00:00:00 Thanks for joining us on episode 711 of the inspired stewardship podcast, a special rebroadcast of episode one 16, the last of a four part interview with Shannon mills. I'm Shannon miles from ballet. I challenged you to discover your calling and find your third option. So you can be empowered to live every day to the fullest. One way to be inspired to do that is to listen to this,
00:00:25 the inspired stuartship podcast with my friend and Scott Mader, and we've seen it right. We've seen people who don't take care of themselves and they burn out and they leave this bomb and shrapnel that's affected everybody. When, if small adjustments were made along the way, and they actually took care of themselves, they would have been a much more effective leader, business owner,
00:00:54 husband, wife, father, mother, whatever. Welcome, and thank you for joining us on the inspired stewardship podcast. If you truly desire to become the person who God wants you to be, then you must learn to use your time, your talent and your treasures for your true column. In the inspired stewardship podcast. We'll learn to invest in yourself,
00:01:18 invest in others and develop your influence so that you can impact the world. In today's interview. With Shannon miles from ballet, I asked Shannon about how stretching yourself can help you make an impact. What are the top principles that will allow you to make a dent in the universe and the legacy that Shannon hopes to leave? And lots more. One reason I like to bring you great interviews.
00:01:52 Like the one you're going to hear today is because of the power in learning from others. Another great way to learn from others is through reading books. But if you're like most people today, you find it hard to find the time to sit down and read. And that's why today's podcast is brought to you by audible, go to inspired stewardship.com/audible to sign up and you can get a 30 day free trial.
00:02:18 There's over 180,000 titles to choose from. And instead of reading, you can listen your way to learn from some of the greatest minds out there. That's inspired stewardship.com/audible to get your free trial and listen to great books. The same way you're listening to this podcast. Shannon miles is the CEO of ballet, inc. A inc 500 fastest growing company and winner of culture,
00:02:46 IQ and entrepreneurs. Number one, company, culture awards. Since 2010, the company has grown to nearly 700 team members and serves nearly 1000 clients on a basis. Whether through team development or balanced mentoring, Shannon is passionate about serving others and inspiring them to live life more fully while firmly remaining her own worst critic. While on Necker Island with Richard Branson,
00:03:16 she learned that if your dreams don't scare you, they simply aren't big enough. Shannon lives in Atlanta with her family. Shannon, thanks so much for coming on the show. Thank you so much for having me Shannon. It's clear that you've set out to not only make an impact, but help others make an impact on the world. One thing that you talk about in the third option is,
00:03:41 is this idea of stretching yourself as something that you've always done as part of your approach to work. How much do you think that this attitude of, of stretching yourself has had to do with the impact that you've made on the world? Oh, I think it has a lot to do with it. I didn't get into it too much in my book,
00:04:01 but I grew up pretty poor. We always had enough to eat, but we didn't have a lot of extra. And I had this almost like go for broke mentality on behind. And I started a company because I could just reflect back to when I was younger. Like I didn't have much. And if, you know, starting belay meant we had to risk it all.
00:04:23 And if it didn't work, I could go back to not having much and be fine too. So I think that mentality of putting yourself out there, even before you're prepared, qualified, or know all the answers to all the questions you have to, that's the beauty of risk. You know, you, you, you put yourself out there and you figure it out along the way.
00:04:49 You don't have to be flippant. You don't have to take unnecessary risks, but at the same time, the reality is you never fully know everything. So you're learning constantly along the way. And so I, I just would encourage the listeners if you're on the fence about something and you know, maybe there's a nagging idea or a concept that just won't go away.
00:05:12 There's a reason for that. And it's, it's worth your time and energy to figure out if it's something you should pursue. One of my mentors, his, one of his favorite expressions that he's constantly telling those of us, that he mentors is leap and build your wings on the way down. Hmm. Yeah. That's so true. We've said at belay,
00:05:33 like we're building the rocket ship as it's taking off, But it's, it's also true that if you, if you always prepare, you'll never do So true. So true. You know, it's, I don't know if you experienced this when you made the leap to start your consulting business, but for us, like the calling was so strong to the company that it was almost irresponsible not to.
00:06:01 And I know that sounds crazy because for Brian and I, we quit our jobs. On the same day, we used our 401ks to fund the business. We took a 50% pay cut. We had, at that time, a five year old and a two year old, it was in the middle of the recession. Like none of it made sense.
00:06:16 Right. But we were so convicted that this was the right thing to do that it would have been irresponsible not to, to follow that calling. No, I agree. I think the fear of not doing it becomes so great or the drive to do. It becomes so great. Whichever way you want to phrase that because it's kind of flipped onto the same coin that at some point it's just like,
00:06:40 I can't not do this. I have to, hopefully you prepared before then so that it's not a scary leap, but at the same time, it's always going to be a scary leap because you never feel ready. And it's so funny. You know, I worked for a large corporation and I honestly thought Scott, that I was going to retire from there.
