SPEAKER_01 0:04

Welcome to the Enneagram MBA Podcast, a show for aspiring and growing entrepreneurs and unfulfilled employees who know they are capable of playing bigger. If you are wanting to identify your gifts, find your purpose, do work that matters, and create a ripple effect that goes beyond yourself, you're in the right place. Each week you'll get resources, strategies, and support to help you get to know yourself, to get to know and understand others like your future clients, and help you get known so that you can reach more people with your gifts and purpose. So grab your notebook or open up your notes app, and I will see you in class. Hey, I'm so glad you're back. Welcome to another episode here on the Enneagram NBA Podcast. I'm your host, Sarah Lynn, certified Enneagram coach and visibility coach. And today we are being joined by a very special guest, Selena Johnson. She is a delegation expert, solution seeker, and freedom fixer who works with entrepreneurs on how to implement simple methods that make big wins in their business, like delegating, managing their time more effectively, and really mastering their mindset around those ideas, kind of moving from a or moving to a CEO mindset from an employee mindset. And she's used these simple strategies that she talks about today to half her hours while doubling her income. Who doesn't want to do that, right? So I'm really looking forward to um for us to learn from Selena today. Selena's also joining us as an Enneagram type one, which we haven't had a one on the show yet. I can't believe it. So really extra excited to get to hear from her at the end, which also at the end I forgot to mention, she has um a resource for us to save five plus hours a week in our businesses. So listen for for that at the end. Um, as a reminder, for those of you um who aren't familiar with a type one, um, even if you don't resonate with it, you probably know somebody, or maybe you have an arrow or a wing to a type one. They are known as the perfectionist, sometimes also called the improver, which I love that name for them because they tend to be very idealistic and looking for ways to improve themselves to get to this ideal image, this to improve others around them, inspire others to improve, improve their industry, their business, their communities, the really the world around them. And the thing that motivates their behavior as a type one is this um want to be good, right, have high integrity. And the thing that's you know, that they are running away from that might affect their behavior is anything that would make them bad or wrong or defective or corrupt in any way. And they're they tend to go around thinking, okay, listen, I'm good and or okay if I do what is right, and so they tend to struggle. Each type has um a core pattern or a vice, emotional habit. And for the one, it is resentment, it's not anger. They feel angry, but because they feel like it's wrong, they shove it down, shove it down, shove it down until it turns into like the slow simmer of resentment. So ones that would be something to kind of get curious, reflect on, be aware of. They have a very harsh and loud and intense inner critic that we all deal with inner critic. It is just extra for the type one. And they tend to be really rational and principled, responsible, self-controlled routines and organization and structure tend to come natural for them, which makes so much sense that Selena does what she does in a lot of ways. And we we get into that. And so for me as a type seven, I have an arrow that goes to a one. And so I'm always thinking, how can I channel some one energy to actually bring these ideas to life? Because I have a lot of ideas. Um, but using that structure and organization and discipline will help me bring those ideas to life. So knowing about the one, whether that's your dominant type or not, I think we could all use some of that in our business. So without further ado, here is my interview with Selena Johnson, delegation expert as a type one. Welcome back to another episode here on the Enneagram NBA podcast. I'm your host, Sarah Lynn. And today we are being joined by somebody who I need more of this energy in my life as a type seven. Um, I'm being joined by Selena Johnson. She is a delegation expert and a, I love what she shared, a solution seeker and freedom fixer who helps successful coaches and consultants and speakers, entrepreneurs from all across the globe help to scale their businesses so that we can make more money and achieve that faster, doing it in a way that's really sustainable and doesn't, you know, it's not, it's life-giving, not soul-sucking. So really excited to have you on the show. Selena, welcome. Hello, not lovely to be here. Yes. So we had connected over on Instagram and I don't really remember how I stumbled across to, but I thought I saw systems, and you were also traveling and doing all these fun things. And sometimes systems and processes make my eyes glaze over. But you have this really um fun message around why it's so important and what it allows you to do. So I absolutely want to tap into that. And then you're also joining us as a type one, which everybody is going to be excited about because you will be our first type one on the podcast. So um, right away, I'm so curious. Would you be willing to share how you got into this work around delegating and systems and processes?

