Brooke Summer 0:00 Hello amazing business owners! Welcome back to Bold with Brooke the podcast and place to be if you want to learn marketing lessons and business lessons to basically get more clients that you need and want to reach your biggest goals. I'm really excited about today's episode, if you listened to last week, you know that we have to episode last week and this week, all about the Barbie movie, I would be lying if I said there might not be more, I don't know, we'll see. Maybe the marketing will blow us away when it comes out over Christmas, because we're seeing that in Halloween already. But today's episode is going to be actual business lessons from the movie. And if I'm being completely honest, again, maybe not all business lessons. Some of these are life lessons. What are we holding on to? What's the shit that we need to let go of? What are some random thoughts on some of the scenes in the movie, you're going to get a little glimpse of how my ADHD brain operates, when it comes to watching a movie. I see a scene and I'm like, Oh my gosh, we should totally think about that. That affects our lives too. And all of these random thoughts come flooding into my brain. I may or may not show my notes that I took for this movie because they are a little wild. And I was literally scribbling them in the dark because I couldn't find a Showtime that didn't have people. That's how popular the movie was. I am really pleased and honored to be in your earbuds, whether you're picking up the kids from school, going for a walk, maybe you're on the treadmill, maybe you're just sitting and doing nothing and you wanted to listen to me for a little bit. I'm truly honored. If you love this podcast in this content, I would be so honored and grateful if you went over and left a review. I know it seems silly, it takes a few minutes. I get it you might have to sign into Apple. But these reviews means so much to us and they help us not only show off what we're doing for potential guests, but for other people that might need help. So if you love this content, please head over and leave a review. And let's listen in to all of the business, life, all of the lessons from the Barbie movie.

Brooke Summer 2:05 Hello, they're gorgeous business owners Welcome to Bold with Brooke, the podcast for creative business owners to learn the marketing and business skills they need to get more clients and design their lives on their terms. So we can actually make a living doing what we love, am I right? I am your host Brooke Summer, and I'm an entrepreneur, educator and champion of women reminding them to embrace and step into their power. I'm bringing almost 20 years of business and marketing experience straight to you to help you get more clients and run a sustainable and successful business without burnout or overwhelm. Let's jump into today's topic.

Brooke Summer 2:49 Welcome back amazing business owners to another episode of Bold with Brooke the podcast and place to be to learn the business and marketing skills you need to reach your biggest goals. I have gone back and forth with several different options when it comes to how exactly to bring this episode to you. And in the end, I've just decided to let it flow the way that it usually does from my ADHD brain. So it might seem super weird and random, but it really is not. And I promise you it will all come together in the end. I am super excited for this episode. I've been working on it for a while. I took some videos of me actually working on my notes during the movie, which was quite humorous because the Barbie movie was so popular that I kept looking for a Showtime that didn't have a lot of people because I wanted to use my iPad. And I was gonna sit in the back row so I wasn't bothering anyone with the light. And then I couldn't find any Showtime because it didn't have people in them. That was pretty crazy. I'm definitely not used to that. And I'm really excited because I took these notes and they look absolutely horrendous. Like I was writing in the dark with a pen and paper I did with my pink pen though, because I felt like that was necessary. So if you missed the last episode all about the marketing lessons from the Barbie movie, you're definitely going to want to check that out. Because if you just take one of those seven lessons and apply it, you're gonna see some huge changes in your marketing and in your business. And today's episode is going to be overall business lessons. So some are marketing some our business and our personal growth, which will then grow your business because you have grown as well. All from the Barbie movie. While there weren't a ton of spoilers in the last episode, because it was more about the pre marketing of the movie. Usually before the launch actually happens in this case the release of the movie. There will be a ton of spoilers in this episode. So this is about the actual movie itself. There's your warning. Personally, I don't mind spoilers because if I want to watch something, I'm gonna watch it. Whether or not they're spoilers or not, that if you're someone that really cares or they bother you, there you have it, there is your fair warning.

