Ep 67 Detox Your Workplace with Julie Bartkus

Julie Bartkus has overcome significant challenges in her life, including negative beliefs that stemmed from childhood and the sudden loss husband.

Despite the hardships she's faced, changing her view of herself and her entire mindset set her up for being an award-winning business owner, internationally known speaker, coach and best-selling author.

For more than 20 years she has been helping leaders across the globe experience a workplace detox, so they can cultivate a more harmonious workplace culture leading to higher productivity, staff retention and profits.

Julie thrives from helping business owners and leaders transform their mindsets,
re-connect with the heart of their business, and achieve great financial success. She believes that if a leader is authentically and genuinely happy in their own life, they’ll have a strong foundation in place for cultivating a happy, healthy, thriving team.

As the founder of the Workplace Detox Movement, Julie partners with
business owners to help them eliminate the toxic environments that are
preventing them from creating the team of their dreams.

CONNECT WITH JULIE:

• https://www.juliebartkus.com/
• https://twitter.com/juliebartkus
• https://www.facebook.com/juliebartkus
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliebarkus/

CONNECT WITH MANDY:

• mandysawyer.com
• insta @mandycreativevision 
• facebook @mandyscreativevision
• Mandy's Vision Gig fb group

Kitcaster Podcast Agency 
Grow your personal and business brand voice by getting booked on podcasts through Kitcaster!

Buzzsprout - Let's get your podcast launched!
Start for FREE

Kitcaster Podcast Agency
Grow your personal and business brand voice by getting booked on podcasts through Kitcaster!

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Transcript

Mandy:

Hey my friends, let me introduce you to my guest, Julie Bartkus. She is an award-winning business owner, internationally known speaker, coach, and best-selling author. For more than 20 years, she has been helping leaders across the globe experience a workplace detox so they can cultivate a more harmonious workplace culture that leads to higher productivity, staff retention, and profits. Julie is a serial entrepreneur and her greatest joy comes from helping business owners and leaders transform their mindsets, reconnect with the heart of their business and achieve great financial success. Julie, thank you so much for being here today. Tell us a little bit more about you.

Julie:

Hey, Mandy, thanks so much for having me. Yeah, so I've been in business for myself for over 20 years, and real relationships and people have been my passion for longer than that. So it's really fantastic now and I get to go into workplaces and detox environments. I really find that it stems back to a lot of times the mindset as the key person is holding. We're really looking at detoxing mindsets first before we can really do any of the real work that's gonna transform everybody else who works for you. So, the work that we do can really help anybody in their journey, wherever you are, take things to the next level. And that's what I get really passionate about and excited about is just seeing people make those breakthroughs happen.

Mandy:

Yeah, so if we're if there was a company or a leader, or somebody that called you that, hey, we need your services, what would they be asking for? What would you be doing?

Julie: 

They would probably be dealing with a lot of destructive behaviors in the workplace, a lot of toxic relationships. Maybe it's workplace gossip, drama, and negativity. A lot of the leaders that we work with, especially right now, are ones who are having problems attracting the team of their dreams. So they're having problems, maybe just even attracting staff period, as a lot of businesses are, but they come to me because they know that we have the power to transform that and really opened up the floodgates to getting a whole slew of candidates in spite of what everybody else is going through. And that's the difference that we can make, once we shift our mindset is that we really take what others might deem as impossible and make it possible. So they'll come to us to attract, manage, motivate, and retain the team of their dreams, the ones who can help them bring their big vision to life.

Mandy:  

Okay, so what kind of, what kind of steps do you take? Like, is it there? Are there meetings? Are there certain strategies that are put in place? Or kind of give me an idea of what it looks like? Yeah,

Julie:  

yeah. So everything that we do is very personalized. So it really depends upon where a leader's pain point is. So I have some leaders call me to say, Julie, okay, we've got gossip and negativity, and nobody's a team player. So that's going to be one set of strategies. But then we have other leaders who are like, You know what, we've got some of that going on. But we're also not able to confront staff or we're feeling fear when it comes to confronting staff because we can't let anybody go. Because we're afraid we're not going to attract anybody else to come in and to work for us. So we want to eliminate that fear. So it really depends upon where you're at. So everything that we do is very personalized. And it always starts with a conversation, right? So we have a conversation, we talk about what it is that you truly desire, what it is that you want to bring to life, the challenges that you're currently facing. And then we strategize and put your game plan of action into place. Okay, there's more of a generalized answer. But it's really very personalized because everybody's different. So for some organizations, we have to look at, well, what are you putting out there with your help wanted ad? So that could be a big thing. Because it's, you know, we sometimes take that old help wanted ad that we've used for years, we blow the dust off of it. And we're like, okay, alright, there we go, we got to help on that when it's really the energy behind the intent. So we really want to shift the energy, and then rewrite the ad that is inspiring and motivating, and that people are, like, drawn into. So if we're having problems attracting staff, it would probably start there looking at the help wanted and looking at the vision, looking at the story that we're telling about our program, or about our business,

Mandy:  

right. So what would be some, like, immediate results that a business owner could see or a leader could see once you start working with them.

