Welcome to Networking Unleashed, Building Profitable
Connections. I'm your host, Michael Foreman,
here to help you turn relationships into real
opportunities. Today's guest brings a refreshing
approach to leadership. She teaches the happy
CEO method, a way of running your business without
burning yourself out, and the four P's framework
that shows leaders how to stay steady, confident,
and clear no matter what they're facing. We're
talking about what it takes to show up as a kind
of leader that wants to connect with, follow,
and work alongside. If you've ever felt stretched,
if you ever felt stretched thin, struck in the
weeds, or disconnected from parts of your work
that once excited you, this conversation is going
to land you in a big way. I would like to introduce
to all of my listeners, Charity Brown. She is
what we're talking about now. I'm going to have
Charity, I'm going to have you introduce yourself.
And how did you get where you are today? Yes,
thank you, Michael, for that amazing introduction.
I sure hope your audience gets a lot of insight
from our chat. So yes, I'm Charity Brown. I'm
the creator of the Happy CEO Method. I'm also
an author. of create clarity with charity and
the evolutionary entrepreneur podcast and i have
had a long journey so yeah people say look really
young they can't believe all the all that i've
been through but i'm not going to tell you how
old i am today that's okay i've learned not to
ask okay but yes i've had 25 years as an entrepreneur
my first career I went to beauty school right
out of high school I was the oddball that didn't
want to go to the university I wanted to use
my creative and so I did that and that was my
first business I started a freelance business
in my little hometown in Oregon and while I was
in that business I realized I knew nothing about
business and it was my first failure actually
I guess it wasn't a complete failure because
I was still learning but It drove me to get a
business degree. So my nail business and my little
freelance business helped me get into business,
let's say. And I went and got a degree in business
and accounting and ended up opening a freelance
accounting and bookkeeping business in 1999.
And so that was like when I first started business
and started feeling that I really had a skill
because one of my first client was an amazing
mentor and I would have never been able to do
it without her. And thank goodness I was encouraged
by the right people and that I did reach out
to mentors and coaches or I would never be where
I am today. That's great. That's absolutely great.
I've been in business for 40 years, give or take
a few years. Started out in the Air Force myself
and had my businesses brick and mortar, and I
turned it into virtual. But enough about me.
This is all about you. So let me ask you the
first question. What does it actually mean to
be a happy CEO? And how does someone know when
they're not operating from that place? Yeah.
Happiness. We have our own perception of that.
All of us do. And that's what we need to find.
What is happy? Okay. So I feel happy when I feel
like. joyful and doing something I love, something
that makes me exhilarated, something that makes
me feel fulfilled, something that makes me feel
warm and fuzzy inside. And a lot of times working
with CEOs, because I've had hundreds of clients
that are business owners, and I worked in corporate
America as a fractional CFO for many years. And
so I worked with a lot of CEOs and I was the
CEO of my own. restaurant chain. I had five restaurants
and lottery facilities in Oregon. I used to help
franchise restaurants. So I know what it feels
like to be on the front lines and having 300
employees and feeling the pressures and the stress
of being a business owner. And so that's, I can
go back and only tell you from my experience,
what it feels like to be an unhappy. frustrated,
overwhelmed CEO. And we were always taught to
keep your poker face and never divulge this information.
You don't ever want anyone to see your weaknesses
as a business owner or as a boss. So you end
up stuffing a lot of things, feelings, crisis,
not processing things appropriately. And so in
the inside you end up being very chaotic. stressed
and can lead to a lot of other things so that
would be the human condition because I think
as even parents and people that are in leadership
know that feeling of responsibility and pressure
so there's ways to handle all that but you don't
really get that in the university or from folks
or just general society. You have to seek tools
that will help you be able to process those kinds
of pressures. And that's what the happy CEO method
is. It's a four piece framework and it's helped
me immensely and hundreds of other people. And
I'm really excited to share it with you guys.
Great. That's great. I can't wait to hear all
about it. Many leaders carry the weight of their
businesses on their shoulders. How does the happy
CEO method help someone separate who they are
from what they do? Exactly. It's an identity
shift because a lot of people live in the identity
of, oh, I'm a business owner. I'm a son or a
daughter or a dad or a mom, or I'm a millionaire.
