Carolyn Rim: Woo! Yes, I am, JD! I’m so excited to be here!

JD: From broke, depressed, and wanting to die. To quitting her job, her husband leaving her, and building her empire. Carolyn went from living in a cube for ten years to creating a life beyond her wildest dreams as an entrepreneur, mom, rock star meditation coach, bestselling author, and mother goose. And she is the force behind Spark Your Rockstar. Carolyn, take a minute, fill in some gaps from that end show and give us a little glimpse of your personal life.

Carolyn: Absolutely. So, I get to wake up every morning with a group of people in my 99 day dare, and I get to do a live meditation with them. It is – this has happened for the last year, and I have loved every day of it. But, I also – I love to coach people. So, I coach in groups, and I also do live events, workshops… I’m doing, actually, an event in Austin coming up. But I will tell you that the greatest joy that I’ve had recently has just been – I’ve started to say yes to helping just as many people text me, just helping them. Instead of coming up with an excuse, or something, I just have been saying yes and it’s been really filling my cup.

But I love the intro you just gave me. Spark Your Rockstar is actually a self-development community online. On Facebook. And we do live events, we have been to Tony Robbins, UPW, we go all over the world. So, I bring groups of people – I went to India with a group of people, so we go all over. It’s truly incredible.

JD: Saying yes is so powerful, Fire Nation, and it can be so freeing if you let it. Now, I’m a big believer, especially when you’re getting going in our journey as entrepreneurs, we have to go through seasons. And you better believe that your first couple seasons, at a minimum, are hopefully seasons of yes. Because you don’t really know what’s under that rock, you don’t know what’s around that corner. So, when you say yes, you open up opportunities and you learn. Because, guess what, that yes might have been a mistake, but, guess what, you learned from that mistake and now you move forward. And that next time that opportunity comes, maybe you do say no, but you have to say yes first to experience life, to experience entrepreneurship, to experience opportunity.

And then, when you get to that tipping point, and your time is much more valuable, your time is much more limited, then maybe you move into a season of sometimes yes, sometimes no. But, who knows? But you have to realize that yes has to be something that you embrace as an entrepreneur, because you don’t know what’s under that rock until you say yes.

Now, Carolyn, let’s talk for a minute about what you consider your area of expertise. What do you specifically specialize in?

Carolyn: Oh gosh, confidence for sure. And teaching people to live in a beautiful state of mind. I feel like I have ignited so many people just to awaken to the gift that they really are inside. And, absolutely, I agree that there is a time to say yes and a time to say no. But, I can’t tell you the joy I’ve gotten from this 5 second rule. If I could just share it with everyone, it is something that’s helped me so much. And basically, what it is, is you get inspiration all the time. It’s like that spark that you want to go dance on that dance floor. A lot of people don’t just run up to that dance floor. You might see people sitting down that want to dance, but they don’t go dance. Right? And this is just a little, tiny example, but if you can imply it in your life, everything changes.

When you get an inspiration, a message someone, to tell them, “Hey, you really inspired me with that blog post, or this podcast. Hey, what you did, it really helped me. I just really want to share that with you.” “What you did it made me want to take that leap of faith in uncertainty, instead of staying stuck in certainty and settling.” When we take – when we have that inspiration, we have five seconds to act on it before we kill it. And so, what I have been doing, is for the last two years, I’ve been acting on that spark of inspiration consistently. I was at the Tony Robbins conference two years ago, and I charged the stage with a little note in my hand that said, “Ready, set, mentor me.” And I’ll never forget it, because Tony had seven bodyguards, but the other speaker, Joseph McClendon only had three. And, JD, I was not confident that I could take seven bodyguards, but I was 100% confident I could take three. And so, I charged these three security guards, and I reached my arm up, and I’m like, “Joseph, take it, take it, take it!” And they end up taking it, and they end up calling me, and they said that in twenty-one years, they’d never seen anyone charge the stage at the security guards like I did.

Yeah, so it all started with that. Following that five second rule of just following what your heart wants to do and acting on it.

JD: The five second rule, Fire Nation. Just try it. Apply it to your life. I mean, I will say, one area I disregard the five second rule is when I’m sitting on the couch at 8 pm and I want to go to the corner store to pick up a pint of Ben & Jerry’s. I let that go to like 10 or 12 seconds so I can dip back into the right mindset. So, the five second rule works for most things, Fire Nation. Give it a try. Give it a week. Just really do it. You know, “Oh, I want to go for a run right now.” Don’t even think about it. Grab your shoes, go for a run, you can hate yourself at the halfway point when you’ve got to turn around and come back. So, you’re already screwed. So, I love it.

