you're listening to the Marissa raider Shell, I'm a mama of three farm wife and creative entrepreneur who thrives on helping dreamers endures make the most of their God given talents. You can consider me your newest BFF who will be in there to cheer you on and give you practical tools to use in your business and your life all while empowering you in your faith, providing you with hard truths and much motivation to get you chasing your dreams. I am bringing you actionable tips to uplevel your life and business as a busy mom and believer, I'll share laughs and encouragement with you as you chase after your God given dreams, I believe that you've been given this one life and purpose for you to live out and if you're ready to be the rock star you're meant to be then you're in the right place. Let's get started. Welcome Welcome to another episode of the Mercer raider show. I have a special guest for you today, her name is Susan and I am so excited for her to be here today and to just share all of her knowledge with you. She, I'm gonna let her introduce herself to you because she will do it way better justice than I ever will.

So go ahead Susan and tell us a little bit about you, hey there, I'm Susan Brawley and I'm so excited to be with you today, I'm a wife, a mom, a certified life coach, consultant speaker and writer. Um and I started my time in the field of education so that any educators out there listening. Hello, Hello. Um and so yeah, I just had a journey in education that did a lot of training, consulting and coaching as well as I have a background with women's ministry that we can talk about today. But um guys just over and over ahead me fulfill roles in my life that are about training and leading and equipping and coaching women and so that's how I ended up actually connecting with Marissa was through some of those channels and I'm just happy to be here with you today. Oh my gosh, isn't it amazing how so many connections are made online these days? Like we live across the country from each other, but the minute we started talking I was like, yes, my audience needs to hear your story and what you do and all of the things because yeah, it's just amazing how God puts those people in our lives.

Yes, yeah, he's pretty amazing how he does things that we don't even know he's doing, but it's awesome. Absolutely. So you're a former educator which we have in common, which is I feel like I read a lot of women in this industry who were former educators because we're equipped with that ability to teach other people and to use our communication skills to help others, which is amazing. So what drew you into life coaching? What led you in this direction from teaching Well um in my role in education. Again, I started out as a teacher ended up being more of a consultant figure doing a lot of training and coaching. When 2020 happened, that kind of got my attention, made everyone hit pause. Right? We were home, we were just wrestling with, Okay, how does this affect what we were doing? I've been fortunate to be doing a lot of work with in person trainings and coaching, which I valued the time that I had in 2020 made it really clear that there was gonna have to be some shifts.

And so as I was just talking with the Lord and Wrestling about um you know, how things would look in the future, um just some doors open and he made some things clear that this would be a path that I should go down of being come a certified life coach and that I should consider expanding my horizons beyond being in person and working just with educators, but to just how could I support women as a whole? Because some themes and patterns I've seen through my time serving in education and in ministry is that women, I mean, we take on so much, right, we nurture other people were always pouring out. We often take on a little more than we actually have time for. Um and we can lose ourselves in the process, we can lose touch with what our gifts are, we can get fuzzy on the next steps and goals we have in our life and I really felt God just lead me down that path that With the gifts and strengths I have, I might be able to glorify him by supporting women um in this way. And so that's officially launched last fall of 2021, I guess.

And so it's just been a great journey so far. Um but I think that the big thing I would just say, if someone is listening to, oh man, I don't know what my next step is, or maybe I should do that, is that you just have to get out of the boat, right? Something about peter, he had to take that first step. So I just felt confident that the Lord was saying take that step and I'll just keep going before you and making a path and he has. And so that's sort of my journey. Really? Oh, I absolutely love that because there are a lot of times where we feel that Nudge or we maybe are hearing that voice and we're like To to, you know, shoot five. Yeah, that's Not for me. I know I'm very comfortable where I'm at and I feel like 2020 was that year, as awful as that whole experience was for people that I think has been one of the silver linings that has come from. It was that it made people pause. It made us stop. Rethink about the direction our lives are going.

Are we really happy with where we're at and going back to where we are currently? Because once you completely remove something from your life, like work so many of us never get that chance where go go go all the time. That was a forced pause for all of us. And I had that same exact thought go through my head during it and I even convinced myself I'm gonna go back one more year, like I will just go back one more year after this and three weeks before school started, God was like, no, did you not hear me? Like I specifically said, don't do that and and he made it very clear to me that I was not supposed to go back to the classroom that year. And so I just think it's really funny that how, how easily it is to push that aside when we hear it, we pretend like it's not of importance, but like you said, just taking that one step, the and the next step will present itself right after or you know, shortly after and you just have to keep going, just taking that one step at a time.