SPEAKER_00 6:07

Yeah, so organization and structure is really my thing. It's a comfort for me, but also I can't, if I don't have structure, I find that things are chaotic. And it's just a natural talent that I have to have things in line at home and in any work environment that I've been in, is always to have things organized. Um, so I graduated a degree in graphic design. So that's all about taking a brief and being able to come out with a solution based on what the outline gave you, and that was really interesting to see the results and the outcome of what different students produced, but it was also that attention to detail. I was down underground in the art college going to letterpress, printing manually by hand, and everything had to be aligned, and that was just like heaven for me. Um, and then when I was working part-time, I was working for studios and shopping channels, supporting them with the back-end administration support because they were always on camera and they needed someone to organise all the items and order things for them, and it was just a dream of mine just to be able to help them to say, This is the problem, here's the solution I'm gonna give to you, which I'd learnt from my graphic skills was there's the brief, that's the problem, come up with a solution. So it was a natural progression for me, and I just progressed into becoming a personal assistant, working for various different companies. The last three I worked for were amazing. I worked for like a Russian billionaire private jet company. I've worked for like two dames, which is a big deal in the UK, and they were amazing opportunities where it was very fast-paced, it was you know turning over millions of pounds a year, big international companies, and it was amazing to be at the board level working at that high level to see what made a business successful. And part of that structure was having the correct support foundations in place and having the systems and the structure there, so that as the business grew and scaled, the systems and the team weren't falling behind. So around six years ago, I set up my own virtual assistant agency where I started off just me on my own, juggling all the plates, loved it so much, loved the challenges, learning something new every day. Um, but I then realized that as I was growing it, I needed to bring on more people to help me. So that's where I brought on the team, and I realized that it was a natural skill for me that I knew how to manage people. I had a talent of finding the right person to match with the clients. Um, so I still have the agency, and then I progressed onto consulting where I work with entrepreneurs who um have a team, they are successful at what they do already, but they are struggling to be the CEO of their business, to work in their zone of genius, and they need that extra support to know how to delegate, what systems and structures are they missing because you don't know what you don't know, and guiding them along that way in terms of what they need so that as they grow, they can be confident that their team can keep up with them as well.

SPEAKER_01 9:07

Oh my gosh, so important. And I love, I didn't realize the background that you had had with the Russian billionaire and just the dames and how fun and exciting. And just I think um it's always interesting to hear the the path that different people take to get to where they are now and knowing that that will probably evolve too. Cause I think sometimes the challenge when you are first starting in your business, or maybe you're wanting to pivot, is just feeling like, oh, I have to pick the thing that I'm gonna do forever. Um I would love just to hear your thoughts on this idea of CEO. Um, I did a training a few months ago around the Enneagram and your CEO style. And I had some people say that they just don't identify with the word CEO. And I thought, well, we're CEOs, kind of leaders of our lives, really in family, in our jobs. But when when you say that term CEO, what does that mean to you? How would you describe it?

SPEAKER_00 10:12

They're at the top of the part, they're the ultimate person in the business that gives the commands to the team below. Um, the CEO is the person who is having they're a visionary leader, they're the person that's a high achiever, they know how they want to grow and scale the business, um, and they know essentially where what they love to do, so they may enjoy um create an impact in somebody's life, touching multiple different people and changing their lives, motivating them. So CEO means to me that they're embodied, they're impactful, they are motivational and they're trying to grow grow their business to reach further further people, um, to impact them through the skills and the talent that they have.

SPEAKER_01 11:00

Okay, I love that definition. Thank you. Um, talk to me a little bit about um, and I want to go through because we have a mixture. We have people kind of just starting out, and then we also have people who have been doing this for a while. And so I'm gonna have some questions for you on both of those. But for somebody who's just starting out, the word, you know, solopreneur um comes up a lot. And the we're a lot of us are aware, it's like, oh my gosh, I don't have, I don't have maybe the money, or I'm so overwhelmed at learning all kinds of things, um, systems. Like I can't even, I can't even think about that. But for somebody who's maybe in that beginning stage, what have you found in your experience to be um maybe a really simple place to start thinking about developing like a SOP or just a process in place that could really make a big impact on your time and your energy?

SPEAKER_00 12:01

Yeah, for sure. Because as business owners, whether you're starting off or later on, there's so much things that you have to do. You're spinning so many plates at the same time. So I would say to earlier um business owners, don't let things overwhelm you and um just stay in your lane. And there's going to be people who are five, six years or further along than you that are doing great things, but don't try to compare yourself to them. Um, in terms of processes, I would suggest being organized as possible. So when you are creating a new document, file it in the correct place because often we rush in and we'll say, I'll do that later, or file that email later so I can find it in the relevant folder. Later never comes, just do it, just get it out of the way and do it then and there. Um, the other thing that I like to do as well is record videos of myself doing things. So you wouldn't necessarily have to, if you're not the type of person that can sit down and write step one, do this, step two, do this, record your video of you actually doing that task. When I started to get help, one of the first tasks I gave out was blog, blog creating the blogs. So the copy was already created, and I might ask somebody to actually upload it, source the images, and create the links for me. So that was a task where I recorded my video screen, showed them how I do it, where I do it, how we keep a track of all the different blogs that we've created, and then they took over it from there. The great thing about the video is it's always there. So if that person's role evolves or they leave, you don't need to explain it to somebody else because it's the information's there to pass on to somebody else.

