Deliver Our Message To The World With Liz M. Lopez

00:00:08:15 – 00:00:38:12

Nick McGowan

Hello and welcome to The Mindset and Self-mastery Show. I’m your host, Nick McGowan. And on this show, my guests and I unpack the stories that shape us and the lives that we lead on our path to self-mastery. Today on the show, we have Liz Lopez. Liz is a bestselling author and an executive career and business coach who helps corporate professionals and business owners to life changing levels of success through one on one coaching and signature group coaching programs.

00:00:38:26 – 00:00:58:23

Nick McGowan

Now, being a career coach. Must have been pretty interesting during the whole pandemic. So I asked her to join the show. But before that, because it’s just you and me here, we got to be honest with each other more. Be honest with me. You’ve thought about leaving your job at least one time since March of 2020. Yeah, I’m all right.

00:00:59:20 – 00:01:19:09

Nick McGowan

You see, when COVID hit, everyone started to think about their careers and just working differently. So listen, I get into some of the behind the scenes conversations with executives and business owners throughout the past few years about making life and career changes, as well as the stories that have shaped Liz and the wisdom she can share with us all.

00:01:19:17 – 00:01:31:15

Nick McGowan

So let’s not wait any longer. Let the games begin below. Liz, welcome to the show. I’m so glad you’re here. How are you doing?

00:01:31:19 – 00:01:35:17

Liz Lopez

I’m doing very well, Nick, and thanks for having me. I’m looking forward to our conversation.

00:01:35:22 – 00:01:53:09

Nick McGowan

Absolutely. So, Liz, I appreciate you being here. You and I met a couple of years ago through a networking group in Florida. I think it was literally one of the first things I did when I got here. I was like, I need to get back in people again and meet with some people. And you were one of the first handful that I met.

00:01:53:17 – 00:01:57:13

Nick McGowan

Are you are you actually still part of that group?

00:01:57:20 – 00:02:21:17

Liz Lopez

You know, because of the mostly working from home over the past couple of years, I’ve not really been in person to a lot of groups at all. But I am looking forward now to kind of revisiting some of them and seeing where I’m going to spend the little bit of time going forward. I tend to kind of limit my in-person stuff to a couple times a month, but I do a ton of networking virtually.

00:02:21:23 – 00:02:36:00

Nick McGowan

Sure isn’t a beautiful thing that we have the opportunity to do that now where years ago it was kind of weird, like even if you’re like, Hey, hop onto this Skype call, like, I don’t want you to see my face. So everybody has got their camera closed. Not anymore. For the most part.

00:02:37:24 – 00:02:55:25

Liz Lopez

I think now as things are opening up, it feeds everyone, like the people that really need that in-person energy are going to be able to indulge in that more receive that. And those of us that are kind of more uncomfortable, we’re more comfortable with more of a digital type of exchange and feel like we can truly connect in this manner.

00:02:56:06 – 00:02:59:18

Liz Lopez

You’ll have that option. Yeah, I like the hybrid world of it.

00:02:59:28 – 00:03:16:28

Nick McGowan

Yeah. What a beautiful thing. You know, business just needs to get done. Relationships and communication just need to happen no matter what the platform is. And sometimes I know I have first world problems where I’m like, Oh, there was an issue with this laptop. I’ll jump to another laptop. There was an issue with that. I guess I’ll grab my iPad.

00:03:17:07 – 00:03:34:24

Nick McGowan

There are times I’m like, Geez, there are kids that just want water in different parts of the country. You know, the country. And I’m looking at this stuff like a dumb first world problems. But let’s take a little bit of a step back. Liz, why don’t you introduce yourself? Tell us one thing you do for a living and maybe something that most people don’t know about.

00:03:34:24 – 00:03:36:22

Nick McGowan

You.

00:03:37:04 – 00:04:19:06

Liz Lopez

Sure, sure. So I am an executive coach, and I work with leaders both in the corporate world. So these may be your CEOs, your CMO’s, your CFOs, as well, those people as aspiring into that C-suite. And on the business side, I work with owners of their own companies. So we’re looking at success strategies, whether they’re looking to accelerate growth in careers with their credibility and their visibility, or they’re looking to accelerate growth within their business, which sharpening their business model, really getting clear on their messaging and sales process and then going into some highly productive lead generation to achieve what I like to call joyful, profitable city, where they’re living, living, leading a life where

00:04:19:06 – 00:04:26:04

Liz Lopez

they’re really enjoying what they’re doing and not working themselves to death. And they are creating abundance for themselves and for their legacy.

00:04:27:04 – 00:04:55:15

Nick McGowan

You touch on a nerve almost right off the bat. I was having a conversation with somebody recently about the whole hustle culture and the guy called me out and was like, Well, I think what you’re doing is hustling because I’m doing my my job, my business, my podcast. But I think there’s a difference between doing work on things that you enjoy and that you love or just doing things that you don’t do that as a coach that helps people in their career.

00:04:55:24 – 00:05:03:12

Nick McGowan

How often do you come across people that go, You know what, I’m doing exactly what I want? Or do you just not even talk to those people because they’re not your ideal?

00:05:03:16 – 00:05:27:08

Liz Lopez

Yeah, right. Well, you know, it depends on the career side. They are they’re on a path, so they may be at the end of their path with where they where they are and looking to make their next move great so that they’re happy with their overall, you know, maybe their industry or their their role type, but just not their current circumstance.

