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"A LOT with Audra" is the podcast for women juggling big dreams and full lives. Each episode, host, Audra Dinell, Midwestern wife, mom and neurodivergent multi-six figure entrepreneur encourages women to embrace their many roles holistically by living a values-based life with confidence and joy. Through candid discussions, practical strategies and inspiring stories, this podcast is your guide to designing and achieving success without losing yourself in the process.
Ep65
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Meet Amanda Mulsow
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[00:00:00]
Audra Dinell: [00:01:00] Today we're talking to a small business owner named Amanda Mulsow. Amanda is the founder of Grit Marketing and Strategy, a full service agency dedicated to helping small and local businesses grow through intentional strategic marketing. Born and raised on a fifth generation farm in rural Kansas. She learned early what it means to show up, work hard, and help others succeed.
Her story is one of unbecoming. Letting go of roles, expectations, and environments that no longer fit in order to become more fully herself
okay. Welcome Amanda.
Amanda Mulsow: Hi Audra. Thank you so much for inviting me here today.
Audra Dinell: I'm so glad you're here, and I had to have you on the podcast knowing that this season was talking all about. Second acts because we ran into each other at a women's event in 2025, and I was sharing with you my thoughts on what the season was gonna firm up to be [00:02:00] about.
And you had a story that I needed to hear more about. Yes. So. Take us back to 40 for you. So this episode is gonna air in April. It's the month of my birthday. Yay. This whole thing has been leading up to 40. Yes. Paint us a picture of what life looked like for you at that time.
Turning 40 in Chaos
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Amanda Mulsow: Okay, so picture it February, 2020 and that's a Golden Girls reference, which I'm obsessed with.
So it was February, 2020 and I had recently. Survived really six months of just a lot of crazy things, crazy health issues. My daughter had a, she was 16 at the time. She had a mental health crisis at the time. I was also nine months into a new role at a new company where I had taken a huge pay cut to make that move.[00:03:00]
And so I had that financial stress as well, and it, it was really like I had this. The universe was raining, a shit storm down on me.
Audra Dinell: Mm-hmm.
Amanda Mulsow: There's no other way to describe it. It, it was just craziness, turn after turn. And so by the time my 40th birthday rolled around I was kind of coming out of that, it felt like, okay, things are normal or getting a little bit more normal.
And so, I had found myself really losing hope.
Audra Dinell: Mm.
Amanda Mulsow: And I mean, I, I just felt like, why is the universe doing this to me? Mm-hmm. And I, I feel like I put out a lot of good into the world. Why is it sending all of this garbage back?
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Amanda Mulsow: You know, and I was feeling very sorry for myself.
And but. At the beginning of that [00:04:00] year, I knew again right, that I was, I, I was feeling this way.
Life Giving Boundaries
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Amanda Mulsow: And instead of resolutions every year I choose a word of the year.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Amanda Mulsow: And the word of 2020 for me was life giving. Mm, mm-hmm. Yes, girl. So, I chose that word to remind myself, to speak to myself in a positive way.
Yeah. And. Do things for myself that were life giving, and that meant creating boundaries with people and activities that weren't really giving me life or filling my cup. Just literally just a few days before the whole world shut down, I had decided to end my four and a half year relationship with my partner just because I felt like I had, I had nothing to [00:05:00] give anybody else.
I could barely take care of my daughter and myself mentally.
Audra Dinell: Yeah,
Amanda Mulsow: and so.
COVID Reset and Growth
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Amanda Mulsow: In the midst of COVID, I just, I found myself looking for silver linings in everything. Mm-hmm. You know, the world shut down. Okay. Well now I can't go anywhere. I don't have any distractions. You know? You have, you had a lot of time with your self.
Yeah. And again, it was just my daughter and I, so. Being stuck at home was really this opportunity for me to have some real deep reflection and focus on some personal growth.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Amanda Mulsow: And so I had invested in this online program about healing your relationships. Mm-hmm. And so I took a deep dive into patterns that I had been.
Experiencing my entire life. Mm-hmm. And I just really, [00:06:00] really focused on myself.
Audra Dinell: Mm-hmm.
Amanda Mulsow: I also, I joined the Hive. Yeah. So that I would have a place to get out of my house and go be around people safely. And at that time we had so many different virtual events and ways to connect with other women who were.
You know, high achievers and very encouraging and supportive. And so again, I just, I really invested in myself and 2020 was truly a transformative year for me.
