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Milana Leshinsky Joins Us On The Steve Jobs Inspired Join Up Dots Business Podcast
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Introducing Milana Leshinsky
Milana Leshinsky is our guest today, on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots free podcast interview.
She is a lady who is passionate about business, helping people, but also having a life away from business.
And that my friends is so important, as business is important but not at the sacrifice of our own lives and happiness.
She is an entrepreneur, business strategist, and a marketing mentor to coaches, authors, and speakers and also the founder of the Simplicity Circle, whose mission is to help entrepreneurs succeed and grow, while keeping their business simple.
Milana came from Soviet Ukraine 25 years ago as a classical musician with zero knowledge of the business world, and has built her million-dollar coaching business from home part time, while raising her two children.
And if you think that this was all some amazing masterplan then think again, as she began her career teaching music theory and history to 3-5 graders in a specialty music school in Kiev, Ukraine.
How The Dots Joined Up For Milana
Followed by a quick stint in an Insurance company, and then working as a web designer before starting her own business.
She did the work that she thought she would love before finding the one that appears to light her up inside bigtime.
She is the creator of Recurring Revenue Revolution, author of “Coaching Millions,” co-founder of JV Insider Circle, and inventor of telesummit.
She constantly strives to stay on the cutting edge in the coach, author, speaker space, and when she’s not working on her business, she writes music and enjoys Latin ballroom dancing.
So how has she managed to blend a super successful business, whilst still being their for the kids and herself?
And has she always managed to get the balance right, or like most of us ploughed into burnout before seeing the light?
Well lets find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Milana Leshinsky
Show Highlights
During the show we discussed such weighty topics with Milana Leshinsky such as:
Why simplicity in business is such a key part to the success of all businesses. Relax into the process and see where it takes you.
How Milana never once went to coaching school, although that never stopped her being a mentor to other coaches. Don’t be held back by qualifications…can you solve the problems of your clients?
and lastly….
Why its so important to find the systems in you business which will allow you to walk away from it. Nobody wants to create a monster in their lives.
Books By Milana Leshinsky
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Full Transcription Of Milana Leshinsky Interview
Intro [0:00]
When we’re young, we have an amazing positive outlook about how great life is going to be. But somewhere along the line we forget to dream and end up settling. Join Up Dots features amazing people who refuse to give up and chose to go after their dreams. This is your blueprint for greatness. So here’s your host live from the back of his garden in the UK, David Ralph.
David Ralph [0:24]
Yes. Hello, everybody. Good morning, and welcome to a Join Up Dots VCs episode. I’ve got no idea somewhere in the coming up to the 1000s. It’s quite high. And we have got a lady on the show who is is she’s been a shoo in. She’s somebody that we should have had a long time ago because she’s a lady who is passionate about business, helping people. But also having a life away from business and that my friends is so important as business is important, but not at a sacrifice of our own lives and happiness. She’s an entrepreneur, business strategist and a marketing mentor to coaches authors and speakers, and also the founder of the simplicity circle whose mission is to help entrepreneurs succeed and grow while keeping their business simple. Now, she came from the Soviet Union Ukraine 25 years ago as a classical musician with zero knowledge of the business world and has built her million dollar coaching business from home part time while raising her two children. And if you think that this was awesome, amazing master plan, then think again, as she began her career teaching music theory and history to three to five graders in a specialty music school in Kiev. Then she followed by a quick stint in insurance company and then worked as a web designer before starting her own business. Now, she did the work that she thought she would love before finding the one that appears to light her up inside big time. And that is normally the way she’s the creator of recurring revenue revolution, author of coaching millions co founder of JV insider circle and the inventor of tele summit, she constantly strives to stay on the cutting edge in the coach office speaker space. And when she’s not working on her business, she writes music and enjoys Latin ballroom dancing. So how she managed to blend a super successful business while still being there for the kids and herself. And Has she always managed to get the balance right or like most of us as she ploughed into burnout before seeing the light? Well, let’s find out as we bring them to the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Milana Leshinsky, how are you?
Milana Leshinsky [2:22]
Hey, David, it’s great to be here. I’m doing well. I’m excited to talk to you.
David Ralph [2:27]
We’re excited to talk to you Mallanna, you’ve got one of those stories that you kind of been where the hell do we start? And the thing that’s really grabbed me, and I’m gonna go straight to this is keeping business simple, because I think that is such a key thing. And out of all that introduction, that was the bit that really jumped out of me. Because we do make it complicated, don’t we we we seem to think that we’ve got to have multiple sales funnels, we’ve got to have lead generation from every point is that the mistake that people make, then I go too complicated when simple is best,
Milana Leshinsky [2:59]
simply is definitely best. I actually just shared an interesting graphic on my Facebook page, where you can see how the marketing and the business strategies have evolved. In the last six years, we’ve gone from 150 methods of sharing your message to 1500 methods that completely just blow your mind by looking at it. No wonder we drown in the complexity. And we see all this madness out there that just prevents us from feeling great about ourselves and about our entrepreneurial skill and passion and drive. That complexity gets in the way. And it gets in the way of the best ideas that could be developed and thrive and really shine for us and for the world. You know, that impact that we all want to make complexity gets in the way the details, the implementation, all the you know, 1000s of methodologies for getting your message out that gets in the way. And so it’s very important. Simplicity is very important.