00:05:27:27 – 00:05:53:24

Liz Lopez

And on the business side, sometimes it is a decision point and sometimes it’s a matter of you really want to do this. Yeah, because and I just had that conversation with one of my clients. They were looking at the different services that she provides. And I was asking very clearly, which one of these you want to do and which ones do not is why teach you to make money doing something you don’t want to do?

00:05:54:18 – 00:06:16:17

Liz Lopez

And that, to me, becomes really, really critical. You know, speaking of things that we want to do, I’m going to jump back because I did forget to tell you something. You did ask. And she asked me what’s something that people don’t know about me? And that is that I have a lot of medals and I don’t have them displayed at the moment, but I have a lot of medals I’ve done all my life.

00:06:16:17 – 00:06:36:27

Liz Lopez

I’ve done a lot of five KS. I don’t have marathons ten ks and I’ve done a whole bunch of travel ones as well. And that tends to surprise people because I don’t look like I would be fast. And honestly, I’m not fast, but I’m persistent and I get to that end and finish line and I get my medal.

00:06:37:29 – 00:06:38:07

Liz Lopez

Oh.

00:06:39:10 – 00:06:57:22

Nick McGowan

That’s such a cool thing. And it would be a judgment to look at surface of people and just automatically think nuts, but they’re not into that sort of thing. But you never know what people are into until you actually get into the conversation or even ask. So how did you get into that side of life?

00:07:00:08 – 00:07:31:24

Liz Lopez

I was I was in my early twenties. I was invited by coworkers to go bike riding. And I wasn’t great at it, but we were doing it. We started doing some biking events and I was again persistent but not very fast. I felt like I needed to increase my stamina. So I started running to increase my stamina and cycling and over time just found that it was so much easier to just go out the door in my shoes as opposed to like, you know, all everything I needed to go on a serious bike ride.

00:07:32:08 – 00:07:35:04

Liz Lopez

And over time that just took over.

00:07:36:10 – 00:07:59:20

Nick McGowan

That’s pretty cool. I think most people, if they say, I’ve got a lot of medals, it’s like, yeah, we we won something in sixth grade. My mom kept the medals. I think we won something in like, I don’t know, whatever that field day was we did in eighth grade. That was the third place medal. But the fact that you’ve done a lot of this stuff and you have those medals, do you just not have them showing off now because you haven’t had them set up?

00:08:00:02 – 00:08:02:13

Nick McGowan

Or is is there something deeper to that?

00:08:03:25 – 00:08:29:18

Liz Lopez

No, I redecorated my office recently, so and I have not yet. I have this vision of how I want to put them together to build something. To do that in the time for that building is not yet arrived, but I will probably display them, you know, fun fact, you know, we talked about the fact that I have a puppy and my wife actually enrolled him in a race about two weeks ago and he won, but he won two out of four races.

00:08:29:23 – 00:08:31:25

Liz Lopez

So now he has a medal, man.

00:08:31:25 – 00:08:35:24

Nick McGowan

It’s a whole family situation. Does your wife have medals or is she lagging behind?

00:08:37:03 – 00:08:57:03

Liz Lopez

You know, she does some events with me just for just for fun. So she has some, you know, some of the same medals that I do. But my wife is a maker, so her world is more like 3D printing and resin printing and just creating amazing, amazing things. So I think the puppy and I are going to be the ones with the most medals.

00:08:58:04 – 00:09:32:23

Nick McGowan

And that’s a cool thing for you to to share, though. So let’s talk a little bit about the coaching and taking a little bit of a steer over to the people you’ve been working with over the past two years. I’ve cash at this point, we’re on calendar year three with this whole COVID thing. But since all of that stuff happened and we touched a little bit on that on our own personal call that we had, but I’d love to hear what sort of patterns you’ve seen with people that are trying to either shift careers or in the space that they’re trying to do more, but be more aligned.

00:09:33:06 – 00:09:36:22

Nick McGowan

So I’d love to hear your perspective on that.

00:09:37:14 – 00:10:14:00

Liz Lopez

I think you had a really important word with that, Nick, in terms of alignment, there are I’ve always I’ve been coaching now for 15 years and on the career side, for the most part, except for like maybe that 28 or 2010, majority of my clients are employed and they are intentionally mapping out their next level strategy. In the past two years, which is what I have experienced, is a lot of leaders not necessarily looking for I just want the next great, you know, good job that aligns my next step.

00:10:14:15 – 00:10:43:16

Liz Lopez

They want the next job they’re happy with. It’s got to be something that I mean, I have seen so many redirections. I’ve always wanted to work in this industry. It’s my time. I’m going to go give it this way or I’ve decided I’m just going to go ahead and launch my own business. Like I have one client that’s talking about I might open a standard store, right, coming out of a deep financial industry.

00:10:43:25 – 00:11:20:12

Liz Lopez

So there’s so many different types of pivots going on. But it has it fulfillment has become super critical in my clients. It’s always been important because that’s part of what I’m about. But the commitment of people to if it’s not in alignment, I’m not going to do it. And I’ve had so many clients of mine that are interviewing, they’re interviewing extremely well, Nick and they’re turning down offers because it’s just in the end, the offer just didn’t align in all the ways and they’re being patient about moving.

