Manifesting Dreams with the Happy Hour Ladies
Today is the last Friday of the month and my regular listeners know that on the last Friday of the month, I host a happy hour, where I gather great friends to drink cheap drinks and talk about money topics. Today we’re talking about manifesting our goals. In case you haven’t heard orseen, a few weeks back, I fulfilled a multi-year long dream of appearing on the Today Show. A dream that I honestly didn’t know would become a reality, but as I continue to learn, the more we put our dreams out there, the more likely they are to manifest. So the happy hour ladies join me today to talk about the seemingly impossible dreams they’ve manifested, the reason why they’re not, and what happens when you don’t know what to put out there. As always, we had a great time.
What are we drinking?
Melanie from Dear Debt — Limoncello
Tonya from Budget and the Beach — 44 North Huckleberry Vodka with Prosecco and a splash of pomegranate juice
Liz, Mrs. Frugalwoods, from Frugalwoods.com — Bota Box Nighthawk wine
Shannon — Bota Box Malbec
Podcast Notes
Shannon has been getting a lot of questions and wanted to share how her dream of going on the Today Show happened. Ten years ago, Shannon liked to watch Hoda and Kathie Lee on her computer at work. Four years ago, she said I want to be on the Today Show with them to talk about financial health in a segment she wants to call the Fin Fit Club.
Shannon has been regularly saying she wants to be on Today Show to people she knows who are one degree of separation from the show. Her newest investor in the Financial Gym is Jean Chatzky, who is the financial editor of the Today Show. Two months ago when she was talking to Jean about investing in the Gym, Shannon said to the team that she was going to be on the show in January.
Two weeks ago, Shannon received a message and a phone call from a booking agent who found the Gym on Instagram, because she was searching women and money. They asked if they could attend the open house that was being held soon. Events usually have about 40 people who attend, but this one had about 150. The camera crew came to the Gym that night to film the recorded segments.
Shannon appeared on the 9:00 am hour of the Today Show. The producers were still putting the show details together the day before and didn’t think the live segment was going to work, due to the time crunch. Emily, one of the marketing staff at the Gym, pitched several ideas in a push to get Shannon to her goal of being on the Today Show.
Shannon’s segment was taped in a different area than Studio 1A, but Shannon really wanted a picture with Hoda. As Shannon was talking to a producer about the 10:00 hour of the show, Hoda walked in and Shannon asked to get a picture with her. The producer said that Hoda is typically not there on Friday’s, since her segment is pre-recorded, and she is not usually in that building.
The segment had three hosts: Dylan Dreyer, Jenna Bush Hager, and Sheinelle Jones. Shannon had to get through her five numbers in three minutes.
After the segment, the producer said she nailed it! The booking agent and producer said to pitch them ideas for her to be back on the show, and Shannon pitched the Fin Fit Club idea.
Shannon asked the Happy Hour Ladies about when their big, scary, ridiculous dreams manifested in reality.
In 2013, Melanie wrote on her blog that she wanted to pay off the rest of her $60,000 of debt in four years. She was making $12.00 an hour at that time. Between her blog, freelancing, and events, she was able to double her income and pay off the debt in three years instead of four. Melanie wanted to make $50,000 a year, so she wrote a check to herself in that amount. During her first year of freelancing, she went from $30,000 to $60,000 and exceeded that goal. If you put your goals out there and you work for it, things can happen.
There are over 1,200 clients at the Gym, and Shannon said that 90% of them are hitting their goals.
For Liz, the dreams she manifested included publishing her book, moving to the homestead, and having her kids. It took them 13 months to get pregnant with their first child.
She started Frugalwoods, and yoga, in part because she wasn’t pregnant. She needed something to do, an outlet, that didn’t include tracking her fertility.
It is important to prioritize yourself and not always achieve. It is okay if you are not always accomplishing something. When you put a goal out there, you have to be prepared to accept it.
When Harper Collins emailed Liz about the book, she had a three-month-old and was moving to the homestead. Her friend said Harper Collins will only email you once. She had to take the opportunity. Liz had a baby two weeks before the book came out and didn’t realize she was suffering from post-partum depression at the time.
Shannon is hiring eight to nine trainers in December and was busy planning for them when the opportunity to go on the Today Show came up. You have to figure out how to incorporate it into your life.
Tonya moved to Boise this year and says to be careful what you put on your vision board! Life has not been linear for Tonya. Sometimes it is good, sometimes it is not. She has had a little different experience than others. You need to try to go for what you want and keep pushing for that. Tonya has always fantasized about being in a movie and winning an Oscar. A lot has to do with putting in the work as well as luck and timing.
Just because you manifest a goal doesn’t mean you have to like how it turns out. Life is unexpected and has twists and turns. You can weather the ups and downs of life by having a financial cushion. It gives you wiggle room and more choices.
Setting a goal and having it manifest in a way you don’t want is better than not setting a goal. If you have no direction then you will just flounder. You may be at a point in life where you don’t know your next goal.
Live fully, without regrets, by taking the opportunities that are presented. There are times when you are sowing and times when you are blooming. Sometimes you reach your goal and realize your it has changed and is not what you want anymore. It is disappointing, but you have to be willing to accept it and create a new dream. At least you went for it!
After you’ve achieved your goal, how do you set that next goal?
Shannon: Open Gyms across the country and either continue to run it in some capacity or sell the company. If she has a windfall of money, she wants to create the Golden Girls Fund and invest in women entrepreneurs in the early stages. Shannon didn’t start the Gym until she was 35. The Golden Girls Fund idea came to her two years ago. Before that, she just wanted to do well in her job. She didn’t have other big goals.
Melanie: She is determining where she wants to take Lola Retreats. There will be two this year, one in L.A. and one in Seattle. She wants Arlan Hamilton, founder of Backstage Capital, to speak at Lola. Melanie wants to be on the Ellen show and to grow the connection of women and money.
Tonya: She is currently freelancing and doing side hustles, but searching for a full-time job is her main purpose. She is not quite ready to reveal any other goals yet.
Liz: She has many ideas for Frugalwoods and was thinking about putting both of her kids in full-time daycare so she could work on them. She decided to hold off on that until they are both in full-time school, so she can spend more time with them while they are young. She is happy that she has the flexibility to wait.
Don’t be afraid to set goals. Only set goals that you are prepared to handle if they come your way. Keep dreaming big or small!
If you’ve ever thought about joining the Gym, you really need to consider signing up before the end of the year. A little insider tip for all of you listeners is that our rates are going up January 1, but if you sign up before the end of 2018, you can lock in our rates now. You don’t have to start your membership until January 2019, but you need to sign up before the end of this year. There’s no better time than now, so head over, or send friends to, financialgym.com to sign up today.If you have any topics you would like for us to talk about during happy hour, please feel free to email me at shannon@finblonde.com or tweet to me at blonde_finance or join the private martinis and your money Facebook group and let us know. Until next time, take care!!