Big Dreams – Jodi Ardito
MUST HAVE RESOURCES
SUMMARY
Jodi Ardito, also known as the Big Idea Girl, shares tips on how we can create focus and take our big dreams and turn them into reality.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Just because we’re passionate about something doesn’t necessarily mean our business should be built on it.An entrepreneur has an “idea creator” mindset.
Brand your name first.
You learn the most by getting out there and making mistakes.
To figure out which of your big dreams are the most important, ask this question “Where is technology going?”
Listen to your intuition.
Go where your market is and ask them what they want.
Combine purpose with your passion.
Profits come from knowing your market and knowing that they want what you’re offering.
TRANSCRIPTION: BIG DREAMS – JODI ARDITO
Kamala Chambers
On this episode, we’re going to be talking to the Big Idea Girl about how to take big dreams and turn them into reality.
Welcome to the show, Jodi Ardito. Are you ready to launch?
Jodi Ardito
I am ready!
Kamala Chambers
We all have this big dreams and missions that live in our hearts. You are known as the Big Idea Girl, and I’d love to hear how do you go from taking these big dreams that we all have to make them happen?
Jodi Ardito
Well, Kamala, that is, of course, a fantastic question.
For me, for years, it was like the unicorn thing, an unattainable thing. I can come up with big dreams just on a whim. So for me, the big dreams would come flooding and then, just as soon as I would start working on them, a new idea would come in, and I go “This idea is even better.”
It was like, idea after idea gets just pushed to the back burner, and this new focus comes into play and then it’s like this cycle. I think that this is not just a “me” problem. I believe that it’s an issue with a lot of the CEO mindset entrepreneur. The mindset of the entrepreneur is the idea creator.
A big part of the solution I’ve found is interesting and new for me, but it was in team building. It’s in finding people you can align yourself with, position yourself within a business that has a different skill set, a different gift, a different “superpower,” and then you work together on these projects. You can either hire or partner with people.
My success has been in collaborating and partnering with other people who have different superpowers.
Make Your Big Dreams Come True By Partnering With Superpowers
Jodi Ardito
Success can be found in working with other individuals who have different superpowers.
Kamala Chambers
I agree with you.
That’s what the real magic is in making them happen because we can’t do it all even though we might think we’re able to.
I remember standing on the beach with you on the Oregon coast maybe a year and a half ago, and you told me you had this book filled with big dreams that you had.
I was blown away. You could have much content I know any of those big dreams could have built an empire. You could have built an empire around those big dreams.
How do you know what is going to be the best idea? How are you going to find out what is the thing to move forward with?
Jodi Ardito
I am so glad you ask that. I like it.
Right now, this is what blows my mind. I come on some of these podcast interviews, and I’m like, “What questions are they going to ask?” And sometimes, people send me questions in advance, so I didn’t know how this interview is going to go. I love that that question just organically happen.
Kamala, this is critical. I feel like I should have known these years ago even long before you and I were in Seaside Oregon. That’s where it was. I feel like I should have known this simply because of the entire Guru power network that influenced me since I started my online journey.
In my opinion, the answer is that it doesn’t matter what you do. I could probably take that notebook and turn every single one of those into a business.
Create Big Dreams By Branding You
Jodi Ardito
What holds people up is trying to decide which one to do instead of self-branding first.
Do something. It doesn’t matter what it is. I could have picked any one of those things. But, the reality was when I brand my name, I can do any one of those businesses and just duplicate.
If I just look at my network like “Where did everybody else began?” And almost everybody I can point my finger to, self-branded first.
I’ve been working with my people, and I have a group on Facebook by the way. In that group, some of these entrepreneurs are in MLM. Some are solo freelance copywriters, but the thing is they’re struggling. They’re like, “What domain do I buy?” Little things like that are holding them up. I’m like, “Just go get your name. Self-brand.”
You can take that anywhere and then, even if you wanted to do something different on a different site later, just duplicate what you’ve already done there.
To me, that was the big eye opening. It was a revelation. I was like, “Oh yeah. Duh! Brand me first and then, build my list there.”
Here’s how I’d talk to people about it.
If you decide today that you’re going to sell loose leaf tea, and you go by the domain looseleaftea.com and then tomorrow, you want to sell coffee beans. That’s a whole different.
Jodi Ardito
You can have sub-domains or whatever you want. You can do anything.
Self-branding is even if you don’t know what you’re going to sell right now, you can still move forward and work on building a list of people, and on other different big dreams later down the road.
Go Make Your Big Dreams Happen
Jodi Ardito
That to me is where it started, and I knew that no matter what my name is, I was always going to be me so I could just start there and at least finish that. That’s my answer.
Luis Congdon
What I like about what you’re saying and it’s something that Don Miguel Ruiz Jr. talked about in a previous episode is just taking action. Don Miguel Ruiz Jr. is the son of Don Miguel, who wrote the book The Four Agreements, which is a New York Times best-seller. It’s just on the list consistently.
