How You Pictured It

How to prioritize happiness in your business with Christine Michaelis

• Kate Hejde • Season 1 • Episode 54

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In this episode with Christine Michaelis of Creative Startup Academy, we're talking about how to get more happiness in your life and in your small business.  She  shares her journey towards happiness and wellbeing, a topic she deeply cares about and has written a book on called 'The Happiness Formula'. Christine highlights the importance of having a positive mindset, fostering relationships, and pursuing meaningful goals to achieve happiness. She discusses the importance of personal and business values and maintaining a work-life balance to sustain a successful, fulfilling business. Christine shares her experience with neurolinguistic programming (NLP) and how it allowed her to view communication and self-talk in a different light.

00:00 Introduction and Guest Presentation

01:05 Christine's Journey into Entrepreneurship

02:21 Balancing Business and Personal Life

04:37 Understanding Happiness

07:07 The Happiness Formula

10:02 Applying Happiness in Business

14:20 Christine's Personal Journey to Happiness

18:10 The Role of NLP in Happiness

22:55 Making Business Choices Aligned with Happiness

26:18 Christine's Current Projects and Final Thoughts

Find Christine:
https://www.creativestartupacademy.com/
https://uk.linkedin.com/in/christinethecoach

Book Recommendations: The Jelly Effect
The Seven Sisters

Follow Dear Kate Brand Strategy on Instagram
Learn more at Howyoupicturedit.com


kate-hejde_5_11-30-2023_083534:

I'm here today with Christine Mics with Creative Startup Academy. I'm so excited to talk to you today. Christine, can you tell us a little bit about you and your business and what you do?

Track 1:

Yes. Hello everyone. Thanks for having me today, and thanks for listening. Um, well, Christine. Originally from Germany. I lived in the UK for about 10 years. Then I moved to Sweden and now I'm located in Italy. I am for more than a decade supporting entrepreneurs when, within the first three years, let's say, with um, my creative startup Academy with starting out. So, because that can be a bit overwhelming, all of a sudden, you're an entrepreneur, you have to think about everything. Um, marketing and as. Also health and wellbeing, actually, because I added that recently. Well, recently means this year at the beginning of the year when, well, when we are recording this in 2023. Um, however, uh, I'm going strong, let's say for the past 12 years, uh, supporting entrepreneurs absolutely love it,

kate-hejde_5_11-30-2023_083534:

How did you get into this business?

Track 1:

um, accident. You know, I was, I was working in design agencies. And absolutely loved at industry, my colleagues, clients, and so on. But it wasn't fulfilling enough for me anymore. So I basically felt the need to change. And I did an NLP um, practitioner certification, that's neurolinguistic programming, and the same organization basically offered coaching training. I was like, Hmm, interesting. What's that? Always was someone who loves meeting new people, helping people, supporting people, transferring knowledge, and then just coaching. Element came in, which is more about asking questions and helping people to find solutions themselves. So bit of mix of coaching and consulting. So coach consulting, let's say, um, that I was then starting to do and working with entrepreneurs just happened because I started going to networking events and that's where I've met other entrepreneurs then that ask me for help. And then I start working with'em and I was like, hmm. I like that. I'm gonna stick with that. And that's how it all evolved into like one in one coaching. And then over the years it morphed into that Creative Startup Academy,

kate-hejde_5_11-30-2023_083534:

A lot of the time on this podcast, we talk about building your business to fit your life, just how you pictured it. Um, how have you been able to do that?

Track 1:

Oh, long journey. And probably still I. Always ongoing, let's say, uh, I mean, there's a destination probably that you arrive at one point and then things change, and then it goes on. And I'm at that point again where I'm, I'm changing a bit, and even at the beginning of the year, I was restructuring everything. I was always imagining. Once I was in that world, let's say that entrepreneurial world, having your own business, um, I was then thinking, Hmm, okay, so first of all, I want to make this sustainable as in financially sustainable as well, and having a work-life balance that most entrepreneurs and also me back then didn't have. Um. and so I, I pictured myself, let's say, to be first of all, location independent so that I can work from anywhere I want, but also to do what I do. I. And love what I do. Say no to people, to clients that might want to work with me, um, and have fixed working hours, let's say, and enough free time and enough money to also support my lifestyle. For me, it's uh, it's a. Let's say a lifestyle business, um, which means it pays for me vacations and my life. Um, it's not necessarily a business that is growing or that I want to grow, let's say having employees, although I do have, I. About, um, two agencies and, and two VAs and other people that support me that I outsource to. Um, but that was never my intention really to, to grow it into a big business, but more in a business that I actually love doing with the work life balance as they say that I wanted, um, which wasn't always that way. And, uh, we can talk about that a bit more as well later on.

kate-hejde_5_11-30-2023_083534:

We're talking about happiness today, which a lot of that is going to lead back, like a lot of building your business to fit the life that you want, and having that lifestyle business is going to give you happiness. Right? So let's talk about what happiness is to you. How, how would you define that?

