Show Notes: 

Instagram: @ShannonBill’scoaching

Website: https://shannonbills.com/

Leah Gervais: Hey visionaries. Welcome back to the Your Biggest Vision show. I am your host, Leah, and today I am honored and very excited to have someone I had been friends with for over a decade Shan, is that where we’re at?

Shannon Bills: I think we are at that point? 

Leah Gervais: Yeah. So Shannon Bill’s on the show today. Shannon has an incredible entrepreneurship story and she also has an incredible program around mindset and just work that she does around mindset that I really knew would be of service to all you listeners out there who are either wanting to become entrepreneurs or who are entrepreneurs, because she’s really mastered both the journey of entrepreneurship, as well as the mindset behind it. And if you guys aren’t listeners of this podcast, you know how important I think mindset is. So thank you so much for being here, Shannon.

Shannon Bills: Of course. Thank you so much for having me. 

Leah Gervais: So I want to back up, I guess I’ll just start by sharing. So Shannon and I met when we were 17, 18, something like that. We were roommates our freshman year of college. We met in a Facebook group before and we had dinner one night at car mines in times square. And that was the only time we met before we were actually roommates. And we just have stayed in each other’s lives all these years. And I have been so honored to watch her blossom into the entrepreneur she is today. And she’s now part of my mastermind and we just were meant to be friends, I think. 

Shannon Bills: I think we were always meant to be friends. And I think we were always meant to be entrepreneurs too, before we even realized.

Leah Gervais: I agree. Well, I’m very excited that we are able to come full circle. Now we’ve come a long way from our 2:00 PM naps. 

Shannon Bills: Truly. Yes. 

Leah Gervais: All right. So why don’t you take us a little bit further back. So tell me a little bit about what you thought you’d be when you grew up. Yeah, so I always share this story because for me it was a moment where I heard no, that turned into a yes, and for me, we both went to a small school out of New York city and I thought I wanted to go to that school for musical theater. And I had done performing my whole life acting, singing, dancing, all I wanted to be was on Broadway. And when I was auditioning to be in different theater programs at colleges, um, musical theater programs, I fell in love with Wagner college, where we had gone, uh, where you had gone the first year and where I spent all my four years and, um, I had missed the audition day. 

I did not realize there was only one cause, others have multiple audition days. And I got a call from my admissions counselor being like, Hey, so that audition day is booked, but you can re audition your spring semester, but going in your freshman year, you will not be a theater major. And I remember I was just so upset. I was crying. I ran down to my basement. It was a terrible day. Um, but I knew I wanted to go to Wagner. So I was like, okay, maybe this is meant to be some way somehow. And I fell into this arts administration program, which was pretty big at the school with more behind the scenes work. So you could branch off into fashion or art curating or radio, uh, basically like a communications major, but I focused on TV and film.

Shannon Bills: And I, through that, got to intern for the Conan O’Brien show. I got to intern for a publicist. I interned for a talent agency. And then my last internship was with casting and none of that would have happened if I was a musical theater major and who knows where I would be if I was still a musical theatre major. So from there, I fell in love with casting and, um, worked on a ton of TV shows and Broadway shows and really thought that that was my path. And I moved out to LA right after I graduated college. And that’s really where my casting career took off. I spent seven years, um, working on TV comedies that are well-known on NBC, ABC, Freeform, Fox, you know, just a ton of different shows and I had to trust my gut and know that it wasn’t my path.

Shannon Bills: I loved it. I was making great money, but it just felt like it wasn’t for me. I, I was always a people person. I love to talk with people. I love to help people. And at the same time I was working with an intuitive healer and mentor and learning about intuition and mindset and energy. And I found that work so healing and so beautiful that I said, wait a second. 

Shannon Bills: What if I can stay in this community, helping actors, but instead, bring more of this mindset, work to them and this energy work to them and getting them to feel positive and in control of their life because the journey of an actor allows actors to really feel powerless a lot of times they’re hearing no they’re not hearing anything at all. And so I wanted to be that person to help them feel the yes in their life and feel powerful and feeling control of their mindset and know that they don’t have to resort to negative feelings.