Audra Dinell: And it also happened to be the year you turned 40. Yes,
Amanda Mulsow: ma'am.
Audra Dinell: So how interesting that I just love. When life works out this way, that you choose something to speak over to your you, you chose a word to speak over to yourself, and that was really the word you needed.
Amanda Mulsow: Yes.
Audra Dinell: But you didn't know how that was gonna play [00:07:00] out. Of course,
Amanda Mulsow: correct.
Audra Dinell: But it was the exact thing that you needed. I also think it's really relatable to be moving into a new decade of life and experience. Hopelessness.
Amanda Mulsow: Yes.
Audra Dinell: And scary.
Amanda Mulsow: It is scary. And also I felt like I approached 40 with some trepidation.
Again, I was having a lot of health issues. My daughter was struggling with things, yet I was so excited for my forties. Okay. It's so crazy. I was. More depressed about turning 35 and 46, which I just turned one month ago than I was about turning 40. And I think it's because I have so many friends that are older than me and they told me how amazing your forties were.
Yeah. And so that, that was also playing in the back of my head that this can [00:08:00] be a really amazing chapter of your life, Amanda. You have to take the bull by the horns and. Define that for yourself. Mm. What's it going to look like? And again, I just I really just focused on myself and speaking life into, into a time when there wasn't a lot of living going on.
Yeah. We were stuck at home and so it just looked different.
Audra Dinell: So you. Combated, that hopelessness that you were experiencing, it was like both things. Hopelessness, you were losing hope because of the circumstances, but you were also intrinsically excited about your forties because of the expectations or anticipation that had been set by your circle.
Mm-hmm. So you, you combated that by pouring into yourself. Taking care of [00:09:00] yourself and also reaching out and building your community.
Amanda Mulsow: Yes.
Audra Dinell: Yeah. I think both things are so important.
Amanda Mulsow: Yes. And two things. Can they, they can coexist.
Audra Dinell: Oh, yeah,
Amanda Mulsow: definitely.
Audra Dinell: It doesn't just have to be a season of like, I'm focusing on me.
I'm growing myself. Oftentimes it doesn't, doesn't work just like that. Or it works into a point, but then I find that you need that. Other lever, the community lever.
Amanda Mulsow: Yes.
Audra Dinell: Yes.
Amanda Mulsow: Definitely. Definitely. And you know, we all have these different catalysts, you know, that launch us into the next, the next thing. And for me, again, it, it was that hopelessness of, oh my goodness, you know?
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Amanda Mulsow: Why is all of this stuff happening to me? Then again, I think if I wouldn't have had that hope, and also again, like that, that life changing time, turning the page to a new [00:10:00] decade, I, I have the chance to rewrite this chapter or, you know, develop this chapter the way that I want to, what's it going to look like?
Audra Dinell: And being in a space that feels. Hopeless can almost be a springboard to do that easier than if everything's coasting and everything's good.
Amanda Mulsow: 100%, yes.
No F*cks at 40
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Audra Dinell: Okay, so
Amanda Mulsow: you
Audra Dinell: developed a mantra for that year.
Amanda Mulsow: I did.
Audra Dinell: And this
Amanda Mulsow: is
Audra Dinell: is what led to our conversation,
Amanda Mulsow: tell me, right? Yes. Tell
Audra Dinell: us about the.
Amanda Mulsow: The mantra. Can it
Audra Dinell: say the mantra?
Amanda Mulsow: Yes. Okay. Okay. So the mantra that I created was No F*cks at 40.
Audra Dinell: I love the play on words.
Amanda Mulsow: I do too. I absolutely love alliteration, and the F word is honestly one of my favorite adjectives because I feel like it has a punch to it. If you use that before any other word. People know you are serious, you know?[00:11:00]
So anyway, like for me, it was just, again, I had this excitement about entering my forties in a new decade and what was that going to look like for me? And so I was working on learning how to shed things mm-hmm. That no longer served me.
Audra Dinell: Mm-hmm.
Amanda Mulsow: And again, during COVID, it was. Easy to do that because I, I wasn't doing anything.
I was working from home. We weren't going anywhere. You know, my daughter's activities were canceled.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Amanda Mulsow: So I really had the opportunity to focus on all of that. And I felt like the, that mantra was a reminder that other people's opinions and expectations did not matter. What really mattered was how. I felt and how I was going to love myself and live for Amanda.[00:12:00]
Audra Dinell: Mm-hmm.
