Mahara Wayman [00:00:06]:
Welcome to the Art of Badassery, where I explore what it takes to live life on your own terms. Break free from the status quo and unleash your inner badass. Whether you're a rebel at heart or simply seeking inspiration to step outside your comfort zone, this podcast is for you. I'm your host, Mahara Wayman, and each week I dive into the stories, insights, and strategies of those who have mastered the art of badassery and are living life to the fullest. They smile when no one is looking. Welcome to the Art of Badassery. Today I'm joined by Lana Shepherd, a business coach, author, and a champion for entrepreneurs who are ready to embrace the power of letting go. I can't wait to get into this.
Mahara Wayman [00:00:54]:
In her book, Give Up Ignition, Lana shows how shedding outdated beliefs and habits can spark sustainable growth. From moving to Toronto at 17 to building and selling multiple businesses, Lana's journey is proof that success starts with your mindset. With 20 years dominating the payroll and bookkeeping industry, she empowers entrepreneurs to release what holds them back and ignite what truly matters in their world. So get your favorite drink and please pull up your chair. Get ready to be part of an amazing conversation with my guest, Lana. Welcome to the show.
Lana Sheppard [00:01:34]:
Thank you, Mahara. I'm sure glad to be here with you today.
Mahara Wayman [00:01:38]:
Well, I am dying to jump into this idea of letting go because from personal experience, I've spent most of my life trying to pull things in, thinking I needed more to feel better. So I'm really curious about this letting stuff go idea. Before we jump into that, though, talk to me about why you're such a badass because you know, that's why you're on the show.
Lana Sheppard [00:02:00]:
I think I'm a badass because I'm a bit of a rebel. I don't want to go with status quo. I did a lot of years of people pleasing in status Quo and it really didn't get me where I needed to get to. So what I've Learned since about 2017 was kind of a turning point for me in life, that letting go, it's rather counterintuitive for everybody because most people want to take more on rather than get rid of. But if you let go and give up a lot of things that aren't serving you, then it gives space for things that do serve you to take your farther and further and faster on your journey, especially as an entrepreneur, never mind in personal ways as well.
Mahara Wayman [00:02:43]:
Can you remember the first time that you thought, yeah, no, I don't need this. I'm willing to let this go.
Lana Sheppard [00:02:50]:
2017. Yeah.
Mahara Wayman [00:02:53]:
Yeah.
Lana Sheppard [00:02:53]:
I. Well, 2006, my husband died. I had. My youngest was 13, and I had a daughter that was in university, and I had started a business because I wanted to be home with my kids. I had a boss that figured my priorities weren't straight, that I should be at the office, not home with my children. So my dad said, you know, you don't need this nonsense. Get out of there. And I thought, well, what am I going to do? So I started a bookkeeping business so I could stay home with my kids and just deal with my own personal, you know, issues of the whole situation.
Lana Sheppard [00:03:29]:
And I found that I ended up in autopilot. Work became kind of my addiction. So I didn't have to think, I didn't have to feel I could just go through the motions every day, make sure the kids were okay, get them to wherever they needed to do, go make money to support them. And I did that through till from 2006 to 2017. Never took a day off. I worked every day. Worked ridiculous hours, did all nighters. You know, like, just crazy things.
Lana Sheppard [00:04:00]:
And in 2017, my daughter literally dragged me to a UPW Tony Robbins event in Los Angeles at the Galen center. And I went with my two adult children. And that weekend was total game changer for me in life. And just the questions and the process you go through at a UPW event just made me sit back and go, you know what? This sucks. I'm tired. I'm fed up. I don't feel I have a purpose in life. I don't know.
Lana Sheppard [00:04:30]:
Yeah, I didn't know what I wanted for lunch. Never mind. What do you love to do? So that's where it was. That was the biggest turning point for me. And it was like somebody opened the closet and all this crap fell out, and it was like, you know what? I'm not going to put all this stuff back in the closet. I'm going to examine every single one of these situations, and I'm going to decide whether it's serving me, whether I want to keep it or I want to let it go. I want to give it up. That's where my journey started.
Lana Sheppard [00:05:01]:
And so after Tony Robbins, then I met Mary Marcy, which you and I talked about earlier in the. In the month. And again, you know, going to one of her events and her asking, you know, what do you love? I had no idea. I didn't know what I wanted to do, you know, because you're so autopilot and so Many years of it that you just totally desensitized from, you know, feeling or doing anything for yourself or being able to sit quiet with yourself. That just wasn't something that I could easily do, so. So the time machine exercise that Mary put me through was really interesting. You know, having this reunion with somebody stranger sitting beside you three years later and having to talk about all the things I wanted to. To do.