Track 1:

Um, well, I wrote a whole book about that and the reason why I got into the search of happiness for happiness, uh, let's say, um, which. Everyone has, everyone wants happy, wants to be happy. Everyone wants happiness in their life, in their business with what they do, and hopefully also spread some happiness. Um, however, we don't actually Be active in searching and evaluating it until something happens that usually isn't positive or let's say that isn't good in that moment. In hindsight, probably everyone learns from everything, uh, like I did. Um. What is happiness is a big, big question. Um, I think it's important to understand the difference between happiness and joy. And there's also some definitions out there that I can read out, um, but just I. To quickly explain the difference. So joy is more like a, a fleeting moment, an emotion in a moment that's attached to something that happened. Happiness is more this underlying state of being. I. Content and happy, um, no matter what the circumstances are or which moment you are in because you can be stressed and working, but in general you can be happy in your life with what you have, what you achieved, and things like that. There are, um, some definitions I'll give you. One of, um, mature car is called um. He's very famous in the world of happiness, let's say. So happiness and wellbeing is not just a pleasurable sensation, it is a deep sense of serenity and fulfillment. So basically what I just said, a state that underlies all emotional states and all the joys and sorrows that come once way. So exactly what I mentioned. So it's, it's like this underlying state that you are. Happy, but it doesn't mean that you have to be jumping up and down, uh, every day full, full of joy because we all have difficult days. We all have bad days, Um, but we can be still happy because that's what life is about.

kate-hejde_5_11-30-2023_083534:

Yeah. So you mentioned you wrote a book, it's called The Happiness Formula. Correct. can you tell me a little bit more about the framework that's in that book?

Track 1:

Yes, of course. So it's a formula. I like formulas, things to follow, something actionable, practical, you know, because there's lots out there. Um. About happiness and the theory and definitions and things like that. So when I did, um, actually a training to become a happiness facilitator, a Certified Happiness facilitator, um, one of the tasks in that training was to come up with a framework that you think works for you. And it was many, many years ago, I never did anything with it. Further until really, okay. I, I, I really want to take this further and put that into a book. So what I did, I come up, came up with an acronym because that makes it easier to remember and to follow, which is the acronym Smile A smile is contagious and I think it's very, um, suitable for happiness. So. SMILE stands for Start Your Journey, which is all about understanding happiness, uh, knowing yourself. A bit of mindfulness comes in that, so it's really getting To groups with what happiness is for you and what happiness is in general. Um, what makes you happy according to studies and science, what doesn't make you happy? Um, then the m and SMILE is, make sure you're ready, because too often we manipulate ourselves, um, to not achieve something or to not be happy because of maybe trauma. Trauma that happened or any other things. We might think we don't deserve to be happy, and all of that is usually going on subconsciously, not really in your mind. Um. So we're talking also bringing there my NLP new linguistic programming techniques. Then we have the eye, which is implant happiness into your brain. So there we go and look into the science of happiness. Um, what happens actually in the body biology with the chemicals, and it's also a bit more about building habits. And then we have two more learn about the models. So that's the L. So there's a bit more theory as well with, um, learning what's already out there, what kind of models out are there, um, what do they follow, um, things like that. And the last one is engage with the tools. And this is making actually use of the tools that exist already out there. Meaning meditation, uh, gratitude, affirmations, visualization, some apps that you can use and so on.

kate-hejde_5_11-30-2023_083534:

So,

Track 1:

it. So, mm-Hmm?

kate-hejde_5_11-30-2023_083534:

That's a big, that's a big thing. That's a lot of information. Um, if someone is feeling that they're not happy in their life and in their business right now that's listening, what would you suggest their first steps be to getting that happiness?