00:11:20:22 – 00:11:41:19

Nick McGowan

Well, it seems like such a power play for people, especially people in the know with themselves. If they understand it’s got to fit this criteria. There are a lot of people that forget about the interview being a two way street, like when you going in for an interview? It’s not just them interviewing and grilling you. You got to figure out, do you want to even work there?

00:11:41:19 – 00:11:50:11

Nick McGowan

Do you want to work with those people? If you instantly get a gut feel that these people are weird and creepy, they might just be your people or they might not be.

00:11:51:29 – 00:12:22:24

Liz Lopez

Absolutely at it. You know, the interview process is highly traditional still, and I feel like employers hurt themselves a little bit by not having some more upfront conversations about what exactly are you going to be a part of that offer. You know, you go through that process for someone, you know, long, you know, sometimes multi-month processes to hire these executives and then come out and make an offer that isn’t in alignment.

00:12:22:24 – 00:12:38:15

Liz Lopez

You could have saved yourself a lot of time if you just disclosed more upfront. So so becomes this dance when I am, when I wish it could be a much better partnership in in really reaching a decision about how can we be mutually beneficial to each other.

00:12:38:15 – 00:13:04:28

Nick McGowan

Sure. This may be a very simple question, but do you think that just basically boils down to the people? Because if there’s people on both sides that are empathetic and understanding and trying to look for a win win, you would think that it would work out that way, but maybe that’s typically not the case. Are your clients finding that to be where they’re meeting with other companies that are sort of along that same line or no?

00:13:04:28 – 00:13:35:09

Liz Lopez

I believe that there’s really good intentions. Okay. I just believe that the industry, employers as a whole are very mired in the system right. This is the way it’s done. And sometimes, you know, there’s recruiters involved and there’s a process. Right. And people are very, very attached to their process. Talk about it was having conversations about mindset. It’s such an enormous change and the mindset has to be there for a story.

00:13:35:10 – 00:13:45:25

Liz Lopez

They have to feel the safety nick that we will arrive at good decisions even if we do this from a genuine human direction. And I don’t think that mindset is there now.

00:13:45:26 – 00:13:55:04

Nick McGowan

I agree. And what a beautiful way to basically say no, they need to clean their shit up like everybody and it’s a people thing.

00:13:55:04 – 00:14:00:20

Liz Lopez

Well, I think they’re spending a lot of money they wouldn’t need to if they would embrace a different way. But I think there’s a lot of fear involved.

00:14:00:28 – 00:14:30:00

Nick McGowan

Yeah, I know. There’s a lot of fear just in the industries no matter what. So if you think of fear of supply chain issues and just stuff that’s happening, there’s also the fear of the companies that have employees that are leaving, some that are leaving on their own or needed to be asked to go somewhere else. Because of that, I think that inner stir, it seems like everybody most everybody started to have some sort of inner stir.

00:14:30:10 – 00:14:42:27

Nick McGowan

When everything happened. They were like, What do I want to do? So do you find that people are now coming to you saying, I feel like I need to find something aligned? Or are you working with them to find that aligned thing?

00:14:42:27 – 00:15:05:24

Liz Lopez

So part of my clients are in transition, right? They are intentionally making a move where a whole other part of my clients are in role like they are IOC CEOs CMO’s already in place. They’re not looking to make a career change. I’m just the executive coach, right? I’m their board of advisors, but one person that they can talk to and like be real with.

00:15:06:12 – 00:15:32:16

Liz Lopez

Yeah. So I kind of see both sides of that equation. A great example of this, I recently am supporting a one of my clients in onboarding to a new organization, and as I’m studying the organizational with him and talking about to the different roles, one of the people that he’ll be that’ll be a peer to him is, is the, the senior VP of supply chain.

00:15:33:18 – 00:15:54:11

Liz Lopez

And I made the point of mentioning this person needs help. I mean, this is the person that’s in the most pain. Yeah. So this is this is one of the first relationships you have to build and investigate. How do you support how do you support them and how do you lessen their pain? Because there is so much happening right now.

00:15:56:03 – 00:16:22:26

Liz Lopez

So some people here, they’re looking to move, they’re looking to to shift. But others are just really looking to be successful. What is and then it’s about how do we have these conversations and and have some vulnerability in that? Do, you know, approach another executive level person and and let them know that you want to support them, but let them keep their dignity as well.

00:16:22:26 – 00:16:47:10

Liz Lopez

I’m not gonna make it seem like they’re they’re struggling. And then the flip side of that is, how do you accept help without making it seem like you can’t do what you need to do? There’s a lot of that happening out there in the market right now. And I think my sense is my gut tells me that if more of those conversations were happening, you would see less of the people leaving.

00:16:48:20 – 00:17:16:04

Nick McGowan

Yeah, I’ll I can think that that could probably go for many sort of relationships. The people that were married and got a divorce throughout COVID, people that switch jobs or change careers or made some sort of transition, I guess, hell, even the people that just bought the COVID pet because they were like, well, we’re stuck at the house we’re going to do to get a dog, get an iguana or whatever.

00:17:16:04 – 00:17:38:24

Nick McGowan

There are those little stairs that come up and being able to manage what that alignment looks like. I know that something firsthand that you’ve actually helped me with, and I’m not sure if you’re aware of that, but a couple of years ago we talked I think we talked a couple times like maybe an now we’re two over the course of a couple of weeks, I was basically having a breakdown.