David Ralph [4:10]
Well, you’ve come to the right place because I’m a simple guy Mulana. I am simple. And I like being simple. But the way that I operate in business now is basically I create a product, I find where those people are hanging out, and I basically plunk it in front of them. And as you were talking about the sort of all the platforms that you can share your message on with Join Up Dots, I came to the conclusion that the best place was to actually use iTunes for all my strategy. And since then, I don’t do anything else. But my show is growing exponentially, because I’m putting my podcast where people are looking for podcasts. And that was such an eye opener for me that it was it seemed too simple, but simply it was the game changer. Have you had the same sort of awakening epiphanies in your own business where you look back on it now and you think what the hell was I doing? I was on pins, Pinterest, Instagram, I was on all these platforms. But I should have just been on that one because that’s where my tribe was,
Milana Leshinsky [5:06]
I love the simplicity of your show and and what you’re doing because it makes it so simple for you to focus every day, you know, exactly. You know what you’re going to do when you wake up and what you are driving towards. So that simplicity is incredible. This is why your show is so successful, because you’re able to put all of your eggs, so to speak in one basket. And that is, that is where the simplicity comes from. I’ve actually experienced complexity multiple times in my business, or I should say in my businesses, and the time when I lean away from my own natural abilities, from my own strengths, that’s when I get in trouble. And that’s how we most This is how most people most entrepreneurs get in trouble is when they look at somebody else and say, oh, David is really successful with your podcast cost podcast, let me start my own podcast. Yeah. And then they fail, because that is not necessarily something that they ought to be doing. Not everybody has to have a podcast, not everybody needs to create a community, not everybody needs to speak on stage. And yet, we look at people that are successful that we admire, we you know, people that mentor us people that inspire us, and we want to do what they do, we want to imitate and that gets us in trouble very quickly. Because we don’t know where those people are coming from what journey they had to go through in their lives, maybe they’ve been flying 50 weeks a year to speak on stages around the world, maybe they are working 200 hours a week, maybe they chose not to have a family. You never know what where someone is mentally, emotionally, physically. So before you try to imitate a successful person, keep that in mind. Everybody’s different. Their life vision is different. And you have your own life vision, you have your own ideas. And so your inner guidance is a powerful, powerful tool that I actually honestly, had been ignoring for a while. Until recently.
David Ralph [7:09]
Oh, I think we all do. And I think we all have moments of burnout, as I was saying in the introduction, but um, yours is a fascinating story. Because you You came from no business knowledge at all, to be able to create something which is quite astonishing. Now, if we took you back to the Ukraine 25 years ago, when you was with your mum and dad in your family, what was the sort of dreams and aspirations in those days? What did your parents push you towards?
Milana Leshinsky [7:37]
This was not the language we use dreams and aspirations. So we use the language of security, stability, and contribution to society, you know, Soviet Ukraine 1980s, I begged my mom to send me to music school. And so she did. And that was the only area of interest that I have ever done, demonstrated and shined in. And so between the ages of eight and 19, I lived, breathed and slept music, classical music and music education specifically. So that was kind of my only option available to me at that time. Now, there are probably a lot of opportunities for people in Ukraine. But at that time, the focus was really on, you know, go to school, go to college, get a job, stay at your job for the next 40 years. It wasn’t a conversation about anything more than that. And so when I came to the states in 1982, and all these options opened up in front of me, I still only saw one option, and that was computer programming. Computer Programming was something that Soviet people who immigrated to America, were very aware that this is the best way right now to make money to get a you know, a job, either that or nursing. So people would come to America and they would make a decision. Am I going to go into a medical career? Or am I going to learn computers? Now, computers as as funny and cheesy as that sounds are closer to piano because it has keys as somebody told me. And so that’s where I went. But I was really interested to see how that would allow me to create stability and security for the next 40 years. So I was still having that same mindset. Because there was no there was no entrepreneurship. There was no concept such as business in Soviet Union. And so that mind shift that was happening slowly for me, had to occur before I was able to let go of the nine to five, let go of the security of a job and the family members that surrounded me with that mindset and move into the entrepreneurial mindset. That was quite a leap for me.