Shannon Bills: This could be a loving, positive journey for them and so pandemic happens. I had actually- backing it up a little bit during casting. I remember texting you, uh, when you were just starting as a business coach and I was very vocal about it with you, but not really anybody else that I wanted out of casting. And I didn’t know what that looked like, but when I did know what it looked like, I would be coming to you. And I think I came to you at the right time. Uh, during the pandemic I just started, I felt like time was handed to me on a platter saying, Hey, this is it. 

Shannon Bills: You’ve take this opportunity now to get out of casting, which was hard. Because again, that was still something that I loved. I was not by any means miserable. I just had this feeling that I was meant for something bigger. And so, uh, before Christmas, I ended up working with you and you’ve completely changed my life and completely changed my finances. I have worked with a couple of different business coaches before Leah and got off my feet and started this business and you have to start somewhere. But I did not see the transformation and the dramatic results until I started the mastermind. 

And it it’s weird because I’m doing less work than I was the first half of my business, but yet I am making more money. I’m helping more people. I’m having more fun, I’m relaxing. And so I just want to thank you for literally changing my life and allowing me to just have fun and, and help people. Cause that’s all I want to do. I don’t want work to feel like work, which it never does. And I want to help people and you have helped me and guided me to, to make that possible.

Leah Gervais: Oh my God, I’m going to cry. Thank you for sharing all of that. That is so moving and touching and especially, I mean, it always is exciting to see people’s transformations, but just because we’ve been friends for so long, it’s so cool to see you step into this place. So I have so, so many questions about your story and yeah, it’s just been awesome to watch you. I mean, I remember talking in December and I was like, I think we should work toward you hitting a five figure month and you just were like, no way, like, did you believe me? And you’ve had what, three, four at this point, and we’re not even halfway through the year.

Shannon Bills: Yeah!

Leah Gervais: You’re amazing. Okay. So let’s back it up a little bit. Um, first question for you is what I love about your story and you, and I’ve even known this from you since we were younger, you’ve always been open to the divine, like your intuition energy work. How did that kind of start? Because I feel like in our culture, even when people are open to it, it’s almost this last resort type thing. Like when things, when they don’t feel in control, then they’re sort of like, okay, I guess I’ll give this over to God or to the universe or whatever. And I feel like you’ve always kind of had that be like, no, the universe always is more powerful than I am and I’m always going to let that lead me. So where did that come from? 

Shannon Bills: Yeah. So I definitely credit my parents to that because my parents are very positive people and spiritual people. And my mom started doing Reiki when I was in high school, which is like, I, to be honest, I don’t even know how to describe Reiki. It’s healing through your hands and channeling energy. I saw how it was helping her. I saw how she was helping people. She had always been a journalist. And so I started journaling. So I think just they led and I followed and that’s really what it was. And I am very fortunate enough to have had an amazing childhood and what some people’s trauma has not been my journey, but everybody’s journey is different and we all handle trauma in different ways, but I just feel that I’ve had such a positive outlook and I have always been someone to pray at night.

But prayers, whether you’re religious or not can look differently. That could mean just asking for what you want or, or guidance from a higher power through journaling or meditating. And I have always prayed my whole life, but that again can look like a bunch of different things nowadays. And I practice all of those different things and I just would see how things happened for me. I don’t want to say a little easier, but just knowing, Hey, don’t have fear, don’t have doubt around this and it’s going to happen. And that had been something as small as, Hey, you’ll get the lead in the school play. I have no fear. Trust it, own it. Like it’s going to happen. And then it would happen or something like, Hey, move to California with no job. You’re going to get a casting job. The second you move after there, just trust it.

Just trust it. Don’t worry about finances, I got a casting job the second I moved out here. And so it’s, I just think I’ve been practicing that, but then I don’t even know if I fully realized what I was doing. I just saw, Hey, this is working and I feel good. So I’m just going to continue to do this. And then coming out here, being connected with people who could guide me a little bit more and a little bit deeper into this work. I’m like, oh, this is magical and amazing. So long story short, I would say my parents and, uh, just practicing smaller ways of trusting and letting, letting the outcome go and giving it up to something bigger than us, whatever that means for you, God universe, angels, consciousness, um, and just letting go. It’s something I’ve been practicing for a while.

