Raj Girn: So on with the show in this first week of March, where our theme is mindset and clarity. I want to share that today’s episode is a little more special than usual because it’s in honor of us being in the week that celebrates International Women’s Day. The day itself is tomorrow, but I’m marking it all week long with two powerhouse women who are this week’s guests, who are helping me do that. Before I tell you who they are, I want to share the focus of this week’s show, which is entitled How to Use Mindset and Collaboration to Boss Up Your Life. My guests are serial entrepreneur Ky-Lee Hanson and multi-platinum recording artist Mia Martina. Here’s a bit about the ladies before I bring them on.

Here is Part One of our conversation:

Ky-Lee is a successful entrepreneur, a multi-award-winning author and publisher, and an advocate for human rights. She owns Oneida Grand Event Center & Bistro and Golden Brick Road Publishing House. Her other businesses include tech, real estate and consulting services for entrepreneurs.

Mia made her solo recording debut in 2010 with the global smash hit “Stereo Love.” The song was nominated for a Juno Award for Dance Recording of the Year in 2011 and she has since followed it up with a slew of successes that include 10 gold records and two platinum records. She is also a strategic and savvy businesswoman, providing coaching and mentorship to young girls and businesswomen alike, and is currently working on new music, looking forward to being able to get back on stage once the world opens up again.

Now, why did I invite Ky-Lee and Mia to this week’s show? Well, they collaborated on a female empowerment and self-help book called ‘Boss Up Your Life: A Girl’s Guide to Her Dream Career,’ set for release in April. So those of you who know me know that I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get into the minds of these very successful businesswomen about why the collaboration, why now, and why this topic. Here’s what we covered in part one.

✅ I kick things off by asking them what they define as the concepts of mindset and clarity as it relates to their individual experiences in life.
✅ Why it’s important to get this right from the get-go, so as to set yourself up the getting what you want from your life and from your career.
✅ What success mindset is and how it relates to growth mindset, and
✅ When their book is set to drop.

Please welcome to the show the fabulous Ky-Lee Hanson and Mia Martina.

Ladies! Oh my gosh! I am so excited to have the opportunity to sit here, even though we are in different parts of the world, and chat about this fabulous book that you guys collaborated on. But before we get into it, I just want to say hello and thank you so much for coming to the show today.

Mia Martina: Thank you so much for having us.

Ky-Lee Hanson: We’re so excited to be here.

Oh, my gosh. So should we jump right into it, ladies?

Yes, let’s do this.

OK, let’s do this. So we are a day away from International Women’s Day. This episode is airing the day before. And I just want to say to you guys, that I’m pleased that this day is honored by default of the fact that we need to honor our agenda for all of what we’ve gone through. But I’m also reminded of the fact that its very existence also means that although we have come far as a gender, we still have such a long way to go. What are your guys’ thoughts on this? I want to start the conversation there. Mia, what are your thoughts?

Mia: Oh, my God. We have made it a long way, which I’m super proud of us. But yes, you are right. We still have a long way to go. Because more and more, it’s so important for us women to stick together and to know that we can do everything we want to if we put our minds to it. We have to get rid of all those stigmas and just believe in ourselves and know that there is nothing that we cannot do. So it’s getting there, but we still have a long journey to go and I’m here for it.

I think that’s the reason why this book couldn’t have come at a better time and I can’t wait to jump into it.

Ky-Lee, tell me your thoughts around that as well. How do you feel about International Women’s Day and the fact that we have to mark this day to remind people that the agenda is important?

Ky-Lee: I agree with you. It’s a really great point. I wish that we didn’t need to spend time bringing awareness to equality. There are so many other things that we could be busy creating. But it is important and I have noticed a shift over the last few years. We’re seeing women in leadership roles. But at the same time, we’ve also seen an uprising, people that are not that warm to this change. So I think that it does just have to continue. It’s like walking up that mountain together, locking arms, cheering each other on, and really enrolling all genders and all identities into coming together around this.

Amen. I couldn’t agree with both of you more, actually, to be honest. And I think that’s why this discussion, that we’re having today, is really important. I want to start the conversation around the fact that this particular episode being that it’s the first week of the month, we always theme around mindset and clarity. I want to set up the conversation before diving in to talk about the book, by first asking you both what your personal understanding is on what the concept of mindset actually is. Ky-lee, do you want to jump in with that one first?

