private and they don't want 205 00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:53,680 that information shared. So there's a level of confidentiality and a level of safety. 206 00:21:55,200 --> 00:22:01,200 You would be amazed at the number of times that a challenge that an entrepreneur might be facing 207 00:22:02,480 --> 00:22:07,280 might be showing up in their business, but it might be because they have an ailing parent 208 00:22:07,280 --> 00:22:12,480 that they're having to care for and they're concerned about, right? So there's these other 209 00:22:12,480 --> 00:22:18,320 things that get mentioned sometimes and that they can get support by being in a mastermind. 210 00:22:18,320 --> 00:22:24,080 Just to kind of go over all the different things or the different communities, 211 00:22:24,080 --> 00:22:29,280 you've got masterminds, which you just described. There's accountability groups. 212 00:22:29,280 --> 00:22:36,160 We talked about peer mentorship when we brought in SCORE. We talked about coaching programs in the 213 00:22:36,160 --> 00:22:41,440 sense that they're structured and they normally come with a community, which is a great way to 214 00:22:41,440 --> 00:22:47,920 meet other like-minded people too. And sometimes there's support after that, whether it be group 215 00:22:48,640 --> 00:22:55,760 coaching or individual coaching. And we didn't really talk much about workshops and webinars, 216 00:22:55,760 --> 00:23:03,440 but that's where we met. We clicked, we connected, and it's that easy to start getting out of that 217 00:23:03,440 --> 00:23:09,440 comfort zone, whether virtual or in person. And I encourage people to experiment and explore 218 00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:14,640 the different ways of connecting with community and to expect that you're going to make some 219 00:23:14,640 --> 00:23:20,080 mistakes, right? You're going to join a webinar and you're going to be like, oh, you're going to get 220 00:23:20,080 --> 00:23:27,680 in there. You'll be like, no, this isn't for me. So I think what you said, explore, be curious, 221 00:23:27,680 --> 00:23:36,480 and see what's best for you is right on point. I think the common thread, the suggestion is that 222 00:23:37,360 --> 00:23:43,120 you don't have to do it alone. You can surround yourself with people that are either, and they 223 00:23:43,120 --> 00:23:48,720 don't have to be similar-minded either, because sometimes that other perspective is really going 224 00:23:48,720 --> 00:23:54,000 to give you feedback on how you can improve. So it's not like, oh, you have to all think the same 225 00:23:54,000 --> 00:24:00,640 way. They can challenge you. They can inspire you. They can share resources, and then you can see how 226 00:24:00,640 --> 00:24:07,920 far you can go. Yes, actually, a lot of times it's really good to be around people. As long as we 227 00:24:07,920 --> 00:24:14,800 share a common set of values, there has to be alignment in our values, but it's really through 228 00:24:14,800 --> 00:24:20,320 interacting with people of different beliefs and different experience levels and different levels 229 00:24:20,320 --> 00:24:26,000 of knowledge that we all grow. So those differences are really, really helpful, and it helps us to 230 00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:31,200 grow if it challenges us when they're there. Well, thank you again for your time today, 231 00:24:31,200 --> 00:24:37,600 Allison. Thank you for joining me, and thank you to all of our listeners for tuning in today. 232 00:24:37,600 --> 00:24:50,000 Thank you so much, Sheila. It was great to be here again. I enjoy our conversation.