It’s 2021. So What? (Inspiring Women, Episode 29)

[00:00:00] Betty Collins
So, here it is, it’s 2021. So what? It’s a new year, and it’s a new day, sure, but all I see is that we went from ’20 to ’21. It’s the same stuff, right now. It’s just a different time. To me, though, in the past, a new year generally meant new beginnings. You reset. It was this big sigh of relief. I think, right now, it’s a different time.
[00:00:28] Betty Collins
All the circumstances of life are the same, which we’re not going to talk a lot about today, so don’t worry, but COVID-19, and politics … I’m in tax season, and women are still not running the world. I mean, I could go on and on. I’m not a resolution person. They really don’t work, and I think they’re really irrelevant; even more now. Did you take all the time and energy to compile them, and execute a plan, and get excited. You’re all motivated, and it’s January 3rd, and you tell the world you’re doing it on all your social media. Let me ask you, have you already broken them, and given up? Probably so, because it’s February.
[00:01:08] Betty Collins
In my reading, I came across something between the holidays, where I could get away, that just really got hold of me. So, I decided to have my first life statement. I’ve always seen people do that around me. I thought, “Why do they have a life statement? That’s just too much for Betty Collins.” But, I said, “New tactics, results, and maybe some new good things.” I said, “Okay, I’m going to have a life statement.” I even went so far that I got a customized wall hanging, and made it. It’s big, framed, and it’s in my home office, where I spend about half of my time now. It’s the focal point when you walk in.
[00:01:51] Betty Collins
The first half of the statement is really about 2020, and then the second half is 2021. Here is the statement, and it’s not really mine. I stole it from someone else, and I don’t even know who I stole it from; it’s just somebody had it in their stuff … “Being strong speaks of strength, but being courageous speaks to having a will to do more.”
[00:02:14] Betty Collins
Strength, at some point, ends. We all get tired. It’s like the treadmill. We’re strong. We’re going. We’ve got it up on 4 to up a hill, but at some point, your strength runs out. I mean, you tire. But not your will. If you really want to finish the lap, the will’s what gets you through. So, strength was all about 2020, right? You had to have strength to get through that year. You had to be strong, but being courageous is going to go to a new level, and I think that’s what 2021 is all about. Again, your strength ends at some point, but your will does not.
[00:02:50] Betty Collins
As women, moms … We’re wives. Some of us are business owners, or in business; maybe you’re accountants, professionals. We all have to be strong. We all really had to be strong, again, to survive last year. It was hard and exhausting. It seemed like everything was exhausting. Being strong, though, portrays that you have this big competence, and you’re resilient. It’s an instinct that just kicks in under all of those circumstances. It speaks of your strength. Being courageous assumes also that you are strong, and confident, and resilient, and it’s about having the will.
[00:03:26] Betty Collins
So, an example – if you’re a shareholder, and you now became the business owner, you’re actually an owner, but now you’re on a board of directors making key decisions for your company. All that speaks of strength, and confidence, and resilience, and you made it there. But a courageous shareholder will vote no, when necessary. A courageous shareholder will talk about what nobody wants to talk about in the room, possibly.
[00:03:52] Betty Collins
I’m not going to get really political, but I will state this – in the midst of all the turmoil around this election, I’ll give two men credit about being courageous, and one of those was Mike Pence – one of the most loyal supporters of

President Trump – but when it came to certification day, he was courageous. He stood up; he did the certification. He probably didn’t want to do the certification. He probably didn’t want to say that Joe Biden had been certified, but he did it because that was what he was supposed to do as a vice president, and the president of the Senate.
[00:04:27] Betty Collins
On the same token, I look at Ted Cruz, who I don’t listen to a whole lot, and actually, my Bernie Sanders-loving son said, “You need to listen to this Ted Cruz speech,” because he also stood up courageously in the Senate. Somebody from the House, and the Senate said, “No, we need to have a debate.” That’s courageous. That’s courageous.
That’s not just being strong, and we’re here, and we’re in the Senate, and we do our job. So. I look at being strong speaks of strength, but being courageous speaks to having a will to do more and overcome.