Brooke Summer 5:04 Whenever you are fully immersed in something, you start to notice it everywhere. This is actually not random, I kind of geek out over neurobiological stuff is all neurological. And it's a part of your brain that's called the reticular activating system. It's the part of your brain that decides what you see and what you don't see, not because of your physical capabilities and your eyes, but because of what you actually pay attention to. We have so many things coming into our brain all day long. And our brain has to decide what we pay attention to and what we don't. And it's the reason that when you start looking at a particular model of car, you will start to see that car everywhere. It's the reason that with every movie, every commercial, and every interaction that I have, I am constantly seeing business lessons. And I'm sure you know the feeling of being in business for yourself. Because no matter what you do, you're going to start to see things like that all the time. I remember when I started working in IT, which I did pretty young, actually, I would watch the movies and watch them doing the computer stuff in movies. And I'm like, This is not right. That's not how that works. That's not real, and people got so tired of it. So I had to learn to keep my mouth shut. Because I teach business and marketing. It has gotten so much stronger over the past five years or so when it comes to business lessons. When my husband and I were in Austin, and watch the Super Bowl. The commercials are fascinating to me to remember the one that looked like someone was changing the channel, the entire bar around us lost their minds, they were freaking out the game that someone was turning it off. And that was so funny to me and the psychology behind that. And when we watched the Barbie movie, there was no exception. Now the first time I thought with my daughter and my mother in law, I did not take any notes. I wanted to be fully present, but we actually saw three times in the theater. And now we have purchased it to watch whenever we want. And there are so many lessons.

Brooke Summer 7:06 I started at about 20. And then I got to about 27. And I actually stopped counting and I merged them together when I was finalizing everything. There are so many things that we can look at in the Barbie movie and takeaways. Some of them are random business. Some of them are marketing, some of them are life. But the Barbie movie showed over and over and over again, all of these little things that we can look at in our own lives. You're also going to get a peek inside my ADHD brain today with random thoughts, and little WHAT THE FUCK moments from the movie and they're kind of in the order of the movie and the scenes. So let me know which one resonates with you. Some are gonna be more serious, some are more funny. I really hope you enjoy this episode. I have a feeling a lot of my listeners might really resonate with this because I know so many of you have told me that you also work with ADHD. So lessons directly from the Barbie movie.

Brooke Summer 8:03 Number one in the opening scene. The background, which is narrated by Helen Mirren was actually really not necessary. It wasn't related to the plot of the movie. And it was kind of a background and a history of Barbie. But it still mattered so much and was so entertaining. And the reason that I'm sharing this with you is because I'm curious, are you sharing yours? Are you sharing some of your background, some of what makes you unique because it matters too! Often, your own story will significantly impact what you do and why you do it. And people want to know those things. You don't have to share everything from your past. Again, like I said last week, we're not talking about a two hour movie about everything that's happened in your life, choose a few key stories and emotions, and stick with those knowing that they will evolve over time. These stories matter and they matter a lot. We need to be paying attention to those stories, and making sure that we are sharing a little bit of us in our own marketing and in our businesses.

Brooke Summer 9:07 Number two in that opening scene, which is hilarious. By the way, if you have not seen the movie highly recommend, they talked about how girls were expected to play caregiver. Even with their toys and dolls, even moments of play, were expected to be giving to someone else. And Barbie shook all of that up by going against the norm and giving girls something different to play with. And while we could argue that body image was affected, the doll was still created with the male gaze in mind. The bottom line is that Barbie was not a baby doll. I'm bringing your attention to this because I want you to think about what do you see happening that is quote, normal in your own industry that you can shake up and stand out and be different. What is something new see that you can call out as bullshit. Now, I want you to do this gently and with grace and professionalism, don't go bashing people, of course. But still, what are you watching? Go down that you disagree with? And how can you talk about that and address it in your own business, I have a few things for mine. First of all, I'm really tired of only seeing a certain body type, and a certain type of person on websites for business owners, it is something that I feel strongly about as a larger woman. And it's also something that I see and I've had clients hire me for, because I show those other body types. Something else that I call out is, gosh, I feel like there's a lot of things that I call out. So I'm just gonna kind of run through a few first, the inclusion and diversity in marketing. And second, the hustle mentality of we have to constantly work, work, work, work, work, and then my brain just goes to the song immediately. Thank you, Rihanna. So, I really, really, really bought into that when I first started. And it's something that I no longer subscribe to, partially because of my own health struggles, because I am a Go Go Go person. But at the same time, we need to be working our business into our lives, not the other way around. And I feel very, very strongly about that. These are some of the quote, norms in my industry that I'm constantly talking about and calling out because I don't believe they shouldn't be norms, what is something that you can be calling out? These types of things are super important things that you believe strongly in, even if they might piss some people off again, reference last week's episode, right?