Julie:  

We have leaders and we have clients right now, who just reported we have one who just sent me an email this morning, and just like finally, I feel like I can breed. Oh, good. He's starting to attract really good team members. We read that Her interview process we revamped help wanted ads. And we really transformed and shifted her mindset. And she's feeling now like she's having more time and freedom in her business because you need people if you're going to be able to grow, but a lot of times people closed down to needing other people in their business because they're like, Alright, now I got to figure out that piece of it and what things aren't going so good, what do we do? And how do we change it all? So we really want to be thinking in terms of like, Oh, alright, how do we make this into our ideal situation? We had another client who put a helpline out there and was hearing crickets. Yeah. And we had a coaching session back the following week for coaching session number two. And he said, after we did the rewrite, in two days, he had 40. Applicants. Wow, he went from significant to 40 applicants. But we do the same thing with clients as well, we have people who are really having problems attracting clients. And we had one of our students who were able to shift this to attracting, like, 36 new clients in three weeks. Wow. And that's for her brick and mortar business. Yeah, it's not a consulting business or anything. But it's just amazing when you shift your mindset and make that internal change happen, the dynamic that can unfold, and a lot of times we're really looking at strategy, we're looking at it like, Okay, what else do I need to do? What else do I need to do? What else do I need to do? What else do I need to do? And in reality, it's really only a few strategies that you need to implement to help you become successful. But we're always reaching and searching for the next best thing, or you might call it the bright shiny object syndrome. Over here, yeah, exactly. But you really only need to align yourself with two to three amazing strategies. And that's going to get you transformational results.

Mandy:
Yeah. So are there benefits from this detox? The detox strategies, do those move over into home life as well? Just workplace.

Julie:  

Absolutely. We have seen business owners and leaders transform their personal lives, in addition to their professional life, because it all overlaps, right? I mean, if you're up at midnight, thinking about who's gonna do what tomorrow, what situations are going to transpire? What am I going to have to deal with, and it's midnight, one o'clock, you can't sleep. I mean, that takes a toll on your health, that takes a toll on your personal relationships. So we really want to take the time that we're working most effectively so that we can really enjoy and be at peace with the time that we have in our personal life. Yeah,

Mandy:   

absolutely. Yeah. What signs should leaders sign, signs of toxicity should leaders be looking for or be aware of?

Julie:  

There's many of them, you know, several that I've mentioned already, like drama, the negativity, gossip, call-outs, turnover, absenteeism, any of those kinds of things. So even if you as an entrepreneur, hire a VA, you can even be looking for the signs of toxicity to see like, alright, is this person already checking out everything that we experienced in the workplace, it's a symptom of other things that are going on. So we want to become tuned in to what the symptoms are. So we know how to treat the cause. When we treat the cause we're able to reverse the situation, and really get something powerful in place that will serve our vision. But when we don't, we're going to be putting band-aids and investing a lot of money in band-aid stock, putting band-aids over everything. Okay, we have this problem going on, or she didn't meet this deadline or this happened. And it's like the band-aid, band Aid, band Aid, band Aid, and then you're checking out of the relationship. They've already checked out the relationship. And it's found a good situation. So you want to look for the signs for the symptoms that detox is needed. Look for the places where your own mindset is going. Something's not right. Yeah. Look for that. And that's giving you a sign that there's something that needs to change. Right? Yeah.

Mandy:

So I'm switching gears just a little bit. Can you talk about childcare, business success, and childcare programs of excellence? What's that all about?

Julie:  

Well, one of my biggest passions is the childcare industry. So for over 20 years, I've been working with childcare business owners, so they are brick and mortar business owners, most of them and we have created several different coaching programs for them specifically that they could take advantage of. So childcare business success is set up to serve our childcare industry. That's my company, and the childcare program of excellence is to help childcare providers, childcare owners who really want to be erected. Nice to get knowledge for excellence in their centers. And in the childcare industry, it's an interesting dynamic because you can't function without staff, you have to be enraged or even get closed down. So it's even a bigger challenge in the childcare industry to make sure that you're detoxing your environment to make sure you're attracting the best of the best. And it is possible, and you don't even have to pay the best of the best to attract the best of the best.