Amanda Mulsow: And really be the best example for my daughter, not sweating the small stuff anymore. You know, letting things roll off my shoulder better. That came from. Developing confidence. And again, I felt like that was because I did surround, I built my tribe.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Amanda Mulsow: That year I created so many new friends and relationships and I just gained all of this confidence.
I also focused on communicating better, loving unconditionally, and again, in the midst of COVID looking for the silver linings in. Everything.
Quieting Outside Voices
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Audra Dinell: COVID was definitely the ultimate reset for many of us because so much stopped. How do you think someone now, not being in a pandemic, not wishing another pandemic upon us, but how do you think someone now can quiet [00:13:00] the external voices?
Because that's something I sort of latched onto. Mm-hmm. When you were talking.
Amanda Mulsow: Yes.
Audra Dinell: The voices can get so loud around us in our. Communities, workplaces, culture, both in real life but also online. So
Amanda Mulsow: yes.
Audra Dinell: What would you say to someone who's like, I need that. How do I turn down the volume on voices that are not mine?
Amanda Mulsow: So I think that a really good idea is to take yourself on a retreat. Mm. Okay?
Audra Dinell: Mm-hmm.
Amanda Mulsow: Go on a solo retreat, rent a cabin, rent a hotel for a few days, whatever speaks to you. And understand that it's an investment in your own mental health and clarity. I mean, however much time you can take, turn off the distractions, turn off your phone, you know you are unavailable for however long you [00:14:00] choose.
And sit with yourself and think about the things that you want to achieve and the story that you want. To tell other people about yourself. Make a list, make a vision board. Read books. Listen, listen to podcasts. You know, there are so many audio books that I've been told to, to listen to, and I feel like that's what it's going to take for me to, to do it, is to go and have some solo time alone.
And so I would encourage people. To do that. And another, another thing, so I work with, I've had a lady who, she's not a therapist, but she's a peer resource. Specialist that I have worked with since 2017, who is amazing. She's 20 years older than me, and we [00:15:00] have so many things. Our lives have a lot of similarities.
She's just 20 years ahead of me.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Amanda Mulsow: And so she uses her own life experience and research to kind of coach me after all these years. I know she's probably said it to me. In different iterations throughout the years, but in, I believe it was probably September, August, September, she said it and it really landed with me.
But she said, Amanda, you would never talk to anybody else and the way that you talk to yourself. You need to love yourself, like you love others.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Amanda Mulsow: And so I would encourage people to sit with that and think about that. That was life changing for me. I no longer, even if I'm [00:16:00] not happy with my progress, that I'm, you know, my productivity.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Amanda Mulsow: I give myself grace. I no longer say, Amanda, you suck at life. Yeah. You know, I offer myself the same love and grace I would give to anybody else.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Amanda Mulsow: And it just helps me let things roll off my shoulders better.
Audra Dinell: It's powerful. It changes everything when you love yourself. Well, and it also changes the energy you are able to put out into the world and the way you're able to come to others with love and love others.
Amanda Mulsow: 100%, yes.
Audra Dinell: When you said, when you were talking about the retreat and talking about what stories do I want to tell the world about who I am, I was thinking and even before that, like what stories then am I telling myself? What do I need to rewrite? What am I telling myself about who I am and what [00:17:00] I believe is possible?
Because that's the background of all of our actions.
Amanda Mulsow: 100%. That's where it all starts. You can't pour from an empty cup and like I, like I said earlier. I truly believe it's hard to love. It is more difficult to love others when you don't love yourself.
Audra Dinell: Oh, yeah.
Amanda Mulsow: It really loving yourself is the foundation from which all other love comes.
Audra Dinell: It is the job.
Amanda Mulsow: It is.
Audra Dinell: Yep,
Amanda Mulsow: it is. And so if there are things you don't. Love about yourself? Well what, what are those things? How can you get there?
Audra Dinell: Hmm.
Rewrite the Rules
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Audra Dinell: So I'm looking at your LinkedIn bio and one thing I loved about it is the sentence you have, it says, it is in my nature to challenge the process and think bigger.
When I hear we've always done it this way, what were some of the rules you realized you had been living by and wanted to change? [00:18:00]
Amanda Mulsow: There are several.
Audra Dinell: Mm-hmm.