I'm this, I'm that, I am, I am, I am, which is
separating themselves from their spirit and their
soul. your sole position. So the difference is
that's like a societal like labeling. And that
is something that society and people have always
projected that we need to be like this to be
successful. But really the difference is how
you feel on the inside. And that's why I really
work on the inner gym, the inner fitness, and
really getting in touch with what brings you
joy, happiness, and fulfillment. Not from what
everyone else thinks you should be doing or what
society thinks you should be doing, but really
what makes you happy on the inside. Really, what
makes me happy is nothing what I do for a living.
Right. Or before I got into what I'm doing now.
Because beforehand, I was in banking, I was in
mortgages, I was doing a law practice, I was
a sales and marketing director. I was doing like
a thousand different things. After I was the
CEO of a design studio, I had a pizzeria, a restaurant.
So I did the whole gambit, but that wasn't from
inside. I had to be happy inside. So I know exactly
what you're talking about. It's so important.
And I bet you had to get some amazing mentors
or coaches to help you steer that path and continue
to remain connected to yourself so you can be
happy and live a life that you love. Yeah, I
wasn't happy until I found the right mentor and
the right coach. Once I got those two, then I
was on my way. Okay, so for listeners who brand
new to it. Walk us through the four P's framework.
Why these four and how, why these four and how
they shape leadership and connection? Yes. Yeah.
Okay. So the first P, number one is power. It
sounds a little cliche, but it's not. The power
of vision and self -belief is extraordinary.
And for leaders and business owners and newbies
that want to live a life of freedom and have
abundance and be able to be the boss of their
own ship, their own CEO, you have to put yourself
first and you have to really envision what success
looks like for you in this area. of expertise
that you're going to monetize. So if you have
a skill, if you have knowledge, if you have a
product, if you have something that you can monetize
as a business, then the key is seeing yourself
and envisioning that success. And like Dr. Joe
Dispenza, I don't know if you know who that is.
But he does this envisioning tactic where you
just clear your forehead and create a blank space
and you just see blank. And then you project
on it like a TV screen and you watch yourself
in your most successful state, hiking up the
mountain, summiting it, standing in your executive
corporate building with the view triumphant.
I won. I met my goals. Now I'm here. And then
looking and feeling that exhilaration. And then
writing your action steps down. What are you
doing? Who are you with? How much are you making?
What does success as an entrepreneur look like
for you? Or even as a mom or a dad or whatever
your goal is, whatever that happy place is, you
really want to observe it and then write down
exactly what it is. And then you have the vision
and then the self -belief, like really, do you
think this is? feasible possible and start believing
yes i do i know i can do it if i had the right
tools the help the framework the support the
money oh i'll be i would do it right now So,
yeah, that's like the first P is really identifying
as that successful person and really understanding
what that looks like. And then we move into the
second P, which is planning. It's the business
GPS. It's the coordinates of success and it's
custom and it's accountability goal making software
that. Also has been endorsed by Kevin Harrington
from Shark Tank, who endorsed my investor pitch.
And it's pretty much the business GPS. And it
really frames out actionable goals and strategies
in a very digestible way to be able to attain
that success. And so that's the planning part,
which is the second P. Are you guys bored yet?
Do you have any questions? I feel like I'm rambling.
No, I'm really, I'm listening intently to every
word you're saying. Okay. Yeah. It's also building
up the confidence and clarity. So hence my brand
Clarity with Charity. It's at that point, you're
laser clear on what success looks like for you,
what you're going to be doing and how you're
going to do it and how much you'll need, how
much profit, who's going to help, who your team
is. But then you need to position yourself. That's
the third P. Position yourself in the market
space as an expert and an authority and really
know how to connect with your audience emotionally,
psychologically, and find the people that you're
filling that gap for because usually products
or services are solving a problem. Usually they're
providing a service or a product that solves
a problem or creates a better result than what's
happening right now. You position yourself. And
that part of our program, you get a billion dollar
branding strategy from my partners at Edmanity
Protocol. They give you all the right colors,
taglines, keywords, positioning, what associations,
what platforms. And then you have this strategy
then to position your website, your business
in the right place. We also do a bunch of PR.
