Storytelling Series: Leveraging Kindness as a Secret Story Success Weapon

Hello, hello CEO teachers. Welcome back to the show. I am grateful for you today and every day. And it's a beautiful day to be alive. I don't know if you're driving to your classroom or if you're rocking your baby, but thank you for spending your day with me. I never, ever take it for granted. And today we're going to be talking about leveraging kindness as a secret story success weapon. Cool. That was a lot of S's. And I believe I've actually shared this on podcast interviews that I've been on in the last few years, but I believe that kindness always wins. Good will always prevail over evil. And it has proven itself to me again and again. So when people ask me, what is my number one business strategy? I will always say kindness. And I know that sounds kind of weird to think that your kindness could be a reflection of how well your business succeeds, but I have seen it one too many times, my friend. And I know without a doubt that the opposite of kindness comes in the form of karma. And I have watched it happen so much. So let's talk about in today's show how this one thing can make your business store. And it is our core value here at Team CEO teacher. It is be a good human. Be good to all people. Hey friend, I'm Casey Morris. Former full-time English teacher turned online business CEO, dedicated to helping teachers like you, unlock more freedom simply by using skills you already have. I started selling my teaching resources online just to pay my Netflix bill. I had no time, no past experience, no impressive tech skills, heck I didn't even have a credit card that wasn't maxed out. Fast forward to a few years later and hello seven figure business and thousands of lives transformed. Now I get to work on a 1908 farmhouse for fun. Crank the grateful dead tunes whenever I want and hang out with my family while still doing what I love. And you can do the same. I'm here to help you skip the painful learning curve, focus on what matters most and own your unique ability to teach, lead, and lend to helping hand without capping your income or your ability to impact the lives of students, parents, and other teachers. Ready to get started? The CEO teacher podcast is your shortcut to simplify strategies, inspiring stories, and mindset shifts that'll help you reach your big goals and build your own life-changing teacher business. We believe here that the best is yet to come. So let's dive in. West Angelosi said, go and love someone exactly as they are and then watch how quickly they transform into the greatest, truest version of themselves. When one feels seen and appreciated in their own essence, one is instantly empowered. And then finally do things for people not because of who they are or what they do in return, but because of who you are. And I wanted to share a little story about someone that my husband met when he worked in State'sboro, Georgia, shout out to State'sboro and Georgia Southern. My husband graduated from Southern with his undergrad degree. I got my master's from Southern and my husband actually had a child when he was in school going to school there. And so he had to work nights at Walmart distribution. And he learned a lot. He had insurance through them, but he was working all night, getting up and going to school. And it wasn't the easiest of times. He was struggling financially. And he was just not in a good headspace. But he told a story about a friend that he had lent some money to, is that the right word? Lent. That he had given some money to. And his buddy said, you know, you only give if you're able to and you never expect anything in return. And he said that that quote changed his life forever. He thought, wow, I should never have given if I thought I was going to get something in return. And he said, I've carried that with me. And I can honestly say, my husband has a heart of gold. He gives so much that I want to grab him and shake him and I'm like, babe, they're using you. And he says, I don't care. He doesn't. He doesn't care. He will give, he gives food out of our freezer. He gives extra food that we've cooked. He'll call up people who like, Hey, can I bring you some food over? He gives money. I mean, whatever it is that he has extra of, he gives it out. And I love that about him. He has such a good heart. But I want to remind you of that as well as that the more you give in life, the more you get. And I don't just mean financially. I mean, in love and in service and selfishly, as I've grown to have more children and as I've been busier and busier, I've tried to eliminate a lot of relationships in my life because I thought I need to set boundaries. And while that is true, I do now believe there is a way to do it all. I have grown my friend circle exponentially. I'm not going to say that word anymore because I said it like 50 times on the last two podcasts. So I'm going to find a new word. But I've grown my friend circle a lot in the last few months. I have responded to those text messages that have been left unopened. I've checked in with the church. I've responded to the emails. I've gotten back into my Instagram direct messages and sent you all voice messages. So if you send me a message on Instagram, I am the one that's personally responding because I had lost touch. And I had forgotten what it meant to connect and to be kind and to care. People are real people behind the scenes. And they just want someone who is real and authentic speaking of real and authentic. I want to share my favorite Tiktokers. They are two twins. You're either going to love them or not. And if not, that's fine. But I am obsessed with them. Their names are Kaylee and Beth Ann. You can look at Beth Ann by going to Beth Ann Bryce. She actually just hit a million followers on TikTok. And then you'll find Kaylee because they're twin sisters. They go to UGA and they are the funniest humans I've ever met. My husband thinks they're absolutely ridiculous. And that's fine. But