Lana Sheppard [00:05:52]:
And I thought, this is really cool, number one. And the fact that you go, you come from your dreams, you don't go to your dreams. I found that to be a very interesting concept that I wanted to do more exploration and I just became more curious with, you know, all of these different things. And how could I turn myself around so that I could be passionate and really, you know, get up in the morning and really enjoy my day? So that's kind of where the turning point was.
Mahara Wayman [00:06:21]:
Thank you for sharing and so much. So much goodness and juiciness there. I want to touch on, though. I. I'm very familiar with Mary Marcy's work and Tony Robbins work, but I still find myself struggling with this idea of coming from the dream rather than coming from current and going to the dream. So can you just explain that a little bit more? Because I suspect there's some listeners that are like, what the fuck are they talking about? Like, huh? So let, let's do a deep dive on that, because really, I think that's a big ask of ourselves when it's new to us.
Lana Sheppard [00:06:57]:
Yeah, well, easiest way to explain it is everything starts with a thought. Everything surround us, everything we're surrounded by, everything started with a thought. Doesn't matter what it is. The table, the chairs, the clothes, the fridge, whatever, everything started with a thought. And what Mary really teaches is that we are energy, having a human experience, and we live at different vibrations. So depending on what vibration, you're going to attract that vibration. So if you live, you know, negative, you're going to draw more negative. If you live in abundance and grateful, you're going to draw in more abundance and grateful.
Lana Sheppard [00:07:41]:
And she also teaches to dream big. You know, I don't know. Twenty years ago, vision boards were the big thing. Women would get together, have a party, you know, cut out pictures, make their vision boards, take them home, stuff them in the closet, and then a year later, two years ago, cleaning out the closet, they dig out the vision board, go, oh, my God. Everything that I put on there actually happened. It's because we've put that intention out there. So our subconscious, it's. It's Same thing if I said to you, you know, how many red cars? All of a sudden you're going to be seeing red cars for the next three days because in your subconscious going, oh, she wants to find red cars.
Lana Sheppard [00:08:23]:
I'm going to find red cars for her. Going to make her notice all the red cars. And that's really what it is, is putting the intention, dreaming big, stepping into that dream, because you're going to manifest it. It's as simple as it's law of attraction, it's universal law that these things happen. As some people think it's all heeby jeeby, you know, not true. But honestly, if you actually look at it and practice it, there's many a times that I've been astonished and going, you know, this really does happen, for example, you know, in Saskatoon, if you want a parking spot. If I knew I was going to a meeting the day before, two days before, I'd be visioning, I'd be closing my eyes and going, this is where I'm going to park my car. And probably 90% of the time I got the parking stop spot that I actually envisioned.
Mahara Wayman [00:09:17]:
So funny that you use that as an example because I've talked about. I grew up with a dad. He's no longer with us, but he very much believed that. And I grew up understanding that if you want it, you just have to ask for it and expect it to. And we would go, speaking of driving and parking spots, he would drive us somewhere. He'd be driving and he would say to me as I got into the car, don't forget parking, parking, parking. And I'm like, yes, dad, parking, parking, parking. I was like, you know, 12 or 13.
Mahara Wayman [00:09:46]:
And I'd be like, parking spot, Great parking spot for dad. Great parking, parking. And of course, we'd pull up the Safeway just as someone was coming out right smack in front. And he'd look at me like, I told you. I didn't realize what he was talking about though, because I was. I grew up with it, but it's, it's. Yeah, it really does work. And I think one of the things when I was doing the Dream Builder program with Mary Morrissey's program was someone, my coach said, look at the world around you right now.
Mahara Wayman [00:10:14]:
Look at your room. And I'm sitting right here. And I'm like, oh, purple walls, lots of books, pretty things. She goes, this is. That's what you manifested from years ago. Years ago, you started thinking, here it is, you've manifested. We are great manifesters, right? We Just look around. The question is, are you happy with what you're seeing? Which was kind of a shock to me because I kind of always thought that manifesting law of attraction, that was kind of woo woo for the ages.
Mahara Wayman [00:10:39]:
You know, have a cup of beer and talk about it, but nothing really happens. But you're here to sort of dispel that theory with us. So awesome. 2017, big changes.
Lana Sheppard [00:10:51]:
Yeah. And I guess the other thing I like to add to that is the first thing we wonder is, do we deserve, are we worthy so you can dream big? But it's like, do I really deserve that or am I worthy of that dream? And a lot of times it's those limiting beliefs that put you back down. You know, kind of put a cap on how big you're going to dream because it's all self worth, especially for women, I think that's a big thing.
Mahara Wayman [00:11:18]:
What did you struggle with the most? What did you have?
