Some people think that the key to success lies within their daily routine. Do you agree with this, and if so, what is your daily routine?
I get really bored of routines…let me clarify. There are things I do that make me feel good and keep me clear and inspired, and I make time for those. I have meditated since I was 19—it is crucial for me because I am a very energetic person, and my mind can race, get anxious, and more. Meditating grounds me and fuels not only my energy but my creativity and focus. I was also a trained athlete—a competitive ice skater and always have worked out, running, yoga, swimming. I remember training for the NYC marathon, which was a new experience for me—started out waddling and moved into loving it and so grateful for the experience. This is all a long way to say that moving my body/weight training and more are always in the mix, but I need to switch it up daily. Connecting with my friends/family, nature, and my sweet animals (Bodhi—German Wirehaired Pointer, Zero—huge Golden Doodle, and Momo—our Black Scottish Fold Cat—was never a cat person till him) are always in the mix too. I make sure I read a lot (most recently, my son, Orion turned me on to Colin O’Brady’s book “The Impossible First”—highly recommend— he is so real, beautiful, brave spirit and mindset! Check out all the various podcast interviews/Youtube videos of Colin O’Brady—incredibly inspiring.
I also write a lot—and listen/look at all kinds of things, including podcasts, Instagram, and tik tok (not a lot of screen time). I just saw Emma Chamberlain’s home in Architectural Digest—so fun and beautifully curated—again inspiring and uplifting. These activities are in my everyday life–make me grow, laugh, and give me the clarity to build my businesses and treat all people with compassion. The key to my success (which is subjective) is peace of mind, perspective, and great relationships…the rest is a natural outcome of that.
Looking back at your teenage years, did you have any entrepreneurial interests?
My parents were born and raised in Italy and immigrated to California—their courage, tenacity, and commitment to excellence have been engrained in me. I never thought or walked around thinking I would be an entrepreneur but what I can say when I look at my teenage years is I was always curious, and loved being creative, and that is on many levels—not just artistic, creating solutions and creating new ways to do things. The other entrepreneurial characteristic I had and continue to grow exponentially is courage. I was 17 living in Los Angeles, and I wanted to be a tour guide at Universal Studios, but you had to be 18—I stretched the truth, auditioned/interviewed, and was hired—it was so fun and literally felt like I was running my own business. We would learn all of this material and talk with the productions on the lot, and then for the entire tour, in addition to the attractions, I would talk about it all for two hours—interacting with all the people on my tram—it was just me and all of them. Note—there was no video on the trams then! I was the only person who was not an actress—I thought about directing/producing, but most of all, I was connecting with people from all over the world, learning a lot, and beginning to understand myself. This was the foundation for being bold to go after what I wanted and needed. Last thing—growing up in the 80’s (the best) was also a time that no one was talking about owning their own business, it was about getting a full-time job with benefits and working your way up—whatever that means.
Is there a specific time of day when you feel most productive?
It varies—I like the mornings, but I have creative spirts throughout the day that can be very inspiring and productive.
Do you think there is one character trait/skill that is important to have in order to become a successful entrepreneur in today’s world?
Two major things (I know you asked for one—so sorry) that are good in theory but take something to be and do:
One: Don’t take anything Personally! Everyone has issues/beliefs/perspectives, and when we react, get hurt, it distorts how we hear and feel, and we cannot see clearly what is being said or how to navigate the situation. We get lost in our reactions and distortions. Recommendation—Check out the book “The Four Agreements” Don Miguel Luiz (who I went to Mexico with—that’s another story) shares about not taking things personally so well.
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Two: Be Courageous even when it is uncomfortable and willing to accept that when you are an entrepreneur, you are in the unknown at times. The thing you can count on is—things will change. I am not lecturing here—I worked really hard to get this all in my cells, so I share this with you humbly. This is not just about being an entrepreneur; it’s about how you take on your life and create what you want for yourself—we are all living moment by moment, and we don’t know what may happen, good/bad—what we can control and what we cannot, so the more we strengthen our understanding of ourselves and our natural born gifts ™, we can navigate the unknown however it is served up.
Has being a woman in the business world affected you positively or negatively, and how so?
Honestly, I never thought/think about my gender around my work. I relate to people as people, and especially in the work that I do, I am out to understand that person or organization deeply–their challenges, goals, what they are out to create so I can support them in their highest best work, goals, and experience. www.beclearmethod.com
What is one major goal that you wish to achieve by 2030?