You get 250 placements in ABC, CBS, and NBC,
and we help you tell your story. So that's what
that's about is getting real with who you are
as an entrepreneur, what success looks like,
what problem you solve, who your audience is,
and getting super laser clear on that. And then
we get into profits, the fourth P. And because
I'm a numbers girl, fractional CFO, numbers are
important, but I boil it down to some very simple,
just five key numbers that most business owners
need to know and the right tools to set up their
business for success in that aspect to be able
to get capital funding and file their taxes and
be able to scale. That's it. Then you're happy.
You got the money, you got the plan. I got the
mindset. I'm ready. You have clarity, right?
You have clarity and everything. And I think
that's what you're striving for. And that was
some great advice. Okay. So how can somebody
apply the four Ps to improve the way they network
and where do most people unknowingly block opportunities?
Wow. That's a great one because networking is
the lifeblood of any business. It would be foolish
for anyone to think that they don't need to network,
point blank, whether they have a product or a
service. And now that COVID's over, getting in
front of people and rubbing elbows with the right
people in the right rooms is magical. And you
probably only need five referrals and you'll
have a full -fledged business and never have
to do a whole lot of marketing. But it is tricky
because people don't. get trained on how to network
so positioning the third p we go over like associations
network communities platforms because you need
to be in front of your people and a lot of people
just wish market or wish network and they just
show up there's gonna be people here people there
but now you're spinning your wheels and maybe
presenting to people that aren't really interested
in your products or maybe there's just too much
competition and too many competitors it just
dilutes everything so yeah I would say Networking,
you have to be very authentic. If you want people
to really bite or it's just like, here's my card,
shake your hand. Oh, this is so unauthentic.
Everyone just pitching, pitch fest, pitch fest,
right? Yes, it's very important that you know
your pitch. We do that in the GPS. Like you have
to be able to say who you are, who you serve,
what problem you solve. But you don't want to
get in the elevator with someone you've never
met that might be your next client and just look
at them and be like, hi, and then pitch them.
A turnoff. Everyone hates that. And that's the
block. But everyone gets so excited. They just
want to hand out their cards. They just want
to say who they are. They just want to say what
they sell. And people are just like, that is
so disingenuous. Like, I'm over it already. But
it takes a long time to be able to authentically
move a room and see who your clients are. You
have to study people and your product and very
strategically. communicate that to people in
a way that doesn't come off salesy and pitchy
yep if i can just take what you had just said
because that's what i go and talk about everything
that you just spoke of i go across the country
and i do workshops i do breakout sessions i do
coaching all my students they know everything
that you just said is what i teach. And actually,
yeah, so it hit home. It really did. Awesome.
What are the biggest blind spots that keep leaders
from showing up as their best selves when meeting
new people? Yeah, they get stuck in the ego or
the monkey mind and unauthenticity of what everyone's
thinking of them. They have to prove and they
have to do all this stuff that just turns people
off. And it's really that inside job thing I
was talking about. You have to go into a room,
like be confident in who you are without having
to prove it and be like. constantly just talking
about yourself when you're in those rooms you
really want to talk about the person you're talking
to you want you want to show interest in them
and so taking all the attention off yourself
because that's a lot of people that go into networking
car my website my new product my this my launch
there's a hundred other people here doing the
same thing so you don't want to keep doing that
and because people are looking for authentic
people that are really into them not No, you're
exactly right. You're exactly right. And one
thing that I always profess is whenever you go
to a networking event, you're always thinking
about the other person. Because you might be
there to sell something. If you're there to sell
something, you might as well not even go. But
you're there to listen to everybody. You have
to be active listening. And you listen to what
they truly have to say. And you don't want to
come back with the next thing that... You had
to say all lined up. You want to repeat what
they said. Be authentic with what you're saying.
And I use this line all the time. Listen, I like
you. I like how you do business. I like what
you sell. How can I make you more successful?
How can I be a good referral source for you?
