IAM1625 – Entrepreneur Inspires People Looking For a Spark In Life

Why it was selected for “CBNation Architects”: One of the most impactful things I heard over, and over and over again was the importance of the morning routine and while it seems obvious it is often overlooked. When starting something new and thinking of planning and preparation, don't forget about the morning routine. It's hard not to feel inspired listening to Brenda's episode especially her growth and how it has helped develop her and as a result impacted so many different industries and people in real estate, coaching, fashion, fitness and so much more. Another big thing that came up is life isn't the silos it seems it is. Everything is connected and it overlaps and there are no barriers.

Check out premium content in the CBNation Library at http://cbnation.co/library and pick up our eBook to hear some of the best lessons at http://cbnation.co/shop.

Previous Episode: https://iamceo.co/2020/01/08/iam513-entrepreneur-inspires-people-looking-for-a-spark-in-life/

Transcription:

Brenda Di Bari 00:00

When I said, I'm kind of finding it to be a niche. That's what I meant, like it's something that my people; be they business connections, personal friends, my kids. I'm newly engaged, my fiancé it's sort of all-encompassing and it is the secret. It is special, and each one of us has that special in us.

Intro 00:23

Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, and CEOs, without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresham Harkless values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of.

This is the I am CEO podcast.

Gresham Harkless 00:50

Hello, hello, hello. This is Gresh from the I am CEO podcast and I have a very special guest on the show today at Brenda Di Bari of brendadebari.com. Brenda, it's awesome to have you on the show.

Brenda Di Bari 00:59

Thank you so much, Gresham it's great to be here.

Gresham Harkless 01:01

No problem. Super excited to have you on, and what I want to do is just read a little bit more about Brenda so you can hear about all the awesome things that she's doing, and Brenda has had a unique life filled with challenges that have propelled her growth into a successful, strong, mature woman. She feels inspired to share her views on how these learnings can help shape and improve the lives of women and men looking for that spark in their lives for enhanced joy, happiness, love, and success.

We will hear how pivotal experiences from her past have shaped her business and personal success, including raising six kids on her own after the unexpected death of her late husband, necessitating life-changing decisions for the sake of the family. Her fundamental values and principles of treating people right and using personal discipline and commitment have allowed her to stay the course to now follow her passion for lifestyle coaching and mentoring. You will discover the methodology around visualization and positive thought energy she uses to explore and achieve the art of the possible in her own life.

Brenda follows a no BS approach. Always telling it like it is – she will now share with us how her process has led to success as an Entrepreneur in Real Estate, Fashion, Health, Fitness, and Wellness and can help you with your mindset toward your goals and ultimate happiness. Brenda, are you ready to speak to the I am CEO community?

Brenda Di Bari 02:10

Thank you, Gresham. What a beautiful introduction. Yes, I'm happy to be here, and I'd love to share sort of my methodology and, what I find really works for me.

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Gresham Harkless 02:20

Yeah, absolutely. Well, I appreciate you for doing some really awesome things and I got the honor to read your bio, but I know I touched on, you know, introducing you a little bit, but I wanted to hear a little bit more about your story and what led you to get started in the entrepreneurial world.

Brenda Di Bari 02:33 Well, to be honest, I was born an entrepreneur. That can sound kind of crazy, but I have actually never held employment like a job. I've never really been a job person. I've been kind of self-employed since I was a child. It started way back selling candy door to door when I was like nine, 10 years old.

Went through a lot of little, little initiatives. I ended up going forward to study fashion, design and merchandising in college. I was a fashion stylist and I was an independent contractor. And I did really well. I was doing fashion shows and layouts and spreads for magazines and catalogs and such.

So that was definitely another self-employed type of thing. Went forward and started my family and in my marriage, we began our own business of wine importing and distributing. Did that for a number of years and that business never really spoke to my soul. It was never something I was passionate about, but it was what worked for my family.

But along the way, I became a licensed real estate salesperson. Quickly went on in, in one year to be a broker, and open my own brokerage. Mm-hmm and sort of did those two worlds. While raising my kids brought me forward eight years ago when I unexpectedly lost my husband. Mm-hmm. father of our six kids. I mean, I guess he gets some credit.

Gresham Harkless 03:57 Just a little bit.

Brenda Di Bari 03:58

And, that led me to sort of wanting to reinvent myself completely. I took some time away. I moved to Italy, and lived there for four years. Did some, again, freelance-type work. I was doing translation, I speak Italian fluently, so I was doing some translation for businesses.