Lana Sheppard [00:11:21]:
Self worth. Self worth. Am I worthy of, you know, imposter syndrome? I still struggle with certain things. You know, fear of perfectionism is another one. Even launching my book, I was going to have a big launch party. I was going to do all these things. I launched it on the 11th of July, which was my 62nd birthday, and I did nothing. I got up in this morning, I actually felt physically ill.
Lana Sheppard [00:11:49]:
I was at the lake with my dad. I didn't want to talk about it. I didn't want to do anything. I was scared shitless to put my book out there because I didn't know what the comments were going to be. It's not perfect enough. Like you could tell all kinds of nasty things to yourself. You know, we talk worse to ourselves than we do even to strangers, for heaven's sakes, or family or anybody else. But I didn't want to even talk about it.
Lana Sheppard [00:12:15]:
I did, I did absolutely nothing. And I'm thinking to myself, here I am writing about chapters on, you know, give up the need of approval, give up on fear of failure or perfectionism. And I'm thinking, here I am immersed in, in that again, still battling it. So it's, I don't think it always 100% goes away. You just have to stay aware of it and then know how to talk to yourself and go, well, that's nonsense, you know, and it is my story. That book is my story. And it was to the point that after I got it out there and had a few people make some positive comments, thinking, yeah, like, you know, if it's just going to make a difference in one person's life. I'm going to be happy with that.
Lana Sheppard [00:13:00]:
And it is my story, so it's. It. You know, how can. Why should I worry about anybody judging? It is the journey that I've been on for my entrepreneurial.
Mahara Wayman [00:13:13]:
Good for you. And I do want to dive into the book in a minute, but I also want to comment that it's interesting that you say what you just said, because a week ago, I said almost the exact same thing in one of my podcasts. I have a couple different podcasts, and I have launched a program called Rage against your comfort zone. And I'm doing the writing, and I'm marketing it and talking about it. And then something came up in my world, and I got very uncomfortable. I'm like, oh, my God, I need to rage against my own freaking comfort zone. I don't know if I can do it. And I went through that whole stage, which I think is great.
Mahara Wayman [00:13:46]:
It really shows that we are also growing. Always. Human beings are always evolving. Well, hopefully they are, especially if they're in the space women. But I was. I'm embarrassed to admit that I was shocked because I kind of fell into that. I'm where I need to be. I got my shit together.
Mahara Wayman [00:14:04]:
I'm good. Right. I get it. And then all of a sudden, I'm.
Lana Sheppard [00:14:06]:
Like, oh, my gosh.
Mahara Wayman [00:14:07]:
I don't frighten. Right.
Lana Sheppard [00:14:09]:
Oh, what will.
Mahara Wayman [00:14:10]:
What will. What people think? What am I supposed to do next? So it's a very honest admission. So thanks for sharing that story with us.
Lana Sheppard [00:14:16]:
Well, but I think if you're. If you're aware of it and don't put it under the rug and deny or just close your world off to it, I think that's where the growth is.
Mahara Wayman [00:14:27]:
Exactly. And that's what being. I think that's what I think being a badass is. Is not being afraid to sit with the uncomfortableness. It's not being. It's being open to the inquiry. You use the word curiosity earlier, and I love that. I think the best we can ever do for ourselves is get curious.
Mahara Wayman [00:14:42]:
Like, why do I do that? Why. Why am I the only one in my family that likes X? Or why do I hate this? Just why? Why? Kind of like kids, right? When kids are young.
Lana Sheppard [00:14:54]:
What am I saying to myself when I'm making a decision? Because that's when your little limiting beliefs will show up when you pay attention to what you're saying to yourself.
Mahara Wayman [00:15:06]:
Yeah. So. So good. All right. So what made you write the book? What was the impetus for that I wrote the book.
Lana Sheppard [00:15:14]:
Well, a couple of things. I've had quite a few people over the years tell me, Lana, tell your story, tell your story. And last year, December 2023, I went to Bali, Indonesia for a John Lee mastermind. And I met Ken Honda, who wrote the book Happy Money. So I spent some time with Ken just talking about book writing. He actually kind of gave me some ideas on chapters. And then I came home and thought, what the heck, I'm gonna, I'm gonna write the first. So when I wrote the book, I actually had a different name for it.
Lana Sheppard [00:15:49]:
I was going to call it Launch, Lead, Succeed. And, and another mentor of mine, Vince Tan, who is our mastermind here in Malaysia, said to me, no, Lana, you're not calling it that. You're going to call it give up, give up this, give up that, give up this. He says you need to polarize it and make people going, I don't want to give up. What do you mean? I want to give up. And that's exactly what it's done. And it's true. Like, you know, and it's just.