Brooke Summer 11:36 Number three, in Barbieland in the movie, there are Barbies. And Kens there are no other names, except for Ken's friend Alan, which I thought was hilarious. I don't remember an Alan when I was little and playing with Barbies. But in Barbieland, all of the people in power were women, the president, the Supreme Court, all of the occupations and jobs that we typically look at with great respect, such as doctors and lawyers, were all women, which is definitely not in our current culture, what I would consider normal. The reason that I'm bringing this up is what is possible if we let go of what we think of as normal. And really, this whole movie is a bit of a mindfuck. Because until Barbie and Ken are in the real world, they never experience what we consider to be normal, the behavior that is dismissive, and even somewhat dangerous. She even talks about notes of danger and feeling fear, because of the way that people are looking at her. What are things that we consider normal that we need to start calling out and letting go of, so that we can see the change that we want to see. Now this can be in our culture, this can be in our homes, this can be in our businesses, what is something that in your business people just consider normal and you're not okay with that? I know, for me, there's this big trend of people going to same day reveals, meaning that they're showing people the images on the same day that they take the images. And I don't love that I do have an option for clients who want to do that at an additional cost. It's a prepayment bonus. But it is not something that I really love. And so it's not something that I'm going to offer people right off the bat, that's a little different. That's something that I do. That's a little bit different. I also have strong opinions on the whole client closet thing, which for anyone that's new, I run a boudoir studio, I work with women in lingerie and nude as a boudoir photographer. And there is a big push now to have a client closet. No, I will say that I do have a client closet that is full of lingerie. However, because I am a larger person, I have been to the places where they're like, oh, yeah, we have every size. And then they don't. And I know how that makes me feel like shit. And I don't want any of my clients to do that. So I do not advertise my client closet. And I do not necessarily market that as a way to bring people in. And I even talk about that. We need to start thinking about what we think of as normal. And number three kind of ties right in with number two, right? What can we shake up? What can we let go of that we see as quote normal that may not fit for us?

Brooke Summer 14:23 Number four, when Barbie wins the Nobel Prize in Barbie land, I love that she says I worked very hard, so I deserve it. And then later in the movie, when Ken brings the patriarchy into Barbie land, she said I don't deserve this. Oh, thank you so much. And I want to thank Ken what seriously really? What if we accepted words and compliments like she did before can wrath of patriarchy instead of dismissing ourselves in our effort entirely. This same theme was key In one of my favorite scenes in the movie, and I may or may not have literally shouted Yes, in the theater, even the second and third times when I knew it was coming, because I really, really, really loved this scene. Barbie is sitting on a bus bench. She turned to a woman on the bus bench, who was everything that our culture would say is not beautiful. She's older, she had age marks, wrinkles, thick ankles, she was a little bit bigger. And Barbie turned to her and just looked at her with love in her eyes and said, You're so beautiful. And the woman looked at her and said, I know it. I totally yelled, yes. What if we started accepting awards and compliments without dismissing them or deflecting the honor onto someone else that does not deserve that? Maybe they deserve thanks. But they didn't do everything? What if we really started owning our badass accomplishments and our badass selves and all of our beautiful features, and brains and thoughts and emotions, everything about ourselves, and let go of that good girl conditioning that says, We have to be humble and accept things by putting them on someone else. Now, don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying don't be humble, because humility is absolutely beautiful characteristic. But when you've earned something, we need to start owning that. We need to start looking at ourselves and going oh, hell, yeah, we did that. And when another woman does that, we need to highfive her and say yes, you did. Instead of putting her down and going, Who do you think you are? We need to start normalizing this behavior. I absolutely loved this in the Barbie movie. And I would say this needs to be normal, ASAP.

Brooke Summer 16:39 Number five, lawyer Barbie says in the trial scene of the movie, I have no difficulty holding both logic and emotion at the same time. And it does not diminish my powers. It expands them, y'all. I took a deep breath. I took a deep deep breath. How many of you have ever been told that you're too emotional? The word hysterical was literally created specifically for women who were upset. And when it was created, dare I say No wonder they were upset. Women have been told for centuries, that we are too emotional. And in learning more about the witch trials, including in the colonies, on the east coast and in Europe, I learned more about what really made someone a witch, according to this terrible manual that someone wrote about how to tell if someone is a witch. And one of those things was when a woman disagreed with her husband, or had emotions that he didn't like. No wonder we are afraid of being emotional. Women were literally tortured and killed over their emotions. Yet our emotions can be a superpower. Because our empathy and business is an matched logic and emotion can and do coexist. And when they do, it is a powerful thing that we can and should be using in our lives and in our businesses. No more shaming for emotions, y'all. We need to learn that that is one of our superpowers.