I was doing some photography. I'm pretty creative and artistic and I've always loved to explore that. I also worked in the real estate world over there a little bit. It's definitely wild, wildest, and then I came back to the States and I'd been studying in these years a lot about energy, visualization and meditation.

And I found that when I started making a concerted effort to combine that with my professional goals, things just started happening. And it does take discipline. I've always been someone who holds myself very accountable. That kind of has to happen. If you're gonna work for yourself, there's no one else that's gonna do your job for you.

And there's no one else that's gonna set your goals for you. So it's, it's kind of part and parcel. You have to sort of have that in your mind if you are going to make it happen for yourself. So along the way of studying, I am by, trade, what I do is real estate brokerage.

And I have started getting my certification and I'm pretty well along the way as a life coach and I really find that in itself, just studying these things and sort of following it organically, I'm finding quite a niche marketplace for myself in real estate. Sort of approaching it, not just from, like, okay, I need three bedrooms, I need this, I need that.

But really in talking with my clients and sort of approaching it as an entire life, what do you do with your life? What do you wanna do when you wake up on Saturday? Where do you wanna be? Like what kind of energy do you need around you? What's the neighborhood like? So, I'm a little bit more niche in my approach to finding where a person should live.

As I go along, I'm sort of leaning in heavily to the life coach skills that I've attained. I use them for myself, for my family, for my friends, and I use it in my work. And I'm starting to combine what I'm doing in an overall bigger view. Involving the real estate, but also health, fitness, wellness, the whole kind of what we're here about, like the whole approach to life. And it's kind of amazing what it's bringing to me. It's bringing opportunities left, right, and center. It seems like every day I'm invited to join another initiative. And I know that what I'm doing gives to people and that of course is a huge get because I really feel like and you know, you can sound sort of like cat ladyish with like, oh, you know, giving is receiving.

But I really believe that it's the approach I take to business, and I find that it just is reality. It just. You give, you give, don't worry about what's coming back, cuz it's coming back. And that's sort of my approach to being an entrepreneur completely. And referring back to the piece that was picked up on your CEO Blog Nation part about what entrepreneurship means to mean.

I did say that, it basically means the same thing as being a, you know, successful human being. Because those are the elements that I really feel like no matter what your profession is, no matter what product, service, whatever it is that you wanna do, those same principles apply to everything and are absolutely the key to having life the way you envision it, the way you want it.

Yeah. Yeah, so that's kind of my philosophy on it.

Gresham Harkless 07:33 Well, I definitely appreciate that and obviously sorry to hear about your husband. But it definitely sounds like you know, that experience happened and then you kind of I don't wanna say pivoted, but it it was a life-changing moment.

So it also changed your life as well as I'm sure your children as well. But to me, and I don't know if you would definitely agree, kind of holistically, you have to approach it as we're a whole person. So if you're having issues with your health, that's gonna affect your business.

If you're having issues with your business, sometimes that might affect your health or it might affect your relationship. So you kind of have that mindset, that mentality, that approach to energy and wellness, as you talked about as well too, to, to kind of be that holistic person.

Brenda Di Bari 08:11 Right, right, exactly.

I find that that's kind of people do tend to separate like, well, that's my business persona and this is my personal persona, and this is my mom hat, or my dad hat, or my wife or husband hat, like it really shouldn't be separate. You, should be true and authentic to yourself in all avenues of your life.

And what happens is it builds a kind of synergy and it just works a whole lot better. I always feel like if you feel like you're working like a dog or all those types of sayings, yeah, you're doing something wrong, right? It shouldn't feel like that. It should feel passionate and something you love and it's just part of you.

And that's when I think people really hit their stride and it starts to really work for you and not you working for it.

Gresham Harkless 09:02 Yeah.

Brenda Di Bari 09:02

Because you really shouldn't feel like, let's say you work eight or 10 hours a day or whatever it is, you really shouldn't feel. That's not your life that you only starts at seven or eight or whatever time that you come home from the office or your workplace.

It really should never feel like that. And if it is feeling like that, it, you need to take a minute and sort of think that through and think of maybe reframing it in your mind because maybe logistics make it that way. Maybe you're not in your ideal job even though you have something that you wanna do.

I think if you reframe that and make it a get to-do so that I can get to this next level and do this next thing, it makes it much easier to do and less taxing on your person, on your energy, and on yourself. And when you project that sense of positive energy just comes back to you. It really, really does.

