Episode 576: Tough Transitions – How to Transform Tremors of Change into Catalysts for Growth with James Elliot

EBT576 – James Elliot

Intro 00:00

Food bloggers. Hi, how are you today? Thank you so much for tuning in to the Eat Blog Talk podcast. This is the place for food bloggers to get information and inspiration to accelerate your blog’s growth, and ultimately help you to achieve your freedom. Whether that’s financial, personal, or professional. I’m Megan Porta. I have been a food blogger for 13 years, so I understand how isolating food blogging can be. I’m on a mission to motivate, inspire, and most importantly, let each and every food blogger, including you, know that you are heard and supported. 

Megan Porta  00:38

If you are in the boat of just feeling like you’re in a transitional time right now, maybe it’s a little bit of a tough time for you and your business and you need a little bit of encouragement. I think this episode is going to motivate you and really help you get through what you’re going through. James Elliot, from unleash your power, joins me in this amazing interview, talking about those times when we just go through tough transitions, and how to continue growing through them. He has so many words of encouragement, talking about things like life is trying to show us something when we are struggling in any capacity. So just taking the time to stop and figure out what it is that we need to know so that we can pivot or transition and keep moving forward. He has tips that he shares throughout the episode too, like getting quiet with yourself once in a while, just to let that inner voice talk to you and tell you what you need to do. By the end of the interview, I felt so inspired and just ready to tackle everything in life in my business. So I hope you feel the same. This is episode number 576 sponsored by RankIQ. 

Sponsor  01:48

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Megan Porta  02:45

James Elliott is a passionate and enthusiastic presenter who genuinely cares about people and loves to speak, teach and deliver value. He has spoken at live events as well as virtual ones for people all over the world. He even has his own private training institution where he trains people who want to make an impact on their organization, and do it in a fulfilling way. Hello, James. First interview of the day. It’s great day for me. How’s it going for you?

James Elliot  03:10

Hey, doing well. Doing well. I love giving value and serving first thing in the morning. So this is gonna be a great day.

Megan Porta  03:17

Yes, I’m so excited to chat with you, because I’m going to be honest, I know nothing about you and about your business, so I am just eager to learn, and I love the notes that I have in front of me. So tell us a little bit about you. First of all, I almost missed this. Do you have a fun fact to share with us before we get into that?

James Elliot  03:35

Well, yeah, I guess I love diving, whether it’s cliff diving, scuba diving, or skydiving. So I guess that’s that’s one thing, skiing and diving, I guess I’ll say as a fun fact about me, and… 

Megan Porta  03:46

That’s awesome. 

James Elliot  03:47

Yeah, I guess one of the biggest ones as well as is, I love working remotely all over the world while traveling a bit of a digital nomad, but I have own base too. So a few few fun facts as well. 

Megan Porta  03:58

Yeah, I love it. So I’m a skydiver as well. Where? Where did you learn to skydive?

James Elliot  04:03

In Montreal, Ontario, we were touring around, hanging out there about a nine we were getting a little bored, so we thought, let’s go. Let’s go skydiving. And we saw that, and we were there, and it was, it was, it was amazing. I was enjoying the view and the ride up in the plane. And then all of a sudden, you know, the door opens and the first guy jumps, the second lady jumps, the third guy jumps the second and then, you know, the person before me is about to go, and I’m like, Oh my God. It’s like, this moment of Yeah, emotion comes up just because, you know, yeah, I’m about to go. But yeah, it was Montreal. We dove over, and we actually got our shoe tangled a little bit too, which is not good. But luckily, I had an experienced instructor, and he was able to sort that out, luckily, nice.

Megan Porta  04:42

Oh, that’s awesome. Yes, fun to learn all of that about you. I’m not interested in the other type of diving, like going underwater, for some reason, just absolutely freaks me out. But falling from an airplane, love it. I’m there all day. All right, so tell us a little bit about you. James. And your business, I would love to hear.

James Elliot  05:02

For sure, for sure. Well, I help, basically, I help entrepreneurs become limitless. So entrepreneurs that are in and around the six figure range really helping them get past the the I call the upper limit, the, you know, upper limit, the income upper limit. And also, while we’re doing that, having more fun, more freedom, more time, more energy, and avoiding things like self doubt, lack of confidence, burnout, overwhelm, really so they can confidently and charismatically and influentially have more people say yes to them, grow their business. But while, while working less, while finding time to do more, living is the gist of it. So more more money, more living, more life, because I’ve met, met and coached a lot of people who are making tons of money, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, figure people, even a billionaire. And there was still challenges, right? And I think we need to work on those challenges. We really want to grow and be happy with all that money we make.

Megan Porta  05:56

I love it. I love your passion, and I love your vision for that. That’s so cool. Because, yeah, there are a lot of entrepreneurs nowadays, right? And it’s not all about the money. It’s about living life as well. That’s ultimately what’s so important here.