Brooke Summer 18:13 Number six more about Barbieland. Male cheerleaders that was my favorite. That was how Barbie knew when she came back that something was wrong. Because now the women were the cheerleaders that cracked me up. All of the politicians the doctors, the authority figures are female, Kens are competing for Barbies attention, not the other way around. Ken relies on Barbie and needs her approval and her gaze. We have been conditioned for centuries to be good girls, to need approval from the men in our lives, whether they're our dads, our teachers, our partners, our bosses, our colleagues, or anyone else. And I want to say this, and I really, really, really I'm gonna say it slowly. So you hear me, we do not need anyone else's approval. In any decisions in our lives. We are grown as adults, we can decide how to handle ourselves, in our lives and in our businesses. And we are 100% capable of validating ourselves. claiming our own authority is paramount to success in business. This does not mean that we can't rely on someone else. We can't hire someone, we can't outsource something. This means that we can trust our own brains, our own logic, our own emotions and our own intuition. When it comes to making decisions. It means that when we fail, because we will, we will learn from those failures instead of shaming ourselves for them. It means that we will move forward with our new knowledge that we learned from those failures and give ourselves Grace while we figure things out. Because if there's one thing I know for sure, we will figure them out. We do not need validation, approval, or anything else from Have anyone in our lives. And I really want to empower you to consider this. As you move through decisions in your businesses, we have so many opportunities to make these big decisions. And it can be somewhat overwhelming at times. And sometimes we just want someone else to handle it. And the reality is, it is up to us. And we're going to talk about actually, I'm going into something else. But I'm going to move on from this one, because we're going to talk about this a little bit more later as well.

Brooke Summer 20:25 Number seven, we talked about this in the marketing episode again. So if you haven't listened, you really need to hear more about this because most business owners are completely ignoring this. In the movie, there were several different Barbies, including a differently abled Barbie. different skin colors, different sizes, and other differences that in our culture are typically not acceptable. We need more of this. And I really, really, really want you to consider how you can be inclusive in your own brand, not just showing inclusivity in marketing, because that's important, but even more so actually putting that into action in your business. I recently had a speech about inclusivity in business, which will be a podcast episode soon. It's coming, I promise.

Brooke Summer 21:14 Number eight random thought when they read the dance party, how come sparkles, follow them whenever they move? And how do I get that in my life? Because I think that I need a little book sparkle everywhere I go. When I walk into a room and I dance and I move, I need a little sparkle to follow me. I'm just saying.

Brooke Summer 21:31 Number nine. After the dance party, Barbie is standing outside with Ken to say goodbye. And she says you can go now it's my dream house. She wasn't mean, she didn't say oh, why are you still here? She was just very direct. You can go now. Where in your life and business have you been allowing people to stick around when you don't want them there? They're not needed. But you didn't want to say something. Maybe you didn't want to hurt their feelings. Maybe you were afraid of retaliation. But regardless of why we need to look at these situations and start to be more assertive in what we want and need. And this goes for our lives and our businesses. I have a lot of students that have partnerships that are not serving them that are not adding anything to their lives. Are you comfortable saying you can go now it's my life. Maybe it's a habit. Maybe it's procrastination. Maybe it's procrastinate learning, and I'm raising my own hand here for anyone not watching a video, because I'm very good at that. I will listen to podcasts, I will listen to courses, I will go through all the things to learn just so I'm not actually doing what I should be doing to move my business forward. So I feel that what do we need to let go of because we've been letting it stick around. And we don't need or want it there or need or want them there. We need to start standing up for what we want and need and be more assertive in sharing that information.

Brooke Summer 23:01 Number 10. When Barbie returns back to her dream house after saying goodbye to Ken, her friends literally scream when she enters the room. She walks in there like it was amazing. who screams when you walk in the room? Who encourages you? What does your circle look like? Are they high? fiving? You when you accomplish big things? Are they talking shit behind your back? Are they supporting you? Are they loving you fiercely? Are they there for you during the good times and the bad? This is something I'm working on. I actually have some amazing friends I'm working on growing my friendship circle and adding some friends to my group. But one thing that I'm not very good at is talking about my accomplishments with my friends. And they will ask me and I will talk about it for a moment. And then I'll deflect and talk about but what about your work? What about your whatever you're working on your new job, your promotion anything else, because I'm very conscious of the fact that my mother used to tell me that I was selfish, and that I had to be the center of attention. And while I'm 100% Okay, being the center of attention, I do not have to be the center of attention. And so when the attention is on me, I try to make sure that it doesn't stay there for long. And my friends have called me out on this. And they're like, why do you do that? And I've looked at myself and I have really worked on that, to stop doing that. And it's still a work in progress. But what does your circle add to your life? When you spend time with your friends? Do you leave feeling recharged? Or do you leave feeling drained? And there are going to be times that you'll be feeling drained. Sometimes people need more energy, and there will be times that they don't. But it should be somewhat even. We should be seeing this give and take in healthy relationships. So what does your circle do when you're winning? What does your circle do when you're losing when you fail and you fall flat on your face? As are they screaming when you enter the room? I need some screaming friends. My friends are quiet. No, I know they're totally supporting me. But it kind of cracks me up that when she walked in the room, everyone screamed, and I loved that.