I think they are absolutely hilarious. So if you have nothing to do today, head on over to TikTok and find them. But what I love them for is because they truly have a great heart and it's been really fun to watch them grow. So let's talk about what data says about kindness and why it is proven to really work. Webster's Dictionary defines kindness as the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate. Evidence shows that being kind to others can also benefit our own mental health and well-being. The difference between a successful business owner and an unsuccessful one is the ability to understand people. Kindness often means putting other people's needs before your own. So try to recognize your audience's needs, their frustrations, their dreams, and their transformations. Prior to 2019, kindness was not typically thought of as a way to do business for serious business owners. But in 2023, kindness is no longer a luxury in business. It is a necessity. Kindness actually leads to innovation, productivity, and creativity that will grow your brand. And finally, kindness should be interwoven into everyday interactions. Remember, be a good human. Be good to all people. Now, what kindness is not? Let me just throw this out there. I don't believe you should be a pushover. That's not what I'm saying. I can be kind, but also be tactful and also get straight to the point. People don't run over me. I don't let people use me or abuse me or anything like that. I'm very direct on who I am, who I serve, what I expect, but I do so in a kind way. For example, I'm not interviewing anyone for 2023 in the first quarter or the first two quarters, hopefully. And I don't plan on being in very many interviews because I've decided to set that boundary for myself. However, when people ask me to be on their shows, I'm still going to be kind and say, thank you so much. Could we schedule it for this time? Or could we plan another maybe next year for you to be on our show as we're not really interviewing people for our show this year? That's been a really good thing to remember is that you can be kind, but also set boundaries for yourself. And I was listening to Harry Styles, except a Grammy award last night in Adil. And they are such class acts, both of them are, and listening to them show so much gratitude, so much shock and all, like they didn't deserve these awards. It made me fall in love with them so much more than I work so hard. I deserve this. You know, this is what I've worked my whole life for. Instead, they were like, I can't believe I won this. They were very humble and very kind. So remember that. And let's talk about the strategy that we use to help you learn to leverage kindness as a business because this is your secret weapon. The strategy that we recommend is called the think method, and it's going to help you grow a compassionate business. So think about this as you think about kindness in every interaction, every plan, and every thought. The T stands for trust. So are you non-judgmental? Do you stick to your word? And are you sharing all the strategies and tips because you know that gatekeeping is so 2022. Sticking to your word is something I've not always been great at in my personal life. Yes, my professional life. No, and I didn't get clear with that until I hired Ali about three years ago. And she said, if I'm going to work for you for full time, then whatever you say we're going to do. And I am an over-promiser. And so I said, okay, now we, I like to say we under promise and over deliver, but we stick to our word. And that feels really, really good. Plus, when I learn a strategy that works, I immediately share it either here on my podcast, either in our communities or paid wall or paywall inside of our CEO teacher memberships in our Facebook group. But I'm sharing it because I have realized that the more open and honest I am with all of you, the better my business grows, the more you give, remember the more you get. So that T and trust also stands for can your audience trust your word? I referenced a Tiktoker that was saying something about a paid sponsorship. And that's why I don't do paid sponsorships because for me, my word is everything. It's all that I have. And paid sponsorships don't benefit me anymore as far as I don't need the money for those sponsorships. And I don't think that there's a sponsorship that really suits my audience. I don't know, I don't think that Scholastic could offer me a scholarship that would suit who I am here to serve. It's not worth me losing my audience's trust. Now, are you practicing that 80-20 rule as well? So when you're developing the trust in the kindness factor, think about are you giving away 80% of your content for free and only asking them to pay 20% of your knowledge that is behind your products or your resources or even your memberships or your courses? And then finally, in line with the trust, make sure that your connection marketing is so high versus the sales these tactics. I have the hard, cold data to show you that being a real human always outweighs the salesy tactics. Whenever we start selling our programs, we get a significant drop in our Instagram story views, our TikTok views go down. Everything that we do goes down because we are either we want you in or we want you out. And that's our, that was our plan up until this point. And now it means so much more to me than that. I have to connect with my people. I hate salesy strategies. So we're really working on building that trust again with our people and not just saying by my thing, which is why we've taken out a lot of promos this year inside of our podcast as well. We're really working to grow back your trust of knowing that I'm just going to give you what I give you. And if you want to join our membership, we'd love to have you. But I'm not selling that to you every single day or during our launch times. It just doesn't feel good anymore. Next up in our think kindness strategy for 2023 is H and that stands for helpful. Are you