Lana Sheppard [00:16:16]:
And then after he gave me the name, it was like, oh my gosh, this is going to be a series. So Ignition is the first 11 give ups that I had to when I first started as an entrepreneur. The next book that's coming out in March is going to be called Liftoff. So if you think of a hot air balloon, the ignition is the, the flame to get that balloon, you know, up and going. And then the liftoff is what are all the sandbags that are holding your basket from you soaring? That, and I think, you know, using that kind of an analogy makes people go, that's true. I have to give up. I gotta let go of some of this weight that I'm carrying around with me every day so that I can let my basket go and, and soar up to the, up to the skies. So it's really just all the, you know, Keith Cunningham, who I absolutely admire too, who does all the business mastery through Tony Robbins, talks about dumb tax.
Lana Sheppard [00:17:15]:
Well, I write about some of the dumb tax I paid, which was some of the limiting beliefs that held me back. And just, you know, if I can write this book and an entrepreneur can take one of these things tidbits and go, wow, you know, I can apply that. And it's going to get me further faster in my business. And some of the failing forward, I don't need to do some of the bumps and bruises that aren't really necessary because you've had, you know, someone go, hey, I did this and it didn't work out that well. Then I think that's, I've done my job, you know, I've been able to make a difference in another entrepreneur's life. So eventually it's going to be four, possibly five books in the Give up series. And it's just taking you from, you know, beginning as an entrepreneur. The next one, the, the liftoff ones are kind of where's, where's that transition from being an operator to an owner and then the third one's going to be talking about taking on a team.
Lana Sheppard [00:18:14]:
So what are some of the give ups you have to give up to take on employees and you know, have systems and processes and you know, you don't want to give someone a, you don't want to give somebody a task if you don't give them the process to be able to do the, to do the work, for example.
Mahara Wayman [00:18:33]:
So, so good. What do you, what have you found is the most common thing that entrepreneurs need to give up?
Lana Sheppard [00:18:39]:
Fear and numbers.
Mahara Wayman [00:18:41]:
Oh, what do you mean? Like just earning numbers or financials?
Lana Sheppard [00:18:44]:
No, knowing their numbers. Everyone's scared of their financials. And I'm a huge advocate for financial literacy. So I can. Having the bookkeeping business. I had about 1300 clients over 16 years. And the most, two common things I always heard was number one. Oh, Lon, my books are really bad because you know, I was never good at math in school.
Lana Sheppard [00:19:09]:
That's the first thing I would hear. Secondly it would be, oh, I don't know what to do with this. And if I go to the account, I just, when I go to the accountants, I feel like I've been in the principal's office and I'm getting scolded. It's because they don't understand the, their numbers. And it's like everybody's got this fear of understanding it where they should be really wanting to understand it. Because the power of understanding your numbers can make or break your business. Like cash flow. Everyone goes.
Lana Sheppard [00:19:42]:
Cash flow is difficult. Every single one of us do cash flow every day. This is how much my paycheck is. I got this bill, I got to pay my rent, I need money for gas, I gotta buy groceries. This is how much I got left over. That's cash flow. There's nothing complicated about it. So when you take it and you slice and dice it down into little chunks, which is how I like to coach it and, and help business owners understand it and then show them how they can use those numbers to Find the pain in their business, is it cost of goods, is it, they need more revenue, whatever, whatever the case may be.
Lana Sheppard [00:20:19]:
And not use big accountant terms like keep it, keep it simple and bring it down to layman language so that they can learn what they need to learn from those financials to help them with their business. And if you think of your financial profit and loss or your balance sheet, if you look at that and understand that it's really telling the story of your business, instead of it being in words, it's telling it in numbers, that's really because every single one of those numbers is a decision or an action that you, you made in your business. You decided to buy something, you were able to sell something, whatever the case case may be. And it's, it's a powerful tool to.
Mahara Wayman [00:21:02]:
Help businesses stay profitable so, so good and so needed. And you know, I'm putting my hand up as one of those people that really does need it because I'm not going to go into my money story. But, and it's what, what I find interesting. What I will say about my money story is I actually love numbers. I don't know if I'm ADHD or what, but I love numbers. I was at a football game earlier this. Well, at the end of last year with my family and the game itself was, was kind of boring. I think we were losing probably it's Edmonton.
Mahara Wayman [00:21:30]:
Sorry, Edmonton fans. But I got sidetracked by the, the, the scoreboard because I noticed that all of the numbers, I was able to play with them and it made sense and I multiplied, you know, minus multiplied. Put this there. And there was just this beautiful synergy with numbers. And 15 minutes went by and I'm like, that's the most fun I've ever had at a football game. I love numbers, but when I see it in context of the bank account, not so much because I create such a story around what the numbers mean. So I really appreciate your talking to us about understanding that there is a difference. There's an emotional story and there's actually the story.
Mahara Wayman [00:22:09]:
It's, it's just data. I say that to clients all the time. Are you willing to collect data on yourself?
