Category: BadAssery

Posted in BadAssery, My Accountant Voice

My Bad Reputation

Posted on by Pageflipme

STRATEGIC “NOs” MEAN A MORE TRUSTWORTHY “YES”

Everything you say yes to means you have to say no to something else, and vice versa.

It really IS ok to establish healthy boundaries, set realistic expectations, and politely decline opportunities for relationships that seem destined to fail. That is the only way to have availability and resources for good ones! This also applies to client partnerships.

Clients deserve the best service provider for their needs, even when it’s (gasp!!) not us (at least at that time). If I know right away that we are not a good fit, or that I won’t be able to deliver the service and attention they need and deserve, I have no problem with saying so and genuinely wishing them all the best in their search for the next service provider.

I will also have those straightforward discussions to try to salvage a challenging relationship before we have no choice but to break up. Sometimes I am the problem. Sometimes not. The only way to find out is to have that difficult conversation! No one likes them, but they are necessary and are healthy, if done right. They key is to not be so afraid of them that you procrastinate and create some real damage.

My reputation for being a tough and demanding taskmaster comes honestly enough, I admit – and I am not the only one!

It is becoming more common for professionals to understand and better provide more value for the clients who are a good match when they are more strategic about their partnerships. Clients are generally more satisfied, too, because then their pro really is good at what they are really good at!

Here is a great article originally posted on LinkedIn, written by another professional I greatly admire and am learning valuable information from:

https://www.smartvault.com/blog/2017/4-things-hate-rid-toxic-clients/

Someone else was waaaaay ahead of all of us, though……

We DO kind of have to give at least a little damn, she clearly does not

QUESTION: What are some of the criteria you use to evaluate client or service provider relationships? What is something that is not a dealbreaker, but troublesome enough to cause concern or frustration and trigger a discussion?

Posted in BadAssery, Show Up or Shut Up

Hitting Capacity

Posted on by Pageflipme

I enjoy being organized.  You have to be if you are someone like me.

Sounds completely crazy coming from a free spirit, but it’s the truth.

It is the only way you can possibly hope to be productive and effective when you do so many different allthethings. You prioritize.  You streamline.  You systemize processes and not have to re-think any of the tasks that need to be done consistently, every time you do them.

BUT……no matter how well you plan and structure……you will finally hit capacity.

What do you do when that happens? Shut it all down? Run away?

We’ve all been tempted, but this seems extreme to me.

Most of the time, the first response I hear is: “Maybe you are doing too many things.  You should quit some.”

The problem with that for me is that I love being part of something bigger than myself.  There are a lot of those!  I never know right away how much time and energy I will need to devote to a new endeavor, so I just jump in with both feet and as much enthusiasm as I can bring!

Not only that, but I firmly believe that once you have committed to something, and there are people counting on you to show up and do your part…..you don’t just quit because you get tired. Especially when those things are successful!

I also love being the architect of my own life. Ok, who am I kidding here? I also prefer to be the contractor, the foreman, the builder, the interior designer, the stager, the quality inspector……

Sound familiar?

My ‘busy’ is not a euphemism for spinning wheels, we ARE building some pretty successful things with it!

So I prefer to just raise my capacity and keep right on doing them.

There is no way I am the only one who decided they just needed to raise their capacity, too……and if you are one of those people, I would love to hear from YOU!

Did you decide to strengthen your leadership skills, start delegating more, outsource tasks altogether, find better resources?  What can you not run your business or business(es) without?

Posted in BadAssery, Random Bumble, Show Up or Shut Up, The REAL

Worked Out Of A Job

Posted on by Pageflipme

Empowerer. Empower-er. EMPOWERER.

Auto-correct keeps flagging this one, and I don’t know why! It may not be a recognized word in our dictionary, but it absolutely should be!

I am not a rescuer. I am not a fixer. I am not even a very good commiserator. My truest nature is that of an empowerer.

I discuss this in another post, you can catch up on that HERE.

I have also been called a bad influence, but that can’t be right.

Expecting myself AND others to bring their best game on and really show up is what makes that happen. EVERY SINGLE TIME. I know there are times when this seems difficult. I also know that one of the greatest gifts we can give is to help create those “lightbulb moments” for others, so that is what I do whenever I can.