K: Yeah, for me, it has to do with how we perceive life and situations, and then how we perceive it plays a role and influences how we act in our lives. So the more that we expose our mind, our mind changes. So it’s very important that we pay attention to what we’re being influenced by. So to have a positive mindset, you need to make sure that you have lots of positivity around you.

Absolutely. And how about you, Mia? How do you feel about that?

M: Well, mindset is everything. The minute that you change your mindset, that’s the minute your life changes. So if you’re not happy with your life, you need to do those adjustments and just know that abundance is right around the corner. So it’s all about being aware of yourself and wanting change. You got to do these adjustments and that’s really what mindset is to me and I’m sure to a lot of people, especially successful people. That’s what you have to do. You have to block out the noise and focus on what your true desires are and know that there is no limit. You can accomplish anything with the right mindset.

“You have to block out the noise and focus on what your true desires are and know that there is no limit. You can accomplish anything with the right mindset.” ~ Mia Martina

Amen, sister. I’m so on that page. You know, it brings me to something I wanted to also maybe deep dive a little bit before we head into the book. That the concept of mindset is always directly associated with the notion around garnering clarity. We always talk about mindset and clarity. This particular episode is themed around that as well, of course. So people always talk about both of these, the notion of mindset, the notion of clarity interchangeably. But not many people are able to understand how to differentiate it. So for those who don’t know how to differentiate, I want to ask you guys this question to decipher the next rung up the ladder of your professional career, or even in terms of your spiritual alignment with seeking a deeper meaning around life, or anything in between those two trajectories. You know, mindset and clarity are fundamental.

Before we go into the book, I want to ask you, what is the mindset around clarity? Like what is that? Mia, do you want to jump in there? What’s your experience? Because I know everyone has a different relationship around what that means, but what is that clarity piece for you?

M: For me, clarity is peace of mind. So, clarity to me is definitely peace of mind. What brings you peace? What brings you joy? What makes you sleep good at night? What makes you feel creative? And all those things essentially all tied in together. Once you know what you truly want, that’s when you can start working on your mindset and looking at your life that way. For instance, while growing up, people were like, “Hey, I’m not sure this is the right move for you because there’s not really any money in that.” Like this starving artist syndrome or all these types of letting people put limitations on you, so they stop you from growing. That’s why I’m so keen on blocking out the noise from the outside and knowing what you truly want, is the minute you will gain more clarity and your mindset will follow.

Absolutely. I completely agree with that. Ky-Lee, is there anything that you want to add to that from your experience around the concept behind clarity and how it fits in with the notion of mindset? Like how do those two work for you in your experience?

K: I would say that they are closely related and when I was younger, I was always asking, everyone says this crystal clear vision, crystal clear vision, what does this mean? I think it takes leaning into intuition. When something sparks interest in you, listen to that and explore it and analyze it. Analyzing is so important to really see that clearer picture. And it really comes at the level of self-belief to commit to exploring and to get to that point. So all of that middle work between there is developing your mindset.

Absolutely. And I think there’s something really important that’s just been established here. Folks, if you guys are just joining me, I am chatting with these fabulous ladies, Ky-Lee and Mia. We are just heading into the conversation about the book that they collaborated on.

Before we go there, I just want to share with you guys what I’ve gotten out of what they’ve said so far. And that is that really in essence, the goal here is that you have to remember that you got to put in the work to be able to actually get the results you’re looking for. So mindset and clarity sound very woo-woo. A lot of people think as long as I just action the things I want to action, the mindset and clarity piece isn’t really something that is as important as that needs to be in place in order for me to get the results I want. But what I’m hearing these ladies say is something that I’ve learned also throughout my life, is that until I can see where it is that I need to go, I can’t reverse engineer that piece to where I am today. When I look at it from that perspective and that’s what I’m hearing the ladies here say as well. You have got to do the work, but you’ve got to understand why you’re doing the work. And why are you wanting to get to where it is that you’re looking to get to so that there is an intention to that journey. Am I right that that’s how you guys feel as well from your experience working as career women?

