The Remote CEO Life Podcast

S308: Mindset Matters More Than You Think in Entrepreneurship Success with Chrissi Sperduto

• Sophie Biggerstaff • Season 3 • Episode 8

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This week on the Remote CEO podcast, I speak with Chrissi Sperduto, a full-time air traffic controller and part-time mindset coach.

Chrissi shared her inspiring journey from managing the high-pressure environment of air traffic control to empowering women entrepreneurs through mindset coaching.

We delved into the challenges of balancing multiple roles, the critical importance of mindset in business success, and how self-awareness can transform personal and professional relationships.

Chrissi opened up about overcoming imposter syndrome and the pitfalls of comparison, offering practical strategies for tackling limiting beliefs.

Connect with Chrissi on Instagram & Threads: @chrissisperduto

#MindsetInBusiness #CEOMindset #GrowthMindsetInBusiness #QualitiesOfAnEntrepreneur #SuccessfulEntrepreneur #MindsetForBusiness #TheMindsetOfAnEntrepreneur #Entrepreneurship #MindsetCoaching #AirTrafficControl #NetworkMarketing #WorkLifeBalance #LimitingBeliefs #ImposterSyndrome #PersonalDevelopment #WomenInBusiness #SelfAwareness #Coaching #Community #BusinessSuccess #PersonalGrowth #MentalHealth

About The Remote CEO Podcast:

This podcast is for freedom-seeking online entrepreneurs, offering practical, actionable advice to help you step up into your new role as CEO by building an online business that works for you - not one you work for.

Hosted by Sophie Biggerstaff, an online business mentor, e-commerce founder, mental health advocate, and full-time digital nomad. 🙋‍♀️

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Sophie (00:01)
Hello and welcome back to the Remote CEO podcast. Today I am joined by a guest, is Chrissy, who is a serial entrepreneur and mindset coach. She helps women business owners break free from limiting beliefs and create a life of freedom. Chrissy has had a career in air traffic controlling, which I'm so excited to delve into before she delved into entrepreneurship, first through network marketing and then moved on to being a mindset.

So now she's all about helping business owners balance their nine to five side hustle and personal life without losing their minds. So welcome, Chrissy. Thanks so much for joining me.

Chrissi Sperduto (00:35)
Thanks so much for having me on. I'm excited to chit chat today.

Sophie (00:37)
Yeah, me too. How's everything going?

Chrissi Sperduto (00:40)
It's good. We just figured out that we are exactly 12 hours apart, which I think is so cool.

Sophie (00:46)
Exactly, exactly. know we're on the other side of the world, but we are making it work. So tell me a bit more about you. I'm so intrigued by your job as first of all, as an air traffic controller. And then secondly, the transition you've made into entrepreneurship. So talk to me for a little bit more about that.

Chrissi Sperduto (00:56)
You

Yeah, I've always been the person that can't sit still. I always have to have a full calendar or else I do not feel fulfilled. And so I got certified as an air traffic controller back in 2019. And then I kind of looked around and I was like, well, what's next? And so at that point, I actually pursued a master's degree, which I just finished like literally in October. Thank you. And so I was like, well, that's not it either. And the opportunity to start with a

Sophie (01:24)
Amazing, congratulations.

Chrissi Sperduto (01:32)
Network Marketing Company kind of fell in my lap. I fell in love with the product and I was like, wait, I can get this stuff for free if I just tell my friends about it and I'm already telling them about it because I think it's really great. Sure, sign me up. And I built that team in the midst of COVID to the top 5 % of the company. I grew the team, I earned the trips, I was making a couple thousand dollars a month from that and I was like, that's really cool.

But how do I take this to the next level? How do I help my team have the same success that I've had? And so the opportunity then in 2023 fell in my lap to become a mindset coach. And I was like, yes, that is perfect. That's exactly what my team needs. And so I started coaching and I had to coach other people too to get enough practical hours to certify. And I realized, hey, these skills actually transfer to anyone in business.

or anyone basically with a brain. And so I was like, okay, well, maybe this is something that I could do in addition to network marketing. And then my network marketing team actually didn't want to be coached. I was like, I have these great skills and you guys don't want them? Okay, let me see where else I can use them. And so that's when actually my coach encouraged me to go and pursue it outside of network marketing. And I really, really fell in love.

with the coaching side of things and knew that I had a gift that could help a lot of people do a lot of really amazing things, as well as network marketers do amazing things too.