Lana Sheppard [00:22:14]:
Yeah.
Mahara Wayman [00:22:15]:
But for some reason, many of us have this emotional response to money, to financial data.
Lana Sheppard [00:22:20]:
Well, and it's also your relationship with money, which goes back to, you know, my parents were. Money doesn't grow on trees or oh, that person has a whole bunch of money, they're stuck up. Or it could be, you know, cultural. You know, you've got different Cultures where if you're well, well to do and you, you're wealthy, then you're shunned from your community because now you think you're, they say, you know, you think you're better where really money's a vehicle to be able to go and do a lot of good things, you know, give back to community or help others or whatever you're, you know, there's a lot of good intentions when you can, can have money to be able to do those things. So it all depends on what your relationship is and, and what your perception of, of money is, which also plays a part in, you know, you'll look at lottery winners, they'll win a large amount of money and before you know it, they're right back to where they were. And a lot of it has to do with their belief in money.
Mahara Wayman [00:23:24]:
It's tragic. It's absolutely tragic. For sure. So are you noticing though? And thank you for sharing that. Are you noticing that while people, clients may come to you, people that read the book, pick it up because they're entrepreneurs, end up learning so much more about themselves. Because what I'm, what I'm seeing and wondering is the crossover because sometimes we get caught up in thinking there's inner work. Okay, I need to fix myself. Oh, I need to learn how to run a business.
Mahara Wayman [00:23:50]:
And I'm noticing that they're so connected.
Lana Sheppard [00:23:55]:
I get a lot of responses going, Lana, I really needed to read chapter blah blah blah. Yeah, that's the one that really resonated with me. And not all the chapters will resonate. People have different, different give ups. But I also have a workbook that goes with the book. So people will download the, the workbook that goes with the ignition and that gives them some extra tools where they can do journaling, they can have a vision board. And I get a lot of comments from, from that, that they like having that extra tool so they can actually read the book, learn from that and then implement whatever chapter they resonate with the most. And like I say, if I can give some of the tips and tricks from my learning and I can share it with somebody else and it's going to make a difference in their journey, then I'm very happy about that.
Lana Sheppard [00:24:56]:
It's really the whole purpose of why I wrote the book in the first place.
Mahara Wayman [00:25:01]:
Has it been this journey of writing the book and publishing it and then receiving, receiving the feedback from it? Has it been what you expected?
Lana Sheppard [00:25:10]:
No, it's been better.
Mahara Wayman [00:25:12]:
I love it. Tell us more about that. What were you expecting?
Lana Sheppard [00:25:16]:
Well, you know, again, it's that, it's that fear of approval. You know, are they going to like it? And you know, will they, will they point out, you know, where the imperfections are or you know, I don't agree with what you've written. Like I was expecting all kinds of different scenarios and of course you're making those stories up in your head. In the first place it's not like, and at the same time it's like my story and should I care? No, because it is my story and I don't really need to justify to anybody but man, oh man, I had all kinds of conversations going on in my head as to, you know, what this person's going to think or that person's going to think. And still it's that fear of judgment that I'm still, I still battle with that and you know, I don't know whether I'll always buy battle with it. As you get older, I think you get, you care less and less as you get older as to whether you're going to care, spend energy on what anybody else thinks. But it still, still sits, you know, sits with me all the time. And just, you know, some of the conversations I've had, the feedback that I've gotten on the book, just those little text messages I get going, hey, that was, you know, I needed to hear that today and that's made a difference in my life.
Lana Sheppard [00:26:37]:
That lights me up. Like that's really what motivates me to go, okay, now I'm going to write another, I'm going to read another book because I've got more to, more to talk about. And then I want to build a community. I want a community where people that want to work on their give ups can come where they feel safe, that they can, you know, be with other like minded people that are, are working on the same thing. And you don't feel lonely. It's not like I'm the only one that has fear of numbers. There's lots of us out there that have different fears that we're dealing with all the time.
Mahara Wayman [00:27:09]:
Oh good. Do you have a copy of the book that you can hold up for us?
Lana Sheppard [00:27:13]:
Yeah, I do. Just a minute guys.
Mahara Wayman [00:27:17]:
Just check the show notes because of course I'm going to have all the links available. There we go, there's the book. Yeah, now available guys. And of course the new book will be available shortly and it may well be out this episode drops, but we'll see. So what's the biggest learned about yourself through this experience?
Lana Sheppard [00:27:34]:
Oh, just you know, putting. It's been really cool because I've gone back to, it's like I've done a rerun of my life all the way back to 17. And the 17 year old that left Saskatoon and went to Toronto with a hundred dollars in her pocket and figured I knew everything because I'd graduated grade 12. Like, what else is there to learn? My first job, I BS through the whole thing. Oh yeah, I could do. And it was two fellows that were moving out of their basement. They made knockdown furniture and sound enclosures for the old noisy printers, the Wang printers. Back in 1979, 1980, when computers were just coming to life and they were hiring their first secretary, which was me.