James Elliot  06:12

Agreed.

Megan Porta  06:13

Yeah. So how long have you been doing or focusing on this as a business, I guess?

James Elliot  06:18

yeah. Well, I’ve been working with people, helping people succeed on my own business for about 11 years, and overall, about 24 years, because it was my mission to help our clients and also our business partners, our resellers at IBM, at Novell, at Lenovo, the computer company, helping our business partners win, helping these small businesses win. And that way, when they won, obviously I won because they bought more of our products in my commission increase. But again, I’ve done this for over 24 years, really helping small businesses win and succeed. And I’m really, really passionate about helping entrepreneurs win. That’s for sure.

Megan Porta  06:52

that’s awesome. All right, so I kind of told you, before we started recording that food bloggers are in this time right now of it’s just kind of a big transition, and it’s a little bit scary. A lot of people are quitting because it just is has gotten so scary. Things are up in the air. We’ve got Google kind of switching things around, which is messing with our traffic, which is messing with our revenue, and it yeah, I’m sure this is like, kind of across the board for entrepreneurs, but food bloggers have been hit especially hard, so it’s definitely a transitional time. So I think this chat will be really relevant for us. 

James Elliot  07:30

I love it. I think so. 

Megan Porta  07:31

Yeah, so I guess, like, how, how do we? How do we grow during this time? It’s so easy just to want to put blinders on and run and scream and and never come back. So how do we continue to grow?

James Elliot  07:47

so great question. And I think I truly believe that all the stuff that happens for us literally happens for us. It’s not happening to us. Yes, things can really suck sometimes, been there, done that with with anything from depression to anxiety to obesity to intense acne when I was younger to intense bullying when I was younger, too. So been there, done that, you know, starting seven successful businesses as well. And, you know, going back to the start, you know, scratch each time, investing all your money in your business, feeling like a broke student each time. It’s really interesting when you when you start something from scratch and put all your resources into it. So I hear what you’re saying, and I really feel that it’s it’s a way to to pivot, it’s a way to adjust. It’s a way to shift and change, and for things to show us what needs to be done, right? It’s a way for life to show us that we need to pivot, we need to shift, we need to change. The same has happened with me umpteen times, and it was even usually during times I wasn’t there was something was off, or wasn’t super in love with my business, or who I was attracting, or what I was doing, or how I was doing it, I wasn’t super in love with at that time. So these things, this stuff, this crap, if you will, happens for us, not to us. Happens for us to to a get our butts out of our heads, out of our butts, really get our heads of their asses and realize, realize, Wait, okay, this is not working. Is this even lighting me up? Is there a different way? Is there a better way? Is there a way, a more empowering way that I can make a difference? How can I zig versus zag? How can I love this more? And all this, this, I’ll call it, you know, crickets, or quiet time, or pivoting transition. Yes, Google screwing with all our revenue now as well and our rankings and SEO. It gives you the kick in the butt to realize, okay, something’s not working. Let me change it. Let me grow. Let me evolve, since change is the only constant, and we’re always growing or dying, so it gives us the kick in the butt and the realization, hey, maybe things should change. Maybe this isn’t working anymore. Maybe this isn’t lighting me up anymore. And you know now that you have the time to do it, because you’re less busy, and that’s what happened with me too, when things slowed down. And the ebbed and flowed in business, it’s well, I have time now to sit, to reflect, to think, to plan, versus just being in serving mode. I can actually think about what I want, what I don’t want, who I want, who I don’t want, and how to get through these stages versus give up. You know, I think where there is a will, there’s a way you can always get through and by that, by doing that and and facing that really, really, really uncomfortable stuff, and just working through it. And I’ll give some more tips on this later, how to do that, but working through that really uncomfortable stuff, those really uncomfortable situations and feelings, it’s like building a muscle. It builds that resilience. For us, it’s like going to the gym and building a muscle. Life doesn’t get any easier. We just get stronger and more resilient, so we can take on more and bigger and better and more exciting stuff. So a bit of a long winded but no response to your question. 

Megan Porta  10:51

That’s great. It’s, I think it’s hard when you’re in the midst of something like this to really understand that it can be a bigger, better thing waiting for you, right? Like, we can get stuck in that fear, almost paralyzed, in like, what is going on right now, this is way too much. I don’t like change. I don’t like what’s happening. So how do we get past that, to get to that place where it’s like, yeah, it is bigger and better. 