Sophie (03:07)
Yeah, definitely. It's interesting you use the word opportunity to go into mindset coaching. So what was that opportunity that led you down that path?

Chrissi Sperduto (03:16)
Yeah, so my coach at the time I was in like a very large group coach program, she launched a coaching certification. So she actually said, I want to work myself out of my job. I want to give these tools that I think every network marketer can have. I want to give them to the industry so you guys can start showing up differently.

I think we've all had the experience of the hey girl messages in our inbox of someone from high school has joined a network marketing company and they're doing icky things or they just need an extra couple hundred dollars and can't figure out how to do that. And so if we empower the leaders in that industry to be better with their mindset and have better skills, that will have a ripple effect through the entire industry.

Sophie (03:43)
Hmm.

That makes sense. That's cool. So you kind of jumped on the back of like an opportunity that was given to you and then it's kind of led you down this path to actually be able to offer this as a service on your own. That's really cool. And you also mentioned that when you were in the network marketing, they didn't want the support with their mindset. So talk me through that.

Chrissi Sperduto (04:24)
Yeah, just like with, well, I'm trying to decide which way to go at this. Some people are here just to make an extra $100 or just get their products for free and not everyone has the drive or the desire or wants to put the energy and effort in to build a large team, to build a multimillion dollar business. A lot of the times as...

high-end business owners, we surround ourselves with a lot of people that all want the same things, but like Newsflash, the average person doesn't actually want that. And so you can't coach someone or push someone to follow your dream. It has to be their dream.

Sophie (05:06)
No, absolutely. can't teach someone something they don't want to know and you also can't help someone that doesn't want to be helped, right? So, but it's so interesting to me that somebody in entrepreneurship particularly wouldn't want to utilize that skill set and like learn a bit more and grow in that way because I feel like entrepreneurs in general are way more kind of

able to adapt to situations and want to learn. Like I feel like that's a massive part of it. So it definitely shows you the difference between somebody that's in it for like the long haul and wants to, wants to develop those skills, which they are 1000 % going to need along the way, or the person that is literally just in it for like a quick hundred dollars or whatever you were saying. And like, I think that there's a real difference between the two and

Um, everything that I do with my clients is all about building like long lasting, sustainable businesses. So everything that I do, I start with the mindset piece. I'm not mindset coach, but I've done enough work on it to really understand it, um, for myself and also with other people. So I find it that is actually so many people don't realize that, but your mindset is the, the,

the foundation of your business. If you don't have the right mindset to see all of the things through, your business is going nowhere. So I find that really, really fascinating because you can really see the difference between the two.

Chrissi Sperduto (06:28)
And Sophie, if you think about it, someone that joins a network marketing company, they're not looking to build a giant business. They are looking to get their products for free, to make a couple extra hundred dollars. And so that's really different than probably your average listener here on your podcast. They're like, what do mean they only want to make a hundred dollars? And so the mindset of how you show up of I want to get my products for free or I want to build a business that allows me to travel the world.

Sophie (06:40)
Right.

Yeah.

the

show.

Chrissi Sperduto (06:55)
and

work from anywhere are two very different mindsets. And I do the same exact thing. Everything that we do starts with mindset.

Sophie (06:58)
So different.

Yeah, absolutely. Like, no, definitely. That's it's so interesting to see the to the difference. But I guess I guess one of the things that you're you must be juggling right now, like you're obviously still working in your air traffic control job. And then you're doing the mindset coaching you've been you've been doing a qualification alongside that. you still do the network marketing as well? Or is that something you kind of bypass now?

Chrissi Sperduto (07:26)
dabble in it. So I still support my customers that I've had for years and years, but I'm not actively building it. I'm not actively building a team. I'm not actively trying to find new customers. But I do support those that have supported me over the last six years in whatever they need for those products and education on that and stuff like that.

Sophie (07:46)
Yeah, definitely. So I mean, it must be busy. Like you've had a lot going on over the past few years of like starting all of these things up and shifting into new into new opportunities. So what's your what's been your strategy to cope with all of these things that you've been juggling? You've got the full time job, the side hustle and your personal life like without burning out. Obviously, you are a mindset coach. So hopefully you use some of your own strategies. But tell me what's what has been your strategy to be able to deal with all of that.

Chrissi Sperduto (08:02)
Yeah.