SPEAKER_01 13:39

That is genius, Selena. I love the idea of a video. Um, one of the other things, if there's anything else you would add to this, let me know because I know this is your area of expertise. Um, I was looking through your Instagram content and you had talked about in a couple of posts the onboarding process, both for new hires. And then also, I'm, you know, this could be applied to um new clients and just kind of systematizing that. Any tips when you're thinking about anything else you would add to creating onboarding systems? Because I know that um I was just talking to a friend a few weeks ago who was saying, I feel like I just like keep, it takes me forever. I almost don't, I almost don't want, and it's not true, but I almost don't want to start a new client because there's so much work involved. What advice would you offer to that somebody who might be feeling that way?

SPEAKER_00 14:37

Yeah, it's an interesting question because we want to wow our customers and amaze them because we've done this amazing sales conversational call with them and we've wowed them already. They're signed up. Now we need to give them the wow factor to get them on, but also to do to upheld that reputation that we promised. So, within that, the SOP in terms of the steps is really crucial. So, stuff that I like to do is send them out a gift, um, follow them on social media, um, so then we're in tune and aligned with what they are currently doing. Also, I would like to have a check-in with them, quality check, a questionnaire at the end of the service. There's multiple things that you could be doing depending on the service you offer, maybe birthday um gift that needs to go out, finding out when their birthday is. Um, so having this documented is a great way and a great element that you start off from the foundation of saying this is the current process, and you will actually realize actually, um I need to add this in here because I think that will there's I'm missing something. When you start actually mapping it out, you'll actually see on pen and paper that actually there's improvements you can make. So that's a great exercise to do. Um, some people like to write it on paper, you can do workflow charts on the screen, posting notes, whatever's your preference.

SPEAKER_01 15:54

I love that. I love just like getting it out because I think a lot of us do have uh, you know, ideas and and intentions to wow the client, but then it can't, it's just floating around in our head sometimes. And we feel anxious and we feel like we're always thinking about work because it's all up in our head and not down on a piece of paper. I can speak from personal experience on that. And that client onboarding process was just a simple checklist that I um just recently in the last few months finally put on paper rather than it just being in my head, and that has helped so much. Just like let me go through here and and check these off.

SPEAKER_00 16:32

Um, just to add another tip that I just thought of if you're difficult, if you find it difficult to write it down, um sign up to an app called Otta O D E R. And that's a great um transcription app. So you can be walking the dog or going for a run or just cleaning your house, and you'll actually talk to your phone and say what the process is, and then you can dissect it into points from that transcription.

SPEAKER_01 16:57

Oh my gosh, that is genius. That is genius. Because we do have um, and this is one of the reasons why I love the Enneagram so much, is because we all are so different. And the more that you can learn about yourself and understand yourself, and then find things that are are the path of least resistance. So if you're a verbal processor, love Selena just gave an awesome tool, auto. Otter, O-T-T-E-R is that um, or the video idea rather than writing it out, although some of us you know might like writing out. So all kinds of different ways to put your systems in place, regardless of um, you know, how you prefer to do things and what comes most natural and easy for you. You had mentioned too about, and I I know this is kind of what you do with your work is um um around finding virtual assistants and helping, maybe you're not ready to hire a full-time employee for your business, but you are looking for some help. Um, what are some ways that a virtual assistant can help in our businesses?

SPEAKER_00 18:08

Well, I think these days virtual assistants can do almost anything, but what's really important is that you don't get one virtual assistant to do everything because it's not possible and the quality of work won't be there. So, what I tend to do is the first step is to identify where you need the help, and that is by tracking your time for one week, see how you are spending your time. Um, and then from that overview of a week, you'll be able to see, okay, on an average week, I'm spending far too much time on social media in terms of scheduling out posts, creating the graphics, or I'm spent spending far too much time researching my prospects. Why don't I give this out? So you create the list of the time that's not best suited your time. So, what's your zone of genius? What does that look like? Um, and when I ask most clients, that is um going to look for new business, networking, PR, marketing, sales, it's not the social media, it's not the admin, it's not sending out contracts or checking your inbox. They are valuable tasks, but they're not the high revenue generating tasks that's gonna get you the money. So if you took yourself out of those admin tasks that's taking you 10 hours a week and you spent those 10 hours on sales and marketing, for sure you're gonna make more money faster in your business if you put it into those revenue generating tasks. So that's the first step is to work out what you should be doing and what you could give to somebody else. And then you have that list ready to then go and look for that person that you you require to support you. Um, and then within the type of tasks that a VA can help you with can range from a personal assistant, email, diary, travel, research, PowerPoint presentations. It could be tech support, um, creating an online membership portal, courses, um, creating a webinar, creating a sales page, connecting payment processes. It could be systems VA, creating a CRM for you, automating processes. So there's quite a variety, and also a social media uh VA as well is another one, and the video editor. So there's quite broad different talent areas that you can tap into.

