021 | Embracing Your Inner Dragon as an Entrepreneur with Stephanie Smart

Episode Description:

In this episode of The Suzanne Show, Suzanne and Stephanie Smart discuss embracing one's inner dragon as an entrepreneur. They emphasize the importance of self-care, clarity of purpose, and finding joy in life while striving for success. They also provide tips on how to bring value to others and reconnect with one's passion. Listen to gain insight into how to make it a successful year!

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Summary:

In this episode of The Suzanne Show, Suzanne is joined by Stephanie Smart to discuss embracing one's inner dragon as an entrepreneur. Stephanie has 30 years of experience in the alternative medicine and health field and is an instructor in various topics. They emphasize that it is important to look inward and reconnect with oneself, as well as bring together all the tools one has acquired through their experiences.

They talk about having a solid plan and foundation when starting a business, self-care, clarity of purpose, avoiding comparisons to others, understanding one's life purpose for taking the entrepreneurial dive, making a living doing something that brings joy, looking for moments of joy even when life isn't always easy, balance between striving for success and finding joy in life, and the symbolism of dragons in relation to transformation and revolution.

The takeaway from this podcast conversation was that we have a choice in our paths and it is important to stay grounded in who we are while finding joy in our business endeavors. In this podcast conversation, Stephanie and Suzanne discussed the importance of self care and how to bring value to others. Additionally, they suggest reconnecting with one's passion and why they started their business in order to get over any hurdles encountered.

Finally, they emphasize that there is a lot of talent out there and that it is important to recognize personal growth from last year and implement those changes into one's business for the current year. 

The Imperfect Transcript:

Welcome to another episode of The Suzanne Show, where I talk a little online business, human resources, personal development, chronic illness, and whatever else I decide to chat about. I am so excited that you are here and I love to hear from my listeners.

Please feel free to reach out to me on my website, suzanneproxa.com, or on my program site, programs.suzanneproxa.com, or on all the socials where I'm also Suzanne Proxa. And don't forget to put that K before the S. Let's move on with the episode. I can't wait for you guys to dive in.

Hey beautiful human, just a quick note that the episode that you are about to listen to is from my former show, Suze Pro Live. But it is so good that I just wanted to make sure that it was still being shared. So enjoy. So hello everybody. Hey. Welcome to the first Suze Pro Live of 2018. I am super excited to be here with Stephanie Smart. This woman is amazing.

I'm looking at her bio and I'm like, wow, this is really impressive. And so we're going to chat with her today about embracing your inner dragon as an entrepreneur. And as you can see, she's wearing her crown for us, which I absolutely love. Gotta have fun. Yes. So hopefully I won't be falling out of any chairs today like I like to do.

So I'm going to let her introduce herself because as I always say, she can do much better job than I can. Thank you.

So I've, Stephanie Smart, obviously my business is the Dragon Mystic and I have embodied that dragon component throughout all of what I do because it's really about looking inward and reconnecting to who we are. And so I come from a background of 30 years in the alternative medicine, alternative health field. And I'm an instructor in a variety of different things and have really brought all of that together.

And we were talking earlier about, you know, it looks like it's so much, but when it boils down, really it's all about connecting to our inner self and bringing that out. And it's all bringing all the tools together that I've got through that 30 years of experience that lets me do that with my clients because it's not just, oh, one thing here, one thing there. It's bringing that cohesiveness together.

That's so important to finding our joy. Awesome. So I love that you talked about finding your joy.

So I mean, talk to me, like, what does that, what does it look like?

What's it look like to work with Stephanie?

You know, what do you?

Well, I can wear my crown. It's about having fun.

And I, you know, I talk in my story, if you've read some of my story, I mean, I come from a pretty abusive background as a childhood. I'm a recovering addict and alcoholic. And we can focus on that trauma or we can look at where trauma brings us wisdom.

And what are the skills that we learn to get through that?

And how do we embrace that in our life?

And those things are really important. And so coming together, it's about bringing all that together and remembering that we are here to thrive and have fun. And that it does, it's not about the pain. It's like we, we've had a crazy week in my house.

I graded my finger really badly, but do I think about how bad I grate my finger?

No, I look at it and I can show a little bit. It's like a little heart. And I look at it and think, oh, self care. I need to do self care. And so it's about bringing that perspective in and remembering that we are here to thrive and that there's joy in that. And that it doesn't matter what's going on in your life.

