I’m super excited to have the opportunity to interview Hollie Kitchens and share her expertise with our audience! Hollie is the CEO/Founder of the DIY Legend, CEO/Founder of “Lady Legend Boutique”, host to “Unleash Your Inner Legend podcast” and co-founder of “Women Elevation”.
One of Hollie’s core values is continually growing and getting better. If she’s not working or spending time with her family; Hollie dedicates a lot of her time to honing her knowledge both professionally and personally by hiring professional coaches, attending seminars, consuming herself with personal development and surrounding herself with like-minded people.
I love what Hollie describes as her “WHY”: Hollie lives to inspire people to let go of limiting beliefs so that they can unleash their inner legend and live the life they were intended to!
I’ve got a bunch of questions for Hollie. Let’s get started!
Below are some insights from Hollie Kitchens. Enjoy!
What is your personal definition of success?
The first word that comes to mind when I hear success is happiness. I feel like success is living and doing the life you really want to do with the people want to do it with that makes you happy. It’s not an event but a process. It’s living life to your highest standard and not settling, to me that’s a success. I don’t think it matters if you want to live a life full of money and fame or a life of volunteering, success to me is doing what makes you live your why and fuels your passion. I’ve met some pretty lonely millionaires and to me, that’s not a success.
Can you share the steps you take daily to improve?
On a daily basis, I make sure to stretch my mind. Reading a book, listening to an educational podcast or audiobook..something that’s going to make me grow and not get comfortable. Learning from others, especially others excelling at what I want to be doing is the best way to keep me motivated. I also make sure to take time and be present. If I’m working, I’m working. If I’m with family, I’m with family. Being present in the moments that matter the most are a great way to feel accomplished and when I feel accomplished I keep doing more. Being aware of the food I fuel my body is also a huge thing for me. I don’t have a special diet or anything just that awareness and common sense of what is good/bad for me. Lastly, it’s taking time to be grateful and acknowledging my wins for the day. That’s the perfect way to end the day for me.
What is your advice for someone making an important decision?
Always be aware of what you are saying “no” to when you say yes. I think a lot of people tend to do things and overcommit before realizing what they’ve committed to. Take time to bounce the idea off of a mentor or someone you look up to. Allow it to digest, if possible sleep on it. I know I personally can be compulsive on making decisions that cause me to act on emotion vs logic. So I make sure to fully understand what I’m committing to and what that will do for future opportunities. Also, take into consideration of those around you that it will affect. Whatever you go with, make sure it’s bringing you closer to your goals and not distracting you. When I’ve made up my mind on something I ACT on it with no regrets.
Tell me about a specific moment that set you on the path you’re on now?
At first, I’d say when I launched my boutique and was “a real owner” of a business, however, the more I think about it it was when I started real estate. Before real estate I was in banking and when I was released of the corporate constraints I starting to really find my creative outlet on DIY marketing. Being in real estate is a trip – you can go from having the best month ever to the worst. Your paycheck is based upon the work you put in. I loved having that freedom to market myself…creating youtube videos, fliers, and all that jazz. That really brought me back to my passion of being resourceful and creating the DIY materials, which is what the DIY Legend is all about.
If you could recommend one book for our audience, what would it be?
The compound effect by Darren Hardy. I believe that was the first “personal growth” book I’ve ever read and it literally changed my life. I grew up in a small town in Oklahoma, population 1300. Books were either like historical non-fiction or straight-up fiction. It’s like WWII or Harry Potter. Don’t get me wrong, I read both LOL, but I never really thought about reading book that would affect me as a person and the Compound Effect did just that.
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- The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy
- The 100/0 Principle by Al Ritter
- How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie
Which character traits do you value most?
I value humbleness, grit, hustle and 100/0 (if you’d classify that as one)…I truly appreciate someone who hustles hard but stays humble. The one thing that gets grinds my gears and shuts me down is someone who isn’t accountable and plays victim, which is why I added in the 100/0.
How do you push through tough times?
Such a good question! I’ve always struggled with anxiety which leads to many depressing times. I really think people underestimate the power of the mind. The book “How to Stop Worrying and Start Living” by Dale Carnage would definitely be the second book of recommendation. This book changed the game in my thought process. When things get tough or hard I literally turn my thinking into living in day-tight compartments. Taking each day at a time and telling myself “this too shall pass” One of the processes described in the book talks about first understanding if the problem is real. Sometimes we get so caught up in the what if’s that it’s not really reality. If it is, writing down 3 solutions and selecting one. If you can’t change it – then change the way you look at it. I think we get so caught up in tough times that we fail to see what we really have, I found that also reflecting on what is going right and what I am grateful for definitely something to help me get through tough times.
What inspires you?
Inspired people. Seeing people who are inspired to take action and do things they never have thought possible is literally the most inspiring thing to see. I love helping others do what they love! Facebook
How do you manage and prioritize opportunities?
I compare them to my goals to make sure they align with what I’ve already committed to. It’s going to my strategic plan and seeing if it would get me closer to my goals or distract me. Going through action items and putting a price tag on them and rating them on how much I would enojoy it really determines if I take on the opportunity or pass.
What advice would you give to your 18-year-old self?
I would definitely want my younger self to know the difference between fact and opinion. So many times I would get upset and react because of something that was my OPINION and not fact, and vice verse. I would often find myself listening and worrying what people thought of me all because of their opinions, which we all are entitled to but not all of them are going to be the same.