And if I did my job correctly, they'll say, hey,
Mike. I don't even tell you do yet. And that
means that I've done my job correctly because
I've listened to everybody and I try to help
them. What goes around absolutely comes around.
Yeah, I love that. It's really key. It's really
key to be a connector, not just a seller. If
you don't think you, after listening to them,
you don't think you could help them, always say,
I think I know some people that could help you
with that. Would you be interested in connecting
and just keep connecting, keep connecting? Because
a lot of times you, it won't always be your client.
You'll listen to him and find out if you use
some of the strategies to get information that
will be helpful to find out if they are a good
match or a client, if you can help them. I'm
sure you have some strategies on that, like form
and some other things. Yeah, no, I am what's
known as a super connector because I, every week.
I make it a point to connect at least two people
together. Somebody that needs a service or a
job or something and somebody who can supply
it. And I put the two of them together and I
step away because I don't want anything in return.
I step away, let them handle it. Now, what does
that do? That puts the two of them like, oh,
you know what? Michael sent him over to me. So
let me send something over to Michael. You know,
so it goes around, comes around. So yeah, so
it's very important. Be a super connector and
just let it happen. And you can be aggressive,
but you also don't have to be aggressive. I don't
know how else to say that. Confident, I think.
People take confidence as aggression or arrogance,
but if you have real confidence, it will shine
through everything. Absolutely. Absolutely. Okay.
You teach the way a leader feels impact and how
they connect. How does internal alignment change
the way people react to you in a room? Oh, it's
night and day. Like I said, some people just
start with the ego and it's off -putting because
it's, but if you connect internally and your
true intention is to be a connector, to make
new friends, to help be of service to some other.
someone else to share your value. Like you have
to have that dialed in instead of just chaos,
money, more business, revenue, top line. People
are going to be like, Oh, I'm not just like a
number in your queue. I'm not just another sale.
Like I don't want to be sold. And that radiates
from people. I can watch people in rooms all
the time and just see it coming out. And then
you can see the ones that are genuinely connecting
and how relaxed and nice and how everyone wants
to meet them, you know? Yeah, when you go into
a networking event and what's called a servant's
heart, and that's by giving and not receiving,
it releases all the pressure off of you. It takes
all the pressure off. You have a great time and
you connect. So if you go in with a servant's
heart. Everything works out well. I love that.
That's a really great way of saying it. Oh, yes.
And there are books written on having a servant's
heart. There is a number of podcasts with just
having a servant's heart. So it's really, it's
a very big thing, but you truly have to believe
in it. You have to be authentic with it. Authentic
is. thrown around because it's a new buzzword,
but you have to be authentic, your authentic
self. And yet once you get through those barriers,
it just opens up a whole new world. Okay. Many
CEOs isolate themselves. What toll does that
take and how does your method bring community
back into leadership? Yeah. That's the key. Like
leadership for community is exactly what we all
want in the end. That's like the legacy. When
you can bring a community, like -minded individuals
together where you can share and grow, like that's
to me, that's complete success. And what was
the first part of your question? It was many
CEOs isolate themselves. What told? does that
take and how does your method bring community
back into leadership? Yeah. Yeah. So isolation,
it's a very, very lonely place, especially if
your head and your heart aren't in the same place.
And so a lot of CEOs stay in their head and logic
and stay in their head and all these things that
plague CEOs and business owners. So I don't necessarily
think lonely, is alone. I think for CEOs, it's
good sometimes to be alone and think and get
back in alignment with yourself, your heart,
your brain. And it might feel lonely doing that
if they're doing the right thing. But if they're
doing it to retract, avoidance, just beat themselves
up. mentally emotionally by isolating because
they don't have anyone to talk to they don't
have a coach they don't have team they don't
have partners or maybe they just they don't know
how to ask for help so I think probably for CEOs
they have to be alone for a while before they
can lead a community because a lot of CEOs and
business owners and bosses and leaders they can
project their energy on their staff, their team,
their people. And so they regress because people
avoid them and then they feel the discourse and
then they feel the divide. And then you feel
like you're a one person army and you're the
only one on your team because sometimes it can
feel like everyone else is not on your side because
they don't have the liability, the responsibility.