“Until I can see where it is that I need to go, I can’t reverse engineer that piece to where I am today.“ ~ Raj Girn

K: 100 per cent.

M: Yeah, totally.

Absolutely. So let’s do it, girlfriends. Let’s head right back into this book. Now that I’ve been going on and on about it, I’m dying to talk to everybody about this.

Let’s tie in a little bit of this mindset and clarity piece into the book. You guys have collaborated on a book called ‘Boss Up Your Life: A Girl’s Guide to Her Dream Career.’ One of your central themes that I want to touch upon today and get your thoughts around ladies . . . The first one of those themes is this idea behind the success mindset. Let’s go there first. Ky-Lee, do you want to tell us a little bit about what that means to you as it’s related to the book?

K: Yes. First, I think people need to explore and identify what success means to them as an individual. In society, we have certain stigmas and definitions of that word.

“I think that we really need to focus on what is going to fulfill us. That is really the level of success.” ~ Ky-Lee Hanson

To get into the success mindset is focusing on having that clarity and going towards the vision, but realizing all of the hard work that goes into it. Success is work and be ready for it, and lean into the journey and everything that you’re going to learn, all the highs and lows, the ups and downs, and celebrate along the way. And it has so much to do with just self-belief and not comparing yourselves to others, but instead be inspired by other people that have that success.

Absolutely. I love that. Mia, is there anything that you could add to that?

It’s key. I mean, Ky-Lee just said it all right there. Success is a lot of work. But one thing that we sometimes fail to do is enjoy the journey while it’s happening, actually enjoy and live in the moment. We live in a time where it’s so hard to just be present at the moment because we have our phone and all we want to do is film the moment, but not actually live it. And once I stop doing that and actually take a deep breath and be like, okay I’m living this right now. I’m about to do a show with 100,000 people. I’m taking this energy in and I’m running with it. I’m letting it fuel my body because this is what I prayed for. It’s here. Let me live and enjoy it. I think that is something people need to definitely focus more on. Because with that they’ll gain more self-worth. They’ll be happy. Their heart will be full. And I think that’s a big thing.

I really agree with what you said. They’re both, actually, because on one side, success mindset, from what I’m hearing you guys say, is an understanding that there is a relative idea behind what success is. What success is to one person may be different to another person. There’s also this concept and idea of being able to sit in the success of the moment. We’re always looking for that next success, that next thing that we want to be able to tackle. And we almost always forget, especially in the busy world that we live in today and just all the chaos that’s going on, we seem to consistently forget that what’s happening today is valuable to our growth as human beings.

“There is a relative idea behind what success is. What success is to one person may be different to another person. There’s also this concept and idea of being able to sit in the success of the moment. We’re always looking for that next success, that next thing that we want to be able to tackle.” ~ Raj Girn

That whole growth mindset piece has a lot to do with us being able to sit with every single day and say “I feel blessed and honored for what I’m going through today, and this is going to help me get to where I want to be tomorrow.” It’s wonderful. I love hearing what you guys are saying about this. I actually want to touch a little bit on the concept of a growth mindset because it’s directly related to your success mindset.

I’d love to hear Ky-Lee, do you want to maybe give your experience on the idea of growth mindset? Because, from my perspective, it’s always been about me being a student to life. That to me, it’s like I’m always growing because I’m always allowing myself to ensure that I’m blocking out those energies that don’t work for who I am in this given moment, in this avatar of who I am today, versus the whole idea of why it’s important that I need to sit with the value of who I am as a person. So, what are your thoughts around the idea of growth mindset?

K: It’s very much that we have to really be open to learning and because nobody knows it until they learn it. We all start out from this place of “I don’t really know what I’m doing. This is really hard.” And that’s completely normal. But when you have the growth mindset, it’s what gets you through that, because it’s “If I do this, then I go here and then I go here.” So as I was saying, you have to fall in love with the journey and take in those experiences because that’s why you should be doing it. Not for only the theme or like, in the book we say, like the Maserati, although those things are nice and we want those things, it has to be about more than that.