00:06:59 I was like, I love my job. I loved my team. It was in healthcare. So I had this bigger calling that were helping people and that felt very secure. But when the seed got planted in my heart and Brian's heart to start the company and we knew it was time to go, it felt like a huge risk. And it was,
00:07:18 but the reality is 18 months after I left, half of my team got laid off and a few years later, my whole division was sold. And so what seemed like this permanent stable company that I was going to ride to retirement, it wasn't. And I think the same is true for a lot of people. There's this perception of stability by staying and doing what you always done.
00:07:43 But the reality is it may not be, it may not be the stable option. The better option may be to bet on yourself and branch out and do your own thing. Talking about that. If, if someone really wants to make a dent in the universe, that's one of my favorite ways of expressing, you know, making an impact. What are the top two or three principles that we should learn to be able to do that,
00:08:11 to make that impact? I think self care is so very, very important. It's not selfish care, but it does self care. I think if you are not growing and investing and taking care of yourself, then it is very difficult to go out and make that dent in the universe. If you're, if you're depleted and we've seen it, right,
00:08:34 we've seen people who don't take care of themselves and they burn out and they leave this bomb and shrapnel that's affected everybody. When, if small adjustments were made along the way, and they actually took care of themselves, they would have been a much more effective leader, business owner, husband, wife, father, mother, whatever. So that's the first thing I think the second thing is,
00:09:00 is being in service to others, regardless of your vocation. I think if you are a leader and you're serving other people, and I think when you, you don't have to have the title of CEO to be a leader, right? We need in different ways, but it is all about serving others and really inspiring them to achieve their greatest potential. And it goes back to the self care thing.
00:09:27 If you're not doing that yourself, it's almost hypocritical to, to inspire others in that way. So Shannon, here's the really tough question. If you could travel into the far future, maybe 50, a hundred years, and you look back on your life, what's the impact that you hope you've had on the world? That is the hard question. I hope that I've inspired other people.
00:09:57 I hope that as I said, with a company like that, I've left people better off than, than I found them in the sense that we're all better. Having had relationship with each other. I have two amazing kids. I hope that they have left a legacy by that point as well. And I just, it sounds, it sounds crazy, but I really hope that I can just inspire some people to make a change in their life.
00:10:30 That brings about good in the world. What's next for you. As you continue on your journey to live out your call and to make an impact on the world, You know, I'm still getting a lot of really cool opportunities as a result of the book. And I, I'm excited to see what plats forms will emerge from that. Certainly speaking as something that is obvious,
00:10:57 like there'd be an obvious when you need to be able to, to speak to audiences and have a greater reach. I hope someday that Oprah and I can just sit and have a cup of tea and hang out for awhile. Like I love her so much. And I'll just throw that out there. You never know what's going to happen until you throw it out there.
00:11:15 Right? Scott, absolutely. Brian and I own blade together. And we've been married now almost 21 years. We're about to celebrate our anniversary and being, being married is awesome, but it's work. It can be difficult at times and owning a business is awesome, but it is also work and can be difficult at times. And then doing both of those things together is doubly difficult.
00:11:40 And so I hope someday that when the business needs us less and less, that Brian and I can develop some type of programs to help husbands and wives who own and run a business together, really be able to, to balance it all and learn from some of the things that we've done well. And some of the mistakes that we've made along the way,
00:12:01 There's definitely a need for that. I know, you know, from my wife and I who run our business together. And then I've got friends that run a business with their spouse, and it is a challenge if there's a huge need for having things out there that can resource and equip because you know, that's not something that I think was the norm for a long time,
00:12:23 but it has become much more common in today's world. I think, I think you're right. And it, and when you work from home, like we do that, compounds it even more. Cause there's no separation at all between your business, your family, your marriage, it's just all blended together, which can work really well. But it can also be a challenge that a lot of couples just have never faced before and could use help navigating.
00:12:48 Absolutely. When, when you do get closer to that, make sure you let us know and I'll, I'll pass that along to the listeners as well. Cause I'm sure we've got some listeners that, that are facing some version of that challenge and would love, would love support in that area. I'll let you know, you can connect with Shannon by following her on Instagram.
00:13:09 She's at Shannon K miles. And of course there'll be links in the show notes or connect with her via the third option on Instagram as well at my third option, be sure to check out the info from Shannon's book over@mythirdoptiondotcomorcheckoutbelaysolutions.com to find out more about working with their company belay. They're actually looking to hire great people now as virtual assistants. So if you're interested in maybe pursuing that as your third option,
00:13:44 go there and apply to join the team. Shannon, is there anything you'd like to add? I'm very grateful for the opportunity to be on this interview and I hope that it helps them. Somebody who's feeling a little stuck, a little uneasy maybe. And what they're doing to, to just make a change in life is really short. And it's such a cliche to say it,
00:14:07 but it's true. I would say to the listener and get your ducks in a row and go for it. Thanks so much for being on the show. Thank you. Thanks so much for listening to the inspired stewardship podcast as a subscriber and listener, we challenge you to not just sit back and passively listen, but act on what you've heard and find a way to live your calling.
00:14:38 If you enjoyed this episode, do me a favor, go over to facebook.com/inspired stewardship and like our Facebook page and market that you'd like to get notifications from us so that we can connect with you on Facebook and make sure that we're serving you to the best of our abilities with time and tips there until next time, invest your time, your talent and your treasures,
00:15:09 develop your influence and impact the world.