098: Achieving High Performance and Leadership as an Entrepreneur | Dr. Shelly-Ann Gajadhar

This episode features educator and high-performance coach Dr. Shelly-Ann Gajadhar. Dr. Shelly is the founder and Mentor of a women’s mentorship online community of 200+ women called the Go Bravely Mentorship Community and the Author of a daily inspirational book for women entitled Go Bravely: Building Confidence Daily. Having shifted careers from law to business and academia, she blends academic principles with effective management and mindful leadership, delivering rapid results. In this episode, Dr. Shelly talks about her PhD journey and challenges as a black woman pursuing a PhD. in the UK. She imparts her insights on performance management, a crucial skill for entrepreneurs seeking to excel in their endeavours. Moreover, she also dropped a lot of tips on various topics spanning brand identity, task management, and product launches. Get ready to delve into a wealth of knowledge in this episode as we kickstart our journey toward high performance together. Highlights: 00:00 Unlocking Self-Leadership and High Performance 00:57 Podcast Introduction: High-Performing Entrepreneurs 02:32 Journey of Transformation: From Law to Leadership 04:48 Navigating Challenges as a Caribbean Academic in the UK 07:05 Activism and Advocacy: Championing Diversity in Academia 19:25 The Genesis of 'Go Bravely': Turning Mantra into Movement 23:20 Mentorship and Building a Community of Empowered Women 33:02 High Performance Coaching: Legacy, Vision, and Systems 39:04 The Power of Staying in Your Lane 39:45 The Impact of Focusing on Your Audience 40:22 Leveraging Influence Over Imitation 40:51 Redefining Success Through Discipline and Inspiration 41:26 Task Management vs. Time Management: A New Approach 45:16 Planning Your Week for Maximum Productivity 51:48 The Magic of Writing Things Down 56:02 Strategies for Successful Product Launches 01:04:39 From Message to Movement: Upcoming Leadership Bootcamp 01:04:51 Vision and Growth: The Future of Alphastute 01:09:38 Innovative Ideas and Personal Projects 01:12:17 Final Thoughts: The Dream Chose You References: Episode Video Go Bravely - Londrelle, Shelly-Ann Gajadhar | Spotify Energy Focussed Weekly Planner Go Bravely Mentorship Community Go Bravely: Building Confidence Daily by Dr Shelly-Ann Gajadhar For More of Dr. Shelly: Website: www.alphastute.com YouTube: Dr. Shelly-Ann Gajadhar

Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: [00:00:00] One of the most important things that I teach clients is not just about systems and not just about how to be high performing, but how to self lead. That is so very important as an entrepreneur, self leadership. It starts with that. To be able to carry a powerful mission, you must carry yourself powerfully. And that's what I teach. So you might be on my page looking for a productivity tip here and there. Yeah, you might get that, but what you're going to get as well is high levels of self awareness and accountability. I cannot help a client become high performing if they don't know how to lead themselves. If they don't have discipline, if they don't have self awareness, if they don't have emotional intelligence, it becomes very hard for you to then implement and execute on structures and systems. Kevin Valley: Podcast World, welcome to [00:01:00] another episode of The Value, the language of business for those of you seeking to build or invest in companies that are scalable and highly valuable. I'm your host, Kevin Vallee. And today we're talking about becoming a high performing entrepreneur with none other than certified board and executive coach that specializes in high performance, Dr. Shellyann Gajadhar. Shelly, how are you? Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: Hey, hi Kevin, hi podcast world. Hi listeners. Thank you so much for having me here. And thank you so much for this being the second time. Third Kevin Valley: actually. Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: It's the third. Wow. Kevin Valley: So shall we? So the original episode was actually back aired in February 2019. That's episode 34. If anybody wants to listen to the feed and we spoke deep, deeply about finding your purpose and all of that. So, you know, back, so five years ago. Wow. Look at [00:02:00] that. Look at that. I think that that was the actually first time you and I met in person and, and every time, every time. In the cabin. Yes, Cabin Studios, Cabin Studios, don't be different. And, and then the next year, during the pandemic, fresh, fresh off the press, we had a collaboration with with my boy, Karen Rose, talking about the Insider's Guide to Digital Business. Digital Businesses. Yes, yes, yes. Always appreciated, you know, your ability to speak on different topics, especially as they become relevant within, within the times. So Shelly, just going back to that original episode, we spoke about your, your initial love for, for the field of law and how you actually broke up with that profession because of a tragic incident that happened to your mentor, so between. Then and now, I mean, you've, you've pursued your own path in terms of leadership, in terms of building your own [00:03:00] women's community. I just want to know, like, is that something that still affects how you operate? Is that something that's, that's still, resonates in your mind and in what you do? Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: Yes, absolutely. That's a great question. I think catalysts for big life changes and life transitions continue to play a role in how we operate as individuals on a day-to-day basis and just in life in general. So when I lost my mentor and I decided to career transition completely, leaving the legal profession and starting over, it was. That moment in my life that completely changed the trajectory of where I would be and who I would be and how I would identify in this world. And to this day, I still go back to that story. I still go back to that experience. I still go back to that trauma. You know, because in some [00:04:00] instances it is trauma, but trauma that I have become so victorious over and trauma that I'm so proud as well to say that I have overcome and I've been able to build something out of it. So it's something that is a staple piece of my story. You know, when people ask me, how have I been able to capitalize on making something new for myself? It really is because I own my story. I own the parts of my story that I may have been ashamed of, embarrassed about at the time, felt very afraid to talk about, but once you use that story as your soapbox and you become comfortable with your truth, then, sky's the limit for you. And that's how I feel about that story. Yes. As my soapbox. Yes. Okay. Kevin Valley: All right. So, and you would have left Trinidad around the age of 25 to go to Scotland to pursue a degree. Yes, I went to Scotland. Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: Yes. To go to Kevin Valley: Edinburgh, and I've been practicing to say this word, Edinburgh. Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: [00:05:00] Yes, Edinburgh. Yes, correct. Kevin Valley: Okay. So it's like, bruh. Okay. No problem. So you would have lived in the UK for about what, five years or so? Four or five years? Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: So I have been in the UK for about seven years, both Scotland and London combined. So I did my master's in Scotland. I was there for two and a half years and then I went on to do my PhD where I was there for four and a half years. Kevin Valley: How was life there? As a Caribbean person moving there. Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: So I think, you know, when we think about migration and we think about going after our dreams and putting ourselves in a new kind of sandbox to play in, it's very attractive, you know, they say the grass is green on the other side, but I always tell people, it's true that the grass is green on the other side, but the fertilizer is more expensive. What do I mean by that? The cost of you enjoying that green grass. is a different type of cost than we experience when we're in our [00:06:00] home country. You know, there are different challenges. There are different costs that are both seen and unseen. And to me, it was an enjoyable experience, but I had to play a different game that I wasn't necessarily acquainted with, for example, very overt racism, very high microaggressions in an elite institution also having instances where persons would underestimate your ability to hold leadership positions, particularly in the field of academia, which is what I was operating in. And really finding your identity as a Caribbean woman and a minority in such a big, in such a big pool. So I really do think that it was a stretch. It was a challenge professionally, and it comes with its own territory of challenges, just like the challenges that we all experience at home. [00:07:00] As well, you know, it's just a different, it's just a different creature, so to speak. Kevin Valley: So how did you deal with those challenges, i. e. those soft costs? Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: Yeah, so I think when you first experience these challenges, it's one of observation because, especially as a woman at that time I was doing my PhD and I felt more challenged in London. So to speak as compared to Scotland, I think, because the stakes were higher. Yes, the stakes were higher. At that point, I was doing my PhD, no longer my master's. When you do your PhD, you are on the trajectory to become academic staff. You have a vision of one day becoming a professor or a lecturer. You now desire to be on senior leadership. And that comes with a lot of masochism, a lot of elitism, and having to navigate that as a professional Black woman, minority status, [00:08:00] you can't, you can't make too many sudden moves. So for me, it was a lot around just observing, being a sponge, really observing what is the culture here? What is the things that are not being said, but are being said? What is the unsaid here? Took a period of straight observation. And I would say maybe my first year was straight observation. I did not speak on things. I was silenced and I, I can admit that I was silenced because I'm in a new playing field and I have to understand this game, but I think by my second year, it became evident that there were the things that I could no longer be silent on, especially if I wanted to assume a leadership position within the fields of academia. And one of the things that I really started talking about is the lack of diversity and inclusion in my PhD program. When I started, I was the only Black female student in a PhD program. And I think when you get into some of these top [00:09:00] universities, I was in one of the top universities in the UK. And when you see yourself as the only minority or person of color, you start to question, can you really see yourself as a professor? Can you really, like, Take up space as a lecturer. And then when you see that there are no professors or lecturers that share a similar status to you, you really feel lost. And I really believe that we can only dream as far as we can see, you know? So if I can't see myself, then how am I to dream this? It becomes difficult. So I started to advocate for more diversity and inclusion because I realized my silence was basically crippling me, handicapping my possibilities. It turned out that it actually went really well being able to activate my activism and it led to the university launching a diversity and inclusion initiative, where they actually put up structural pillars within the university. They [00:10:00] celebrated persons of color within the university community, myself being one of those people. To this day, three years later, the pillar is still there and my picture is still there along with all of the other amazing and phenomenal people in academia that have gone on to do great things as people of color. And that is just to see. Activate your activism because there comes a point where your silence is detrimental. Kevin Valley: Yeah. Yeah. Because it sounds like you felt like you had to downplay yourself as an ambitious black woman. Downplay yourself and your voice just to make others comfortable. Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: Yes. Yes. And I think we have to do that, not just in international settings. I think just as women in general, we've had to do that for quite some time and we need to change this narrative because of how open the world is becoming and also how much more the world needs women at the top. And this is why I have entered into the domain [00:11:00] of high performing, being a high performance coach and focusing on coaching executives and boards, because I really would love to see more female leaders at the top and at the helm of leadership. Kevin Valley: In retrospect, would you say that being different, that sort of individualism? Well, now let's just say being different. Would you say that although it, it, it presented itself as a disadvantage, that in effect is actually an advantage? Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: Yes. I think your uniqueness, your difference, what, you know, your little thing that you have going on with you, I think that is the thing that is your superpower because nobody can do it. Nobody can be that. Nobody can give that a essence. And for me, I recognize that that fire in my belly and that's, Trini ness about me, you know, being very Trini and speaking, you know, our mind was something that was needed in that space. They needed a [00:12:00] Trini to come in and talk. They needed a Trini to come and start this thing, right? And for me, that's when I really leaned into who am I not just as an identity, but also who am I as a legacy? What is it that I'm really trying to create? And what do I want to be remembered for as I step into these spaces? Kevin Valley: Being somebody like you, looking at what you've done, what you've done since then, you know, you build this big community which you're about to speak about, but just going back to that PhD journey, I've seen, I've read, I've researched, I've found out that you, in fact, left there with just one friend. Somebody like you? How did that happen? How did you navigate that lonely journey? Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: Yes, exactly. And I left with my, with a Nigerian friend, big up my black sister. Kevin Valley: Big up Nigerian. Who Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: is my sister for life. Yes. But, Absolutely. And this is just to show how isolating it can be. And, you know, I, I don't use the word friend [00:13:00] loosely. I use that term pretty strongly and pretty passionately because this is somebody that grew with me through the journey and understood the struggles and the unsaids that were, that were occurring as a Black minority moving through the space of elitism. In academia. So yes, it does happen. And it happens because the field of a PhD is such an isolated journey. And then couple that with being minority status and then couple that with a lack of diversity and inclusion, and then couple that with being young, beautiful, bold. You know, it, it comes with a territory that not many people, find easy. And. It becomes very difficult as well to find people who are experiencing the same reality as you. I Kevin Valley: feel that. I feel that. When did you graduate? Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: So I graduated, I crossed the stage in 2022, [00:14:00] but I completed my PhD in 20, late 2020, but we did not have any graduation because of COVID. So I then crossed the stage in 2022. Kevin Valley: So you finished, you finished it during the pandemic, so lots of parts of your, okay, okay, so, so how, how was that, how was that with that, was that easy on, easy on you in terms of dealing with the, with the microaggressions and all of that, now that you didn't have to actually see them face to face all the time? Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: Right. I think there was a level of pride crossing the stage again, crossing the stage as the only black Ph. D. recipient. You Kevin Valley: don't need to tell a trainee Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: about crossing the stage. Right. So to me, crossing this stage On August of 2022, at that time I was also pregnant I believe I was four or [00:15:00] five months pregnant. Being able to cross the stage with belly and baby in hand as a Black woman, Trini woman, I think that was a testimony in itself of resilience, of bravery, and taking up space. Letting people know that we exist, you know, Black academics exist and that we can go on to do phenomenal things. So to me, it was, it was really a full circle moment of what it, what it means to embody what you're here to do and to complete it. Not to walk out on yourself because so many times we know that we're here to do something very amazing and something powerful and impactful, but we don't come to fruition because we keep walking out on ourselves, walking out on ourselves, doubting ourselves, saying we're too much of this, we're too much of that. And if I listened to what people said, maybe I would not have crossed that stage, but praise God I didn't walk out on me and I could walk across that stage with my head up high knowing that I did [00:16:00] something that was amazing. And that everybody in that audience saw a walking testimony of black excellence, Kevin Valley: black excellence, indeed, black excellence, indeed. I think back to those pandemic years and those were some years, right? Those were some years because, all right, so it first hit Trinidad, I would say March 15th, March 17th, somewhere around that weekend that two weeks after I left my full time job to become an entrepreneur. And I thought I would just be the only one working from home and all of these things and everybody else was while they were collecting salaries, but I digress. So, for you, you would have been focusing on completing your PhD up until August, right? But from August, 2020, up until the pandemic ended, how did you navigate that time? How did you navigate that for your business and everything? What, what sort of systems did you put in place to make sure that you remain the high performing entrepreneur coach that you are? Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: Right now, [00:17:00] when I started AlphaStute, AlphaStute was launched in 2018. At that time, I was in. My first to second year of my PhD. So I actually launched my own table when I was doing my PhD. When the pandemic hit. What happened is I started to become a bit more free because my PhD was coming to an end and I recognized that a lot of people were thinking about career transitioning. They will, they will, they lost jobs, they will let go people now wanting to, wanted to move more into the remote working space. And there was such a high need for professional development that I saw the opportunity to capitalize on that on that demand. And what I did is I offered discounted. [00:18:00] Professional development consultations as a way to serve people that were thinking about what was next for them, either in terms of their career or in terms of their life. And that went really well for our business. We were able to make close to five figures from that. I mean, we were completely booked out. Yeah, we were completely booked out. You know, I remember when I launched that within the space of, you know, Probably within the space of a week, we have close to 50 slots filled. And that is just to say that, You know, it's, it's about looking at the market and really seeing what does the market need and how can I be of service to the market? You know, one thing about being a high performance entrepreneur is being able to pivot as many times as you need to. And I remembered around that time, there was so many other things on the agenda that I, as an entrepreneur wanted to focus on, but I could not ignore what was Most prevalent and most needed for the [00:19:00] target audience. And once I listened to that, then I was able to create a strategy that would make me work smarter, not harder so that I can hit my revenue targets. And it's a good thing that I listened because in listening, we were able to, to reach our revenue targets as well as get more revenue. A lot of new clients into the door. Kevin Valley: Okay. So that was a success. And also I know that you launched a community at the end of November, the Go Bravely community. I know Go Bravely is something you, you actually trademarked. Tell us about this. You know, there's this life motto that. This mantra that you have, and are you able to build a community around it? Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: Yes. So great question. You know, when I decided to career transition, that was a really difficult decision to make. It was not easy. I spent the majority of my education learning and studying the field of law, and then I practiced in the field of law as a [00:20:00] criminal prosecutor. So law was really all I knew, but once I lost my mentor, I just became disenchanted with the law field, the legal field. And I remembered I had a deep desire to move on. And, you know, in prayer, I was praying to God and I was saying, you know, God, I'm just ready for something new. And I heard In my prayer, go bravely. Go bravely. You know, it's time. It's time to, to go into whatever you're called to do. Don't hold yourself back. And I remembered, as I was making these decisions for myself, which would change my life. life trajectory, as well as my career trajectory, that mantra just stuck with me, go bravely. So much so that even when I was launching my business, the same message came to me, go bravely. So a lot of what [00:21:00] I have been able to do to change my life and to change my identity has come from that mantra. It has been seeded from that mantra. Dr. Shelly-Ann Gajadhar. Is a product of go bravely, right? And this is how it really became a way of life for me. It became a lifestyle. It became a way that I made decisions. It became a way I showed up. It became a way I presented myself. And that's when in the time of COVID right after COVID. I created a track because my now husband, who was my then boyfriend, he is a recording artist. And I remember he came to me and he said, write something, write something for women. You know, you are always serving woman. You're always speaking to women, write something for them. So I wrote it and then he asked me to record it. So I just kind of recited it. You know, he hits record and then he adds some music to it. And it became a track on his album. Go Bravely was a track on my husband [00:22:00] Londrell's album, and that has now a million streams on it. And I was so blown away by how powerful and how impactful that track was. Because at that time when I wrote that, I was really writing it for me. It was really like my song cry, my battle cry. It was like what I was saying to myself when I had to dilute myself so many times to fit into spaces that didn't have my name on it. And just to see how many women resonated with it, it was like, wow. And that's how Go Bravely became a movement. So many women that listened to the track then became inspired to, to want to look for me. Right. So they, they started searching for me. Who is this person on this track? Who? I need to see who this person is. And that's how they came across my social media. That's how they found me in an email. And then I just started to create a following from there because now my life [00:23:00] mantra started to take up an identity of its own. It started to become like a real thing, like a movement, an asset. And that's, for me, that was an indication. What if I create space? around this movement? What if I create physical, virtual and virtual space around this? I had enough women that were, Engaging with me and listening to me. And I went bravely and I decided to create a woman's mentorship community that focuses specifically on teaching women, career, business, and education. Advice, and also helping women to breathe through and heal through difficult things that they experienced in their journey to leadership. And let me just say, before I launched the Go Bravely mentorship community. I used to do this as monthly Skypes, Kevin, like I would have a Skype call or a Zoom [00:24:00] call if we move it over to Zoom and I would literally charge $25 to just come and hold space with us. I remember it started with just having seven people in the room. Now we are 200 plus women's community. Kevin Valley: Wow, Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: right? And it's growing, it's growing exponentially. I mean, and the thing is, I mean, it could grow more, but I am also a woman of quality. I prefer to have quality over quantity. So I don't have the doors open for my mentorship community all the time. I open it every quarter, but that is just to say, like, You know, again, when you stay committed and dedicated to your, your purpose and your voice and what you are here to do, it's never really how you're going to do something. It's more about what do you want to do? God provides the how, you know, when, when you fall in love with your what, the whole. Starts to unfold. And I find so many times as entrepreneurs, we don't do what we're destined to do [00:25:00] because we keep thinking about how am I going to get the money? How am I going to make this look right? How am I, don't worry about the how, focus on the what. Do the, get really clear on the what, the what and the why. The what's and the why, when you get clear on the what's and the why, the how becomes evident. But too many times entrepreneurs get stuck in the how and we never do anything. Kevin Valley: Mm. No, that is so true. That is so true because products and services, which are the how, right? Those are really just a means to an end. What people really want is that, that result, that benefit, the solution to that problem that you're supposed to be solving for them, so however you do it, once it's efficient. Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: Exactly. And Kevin Valley: they like you. Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: Exactly. Exactly. Most important. Yeah. So, you know that is again, really just is a testimony to staying in your God given lane and really answering your call to leadership and being smart about how [00:26:00] you are serving God. Creating a legacy for yourself. And this is why I talk so much about being high performing, because it's not about doing a lot of things. It's doing very purposeful things that all align to one big meaning. So I really do believe in having one message on multiple platforms. And that's really how I've been able to stay high performing as an entrepreneur. Kevin Valley: So how does one, aside from, I guess, being a woman, how does one apply to be in your Go Bravely community? Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: Yeah, so I think with any decision for mentorship, it really is a decision of due diligence, right? I am not a fan of people just enrolling because you're looking for some type of quick fix or you haven't really done your research on my, on my background or what I can give in terms of a result. I love when women take time to do background checks. And that is because there are [00:27:00] so many people in this field of personal and professional development that don't really have the credentials or the experience or the track record. They're just looking to take your money and then, you know, you're out of pocket and you're out of a result. So to me, I really want women to Ask themselves, you know, what are, what am I looking for in a mentor? And to me, a good mentor starts with somebody who wants you to excel in your chosen fields, and they have the wisdom, the tools, the experience, and the knowledge to get you there. Mentorship is not about a mentor wanting you to just succeed at their level and not further than them. To me, I love seeing my mentees. Go way beyond me or sometimes go way beyond themselves. To me, that is good mentorship because it's a partnership. So first things first, have a look at the work that I do. Have a look at the work that I've been able to [00:28:00] produce out of clients. And then really see for yourself, is this something that can assist you in your own roadmap to success? Now, if you feel like that's a yes, our doors are open every quarter. So at the beginning of every quarter, we open our doors. So you just go onto Alphastute's website and you click on it and you will see that our doors either are open or closed. If our doors are closed, get onto our wait list. Currently we have a hundred plus people on the wait list. And I think it's good that people show that level of interest because mentorship is something that changes as well. You know sometimes you might be in a season where you're looking for something and then a few months later that changes. So I, I strongly suggest getting clear on what you're looking for in a mentor and make sure your mentor have receipts, please. Kevin Valley: That's true. Make sure they have, they have proofs. Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: Make sure they have proof and receipts. Right. Because I am a, I love a [00:29:00] receipt. So encouraging you to just take, take that level of due diligence into your own hands. Kevin Valley: I like what you said about the, the hundred person waiting list. I definitely want to talk about waiting lists and product launches and funnel management a little bit later. But I just have this question. It's a burning question. It's just based on my curiosity. Right. So, In researching you, because you said, you know, people need to do their due diligence, the ladies need to do their due diligence before they before they try to become part of the school bravery committee. Right. And in prepping for this, for this episode, I've, I'll see that most of your content is more on that, on the spiritual softer side, speaking to, the confidence and mindset of women or whatnot, but how does one really find like, like what are we talking about today? Right. Performance management side, the productivity side? How does one really find that sort of information on you without having the benefits of the, experiences I have had with you as, as one of [00:30:00] your few male clients? Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: Yeah. So this is where brand identity is so important, right? Performance management and the things that we, we do. And when I say we, my business offers you that we do in the realm of high performance is really found. On our website, as well as on our business page, if you're looking at Dr. Shelly and as the individual, you're going to get more than that. You're going to get more than just performance management. You're going to get spirituality. You're going to get mama hood. You're going to get being a woman and what it takes to be a CEO, leading woman. You're going to get. True honesty, feminine essence, unapologetic ness. Those are the things that fall under my personal brand. But when it comes to business and what we do with you know, with our clientele, I would really say for people to look at our business page and our website. You know, as entrepreneurs, we spend a lot of time in branding. And that's why we spend a lot of time also in [00:31:00] signposting people to our business page because that's really what we want people to receive about us and the specialties that we do. But something that I also want to share and there's something that I've shared with you as well to Kevin, when you would have coached with me. One of the most important things that I teach clients is not just about systems and not just about how to be high performing, but how to self lead. That is so very important as an entrepreneur, self leadership, it starts with that, to be able to carry a powerful mission, you must carry yourself powerfully. And that's what I teach. So you might be on my page looking for a productivity tip here and there. Yeah, you might get that, but what you're going to get as well is high levels of self awareness and accountability. I cannot help a client become high performing if they don't know how to lead themselves, if they don't have discipline, if they don't have self awareness, if they don't have emotional intelligence, it becomes very hard for you to then [00:32:00] implement and execute on structures and systems. So my goal is always to get persons to lead themselves powerfully, trust themselves more, trust what they believe, trust their, their inner voice, trust. Their path, their divine will over their life. Trust what it is they are here to do. And once they cultivate that level of trust, authenticity, confidence, then they are open and ready to receive the system. And you know this, Kevin, because when you and I coach, Kevin Valley: I Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: spent a lot of time getting to understand a person, what makes a person tick, what makes a person driven, what, what incentivizes you, what is the things that you are afraid of that things you avoid, you know, because these are the things that helped me to understand how to make you high performing. Once I understand how you tick as an individual, and this is why I focus first and foremost on self leadership. [00:33:00] Kevin Valley: 100%. All right. So you're ready. Are you ready to talk about the high performance coaching now? You ready? Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: Yes. Let's get into that. Kevin Valley: All right. Sweet. So, May 2022. I was going through a bit of a transition, with my original business, become investible. My partners and I were getting ready to part ways. And were trying to figure out, you know, what's the best way to do that properly. And also like for me personally and professionally, how am I going to, Continue doing what I wanted to do from a, from a personal mission and purpose aspect and how to put some structure and systems behind that. All right. And just as you said just now, where it's not just about diving into the systems. The first thing you need to do is understand how that person ticks, so I want us to talk about the customer journey. Of this high performance coaching, right? The first thing you made me fill out this this form, you know, what's my vision statement, what's my legacy statement, what's my mission statement. So I want to just talk a little bit [00:34:00] about that, that sort of onboarding process. A lot of people get confused, but what's your mission, what's your vision, what's your legacy and all that. That's so that sort of delineate or differentiate those terms for people to understand. Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: So, you know, with becoming high performing. There are two areas that I think Are really important for you to start your journey of high performance. Number one is the legacy. What is the legacy that you're trying to create? Because the goal of high performance is to do work smarter, not harder. And that means that if you're doing the legacy work, you need to be doing work that ultimately contributes to you performing optimally and being efficient. That's the only way that you can do legacy work to the point of not burning out. Right. And as we all know, legacy work takes a lot of time. [00:35:00] Legacy work takes a lot of effort. So you need to be high performing to produce legacy work. So that's the first thing, legacy work. The second thing is systems. These are the two areas that I focus on as a high performance coach when I'm guiding clients into optimal performance. So when we look at the second aspect, which, as I said, is the systems, we're looking at your rhythm. Of doing things on a day to day basis, either as an entrepreneur, either as a nine to fiver, either as a CEO, there is a rhythm that you are constantly engaging with. Every single day that you may not even realize there is a peak in your performance. There is a dip in your performance every day. And once a client starts to understand their rhythm in each day. It becomes easier for them [00:36:00] to assimilate their tasks so that they are performing within their peaks and they are resting within their dips. And that's really what I focus on. So