Yeah, absolutely. It is definitely a balancing act and there are ebbs and flows and there are busier seasons and there are slower seasons. I think the number one thing though for me has been to not compare myself to people that are doing this full time. So I have never had the urge to quit my full time job. If that is your urge, like I encourage you to like start the side hustle and build it up until you are ready to quit your nine to five and take your side hustle to a full gig. All for that if that's the path that you are on.

But I actually have been trying to become an air traffic controller for 10 years before I became one and now I've been a controller for 10 years and I only have 15 years left. So I'm 20 years in and I only have 15 years left till I can retire with a full pension, benefits, all the things at 45 years old. So I'm like, you know what? I see what the finish line is. And maybe when I turn 45 and I retire, it will be time to

Take my side hustle into a full-time gig and maybe I'll be doing something else or maybe it's time just to go sit on the beach and enjoy my hard work and so The urge to quit my full-time job has never been there So I just figure out how I can do both all the time our brains love to tell us you don't have time to do that But what if you actually do? When you flip the script and you say actually I do have time to do both How can I make this work?

your brain starts going into problem solving mode. And so what that looks like is today I go in to work at three o'clock in the afternoon. So between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. I'm gonna take my meetings. I'm hosting a free coaching call. I'm gonna go be a guest on a webinar today. I have a call with my business bestie to kind of navigate what we're gonna be doing for the week. And so instead of looking for all the time I don't have that someone maybe that doesn't have a full-time job has, I look for the time that I do have.

and I use that really strategically.

Sophie (10:11)
Nice, it sounds like you've got a good system there with the setup of your work. And how about downtime? Do you feel like you take enough of that, like within the mix as well?

Chrissi Sperduto (10:20)
Yeah, absolutely. My husband and I are big entertainers. We love to have people over to enjoy some wine. We're big winos. And I have very specific parameters around like when I'm working and when I'm not. And so when I get, so like on Thursdays, I work a morning shift and after work, like I might take one call from seven to eight, but besides that, that is family time. That is time that my husband and I either go to dinner or we cook together.

And after that call is done at eight, it is like no phones. We enjoy each other's company and we try to do things that are a little bit more connection. So instead of sitting there and watching TV, we might go in the hot tub and talk about our days. Or we might, for a while we were really into board games, especially during COVID. We were big into board games where you can actually still have a conversation with someone versus just like mindlessly numbing out to TV.

or we'll take our dog for a walk. We live in a beautiful community where if it's nice enough out, we're gonna go and it's amazing what kind of conversations you can have with your spouse when you're on a walk versus just binging out to TV or whatever or on your phone.

Sophie (11:37)
Yeah, I like that. That's a really nice way to look at it. has the work that you've been doing on like your mindset has that this is going off topic completely. But like, I'm just interested because you brought this up in like the connection and like the relationship you've got with your partner. Like, has that improved like where you are so now conscious of like mindset? Like, has that helped in other areas of your life outside of business as well?

Chrissi Sperduto (11:58)
absolutely. And now I will say that my husband and I do have our own sets of issues just as anyone does. But being aware of my own thoughts and how I show up to a conversation or show up for him has been eye opening. For a long time before I was really aware of my mindset, I would just kind of give him my leftovers. And that's not fair to him just because I want to pursue all the things and do all the things all the time doesn't mean that he

deserves my leftovers. And so it's been a very eye-opening experience to be self-aware and show up differently for him because I am aware. Sometimes it drives my therapist a little crazy. She's like, you are too self-aware. Like, I don't have any work to do here. You're basically just giving yourself therapy. And it's interesting because I do still lean on those people outside of my own brain to help me work through those things.

Sophie (12:38)
Yeah.

Chrissi Sperduto (12:57)
And so my husband and I do as well and we have had so much success in therapy, working where we can understand what each other's fears are, understand, read between the lines of what we're not saying. Because sometimes it's not what you're saying to your spouse or your friend or your partner. It's what you're not saying. That really is where the truth lies.

Sophie (13:21)
Yeah, absolutely. I completely agree because I've done a lot of work on my mindset, particularly in the past four years. And it really has helped me change how I show up in different situations in my life, like from relationships to friendships to with my family, like, even with clients, like the way that I perceived, like, I also would do myself to be a very self aware person, which sometimes is to our detriment, because we can then overanalyze the whole thing. We're like, I know this, but then it doesn't make sense. And then emotionally, I feel like

Chrissi Sperduto (13:46)
You

Sophie (13:51)
this so it's like a constant battle between like your head and like for me anyway it's a constant battle between my heart and my head and I'm just like but nothing makes sense but obviously like I've done a lot of the mindset work so that I'm able to then like get myself through it quite quickly but talk me through a little bit more about like the mindset work that you've done personally and you do with clients

Chrissi Sperduto (14:14)
I'm sorry, my dog is barking. I hope you can't hear that. There's someone outside walking in our gorgeous neighborhood as they should be. So for my mindset, I have worked really hard on the comparison. I'm like, well, this person is doing this, this, this, and this. I wish I had time to do that. And I would in the past try to do all of those things. And it wasn't until I was like, wait, wait, wait.

