970: Authenticity through SELF-EXPRESSION to achieve transformation in life & business w/ Taylor Mizuno-Moore

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Hey, what is up?

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Welcome to this episode of the Entrepreneur to Entrepreneur podcast.

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As always, I'm your host, brian LoFermento, and we not only have an amazing and a brilliant entrepreneur here in today's episode, but a really freaking cool one at that.

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I am so excited to talk to and to interact with and to learn from today's guest, because this is someone who has an incredible background.

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Whether we talk about her academic accomplishments and achievements today, or her career as a professional musician or as an entrepreneur, all of the amazing things that she brings to her clients and the way that she services people, I just think in so many ways she makes the world a better place.

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So let me tell you all about today's guest.

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Her name is Taylor Mizuno-Moore.

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Taylor is the founder of Mizuno Consulting, which is where she integrates organizational consulting and individual support.

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She helps bring meaningful and sustainable change.

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That requires a holistic perspective that addresses both organizational and individual needs simultaneously.

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Mizuno Consulting provides organizational consulting on a strategic planning, change management, leadership development, team building and collaboration perspective, as well as performance management and organizational culture transformation.

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If you're thinking to yourself, brian, these sound like huge topics to cover in one episode.

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That's what Taylor is going to help us navigate, because she brings, through all of her prior experiences, such an interesting perspective on all the things.

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So I'm personally very excited about this one.

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I'm not going to say anything else.

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Let's dive straight into my interview with Taylor Mizuno-Moore.

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All right, taylor, I'm so very excited for you to be here on the show.

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First things first.

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Welcome to the podcast.

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Thank you so much.

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Thank you for inviting me, heck yes, I feel like, truth be told, I always love bragging about our amazing guests.

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I only scratch the tip of the iceberg for all the cool things that you've gotten into.

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I didn't even mention Taylor.

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You're a licensed clinical professional counselor.

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You're an organizational consultant, obviously.

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I tooted your horn from a musical perspective.

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But take us beyond the bio.

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Who's Taylor?

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How'd you start doing all these amazing things?

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Oh goodness, I think a lot of our upbringing really influences who become in adulthood.

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So from a very, very young age I was very interested in music and I was interested in the relationships that I was introduced through music, through being in a band and getting really rad jobs like working in film and television and lots of stage stuff.

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Obviously, I think there is a moment when you're a musician where you think, a moment when you're a musician where you think is this sustainable?

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And so I decided to go back to school and I really felt like I thrived most with connecting with those musicians that I was working with and community and really wanted to make a living at it.

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So I went back to school, got my degree in counseling and just kind of took off from there and here I am.

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It was kind of a crazy ride.

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Nobody would have told me that I would be here, maybe like 10 years ago.

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Yeah, I love that, especially because what I find is so difficult for all of us entrepreneurs and I imagine it's especially true for you, taylor is that we are multi-passionate.

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There's so many different parts of what lights us up, and I want to introduce this really early on into the conversation because part of what I really resonate besides our love for Los Angeles and obviously both of us have a background there is the fact that we do come from immigrant families.

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So myself, I'm the son of an immigrant mom and I know that it's played a key role.

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For you.

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It sounds like your dad, for example, is really cool.

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He's got a cool story about growing up in Southern California, but your family obviously provides such an important perspective that you have on life.

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So talk to us about navigating not only those multi-passionate waters, but for you also navigating all the different labels and roles and identities that have helped shape who you are.

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Yeah, absolutely.

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I think you know American language didn't really do me a service growing up, in that I was always labeled like multiracial or biracial this separateness when we're faced with that prefix bi being, bisexual, being biracial what it really did was open up possibilities.

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But I think when you're a kid you get very confused very fast in which identity should I choose or which identity do I need to explore, and that's really what I spent the first I just did the math earlier today the first like 23 to 27 years of my life exploring which is my dad's side, which is white, southern California surfer Think of, you know, like your cheesiest surf movie in the entire world and that's probably what his life looked like versus my mom's side, which is Japanese, american, third generation academics was always very important, like rigidity versus flexibility, and seeing those worlds clash and trying to figure that out really became a challenge.

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But over time I feel like something clicked in adulthood and I asked myself okay, how do I take these experiences and how do I channel this in a way where I can make it easier for others, this in a way where I can make it easier for others?

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It's like don't do something or don't try something if it's already working, or like you know how the saying goes, and so I wanted to make it easier for other biracial folks and other queer folks to explore their identity and explore what their opportunities are, without getting too wrapped up in the weeds of this expectation of their identity label.

