On April 14, 2020, we held our first-ever Thrive NOW™ Virtual Summit where we brought together more than 350 entrepreneurs and small business leaders with a panel of experts to offer practical support to help them survive the COVID-19 health crisis.
The idea for this full-day summit originated a month earlier when the global health crisis forced many small businesses to close their doors and pivot their business models. I saw a lot of confusion, fear, and decisions being made at lightning-fast speeds. Wil and I had many conversations with our clients, friends, and colleagues, and one theme kept coming up: How can we help each other navigate this situation and let our community know that we are all in this together?
We put together a list of issues that our fellow SMBs raised and we reached out to subject-matter experts in the fields of digital marketing, business law, business development, human resources, and success coaching.
Here is a summary of those sessions, all of which you can access at the Thrive NOW™ website:
- Legal considerations: COVID-19 Legal Considerations – Action to take Now and Pitfalls to Avoid, with attorney Brian Ripley
- Getting found online: Getting Your Business Found Online and Attracting New Customers with Tom Petty, digital marketing consultant
- Working remotely: How to Lead a Virtual Team for the First Time Successfully with Tara Powers, founder, and CEO of Powers Resource Center
- Business model: Creating New Streams of Revenue – What to Consider and How to Do It, featuring Elaine Betts, CEO of Go Far Consulting
We kicked off the Summit with our friend and success coach Michele Molitor who graciously allowed me to interview her on, “How to Overcome Your Fears and Rewire Your Thinking for Success.”
Meet Michele Molitor
Michele Molitor helped us kick off the April 14, 2020, full-day Thrive NOW™ virtual small business summit with “How to Overcome Your Fears and Rewire Your Thinking for Success.” It was one of the most engaging and successful sessions from the event. Michele was one of seven experts who talked with us about how small businesses can survive the coronavirus global health crisis.
Related: In case you missed it, read our summary of the April 14th Thrive NOW™ Virtual Summit for small business leaders.
Michele has been a friend, colleague, and collaborator with us at Smart Simple Marketing for almost 14 years. She is the Founder and CEO of Nectar Consulting. Michele is a speaker, author, business coach, and “Rapid Rewire Expert,” which I’ll explain next.
My conversation with Michele is a must-listen for anyone who is struggling with the fears and uncertainly we are all facing as a result of the COVID-19 health crisis. Not only will small business owners and entrepreneurs benefit from her sage advice, but for anyone who’s struggling to focus — Michele’s message couldn’t have come at a better time!
What is Rapid Rewiring?
Have you ever felt stuck in mental chaos, unable to focus, and full of self-doubt? As small business owners, this can be a recurring theme for us. This is even more true as we shelter in place during the pandemic.
Michele’s “Rapid Rewiring” approach uses a combination of tried-and-true techniques from several therapeutic approaches which include Coaching and Rapid Transformational Therapy or RTT. It helps you to take the actions that rewire your brain to think with more confidence and visualize success. She has worked with countless business leaders to help them identify their mental blocks and fears and turn them into opportunities and goals.
For example, Michele suggests taking a piece of paper and writing a line down the middle. On the left, write down all your fears that are running through your mind. On the right side, write down the exact opposite. If your fear is that you will get sick from the coronavirus, the right side might read, “I am healthy and taking care of myself. Today I am not sick.”
Key Learnings from Michele Molitor’s Session
Michele discussed the impact COVID-19 has had on small businesses and some of the common fears that arise from this unprecedented economic crisis.
For example, she goes into depth about how a portion of our brain responds to crises. The amygdala is the fight-or-flight control center of our brains. Michele explains that the amygdala has one job — to keep us safe. So, when something like a global pandemic takes over the news and affects every aspect of our lives, the amygdala goes into overdrive.
Michele calls her amygdala “Amy,” and she recommends a technique for calming Amy down. Make a special note of this and use it when you begin to feel overwhelmed: “Thank you for sharing, Amy. I’ve got this. And we are going to figure it out.”
Awareness of the amygdala’s activity is key. You can control whether or not you free-fall into a fight or flight response. We do have other options, but Amy the Amygdala doesn’t know that!
These are some of the key learnings from the interview:
- Fear has a powerful negative impact on the mind-body connection (learn how to stop it).
- Emotions differ from reactions to them, and you have choices!
- Visualization is a powerful tool that can shift your way of thinking.
- Our brains have “happy chemicals” and you can trigger them easily. (Hint: Hugs go a long way, even virtual ones!)
There is so much more value that Michele shared, but I want you to hear it in her words. I highly recommend listening to my conversation with her. It’s the perfect listen for your morning walk, while you prepare dinner, or if you need a distraction from the news!
Click here to register for the session (it’s free).
About Michele Molitor
Michele is the founder and CEO of Nectar Consulting. She’s also co-author of “Breakthrough Healing,” a book about alternative medicine.
Visit Michele’s website, Nectar Consulting, and connect with her on Twitter @RapidRewire, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
About the Thrive NOW™ Virtual Summit
The Thrive NOW™ Virtual Small Business Summit was the culmination of many conversations Wil and I have had with our friends, colleagues, peers, and clients since the COVID-19 health crisis challenged and threatened the shut down of many small businesses.
We make this content available to you for free because we recognize the value that small and midsize businesses bring to our economy. We have been helping big brands and enterprise-level organizations connect with small and midsize companies for 7+. We’ve been helping small, minority-, and women-owned businesses to attract more clients and increase their revenue for 14+ years. Thrive NOW™ is the product of our experience in results-driven content marketing, producing virtual events, and delivering hundreds of workshops, seminars, and webinars worldwide.
We’d like to thank our roster of experts who made this event a success. More than 350 small business owners and managers attended the first Thrive NOW™ summit. We plan to do it again. Connect with us and find out about future events.
