We were lucky to catch up with Courtney Elmer recently and have shared our conversation below.
Courtney, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
I thought my life was going smoothly. Building my own business, getting married to the love of my life….
But it all changed in an instant.
Just two days after getting home from my honeymoon, I walked into the doctor’s office for a routine check-up. I walked back out with a life-altering diagnosis.
Cancer.
I could feel the cold grip of fear squeeze my heart as I heard the words from my doctor. How could this be happening?
“You’re the youngest patient I’ve ever had under my care,” my doctor said.
Tell me about it. I didn’t expect to get diagnosed with cancer at just 25 years old, either. But here I was, facing the battle of my life. The blank hospital walls loomed over me as I sat there, struggling to make sense of it all.
It wasn’t the first time I’d been here, though. Six years earlier, I received another devastating diagnosis, this time for anorexia and OCD. Then, like now, I felt the familiar, overwhelming need to be in control. But control is an elusive thing, isn’t it? Always slipping just out of reach.
As I sat in that hospital room, I realized that healing is a journey, a never-ending process.
There’s no need to go looking to self-help books for advice on how to become a better version of yourself — the opportunity for you to become who you are meant to be is hidden within how you approach the challenges you face every single day.
Although you may not have a choice about what challenges life presents you with or when it presents you with them, you do have a choice about HOW you move through them.
And this is where resilience is born.
No matter the challenge, there is always a choice: you can either be resentful of the challenges life throws at you, or you can choose to be resilient.
Neither path is easy, but the path you choose will determine the degree of joy and fulfillment you experience now and in the future.
That day as I stared at that flickering fluorescent light overhead, I vowed to be resilient. To fight with everything I had and to never give up.
Because no matter how hard life gets, the path you choose will determine your ability to find meaning in the inevitable suffering of life.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
As a Forbes-featured business and podcasting expert, I created the EffortLESS Life® to help online leaders learn how to streamline their business systems and leverage their message through podcasting to drive traffic and sales to their business while establishing themselves as respected thought leaders in their niche.
Growing a successful online business is harder than ever because of an overload of information and increasingly limited time, energy, and effort. That’s why our mission at the EffortLESS Life® is to help entrepreneurs build a business that can run without them, so they can thrive in their zone of genius as visionary leaders.
Through our podcast and online coaching programs Autopilot and PodLaunch™, we teach online business owners how to streamline their systems, build strong teams, launch and leverage top-ranked podcasts, and ultimately increase traffic and sales so they can scale to the $1MM milestone and thrive in their zone of genius as the visionary leader of their company.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Keeping an open mind, humility, and learning how to speak up for myself are the three qualities that have been most impactful in my journey.
An open mind is crucial because it allows you to be receptive to new ideas, perspectives, and possibilities. With an open mind, you can challenge your own assumptions, embrace new experiences, and continuously grow and evolve.
To develop this quality, it is important to be intentional about exposing yourself to new perspectives, stepping out of your comfort zone, and having open and honest conversations with others. This can be done through reading books and articles, attending workshops and events, and engaging in diverse communities. It is also important to practice self-reflection and to be willing to admit when you don’t know something or when you’re wrong. An open mind is a lifelong practice and requires a commitment to continuous learning and growth.
Humility is also necessary because in order to be a great leader, you must accept that you do not and will not ever know it all — no matter how much you study or learn. Humility keeps you grounded and proactively seeking guidance from others and being open to their constructive feedback is the fastest way to see past your blind spots and generate new ideas. Humble leaders are aware of their own limitations and strengths, and are always seeking to improve and grow. By embracing humility, leaders are able to foster a culture of trust and respect within their organization, as they are approachable and willing to listen to the perspectives of others.
You can cultivate humility both through self-reflection and openly seeking feedback from team members, colleagues, and mentors. By modeling humility, acknowledging your mistakes, and taking personal responsibility for your actions, you inspire others to embrace it as well.
The third quality that has been impactful in my journey is learning how to speak up for myself in a way that is always confident, yet also empathetic and respectful of others. Being able to voice your opinions and stand up for what you believe in is the most effective way to grow a loyal community, and while it’s not always easy, it shows that you believe in yourself and your abilities. Don’t be afraid to share your thoughts and opinions, even if they’re different from others. At the end of the day, being able to speak up for yourself will only make you a more confident and assertive leader.
Who is your ideal client or what sort of characteristics would make someone an ideal client for you?
If you’re an online business owner with big vision and you’re feeling overwhelmed, stuck and struggling to grow beyond six figures, you might be the perfect fit for our services. At EffortLESS Life®, we help business owners like you streamline their operations, build rockstar teams, and increase traffic and sales, so you can scale to the $1MM milestone and thrive as the visionary leader of your company.
Our ideal client is someone who is committed to their vision and is willing to invest time and energy into building their business. You have the drive and determination to succeed, but you’re feeling bogged down by the day-to-day and struggling to find the time and energy to focus on growth. You’re looking for guidance, support and proven systems to help you grow your business, so you can focus on your zone of genius and make a real impact in the world. If this sounds like you, we’d love to chat and see if we can help.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://antifragileentrepreneurship.co/
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/thecourtneyelmer
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtneyelmer/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/courtneyelmer_
- Other: https://theeffortlesslife.co
Image Credits
Casey McMurray