James Elliot  11:17

Well, that’s, that’s it, right? That, and that’s the million dollar question, and that’s, that’s that’s one of my biggest passions to help people with is it is to look at, okay, life is showing you something clearly, something is not working and something’s not jiving. Life is trying to show you, or even have you realize, that something’s not working. Maybe you’re not in love with this anymore. Maybe there’s a better way. Maybe there’s a way to stop burning yourself out, exhausting yourself. That’s often what happens, right? Life will take something away from people, money, revenue, clients, to show them that you’re killing yourself, you’re burning yourself out, and you’re not, you know, living a life you want to live, maybe giving back. I love giving back. I love having time and and helping people plan it. I love making the world a better place. So, you know, making sure we have time for that, because that’s the most fulfilling thing in the world. I think we’re all here to help people, versus just make money, money, money. And yes, I love toys. I love living in abundance. I love travel, love working remotely. Love sports cars, right? And I love all that stuff, although it’s getting ourselves right, getting our minds right, first, growing and evolving, you know, and just experiencing so we can have these tools, have these more resources and and work through this. Now, one of the biggest ways that could be questions, how, how the hell do I do this? Yes, especially when it’s scary. It’s, you know, it’s mega scary. A lot of things is, is to to embrace those those feelings, embrace the fears and and just sit with them and be with them, because there’s something to learn from them. It’s it’s challenging, it’s hard. Most people ignore it or distract themselves from that with with whether it’s alcohol or cell phones or social media, booze or sex or drugs or rock and roll, whatever it is, even work, even excess work, work, work, community, addiction, been there. Yes, yeah, right on exactly. And because it keeps us away from feeling the feelings or being and sitting with that and but that’s where the answer lies. The answer lies with a sitting with those negative emotions, those feelings. And ok, what is that teaching me? What is it telling me? What is it showing me? What do we need to learn? What do we need to change? And so sitting with those feelings, being with those feelings, I have some really, really powerful mega techniques also to help reduce those feelings of whether it’s anger or sadness, depression, anxiety, fear, worry, you know, self doubt, imposter syndrome, some mega, mega tools for that, and the other so that that leads me to the other thing is, is just to find a find a coach that’ll help you with that. Because, to your point, it can be very hard to do this all on our own, including the accountability, because sometimes we all need, you know, positive reinforcement. So I mean, even finding a coach or a mentor can be just a absolute. I’ve always had two of them in my life, always, you know, different coaches, mentors. So finding someone, finding someone that can help you see things that even call you out on things when you’re not being who you want to be, or when you’re ignoring it, self sabotaging or numbing the pain, filling the void. Because a lot of times, the only way through is through it. Can it? Can it? Can suck by the old sometimes the only way is through, is through and and the other. 

James Elliot  14:13

The other thing I’ll say is to if this is a magical process, put your put your phone alarm on for 30 or 60 minutes, put your phone on airplane mode, put it other side of the room, or put it in another room, and just sit and be. You know, no pets, no kids, no dog, no phone, no book, no nothing. You can have a notepad, a blank notepad, pen if you want, and just sit for 20 or 30 or 40 or 60 minutes. Just sit. And it’s challenging at first, although what you find will come up after if you just sit and be, eventually your your subconscious mind, your heart, will start talking to you. And you’ll get those, those awarenesses, those nudges, you know, you may have to do this several times, what you’ll find it’s a very powerful exercise just to sit and be and be present. And you’ll get a lot of the answers. You’ll get a lot of the how. You’ll get a lot of. A resolution and the next steps, or you’ll, you’ll hear what you want to do, what you want to do, you hear what you don’t want to do anymore. For me, it was, it was like, I used to have this voice, and, you know, when I would would sit and be and said, I don’t want to do this anymore, and I’m like, what is the this? Is it coaching? Is it? Is it living? Like, what is it being alive? Is it working as being an entrepreneur? Like, what is it the this that I don’t want to do anymore? And by doing this, by sitting and just just being with myself, no distractions, it can be challenging the first little bit. But again, that’s why phone off on an alarm for 20, 30, 60, minutes. That way. You know, when you’re done, no dogs or pets or kids or books or nothing other than maybe a notebook to write notes in, and you’re so much stuff will come up. I do this at least once a day. So much stuff will come up when you just sit. And you can just sit and be you can actively reflect on things as well, what worked, what didn’t, or you could just sit and be in and just watch the thoughts, observe the thoughts, you know, they come into good and bad, they come into your mind and realize that they’re all just thoughts. You know, unwrap the ones that have barbed wire on them, unwrap them and just get the learnings from them. And then the positive thoughts, motivating thoughts, the hey, you know, I’d really like to do this, or I’d really like to help people with this. Or I should maybe do blogging on this. Or I should add this weird angle where I don’t know where a hat when I’m doing my blogging, where I’m doing my videos, or whatever. Or the guy that the Tech Talk, guy that has the sunglasses up high, and then when he’s done, he flicks his head and his glasses falls down.