Sophie (14:17)
That is okay. We welcome animals here.

Chrissi Sperduto (14:42)
they're doing all those things, but they don't have a full-time job. I have a full-time job, so I need to take that into consideration when I'm planning my week. And so that's been a huge one. I'm currently working on my mindset around my health, because for a long time, my health, would always put on the back burner, because, I can get to that later, I can get to that later. But health really is wealth. And so how can I fit in work, full-time job, side hustle, and a walk today?

And for a lot of people like that's not a mindset thing that you need to overcome, but years and years and years of my worth being tied to my weight and my activity level really can take a toll. so working, I actually work with a mindset coach once a week around my mindset, around food, around walking, around exercise and making it fun. That's been a big one. What else have I been working on? And those would probably be my like two, like the time management.

and the health are probably my two biggest mindset pieces that recur, come up all the time.

Sophie (15:44)
Yeah.

And when you identify, because I assume you work in the same way with clients, but when you identify these for yourself or your clients, like what's the next step for you to try and like switch that out for a new set of beliefs, if you like.

Chrissi Sperduto (15:56)
Yeah.

So the big thing is we identify what the thought is, and we work through and we see, with this thought that's rolling around in our head, so maybe it would be like, macaroni and cheese is bad. That's the thought. Then we look and we look at the actions, and we go, okay, well, when I eat macaroni and cheese, I tell myself I'm bad. This is such an off the wall example.

And so we make macaroni and cheese means something about us. And in the end, what we end up doing is binging and eating an entire box of macaroni and cheese. And the result is we gain weight or we don't feel well, or we beat ourselves up for the next two days because we ate that. And that's not a result that we want to create. And so then we look at, what can we say about macaroni and cheese that's maybe a little bit more neutral that makes it so we don't eat the whole box of macaroni and cheese?

And so we walk through and we try on kind of new thoughts. And sometimes it takes us two or three different thoughts to really find one that feels neutral, that feels good in our bodies, that allows us to take a different action and then produce a different result. So that could look like macaroni and cheese is food. That is the new thought. And the action is I have one cup of macaroni and cheese alongside of my chicken and my vegetables for dinner. And the result is

We have balanced blood sugar, we feel good after our meal, and we also don't feel deprived.

Sophie (17:26)
Yeah, you're still keeping it in there. you use yeah, I totally understand that like you've got a three part approach to it essentially Nice. Okay. And then in terms of like career and business and entrepreneurship then like what kind of Mindset shifts have you had to make from that perspective and also with your clients, but once you've come across the most often

Chrissi Sperduto (17:49)
Hmm. That's a really good question. I think definitely getting rid of the comparison or like the imposter syndrome as well of I don't know enough to teach something. Because we've kind of already talked about comparison, time management, imposter syndrome. And then different things come up for different people. And a lot of times the stories that we carry around

come back from childhood of like, I'm not unique enough, I'm not special enough, or what I have to say doesn't matter. And so depending on the person, we will dive into different things. And a lot of times these little sneaky stories will come up and wear seven different hats. We'll be like, we're telling ourselves this story. And it actually goes back to an original story, which is kind of interesting. And everyone, everyone has stories. Everyone has ones that pop back up and we'll be like, we've already been through this.

Sophie (18:32)
Yeah.

Chrissi Sperduto (18:44)
I feel like I should be done with this. And we're just not quite yet and that's okay.