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I hope that made sense.

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Yeah, for sure it makes sense.

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And I do want to go deeper there because I think it's interesting and you and I are probably going to weave so much through today's conversation of talking from a business and an organizational perspective to also the individual stuff that not only do your clients face, but I would argue we all face as entrepreneurs.

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There's so much mental stuff that goes into being an entrepreneur and there's self-doubt and there's confidence that we have to build Gosh, we navigate so many of these complex issues.

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So, taylor, take us into the work that you do as far as fitting all of these.

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What I always find interesting is you and I we fully embrace the individualistic nature of entrepreneurship because it's the easiest part to look at, because when we start it's just us.

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But your work really looks at how that also meshes well with an organization which is a collection of so many different individuals.

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How do we start to make sense of this very complex world of all these individuals working together?

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Well, if I can simplify it in any way, that's my goal, because life's already confusing, we don't need to make it more difficult.

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So what I have found is through research and through personal experience, is that we really thrive on our interactions with people.

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So we want to invest in people, we want to invest in relationships.

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I think the pandemic really highlighted how much people in those relationships influence our day to day Through my work with clients as a therapist.

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There's a lot of isolation and a lot of missing out on collaboration and fostering new ideas.

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All that came to a halt during the pandemic.

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So now that we have this opportunity, these amazing platforms where we can connect over tech and all of that, I mean the opportunities truly are endless.

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So then, how do you kind of like silo it down, to be a little bit simpler?

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So what I found is that organizations you know I'm an organizational consultant Like well, what does that mean?

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You have to break it down into smaller pieces, and so what kind of pieces do you want to focus on?

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So me myself, I think that individual interactions are so important to the foundation of an organization.

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So leadership teams, who you're going to work with to build your marketing platform, those relationships and what it feels like that goes out there in the universe to your client.

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And so what you really want to do is you want to reflect the inner workings of your organization out there to the community.

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Everybody has their own niche and everybody has their own specialty, and so what I wanted to do was bring everybody together that has a collective background of organizational consulting, but then give them the mic and let them take off when it comes to their specialty.

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So we have someone that specializes in law enforcement, somebody that specializes in aerospace engineering, marketing, restaurant, hospitality myself, healthcare and DEI.

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It's really important that you give folks the opportunity and the flexibility to really exercise those, I would say, skills and education, knowledge that they've built over time.

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Let them thrive and maybe perhaps stroke their ego a little bit.

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Everybody loves a nice ego stroke, but then to come together as a more macro level, it's like, okay, well then, what's our shared experience on organization?

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Let's try and meet in the middle there.

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Yeah, I really love that overview because you explain it in such a logical way that we can see the individual pieces and, importantly, how they come together, which I guess, thinking about your background and your vantage point as a musician, I'm going to pick on that for a little bit and use it in contrast to being a licensed clinical professional counselor, because to me outwardly they seem like such different, totally different, different hemispheres, totally different universes, taylor, whereas you've got the musical side, where there are no right answers, it is pure creativity, it is pure exploration, whereas coming at it from a clinical perspective is obviously it's leaning on past research and things that other people have done.

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On past research and things that other people have done, what do you see as the similarities and the differences within those two realms?

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Because obviously you've mastered them and I would argue it creates part of your unfair advantage is that you have both of those backgrounds.

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How do they play together?

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That's such a great question.

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It actually took me a couple of years to figure out where's the intersectionality here, and what I found is that being a therapist and being in the clinical field can be a bit of a performance and that you pull from things that are muscle memory, like clinical intake, assessing for harm or assessing for.

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You know anxiety, you know the things that most humans struggle with, and at the same time you want to put your best foot forward, put your um, I want to say most likable self forward in in order to connect with many different kinds of people.

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Now if I was to say you know, show up to a Zoom session and don't turn it on a little bit, the likelihood of a connection is going to go down.

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So it is a bit of a performance, but over time, especially as into a more seasoned role, it becomes more and more authentic and I really hope that that is the professional self that gets communicated to clients.

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So when I think about therapy, I do think of it as an art form, because you're pulling from knowledge that you've practiced and knowledge that you've gone over and written papers about.

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But then how do I translate that to a community or to a person in a way that makes sense to them and is maybe, perhaps enjoyable.

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Yeah, for sure.

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And hearing you talk about translating it to the recipient, which I think in business and in life, we so often need to remind ourselves that communication is only as effective as the way that it's being received.

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And so I want to ask you about that receptiveness, because you get to work with individuals, but also with organizations, and when we're talking about big words like culture transformation, taylor, are these companies ready?