Don Miguel Ruiz, constantly told his son, “If you want to do something, just go out there and do it.” One of the stories Ruiz Jr. tells is that he wanted to swim. He told his dad “I want to learn how to swim,” and his dad just pretty much pushed him right into the water and said “Swim.” He didn’t learn how to swim that day, but he said that his dad made a point. It’s that you just have to be willing to get out there.
Another story that Ruiz Jr. tells is he wanted to be a public speaker and a teacher and speak on stage. I think maybe he’s learned to be a little bit more careful about telling his dad what he wants because his dad was on stage in front of a couple of hundred people.
He started speaking and then said, “Today’s lesson will be taught by my son Don Miguel Ruiz Jr.” Then, he stepped off stage and Ruiz Jr. had to come up with a lesson and what he was going to talk about that day. He didn’t know that it was going to happen.
Make Big Dreams Happen By Looking At Where Technology Is Going
Luis Congdon
A lot of learning happens by getting out there and making those mistakes. I think you make an excellent point.
One of the things for me with trying to figure out what big dreams to tackle is I take a notepad, and I just write down all my thoughts, and I collect them consistently. I always gather my thoughts but prioritizing seems to be a hard one for me; figuring out which one is the most important and which one do I take action.
Jodi Ardito
Yeah.
This is something I love to play with. It’s this little thing in my mind where I to try to guess where technology is going.
I used to be an early adopter. Now, that I’ve come to online marketing, I’m like “Gosh.” I used to think anyway that I was good with technology.
But, from the time I had my Intel job and the time that I launch my very first brick and mortar business, there’s that gap in time where I just left technology. When I came back into it, so much had changed and evolved.
So now, when I think about business, I think about all of these app-based companies that are being launched. I’m like, “Where is technology going?”
When I worked at Intel, the core group of people I spent time with was working on projects that would be released 5 – 6 years down the road. It’s like I almost got to peer into the future and see what was going on. It was incredible, and I wish I had that ability to do that now because then, I would say “This idea is worth investing in right now.”
So yeah, it’s always a good question.
Find Your Market, Find Your Big Dreams
Jodi Ardito
There’s a woman that I want. I’m getting ready to host my very first online summit and there’s somebody that I want to interview. Her name is Barbara Corcoran from Shark Tank. Do you know her?
Luis Congdon
Yeah. We know who she is.
Jodi Ardito
Okay.
The thing I love about her is that one of the things she says is that she’s had straight Ds in high schools just pretty much the same in college. She didn’t do much better. And then, she borrowed $1000 to invest in the Corcoran Group, which was her real estate business, I believe.
What she said that was powerful to me is it was about her intuition. She said, “Always listen to your intuition because it will rarely ever steer you wrong.” Obviously, we have moments that are different than paranoia, but paranoia and intuition are different.
This happens to me during my REM cycle. I wake up, and I just feel this burst of creativity. Also, I feel at peace with decisions that I make. If you don’t have that or if you feel like something’s wrong, it’s probably your intuition stirring you in a different direction.
Going into business and choosing what idea to focus on isn’t always easy. It’s not always clear.
Go where your market is because if you know who you want to market to, you can just start there.
Ask your market what they want. If you know who your market is, start there.
Kamala Chambers
I agree. That’s the best place to start. It’s to know how to talk to them as well. Know what they want, and have a thorough understanding of the market.
Your Story Shapes Your Big Dreams
Kamala Chambers
One thing I love to apply when looking at big dreams, we were recently featured in Inc. Magazine and it had to do with purpose, passion, and profits. When we have those three things, we know we are onto something.
If you’re passionate about it, that’s where the gold is, but your passion alone isn’t what’s going to make you money. You also have to have the purpose behind it like the big dreams. The profits come from knowing your market and knowing that people want what you have to offer.
What I try to go with are those three essential elements combined when making those big decisions in life, and knowing where to move forward.
I call myself like painfully practical on the show. I like to hear what tips would you give on a daily basis. What are the things we can apply to make and take the steps towards making those big dreams come true?
Jodi Ardito
These are big dreams.
It starts with your mindset and the way that you think.
Get close to your story and why you want to do what it is that you’re going to try to do.
You’re talking about passion and purpose. I could say I’m passionate about dodgeball, but I’m not going to start a business around dodgeball.
Kamala Chambers
We all know why you’re good at dodgeball. It’s because you know how to shit talk.
Jodi Ardito
This is true, and this is not going to be disputed. I’m not even going to deny that. And also, my sneak attack. Don’t forget that.
Kamala Chambers
Is it the spin and roll?
