188: Mastering Work-Life Integration: The Impact of Big Thinking on Your World

Andrea Liebross: Welcome to the She Thinks Big Podcast. Get ready to level up your thinking and expand your horizons. I’m your host, Andrea Liebross, your guide on this journey of big ideas and bold moves. I am the best-selling author of She Thinks Big! The Entrepreneurial Woman’s Guide to Moving Past the Messy Middle and Into the Extraordinary. I support women like you with the insights and mindset you need to think bigger, and the strategy and systems you need to turn that thinking into action and make it all a reality. Are you ready to stop thinking small and start thinking big? Let’s dive in!

Hello, my friends, and welcome back to the She Thinks Big Podcast. It's only the second time I've gotten to say that. Well, as promised, today I am bringing you part two of my conversation with Stacey Hylen about how the rebranding of this podcast is really just the next step in me thinking big.

Stacey is kind of probing deep into my evolution over the past few years, me being the case study of how one thinks bigger and bigger and bigger. So in this part of our conversation, I do want you to note a few things. I want you to note a few things.

I want you to note how we talk about how we can let life get in the way of things. But big thinkers figure out how to integrate work, business, and life. I had to get really good at that. We also talk about supporting yourself. We go deeper into supporting yourself and what that might look like because big thinkers secure support.

We go a little deeper into the ripple effect of this Think Big movement, what I'm trying to do and how I'm actually seeing it come to fruition, which makes me want to cry when I think about it.

We also touch on coaches having coaches and how that can totally speed up the process of you becoming more of a big thinker and infusing that into your business and seeing the possibilities and how having support and having a sounding board and how big thinkers know this is necessary because we can all fall into that lack or scarcity mode.

And oftentimes you just need to talk it out and you can step into that big thinking but you need that place, that safe spot to explore all the possibilities. You need to be able to go to a safe space, so to speak, to create big thinking.

Okay, sit down, buckle up, listen in to the second half of my conversation with Stacey Hylen on the evolution of my own big thinking.

Stacey Hylen: Let's talk a little bit about that because I don't know how much people know about that. But this has not been like, "Oh, Andrea has this perfect life and it's just super easy for her." You have moved, lived in an apartment while you're in the middle of a build. You've gone through the whole COVID mess. You've gone through kids going away to college and that whole, "Okay, my kids are leaving." That emotional turmoil.

Then they're coming back for this time and they're leaving again and they're moving here and they're moving there. It has not been just like sunshine and rainbows. Let's talk a little bit about that behind the scenes stuff that people don't see that big thinkers still have to integrate.

Andrea Liebross: Yes, there's a lot of behind-the-scenes, isn't there? I have been working at the integration. I think this is something that I continue to work on because life, I'll call it almost like gets in the way.

There were periods of time where we were in the middle of building a house and that truly was getting in the way of everything in a sense. It was getting in the way of me thinking big. It was getting in the way of me having work-life integration. It was getting in the way of honestly seeing what was possible in other parts of my life.

It just consumes you. There are things that can consume you and I mean I would say more recently after we moved, I'm not a super emotional person, I would say, but kids, like a son graduating, moving out of our house really for reals and starting his own world and job, I've tried to get better at allowing space for those things to happen.

I think that's growth, that is growth because I feel like a couple of years ago, I was just letting things happen to me almost and not being more in control of how things were happening and what I was thinking about. So, I don't know, I went off on a tangent there, but the backstory can really get in the way of the big thinking.

Stacey Hylen: I think everybody has it. For you, it’s building a house, for somebody else, it's their kid needs to go to physical therapy, whatever it is. It's not sunshine and rainbows in anybody's world.

Andrea Liebross: Yeah, no.

Stacey Hylen: The other thing that I saw was that you were able to get support even through this on the personal side, not just on the business side. We've talked about the business side, the coaching, the podcast, and all that, but you’ve also gotten some support there to help you think bigger.

Andrea Liebross: Yes. There’s actually a podcast episode, if you want to go back and listen, with Maria Baer who was the woman and her team, I hired them to unpack everything in our new house and put it all “away,” which there wasn't any away because this was a new house. There was no right place.

Really she had to organize it all and figure out what might be the right place for things. That was huge. That was 1000% big thinking. That was probably the best money I spent actually.

Stacey Hylen: That was amazing. You know what was even cooler about this is you were at my mastermind retreat at my lake house, being at the lake, we had the sticky notes up on the glass doors looking at the lake.