Track 1:

So. Getting a bit more into what happiness means. I mean, not just the definitions, um, but thinking, going deeper, maybe analyzing why you think or why you are not happy, uh, could be a good starting point.'cause often it's easier to know what we don't want, uh, rather than what we want. And then there's um, lots of things that People can do. So for example, um, cultivating a positive mindset. So meaning we all talk to ourselves. So watch your language, which means watch your thoughts, uh, how you're talking to yourself, turn those into positive ones. Um, take care of your physical health. Um, what really plays a Big role of becoming happier is foster relationship with other people as well. So I know some people like, uh, introverts, some people are hermits, whatever you wanna call, um, a specific group of people if you wanna put them into a draw. Obviously everyone is different to a different degree, um, but if you like being home and don't do a lot of things. Then, um, that can affect your happiness. So getting out there and doing things with other people, um, pursuing meaningful goals and also practicing self-care is really, I know it's a buzzword, but it is really so important. And as you say in English, uh, you can't pour out of an empty cup and put your oxygen mask on first and, and all these expressions that exist and are so true. You need to take care of yourself before you can take care of other people. And you can do that in different ways. Um, but yeah, self-care is a big, big aspect. So there's a lot that you can do looking after yourself, doing things with others. Um, there's also lots of science if and studies that show what doesn't make us happy and actually things that do make us happy.

kate-hejde_5_11-30-2023_083534:

So as business owners, what do you find comes first, like the happiness or the business, or how do you kind of get that balance in there and make them work together so that you feel that happiness, but also have a successful, sustainable business?

Track 1:

Yes, very good question. And a lot of times that's the problem that people work, work, work and just don't know how to balance this out and how to switch off. Because if you are a business owner, you love your business, it's your baby, and you never switch off really, but it's really, really necessary. So you need to really separate your personal life from your business life. That's I think, a must. And that also means putting really strict working hours in which I didn't have, but now I have, I, I created a nine to five job that I love, that is my own business. There might be exceptions, that's not what I'm saying, but the rule should be you have working hours that then hopefully align with working hours of your partner, for example, or your family. Okay. Too often I see personalized suffering, um, and relationships and families because that person, um, is working too much and in different working hours now, um, I strongly believe you can start creating this work life balance right from the beginning. I know it's a lot of work when you start out. But let me tell you something, it will always be a lot of work. Okay? People think, oh yeah, I put in all this energy now and then I, I don't have anymore. That's not true. It is ongoing and your to-do list will never be empty. And, uh, the sooner you accept that, the better Um, but setting boundaries, having clear working hours and making sure that you. Focus on the things that you have to get done in business rather than the things that you might not have to do can really help with that as well. Hmm.

kate-hejde_5_11-30-2023_083534:

You mentioned earlier, um, that usually people start seeking happiness when something's not going well or not going right. How's, was that kind of your experience as well?

Track 1:

Yes. So basically I was working a lot. So everything I just mentioned, uh, is took me years to get where I am now and will be a continuous journey because I always, I. See how I continue thinking about stuff or maybe, uh, I, I just do a bit longer today or, oh, I, I do this on the weekend or something. That's really an exception, but it still happens, so I'm still working on that. However, um, I used to work. All days of the week, so seven days a week, and minimum of 10 to 12 hours a day. Uh, I had lunch in front of my computer to answer emails because that's more productive as you might think, but it's not. Um, but that's in the head. Okay. It's more productive. I can, I can use this hour whilst I'm eating something. Um, now I have clear. Lunch breaks where I'm not in front of the computer. I go out for a walk, I eat, uh, I still eat too fast, but I, I eat away from my screen. Um, and it didn't, it hasn't been that way. I was extremely stressed, very close to a burnout when I was also misdiagnosed with a brain tumor in the same year. Um, so I. Went to the doctors for other reasons. Um, I have tin tooth in my ear, which is that ringing in the ears, um, for over 20 years and have done lots and lots of treatments back then. Um, when I was 19, uh, it wasn't the best, uh, thing. So anyway, anyway, I, I wouldn't say I suffer from it. I, I just say it's a condition that I have, which is mainly stress related. And is manageable with mindfulness and, and switching off and all these things that I implemented. So all of that was going on. Um, and they did a scan of my hat to see if everything's okay with the ears. And that's now a few years back, um, because I went to the doctors and said, maybe 20 years in, there might be new things that can be done. And the doctor said, good news. Nothing wrong with your ears, but you have a brain tumor. And I was like, what? So exactly like that. And that was, um, in this moment shocking, but I'm quite good at putting things away and ignoring. Um, so I continue living the life doing things. Um, but obviously a lot shifted inside me with a mindset and everything. And it was a, a process of three months until I found out it's not a ma brain tumor. Um, so I took that as an opportunity to reprioritize life. Overwork and, um, starting my search into happiness, but also into spirituality. So for me, I don't say it's bad that this happened, but obviously it's nothing that I would wish anyone, um, to, to have happened to them. And. most of the time it's something like that that makes you reprioritize things and make space for loved ones. Make time for yourself, um, uh, practice, self-care, all these things. And either it's someone dying or diagnosed with ca um, illness. And that's every single person I've talked to so far that made big changes. This is what happened to them.

kate-hejde_5_11-30-2023_083534:

YEah, that is, uh, definitely something that I've seen as well is like when I've had big, big events or big shifts in my life or things happen, then I do that kind of refocus on figuring out what matters to me and what will bring that happiness. Um, let's talk more about the NLP stuff. I'm fascinated by that. Can you tell me a little bit more about it?