Brooke Summer 25:14 Number 11. The start of Barbie's journey to learn more starts with thoughts of death, which is great because he has like this perfect life. She's going through life, everything works wonderfully. And then all of a sudden, she starts thinking of death and things go downhill, these thoughts completely disrupt her life, and throw her off. But ultimately, they free her because she goes through some really painful stuff. What has been haunting you in the back of your brain that you can't stop thinking about, but you keep stuffing it down? Because it might be scary or uncomfortable? Is it time to look at that and figure out why the hell that's going on. Maybe it's the fact that you wanted to add something to your business that is totally different from what everyone else is doing. And you're not sure that you should, but you really want to, maybe it's that you've been a stay at home mom, and it's draining you and you want to have your kids in daycare one or two days a week. And you know that people want to prove maybe it's a relationship in your life that you know is not working for you. But you keep stuffing that down because you keep trying. What is something that takes up way too much space in your brain rent free and you need to start looking at it and facing it and Stop stuffing it down.

Brooke Summer 26:31 Number 12 Weird Barbie is one of my most favorite characters. She is amazing. And when she is in the movie, she explains to Barbie what is happening with these thoughts of death. And she offers Barbie, the choice of going back to normal or figuring out why she's having thoughts of death. It's kind of that blue pill Red Pill thing from The Matrix, except instead of pills. They're symbolized in shoes. So she has one high heel which is normal. And one Birkenstock, which is actually facing things and figuring things out so that she can move forward. And at first Barbie chooses the high heel, no hesitation whatsoever, because she wants what she knows. We all do. Because it's comfortable. Where in your life or business are you settling for same? Even though it's not good for you? Or keeps you stuck? And you can see 12 kind of mingles with 11 as well, because 11 is about our thoughts, that 12 is about things in our life that may not be working for us. Maybe you live in a specific neighborhood because you thought you were supposed to, and you don't like it there. And you're spending a lot of money on a mortgage for a house that you don't like, are there things in your life that you need to change, because they may be keeping you stuck.

Brooke Summer 27:48 Number 13. When Barbie and Ken are in the real world, Ken discovers that he's a man and therefore should be able to do whatever he wants, when he wants a top job. But he doesn't have an MBA, the man who responds to Ken says no, that's not possible. And Ken says, Well, you're not doing patriarchy very well. The executive leans in and says quietly, we are doing patriarchy well, we just hide it better. Look at the actions of people around you. Always - not what they say. Anyone can claim they have your best interests in mind. But what are they doing behind the scenes, or when things are difficult, or when it doesn't serve them? Someone's actions speak a hell of a lot louder than their words. I try to teach my kids this all the time. I feel like I say this to my daughter, daily. Anyone can say what they want to say. But what are they actually doing? Where do their actions align with what they're saying? Or where do their actions not align with what they're saying? This is especially important when we look at people who want to, quote, support our businesses. I can't even tell you how many offers I get for people who want to again, quote, support my business. And yet when it comes down to it, they're not supportive. They only want to take from me not to give to me. And I'm very careful. And I watch people carefully because of this. Because I've learned this throughout my life, in lots of circumstances, that actions are a lot harder to fake. Not impossible. People still do it. But they're a lot more difficult to fake because they take more effort. And the people who are not that involved in you actually believing that will put forth that effort. Always, always always look at the actions of people around you and not what they say.

Brooke Summer 29:41 Number 14. One of the things I really loved about this movie is that Mattel is part of it. So the actual company Mattel is in the movie, and all of this C suite meaning the CEO CFO CEO, oh all of the the higher ups the head people are men, and they don't want to be called out for this because even the women are the very foundation of the company and someone say I know Mattel has other products, not just Barbie, but the women still are not hired in those higher positions. This scene cracks me up, I was debating whether this goes in the marketing of the sewed or here it kind of fits in both, but it definitely fits here. The lesson from this, don't take yourself too seriously. Mattel was poking fun at themselves in the movie. They could have gone all high and mighty, they could have been like we want to show ourselves to be we want to put our best foot forward show ourselves to be progressive. And they didn't. The movie is hilarious. And this is so funny to me, because I feel like this is one of my superpowers. A side note, hopefully Mattel sense of humor stopped with the movie. And they're actually hiring women in those positions now because they see how ridiculous it is. Fingers crossed. I don't follow Mattel. But hopefully they're starting to make changes, because jokes are jokes until they're real. Let's just be real for a second and say, Hey, life can be really fucking funny sometimes, like what the hell is happening right now. My best friend and I have so many stories of weird situations happening to us. And they're not bad. They're not dangerous. They're not mean people aren't being terrible. It's just really weird stuff that feels like it's directly out of a comedy movie. But it's actually happening in real life. I am 100% Okay, making fun of myself, and laughing when life throws this weird stuff. Because if you're not gonna laugh and move through it, what the hell are you going to do? And I say this is one of my superpowers because I use this frequently in my marketing, not to diminish myself not to say, Well, clearly I suck, and you know, everyone should feel sorry for me. That's not it at all. But because I understand that life is crazy things happen. One of the things I talk about with my clients constantly at their sessions, especially if they have long hair, is the fact that sometimes we'll get a long hair in our butt crack and we're taking a shower, and we're like, Oh, that's nice, because it just comes from your head and the water moves down your body. Those are the little things that are weird. Again, not dangerous, not bad, just weird when you pull a really long hair out of your butt crack. And we can all relate to that. I'm really, really good at this. I believe so strongly that depending on your brand, you might want to add a little bit of humor into your marketing and into your business. Don't take yourself so seriously. Life can be weird. And it's okay to embrace that and talk about it.