There is opportunities for joy and finding that and embracing it in your life and embracing it in your business really puts us solidly in who we are and bringing that inner dragon out, which is that joy of ours. So I love that. And you know, as entrepreneurs, we know that it's not always joyous.

You know, everybody always advertises, you know, their time on the beach and they've got all this money to go spend on the most expensive greens powder ever made and all of this stuff, but it's not always like that.

No, it's not. It's it's hard work. And what I tell my clients is that it's not it's not and it's not going to be like this bundle of roses, but it's simple. Right. We do one thing and the next thing, because we've made a really solid plan that has us squarely and solidly in the middle of it.

And we've built a solid foundation so that when those times do get tough, you look back on the soul song map that I make with my clients. It does bring all that joy out.

What are our passions and our gifts and our dreams?

And we have that to fall back on. And I talk about bringing self care in that on those days where you're like, OK, things are not going well. My website is not populating the way it's supposed to.

What what are the self care things?

And so we build that foundation in so that you don't get stuck in those hard times. You don't get stuck in those times where you feel like you're banging your head against the wall again and again. Right. Because then I break my crown and that's not fun. And so let's bring the fun back.

And we do that by falling back on what we've already established as the foundation of those things that nourish us. And when we do that, we take a deep breath and remember that, oh, yeah, I'm doing this because I want to. And I'm doing this because I'm going to get all these cool things and I have all these gifts to bring out.

And how can I not go through this this hard piece?

Because I was so want to be at the other side of that. Thank you so much for saying that, because, you know, there are a lot of women out there who, of course, we see this every year. Right. But there's a lot of women that I saw out there, you know, talking about how brutal 2017 was, you know, this wasn't working in their business, that wasn't working in their business.

And they're just completely, you know, deflated, derailed, all of that, you know, and coming into 2018.

I mean, really, you can just see it. You can feel it. You can feel the energy and, you know, it's heartbreaking to see that. And I think what you talk about is really a good message that, you know, it's really all in how we go about dealing with it and the lessons that we take from it.

I mean, when you work with entrepreneurs, you know, what's the number one thing that you come across that you find yourself having to help them with with maybe some tips on how to help other people do that?

Yeah. The number one thing that I do, I work a lot with wellness professionals. And the number one thing is that we tend to start a business in whatever we're doing and then just kind of flow with what other people are doing. And we don't have a solid plan. And so it's that clarity of purpose and that pathway.

And so the thing that I talk a lot about is, is we weave together, but we can stand at a crossroads. And as we stand at our crossroads, we can choose a number of paths. And the thing to do is to be able to identify and choose the one that brings us the most joy and has us feeling like, yes, I am so excited about that.

And when we do that, then they're off and running because we've built them a solid business plan. But it's like I was working with somebody and he's a fantastic health coach and massage therapist.

I mean, he's just brilliant and has so much joy. And we did this process. And by the time we were done with a free session mastermind, he was like, I'm the fairy godfather of wellness.

Oh my God, this is so great. And he couldn't, he can't say it without smiling and almost like bouncing in his chair. When we get aligned and we find that clarity of our path, then we are off and running. And those hard times, you know, I've been doing this for a long time. I've run wellness centers. I've been a corporate trainer. I've done a whole variety of different things.

And the fact is that we're always going to have times where we struggle and we're always going to have times where we thrive. And it's about knowing what your plan is and having the next pieces in place and having a support group around you to support that process, because that's called life. And that's called being a person. And then last time I checked, we're mostly all people.

And so, you know, even though some of us were dragging crowns, let's keep having fun with it and just recognize that it's just the next path. And how do we find that joy in our business as entrepreneurs and connecting in that process of connecting with our inner dragon for me is all about finding our passions and our gifts and our dreams and really bringing that core of who we are back out.

And when we do that, we really can soar and we really do fly because we are so grounded in who we are. We're off and running. I love it. Yeah. The big one big takeaway from that last that last part is we choose our path. We do. We end.

You know, a lot of people don't think about it that way that we have a choice, but we really do.

You know, even in my business, I'll just put myself out there. There have been many times where I could have chosen to curl up in a corner with a big, huge bottle of wine or well, really it's beer for me and a whole lot of it. But you know, screw this. I'm out of here. And I absolutely.

But you make the choice and I've got to tell you, you know, for me personally, I'm so glad that I did because you know, some of the things that you talked about, you know, the clarity and your passion and your purpose and all of that, you know, don't lose sight of that people because that can really drive you to amazing success.

And if you can get yourself over these hurdles, then you can get yourself to a point where you are blissfully happy in your biz.