SPEAKER_01 20:17

Yes, I love that you said that though, that it's not we're not just looking for one person, it's more about the task that you need, and then to understand, yeah, kind of how much time are you spending on some of those. And you had also shared, and and I've heard this before, but maybe just as a refresher for those of us who have also heard it or or just a quick explainer, you had mentioned the zone of genius. And I know that there's also the there's three other zones and competence. Would you would you just share a quick note about that? And then I think that kind of helps because we think, oh, zone of genius, but um oh well, I'm good at I'm good at creating graphics. So I'm gonna do that because I enjoy it in Canva. But it's like, well, is that your zone of genius? That's maybe in another zone. Would you just run through those zones really quickly?

SPEAKER_00 21:08

Yeah, so there's your zone of genius, which is when you're in your best element. That's the stuff that you love to do, that is the best use of your time, the revenue generating tasks. You just love doing it. You're in a what you're in heaven when you're doing it. It doesn't feel like you're working and you know that you're progressing when you're doing those tasks. Um, there's the one next to it, zone of competence, would be um the area where it is you can do it, but it's not stuff that you really love to do, and it's not best use of your time, but you could continue to do it. And then the opposite of zone of genius would be your zone of incompetence. So that's the areas that you should not be doing it at all. So, an example I like to give is for example, if you had um an offer and you were created a sales page and you spent it took you to create the sales page five hours. But if you were to give the same information to a tech VA who does this every day with multiple clients, it'll probably take them one hour to do. So that means that you're wasting your time. So if you value your time at say £100 an hour or $100 an hour, that's $500 of your time when you could have spent paid somebody $20 or less to do that for you. And then you could inject your time to do something else.

SPEAKER_01 22:27

That is so true. I know. And in the beginning, I actually did a survey a couple of weeks ago about what's what are some things or what's the thing that you feel like is holding you back from jumping into your business idea or pivoting or doing something bigger. And tech came up a lot or not knowing about um, you know, what is a what's a sales funnel or exactly like how to how to write something. And so then it's like not only is that potentially, I don't want to say wasting your time, but not the best use of your time, but it could also be holding you back from even getting started when there's people out there all the time that could, you know, take two hours instead of 20.

SPEAKER_00 23:12

Yeah, exactly that. So I had to, I recently, well, recently, it's the time goes so quickly. It was about a year ago, I revamped my website and I love I'm from my graphic design background. I love that's my love to do things like that. So I did it originally when I first set up my business five years ago, and I updated it since then. And I had all the data, all the things that needed to do in it. It was literally to go in and rechange everything and design it. And I really wanted to do it, but had to hold myself back to say, Selena, yes, you could do it, but you don't use this every day, and I know it's gonna take you probably two months, maybe to do it because you're gonna have to do it in between other commitments, and you really need it done now, um, and it's gonna frustrate you because you can't get it done as quick as you think you can do it. So let's just give it, pay somebody else to do it. So I paid somebody else to do it, they completed it within a week. And instead of me working whilst they were doing it, I actually took four sales calls, got them to be onboarded as clients, and the money that I had paid to get my website updated, I made that money back four times with the client sales calls that I had. So that's an example of staying in your lane and giving it to someone else where it's their zone of genius to do it for you.

SPEAKER_01 24:31

Yeah, yeah. And I I love the that those zones. I think that that is really that for me, what for whatever reason, that has really clicked over over the years that I've seen that where it's like, well, you could be excellent at it, or you could be, you could, you could do it, but that doesn't mean just because you could do it that you should be doing it. Um, another example that you might um be into Selena is I saw this gentleman on LinkedIn share how he created like this $50 um product, online digital product, and it was just swipe files of his top 50 LinkedIn posts. And he walked through how he did it. And in my mind, I'm thinking, oh, he went back and got all his posts together and blah, blah, blah, and put them in a thing. And he said, no, he said he went out and found um somebody on a virtual assistant service, and he had them search his top 50 posts, pull the content, put it into a nice neat um PDF, and then it was ready. And it he said, you know, it took that person a day, whereas it would have taken him potentially weeks because he wouldn't have sat down long enough to do it. So even something as simple as that. Um, I thought that was another really great example that came to mind.