Track 1:

Yeah. So, um, it stands for neurolinguistic programming. So basically the neuro part is you understand a bit better how the brain works. So it doesn't mean that you, um, become an expert, but you understand, oh, okay, there's things happening in your brain. And there's, um, neuroplasticity, which is basically created with experiences, with feelings, with Everything that you live in your life. And, um, then I, I go deeper into that in a second. But then you have the linguistic part, which is basically that you understand the communication, how you talk to yourself and how you talk to others and how you can improve this communication towards yourself or with others. And then you have the programming part, and this is the most fascinating of all, I think, is where you understand you can actually reprogram your brain. You can change. The way you feel about that, something that happened. And you can also, if you have a fear, a trauma, confidence issues, and you know where this is coming from, you can manipulate your own brain until it believes something to be true that you decide it will be the truth. And this is very fascinating because the brain does not understand if something is real or not real. It really doesn't. And as. Much as you talk to yourself. In a positive way, or for example, let's say you are tired and you, you jump up and down the room to a, a great song that you really like and you say, I'm full of energy. I'm, I'm happy, I'm full of energy. I'm not tired. But that's the thing. You shouldn't say, I'm not tired. Okay? Because again, the brain does not understand the negatives. Uh, what it hears is tired, so you should always phrase it something in a positive way, hence also rephrasing, maybe negative self-talk into positive ones. Um, or if you, let's say you, you. Walking on a pathway with a child and you don't want it to run on the street, you should not say, don't run on the street, because all the brain hose is run on the street. You should say, stay here with me on the pathway. Um, things like that. So it's really fascinating because you can, let's say, cheat, uh, on yourself and your brain and reprogram it. And that also also comes with the happiness bit, so you can tell yourself. How grateful you are and that's why gratitude works so well for everything that you have, um, for the small things that happen in life and your brain will start picking that up and things like, ah, she's very happy, she's very grateful for everything that's happening, even if it's small things. Yeah. So it's fascinating world of neuroscience behind it.

kate-hejde_5_11-30-2023_083534:

That is fascinating and I bet it leads into marketing a lot to how we phrase things and frame things for clients and in sales and things like that as well.

Track 1:

It does. Um, although I do have to say, um, if we look at motivators for ourselves, for others, also, if you look at leaders that leading a team, so team leaders, you can motivate with fear and, uh. Putting pressure on people, and you can motivate in other ways, of course, with encouragement, let's say. And fear is always the bigger motivator, which is not, not that I'm saying you should do that. I'm all for, uh, the leadership style of encouragement. But fear is, is an motivator, like, mm. That gets you into movement because you are afraid of something. However, you can turn that also in a positive way, but just be aware of that, that something that you're afraid of or you don't like will be sometimes a bigger motivator than the things that you do want and do like. And that's also with marketing. So I'm saying that because a lot of marketing techniques are using the fear of missing out, um, that the pressure or you just, this offer Black Friday, all these things, it all plays with that fear of missing out. It's just today that it's all a marketing techniques and probably you will get the same offer again. Or they increase maybe the prices before they drop them for Black Friday is another thing and that's when here reality hits. But you can see a lot that people Play with the fears instead of the encouragement and the positivity, unfortunately.

kate-hejde_5_11-30-2023_083534:

Yeah. So when we're making choices for our business, how can we make those choices to be better aligned with finding happiness for ourselves?

Track 1:

hmm. It's very, you need to be very clear on who you are and what you stand for. Also your so-called values and there is, if you have your own business, usually business values align pretty much with your personal values. Um, and I think any business decision that you make and also the decisions you make in your personal life should be aligned with your values. So if you are very clear on that and you have to do a very difficult decision, then you can ask yourself the question, is this actually aligning with what I believe and what's important to me? And if the answer is no, then. You already have your answer for something like that. If the answer is yes, you can evaluate that and you, that's also with working with people, with accepting offers, with using specific marketing techniques. I mean, how many times? And me also at the beginning, you sign up to everything that's out there when you start out to get as much information as possible. And then, uh, they tell you you need to do this and you need to do that. And when you build a sales funnel, you need to use these kind of words and trigger words, and you need to use the fear of missing out and you need to put a timer and this and that. And maybe you think like, it's not my style, and maybe they say, uh, I have an offer that cost. Um.$15,000 usually, and today you get it for only$10, but only for the next 24 hours. You know, also, this is always used and there's nothing wrong with that because everyone can decide the way they want, but if that's not your style and you thing don't do that. So the basis is really being clear on your values, what you stand for, and then have that integrity and the confidence to say no.