Sophie (18:49)
Yeah, and what do you do in that situation? Because I feel like that's definitely something that I've experienced personally, and I see it in other people as well, where we have this narrative.

and then something happens that makes it like reinforces it. So then you're like, my God, like it has to be true. But logically you kind of know it's not because you've done a bit of the work. Like in that circumstance, like what's your next step to overcoming that? Because I'm sure that particularly when it comes down to like the comparison piece and the imposter syndrome piece, like when you're running a business, sometimes we can, let's say we're a beginner in business and we face that imposter syndrome, that's a brand new thought, right? Like that's a brand new feeling for us because we're starting something new.

that imposter syndrome is based on us being a beginner. When it then comes back, when you've advanced, you're like, whoa, hold on a minute, I shouldn't be getting this because I had it like two years ago when I was just starting out. Now I'm an intermediate. Like, why am I still facing this exact same problem? And I guess we grow so much that we're then a beginner again at the new step of life that we're about to take.

particularly when it comes to business, because businesses are constantly evolving, you're constantly having to change and pivot and adapt to the current climate, for example. Like, how is it different how you tackle it the second time round versus the first time round that something is presenting?

Chrissi Sperduto (20:09)
Yeah, in that I would we would make an evidence list. We would make a list of all the things that prove no, I actually do know what I'm doing. Here are all the things that I've succeeded in here are all the things that I've helped my clients achieve. Here's the reasons why I'm the one for this job. Why I should be talking about this and we actually go through and we make a whole list for your brain to sit and look at and go, I actually am an expert on this.

Sophie (20:18)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah, it's a bit like cognitive behavioural therapy, right? Like you're going through all of the things that the triggers and then trying to find evidence for and evidence against kind of thing so that you can weigh up the balance to see like which piece of that is actually something that you should be listening to and then other ones that you can just kind of like override, I guess, or like try to override go through this process.

Chrissi Sperduto (21:00)
Yeah, absolutely. And our brains love to tell the same story on repeat and the same negative stories on repeat of like, I don't know enough. Well, actually brain, we're gonna go a little higher power here. Here's a whole list showing you that we do actually know what we're talking about. So you can go over there and you can hush.

Sophie (21:19)
Definitely, it can be very powerful to go back and try and find those evidence situations. I've definitely done that for myself, for my own limiting beliefs. It's just sometimes I guess we get stuck in this negative loop cycle, right? And I think it also depends on which stage of life we're at, what our dreams, our desires are and all of that. But there is definitely these patterns that present and then we have to just keep working through them to be able to get through it.

like we said at the beginning, not everybody will, not everybody wants to. But for somebody that does want to and is interested in working on their mindset, like what practical tips do you generally give for somebody that is like first starting out to understand their mindset, particularly focused around that business if they are struggling with that imposter syndrome, if they are struggling with comparison to other people.

Chrissi Sperduto (21:50)
Yeah.

Sophie (22:11)
where would they start with actually trying to shift the mindset that they're struggling with?

Chrissi Sperduto (22:16)
Yeah, I think the first step is to get it out of your head. Because we play these same things in a loop over and over and over. So either voice note yourself, or grab a journal like pen and paper is so powerful. I'm actually an Apple Pencil and iPad girly. But nevertheless, either one of those, give out a piece of paper and actually write these thoughts. And as soon as they get down on paper, and they get the air, they get the space that they're demanding.

You're like, that's not true. And then it stops playing over and over. But when you just let it sit kind of in your head forever and ever, it keeps playing over and over. And the more repetitions that you have with that, the more it feels true. And so actually getting it down on paper is kind of the first step. The second step is have someone that you can talk to. So my like the first step that I encourage people to start with is find a business bestie. Find someone else that is

along the same path as you and agree from the very beginning. We're not going to commiserate with each other. We're not going to encourage bad behaviors, but we're going to actually try to uplift each other and be a sounding board for one another. And so what that can look like is once a week, me and my business bestie get together for two hours. An hour is for her, an hour is for me. And we start and we talk about whatever is coming up in her business, whatever thoughts are coming up. I might coach her a little bit, but 90 % of the time it is

her getting those thoughts out. Kind of word vomit, just like all out on the table. And I can go, well, is that actually true? Like, how do you know that that's true? And looking for evidence whether it's true or not. And then an hour is spent with me doing the same exact thing. Beyond that, working with a coach, whether that's in a group program or one-on-one is so powerful. And I know for some people that's a little bit more of an investment.

then they're comfortable making right from the get-go. But I will tell you that when you have the right mindset, you are unstoppable. And I'm actually a really big fan of group programs. As someone that maybe can't make right time is a factor in everything that I do. Sometimes I can't make time to attend a call live every single week, whether that's one-on-one or in a group, but I can go back and watch the replay and I can always have transformation from someone else's coaching.

So someone else has taken the time to show up live and now I'm at work on break outside walking, because I haven't gotten my walk in quite yet today, and I'm listening to their call, to their coaching, and maybe I'm listening at one and a half speed, right? There's like a little time management hack, listen to podcasts and things at one and a half speed. And I'm actually listening and I'm asking myself, well, what's in it for me? How can what they're getting coached on be applicable to me too?

