“Life is two days, and the first we spend waking up.” – Ana Melikian, Ph.D.

I had the opportunity to be interviewed by Tommy Acierno, Lead Trainer for the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC).

We discuss:

• The influence of mindsets
• Aligning mindsets with sound strategy and concrete actions
• What it means to wake up in life

The influence of mindsets

After migrating to the US from Europe, I had to reinvent myself professionally. While on this journey of reinvention, I discovered an alignment between my skills and life coaching. With that pivot came the realization that I would need more than business cards or a sleek website to get the word out about my life coaching practice and get clients through my door. I was a needle in the haystack of other coaches.

To succeed, I would need to shift my mindset from dreading marketing efforts to embracing them as a way of creating relevance, awareness, and communicating value.

Mindset work provides a powerful leverage. If you can change your mindset to best serve your goals and ambitions, you can face almost anything—including starting a new career path or business venture.

I could have shrunk from the challenge and accepted that I would not find success in the US. I could have turned away from change and missed out on the next branch of my career.

Instead, I found the tools I needed and got to work—on myself, my brand, and my network.

Aligning mindsets with sound strategy and concrete actions

When I changed my mindset around marketing, I saw results. My chief guide for those changes was Book Yourself Solid®, written by Micheal Port. Little did I know that would be my key to a new level of coaching.

I reached out to Michael and became part of one of his training programs. And a couple years later, I was one of his elite certified coaches. Now I'm the Director of Education for Book Yourself Solid®.

Life has a funny way of getting us where we need to be. For me, that meant being open to new ways of thinking and embracing new paths forward to thrive in a new environment.

One of my favorite conceptual images is a triangle, with each side representing a vital dimension. In the present case:

• Side one represents our mindsets, beliefs, and how we see the world
• Side two focuses on planning, sense of direction, and strategy
• Side three holds implementation, application, and daily habits.

We need all three sides to succeed. Mindset can only take you as far as you allow it through diligent implementation and application, and the more effective way to implement changes is to develop a solid strategy.

Knowing where we’re trying to go informs us of what areas we must focus on to excel and move forward. Finding our true north and strategizing the steps that will get us closer each day is a crucial aspect of discovery.

We must pick a true north that resonates with us and aligns with our values. That said: don't fall into the trap of overthinking and overanalyzing—act!

What it means to wake up in life

When I was in my early 20s, I was waking up from my teenage years and discovering independence—I knew nothing would be the same after I crossed that threshold. The world was before me as it had never been before.

We cannot look to the past in the same way or to the future in the same way after we have that type of awakening. Everyone has awakenings in their life; new stages of life, career changes, new relationships, etc.

Sometimes these awakenings are like earthquakes. Sometimes they are intangible. Something that moves us inside a little to the left or the right, or up or down, or inwards or outwards. Maybe we can’t quite put our finger on it, but we feel different, and the world looks different, too.

In any case, “you can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube.” We have to decide what we’re going to do with the new—sometimes messy—reality we find ourselves in.

I’ve learned to embrace that feeling of awakening, grab life even harder, and feel more alive. My mind revolves around seeing possibilities, and that is what I strive to instill in my clients.

Remember to get out there, do the best you can, learn from it, and then go again.

Be sure to listen to my full conversation with Tommy for more insights on mindsets for success and embracing change.