427 Melinda Wittstock: The Gift of Gratitude

MELINDA

Today in the United States it is Thanksgiving. It’s a day of of gratitude, a day of giving thanks. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we lived as if every day was Thanksgiving?

MELINDA

I’m Melinda Wittstock and Happy Thanksgiving to you, your family, your friends and colleagues.  Today on Wings of Inspired Business – we talk about gratitude and giving.

Because … Most of the year … most people … spend most of their time … thinking about what they lack, what they want, what they envy …  rather than what they have, what they can give, or the value they can create.

There is an abundance of good at our fingertips – health, wealth, happiness, freedom, creativity, opportunity, love, fun, impact … the list goes on. Some of these things can feel beyond the reach of our fingertips … let alone safe in our grasp.

What turned the corner for me in my life … the way I unlocked abundance … was with gratitude … for all I did have in my life. It was a daily practice that began in the darkest of moments… not but 5 years ago … when I lay in a fetal position … a business failing, $4 in the bank, depressed with two young children to care for … my confidence shattered in a marriage to a narcissist alcholic and abuser.  I could have been the victim. I felt like one. Instead I chose to find and heal myself in gratitude.

For I have learned to be grateful for the challenges in my life as well as the blessings… because I’ve learned more from failing forward in my life than succeeding …

I share this today because I know it is a day that a lot of people struggle. We see happy pictures and highlight reels on Facebook and Instagram … and we can easily fall into what I call “comparisonitis”. It can make us feel isolated, misunderstood and alone.

Of course we can choose to be, think, feel differently.

And 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.

I feel blessed to have a long list … and it starts with you.

Yes you.

My humble gratitude for being in a position to give forward all this knowledge and experience I’ve accumulated through the ups and downs of entrepreneurship in the past 30 years … in the hopes that I can save you time, money and a lot of skinned knees as you grow your business in alignment with your purpose and passions…

My heart bursts to know that lives are being transformed with the inspirations and learnings shared on this podcast. I am so grateful you listen … I am so grateful to be in a position where I can provide this actionable advice and “aha’s” from so many talented women in business. I’m so grateful to my guests for sharing so vulnerably the ups and downs of business, their challenges, their successes, their secret sauce.

I’m so grateful too that this podcast spurred the creation of courses, masterminds and the transformational retreats Wings of The Empowered Woman. The joy of listening to successful women with 7, 8 and 9 figure businesses sharing that this year’s Retreats were “life changing” … that they had never felt so empowered and inspired … that they had learned more in 4 days than the past 4 years … that they feel deeply connected to their sisters in entrepreneurship … and embrace the opportunity to #LiftAsWeClimb, that is help, mentor, invest in, promote and buy from each other … You see I believe women are uniquely suited to leverage business to transform our society and our world, and this Wings community of ours can be a global changemaker.

Today I also want to thank and honor all the people that make this podcast possible –especially my audio editor Florante Valdez and my executive assistant Priscilla Salvador, who both do an amazing job helping me to get  these episodes out three times a week.

And of course my boundless gratitude for all that is to come next as I sit with my intentions and visualize them as though they have happened already …

You see … what is truly transformational … is holding these intentions with gratitude … EVERY DAY of the year …

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 as you count your blessings with friends and family over turkey with all the trimmings, I want you to 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, 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.

Now in a moment I am going to share more about what I am grateful for today – including the opportunity to share my proven methodology for creating magnetic and profitable podcasts for my inspiring clients, and first (start MUSIC SOFTLY – from here) I have a special invitation for you.

Hi I’m Melinda Wittstock and I am so grateful you are here with me today on Thanksgiving.

I want to take a moment for a quick shout out to listeners who have reviewed Wings of Inspired Business on iTunes.

This from Jennifer Y – This is the podcast that has been fully needed to empower female entrepeneurs into the future. Also, it is a major plus for me that Melinda is a major dog lover as well! I really love the actionable takeaways after each eipsode and the fact that she really speaks to the inner voice of every female entrepreneur that is juggling family and growing a business as the same time.

I highly recommend tuning into this podcast, so that we can all empower and support each in this growing community!

Or this from L Lyons

Wow – this is a “must listen” to!

Listening to Wings of Inspired Business truly does that – inspires. Melinda has a soothing way of interviewing that makes you want to listen to her and her guests all day! I’ve gained so many nuggets of knowledge from her amazing guests. This is definilty one of my “keep up with” podcasts. Thank you Melinda for being so generous to bring this amazing podcast to women entrepreneurs!

And this from Diva Diver

I’ve Found Home!

Amazing show and thank you for stepping up and out, looking out for us and supporting us in re-claiming our business prowess!

Fav Ferret writes:

Uplifting, Practical & Inspiring Podcast

I love that this show is all about women in business: our journeys, our passions, even our challenges. I appreciate that Melinda herself is very passionate about helping women worldwide live more balanced, prosperous and joyous lives as we each serve & create in our own unique ways. Thank you for this inspiring show, Melinda!

Now to “The High Energy Girl

So Many Amazing Insights!

Don’t miss a single episode if you want to stay inspired as you grow your business! Love how Melinda digs deep with this women only show! What a huge heart she has to support women!

And finally from Darla LaDoux

Melinda’s experience shines through

I love this podcast because I know that Melinda is seasoned in business and she grounds the interviews so beautifully. Now is the time for women entrepreneurs to ‘step up’ and to lift one another. Such a gift!

I am so moved by these reviews – 100 5 stars so far. Thank you! And thank you as well to Entrepreneur Magazine – it is featuring Wings next month as one of it’s top 20 entrepreneur podcasts!

So please I’d appreciate a gift from you this Thanksgiving. Please review the podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcast – so more people can discover all my inspiring guests share about how to build a 7, 8, 9 and even 10figure Unicorn billion dollar business … without tradeoff, guilt or apology. You can go direct to itunes at wingspodcast.com/itunes… and If you go to wingspodcast.com/win to post your review … you will be entered into a draw to win an all-expense paid VIP day with me. You’ll also get the Wings of Success formula when you subscribe. Again, that’s wings podcast.com/win. (underlay some music here, softly…) And thank you again for the feedback!

I want to give a shout out too to all the women who have generously given their time to pay it forward to all of us by sharing so openly, honestly and in such vulnerable strength all they have learned along their entrepreneurial journeys. It’s time we all #liftasweclimb – stepping up as women in business to help each other soar. Isnt it inspiring to be in a growing community of women dedicated to mentoring each other, promoting each other, buying from each other and investing in each other? When we work together we can change the face of business.

So if you have a woman you want to nominate to be on this podcast – please give forward – by nominating her to be featured as a game-changing entrepioneer on Wings. Maybe you are the one you should be nominating!

Please go to Facebook.com/wingspodcast – like the page and nominate your super-sheros. Or follow me on Instagram at melindawittstock2020 and nominate there.

Thank you, and wishing you a very special Thanksgiving.

There’s one more thing about that gratitude exercise I shared with you. Of course you can keep it private – and you can also choose to inspire others to lift themselves and others up too – by sharing some of the things you are grateful for … from your past, your present and your future.

Please join me in doing that on our Facebook and Instagram feeds today.

Much love, light and gratitude for you!

Happy Thanksgiving.