The Best Investment For Your Future

How Personal Growth Can Transform Your Life and Make Your Dreams a Reality

Welcome back to the Crank It Up Podcast. Okay, today I’ve got an episode for you that is all about personal growth.

Now, you know, we’ve been talking about that a lot over the past few episodes. It’s been the theme. It’s been the focus. It’s been the vibe. We’ve been all about personal growth. 

And if you haven’t gotten the picture yet, I’m pretty obsessed with it because I really believe that anything we want to do, anything we want to grow, comes from growing ourselves first, first and foremost, always. 

So this particular episode I recorded for my mindset coach, Brad Bizjack, and it’s a lot about how we ended up moving here to Disney and why I think personal growth is the key to all of that, which translates to why is personal growth the key to making your dreams come true? Your Disney, whatever that is.

What is your Disney? Personal growth is going to be the key to that. And I think in this episode, I will give you some tips on how to incorporate it, some mindset shifts around personal growth and maybe what can happen in your life once you make it part of your lifestyle, once you make it an absolute nonnegotiable habit. So take a listen, take some notes, and then let me know what you think. Let’s dive in.

I had always been one who had done personal growth. I don’t know if I called it that, but I grew up watching my dad. He had this ginormous desk in the basement, and he had a glass top on it. 

And he would slide little notes and things underneath between the wood and the and the glass, and There’d be these little quotes and and such when I would go down there.

So sort of like I saw it, but no one called it. Back in the day, nobody called that personal development or personal growth. Right? Like, these were just bits and pieces that inspired him, and he was kind of surrounded by it. 

Make a Decision to Intentionally Seek Out Personal Growth Opportunities

So I kind of grew up seeing that, and it wasn’t until I got into business really that I started reading more for intention and not just fiction because I feel like we can get to a point where we’ve done all the things. I’ve done all the things. And to be fair, you’ve probably done some things. Like, I had done some things. I’ve read some books.

I’ve done some things. I’ve done some podcasts, some conferences, and nothing was quite getting me to the point where I wanted to go. I still felt like I was on a plateau. So we were in a place where we had created some success and we’d seen the needle move, and then there we were kind of just of stuck because I really do think that we can say we’re doing all the things, and sometimes we can even say it, and know that all the things aren’t working. 

And that’s all I had done. I was doing all the things. I had tried this and nothing was working. And it wasn’t until I made the decision, made the commitment to say, you know what, dude? You in my inbox. Alright. Let’s work together. Let’s figure this out. 

And really, you know, decided to make a decision and go all in with personal growth that it shifted. You know? We can sometimes I think we can kinda around or play around with the thought that we’re doing all the things.

Like, I think Brendon Burchard calls it fake work. You know? Women can call it busy work. We wanna be busy. Everyone wants to look busy. Look. I’m so busy, busy, busy, but are you actually doing anything that’s moving the needle? 

And we can look really busy, and we can look like we’re doing all kinds of work. But if we’re not doing the stuff that’s actually moving the needle, it’s likely because we haven’t made the decision to make the commitment and make the investment in ourselves. 

That was my experience.

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I don’t think that I’m a unicorn and I’m alone in that. I think that that’s probably pretty general across the board that most people think they’re doing all the things, and we have done some things, and nothing was quite working the way we wanted to. 

Awareness and Action Lead To Reaching Your Potential

I think every human being on this planet is aware of their potential within them. I think every human being is aware they have a spark or a seed, whatever analogy that you would like to use, sort of spark, some sort of seed. 

I think every human being is aware that you’ve more than you. I think every human has that. You know that there’s something inside you. I think women in particular struggle with the –  but I’m just grateful for what I have.

It’s okay to be grateful. It’s also okay to want more. It’s not wrong to want more for your family. And anyone that tells you that, they’re wrong. You’re not. If that’s okay. 

And, you know, there just comes a point in time where if you don’t say yes to the next thing, you get to the end of your life, and it’s a life full of woulda, coulda, shoulda’s. 

