169: Rewiring Your Mindset for Success with Regan Hillyer

Scott Barlow: Welcome back to Happen To Your Career. I am so excited to have our guest on today. She has a really interesting story and background. Her journey is one you all can learn from and will be excited for. Regan how are you?

Regan Hillyer: Hey Scott I’m awesome. Thank you.

Scott Barlow: Thanks for making the time and coming on to talk to us. I appreciate it.

Regan Hillyer: Pleasure. It’s great to be here.

Scott Barlow: Just to get us started. How do you tell people what you do when faced with that question? How do you quantify it?

Regan Hillyer: I guess it depends on who I am talking to. Generally I let people know I do two cool things. First, I help people with their success mindsets. I help them shift their reality from within. And second, I help artists, leaders, and creators unleash and monetize. I help them create the life they truly desire around that.

Scott Barlow: That sounds awesome and right in line with what I know many HTYC-ers are excited about to. You haven’t always done that

Regan Hillyer: Correct.

Scott Barlow: I’d love to talk to you about what that journey looked like. Where did this start for you?

Regan Hillyer: I grew up in an amazing family in Auckland, New Zealand. I was told I had to follow the system and go to school, work hard, and get good grades. I did that then went to university which was expected. I was studying architecture because I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life.

For me my journey kicked off in a university lecture. The lecturer said “welcome future architects, I want you to picture your future twenty years out from now. What is it like to be an architect?” I started visualizing it and I felt sick to my stomach with what I saw. I knew that even though I was good at it and people were telling me I would be the best architect, at my core I knew that it wasn’t right and what I was put here to do in the world. I made a decision then that I wasn’t going to follow that path and be an architect.

I proudly told my dad and he said I will support anything you want to do that will make you happy, but what are you going to do? I remember there was silence on the phone and said just give me some time to figure that part out. That is what threw me into personal development and soul searching at a young age. Why am I here, what is life about, what is my purpose, how do I help people and make an impact and live a great lifestyle?

I threw myself into doing everything: wealth creation, investing in properties, currency trading, sales, marketing. I did everything people told me to do. Investing money I didn’t have, showing up, and being committed, but nothing clicked. I told one of my mentors, when I was frustrated that I’m not cut out for this or meant to be successful. He said “Regan, the thing is you have it backwards. You are pouring all your time, energy, and money into figuring out strategies to make it work and you need to work on you and rewire yourself to succeed. Change your mindset and understand how successful people think then everything will shift.” That’s how I got into coaching and personal development and figuring it out organically for myself.

Scott Barlow: So what I heard is it is your dads fault for asking the parental type questions like what are you going to do. That is really interesting because I heard you say maybe I’m not meant to be successful. I’m curious, what is your definition of success in the first place and how has it evolved?

Regan Hillyer: Success for me, it’s different for everyone, but for me it’s having the freedom to do what I want, on my terms, with who I want, in what way I choose for it to look like; ultimate freedom. Right now it is centered around impact and answering big questions on how to increase my impact and shift that to a new level each day. It definitely didn’t start there. At first it was about making money and doing something I enjoyed and having time and freedom around that.

Scott Barlow: It seems to start that way for so many people. I haven’t met many people, a few, but not many, that started out with a different definition of success. For so many people it seems to be around power, status, or money of some variety to start with.

Completely different question. I heard you say that you were experimenting with all these things and doing a lot of things. Did that help you in anyway? Aside from advice and conversations along the way. Was it helpful to be involved in so many things?

Regan Hillyer: Yes. I believe it was all perfect and happened for a reason and I needed to live that experience to be where I am right now. I am grateful for it. Was there a faster way? Most likely. But I’m grateful for the experience. Once I started rewiring my mindset and went deep into success psychology that is when the strategies started making sense. I went back to what I’d learned and applied them looking at the world through different glasses. It was all for a reason and I believe I had value out of everything that I did in the long run.

Scott Barlow: What is an example of something that didn’t maybe need to happen that you now see you could have avoided or learned the lesson differently?

Regan Hillyer: I thought I would learn to invest in property as it’s an amazing way to set up success. I went really deep only to find out I wasn’t really passionate about property, but I kept forcing it. I didn’t even have capital but I was set on learning on how to do it. After I rewired my mindset and learned success principles and about successful people I figured out about my passions and what I wanted to create. It was easier to find a property mentor to tell me what to do. Which is how I invest now. I have a mentor I work with on a close basis and that works well and I don’t need to know the whole strategy. At the time I thought I needed to know.

Scott Barlow: I find that is the case for a lot of things. If you want to shortcut the process you can find people who assist because they have already done that. Where else have you done that approach within your life?

Regan Hillyer: Once I figured out that it was a thing I started doing it everywhere. If I’m looking to do anything I have no interest in trying to figure it out myself. The fastest way to get from where I am to where I want is to find someone who has done it before or helps people do it. I do it in every area. For example, if wanted to run a marathon, and never had, I wouldn’t go online and download an eBook and run every day. I would find someone who trains people for marathons and hire them and work with them. It’s that simple because it will accelerate the process.

