656 Melinda Wittstock:

Thanksgiving is a day of of gratitude, a day of giving thanks, taking a moment to appreciate our friends, our family, our team members – and our own accomplishments, everything we’ve learned, all the times we faced our fears… and did it anyway. We’ve all been through a lot this past 18 months or so of pandemic-inspired pivots and pioneering in our businesses and lives.  So what are you grateful for today?

Hi, I’m Melinda Wittstock and welcome to Wings of Inspired Business. Here on Wings if you’re new to the podcast we share the inspiring entrepreneurial journeys, epiphanies and practical advice from successful female founders as well as my own ups and downs as a five-time serial entrepreneur … so you have everything you need at your fingertips to build the business and life of your dreams.

Today we’re going to change it up a bit from our normal interview format – because as a podcaster, podcast binge listener, and the founder of the interactive Podopolo podcast app, I want to express my gratitude for podcasters everywhere – especially those hosted by the inspiring women entrepreneurs I interview here on Wings.

If there was ever a time to launch a podcast, it was during a pandemic when podcasting officially became the fastest-growing media … of all time.

A year ago I shared on this podcast that Coronavirus had a message for all of us – shining a bright light on what is out of alignment in our world, whether external to us – our government, our institutions, our health care system, our schools, our economy, our social media feeds – or deeply internal. It was a massive pattern interupt that led many among us to question our choices. Were we really doing what we love? Were we really aligned in our purpose and passion? Were we surrounded with the right people? In the right relationships? Were we aligned with our true soul purpose? Could there be a different way?

We always have a choice, many of us made different choices in the past year, and usually the right choice begins with gratitude for who we truly are … our gifts, our talents, our challenges, our insights, our accomplishments, and the people we truly love. In that gratitude, we often begin to see and confirm what we’re truly here to be and do.

So in a moment, I’m going to give a shout out to some of my favorite women entrepreneurs – many of whom you’ve heard here on Wings – who found their voices with a podcast – just like I found mine with Wings. First,

If you love podcasts, and wish you had a podcast concierge who knows what you love, serving you with the exact right new listens for your interests and tastes, then check out Podopolo. It’s the new app that makes listening personalized and social – with 4.5 million audio and video podcasts at your fingertips with an easy way to share and discuss with friends. Listen to Wings on Podopolo, connect with me there, and if you have a podcast, claim it for free to grow your reach and your revenue. That’s Podopolo – free to download in either app store.

And there’s a new podcast in the mix on Podopolo I’m keen to share with you because it is co-hosted by my inspiring EA Priscilla Salvador and her partner Indira. You won’t want to miss Energy on Purpose – if you’re ready to close the gap between your current – and desired reality. Priscilla and Indira are on a mission to normalize energy medicine, manifestation, neuroplasticity and the untapped potential of the subconscious mind to empower womxn – just like you – to be, do, and have everything you desire! That’s Energy on Purpose – on Podopolo and anywhere you get your podcasts.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we lived as if every day was Thanksgiving?

Because …

There is always an abundance of good at our fingertips. We may not see it, we may not be open to receiving it, but there is always something to be grateful for.

Today I want to express my gratitude for all the inspiring podcasts hosted by women entrepreneurs who have been guests on my 655 episodes so far – because these are must-listen podcasts you won’t want to miss.

I can’t possibly name them all, so let’s start with Kara Goldin, the founder and CEO of Hint Water. The Kara Goldin Show features all the “build the plane as you fly it” wisdom and inspiration for entrepreneurs who want to play a big game. Don’t miss it, and while you’re at it check out Allison Maslan’s Scale or Fail – Allison interviews top serial entrepreneurs like herself who share the lessons of what it takes to scale to 7, 8, and 9 figures while building a business that loves you as much as you love it.

And if you want to learn what it takes to grow the valuation of your business, plan for your legacy and create a business you can sell to create game-changing wealth, then check out Michelle Seiler Tucker’s Exit Rich.

Now if you’re like me and you believe business growth is a manifestation of your personal growth – or you want to learn why this is 100% true – you’ll want to listen to transformational healer and coach Christy Whitman’s The Desire Factor. It’s all about energy, abundance, manifestation, creating the life and business you desire, and much more.