Unlock The Next Level of Yourself By Intentionally Saying Yes

If you don’t say yes to that next commitment, that next relationship, that next investment, that next let you know it’s in you.

You’re gonna get to the end of your life for a woulda, coulda, shoulda’s. And for me, that is one of my greatest fears. I fear that more than I fear lots of other things. 

I fear getting to my life wishing I could have done more because we know that there is more in us. 

So every human being has that in them, that spark or that seed. The ones who create success, however you define it, That’s up to you. That is a personal definition. 

However you define it, the ones I believe who create success in their life, however that looks for them, are the ones who intentionally on purpose water that seed or fuel that spark or whatever analogy again that you wanna use.

However you define it, the ones I believe who create success in their life, however that looks for them, are the ones who intentionally on purpose water that seed or fuel that spark or whatever analogy again that you wanna use.

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Like, you’re aware of it, and you do something about it. I think everyone is aware of it. I think everyone is aware of their potential. I just don’t think everyone does something about it because I think people get really scared of doing something about it, and I don’t understand that. 

I don’t understand the idea of being scared of dipping into your potential? It’s like you’re afraid you’re gonna blow your own mind. But what if you do? How cool would that be? 

Like, let’s get more afraid of getting to the end of our lives and wishing we would have done more than blowing our own minds right now in the present day. If you have children, knock it off because they’re watching you. 

And anyone that’s ever heard me talk in any kind of space knows that I’m very passionate about this.

So I’ll get you started because I’m very passionate about this topic. 

The Impact of Personal Growth on Children and Future Generations

If you have children, they’re watching you. You have a responsibility because they’re not here without you. 

They didn’t create themselves. You brought them into the world. You have a responsibility to show them how amazing they can be, and you do that by tapping into your own potential, by showing up for yourself, by keeping the promises you’ve made to you. 

That’s how you tell your children that it’s important to keep their promises that they’ve made to themselves, and how they should be showing up in the world. 

I’m telling you, my girls, they won’t tell you this because, you know, that’s how children are, but I’m telling you that some of what my girls have done, not all of it, some of this is their DNA, but there’s a teeny tiny part of what my girls have done that has come because of what they’ve seen me do.

I fully believe that. They might not tell you that because, you know, that’s not very cool. And, again, a lot of it is their own DNA. However, they also watched their mom make commitments and investments in herself and keep promises and show up and be okay with being grateful and wanting more.

If I wanted to drop some of that, like, I had to make some different decisions then my parents, and particularly my mom did because female, female, you know, and then having daughters. I had to make some different decisions, and I had to show up differently in the world then maybe she did then.

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So I just cannot overemphasize enough that if you have children, showing up for you is the most important thing that you can show them. 

It’s the most important thing you can show them. I know I’ve said this before, and I think that this is one of the most important pieces for people to hear and understand. When you’re on a personal growth journey and you know that there’s more in you and you know that you want more for your life, for your family, wherever you fall on this, wherever you are on this journey, when you know that there’s more in you and that you want more, when you’re in it, in it.

And it’s you, you in your brain, which can be a hard place to be sometimes in your own brain, in your own mind, and that’s all you know and you’re just this little bubble of your own brain. You don’t know the questions to ask yourself to get yourself out of your own brain. You know?

Breaking Generational Barriers:
“I knew if I wanted something different, if I want to break that generational, you know, barrier that we have, if I wanted to let loose some of this generational baggage that we’re all carrying, because make no mistake, you carrying it whether you think you are or not.
If I wanted to drop some of that, like, I had to make some different decisions then my parents, and particularly my mom did because female, female, you know, and then having daughters. I had to make some different decisions, and I had to show up differently in the world then maybe she did then.”
— Julie

It’s kind of like this is kind of an interesting example I just thought of. So as we know, Disney is my happy place, and I have three daughters.