Andrea Liebross: I was working on my business and having fun too at the same time.

Stacey Hylen: That’s it. That allowed you because that's obviously not your zone of genius, organizing a house, unpacking, packing. It didn't help you create any ripple effects to be at home grinding, doing that, just because, again, you felt like you should be the person that packs the house, that unpacks the house, that puts crap away.

That I think reflects to me how much of a big thinker you are, because you didn't let the society of like, “Oh, you should do this yourself,” or the shoulds affect you. You were like, “You know what? I'm a big thinker. I have this book to get out. I have this stuff to do.” You would literally come home from the mastermind retreat to your house so beautiful.

Andrea Liebross: I did. I came home and actually, that night I came home was the first night we slept in the house because it was all unpacked and ready to go. The other thing I just thought about too is I could have hired someone like that, but been here to supervise or work alongside them. I trusted enough to just let her do it. Just let her do it.

But that is something I totally would not have done a couple of years ago. That was an excellent example of big thinking in my personal life. I think another thing that I just thought about was in March this year, my son had his last and final official college spring break and he was talking about what he actually didn't want to do on spring break and I just said, “Well, hey, you've always wanted to go to this tennis tournament in California and I think it's that same week and I would go with you. I don't want to impose or anything but I would totally go with you.”

He said, “Yes, let's go.” So in a matter of three weeks, I planned that trip and we ended up actually doing some hiking out there. I was gone for two weeks because we had already planned a ski trip in March so this trip with my son was not part of the plan but I was like, “You know what, I can move my schedule around, I can make things happen, if I need to talk to some clients,” which I did a couple from there, “I mean, let's do it.” I didn't really let the what-ifs with the negative answers interfere.

Stacey Hylen: Yeah, or the shoulds from somebody else.

Andrea Liebross: Or shoulds. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Stacey Hylen: It was great because I think you Voxered me and you're like, “Oh, my gosh, I'm going to be away so much.” It came from what you wanted.

Andrea Liebross: Yes, it totally came from what I wanted.

Stacey Hylen: That was really important. You didn't let your life pass you by because of it.

Andrea Liebross: This is an opportunity. I might never go on a trip with him again, just he and I, I probably won't because their lives, they’re here.

Stacey Hylen: They get partners and they grow up and they plan their own vacays. It's like seize the moment.

Andrea Liebross: Seize the moment.

Stacey Hylen: Seizing the moment. That's a huge thing. I think the big thinking, this ripple effect, let's talk a little bit about your vision for this ripple effect because we talk a lot about in the mastermind of the ripple effect that you're creating with your business.

So let's talk about what do you see for the women out here that have just started listening and for the women that have been listening for years, what do you see for them as possible?

Andrea Liebross: I see, well, anything's possible and it sounds cliche, but I think it's really true. I think it's really true. The ripple effect, actually, I have a good example of this. Last week I was in Franklin, Tennessee and I was part of my client Jen's grand opening of her new studio/showroom space and I talked to the guests that came about big thinking.

One of the people that came was actually another client of mine and her daughter. She came, they drove, it was like four hours, they drove, they came, they were part of the celebration, they heard me speak.

Afterwards, my client said to me, “You know, my daughter here probably knows a lot about you because you're rubbing off on her because you're rubbing off on me.” I'm coaching my client and my client is coaching her daughter and using some of these same concepts.

I think there's the ripple effect. The daughter said to me, “Thank you so much for supporting and helping and guiding and coaching my mom. I now think sometimes the same way she does. She's taught me some of your tools,” so that's the ripple effect. Now we've got the, I don't know, 40-something-year-old with her 20-year-old daughter. There's a ripple.

Stacey Hylen: Wow. It's beautiful.

Andrea Liebross: She wanted to come, they drove. She's like, “I want to bring my daughter to you. I want her to see this.” That was powerful too.

Stacey Hylen: Wow. Yeah. I think I can just imagine if I close my eyes and I'm thinking of the women that are listening to this now, you're chopping your vegetables for dinner, you're driving your kids to soccer, you're fixing your hair and makeup, you get to have what you want, not just what society said, what our teacher said, what our mom said.

Really this movement, it's really exciting to see them share things from the podcast because this is the thing that now, it doesn't have to be like you're on your own all the time, this is something that you can put into your week that like, “Okay, I'm going to listen to Andrea and she's going to give me permission to go after what I want. She's going to give me the tools to go wherever I want and give me the support.”