aware of the needs of your audience? Are you creating content for your perfect person? And are you sticking to your main thing? And how can your content add quality to the conversation surrounding your niche? Think about how can you be helpful? The I in think kindness stands for inspire. Are you telling stories that resonate with your people? And have you been where they are and found your way to another side or still in the thick of it? So I gave you the story about my husband working at Walmart distribution, because some of you understand the struggle of going to school and having to work being a real human and not just jumping on here and just spouting off strategies and what's working and marketing allows you to help connect with people better. There are five ways to inspire others. You can be enthusiastic, have integrity, be empathetic, practice gratitude, and set clear goals. How many of those are you currently doing in your business? Being enthusiastic got it. I'm great at that. Having integrity, I'm working on it every single step. Being empathetic is probably my least favorite quality about myself is that I grew up with two brothers. Empathy to this day, they are not empathetic. I love them. One is a bulldog. One is sweet, but I would not say that he characterizes as someone that is empathetic. So empathy is something that I've had to learn as an adult. And I've watched other adults do it so well that I want to be empathetic. I want to listen and I want to care and I want to feel and I want to say I may not understand what you're going through, but I'm here to listen and to lend a helping hand. I'm even struggling talking to you guys about being empathetic because I'm still struggling with it myself. But learn how to be empathetic, practice gratitude, and then set those clear goals. All right, the end and think kindness stands for is what you're creating necessary. Is there a need for it? Is it fun? Is it relevant? Because if it is not needed, it probably won't be bought. Remember last week we chatted about innovation? Where does your content fall on the scale of need? And how are you continually striving to be creative? So think about that as you are moving forward with how can you find the need in the marketplace and also be there to pick up the pieces when people need you most? How can you find where your passion and the needs of others intersect? We call this the perfect marriage and the way that they can do that is through SEO talking to others in your niche and asking questions. And then finally in our think kindness strategy, our K stands for kind. Going back to empathy. Are you empathetic towards yourself as well? This is a big one. Kindness, it must start with you. Are you offering grace when things don't go as planned? The life of an entrepreneur, it ebbs and it flows, it has ups and it has downs and it is a constant roller coaster of emotion. Practice kindness with yourself first. A few weeks ago, we chatted about stress releases for teachers by setting boundaries and saying yes to things that matter in life. And have you started being kinder to yourself? Are you being a good human? Are you being kind to all people? I got back from the gym this morning and sometimes I don't know why I play back conversations that I've had with people and I'm like, Oh, I didn't listen to them the right way. And I didn't show them empathy this way. And man, I wish I would have asked so and so this question. I'm literally just talking to everybody. I go and be bought from one person to the next. I'm pretty sure my coach hates that about me, but I live for people, but sometimes I leave and I'm not kind to myself. I'm like, I shouldn't have said this or I should have asked this question. So I'm working on just being okay with who I am, knowing that I love people, knowing that I be bought from person to person and that I'm basically running my mouth more than I'm exercising, but it is who I am. And it makes me feel fulfilled and I need to be okay with that. So remember that this week, take this with you, be a good human, be good to all people. And I hope that you may kindness your number one business strategy in 2023. And I'd love to hear all of the ways that kindness is working in your favor. Send me a direct message on Instagram and I'll be sure to get back to you this week. Have a beautiful day. And as always remember the best is yet to come and I'll see you soon. Hey teacher friend before you go. Have you ever thought of selling your teaching resources or starting an online teacher business only to find your head swarming with questions? I feel you when I get started overwhelm was my middle name. Now here's what no Google result will ever tell you. Your path to becoming a thriving CEO teacher is not a one-size fits all. Getting from I'm not even sure where to start to making real money on teachers pay teachers and beyond depends on who you are as a teacher and where you are at in your teacher business. So in true teacher style I developed a very short quiz to give you a shortcut to move forward with clarity and confidence no matter what level you're at. I mean I know you're busy which is why I've made sure that this quiz won't take you more than just a few minutes. Learn how to use your CEO teacher type aka your unique innate gifts and strengths to your advantage to start or expand an online business that changes lives. Ready to reveal what sets you apart as a CEO teacher or one in the making? Then you can take the quiz right now at kazimorris.com slash quiz that's k-a-y-s-e m-o-r-r-i-s dot com slash quiz and your detailed results including a breakdown of your CEO teacher type and your unique step-by-step CEO teacher path to start selling your online courses products or teaching resources will be emailed directly to your inbox. When you're all done I can't wait to hear what you scored who you are as a CEO teacher be sure to send us a direct message on instagram at kazimorris and get started today by going to kazimorris.com slash quiz.