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Obviously, the ones that you work with are ready, but what do you think is that igniting force or that catalyst, with companies who say you know what?

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It's 2024.

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We're on the verge of 2025.

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Times are changing, the world is changing very quickly.

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What's that catalyst for companies and organizations to look within and say you know what?

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It is time to transform our culture.

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Oh, absolutely.

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I think you know really listening to your employees.

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So, from top down, I think that there is this implied culture of I'm going to tell you what it's going to be like, versus why don't you tell me what you prefer and then let's move forward from there.

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So I do think that if you do have a hierarchy in that way, listen to your employees and let them tell you what they need, then move the company forward with that.

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Let that be the guiding light, because I don't think that leaders really have clear expectations for their employees, especially if they're new to an organization or if it's a startup, that sort of thing.

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So let your employees be the driving force of that.

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As far as catalyst and as far as how do you make that happen, it's really kind of acknowledging that you don't have all the answers.

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How do you make that happen?

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It's really kind of acknowledging that you don't have all the answers and that's totally okay.

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No one expects you to.

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So, setting the ego aside, being okay with I'm going to make a mistake.

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This isn't going to be flawless.

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Why don't we have a conversation about how we can make this better and what you have envisioned for yourself?

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Those aren't conversations that we have had growing up.

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I mean, even look at like school systems we're not seeing a lot of like.

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We don't ask second graders, oh, how can we make this better?

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But I think you know, being vulnerable from the top down, like, hey, I'm going to mess up as a teacher.

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I'm going to tell me what I can do better.

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Even that is going to set the tone in the right direction, or right direction.

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Yeah, gosh Taylor, I really appreciate that perspective because, hearing you talk about it, it's a very powerful point that you made there about as entrepreneurs, because we are CEOs, we are founders, we are the ones in charge, so we think that means we have to have the answers.

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But you just revealed it there the answers so often don't come from us, they come from our team members or even looking at client based work, they come from our clients.

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We don't have to have the answers, and it seems to me like you view your role as that facilitator and you're sharing some questions here in real time with us today, which is what do you want?

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How can we make this better?

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That right, there is a very powerful question how can we make this better?

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Talk to us about some of those powerful questions that you ask, whether it's on that individual or that organizational basis, to start pulling out the important things, because the answers to those questions, that's what shapes our culture, not necessarily what the CEO says in their press releases.

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So I'd love to hear some of those questions that you ask.

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Yeah, I think on a one-on-one level.

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When I'm with my therapy clients, one of the first questions I ask are what are your goals for therapy?

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What is it that you want to accomplish?

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I'm also keeping in mind, too, that while they may be voicing in that here and now moment what exactly they're looking for, I'm trying to keep in mind like, okay, what's realistic, and are we thinking short-term or are we thinking long-term?

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Take it one step further.

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What does short-term mean?

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Is that two weeks?

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Is that three months?

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What is long-term?

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Is that years, or is that next week?

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I mean, everything is relative.

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So there's a lot of clarifying questions I ask in order to really get into my client's head and understand it from their perspective.

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From an organizational standpoint, I created Mizuno Consulting with something in mind of hey, this is something I can offer.

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How I go about offering that, I'm not really sure, so I'm going to rely on people that I trust my team members.

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Most of the folks that you see on my team are folks that I went to school with when we got our doctorates, and we all had a collective common goal and how we wanted to prioritize certain things in our work, like DEI.

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But how we approach it really is.

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You know, it depends on the field and it depends on who you're working with, what they're open to.

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There are some folks that want really structured checklists how do I do this?

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And most folks want to learn how to be vulnerable, how to tap into emotions and how to tap into implicit bias and unconscious dynamics that we're not thinking consciously about 24-7.

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That's totally okay.

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It just makes you human.

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So similar themes.

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We just want to think of it from a micro level to a macro level, which can be difficult.

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When you switch that shift and that's kind of what Musino Consulting is for these organizations you bring to them great things to the table, but ultimately, of course, we as humans need to take that action and we need to put the reps in and the practice in.

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So, taylor, talking about all of these things and especially picturing, it must be fun the work that you and your team get to do in the scope of all of these things, because you're talking about real life, human matters and human issues, and I so appreciate that.

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How do we start go about getting those reps?

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Once we've become aware of this, once we've set that stake in the ground of where we want to go and who it is that we want to be individually but also collectively, how do we start putting it into practice?

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Are there exercises that we can do?

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Is it mindfulness, where we do some self-reflection?