Leah Gervais: So you’re so fortunate that you have kind of had this in your DNA since you were little. Um, and I was going to ask you, if you feel like it’s really helped you in your entrepreneurship journey, but I know the answer to that and it’s absolutely yes. It’s clearly been almost one of your little superpowers, you know, as you started out is that you’ve known right away that this was going to work and you’ve kind of had that intuitive trust level time. Um, and I, you know, I really see it working with you. 

You just always are willing to see the opportunity in the midst of obstacles. And I always say that like, if you can master that, you’ll it and entrepreneurship, because that’s really what it is. So what would, what advice would you give to someone who didn’t grow up like that, who is hearing this kind of way of thinking, but just still is maybe more in the masculine mind or maybe more in just like the corporate mind. Doesn’t really understand how to start shifting into a faith-based way of living instead of fear. Do you have any resources or any tips? Yeah, that’s

Shannon Bills: Yeah, that’s a really, really good question. Um, first of all, I would just say to start small, it’s not like you need to be someone that lays and puts crystals on themselves and that, because you can get really down the rabbit hole with this type of work and all of it’s beautiful. Um, and I, I love and honor all of it. But I would say the simplest thing that you can do for yourself, which kind of even carries a little bit of that masculine energy and like leans into the feminine energy a little bit is journaling. And I say that because journaling, you still have the task at hand. You have almost like that hustle element at hand where you’re like, I need to just create this to-do list or get these thoughts out and you’re writing it. But at the same time you’re releasing it and you can start to get a little bit more intentional about what you want, and you can start small by, Hey, today.

My intention is to have fun, or my intention is to let go of whatever I was carrying yesterday. And you just have to start small. And once you start seeing the results and they’re going to be small results, but the small results lead to big things, and you start recognizing that and creating an awareness around that, the universe then through law of attraction is going to continue to, um, attract what you’re putting out. So if you’re saying, Hey, I want to, I want to call in some unexpected money tomorrow. Uh, I’m letting go of how it happens, but I trust that it’s coming to me and then you have someone that buys you a coffee, right? That is free money that just came to you. You want to signal to the universe, Hey, I’m going to celebrate that. That was kind of cool, can more of that happen?

And then the universe is like, Hey, I got you. Like, if you like this feeling, we’re going off of your feeling, we’re going to send you a hundred dollars check from your car insurance, which literally happened to me the other week. Funny enough. But what I’m saying is that’s the smallest way. I think meditations, um, can intimidate people, sorry. Um, and I think that, um, some of the other work I do is a little bit more high level. Once we learn about chakras and opening them up and understanding the voice of your ego versus your higher self that’s a little bit more for lack of a better term, like middle school, high school, college level, where I think the most basic, I don’t, I hate to say kindergarten level, but just for, you know, what we’re going on. Um, that is a very small, simple thing you can do.

We’ve all written something down at some point, right? So I think that’s a really good transition for someone to just be like, let me get intentional about my day. Let me just try this. Let me see if this works and you can start small. It could be like, someone will make me feel good tomorrow. I’ll hear from a friend who I haven’t heard of in a while, whatever that is for you. And once you see the magic start to unfold, trust it more, trust it more. Tell the universe, this was cool. Like, I would like more of this. This is really awesome. And you’ll realize your life is turning into this amazing, beautiful, abundant dreamlike world, and it’s going to happen quicker than you think, but you have to acknowledge the small first.

Leah Gervais: Hmm. That was such good advice. And I, so I feel like I, you know, kind of had a middle of the road childhood. I definitely grew up with parents that were religious. And then my dad just always was very like, he, we did gratitude journals and stuff since a young age, he was all about gratitude, but still kind of had to like, learn more about energy and universal laws. I would also like onto your advice, say that if you are going to start with that, just journaling or meditative, or just basic advice, you have to want it to work like you can’t go into it skeptical. You can’t go into it being like, I’m going to do this because I heard it on a podcast, but I doubt it will work. You have to want it to work. 

