In this episode, we’re diving into something unexpectedly powerful: how gratitude can transform our mindset and lead to financial success. Host Danielle Hayden, founder and CEO of Kickstart Accounting, Inc., has helped thousands of entrepreneurs take control of their numbers and build thriving businesses over the years. But here’s the thing, success isn’t just about the numbers. Our mindset plays a huge role, and that’s where gratitude comes in.
Danielle shares how a simple daily gratitude practice can help reduce stress, boost motivation, and shift from a scarcity mindset to one of abundance. Whether we’re tackling tough financial decisions, working toward big business goals, or just looking for ways to stay energized and focused, taking a moment to celebrate our progress can help us find new focus and continue to grow businesses we love!
Key Takeaways:
- Why Gratitude Matters: Discover how gratitude enhances relationships with team members and clients, shifts your mindset from scarcity to abundance, and boosts motivation and focus.
- Gratitude as a Daily Practice: Learn how listing things you're grateful for—whether 3 or 20—can rewire your brain, reduce stress, and help you celebrate progress.
- Overcoming Financial Stress: Danielle explains how gratitude can help business owners release financial anxiety, make more strategic decisions, and stay motivated during challenging times.
- Budgeting with Gratitude: Shift your perspective on budgeting from limitation to empowerment, focusing on the opportunities it brings for growth and impact.
- How to Start Your Gratitude Practice: Simple, actionable steps to incorporate gratitude into your daily routine, including journaling, setting goals, and celebrating wins with your team.
Topics Discussed:
Introduction to Gratitude and Financial Success (00:00:00 - 00:00:57)
Shifting from Scarcity to Abundance (00:02:06 - 00:03:01)
Boosting Motivation and Celebrating Small Wins (00:03:01 - 00:03:54)
Reducing Financial Stress with Gratitude (00:03:54 - 00:04:56)
Practical Steps to Start a Gratitude Practice (00:07:45 - 00:08:48)
Resources:
Money Personality Quiz | kickstartaccountinginc.com/quiz
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Episode Transcript
00;00;00;00 - 00;00;28;11
Danielle Hayden
It's time to uncover the unexpected connection between gratitude and financial success. These simple practices and change everything in your business. You're listening to Business by the Books, the podcast that teaches you how to use your financials to manage your business. My name is Daniel Hayden. I'm the founder of Kickstart Accounting, Inc., where we used bookkeeping as a vehicle to help business owners just like you, take control of their numbers.
00;00;28;15 - 00;00;57;23
Danielle Hayden
I've helped thousands of entrepreneurs make informed financial decisions for over a decade. Today, we're going to be talking about the powerful practice of gratitude. Now, I started this gratitude practice almost 18 months ago, and during my learnings, I have found that gratitude can help boost our mental well-being, which my goodness do we need in this time? It enhances our relationships with our team members and dare I say, our clients.
00;00;57;23 - 00;01;24;26
Danielle Hayden
It increases our motivation and our productivity. Having a gratitude practice improves your financial mindset and it builds resilience during tough times. Now, every morning before my feet even hit the ground, I have an app that I use on my phone where I list out 20 things that I'm grateful for. Now I know 20 things is a lot, but that's the point is to get really detailed and specific.
00;01;24;29 - 00;01;42;15
Danielle Hayden
Now, how many of you? I mean, I know I'm so guilty of this can think about how stressed we are. Gosh, you know, if my team member just could have done more. Could have done better if this client wouldn't have done this. You know, my kids, they did this. And my husband, he did this or my partner did this.
00;01;42;16 - 00;02;06;11
Danielle Hayden
If the times that the economy was just better, if we weren't teetering on a recession, if it was an election year, the list can go on and on of the things that are going wrong in our business and our personal lives, and by looking at 20 things we can be grateful for, we are literally changing our brain chemistry to shift our mindset from scarcity into abundance.
00;02;06;11 - 00;02;33;03
Danielle Hayden
How grateful can you be that you are at this place in your business now? That for me is a big one when I am stressed out. This gratitude practice is really simple and reminding me that we're here. You know, ten years ago I couldn't have even fathom what we have created with, you know, 25 team members and hundreds of clients and the impact that we've gotten to make through bookkeeping and tax work for our community.
00;02;33;03 - 00;03;01;03
Danielle Hayden
So all those little stressors that are happening, I can shift my mindset to say, I'm here. How lucky am I to have this amazing team who cares so deeply about their clients that they are trying so hard to do the right thing for this community, for this company? And I can change every small thing that's happening in both my business and my personal world into I am so lucky to be here.
00;03;01;04 - 00;03;27;16
Danielle Hayden
So our mindset shift with a gratitude practice can help us move from that scarcity to abundance. I hear people ask all the time, how do you get motivated and stay motivated in entrepreneurship? This gratitude practice of listing out 20 things every single day that you can be grateful for is your tool to stay motivated. It's going to boost your motivation.
00;03;27;16 - 00;03;54;26
Danielle Hayden
If you are consistently acknowledging the progress that you are making, whether it be signing a new client, hitting your revenue target, or just making small changes in your business, you're reinforcing the positive behaviors that help you and your business continue to move forward. And there is a dopamine boost that happens when you practice gratitude. It helps you stay focused on those goals that feel really big.
