Look, it's not easy to start an organization. It's a big leap of faith and it requires you to keep perservering. I have loved working with Denise and how she tackles things. Her story is so inspiring to me. And I thought it might be to you as well!

What You'll Learn:

→ how to keep going when you want to give up.
→ ways to stay centered.
→ finding belief in yourself.

Want to skip ahead? Here are key takeaways:

[10:30] Taking that leap of faith Have confidence in yourself and know that your voice and your story matter. Deliver your message and express yourself in a way that you are comfortable with.
[13:05] Don’t give up Be honest with yourself and what you are trying to accomplish. Surround yourself with a support group that will allow you to express yourself without judgment and help you accomplish your goals.
[18:27] Staying Centered Take a moment for yourself to clear your mind. Find a safe space and a contact person that can allow you to relieve the stress and let your emotions out. Don’t be afraid to speak up for yourself when you do need to have a moment to yourself.
[24:00] Believe in yourself Know that you are enough and have the abilities to accomplish all of your goals. Be true to yourself and let the world know the real you.

Transcript

[Sami Bedell-Mulhern] So I don't know who's going to need to hear this episode today. But I have been working with Denise Morrison for a few months now. She's a client of mine and I have just been so inspired by the work she does and the way that she approaches her business. She does a lot of mindset coaching. She does a lot of mixing the physical with the mental and making sure that we are as a whole person living our best lives. And so I wanted to have her come on today's episode to share some of her experience in growing her business and becoming a one on one coach and kind of jumping into the unknown. And also just give you some words of wisdom for wherever you're at in your business, so that you can really feel empowered to keep doing the incredible work that you're doing. My name is Sami Bedell-Mulhern, and I am the host of the digital marketing therapy podcast. And I thank you so much for joining me for this and every episode. 

I'm so excited for you to hear this conversation with Denise. It was really powerful, I got goosebumps a few times, and she is just an incredible person and I know that you will fall in love with her as well. Denise Morrison is a transformational guide and a key partner for powerful women who want to live to their full potential. So take a listen to this episode, you might need to listen to it a couple times, keep it bookmarked for when you're just having a day. And you might need to hear these messages again. I think it's going to be pretty powerful. But before we get into it, this episode is brought to you by my patrons, head on over to the firstclick.net/Patreon so that you can check out all of the incredible resources that are here for you to take action on these episodes. Again, that's thefirstclick.net/Patreon. You can become a patron for as little as $5 a month and I would love to see you there. Let's get into the episode. 

[INTRO] You're listening to the digital marketing therapy podcast. I'm your host, Sami Bedell-Mulhern. And each week, I bring you tips from myself and other experts, as well as hot seats with small business owners and entrepreneurs to demystify digital marketing, and get you on your way to generating more leads and growing your business. 

[Sami Bedell-Mulhern] Hey, everybody, please join me in welcoming Denise Morrison to the podcast. Denise, thank you so much for joining me today.

[Denise Morrison] Thank you for inviting me, Sami.

[Sami Bedell-Mulhern] Yeah. And we have the pleasure of working together. So I am so excited that you're on the podcast. But why don't you just maybe share, because it's been a fairly new-ish kind of transition that you're working on right now from, you know, in growing and starting your coaching business. So kind of when you decided to start adding this layer into your work with what was that like? What was the most stressful part of deciding to start a one on one coaching business?

[Denise Morrison] Let me just cry for one second and freak out inside? Well, it was being out there on my own, putting myself out there for all the world to see potentially. Yeah, because I've always been a physical therapist where patients will come in, I evaluate and I treat them, and we get rapport and relationships. And it's one on one. And that was easy. I could do that simply, someone took care of the money, someone took care of the marketing. I just showed up every day, but going out online. For someone who really never would speak up or was afraid to speak up in the world, holy cow. It was frightening, to say the least.

[Sami Bedell-Mulhern] And I love the parallel. That's why I love the parallel of nonprofits and people going into one on one coaching because I think it's the same thing like we start it because of the passion. And because we really want to make a bigger impact on the people we serve. Not necessarily because we're equipped to start that business. So kudos to you for taking that leap. Because that's a leap of faith for sure. But what was kind of maybe something that you would go back and tell like if you could go back in time and tell yourself like what's one thing that maybe you learned along the process that you would like to kind of share with other people?