Scott Barlow: That is interesting. You’ve mentioned mindset, just to kick it off I’m curious what you feel has to take place to transfer or change that mindset? If you asked me 8 years ago, thinking about hiring a running coach or coaches for anything - business coaches, marriage coaches, or sought out mentors I would not have done that. I’m curious about which steps people have to go through. It never seems to be just a flip the switch - I get it and start to hire people.

Regan Hillyer: You can do what I do and go through trial and error and frustration figuring it out yourself only to realize there is a faster way. One of the things that I recommend if you are unsure if it will work, is go and study successful people. Look at not just what they are doing now but how did they get there. Who surrounds them? Who has been beside them to accelerate them to where they are? No one successful is self-made. Everyone is an accumulation of information, strategies, and people they’ve had intentionally beside them.

Scott Barlow: Give me an example of where you’ve done that early on? Maybe not now with your current business because I think it’s easier for people who have already been through that transition and are on the other side of the mindset to be able to articulate what is happening now, but as you were changing and studying the successful people where did it happen?

Regan Hillyer: One of the first mentors I worked with was someone from Australia. I was in New Zealand and it was a big deal to travel to Australia. I immersed myself around this one person who is a self-made multi-millionaire. If I wanted results like that I needed to be closer to that person. I showed up at the events and got to know him and his team better. One thing I did was made a commitment to get closer to them and understand his mindset and how he created this. It was half a million dollars to hire him for mentoring and I did not have access to that. I got creative, to see how I could get closer. He had an education seminar company. I emailed them and offered to work for them for free for a month. I’d never had a job in my life. I’d always done my own thing. I had to park my ego and swallow my pride and work for someone and get in their environment and get to know their team better. At first they said there were no positions. I said I’d work for free just let me through the door. They put me in a sales role. I said if I’m good at the end of the month you can keep me and pay me. I was with them for about 8 months and learned so much. I learned how a successful education company runs. It was getting closer to the mentor and getting invited socially and going on lunch breaks. It was environment. It didn’t cost me anything for coaching or mentoring. I was creative and committed.

Scott Barlow: The cost was time. There are a couple things I love. First, the intentionality that you wanted to do it. And second saying it’s not possible to drop a half million so how can I do it? That’s the line of questioning that can be effective.

Let me ask, it seems like it’s a big deal when you confuse an Australian with a New Zealander? Is that a thing?

Regan Hillyer: It’s more of a big deal for a New Zealander.

Scott Barlow: I’m with my family putting together a trip in December of next year. Selfish question but where should I go in New Zealand? What are one or two things I have to see?

Regan Hillyer: Depends what you are after. It has everything: Surf, hiking, incredible beaches, mountains, and the jungle. One of the top places I would go is Queenstown. It is amazing and world class with scenery. Everyone is in love with it.

Scott Barlow: I’m putting it in Evernote.We are trying to do a month to six week trip each year toward the end of the year. This is where I think we are heading next: Australia and New Zealand. Total dovetail, now less selfish questions.

If someone is thinking about this in terms of pursuing a business for themselves for the first time, and they are trying to grasp, “what is success for me?” What advice would you give them? Reach a few years back.

Regan Hillyer: I think one of the biggest things to get clear on is your vision and where you are heading. There are no right or wrong answers. What are you looking to create and what life do you want? I love to journal. You can journal, visualize, or meditate. I like to ask if I was to create a big picture vision/reality/a big life for the future and remove any questioning on how to do it, whether it’s too big, etc. If I park all of that, what would I actually ask for or want? What do I want to create? In every area of your life. So many people don’t actually get what they want in life because they are too scared to stand up and ask for it and declare it. That is one of the key things: get really clear on where you want to go.

Scott Barlow: Aside form journaling are there other ways to do it?

Regan Hillyer: You can journal. A lot of people like to visualize. A lot of clients don’t like writing. They are amazing at closing their eyes and getting creative visualizing it. If you would rather talk about it you can have a conversation about it with someone and record it. Grab your iPhone and hit voice memo and record in your phone. Talk as though it is done. Start with, I’m excited it’s such and such year and this is what is going on. Just record it so you can hear it back

Scott Barlow: There are a couple ways to go about this. I am curious where this has been really helpful for you? I’m a huge fan of visualizing and it’s been helpful in my life. Where has it been helpful to you?

Regan Hillyer: It’s been a part of me the whole way. It’s one of the first things I started doing and giving myself permission to dream and to ask for what I actually wanted. I made my first million when I was 24 years old but I wrote that down five years before that. If I wasn’t doing that it wouldn’t have happened. It’s been with me every step of the way in every area of my life. I still write out my big picture reality and vision daily and write what I’m excited about now. It’s a fundamental.

Scott Barlow: How do you do that on a daily basis? My routines have changed over the years and I’ve been thinking about this and what my every morning looks like. For you, what does that look like now?