Brooke Summer 32:37 Number 15. When Mattel grabs Barbie brings her to the Mattel headquarters and their heart shaped pink CEO conference room, which again, kind of cracks me up. They want to send her back to Barbie land. They don't want her in the real world. And they want to put her back in a box. As Barbie is coming to box right? Barbie would have been okay, going back in the box. She literally put her hands in the loop and last minutes took them out. Because now she knows better. And she will never go back. What have you learned and healed from in your own life? Where you have grown that you can never go back? What is something that once your eyes were opened, you can never go back? I have so many of these moments for myself. Some of them are more personal. I won't be sharing them yet. Some of them are related to religion and church. And there are so many things that I've learned that once you know it, you can't unknow consider what have you learned? What have you been shown? What has come up in your life that you have learned and healed from? And now you'll never go back?

Brooke Summer 33:47 Number 16 Barbie is sitting with Ruth. And I'm not going to share that spoiler let's just say Barbie is sitting with she's played by Rhea Perlman. She's sitting with Ruth to have some tea. And she says I don't usually look like this. I normally look perfect. And Ruth responds with I think you're just right. They're having tea. Ruth looks at her with love and care, no judgment. Who in your life do you have that you can just be with without having to put on a mask without having to be perfect without having to have your makeup done perfectly without having to have all of your shit together? Who can you share your heartaches with your goals, your downfalls, your failures and know that they love you no matter what. And don't have judgment for all of these things. Because in business, you're going to fail. And if that sounds mean, you haven't heard episode 97 yet. Welcome to the podcast. You'll want to go back to Episode 97. All about failure. Go to boldwithbrooke.com/097. Once you're done here, of course and check it out. You're going to fail. And that's okay. Who do you have around you that will hold space for you with no judgment? Just love and acceptance, even when things are falling down around you.

Brooke Summer 35:04 Number 17. When things go south for Barbie she is back in Barbie land, Ken has brought the patriarchy, everything is changed. It is disaster. Barbie sits on the ground and says she wants to wait for one of the more leadership oriented Barbies to fix this. This part in the movie, I'm pretty sure I guessed or did something because my daughter immediately reached over and held my hand. She said, I want to wait for one of the more leadership oriented Barbies to fix this. And I cannot even tell you how many times I have wanted this. I want someone else to fix this. I don't want to be responsible for fixing this. Earlier this year, when dealing with some serious bookkeeping issues. I'll share more about that later, I told my daughter How mad and upset I was, because she walked into my office and I was in tears. And I shared this with her. And I said, I just want someone else to fix it. And she goes, but you can fix it. And I was like, Oh, how does an eight year old know what the hell I should be doing with my life. It was up to me, it was all up to me. I wanted a more leadership oriented person, someone who was better at it or had more knowledge. But it wasn't an option. It was up to me. We can't allow this when we're in business, we can't allow that stagnation, that waiting for a more leadership oriented person to fix it. We don't have an adult here adults to fix things we are the leaders. Simply opening a business puts us in a leadership role. Because we are stepping outside of the norm in our culture, which is changing, but still leans towards having a Monday through Friday job nine to five 2.5 kids and a Golden Retriever. We are the leaders, we can't sit there and wait for someone to swoop in and handle things. There is no more leadership oriented person to fix something, we are those people. And even if we call into action people around us that we need to help us, we are still the ones moving forward and leading the cause to fix whatever it is that needs fixing. And sometimes even if we can't fix something, leading us directly into number 18. Good job on the transition there, Brooke.