None of them live at home right now. We’re not gonna talk about that because that makes me sad, so we’re just gonna move on from that section. In fact, we’re gonna talk about a time when they all did live at home, and we would come down here let’s say we would come down here on fall break. 

Now anyone that might have three daughters might understand that sometimes, life can get a little contentious in your house. You know? There can be a little bit of fighting, a little bit of bickering, a little bit of whatever whatever. 

That’s because you’re in your home on top of each other all the time. But then we would come here, and it’s not silly to say, but magic would happen. And the fights that happened at home didn’t happen here.

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And the memories that were made here wouldn’t have happened at home because we got out of our space and into someplace new, a place where we could learn and grow and and literally create magic. 

And someone was having different interactions with us, and we were having different conversations, and you start to see each other in a different way, but that doesn’t happen at home. And your brain’s no different. 

When you’re in it and you’re doing the thing and you’re trying to figure it out, you really don’t know the questions to ask yourself to figure it out. You cannot think of it when you’re in it. 

There were times when my girls could not get along at home because you’re just in it, but But you take them out of that space, and suddenly, we’re eating frozen lemonade, getting ready to watch parade, and everyone’s BFFs because you’ve just you changed your environment and you you’re having new conversations now. 

If you have been doing all the things and you’re on a plateau and you know there’s more in you and you know you want more in life, I’m gonna tell you right now as someone who, I think from an outside perspective, had created some amount of success in my life. You just can’t unlock the next level of you on your own.

You have to do the work, yes, but you can’t unlock the next level of you on your own. 

And here’s the thing. Why do you want to? Why do you wanna be in a silo? 

Why do you wanna be in some isolated little… but didn’t you get enough of that in 2020? 

I mean, why would you want to be in a silo trying to figure this all out by yourself when you can be in a community of people all on a journey? And, again, I know in my life, I didn’t have people that were talking about goals and dreams. 

That was not table talk for us. That was not everyday conversation when I was growing up. Even just in my child rearing years, you know, when I was teaching group exercise and my girls were in school, it wasn’t like I was dropping them off at school and then having a deep heartfelt conversation with the mom at drop off. 

Like, hey, tell me about your goals and dreams. Like, they would’ve looked at me like I’d lost my marbles.

You know, nobody around me was having those kinds of conversations. I had to really intentionally seek it out. And if you’re anything like me, and again, I don’t think I’m that special. I don’t think I’m that different. If you’re anything like me, that’s not really happening in your everyday life. You’re not really having those kinds of conversations in your everyday life. 

And when you’re not, you get pulled into talking about the latest bad thing that happened in the world or the negative news or what’s happening on the Golden Bachelor. I don’t even know what that is, but, like, there it is.

And that’s what you’re talking about because that’s what everyone around you is talking about. 

Get intentional about who you’re letting in your head and your heart. 

It makes all the difference. And when you get into a community where the conversation’s about goals and dreams and vision, Guess what your conversation becomes about? Goals and dreams and vision. 

And if you don’t have that in your real life, and even if you do, why not get more? I just don’t think most people have it in their real life, and we need it if we wanna unlock the next level. 

Aligning Head and Heart: The Power of Personal Growth in Achieving Goals

So we were in Carl, Indiana, and, you know, I was getting to that place in our journey where the girls were getting older, and Living in Florida has been a lifelong dream of mine. 

My first trip here was when I was six months old, my first trip to Disney was when I was three. And listen. I don’t care if you like Disney or not.

That’s not what this is about. Everyone has their happy place. Everyone has that place where they feel like home. Everyone has that place where they go and you just sort of go, yes. 

Like, all is right with the world. You know, and my parents were in their forties when they had me. So by the time I was in high school, my dad had retired. They had moved down here in half of the year.

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And so I was kind of in and out in Florida, and every time I would leave, I’d be like, no. I don’t wanna leave. And then I would come down here with my girls, and we would go to Disney, and I would be in that Orlando airport, and I would be so sad. 