James Elliot  16:25

Have a thing. Have a have a stick. Have a thing. Have something that makes you unique, different, interesting. Have a thing. I think, is, is, is, is another piece of advice. And, you know, I’m thinking, what could that thing be? How do I be different? Because as you you remember the guy, right? You remember that guy, and everyone’s gonna remember you if you have that, that shtick, that that thing, right? When I, when I often start my blogs, my podcasts, I do. I hold my hands up in the air. I do. Hey, hey, hey, it’s James Elliott, and that’s one of my, one of my little, you know, Hey, it’s me. Hey, hey, hey, welcome, welcome. And I could probably do a funny hat thing, or, I don’t know, rip my shirt off at the end or side, or something like, Hey, man, I don’t I mean silly, but it’s just, yeah, it can be very, very fearful and and those are some other ways, aside from working with someone, to do that, is to to face those fears, look at and we look at things and to reflect, because action plus reflection equals progress. If there’s no action or because of fear or doubt or, well, I don’t know if this will work, or over analyzing it, like often we do, or if there’s no reflection after action, well then there’s no progress, right? It’s like, well, I did that and I’m just going to do it again next time. Or I may not, whether it was good or bad or otherwise, action plus reflection is progress. 

Megan Porta  17:43

Ooh, I like that one. Do you feel like everything is already inside us when you were talking about just getting quiet? I’ve been doing that a lot this summer, because I’m in this, I don’t know. I’m just in this period of kind of rebirth and renewal. There are so many things that just came together at once that made me slow down and do what you were talking about, just like sitting going outside, no phone, no distraction. I’ve been doing that a ton, and I just had this thought the other day that all of the answers, whether it’s for work or otherwise, are already in me. I just need to give them time and space to come out right

James Elliot  18:21

Right on. I love that, and I completely agree Everything we need is inside us. That’s why a great mentor or coach, they see an amateur, is going to give you all kinds of advice, tell you what to do. Yes, I mean, a coach can certainly, hey, here’s some advice for this, or here’s a way you could do this. But to your point, a great coach and mentor asks lots and lots and lots and lots of questions. To your point, to draw out the answers and the wisdom that’s already inside you. And here’s the big, big reveal, when we would redraw it out, and you’ll, you’ll actually do it when we so it’s your idea, your thoughts, you’re gonna actually do it, versus just someone giving you random advice. And you should do this. You should, you should, you should all this stuff. It’s like, well, you know, who is the woman you’ve always wanted to be? Who is the man you’ve always wanted to be? What? What does he do? What does she not do? You know? How are you serving your clients? What? What are your boundaries with clients? Is it? Is it any one in one? Is it no one in one? Is it only one on one? For people who paid top, top, top dollar, otherwise, they can see the blogs. They can join, I don’t know if you have an online class, online course, online webinar. What is that? And looking at who we really want to be, but to your point, yes, I think the answers are inside of us. Absolutely. I believe we’re like a puzzle. It’s just the puzzle has been dropped on the floor. Maybe you’re you forget where you put a few pieces, you know, maybe someone has snuck some some incorrect pieces in your puzzle, aka limiting beliefs, or, you know, self limiting beliefs. Someone snuck some wrong puzzle pieces, and you’re trying to fit where do these go? What these? These don’t even belong here. Let’s get rid of them. I think we have all the puzzle pieces we need. They’re just all over the floor. We need help reorganizing them as a way of answering your question,

Megan Porta  19:55

Gosh, I love that visual. That’s so thank you. That’s so cool. Like, yeah, if you find a piece that. Doesn’t look like it fits you don’t throw it away. Just figure out where it goes, right,

James Elliot  20:04

Exactly, exactly. 

Megan Porta  20:06

That’s so awesome.

Sponsor  20:08

Food bloggers, have you experienced traffic loss after the recent Google updates. Are you feeling confused about how to move forward? I get it. I have been a food blogger for nearly 14 years. And I’ve been through the wringer with industry changes and business changes. You name it, I have been there. When I look back over my tough times. The thing that pulled me out of slumps and traffic loss and disappointment was always people. We need each other right now more than ever. You are in this food blogging game for the long haul I know you are. And that means you need to find people to collaborate with to connect with and to learn from. Eat Blog Talk has two great options for you coming up. The 2025 Eat Blog Talk mastermind groups and in person retreats. We are now taking applications for the 2025 mastermind groups. This year we’re splitting the group’s in two. It’ll be intermediate and advanced and beginner. We also lower the price to accommodate traffic and revenue dips a lot of us are experiencing apply now as the first four people let into the group will receive 20% off the whole year. Go to eatblogtalk.com/mastermind to apply today. And there are still a few spots remaining for the 2020 for Fall Retreat, which is also discounted this year due to revenue loss for so many. Join us in October in Minnesota. It is my favorite time of year here in Minnesota for three incredible days filled with laughter, great food, tons of learning and connecting and honestly, they’re just so much fun. You will not regret attending this retreat, head over to eatblogtalk.com/retreat to apply for that today. I hope to see you in one or both of those spots. I can’t wait for the next 12 months and to see all of your businesses explode. And trust me having those people in your corner is going to help. 