Mandy:  

Yeah. Oh, they just they deserve every bit of pay that

Julie:

and more. Oh, absolutely.

Mandy: 

I think they're underpaid, just like teachers are underpaid. So

Julie:

that you know, it's totally true. But we also have to understand the dynamic in any industry that money is not the pure motivator. No, a lot of times, whether it's in our childcare programs, or other organizations, or even entrepreneurs working with their VA, it's like, oh, if I just pay more money, they're gonna be more motivated. But that's not necessarily the case, you have to look at, well, what else is it that we really need to do to sustain motivation levels, and we have clients who will attract amazing staff, even though they pay two hours less an hour than like, let's say four in the childcare industry than the childcare program down the street. So it's really an interesting dynamic to say things like, wow, okay, you don't, you don't pay the tap, you're attracting some pretty amazing people.

Mandy:  

Yeah. Yeah, it all works together. And you have to have, you have to feel good in your, your, your environment. You have to have good, there has to be good morale there. And then being able to pay your bills.

Julie: 

Right? Yes, yes. So true. So true.

Mandy: 

So what advice do you have for somebody that's just starting out on their own business? Like what to do, what not to do? Things like that?

Julie: 

Yeah. So I remember way back when I started my own business. You know, I think the thing to do when you're in business for yourself is to really be thinking about how you want to experience growth, and be thinking about delegating tasks sooner than later. And it doesn't mean that you have to hire an employee, it doesn't mean that you have to have somebody on your team full time. But think about who you can delegate tasks to? And there might be nieces, there might be nephews, there might be a grandmother, there might be somebody, you'd be like, oh, yeah, I'll do that thing for you. And then it just takes a headache off your plate. Yeah. So the more you can really stay in your creative zone, the better and more profitable, I believe you'll be. But don't think that you have to hire this huge big team, right? Think about tasks, it's a different world that we live in, you don't have to create a job for everything that you need done. But look at tasks, look at things you could delegate from that list. So that would be one of my biggest recommendations. Yeah. Yeah. And another one would be to really get yourself out there, whether it's getting on the phone, building relationships, doing it old school, whatever it takes. But in today's day and age, we're hyper-connected. And one way of connecting with people right now is this podcast. And you and I are connecting, we've got you know, your listeners that we're connecting to, but do something that makes you feel uncomfortable, that really gets you outside of your comfort zone, to connect with other people. And sometimes it doesn't take much, sometimes it's just a matter of talking to the guy at the gas station, you know, and it's like, Alright, let me share my vision with you. But that's how you inspire a community of followers. And I've done this in banks, I've done this in different industries, where it's like, I'm just sharing my vision and talking about what I'm doing. And they're like, Oh if you're ever hiring, let me know. Or I know somebody who that service might benefit from. So everybody in the community, you want to think about as a potential referral source, or an amazing customer or client, or somebody who could potentially work for you and serve your vision in a different way. But you don't know which one of those three categories people fall into until you have a conversation.

Mandy:  

Right? Building those relationships is super, super important. Crazy important actions. Yeah. Yeah. And that's, that's one cool thing about this podcast, to be honest, is that I've met tons of people now just because of this podcast, a lot of people in the you know, online entrepreneurial world and things like that. And plus and just other people that are friends of friends, hey, I know this person that they've this, they went through this and overcame this. They would be great on your podcast. So yeah, just Yeah. So it's been really, really exciting and fun and meaningful to me to be able to make those connections with people. And I know that it's I wish I would hear more feedback from more people because I know what's out there. But because just from the things that I've heard You know, some people say, Oh my gosh, that that episode was blah, blah, blah. You know that really? Yeah. And so that's exciting to me. And I, that's, I'm like, Yes, I'm glad that's what it's for, you know, it's so that it will help somebody and inspire them and uplift them and, you know, in, encourage them to take a big step or take a big leap and, and, you know, do something that's, that's following your dream and following your vision for your life and walking in your purpose and all those things. So yeah,

Julie:  

yeah, that's amazing, especially with a podcast in the dream big and kicking out.

Mandy:   

Yeah. It's funny, because I really

Julie:

shouldn't be leaving feeling motivated from what you're sharing.

Mandy:   

Yeah, it was funny because I toyed around with that, that name, if I'm like, I really just want it to be called that. I'm like, Do you think I'm asking friends? You know, like, you think it's gonna be off putting anybody ever felt like, well, if it off puts them if they're not your people? And like, oh, yeah, that's right. Okay.

Julie:
Yeah. Well, I would love to get into that a little bit too, about, you know, just what it means dreaming big and yeah, kicking some ass. You know, what is that? You know, how do we do that?