Shannon Bills: Totally. 

Leah Gervais: Yeah. So, um, but that’s very good advice. Okay. My next question for you shifting gears a little bit is the part of his story that I love is that you loved casting. Like you loved your career. You liked the job you were in, you were making good money, you know, as someone who helps people start side hustles and helps them scale businesses more often than not, it’s because of escapism. It’s because they hate their job. 

They would do anything to lead it. And I actually relate to you more. I liked my job before I left it. It wasn’t something I hated. Um, I always say it’s a really big blessing to start your own business while you’re at a job that you actually like, because it removes any doubt about whether or not you’re doing this, just to get the hell out of that situation, versus if you’re doing it because you’re really following your calling.

You know, I was so sure at that point that I was doing this because I was following my calling because I already had a job I loved. And it still wasn’t that match. But the problem is sometimes it can feel like too, too good to leave, um, or too hard to like pass up, or you’re almost in like these golden handcuffs. And I know that even though I wasn’t miserable at my job, I still had a little bit of internal misery because I was out of alignment. That’s what was miserable. 

So how do you work through that? How did you give yourself permission to want something different? How would you give someone else permission to want something different? Even if they like what they have and how can you like gently but firmly encourage them to not settle? Just because they’re happy. 

Shannon Bills: Yeah. So going off of my journey, this took some time and I teach a class called journal with a purpose teaching people how to make journaling not scary and super fun and intentional and purposeful.

And one of the things I like to mention in the class is I read to them some of my journal entries from 2012, 14, 15, 16, 17. I picked specific journal entries to show them how things can manifest over time. And I remember, gosh, probably three, four years ago was the first time I wrote in my journal, like universe, I can you just show me like, or give me some ideas around what it would feel like to be my own boss and I wrote that down and I’m like, wow, I almost forgot that I had started the process then. And it started really small. Right? And then maybe a year later I’m like, okay, uh, what would it look like to tie in the industry and bring in my self love work? What would that look like? Um, and I just looked at all of these little journal prompts and I think it starts with asking yourself questions.

Shannon Bills: Like, what would it look like to not have to work eight to 10 hours a day or 12 hours a day? Like, and just kind of like, let your mind wander and daydream about that life and what that would feel like. And does that feels good? Okay. Let’s continue to build on that. Like what would it look like if I ran my own company, like I was my own boss, I didn’t have to report to anybody and that’s what happened with me. Um, but it, it wasn’t just like, uh, I felt the feeling and then I left, I really felt the feeling about three, four years ago from like seven years of casting. I actually had no idea how the heck I was going to leave because I loved it. So the people I worked with, I was working with celebrities like that was like a lot of fun.

I have to say, like, how cool is it to be on film and TV show sets and working with, you know, big, big celebrities all the time and to give that up was really hard because I also felt fulfilled. But if you, the best way I can describe a gut feeling and that inner knowing is just, I I’ve, I’ve had this with previous relationships of mine where you just have this feeling that it’s, this is not what it’s meant to be. 

And if you have some sort of feeling that’s eating at you just to ask yourself questions a little bit and they don’t have to be hard again, starting small with any of this is, is the best thing. And to continue to build on that, what would life look like? If, if, uh, you know, what would make me happier? I know one of the things I said, uh, to myself was what would it look like to have a lunch break?

I never had a lunch break in casting ever, ever. I can count on one hand how many times I had an actual lunch break. And that was like, one of the things you mean, like, what would that look like? A lunch break? And that’s such a silly thing, right? But maybe there is a job out there that has just something extra to make you happier. And I think we cap ourselves at, at happiness when you’re the one who kind of showed me that, right. It’s like, we think we know what we want, but we’re actually still limiting that go even beyond that, what would it look like half a million dollars. Right. And maybe don’t get to that point yet if that’s an overwhelming thought for you, but what would it look like to have $200,000, $400,000? And that’s something I continue to build.