David Ralph [9:57]
Well, I can imagine that’s a huge leap because You know, in the United Kingdom were generally kind of surrounded by that vibe anyway, I think in a very different way, America, America seems to really promote that kind of way, take the leap and be very positive. The English are very much like just, you know, stay where you are get a job for 40 years. And and oh, I think we’re very similar to Ukraine in that kind of regard. You know, just play it safe. So now you’re in America. I assume you’re in America? Yeah.
Milana Leshinsky [10:28]
Yes. I’m actually Pennsylvania. Yeah.
David Ralph [10:30]
Right. Okay. Which is kind of America. Yeah. Is it falls within that category. So. So now you’re in Pennsylvania? Do you sort of look around and think that, yeah, I just couldn’t have created my life back in Ukraine. Even with a change in my own personal mindset. I really had to make this, this bold move to the US.
Milana Leshinsky [10:51]
I will never know, David, I often wonder what would my life look like if I had stayed? I have no idea. The country has changed so much since then, I left in 1992, when the grocery shops were empty, there was no food, there was no items that you could buy, no butter, no bread, no. Eggs, like the basics there, you could not buy food. And so I came to this country, with wide eyes wide open. And so I don’t know, as I’m talking to my friends who graduated musicology with me, you know, recently, they are not necessarily doing what we were trained to do. I was trained as a music teacher to work at a specialty music school, not a public school, but a school where kids go after school to specialise in music. That was my specialty. Of course, this is not available, it doesn’t exist like that, necessarily. In America, at least, you know, in most parts of America, this kind of setting doesn’t exist. But what my friends, my alumni graduates are doing now, you know, some of them. I know one person who is working on a radio show leading a music show on Sundays, another person is teaching kindergarten. And to think that we have reached the highest level of music theory, harmony, composition, and for her to be teaching ABCs to little kids, to me, that would probably not be my ideal way of living. So I don’t know, I don’t know some of them may be are normal for us. It’s hard to tell. But I was very fortunate to discover and apply myself as a musician. And to bring all those transferable skills from being a music teacher, and a music disciplinarian, into this new country, into this new way of life, the discipline that I gained from studying music, it’s all connecting for me now, you know, all the things, the fact that I was creative, I’m using my creativity. Now in my business, it’s all coming together, regardless of the fact that I’m not a music teacher anymore.
David Ralph [12:58]
So when you you hit on your first idea of creating a business, did you have a fixed business plan? Did you make it up as you go along?
Milana Leshinsky [13:07]
I absolutely did. I absolutely. Was I was looking at the step in front of me. And actually, that’s what simplicity is all about. Trying to, you know, really plan ahead so far, that you become overwhelmed. That doesn’t work, especially for a new business owner. If you told me back then, you know, 17 years ago, I’ve been in business for 17 years, that I would be building a million dollar coaching and information marketing Empire, I would look at you and say, Are you out of your freakin mind? I don’t even know how to create a presentation or talk a a product or what what everything means. So it would be extremely overwhelming. So I just took the very next step that was available to me. And at that time, all I knew how to do was make websites. And so that’s where I began my journey. I started a web design company, and you will laugh, but I was making websites full blown websites for $100. And that time,
David Ralph [14:10]
yeah. And so that’s a key point, isn’t it? Because he knows days you don’t have your value point. You You basically will only charge what you think you’re worth.
Milana Leshinsky [14:20]
Absolutely. And that’s what I felt I was worth. That’s what I felt my skills and my, my mindset, that’s where I was absolutely and over time, it changed and I started investing my time and my energy into creation. So I was reading a book on how to develop your own products. I was attending tele seminars on how to deliver teleseminars I was really getting into all these things that I felt drawn to which is again another principle of simplicity that I teach is go where you feel drawn to do not try to push yourself into areas that you feel like you have Have no passion and no clarity around it, go with the flow that is with the flow is going to take you where you need to be in business. And every time I follow that principle, it has worked for me, every time I leaned away from that principle, I ended up frustrated, stuck, stalling, and ultimately with panic attacks, which I’m happy to talk about later. But that’s kind of that that is a sign of not going in the right direction for me.
David Ralph [15:28]
No, I agree with you, I agree with you totally, there has been things that I have done creating Join Up Dots that have been so easy, that I kind of thought I shouldn’t get money for it, it just seemed like it was just stuff that I was just reaching out and just taking cash. And I struggled with that for quite a while. Because in previous lives and corporate gig, it was very much you went to work and you worked hard, and then you earned your money. But in entrepreneurial life, if you choose the right thing, and you’re the right peg in the right hole, it does become easy. But the hardest thing is accepting that isn’t it, it’s accepting that actually you can lay in bed longer than you did before, do less work, but actually earn more for it. Even though you’re playing to your sweet spot.