00:17:38:27 – 00:17:53:00

Nick McGowan

I don’t think they call it a nervous breakdown anymore, but I was in the midst of something and about to leave my own company and I was like, I need to create a resume. And I set up the bones of it. And you and I had met recently and started talking through some of that. You’re like, Yeah, send it over.

00:17:53:00 – 00:18:15:06

Nick McGowan

Let’s talk through to help. However, I can. And I remember you asking me like, Do you want to do what you’re doing? Like all this aside, just do you even want to do it? And I really appreciated that question of like because I arrived to no, I absolutely do not. This is eating my soul through my nose and I want to get out of this thing, you know, like, all right, cool.

00:18:15:06 – 00:18:37:04

Nick McGowan

What do you want to do next? So I assume your conversations are probably still the same with that because you’re very good at that. But they’ve probably shifted a little bit. So when you’re working with somebody now who is in the role they’ve been in, they’re trying to be maybe risk averse but still be empathetic. Can you kind of give us a glimpse of what those coaching sessions look like?

00:18:38:15 – 00:19:04:11

Liz Lopez

First of all, thank you for sharing that that that I really value that. You share that with me. So thank you. Those those conversations vary so much depending on current state and where they’re going and they’re very different on the career side versus on the business owner side. But the majority of the point in that is discovering what their true north is.

00:19:05:00 – 00:19:33:20

Liz Lopez

What were they really looking to sell and how willing are they to be visible in that only are they to be visible in that. And in the business sense there’s a little bit more flexibility, right? Like you’re creating your own thing anyway so you can do whatever you want. And what I find in that and so on the career side to next, so often the battle is not the external know.

00:19:33:22 – 00:19:58:29

Liz Lopez

There’s always levers to be to be watched out for like I don’t want to risk not having a job, I don’t want to risk losing clients. But a lot of the barriers are inside, right. That, that I do a whole series called permission to Dominate and has nothing to do with dominating other people. It’s dominating the barriers inside the things like being so afraid to fail that you don’t even give yourself a chance to succeed.

00:20:00:00 – 00:20:30:00

Liz Lopez

The fact that so many people don’t give themselves the permission to feel confident, right? They don’t give themselves the permission to be abundant. Nick, I cannot tell you how many times I hear people in business say, well, you know, I just want to help people. It’s not about the money is going to help people and being able to bridge for them that you are able to truly serve others well, creating massive abundance for yourself.

00:20:30:21 – 00:21:12:25

Liz Lopez

But you can create financial legacy for you and your family while you serve the world in a great way. And that is 100% mindset, because if you believe that, you can only serve people if you’re broke or you’re struggling, then you that’s all you’ll ever do. And it’ll actually limit your ability to serve and help others. A lot of it is the internal battle of what are the permissions you’re giving yourself and where where there’s a shift in the way you see the world, where there’s a shift in your belief system, open you up to have more success and you just feel more fulfilled as a human.

00:21:13:05 – 00:21:37:15

Nick McGowan

Mm hmm. It’s almost a very simple thing to just think about or just put yourself in a better mental spot, like, oh, okay. Yeah, I’ll just do that real quick. Let me just turn that mental button on. But it’s a lot more difficult than that or so people think, and I’m one of those people. There are times where, you know, in my own head about this stuff and it’s like, well, there’s all these things, but if you really get down to the boiling of it, you go, What?

00:21:37:25 – 00:21:57:18

Nick McGowan

So it was just this one stupid thing that was eating up my time and eating up my bandwidth internally. So I’ve even experienced the conversations with people like me. I just want to serve. I just really want to help people and like, totally cool. How are you going to do that? Broke as hell, like? Well, probably not very well.

00:21:57:18 – 00:22:07:23

Nick McGowan

Like, yeah. So imagine if you were abundant, you had money to do greater things. So with the conversations you have with those people, how do you help them manage their mindset?

00:22:09:04 – 00:22:31:26

Liz Lopez

A big thing that works really well in the process. I go through with my clients is that we do a really good inventory of what their history is, right? So what are the things that they have achieved? And I have certain tools that I use for this, one of them being an online questionnaire that I customized for each client that basically is asking them really specific questions.

00:22:32:12 – 00:22:53:16

Liz Lopez

All about the milestones in their career or their business. And people forget. People forget the things that they have achieved as they get married and they get so very swept under the carpet. And the response that I have over the past 15 years is it first people look at this thing, they’re like, wow, that’s a lot of work.

00:22:53:16 – 00:23:15:05

Liz Lopez

And by the time they’re done, they’re like, This is the best thing I’ve ever done. I, I forgot who I was. A lot of times it’s just real awakening them through their own words and putting them through the process of having to write it out themselves, to really be able to for them to remember who they are too.

00:23:15:05 – 00:23:35:14

Liz Lopez

And then teaching them how to use that in language so that they can be their best ambassadors for their own value. So there’s a lot of different exercises, but really it comes down to them really reconnecting the value that they have through collecting evidence.

00:23:35:14 – 00:23:54:17

Nick McGowan

Yeah, I agree with that totally. Part of my program is to take inventory. It’s one of the first things you do is figure out what are the things you first got to be aware of it. You’ve got to know there’s a problem, the word, something positive, whatever it is, and start to go through that inventory process to figure out what is this stuff that I have.

