These 7 Questions Changed My Life And My Business

Core Article: These 7 questions changed my life and my business

Paragraph I’m Pondering: Be careful of your thoughts because…

Powerful Affirmations to Inspire: “I celebrate my progress and…”

Book to Check Out: The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die by John Izzo

Cool Stuff: Yep, in the Netherlands, fish can ring doorbells, really!

AI Info & Resources: How AI is helping a paralyzed man move a robotic arm…

These 7 Questions Changed My Life And My Business
Inspired by John Izzo

Imagine sitting across the table from the older, wiser version of yourself.

Sure, your older, wiser self has weathered many storms. Built and created things. Taken massive leaps forward and back. (My favorite Buddha quote is “Fall down seven times, get up eight.”). And made some difficult choices.

And now? Your older, wiser self has perspective and Insight. Maybe even a little tough love for you. 🙂

What would your wiser self say to you right now—about your business, your path, your purpose, your life?

Years ago, I came across a book by John Izzo called The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die. It wasn’t just about life advice—it was about meaning. About talking to people near the end of their lives and asking, “What actually mattered to you?”

Here are his 5 Simple Secrets:

Be True To Yourself.
Leave No Regrets.
Become Love.
Live The Moment.
Give More Than You Take.

His book got me thinking—not just about life having mean… It got me thinking about your business having meaning.

Cuz the truth is, if you’re here, reading this, your business is part of your legacy. It’s a vehicle for your message, gifts, growth, and impact.

And when you lose touch with the reason you started it in the first place—your why—that’s when everything starts to feel harder than it needs to. Or maybe you need to rethink your choices.

So, I want to invite you into something deeper instead of chasing the next marketing hack or sales tactic.

Let’s do something a bit more real. Starting today, something that might change how you show up in your business, work, and life.

Ask Your Older, Wiser Self…

Here are some questions that can help bring you back to your center—and back to the real reason you’re doing this: (If you don’t run your own business, you can still use a lot of these questions. AND, I’ve given you more in the “Additional Exercise” below.)

Why did I really start this business in the first place?
What do I want to be known for?
Am I still aligned with the kind of clients I set out to serve?
What would my wiser self say if I’ve been avoiding something that actually needs my attention?
How do I want to be remembered by the people I love, the clients I serve, and the world I touch?
What part of my message or mission have I been watering down?
Am I building something I’ll still be proud of 10 years from now?
What would I focus on if I knew this year was the turning point?
If I knew I had only 5 more years to do my life’s work, how would I show up differently?
What would my older self want me to stop worrying about?
What would she want me to celebrate more?
What risks would she want me to take before it’s “too late”?

These aren’t just mindset questions. They’re business and life questions.

What I love about this is that when you take 15 minutes to pick some questions and do this quick exercise, the answers you uncover will be gold for your business, work, marketing, and life.

Why This Matters

Here’s the thing most marketers won’t tell you: Your dream clients are already out there looking for someone like you. I absolutely love this, and it’s soooo true!

They’re craving someone real, honest, relatable, and genuine. Someone who gets them. Someone who’s clear on their values and isn’t afraid to lead with them.

When you reconnect with your deeper reason, you’re doing what you’re doing—your mission, your beliefs, your philosophy—you stop sounding like everyone else.

When you infuse it in your work, life, and business, your message becomes more magnetic and connected.

You speak directly to the people you’re here to serve.

That’s the kind of marketing that doesn’t feel like selling. It feels like truth-telling. And it works.

People don’t just want another coach, healer, consultant, or strategist—they want someone who stands for and believes in something similar. Someone who’s values and belief systems resonate.

So Here’s Your Challenge (If you choose to accept :-):

Take 15 minutes this week.

Open a blank doc or your journal.
Ask your older, wiser self some of those questions, or if you want to go deeper, ask all of those questions.
Then, look at your marketing. Your website. Your emails. Your offers.
Does your mission show up?
Are your values clear?
Can someone feel your purpose just by reading your words? If not, it’s time to bring them back in.

When you build your business from that place of clarity and alignment, everything starts to flow more easily. (Yes, even your content and promotions.)