[00:05:08] Betty Collins
The reality, nothing is different. That’s why this is called “It’s 2021. So What?” It’s just a different day. We’re going to talk about some of those things, about this life statement, about the things that I could spend my entire podcast on that life statement – and I may do one in the future for it because there’s a lot to that. How am I going to deal with 2021? What do I do with it? Well, it’s my story, and I’m going to control the content, and the narrative. That’s a definite. On 12-30-21, when I am having a really good dinner, probably at the Capital Grille. Somewhere having a really good steak. I’m going to say, “This was 2021. My story.”
[00:05:50] Betty Collins
I categorize my life like all good accountants, and hopefully, you do, too, because it’s a good thing. I usually do at the beginning of the year – I get it in order, but it’s a constant evolving document. It’s not just … These boxes change, and get bigger. Some get smaller – whatever you want to call it – these categories. I do it into four things. First is your spiritual life, your emotional life, your physical life. The fourth box is the routine of life. It just happens because the first three are done and thought through.
[00:06:22] Betty Collins
I choose a theme, and then I drill down because I want to accomplish each category and do it well, because they all balance my life. I keep it simple, believe it or not. It doesn’t have to all be done today, or by the end of tax season, even. It doesn’t have to be all in order and makes sense. It’s always certainly subject to change, especially in the environment we live today. You’re going to constantly pivot.
[00:06:50] Betty Collins
So, I’m looking at 2021 as my story. I control the content, and narrative. I’m going to box my life into these four categories. I’m not going to talk a lot about spiritual life. I think it’s very personal. In my spiritual life, I want- I’m a believer in God Almighty. The sun comes up every day, and it sets, and Betty Collins has nothing to do with that. I just want to turn chaos into order by doing that- let God do the super, and let Betty Collins do the natural. That’s enough. Done. It’s pretty easy, right?
[00:07:21] Betty Collins
Physical, my physical eating pie; eating bagels with cream cheese – all the things I want to do. I’m going to stop talking, and do the work. So, I’ve come up with different things. I did buy one of those [inaudible] for under my feet at work, so I can just keep moving, somehow, because, guess what? I don’t go to the gym. I have a membership, and I don’t go. I’m going to stop talking about it. It’s just time to take care of it. And I’m not going to get into a big plan, and write this, and have apps, and make it crazy. I’m just going to stop talking about it and do what I need to do.
[00:07:53] Betty Collins
Emotionally, and this is probably my biggest challenge, and I think it’s women’s biggest challenge, emotional … This is my theme: “Know the difference between branches, and sticks.” I am going to do a podcast on that. I made that decision because I’ve had more of people resonate to that line. What does that really mean? Well, I’ll give you the scenario small – the branches are connected to a tree, which is rooted. So, there is real life there. You’ve got to know what gives life to you and is something that will energize you. Sticks, they’re on the ground. I have them all over my yard because I love trees, and they’re good for firewood. That’s what they’re good for. They’re dead. They don’t have any more life in them. We have a ton of those twigs in our life. So, emotionally, I don’t need that.
[00:08:44] Betty Collins
Then, the routine of life. If the three things of spiritual, physical, and emotional are in order, it’s just the logistics. That’s all it is. So, when you are looking at your three things and you know that you’re successful, and routine of life is working, go back and look on your calendar for the last week, and it will show what you did. It’ll show how you were. What would a perfect day, or week look like? Write it down, and then work towards achieving it. Then again, look back on your calendar, because that’s going to tell you if you’re successful.
[00:09:21] Betty Collins
So, spiritual, physical, emotional, and then just routine of life – it all comes together. That’s how I’m going to deal with 2021, and that’s how I’m going to write my story. Hopefully, it will be a celebration at the end. What does this

have to do with business? Well, if Betty Collins is not in order, it has a lot to do with business. And I would tell you this – this podcast is to inspire women. It’s to keep learning, growing, and advancing, and it’s about enhancing your communication skills, building leadership, growing your business, and feeling inspired.