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I'd love to hear your insights there self-reflection.

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I'd love to hear your insights there.

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Honestly, I really think it kind of depends on the person, but when I do think about building a skill, or building an entrepreneurship skill or a business skill or, you know, applying any skill is really about challenging yourself.

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So that may mean entering a challenging meeting, but doing it differently and seeing how it feels.

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I think oftentimes us as humans, when we're experiencing something that doesn't feel great, we tend to judge it.

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So if I have a headache, for instance, I get a headache and I go, oh my goodness.

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If I have a headache, for instance, I get a headache and I go, oh my goodness, this is going to suck, I hate this so much.

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That's a judgment, really.

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Versus I have a headache, I know how to take care of this Cold compress.

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Lay down, give it an hour.

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Cool On my way.

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Very different ways of approaching the headache.

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You want to validate it.

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You want to say like, yeah, this is awful, we don't ever want to validate it.

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You want to say like, yeah, this is awful, we don't ever want to experience pain and also there's really nothing I can do at the moment except give it time.

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And equally, when we experience great things, we're not doing a whole bunch of judgment either, which is kind of opposite ends of the spectrum.

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There you have a birthday and you go oh, this is so great, I'm surrounded by all my friends, but you're not giving it as much weight as you would maybe the not so great things.

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So, building a skill set of entering discomfort with maybe not judgment but curiosity that is something therapists say all the time.

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Enter something with curiosity, what can you pull from it?

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What can you learn from it?

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And be okay with not having the answer.

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Be okay with failure, maybe investigating a bit.

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What does failure mean?

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What would failure mean for me?

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What are some of the narratives I've had about failure?

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And that's really when maybe one-on-one coaching or even therapy really comes in to organizational work, is you can take a step back on your own and think, oh, this is really influencing the way that I'm approaching this organizational business.

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And I think that one-on-one coaching or one-on-one therapy is essential with any sort of organizational change.

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Yeah, taylor, I'll tell you what.

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Hearing you talk about these things.

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I want to call it out for listeners that this is such a treat for us because it does feel like you get to speak to us, even though thousands of people are listening to us in over 150 countries.

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It feels so intimate in the way that you view these things.

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You bring it to such a personable level that it really feels one-on-one.

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So, listeners, we're in for such a treat sitting down with Taylor individually here today and speaking of curiosity, this is the one thing I knew I had to ask you about today, taylor, because you are one of the first clinicians to integrate tattoos and tattoo culture within mental health.

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That is such a new concept and I want to hear more about that.

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Give us some insights there.

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Yeah, I think I started my tattoo journey being really curious as to why I haven't seen like high up professionals with tattoos and maybe that comes from being a millennial and we haven't seen that much self-expression evolve that much.

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I've always been one who focuses on identity and how identity impacts our work.

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Self-expression may be one of the most therapeutic adventures I've ever gone through, and tattoos is one of the ways that I've been able to express myself.

00:22:39.817 --> 00:22:45.317
So I became really curious about okay, what purpose is this serving me?

00:22:45.317 --> 00:22:56.948
Why is it when I step outside my house and I can roll up my sleeve a little bit and I can show off my octopus that's on my arm sleeve a little bit and I can show off my octopus that's on my arm?

00:22:56.948 --> 00:23:00.877
Why is it that I feel more confident showing that off than I would if I'm wearing this sweatshirt and it's covered?

00:23:01.765 --> 00:23:09.508
And what I have found is, when you can lean into a more authentic self, whatever that may mean for you, it could look many different ways.

00:23:09.508 --> 00:23:24.118
When you lean into a more authentic self, your confidence is going to flourish and that's really something that people resonate with and are attracted to.

00:23:24.118 --> 00:23:41.876
And so you know, I really love talking about tattoos with my clients and what is it that they're looking for when they're looking for something permanent on their skin, and it's just very different for a lot of different people.

00:23:41.876 --> 00:23:45.634
It's just very, very fun and I have a blast talking about it.

00:23:45.634 --> 00:23:46.696
I could go on forever.

00:23:47.204 --> 00:24:08.974
Yeah, I love that, especially because I do think, whether someone has tattoos or not, it's an important concept that you're introducing us to, which is self-expression, and us as entrepreneurs, we always hear that advice If we have a branding expert on, inevitably, we talk about being your most authentic self, and I would argue that it's really hard to do that if you don't have the confidence to step into that self-expression.

00:24:08.974 --> 00:24:22.752
So, taylor, I guess I'm asking you this next question, based on your clinical background, but also as a musician who is, and entrepreneur, who is slightly rebellious by nature, is why, where, where has self-expression been coached out of us?