Oh, I love that. So you focus on a lot of like, time management and goal setting and things like that, what are probably what would be like your three most important action steps for people who are like, gosh, I really struggle in this area. Well, I was going to focus our time and those three tips, there's so much I could say, but in our time I was going to focus our three tips about if you're someone who's struggling with setting goals, let's say like you're stuck and you're like, how do I do this and move forward? So our tips, the tips I'm sharing focus on that a little bit. So one first step, if you're someone who know, you know, you need to do something you want to change something in your life, is your first step is to reflect. And our hustle world were really quick to just dive in and say I'm gonna set these goals and I'm gonna go after it, right. The first step really is to pull back and reflect and when you're reflecting. Um there's three parts to that that I encourage people to do, the first is to celebrate. I think we don't do that enough, but so when you're looking back at your, like the past few months or the year, the time frame you're kind of examining, I want you to think about what's gone really well.

What goals did you achieve during that time and then what do you want to duplicate? What do you want to keep going with moving forward, then I think we also have to let ourselves grieve during our time of reflection because there's something probably in your life that hasn't gone well, how can you be kind to yourself? And as you're thinking through that disappointment and what lesson did you learn? That's really the key thing with something doesn't go well what can we learn from it? So we're celebrating. We're allowing ourselves to grieve in the last part of reflection is we start to do that looking forward and then we start to think about what what goals do I want to keep, What goals do I want to add? If I didn't have any barriers, what I love to be doing this time next year, Just letting yourself pause and have that time of reflection I think is the first big tip that I would give people. The second tip would be to allow yourself time to dream. And again, I know someone's gonna say, well I don't really have time. Well you're gonna need to make the time to have some quiet time alone. And this is where I think we're really talking with the Lord about the things that he's put in your heart. So we all have things that he's put in a heart that bring us a lot of joy and that would just light us up, right.

The things that make you seeing the things that keep coming back to saying if I had, if I had the chance, I would do this, well God has designed you to pursue a certain dream. And so I want you to acknowledge that, incorporate that into your goal setting. Um and the safeguard with when we're thinking about dreams as we can dream really big, right? And there's some things I would love to say, you know, I would love to dream that I can make a million dollars overnight, right? But a safeguard when you're dreaming, it's just to make sure that um anything that is truly from the Lord is nothing that's going to contradict his word or his character. So just think about that as a safeguard. He does give us big dreams though. Um and with dreams, the dream that he may set in your heart that you think, oh man, that's that's where I want to be. We have to acknowledge that he is ultimately in charge right of all that we're planning. And so with dreams, I think that he's in charge of the timeline. Um Inha baca cook, there's a section where the Lord's talking with him back and forth and he talks about, you know, I'm going to give you this vision, but it has to wait till its appointed time and if it seems slow wait for it, it will surely come and it will not delay.

So he was sharing with a bad cook that I'm giving you a vision, you're gonna have to wait for it and it's gonna come in time. So just think about that with the dreaming, does that resonate so far. Um Yeah, so those are two things we don't hear a lot about reflecting and treat me kind of big things and then if we move to the more practical application then is that you know, we need to move into goal setting setting a specific goal and I recommend that people use the smart method right? Um there's different ways to set a goal, but the most effective truly is if it's pretty detailed, it's smart or specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time bound, they have a specific goal, and what really propels us forward then when we're setting goals is to do clear action steps, So underneath each goal you're just gonna clarify like the top three steps you need to do to move yourself forward, so as you're thinking through that, you might ask yourself um you know, what action could I take to move forward, what stuff do I want to commit to doing first and a quote that I love that puts it in perspective about why do we need action steps, you don't hear, it may be that as much as you hear goals um keith webb says goals should be challenging, like the big picture, right?

Action steps should be easy, that's what what's gonna get you momentum to move forward, and that's what I really want to see people do is not just to make a big fluffy goal, but to have clear action steps to actually move you towards your goal and so my three tips, if you're listening are to take time to reflect, to pull back and take time to dream and really talk with the Lord about the passions that he's given you and then to move forward with your goal setting and then with your action steps and I think those three things together can really propel you forward, and then I've got some additional tips that can share later um of just how to make sure that all that goes well for you, but those are my top three tips I share with people, I love that. Um I think that that is so important, the dreaming part, like you said, most people really struggle to take time to do that or they spend the entire time in the dream stage and don't have the confidence to get out and actually start setting goals or they don't know how to set an attainable goal and and break it down from there.

And so I love that quote that you shared, I think that that is extremely important. I was just reading a book that was talking about stretch goals and I'd always thought about a stretch goal as you know, like it was gonna it was a stretch to get there, you know, like yeah, I I can do it, but it's gonna, it's gonna be a stretch, you know, basically, but the way this author worded it was that the goal itself isn't the stretching part, it's is it gonna stretch your growth, that's a stretch goal is, and I was like, okay, so I mean kind of the same thing, but but not at the same time I had to sit and really think about that for a minute, what does that really mean? So in my mind I was thinking stretch goal, you know, it was a little bit of a long shot, but I could still maybe get there, you know, everything worked out perfectly, I could get there, but now that I've rearranged my thinking around it and I'm like, oh, a stretch goal is me stretching to reach that goal.