Megan Porta  22:11

I so agree with you, with the great coaches thing, I literally my life changed when I invested in a really quality coach who brings that stuff out in me that I never would do myself. I feel like it would have taken me a decade to unveil things that he was able to bring out of me. It was amazing within I would say, three months I was a completely different business owner, a different human. It is so transformative to do that. 

James Elliot  22:41

Agreed. 

Megan Porta  22:42

Where do you suggest people find great coaches? Because I kind of happened upon mine, and people ask me this all the time, and I never know what to tell them. It’s

James Elliot  22:51

a great question. You can ask for referrals. Yes, you can Google as well and look for Google Reviews. I’m very fortunate to have lots of great Google reviews. So see what people are saying about the mentor. They have videos like, I have video testimonials all over my pages. Do they have some video testimonials? Are there? Are there people saying that? Yes, they are great, because there’s great coaches out there. And then there’s not great to code. There’s not great coaches out there, right? And and, you know, there’s people that are looking just take people’s money. There’s people really, that go above and beyond, as I feel we need to do, you know, charge what you’re worth. Avoid being the Walmart game, the the cheapest game in town. Charge what you’re worth. You know, be a great coach, be a great food blogger. Be a great whoever, whatever. And charge, I don’t say charge large. Charge what you want, charge what you’re you’re worth, and maybe even charge a little more, because you’re probably worth more than that. But give them, give them like, 10 times the value. Find some ways to give them 10 times the value, go above and beyond. Is, is also it? It’s not just about money, money, money. It’s about getting the massive results, getting them to the result and saying, Well, this is the amount of money. This is the amount of investment that I believe will allow me to help you get to that result, you know, versus cheapy cheap, or someone looking for a cheap mentor, or it’s an investment in ourselves. 

James Elliot  24:00

So anyways, to come back to come back to your central point, really is to to ask, to ask for referrals. You can, you can search the internet as well. Part of what I do is I train and certify coaches. So when in doubt, if you, if you want to connect it to a coach, I inevitably, I know many, many, many, and I’ve trained many, many, many as well. And I have many colleagues who want to doubt, reach out to me if you want. [email protected] can ask me happy to recommend and happy to see if any of my programs or my my coaches are right for you too, but really just someone that, I think the biggest thing is someone that resonates with you. That’s how to choose one that you had asked. How to find one. How to choose one. Do they resonate with you? Can you? Can you connect with them? Do they seem honest? Do they seem great? They don’t need to have all the credentials in the world. Do you resonate with them? Do you enjoy talking to them? Do they motivate you? Do they light you up? They support you? Are you going to want to work with them versus just a referral, or just, Hey, Bob is great, or Jane is great. And, well, I don’t really like work with Bob. I don’t really resonate with Bob as well. So, you know.

Megan Porta  24:58

and. Other thing I looked at when I chose my coach was, does he have the life that I would want to live like? If he’s living a life that does not align with anything I want to live, then that’s probably a good sign that he might not be a good fit. But he did. He has this easy life of freedom. He Yeah, like all of the things in his life for elements that I was like, Yeah, I want that too. So I think that’s a big piece of it as well.

James Elliot  25:26

Exactly, exactly I agree. You know,

Megan Porta  25:28

I was gonna ask you to okay, I loved what you’re saying about kind of having a thing, how the guy with the sunglasses did his does his little shake. I feel like for a lot of people, that authenticity is really scary. Like, oh, if I have a thing, people are gonna judge me, or I’m like, arrogant and, you know, like that sort of thing. How do we get past that? That

James Elliot  25:50

is such a great question, that one of my favorite questions to answer, honestly is such a great question, because, I mean, I came from a place where I was totally inauthentic. Because, again, all the bullying, the self doubt, the being in my head, as Tony Robbins says, if you’re in your head, you’re dead, right? And so many of us are so heady, so thinky, thinky and over analytical, overthinking about everything. We think about it 1000 times and until we do it, if we ever do it, versus going and testing it, doing it. Okay. Now, how did that work? Most people are in their head. Okay. Let’s change it 1000 times and make it perfect. And before we have any results, any real data, before it’s gonna work at all, or maybe the first thing we did will work perfectly, but it’s all about, like you said that that authenticity, and a lot of people have challenges. What will people think of me? Or will they not like me? Will they not buy from me? At first? When I first started coaching, I had challenges being really raw and real with people from some of these inauthentic, you know, echoes from years ago where I was just this, you know, vanilla, lukewarm, I joke, spineless jellyfish, a chameleon, to be like everyone else so I wouldn’t be made fun of. Well, that didn’t work, because I was still teased and made fun of and bullied, even though I tried to be like everyone else and be completely inauthentic. And the lesson is it is something to to learn and to just deal with as a part of life and to celebrate and embrace. People will always whine and moan and bitch about us. People are always gonna complain about us whether you’re doing what you love or doing what you hate. 