[Denise Morrison] Oh gosh, if you're a medical professional or someone in a similar kind of career or position that I was in where you were spoiled by having an endless stream of clients, patients coming in. Take a deep breath. Know what your, why is your passion. Really sit down with that and be comfortable with that. And then seek out some trusted advisors, partners, helpers, tribe, and be very clear on what you want to do. And if you do not know those things, definitely start talking to people to get information and research. Because it is frightening.

[Sami Bedell-Mulhern] Yeah, well, that's one of the things that I've always loved about our working relationship is just the openness to Okay, let's see what happens. Let's see, let's try this. Let's try that. Let's see what happens. And I think a lot of like you said, when you come from maybe a more corporate structure, or you have a frame of mind for what it might look like, it's hard to kind of jump outside that box. And so how has that been for you? And like opening yourself up and taking kind of a leap of faith and saying, Okay, let's just see what, let's just see where this leads? And if it doesn't work, well, we'll go somewhere else? And do you think that that's because of the training and the coaching that you do with your own clients that has allowed you to do that? How has that worked for you?

[Denise Morrison] I actually, it's funny how you say, take a leap of faith, I am someone who was an adrenaline junkie, and I love to travel and I have bungee jumped numerous times. So innately, I am one to try new things. And I never quite get too comfortable, which is good and bad. But I have it in me to always want to try new things and see how something works. And I do believe it's from my nature, who I am, and also as a physical therapist, all these years of taking someone and working with them and going, Okay, this is what you're giving me body, mind and soul. Let's see how I can help you, It's going to work for you and won't work for somebody else. So having that knowing inside of me, in working with people for so many years, ages two to like 102 career, I had to be very flexible, gain rapport, switch things up, adapt, very simple to me. But over the years, that became my intuitive sense of being able to adapt and change. So the coaching piece was actually fantastic. Because once I learned to switch over to a coach, it freed me up for so much more exploration and getting curious and getting interested in what other people are saying, what other people are doing. Not to downplay what I learned as a PT, and things in books and things in courses and science evidence based, but I was able to go outside those boxes, even though I had a solid foundation, but go outside the box and go, let's try this or what is this person saying? Or how am I really reacting, responding to this person that I'm working with? And going, what can we do instead? So I guess flexibility of communication, attitude, changing.

[Sami Bedell-Mulhern] Changing from a solutions mindset, instead of a reactive mindset, almost like how can we create these little mini micro habits throughout time to allow us to try new things and then build them in these habits, and then always be looking for new solutions? Instead of the dreaded phrase of well, this is how it's always been done. I know, it like automatically evokes anxiety in me and I know it does hurt you too.

[Denise Morrison] I would, I know, like, I've definitely outgrown that saying and that mindset. It's being a coach, like I said, has freed me and opened me to a new mindset paradigms, possibilities that I'd never thought of before. But yeah, the possibilities are endless, but also having kind of faith in myself and faith in who I'm working with. And that knowing that it's going to be okay, or to take a chance and I am not afraid of failure. Now that I realized that failure is really feedback, it's really like a way for me to course correct and say, okay, that that didn't work so well. What could I do differently next time or switch it up? So I was able to forgive myself and be easier on myself. I ditched the perfectionist mindset. Oh my gosh, throw away that compare and despair.

[Sami Bedell-Mulhern] Yes, that's so good. Well, and I think too, kind of, going back to what you said at the beginning, like, freeing yourself up to kind of do your own thing, but then also building upon what you already know. I think trusting yourself and saying okay, well, I can, I know I have the training to do it, but then putting yourself out there. And I think that can be really hard at the beginning and all, whether you're a personal brand, whether you're a nonprofit, that's kind of whatever, like, you have to still take that leap of faith that people are going to care about the project that you're working on. So like any advice that you have, for people that are either just thinking about starting something, or are just feeling like they don't like the limelight? Or like, how have you navigated all of that?