SPEAKER_00 25:47

Um, but also I feel guilty as well sometimes because sometimes a task are so easy for somebody else to do that I thought I could just do it myself. It's a two-minute, five minute. But what I tend to find as well is that yes, it's a quick, easy task, but it takes my focus away from what I should be doing. So that's another key tip as well.

SPEAKER_01 26:07

Yeah, was it you that was talking about um, and I don't know the, I think it was like something like fractural concentration, where exactly just that. Like it's a five-minute task here, it's a 10-minute task here, but throughout the day, it's like six interruptions or six task changes, and then you're not able to really deep work on the thing that you needed to deep work on.

SPEAKER_00 26:32

Yeah, exactly that. So it's just again staying in your lane. It's really difficult to get that discipline to do it, but when you do, just find something that you can start giving one or two or three tasks out for support, and then you'll start to trust that person and see the results and that you are getting some free time, and then it naturally progresses over time.

SPEAKER_01 26:54

Okay. Um, I I have two more questions on this topic, and then I want to get into life as a type one for you. But speaking of a type one, I know that um for some type ones, and maybe I'm I'm probably eights, there's this, um, and there's others, probably two, maybe three, where it's like, well, nobody's gonna do it as good as me. Like, yes, I could save time, but nobody's gonna do it as good as me. So I'm just gonna keep doing it myself. What advice or what maybe different perspective could you share to somebody who maybe feels that way?

SPEAKER_00 27:28

I think I used to be like that, but I tend to let go now because I tend to value my time more. That's overcome it. So I realized that I've only got this amount of hours in the day, and I have young kids that I want to be able to switch off at this time to be able to spend quality time undisturbed, interrupted with them. So, in order to do that, I need to be careful with what the commitment of my how I spend my time, and that helped me to then say no to certain things and take it out of my um schedule.

SPEAKER_01 27:59

So good. And then, and that's a great point. I know that you're a mom, I'm a mom. We have a lot of um moms listening and even just people who want to live life, want to go for a hike in the middle of the day, or be able to take a long weekend and not feel like they have to take their laptop with them. And it, you know, at this point, we've seen a lot of those like memes and different um messages around, oh, you quit your nine to five so that you could work for yourself and work 24-7. Um, which does, you know, I have found myself doing sometimes too, like not turning off. Um, but how like what's for you? What what are some signs? And I I think you had shared this maybe on your YouTube channel. Like there's a couple of key signs that it's time to hire somebody. Would you be willing to share one or two of those with us? Like, how do we know? Okay, you got we gotta we gotta get you some help here.

SPEAKER_00 28:58

Um, one of the key signs is that you're dropping the ball. So there's things that you're committed to or promised to do and you haven't been able to keep up with them. You're double booking appointments as an example. Um, you're not getting to your inbox regularly. There's emails that are coming through from prospects, you're losing money because you haven't had a chance to reply back to them because you're in back-to-back meetings. Um, you've had been to networking events and you said you'll follow up with them tomorrow and you haven't done it. Um, that's one of the key signs that you need help because you just can't keep up with all the opportunities that are coming through the door. Um, a second one is that you're working long hours. Generally, you do work long hours when you first get started, but if it's a consistently happening where you're um creeping into the evenings and weekends on a regular basis and you're not getting that time off to switch off for yourself for quiet time or to do more things that you love to do, that's a sign of could lead to burnout, and that's a sign that you need to get some help as well.

SPEAKER_01 29:59

And then I said that was gonna be my last question, but I had one more for you. And if you want to, um if you want a shameless plug here, by all means do that. But what where should we be looking for virtual assistants or for people to help with inbox management or creating a sales page? Like where where would somebody start with that?

SPEAKER_00 30:20

Yeah, so um go back to what I mentioned first of all, find out is because what I don't like is when people say, I need a virtual assistant, can you help me? We need to be very specific about what we need because that just goes down the higher the route of um hiring and re firing and then rehiring somebody else. So we just want to make sure that you're clear on what support you need. And then coming to me, I've got a virtual assistant agency, so you can come to me and we can discuss about what your needs are and how we could support you in those areas. Also reach out to your network, ask them um, do you have anyone that you could recommend on a social media or through emails or text your contacts would be a great source to do as well.