And so that's a really great way to get your feet wet in coaching without spending that one-on-one price tag. And then when you're ready to up level and become the CEO of your business, every single professional athlete, every single high level CEO has a coach, has a mentor in their pocket that helps them expedite the process. And so when you are working one-on-one with someone,

you are able to dig so deep. It's not just surface level things. It's like we're digging deep into your soul and what are these stories that you've been carrying around forever? And do we want to keep carrying those around? Do we need to keep going? Do we need to readjust that thought? Do we need to get you a different level of support? And sometimes my coach will be just be like, well, you know, there's a system for that. You know, many chat is there to help you. You know that you can set up, you know, email replies.

and things like that. so sometimes it is a little bit of a strategy, but you can't implement the strategy until you have the right mindset behind it.

Sophie (26:13)
Yeah, I completely, completely agree. think we can throw so many things at the wall, right? And we can take all of the action because logically we might know that that's the action that we need to take. But if we don't believe that we can do it or if we don't believe that that is possible for us, like the outcome, the goal is possible for us to achieve or we can't see it to be possible.

we're never going to get there, frankly, like, and so many people and I'm guilty of this myself, like, thought, I know how to do this, I can get it done. But then nothing's working, right? Like you can spend months on something like just try and try and try and but ultimately, it comes from a belief that you don't believe it's going to work for you. So it is so important to really start out with the right mindset if you don't want to waste time. And like you say, like, you can definitely delve deeper into that with like,

programs you can definitely learn I loved what you said there about

learning from somebody else's coaching. think that there's a massive thing in that. And that's why I like podcasts, right? Because when you're having conversations, like I learn everything I know from podcasts, honestly. Like I sit and I go go for beach walks every day and I have my headphones in and I listen to podcasts on 1.5, of course. But I listen to them and I absorb and then I have the time to then process and integrate it into my into my world. But I love the thought of also stuff

and listening to group coaching calls. actually I know my friend sent me, I can't remember whose program it is, but my friend has sent me the link to some trainings on somebody's money mindset program. And most of that is listening to group coaching calls where this guy is literally just giving feedback on other people's things. But then if you find something in that that you relate to, it is so easy for you to then see a bit clearly.

like your situation and what needs to happen. But I think the one problem with this part of business particularly is that when most people aren't aware that we can change our thoughts and change the way that we feel and believe, I think so many people just get stuck in like this negative thought patterns in these...

in the way that they've always been, right? And I say that because I'm from the UK, like we are very negative people. And we all like from what I have experienced living in the UK, right? Like we focus on the bad rather than the good, there is always that. And I've had to work so hard on my mindset since leaving the UK, I've not really lived there that.

I've only lived there for a few years in the past 10 years, but I've had to since leaving, I've really noticed like I've had to work so hard on like seeing the positive rather than the negative. And even that is like a big mindset shift. I think, yeah, we so many people, particularly if I, if I categorize the UK and I know that is like a massive generalization and not everybody looks at it like this, but there is a large percentage of people that will never change their situation because they do not believe that they can. So it's, it's about, I think,

as well becoming aware that you can change. Like it all starts, that we said at the beginning with that self awareness piece of understanding like what is actually holding you back. But then you have to understand that it doesn't have to hold you back. So what do you do when someone comes to you and like, or like when you start to see people that like are holding themselves back because they're not not seeing that they could potentially change it. Like how do you, how do you manage that situation?

Chrissi Sperduto (29:57)
Yeah.

So we typically in that situation, I would break down, here's the thought that you're having because of that thought, these are the actions you're taking and that's the result that you're creating. It's not up to me to fix that. Are you good with that result? Do you like that result? And 99 % of the time when the awareness is brought to them, that we pull that negative thought out of their head and we show them

Sophie (30:12)
Yeah.

Chrissi Sperduto (30:26)
Hey, when you think, hey, no one wants to hear what I have to say, you show up on Instagram and you talk in a monotone voice. You're not excited. You don't put closed captions on. You don't do this. You don't do that. And this is the result that you're creating as you're creating content that no one wants to watch. Do you like that result? OK, then let's let's change the story up a little bit. Can you try on this new story of I have something important to say?

