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45: Pamela Evette – Leadership, Strong Values + Hard Work

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On this episode of Uphill Conversations we talk with Pamela Evette on values, priorities, and hard work in business and in life.

Pamela Evette brings more than 20 years of experience and an entrepreneurial spirit to her role as President/CEO of Quality Business Solutions (QBS).  A trained accountant and former CFO, Evette’s primary expertise is in building Professional Employer Organizations (PEOs), firms that provide a service under which an employer can outsource employee management tasks, such as payroll, employee benefits and workers’ compensation, recruiting, risk/safety management, and training and development.

Under her leadership, QBS has grown exponentially, becoming a $1 billion dollar enterprise in 2016.  QBS has been honored as one of the best places to work in its home state of South Carolina and as one of the Inc. 5000 fastest growing companies in the United States.

Show Notes:

  • Fearlessness and what it means for a Pamela to be fearless
  • How Pamela’s ancestors and family have inspired her to be bold
  • The impact of what you say and don’t say on those around you
  • Being brave vs. having courage
  • Owning a business means you can set certain priorities, but there are always trade-offs
  • What holds people back from stepping out on their own professionally
  • An entrepreneurial spirit can make you feel unsettled at times
  • You don’t always need to take big risks, you can systematically and gradually work towards building your vision
  • How Pamela’s background and Polish heritage taught her the value of hard work and never to expect anything to be easy, to be handed to you or to go smoothly.
  • “Nothing is free. There is never a free lunch.”
  • Pamela’s view on change: very few outcomes are unfixable, so be open to new ideas, be decisive, and keep moving forward
  • Importance of being realistic and honest in asking yourself what you’re willing to sacrifice as an entrepreneur
  • Impact 9/11 had on the industry and QBS as a business
  • Benefits of starting lean, growing smart and persevering
  • Pamela’s optimism about QBS’ continued growth, the QBS team getting stronger and the U.S. economy

Connect with Pamela:

INTRO AND OUTRO MUSIC (Used by permission):

No Worries (© 2014 Anderson Music, LLC)
Gotta Move On (© 2014 Anderson Music, LLC)

Uphill Conversations is an Uphill Strategies, LLC production

© 2017 Uphill Conversations

The post 45: Pamela Evette – Leadership, Strong Values + Hard Work appeared first on Uphill Conversations.

44: Laura Vanderkam – You Have More Time Than You Think

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In this episode of Uphill Conversations, we talk with Laura Vanderkam on time management and the choices we make daily and moment-to-moment on how we spend our 168 hours each week.

Laura Vanderkam is the author of several time management and productivity books, including I Know How She Does It, What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast, and 168 Hours. Her work has appeared in publications including Fast Company, Fortune, USA Today, and the Wall Street Journal. She lives outside Philadelphia with her husband and four children, and blogs at LauraVanderkam.com.

Show Notes:

  • When we build the lives we want, time saves itself
  • Everything we do is a choice
  • Choosing how to spend leisure time can be a big challenge
  • Having a “to do” list vs scheduling priorities
  • Annual goal setting, personal and professional, helps align and adhere to your top priorities
  • Don’t just fill time, build intentional breaks into your day where you actually disconnect and mentally recharge
  • Time tracking shines a light on how where you’re losing or wasting hours throughout the day and week
  • Simplify your approach to tracking hours – it doesn’t have to be complicated or highly-detailed
  • Questions you can ask yourself each day in order to be more mindful of how your time is spent
  • Making changes can cause discomfort and challenges for you and others
  • The vast majority of things that upset us today won’t matter in a year or even next week
  • When you do two things at once, you’re often doing neither of them well
  • Impact of giving your full attention to the person in front of you
  • Laura’s Uphill Challenge in her early writing career
  • “Done is better than perfect because there is no perfect without being done”
  • Disciplines Laura uses to get started, build and gain momentum
  • Question of one’s true capacity and value of planning free time
  • “Weekends can be the secret weapon of successful people”
  • When evaluating opportunities, it’s all about what gives you the most energy and fulfillment
  • Laura’s optimism on her new book, her family and the world in general

Connect with Laura:

Books / Resources:

INTRO AND OUTRO MUSIC (Used by permission):

No Worries (© 2014 Anderson Music, LLC)
Gotta Move On (© 2014 Anderson Music, LLC)

Uphill Conversations is an Uphill Strategies, LLC production

© 2017 Uphill Conversations

The post 44: Laura Vanderkam – You Have More Time Than You Think appeared first on Uphill Conversations.

43: Shama Hyder – Social Media Maven

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In this episode, Tim and Megan have an Uphill Conversation with Shama Hyder on social media, identity and awareness. Shama is a visionary strategist for the digital age, a web and TV personality, a bestselling author, and the award-winning CEO of The Marketing Zen Group – a global online marketing and digital PR company.