Milana Leshinsky [16:12]
I’m so glad you’re talking about that. Because I have this concept that I talked about called the cult of the grind. We are really truly trained that in order to succeed with anything to achieve anything you need to push or current force yourself overcome challenges overcome obstacles, grind, grind, grind. And what I have noticed is that the harder you push, the less money you make. The harder you push, the more likely you are to burn out, the harder you push. And the more you grind, the less of a lifestyle you actually have. And just to think about it, we start our businesses Yes, at first, maybe to experience money, freedom, but ultimately every person who is starting a business, they have a dream of freedom as an entrepreneur, freedom of time, freedom of lifestyle, whatever that freedom means to you. And there was a moment in my in my business, literally last year when I pushed and pushed and pushed. I was launching a programme with my business partner and I was working 24 seven. And I woke up after the launch was over. And I said okay, what’s next? And is this older wrists because now next week, we’re starting another launch, and another programme and another event. And it never ends. And this is my life. And I Oh my God, I forgot there was Halloween coming up. I didn’t even decorate my house. And I forgot to look out the window, the beautiful trees and I missing life. And you never want to get to the point where you wake up and you say is this all the rest is the work? All the rest. And so that pushed me back.
David Ralph [17:51]
I’m gonna jump in there. But yeah, let me jump in there. Because the trouble with it is, but it’s not just work. It’s like passion, it’s your dreams. Totally. If you go off to a corporate gig, as soon as you can get out of the office, you will do you’ll be you’ll be flying out. But that’s the problem that entrepreneurs have, because they’re creating their dreams and their futures. It’s not just work is it? It’s it’s something like I don’t know what it is, it’s intangible. And that’s why we keep on pushing, pushing, pushing, because we want the dream.
Milana Leshinsky [18:22]
We want the dream. But sometimes pushing comes with that knowing that if it feels like pushing, you’re probably going in the wrong direction. I know this idea of stretching outside your comfort zone is very close to a lot of people, a lot of motivational speakers will say push yourself outside of your comfort zone. But sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference whether you are pushing yourself outside your comfort zone, or you simply pushing yourself in the wrong direction. You know, one of the things that I know people like to do is strengthen, strengthen their weaknesses, you know, if this is the area where you feel weak, and you need to invest your time and focus and energy in improving it, well, I say stop strengthening your weaknesses, figure out what your strengths are, what your natural abilities are, and improve those. I mean, I have so many examples in my business where I would be drawn to an idea or to a strategy to a tactic in business or in marketing. And I would go after it. And every time I would use it or learn something new, my results would improve. And then I have plenty of examples where I would go after using a strategy because someone else has succeeded with it. Or because a mentor would tell me to try it. And and I had I would go with resistance into that area only to find myself pushing, pushing, pushing and not getting the results. So that’s the difference. Are you stretching ourselves outside the comfort zone in the right direction? In which case you’re excited about it that it comes with that fun energy. And you see results are starting to come or are you pushing yourself in the wrong way direction, and you stretching yourself outside your comfort zone in the areas that you shouldn’t really be worried about. Because that is not your your natural ability, this is where it’s just not worth it. So that is what simplicity is all about, really finding the simplest way to achieve a goal or result with, you know, following the path of least resistance, it’s still going to be stretching you outside your comfort zone, but in the right direction, in the direction where the results will eventually start coming with ease. Does that make sense?
David Ralph [20:32]
It makes perfect sense. And this play some words now that really sort of emphasise what we’re talking about. looking out for the feelings. He’s Jim Carrey.
My father could have been a great comedian, but he didn’t believe that that was possible for him. And so he made a conservative choice. Instead, he got a safe job as an accountant. And when I was 12 years old, he was let go from that safe job. And our family had to do whatever we could to survive. I learned many great lessons from my father, not the least of which was that you can fail at what you don’t want. So you might as well take a chance on doing what you love. Brilliant.
Yeah, he’s brilliant. It’s brilliant when you first hear it, and I play it literally on every show. But I think one of the problems with that speech is the fact that the love doesn’t come until you’ve tried a lot of things about you, hey, it’s very easy to say you might as well go through what you love. But most people will go, I don’t know what I love. I just don’t know, you know, I just, I’ve got to pay the bills, I’ve got to do this, I got to do that. Do you have any advice for people when they listen to that speech and are inspired by it like they should be. But they just look around, and they’re just confused.