Mandy:  

I think it's so different for each individual. I mean, because something that's easy for me might not be, some might not be easy for somebody else. And that may be something that they're dreaming, you know, to be able to acquire or be able to achieve, or whatever. But so yeah, I think it's just like when you're talking about just personalized, personalized strategies, or whatever, depending on the person depending on what they need, depending on what their goals are. And depending on how much fear they're tackling, how much you know, how much they're being they're, how much they're sabotaging themselves, you know, or whatever, from being able to do that. But

Julie:   

yeah, and I think everybody should really be asking themselves the question, Am I dreaming big enough? Wanting big enough for myself, you know, because if you are, then when you communicate really what you want in your life, other people will be looking at you like you're a little bit crazy, like, yeah, oh, yeah, you aren't what you want to do what, but if we play too small, then we find also that our enthusiasm or our motivation will be decreasing when it comes to working. And working can feel hard sometimes. But if you're dreaming big, and you're in this state of imagination, where it's like, wow, this thing's gonna come to life, I'm creating this, and I'm so excited about it, who you're going to make some magic happen, and you're going to be an influence to other people, whether it's for your product or for your service. So it's really going to start with your mindset to know number one that you're worthy of dreaming big. And number two, make it big, yeah, why why play small?

Mandy:   

Right? Well, and the self worth thing that that is huge. Because there are so many people that I know that I like, if she just could just believe in herself, she just would tap into the work that is really there that you know, that she doesn't see or that she's not allowing herself to step into. And, you know, that they would just be they would do amazing, wonderful, awesome things, you know, and you just, I just My heart breaks for anybody because I was there before too. And I mean, I still walk through a lot of this stuff, too. But like, just trying to, to, to shake people not literally, but like shake them and go wake them up. Makeup? You are amazing. You

Julie:  

are Yeah, go there as

Mandy:  

like, you're an amazing woman. You're an amazing dude. You know, you guys, you've got so much potential. And coming from a teaching background, you know, I mean, that's all the things we always tried to pump into our students, of course, you know, me like, what teacher doesn't want to, to inspire their students to dream big and to do awesome things or whatever. But that's just but you know, the thing is, it's like sometimes, for some reason that stops when you're an adult, like why did that stop where? Who said it was okay, first up, just because you are adulting? Now, you know, and you have to go get a job or whatever. Why do you have to stop dreaming? I don't understand.

Julie:  

And you don't I think I think tied in with dreaming is remembering how important your imagination is. Yeah, or regardless of where you're at right now. A huge part of dreaming big is to be able to tap into your creative imagination and cultivate this picture and I encourage people to tap into their art form, whatever it is, whether it's writing or drawing pictures, or stick figures like myself, or whatever. Right but use your imagination and this is what Napoleon Hill revealed in his book “Think And Grow Rich”, is that you got to number one, really tap into your desire, what is it that you want to bring to life in your life? And number two, you use your imagination to create your reality not only once but created twice. Yeah, read it once inside of your mind and then create, again, in terms of what you're going to actually experience with your eyes. So there are two realities going on one's in your mind, your eyes are closed, you could see it playing out and the other his eyes are open, and you see a certain picture going on. But we want to bridge the gap between the two, but the one that's going on in your imagination, I think that's got to be the dreamiest of dreamiest. of all. Yeah, really?

Mandy:   

Absolutely. So okay, in your experience, what are the biggest challenges that women entrepreneurs seem to face?

Julie:  