I am, you know, I have people tell me all the time lately that they can just tell. Yeah.

I mean, don't you agree with that?

Absolutely. Absolutely.

And I think the key is, is we look around and we get especially in Facebook world, right?

We scroll and all these people are like displaying, like you said earlier, right?

We're on the beach. We're having this fizz and it's like we get into comparative mode and we have to stop. We're not like everybody else and we have to bring that in, bring us into it.

And it's like, so what I do when I get there is if I can turn my camera a little bit, you can see I have this whole wall here and I have a manifesto that I read sometimes and all these sayings that really help me when I'm like, okay, I'm going to go curl up.

I don't drink anymore, but I could go curl up with a whole variety of things and just check out. But when I look and I turn at that wall and I'm like, oh no, I have this stuff that I need to do because it brings me so much happiness.

So it's like just putting one foot in front of the other, go take a minute, go do that self care, right?

Honor the moment and then proceed because that's what we do.

And I think that's what separates apart the people who are entrepreneurs from those who work nine to five, right?

We have to be self-driven. We have to show up in order for our business to thrive, which means our life is thriving unlike just going to work and doing those motions. And it's when we can show up and we can keep showing up in our lives and keep learning how to soar and fly, then have fun, then we get to just proceed and have such a joyous life. And I love that.

And I think that a huge part of it is having that life purpose.

As entrepreneurs, we're different, aren't we?

I mean, in that respect, we have a life purpose. And I have to believe, this is my belief, that it's put there for a reason. If we took this dive, there's a reason why we took it and that we need to embrace that.

I mean, do you talk about that with your clients?

I'm sure you do.

I do, absolutely. And it's funny because when I have people who come and they're like, well, I'm doing this one thing, but I want to do this other, but I don't want to give this up. And I'm like, great, let's figure out how to marry them. They're both your passion. And it's when we can find that passion.

And I talk about, if you can be a professional mermaid and make a living, if you can make balloon dresses and be a millionaire, why can't you do your passion?

Somebody wants what you have. Balloon dresses. Yeah. There is somebody who does, like when you go to a party, balloons, they make gowns. Oh gosh.

And they like quite expensive gowns because they're an artist, right?

But that was their passion. That was what brought them joy.

So if they can do that, why can't we do what brings us joy?

And I talk about, so when I transitioned from being a hands-on clinic and running a wellness center and doing energy work and hands-on work to doing more coaching, there was a moment where I was sitting in my dining room and I could sign a lease for a new space or I could honor what was driving me. And when I sat there and I thought about signing that lease, I started crying.

And it was that moment that you get to in your life.

And when you can find that perspective, how can you not then proceed to the thing that's driving you that brings you so much joy and you know you're supposed to be doing?

And I just say, when we get to those things, if you have it in you, why are you any different than the people who are doing this other work, except that they've gone through the work of building a business. Now you get to do the footwork. That's all it is. Yeah.

I almost, I feel like we've been taught that it's not okay to have that joy.

What do you think about that?

I call it be us. Yeah. Yeah.

I, joy is part of who we are. It is part of the human spirit.

And yeah, life is not every minute of the day joyous. Certainly not.

You know, I was rear-ended this week with my two kids in the car. Yeah. Rear-ended this week with my two kids in the car. I grated my finger. I have a friend who died this week.

Would I have a joyous week?

It's about looking at the big picture, right?

So what did I take away from it?

And what's our perspective?

And so we're sitting in the emergency room because my younger son needed to go get his neck checked and we're in the emergency room and my older son is sitting there.

So they're nine and 13 and they're sitting there and the nurse comes in and looks at me and says, so how attached are you to this shirt?

And I said, cut away. And the look on my older son's face and his eyes just got huge as the nurse is cutting the shirt.

It's like, that was priceless. Because I was like, go ahead, cut the clothing.

You know, it's like, where's our perspective?

And I think we have to find those moments in everything because certainly we could go around and we could just be, oh, I was in a car accident.

Oh, I cut my finger.

Oh, you know, I'm having this really, really crappy start to 2018.

Or I could look at the rest of it and I could look at how I got to spend yesterday afternoon with some friends and we're getting to do this today and I get to have fun and I'm doing these other things, right?

I get to go make personal talking sticks with a group tonight.

Yeah, right. So I could look at that or I could look at, oh, I'm having a crappy start. So it's about perspective. And I think if we cannot find joy in our lives, then we are doing something wrong. Just across the board, forget being an entrepreneur. We as a person, right, it's part of the human spectrum of feelings. We should be having some joy in our lives.