Regan Hillyer: It varies depending on the time you have available. In an ideal day, if I have an hour to dedicate, that is bliss. I start out asking myself just what I shared. If I’m creating a big picture reality what would be going on? I write it out as though it is done. Not in the future, but write like I am so happy that I have done this or that. My mindset is clicking with it already happening.

The next step is asking myself who I need to become to manifest that. I believe you can’t manifest it unless you are that version. People think I can’t wait to make millions, but you have to be the millionaire first and the money will show up. Ask what am I about? What am I focusing on? What do I tolerate and not? How do I walk?

The third thing is what resistance and fear is going on right now? What blocks do I have? Bring awareness to that. Write it down.

Step four is digging into what you need to believe for it to manifest right now. If your belief system isn’t in alignment with what you want to create you will take a lot of action but not manifest it. I wrote out powerful beliefs: I believe I am a powerful entrepreneur. I believe that I manifest everything I desire with ease and grace and I write them daily.

The last step which is critical is I ask myself if this were done and there was no question what would the higher version of me be doing right now for this to happen faster. I write action items. I’d call this person, go to this interview, pitch to this podcast, etc. You start getting your action you need to take in life and business. When you act on those items it means it is intentional and aligned with creating your vision you aren’t just busy every day.

Scott Barlow: I love that, particularly the beliefs question. That is not something I ask myself on a regular basis and I love that. I think that HTYC-ers will love that. I am curious, based on the way you run your business do you attract a lot of people that are really interested in the lifestyle business concept?

Regan Hillyer: Yes. I think everyone pretty much is driven by having an amazing lifestyle. They see me jumping all over the world. Even in the education business we have a team of over 30 people working from laptops and doing it the amazing lifestyle way. I’m a beacon of light to show it is possible and you can do it on your terms easily. A lot of people focus on this.

Scott Barlow: I’m curious because there are many connotations, what do people not realize when they are enamored with the thought of being able to travel? For our business we can do that and I love being able to have the freedom to do that but I’m curious what are people not thinking about?

Regan Hillyer: That’s a great question.

Scott Barlow: When they are falling in love with the outward piece.

Regan Hillyer: There are a few things. First, if you are looking to create the lifestyle you have to decide to go with it. For example, when I first went location free or digital nomad, I didn’t first create and make it work and then went location free. I went location free first and put myself in a position where I was forced to figure it out and make it work or I’d have to go back.

First decide. One of the key things once you are in it and living it, that people aren’t aware of but have to figure out, is that it is important to create boundaries. It is easy when you are working for home or traveling and working to blur it all in to one. It’s not necessarily bad but it can be challenging. I’ve found a lot of freedom going about my day responding to emails and client calls and realized I could do it from bed. I literally went into this place where I thought I should stay in bed all day and do it. But why was I feeling drained and can’t relax? Because I was still in work mode. It seems so obvious and simple but even putting clear boundaries on places where I relax and work makes a difference. Whether it’s in other places or in your own home. It’s important or you blur it and it can backfire.

Scott Barlow: I can vouch for that. It hasn’t bene as long for me since I’ve made the jump but as we’ve been traveling - and I have little kids, three that are following along - it’s incredibly difficult to work in the same place whether it’s Airbnb or a hotel. So I’ve had to, on a suggestion from a friend, go get a working space so I can differentiate.

Regan Hillyer: Exactly. I do that too. Even when I’m in Los Angeles I have a place that is a bit of a base for me. Some nights if I want to write a lot I will leave and go to a beautiful bar in Hollywood and I’ll play into that vibe with my laptop. Then I can go home and relax. I think it’s important to have the different environments.

Scott Barlow: I haven’t figured out how to be as productive when I’m not in a home base. Another selfish question? I’ve been struggling to figure that one out and routine. What would you advise? What has worked for you to get over that?

Regan Hillyer: I think there are a lot of different things. I would make sure that first any action you take is aligned and intentional. To be honest I have a lot going on and multiple business and I travel a lot. I live an amazing lifestyle with fun and down time. I do what I want, but it doesn’t mean I’m not working hard. I’m working intentionally. That comes from the daily mindset practice. Really taking the last step and saying what would the version of me be doing right now to move forward? It may only be three things to do that day but they are more powerful than doing 50 things you don’t really need to do. It’s being really intentional and coming from the space making sure you are committed and getting it done. Daily non-negotiables. At one o’clock in the morning I may know I haven’t done two of them and I will do them. I’m very disciplined.

Scott Barlow: Love it and appreciate it. For everybody else that wants to find out more about you or your business or anything else where can they go and do that? How can they get more Regan?

Regan Hillyer: If you go to reganhillyer.com you will see a lot there and you can subscribe to my email list. I send out a lot amazing content on a daily basis. I’m active on all social media platforms. Anywhere you love to hang out it is all under Regan Hillyer. Check out the content and connect and let me know you came from this podcast.

Scott Barlow: Thank you for taking the time. This has been good, selfishly good.

Regan Hillyer: It’s awesome. You are so welcome.