James Elliot  27:13

So you might as well, do what you love. You might as well be who you are if you’re being who you hate. Well, people are gonna complain anyways. You might as well, you know, be who you love, do what you love and and do your thing. Have a cool thing if you don’t like your sunglasses flip, or your funny hat, or your I don’t know, your little dance at the end of your content shows who cares you’re gonna you’re gonna have people that love that and resonate with that. And that’s your uniqueness. I mean, here’s a cool statistic. There’s what, eight and a half, almost, I know, almost eight. Sorry, seven and a half, almost 8 billion people in the planet. 1% of that as an exciting my math has right, 75 million people. Are you able to serve 75 million people in this lifetime? If so, maybe awesome. Great Again. So stop worrying about it. Even if only 1% of the world loves you and 99% hates you, that’s still 75 million people you have you could potentially serve. And yeah, I learned the hard way by being vanilla and lukewarm and in a very inauthentic that people still doesn’t resonate with me. People didn’t invite. Women didn’t date me for guys didn’t like me as friends. People didn’t want me on their team because I was so inauthentic and not real. People didn’t trust me. I was, I was trying to hide all this stuff about me. What if they find out this? Or what if they find out this? Or what if I’m this, or what if I’m that? All this, all this stuff that people didn’t trust me. They could see I was hiding something, all these, all these, you know, fears, worries, doubts. What if? What if? What if you know, or like our parents would always say, you know? What would people say? You know? What would people think, parents and grandparents. And it’s toxic, because who cares what people say? Who cares what people think? Obviously, this is not permission to be an ass. Be a great, great person. Aim to help people, help the world and and you have no worry. 

James Elliot  28:56

So be yourself and embrace the haters, because it means you’re speaking out. Embrace people that are whining and moaning and bitching mow you. It means you’re doing something. It means you have a message, and you have a powerful message, versus a lukewarm I’m gonna try to please everybody and make everybody happy, kind of message which will not polarize anyone. They won’t hate you, but they’re never gonna work with you or like you or date you or buy from you or give you money. They may not hate you, they’ll probably complain about you anyways, definitely not gonna choose you or resonate with you or buy from you, right? And just to realize that, realize that life sucks when you’re being inauthentic. It’s and it’s an exhausting place to be because, because it’s exhausting not to be the real version of us. You know, the the funniest or gayest or most most emotional, most exciting, most ecstatic, most whatever, funny hat wearing or weird, embrace your weirdness, please. People love it. People will embrace that. People think, wow, there’s someone confident enough to go out and be who they want to be. How the heck would be like them. I think I want to work with them, because I want to be like them and have the to your point earlier. Have a lifestyle, the life, the personality you. Be who they’re being. How the heck are they doing that? How the heck is James going or doing really scary stuff, you know, being very, very open, vulnerable himself in his past. You know, whether it’s the depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, worry about, you know, was I gay or not when I was a teenager? Just all this, this stuff and, and it’s, it’s like worrying, and now I can speak about it like it’s nothing. I’ve grown so much from it, embraced all of it, and I can speak about it like it’s just, I’m talking about the weather, and that’s a very, very powerful place, where, to my final point here is, is just own it, own your stuff. Own your own your sht, right? Own your stuff. Own it. If you have a crooked nose, or whatever, whatever. Own it. If you have a funny voice, own it. If you are afraid of it and think it’s bad or think it’s good bad, or otherwise, other people will as well. If you own it, whether it’s your stutter or permanent, bad, perma, bad hair or whatever it is, a mole or a pimple or something, or whatever it is, if you own that, if you own it, and don’t care, and it’s like, yeah, this is me. This is freaking me, and this is what you get. And I’m awesome, here’s why, and I’m to me, this is the if you own your sht, people will love you. People, it’s no longer it’s no longer a thing. People only make it a thing if you make it a thing. So stop making it a thing. Yes,

Megan Porta  31:21

that’s so true. I see people all the time that own like, whatever any of the examples you just listed, and I instantly love those people because they’re embracing who they are. And you said this earlier, when you’re authentic, people actually trust you more as well. So I know like and trust people immediately when I see that they’re just owning exactly who they are, but it’s hard to do that, I think, especially if we’ve lived a life of being insecure about something or maybe our parents have told us something over and over about our bodies. I remember my dad telling me when I was a kid, I’m 40 I’m almost 49 and I still remember this. He was like, wow, Megan, your legs sure are sturdy, like a table. And I was like, Oh, I’ve never forgotten that. So I’ve had this thing about my legs recent. I mean, like, within the past few years, I’ve matured, so I don’t give a crap about me. I like my short stature now, whatever. But yeah, things like that can really stick with us.