Carolyn, let’s talk about your journey. I mean, I went through your intro… It’s pretty intense, let’s be honest. So, you’ve had a lot of ups. You’ve had a lot of downs. Take us to what you consider your worst entrepreneurial moment to date. In that moment. Take us to that moment, and tell us that story.

Carolyn: Absolutely. So, my worst entrepreneurial moment had to be when I was on a – they used to have this thing called Blab, I’m not sure if you remember it or your listeners remember it, but they had this thing called Blab. I remember, I was on there with Tony Robbins and I was about – 4 thousand people were on, watching us, live. And I went live with Tony Robbins, and my audio wouldn’t work. And I was co-hosting with someone, and you can actually go to see the video. I still have the video on one of my Facebook pages, but…

JD: You’ve had some audio issues in the past, Carolyn. That’s not your…

[Crosstalk]

Carolyn: I have, JD! That’s not the first time!

JD: Not your first, or last time. Or last.

Carolyn: Wait, but this is cool, because my worst moment turned into my best moment. Right? Because, what ended up happening is three times, Tony – I logged back in, logged back out. And someone else was co-hosting and they said, “Sorry, Carolyn, but next time.” And Tony – when you’re in front of that many people, I mean I don’t mean to get graphic here, but I was so upset, that I almost threw up in my mouth. That’s how upset I was. I was about to get to thank the hero that changed my life, that helped me start my business, that helped everything. And then, all of a sudden, nothing. Within a few minutes, they actually came on, and they said, “Carolyn, you’re not going to believe this. Tony Robbins wants you to be his special guest at UPW. March. Palm Beach” And it turned into the best moment, because he had an intervention with me there.

And you know, JD, one thing he asked me when we were there is, “What do you need in life to be happy? What makes you happy?” And I said, “Nothing. It’s happening right now.” And he’s like, “Well, what do you have to do to be happy?” And I say, “No, I just have to be here and be me.” And he was blown away by that. And, so, and everyone there was, too. Just to be yourself. Be present, and be yourself, yeah.

JD: Wow. I mean, Fire Nation, this is going to happen in life. You’re going to have those moment where everything just falls apart, the wheels come off at the exact wrong moment. It’s going to happen. But, guess what? You just need to keep pushing forward and turn that potential disaster, or that actual disaster, into an awesome moment. And, of course, Carolyn logged back on so she was able to hear those words and hear that news. And she turned it into an awesome moment. So, just recognize that.

Now, Carolyn, kind of shifting a little bit, because you’ve had a lot of great ideas in your life. But take us to what you consider one of your greatest to date. Tell us that story.

Carolyn: Yes, absolutely. My ah-hah moment – actually, I would like to share one that I have recently had, because I am a firm believer of constant growth. The growth is never ending, it never stops. JD, I know you believe in that, too. And I know, for me, just recently I was at a funeral and I heard – a friend of mine’s daughter passed away, and I heard the mom say, “Thank you, god.” And you could say, whatever you call it, based on your beliefs: god source, universe, whatever you call it. But, when she said that, I felt like I had an ah-hah moment. And I realized that I was going to thank god, or source, or whatever you call it. Thank the universe for everything that happened in my life. Not just the good things, but I was going to thank them for the bad things, too. For the things that didn’t go my way.

You know, when I felt like everything was crumbling, it’s a lesson. And just shifting my thoughts around this, I’m telling you, I’ve had some beautiful expansion in what I see, and what is possible. Because we are the only ones that set our limits in our life. We are. So, you’re the only one. You have a rule book of life, whether you believe it, or not. And for me, I am so grateful I threw that rule book out the window, and I live without boundaries, without rules. Nothing is impossible. And it’s very liberating to me.

JD: Fire Nation, if you’re able to just embrace that philosophy. That nothing is impossible. I mean, the whole world opens up in front of you. And why would you want to live without that philosophy? I mean, you have two options. You can say nothing is impossible, or you can say, there are some things that are impossible. That’s literally a choice you have to make. And why would you want to live in the latter? When can live in the prior world, that nothing is impossible. That doesn’t mean you’re going to accomplish everything you want to, but nothing is impossible. Just have that mentality, let the world open up in front of you. Now, Carolyn, let’s fast forward to today, because you have a lot of exciting things going on. I mean, let’s talk about Spark Your Rockstar. You’re inspiring so many people. What has you most fired up today?