00:23:54:17 – 00:24:16:09

Nick McGowan

I think of it often as like if you you think I’ve got to clean up that closet. You know, a lot of people have the junk closet with just all the shit that you just put in there, just stuff in and shut the door real quick. If you mentally think through what’s all in there can be daunting. But if you just open the door and start moving bit by bit by bit, slow piece at a time, that’s all it really takes.

00:24:16:09 – 00:24:38:14

Nick McGowan

And then figure out what the inventory is and go, What do we do from here? So with the I know I don’t want you to give away any your secret sauce or any of that specific when it comes into the end of the coaching. But a couple of the things that are standing out to you and your clients right now, I’m sure, as we’ve already talked about, some of the risks and things of that sort.

00:24:38:14 – 00:24:51:26

Nick McGowan

But is there anything else that really stood out over the body of the past, let’s say, two years? You’re like, this was an interesting fact in the conversations I’m having with people.

00:24:51:26 – 00:25:17:29

Liz Lopez

That’s a really great question. Just today, I was coaching a client and she was going to meet with another executive. I don’t coach that other executive. I don’t know that exact, but I was able to frame from her, here’s how to prepare because here’s what’s likely. This is what this person is likely going to be saying and doing right.

00:25:17:29 – 00:25:40:09

Liz Lopez

None of it was negative, but it was just an analysis of that person that would allow her to prepare for that engagement. And she almost fell out of her chair. Liz, I don’t I don’t know how you do this. You don’t know this guy and you’re describing him to the tee right? Right. And now, like I have seen that about him, but I didn’t really think about that in the context of our conversation.

00:25:40:18 – 00:25:59:29

Liz Lopez

So now I feel a lot more prepared and really mentally adjust and even kind of relax into this conversation because of those observations. And that’s always something I’ve been able to do, is to really see people clearly, but also help them see the world around them really clearly so that they could have better interactions.

00:26:01:08 – 00:26:09:21

Nick McGowan

And is that something you think you were born with or did that come through experience early in life?

00:26:09:21 – 00:26:39:06

Liz Lopez

I definitely think it’s a talent that I that I’ve always had and that I’ve learned to hone, that I put time and dedication and investment into developing because it serves my clients well, my my ability to connect with them and to read them, but also to understand other people allows them to do better strategizing, better prepared, to be more emotionally available at times.

00:26:39:19 – 00:27:09:23

Liz Lopez

And it’s surely not it doesn’t come from a very cold place of like, oh, I read them like a book or it really is more of a intuitive sharing. A very, you know, I’m very business based, but I do get really clear on all the moving parts is I read politics, office politics really well. I can navigate people through different challenges that they’re having and that allows me to serve them well.

00:27:10:10 – 00:27:23:11

Liz Lopez

I absolutely feel like I’ve always known that from my childhood, that my success comes from championing the success of others. And these skills are a part of that contribution.

00:27:24:11 – 00:27:39:13

Nick McGowan

So over the course of the time that you worked in corporate America, let’s say you were just any sort of jobs and you saw that stuff happening. Is that how you got into coaching? Just by naturally coaching other people you’re working with?

00:27:39:13 – 00:28:07:29

Liz Lopez

I had the incredible, you know, honor of having leadership positions when I was in the corporate world. So a lot of that came from there. Honestly, I didn’t really set out to be a coach. I did a lot of consulting on the content side, just helping people with their messaging. At the beginning of of my solo career here as as a business owner, really helping them get clear on how to express themselves so that they could better engage their target market.

00:28:07:29 – 00:28:31:26

Liz Lopez

And over time it evolved into coaching. And then I decided, well, I need to get a little serious around them. So I got coaching on coaching and certifications just to be able to to serve them better, but it definitely had its evolution. I’ve always been someone that people came to for guidance. I’m the older of five. I have 14 nieces and nephews.

00:28:31:26 – 00:28:47:05

Liz Lopez

So like I am constantly tapped into for for guidance. So as always, something that I’ve aimed to be very graceful in, be very non-judgmental in, and to be very authentic in doing that.

00:28:47:21 – 00:29:06:18

Nick McGowan

And and to be pulled on in so many different directions. Clients, family, all of that, it almost sounds like, could be one of those situations like with a hairdresser, almost like they cut hair for work, then they come home and the family’s like, Hey, here’s getting a little long and like, here’s some damn scissors. Cut it yourself. I don’t want to.

00:29:06:18 – 00:29:16:17

Nick McGowan

So how do you manage your your bandwidth where you still you’re able to love and serve but still balance your time?

00:29:16:17 – 00:29:44:24

Liz Lopez

You know, when you first launch a business, you’re so hungry like you want, like every client you can possibly get, but you reach a point if you’re fortunate. And I and I feel very grateful in this, that I can be more mindful of who I take on and who I don’t. And I have boundaries set around that. I work with X number of clients on X number of days, and I and I aim to stick to that as much as possible so I can honor time with my family and also have a lot of downtime.

00:29:44:24 – 00:29:57:16

Liz Lopez

I got my hobbies, not involve speaking, I watch movies I read or I’m doing something, you know, to gain another medal. But they’re very quiet activities.

