What Nik Knows

I want to just chat about something really quickly before I share about today’s podcast. I did NOT post a podcast episode last week and I was originally disappointed with myself AND through the learning from my mindset reset I was able to rewire those thoughts.

If you “skipped a week” of your goals due to life circumstances, THAT IS A-OK. Sometimes our brains trick us and tell us we should be doing more. But what I say to clients is that whatever you were pulled to do in that timeframe whether it was a babymoon (like myself) or celebrating one of your best friends weddings (also me) that you should be ALL THERE. Although it may feel like business or your passion projects aren’t “moving” when you’re not working on them constantly it doesn’t mean you are behind or that you are no longer interested.

It means you are participating in something called LIFE. AND YOU SHOULD BE ALL IN WITH YOUR LIFE. The most important thing is when taking these “breaks” is that you come back with the RIGHT MINDSET and you just keep going.

Ok, are you ready to hear about today’s episode because I’m ready to share with you! 

Each time I talk to Ashley Kalinkakus, I feel like I’m getting my MBA.

THIS GIRL IS A BADASS. Ashley is the Chief Executive Officer & Founder of Torigen Pharmaceuticals, a company that is focused on personalized cancer immunotherapy for the veterinary market. Wanna know how he got started? She took her graduate thesis and turned it into a business.

I took so many nuggets from Ashley - things like PIVOTING and being OK with it as it is essential for growth. We talk about how vital it is to research your market and to ask qualitative questions in order to know if you have a business. Ashley and I chatted a lot about confidence and how this young, blonde, female CEO is taking charge and in the board room & with her team at work.

Ashley believes that being confident even when feeling uncomfortable is what helps us reach our goals. WE ALL are uncomfortable when offering something that means so damn much to us.

We talk about that too- other people’s opinions are important but they aren’t there to deter you, they are to help you pivot and grow. Although Ashley leans heavily on her team and their input, she also makes sure to trust her process and ideas.

And most importantly, when she received challenging feedback, she used it as fuel and building blocks to make the business better. The biggest takeaway? Think Ross from friends with that damn white couch in the stairways…PIVOT. And keep pivoting and trying and iterating and learning. Stay open, and enjoy the ride! 

OMG, you are going to LOVE this episode! Tune in NOW- Live on iTunes, link in bio!

Leave me a review as I’d love to hear your feedback! 

This 15 minute episode covers a personal situation that I experienced last week after missing a yoga class. I learned that acknowledging my feelings and then reframing helped me move forward. We all go through experiences and situations in life, business, and motherhood that we need to stop and reframe. We will talk about why this is so important in terms of impacting our creativity and expansion in our lives. In addition to reframing this episode covers 3 things I learned from the mindset reset challenge that I am still adopting today. Leave me a review as I'd love to hear how today's episode impacted you!

Today we chat about one of my favorite topics, COMMUNITY! It also happen's to be Theresa Piasta's as well. Theresa and I met back when Pax was right under 10k and she was knee deep (and still is) growing her company PuppyMama. I helped Theresa kick off her Instagram live series and have watched her blossom ever since. Theresa has a book coming out, Raising a Doodle, and guess what, I’m in it!! She even reads one of my quotes from the book in today's episode.

In today's episode we cover a lot of ground. Theresa recently had baby and was able to share her experience of preparing for motherhood and postpartum, finding balance, and now living in her normal.

Theresa and I talk about prioritizing different elements in business, letting go of certain expectations of ourselves, and most importantly creating a community.

Theresa talks about the power of team both in her family unit and from outside sources while she went through pregnancy and then postpartum and how this help has encouraged a happy healthy household. 

We get real about not giving up on your dreams when becoming a mother and ultizling a community to help accomplish tasks. She’s a one woman show and has learned every step of the way. She’s an absolute inspiration.

Before founding Puppy Mama, Theresa Piasta was a Vice President at J.P. Morgan—spending six total years in the Investment Bank and Sales & Trading businesses at two Wall Street banks. Prior to that she served as an Army Captain in a Field Artillery Brigade. During her fourteen-month Iraq deployment in 2008, Theresa led a large team to defend thousands of soldiers and contractors residing on Forward Operating Base (FOB) Delta near the Iranian border. She was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for her service. 

Theresa attended the Stanford GSB Ignite program in 2016 and received a B.A. in economics from Wellesley College in 2006. Theresa and her six siblings grew up in Sonoma County, California. Today she lives in San Francisco, CA, with her husband, son, and cavapoo, Waffles.

Make sure to tune into the end where Theresa shares more about her first book ever, Raising a Doodle, which you can currently pre-purchase on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and puppymama.com/book. It officially is available for purchase on November 4th!

Happy Listening! 