SPEAKER_01 30:59

Okay, okay. Now I know that you have mentioned that you definitely resonate with a Enneagram type one. And I always am just so curious and like to hear what about the type one made you think, oh my gosh, this is definitely me.

SPEAKER_00 31:17

The perfectionist in me, so being so organized and being structured, having to have plan B and plan C in case plan A goes out the window. Um, I make lists for going on holiday, I make lists for the day I'm going to the airport. I remember when we did a three-week trip to Thailand, I created an eight-page itinerary of what we were doing hour by hour. I'd booked in dinner reservations, I'd booked in massages, everything before we had even taken off.

SPEAKER_01 31:45

Oh my God. Oh my god, I love it. How have you seen? I mean, obviously, um, you know, it kind of has spilled over into the work that you do now. Um, how else have you, is there anything else you would add to that, I guess, that you see the positive aspects of that um that have helped you build your business and and be where you are right now?

SPEAKER_00 32:11

I think being organized in my business and being able to plan and structure my week has helped me because I'm always forward thinking. I need to know on Sunday what I'm doing for the next day or the week ahead. Um, I need to know what my goals are, what I'm trying to achieve for that month. So it helps me to know what I should be focusing on. Um, so that has really, really been useful for me for sure.

SPEAKER_01 32:32

And then anything that you kind of sometimes have to be cautious of. It's like, oh, I can over, I can overdo it, or this happened because I was maybe too organized or trying to plan out too much. Is there anything that you have to kind of keep an eye on so that it doesn't um that same energy doesn't turn into um I guess a hindrance instead of a helpful energy?

SPEAKER_00 32:57

Yeah, so my perfectionist can be procrastination as well, because what tends to happen is I want to do this, but before I can do this, I need to do all these different things before. Um and it stops me from progressing sometimes in my business because I just like nope, I've got to get these 10 things, and those 10 things then turn into 20 things and it never gets going, and that can be frustration. So, what I tend to do is if I have an idea, I've researched it, it looks like it's gonna work, I just go with it and work out the rest of it as I go along.

SPEAKER_01 33:26

So good. Such a good reminder for for all of us on that, because that perfection can be the the hindrance of progress. So I feel yeah, sometimes myself on that. Um, one of the things that the type one kind of one of their unique characteristics is that, you know, we all have an inner critic. Um, but a type one has a very intense inner critic. Do you experience that? And if so, how do you kind of navigate through that when it's being really harsh and critical?

SPEAKER_00 34:01

I haven't really witnessed it, but I think it's because I'm so futuristic. I'm not really thinking about what's happening in the present. But I noticed my daughter, who's seven, I think she's exactly the same. She must be a type one because she will write something on the paper, like in their school book. And if she makes a mistake in it, she's really upset, she has to rub it out, and we're doing piano lessons for her. And if she makes a mistake, she gets really, really frustrated. If she does one key wrong, she has to start from the beginning. And I've tried to say to her, it's okay that you make a mistake, that's how you learn. Um, so I think in my mind, that's what probably what I'm thinking. Um, but it it if I do make a mistake, it's very rare it happens because I'm always double triple checking everything. Um, but yeah, I'm I'm kind of evaluate what went wrong and I just move on to the future. So I'm not really listening to my inner critic, if you know, it's kind of there in the background.

SPEAKER_01 34:55

Yes, yes. Well, and it it sounds like you have a lot of this um maybe your your healthy arrow to a type seven. And when ones move there, and and and all for all of us, the more we grow and develop as humans, develop, you know, as as leaders and our businesses, the less we look like that stereotypical type one or type seven or whatever you are, and um one of the the set or the one moves to a seven in growth and in their personal development journey, which means they're bringing in a lot of optimism and they're pursuing joy and making time for fun and more self-accepting, more spontaneous. Do you see any of those character characteristics showing up for you in your life or the work that you do? And if so, how?

SPEAKER_00 35:50

Yeah, I think for sure, um, because my husband as well, he's probably a seven, he's a complete opposite of me. So he's very lastminute.com, works under pressure, whatever gets thrown out of him at him at that time, he'll do with it. I'm like, what we doing this weekend? It's like I don't know. Like, I need to know now. Um so I think that I'm learning to be, I'm very optimistic, very future thinking, I'm very positive, and I'm learning to not have to know everything in advance and just to be able to go with the flow of what's upcoming. But also if there is a real danger, just assessing that risk. So, for example, if I was to purchase something that's a high cost, I need to know okay, the pros and cons of that before I do it. Whereas if it's like something low-end $47, then and I think I need it, I'll just go for it. Um, so I'm learning to control it a bit more and not have to know every second of my life what's going on.