Now my goals are even more attainable than they used to be. I was kind of mind blown by that, I Love that, I love how one quote and one, you know, writing can change our whole thinking and that just makes me think about it's really more about the journey than the destination, right? So just remember that too, we get caught up and we want to quit, let's say if we haven't reached our goal as quickly as we thought or, but it's really about the process of growing as we're striving to reach these goals, right? The journey Yes, exactly, and I always thought is like cliche as it is, you know, like the Dash, you know the Dash and that's so true though and that's kind of, that's that whole part of the journey and we, I always think of the movie click, have you seen that with Adam Sandler where he fast forwards through all the mundane things in life and he's at the end of his life, he's dying on the concrete in the rain and it is just this terribly heartbreaking scene and every time that I think like man I wish I could just like get through this part faster, I always have to stop and think, oh man, what would life be like if if it auto fast forwarded through all these little things that I don't really want to do, but that's what life's all about.

Where how fast would my life go if I didn't have any of those pieces, right? And I think those are the things that shape us, right? Um how God uses every part of our life, Nothing is um without a purpose, right? So I try to encourage women to that um you know when you're rocking your baby and you're helping with homework and you're doing Excel spreadsheets, whatever the things are that you may think, oh this is like so mundane. God is still working through that and shaping you to prepare you for your calling to move you closer to achieving your goals? Like nothing is lost. So I do think we need to keep that in mind. Two. Absolutely, I get that comment a lot. Like do you regret going into teaching You only did it for about 10 years, you know, do you do you wish you would have just like started a business right away and my answer is always no, because so much came from that teaching that I use every day in my business now, my communication skills, how I relate to people, how I build relationships, my knowledge of how kids and adults aren't that different in how we work and and where we're at and how we deal with trauma and all of these different things and how we heal, it's not any different really, it's just you're dealing with a more adult looking person.

I mean, yeah, human behavior is the same, no matter the age really. Exactly. And so I always think back and I don't think any of that time was wasted by any means and I actually just did a podcast interview with someone else yesterday to be on their podcast and it was all about my faith journey and I had 1/5 grade student in my student teaching class who cycled back around into my life as a senior in high school and he is now a christian music Recording artist and I mean he's he's doing great and amazing things and we've kept that relationship, our kids are there and his music is really what brought me into an even deeper faith and introduced me to other musicians and different things that have really deepened my faith. I would have never had that, I would have never had this experience and this spirituality the way I have if I hadn't taught him when he was in 5th grade and that's crazy to think how how laid out our plan is, and we don't even know it.

So something that seems so insignificant as one kid in a class of 24 you know, and I just think that what if I had skipped all of that, what if that, that was part of the journey and I could have easily just skipped over it, right, Gods in all the details, right? And I think it shows two we can do all the planning we want, but ultimately he is the one that's going to make whatever happen happen, right? And so I think just you were able to take all of that and you're going to share that in this other conversation you had and glorify him. So I think too, we just have to pause and recognize anything in our life that, you know, goes well or just so astounding, we want to share it and share it in a way that just allows us to share our faith, right? And bring people back to christ. So I think that's a phenomenal just example and what a blessing that connection that you've maintained with him too. I'm sure your blessing him by just a teacher in his life that stayed in his life. So that's great. Absolutely. Well, I have some other, like, tips that I would love to share that would just, I think I would be sad if I wasn't able to make sure that you guys heard these so quick tips as you're working on your goal setting, right?

So the first is remember your why there's something your, your big y there's something that has, you know, led you to say, I want to work on these goals. I want to work on these things. And if you can just remember for your big purpose as you're pursuing your goals, it's really important because I don't want to like rain on your parade. But sometimes we're working on our goals, it gets tough and it gets sticky and it's hard and we want to give up and we want to throw in the towel. But if you keep your focus on the big why? Why you started the journey of losing the weight? Why you started the journey of transition to a new career? Keep that front and center to motivate you to push through the hard? I think it's really important. I don't want to say that you set a goal. It's all going to be easy. I could but just be prepared to keep your focus on your why too? I think I want you to think about knowing your capacity, we all have different levels of capacity in the season of life that you're in. So when you're thinking about your goals and all the action steps you've set, are you being honest with yourself about your time, your energy, how much effort you can actually invest in your goal, right?