I think a big part of it, from what I've experienced as people it's going back to self-worth is feeling that they're worthy of experiencing success or letting go of feelings that there's something wrong with you. And we all experienced this on different levels, even when even right now I'm up-leveling in different ways. And I'm sitting there in bed going, Oh, my goodness, who am I? And how you know, but I'm like, No, you deserve this. Yeah. You know this is your life. You're designing it, you're creating it. Yeah. But we often, especially when we try and we fail, we tend to think that there's something wrong, there's something wrong with us, we're doing something wrong. And we just have to really come to peace with the fact that it takes cultivating a mindset that supports where you want to go, and where you want to grow. So really know that when you get to a place and you think, oh, something's wrong, or I deserve this think, oh, wait for a second, something different is possible for me. And it's gonna start with my thoughts. Yes. And there was a time many, many years ago, I've been, I've been through a lot in my life. I've been divorced. I've been widowed. And when I was going through a divorce, it was an abusive relationship. And I remember just thinking like, Okay, I'm broken. Something is wrong with me, because I'm going through this abuse, and I'm going through this divorce. And I'm not happy and I just kept thinking something's wrong with me. And then I remember going to Barnes and Noble or borders, bookstores, when you could do that for Friday night. Right? I still love them. I missed them. We'll pay tribute to them later. But it's different these days. But I would go to the bookstores and bookstores started speaking to me, and I remember getting books by Oban dinos Zig Ziglar, Les Brown, but an open Dino's book called The greatest miracle in the world. There was a line in there. And I remember sitting in a dark corner of a room, you know, just went by myself and I was in a room with a little light and got my highlighter. And I remember highlighting the words and it said, You are not a tree condemned to a small plot, while the wind and the world abuse you. Run and stretch and dance and work and play. You have choices. And I remember reading those words. And I was like, wow, this is changing my life. Yeah. So books, interjecting new thoughts into my head was creating a new reality inside of my mind that I didn't even know was possible. Yeah. And it was in those moments that I said, Okay, if I could speak and if I could change one person's life with my words, that's what I want to do. Yeah. But it's a very personal and very profound experience that I went through. And I still have a lot of those books today that I was highlighting, and then I'd get on a treadmill as I was getting, you know, really fit at the time. And I will be like, highlighting and I go back to those books. I'm like, there's the squiggly highlighting lines from being at the same time I was reading. But look for what speaks to you, you know, because I think there's universal guidance. I actually know, I don't even think I know, there's universal guidance out there. And if you open your heart to it, you're going to be guided in the direction of what will prompt you to grow and what will inspire you to get out of your comfort zone. And I believe that that's what dreaming big is all about. It's about getting outside of your comfort zone. It's not dreaming big within boundaries. It's really about opening up all the possibilities for you and saying alright, what is it that I need to do to really dream big within my life with what I'm capable of? Yeah, you're so capable of way more than what you think you are? Absolutely.

Julie:  

That's your mindset and it takes those thoughts being planted and hanging on to those suckers like their gold because they are and letting them guide you and propel you forward.

Mandy: 

Absolutely. And also, taking into account things like even asking your friends, asking your friends and your family members like tell me something that you see me that is good or positive or amazing or whatever. And you will be surprised at all of these awesome things that they will tell you about yourself and you go, oh, oh, I guess I guess I am. I guess I do like that, I guess I am like that whatever. And you just you, because we don't see ourselves the way other people see us, you know, and they may not always, they may not always tell us. So it may take us asking, actually asking, Hey, is what I'm doing? Is it inspiring at all or whatever, you know, but like, they'll tell you? And it's a kind of validation and reminder that you do have a lot of things in you that you're not paying attention to, and that you need to pay digital attention to and realize that you have so much potential there and so much good and so much to offer the world.

Julie:  

Absolutely. Yeah, that's so true. You know, and do a little exercise for yourself. Here's a little homework. Write down, write down some words, write down three to five words of how you want to be perceived. Yeah, I want to be perceived as dynamic. I want to be perceived as vivacious, I want to be perceived as beautiful, whatever it is, write down those words, and keep those in front of you for 30 days. And then take the challenge of asking friends and families like how do you perceive me, and see how often you come back and hear that list of words that you created? Yeah, because you can purposely infuse yourself with those words, whether it's focused, whether it's whatever it might be, so that that's how you're being perceived by the outside world. But it's coming from the energy and expectation that you set for yourself on your inside world,

Mandy:   

right? And your chain when you see that every day because like I teach people how to use vision boards, creating vision boards to feel good. When you're seeing that every day. And you're saying it out loud every day you are reprogramming your brain, you are remaking and I'm not a scientist by any means. But like the neuro trance, what does it neurotransmitters or whatever that like the neural pathways, that's what I'm trying to say, yes, you create those neural pathways that are focusing on the positive things instead of all of the negative crap that we are bombarded with, bombarded with every single day, whether it's just our life, and whatever the circumstances are, or whether it's, you know, social media, whatever, but you have the power to change those, those pathways in your brain to make things happen in a positive way. Just by just applying what you were saying. And using, you know, and or using a vision board and or, you know, just keeping a, you know, a quote, or a scripture or word or something like that in front of you posted on your mirror or whatever, wherever you're going to see it all the time.