And if you're not, let's figure out why and how to get you there because it just needs to be included. So if you're watching or listening and you have no joy, you actually can have it. And I have to tell you, it's so funny because I have grown up being an eternal pessimist. Entrepreneurship is what saved me.

People like you are what saved me and taught that it is actually okay to expect the best to happen and to have some joy. It was not, I did not grow up with that whole thing. It's been in the last two years, which I find really interesting. So there's a lot of people out there walking around that think you have to be miserable. And so what you're doing is amazing work.

I'm going to read it. I'm going to read it.

Okay, good.

How, how like, so here's, here's my rant about that. We're wary. We were born. And when you think about being a child and that bundle of joy in your arms, right. And we learned to smile and we learned to walk and we learned to explore the world and we learned to play with toys and, and all the things, right.

You can see what's on my desk, all the things that are on my desk, right. We learned to play with all these things and we learn what joy is. And then we lose it through experience. And it's because we don't have the support around us to say, no, it's about that balance. And the skills sometimes tip sometimes. Yeah.

You know, you have some grief and you have an abundance of grief and there are these little tiny kernels sometimes with joy in there, but it's, it's about finding that balance. And I tell my story of, you know, as a, as a practicing alcoholic and drug addict, when I was much younger, I attempted suicide twice. And there is no reason why I should be sitting here given what I did.

Except that that was what was meant to be.

And it's like, if I'm still sitting here after what I did and all the things I did, why can't there be joy?

Why isn't, why isn't life meant to be joyful?

Like at least part of it, right. I'm not saying I, and there are some people who are like, oh, it's all light and love. It's all joy.

It's all, no, it's about balance. But we have to have it in there, right. It has to be in there or we just, it's not worth it.

Why are we, why are we striving and doing all that hard work of being an entrepreneur if we don't get some joy in there, right?

It just has to be. Absolutely. I get a ton of joy now from my, my business and, and the amazing ladies that are out there that I get to interact with every day like you. Yeah.

So, and I like you, right. It's right back at you for that as well. Thank you.

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. I must be doing something right. Cause people tell me I'm always smiling and it's even when I'm cranky and they can't tell. So yay me. Yeah.

You know, that's that transformation. That's that alchemy that we go through and things shift and that's part of what we're after. Yeah. And so one of the reasons that I talk about dragons is that, you know, yes, is, is I do a lot of energy work and I work with spirit animals and I work with all of that. But from a different perspective, dragons are about our creation.

It's about our, I talk about them as the DNA of our spirit.

And when we really weave that into who we are, then there has to be joy, right?

How can you not?

And if you look at the, the Chinese have a picture that is pretty common of the dragon going after the eternal ball of youth. And it's that searching and that's right at striving that I think brings us a lot of joy as well.

And that when we look through talking about transformation and alchemy, there's a great story about dragons and the U S in that when in the revolution, when the founding fathers were planning the revolution, they met at the green dragon's tavern and the green, the green dragon is all about transformation. And so how beautiful is it that our country was formed and that revolution was, was plotted out in the green dragon cavern.

So I love bringing that in and talking about, you know, we bring that revolution and, and that transformation into our lives. And it is about bringing about a revolution. And you talked earlier about, you know, people saying 2017 was such a hard year.

And I think we can talk about that every year, right?

But there's always times for things shifting. And I think energetically last year and this year is continuing. We are in a place in the universe where there's really enough people that's happening. And I think a lot of us are recognizing that we need to rise up to that occasion of really owning who we are.

And you can see it throughout, you know, Facebook and magazines that are happening that, that there is a rising up that's happening. And so I want to encourage everybody to find those resources so that you are supported in that process because that's part of where we find our joy. Absolutely. So one or two tips to help people find that joy. Yeah.

So I do a lot of, I talk a lot about journaling and so I'm really big on journaling every day. And I think that what I've noticed is that when we can write down and we can journal every day, we can go back and look at that and there's treasure in there and it will give us a lot of perspective.

And I'm not so big on writing a gratitude list, but I'm big on writing a focus. So if we're looking at where our joy is, we're looking at how do I bring out my inner dragon, then write that question. How do I bring out my inner dragon today and just let it flow.

It's kind of like a brainstorming session where you just let flow onto the paper what's coming out because then you're not censoring. When we censor ourselves, we lose such gold and such insight that we get from our inner wisdom. And so I would suggest, you know, that's the one tip is just journal about how to bring out that inner dragon and what that means for you.

