A natural born entrepreneur, with Cami Baker

A natural born entrepreneur, with Cami Baker

Work for it, learn in, own it

Cami was dealt a tough set of cards. She was adopted. She lost her father at a young age. She struggled with dark times and addiction. Tune in to hear how she learned to turn obstacles into opportunities. Trace her uncanny trajectory of work for, learn it, own it!

 

Obstacles into opportunities

At eight years old my brother was three years older than me and he was always broke, so I learned about collateral and loan sharking long before I knew what they were. I was holding his stuff in exchange for high interest.

And then when I was nine or 10, I was buying gum on the way to school to sell to other children for a profit.

How can you not see opportunity everywhere?

It’s in my DNA.

 

The path of leadership

Can you tell us more about how this kept unfolding from being a loan shark at eight and selling gum to being a minge-to-millions maverick now?

I have noticed that I have gone from working for someone in an industry to owning it.

I went from working in bars for five/ six years to owning one from 25 – 30.

I worked for a real-estate agent for a year-and-a-half, but then when I got licensed I was my own agent.

I can do this all by myself.

I think it is Jon Maxwell that said the best way to learn – you do it yourself, then you show me how to do it, we do it together, and then I go do it myself.

That’s the path of leadership.

 

Shift from work to play

I am actually trademarking the word “net-play” as opposed to “net-work."

It excites me.

It’s about playing, it’s about having fun, it’s about not having so much pressure of looking for leads.

Planting your seeds as opposed to looking for leads.

People who knew me 10, 15 years ago would not have said “play." They would have said “aggressive, pushy.”

It’s a matter of slowing it all down. When they can just take a deep breath and play.

Just be there.

I don’t care if the room has three people in it or 300. I just really want one. One person to have a good contact with, a good connection, someone I can follow up and enjoy.

Don’t be so worried about the company you represent, it’s the company they keep.

As Abraham Higgs would say, “if you’re trying to paddle upstream, there is a lot of resistance."

Get in the flow, and just let things happen.

 

Who are your mentors?

How do you decide what to say “yes” to?

Having a coach, having a mentor, having people around me that are of the same like mind – that are forward thinkers.

People that are inspired, not motivated.

For me, there is a difference.

People who are motivated are running from something. You’re doing it because you have to. You are motivated to get away from the pain.

Whereas being inspired is “I have to have that… I want to feel that." Inspired is moving to something that is good, as opposed to running from something that is painful.

For me, the more I surround myself with those people… it is easier to listen to your intuition and know what the truth is for you. Know what the next right step is.

 

Break down to break through

I am dying to hear your personal story of transformation. You mentioned that you used to be all about achievement and go-go-go-go. What happened between you then and you now?

There was addiction in my past.

I have not always had mentors.

I take that back, we all always have someone or something influencing us. But maybe its not a positive influence.

There has been a time in my life where the people were not so positive and they were not so uplifting.

There came a time where I had to void myself of everyone and everything.

I came to a place where I said “no more for me."

Totally alone.

Sometimes the best friends to have is no friends to have.

That was a beautiful time of growth.

Every time you have a break down you have to have a break through.

 

From fear to freedom

Even though I had left behind that negative lifestyle, on the other side of the desert I was still just a hungry dog.

I knew that I wanted more.

I was so aggressive and so tenacious and so assertive.

And so deep down in survival.

In fear.

Fear!

Fear of going back there. Fear of being alone. Fear or not knowing where I’m going.

There finally came a point not too long ago where it went from here [head] to here [heart]… “You got this. You don’t have to fight. You don’t have to prove anything.”

I did a lot of spiritual work.

I went to Sedona for 31 days.

I did massages and healing work.

We did some past life regression.

 

The inner shift

I have always been proving myself from before I was given birth to.

I was adopted.

When I was in my mother’s womb I knew that I was being given away. That I wasn’t good enough… “Please keep me, I’m worth this, keep me around."

So moving through life I have always been proving myself.

If I do just a little more, they will keep me around. If I do just a little more, they will hire me. If I do just a little more, I will prove that I am better than any man.

Got a lot done. Made a lot of money.

But I also stepped on a lot of toes and burnt a lot of bridges.

Today, I don’t feel like I have to prove myself anymore.

I know who I am. I feel good in my own skin.

Whether I am making a lot of money or a little money, I am making a difference.

That has been the shift for me.

 

Unattachment

My dad died when I was six years old.

I think that plays into “don’t bother to love people because they leave you anyway."

That’s still living today.

I have a beautiful, wonderful man in my life that I push away.

My business is way more important to me… meaning my clients, living my dream, and being free, and being able to travel.

And not having any baggage. Literally, I have gotten rid of all my personal belongings.

I took my trunk of all my photos. I scanned them into the computer and I threw them away.

I even think of people as baggage. I don’t want any of your emotional stuff holding me down.

I just want to inspire, be inspired, and not be weighed down.

 

Surrounding yourself shining people

Today, I can look at everything in my life and say “If that hadn’t happened I may not be who I am today."

I love who I am.

If I needed to go through that, if I need to have a breakdown to have a breakthrough then break me down.

Because I know on the other side is hallelujah.

When I was on the other side, in purgatory those people were not shining. Their crystals were dirty.

Not that they were dirty people, they just didn’t know how to shine. They weren’t blazing with the light.

I was simply reflecting that which I was around because I was like that too. My crystal was dirty.

The beauty of it is that there came a day when I realized “wow my crystal is really dirty and I need to find some people with clean crystals to hang out with."

If you’re not feeling that freedom, that liberation, that playfulness, take a look at who you are shining off of or not shining off of.

 

Our favorite tips from Cami

Find opportunities everywhere.

To be a leader, watch someone else do it, then do it collaboratively, and then do it yourself.

Shift your thinking from working to playing; be present, breathe, and flow.

Networking is about creating one good connection.

Find mentors who are inspirational, as opposed to motivational.

Shift from being in your head to listening to your heart.

Unattach from material and emotional possessions.

To achieve freedom, surround yourself with people whose crystals are shining.

 

Resources and Links:

Visit her parenting website: www.camibaker.com to learn to net-play (10 Ways to take the work out of networking) www.mingletomillions.com for 50 Plus tips on how to take the work out of networking at tradeshows, expos or large seminars etc. Follow her on Facebook (@Cami Baker Mingle to Millions)

 

Quotes

“Planting your seeds as opposed to looking for leads.”

“Whether I am making a lot of money or a little money, I am making a difference. ”

“If I need to have a breakdown to have a breakthrough, then break me down.”

 

Did you enjoy the show? Let us know your biggest takeaways in the comments.

If you like what we’re doing, please subscribe to #InChargeShow in iTunes and leave us a review and a 5-star rating, to help more women who won’t settle find us.

Follow the links to take the quizzes we discussed on the show:

www.yourtrueselfie.com

www.inchargequiz.com

In the free report at the end of each quiz, you’ll get an invitation to join our Facebook community. I hope you accept it.

I look forward to connecting with you soon!

Until then,

Stay in your heart.

xx

Valerie

 

In this episode, we talk about: adoption, adopted, addiction, overcome, overcoming, networking, woman, entrepreneur, confidence, play, work, success, create, self-made