00:24:22.752 --> 00:24:25.525
Because I've got six-year-old niece and nephew.

00:24:25.525 --> 00:24:26.346
They're twins.

00:24:26.346 --> 00:24:30.744
So my six-year-old niece she is just someone that it seems like straight from the womb.

00:24:30.805 --> 00:24:39.680
Savannah decided I'm going to show the whole world who I am and I'm always going to express myself and it's so interesting seeing, even at that age, they have that sense of self.

00:24:39.680 --> 00:24:48.971
It's just that creating that environment for them to express themselves, and I hope that my niece and nephew, especially Savannah, who's already there, I hope that they never lose that along the way.

00:24:48.971 --> 00:24:55.365
But systemically, I feel like there's the educational world, there's the professional world, there's so many things.

00:24:55.365 --> 00:25:02.318
So with that clinician hat on, but also with the rebellious hat on as an entrepreneur and musician, where does that get coached out of us?

00:25:02.318 --> 00:25:05.736
Why do we not practice self-expression more openly?

00:25:07.925 --> 00:25:09.269
The big buzzword.

00:25:09.269 --> 00:25:11.797
It's in bold and italicized across your screen.

00:25:11.797 --> 00:25:26.133
I wish I could put it there, but it's judgment and you know our social norms really set us up for an expectation that may or may not resonate with who we are individually and I find that to be very unfair.

00:25:26.133 --> 00:25:39.989
So being able to remove judgment from your environment, from yourself, and go into things with a why do I care about this attitude?

00:25:39.989 --> 00:25:47.090
And there's so much work that can go into that to get to that point is really key.

00:25:47.090 --> 00:25:50.497
I think schools do.

00:25:51.219 --> 00:25:54.942
Well, I haven't been in elementary school for a while, so I'm unsure what it looks like now.

00:25:54.942 --> 00:26:14.938
But when I was going through school we haven't been in school in elementary school for a while, so I'm unsure what it what it looks like now, but when I was going through school we didn't have a lot of wiggle room for you know what kinds of clothing to wear to school or you know dyeing your hair different colors or that sort of thing, or even how parents can give us the opportunity to be rebellious and do the thing.

00:26:14.938 --> 00:26:16.340
That kind of looks goofy.

00:26:16.340 --> 00:26:37.509
So even just as adults looking at kiddos or looking at kids that are going through a strong developmental phase and saying they're just figuring it out, they're just working something out for themselves and it's really kind of cool to see them explore that.

00:26:37.509 --> 00:26:48.736
So that may not be maybe the most practical option to wear a tutu to fourth grade, but if they feel good in it, cool rad, see where it goes.

00:26:48.736 --> 00:26:53.050
And then maybe a little bit of guidance of you know where?

00:26:53.531 --> 00:26:55.317
Where did you come up with that idea?

00:26:55.317 --> 00:26:57.192
Who modeled that for you?

00:26:57.192 --> 00:27:08.311
How did it feel to sit in and learn I don't know what fourth graders learn Multiplication let's later Sure Multiplication in your tutu.

00:27:08.311 --> 00:27:15.159
Did you feel like you could like really knock out that quiz with more confidence because you felt good in your skin?

00:27:15.159 --> 00:27:23.446
And there are many, many layers that I could unpack in terms of how to be authentic in your skin.

00:27:23.446 --> 00:27:26.672
But really it comes from societal judgment.

00:27:26.672 --> 00:27:39.853
So entering really early on, maybe models of folks that are doing it without implied judgment could set a kiddo up for success.

00:27:39.853 --> 00:27:46.891
I wish that there was more research and more opportunities to really see that longitudinal study.

00:27:46.891 --> 00:27:55.175
But yeah, judgment across the board is really the number one influencer and confidence and identity expression.

00:27:56.005 --> 00:28:00.948
Yeah, and that's such a powerful theme that you're bringing to today's conversation and I so appreciate it.

00:28:00.948 --> 00:28:06.954
And when you say those words of they're just figuring it out, part of me jumps to we're all just figuring it out all along the way.

00:28:06.954 --> 00:28:16.096
So I'm going to use that as a natural segue to transition and talk to you not only as a subject matter expert that you are, but also as one of us, as a fellow entrepreneur.

00:28:16.096 --> 00:28:23.954
And, taylor, as we all continue, all listeners are at various different growth stages of their own business journeys and personal journeys.

00:28:23.954 --> 00:28:27.592
To go along with that, I'd love to hear some of your insights, with your entrepreneur hat on.