I think a lot of times, when you're out there on your own trying to do it before you invest in a coach or Andrea's mastermind, this is the little shot of courage, while you're there chopping the vegetables, doing your driving, or folding your laundry, that's like, “Okay, we can do this. I get to ask for what I want. I get to design what I want.”

I love to see all these, I can just visualize all the women out there that you're helping create these ripple effects.

Andrea Liebross: You keep infusing yourself. I pictured it as like you're infusing, you're giving yourself a shot of big thinking, thinking outside the box, thinking about what's possible, or not missing opportunities. That's something that big thinkers and something I encourage my clients to do is take advantage of opportunities.

Now, this doesn't mean you have to say yes to everything. But why not ask the big-deal person to be on your podcast? Why not make a phone call, send an email, ask for something that seems bigger than your current realm?

My goal in this Think Big Movement is to help women think differently, probably than they are now, or differently than the norm, to show them what's possible, to create opportunities for them. By having now this podcast align with the She Thinks Big book, we've got multiple ways in which to do it.

Stacey Hylen: Yeah, I love that. I love the book and I think the book is great because you have the workbook that goes with it. You're going to have the audiobook that's coming out soon.

Andrea Liebross: The audiobook, stay tuned. Actually, there you go, Stacey. It is not the culminating factor because the audiobook is going to be released in the fall. There you go.

Stacey Hylen: But it's so important. I've been doing mindset work forever since I was like in third grade when I read How to Win Friends & Influence People. I think it's not like, and I don't remember if it was Jim Rohn who said that motivation is like bathings. It wears off. You have to do it daily.”

Andrea Liebross: Yes.

Stacey Hylen: You're having these tools that Andrea's brought to you. She has her tools on her website that are like quizzes, worksheets. She has classes that you can take that are all full of value. She should be charging tons of money for these classes that she offers.

Then she has the coaching and masterminds that are available. But it's important even when you're in the coaching and the masterminds to infuse your week of like, “Okay, I'm going to go reread the chapter of She Thinks Big,” or “I'm going to go get out my workbook on Saturday morning and just think about that. I'm going to listen to the podcast this week.” It's really infusing your week with this big thinking.

I love the podcast because it's not static. You can give examples like the woman who brought her daughter that you can be like, “Look, this is an example of thinking big that just happened.” This is another tool that you can do. I'm really excited that you're bringing this to the world and that you're re-releasing it and birthing it into the world. It's exciting.

Andrea Liebross: It's all coming together. It's all coming together. The irony of it is, the original name, Time to Level Up, I consider this leveling up. It was my time to level up in re-branding this podcast as She Thinks Big, so yeah.

Stacey Hylen: Yeah, and I think leveling up is good, but I think combining the two together, it's even better and you're always doing a level up and your level of thinking big is always expanding what's thinking possible.

It might have been like at the beginning that you thought taking the day off is good. Then maybe taking a weekend and then taking a week off and then now you're like, “Okay, I'm taking the trip with my son and the trip with my husband,” because it's always just expanding what's possible.

Andrea Liebross: It's expanding what's possible. I'll just say that going back to having support, that is the key I think to doing all of this. If you are not allowing yourself, and I'm going to say allow because I think that's really a lot of what gets in women's way, they don't give themselves permission to be supported, almost in supporting your brain space, supporting what you're thinking about, supporting your mindset, they don't allow themselves to do that, but I encourage you all to do it because I think that really honestly is the key.

Stacey Hylen: Yeah, I know we want to wrap it up, but I want to go just a little deeper with that because I think there's something that people do that really keeps them from getting the big result that they want, and that is being a ping pong.

They're like, “Oh, I'm going to take a little bit of advice from this person and a little bit of coaching from this and a little bit of that.” What I've seen with my clients that have stayed with me, my top client has been with me for 15 years, I've seen with you, with your clients that they've been staying for years now is that when people go deep, when they go all in, like what you were saying, if people can see what's possible for you, they can see little spots that catch you of like, “Okay, what are those things that she does that keeps her from thinking big?”

You can reflect that back to them versus if they get a new coach or go to a new program every six months or every year, they're not going to get to the level of their potential that they want.

I would say really go deep and stick with what's working and know that what's working is just going to help you keep doing that spiral that we talked about at the beginning to keep the evolution going for you as opposed to starting from zero every time.