[Denise Morrison]

That's a biggie. Lots of questions, lots of insights coming out of me, as you're saying that. Well, know that you're capable of anything. And really, you do have a gift and a message inside of you. And what you have to say matters and what you've been through your story matters, and you are here to contribute in some way, whatever way feels comfortable to you. So jumping back to actually thinking about, like, branding myself, it was such a transformational journey for me to come out of my shell and actually become my own brand. And have people like yourself and your cousin design a storefront, a website, programs, packages, based on me and who I was. And I mean, it was nerve wracking and exciting at the same time. So. But that comes with the territory. I just, I mean, that's just part of it is not being resistant to or afraid of any emotions that come up. That's just part of the gig, really. It just happens at a more public level, when you're shining out on the big wide world of social media.

[Sami Bedell-Mulhern]

Oh, my goodness, well, easier said than done. But I think the more you can say the negative feedback, or the people that don't interact with that don't care aren't my people anyway. So like you were talking about how you find that core group of people that are who you want to work with, in any sense, like the people that don't agree with us aren't necessarily saying we're bad at what we're doing. It's just that they're not the right people for our product, our service, or organization.

[Denise Morrison]

Yeah, and I think that's fantastic. I mean, I was a huge, for example, huge Dunkin Donuts coffee drinker forever and ever, and ever. And I would never touch a Starbucks. And now forget about it.

[Sami Bedell-Mulhern]

Yeah, we all have our customer experience. That brand and how we relate to people. So when you think about all of the things that you've done, over the course of the years that you've been in your business, I know you've had some ups, you've had some downs, you've had some things that haven't worked well, like what has been the thing that has kind of kept you still saying, like, I know, like you said, I am somebody of value, I provide value, I have a message that deserves to be out in this world, I can help people like how do you kind of keep moving through all of that?

[Denise Morrison]

Well, I have that little voice inside of me, and which I also call my intuition. It's that knowing inside of me that what I want to share with the world is super important. And it's valuable to those that I want to work with, or those that are coming into my life. Having wonderful support, like yourself, your cousin and my coach tribe, I really have a wonderful community of women like minded coaches, who, when we fall down, we pick each other up, we hear each other out, we support one another and having that abundant community of love and support, like no judgment, no shame. What's helped pick you back up that has made all the difference in my life to just keep going and knowing that I'm doing the right thing. And yeah, that's like feeling important is what I've learned. And it's okay to speak up. Gosh, so much.

[Sami Bedell-Mulhern]

Well, I think that's so true. Not surrounding yourself with the yes people. But who are the people that are in your corner? Because I have the same thing. I have a few ladies that we meet every Monday and we go through our goals and we go through, what are we wanting to do? And we're very open and transparent. And we give each other that great feedback, but it's from a trusted group of people. So I value everything they're saying to me positive, negative or otherwise. And I think it can be hard to find some of those people but mentorship and finding a common network. So like my group is all sole proprietors that are doing coaching. Yours is working with coaches, I think in your similar arena. So it might be other nonprofits that are at the same stage as you're at. It might be other development directors, I mean, whatever it is, wherever you're at, I think that is critical. And then the other thing that I love about you and how you operate is you're so very honest with yourself, and you give yourself, I think you are, I think you're very realistic about where you're at. And I think that can be hard. So maybe talk a little bit about getting real with yourself, like, how do you get real with yourself and use that to kind of make decisions and keep moving forward?

[Denise Morrison] Oh, gosh. So, having been trained mostly in physical therapy and examining one's body, and examining someone else's body, in a very intimate matter, truly opened up the floodgates for, I am who I am, and this is where I am in the world. And my job was to intimately connect with people, to touch people. And so I became very in tune with my body, who I was, what I'm capable of. I value my emotions and their input to me. So I trust my emotions, maybe more so than some others, because they're valuable insights for me to know, yes, or no, choose this direction, not that direction. And like you said, like, have people in my tribe that I can trust or maybe it's time to move on from that tribe. But I honestly, like, I cry, I fall apart, I fail, I giggle, I get back up, I do it again, because I'm really motivated to do this. And I love it. I love you know, working with clients, one on one, I love seeing them light up, I love being their person. So if someone out there has come to me, and they have issues with being real, that I can help them open up to that and accept the icks and the groans and the moans and everything within them and still show them that they're beautiful and powerful and amazing and have full potential. So yeah, like, I just