Sophie (30:45)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Chrissi Sperduto (30:55)
We're not necessarily changing it to like an overly positive roses and sunshine. It's like, I create the best content in the entire world because your brain's not gonna, it's not gonna believe that, but it can believe I have something important to say. And when you say to yourself, I have something important to say, and you show up confidently and you put the closed captions on and you start with a visual hook and you start with an audio hook and you say things succinctly and with purpose.

the result that you're going to create is you're going to create stories that people want to watch. And showing them that that is possible with just one little shift. We're not doing like this crazy quantum leap. We're just shifting just a little bit. And we're also giving airtime to the thoughts that rattle around in our head that aren't serving us. Like we get to choose whether we believe like no one wants to listen to what we have to say.

Sophie (31:30)
Yeah, it's true.

Yeah, it's so true. It's just in those little shifts, right, the little shifts in your narrative that can make all the difference.

You're totally right there. I love what you've said. I guess like one of the, one of the things that people most want out of starting a business is usually some kind of freedom, right? Like they either want time freedom, financial freedom, location freedom. And again, like a lot of people don't believe that to be true for them because we've been society, societally conditioned to believe that we have to climb this career ladder and that's the only way to get it. And like, is it's, there's so much more out there now.

that obviously people are tapping into side hustles, creating their own businesses, jumping onto other people's opportunities and all of that. But it is a mindset shift as well. And I think another part of this mindset piece is like seeing to be true, like seeing and believing something to be true for you. So how do you work with that, like in terms of getting people to expand themselves into the thing that they desire the most?

Chrissi Sperduto (32:58)
Yeah, I think you said it perfectly. Like we've been conditioned to climb this career ladder. And so if we take a minute and we step back and go, is that really what I want? Or is that just what I've been told I need to do to be successful? We get to question everything around us. For the longest time, I carried around a story of I need to be the best. Like the expectation growing up was like, you're gonna get straight A's, you're gonna be in all the activities, you're going to like...

be valedictorian if you can. And I remember my parents were actually very disappointed that I graduated number five out of 200 students in my graduating class. And I'm like, you know how hard I worked for that? And so when I became an air traffic controller, the expectation was like, well, you're gonna be a controller and then you're gonna go into management and then you're gonna climb the career ladder and eventually you're gonna run the region of the FAA.

And I looked and I was like, I think the job above me, like I think my job's really cool because I get to talk to airplanes all day. But the job above me kind of sucks. Like you're kind of stuck between middle level management that's not in touch with the controllers. And I don't really want to do that. And like once I said that out loud, I was like, I'm actually really happy with that decision. I can go and I can pursue things outside of work that light me up, that provide me with a really cool life.

Sophie (34:13)
Yeah.

Chrissi Sperduto (34:21)
And so just questioning those things that we've been told, just like you do, Sophie, of like, well, I need to put roots down someplace and I need to buy a house in order to be successful. You're like, actually, no, that's not my version of success. My version of success looks like, hey, I'm going to live in Thailand for four months. I'm going to go live over here for four months. I'm going to go travel this area and I'm going to build a life and a business that works for me.

Sophie (34:35)
Exactly.

Chrissi Sperduto (34:49)
because that's what's important to me. So we get to decide what's important to us and go after that in whatever way that looks like for us.

Sophie (34:57)
Absolutely, like that is what I'm all about is like supporting people to identify the goal that they have and build something that works for that goal because I have seen so many people build businesses that they actually hate and make them miserable because they haven't thought about it. They haven't actually thought about it or maybe they just didn't know also like a lack of education on it. But

Why are you going to put all this effort and work into build business that you don't enjoy showing up for every single day? Right. So, and the only way that you know for sure that you're to be able to enjoy it is if you design it around the lifestyle that you want. And I strongly, strongly believe that I am a living experience of that. And I really try to embody that as much as I possibly can. Like everything I do is with a mindset of, I know what lifestyle I want to live in, which case let's work backwards from that. And this is how we're going to achieve it. But.

That took me a long time to get that mindset, right? Like to figure that out because I had been conditioned to climb a career ladder and I did climb that career ladder for a very, very long time. obviously I've had my business now for almost like coming up five years in next month. And in that five years.

