How do we hold the vision of our dreams, especially when others say it’s impractical or impossible? How do we maintain our positivity, confidence, determination, and resilience in the face of our doubt, fear, and limiting beliefs? And when the unexpected happens, how do we turn lemons into lemonade? Our guest, Lisa Suswain, believes the secret is staying in our “bubble”. At age 16, against the odds, Lisa secured a spot in the coveted Royal Ballet. However, after an injury made it unsafe for her to continue dancing, she made a graceful pivot towards something new. She applied the discipline and perseverance of her dance training to successfully step into the world of entrepreneurship and achieved even more success than she had ever dreamed.
(Lisa on the power of the “bubble.”
The world is full of people ready to tell us about what they believe are our limitations. Whether it can be classified as helpful advice, or considered less well-intentioned meddling in our personal affairs, neither takes into account the limitless power we all possess–if we choose to tap into it. There are many who believe that, if applied, there are universal laws that work in our favor as we move purposefully and intentionally towards our goals.
We have all heard “rags to riches” stories and tales of “triumph over adversity. Some feel these men and women possess some super-human “gene” that allows them to do what mere mortals cannot. Others attribute their success to mere luck. Both theories are easily refuted by the stories of ordinary human beings of average intellect who have accomplished the extraordinary by leveraging qualities and practices available to us all.
There are common threads to be found in the stories of the successful. Napoleon Hill was so intrigued by the topic that he spent 20 years of his life studying the lives of notable men like Andrew Carnegie, Alexander Graham Bell, John D. Rockefeller, and Theodore Roosevelt. His goal was to determine what “laws” one must follow to achieve and sustain success. In the end, he created a list and lessons that can be found in his book The Law of Success.
Hill claimed that one needed a meaningful goal, faith in oneself, creativity, enthusiasm, self-control, a pleasing personality, critical thinking skills, focus, and an attitude of tolerance. He also stressed the importance of learning from one’s mistakes, working well with others, and doing more than is expected as additional keys to one’s success. These habits and qualities consistently applied, his research revealed, were the major drivers that produced uncommon results.
Frankly, these aren’t difficult concepts. The key is developing and maintaining a mindset that supports our ability to remain consistent as we pursue our dreams. On today’s episode, we have the pleasure of hearing guest, Lisa Suswain’s, “beating the odds” story. To be fair, her story isn’t one of devastation that breeds determination. It is simply, and refreshingly, a tale of a little girl, a big dream, and the bubble she creates to protect her vision as she moves intentionally towards her goal to become a ballerina in the Royal Ballet. She believed she could. And she did.
There isn’t one quality on Hill’s list that Lisa doesn’t possess. This undoubtedly contributed to her graceful pivot from being a dancer to creating a successful business after an injury resulted in an early retirement.
It was both a pleasure and a privilege to welcome Lisa to the Real Talk “tea” table. She brought warmth, vulnerability and genuine kindness. We loved the fact that Lisa franchised her Wagging Tails business so that other women are provided an opportunity to become business owners. She’s also created a powerful, yet feminine, business coaching and mentoring model that can be applied to any industry.
Lisa’s journey from ballet dancer to corporate employee to franchise business creator to coach, is one of resilience, dedication, open-mindedness, and determination. We all have our unique perspectives and individual paths. However, Lisa’s story is a reminder that there are also timeless universal themes that, if applied, can lead to joyous and abundant living.
IN TODAY’S CONVERSATION WE DISCUSS:
…And, much more!
Enjoy the “Tea”,
p.s. Don’t forget to check out Lisa’s special offers for Real Talk listeners below!
“Go within your bubble. You have permission to dream big and you get to decide what you want…Become that person you want to be now inside, and then live from that inside out.” -Lisa Suswain