James Elliot  32:20

It can, it can, you know, and hey, US shorter people, we have less back problems, which is really cool. So there you go. But you’re right, stuff, stuff stays with us, and we need to work on that. And that’s why, part of what I do with my limitless entrepreneur. I mean, entrepreneurs couldn’t be limitless unless they remove these, this stuff from the past, the self limiting beliefs, the I’ll call them traumas that was probably mildly traumatic, or maybe majorly traumatic to you, right? And, and all these, these things from the past, traumas, things people have said, Oh, you’re not that smart, or you couldn’t do that. You’re not that strong, you’re not that whatever. People never whatever. Insert word here, whatever. Again, usually it’s parents, grandparents, friends, family, teachers, religious figures, culture, society, even our community. It’s like, you know, oh well, you not that much, or you’re not this, you’re too much this, you’re too tall or to this, or not enough to be able to do this or do that, right? So it’s, it’s it’s interesting, mind you, and it’s a, it’s a toxic, toxic, toxic thing, and we need to remove that. That’s where a great coach with the right tools will help eliminate that and do some of the subconscious work, because that’s deep in our subconscious to rip that out. And I do that in everything I do, because, well, when those those beliefs, those traumas, those events are still there, those negative events, limiting events, hold us back. My goodness, you’re right. You You keep hearing that, and often it affects us and shuts us down, shoots us down. You know, someone goes to a wants to speak. They want to speak for the business, maybe their mom or their dad, or someone, you know, said, Oh, your voice is really squeaky, or your voice is too squeaky. And so every time they go to speak or do something, they’re like, Oh, well, yeah, my voice is too squeaky, or whatever, yeah. And then so they don’t go to speak, even though they’ve they’re passionate about speaking and delivering their message. So we need to rip these, these deep seated limiting beliefs and thoughts out again that came usually from the people closest to us and the authority figures. We need to rip these out and remove these that admittedly is harder to do on our own. We can look at these and make a belief table and write down the limiting belief and in all the reasons that’s not true, then on a second column, write down the belief we want to have. I am good. I am a good speaker, I am smart, I can help whatever, whatever. And then all the reasons, at least 30 why that’s true, that that does help creating a belief table. But some of these things, these, these deep seated things in our mind, subconsciously, that prevent us from being authentic, yeah, or prevent us from taking action or taking risk or whatever they need to be removed. And when we do that deep seated subconscious work with the right coach, the right mentor, wow, will it ever set you free, just as a something I’ve learned and been working on itself? 

Megan Porta  32:21

Yeah, I like your exercise of doing the columns, just writing down, like, what is the belief, this false belief that’s been ingrained into me. And then, why is this not true? And like, what is the truth? I feel like that could be so powerful. And then, do you take it a step further? Like, do you just, like, go do the thing anyway, and repeat, repeat, repeat. 

James Elliot  35:13

Great question. And I think, I think that is the case. Just keep, keep doing the thing anyways. Now it can be challenging with that limiting belief. Do it anyways. To point repeat, repeat. Keep adding to to why that’s not true. Keep adding to why it is true. Preferably see someone who is great at removing limiting beliefs, especially subconsciously versus just talking and talking, talking, talking about the problem. Let’s find a way to remove these subconsciously. Have you blow through them and yes, to your point as well. Sometimes not sometimes the rubber, you know the rubber is going to meet the road. You know, you know, you really the rub is better beat the gotta do the doing. Yes, the there’s three for here’s, here’s something want to share for big, big change. Yes, do the inner work absolutely. Rip these things out with a mentor coach. Get rid of them in the meantime, use a belief table number two, focus on what you want have that that huge, huge, huge focus. And focus on what it is you want, versus the fear or the doubt or all the things that go wrong, or all the things could fail, because then you’re gonna feel what you focus on right, what you focus on what you feel. So focus on all the things that could go right, and all things you could do, and the potential and and the amazing life you could have, and help other people with Focus on what you want. The next one is take action. Nothing happens without action. The amazing dream job, the beautiful dream spouse. They’re not going to fall out of the air into your arms unless you take action. Whatever that action is, get it. Start taking action. And one of the biggest actions is including working on yourself, doing the inner work, growing, learning yourself, letting go that the barriers that stop us yourself and just to keep going and keep growing and again becoming every day who you want to be really, I’m not sure I completely answered your question, though. 

Megan Porta  36:46

There it doesn’t matter, because everything you’re saying is like, yes, yes, no, this is so good. I feel like food bloggers just really need this pep talk right now, and need encouragement to keep going like they are so capable and so resilient and talented and smart, and it kills me when I see them quit. I mean, I get it like, I get it sometimes you just need to move on to something else. But it’s also like, Oh, come on. Like you, you were almost there. You were so close. So I think this is a really important discussion that we’re having right now. Do you have any last little bits of, I don’t know, inspiration for us right now James?