And, you know, at one point, I started thinking, like, this feels more than just, like, post Disney Stress syndrome. Like, this feels like this is something a little deeper, a little more meaningful. 

I would be so sad. So it was 2021, and we’re doing some work, and we’re dredging up the stuff, and we’re doing all the things, and we’re starting to have some real realizations and some breakthroughs. And finally, I’m like, I am tired of being sad.

I am tired of being sad. I’m tired of going to Florida and going home and being sad. We’re gonna make this happen. 

September 15th 2023, I think, is the date that I had said, and this was, like, May of 2021. Did not tell anyone. Did not tell my husband. Did not tell my husband who would clearly be involved in the move. Also did not tell my children.

And I tell my daughter, so oh, we’re very tight. I did not tell anyone. 

It’s just this little secret thing that I had. But the universe starts working in your favor when you actually make a decision. And so then I started slowly spending a little bit more time on Zillow every night.

And we went into a football season that fall, which was very hard after a pandemic. It was really time for my husband to make a shift. He’s had a 30 year college football career.

And we went into the 2021 season after a really hard 2020. It was just time for a change. It was time for a shift. That’s really hard to do on your own, and that’s all that you’ve ever done. 

But, the girls and I were quite worried about his mental and physical health. And as we watched him traverse this season, I just became more and more convicted. I’m like, we gotta do something about this.

I don’t know if we’re gonna make it through this season. I don’t know. We can’t do this anymore. We can do this anymore. And the girls were old enough that we don’t really have ties to Carmel, Indiana. 

Make A Decision, Align Your Actions, Invest In Yourself

You know? It had been an amazing place to raise our children. We don’t really have that ties to it anymore. And so I came down here in October of 2021 for fall break, and Josie, my middle one, came down.

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I think and I think Jesse came down at one point, kind of in and out because of their fall breaks, and I came down and looked at houses unbeknownst to anyone, except Josie and Jesse who were with me, and I looked at houses. 

And I looked at this house, and I stood out on the balcony that’s right behind me. And I said to my realtor, now which way is Disney? And he goes about 5 minutes that way. And I went, okay. 

And then I went home and reached out to a realtor. Mind you, I still have not officially told my husband yet, but then I went home and reached out to a realtor and I said, I’d like to put some feelers out, but this is gonna be very quiet. This is gonna be very quiet. We’re not gonna tell anyone.

I don’t want people traipsing through my house. My husband’s in the middle of the season. He was kind of like, I can’t be talking about this in the middle of the season. That feels very unethical. Blah blah blah blah. 

And we got to the end of the season, and he turned in his resignation on the Monday after the last game on Saturday. Thank you, Lord. And we sold our house shortly after that, and we signed our papers on this house on December 1, 2021.

That’s how fast the universe can work in your favor when you make a decision and you put aligned action behind it.

Now I could have made a big old vision board and looked at that vision board for another two years, but I’m actually been living in this house, for a year and a half by the time we got to the date that I September 15, 2023, I’m living here. I’ve been living here for a year and a half. Right? 

What was I actually waiting on? Nothing. Nothing. And when you make a decision and you make a commitment and you make an investment in yourself and you say to the universe, no. It is time. I am tired of myself.

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I’m tired of this plateau I’m on. I’m tired of being stuck, and I am going to do the work To move the needle on my goals and dreams, and then you actually do the work. You don’t just make a vision board about it, but then you actually do the work. 

The universe moves pretty darn quickly. So we went from May of 2021 setting this goal that made me throw up to December 1st that same year signing papers on this house. 

We moved on March 1, 2022. Let me add to that. What I think sometimes we feel like is the time before we really get serious about our goal is wasted time.

Understand That Previous Experiences Are Never a Waste of Time

It’s not wasted time. You’re just percolating. You’re just marinating. You’re just percolating. You’re sort of gathering your life experience and your knowledge, and you’re just percolating. 