00:29:59:01 – 00:30:27:12

Nick McGowan

Well, that’s smart. I I’ve realized over the course of time that sometimes I can work myself kind of crazy, especially on things that I love to do. So having things outside of whatever work we’re doing, even sometimes just getting off the damn computer and going to do something different. And one of those hobbies that are quieter hobbies and maybe that’s the thing for people that talk a lot, you know, it’s what we do, coaching or sales.

00:30:27:12 – 00:31:03:23

Nick McGowan

They were just talking, talking, talking, talking. Right now. This is a friggin podcast about us talking. Then we’re doing pretty well with it, you know, so virtual life. So in that, yeah, where, where you’re able to kind of slow down, do you find that it’s it’s gotten easier for you over the course of time to be able to pull your energy back and say, it’s me time or it’s family time or what have you, or do you have a little bit of a buffer zone where you have to kind of real from the day and kind of get into then the other mode?

00:31:03:23 – 00:31:32:17

Liz Lopez

There’s definitely a little bit of a buffer zone and I have to be intentional about it because I really love what I do and I could easily over work and that will only last so long before it just get I get totally drained, so I manage that carefully. You know, ironically the day to day is probably more challenging for me, really having to be very disciplined around that, whereas the reasons are easier for me.

00:31:32:17 – 00:31:58:06

Liz Lopez

Like I take three weeks off during the holidays no matter what, and I’m completely comfortable with doing that. And there are times when fellow coach is like, Oh my God, aren’t you afraid all your clients are going to disappear? And I’m like, No, I’m not at all. And I take it and I’m very mindful about taking vacations and being the most part disconnected in those.

00:31:59:08 – 00:32:14:24

Liz Lopez

I’m very, very comfortable with assigning blocks of time that are just mine. But I have to discipline myself in not having an extra long day because I can get in such a roll with things and I need to know when to start with to step back.

00:32:15:11 – 00:32:25:05

Nick McGowan

Is there something that hits you maybe in your intuition that you’re like, it’s that moment I need to step away? Or Is it just something where you go, Oh.

00:32:26:14 – 00:32:31:12

Liz Lopez

I don’t know. It’s my intuition or my lower back that says, You’ve been sitting here way too long.

00:32:32:09 – 00:32:51:16

Nick McGowan

All right. Oh, man. Yeah. So even if you get a stand up desk, still probably going to happen. I realize the same thing. I visit stand desk, and there are times where I’m standing and I’m like, Man, my calves really hurt and my feet hurt. Like how long I’ve been standing here? Like, what time is it? It’s been 6 hours.

00:32:51:16 – 00:33:02:04

Nick McGowan

It’s been said in the same damn spot. Probably go to the bathroom, eat dinner, you know, not be here at the staff computer.

00:33:02:04 – 00:33:20:10

Liz Lopez

Yeah. I will say over the past year that’s been one of my big things is that I have a lunch time every day. Every day, like seemed pretty much the same time every day, dedicated lunch time. And I leave the office and I go do my thing and and I really, really enjoy that. Oh.

00:33:21:03 – 00:33:36:18

Nick McGowan

That’s that’s smart to be able to kind of lock yourself into something. You’re like, I have to go do this. Like, you almost have it. Stack it in a sense to say, Well, along with lunch, I’m going to give myself away from the computer, I’m going to do this, do that, etc.. So let’s talk about The Daily for you.

00:33:36:18 – 00:33:48:28

Nick McGowan

What is what is daily mind to look like? Do you have the things that you do like rituals or anything that you do through the morning or at nights? Or do you just wake up and just you just Liz Lopez and you just do you.

00:33:51:11 – 00:34:26:09

Liz Lopez

There are mornings when I when I am like I’m like literally the path to my office is very, very short. And there are mornings when I’m just like, I want to go do that thing. I try very hard and I’m successful most of the time of I am very fortunate. I have an area of my house that’s set up as a fitness area and I aim to go there first and and really spend at least 30 minutes there kind of having an a different awakening of the day and trying to be more involved in movement.

00:34:26:09 – 00:34:50:24

Liz Lopez

I love breakfast. I am a breakfast person. I would rather skip dinner than skip breakfast. And so I usually have something exciting for breakfast and then, you know, we’ll, we’ll do whatever transition needs to be done to get into the office. So most days I have a real nice morning routine, but there are some days when I wake up and I’m I’m going to go in the office.

00:34:50:24 – 00:34:51:23

Liz Lopez

I could do that thing.

00:34:52:12 – 00:34:54:28

Nick McGowan

So I understand that feel I’m the bug.

00:34:54:29 – 00:35:08:12

Liz Lopez

I’m trying to be one of those people that has a morning routine and I’m, I would say 75% of the way there. But I also give myself grace. Like if there’s a day that I’m just like chomping at the bit and there’s something I want to work on, then I’m going to go do it.

00:35:08:16 – 00:35:25:11

Nick McGowan

Yeah, that’s smart. I think if you understand how you operate, then you can play jazz and that sort of way where you go, Well, today I’m going to go do this thing because it’s not like you don’t do it today, and that means it just never happens ever again. You’re just like, Nope, I’m done. So you get back to it.

00:35:26:00 – 00:35:49:27

Nick McGowan

That is a habit thing that you need to kind of put in a place, and I’m sure you work with your clients on that sort of stuff, but I want to jump a little bit. So we’ve talked a lot about your clients, the mindset and kind of what’s happened over the past couple of years. But are there any major moments that have happened over the course of time that you can look at and say, man, that was one of those moments that changed me.