Like we have to picture a ladder with small steps and not gigantic steps because it just, everything takes times your wants and desires need to build your trust, needs to build. And so if you can just practice patience and grace and just continue to check in with yourself, I think that would be my best advice. 

Shannon Bills: Why do you think we limit ourselves and how have you moved past your own limitations this year? Yeah, a good question. I think we limit ourselves because I, I, to be honest, I think it’s the human experience. I think most people limit themselves. I think it’s that smaller percentage who can see beyond that. And I have always been someone that’s been happy, positive, spiritual, seeing the glass full all the time, but I didn’t even realize that I had limits. And I think it just comes from, and this is such a silly example, but this was my awakening was I was never someone that felt I wanted designer anything.

All of my pocket books are from target or made well, or that was my cap. Right. I’m like, I’m never going to spend more than $200 on a bag at all like that is so silly to me. Right. But then I started to notice a lot of my friends that have their bags, anytime that they would have something fun happen to them or a celebration moment, they would buy themselves a nice bag and deep, deep down inside. I’m like, well, that would be kind of cool, but I don’t. And so it’s that ego coming in being like, well, you really don’t need this. That’s the logic going? No, you should save that money, but no. What would it be like to carry that bag? And recently, as you know, I bought two Prada bags and I felt like my future self was with me at that moment. I’m still carrying that energy. 

Anytime I look at it, I’m like, yes, like, why not? Why not have a prada bag? And I even gave this example, my, um, little, for lack of a better term. It’s a mastermind on mindset that I do with, for, uh, what I do with actors for 12 weeks. And so I told them, I said, you can still be of service while holding a Prada bag. You can still show gratitude while we’re holding the Prada bag. Like, I think we think sometimes that things that we want is it’s selfish or, uh, it’s, you know, just not coming from a good place. Well, actually, no, like I am a selfless person and I’m always coming from a good place and guess what, I’m wearing a Prada bag while doing it. And so I think that realization has just happened for me in the last six weeks of, you know, my 28 years of life. But I think the simplest answer is we’re accustomed to think otherwise. And until you wake up and realize, no, it’s actually the opposite, we can have anything we want and it’s a beautiful thing. 

Shannon Bills: Um, it, it just, I don’t know. The best visualization I have is the egg was cracked in the last six weeks for me, the egg was cracked and I can wake up and now go. Yeah, I do want the million dollar house with the pool. Like it is going to happen. And I want anyone who’s listening to this to know that it can happen for you. It really starts with a mindset like that. That is what it comes down to first and foremost is believing that you’re, you’re worthy of it and deserving of it. And knowing that it’s a beautiful thing and not a, not a bad thing.

Leah Gervais: Oh, I love that example. I also love your prada of bags. I, um, relate to this a lot because I, I feel like this even goes further to how much safety you truly can have around all of your desires when you stop judging yourself. So I actually use this example in one of my programs, but as you know, Shannon, I’m a big shoe lover. And when I started my business, I would always buy myself, like that was my thing is I would buy a nice pair of shoes whenever I hit a new income level. And I really, really struggled to like, pay for those first pair of shoes, because I thought that it was ridiculous. I thought, who was I to do that? I had student loans at the time I had business debt at the time. I mean, I had so many reasons from a logical standpoint and from the values in the way that I grew up and from my family, um, that said that there was nothing smart about this decision and that it was a bad decision and there was really no reason to do it.

And not only has it been freaking fine, still paid off my student loans, you know, my business still took off, I’m not forever in debt on CNN because I bought a pair of blue, like literally nothing bad happened. And not only has it been fun, but to your point, like I have had people I’ve actually particularly had one client say to me that she always kind of thought that like you, if you had shoes like that, it would kind of be like your husband or partner or whatever, who would buy them for you. And through seeing my story and working with me when she got to a certain place in business, she bought them for herself. And it wasn’t even really about the shoes. It was like about breaking that way of thinking that women needed to get money from men to have nice things that women couldn’t do that for themselves.