Then I stay around long enough to help devise the ‘how to’ strategies, help develop the methods to accomplish them, and encourage the entire time.

Usually. this also means that I am worked out of a job.

We raised an independent kid who didn’t NEED anybody (including us!). My mom-heart hurt sometimes over that, because there were moments I REALLY missed the little boy who would launch himself at me for a big squeeze. It was worth it though, as raising a kid who will always NEED you (just to satisfy your own co-dependent baggage) WILL hurt the kid eventually. So I did the right thing by him and raised the kind of man he wanted to be. The one the world needed…..not the one I needed for my own selfishness.

  • “Ewww…..Mom! Not in public!”
  • But he WOULD kiss himself in public. Go figure!

I also teach clients, knowing this may lead to them doing my job themselves and not needing to pay me to do it anymore. That is okay. There is plenty of work to do and not enough qualified people to do it as it is, which is why I am also happy training other professionals (and learning from them!).

The nonprofit organization I founded, The FLIP Group, Inc. exists solely to support-equip-empower young adults – but I am currently spending most of my time and energy on a specific few that work for/with me. Knowing that I am empowering them to be their best selves and teaching them everything I can, mentoring them instead of “bossing” them, means that I WILL lose them. They WILL leave me for other opportunities. I WILL be okay about that too, when that time comes, because sometimes working yourself out of a job means you did your job.

Please don’t be afraid to do your job when you have to, even when that job is hard.

QUESTION(s): How can I empower YOU or YOUR BUSINESS right now?

Posted in BadAssery, My Teacher Voice, Show Up or Shut Up

What Were We Thinking?!

Posted on by Pageflipme

So I was asked to do a thing. Then I agreed to do said thing. Then I had a full-on, proper flipout.

Yes, I just saw you shiver with antici……pation.

I started feeling something totally foreign to me (I have since been told the word for that is nervous), so then I got all question-ey:

  • Why did I agree to this?
  • Whose bright idea was this, again?
  • Who talked me into this?
  • Can I really do it?
  • Should I get out of it? What if I bomb?
  • What if famine and pestilence ensue?
  • What were we thinking?

Then I remembered who I was and promptly got right over it.

  • Nope, #notevensorry about it.
  • Part of the problem was that I STILL don’t have this shirt! Even I need the reminder once in awhile.

You see, I invented the term #badassery.

There are things I know nothing about and things I know just enough about to stay far away from and leave to their experts and things I really want to be good at (but just aren’t) and things I do well enough when I have to do them….

THEN there are things I am one of the best there is at doing and THIS IS ONE of those.

So at least there is that.

After providing support as the answer-master for the BIG BOSS’ webinars, we decided it was time for me to host my own! That may not be a big deal to most, but I take everything I do seriously and put in the work to do a GREAT job. So this is kind of a big deal!

I mean, I DO train/teach all of the time, and I definitely know the material. I guess if HE says I can do it, and is willing to risk his professional reputation by personally endorsing me, I have nothing to worry about, right?! At least, that’s my story now and I’m sticking to it.……….

So:

  • If we’re already friends, sign up and see if I’m as good as I try to be (and help me be better, if I’m not)!
  • If we’re not friends YET, we probably will be soon anyway and you should take advantage of a FREE session while they’re still free (b/c its my first time)!
  • If we’re just NOT FRIENDS ON PURPOSE, you’re probably a terrible person anyway who might enjoy the opportunity to MAYBE see me go down in flames after all of the bragging I do.

You know, one of those.

Whatever our situation, you can sign up for one of my current webinars below:

January 21, 2020 – Desktop / January 22, 2020 – Online

Oh, by the way…did I already mention that THIS boss is THIS industry’s heavy-hitter? MAN. Wish me luck!

Posted in BadAssery, Random Bumble

ALL The Names

Posted on by Pageflipme

Originally posted on The FLIP Side

re-published with permission

Because I have been accused of being just a little bit extra.

Ok, extra extra.

What does that even mean?

Is there is one template, one size, one standard unit of measure, one level amount of something for humans and we are all supposed to be that?