SPEAKER_01 36:50

Oh, so good, so good. Um, and then just a couple more questions on this. Just since I have a type one here, I want to I want to know um your personal experience. So, type ones are in the body center of intelligence, which means for most of them, they have a strong gut reaction. Like they're they they may not be able to explain how they knew that was the right thing to do, they just knew it, or why they made that decision. It just they just knew it. Um, do you experience that? Does that feel true to you? Or um, I know you mentioned you, you know, sometimes we'll do that pro and con list, um, which also kind of can can show up too. Just curious about that gut reaction tendency.

SPEAKER_00 37:36

Yeah, I'm playing into that a lot more recently in the last probably five months. I'm learning to listen to myself. Like these signs have come up before, but I've just kind of ignored it, but I'm more intuitive with it and learning more about that. And I've made decisions recently based on my gut instincts that that was the right business sense for me, like hiring a coach, knowing which coach to go for. I went with my gut instinct because it was telling me that I needed a coach and that this was the right person to do it for me. Um, so yeah, I'm definitely aligned with that a lot more now.

SPEAKER_01 38:07

Yeah, yeah. And that's something again, like there's the head, the heart, and the gut, and they all have a place and just I don't want to say a balance, but being able to tap into them intentionally, like you were kind of saying, with intention and not just autopilot default. Um, and then the last thing I just think is so cool, Selena, is that, and not to put you in a box and not to say that you know, every type, um, like this is why you do what you do, or this is why you're good at it, is because you're a type one, because there's that's obviously not true. We're complex human beings, there's all sorts of factors. But I think it's so interesting that as um in being in the body center, um, the focus there is really on um justice, fairness, and then this desire for autonomy and independence and control. And it just feels like what the work that you're doing aligns with that so well and in a really positive way, like you're you're taking control of your life so that you can have this freedom. Um, I know that that's one of your messages, kind of the fast lane to freedom. And I just I as I was kind of looking at the work that you do preparing for this interview, I thought, wow, like she's using these um motives and and strengths in such a cool way with the work that she is doing. So I I just wanted to say I love that. Um the last question I have, uh and do you want to say anything else to that? Sorry.

SPEAKER_00 39:38

No, it's it's interesting because because I'm always thinking ahead, I don't really evaluate it. So it's nice to actually reflect on it and say actually, yes, all you're saying actually does I agree with it. I'm nodding my head here in the backgrounds yet. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 39:51

Yeah, yeah. And I think sometimes too, when um when I'm talking about like justice and fairness, sometimes the mind like are will go to like, oh, they're going to be advocates or um work at you know, nonprofits or I don't know, criminal justice or whatever. But it's like, no, there's all sorts of injustices and unfairness. And for you, the thing that comes up that I see is just like this um, like feeling like you have to work all the time as a business owner and how unfair that really is. And um, there's another way. And I'm gonna fight and help and make sure that you have this life um that aligns with the freedom and probably the the whole reason why you started your business, because sometimes we can lose sight of that and and burn out.

SPEAKER_00 40:42

Oh, absolutely. I'm all about freedom and flexibility um and and do more of the things you love to do because you only get one life and we want to make the most of it. Life is too short, and that's the way that I tend to analyze it now.

SPEAKER_01 40:55

Yes, yeah. Well, on that note, we'll start to close it up. I have a couple of rapid fire questions that I'll get to in just a second. But before we do, where can anybody who is wanting to learn more about creating systems, delegating, maybe they're ready to look for somebody to hire, where can they connect with you?

SPEAKER_00 41:18

So you can connect with me on Instagram. I am Selina Johnson, and you can find out more about the Ultimate Delegation System course, which is a done for you systems templates and videos that teach you how to start delegating in your business with the Done For You Plug and Play templates. And you can go to SelenaJohnson.com forward slash system.

SPEAKER_01 41:41

Okay, and I think that would be a great place. Maybe you're not ready to to hire somebody, but to have templates and just, oh my gosh, so much time saving. Because I was I was looking at that earlier, Selena. Um, it'll just look like packed full of helpful things that we could we could all use. Um what is something that you are learning right now? And it could be work-related or it could be personal related, something new that you're learning.

SPEAKER_00 42:10

Um, new that I'm learning is to take a break from my desk. So I tend to be the habit of working in office in London, in the city, high-flying jobs is to high-pressured. It's a natural habit that I've had over the years, is to sit at my desk from nine till five or later. So I'm getting into the habit of now, um, something that Brendan Bouchard said was to uh work for 50 minutes and then take minute, 10-minute break. So I'll maybe walk up and down the stairs or I'll go in the garden or do something away. Um, and that's that's to help me improve my productivity. So that's probably something new that I'm trying right now for February.