And I just remember thinking how freaking cool. So my desire for my blue buttons, not only have they been fun and fabulous and I’ve loved wearing them, and every time I put them on, I’m like, thank you, Leah, for buying them. It’s just how you say, you love looking at your powder bag, but it actually does have a ripple effect. And that is, that is actually true with all of our desires, no matter how outlandish or outrageous or random they may seem, the universe knows what it’s doing, and if you can trust it, it really does impact more people. 

And so I believe someone listening to your story right now might feel differently, might feel inspired because you bought that prada bag. So not only is your life changing because of that bag, but someone else’s too. And I really think that’s the power of listening to yourself even when you might not need to or have to or anything like that.

Shannon Bills: Totally. 

Leah Gervais: Yeah. Incredible. Okay. So the last thing I want to cover with you is I know you work a lot on mindset with actors, and I know something you tell me a lot in that you tell, or just that you acknowledge a lot, is that actor, I always say actors are probably the best entrepreneurs because they like rejection. Doesn’t phase them as much as the average person, because actors probably get rejected more than any other profession. So I’d love to hear what type of perspectives you start teaching actors, because I think it applies to entrepreneurship when it comes to handling rejection from a mindset perspective. And as you say, how can- I’m going to put this toward entrepreneurs? How can they experience more? Yes. If they’re experiencing a lot of, no. 

Shannon Bills: Yeah. Yeah. So it’s funny. I would say that’s probably the biggest, um, fear or limiting belief that I worked through with actors is that feeling of being rejected because there are actors who get two, three auditions a week and we’ll maybe book two or three auditions a year. So we’re talking, hearing that word, no, or even worse, not hearing anything at all for weeks and months. And then it just really, really gets to them. And so I think what it comes down to is, and what I tell actors and what I think we should like relate it to any entrepreneur or going on interviews is to not take it so personal. Easier said than done, of course, but a lot of times relating it to actors. Only one person can get the job, right. but same thing with, um, interviewing for job. Only one person can get that position.

Shannon Bills: And if there are hundreds of people going after that position, um, they’re just trying to find a fit with one person. And maybe there were 20 people that were actually a really good fit for it. But at the end of the day, only one person gets it. So the first thing I always tell actors is you cannot take it personally. A lot of times, it has nothing to do with talent. It just is a right place, right. Time, trial and error, putting pieces together of a puzzle. And so if you can take some of that pressure off yourself and just do the job of auditioning, right. That is the job to do. You don’t have to get the part, you just have to do the part like, meaning, like go to the audition, show up, keep trying, keep trying. Don’t give up because eventually a yes will happen.

As long as you just bring it back to your why and know I’m meant to do this. Like, this is the only thing that lights me up. Like I can feel it in my body when I shut my eyes. Like, all I visualize is me on a TV set. Like this is all I meant to be doing. If that feeling is still in, you “no” should be reflecting off you left and right. You’re like Superman shielding those nos because it’s not going to bother you. You’re going to keep moving and keep going. And that is the energy that I carried with me. When I started my business, I had made up my mind. I said, this is what I want to do. I can literally see my future. Like I know how much this is going to impact actors. I know how much this is going to be helpful, really, to any creative cause mindset work it’s for anybody.

I just kind of, I stage it more for actors because I can relate to actors. I was an actor. I experienced it on the casting end, but this work that I do and what I teach is really for anybody. Um, but driving, you know, the vision of wanting to be my own boss, wanting to help people. I had so many people tell me, what are you doing? Why are you leaving casting? Why are you a year away from getting a pension and you’re leaving? Why are you, you know, just saying goodbye to all of that money. And you’re saying you were happy. Why are you doing that? I had so many people voicing their opinion or to relate it to actors, getting the no’s left and right. But I stuck to my gut and my vision. And even in some of the months where maybe I didn’t see the payoff right away.

Um, I still just knew. I just brought it back to why I’m doing it and who I want to help and why I’m the best person for the job. And that is just what comes out on top at the end. And I feel like this year, and it’s only my second year into a business, I feel like I’m on the top of the world. And I’m like, oh my gosh. Imagine how I’ll feel next year and the year after and the year after. So if you keep just focusing on the abundance versus the lack, the yes’s versus the nose you’re going to get to where you want to be. It’s hard. 