00:28:27.592 --> 00:28:32.573
As far as being a musician, being a clinician, you are also a fellow entrepreneur.

00:28:32.573 --> 00:28:34.226
What's that journey been like for you?

00:28:34.226 --> 00:28:36.112
Are there things that have surprised you?

00:28:36.112 --> 00:28:38.780
Are there elements of it that you go holy cow.

00:28:38.780 --> 00:28:40.826
I really like being a business owner.

00:28:40.826 --> 00:28:42.451
I really like this aspect of it.

00:28:42.451 --> 00:28:44.257
I'd love to hear your thoughts there.

00:28:46.165 --> 00:28:51.998
I think my personal journey has always been I don't know what I'm going to do next.

00:28:51.998 --> 00:28:56.968
I don't if you, if I have to plan five years ahead, it's not going to happen.

00:28:56.968 --> 00:29:02.107
Over time I've kind of learned all right well that uncertainty.

00:29:02.107 --> 00:29:09.007
There there almost comes a an amount of comfort now because it's been happening for so long.

00:29:09.007 --> 00:29:20.153
So I think, as an entrepreneur, as an owner of a consulting company, as an entrepreneur, as an owner of a consulting company, being okay with I don't know what's going to happen, I can't predict the future.

00:29:20.153 --> 00:29:26.778
I can see trends, I can pay attention to how many clients we had last year versus now and think ahead in that way.

00:29:26.778 --> 00:29:31.730
But as far as predicting really what's going to happen, I don't know.

00:29:31.730 --> 00:29:37.593
If you know somebody that can do that, let me know and I'll cut my job and we'll write a book together.

00:29:37.593 --> 00:29:54.962
But I think that being able to look ahead and generally plan without anything super concrete and being okay with that, that's the number one thing that I've learned.

00:29:57.191 --> 00:30:21.498
In a more kind of personal level, I'm somebody that really loves schedules and plans and see, loves schedules and plans and see I've got a calendar everywhere I look, you can't see it, but I think it's sort of that CEO mentality of what can I plan for, what would be cool, what could clients thrive off of that?

00:30:21.498 --> 00:30:38.738
Maybe artistic part of my brain gets really excited and really loves to explore these ideas, and I think those ideas are really what sort of separates If we were to use a C-suite example maybe a CEO from a COO it's like how do you run the business?

00:30:38.738 --> 00:30:44.893
Versus like these are the ideas I have moving forward in our business, Now let's talk about how we implement them.

00:30:44.893 --> 00:30:46.455
Of moving forward in our business, Now, let's talk about how we implement them.

00:30:46.455 --> 00:31:00.513
So really, I think it's about that longitudinal thinking, long-term thinking, if you will, and being okay with whatever happens is going to happen, and I can't really plan for the future as much as I want to.

00:31:00.534 --> 00:31:16.458
I rely heavily on my team to talk things through and we have lots of fun just being human together and that's really what we get out of our meetings is the, the relationship that we have.

00:31:16.458 --> 00:31:29.994
At the end of the day, yeah, it's a business, but if my, if the people I work with aren't taken care of and don't feel like they are seen, then I don't feel like I've done my job.

00:31:29.994 --> 00:31:37.148
I take their health and wellness hands down over the business.

00:31:37.148 --> 00:31:43.442
So I think just kind of like keeping that in check too is super important, and I hope I answered your question.

00:31:43.910 --> 00:31:44.952
Yeah, no for sure.

00:31:44.952 --> 00:32:03.681
I feel like it revealed so much about the way that you think and the priorities and values that you hold near and dear, not only to yourself, but how you've injected those into your business, and I think that that's such profound advice that, as a fellow millennial part of me wonders maybe it's just we're getting old now, taylor, and we've come to that realization of don't be married to things.

00:32:03.681 --> 00:32:04.982
It really is difficult.

00:32:04.982 --> 00:32:20.607
I remember in my 20s, when I started my consulting business back in 2012, it was a marketing and search engine optimization agency, taylor I was so convinced that I had that five-year, that 10-year roadmap that business school always taught us about, and then I realized things change.

00:32:20.607 --> 00:32:21.912
Things certainly don't work out.

00:32:21.912 --> 00:32:33.060
Rejection happens way more frequently as an entrepreneur than I ever imagined, and so you can't be married to those ideas, and I think that that's a really powerful lesson and some insights that you've learned that you've shared with us here today.

00:32:33.141 --> 00:32:36.258
So before I let you go, I knew we'd be short on time today.