Julie:  

Absolutely. Mandy, you speak the truth is so true. And it's about the neurotransmitter that is actually changing your brain. There's scientific evidence of how shifting your mindset actually works to transform your reality. And one of the first books I read was Norman Well that I read, you know, when I was going through a divorce, it wasn't the first one because that was like the gingerbread van or something. But when I was really going through this big first transformation in my life, one of the books that hit me really hard was Norman Vincent Peale, the power of positive thinking, yeah. And he said in that book that if you could change your thoughts, you could change your world. Yeah. And I challenge myself even right now, let's say I'm having a difficulty in my current relationship, or with my mom, or with a sister or with a friend or a client, I start to recognize the thoughts I'm having about the situation and thoughts that I'm having about the person I got. Okay, wait a second. I'm gonna play with this. And I'm going to really create purposefully and intentionally plant some really amazing thoughts around the situation. Yeah. And it's like, 15 minutes later, an hour later, whatever it might be. It's like, whoa, wait a second. Norman Vincent Peale was onto something here. Yeah, you change your thoughts, you can change your world. And I find it to be true every single time. So play with your thoughts, and see how much you can actually shift your reality. And it's not even about you saying, hey, so and so that's not working for me. And I think you need to be changing this behavior. It's about shifting your own thoughts. Absolutely. And then letting a different reality transpire and it's almost magical the way

Mandy:  

Yeah, it's yeah, you can pretty much shock yourself, right? Wait a minute. Oh, my vision board and that's happened.

Julie: 

What? Right exactly. Not to feel negative about now No.

Mandy:  

So who or what motivates and inspires you? Cuz you obviously have a job of business that is motivating and inspiring other people. So what do you do for inspiration? How do you recharge all of that?

Julie:  

Well, a lot of it is having a routine or at least recognizing when my mindset is starting to fail me and I need to get into that routine. So one of the strategies that I actively engaged in is staying incredibly emotionally connected to my vision. And it's a vision that I want for different things. It's a vision for what I want, personally, professionally. But I find that if I'm thinking about thoughts or situations that transpired even a minute ago, or a few seconds ago, I'm living in the past in my mind because that already happened. Yeah. So if I'm able to shift to what I want to have happened and it's in the future, and I jumped to that spot, instead of what happened a few seconds ago, it really propels me into a place of power and a place of passion. But you have to be able to remind yourself like, hey, shift yourself to the spot, because now you're thinking about something that happened two minutes ago. And that's no longer your future. Now, that's your past, and we don't live in the past. But the more you live in the past, the more drained and unmotivated you can feel. And even in a workplace, if you're a leader, and you're trying to transform your team, if you start thinking about who your team was yesterday, and how you're going to deal with them, based upon what you know, yesterday, it's going to be very stressful and very draining. But if you start dealing with your team in terms of holding a vision for their greatness in your mind in terms of who they can become tomorrow, or who you see your team being, a whole different set of actions transpires. Yeah. And it's very magical and very amazing. And it doesn't mean that you're sitting there tolerating behaviors from everybody. But it means that you've got a vision beyond present circumstances that's going to propel you to taking different actions than you would if you were focusing on the other person. Yeah. Awesome. So to me, a lot of it is really, you know, like the work that you do really connects with that vision and you use vision boards. I do a lot inside of my mind. I do a lot of closing, my eyes are just really laying there in bed in the morning. And another ritual is laying there in bed in the morning and starting to give gratitude. Yeah, I am thankful for the trees I see outside of my window. I'm thankful for the blankets that are covering me. I'm thankful. I'm thankful. I'm thankful. I'm thankful. And I do that for a good minute before my feet even hit the ground. It's like,

Mandy: 

What's good?

Julie  

Hey, life is good.

Mandy: 

Yeah, that is so good.

Julie:

That is a good thing to do. Especially before you get out of bed. Yeah, good to focus on that.

Mandy: 

And it's so good for your immune system to just Yeah.

Mandy:  

So tell us about any kind of, well, you've mentioned some already big obstacles that you've overcome in your life and how you did that? Yeah,

Julie: 

I think, for me, the biggest obstacle was the negative thoughts that were fed to me as a child growing up. And I had repetitive thoughts about myself, I had repetitive thoughts about my life. And the word dummy was often circulated in my head and I hung on to that word. And when I was going through this time of leaving my abusive relationship, getting a divorce, I realized like, hey, those words are still going on in my head, it's time to shift this. And that's the biggest obstacle I think many of us face that I know many of us face is really what's going on inside of our own heads. And I remember hearing W Mitchell speak and he's a very fascinating person, if you haven't heard of W Mitchell, look him up. But he was a gentleman who overcame many, many obstacles. He, you know, a successful businessman out one day on his motorcycle, his motorcycle crashed. He was burnt beyond recognition. He got to the hospital, they asked him for a copy of his driver's license, because like, we need to know what to make you look like, Oh my God, not his life back on track. And he was taking some flying lessons. And he went on his solo flight to get his license and his plane crashed. Oh my God. So he was left burnt. And this is a story. This is a very short synopsis of the story. But he was left in a wheelchair but beyond recognition, dealing with the kids who would call him a freak not understanding his situation. And the most profound words I remember hearing from W. Mitchell is, don't feel sorry for me. Don't look at me and don't pity me. Feel sorry for the people who cannot get beyond their own negative mindsets. Feel sorry for those people who have pity on them, but not on me. So when you look at every obstacle that you deal with in your life, ask yourself, is there a way to shift my mindset? Is there a way to shift my thoughts so that this obstacle just becomes part of the journey and becomes part of the lesson? And how do I love myself enough to treat myself incredibly well while I deal with this challenge, because a lot of us will go to the place where it's stead of treating ourselves well, or recognizing our accomplishments in the midst of this really trying situation? We beat ourselves up. Yeah. Or like, Oh, of course, you're just a dummy. How do you do this? You know, why are you doing this? And just give yourself some grace? Yes. yourself some celebration and a pat on the back and some love and let yourself know it's okay. I'm moving forward. I'm going to get through this.