I have been building a digital Leadership Development Platform to support leaders at all levels globally based on my work with hundreds of companies and thousands of leaders. My goal is that it is used around the world and making a big difference for millions of people—giving them the tools they need to thrive and navigate their careers, creative endeavors.
Who is your biggest influence and why?
This is kind of like the routine question for me—meaning I have so many influences that have impacted me on many levels and ongoingly influence me from my family and amazing lineage to very kind supporters, to people I don’t even know where I have fallen in love with them and their stories and have been moved to act and be in new better ways.
I also teach an entrepreneurial class at UCLA (where I went to college as well as my daughter, Savannah) called “Creating Life After College on your Terms”. I have parlayed all my work with leaders/companies to create the curriculum so that these amazing young adults can understand themselves and navigate their careers, doubts, dreams. The students in many of my classes have influenced me, taught me and inspired me. We are working on a digital version of this as well as for High School students.
If you could pick one female entrepreneur, who would you say is your biggest inspiration?
I have been inspired by many female entrepreneurs for different reasons—a dear friend of mine and past client co-founded the “Forbes Most Powerful Women Summit” https://www.forbes.com/power-women/#34b5ec755e25 and I learn so much from these great women.
I would say there are two who I really respect: Mackenzie Scott and Jacqueline Novogratz. Mackenzie Scott, helped build Amazon with Jeff Bezos—she was beyond his wife. She has gone on to be an incredible philanthropist and more and is so low key which I also love.https://greyjournal.net/hustle/inspire/she-helped-build-amazon-from-the-ground-up-yet-no-one-knows-her-name/.
Jacqueline Novogratz is amazing, she is the founder and CEO of Acumen Fund in NYC—she worked on Wall Street and then parlayed all her knowledge to spearhead a fund investing in social entrepreneurship to solve global issues. (Social entrepreneurship is the process by which individuals, startups and entrepreneurs develop and fund solutions that directly address social issues.)
Highly recommend her book The Blue Sweater and listen to her on the podcast Armchair Expert with Dax Shepherd—you can hear about her whole journey and humble beginnings—so smart, so conscious: https://armchairexpertpod.com/pods/jacqueline-novogratz.
Her husband is Chris Anderson who founded Ted Talks—great human being.
What has been the most formative advice you have received and why?
Don’t betray yourself. Sometimes when we want something badly, we can ignore things/people that really don’t work for us. I have a rule for myself that if I mumble about something more than three times, it means I have to address it, take action.
What has been the most impressive/memorable question anyone has ever asked you?
I don’t remember—lol!!
If you have siblings, are they also entrepreneurs?
I have a younger sister who is beyond smart and her spirit is very entrepreneurial. She is a teacher, currently teaching sixth grade and she also teaches teachers. She is so gifted, a true “kid whisperer” and has created her own methodology and process that is groundbreaking, including around the subject MATH which is one of her specialties. Being in her classroom is like being in a company—she leads so powerfully and has created an ecosystem that allows everyone to take risks, have breakthroughs—a culture of respect and deep understanding without invalidating. Her students have so much fun, it’s incredible and the impact on their lives and their confidence is exponential over the years. This level of creativity, commitment to excellence, self-awareness, and sheer innovation has made her a very successful leader in her own unique entrepreneurial way. Now I think she should be making 5x what she does but that’s another subject.
Here are some of the things she has written on the walls in her classroom which all leaders should be asking:
**What do you need from your teacher to be successful this year?
(We could substitute teacher to your boss, CEO or your colleagues/team members in a company)
*When are you at your best?
*How do you respond when challenged?
*What are you most proud of? Why?
*What is most important to you? Why?
We have been talking about taking her process and methodologies and creating a business with it all that can be incredibly lucrative and make a massive difference—to be continued.
Do you think the drive to become an entrepreneur is born with or is learned?
Both, It is a spirit and you can bring this kind of creativity to launching a company or being entrepreneurial inside of a company. Also even if you have this kind of creativity and fire, there is so much to learn along the way to build a company from the ground up. There are amazing successes and many many breakdowns, no matter how smart you are, proactive and more there will always be breakdowns in building a company or anything. It does take something and it is certainly not for everyone. I started my first business in NYC where I lived for many years at 23 years old not because I was dying to be an entrepreneur but that I needed my freedom to create, there was no other choice for me. I started that business from nothing and it was a wild magical road—it’s a great story!
CONTACT INFORMATION & SOCIAL MEDIA BeClear Founder Los Angeles, CA website:http://www.beclearmethod.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/denise-spatafora-87824b5/ Telephone: 917-279-0742 email: [email protected]