So all the stuff that’s come before is not wasted time. It’s what got you to this space at this exact moment in 2023. So you have not wasted time.

You are not behind. It is not too late. You are here at the moment that you’re supposed to be here, and all the stuff, all the experiences and knowledge that you’ve gathered along the way, they’re just preparing you for this, but you wouldn’t be here if your head and your heart weren’t aligned and telling you that you’re ready to unlock the next level. 

I just wanna say that. I think the fear sometimes comes from, are we gonna get a return on our investment? And the fear sometimes comes from, well, I’ve done these things before, and I haven’t followed through. Fair. So have I. Haven’t we all? You know what that’s called? Being human.

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You’re not bad or wrong. There’s nothing wrong with you. You’re just a human being. And perhaps those opportunities, it’s kinda like a book that you tried to read and it wasn’t the right time for you, and then you pick it up six months later, you’re like, oh, man. The best book ever. 

It’s because it was the time for that particular book. So release that fear, And I know from experience that the single best investment you can make is in yourself. Period.

🌟 Don’t waste time doubting yourself or feeling behind. Every experience, even the “percolating” and marinating stage, is preparing you for that moment of breakthrough. You are right where you need to be.✨

Hands down. The single best investment you can make is in yourself. And, you know, my friend Robert Hartwell, who I adore, said once he said this to my team. Oh, girly. If you need a new pair of shoes, guaranteed, you’d find money for a new pair of shoes. 

And I thought, you know what? You are correct. Like, if we if it’s something like that, something like that we want, oh, suddenly, there’s money. But when it becomes an investment in ourselves it’s a little uncomfortable.

We need to do the work. Oh, I don’t know if I have the money. Knock it off. That’s a BS story you’re telling yourself. Knock it off, the single best investment you can ever make in your entire life. It’s not a pair of leggings. It’s not a pair of shoes. It’s not anything.

It is you because that is unlimited.

Okay. So there you have it. Some of my thoughts on personal growth. I hope that was valuable to you. I hope you took some notes. I hope you got some new insights. Maybe a light bulb went off.

A new connection went off for you. And, of course, I would love to know that. Will you DM me on Instagram, or will you shoot me an email if there was something that you heard in this podcast that, you know, maybe you’ve heard it before, but for whatever reason in this episode, you heard it differently. 

Because that’s really the key. Right? I don’t know that any of us are saying anything original or new or that hasn’t been said or heard before. However, maybe you’re just in the headspace and the heart space to receive it. 

Maybe it was said in a way that resonates and connects with you differently than it has before. That’s really the key.

So maybe listening to some of this today, maybe you’ve heard it before, And yet maybe something new connected for you. And if so, I would love to know. Shoot me an email. Shoot me a DM.

The Power of Listening:
“That’s why we keep listening. It’s why we keep reading books. It’s why we keep digging into personal development apps like Growth Day. It’s why we keep getting ourselves in the room and having the conversations because we never know when the light bulb’s going to go off, when the breakthrough is going to happen, when that connection’s going to be made, even though we might have heard that information a 1000 times prior to then, but being in the room, listening to that podcast, reading that book, having that conversation for whatever reason, that day, that moment, it connected.”— Julie

That’s it for this episode. Thank you for making this podcast part of your life. It’s amazing to listen to a podcast. And listen, I so appreciate you listening to this one. What’s even more amazing is when you take action on what you heard. Use what you heard today to take action towards your goals.

It’s amazing to listen to a podcast. And listen. I so appreciate you listening to this one. What’s even more amazing is when you take action on what you heard. Use what you heard today to take action towards your goals. 

Please tag me on Instagram @julievoris with your takeaways and what you’re doing. If you enjoy the podcast, and I hope that you do, please spread the word. Invite a friend and leave a review. The world needs more positive energy, and you can be a part of that.

Now go – Crank It Up!