That ego is very loud. It will never go away. Fear will always be there. Rejection will always be there. But at the end of the day, what voice do you want to carry with you? It’s to me, love and acceptance and abundance, because that is what’s always going to win in the end and drive me to where I want to be. So I think my best advice is don’t want the ego when ego isn’t supposed to win, right? Listen to your intuition, listen to your higher self and know that if you just continue to bring it back to why you’re doing this, it’s going to carry you to the top.

That was amazing. I love the way you phrased that, which voice do you want to carry with you? It really is a choice like who, who, who in my head do I want to believe? You know, and like, what attitude do I want to go through this world with? And I really think that this is why you’ve been so successful in a short amount of time is because you’ve always had that unwavering faith. And you’ve just, you’ve made the decision. 

I talk a lot about decisions and you’ve just decided that you’re going to be successful. You’ve decided that this is what you’re meant to do with your life and the small things here. And there are just part of the journey. They don’t have any indication on your, or your purpose or your hires itself. It’s amazing. 

Shannon Bills: Thank you.

Lesh Gervais: Yeah, absolutely. And, um, oh my gosh, I have so much I could say, but I just want to say that, that was, that was incredible. And what do you, do you have a quick little, like, what do you do when you get the butts to that kind of thing? When the actor says, I know this is what I meant to do. I know that in my soul, I’m supposed to be on TV. I can’t see myself anywhere, but a TV set. I want to say positive, but I have rent to pay, but no one believes in me, but what if I’m not that talented, but, you know, but but but because I also entrepreneurs have a lot of butts. How do you, how do you say the eye of the storm?

Shannon Bills: Yeah. Actors have a lot of butts too. I mean, I want to take this act in class, but I don’t have the money. I want to be a series regular, but I don’t have TV credits. I want, you know, there’s a million gazillion things that I hear on a daily basis. And to me, I still relate that back to the ego. To me, you are letting fear win. And I think kind of talking about money, we have to get more comfortable with, with spending money, to make money. And that that’s the answer, spend money to make money. You can’t be afraid to just go after something, you see an investment in, and as an entrepreneur, you hear people time and time again, be like, I want to do this. This sounds so amazing, but I don’t have the finances right now. Well, guess what?

Shannon Bills: I didn’t have the finances for the last year to pay for a mastermind, to pay for a virtual assistant, to pay for a social media person. But guess what? I see the investment in them, and it’s already paid itself back less than a year later. And so to me, it’s just, you’re still letting the ego win that, but is, uh, but lodge, logic is taking over. Fear is taking over. We got to get out of what, uh, David Neagle, uh, had taught us about middle-class mindsets. We are accustomed to, uh, safety and certainty, but especially with my acting community, I’m like, there’s no safety or certainty at all in the industry. And so I almost feel like everyone should understand, like how, what I’m saying to actors applies to everybody. There should not be safety and certainty, go after the thing and see what happens.

Because a hundred percent of the time the universe is going to reward you for taking that leap. And we all have credit card investments instead of debt, we all have credit card investments. Right. I still am paying off a credit card. I have been for two years, but I don’t think about that in a negative way. I’m just like, thank you so much for allowing me to do all of these things. We can make it happen. So I just want anyone who’s listening out there. If you’re saying, oh, like that class is just a little too expensive or out of budget for me, like, I’ve had a lot of things that were quote unquote out of my budget, but I’ve already seen the investment. I’ve already seen the return. And it happens that quickly when you trust it. And in my mindset program, yes, that’s my high ticket item.

And I have a lot of actors who will hear the price and be like, whoa, like did not to be that much more than half of the students I’ve had in the program weirdly enough, but not weirdly enough, because this is how the universe works. They will email me, text me, message me saying, Shannon, you’ll never believe this. I got a stimulus check for the same amount of money. I got a raise for the same amount of money to pay this class, but that doesn’t happen until you take the leap of faith. And so you have to go after the thing and then see the, you’ll see the return quickly. And it’s happened for so many of my students who I know truly were not financially in the best place they still committed and the universe rewarded them and basically gave them their money back in others ways.