And if you run a business that has a social impact – or you want to figure out a way to use your business as a platform to improve the world – you’ll not want to miss Do Your Good podcast hosted by Sybil Ackerman-Munson – or Hey Change, with Val Emanuel, who is disrupting the world of modelling with a social impact mission. Also don’t miss Shani Godwin’s Joy Economics or the Kindness Thinktank podcast with Cole Baker Bagwell,  founder and chief kindness advisor of Cool Audrey, teaching people how to live mindfully and action kindness to transform their lives, relationships and business.

My heart bursts to know that lives are being transformed with the inspirations and learnings shared on these podcasts as well as here on Wings. I am so grateful you listen … grateful to be in a position living the ups and downs that have come with creating and growing 5 businesses … where I can provide actionable advice and “aha’s” from so many talented women in business who share so vulnerably the their “fail forward” challenges, their successes, their secret sauce.

When you listen to Wings – or any other entrepreneurial podcast – the guests you hear can make growing a business seem easy. It’s not. It requires you to be out of your comfort zone a lot of the time. It requires you to meet challenges and obstacles with resilience and an openness to learning. It requires you to find a way to put your self care first and enjoy the roller coaster journey.

These are all things I learned along the way, more often from failing than succeeding. I’ve come to find gratitude in the midst of the most excruciating uncertainty or setbacks – its easier said than lived, but these are the guard rails that keep you on the right track towards your goals, as long as you are always open to learning and seizing unforeseen opportunities in the challenge.

So today on Thanksgiving as you count your blessings, count in the hard things, the unspeakable things, the things that frustrate you, trigger you; the things that make you ugly cry, the things you can’t figure out without asking for help. The signs that point you to a new direction or a course correction.

Of course today, if you fall into the trap of scrolling Instagram, you’ll see happy pictures and highlight reels of entrepreneurs whose lives look perfect. In that moment its easy to get trapped in “comparisonitis”. And that can make us feel “less than”, discouraged, even isolated, misunderstood or alone.

You’re not.

You’re like an acorn. You’ve got everything inside you that you need to chart your own course, which won’t look quite like anyone elses. You are unique. You have a unique gift to share with the world, and how you get to where you’re going will have different challenges you’ll likely need to meet in a different way.

The one thing that all successful entrepreneurs have in common is a mix of mindset and mission. You know where you’re going and why – and somewhere inside your heart beats the crazy confidence to be willing to make mistakes, willing to ask for help, willing to be a constant curious learner. Problems don’t defeat you – they invigorate you – because entrepreneurship is all about innovating to solve real problems for real people. Successful entrepreneurs have learned to enjoy the journey because why not do something you love, with people you love to be with, and in a way that supports the people you love, including yourself?

Here’s where gratitude comes in.

When we zero in on what IS good in our lives… even the tiniest or seemingly insignificant things … our hearts start to open to love and joy.

And when we vibrate from those higher emotions sparked by gratitude  … we start to attract circumstances that match joyful rather than shameful or sorrowful emotions.

With me?

Today is the perfect day wherever you are, whomever you’re with, whatever you are doing … to grab some alone time … and think about everything you are grateful for.

Today I’m grateful for you, my guests, their podcasts, and everything this podcast has attracted into my life. The learning, the uplifting relationships with other successful women entrepreneurs, and of course, Podopolo, the app that makes podcasting interactive and impactful, while helping podcasters amplify their reach, grow their engagement and get paid for their content.

This past year we’ve grown from a team of 2 to 24 inspiring souls – innovating a unique personalized, curated and connected experience for listeners and viewers – with an app featuring 4.5 million podcasts each matched to every individual around what interests and inspires them and their friends.

It’s a product that’s been created in joy by an egoless and collaborative team of top innovators attracted to a mission to do good for the world, because when you engage on Podopolo, you’re unlocking measurable social impact on the planet.

My gratitude to them knows no bounds. Podopolo’s head of product Jordan Hauge, our VP of Engineering Alex Mathews, our director of customer success Jason Brandt, our director of social media Tyler Paget, our incredible team of developers and designers across the US, Brazil, Nigeria, Kosovo and beyond – Olusula, Pedro, Karo, Ale, Charles, Gil, Santi, Yusuf, Olumide… Thank you. Our board chairman Steve Little. My incredible EA Priscilla Salvador, badass project manager Njomza Mehmeti, designer Adan Augusto, quality assurance ninja Butrint Krasniqi. And Florante Valdez, who edits this podcast. Everyone is contributing with all their heart, and they are everything to me.