Not cuz you’re following a script. It’s cuz you’re leading from the source of your uniqueness.

And that? That’s what will set you apart.

Additional Exercise: Want to take this even further?

If you’re feeling disconnected just from your business and/or yourself, here are some extra questions that might help.

Remember, get your notebook/journal/paper and a pen. (Yes, studies have shown that when writing with your hand, you are more connected to your divine guidance. 🙂

Then, pick out the questions that most resonate with you and do this connected exercise with your older, wiser self.

These are more about your life questions… and sometimes, that’s exactly where the clarity begins:

Where am I choosing fear instead of love?
What am I most proud of so far?
Am I spending enough time on what truly matters to me?
What would I regret not doing?
Where am I playing small out of fear?
What am I holding back from saying or doing—and why?
Who do I want to become in the next 5 years?
What would I let go of if I truly trusted myself?
Am I being true to what I really want or just doing what feels safe or expected?
What would my older self want me to stop worrying about?
What would she want me to celebrate more?
What risks would she want me to take before it’s “too late”?

Start there. No judging yourself – promise me. Your older, wiser self won’t do that; it’s kind, caring, and LOVES YOU! Carve out some time to write and have a think.

Then, bring what you uncover back into your life and your work. That’s how you create and build something that lasts—and something that’s infused with your talents and greatness.

Paragraph I’m Pondering

“Be careful of your thoughts because your thoughts become your words. Be careful with your words because your words become your actions. Be careful of your actions because your actions become your habits. Be careful of your habits because your habits become your character. And your character becomes your destiny.” ~ John Izzo, The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die

Powerful Affirmations to Inspire

“I love my relationship with money; it’s healthy, joyful, and empowering.”
“My business is a force for good, creating value and making a positive impact on the world.”
“I celebrate my progress and trust that every step forward is a step toward success.”

Book to Check Out (Sadly, I haven’t reviewed his book yet. 🙁

The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die by John Izzo

Cool Stuff

You may have noticed how I love to put pictures in this eNewsletter. The real truth is I’ve been taking pictures since I was 12. It started with the Pentax Me film camera that Dad gave me on my birthday. (There’s a story there for another day!) I’ve been taking pictures ever since and loving it. So, here’s an interesting story about how the history of the film camera changed the world.
If you’re curious what the depression era looked like, this is a very cool, rare, remastered video that I stumbled across. It shows what the depression era (1930s) in Chicago looked like.
You gotta read this – in the Netherlands, they’re teaching their fish how to ring a doorbell. (It’s not your typical doorbell, tho. 😉 Clickbait, yes, and it’s quite interesting. 🙂

AI Info and Resources

How AI is helping a paralyzed man use a robotic arm with his thoughts… Hmmm
Watch out, Facebook has unleashed its AI bot-powered profiles. And yep, not too many people are happy about it
If you haven’t heard or seen it yet, Open AI just rolled out its new image generator, and it’s a HUGE improvement. It’s finally figured out how to create text that doesn’t look wonky, and it makes photos a bit scary. You know what do if you want to check this out.
NOTE: I used it in this eNewsletter last week – you can check out the graphic on this site here. It’s a HUGE improvement. Did I say HUGE already?! Apologies…

Weekly Photos

This week is about “Where’s Emma?” Found her in some interesting places…

Ever since the Pandemic, when Emma hears the “Zoom doorbell,” she immediately jumps in my lap and wants to say hello.
The end of winter sure brings some amazing cloud cover. And you can just barely see ole Harley standing in the middle of the trail.
Can you find Emma? Yep, she’s on the couch. Or in this photo, it looks like she’s on the table, which she’s been on before!
I took this cuz of that eerie cloud hanging out over the top of Shasta Bally. It almost looks like an arm and a hand getting ready to pat the top of it. 🙂
Another place she hangs is on the back of the couch. I honestly think she has some definite cat instincts in her!
Then we have Emma cuddled in the blanket cuz it’s still freezing here. This morning, it was 40 degrees!
One of my favorite photos is the sunrise with Mt. Lassen’s silhouette. I was lucky enough to capture this earlier in the week. So beautiful, the sky in the early morning, what a gift.

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