In this episode, we get the opportunity to chat with Marlene Eick. Marlene lives in Wooster, OH where she and her husband manage Herdmark Media, a media company focused on video for the agriculture industry and the farming industry. However, as Herdmark has grown, and now has a team of its own, she has found herself being less and less involved in the day to day operations and able to really focus on her passion. Which lies in coaching, speaking, and training. Providing workshops, keynotes, and other training opportunities to leadership courses or conferences. In addition to that she provides 1:1 coaching to millennial women that are connected to careers in agriculture in some way.
Here’s what you’ll find in this episode:
- How Marlene found her passion for agriculture leadership development.
- How she achieves success by prioritizing the most important things in her life.
- The tools she uses to manage life and business.
How Marlene Got Started in Leadership Development
Leadership has been an interest of Marlene’s for as long as she can remember, really finding her passion as a girl through 4-H and FFA. As she went through college and through various agriculture internships she realized that being a leader in the agriculture industry wasn’t only possible, but needed. Her vision was truly realized when, as an intern, she worked with the National Pork Board to assist with their poor agriculture leadership academy.
So for her Master’s program she focused on leadership development. The University of Florida’s Agricultural Education and Communication department has various programs offered for their graduate program in all types of agriculture related fields. One of those focused on leadership development so that’s where her studies went for her Masters. Once she graduated she had a really good understanding of what opportunities looked like for what she was wanting to achieve.
Challenges Marlene Faced
Marlene struggles with what so many of us struggle with and that is worrying about what other people think. She was worried about what people would think about her leaving positions she felt weren’t the right fit and what people may say when they found out she started coaching. Imposter syndrome at it’s finest. She is so open about how she is battling giving those thoughts too much power.
One way she has combated it is by joining a mastermind group. She really found community in that group and also realized that, despite how successful everyone is, they all struggled with asking themselves, “Am I actually qualified to teach this?” An important aspect of fighting imposter syndrome is recognizing the stories our minds often tell us aren’t the truth and knowing how to combat those thoughts.
What is a Mastermind?
So Marlene’s mastermind group consists of nine women who are like-minded, have similar goals and ambitions, and are able to ask one another the tough questions in order for each person to move their business forward. They met in person a year ago for a couple of days so that they could all really get to know one another and then they also have a google hangout meet once a month where they talk about their businesses. All of us offer guidance and feedback through that meeting and we have a Facebook group where we can post questions for business but also fun things like, ‘did you see what happened on Grey’s Anatomy last night?’ or ‘I need planner suggestions,’ or just a place to share my wins. It’s just this awesome community that allows you a space to really dig into the hard conversations of being a business owner that you don’t really get from friends and family as much.
Create Your Best Life
Marlene’s biggest piece of advice is to figure out your priorities and create your best life from there. Marlene figures out what her priorities are in that season of her life and she decides what takes precedence during that time in her life. As seasons change those priorities will shift but as long as she’s in line with where she wants to go she knows she’s on the right path. Her focus is making sure that she’s fulfilled and living within the purpose God gave her for her life. The same goes for you and the things you want to achieve and create for your life.
Marlene also advised to figure out what you can outsource in order to focus on your priorities and create your best life. For her, she enjoys cooking but doesn’t enjoy it more than she does working on her business, so she signed up for Hello Fresh. It saves her time and money to not have to worry about what they’re making for dinner every night. For you it could be someone to mow the yard or clean your house, whatever things that need to be done but aren’t serving your priorities.
Marlene’s Toolbox
- Paper planners
- iCloud
- Asana
- Time blocking and task batching
Books Mentioned:
- “The Crossroads of Should and Must” by Elle Luna
What The Future Holds for Marlene and Where to Follow Her
She is most excited about her podcast “Live Your Story” which just reached the one year mark. To celebrate the one year mark she will be having her husband, BJ, come on to the podcast with her.
Instagram: @marleneeick
Facebook: Marlene Eick
Wrap Up
Marlene is the epitome of making sure your priorities align with where you want your life to go. This is the key to being able to create your best life. You aren’t going to achieve your dreams by rewatching Gilmore Girls for the 8th time, even if Gilmore Girls is one of the best shows of all time! In order to achieve success, whatever success looks like for you, you have to be willing to put in the work, make the sacrifices, and align your life with the priorities of your goals. It was so great hearing her thoughts on balance, growing a business with her husband and then venturing into her true passions.
Her story is so inspiring and I am definitely looking forward to following her and seeing her stories on Instagram. Remember you can read create your best life quotes and fill out happiness therapy worksheets all day, but you have to make sure your life is prioritized in such a way that you are working toward your goals in order to create your best life.
I hope you enjoyed this episode as much as we did and if so, could you leave us a review? Those reviews are so important to us podcasters who want to bring you great content week after week.
~ Much Love ~