You know, that brings me to a question that I want to ask you, Mia. Obviously, you are in the public eye. How do you stay grounded with knowing who Mia is versus the many versions of who people think you are from the outside? Are there any practices or any thoughts or any mantras? Is there anything at all that you do to remind yourself that this is who I am?

M: Yeah, my mom and dad. Mom and dad keep me grounded. I come from a very small town of 600 people. Every time I think I am getting a little bit ahead of myself, I bring myself back down to there. But I’m also not afraid to say, “Oh my God, I came a long way. I did this because I believed in myself.” So it’s two things, sometimes I am overly humble and sometimes I got to give myself that, “Hey I’m a boss. I did this.” So I always go to the same place and it helps me a lot to just stay grounded. Definitely my parents. They make sure I’m not flying on a high horse all day. They’re like, “Hey, come back down here.”

I love that, I love that. That’s absolutely correct. You know, that’s a whole other conversation, which I feel I need to bring you guys back on to have that discussion as well because oftentimes people get success, especially women, and actually I’m going to say women, it’s not even predicated on gender. It’s predicated on the fact that we’re actually not taught money mindset.

One thing that I do want is to sit with those guys is, you’re hearing it here from the ladies. These two ladies are very successful in their arenas. I gave you guys some information about who they are and why they matter. And, the goal today is to talk around some of these concepts that they believe in, that they’ve lived, that they’ve seen, that they’ve put together and collaborating about this book.

And, before we move on, I do want to just address how can people get this book? Where is it available? When is it available? Can you guys give us some information about that before we move on?

K: Yes. So the release date is April 8th, but people can pre-order now so that they get their copies first. We are available at Amazon, Chapters Indigo, Barnes and Noble and Target. You can head to any of those websites and place your order now and pick it up in-store or they’ll ship it right to you. So choose your favorite retailer and they’ll have it.

Really, can you flash that little closer for us? There it is, guys. Oh, my gosh. I’m just super excited. It brings up another question, ladies. If anybody wants to get a signed copy, is there any kind of campaign or competition or limited pre-sell thing that you guys are doing? Do you want to share that?

m: We are definitely going to be doing that. We’re also going to be doing a great giveaway. Maybe a designer bag giveaway for one beautiful lady. And we’ll probably throw in there some mentorship from me and Ky-Lee as well.

Oh, my God. That alone. I think I’ll sign up for that.

K: Sign me up, too.

M: That’s a beautiful way to get girls to interact with us because that’s all we want. We want women to believe in themselves and go after it. You know, like, come on, girl, we live in a great time. There’s nothing you can’t do.

“We want women to believe in themselves and go after it. You know, like, come on, girl, we live in a great time. There’s nothing you can’t do.” ~ Mia Martina

Absolutely. I love that. You definitely have got the right concept, an idea behind the fact that this book is going to be available. You heard it right here, guys, April the 8th.

But you can go preorder it. So go online and do that now, because this is not just a book about two successful women. This is a book, that is a guide book that is going to help you get through some of these and give you some technical, resourceful ways to get through some of those steps.

Thank you so much for staying till the end, guys. I really hope you enjoyed the show and will action the many insights that were shared. I also hope that you’ll hop online to grab their book ‘Boss Up Your Life: A Girl’s Guide to Her Dream Career,’ which is available for presale now.

If you found the show helpful, I’m so glad. I would love your support by subscribing to this podcast on your Apple and Android platforms. Search ‘The Transform Your Confidence Show’ on our YouTube channel at The Open Chest^® Confidence Academy. And if you’re an avid reader like I am, we’ve also transcribed every podcast into a blog which you can access at the OpenChestConfidenceAcademy.com/media/our-media. Also please hop on over to our private Facebook group at Transform Your Confidence where there are networking opportunities as well as knowledge and resources about mindset, media, communications, branding, marketing, leadership and advocacy – my areas of expertise for busy executives and entrepreneurs who are seeking to elevate the quality of their life. You know, you’ve got to be there.

Remember to be kind to yourself and also remember how important it is for you to be kind to others. You owe it to yourself to be the best that you can be, but you also owe it to others to make it count. I hope you’ll stick with this until next time. I hope you’ll have a great rest of your week.

To contact:
🌺 Ky-Lee Hanson: Instagram
🌺 Mia Martina: Instagram