Face Your Stuff To Get To Your Big Dreams
Jodi Ardito
It’s a little sneak attack. You have one foot in the game, so you’re not technically out of balance. Then you’re pretending you’re out of balance with the people who are standing in the outline because they got hit already, but you have a ball behind your back. Then, as soon as the power thrower comes up and lobs the ball at one of the better throwers, you just throw the ball right at their toes, and they’re out.
Kamala Chambers
You’re revealing all on this episode.
Jodi Ardito
I know. Can we share this podcast with dodgeball people? I saw a dodgeball ad yesterday, and I was like, “That’s my league that I was on!”
Anyway, my point was just because we’re passionate about golf or dodge ball or tennis or whatever it is, doesn’t mean necessarily that our business is built on that. That’s not the point.
The point is that whatever we do, we should wake up every day and want to jump out of bed and be like, “I get to do this. At the core of my being, I am motivated to do this thing and help these people and here’s why.”
If there’s some deep dark crap in your past that you haven’t faced, that’s what I had to do. I hired a mindset coach. This was in August of 2016, and it was not fun.
I remember at one point, after one session, and we hadn’t even gotten into anything like telling or revealing yet, but I felt paralyzed for 6 hours. I just laid on the floor 6 hours, and just let myself feel that entire conversation. It was crazy.
Let Go Of Being A Victim To Get To Your Big Dreams
Jodi Ardito
If you have things in the past that you’re not facing, you don’t have to come at it like a victim. You can come at it from a very powerful place.
You can come at it at a powerful controlled place where you get to change and help other people in the future because of what you went through. That’s where I found my passion.
I don’t know if I’ve ever shared this with you. In my late 20’s, I was a single mom, working three jobs, and here I am. I’m tucking my girls into bed, and I got to put them to sleep, and I got to sneak out the door. I can’t afford a babysitter.
I have to sneak out the door, double lock it, and pray to God that there isn’t like an apartment fire or anything that happens because I have to go to work at Wells Fargo Credit Card Department to try to make ends meet. Nobody knew that. This is only stuff I’ve talked about recently.
My big dreams in life are to help empower single parents. Not just moms because dads have to make tough decisions too and they have to make a lot of sacrifices. Both parents do. But I never want to see single parents have to make tough decisions that aren’t in the best interest of their kids so they can pay the bills that are in the best interest of their children.
For me, that’s empowering people to become their boss, to start a business, and to be self-sufficient financially so they can have that time with their family and not look back on their life full of regrets and mistakes. Obviously, having three jobs was tough too, so I missed out on a lot.
Forgive Yourself To Get To Your Big Dreams
Jodi Ardito
So when you come from a place of power with those events, you go, “This is what I want to do. This is where I’m gifted. This is where I’m skilled at.”
When you forgive yourself, and move forward from a story in your past, your passion becomes abundantly clear.
Jodi Ardito
Every day you wake up, you’re like “Yes! Life is good because I get to go help all these people who need me.” And you’re like a superhero.
Luis Congdon
That’s amazing to hear your story, and I can hear how that story inspires and motivates you to help and make a difference out in the world, and serve a particular type of person you relate to as well as the kind of person who will resonate with your story.
As we wrap up here on Thriving Launch, I’m curious, is there any last thing you would like to share before we close out today’s show?
Jodi Ardito
Is it okay if I talk just a second about the Don’t Talk… Be Pretty?
Kamala Chambers
Yeah.
Jodi Ardito
Okay.
I have this challenge that I have been putting people through in my Facebook group. What I’ve been doing is just trying to get them all over to my website because that’s where the challenge happens. It’s at my name Jodi Ardito.
What I’m putting everybody through is a six-day challenge which it’s the pretty challenge. It’s what it is. So Don’t Talk… Be Pretty stems from stop talking about your idea and start taking action.
Build Your Email List To Get To Your Big Dreams
Jodi Ardito
The Don’t Talk… Be Pretty is obviously something I was told in my dating life. I remember some guy was like, “Don’t talk, be pretty.” He’d say that to me, and it always stuck with me.
I was like “I kind of like that in business. Stop talking and build a glorious empire.” I was like “I’m going to flip that around.” And so, I created an acronym out of the “Pretty, ” and I have this system for taking action in these little micro steps to get yourself branded domain up, and start collecting leads, and building a list.
Jodi Ardito
That’s what I’m inspiring people to do, and that’s how I’m helping budding entrepreneurs enter the online marketplace.
If anybody listening to this interview right now who is like, “Gosh. I don’t know what to do, and I don’t know how to do it,” I would love to help hold your hand through that process. And I have an entirely automated six-day video series that you’ll go through first. Then, you’ll have an opportunity to work with me directly.
It’s great. Don’t talk, be pretty.
Kamala Chambers
We’ve been here with our dear friend Jodi Ardito talking about big dreams.
It’s been great to be talking about how to take these big dreams and make them come true.
I just encourage everyone to go out and take some of these things that you learned today and start applying them to make your big dreams come true. Keep thriving everyone.