Lana Sheppard [00:28:22]:
And I bullshitted through the whole thing. Oh, I could do payables, I could do receivables. You know, there's nothing I can't do. I didn't have clue how to do any of it. And the only thing they were worried about, that I get homesick and move back to Saskatoon. I said, that ain't happening. So they offered me and I accepted the job. And then I thought, oh shit, what am I going to do now? Off to the library because you didn't have Google, you didn't have online nothing.
Lana Sheppard [00:28:49]:
And it was a one rate system. So I learned how to do bookkeeping. I learned answering the phone, you know, fake it till you make it. I practiced that a lot through the early years. And I had this deep inside, just invincible, like there was nothing I could do. And I sit back and I think what's happened over the years that I lost that, you know, between failed marriage and, you know, you get knocked down, you get bruised, get, you know, different relationships, different work environments, you know, all these different things that just kind of pick away at this confidence that I had, you know, or was I just that naive that I really didn't sit and think about it? I just jumped in and went, I can do it. And I still do that. You know, there's situations when I had my, my bookkeeping company, people would phone and say, can you do this? Can do that? I go, oh yeah, not a problem.
Lana Sheppard [00:29:51]:
And then I get off the phone and go, oh crap. I don't know how to do any of this now. I got to figure it out. So that's like my little way of just challenging and pushing myself in, in directions that have gotten me to where I am today. But it's, you know, I often think back to that 17 year old and think, you know, how did I lose some of that and how do I get that back? And because that really, you know, set the trajectory of, of my journey young in life. And when I left that company, I was 21, I'd worked my way up to national sales administrator, basically running the place. There wasn't any farther to do. Got married and had moved away.
Lana Sheppard [00:30:34]:
So that's why I left that position. But it was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. In just my work experience, I got to touch on all different aspects of a business. So that just more, you know, wanting to do, do more of that in life and eventually having my own businesses.
Mahara Wayman [00:30:54]:
What a great story. I couldn't help but remember, first of all, I agree with you. I think back to when I was young, younger and I had such, I was such a badass and I didn't even. And just to make you just a quick story because I popped into my head, couple things come to mind. I used to be an entertainer, or I used to get paid to be entered. I've always been entertaining, but I used to get paid maybe very clear. And I went, I went to a dance audition for the Frantic Follies, which as you may have heard, may be aware of it, long running Klondike show in White Horse. And I was a dancer and a singer.
Mahara Wayman [00:31:32]:
So I went to this audition and I had to tap dance. I wasn't the best tap dancer, but whatever. I tapped away smiling, you know, do my little jingle to the one side and then you. I switched sides and I did the tapping to the other side. And it was complete silence because I wasn't connecting on my left foot except for one, like so, you know, instead of hearing, you heard, right? Because I just wasn't doing it. And I howled with laughter. I said, you know what, the left side's not so good, but who gives a shit, I can do it to the right. And they're like, who is this girl? Of course I got the gig and it was tons of fun, right? But I would never do that today.
Mahara Wayman [00:32:09]:
The other thing I did was at a singing audition and I'm not the greatest singer, but I went in, I, I danced and I had a cold. I was doing fouettes and I had snot flying out of my nose. It was ugly. But I was determined, right? And then they had me sing, I sang some song, easy song. And they said, well that's really pretty, but could you sing Memories from Cats? And I remember looking at them going, people, if I could sing that, I wouldn't be auditioning for your little show. I'd be on Broadway, and they're like, I did not get that gig. But I'm laughing. The person that.
Mahara Wayman [00:32:46]:
The girl then I was 20. I would never behave like that. I would never admit, you know, to those failings, or I would never make light of it. I just wouldn't. I'd be like, no, just not. It's just not on. And I miss her. I miss her.
Lana Sheppard [00:33:04]:
Yeah, I agree. So that's like, how do you. How do you get some of that back?
Mahara Wayman [00:33:09]:
Well, and that's what I do. That's what. That's why we're having this conversation, right? It's to really remind ourselves that we can do hard things, that we survive difficult situations, that we can give ourselves the grace to get curious. Oh, my God. Now that I'm almost 60, what do I want with my life? Do. Am I. Do I want this or that? Do I love this or that? So, you know, it's all part of the human experience, but I've couched it in this conversation around being a badass. I'm curious, though.
Mahara Wayman [00:33:42]:
What would you say if you wanted to share some tips with our listeners? What are three things that you do on a regular basis that, you know, help you to feel badass and act like a badass?