James Elliot  37:31

sure do, sure do, and never, ever, ever give up. There’s, I mean, you probably all heard the story cuttings called 10 feet from gold. These miners were mining I was either in Yukon or in where was it? Yukon or Alaska, and, you know, they they found a bit of gold, but they kept digging and digging and digging and digging, and then they gave up because they weren’t finding much gold. And then another local miner who knew the area, you know, bought the land the machines. He bought them all cheap because they abandoned the project. Bought them all cheap from them because he knew, he knew the area. He knew. Eventually enough digging, you’re gonna find something. And 10 feet away from where they stopped, he discovered one of the richest veins of gold in Alaska, or the Yukon, whichever it was. So what I’m trying to say is resilience and perseverance is also a huge, huge, huge determinant of success, like I mentioned, taking action, working on the inner fears, focusing what you want, being like never giving up, never, ever, ever giving up, and being that, that, that resilient, perseverant person, keep going until you get there, never, ever give up. I mean, so many people are 10 or 15 year overnight success, right? It’s of an overnight success. And I could see my business going way above a million dollars, very, very soon, too. So again, we’re all like a 10 or 12 year overnight success. It doesn’t sometimes it takes more than one or two or three years. It’s different for everyone. But my guidance is to hang on and never, ever, ever give up. Yes, tweak and adjust. And if something is truly not working in your bang, you’re heading against the wall. Tweak, adjust, look at what’s not working. Do we need to shift and pivot a bit, but avoid ever giving up. I mean, Netflix had started. I think what was it? Six business, Netflix. That was our sixth business or so, Nike. Phil Knight of Nike. That was his seventh business. He started, and until it actually started working, well, I mean, we’ll be doing things, so have the wisdom. And again, this is why a coach is great to know where, okay, this is truly a project that’s not working in ever will versus what we just got to tweak, tweak, adjust, make some tweaks, make some adjustments. And this is going to really, really rock it ahead. Really, really go well. And I think we can do that both ourselves and also, I’m not shamelessly trying to plug coaches and mentors, but again, it’s a great opportunity to do that with someone, and even get you out of your head and over out of the animal can really into your heart. And the longest journey will be from your head to your heart. The longest journey you ever take is from your head to your heart. Get someone who’ll get you in your heart. What do you really want? What is not working about this? Why and why need to do? And then having maybe your mentor or coach give you some tweaks and advice how to go do this differently, or how to focus differently, and that way you get different results and just again that never, ever, ever give up to you get. Your goal. Never give up. Do you get there? Yes, tweak, adjust. Versus banging your head against the wall. Well, this is not working. My head’s getting sore. You know, maybe, maybe I need to push with my hands, or push the open or pull the door, maybe to pull the door open versus pushing. It’s one of those pull doors.

Megan Porta  40:14

I’ve done that before. I’m like, oh gosh, I struggled for a long time with that.

James Elliot  40:18

Why is this not opening? Yeah. Oh, okay.

Megan Porta  40:22

Oh, this is so amazing. 

James Elliot  40:24

That’s what I’ll leave. 

Megan Porta  40:25

Yeah. Thank you so much. This was all really inspiring, and we just appreciate you. So thank you for this, James and for your time today. Why don’t you tell everyone where they can find you if they want to learn more about your coaching, or people who you train to coach, or anything else you want to offer? 

James Elliot  40:39

Right on, right on, absolutely. So one of the best places to check me out is limitless-entrepreneur.com that’s one of the, the biggest ways to see what I do and how I help entrepreneurs truly become limitless. Make more money, travel more, enjoy life, more, give back more, have more purpose and fun and freedom. That’s a huge, huge part of it, and a really big, big part of what I do, and amidst helping, becoming more influential. So more people say yes to you, more confident. So more people say yes to you and buy from you and pay you more. And then how to, how to just, you know, confidently communicate and powerfully communicate your message. It’s all in often you know how you’re doing it versus what you’re doing. That needs to shift. So maybe we can change a bit of the how, that way you get more what you want. So limitless-entrepreneur.com you can also find me. James R Elliot, unleash your power on YouTube as well. You’ll find me. There probably the best two best ways to get a hold of me, or simply, if you want James at limitless-entrepreneur.com feel free reach out to me, if you’re looking for a coach, mentor, just even looking to skyrocket your business, make more money, have more time. Purpose, more confidence. Let’s burn out an overwhelm. I would love to talk more. Love to have a quick call with you and give you some some thoughts, some coaching, some direction. Happy to chat with any of your people and your followers as well. Megan, give them a, you know, a special 30 minutes with me. Maybe we can develop some strategies. I can shed some light on what’s working and what’s not working, and how to shift and have a pivot, and how to give them a plan to succeed.

Megan Porta  42:08

Amazing, great. And we’ll put together a show notes page for you, James. So we’ll put everything that you talked about there. So if you want to go to eatblogtalk.com/unleashyourpower. You can find that. So thank you again. This was incredible and 

James Elliot  42:23

My pleasure.

Megan Porta  42:23

Yes and thank you food bloggers for listening. I will see you next time. 

Outro  42:29

Thank you so much for listening to this episode of Eat Blog Talk. Please share this episode with a friend who would benefit from tuning in. I will see you next time. You