Milana Leshinsky [21:37]
When you are in survival mode, it’s very hard to follow your dreams to do what you’re passionate about. So I say, if you are in a place right now, where you are in survival mode, and you need to simply support your family and make money you do whatever you need to do. I mean, I literally made a decision to walk away from music from the passion of my entire life. It was unimaginable, you imagine, you know, doing something since you’re eight years old and suddenly being told, while you’re done. And then this is finished for you. Now you got to do something else. That’s how painful and mournful I felt, for me to move into another direction. But I knew that in order for me to survive in America, I need it. I have to do something else was computer programming or computer my passion? Heck, no, I didn’t even see a computer until I was a you know, 21 years old. So I did what I had to do, looking at the Chinese restaurant owner, and I’m thinking oh, my goodness, he is running like a chicken with his head cut off. He needs to do that for his family. He has no other way. Because that is what his family business is. Was he ever asked what’s your dream? What’s your aspiration? What are you passionate about? Probably not. Because he’s too busy surviving. He’s too busy running that family business. So he could pass it on to his children, or maybe sell it and, you know, do something else. When he’s retired. What I’m saying, David is that when you need to make money, because you have no food to put on the table, you do what you need to do. But once you are past the survival mode, and you have that you have come a float, and you are seeing the world, and you are starting to see other ways that you could explore your life. That’s when you start asking yourself, what should I invest my time, energy and focus into? And hopefully the answer is, what am I really interested in? What am I really interested in exploring? Because you may not know until you try, but what are you drawn to trying? I recently started doing Facebook Live video. Have I ever done it before? No. But I was drawn to the idea of having a live audience of being able to connect with people face to face. I was drawn to it. So what are you feeling drawn to?
David Ralph [24:05]
But the thing is, and it is always the stumbling block. It’s always to say, you know, what are you drawn to, but actually then transferring that into a monetary reward a business? That’s quite difficult. That’s a stretch, isn’t it? And that’s the bit that the real upskilling and the hustle has to occur with. I know that with podcasting, when I started this show, I literally naively looking back for that I turn on the microphone, I’d get an audience and then everything would be a walk in the park. How wrong was I? The actual making something that you’re passionate about into a business is a bridge you’ve really got to cross isn’t it?
Milana Leshinsky [24:42]
Well, it’s really about finding a sweet spot between what you feel drawn to where your genius or your super skills lie and what people want. So there is this idea of following your passion but there’s also a cross between your passion and strategic about what you put your passion into, you know, I could be creating products and programmes for anybody, but I chose to create them. For people who are building a coaching business online. That was my first pitch coaches, authors, speakers, people who are selling expertise on the internet. So I started out actually, ironically, I completely forgot about that business. I started developing training products for music teachers, well, guess what, I offered a booklet with 100 tips on how to build your music studio and get students and I sold it for $12. And music teachers complained that it was too expensive. That was my sign to get out immediately of that market and do something else. So that was my passion music. And I thought maybe I’ll teach music teachers how to market themselves. While that was not the sweet spot, because there was no market. For something like this, there was no demand for a product that people were willing to invest in. So finding what you feel drawn to, and mixing it with the market demands, the problem that people are experiencing that you see people experiencing, that is the sweet spot of passion and profit.
David Ralph [26:21]
Yeah, no, I agree with that totally, because I’ve got a podcast training course. And when I started it, it was just to teach people how to podcast but little by little is morphed into teaching businesses how to podcast and because of that is become three times as expensive, really, but three times as valuable to the buyers. And I realised that you don’t have to go for the same market, you can pivot your product, and, and go in a totally different way. And once you do that, and the people that are buying it can see the value, then nothing’s expensive, is it?
Milana Leshinsky [26:54]
Absolutely. And what I love about, you know, going after a particular market is that you get to niche and you get to learn about your audience so well that you anticipate their needs and their desires. You learn their language, you discover their pain points. In fact, you know, when I started my business 2001, I knew nothing about business. I just wrote an E book on how to create websites, create your first website in 10 days, I put it out there for $29. And some people started to buy it and I was all excited. But what started happening is coaches started buying my products, life and business coaches started getting interested in what I was doing. And I said, Let me check this out. It seems like this is a fast growing industry, fast growing niche, I want to learn more about it. And I started studying coaches and coaching and coaching websites and coach marketing. And I became an expert, somebody called me a mega coach, not realising that I am not even a trained coach, I simply work with coaches, but I’ve never gone to a coach training school. I simply knew the day to day life and struggle of a life and business coach so well like my own. So when you specialise in a niche market, that’s when you begin, start being seen as an expert as a as a specialist. And that’s when you are starting to see what products and programmes that you can create for your market, what solutions you can bring to your market. I was fascinated by the concept of dominating my niche and dominating my market. And I actually remember asking my mentor at the time, like, how do I dominate the market? That was back when there was no you know, 1000s of people selling to coaches. And his answer really surprised me. He said, solve every single problem that you market has with a product or tool, programme and event address every single pain point. And if you can do that yourself, partner with somebody, affiliate with somebody who can so that you become the one stop shop for your niche market. And that’s what I did, I ended up creating over 100 products. I created coaching events, marketing, training programmes, assessment, creation software. I mean, I was in every little piece, an aspect of a coaching business. And I think that that’s what earned me a title of a manga coach. Oh, I
David Ralph [29:24]
can see that. But how did you find the right person to buddy up with because a lot of people will listen to that and go Yeah, that’s great advice. But I don’t know how to do all this.