And if you're going to be an entrepreneur, there are gonna be challenges, setbacks, broke days, and no paycheck coming. Yeah. Nothing guaranteed. And that's scary, right? But if you look at that as freedom instead, it's amazing how. Those tough moments just don't stick. They just go and, and you get on about your way.

And you get towards your goals.

Gresham Harkless 10:25

Yeah, that makes so much sense. So and I know you might have already touched on this, but would you consider, you know, being able to do and look at it from a life coach in all aspects of your business to be like your secret sauce and thing that kind of set that sets your apart?

Brenda Di Bari 10:37

It absolutely is. That's what I was saying when I said I'm kind of finding it to be a niche. That's kind of what I meant. Like that it's something that my people, be they business connections, personal friends, or my kids. I'm newly engaged, my fiance. It's sort of all-encompassing and it is the secret.

It is special. And each one of us has that special in us.

Gresham Harkless 11:03

I wanted to ask you about some of those. I wanted to switch gears a little bit. So I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So this could be like an app, a book, or a habit that you have, but what's something that makes you more effective and efficient?

Brenda Di Bari 11:14

I think that what makes me more efficient is, and this can sound, not everybody's into this, but I visualize things, meditate and, I come up with gratitude every single, it's my morning routine. I do it before I do anything else. I run through at least three things.

I'm super grateful for.

Gresham Harkless 11:36

Yeah. And I was gonna ask you for what I call a CEO nugget. So that could be like a word of wisdom or piece of advice or if you can hop into a time machine, what would you tell your younger business self? Do you think that opportunity mindset is part of what you would tell your younger business self?

Brenda Di Bari 11:50

I think that it definitely is. I think that when we are younger in general, I know it was true for me, you don't necessarily have a grasp of that authentic self yet. So you're trying to force round pegs into square holes and, and stuff like that. So what I would really say is to look at things as never set on stone. Like you have to have flexibility you have to have goals. I'm not saying float through things. You definitely have to have a pathway that you envision, but, you have to be able to turn left or right at any moment of any day, even multiple times in a day, and still keep going toward your vision and not giving up.

Gresham Harkless 12:34

I appreciate that extra nugget. And now I wanted to ask you my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. And we're hoping to have different quote-unquote CEOs on this show. And I know you touched on this before, but what does being a CEO mean to you Brenda?

Brenda Di Bari 12:44

CEO in my mind takes off all limits.

It takes away all barriers. You're not in a box. There's no limit to what you can do. If you can think it, you can do it. And no one's there to tell you no.

Gresham Harkless 12:58

I definitely appreciate that definition. Appreciate your time even more, Brenda, what I want to do was pass you the mic, so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional you want to let our readers and listeners know, and then of course, how best they can get ahold of you and find out about all the awesome things you're working on.

Brenda Di Bari 13:10

You know what, I'm really going down that path of providing the service with life coaching as it applies to an entire life being health, fitness fashion, like fashion, is so much fun. This is the thing that we present to the world where we're living, what direction we're going. That's kind of what I'm really doing with my life.

Working on putting together speaking opportunities and traveling and doing things, sort of on a global level, doing a lot of things in Europe. Working on investments for Hudson Yards where I'm living, working, playing doing the entire lifestyle all in one place. You can look me up on my site www.brendadibari.com.

I'm sure the spelling will be in there somewhere. It's not too hard. And you can message me that way, and I would love to hear any input that anyone might have questions, collaboration ideas. I'm always open to that sort of thing. And I think that a big part of what I wanted to do was work with women, women empowerment, you know, becoming a widow after marriage and everything, it requires a lot.

I was alone with six kids, to take on the oldest being 17 and the youngest being, you know, 22-month-old twins. It was a moment, it was a challenge, but resilience is a big part of my message. So those are all topics I'm trying to incorporate in business in any moment I have in business and life.

So that's kind of where I'm going with my career path. Sort of mentoring, coaching, and still tying it together with my real estate work and things like that.

Gresham Harkless 14:40

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Well, thank you so much again, Brenda. You are awesome. And I appreciate all the awesome things you're doing and all the positive, you know, vibes you gave to us in this interview, but that you're doing holistically in your entire life.

So we will have those links in the show notes as. So that people can follow up with you. It's Brenda, d i b a r i. So we'll have that as well as I mentioned in the show notes so that everybody can click through and follow up with you. But I appreciate you and I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.

Outro 15:03

Thank you for listening to the I am CEO podcast, powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co. I am CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and everywhere you listen to podcasts, subscribe and leave us a five-star rating.

Grab CEO gear at www.ceogear.co. This has been the I am CEO podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.

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