kate-hejde_5_11-30-2023_083534:

Yes, and I think that's a permission slip too that you're giving to say that the common practices that you're seeing in your industry or around don't have to be the way that things are done. That they're not hard and fast rules, and that as business owners, we get to decide What works for us, um, and what fits with our values. Um, another thing with that is figuring out, like you talked about, being able to say no to clients that aren't the right fit for you, or figuring out what your hours are that you want to work. These are all things we get to decide and those are gonna lead into a happier more of that happiness in that underlying, um, kind of way.

Track 1:

Yes, for sure. For sure. It's it. It's your business and you need to take care of yourself. And there's not nothing selfish about that because selfish is, um, being selfish is good. Um, but it has a bad connotation. Okay? But you have to, because if you're just people pleasing and, and try to get everything done and overwork, that's no good for you in the end. And if you are not well mentally or physically, you will not be able to continue, and you will also not. Be able to have any impact, positive ones with what you're doing or with your loved ones.

kate-hejde_5_11-30-2023_083534:

Yeah,

Track 1:

Simple as that.

kate-hejde_5_11-30-2023_083534:

is such good information. Christine, we're gonna get into some fun questions too. But, um, where can we find you, tell me more about the book where we can find that. And I know you have other books as well, so.

Track 1:

Yes, uh, I'm a bit of a, uh, book writing addict, let's say published 20 books so far, all about these three pillars starting out, uh, marketing or health and wellbeing. And you can find me or mainly on LinkedIn if you're looking for socials, um, and to find all the links to the book and my social, and my LinkedIn and everything on creative startup academy.com.

kate-hejde_5_11-30-2023_083534:

Wonderful, and I'll make sure that's linked in the show notes. Before I let you. go, I wanna ask you just a few fun questions. Um, first is, what is a book that you've read recently or a favorite book that you'd love to share about either business or personal? It doesn't have to be business related at all.

Track 1:

Okay. So if we are looking at a, um, non-business book, fiction book, I really like the Seven Sisters series. It's amazing. It it really long. Um, and I'm, I'm reading currently the last one, but I really love the way that's written and it's lovely and how it intertwines stories in different times. Um, if we're talking about the business books, there's one that's, uh, a bit old, um, but really nice and also very creatively layout and, and everything. It's called the Jelly Effect, which is all about communication because for me, everything in life and business comes down to communication. Everything, every issue and every solution is communicating.

kate-hejde_5_11-30-2023_083534:

And that was called the Jelly Effect.

Track 1:

yes.

kate-hejde_5_11-30-2023_083534:

Okay, I'll have to look that up. And then the seven sister series sounds right up my alley too, so I'm gonna have to check those out as well. I love anything where there's like intertwining stories in different times and like, that's so up my alley, I'm gonna have to check it out. Awesome. What is something that you are excited about or your curiosity has sparked about that you're interested in learning right now?

Track 1:

I'm actually, um, building up a second brand at the moment. I'm not gonna say what it's all about, but that's really what I've learned a lot of new things, uh, which is all about communication and, and training On, um, in big companies, let's say the, the staff, meaning managers, but also, um, the, the teams, which then leads also to happiness, uh, and happy company let's say. But, um, that's what I'm really excited about because it's, uh, something, uh, that's really close to my heart as well.

kate-hejde_5_11-30-2023_083534:

It sounds right up your alley too

Track 1:

Mm-Hmm?

kate-hejde_5_11-30-2023_083534:

communication aspect. And then lastly, is there a free resource that you would recommend everyone check out?

Track 1:

Uh, yeah. If they want, they can check out my free resources. Because I do have a, uh, a free access to my Creative Startup Academy. So if you go on creative startup academy.com, there's a free access and a paid version. But even in the free access, you already get lots of, um, resources and uh, co online coworking sessions also with me and community.

kate-hejde_5_11-30-2023_083534:

Wonderful. We'll have to check that out. Thank you so much, Christine. It was so lovely to talk to you today, and I hope everyone can find some more happiness. In their life.

Track 1:

Thank you so much for having me.