Are you struggling to figure out what you want to do? Are you someone who is multi passionate and has dreams of pulling all your interests and passions together? If yes, this episode is for YOU. I learned SO much from today's guest. It was so dang good. Debbie Hendrickx, founder of Swell Gelato for Dogs, and I could have chatted forever. We talked about things like having uncomfortable conversations with potential business partners or things like looking at what you've achieved from 10,000 feet up approach rather than from ground level. One of the biggest take aways from this episode with Debbie was the tool she provided me (and now all of you!) on how to find your purpose. Debbie describes the 4 square box that helped her identify her passions and put together her company. You’ll want to listen in because this resource is so powerful. At the end of our episode she shares the value of each step in her life even though at the time she had no idea how it would be relevant to her bigger picture. So if you are in a spot right now that doesn’t feel congruent to where you want to be just know whatever and wherever you are is bringing you closer to that goal and that you are learning an important skillset for your future. I am so excited for you to hear this episode - you are in for a treat!

Make sure to subscribe to the LOTP podcast!

I had the opportunity to interview one of my close friends, Shauna Parisi. Shauna is a bad ass entrepreneur who is currently working on growing her own health and wellness company. I have so many take aways from this interview it’s hard to narrow them down. From Shauna talking about how millennials are the side hustle generation, to creating a business that builds residual income rather than trading time for money, and OH my favorite quote WORKING YOUR SIDE HUSTLE IN THE NOOKS AND CRANNIES OF YOUR LIFE! Shauna is clear when she says you have to commit to your goal- it’s not easy- its a choice you have every single day. Happiness is fleeting - joy is sustaining but you have to choose it. Shauna says it best- other people are not paying your bills- so why are you still caring what people think. GET OUT OF YOUR OWN WAY AND DO IT. I’d love talking with Shauna about motherhood and how it will shape us in life. I loved talking with Shauna about pregnancy and motherhood. I can’t wait to see her become a mother and crush her business. She has come up with the phrase "I'll figure it out" whether that's with upcoming motherhood, business, or in life in general and is constantly bettering herself with personal development books, podcasts, and conversations! Happy Listening!

On today's episode I’m going to explain why I’m going on a 31 day mindset reset challenge. I recently realized that every time my business is in a good place it’s because my mindset is in a good place and when my business feels stalled or I feel stuck it’s because my mindset is dark and gloomy. So, I checked in and noticed that I’ve been focusing on the wrong things- money, clients, status, superficial BS, etc. So in order to flip the switch I decided to do a #mindsetresetchallenge for myself during the month of October. This is something you can do TODAY, TOMORROW, or even next fall. But, I'd love for you to join me so we can do it together!

For more on the challenge and how I'm doing it tune in now!

This 3rd episode is pure magic! I loved my time with beauty industry trailblazer, Kelly Callaghan. This gal is a gem & has so much insight on how to stay true to yourself while building a business that you love. Kelly not only runs a 6-figure business she is a coach, speaker, and podcast host- such a badass! Although Kelly's businesses are about helping women look beautiful she makes it clear that the real beauty comes from the inside. Kelly and I talk about how hitting rock bottom actually spurred her creative spirit and pushed her forward. Kelly teaches the LOTP community on how to let go of fear and to start taking small steps in the direction of our dreams. I loved learning more about how Kelly has scaled her business and implements ideas. She is mindful about her business decisions and trusts her gut when trying new things. One of my biggest ah-ha moments was when Kelly talked about her money mindset. Kelly believes money is energy and if we put our energy in the things we are most passionate about our bank accounts will grow naturally!

Make sure to subscribe to get the latest LOTP episodes!

This was such a fun episode that I had with Giftspawt founders, Allison Katz & Mariana Mesquita! We cover things like how to create an online community and why it's SO important for your business. Allison & Mariana shared how they work together and what is most important in their business partnership. Because these ladies are pros at the social media game we discuss how to stay authentic while growing your brand. And most importantly we talk about why passion is what really drives a business to grow. I am so excited for you to hear from these two bad ass dog moms - I know they will inspire you to just take the leap of faith and get to work!

To hear more awesome episodes make sure to subscribe to the LOTP podcast! 

Welcome to the Leader of the Pax (LOTP) Podcast with me, your host, Dr. Nikki Sammet. It's an honor to have you here! This first episode highlights why I'm here and why YOU should be here too. We talk about topics that are holding us back, my own story of struggle & success, and about all the incredible women I'll be interviewing on my podcast. My hope is with these episodes you walk away with action steps, a feeling of community and support, and inspiration from others. Within this podcast I'll share what I hope the show to be and why I feel called to do this. We all have something within us that needs to be shared to the world, my hope is that these shows will instill congruence to your passions and purpose in life and that you too will spread your greatness with others!