00;03;54;29 - 00;04;22;04
Danielle Hayden
And as you have those small setbacks and those tough times, the gratitude helps you refocus on the goals, which allows you to push through those small setbacks. So I would argue that this gratitude practice is going to help you hit your goals by helping you celebrate the small wins and keeping you energized along the way. Now, how does this all come together with your financial goals and the money stories that we tell ourselves?
00;04;22;05 - 00;04;56;19
Danielle Hayden
For example, if your financial goal is to increase your revenue by 20%, practicing gratitude for every new client or every successful project is going to help you stay motivated. So you are celebrating your progress. Instead of getting overwhelmed by the big final number, gratitude is going to help you release that financial anxiety and stress I have heard from so many of our clients that there is a significant money stress for business owners, and it doesn't just mean when cash flows tight or when you're making significant financial investment.
00;04;56;20 - 00;05;31;11
Danielle Hayden
Regularly managing money and spending money increases the stress that entrepreneurs have in business and practicing gratitude, especially at this time of year, is going to reduce that anxiety and reduce your stress. I want you to be able to create that mental space to make better financial decisions. When we are making financial decisions from confidence and empowerment, we're able to make more strategic, thoughtful decisions rather than reactive decisions from a place of scarcity.
00;05;31;14 - 00;05;48;16
Aubrey Philipp
Quick question before we return. Have you ever wondered how your personality influences your financial decisions? Take our quiz to discover your money personality and learn how to leverage your strengths for financial success. Visit KickstartAccountingInc.com/quiz or check the show notes. Now back to the show.
00;05;48;20 - 00;06;13;22
Danielle Hayden
So gratitude can be a tool for reframing your setbacks and your financial challenges. So instead of thinking man, that was a really rough quarter, I completely failed. I didn't hit my goals. I spent too much money. I failed. It can help you focus on what you learn and what you will improve next. You guys hear me say it all the time.
00;06;13;24 - 00;06;36;17
Danielle Hayden
What can we learn? What worked well and what didn't work? How do we pivot and change? By using gratitude to have a better quarter next quarter. So instead of panicking when revenue dips for a month, take a moment to practice gratitude for the lesson that you learned. Maybe you found a gap in your process, or maybe this challenged you.
00;06;36;18 - 00;07;06;12
Danielle Hayden
You push to develop a new offering or to change your strategy. We've been talking about budgeting for the last few months. I love using budgeting as a tool for strategic planning and strategic financial decision-making. However, for so many business owners, people often think about budgeting as limiting or constricting. But if we can use gratitude as part of our budgeting process, we can use budgeting to become a tool for growth and empowerment.
00;07;06;12 - 00;07;45;27
Danielle Hayden
Be grateful for the tools that you're able to spend money on. So instead of feeling deprived because you have to cut back. Think about how you can feel empowered by investing in areas that matter the most in your business, and how grateful you are for the opportunity to be able to do that. So the next time you think about investing in a new marketing strategy or hiring another team member, instead of focusing on the fear, you might be able to reframe that to focus on how grateful you are for the ability to invest in these new areas and to continue to grow in your impact as a business owner and your organization.
00;07;45;29 - 00;08;08;01
Danielle Hayden
Now, how exactly do you implement gratitude for financial success? Step one is to really just start, right? You can buy a fancy journal or purchase a new app. It's really just the act of committing to write down your 3 to 5 things that you're grateful for each day. You don't have to start with my 20. I wanted to share that as an example.
00;08;08;01 - 00;08;27;02
Danielle Hayden
I still do 20 every single day. But maybe you start small. Grab the journal and app, or just the note section in your phone and say the 3 to 5 things that you are grateful for. They can be simple. I am grateful for the client who signed up with me this week. I am grateful for the cash flow in my business.
00;08;27;03 - 00;08;48;16
Danielle Hayden
I'm grateful for this challenge that I'm facing because it gives me the opportunity to grow as a business owner. Now, step two is every time you set a new goal, I want you to take a moment to express gratitude for what you've already achieved. As business owners, we're always on to the next goal. I am guilty, I am right there with you.
00;08;48;17 - 00;09;24;28
Danielle Hayden
I have to regularly pause to say to myself and my team, guys, let's celebrate what we just did. This is going to help ground you in the moment. Take stock in the present and it creates a journey that is worthwhile, right? The journey towards our goals can be really fulfilling if we pause to celebrate along the way. Don't forget to include your team and your clients along the way, so express that you are grateful for that individual, that they made it into your gratitude journal and share with them what you've learned from that practice.
00;09;24;29 - 00;09;47;21
Danielle Hayden
This will be with your team, your clients, or even your family. So I want to encourage each and every one of you to start your gratitude practice. Don't wait for the New Year. Right now, we have a moment to celebrate what has happened this year. Every single challenge, every single financial misstep, investment or win this year. Start small.
00;09;47;24 - 00;10;21;13
Danielle Hayden
Open your app. Commit to journaling 3 to 5 things every single day that you're grateful for. Start to shift your mindset from scarcity to abundance. I hope you enjoyed today's episode of Business by the Books. Don't forget to hit like and subscribe! This is the number one way we can help other entrepreneurs find this podcast because here at Kickstart Accounting, Inc., it is our mission to help entrepreneurs understand their numbers, get access to this information, and grow and thrive in their business.
00;10;21;13 - 00;11;19;16
Danielle Hayden
So please help me help other entrepreneurs understand their numbers so they can finally grow and thrive.