And then go back and look after a week or two and look at what the theme is and what that recurring pieces are. And those are, those are your nuggets. That's going to be gold for you.

Yeah, definitely. Then they're done. Lots of nuggets in the journals. Yep. Yep. I like to talk about doing it with a specific focus instead of just I'm journaling my day where if I ask a question and I really do that on a consistent basis for a week or two or even longer sometimes, then I start to gain insight over time.

And that insight over time is a perspective on looking back and seeing, oh, I've got all this recurring pieces or, oh, look at, look at the progress I made. Look at how I went from this place to over here.

How cool is that?

And it's a, you know, so you get those two different pieces in there. Thankfully, I usually see a lot of progress.

Yeah, we all do, you know?

Yeah. So if you take a consistent practice of journaling, you're going to see progress. Absolutely.

So any other tips for people to find that, find that joy and get over that hump, especially the people who hated 2017?

Yeah.

So find a way to really reconnect with who you are and what your passion was and why, what's your why, right?

Why did you start your business and what keeps you going?

And that is where the focus is. And so when we can bring in that and remember what that why is.

So if you had a really hard 2017 and you felt like, am I going to keep going?

Go back and look at why you're doing this.

Why did you start it to begin with?

And if that's not clear, get some help. Because if you did all of 2017 and you aren't clear on that, then let's get you really clear so that you can have a different 2018. Absolutely. Because I 100% believe that even if somebody had a crappy 2017, they can completely come running out of the gates in 2018 and just kill it. Absolutely. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. Lots of talented ladies out there who just had a bad year.

A ton.

And I, yeah. And I would say also that there are a lot of talented ladies out there and men too. I work in men as well. There's a lot of talent out there and people have done a lot of work. And so there's been a lot of personal growth over the year. And so making sure that that doesn't just slide away.

So really looking at what was that growth and then implementing those changes into your business so that 2018 becomes different for you. Yes. Absolutely. Yeah. So I'm sure there are people out there who are interested in talking with you and working with you. That would be great. Yeah. I love that.

So how do they find you?

Do you have any free offers or anything like that that you want to tell them about?

Yeah. I do a lot of talking about self care. And so I have a self care map that is free on my website. And it is the process of going through and really identifying what self care means for you and what are the subtler aspects of self care. So there's a handout and a video that goes along with it. And my website is the Dragon Mystic.

And I will also post that on my Facebook page and in the comments in the group here for people as well. So they can access that. My Facebook. Yeah. And then I live on Facebook. It's the Dragon Mystic is my Facebook page and I'm in there all the time. That's my format. Awesome.

Well, yeah. And you're everywhere. Which is great. I have a few select groups that I post in a lot and really participate in. Because I think that's how we bring value.

It's not just the people who are on my page, but where else can we also bring value?

And that's the key, right?

It's not just the visibility, but where do we bring value and help to raise up?

And there's a great story about the Statue of Liberty. And if you know the history, the lantern that she's holding is all about illuminating the path or enlightening the path for those who walk behind her.

And I bring that in and talk about let's illuminate the path for those who walk behind us, but as well, let's illuminate the path for those who walk beside us in our community and bring that forward so that we all go forward together. Oh my gosh. So much love for that. That's awesome. Yeah. Wow. That's a great place to end. That's amazing.

It's one of the things I love is talking about how do we illuminate the path?

Yeah. Yeah. And bring each other up and help each other. And yes. Absolutely. Yeah.

Well, thank you so much for being on Stephanie. It was super fun. Yeah. Thank you so much for having me. I loved getting to do this with you and getting to spend time with you and hearing part of your story as well. Yeah.

So, hey guys, if you're watching live, this is going to get uploaded to YouTube as well, and it'll be on the podcast by the end of the day. And then for those of you listening to the podcast, if you want to watch it live, just come back to my Facebook page, facebook.com backslash Sue's Pro. And you can watch us live and see her crown. Yes.

Crown with jewels and dragon, you know, got to have fun. All right.

Well, thank you much. I hope that you loved this episode. If you did give me those shout outs, show me some love on iTunes, give me a rating.

And hey, if you want to know where to find me, you can find me on pretty much all social media at Suzanne Proxa. That's S-U-Z-A-N-N-E-P-R-O-K-S-A. And you can also head over to my website, suzanneproxa.com. Until then, I'll see you in the next episode and here is the music for you.