[Sami Bedell-Mulhern] You’re giving me goosebumps, yes, it might be because it's snowing and cold. I'm just kidding. No, it’s what you said. But I think going back to what's the reason why you started the business that you're in and being really centered in that what you talked about earlier, like, let's be centered in what we're here to do, and the purpose we're here for. So we can trust our gut in that. And then we can listen to ourselves in what it is that we want to do. Because I think your experience my experience, once we start getting out there and doing things like marketing, or whatever that we've never done before, we get all these things that are coming at us, we all these messages, we get all these emails, we get all these, you know, programs that we can buy, and it can be overwhelming. So if you're not rooted in your purpose, it's easier and we've all been there, pulled into a different direction that maybe wasn't right. So like, is there anything I know you love breathing exercises. I know there's some things that you do to like, kind of relieve that stress and anxiety. So when things are kind of all coming at you full force, especially when you're starting a new business, like how do you take that time to center yourself and like maybe what are some quick things that our listeners could try to just take a moment?

[Denise Morrison] Well, taking the moment, stopping, and getting out of your head is probably the number one thing and if you find that you yourself cannot get out of your head, call that person, find your partner, your friend, whoever that can be there to witness you. To let you just speak, speak, speak, speak. For myself, I spend a lot of time in the car talking to myself. I love leaving yelling, crying. And intuitively, especially a physical therapist, and a body worker, I move, I will walk, I will dance. And often I will just jiggle it all out. Once my nervous system has regulated then I can come to a sitting position and usually I cheat a little bit and I use some binaural music on YouTube, I put on a channel that regulates my energy. I do my breathing exercises to slow down my breathing and get my nervous system into that rest and digest mode again. I'll do some yoga poses. I just allow my body to move organically to just tap back into it. Since as you said before, there's so much stimulation coming at us all the time. And if we are so disconnected from ourselves, we're constantly reaching out and staying plugged into that. So cut the plugs, pull them out and come back into your being this and it, I may have to do this 10 times, I may have to do this one time a day.

[Sami Bedell-Mulhern] Well, I love that you do that in the moment. So instead of just like waiting until the end of the day when you have a free, like, I want you all to send me videos of you in your offices having a dance party and like getting it all out. But yeah, so you would just, I'm having a moment, I need to take a pause, step away, and then just rest.

[Denise Morrison] Oh, and I mean, if there's something I will, I mean, I definitely plan out my days accordingly to make sure I am my best self when I show up for those activities. But if something throws me off, I will communicate and just say, I just need to be excused for a little bit. Something's come up, just give me a few moments and that honesty and that realness in working with that person or group. They appreciate that. And, you know, it keeps that rapport there I find so they know I'm a human being too. I'm not this robot character. 

[Sami Bedell-Mulhern] I think that builds trust and rapport within your team. So your coworkers know that you can hold them in a safe space, if they need something you're held in a safe space, your patients and clients know they're in a safe space. Like, I think that vulnerability, which I don't even think it is a vulnerability, but just being vulnerable and being open and having that communication is something that severely lacking in a lot of our communication that we have within our teams and within our clients and within our whomever it is that you're working with on a regular basis.

[Denise Morrison] Boy, can I just add to that? On a daily basis, I find so many folks are afraid to speak up for themselves to say what they need in the moment, and they put somebody else ahead of them. And it usually backfires on both parties. So if you can honestly come out and say, Hey, we need this for a couple moments to just reset ourselves and defuse the emotion or defuse the hurriedness that we brought to that moment. Let's start again, it's okay. It's okay. No one's gonna come get you.

[Sami Bedell-Mulhern] You aren’t going to get fired. The whole world is not going to fall apart, like you can take a moment well, and I think that, you know, the bulk of the population that you serve, which are health care workers, you know, other PTs, people that are in the mental health space, therapists, it's a very similar thing, even before COVID as like development directors and fundraisers, like the burnout and those career paths is huge. And I think now even post COVID It's even worse, obviously. So, I mean, just without that communication, you're kind of dragging your path faster to that space where you just can't do it anymore.