think of it like the destination is the legacy work, right? And the systems. Is the steps that get us to, you created that legacy work now, you know, you mentioned mission, vision legacy, and these things, and what is the difference, right? Core values and all of these things. I don't want to give too much away cause they need to book an appointment. Kevin Valley: But, Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: you know, in terms of like the mission vision, Vision has to do with what is your big why? What is big so what of all of this? What are you really trying to achieve here? Right? Your legacy is what do you want to be remembered for? And I think that's something that a lot of [00:37:00] us don't ask ourselves, you know, it's like, well, we know how much it was like, well, how much money you want to make? Or like, what is the next thing you want to buy? Or what's the next investment? But we never really ask ourselves, what do we want to be known for? What do we want to be respected for? What do we want to be authoritative with regards to? So legacy. Is, is that footprint, right? Your vision is your destination and your mission, how you go about. Getting to your, your vision is your footsteps. It's the things that you walk towards every single day. It's the thing that you live by every single day. And getting that clear as an entrepreneur really focuses you because now you are understanding of what. I should be focusing on that leads to legacy work and what is a distraction. Too many entrepreneurs are distracted. You're [00:38:00] distracted by comparison. You're distracted by other people's dreams that are not yours. You're distracted by how much money you think you should be making when you should really be focusing on how to double or triple the money you have. You're focusing on constantly generating cold calls when you should be retaining and nurturing your client lists. We're distracted and a large part of our distraction is because we're not asking our question, what is the legacy I'm trying to create? Kevin Valley: You know what I realized too? I'm actually looking at my, at my notes right now. My legacy, my legacy then, I think my legacy now that I want to create, it's along the same line, but it always sharpens. It always tweaks. Yeah. I love this quote you just said. He said, we're too busy being distracted by other people's dreams that are not yours. Can you expand on that Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: a little bit? Yeah. I mean, and it's, it's, it's very literal that a lot of times we look at people and we look at them [00:39:00] pursuing their dreams and succeeding in their dreams. And then we say we should have that. But what we don't recognize is that they are successful because they are staying in their lane. Yeah. You're not going to be successful by trying to replicate them or trying to do what they have done because that's not your God given lane. And that's where we get confused. That's where we get distracted. You know, there's a difference between influence and imitation. And too often we look through the eyes of comparison with a view to imitating. And that's where we get stuck. Rather than looking at it with the lens of influencing with the goal of igniting. Mobilizing us into what we really are called to do. So another person's success isn't yours. I tell people all the time, imagine if we, we spend so much of time, particularly as entrepreneurs. Worrying about what people will say, worrying about the opinions of others. Imagine if we took all of [00:40:00] that time and focused it on the people that want our work, that need our work, that need our service. Imagine if we've re we shifted the focus and the attention to the people that are really for us, what could happen in our business? Kevin Valley: One hundred percent. And you know, I mean, just us focusing on other people's dreams that are not your sort of thing. I think, that's why I love, like, professional sports, right? Because you're seeing people at the peak, and you know, you can't even begin to fathom the amount of discipline that you have. That and practice that goes into what they do, you know, so when I look at, so my favorite, everybody knows my favorite basketball player is LeBron James, right? So when I look at what LeBron achieves night in night out and every year he's breaking some sort of record, you know, I mean, I, you look at that to say, that is somebody excelling in their lane, in their craft. And it inspires me. to want to go that much harder, that much more, more discipline and again, implement these systems, these steps [00:41:00] so that I'm able to get to that destination or that legacy point. Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: Exactly. Kevin Valley: All right. So we don't want to sell too much out to the coaches. So we're not going to talk about the wheel of life. No, Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: no, no problem. Kevin Valley: But I did see that you put out a video on the energy focus planner, which I think was a really helpful tool. Once you follow it, once you stick to it, it's a really helpful. Yeah. So just like you spoke about before, it speaks to task management versus time Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: management. Kevin Valley: That's right. Can you just walk us through how that works? Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: I think as entrepreneurs, and just people in general, we have been Taught that we can manage time, right? You need to manage your time better. You keep coming to these meetings late, you know, these things that people say, right? And I remembered when I was in academia, academia is a space that requires a high level of discipline and a high level of quote unquote [00:42:00] time management. And there came a point, Kevin, in my own academic journey where I was like, time kept slipping out of my hands. And no matter how much I tried to manage time. It wasn't working and I started to say, what is going on here? We, because I know that for the past, you know, 10 plus years, I've been great at managing time, but when it came to the PhD, somehow time management, this phrase, this concept of time management was not working, especially when I started to become an entrepreneur as well. And that's when I realized, wait a minute, I cannot manage time. And I remembered no, no joke. I remember there was a time I was sitting at my desk and I was plowing away at my to do list. And this time was just ticking by ticking by. I look up and an hour has passed. I look up three hours has passed and I am still [00:43:00] right at that seat. And I. Remembered the whole day passing by and looking at my to do list, and I was nowhere near the rate of completion I thought I would be at. And I said, Something Is up here and it's definitely not me. And that's when I realized you cannot control time. You cannot manage time. This has been a lie that has been said to us generations upon generations. This is a fat big lie. It's a huge myth. And when I realized that I was like, Oh my gosh, I have been approaching this completely wrong. So I started to figure out that if I cannot control or manage time, then what can I control my tasks? And that's when I started to look at task management as the ultimate tool to getting more done.[00:44:00] So it now became, how do I manage the way that I'm approaching tasks and ensuring that I'm not overloading tasks in one day, I'm not giving the day more tasks than it can actually hold, because that's what happens. And again, coming back to the energy levels, right? Remember I talked about us having rhythms. A lot of times you have a very busy day. And then you take a lot of big tasks and you put it into that busy day, and then you expect for things to be completed. And then when it's not completed, you're like, you know, you could have worked harder. No, you're unreasonable because of the way that you're assigning tasks to the energy of a particular day. For example, my Monday. It's the most busiest day. I do not put heavy tasks, complex tasks on a Monday because I know that by the end of the workday, I'm burnt out. So if I'm doing heavy tasks, I [00:45:00] would do it more on a day that has less things to do, and I have more energy to give. So this is why task management has become such a tool for myself and my clients in terms of getting more done. Kevin Valley: Yeah. Alright. So can you , walk us through example of how you plan your week so that people could have some sort of blueprint? I know you have a YouTube video on this. Yes. And we could link to that too. Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: Yes. Kevin Valley: What I like is that you have about two hours a day blocked off for your daughter. Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: Yes. And Kevin Valley: then everything else gets planned around that. Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: Yes, absolutely. So here is what I start with. So. I think when we start to look at our Monday to Monday, no, I did not say Monday to Friday, I said Monday to Monday, so seven days of the week, I focus on what are the things that I need to get done in that entire week. Whether it's my nails, whether it's a phone call, whether it's emails, from the most mundane things [00:46:00] to the most important things, if it takes up a good chunk of your time, it should be accounted for when planning. It must be accounted for. I know so many people that they put all their business stuff, all the things that they have to do in their calendar, and when it's time for them to go to the barber, Oh shucks, you know I'm supposed to go to the barber, I didn't even put that in my calendar. Oh shucks, I need to go to the gym. I didn't put it in. Oh, shucks. I need to have date night with, you know, my loved one. I didn't put it in. It needs to go in your calendar. It needs to account for the amount of time that you have because you have 24 hours. All of the time that you're taking to do things, your time is slipping away from you, right? So accounting for your time throughout the week is really important. That's the first thing. So Monday, just Monday to Monday account for it. Number two is non negotiables. Kevin, you know about this. What are your non negotiables as an entrepreneur, as an individual in your week? For me, my non [00:47:00] negotiables, it's time with my baby girl who just turned one, right? So this is why I allot time in my calendar where it says, Mother daughter time, do not disturb. I'm not doing anything. You cannot reach me. Non negotiables. Another non negotiable for me as well is my morning practice. So making sure that I have at least 30 minutes to ground myself and command my day. Cause I don't want my day commanding me. I command my day. So place your non negotiables in your calendar. And then the last thing is there are four key areas that are very important for an entrepreneur to manage their tasks around. Okay. Number one is your income. As an entrepreneur, your goal is to make money, but of course do what you love in the process, right? But your ultimate goal is to generate revenue. So on each day, number one, you should be focused on an income generating activity. [00:48:00] Number two is your health, because as an entrepreneur, no you, no business, no health, no wealth. So number two is your health. What is the one thing that you are going to do for your health in the day? And it doesn't need to be anything extravagant, people. It could be drinking water. It could be ensuring you eat on time. It could be ensuring that you have a well balanced diet or meal. It can literally be going outside for a walk. It could be taking deep breaths, whatever it might be. So number two, your health. Number three is your relationships and relationships are important for entrepreneurs. Relationships, right? Because you have family relationships, you have your intimate relationships. You have friendships and you also have partnerships, right? And let's be honest, when one of these ships sink, [00:49:00] you sink. If you go through a bad situation with your friend, it affects you and how you perform. If you and your husband or you and your fiancee fighting, it affects you. If you don't touch base with your mom or your dad or that relationship is strained, it's on your mind. Relationships are very important to entrepreneurs. It helps us with our support system. It helps us stay balanced. And the last thing is spirituality. And I put spirituality in there because yes, I am a spiritual woman and I make no apologies for that as an entrepreneur. But I say this because there is. A need for white space. There is a need for entrepreneurs to not do anything sometimes, and to just be in silent space, so you could hear yourself, whether you hear God, whether you hear Allah, whoever you pray to, or whether you just hear yourself. It's spiritual because that is you hearing your higher self. Sometimes [00:50:00] that is you hearing what, what, what should your next decision be? What should your next move be in your business? Sometimes you need to hear you. So spirituality for me. is, is me reading affirmations. Sometimes spirituality for me might be me going outside for a walk in quiet and talking to God and praying on something. Sometimes spirituality for me might be lighting an incense or smoking out my office, whatever it might be. And sometimes it might just be sitting. in silence and just allowing myself to hear myself, whatever it is, understand that there is a side that is not just about us, but also about the things we can't necessarily see, the things we can't necessarily hear. This is how we have dreams, visions about ourselves and who we are in the future. You have to, you have to give yourself space to see that during the day. So these are the four areas that I strongly recommend [00:51:00] for persons who are seeking to become more high performing. And if you address these four areas every day, you're going to see a lot of change happening in your business and in your bank account. Kevin Valley: So just to clarify the white space, that's for spirituality, right? That's for quiet time. That's for quiet time. Okay. Okay, good. Okay. So when I did my coaching with you and we implemented this, I put it on my Trello board and I would type into it or whatever and I would look at it. And because I look at it often enough, I remember it and try to do it based on memory. Right. But what I realized, I mean, I've fallen off a bit. I won't lie. You know, and I, sometimes I think about it, I say, okay, well, it's Monday. I should just be doing client work. It's Wednesday. Let me focus on doing this, all those sort of things. But what I saw in your video is that you actually printed it out and you were writing with your hand. And I think that is so different than, trying to just [00:52:00] do it on the computer or just trying to do it by, by rote or by memory. I imagine you actually have a worksheet that, that maybe we could print out. That each of us in the audience can print out. Awesome. Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: So it is. Yeah, it is up. The planner is a worksheet. You can print it out. What I do, because I just have not found any diaries that serve me in the way I want to be served. I print out. My downloadable for the week and not even for the week. Sorry for the month. And I use that as my monthly calendar, basically, and I work from there so you can use it like that. Another. The reason why I like writing things down is. To be quite honest, and this is no offense to people that enjoy using these digital apps and stuff, there is a little bit more reality when you write things down because when you write things down, you really feel the weight [00:53:00] of it. I don't know if anybody in the audience can attest to this, but sometimes if, when you put things down in a, in a note on a digital space, it's, it's such a, it's so easy, such a fast paced thing, you know, you just put it on and that's it. But when you, when you're writing, you're also thinking as you write, as the pen touches the paper and you also have an opportunity to like really reflect without. Oh, you know, white lights being in your face from a screen, right? And if you think about white light and how we engage with white light, think about it, Kevin. When we are engaged with white light, do we take moments to like sit and reflect? We're mostly taking time to just do because we're typing or we're scrolling. When you're writing pen to paper, You're not scrolling. So your attention is much higher as compared to when you're in front of a [00:54:00] screen. Studies have shown this. You could, you could literally research, research on this. Kevin Valley: Yeah, I mean, yeah, people can research, or, you could just look at kids. Yes, exactly. Look at kids. They don't care what they're looking at. It could be, it could be somebody cooking. It could be somebody playing a game, it could be a dragon, you know, it just keeps scrolling, scrolling, scrolling, scrolling, scrolling, scrolling, scrolling, scrolling. Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: And that is what happens is cognitively, you're not as present with what you're engaging with. And this is why I like writing. Pen to paper because I'm, I'm no longer in the mode of just doing and typing and scrolling, but I can now feel the weight of a lot of what I've written and I could also see where I'm being unreasonable. Kevin Valley: Yeah, no, I agree. 