Milana Leshinsky [29:33]
Well. Are you asking how I found the mentor to do that with
David Ralph [29:37]
you obviously didn’t create personally 100 products Surely,
Milana Leshinsky [29:42]
I actually did. So I did create over 100 products over the last 17 years and by products I mean information products and coaching programmes and courses and trainings. And this is interesting that that you asked that question because this is one of my strengths is creating products. The moment I see a problem in the market, my mind immediately takes it. Hmm. What can I create to solve that, and so I go ahead and create a course, or I create a training. So I actually did create over 100 products myself. But there were there were times when I would not be able to do that, for example, I am not a Facebook expert. So if I wanted to promote a Facebook mastery or fat Facebook training, to my audience, I would have to find somebody to promote. And in that case, I would then look for somebody that I already have a relationship with that I trust. And I like the way that they are approaching this. And I’m all about simplicity. If, if this product allows me to see something clearly, I’m all over that. And I recommend it to others. So I affiliate myself with people that allow clarity and simplicity to come through in their training. So hopefully that makes sense, David?
David Ralph [30:56]
Yeah, it makes total sense. It totally does. Yeah. So where are you at the moment when you’re creating these multimillion pound businesses? Are you happy in your life? Are you wanting more? Do you do you know what, where is it personally with you?
Milana Leshinsky [31:13]
Yeah. You know, when you are an entrepreneur, your personal life and your business life are really connected, incredibly connected together, they blend in there is no separation. As an entrepreneur, I’m sure you know that you wake up, when you think about business, and you go to bed and you think about business. Yes, family is in there. Friends are in there, your your lifestyle, you know, I take dance lessons, all of those things are somewhere in there. But your business truly consumes your life, especially when you’re passionate about it. And so, the what I what I’m doing now is last year, exactly a year ago, I walked away from a million dollar company that my partner and I built, we partnered up for three years, I ended up leaving it because the partnership didn’t work out the way I was hoping. And that was my first attempt at a full blown partnership. So I probably will not be doing that again. Although Never say never. But at least I learned that partnership means that you no longer have autonomy in your life independence in your life. And so I walked away from that company, and I took about a six month sabbatical. And what I saw out there has stunned me, what I saw was that people start businesses all the time. But now in 2017, the overwhelm is absolutely unprecedented for business owners, there is a product or a mentor, or a training programme on every possible niche or topic that you can possibly think of, not, you know, unlike in 2001, where you were a pioneer in every single niche area. And so what I saw was that really people needed to simplify, that’s kind of that became so clear to me. And as I was looking for simplifying, I stumbled on this amazing move, or trend or movement, simplicity, entrepreneurship, which is essentially a business growth strategy based on keeping your business model and your business structure as simple as possible. You know, it’s a mindset where you make choices that focus on simplicity, you can make a lot of money, you can be successful, you can have a lot of impact and grow a big audience and play big, but without the cost of your independence, your peace of mind, your lifestyle, your family, your health, your relationships. And so where I am right now is I keep checking in with myself, is this decision going to keep my life and business simple. A lot of people are talking about these organisational tools like Evernote or, you know, ways to keep track of all the details and data in your life. And I realised that I don’t have that much data that much to do lists to keep track of. So instead of trying to organise all this stuff, I simply focus on having and doing less and when I’m focusing on that the biggest the brightest opportunities in business, get in front of me that allow me to shine the light on because I have more room for the biggest opportunities in business just like you with with podcast you that’s where your focus is. That’s why you’re so good at it and that’s why your podcast is so popular.