Lana Sheppard [00:33:54]:
I think staying curious, I'm always curious and wanting to know what's next. You know, I don't. I've got a lot of friends. Like, I'm soon to be 63 years old, and I got all these friends that are 60, 65, they're retiring, and they're just sitting around watching life go by, and they're going, you're too busy. You need to stop doing what you're doing. And I'm thinking, what, are you kidding me? Like, I'm just getting going. You know, there's so many things that I want to accomplish that sometimes I get anxiety thinking, do I have enough years in my life left to do all the things that I want to do? Like, I've got a whole, whole list of things. And funny story is, I actually interviewed here in Kuala Lumpur.
Lana Sheppard [00:34:42]:
I interviewed Dhamma Ratana. He's the high chief abbot for the Buddhist Society in Malaysia. So I'm interviewing him, and behind him is a picture of him meeting the Pope. Like, this guy is. He's. He's amazing. But after we have this conversation, he asked me, he says, how old are you? I said, I'm 62. He goes, oh, you don't have much left, life left.
Lana Sheppard [00:35:06]:
Did you just. And then he starts laughing. And I said, dhamma, I said, I'm going to live to be 150. I got a lot of things to do. I got no time for expiring. And he chuckled and the whole thing. So I think staying curious, I think, is one of the things. Second thing is every morning I wake up and I think, you know what? Somebody in this world did not get to open their eyes this morning.
Lana Sheppard [00:35:31]:
I did. Everything else is a blessing. And as Mary says, it's always a new baby day. So set your intention. How are you going to live your baby day and how are you going to be a better version of yourself? You know, some days we screw up, we don't do things like we should. Well, lesson learned, as I call it failing forward. And then just be aware of that and go, okay, well, how can I do better? And living with gratefulness, like, what are you grateful for? You know, we can sit and complain about this, that and the next thing, but most people find it difficult to think about what are three things that you're grateful for. And so I start my day with being grateful, you know, whatever that is.
Lana Sheppard [00:36:14]:
Whether it's just that the fact that there's sunshine or I'm, I'm grateful that I've been in Malaysia for the last six weeks eating fresh fruit and, you know, I'm grateful that I get to fly home and go back and see my family. Not that I'm looking for cold weather, you know, just the opportunity that I've had to be able to come here and hang out with masterminders and, you know, meet individual in, you know, interesting people. A lot of people don't have these opportunities to do these things. So I'm grateful for that. So living with grateful, because I think if you live with grateful and understand what a blessing life is, your whole attitude towards life shifts. Yeah. You know, something else that I was talking to my mentor, Vince Tan this morning and he was talking about, you know, saying, you know, what are your tips towards people? And he says looking differently at relationships, you know, and he, what he's recognized is people that are very wealthy and successful, they look at long relationships rather than short relationships. So relationship with yourself, relationship with your family, relationship with your clients, you know, they, they don't look at short term anything, they look at at long term.
Lana Sheppard [00:37:35]:
So that's something else that I'm going to start doing more work on is how do you get to having those long term relationships? Because sometimes in business, those long term relationships I think could be difficult. And that ego can get in the way. So how do you, you know, stay true to your yourself and really nurture those long relationships? So that's what I would say is, you know, stay curious. You know, feel blessed when you wake up in the morning. You know, journal is another thing that people could do that, you know, I can go back and read things I wrote from 2017, and then that really shows me how far I've come in the last seven, eight years. And it's quite astonishing because sometimes you don't feel like you've made any progress whatsoever. But when you actually do sit and look back, man, oh, man. I've come leaps and bounds from where I was in 2017, and I'm grateful for that too.
Lana Sheppard [00:38:38]:
Just the opportunities that I've had.
Mahara Wayman [00:38:41]:
Oh, good. So let me ask you something. When you think of. And your three tips were living curiosity, live with intention, and live with gratitude. Between curiosity, intention, and gratitude, do you think they're all on the same energetic level?
Lana Sheppard [00:38:57]:
Yes, I would say they are.
Mahara Wayman [00:38:58]:
Okay. The one that really stands out for me really is being intentional, because I've been curious for most of my life, and I'm more recently really embracing gratitude. But I find the idea of intentional, being intentional challenge. I For. It's easy for me to forget that because I'm like, oh, my God, what day is it? Okay, I gotta. And I get into autopilot. Despite what I do for a living. Right.
Mahara Wayman [00:39:27]:
I work for myself. I work from this, you know, the space. I'm very creative. It's. It's still easy for me to fall into that, the mundane, even of the exciting work that I do. So I personally have to really focus on being intentional. And to your point earlier, sometimes I don't even know what I want to be intentional with. And then I'm like, okay, maybe I just need to.
Mahara Wayman [00:39:50]:
If you just need more sleep. If I can't even figure out what I want to be intentional about today.