[Denise Morrison] And we I mean, really, we shouldn't have to push ourselves so hard. I mean, you and I both know, there's so many manifested illnesses, diseases from overworking the body, the mind, everything. And if you're not catching it in time, you're not good to yourself, your family or anybody else. And so yes, oh, gosh, that's a sensitive topic, I could feel my heart beating.

[Sami Bedell-Mulhern] Especially as I know, you work with a lot of females, I work with a lot of females, a lot of Yes, women are also terrible at, like you said, speaking up for ourselves and putting ourselves first and taking time for that. And that's critical. Um, I guess, is there anything else that kind of comes top of mind? Or is there anything else that you'd love to say to people right now, like something you think that maybe we just need to hear that we don't tell ourselves? And I know, you have a lot of that, because you tell those things to me all the time. But kind of what message would you just love for somebody to hear today and maybe remind themselves to repeat themselves on a regular basis.

[Denise Morrison] You are enough, you are perfect as you are. Your gifts are inside of you. When you get really quiet and still they’re there. You know what to do. You always know what to do and tuning into that is so powerful. And kind of like the secret of everyone's success once they tap into that. And then it's easier to deal with outside forces, outside stimulation, so to speak, because, yeah, if you're not really true to yourself, you'll come off as fake and making stuff off and incongruent. And you won't be your best self and people feel that I mean, oh, my gosh, people feel that.

[Sami Bedell-Mulhern] Yeah, I feel that, and that's something I have to remind myself all the time because I think the comparison game is huge right now. And I think that is, for me, the hardest thing to watch people go into comparison mode as opposed to collaborative mode. And I know you have lots of thoughts on that as well, collaboration versus comparison of trauma, because we're all experiencing trauma right now.

[Denise Morrison] I mean, yeah, the pandemic has been the biggest trigger for trauma presently in folks past holy cow. It's enormous.

[Sami Bedell-Mulhern] Yeah. Well, I think people might be dancing in their office right now, or crying in their car with you, or giving themselves a hug or laying on the floor, I don't know. But I just think it was so important to have this conversation and just have something out there where people can remind themselves that it's gonna be okay, that we've all been there. And we can all take time for ourselves and do things for ourselves that make the most sense. For us, regardless of what somebody else thinks that right thing is. So, Denise, if people want to know more about you, I know you have a ton of great resources. How can people seek you out and learn more about you and what you do?

[Denise Morrison] So I have a website, deniselynnmorrison.com, I'm on Facebook and Instagram and LinkedIn and Tik Tok. Tik Tok is my play time to unleash the stress. But yeah, and head to my website, you can contact me, email me, jump into my Facebook group. I love chats. I love zoom chats. And I find it so much more powerful if we chat and I see your face or hear your voice. Because we really need one on one human connection right now more than ever, and I will be your person, I will shut up and listen to you. And just really be present for you instead of, most of folks you go to, they want to give advice and tell you how it is and try to make you feel better and fix your problems. And I'm here to hear you and to witness you and give you space. And that's what I do. So that's how you can find me.

[Sami Bedell-Mulhern] That's beautiful. We will also link all of those things up in the show notes at thefirstclip.net/podcasts, you can head on over there, and all of her resources will be there for you to check out. Denise, thank you so much for joining me today.

[Denise Morrison] Thank you. It's been a pleasure. And I love working with you.

[Sami Bedell-Mulhern] Ditto. So I mean, come on. How incredible was that? Thank you again to Denise for joining me on this episode. It was I mean, I know I'm going to listen to it a couple times whenever I'm feeling like I need a little boost. But I so appreciate her words, her time. And just the feedback and sharing her experience on how she's been able to move and navigate through all of the things that we all do when you're not a marketer and you're starting your own business and you've never done that before you're starting your own nonprofit you have all the passion in the world that doesn't necessarily mean it. So I hope you'll subscribe wherever you listen to, don't miss out on another episode, head on over to thefirstclip.net/YouTube if you want to watch video versions of these episodes, and I hope you have a very blessed day. I'll see you in the next one.