Amanda Mulsow: There are several. So at the core of everything, I truly believe that we, and things are in a constant state of evolution. We always need to be growing.
And when I was getting ready to quit my job at the radio station after eight years, a friend of mine. If we're not growing, we're dying.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Amanda Mulsow: And that has always stuck with me. And so no matter how great anything is, I think that it can always be improved upon. And so I was really fortunate. To go to a company that really put its people first and they walked the walk.
They didn't just talk. The talk family came first and I slowly learned. That I didn't have to be available 24 7
Audra Dinell: mm. [00:19:00]
Amanda Mulsow: And that I was a much better employee when I did have that work life balance. And I took time to recover my mind. Yeah. And my body.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Amanda Mulsow: So I have ms, which I was diagnosed with in 2017, and so.
High stress, lack of sleep really exacerbates my symptoms and I had the most supportive managers. Again, I was what, four or five months into my new job when I started having a lot of crazy z Ms. Flares and unexplained things, and they, they always said, your health, your family comes first. And so I felt like again.
Knowing that I had to take care of myself was before I could take care of anything else was a rule [00:20:00] that I was breaking. It was, it was a, it was something very ingrained in me. I mean, I grew up on a farm and my dad really instilled in me like, you are always productive. You are always doing something.
Mm-hmm. There was no time for rest.
Audra Dinell: Hmm.
Amanda Mulsow: And it took me a long time, you know, again, it took me having that tribe Yeah. Of supportive leaders to completely shift that.
Audra Dinell: So two rules that you, it sounds like you rewrote for yourself, is that you don't have to be available to everyone all the time, and that it's okay to rest.
Amanda Mulsow: Yes. Yes.
Pressure on High Achievers
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Audra Dinell: Let's talk about. How high performing women absorb achievement rules such as that. You mentioned the rest being unacceptable, coming from a farm upbringing. What about the always being available? Where do you think you got that [00:21:00] from?
Amanda Mulsow: Well, I believe that comes from society. I do believe that society puts a lot of pressure on women, especially to.
Manage everything and be the best at everything. And I think that that comes from the fact that we have to prove ourselves over and over in a patriarchal society. And if we have a career, we have to be the best at it. If we are a parent, we have to be the best parent. You know, it's just a friend, daughter, sister running a household.
We have to manage all of these things with a smile on our face, you know? Yeah.
Motherhood And Boundaries
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Amanda Mulsow: And not, and we, and as mothers, I think it's innate in us to put everybody else before ourselves, you know? I mean, as a mother, you know, I'm sure you would [00:22:00] agree, we would put ourselves in front of a freight train for our children.
Audra Dinell: Yes. And it's been a real training of my kids to, I mean, for me and for them to say, no, I'm gonna finish what I'm doing before, you know, I get up and help you with this, but you're welcome to help yourself. And it's like when they're little babies, you know, you can't do that. So, right. You are, you are. All theirs, you're what they have.
They can't speak for themselves or function for themselves. Right. But then there has to be some sort of shift somewhere in there as they get older that we as parents stop doing all the things and they start, you know, taking agency and ownership and responsibility over getting themselves a glass of water if they're safe to do that or whatever.
But yeah, it is a little bit of a tug.
Amanda Mulsow: Right. Absolutely.
Modeling Rest For Kids
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Amanda Mulsow: And again, we have to model [00:23:00] the behaviors that we want our children to perform. Right? And so if we show them that rest and recovery is a priority, they will also grow up knowing that it's a priority for them as well.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Amanda Mulsow: Yeah.
Audra Dinell: I agree that always productive mindset is something that has seeped into my household, and I don't know exactly where it came from.
I haven't pinpointed that, but it's something that I feel like I actively. Work against, even if it's just, you know, like last night I went out to read my book on the porch in between doing things
Amanda Mulsow: good.
Audra Dinell: Yes. But it's, you almost feel like a little bit of a rebel doing that, you know? Right. Yes. You're like, oh, well the dishes need to be done and this person needs this and, but there's only so much of you and [00:24:00] rest and taking care of yourself is so important.
Amanda Mulsow: It is. It is.
Blocking Time To Recharge
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Amanda Mulsow: Can I add to that real quick? Yeah, please. So one of the best pieces of advice that I received from a long time friend when we were talking about me starting my business. She also has autoimmune issues and she has a very demanding job. And she told me that on her calendar from three to five every day, it's blocked out.