Lana Sheppard [00:39:55]:
Then sometimes you just have to sit quiet because it will come to you. And language, too. Like, I heard you say I have to. There's difference between I have to and I get to.
Mahara Wayman [00:40:07]:
See, that's. That's another big difference. Thank you for calling. That I get to. Okay, so I just want to recap. You have had some real challenges in your life, and. But you also had some amazing moments that really were the impetus for big change. You are now, while you're a successful coach for entrepreneurs, you are a successful author.
Mahara Wayman [00:40:34]:
With book number two coming out, what else can we look forward to in your journey Books coming Second books coming out shortly. What else?
Lana Sheppard [00:40:43]:
Second books coming out. Podcast launch. Yes. It'll be the give up up close and personal. So that's what I've been working on while I'm here in Malaysia and having different individuals and hoping I can have you as a guest. Oh, absolutely.
Mahara Wayman [00:41:00]:
I'd love to. Yeah.
Lana Sheppard [00:41:02]:
Yeah. Because I'm sure there's lots of conversation we can have on that. And so doing podcasts because I think, you know, hearing the stories of different people that are successful in whatever their vocation is, all those lessons learned can be lessons and ideas and tips and gold nuggets for entrepreneurs that are up and coming or like some would say with some of the chapters. You know, I just needed to hear that today. So again, it's just making a difference and, you know, being able to share the story and pay forward is kind of where I am in, in life. And then I want to start a. I want to have a give up community and then I'm going to be working on some online courses and the first one will be the give up for your numbers because that is kind of my forte is financial literacy. I love teaching it.
Lana Sheppard [00:41:55]:
I like making, making it simple for entrepreneurs to understand it and the importance of it. And I think with the day and age right now, with the economy and just the world, all the things going on, I think it's really, really important that entrepreneurs understand their financials because I think there's going to be a lot of bumps and bruises over the next couple of years as shifting government and economy, you know, and how to, how to keep your business alive and build some wealth so that you can retire and, and enjoy life and not be stressed out all the time because there isn't enough money coming in. So I think that's going to be my, my next mission. By March, I'll be putting together a give up fear of numbers course that I can put online and teach to entrepreneurs.
Mahara Wayman [00:42:46]:
Sounds amazing. I'm excited for us. We have something to look forward to with these beautiful gifts that you're sharing with us. I'd like to call out something else that I think can play into this feeling of being like a badass. It's recognizing that we are part of a much bigger community, the world. And if we have something that's important to us, share it, even if it's just a conversation with someone. Because every act of sharing is an act of giving and an act of connection. And this is what the world needs, especially from a place of gratitude and a place of curiosity and a Place of real love.
Mahara Wayman [00:43:30]:
Right. So I want to say thank you for stepping out of your comfort zone, publishing the book, doing the talks, doing the podcast, all of these things. Thank you. Because this is what the world needs. And I'm so pleased to have had you on the show today.
Lana Sheppard [00:43:46]:
I appreciate that. Thank you, Mahara. I like to, I like to think of it that every single one of us badasses is a thread and you weave it all into a fabric. And the more threads we can have in the fabric, the stronger that fabric is because I think that's what gives strength to, you know, entrepreneurs. A lot of times it feels like a really lonely road or, you know, even personally, there's, there's so much darkness and people can't see, you know, can't see a way out, whatever that case may be. And if these conversations can make a difference and have a community where people can come together and feel safe, they can be vulnerable and, you know, talk what they have, they can say what they have to say and know that they're, they're surrounded by individuals that have either walked that path or understand it and just give love and understanding. I think that's what's going to make the difference. So thank you for putting this podcast together because it is, it's definitely one of your passions.
Lana Sheppard [00:44:54]:
I think it's making a difference out there.
Mahara Wayman [00:44:56]:
Well, thank you, thank you for that and thanks for joining us today, folks. This has been the Art of Badassery with my guest, Lana Shepherd. Check the show notes, everything you need to know is there. And also we'd love to know what your thoughts were on this episode. So, you know, send us, send us some comments, let us know what you thought and have an amazing day. I'll see you next week on the Art of Badassery. Lana, have an amazing trip back home or back to Saskatoon and let's keep in touch. Take care.
Lana Sheppard [00:45:24]:
Thanks, Mahara. Thanks.
Mahara Wayman [00:45:26]:
Bye. If this episode lit a fire in your soul or smacked you with some needed truth, don't keep it to yourself. Like comment and share it with another badass who's ready to rise. And if you're done second guessing your intuition and want some clarity that cuts through the noise, book your free intuitive strategy reading with me now. No fluff, I promise. No bs, just soul deep insight to help you move forward with power. The link is in the show notes. Until next time, stay bold, stay brilliant, and for the love of God, stay badass.
