Day 168: Donna Amos

March 17, 2010 at 12:01 am, Category: Inspiration

“If you’re really focused on what you’re strong in and you keep learning in that way and you keep growing in that way, then you’re always going to be able … the outcome is always going to be bigger.”

.

.

Right click here to download…

.

Toni Reece: Thank you so much, Donna, for agreeing to be part of the Project, and before we begin, can you please introduce yourself?

Donna Amos: Absolutely.  Donna Amos, and my business is all about solopreneurs, and many don’t even know what that word means, but it’s a solo business owner.  I work with, through coaching and training and inspiring and mentoring, solo business owners to help them create thriving practices.

Toni: Well, thank you, and leading right into that first question with you, who do you think you inspire, and how do you do that?

Donna: Well, you know, I can only judge that I inspire when I get feedback; that’s always my intention.  My business card actually even says “Inspirer of Possibilities,” and so my hope is that I inspire solo business owners to take risks, to not be afraid of change, and to be willing to just, you know, to look at the possibilities and just do what they can do.

Toni: So … go ahead, go ahead.

Donna: Well, just, you know, just to be inspired to move forward to take action.

Toni: How do you do that?  How do you take someone who might, you know, be going               “Okay, I’m in this business by myself, here I go,” and what are some words of wisdom that you give to someone so that they can move forward without being so fearful?

Donna: I honestly … I believe that the biggest gift that we can give another individual is encouragement, and I’ve watched time over time when somebody thinks that somebody else believes in them, they’re willing to do things that they wouldn’t do for themselves.  They don’t necessarily believe in themselves, or they’re afraid to believe in themselves, but if someone else says to them “You know what, you have the skill to do this, you are a champion, you owe it to the world to share your gift,” that they can embrace that and do things that they didn’t normally think that they could.

Toni: In becoming aware of what their capabilities are, it’s pretty natural, the next question, you know, as far as how does it help others to explore their potential; and in addition to that, Donna, is it just business owners that you do this with, or by being so inspiring in the way that you talk to people and work with people, how do you find it explores potential in others?

Donna: Good question.  You know, I think I’ve always been the … I’ve always attracted people … I’m a good listener.  There we go, I’m a good listener.  And so people tend to navigate, you know, to be attracted to me, to share what’s going on in their lives.  And I think I just naturally encourage people to … you know, that they do have the skills.  This is what I truly believe, is that each and every one of us has a gift, and we have an obligation to share that gift with the world.

Toni: An obligation?

Donna: An obligation, that we were not given that gift to keep it to ourselves.  And so in recognizing that, that it takes some of … because sometimes we’re fearful that our gift won’t be accepted by others or people … but you really … I believe it’s a God-given gift, and if God gave you something, he intended you to share it, and it’s very selfish to keep it to yourself.

Toni: So is your role to be kind of that excavator that is helping people to, if they don’t know, to maybe dig deeper to find out what those gifts are?

Donna: Yeah.  I love that word, Toni, “excavator.”  Yeah, I like to encourage people.  I like to help them think along different lines, to look outside of themselves and to recognize … And you know, when you start talking with someone and you get to know them a little bit – it’s so much easier for us to see where their talents really lie, you know, to see, you know, their gifts, and so to help them, to just give them, you know, a couple words sometimes is all somebody needs to have them looking in other areas, to see where their strengths really are.

I encourage people to get a notebook and to add five things every day that they’re really good at, their strengths, you know, where … what do they … all the way from they’re a good friend to they’re a good excavator, you know?  Because sometimes we get really down on ourselves.  And I think if you have that little strength notebook that you can open up periodically and go “Okay, I am a good person, I do good things,” you know, it could be all we need that “Okay, I can do it again, I can take that next step.”

Toni: That’s fantastic.  I really like the way you’ve described helping someone with their potential that, you know, we all do have these gifts and it is an obligation to share it.  I haven’t heard it put that way before.

Donna: Yeah, I really think, I really believe that, you know?  And I also believe that when somebody is not sharing their gift, that’s when they are really unhappy with their work or their, you know, what’s going on in their life because they’re not doing what they’re supposed to be doing.

Toni: It’s really the people that are looking for their purpose.  I mean, this is really interesting, because throughout the Get Inspired! Project the people who are being interviewed all really get what their purpose is or they had events that have led them to their purpose.  And what you’re saying is that, you know, maybe the purpose that you have is really … correlates to the gifts that you have.

Donna: Absolutely.  Absolutely.  You know, when we’re in that space where we’re really sharing our gifts, what we’re really good at and what … you can tell, you can tell when somebody is passionate, and I believe that passion comes from sharing from what’s inside them that they really are good at.  That’s when they discover “Oh, gosh, this is what I’m supposed to be doing.”

Toni: That’s fantastic.  So, Donna, what inspires you?  What do you need to be inspired?

Donna: You know, I find nothing more inspiring than to watch others, to be part of … to help encourage someone to take a risk, to believe in their possibilities.  Or even if they don’t believe, to just step out and take action.  That I find inspiring, and that helps me to just keeping going then, because I feel like then I’m sharing the gift that I have.

Toni: When you are … maybe you’ve reached a day where you’re thinking “Oh, you know, I need to kind of fill my inspiration bucket up,” what do you find yourself reaching for?  What do you need to see or to do?

Donna: There are several things that I do when I’m feeling a little like, yeah, I could use some energy.  One of those … one of the things that really gets me going is music, and I can just sit, you know, and just listen to music for a little while and I get, you know, reenergized.