It's gone through so many evolutions because obviously I came out of a corporate life into this into this new business world. Naturally, I've been conditioned to operate as a corporate human being. And then I have to shift into entrepreneurship, which could not be any more polar opposite ends of the spectrum. It was very difficult. Like I really had to work on my mindset to be able to build what I've built and live in the way that I live as well because there was living in this in this way comes with like

people judging you, guilt, like loads of different things that come up as well. So you also have to shift into this mindset. And I will say that like, I feel like I've had to really quieten all of the noise and like just hone into like exactly what I need and what I want. And that may come across in some ways that it's a really selfish move, but actually at the end of the day, if I'm not happy, then nobody else is going to be happy, right? Like, cause I'm not going to vibrate at a very high frequency. So I think, you

sometimes you have to make difficult decisions when it comes to protecting the thing that you want and getting the things that you want and the mindset and to be able to get you there but I think it's very necessary and you're have to make some very hard choices so this mindset work isn't easy I don't think but it is so worth it if at the end of it you get that life a dream goal that you've desired

Chrissi Sperduto (37:33)
Absolutely. And I will give you permission. You are allowed to be selfish when it comes to your life. Because you are the only one that has to live your life. And kind of like whatever anyone else has to say, like it doesn't really matter because at the end of the day, you have to come home to you and you have to be OK and happy with the life that you're creating. And so that's going to look different than what maybe the status quo was going to be.

Sophie (37:38)
Thank you. It's true.

Definitely, no, I appreciate that. Thank you for that little nugget there. I feel like I needed that at the moment. So I appreciate that. Okay then, just to wrap things up, I really appreciate you talking on this subject, because we could talk about it for ages, I'm sure. what are some of your, what's your biggest number one tip for somebody that is wanting to work on their mindset? What would you tell them to go and do today to start changing their behaviors and their thoughts?

Chrissi Sperduto (38:04)
Hahaha!

Yeah, plug into any of the any of the tips that I gave you before of like journal it out Talk with a friend or your spouse if you can join a group program Or if you're really ready to like take your mindset from 0 to 360 Go ahead and find yourself a one-on-one coach I'm taking one-on-one clients right now. I have very limited spots because of my full-time job

And then I also have a group program that is fabulous for mindset. We talk about mindset. We are just such a great support for one another. Sometimes I even find myself leaning on my community like, hey guys, this week has been really rough. Here's what's been happening. And it's just great to have that community, whether that's a business bestie, whether that's your spouse, whether that's even just the inside of your journal, getting those thoughts out of your head onto paper and giving them the airtime that they need.

and deciding whether or not they are true is really, powerful. We're not meant to do business alone. So find your people and really lean into that community.

Sophie (39:29)
I second that. Two things I really vouch for, the journal in peace, I think that helps you like unfold so many different things. Um, particularly if you're going for prompts and I'm sure, um, there's lots of different prompts that we could potentially share here, but also the community piece. think that that's a really big part of it and underrated. think many people think they can just have to go alone and actually some people look at community as competition. Like if you're working alongside somebody that maybe does something similar to you, it might be seen as competition.

but actually I always say collaboration over competition. I build that community. For years when I was doing e-commerce mentoring, I had a business bestie that we did exactly the same thing, but we would constantly have calls. We've both now shifted our businesses in slightly different directions, but I'm now finding other people that can support me at where I'm at right now as well. So very, very underrated. Definitely recommend that.

So you mentioned all your group programmes and your one-to-one, where can people find you if they're interested to tap into any of that?

Chrissi Sperduto (40:29)
Yeah, come find me on Instagram at ChrissySperdudo or my website is [ChrissySperdudo.com](http://chrissysperdudo.com/). Very original names there. I do. It's called the Do the Dang Thing podcast with ChrissySperdudo and I drop an episode like every other week, every third week with some sort of mindset nugget for you to walk away with. So I have a couple of episodes that have journal prompts, a couple of episodes that have

Sophie (40:37)
Yes, my mind is so full of so I feel you. And you've got a podcast, right, as well?

Chrissi Sperduto (40:58)
more tangible things and the mindset behind them. just did, I don't know when this will air, but we just did an episode about productivity and I brought in a productivity coach that has like all the tips and tricks for you to get all the things done. She also has a full time job in addition to her own coaching business and it's just fabulous to bring in experts like you did today to bring another perspective through your lens. we have a lot of fun over on the podcast. We don't take ourselves too seriously.

And we always have some cool people on so I'm gonna have to have you on as well Sophie Talk about freedom freedom

Sophie (41:32)
Amazing. I'd love to. Definitely.

Well, thank you so much for all of your advice, your tips and your wisdom on Mindset. It's been really nice chatting to you and hearing your story. Thank you.

Chrissi Sperduto (41:44)
Yeah, thanks for having me on.