For her to take a nap or at least rest. She is in her room.
From three to five. That is her time. To recharge. So she doesn't take meetings during that time. The kids know that's mommy's time and I thought that was so powerful that she was blocking out that time to focus on herself. She's being intentional [00:25:00] about.
Recharging her mind and her body.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Amanda Mulsow: Mm-hmm.
Audra Dinell: My husband works out with a group of guys, it's called F three, and it's a nationwide nonprofit, and their rules are, they always meet outside. They always work out outside. So winter, summer, I mean just always outside. It's 5:30 AM and. It's just become such a structure in our life.
And my boys know on Wednesdays, my husband stays, they go to coffee days after and enjoy that. So it, it is being that example of like, Hey, I'm taking care of myself. Yes, I'm a parent and yes, I am a business owner and yes, I am. Many things, but taking care of myself is part of that. That's how we'll model it.
Because I don't know that I saw that modeled growing up. Parents taking care of themself.
Amanda Mulsow: Yes, same.
Audra Dinell: And so I think that's what you know, we're trying to do so that [00:26:00] the next generation doesn't always feel like they have to be on and productive.
Amanda Mulsow: Absolutely. So
Starting Grit Marketing
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Audra Dinell: you mentioned your business. I'd love to hear about it.
Because you are a marketer, so a lot of what we're talking about today are around the narratives that we absorb without realizing it. So I'm sure you see this, you know, both like in marketing as a professional, and then also in your lived experience. So tell us about your next chapter.
Amanda Mulsow: So I've, I've been in marketing for 15 years and then I, I decided after some corporate changes were made that I didn't agree with, that I was going to jump off the cliff and start my own marketing agency where I could serve.
Entrepreneurs and smaller local businesses that I've always had a passion for working with. Yeah. In a much better way without the corporate constraints. Mm-hmm. And so I started grit marketing and [00:27:00] strategy and I think you'll love how the name came about. So again, meeting with different members of my tribe at different.
Lunch or dinner or after work drinks. Three different friends told me in one week that I could do this. I could start my own agency because I had grit. And so I went home that weekend and really. Sat on that word. It just stuck in my head and I thought, you know, the, the clients that I have always really enjoyed working with and love to help be a little part of their success are the ones that have grit.
Audra Dinell: Mm-hmm.
Amanda Mulsow: They built a business from nothing or they built a business because they're doing something they're passionate about. And so then one of those friends and I, we came up with the acronym would [00:28:00] be. Growth requires intention and tenacity.
Audra Dinell: Oh, I love that.
Amanda Mulsow: Yes. So intention was my word of 2021, by the way.
Okay. That was my word of the year. So that word means a lot to me. And so I decided to start my own full service marketing agency with my background in traditional and digital marketing. I want to be able to offer people those services as well as branding or event planning. I have a lot of event planning experience as well, and really just take the marketing hat off of business owners' heads because they wear so many hats.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Amanda Mulsow: And so it's just me, but I have. Again, an amazing tribe. So I have a handful of graphic designers I can use. I have a [00:29:00] handful of website developers. I can use a handful of videographers so that I can use the right person for the client's vision and budget and style.
Rebrand And Upleveling
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Audra Dinell: So do you feel like this is a rebrand for you of sorts?
Amanda Mulsow: Yes.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Amanda Mulsow: Yes, it really is. I feel like it's, and it's an accentuation of my brand, if that makes sense. So I've always, again, really cared about local businesses and usually. Go above and beyond offering them a lot of consultation and additional services above and beyond what I would get paid for as a commission only account executive.
Audra Dinell: Mm-hmm.
Amanda Mulsow: And so I feel like this is like. Taking it to another level.
Audra Dinell: Mm. Yeah. So not even necessarily a rebrand, but like an [00:30:00] upleveling.
Amanda Mulsow: Yes. So
Live Boldly Take Risks
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Audra Dinell: if someone is listening and they're in their forties and they're thinking, maybe it's not jumping into their own business, maybe it's just like an upleveling or a rebrand, what would you tell them?
Where would they start?
Amanda Mulsow: Again, I think a solo retreat would be ideal. Really taking inventory of where you are now and where you want to go.
Audra Dinell: Mm-hmm.
Amanda Mulsow: And then creating action plans to get there.
Audra Dinell: Mm-hmm.