So I see why that happens. But if you have the
right. framework and tools and people in line.
So that was a thing I wish I had back in the
day when I had my restaurants that I didn't have
a good mentor or coach. Then I was a one woman
army. I felt that I felt the stress on my shoulders
and I didn't want to engage with everyone. I
would go home and just think and plot and figure
out how to fix it myself. And I was alone. But
I wasn't necessarily lonely. Everyone else might
have said I was lonely. But I think as a human
condition, we all feel loneliness. So I don't
know how to correlate that and community because
it's like polar opposite. But you have to go
through that to be able to have community. Yeah,
one of my one of the last companies that I was.
coaching the C -suite executives, I sat in on
two or three of the meetings. And at the fourth
meeting, I had just a one -on -one with the CEO.
And we went through a lot of what you're talking
about. And I said, you know what? You've surrounded
yourself with yes -men. You've surrounded yourself
with people always agreeing with you, never contradicting.
And that's not going to let you grow. It's going
to put you in your place. Unless you grow, unless
you yourself come up with something, you're not
going to have anything. So my suggestion to that
CEO was get a mentor, get somebody that's going
to give you a little, go up against you a little
bit and say, why are you doing this? Why are
you doing that? Try it this way. Try it that
way. You need somebody to do that. You can't
just always have yes men. And four months later.
I got an email back. Thank you. This is exactly
what I needed. And he did. He started to scale.
But it's exactly what you're talking about. Okay,
let's talk a little about decision fatigue. Networking
often requires quick judgment calls. How does
the happy CEO method help someone make clear
decisions about who to partner with, hire, or
collaborate with? Wow, that's such a good one.
And it all goes back to the first P because that's
the foundation of everything. And you have to
trust yourself. Okay. So it's self -belief again,
and believing in one's vision and decisions and
being able to tap into that and be able to sit
and take a breath and trust yourself that you're
making the right decision. Because there's snap
decisions that need to be made all the time that
you're not going to be able to consult your attorney
or accountant or, you know, everyone else. which
is also good. Also reach out to your coaches
and mentors and professionals. Can advise you
on certain is better when you have people to
bounce information off of, but quick decisions.
I always try to tap into my gut intuition and
it goes back to the first P know thyself and
know when your know is certain and know when
that's it. Hell yes. Absolutely. I can think
of so many different circumstances where I had
to make a snap decision. And that's all I had
to go by was my gut. Most of the time I was correct.
Some of the time I wasn't. But I had to deal
with that afterwards. But I always trusted my
own. But I also went to business with my brothers.
So I always had somebody to bounce it off of.
Okay. So. What does it look like when someone
is strong in one P, but struggling in the others?
How does that imbalance show up in conversations
and relationships? So much. So that's the other
thing. It goes right back down the P, first P.
So we got to master that. And it's like going
to the gym. You got to keep flexing the muscles.
You got to do it every day. You have to follow
your plan. right so if you're compromising yourself
in one area and you're not you're skipping things
and you know it then you're compromising yourself
so you're not going to have a very good relationship
with yourself so then you're going to have like
shady relationships with others it's just a proven
fact we track what we are and that's what we
want to do but let's do that at a level of Coherency,
like we're like -minded, we're in alignment because
you're certain, remember, about your plan, your
vision, your goals, how you're going to do it.
And if you follow through and you don't compromise
yourself and you don't procrastinate and you
don't backstep and then because we can be our
own worst enemy. And that's the whole challenge.
It's a whole challenge. So it's very apparent
if you're not doing step one, it will trickle
through everything else. Same with step two.
Like they're all very, if you don't have a plan,
you'll just be chaos. I'll just be spinning in
your head. You lose track of your coordinates
and your map to success. And you'll be all over
the place. Same, all the steps. If you, it will
be very obvious if you're not doing it. And that's
what we do. We do a self inventory check every
quarter just to see where we're good, where we're
not. And then that gives us an area to focus
on for the next quarter. Where can we do better?
I measure things because I'm a numbers girl.