Andrea Liebross: I think that's so true. I saw that play out twice this week once with a client who asked a question about, I'm going to laugh as I'm talking about this, how she should manage all three, I'll call it branches of her business because it's starting to feel really exhausting, and maybe she shouldn't have all three.

What should she do? A year ago, maybe two years ago, we had this conversation about how she wanted these three branches of her business, how she wanted to be juggling all of this.

I reminded her of that. I said, “Well, wait, you said you wanted this." She can always change your mind. We can always revisit this. But my point is, if I hadn't been working with her for that amount of time, someone else wouldn't have known that. They might have tried to help her revamp everything.

But because I know that that's truly what she does want, we have to work from that place. Just in her moment of weakness, or her moment of overwhelm, she's trying to reinvent everything. I think, because we've got that history together, I was able to help her work through it. I'm laughing because we laughed when I reminded her.

Stacey Hylen: It's almost like hitting your hand on your head because you're like, “Oh, okay, you're right.”

Andrea Liebross: Yeah. The other thing that I just thought about too is when you're working with someone for a little bit, you realize how it speeds things up, too. The client last week where I went to Franklin, Tennessee, I mean, I only started working with her in December.

When we did our original Vision Into Action Intensive, she told me she wanted this space in about two to three years. But an amazing space became available and she went for it. Here she is. That all happened in six months, not two years. But she needed that support to help her get through that and make some tough decisions and figure out how to put things together.

Stacey Hylen: That really sped up the process there.

Andrea Liebross: It totally sped up the process.

Stacey Hylen: It was amazing.

Andrea Liebross: It was amazing. So, yes, there is something to be said for having ongoing support or continuous support from the same sources versus ping-ponging.

Stacey Hylen: [Inaudible] the potential and also allows you that expansion. They're not trying to keep you small. Like, “Oh, there's this program and it's just about this.” You have that expansiveness that's available for you, which is really cool.

Andrea Liebross: So good. Well, I've loved having you on the podcast.

Stacey Hylen: It was so fun.

Andrea Liebross: We should do this more often. Maybe I should copy some of our Voxer conversations and share those. People can see really what's going on. Sometimes I just talk, and after I talk on the Voxer, I just, “Okay, I answered my own question. Bye, thanks.”

Stacey Hylen: That's sometimes what it is, it’s having a safe space of somebody who wants the best for you and can help you see it. Sometimes you just need a place, and it’s not your spouse, it’s not your significant other, it’s not your kids, it’s not your girlfriends, it’s really having somebody that have this torch neutral to allow you to process the crap and let it out and be like, “Oh, yeah, that wasn’t a great idea,” or “No, I’m in lack thinking,” and then hold the space for you to step into that big thinking.

Andrea Liebross: Right. I was going to say to help you create space for big thinking. If anyone doesn't know what Voxer is too, I realized we referenced this a lot in this podcast, it's like a walkie-talkie app. I will put a link to it in the show notes.

Stacey Hylen: Yeah, instead of waiting until your next coaching session or mastermind session, it allows you to ask a question privately or in a group Voxer with the mastermind, that you're not waiting to make a decision or waiting to process something. So it really helps speed up the process of getting results.

Andrea Liebross: It's an amazing tool. Stacey Hylen, share with everybody, what is your website?

Stacey Hylen: Sure, it's staceyhylen.com, Help You Leverage Everything Now. That's how you spell it, Stacey Hylen. That's my website. You can find me at Stacey Hylen on all the social media, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and all of that. I look forward to meeting other big thinkers.

Andrea Liebross: She has really good pictures of her lake house, so you do need to go follow her. All right, my friends, next week I will see you back here for the next episode of She Thinks Big. Have a great week.

Thanks for tuning into the She Thinks Big Podcast. If you’re ready to learn the secret to unleashing your full potential, don’t forget to pick up a copy of my book, She Thinks Big! The Entrepreneurial Woman’s Guide to Moving Past the Messy Middle and Into the Extraordinary. It’s available on Amazon, and at your favorite book store, and while you’re there grab a copy for a friend. Inside, you’ll both find actionable strategies and empowering insights to help you navigate the complexities of entrepreneurship and life, and step into your extraordinary future.

If you found value in today’s episode, please consider leaving us a review on your favorite podcast platform and if you’re ready to take this learning a step further and apply it to your own business and life, head to andreaslinks.com and click the button to schedule a discovery call. Until next time, keep thinking big.