A shout out too to podcasters who’ve invested in Podopolo … Amber Trueblood of the inspiring Stretchmarks podcast for moms trying to juggle everything; Diane Curran who hosts the Marketing Deal, and Rob Actis, who hosts Life Transformation Radio and now Podopolo Unplugged, counting down the top Podopolo podcast picks curated by Podopolo listeners. Thank you!

Ok I know, it feels a bit like an Oscar speech gone on too long, right? I know, I know.

Its just that at the end of the day business is about relationships. No one can do this alone, so my biggest gratitude this thanksgiving is for my team – and all the podcasters in this fast-growing platform.

OK so more podcasts hosted by Wings guests to listen to: Don’t miss Allana Pratt’s Intimate Conversations, Yvonne Silver’s Words Women and Wisdom, Paula Shaw’s Change It Up, Elle Russ’ Primal Blueprint Podcast, Gemma Bonham Carter, the Passive Project, Mary Grothe, Quota Crusher Podcast, Kristy Verity’s, Sprint to Profit, Tara Garrison’s Inside Out Health, Holly Katz’s Fashion Crimes Podcast, Lisa Cherney’s Get F Real, Amanda Berlin’s The Empowered Publicity Podcast, Natalie Ledwell’s Not Over Just Different, or Jules Schroeder’s Unconventional Life.

These are all available on Podopolo, where you can connect with each of these amazing ladies – so if you haven’t already, please download the Podopolo app – free in either app store. And if you’re a podcaster, claim your podcast for free or upgrade to our free offer to unlock advertising and subscription revenue, actionable audience insights, as well as supercharged promotion.

So one last thought on gratitude.

Back in that moment of utter despair over Thanksgiving in 2013 … I was browsing a bookstore … and a book called Gratitude leapt off the shelves. I bought it without knowing why. I devoured it … and lived its every word. Every day I spent two hours thinking of everyone and everything in my life who had benefited me. My goal was to honor at least 10 people a day, writing about them, looking at their pictures, celebrating them and feeling intense gratitude for all they are to the world, and how they helped me (often without them even knowing it). I also meditated on experiences I was grateful for. I remembered triumphs … I remembered how I had bounced back from adversity. I began to be grateful … for myself.

Before I knew it, my life started to turn around and miraculous opportunities opened up.

My gratitude practice has now evolved beyond celebrating the past, or even the present, and now includes the future I envision for myself.

I feel gratitude every morning in my meditation as I visualize my intentions, allowing myself to feel deep emotions of joy for what has yet to transpire.  Year over year I am amazed to see the miracles manifest.

And as I celebrate the realization of these intentions, I ask too for inspiration. More specifically I ask in my meditation to recognize opportunities in alignment with my intentions and to act on the inspiration when it presents.

I share this with you this Thanksgiving because I know it works.

So take some quiet time for yourself … to really reflect and focus on what is truly wonderful about your life right now.

Grab a pen and paper and write free flow nonstop for a whole hour … listing every last little thing you can think of that you are grateful for. When you think you can’t write any more, keep going. Even if all you can think about is the pen you’re writing with!

Small things. Big things. Past things. Present things. Future things. People. Pets. Passions.

And as you write, I want you to feel your feelings. Truly feel the joy of gratitude.

And when you do you’ll be less likely to get triggered by relatives, past hurts, politics, those family arguments, and all the old subconscious beliefs that come with all of that … you’ll be more likely to stay above the fray with a smile on your face, because you’ll know you’re manifesting your future – and all the joy, abundance, wealth and impact you envision.

Because the irony is … when we’re grateful for all that is right now … we attract all that we want in our lives, and of course the reverse is true too: If we’re focused only on what upsets, angers or frustrates us, we attract more of that energy into our lives.

So use this day – and all days – to begin or enhance your gratitude practice.

Thank you, and wishing you a very special Thanksgiving.

Much love, light and gratitude for you!