Yeah. I don't want you to set yourself up for struggling to reach your goal because you weren't honest about you have a new board right now or you're going back to school right now. So your goals need to be um alignment with your capacity to think about that. So you set these goals, you can make them look really great on paper, however you write and you type them and put them somewhere. But then you have to think about how we're going to prioritize and protect these goals. So how are they reflected in your calendar in your schedule? How are they reflected when someone asks you to do something new, whether it's at work or volunteer that you're gonna be able to say yes or no based on how it will affect your ability to stay focused on your goals. So just you have to prioritize and protect only you can do that, but your life needs to reflect the focus on the goals that you've set. And then my last tip, I think we don't do this enough is I want you to celebrate. Right. So if you cross off the list of you've achieved this action step, how are you going to celebrate that? And when you finally achieve one of your goals, how are you gonna pause and celebrate that? And how are you going to acknowledge God?

Working through? Um, life probably is he's gonna be helping you achieve those goals. So how do we glorify him? You can't say I did it all myself, probably, you're gonna see some stepping stones in there of how God has allowed you and helped you achieve that. And he sometimes goes before us and those things were like, well, okay, didn't see that coming Lord, that was amazing how he worked out that detail for me to help me reach that goal, but just celebrating. I think we live in a fast paced life and we have our to do list, but I just really encourage you to allow yourself to celebrate because I think that will encourage you and motivate you as you strive to make changes in your life. I love that. I used to really struggle with celebrating things and that's something that I share with my clients all the time, no matter how big or small, you need to celebrate the things because people would ask me what's something that you've accomplished lately and I would, I couldn't tell them a single thing and it wasn't because there weren't accomplishments there, it was that our brains are so quick to just move on to the next thing.

That's how our society has basically rewired us to live our lives. And so do you have any tips on how to recognize those little winds that they can start looking for today. I think the more intentional you are about, I'm a big believer in writing things down, so however you want to write down your goals right? Pen and paper, fancy planner, however you want to do. I think our brain really works well when we allow things to go on paper kind of removes the mental clutter, puts it down on paper. Um and I think it just helps us have a visual reminder. I think you have to go ahead and even pre think about how you're going to celebrate, right? So, um I have something in my life I'm working on and a friend said, okay, well how are you going to celebrate that? Make a plan now of who in your life? She, this was her question to me. So I think it might pertain here too. She said, who in your life can you invite in to help you celebrate too. So, you know what close friends you have around you, that you can say, I'm working on this goal for these goals, and I have this plan, that maybe when I get to this point I want to do something fun or I want to go to dinner, or would you just uh could I text you when I reach this goal?

Because you have some people in your life that are a little bit more, that's their nature, right? To celebrate, to encourage, to be excited for you. And those are the people you want to pull close during this time, when you're working on something new. So I think I think about that too, but I think writing it down, thinking ahead a little bit about what would be meaningful for you to celebrate small ways. Big ways and then who around you, can you pull in to help you do that um and build that community is an important thing too. I love that. Yes. Is there anything else that you want to leave us with here today before we end our time? Well, um I know that a lot of people listening are faith based. So I'll just say James four has a couple verses James 4 13 through 15. Just a reminder that all this goal planning, I want you to just keep submitting it to the Lord. Right? And so and James says um you know, you do not know what tomorrow will bring, what is your life? You're a mist that appears for a little time and advantages. Instead you ought to say if the Lord wills we will live and do this or that. So just you know, keep things in perspective.

Please set your goals work towards them. But constantly be checking with the Lord and just know that ultimately our life is his and he can always change the plan or he's gonna make clear the plan to but that we are just constantly submitting um our life to him. So I hope this was encouraging to you and there's a resource, can I talk about a resource I have for anyone listening, you just tell us where they can find you sure all the things from all the things, all the things. So yeah, I hang out at Susan Brawley dot com so my last name is a little funny, I'm sure you can look it up in the show notes but B R A W L E Y and Susan Bradley dot com slash resources. I actually have a goal setting guide, goal setting, actual planning guide that has a lot of things we talked about today, if you would like to download that and work through, it's kind of like a workbook that would help you actually do some goal setting and action planning. So I'd love to share that with you if you're that interest you. Um you can find me on instagram and facebook and both of those places I'm at Susan Brawley coaching is where you'll find me and I would just love to connect and I just want to say thank you to Marissa for inviting me on today and to let me talk with your, your audience and I hope that this was helpful.

Absolutely, thank you so much for being here. I love how effortlessly it is for you to combine such real life situations with scripture because I feel like that's kind of a disconnect for a lot of women in this society that we're living in now is how does something written that long ago still pertain to me now and and we're taught to dream big and that we can do anything we want. But going back to that scripture is the most important part of that dream and following it. So, thank you for sharing all of that with us today. You're welcome. I really appreciate the invitation. Absolutely. And I will see, actually, I won't see any of you. I will, I do that. Every time I interview somebody I always end up with, I will see you maybe someday. Exactly. Well, thank you so much for tuning in to another episode of the marisa raider show. I will be back next week with even more knowledge I am going to be sharing with you even more scriptural based things that I've been reading in a book called fierce jesus and I cannot wait to share it with you.

So I hope you tune in next week.