Thank you – but no, thank you.

Not only do some of us do #allthethings, but this also applies in other areas of our lives, too.

My name is Paige Hudson Garcia.

Yes, I use #allthenames.

I also have hashtags and acronyms and pseudonyms (I have been writing for a long time) and nicknames.

No, I am not bothered by anyone else’s opinion on it.

It is my name, my life, my writer’s cramp when I sign things.

You see, I have given this a lot of thought…..

I was God’s first. Then I belonged to my parents. I became my own person and belonged to ME before I belonged to my husband. Then there are more areas of me that go to everyone else in my life (but they are only allowed a short term lease with no option to buy.)

None of these things made me any less, but made me MORE. So why take away a name, and not add to it, instead? (Yay, an extra one!) I live MY version of me, and no one else’s, just like I want everyone else to do for themselves.

Although I do have to admit that it CAN be a pain.

Much of my daily work involves efficient data entry, and clean databases, and accurate reporting, so this allthenames business does not always fit into a pre-formatted data field and can be challenging. I am introduced to people daily, and I can see them struggling with HOW to do it properly.

I get it…..but I still think I’m right about this.

So I’m extra. So what? 

I’m #notevensorry about it.

Posted in BadAssery, The REAL

My WHY (A Blog About The Blog)

Posted on by Pageflipme

Because I have NEVER liked being told what to do

(or think, or say, or pretty much anything else)

and never will.

I am sure there are people who will wonder “why blog”?

We already have immediate and constant connection by phone/text/email and countless social media networks……do we really need another ‘thing’ to keep up with?

That answer is an easy one. NO, we really do NOT.

So…..the answer(s) of WHY I decided to blog anyway are for 2 reasons:

  1. Friends get busy and tired and have their own stuff going on (most of my friends are bad@sses and are always involved in something) and don’t really need to hear my every thought right when I have them (that’s exhausting even for me), so calling/texting them is kind of forcing a way into their moments and causes pressure to respond when not everything requires a response
  2. Social media platforms have gotten entirely too nosey and waaaaaaaayyyy too controlling

But mainly the second one.

Now, I realize that we have to give something to get something.  That is actually one of the life lessons I believe in learning as early as possible.  Nothing is REALLY free.  Someone had to pay for it, even when we don’t see it with our eyes in that exact moment.  So the fact that all social media platforms are all free to use should tell us they are going to expect something out of it later.

If you really want to get in the know, or at least more informed, watch “The Creepy Line” or “The Great Hack” (both documentaries, both on Netflix as of the date of this writing).

We are all bothered by the security breaches and constant algorithm changes and how we are spied on to manipulate our spending habits.  What bothers me even more than the intrusion is the control they want to have over pretty much everything.

You probably know exactly which one I am talking about, too.

We choose our network of connections, we like certain topics of interest, we have the ability to report fakes and offensive content – but then the moderators decide to do whatever they want to do with this information, ignoring our feedback almost entirely.

Since when does AI get to decide which people’s conversations I think are most relevant – isn’t that what I did when I chose my network of people to begin with? Since when is it right that some nameless, faceless bots get to decide scammers and animal cruelty pics are allowed but a set of back office keyboard warriors will block a too-liberal or too-conservative poster after one of their harmless little memes, just because it differs from their own personal opinions? Since when does it make sense for a robo system to decide which of my content should be seen by which friends and in which order?

The answer to all of the above is the same and it is simple and it just sucks.

Since we agreed to use something that really belongs to someone else, and that someone else has a pretty selfish (and not-so-hidden anymore) agenda.

Because I believe in walking the talk, I am slowly transitioning to other ways to communicate online.  Things I might have posted on a social site before may just be moved to blogs and websites I control (within reason of course, the search engines can still do as they wish with us) and we can talk here in the comments or HERE and I can be found in a few other places too…..

So if you WANT to stay updated, follow the blog.

If you WANT to share here, be a guest blogger.

You know I live to serve and just want you to be happy.

Again – all because I have NEVER liked or even tolerated being told what to think, do, or say – and I don’t intend to start now. Not for as long as I can still do something about it!