SPEAKER_01 42:50

I love that. What about something that you are unlearning and trying to let go of?

SPEAKER_00 43:00

Um, oh, that's a good one. What am I trying to unlearn? Oh, of course, you got me here.

SPEAKER_01 43:10

I know sometimes this is hard. Well, and it's it's interesting because really I have found um, and I see this a lot in like different books that I'm reading and and things that we'll talk about with clients. And it's usually not anything new that they need to be doing. It's this, it's a it's a belief that they need to let go of or unlearn. And one that I hear a lot from people is this um like unlearning that their value comes from how much they work um and how much money they make, or hard work equals success. And it's like, oh, it could be easy. Like, yes, hard work, but then there's also ways, kind of like what you're saying like, how can you find help? How can you find ways to align with your zone?

SPEAKER_00 44:00

genius or your strengths and letting go that oh if it's if it's easy then you're not working that was the one that was one that I heard the other day yeah I agree with that and I think what I like to to learn now and take away from me is that success is not just about the money that you're making for me success is that I can take a four week vacation that I took at Christmas that I can stop work at three o'clock that I can take time out and on a on a Friday morning and go for a coffee with my friends or that I can have a bath and not be interrupted and that I can look after my health and wellbeing and my self-care that to me looks more like success than hitting that next goal target for the month. I think that would be what the habit I'm trying to get away with thinking about money as the way that I know my business is growing and more about what I'm being able to achieve from having my business that I didn't have before.

SPEAKER_01 44:52

Oh I love that. Okay I got a bonus question for you specifically because I I was watching you on Instagram on your on your trip um um during Christmas and I was like oh my gosh so fun so pretty what do you have another trip planned anytime soon or where do where do you want to go to next what's on the what's on the list next nothing booked right now but I would love to do like a cold Christmas like Austria somewhere like that for Christmas.

SPEAKER_00 45:20

That would be amazing. So I didn't a hot Christmas now I'd like to do a cold one and just be away from home and not have to have the whole fuss I just want something more relaxed and down um offline. So it's just like the intimate family together and just having a nice time together not having to worry about cooking and everything else that goes along with it.

SPEAKER_01 45:41

Just a simple Christmas oh I love that that sounds really cozy. And then last question we I am personally a big bookworm. I know we got some other people who love a good book recommendation.

SPEAKER_00 45:54

What is a book either business related, personal development related um that you would recommend to help make our lives easier better in some way so I love the book traction for business related to what I do because it goes over how to bring in a team to support you but also the functions of working with a team and how to create the operation procedures that you need to the SOPs in your business. So it goes through it's quite a chunky book it shows you how to set up the meetings how to set your goals and your rocks with your team so that you can essentially gain traction and become more of the CEO of the business and then have the team doing the other parts of it for you.

SPEAKER_01 46:38

Yes I read that in um a former job that I had and it was really interesting to understand the role of the visionary versus the integrator or the the executioner no that's not bad the person who executes um the the jobs and so I yeah absolutely one that I need to probably revisit myself. So love that recommendation. Selena I have really enjoyed this conversation and as somebody who needs more systems and routine and structure this has been really good for me personally and I know the listeners will get so much from your tips and what you shared.

SPEAKER_00 47:16

Is there anything else that you would do you want to add before we call this uh conversation to a close I think the final tip would be look at what's take like if you're trying to save time in your business and you can't currently hire somebody you hire someone but you're not sure where else you can utilize them start to look at what's taking you a lot of time to do and then find a simpler way to do it. Could you automate it? Could it be delegated to somebody else or could it be something that you just ditch because it's not actually really a necessity anymore and just find ways to cut down the steps of processes to free your time is a great way to help you as well in your business and in your personal life too.

SPEAKER_01 47:59

Such a good one um well with that Selena I appreciate you and uh I look forward to seeing you around social media. Thank you Sarah if you have a few more seconds after listening to this episode definitely get connected with Selena say hello let her know what you're taking away from what she shared today. I know that it always means so much to hear from you from our guest and then if we're not already connected over on social media reach out connect say hello let me know what you do let me know what type you most resonate with I'm over on Instagram at Enneagram MBA. I'm over on LinkedIn I have a nine part series but a entrepreneurial profile LinkedIn live series coming up so find me over there at Sarah Lynn and then I recently just I'm playing around with TikTok so if you're over there playing around testing it out or maybe you're already established connect with me I'd love to learn from you love to to say hello and see what you're doing over there and I'm Enneagram MBA over there as well. So have a great one and until next time I'll see you soon