00:32:36.258 --> 00:32:46.505
I want to squeeze two more questions in before we start dropping your links, but I want to ask you just because I'm so fascinated and impressed in admiration of your musical background.

00:32:46.505 --> 00:32:52.191
You started studying it at the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music at Cal State University, long Beach.

00:32:52.191 --> 00:32:55.038
You've done so many cool things as well in your professional career.

00:32:55.038 --> 00:33:02.651
How do you manage these days, taylor, as an entrepreneur, to continue to inject that creativity into the work that you do?

00:33:02.651 --> 00:33:11.422
I'm curious if you carve aside some creative time or some executive time to just dream big and have those ideas, or how does that manifest in your work?

00:33:14.111 --> 00:33:18.362
That's a good question and I do think it maybe depends on the month and depends on the day.

00:33:18.362 --> 00:33:30.568
But yes, if I don't carve out time, I'm going to burn out Creativity music I love drawing and reading.

00:33:30.568 --> 00:33:36.200
If I don't have time for those things, it's just it's gonna, it's gonna self combust.

00:33:36.200 --> 00:33:43.220
So you know, I really do try to prioritize those things in my life.

00:33:43.220 --> 00:33:45.443
They really get my creative juices flowing.

00:33:45.443 --> 00:33:49.173
Those things in my life they really get my creative juices flowing.

00:33:49.173 --> 00:33:54.501
The people that I get to interact with when I play just reminds me who I am, of who I am.

00:33:54.501 --> 00:33:56.005
It grounds me.

00:33:56.769 --> 00:33:59.755
Being on stage is 100% my happy place.

00:34:00.496 --> 00:34:01.538
I'm a Leo.

00:34:01.538 --> 00:34:09.159
It just is really my favorite place in the entire world and it has been since I was very, very young.

00:34:09.159 --> 00:34:35.143
And I would be lying to you if I said that I wasn't thinking about, okay, how can I pull this experience into my work the last time I was on stage, which was just a couple weeks ago, which was just a couple weeks ago, and I think, kind of keeping in mind that what works for me is not necessarily what's going to work for my clients.

00:34:35.143 --> 00:34:41.865
So I really love doing investigative work of hey, this was an experience I had and this is what it felt like.

00:34:41.865 --> 00:34:46.221
Is there something that we can pull from that, where we can connect and then move forward together?

00:34:46.221 --> 00:35:01.956
But at the end of the day, I do have to carve out time for that, and since I started the business, that meant that I needed to cut back a couple of clinical hours just to make sure that I wasn't going to burn out, and then I did have time to do the things that I loved.

00:35:02.719 --> 00:35:04.175
Yes, huge kudos to you.

00:35:04.175 --> 00:35:27.965
It is so incredibly important, and I personally know that it's easier said than done, so I love the fact that you continue to do that and pursue those passions and those interests and, importantly, that creativity, because Taylor gives you such an interesting perspective on life and I'm so grateful for you sharing all of your experiences, and that's why I always look forward to this final question that I ask in all these conversations, which is super broad, so that you can take it in any way that you want.

00:35:27.965 --> 00:35:37.985
And that is what's the one takeaway, the one piece of advice that you want to leave listeners with, knowing that they're at all different stages of their business journeys, their personal journeys, their self-expression journeys.

00:35:37.985 --> 00:35:41.019
You've dropped so many nuggets of knowledge with us here today.

00:35:41.019 --> 00:35:50.170
So, taylor, good luck summing it up with one incredible takeaway, but the floor is yours today, so, taylor good luck summing it up with one incredible takeaway, but the floor is yours.

00:35:54.309 --> 00:35:57.233
I think it's embracing failure, whatever that may mean.

00:35:57.233 --> 00:36:00.197
If you haven't failed in your life, then well done.

00:36:00.197 --> 00:36:12.820
But I think there isn't one way to do things and if there's anything that I've learned, it could be zigzaggy and squiggly lines from A to B all day long, and that's 100% okay.

00:36:12.820 --> 00:36:14.391
That just happens to be my journey.

00:36:14.391 --> 00:36:59.282
But I think, being vulnerable with yourself and saying I have more to learn before I do this, or I have more to learn from my colleagues before I make an executive decision, I have more questions to ask before I move forward, taking a breath and I guess you know really asking yourself will I be okay with this in the end is it's a difficult question to ask, because I do think that we look back on maybe some of the past decisions that we've made with regret or it may not have been the best investment, and that's okay.

00:36:59.282 --> 00:37:03.635
Really highlighting, okay, what did I take away from that?