Under her leadership, The Marketing Zen Group has grown an average of 400% growth annually since 2009 to include a team of 30 and serve clients ranging from publicly-held Fortune 500 companies to privately-held small businesses and nonprofit organizations across the globe. Read her full bio here.

Show Notes:

  • How Shama spends her time personally and professionally
  • Shama’s suggestions on how to best use social media for business and building your personal brand – it’s finding the right blend of showcasing who you are and being strategic in what you share
  • Shama considers how what she shares on social is adding value – “You should use social media, not be used by it.”
  • Be an editor, not a perfectionist. It’s better to accept the imperfections and take the first step.
  • True identity is something that is constantly changing
  • Learn to be responsive to opportunities as they are presented
  • Shift your perspective to break down challenges into smaller, more manageable chunks – approach them bit-by-bit and day-by-day.
  • Importance of self-editing which ideas you choose to pursue
  • Self-awareness is important for growth and balance
  • You need to take breaks and take care of yourself physically, mentally and emotionally
  • Shama’s optimism on growth of online video, new technologies that will improve peoples’ lives and growth of The Marketing Zen Group

Connect with Shama: 

INTRO AND OUTRO MUSIC (Used by permission):

No Worries (© 2014 Anderson Music, LLC)
Gotta Move On (© 2014 Anderson Music, LLC)

Uphill Conversations is an Uphill Strategies, LLC production

© 2017 Uphill Conversations

The post 43: Shama Hyder – Social Media Maven appeared first on Uphill Conversations.

42: Discover Your Inner-Genius

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In this episode Tim and Megan dive into the topic of discovering and embracing your inner-genius and unmistakable creativity.

Show Notes:

  • Borrowing color and putting it back into the world
  • Like fingerprints, .1% of our DNA is completely unique
  • Focus less on similarities and more on unique differences
  • Leaders should cultivate, extract and celebrate diversity and creativity within teams
  • Be unapologetically yourself while still respecting the views and differences of others
  • Instead of answers to remember, let’s give our children problems to solve
  • Allow people the freedom to discover new and different ways to approach and solve problems
  • Creativity can be applied to all areas, not just the arts
  • Be liberated to suspend the need to be realistic
  • How leaders can inspire greater creativity within teams
  • Mastery is not perfection, it’s practicing until you get it right
  • Have a growth mindset – aspire to be a lifelong learner
  • Settling for mediocrity (“rusting out”) means never stretching yourself to achieve more
  • Nothing listens better than blank piece of paper
  • Embrace your imperfections and stop pursuing perfection
  • 8 ways to draw out your unmistakable creative:
    1. Having the desire to touch, feel, interact and engage with the world around you
    2. Be present with people who inspire
    3. Embrace creative daring
    4. Enjoy blank sheets of paper
    5. Cross your own boundaries
    6. Develop your grit
    7. Leverage repetition
    8. Embrace pressure as a privilege

Learn more about Tim and Megan:

Uphill Strategies – Strong Leaders. Extraordinary Teams. Greater Results.

Books, artists and inspiration:

INTRO AND OUTRO MUSIC (Used by permission):

No Worries (© 2014 Anderson Music, LLC)
Gotta Move On (© 2014 Anderson Music, LLC)

Uphill Conversations is an Uphill Strategies, LLC production

© 2017 Uphill Conversations

The post 42: Discover Your Inner-Genius appeared first on Uphill Conversations.

41: Tim & Regan Hillyer – Manifest What You Desire

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Regan Hillyer joins us as a guest co-host for this episode of Uphill Converstaions where she and Tim really dig in to what can happen when you manifest what you desire – why people don’t make it and why they aren’t realizing their visions and dreams.

Show Notes: 

  • Belief that we can manifest anything we desire
  • Biggest limitation can be our fear of not having the perfect road map or plan
  • Deliberately disrupting the traditional method of following in others footsteps to think and do differently
  • Don’t just make the decision to jump, actually jump – people must be enrolled in their own risk
  • Moving from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset
  • Intentionally living your life on the edge of uncertainty
  • Be the person you believe you will become
  • Evaluate what you are attracting and allowing into your life
  • Willpower, discipline and alignment
  • Importance of self-discovery and following intuition
  • Tips for greater success in manifesting what you desire
  • Prepare yourself to be wrong, but know it’s not the end
  • Setting yourself up for the day you want to live into tomorrow
  • Check out Uphill Conversations Episode 11 with Regan Hillyer

Connect with Regan:

INTRO AND OUTRO MUSIC (Used by permission):

No Worries (© 2014 Anderson Music, LLC)
Gotta Move On (© 2014 Anderson Music, LLC)

Uphill Conversations is an Uphill Strategies, LLC production

© 2017 Uphill Conversations

The post 41: Tim & Regan Hillyer – Manifest What You Desire appeared first on Uphill Conversations.

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