[00:09:50] Betty Collins
So, I would encourage you, as this podcast is called, “It’s 2021. So What?” I also have a podcast called “Now What?” It was two series, and it really breaks down your business life of getting that in order, and the things that you have to continue to do. The biggest thing, of course, is ask the question: Now what? It’s a question you’re always going to probably be asking and should be asking. My theory in life now is if you don’t ask questions, you will not have answers. That’s how I’m going to deal with this year.
[00:10:23] Betty Collins
When I go back to two things, just to give you a snippet of the branches, and the sticks, an example of that – in our environment, today, there’s a lot of twigs that you need to identify in your life. I will use this as an example. Again, I don’t mean to be political, but I think it’s good. There are people who truly have an adoration, and there are people who truly do not like, in fact, hate President Donald Trump. Do you understand the obsession either way is a twig? We’re going to talk more about that because if it’s taking from you, it’s dead on the ground, and needs to go in the fire. It’s great firewood. If it’s giving you life, great. Those are things that I think will be key to success in your challenging year that’s coming- that’s here.
[00:11:20] Betty Collins
So, challenges for all of you – two things to help you get through … Stretch goals, get them in your life. I just spent a two-day retreat with Brady Ware, and the guy kept saying, “Stretch goals.” I’m like, “Is he talking about, like, stretching, or is he talking about stretch goals?” It kind of speaks for itself. He made it very clear – only have two, or three, or maybe even just one, but something that is going to stretch you. It simply is a target that’s above what is expected to be accomplished.
[00:11:53] Betty Collins
There’s really a lot about stretch goals on the internet when you Google it, so when you’re trying to get the four components in your life together, and balanced, and defined, and all those things, I would also challenge you to get some stretch goals in your life. And it’s going to be about productive discomfort. It’s going to be about building confidence because you’re achieving things, so your confidence goes up. It’s helping to avoid the catastrophic, that unexpected. Then, it’s that sense of control, bringing that order into chaos, which I talked about.
[00:12:32] Betty Collins
The other thing, when I’m telling- when I’m challenging you to set some things in front of you and keep it simple – two to three stretch goals, maybe – small things can generate into big things. My goal this year is to not lose all my weight by tax season’s over, so I can just go have a fun vacation and eat all summer. That is not my goal. My goal is that if I take 52 weeks, and say 30 pounds – I want to talk about my 30-pound weight loss next December. That’s just small things, all year, that will accomplish a big.
[00:13:04] Betty Collins
Here’s another great example of the small things generate big things. Maybe that’s where you need to be, right now. I think of a really good example of that is Niagara Falls cable cars. There’s a car, if you’ve ever gone up there, that goes across Niagara Falls. Well, back in the 1800s, they decided – we’re going to build a cable. We’ve got to get something from one side of the Falls to the other. This is the late 1800s. They didn’t have the things we have today. So, they started with a very small concept.
[00:13:42] Betty Collins
I think it actually was a young person who said, “Let’s fly a kite across, and the wind will take it over, and let’s see if we can get it somehow across. We’ll be on the other side to catch the kite.” They mastered that – simple as flying a kite. They said, “Well, if we can get the kite to work like that, let’s modify the kite, and let’s add some cable to it; something that’s heavier than string.”
[00:14:08] Betty Collins
They kept modifying it til the right cable was going to be able to get across. Well, now we’ve got to have parts go across. So, then they had to have kites with the right cabling to get the part across. Slowly, over time, these little things all ended up being a cable across Niagara Falls, in the late 1800s. That was just taking some small things that, at the end of the day, generated some big things.
[00:14:35] Betty Collins
So, I would tell you, in doing all of your categorizing, and stretching, think of small things that can do it. Today it’s 2021. So what? It’s your story. Control the content. Control the narrative for the year by using these very simple, simple tactics. It’s one day at a time. I’m Betty Collins, and I’m so glad you joined me today. Inspiring women, it’s what I do. I leave you with this – “Being strong speaks of strength, but being courageous speaks to having a will to do more and overcome.”