Brooke Summer 37:23 Sasha said, even if you can't make it perfect, you can make it better. What have you been putting off in your business or your life? Because you can't quote, fix it when the reality is that a little bit of action would make a situation? Absolutely better? Maybe not perfect, but better. There are certain pieces of books and shows that sit with me I don't think I'm abnormal in that aspect. I think that most people will have like one movie line that really resonates with them, or one line from a book. And there was one part in the book atomic habits by James clear, highly recommend me to Denton boss book club. He talks about how people remove huge blocks of marble, or other rocks from quarries. And that in certain situations, they have to gently tap very small tools in certain places instead of just using dynamite, because dynamite would blow it up, right? These little tiny taps are the small habits and actions that we can do that start to move solutions into place, even if they're not completely fixed. Even if we can't 100% fix something so that it's perfect. What can we do to at least start the process or improve it just a little bit? When Barbies are tired of patriarchy in Barbie land, and they want to take it back. They formulate a plan that has several pieces, but one in particular is pretending to be dumb or not know what they're talking about. So that the Ken's sweep in to explain everything and save the day. The Godfather, CDs, certificates of deposit, banking, and more. There are several circumstances where they pretend like they don't know so that Ken will help and say here, let us show you. I saw something on Tik Tok, where a dad was talking about the movie. He has adult daughters. And he said the women know exactly what's up. They know exactly how to get to men. We are not damsels in distress ladies. And if there's guys listening to this, maybe there's a place where you do this in your business as well. When it comes to business, we don't know everything. And that's okay. But we also don't need someone to sweep in and explain everything to us. Too often I watch business owners just wait for someone else to explain it. Instead of looking it up. There's a joke website that has Bart Simpson on it this called justfuckinggoogle.com I don't know if it's still up. It used to be meaning that this question that you're asking could be found on Google. Here's a fact that my husband does not like to hear, we all have access to the same Google. And we are all more than capable of figuring things out. Some people might have skills in a certain area that you might not be very good at. But you are also very capable of looking something up. And if you still need help from there, you can move forward with asking for help. We need to stop relying on someone else to sweep in and fix something, or someone to sweep in and explain everything to us. We are more than capable of figuring these things out for ourselves.

Brooke Summer 40:33 Number 20. One of the Barbies was saying that she just wasn't feeling pretty. And Ken looked at her and then took off her glasses to quote, see her beauty, and my daughter audibly gagged, and I thought it was so fucking funny. It is so cliche and hilarious. And the movie called these things out. So damn loud, sorry, just another random

Brooke Summer 40:54 Number 21. One thing that I've really loved is seeing the TikToks, and the YouTube shorts and the reels, the little short form videos, all about the bloopers and the things that happened behind the scenes. And I know I'm not alone, these videos have hundreds of 1000s of views. So what are you showing? That is behind the scenes in your own business, the things that you might think are dumb or embarrassing are often the things that people will love and relate to the most. And we need to be sharing some of those things. Recently, I had a client during a model call. So I had my phone with me, we were doing some some videos. And there is a specific shot that I take in my studio where I have to back so far up that I'm in the closet, like kind of tucked in between the clothes and she said, we need to take a video of that because that is hilarious. I haven't shared it yet. But I definitely will because I look ridiculous. And that's okay, that's a behind the scenes that shows what a session with me is really like. And that's a good thing. We need to be sharing these things, so that people understand what it's like to actually work with us.

Brooke Summer 42:02 And number 22. Several of those bloopers included the characters, especially Ryan Gosling, in particular, improving certain scenes or lines that weren't written. And some of them were so freakin funny. Because sometimes the plan needs a little step that we may not have considered right, especially in business, you might plan out the most amazing launch or product or process, and then you realize it needs something else. Don't be afraid to improvise and change things up. This is especially true if you are using a plan or a template that has come from an educator. I sell plans. I sell templates, I give you step by step stuff but I tell my students constantly that what I give them is what has worked for me I know it works. But I also know that your secret sauce is going to be different than mine. So take what I offer, take the process the template, the plan, whatever, and switch it up based on what you need in your own business. Don't be afraid to add in the personal touches pivot and improvise when you need to. Your business is yours. You are the boss. You make the rules. Remember, there is no adult here adults coming. There is no more leadership oriented Barbie coming in to fix us. That's you, honey, that is you.

