393 MINISODE Beth Bell: Leverage Your Mistakes

Women Innovating Networking Growing Scaling – that’s WINGS … I’m Melinda Wittstock, my mission is to help women take flight to soar to the success of our dreams in business and in life– and create and grow businesses in alignment with our passion and purpose.

On this special Mentoring Minisode of Wings of Inspired Business … we talk about what it means to have a business with a social impact mission … in this case, to pollinate the planet with love. We also talk about how to be kind to yourself in business, why there really is no such thing as a mistake, how to have fun along the journey and get out of the busy work and into the inspired state of flow.

Here with us today to provide her insights and inspiration is …

Beth Bell

Beth Bell went to Bali for a few months and stayed for five and a half years … and is now back in the U.S. with a mission to pollinate the planet … with love.

She recently launched her “Pollinating Love Mudra” to assist humanity in giving and receiving unconditional love. It’s a simple, yet sacred mudra to re-connect to our higher selves, others and strengthen community.

Beth Bell will be here with her advice in just a moment on our Mentoring Minisode and first …

And now to the inspiring Beth Bell.

For 15 years she worked at the top echelons of corporate marketing. Yet it was a hobby that led her to her true soul purpose: It was a passion for observational flower photography and it led her to a stunning realization.

Beth has a unique gift for channeling messages from Flowers. And now she harnesses the power of Mother Nature to re-connect with the inner wisdom that lies within each of us. She calls herself the “flower whisperer” and her inspirational jewelry line, empowering radio & TV show, and the 4 Life Lessons she learned from flowers in her book “Flower Power 4 Pure Love” provide something

Melinda Wittstock:       Beth, welcome to Wings.

Beth Bell:                     Thank you for having me. I’m really excited to be here!

Melinda Wittstock:       I’m excited to have you as well. You’ve had so much experience both in corporate and start up, and in this journey, and to consciousness in business. And I wanted to really understand what is inspiring you right now?

Beth Bell:                       Well, interestingly enough, what is inspiring me right now is the pollinating love mudra. And if you would have asked me 10 years ago when I was in my corporate life if I would be doing a mudra, I would have said, “No, way!” But that’s what’s inspiring me right now.

Melinda Wittstock:       Oh, that’s awesome. So tell me a little bit about it. I want everyone to understand what you’re up to.

Beth Bell:                     Yeah, well I’m on a mission pollinating the planet with love, and this mudra came through. And a mudra is basically a way to use your… Well, in my mudra it’s your heart, your hands, your eyes, and most importantly the intention of giving and receiving love. And so it’s a way to connect with your own inner wisdom on deeper levels, but then you can also connect with others. And when we connect with others, we create conscious communities, so it’s just a really grounded way to move through life that helps you in business. It might sound “woo woo”, but it’s actually a very grounded practice that can bring this deeper connection to your own true compass.

Melinda Wittstock:       I love it. And of course, at all stages of business, no matter how successful, there’s always some sort of challenge. And I’d like to de stigmatize these so women who are going through one of the downs in the ups and downs of entrepreneurship don’t get discouraged. So what are some of yours?

Beth Bell:                     You know, one of the things I like to tell people, and I’m always working on myself, is you can’t make a mistake. I think growing up in the Midwest of America I did put a lot of responsibility on myself, which is good. But then there’s also that side of just recognizing that you can always just make another choice. So we don’t have to judge ourselves for mistakes. So that would be one.

I think the other one I would say is, it’s really a journey. And you need to have more fun. So I like to, I can’t tell you how many business plans I’ve put together, and to be honest with you, life happens as you’re planning, so I think that it’s really not so much about all of the details, as it is about keeping and holding that vision. So I’m not saying don’t make a business plan. I’m just saying again, you know, don’t come back to that judgment so harshly with the details. Keep the vision going.

And the third one I would say it’s most likely not going to be what you think it is. And what I mean by that is that even for myself, I look back and I go, wow, I started a jewelry company, product company that’s all about empowering pure love and purpose, and I had no idea what that was actually leading me to. It almost feels like there were little carrots along the way to keep me going, but the plan is much bigger. And so, yeah, it’s really about keeping the sight of the vision. And following the flow.

Melinda Wittstock:       Yeah, I love it too because inherent to what you’re saying is co-creating with your customers. Or not actually getting too wrapped up in the how.

Beth Bell:                     Yes.

Melinda Wittstock:       Because when we constrain, it’s like our ego at work, kind of constraining something that could be much bigger. Or a better way to actually achieve something. So I like to stay focused on yeah, the vision, but also the results. Imagine it done. What does it look like when it’s done? And how do you feel when it’s done?

Beth Bell:                     Yes, yes. Exactly. And sometimes that’s hard when you’re in the throws of everything. And you’re like, no, I’m seeing this! But it’s like, no, no, no! See the future! Yeah.

Melinda Wittstock:       So these are all great pieces of advice for anyone in business. Did you learn these kind of the hard way? Or did you kind of always intuitively know a lot of this stuff?

Beth Bell:                     No. I definitely learned it all the hard way. I came out of my corporate life with rose-colored glasses, where you have teams of people and millions of marketing dollars to spend to basically become a solopreneur. And I think it’s good that we have no idea what we’re up against. Otherwise no one would become an entrepreneur. It’s just, the road can be hard, it can be lonely at times. And yeah, you just have to really roll up your sleeves, and just keep going, and get the lessons as you go, and evolve and transform as your business grows, and as your talents and skills start to blossom. So yeah, I feel like I definitely did it the hard way.

Melinda Wittstock:       I feel the same way. But I mean, again, this goes back to your advice. You know, at the very beginning of this. You can’t really make a mistake. It’s those failures or mistakes are just opportunities for learning, and they’re just part of the bread crumbs along the journey, or what’d you say? The carrots.

Beth Bell:                     Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Otherwise they just take you down. If you wallow in those things that we wished we could have done differently, we don’t really get the lessons to move us forward.

Melinda Wittstock:       So true. So how can people find you, Beth, and work with you?

Beth Bell:                     Bethbell.me. They can find everything on there. My products, my radio show, my book. Yeah, everything’s on bethbell.me.

Melinda Wittstock:       Wonderful. Thank you so much for putting on your wings and flying with us.

Beth Bell:                     Yeah, thank you for having me.