Leah Gervais: Hmm. Amazing. Amazing. So just be, be guarded of when the ego is in disguise as something else. Oh, well, I can talk to you all day. I am. So like, I don’t even feel good about using the word proud because I feel like, you know, you’ve done it all on your own, but I’m just in awe of you. It is such an honor to be part of your journey in any way. And I’m just so grateful that you shared your story with us and that you share your wisdom with this audience as well as so many that you do. And I have a few lightning round questions for you for the end. Are you ready? 

Shannon Bills: All right, I’m ready. 

Leah Gervais: Okay. What is your go-to when you are having- dare I say a bad day?

Shannon Bills: Go-to having a bad day is definitely some sort of junk food, ice cream, chocolate chips, Netflix, um, working out. I also kind of flipping that real fast. I try not to sit with a bad day for too long. I’ll be like, okay, maybe I just need to feel my feelings, but then I’m going to go for a walk outside and like try to relay some of it. But yeah, I would definitely say it’s food. I mean, I love food anyways, but bad day. There’s extra food involved.

Leah Gervais: Hmm. Hmm. Good answer. Um, what would you say is your proudest moment from your business so far? What have you give a moment where you were like, holy. I mean,

Shannon Bills: I think creating my mindset program because I had the realization, cause when I first started my business, I thought I was going to be an audition coach for actors. I was helping actors with their audition, coaching them. A lot of them got bookings from that, which is great and I still do that, but I’m slowly transitioning out of that because the mindset work the way I talk about it, the way I feel before the session, during the session, after the session is so energetically different, that when I created that program, I was so proud of it. And to have people go through the program and get these results, I just am like, whoa, this is the thing that I want to carry with me for the rest of my career. Like I want this to be in the hands of every single actor at some point.

Leah Gervais: Incredible. Yeah. I know that that’s has and will continue to change lives. Uh, do you have a business building book or podcast that has helped you so far?

Shannon Bills: You know, I’m one of those people who don’t really read too much. I do read, it just takes me like a month to finish a book cause I’ll do like one chapter and then go by a few days. And another chapter I’m currently reading the Amanda Francis Rich as Fuck book. Um, uh, but I have a ton, I mean, one of my middle school friends, Brianna waist, um, she is a self love, self-help author. I have a couple of her books, so I have books all around me. Um, and they’re all, they’re all because I’ve been studying this work for so long. A lot of the stuff is kind of just reiterating what I already know, but saying it in a more beautiful way. Um, and podcasts, I wish I listened to more podcasts. I have to I wish I had better advice on that. I would say I’m more of the book girl than the podcast girl. Um, but even, so I just take a little bit longer than the average person to finish a book.

Shannon Bills: That’s okay. Do you have like a business building resource that is just really helped you? Um, well, I mean your resources are, is everything like literally there’s we have a resource page in the mastermind with, uh, the scale of your side hustle and the service-based sales that has helped me tremendously.

Leah Gervais: So like coaching is your, is your jam? 

Shannon Bills: Yes, absolutely. Yeah. Awesome. Okay, good. I think that that’s great advice. 

Leah Gervais: Um, okay. Where can people find out more about you?

Shannon Bills: People can find more about me at my website, which is just my name, Shannonbills.com or my Instagram, which is @ShannonBill’scoaching. I post a lot of positive feel-good messages. You don’t have to just be an actor to relate to it. So connect with me, DM me. I would love to hear from you guys.

Leah Gervais: Thank you so much for spending this time with me, Shannon and sharing your story and congratulations again, this was so inspirational and very actionable. I think anyone can walk away and implement some of what you shared into their lives. So I’m really grateful for you. 

Shannon Bills: Thank you, likewise.

Leah Gervais: All right, visionaries. I hope you love this. I hope you message Shannon and or me if you love this episode. And I hope that this inspires you to lean a little bit more into your own faith today, rather than fear we believe in you and here is to your biggest vision.

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