Mandy: 

Absolutely. Yeah. Give yourself some grace. That's something that another friend of mine told me that I just posted her interview a few a couple of weeks ago, or no, it was this week. Was it?

Julie
 I don't know. Today, where am I?

Mandy:  

What's going on? What's up anyway, so she was saying the same thing. Give yourself some grace, give yourself some grace. And that's, that's huge. Because so many times I'm aware, easy on other people, how we can't be, you know, love ourselves a little bit. With more compassion, and more understanding, you know, for ourselves, just like we would, you know, are

Julie:  

Absolutely., and it's so critically important to be able to love yourself and to fully love yourself and embrace that. And with that comes self-care. And you asked about what motivates me well, massages, flowers, you know, all those kinds of things. Really, it's treating myself well. Even right now I'm working, where I'm like, Oh, we're gonna lose a couple of clients here, get some new clients on board. I'm so excited. I'm like, All right, what am I gonna do? I'm like, All right, over my right shoulder here. I need some orchids. And we're really thinking about flowers and what do I do? And how do I just celebrate the things that I'm going through, because that's what makes life worthwhile? And we're in a different day and age than my grandparents were, where they traveled from Lithuania to get here. And they have many obstacles along the way, you know, that took them four years to get from Lithuania here to have a better life in America. But you think about the obstacles they went through. But we don't have those kinds of obstacles these days, but they could still be huge in our minds in terms of us trying to overcome those obstacles. And even with a pandemic, it's created many obstacles, it's created some isolation and loneliness. And we have to find ways to nurture ourselves and really move beyond what's draining us of our motivation, and what's depleting us of our enthusiasm. Yeah, yeah,

Mandy: 

absolutely. So tell me about a time where you made a huge mistake, or you had no idea what you were doing, how did it pan out? And what did you learn from it? God, which one? I know that's what everybody says. And that's what I would say if I were asked the question, I don't know which one to tell you. Because there's too many

Julie: 

a huge mistake. Well, you know, I could go back since I was talking about my divorce, and there's much that has happened that has unfolded for me. Oh, gosh, there's another one too that I think comes to mind that might be really relevant for your listeners. But when I was going when I was in my marriage, and maybe this will tie back to the other point I was going to make a huge mistake is not honoring yourself. Yeah. A lot of times we know instinctively what we want, and what will serve us the best and what won't serve us. And whether it's getting into a marriage that we know right off the bat, like No, I shouldn't do that. I'm afraid now because we have to have the invitations out and what will everybody think? So it's being concerned and making what other people think of us a priority as opposed to honoring ourselves. And that could come into play in many different ways. I remember when I was growing up, I was dancing. And I had a dance teacher who was like, You're not the right body frame. You're not this, you're not that. And I was like, No, but I just want to dance right now. Thank goodness for the J Lo's and everybody else who you know, change some of the stereotypes around bodies and who can dance Shakira, right? But when you have these people in your life, who are telling you that what you desire is not possible, you choose to listen to it. That's a mistake. And that's a mistake that I have made over and over and over again is not honoring myself and my desires. And what I know is right for me,

Mandy:  

right? Yeah, man. I think we can all say that we've.

Julie: 

Yeah, yeah, cuz a lot of us are doing things for other people. We're doing things for their approval. We're doing things just to stick around. And when I was facing my husband, when my husband had just passed away, back in 2012, he suddenly and instantly died. 

Mandy:

Wow, and sorry about that. 