So I like people to use. numbers to gauge where
they're at, see the success, see the areas that
need more work. So that's helpful. Generally
speaking towards the end of the year, because
I was a restaurant owner myself and at the end
of the year, I saw what worked and what didn't
work. The things that didn't work, I got rid
of and I brought in something new. And that's
always kept it changing. And I always got rid
of the old and in with the new. And that's the
way that I survived as long as I did. Bring this
podcast full circle. And if every listener applied
just one idea from the happy CEO method this
week, what shift would they notice in our confidence,
communication, or business relationship? Once
again, the first Pete, I'm like on a rerun, but
it's so true. It's like, even if you just focused
on that for three to six months, the vision just
closed. Take a few deep breaths and think about
success. What does success look like to me as
a CEO, as a business owner, as a successful person
in whatever I'm doing? What does that look like?
Because it is a muscle in the brain that a lot
of people don't use, but your subconscious mind,
if you think it and you can see it, it really
thinks it's happening. And so it's like tapping
back in to your inner gem and seeing that dream,
that success. Doing that every day and then writing
it down. It's a great time of year to do that
because then you'll have some frameworks to success
for the next year to come. I wish I can show
you my goal sheet that I have. And I write everything
out. I write everything out from the year and
what I'm proposing. I usually don't go past one
quarter. Like I, my goals for the next quarter,
I may stretch it to the half a year, but I don't
go any further than that because I try to do
it once a quarter to go out. Yeah. My goals.
Yeah. I do a 30, 60, 91, 20, but I do the visioning.
Do you see this board right here? Here's my success
life. Okay. So I want, I love the look. Okay.
I want to be able to help my brain. create the
vision and so I go seek things that represent
success to me in this coming year and then write
about it I love the writing but sometimes writing
because I have journals from when I 30 years
ago and I look back on it and I achieved so much
that I would write about but in the last five
years what i've achieved by just implementing
this visual aspect whether you do it on pinterest
pinterest you can make dream boards you can get
one here and then sitting quietly alone doing
that meditation with the blank sleep on your
forehead and just really thinking about at that
point at that mark how you want to feel what
you're going to be doing what you're going to
be earning and dialing into those things you
list And just thinking about the action plans
and seeing yourself in a video doing that successfully
will generate that subconscious mind will start
just presenting everything to you as you walk
out the door, as you are going through life.
You'll see that it's conspiring for you now because
you're really intentional. Good. Okay. It's powerful.
Hearing how the happy CEO method and the four
Ps bring more clarity, calm, and purpose into
leadership is something every business owner
needs to hear. If this episode sparked anything
for you, a new idea, a moment of relief, or even
a reminder that you don't have to carry everything
alone, share it with another leader who could
use it. Thanks for joining me on Network Unleashed,
Building Profitable Connections. I'm Michael
Foreman. Keep showing up, keep building real
relationships, and keep creating space for the
version of you that leads with intention. Now,
before I leave, Charity, I want to ask you, if
somebody wants to be coached by you, mentored
by you, or use your systems, what's the best
way that they can get a hold of you? Yeah, you
can go to my website, CharityBrown .biz or any
of my Instagram or my YouTube. And my podcast
is on Apple and Spotify and all the others. Just
look up Charity Brown will find me. And then
I do free strategy or clarity sessions, depending
on if you just want to do coaching or if you
want the business programs. That's great. Charity,
thank you so much for your time. This was a great
podcast. Thanks, Michael. Thanks, everyone. Well,
hold on, folks. Don't go anywhere. Let's hear
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Century 21. When it comes to making the biggest
financial decision of your life, leave it in
the hands of a proven professional, Henry Kaplan.
Henry is a global real estate agent with Century
21, celebrating his 41st year in business. No
matter where you're moving, Henry has the right
connections for you. You can contact Henry at
561 -427 -4888. All right, folks. A huge thank
you to our guests for sharing such incredible
insights today. And of course, a big shout out
to you, our amazing listeners, for tuning in
and spending your time with us. If you're interested
in my digital courses, being coached, or having
me come and talk to your company, just go to
Michael and fill out the request form. Remember,
networking isn't about being perfect. It's about
being present. So take what you've learned today.
get out there, and make some meaningful connections.
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