00:35:49:27 – 00:36:25:05

Liz Lopez

It there’s always one that comes to mind, and this is when I was in the corporate world. So I had worked at Capital One, Capital One had had a massive layoff and my boss got a job at Tods Portable on demand storage, which at the time was still kind of small company growing. And she hired me to come work for her and I was in charge of I don’t actually quite a bit of different there are many hats but one of the hats is I did a lot of the reporting.

00:36:25:05 – 00:36:50:03

Liz Lopez

I did. I was the call center analyst. I really kind of gathered all our data and, you know, took it from all this craziness and try to make it something readable for for the executives, particularly my boss, Lurie. And this was relatively well, you know, I was well regarded well, one that she sat me down. She told me something she had asked me for some kind of, you know, report.

00:36:50:19 – 00:37:12:12

Liz Lopez

And getting data was never easy. It was like pulling teeth from it. This thing was homegrown. It was amazing, but it was just wasn’t reporting friendly. She asked me to do something else and I’m like, I don’t know that we’re going to be able to do that. That looks complex. And, you know, I’ll be the guys are going to want to go there.

00:37:12:19 – 00:37:32:26

Liz Lopez

And she said to me, Let me tell you something that happened. I’ll ask you for something and you’ll him in your head and you’ll tell me. I don’t think we can do it. And then you’ll disappear for a couple of days and then you’ll come back and you’re like, Here, this is what we will be able to do.

00:37:33:03 – 00:37:54:03

Liz Lopez

And it’s perfect. She’s like, So you always deliver even when you think you’re not going to be able to do it. Like you don’t let it go. You, you, you know, added until you get it done. But the experience that you gave me is that you said now like how? Well considering telling me that might be a little challenging.

00:37:54:03 – 00:38:16:24

Liz Lopez

Let me go see what we can do and I’ll back to you in a couple of days. The result is the same, but the experience that I have is different. And this is right about the same time that Jim Carrey had done that movie. Yes, ma’am. Right. Where he had to say yes to everything first. And it really like that conversation.

00:38:16:24 – 00:38:35:15

Liz Lopez

And having recently watched that movie just exploded in my head of what is the experience that we’re delivering and how often are we saying? No, when either a yes we’ll do and then go figure it out or a You know what, let me give that my best shot. Let me look into that for you. Let me approach that.

00:38:35:15 – 00:38:59:03

Liz Lopez

Let me study that. Let me analyze that. What a great idea. I’m enthusiastic about that. Let me find out the logistics of it. Right. And I was always someone who studied language. You know, I’m the kind of person that will tell somebody avoid this as opposed to don’t do this. So when she said that to me, it really was just massive lightning bolt and it was life changing.

00:38:59:09 – 00:39:19:20

Liz Lopez

It was absolutely life changing. And I know this person. This is 15 years ago. We are still friends because that was just a moment that opened it up for me because shortly after that I launched my business as a side gig and every time somebody would ask me, Can you do this? I would say, Yeah, I’m pretty. I’m, I can do it.

00:39:19:20 – 00:39:31:20

Liz Lopez

As long as I felt it was in the realm of possibility for me. Meaning it was like, yes, I’m, I’m going to figure it out. And I would deliver and I would not have been able to do what I did here today if I was still starting it now.

00:39:31:22 – 00:39:46:28

Nick McGowan

Oh, wow. What a shift I like imagine as a coach talking to somebody and then be like, Well, I’m having a problem with this and it’s right in your wheelhouse. Can you help me? And you’re like, Well, you know, you sound like you could be kind of shitty at times and I don’t know if that’s going to work.

00:39:47:09 – 00:40:06:29

Nick McGowan

And, you know, here’s this. And I’m also seeing this is potentially a problem. They’re going to feel like, oh, okay. And probably feel much worse. So the fact that you’re able to take that be like, oh, well, it’s been this I appreciate from the sales side of just going, sure, yeah. How are we going to do this thing?

00:40:07:24 – 00:40:22:03

Nick McGowan

But as long as it’s right around your wheelhouse, typically I found that that’s a good spot to kind of get yourself moving. Are you in that same spot where you go? All right. Well, I said, I’m going to do this thing, so damn it, I’m going to figure it out.

00:40:22:03 – 00:40:39:18

Liz Lopez

Oh, yeah, I totally am. And I’m fortunate enough that I have a good team around me. I’ve got a great network. So I mean, and then there’s your friend Google Read like you can figure out pretty much anything, but I’m also mindful of boundaries, right? If somebody comes into me and they have something that they need is not really in my wheelhouse.

00:40:39:25 – 00:40:55:07

Liz Lopez

I’m going to be enthusiastic with them, but I’m also going to be enthusiastic about connecting them to the right person. And I’m not at a place in my life and I never really was, but especially not now where I’m just going to take client. To take a client, right? I’m going to take the people that I can serve properly.

00:40:55:21 – 00:41:09:06

Liz Lopez

And if we’re not, I don’t feel like we’re in the perfect alignment, like we’re not a good match. I have one wonderful colleagues that own their own coaching practices that I can refer them to so that they can have a better experience.

00:41:09:08 – 00:41:27:07

Nick McGowan

Yeah, and you’ve got to be aligned with yourself. Back to the beginning of this conversation. You got to know what’s right for you at that point. You’re so much easier to be flexible and say, Well, I know what makes sense for me. If you fit within this thing, great, let’s party. If not totally good, this person can help.