Reading my own affirmations.  You know, I tell my – and I have this file myself – I tell my clients that they should have a file that helps them get out of the “life sucks” mood, you know, that we all temporarily get in occasionally; and that can include notes and cards from other people that have told them how fabulous they are, and their own dream message that they write out.

I encourage a belief narrative.  Write down everything that you really want, and write it as if you have it today, and so sometimes just reading that, you know, that okay, I am doing what I’m supposed to be doing, you know?  It’s okay that somebody said “No” to me, because I can get up and do it again tomorrow.

So having all of those things kind of gathered together so that when you’re feeling not so great, you have something to reach for right away; so that you don’t stay in that place for a long time.  So that’s what I do.  I have my file, you know?

Toni: So it’s like your inspiration toolkit.

Donna: Exactly.  But you have to put that together when you’re not in a bad place because otherwise, you know,  you can’t think about ‘Okay, what did somebody say about me yesterday that made me feel good,” you know?

Toni: Right, right, it doesn’t come as easy, you know, when you’re feeling down in the dumps.

Donna: Exactly.   So you have, you know, you have to take time to assemble that so that you have that toolkit to get out of the hole … you know, instead of pulling the blanket up over your head, you can get out of bed that next day.

Toni: Have you always been this way, as far as coming to the table and saying  “You know, I’ve got these gifts, that I have this obligation to share these gifts, I need to be positive and motivated so that you can work with others?”  Have you always been that way?

Donna: I have always been an optimist, and I’ve learned … I have not always known what my gifts were.  But when I look back now at my life, at what I’ve done, I can see where those gifts were unfolding, you know, through the last 30 years, where I can see places that I was in that I was sharing my gifts and didn’t necessarily, you know, recognize it.  And that it was all … it’s just built on itself over the years.  So I’ve not always known, but I’ve always been a supporter of others.  That’s always been a role that I’ve … so that has always been with me.

Toni: So the gifts that you have, the talents that you have, you’ve been sharing them along the way.  But there wasn’t any defining moment for you where you said “Okay, you know what?  This is my purpose, this is what I’m meant to do,” and taking your optimism that comes to you naturally and all these gifts that come to you naturally, it’s just been an evolution?  You can’t … is there a moment in time that you can go “That was the day.  That was the day I said I was going to do it different?”

Donna: No.  There was not a defining moment, but there was several moments – does that make sense?

Toni: Yes, it does.

Donna: There were several moments along the way where, you know, after an interaction with someone or after an event where I felt so inspired by it that it kind of led me to repeat that, you know, that process, to repeat what had happened so that I could be inspired again.

Toni: So you were aware of it and you just wanted more of it.

Donna: Exactly.

Toni: Absolutely.

Donna: So I did what I had to do to get it.

Toni: Absolutely.  That’s a really cool way to put that.  So for you it wasn’t this “wow” moment, it was that “I really like the way this feels and let’s do it again!”

Donna: Exactly.

Toni: And so really it was being aware of that moment you were charged and knowing that you played a part in that so that you could carry that forth.

Donna: Yup.

Toni: Oh, that’s fantastic.  So what do you do now, Donna, that continuously explores your own potential, to keep you moving in this wonderful direction?

Donna: You know, I believe that I’m a lifelong learner.  I love learning, you know, new things, learning, getting to know new people.  I don’t like things to become stagnant.  I don’t like status quo, you know?  I have to have new things going on, so … and I believe that’s what keeps me growing, and as long as I continue to grow, then I can help other people to continue to grow.

Toni: Do you find yourself still uncovering your own gifts?

Donna: Absolutely.  Absolutely.

Toni: Do you think we ever stop?

Donna: No; at least, I hope not.  That’s what I said, it’s always growing.  You know, for the last 30 years I’ve watched.  When I look back, I can see where I’ve gotten better and better at things.  I don’t believe in focus … like management will tell you, focus on those weaknesses and get those weaknesses better, and I don’t believe in that.  I believe the opposite.  I believe you find somebody else to do the stuff you don’t like and that you’re not as good at.  You focus on building your strengths.

Toni: I like that!

Donna: Well, because that’s where you get the biggest bang for your buck, so to speak.  And I’m not even referring to money, but the outcome.  If you’re really focused on what you’re strong in and you keep learning in that way and you keep growing in that way, then you’re always going to be able … the outcome is always going to be bigger.

Toni: So what I’m taking away from my interview with you — and others will take different things away from this interview — but what I’m getting from you is that it really is important no matter what you’re doing, to  … when you get that feeling and you feel that inspiration and that charge — and it can be a slight charge or it could be a huge charge — but that’s the moment that you want to concentrate on because there’s where your gifts were — there’s where your strengths were.  And your talents lie to help others experience that as well, and to never, ever stop exploring your own gifts.  That’s what I’m taking away from you today.

Donna: I love that you got that from me, Toni.

Toni: I think it’s wonderful.  Thank you so much, Donna, for agreeing to be part of this Project today, and we will post at the end of the interview like always how people can get a hold of you if they would like to be inspired by you as well.  So thank you so very much  for this interview today.

Donna: Thank you very much, I appreciate it.  It was fun.

Toni: Great.  Take care, Donna.

Donna: Thanks, Toni.

___________________________________________________________

For more information about Donna Amos:   infinitepossibilitiescoaching.com

.