Carolyn: The thing that has me most fired up right now are these private events that I’m holding with these speakers and entrepreneurs. Most events you go to, they’re pretty large, right? But I’m holding events with small groups of people. No more than 20 people. And I’m really excited because the results have been astounding. When you go to a huge seminar with thousands of people, sometimes you can really get lost in the mix if you’re not 100% all in and focused. But these events with 20 people, there’s nowhere to hide. There is nowhere to hide, you’re getting called on. We’re doing three day immersions where we basically dive in to any beliefs that are holding you back. Because your beliefs drive your behavior. We drive into the six human needs. Where are you living in certainty in your life? Why aren’t you taking action because you’re afraid? We are diving deep.

And that’s one of the things I love. I love when I can help someone see where they’re limited, or where they’re holding themselves back. And then I can see them take that leap of faith by getting visible, or by starting their own business, or by leaving a relationship that has been toxic for years. I’m sure, JD, we can all relate to staying in a relationship longer than we wanted to. Or, doing something in our business that we really wanted to, but we were afraid. Those risks, we must take that leap of faith if we want to live at the highest level. So, that is what I’m really fired up about right now.

JD: And if we want to learn more about that, how can we learn more?

Carolyn: Yeah! So, you can go to my website at www.sparkyourrockstar.com. And right now, the next event we’re holding is going to be in Austin, Texas with Jessie Elder, so I am super excited about that.

JD: And it’s in Austin, Fire Nation. Not Boston, but Austin, Texas. Great place. Lot of good food. Lot of good music. And Carolyn, you are going to drop some value bombs coming up here in the lightning round. So, Fire Nation, don’t go anywhere. We’re going to thank our sponsors and be right back.

Carolyn, are you prepared the lightning round?

Carolyn: Yes, I am.

JD: What was holding you back from becoming an entrepreneur?

Carolyn: Taking that leap of faith with money. I felt like money was holding me back, but it’s not true. It’s never a lack of resources, it’s a lack of resourcefulness.

JD: What is the best advice you’ve ever received?

Carolyn: Not to look at your failures as failures. If you fail, that either means two things, you either learned, or you won. Bottom line.

JD: What is a personal habit that contributes to your success?

Carolyn: Meditation. Every single day. Meditate. Quiet your mind. Your internal state of being reflects your outer world.

JD: What do you use to meditate? Do you have an app? Or, you just kind of close your eyes and breathe? What’s your strategy?

Carolyn: Actually, I love silent meditation. And I’m going to be honest, I’ve created some meditations myself, with some beats. And it’s like the frequency of nature. It’s beautiful. I love it.

JD: If you could recommend one resource, like Evernote, what would it be, and why?

Carolyn: One resource – I have to be honest with you – I feel like Facebook has just been such a beautiful resource to me. I feel like if you can get on there and get visible, and start messaging people, and doing things, I think… You know, because you can do a ton of resources. You can have Infusionsoft, you can have all these things lined up. But if you’re not getting the results, then what’s the use of the funnels and the email lists? For me, it’s been Facebook, and really accessing Facebook that way.

JD: If you could recommend just one book, Carolyn, what would it be? And why?

Carolyn: Unlimited Power, by Tony Robbins. It really shows you why you’re doing what you’re doing. And how to tap into that unlimited power that you have within.

JD: Unlimited Power, Fire Nation. Check it out. And Carolyn, I want to end today on Fire Girl with you giving us a parting piece of guidance: the best way that we can connect with you. And then we’ll say goodbye.

Carolyn: Awesome. The parting piece of guidance that I want to say to everyone is to grasp the concept to thank the universe, god source. Whatever you believe, thank it. Say thank you for everything that happens in your life, whether it be good or bad, because it’s all for your highest good. The best way to connect with me is to go to www.sparkyourrockstar.com, where you guys will be able to get seven of my top visualizations. Just by going to the website, you can log in and get those free.

JD: What’s that parting piece of guidance?

Carolyn: That parting piece of guidance would definitely be the thank you. It would be to say thank you for every single thing. I know, JD, that might seem – people might say, “What does she mean, thank you?” It can transform your life in a heartbeat, if you can apply the gratitude every single day, for every lesson, every moment. And, JD, you have taken every single thing I’ve said and spun it into gold. So, if you could…

JD: Absolutely love that. Fire Nation, you’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with, and you’ve been hanging out with Carolyn and JLD today, so keep up the heat. And head on over to eofire.com, just type Carolyn in the search bar. Her search page will pop up with everything that we’ve been talking about today. These are the best show notes in the biz, Fire Nation. Time stamps, links galore. And, of course, check out sparkyourrockstar.com to see what Carolyn has going on. Maybe you want to go and check out a live event in Austin, or wherever else in the world she’s having it next. And Carolyn, thank you for sharing your journey with Fire Nation today. For that, we salute you and we’ll catch you on the flip side.

Carolyn: Sounds awesome. Thank you!