100%. I've actually started doing like my show notes and prep notes, more on a notebook. And if you could see all that. All that ugly writing. Yes. [00:55:00] I should start doing that as opposed to just doing it in Microsoft Word and I bought myself some new pens yesterday. Yes. You know? Yes. So, because yes, you remember it more and yeah, it takes a lot more. It's more feasible as well. You feel Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: the feasibility of it. You know, when you put these things on a digital app, it's aspirational, absolutely. But is it feasible? Absolutely. Absolutely. Is it really feasible? You know, and when you start to write things down, you're, you're, you're, again, because you're writing, you're also thinking as you go, you know, you're not typing, you're writing. So that triggers thoughts, because we, if you think about how we write from left to right, we're writing and thinking, and when you're typing, yes, you're, you're thinking as well as you type, but you're more so in the mode of the action rather than the thought. Okay. Kevin Valley: Yeah, I could type very passively indeed, you know, because, yeah, you could be thinking about, you could be daydreaming or something else while typing. You could be daydreaming Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: and your hand's going. [00:56:00] That's correct. Exactly, your fingers are going, yes. Kevin Valley: I want to move on to talking about funnels and product launch strategies, right? Ooh, Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: money. Yes. Because we speak, Kevin Valley: because again. I love me some money. Yeah. Let's talk about that. Let's talk about that. Because a lot of us are entrepreneurs, we're consultants, we're coaches. A lot of us we're working in, in the digital space, right? We're creating digital products and whatnot. So if we don't have a hundred thousand followers or even 10, 000 followers or what have you, right, what is the ideal product launch strategy so that when we launch our products, we have people to launch it to, and we have enough market awareness and whatnot so that we could increase our chances of a successful product launch. Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: Yeah. So here's the thing with product launches. You know, some people say that, you know, what product launches are becoming obsolete and they're actually not very, they don't engender high performance because every time that you launch, there is a [00:57:00] huge amount of work that you have to do to launch. So a lot of people don't see that as very valuable. And then there is another school of thought that thinks that, having digital and evergreen products are more the direction to go because you don't always have to launch. You launch once and then you'd like a rinse and repeat to me. I think both are very useful and it comes down to your audience. It really comes down to your audience, whether you should have an evergreen product or whether you should have something that is a little bit more on the launch live side. But the first thing is, yes, audience, I think when we, when we create launches where we have to remember that we're creating launches for our audience and not because we have some great idea. You can have a great idea, but if it's not packaged for your audience, your audience is not going to bite. They're not going to budge. They're not going to purchase. You're not going to get their money. I always tell people, focus on cultivating a very strong and engaged community, [00:58:00] asking a lot of questions on what it is, are there challenges, what are they experiencing over the last three months. I remembered when I was doing, before I did a launch, I asked, you know, my community, hey, I want to do a webinar on something I'm not sure as yet what the theme or the topic should be, but I want to know what has been pressing on your mind lately as a high performance individual and they came back with a lot of topics. And guess what? That is what I made, my webinar on that topic. So being very informed, user generated information. And using the platforms in that way, because we have to remember, like, these are real people and these are very real research insights. So number one, doing that, understanding your community. Number two with offers is I see a lot of people get caught up in. What it is they're offering, right? Rather than focusing on what is the result of the offer. I'll say that again. There's a difference between the [00:59:00] what versus the result. I could offer a webinar, which is the what, but the result I am offering could be you getting sold out on your first. Webinar sale, for example, that is the result, right? And I can, I can help you do that in seven days or three days or whatever the case might be. But I find that a lot of times when we are selling, we're selling the what and not the result. And if you think about it, people are really buying because of the result. Right? When, when we purchase, we're purchasing because we know that a result is guaranteed or inevitable. So, number two is really focusing on selling the result rather than selling what you're offering. And the last bit that I think really helps with making a successful launch is having clients as billboards. Now, I have built a six figure business from that. If you've watched how I've built Alphastute [01:00:00] closely, it's exactly that I've used my clients as my billboard and the good work and the excellence that we do to really further the mission and to get even more people into our pipeline and to convert more people, to retain more people, to get people returning, coming back. And a lot of times we feel icky. To ask our clients, Hey, can you leave a positive review? Or, Hey, can you do a video for us? Or, Hey, can you hop on a call or a live with me? You know, like we feel a bit embarrassed about this because it's like, we don't want to put the client on the spot and that sort of thing, but I want you to know this. Clients are more than willing to talk about their success. Clients are more than willing to talk about their winning. Stop thinking that people don't want to talk about their wins. We live in a society where we are constantly facing losses. Of course they want to come and talk about how they've been able to change something or change a trajectory. So to me, I have fed into that. I've fed into the [01:01:00] fact that my clients love winning because that's the type of clients I work with, clients that love results and they want to share their results. So being able to get these clients to share what they've been able to do and also share the timeline for when they've been able to see results is really important because. You could, you could sell to somebody, a 21 day diet program, or you could sell to somebody in 48 hours, I can help you drop 10 pounds. Which one you think would sell faster? The shorter time one, because people want results now. We want results fast, right? And yes, I agree that there are some, some services and products that cannot give those results immediately, but if they cannot give those results immediately, then demonstrate a very strong value proposition that persuades them [01:02:00] to join you for the long haul. And this is why you need testimonials. This is why you need your client speaking for you because it's not enough for you to tell them that they need to see it. Kevin Valley: So if you're launching a product that is not necessarily in the space that you're in, so it's not, something that you'll have existing testimonials for, it's a new offering completely, how would you test that? Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: Well, the first thing I would ask is why are you using people as guinea pigs? Kevin Valley: Well, you have to, you have to, you have to test the market, the market. Yeah, you have to test the market. Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: I agree. I agree. You have to test the market, but I think that you should test the market either with yourself Or you test the market with a pro bono client. Kevin Valley: Hmm. Okay. I like that idea. I like the pro bono clients idea. Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: I never suggest going out into a product launch and you have no skin in the game. You have no receipts, not even for yourself. You know, then [01:03:00] what, how, what, where is the trust factor? How would people like really trust this? So to me, even if, I mean, yes, I have a large following. I have a community of people. I've kind of, you know, made a name for myself in terms of what I do. But I don't put things out until I have been the guinea pig myself, or I have clients that have gone through the process and could attest to it. Especially in the field of professional and personal development. Right? So I would say, get a pro bono client and have an arrangement with them where here's the thing. I'm going to work with you on this and I want your honest opinion on it. I want your honest review and if they give you a bad review, it's an indication that you may not be ready just yet to launch. You might need to make some tweaks or you might need to try with another pro bono client, but you've got to get the product right enough. You know, to a standard of quality that when it goes out there, it can succeed. Kevin Valley: All right. Yeah I like what you said, I mean, yeah, really [01:04:00] speaking about people launching, like a coach is launching more coaching products and stuff. And I guess Even if you're launching something else, that's an offshoot of whatever it is that you do, that the credibility established through the receipts, through the testimonials, through the market research, through the audits in terms of asking them, okay, what are you guys, Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: what are you guys you don't have the testimonial, show me that it's worked for you. Show me that you've used this in your own life. Show me that you've used this in your own business and it's created a result. If you can't show me that it works for you, then how can you prove that it will work for me? Kevin Valley: There you go. Credibility is key. Okay. So the last topic I want to touch on is what's up next for you. So I see that you have this lucrative leadership bootcamp coming up, a three day intensive course. Tell us about that. Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: Yeah. So what's coming up for, for us as Alphastute next? Well, I just want to say that, you know, we, when we started, I was a one woman [01:05:00] show. I started Alphastute as a virtual coaching company. At that time, we were probably, we were not even probably, we were the only coaching company. virtual professional development coach in the digital space in Trinidad. A lot of people were doing it brick and mortar. We were delivering it exclusively online. I got a lot of flack for that. A lot of people were like, how does this work? That's a whole set of stuff. But six years later and praise God, we've done it the way that we've done it because we still are a virtual company. And you know, If you don't know, social media is powerful and we've built our audience and our, our leads, our revenue, mainly through social media to the point now where we have eight team members, five of which are ambassadors for our women's mentorship community, and the three are core team members to Alphastute, which is just a testimony of what can really happen when you stay obedient to what you're here to do as an entrepreneur. So [01:06:00] what's next for us is we have a lucrative leadership bootcamp that is coming up that is going to be hosted by myself and it's really geared towards coaches, thought leaders, and service based entrepreneurs. I think there are so many people out here that are born to lead, that are born with a very powerful mission and a very powerful testimony, but they are in a cycle of diluting their voice, making things politically correct, finding it very difficult to articulate their message from a place of authenticity, and ultimately finding it difficult to convert to sales, because the message isn't clear, because the articulation of the message comes from a space of insecurity. So this bootcamp is going to teach coaches, thought leaders, and service based entrepreneurs how to really lean into your leadership blueprint, lean into your values, [01:07:00] create a magnetic message that allows you to create a movement, because we're not just focused on a message, we're now focused on how can we scale that message to a movement, and then how can we convert that movement To Moula, Kevin Valley: to Moula from Movement to Moula. I love it. Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: Right? So that is what I will be teaching in this three day bootcamp. And you see, I always teach what I've done. I always teach where I've been and, and what I have experienced. This is going to be me sharing how. As a business, we've been able to generate five figures with every launch 10K months. How we have been able to reach becoming a six figure company, over the space of time that we've been in existence. So it's, again, really off of the heels of myself as CEO and having a message, but then creating a message into a movement. [01:08:00] So that is what I will be teaching. in this upcoming bootcamp. Kevin Valley: From message to movement to moolah. I love that. Okay. So from one employee to 8 team members. How big do you plan to let this grow? Do you want to keep it small, you know, less than 12 folks or so just so it's easily manageable, or do you want this to be a big 50 plus person company that, there's branches here, branches there, Atlanta, UK, Trinidad, Jamaica, wherever. Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: So for me, I, right now, I'm not limiting the vision of Alphastute. You know, Alphastute has a vision of its own, separate from Dr. Shelly-Ann Gajadhar as CEO. So I'm allowing my business to dream its dream. I'm allowing my business to reach new heights and to go where it desires to go and not get in the way of it. And you know, so many people have planted seeds in the business whilst working with us in terms of expansion and stuff and I'm open to it. So for [01:09:00] me right now, it's about building it to a million dollar company. That's the season that we're in right now. Seven figures is our goal. We're close to it. You know, we're pushing for that to happen and also let's go. Yeah. And also building it into a business that high performing people, leaders want to come to. And we've already established a physical office space in Atlanta. So sky's the limit and whatever is next, we're ready. Kevin Valley: Alright ATL, okay. So you want an idea for another 10k real quick? See that energy-focussed planner, you could print that as a book and you could sell that with the audience, Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: Absolutely. My husband has been telling me this, he has been telling me this, and here is my issue. I just don't like inventory, but I know that there are also companies that [01:10:00] handle all of the shipping and all of that. And. I, I, I really do like that idea. My thing is, I am trying to figure out how do I incorporate that with the workings of my book? Because I love things to make sense. I love things to have connection. Again, this is how you build empires and not hustles. We did not talk about your book. Pardon me? Kevin Valley: We did not talk about your book. No, Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: we did not talk about my book. Kevin Valley: Tell me about your book. There's Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: so much. Kevin Valley: Yeah, there's a lot. You busy. I busy. But the book is it's a book of confidence quotes for every day of the year, right? Yes. So, so that's easy. You could put one on, put, put one on each page of the of the, of the journal. Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: Of the journal. Yes. Kevin Valley: Boom. Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: Yes. Boom. Do I need to send you do you need to send me your invoice? Kevin Valley: Hey I mean you can send a little blessings, you know, if you, if you say you want to send a little commission. Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: But absolutely. Yes. [01:11:00] The, the book. Is a daily quotes book that helps people to build their confidence, helps people to stay in their divine purpose, in their mission, in their leadership. It helps you to go bravely every day. And in the back has affirmations for your career, for your business, your relationships, love, health, spirituality. It is something that I created because as high performers, we don't have a lot of time. A lot of times we can feel like we're running out of time, and we don't have time for morning practice. We don't have time for devotion, for introspection. So the book is a way for you to ground yourself in a message and command your day based on that message. So it gives you a checkpoint for self awareness. Which I think a lot of us as high performance need more of. Kevin Valley: Yeah, I think the people in the podcast world definitely waiting [01:12:00] to buy that book. So whenever you guys ready to launch, let us know. All right, Shelly, as we get ready to wrap, is there anything that we didn't cover that you want to make sure you get out to the audience? Giving you open mic, open forum, open platform. Floor's yours. Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: Yeah, I think the last thing I just want to say to the audience is and you know, I've said this on a number of podcasts and on a number of appearances, and it is to always remember that the dream chose you and that you did not choose your dreams. You did not wake up wanting to be an astronaut. You did not wake up wanting to be a chemist. Really, because the dream knows that you don't have those skill sets to be it. Your dream shows you because you have the capabilities, you have the competencies, you have the personality, you have the style, you have the presence, you have the essence. Your dream knows that you can manifest it and you can make it a reality. And all your dream needs [01:13:00] is for you to step into your dream and step into what is divinely yours. So always remember that, these things that might feel too aspirational or too big for you, they came into your life and into your lap for a reason, because it knows you can do it. So go do it. And as I always say, go bravely. Kevin Valley: Podcast world, there you have it. Becoming a high performing entrepreneur with Dr. Shelly Ann Gadgeter. Subscribe to The Value at thevalue.show/subscribe. Check us out on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. And with that podcast world, Dr. Shelly. Dr. Shelly Gajadhar: Thank you. Bye Podcast world. Kevin Valley: We are out.