David Ralph [34:33]
I won’t do anything Mulana that keeps me routed to the PC. That’s one of the things I won’t do. And so everything I do, I think to myself, can I walk away from this can Is there a way to automate this? Is there a system and if there’s not, I generally don’t do it? Because I could not bear to be having to rush up to my recording studio every day to check something or send something out. It has to be systematised and more After midnight, if you focus in on the 8020 principle, and really only do the thing that really brings the most rewards, you don’t have to do all this stuff anyway, it’s just a way of creating buisiness in a simple life. And I’m a simple guy. And I like simplicity. And I love nothing more than turning off my computer, going down the pub and leaving it all behind and knowing not, you know, no one can get hold of me. I’m just totally free. I think simplicity is actually key. And I think you’re bang on on this,
Milana Leshinsky [35:29]
I love that you talk about you know, can I walk away from this? Is there a system so I you know, all of this is about leverage, when you can walk away from your business, or walk away from the things that you have created, allowing it to take over automatically as a system that is total simplicity. And I love that you talk about this, because a lot of people do not focus on that leverage. A lot of people are focused on the day to day details, and they never step back or step away, or rise above their businesses bigger picture, to see to gain perspective. That’s the first step that I asked my clients to do is like, okay, let’s take a day off, just take a day off. When was the last time you truly took a day away from your business, to think about what really matters to you in life, and people are shocked at what they discover. They you know, I asked them to answer questions like, when was the last time that you weren’t happy in your business? And what was true, then? Who are you when you’re not a business owner? People don’t ask these questions. Because when you can answer these questions for yourself, without fear of judgement, or any self judgement, suddenly, the truth shows up for you. And you’re able to create the business of your dreams for real, and, and get rid of all the unnecessary complexity and all the judgement that comes to you from all the directions out there,
David Ralph [36:50]
do you have to go through the crap vote to get to this point, because, you know, I hold my hand up, I have been through the crap big time. And till I got to a point I went no more, no more. I’m not going to do this anymore. And I reassessed everything, do you need to do it? Or are there other people that are just more open eyed and worldly than I was? When I started?
Milana Leshinsky [37:12]
I want to say I hope not David. But unfortunately, we don’t realise what we want until we end up with what we don’t want. So I would never have known the drawbacks of having a business partner the drawbacks of having a multi million dollar company if I hadn’t built it myself, so I guess you do you do. And hopefully, you’re smart enough to realise that having a mentor or a you surrounding yourself with people who’ve been there is going to really make it easier for you as you as you are learning the ropes of being an entrepreneur because nobody told me that this these kind of things might happen that will lead me to a burnout to having panic attacks, to feeling absolutely ridiculous and embarrassed about them. Nobody told me that I was leaning away from my my own genius or my own super skills, my own biggest strength when I was running a big team and working with a business partner. I had to learn this for myself. So maybe you right? Maybe you do need to experience some crap in your life and in your business, before you realise that you are done with it. And you want something different in your life.
David Ralph [38:35]
So are we kind of saying then that a newbie coming along cannot create a business plan but they can follow step by step by step. It’s just not possible. There’s no business plan that will allow you to gain the experience you want. You generally have to make your mistakes, spend money badly, learn from it, and they meander your way through somehow.
Milana Leshinsky [38:59]
Absolutely. I mean, as a newbie, you don’t know anything you don’t know what will work for you what will not work for you. You don’t know who to follow, or who to ignore. You don’t know what strategy to try or what your business should look like you don’t know anything about your business vision. But what you do know is what you feel connected to what you feel curious about what you feel interested in. My coach always used to tell me years ago, Mulana learn inside, teach what you want to learn. And so I would always learn something that I was really passionate about that I would turn around and teach that and I would continue to learn, for example, simplicity is something that I certainly do have more in my life off, but I continuously study other people who have a simplicity focus business, where the business is fully grounded inside their natural abilities, their natural skills, and they continue to grow that area of their business. So teach what you want. Learn, explore what you feel curious about. Don’t obsess over having a perfect business plan because you won’t, you won’t ever have a business plan that is perfect. even experienced business owners will have a business plan that they will modify, revise, I completed my my launch of a new programme last week. And in the middle of a launch with every plan that I possibly have created for myself, I had to revise my presentation, because I saw that I needed to do that. So take your step forward, and then the next step will reveal itself. And then you’ll know
David Ralph [40:39]
I’m gonna play some words. Now that’s gonna lead us to the end of the show. These were set by Steve Jobs back in 2005. Let’s hear him again. Steve Jobs.
Steve Jobs [40:49]
Of course, it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards 10 years later. Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something, your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. Because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well worn path. And that will make all the difference.
David Ralph [41:24]
In you Join Up Dots.
