556 Melinda Wittstock:

MELINDA

Thanksgiving is a day of of gratitude, a day of giving thanks, taking a moment to appreciate our accomplishments, our family, our friends. This year Thanksgiving is different for thousands of people who’ve lost loved ones, lost their jobs or businesses, and maybe have lost their capacity or gratitude in all the suffering, fear, and uncertainty.

I’m Melinda Wittstock and in these challenging times for so many, I’m sending you my love, prayers and gratitude. Happy Thanksgiving to you, your family, your friends and colleagues.  Today on Wings of Inspired Business – we talk about how to find thanks and blessings in these challenging times.

Truth be told, even in good times, 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.

I think Coronavirus has a message for all of us.

All year its been shining a bright light on all that is broken 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. Locked down in the early days of the Pandemic, we had both change and quiet time forced on us. It was a massive pattern interrupt that has led many among us to question the choices we’ve made in our lives. Were we really doing what we love? Were we really aligned in our purpose and passion? Could there be a different way?

We all have a choice, and the right choice begins first with gratitude for who we truly are … our gifts, our talents, 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.

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

Because …

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 and true alignment with my true purpose … was with gratitude … for all I did have in my life. It was a daily practice that began in the darkest of moments… some 7 years ago now … 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… especially now when it is difficult to see family and friends in the midst of the Coronavirus Pandemic. Even in a normal Thankgsiving, 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 for all this podcast has attracted into my life. The learning, the amazing relationships with other successful women entrepreneurs, and over the past year the genesis of Podopolo, the world’s first socially interactive podcasting app and player.

I learned from firsthand experience as a podcaster the challenges of being discovered, growing listeners and engagement, and monetizing a podcast. And with each episode produced as I grew this inspiring community of Wings listeners, I set about creating Podopolo to solve those challenges.

Today as I count my own blessings, I realize the gift of the pandemic was to give me time and space to focus on innovating the Podopolo app, in alignment with my highest purpose, talents and passions – and attracting some of the most inspiring podcasters into this growing network.

The year has not been without challenges and setbacks, and yet I’m grateful for each one because, as you hear with each episode of Wings, those challenges are opportunities to learn and grow. And that I have.

Now Podopolo is laying the foundation for fast-scaling – as we build our inspiring team of A Players across product, sales, marketing, tech and operations – and continue to innovate. Setting up our operational systems, co-creating with our customers to build an exceptional customer-first ethos and an exceptional culture of creativity, integrity, fun and innovation.

Today I want to thank and honor all the people who are making Podopolo possible – our customer success lead Jason Brandt, my CTO Larry Cynkin, my amazing executive Assistant Priscilla Salvador, and my lead investor and partner Steve Little. Together this year we’ve built the springboard, and we’re ready to leap. I’m so thrilled to have so many great podcasters on this network too – many of them you’ve met as guests on my podcast: Amber Trueblood, Diane Curran, Liza Spiridon, Dr Anna Cabeca, Natalie Ledwell, Christy Whitman, Allison Maslan, Geeta Singh, Connie Benjamin, and Debbi Dachinger. If you haven’t already please download the free Podopolo app – and join their interactive podcast communities. You’ll be able to put learning into action from their podcasts – and meet and engage with friends who share your interests.

Today I also want to thank and honor all the people that make this podcast possible –especially my audio editor Florante Valdez and of course my EA Priscilla, who both do an amazing job helping me to get these episodes out.

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, anger 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 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 Eva Janotta: Melinda Gives so much value!

Practical Actionable Inspiring. That’s what Jenny Fenig says:

Or from KerryAnne100: Finally, she says.

Mini Coaching sessions on demand, writes KBStudio.

Wow, from Margy F

Quick Informative and Interesting says the Name Lady

I am so moved by these reviews – 99.5% are 5 stars.Thank you! And thank you as well to Entrepreneur Magazine – as we started this year as #8 of its top 20 Business podcasts for 2020.

So please I’d appreciate a gift from you this Thanksgiving. Please download Podopolo … and join the Wings community there.

Also I’d love to add your review for Wings on iTunes – so more people can discover all my inspiring guests share about how to build a 7, 8, 9 and even 10 figure 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 a VIP day with me. You’ll also get the Wings of Success formula when you subscribe. Again, that’s wings podcast.com/win. 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.