Amanda Mulsow: So my action plan was I was going to resign the middle of December and I was going to plan my agency in the evenings and weekends.
That wasn't working.
Audra Dinell: Mm-hmm.
Amanda Mulsow: I did not have the mental capacity to do that after working, a full-time job.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Amanda Mulsow: And so I jumped off a cliff and decided to, to quit my [00:31:00] job and then focus all of that time on building my, my business. So I think sometimes, you know, we, we have to take risks and. We had seen each other in October at the Andover Chamber event, and then again in Topeka at the Women's Leadership Conference in Topeka.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Amanda Mulsow: And that was the middle of November, and there were two speakers that really stuck out to me that day. Out of all of the powerful women that were speaking. And one of them kept talking about live boldly.
Audra Dinell: Mm-hmm.
Amanda Mulsow: That really resonated with me. And then another one was talking about breaking societal expectations and societal norms.
Yeah. That also resonated with me. And so I, I say that because I want to encourage people to live boldly.
Audra Dinell: Mm-hmm.
Amanda Mulsow: What are your dreams? [00:32:00] How can you get there?
Audra Dinell: Mm-hmm.
Amanda Mulsow: It's not impossible. And most of us have. Been through hard things. We've all faced adversity in one way or another. We can get through it.
Audra Dinell: Yeah. We always have. We're here,
Amanda Mulsow: correct.
Audra Dinell: Yeah,
Amanda Mulsow: exactly. And what's the worst that can happen? You know? I mean if you think about it, if you really think about like, what's the worst thing that could happen if I do this, is it. Really that bad. Yeah. But you know, so
Audra Dinell: I like to go down that rabbit hole too. If I'm considering a risk, I like to take myself down.
What's the worst thing could happen? And then what? And then what? And then what? Yes. Because let's say, you know, you leave your job and you're starting your business and it doesn't work out, you can get another job.
Amanda Mulsow: Right.
Audra Dinell: I was talking to someone at a women's event about this last month, and this person was a medical professional.
And in that industry I was like, gosh, there's a need [00:33:00] everywhere. Yes. So if you were to take a leap, you know, you do have that security of being needed just as a professional. Not every profession is like that, of course. Right. But especially that one.
New Identity As Owner
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Audra Dinell: So how are you test driving this new identity of a business owner?
Amanda Mulsow: I have said that it gives me even more empathy for my clients. I feel like I, I, I understand their pain points and their struggles. Way better than I ever did before.
Audra Dinell: Yeah,
Amanda Mulsow: because you really are wearing all of the hats and Ooh, it's, it's, it's been challenging. It has been very challenging.
However, I, I love it. And I remember one of my best friends saying that, working for [00:34:00] yourself. Is stressful, but it's a different kind of stress. And so I, I remind myself of that and I, I feel like this new identity again, it's, it's given me so much more confidence.
Audra Dinell: Mm. I
Amanda Mulsow: feel lighter, happier, and. The success or failure of this is 100% on me.
Audra Dinell: Mm.
Amanda Mulsow: And I it's so empowering. It's a really good chapter. I'm glad that I'm going into the second half of my forties. In this new space as a, as an entrepreneur and business owner,
Failure Learning And Regret
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Audra Dinell: what I always think about too is the conversations. I know it's a book. It might be Tuesdays with Maury, but you see these articles online about people at the end of [00:35:00] life talking about their regrets.
And I always think about people not regretting what they did, it's more of what they didn't do. So I love to. Embrace life and business with that experimental mindset of, I'm gonna try this, I'm gonna go for it. I'm gonna work on the stories I'm telling myself. I'm gonna try and expand my belief and capacity.
I'm going to try and expand my skillset because at the end of the day, if I tried something that feels better to me. Even if it didn't work out exactly like I thought it would then not trying. I mean, and I've done that time and time again in my life and my business.
Amanda Mulsow: Yes. That's so incredible. And I, I'm disappointed in myself that I use the word failure earlier because I, I keep saying that I don't fail.
I learn and I think that it is so important. [00:36:00] To jump and take those risks and try different things because we don't want to have regrets, you know, at the end of our life. And that was another thing that really pushed me. I mean, I had a ton of other opportunities where I could have stayed in the corporate world and made a lot more money and got the titles I'd been wanting, and I just decided, if not now.
When?
Audra Dinell: Mm, that's a good question.