Milana Leshinsky [41:26]
I absolutely get I love that speech by Steve Jobs. My son recently graduated from Penn State. And so he was the one who sent me that video a few years ago. And I love it. I love the stories that he tell. I think that for me, it’s all about trusting your inner voice, your gut and going forward with whatever feels right at the time, trusting that there is a reason why you are moved to that decision or to that action. For me What comes to mind, David is years ago, when I graduated from college as a computer programmer in America, I took up an internship and as a computer programmer in a small family owned business. And after three months of programming, I was fired. And the boss, you know, asked me to come into his office and he said Mulana, I will trust you with my life, with my family, with my house, with everything I’ve got, but you are not a computer programmer, and unfortunately, I have to let you go. And that is, you know, that action, that decision led me to exploring web design, and eventually online marketing, which led me to where I am today, to, you know, to study marketing to become a person of marketing, skills and creativity around the area of marketing, and management and organisation and, and really feeling like this is where I’m supposed to be to be, I really do feel that way. I never liked computer programming, it was just the means to survival. A means to have my footing at that time. And of course, at that time I was I was so mad, I was so upset. I remember driving home and I was crying. And I was grabbing my steering wheel. And I was like, just so upset with that boss. And years later, of course, I’m feeling very grateful. Most recently, a couple years ago, I started having panic attacks. And I didn’t know why. And I didn’t know what they were, I used to call them episodes, anybody who ever experienced a panic attack can relate to that. But panic attacks led me to discovery, meditation, and yoga, and to focus on personal growth. Because up until recently, I was extremely focused on business and marketing. I would never, you would never see me at a personal growth event. Or I never worked with a life coach or a personal growth coach, until recently. So now I do meditation every day. I take yoga three times a week. And I work with a life coach. And I am going to a personal growth event in two weeks. So that took me on a journey. Of course when you when I first had panic attacks, I was confused and upset and mad at the world. Like what is happening? Why is this happening? And so now it makes a lot of sense to me because the people that are coming into my life now as clients, sometimes they’ll tell me Malala I’m so glad that you had panic attacks and walked away from that business because simplicity circle would have never been born and you would have never been working to share the simplicity principles that you are now implemented in your business. So those are my doc that I feel very much related and connected to where I am today.
David Ralph [44:56]
Perfect story perfect story in every single way. It leads us nicely to the end of the show where we’re going to send you back on another journey to speak to your younger self. This is a part of the show that we called a sermon on the mic. Well, we’re going to send you back to have a one on one with your younger self. And if you could go back and speak to the young Mallanna, what age would you choose? And what advice would you give her? Well, we’re gonna find out because we’re going to play the theme. And when it fades, you’re up. This is a sermon on the mic. With the best
Unknown Speaker [45:31]
bit of the show.
Milana Leshinsky [45:45]
Wow, I mean, it talking to my younger self. It’s funny because I actually wrote a book called chameleons. And at the end of the book, there’s a letter to my younger self, I need to probably reread it, I bet I would still resonate with that that book is 11 years old. But I would say to my younger self, learn as much as you can soak up as much as you can, because there is a limit to when a person you know, starts, you know, is able to consume information and lessons. So for me, this is really about learning, marketing and sales as much as possible, in as much of a capacity as possible, because up until you’re 40 years old, you can learn everything and anything. I’m not saying that you you stop learning after you’re 40. But your capacity, and your motivation and your ability really to move forward. Changes. You You may want to slow down you don’t know that. But that is true for me because I’m talking to my younger self, right? Stop working on your weaknesses would be another thing I would say to myself, stop working on your weaknesses and focus on your strengths. Take care of your bodies, start doing meditation and yoga sooner. And please don’t wait until 39 to start taking dance lessons because you’re really good at it. That’s what I would say to my younger self David
David Ralph [47:14]
Mulana was the number one best way that our audience can connect with you.
Milana Leshinsky [47:17]
Simplicity circle.com forward slash get started, is where you can learn more. If simplicity entrepreneurship is exciting, too, if you are intrigued by the idea of creating your business with ease and flow, and finding a way to keep it simple while growing your business to be successful and fit your lifestyle. That is the place to go simplicity circle.com.
David Ralph [47:43]
We have over links on the show notes. Milana Leshinsky. Thank you so much for spending time with us today. joining up those dots. And please come back again when you got more dots to join up. Because I do believe that by joining up the dots and connecting our past is the best way to build our futures. Milana Leshinsky. Thank you so much.
Milana Leshinsky [47:59]
It was my pleasure. Thank you, David.
David Ralph [48:03]
And that was one of those shows that really resonated with me, I believe totally in simplicity, I have to believe totally that people make things too complicated. I think that you should be able to enjoy your life, do what you’re good at, provide value to people make a lot of money at the same time. And just just have a kick ass life. Now, it’s not going to be easy to get there because you got to try things, you know, but if you’re sitting there just thinking, I want to do something, I want to do something but you’re not even trying then then, you know, connect with us, connect with us and we’ll point you in the right direction. But certainly once it comes together, you’ll realise that you’ve just been walking around in a sort of limbo land waiting for something to fall on you and it’s not gonna fall on you. You’ve got to go and get it yourself. I like what she’s doing there, the simplicity circle, check it out. And until next time, we’ll see you again. Cheers. See ya bye. David
Outro [48:52]
doesn’t want you to become a faded version of the brilliant sell fewer wants to become. So he’s put together an amazing guide for you called the eight pieces of advice that every successful entrepreneur practices, including the two that changed his life. Head over to Join Up dots.com to download this amazing guide for free and we’ll see you tomorrow on Join Up Dots.