00:41:28:01 – 00:41:46:09

Nick McGowan

That’s. That’s a beautiful way that I appreciate that. You look at that sort of stuff. I know throughout the conversations that you’ve had, even with me many years ago, there was no trying to sell was just say does this make sense? If I can help a little bit, I’ll help a little bit. And I don’t think I, I don’t think I put too much stress on you.

00:41:46:09 – 00:42:03:04

Nick McGowan

But again, thank you for your help with that other any other moments that kind of come to mind or anything that stands out that was kind of a shift in life.

00:42:03:04 – 00:42:23:03

Liz Lopez

I had the credible I’ve had some great coaches in my life, some really great coaches. One of the first coaches that I really got that that they made a major investment in was Lisa Nichols. And some people know her very well. Some people don’t know her at all. But now Lisa Nichols was in the In The Secret many years ago.

00:42:23:03 – 00:42:45:09

Liz Lopez

She’s kind of the the African American Tony Rock. And in her program, she she shares this this thought process. And I may not have all the words right now, but it is just quote that she has it talks about there’s nothing to prove, there’s nothing to hide, there’s nothing to defend and there’s nothing to protect. I remember all four of them.

00:42:45:09 – 00:43:21:03

Liz Lopez

I got to fight. And that was really liberating for me because so much of what we do sometimes is hedging around those trying to protect our fear or trying to defend ourselves before somebody. Something’s even happened. We’re trying to trying to hide the ugly. We’re just trying to show the shiny. And I found that just absolutely, really, truly liberating to know that that I had permission to just be my authentic self.

00:43:21:04 – 00:43:50:25

Liz Lopez

Right. And that was something that always resonated with me. But to hear it sometimes from others is so important. And Nick, to me, that also proved that the importance of voice reading and Lisa Nichols is a very big speaker. But I’ve also learned amazing things from somebody just starting out. And the lesson behind it all is that you need to speak, you need to be you need to be sharing your message.

00:43:50:25 – 00:44:13:26

Liz Lopez

If there’s something inside of you that’s telling you this needs to be known to share it and to not worry about who said it before or how they’re saying it, or if they’re saying it better, or if they’re saying it fancier. So there are people that will only be able to hear it in the method and in the way that you say it, they can only hear it from you.

00:44:15:20 – 00:44:37:22

Liz Lopez

And if we can remove ourselves from comparison and know that we have permission to build out our space in this universe, then we will be able to deliver our message more courageously. And in that we will better serve others. We will unlock others to serve the way they need us.

00:44:38:21 – 00:44:59:02

Nick McGowan

That was beautiful, and I really appreciate you being on the show today. I think this has been a fantastic conversation. I would love to have you back at some point and especially at the point when those medals are up on the wall somewhere. What have move that camera around to be able to see them? But please tell me where people can find you and they can connect with you.

00:44:59:21 – 00:45:17:12

Liz Lopez

So a couple of places. And then first of all, thank you, Nick. I have to love this so much. It’s been such a great conversation. I love that we’ve reconnected. I’m so excited about the work that you’re doing. So thank you for sharing your space with me and for sharing my voice with your audience and if they’d like to connect with me.

00:45:17:21 – 00:45:36:27

Liz Lopez

My website is w w w that Liz m dot com so liz m lopez icom just like my name or you can find me on LinkedIn. I am big on LinkedIn. I love LinkedIn. Let’s jam on LinkedIn and I’m there as well as Liz and Lopez again.

00:45:36:27 – 00:45:42:03

Nick McGowan

Liz, thank you so much for being on the show. It’s been a pleasure to have you. And I look forward to having you back again.

00:45:42:24 – 00:45:52:17

Liz Lopez

Thank you so much.

00:45:52:17 – 00:46:19:11

Nick McGowan

Another great conversation on today’s episode of The Mindset and Self-mastery Show, and I really love when a conversation wraps up with a great lesson like allowing ourselves to courageously deliver our message to the world works for real change. That message that you have, the message that I have, the message that we all have. Just let that simmer for a minute.

00:46:20:10 – 00:46:40:09

Nick McGowan

Now, no matter who you are or what it is that you care about, if it aligns with you, makes you excited to be alive and you’re not murdering people, then share it. As you see fit. This is your story and thanks for allowing us and our conversation to be a part of your story. I’m definitely glad you’re a part of ours.

00:46:40:09 – 00:46:59:24

Nick McGowan

So what did you think about today’s episode? I’d love to hear your thoughts on the topics we got into today. If you enjoyed the episode, please jump over to iTunes. Subscribe Rate and leave a five star review. They help us be found by other people and help others be healed. And if you really enjoyed the show today, go ahead and share it with your friends.

00:46:59:24 – 00:47:20:27

Nick McGowan

We covered a pretty tough subject and got in some great tips about career change and life. And check out the show notes for more info, contact info for Liz and check out the other episodes on the Mindset and Self-mastery show dot com as well as our YouTube channel, The Mindset and Self-mastery Show. Just go ahead to type that in search.

00:47:20:27 – 00:47:42:13

Nick McGowan

And there you go. Thanks again, Liz, for being real. Thanks for being honest, vulnerable to being open with us. And thank you to you for listening. And with that, remember, your mindset matters. And so do you.