Dr. Tracy Timberlake is a mindset and business coach, a Professor of Leadership and Business, and a specialist in helping entrepreneurs, leaders, and public figures monetize their expertise and become personal brands. In fact, she’s often called “The Entrepreneur Whisperer.” She’s here to tell you how to give yourself permission to be greater than you are.
The importance of alignment in entrepreneurship:
“I think that everybody has a blueprint and a destiny that they are supposed to pursue. And a lot of the times we get pulled in a lot of these different directions. Life takes us left and right, and so I am always talking to people about course correcting to something that feels more aligned. And that really does include: what are your experiences, what do you love, what are your passions? All of these are the breadcrumbs that are supposed to lead you down that path of alignment. And a lot of people don’t realize how far they’ve gotten off that alignment.”
Finding the fun in the roller coaster of business:
“Having the fun of entrepreneurship and really pursuing that, is where the profits come from. Because you’re not going to enjoy it otherwise. Can entrepreneurship be hard? Yes! Can you be in a place where you think ‘I hate it here! This is not fun anymore.’? Yes! But to your point, passion is what gets you over that hump. If you’re not passionate about drop shipping (for example) then you’re not going to keep doing it. That’s not a sexy business to be in if it’s not something you enjoy. So, you have to find the fun in what it is you’re doing in order to keep doing it. Otherwise, why would you keep going?”
Taking calculated risks:
“Taking those risks really comes from knowing yourself and knowing what you’re called to do and feeling good about it. Is it going to be scary? Yes. … Entrepreneurship – the very definition if you look it up in the dictionary – is going to say ‘risk.’ But are those risks worth it to you, because of your mission, your values, where it is you want to go, and what you feel called to in this season? Taking those calculated risks becomes less intimidating when you know you are doing it for a reason.”
When should you go all-in on your dreams:
“I always say there are two different kinds of people. There’s person A, who says, ‘I am called to be an entrepreneur and I’m just waiting for the right thing to come along, and then I’m throwing caution to the wind and I’m leaving, because I was never meant to be in this job anyway. I know that I can make it.’ And then there’s person B, who says, ‘Well, I need to see X amount of dollars in the bank coming through the business. I need to make sure I have X amount of savings.’ They sort of have these benchmarks. There’s no right or wrong between these two, but I do think it’s important to know which kind of person you are, and then work towards that.”
Imposter syndrome:
“It’s really interesting how imposter syndrome shows up because it usually isn’t in the beginning. It’s usually at the time where you get beyond what you thought you could accomplish, and then it starts to become an issue. Then it’s like, ‘Well I don’t know if I can keep going,’ or ‘I don’t know if this is for me, and if I’m capable of doing this.’ And how we deal with it, at least in coaching, is we figure out what the triggers are of the imposter syndrome, because they can be many – depending on the person. And we also identify that the things you’re saying to yourself aren’t actually true. You’re just making up stories in your brain about how you can’t or how you won’t.”
Fighting through rock bottom:
“People are so scared to experience those bottom of the barrel moments. They’re so afraid to be down at zero. But in order to get to 10, you have to first experience zero!”