Brooke Summer 43:15 Number 23. At the end of the movie, Barbie tells Ken that he needs to figure out who he is without her. And it is really jarring for him. It is very upsetting. She tells Mattel that she's not in love with Ken even though that's what everyone thought. And everyone just gasps Pearl clutching moment. What is it that you really want in your business in your life? Are you deciding that for yourself? Or are you living through someone else's lens of what you should be doing? It might be a parents, a child, a teacher, a partner or anyone else. Maybe someone had a dream for you when you were little, and you're trying to live out that dream, but it's not your dream? Sometimes we find ourselves moving through life based on someone else's expectations and desires for our lives instead of our own. Everyone expected the Barbie would be in love with Ken, and she loves it. And when she was honest about it and made it known, she was able to do what she really wanted to do. So what is it that you want to do? What makes you feel most alive? Even if it doesn't make sense to anyone else? Most people don't ask themselves this much less actually act on it. And I really want to encourage you to take some time to move through those questions and all of the emotions that go with them. I can't even tell you how many times I've asked my students this and they look at me stunned that someone would even ask them what they want. It is time for us to start considering what we want for our own lives.

Brooke Summer 44:46 Number 24. At the end, Ruth tells Barbie, you don't need my permission. I told myself I'm not going to cry when I'm recording this because this scene makes me cry every time. "We mothers stand still. So our daughters know how far they've come." And in the movie, especially the first time I sobbed, I was like, huh, I was like, girl, my daughter knows now every time we watch the movie, that I will be crying at the end because of this, and she holds my hand. For my daughter, for every little girl that I am moving in front of, even if you don't have kids, our actions influence the next generation, we have the opportunity to impact the world in a way that will influence the next generation. And maybe you went into business simply because you enjoy what you do. And that's amazing. High five, because that is not easy. And that takes some serious guts to do so. But doing so also puts you in a position to impact others with your business. Maybe they're newer business owners that are looking at you or nieces or nephews, or just the next generation of thought leaders. Our foremothers fought for us to vote, to have bank accounts, to have some basic rights that men have had for centuries that we don't even think about anymore. What are we fighting for? What are we accomplishing? How are we empowering and impacting the people around us so that the next generation can step into their power and influence the bigger picture in a more positive way. And you might think that you don't have that much influence that you're just a mom, or just a small business owner, or just a mom with a camera, or just a daughter or just an auntie, I really fucking hate that word used in that context, just a whatever. And I want to tell you, that's not true. You have an immense opportunity to impact people around you in your work in your every single interaction with people every single day. And when you consider that impact in your business, you will not only show up differently, but you'll start to see your business grow and change. Oh, I save that one for last because I don't want to be crying the whole time. I'm gonna take just a deep breath real quick. Maybe you needed one too.

Brooke Summer 47:00 If you loved this content, and you're like, Brooke, this was awesome. How can I thank you. First of all, I want to know if you enjoy this random list of things, because this is how my brain works. And usually, this is how my podcast episodes start. random list of things. And then I restructured to make more sense. But if you love this content, and you're like Brooke, this was awesome. How can I thank you, I would be so honored. If you would head on over to iTunes, and leave a review, I would be absolutely honored if you would head on over to iTunes, and leave a review. For a quick and easy way to find it. You can go to bold with brooke.com/itunes. You can even pause right now. I'll wait how long back because that is what allows us to bring in amazing guests and keep producing this content to help more people to reach out to other business owners. And if you've loved it, you maybe you've already reviewed the podcast, maybe you're like a review is that enough? Please share this with someone else. Please share this because this information can really impact someone's life. Remember, we were talking about impact. I don't take that lightly. And it's not just in my boudoir, photography, business. But in this business as well. I was sitting in a pool in Tulum, in Mexico in July, and I poured out my heart on my bigger way. Things that I haven't shared, I will, I will, they're coming. I'm still processing everything. It was kind of a lot working with a specific coach, and I will share them but we have more impact than we know. And I am so so honored to have been a future podcast on Amazon. And my podcast is in the top 3% of podcasts in the world. And I am so passionate about helping you move your business forward, I have been working through some of my own stuff with life lessons. And there will be more of that coming. But this podcast is free. And those reviews and those shares are kind of like a little podcast currency. Thank you and we appreciate them. So very much. I would love to know some of your biggest aha moments or takeaways. You can share them in the community at bold with brooke.com/community, which is our little cozy corner Facebook, or take a screenshot and tag me on social apple with Brooke, your business is just one way that you can move through the world and impact people around you in the way that you choose. What do you want to see in the world, you get to be that impact. And it's time to step into that power and own it fully including marketing and growing your business. I did pause there intentionally because marketing is putting yourself out there. We're gonna grow your business, we're gonna market it to get you the clients that you want and need to reach your biggest goals. I can't wait to see what you do with your business and how you change the world because it truly matters. Have an amazing rest of your day and we'll talk soon.

Brooke Summer 49:56 Thank you so much Thanks for joining me today and listening in. You can find all of the show notes for this and every episode over at boldwithbrooke.com/podcast where you can also find all the links or resources mentioned. I can't wait to work with you have an amazing rest of your day.