00:37:03.635 --> 00:37:12.177
How can I move forward without maybe ruminating too much on failure or too much on the past?

00:37:12.177 --> 00:37:15.724
I guess that would be my major takeaway.

00:37:18.251 --> 00:37:21.820
I'm sure that that will change more as I move through my business.

00:37:22.389 --> 00:37:30.293
Yeah, I so appreciate that, taylor, because I will say I'll publicly praise you here in the fact that I feel so strongly about the fact that you don't just say these things.

00:37:30.293 --> 00:37:42.317
You're such a shiny example of practicing what you preach and all the things you've shared with us here today as someone who's gone deep into the wonderful world of all the things that you do work wise and what your company stands for and the team that you've been building.

00:37:42.317 --> 00:37:54.110
It just shows up in so many ways in the way that you show up, and I say that you as you, but also you as the entrepreneur, you as the leader of a business and someone who's really committed to helping all of your clients in so many different capacities.

00:37:54.110 --> 00:37:55.474
So huge kudos to you.

00:37:55.474 --> 00:38:03.476
I also know that, having seen all these great things that you put into the world, that listeners will probably be really excited to go deeper into all the great things that you're doing.

00:38:03.476 --> 00:38:05.217
So drop those links on us, taylor.

00:38:05.217 --> 00:38:06.900
Where can listeners go from here?

00:38:08.362 --> 00:38:12.972
So our website is Mizuno Consulting M-I-Z-U-N-O.

00:38:12.972 --> 00:38:14.255
Consultingcom.

00:38:14.255 --> 00:38:15.681
Our team's up there.

00:38:15.681 --> 00:38:19.972
We've got blogs and resources, books that we're reading, that sort of thing.

00:38:19.972 --> 00:38:20.954
Also.

00:38:20.954 --> 00:38:27.724
Our Instagram is at Mizuno Consulting and our wonderful marketing coordinator, andrew, runs that for us.

00:38:27.724 --> 00:38:33.817
Lots of events are posted there, some reels, that sort of thing.

00:38:33.817 --> 00:38:36.358
Linkedin Mizuno Consulting LLC.

00:38:36.358 --> 00:38:37.159
It's all there.

00:38:37.159 --> 00:38:40.657
Yeah, I hope I can grow it.

00:38:42.090 --> 00:38:43.617
Listeners, you already know the drill.

00:38:43.617 --> 00:38:50.891
We are making it as easy as possible for you to find all of those links that Taylor just shared for you so much goodness that they're all putting into the world.

00:38:50.891 --> 00:38:55.835
So definitely go check out those links that her business website is at MizunoConsultingcom.

00:38:55.835 --> 00:39:02.356
You'll see her last name in the title of this episode, so super easy to remember that spelling, or just click right on through using those links down below.

00:39:02.356 --> 00:39:07.003
We try to make it as easy as possible, including links to the socials as well as Taylor's personal LinkedIn.

00:39:07.003 --> 00:39:07.784
So don't be shy.

00:39:07.784 --> 00:39:13.592
If you want to continue the conversation or you want to start working with Taylor, you'll find those links directly down below.

00:39:13.592 --> 00:39:18.655
So, taylor, on behalf of myself and all the listeners worldwide, thanks so much for coming on the show today.

00:39:19.657 --> 00:39:21.041
Thank you, brian, appreciate it.

00:39:21.809 --> 00:39:27.380
Hey, it's Brian here, and thanks for tuning in to yet another episode of the Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur podcast.

00:39:27.380 --> 00:39:31.358
If you haven't checked us out online, there's so much good stuff there.

00:39:31.358 --> 00:39:40.574
Check out the show's website and all the show notes that we talked about in today's episode at thewantrepreneurshowcom, and I just want to give a shout out to our amazing guests.

00:39:40.574 --> 00:39:49.340
There's a reason why we are ad freefree and have produced so many incredible episodes five days a week for you, and it's because our guests step up to the plate.

00:39:49.449 --> 00:39:51.398
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00:39:51.398 --> 00:39:52.996
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00:39:52.996 --> 00:39:56.369
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00:39:56.369 --> 00:40:07.443
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00:40:07.443 --> 00:40:15.942
So thank you to not only today's guests, but all of our guests in general, and I just want to invite you check out our website because you can send us a voicemail there.

00:40:15.942 --> 00:40:17.275
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00:40:17.275 --> 00:40:21.900
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00:40:21.900 --> 00:40:23.302
Initiate a live chat.

00:40:23.302 --> 00:40:32.748
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