Julie:

Thank you. And I remember after that situation, standing there in my house, it was a 1904 farmhouse and I remember standing in that house that I purchased because he wanted me to. And my mother-in-law lived with us. And now she was contemplating moving out because her daughter wanted her to come and live with her. And my son moved out six weeks prior and the bunny had died and the people were gone. But I'm sitting there alone after my husband died, and like, how did I get here? And how much of this did I do for everybody else? Yeah. And at that point in your life, when everything is stripped away from you, you have to come face to face with the person in the mirror and say, All right, it's you and me. Right? Do you have any kids? Where do we go from here? And that's where you have to get back in touch with your own desires, and rediscover who you are, the essence of you, who's, you know, what's, what's your soul? Who are you about? And I remember at that point in my life, I created a desired wall, because I didn't know. So I had this huge wall in my office that was just for tracking my desires. And I took five, some five by seven sticky notes. Yeah, anytime I felt an inkling of the universe saying, This is you. This is what you love, boots with skirts along with kisses in the wind, and flowers and diamond earrings. And I just started writing all those things down and putting them up on my wall of desire. And I'm like, Alright, I can bring these desires to my life. But the more I tuned in, to what was defining me, meaning what desires were popping into my head? What clues was the universe giving me in terms of who I was, the more I tuned into that, the more I got of that, the more clarity I got around who I am, and what's gonna make me soar. And what's going to make me redefine my life for the next chapter. So pay attention to those desires, and don't judge them. Right. Other people's voices live inside of our heads saying you don't need that. You don't need to do that. That's, that's just too much, right? And you've got those judgment statements inside of your head, you've got to suspend judgment and just say, Okay, I'm getting that clue. I'm writing it down, I'm going to look at it, I'm going to honor it, I'm not going to judge it. And then I'm going to decide if I want to bring that thing into my life. Yeah. But that supports your vision that supports your ability to really, to dream big. Yeah. And to kick ass.

Mandy: 

So you mentioned your, your vision that you have a vision for all these different things in your life, like, What about like, in the next five years? What do you envision your life being? Like?

Julie: 

That's always an interesting question. Because I know that I am in the making for the person that I'm going to be in the next five years. Yeah. And I know that that person is growing, that the vision is bigger than it is today. But I don't know what the specific vision is. And I'm okay with that. Because to me, it's kind of like going in through one of those revolving doors, you step on the pad to open up the door, you know, you take that step, the door opens up, boom, you go through it again, that opens up again. And I think we spend a lot of time trying to figure out, well, what's behind all the doors? Yeah, where am I going to go? As long as I'm growing, and as long as I'm happy, and those things are supporting the visions I'm bringing to life. That is key. To me. The immediate vision is to bring my workplace detox movement to life, yeah. And to really impact as many organizations and leaders that I can to make our workplaces happy and joyous and supportive of all the unique and individual talent that we're able to attract.

Mandy: 

Yeah. Awesome. I like it. I like it a lot. Because you're kicking ass.
 

So what is there any kind of what you've already given us? Like some great quotes? Are there any other valuable lessons or words that keep you going? A favorite quote, a joke? Anything that you would like to leave with the listeners?

Julie:

Ah, let's see if there's any more quotes that I have that I

Mandy:  

want. I know they're up there. I know they are. Yeah,

Julie:

There's a lot that I go through. But one of the biggest things that I will remind myself of is to stay connected. When I catch myself focusing on the wrong thing, of what somebody else isn't doing for me, of what I'm not feeling, of what I feel I'm missing in my life or what I'm not getting in my life. I remind myself that the power is there within me. And if I emotionally connect the vision, and to where I am going tomorrow, or in the next minute, not the past minute, then my future is going to change at incredibly fast speeds. So that's not a specific quote, but I want you to remember to connect with what you want for your life. And the vision doesn't have to be this huge, humongous perfect thing that you're going to concrete and cement. It's just about how you want to feel in the next minute. Who do you want to be? Who do you want to impact? And it's really important, and I remind myself of this all the time, stay connected with it. Yeah. Don't lose that thought. Don't lose that feeling. Don't lose that direction. Don't lose that momentum.

Mandy: 

Awesome. Awesome. Well said. Well, how can listeners get a hold of you? How can they connect with you?

Julie: 

If you would like to connect with me feel free. I'm on Facebook, Julie Bartkus. Or you can visit www.juliebartkus.com. And if you resonate with the message and I can help you in any way, please feel free to reach out and we will get you started with a conversation.

Mandy: 

Awesome. That sounds great. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much for being here with me today. Julie. I really appreciate you. I appreciate what you're doing. And I'm so excited that you're dreaming big and kicking ass.

Julie  

Thank you so much. It was such an honor to be here with you and keep up the great work and it's such an important message in itself to dream big. Kick Ass. Yeah, do that. And you're gonna find a lot of success and happiness in your life.

Mandy:

Yeah, amen to that sister.