Amanda Mulsow: And I didn't want to be 80 years old wondering, you know, oh, I should have woulda, coulda. And so I decided to jump. And again, even, if things don't go exactly the way that I have envisioned in my head, I will, I will learn from it. And it's all about pivoting and evolution.
And growth, like I talked about at the beginning.
Audra Dinell: Yeah. And I actually, I personally like the word, [00:37:00] I mean, I, failure to me is not a scary word. It feels very like, clear and I just personally use it and I do hear when I use it that it rubs people the wrong way sometimes. But I think for me, embracing failure as part of the process, because you know, I talk.
I talk with my kids in this language too, even about like their actions, right? It was like, okay, your hypothesis was this, and so your experiment was this, did it succeed or did it fail?
Amanda Mulsow: Right.
Audra Dinell: You know, that one failed, right? So we're gonna have to try something different next time.
Amanda Mulsow: Yes. Yeah.
Audra Dinell: But I, I tend to, it just feels like less personal to me.
Failure doesn't feel like. Badge or an identity. To me, it just feels like a thing that happens. It should happen to us a lot.
Amanda Mulsow: Yes.
Audra Dinell: Because if it doesn't, we're not trying.
Amanda Mulsow: True. And so I'm glad that you said that because a few years ago I actually had a friend and colleague. Who [00:38:00] his word of the year was fail.
Audra Dinell: Oh, I love that.
Amanda Mulsow: I know. Because they had decided they wanted to try new things, do new things, and learn a lot, and they knew that that came from potentially failing.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Amanda Mulsow: I think we can kind of frame it in different ways, right? Because it's like, well, we're going to learn and we're going to grow from this.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Amanda Mulsow: No matter what, right? No matter what the outcome is, there's always key takeaways that you have.
Audra Dinell: Agree.
Amanda Mulsow: Yeah.
Audra Dinell: Totally agree. Yeah.
Rewriting Perfectionism
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Audra Dinell: Okay, so as we wrap up the conversation, tell us one rule you're actively rewriting
Amanda Mulsow: Well. That I have to be perfect.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Amanda Mulsow: Okay. Everything has to be just right. I have a lot of attention to detail, and this is something I've been working on for [00:39:00] several years where I have to remind myself that good enough is better than nothing.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Amanda Mulsow: And so it, to me, it's a daily practice. It is much like, you know, your husband's routine of working out, you know, you have to set that intention and practice it, you know, daily or weekly. And so I think it takes a long time to rewire 40 years of all of the things that we tell ourselves, and thankfully, like I said before, I've learned how to offer myself grace.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Amanda Mulsow: And love. That I would extend to anybody else.
Hobbies That Teach Imperfection
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Audra Dinell: You know what I think is a really great way to work on breaking your need for perfection, embracing a hobby that you kind of suck at, like watercolors.
Amanda Mulsow: Oh,
Audra Dinell: or I know, isn't that strange? Or like golf. I don't really know. Yes, [00:40:00] golf is a random one. I don't do that, but I do like dabble or like poetry.
Sometimes I write poetry and. I'm not good at any of these things. Right. But it just helps me be like, okay, I'm not good at these things and I'm still living and at the end of the day it was nice that I like sat down and got this nice paper out and a glass of water and a brush and some watercolors and made something that no, no one probably thinks what's awesome.
Right? Yeah. But it's just about allowing imperfection.
Amanda Mulsow: Yes.
Audra Dinell: I dunno.
Amanda Mulsow: Well, and I, I love your golf. Example there too, because I do play golf.
Audra Dinell: Okay.
Amanda Mulsow: Just a few times a year, but I, I am not good at it.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Amanda Mulsow: But that's okay. I still love it. I still want to do it. I know I'm gonna go out there. Get mad and drop. A lot of my favorite adjectives, you know, I'm like, Hey, if there is a golf cart and [00:41:00] some cold beer and nice weather, I am down.
Audra Dinell: What could go wrong?
Amanda Mulsow: Right? I'm just gonna enjoy it and I embrace the fact that I am. I am not going to do well. But I'm going to enjoy it.
Audra Dinell: Perfection is not required.
Amanda Mulsow: It is not.
Closing Thanks And Goodbye
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Audra Dinell: Thank you for talking with us today.
Amanda Mulsow: Yes, thank you. It's always a joy to see you.
Audra Dinell: Thank you. You too.
Amanda Mulsow: Yes. Thank
Audra Dinell: you.