An Interview with Fotis Georgiadis
Commit and follow through. No matter what business someone is in there will be challenges. The grass is not greener on the other side, and get-rich-quick schemes do not exist. Success takes work and if someone commits and follows through, they will no doubt be successful. The reason for not committing is normally due to fear and doubt. Commit and you will find a way for it to work.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Kimmie Wong. Kimmie is a Success Coach and Business Strategist for online entrepreneurs. Her focus and passion is helping women create success, wealth and impact through online business. Kimmie is the creator of The Wealth Academy. Besides coaching, she is a devoted wife and mum to a growing young family and still finds the time to work on authoring her first book. Kimmie’s upbringing in the suburbs of Sydney was not without struggles and challenges, particularly regarding money and success. These challenges gave her the incentive and drive to achieve her success. After several unfulfilling years as a corporate employee, Kimmie took her heart in her hands and launched out with her very own coaching business.
Thank you so much for doing this with us, Kimmie! Can you tell us a story about what events have drawn you to this specific career path?
I was raised by a single mum as an only child in one of the poorest suburbs in Sydney, Australia. My mum was my main influencer, she had a good heart but had negative beliefs around money and success, telling me the traditional path of going to school and getting a job was the right path. Being a child, I didn’t know any better and therefore adopted these beliefs which led me down a path of struggle.
After completing my schooling, I worked for 7 years in corporate and during that time went through multiple business failures
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I came across a Facebook ad one day for an online mentorship program that caught my attention, which I signed up for and learned a lot over the course. That was the first time I invested in myself and where I grew to appreciate and love coaching.
As fate may have it, I was made redundant while on maternity leave from my job and that was when I decided to take the plunge down a new path, going all in to coaching as my passion business.
Can you share your story of Grit and Success? First, can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey?
I must admit — the first couple of months in business were difficult and challenging. There was a lot of doubt and fear, coupled with a lot of mistakes made.
There were times when I felt like giving up and wondered if entrepreneurship was for me, after seeing slow to little results.
I didn’t have a lot of support from close family and friends either, they just didn’t understand why I was choosing, what was to them an ‘unconventional’ path.
Where did you get the drive to continue even though things were so hard?
One of the things which gave me the drive to make my coaching business work was thinking about the experiences I’ve had working for someone else in the corporate world. I’ve learned that I never want to go back to being caged to a desk, working with people I didn’t particularly enjoy, and working hard with little to show for at retirement.
But more than that, I was propelled to do work that is fulfilling and impactful. Whilst be location independent, I wanted to help and inspire people globally from all walks of life to create their own successes through an online business, and not be stuck or struggle.
Closer to home, I am driven to create a better world by being a great mother and role model for my children, who are the next generation. I do this by teaching them about wealth, success, and leadership, things I wish someone had taught me earlier in my life. I want my children to realise they are in control on their own destiny, they can work hard towards something that is fulfilling for them and creates the income that they want and not to be bound by what society says they should be doing.
So how did Grit lead to your eventual success? How did Grit turn things around?
Grit for me encompasses clarity, commitment, and confidence. I realized that my past business failures were due to my lack in one or more of these 3 areas.
Clarity meant finding my passion and knowing what I want to pursue. I love coaching and the transformation it can bring about in people’s lives. I want to be part of my client’s journeys, seeing them create something for themselves that would also serve their family and the lifestyle they wanted.
Commitment came in when I invested heavily in personal development, coaching and learning business. Every time I learned something, I implemented it. This is how I have been able to grow both personally and my business so quick. Whenever I felt stuck, I would figure things out and kept persisting until I got results.
Confidence grew with every success. I also realized that success is not a secret, it’s a system. So I looked around me at successful people and emulated them. I allowed myself to be inspired and encouraged to succeed, rather than comparing myself to them.
Grit helped me to find the clarity in what was my purpose in life, commitment to keep going despite the challenges and setbacks, and confidence which led to the success and lifestyle that I have today. I get to choose who I work with, when I work, and where I work. I’m very grateful for what I have today.
Based on your experience, can you share 5 pieces of advice about how one can develop Grit? (Please share a story or example for each)
1. Commit and follow through. No matter what business someone is in there will be challenges. The grass is not greener on the other side, and get-rich-quick schemes do not exist. Success takes work and if someone commits and follows through, they will no doubt be successful. The reason for not committing is normally due to fear and doubt. Commit and you will find a way for it to work.
2. Say no. It’s easy to feel guilty when we decline an invitation because we don’t want to hurt other people’s feelings. I used to feel this way before I started my business, but now I feel guilty saying ‘yes’ to things that are not in line with serving the outcomes I want to achieve. Do what serves you and your purpose, you can say sorry later.
3. Let go of negativity. There will be people that want to hold you back. That’s not to say they don’t care — they just might not know any better. I’ve left a friendship that spanned over 20 years recently because our paths no longer aligned and it was draining to keep up. Take a look at the people in your life and honestly assess whether it’s a healthy relationship. If not, is it worth addressing or better to let go?
4. Lead by example. As the CEO of my business, I need to practice what I preach. To lead others, I must lead myself first. In a way, I am holding myself accountable to my students and that helps me lead by example knowing they are watching and learning from what I teach them.
5. Share your own story. Growing up as an introverted shy girl, this did not come naturally to me. But being in business and an online brand, I knew I needed to connect with my ideal clients. Being vulnerable and open about my past failures and experiences has made me stronger as a person because I am getting out of my comfort shell and owning my story and mistakes. This has helped me grow into the person I am today. Sharing your story can be scary but is an essential part of personal growth. There is a direct correlation between the success you achieve and your personal growth.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped you when things were tough? Can you share a story about that?
I grew up largely on my own without any strong role models who are in the entrepreneurial space. I can’t name a particular person, but a lot of influential role models came into my life around the time I was made redundant in my last corporate role. This was when I heavily invested in coaching and personal development. So, I would say various coaches and mentors — Bob Proctor being a key influence on changing my mindset and strengthening it to where it is today.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
I try to implement service in every aspect of my life, both personally and professionally. My coaching helps online entrepreneurs strengthen their mindset and the relationship they have with themselves and money so they can attract more of it into their lives. I also help them learn good business strategies, so they know what to do and not feel stuck. That makes me feel good as I am helping others experience more abundance, inside and outside. I truly believe everyone deserves this!
I am also looking to partner with the children’s charity. When my youngest daughter was less than a year old, she had a very bad fever and had to be hospitalized for a week. While in hospital I saw a lot of sick children and as a parent that broke my heart. Helping the charity I believe will bring goodness to these children and their parents so they can have better quality care. No child deserves to suffer. I believe health is so important in our lives — even if we have the money, we won’t be able to enjoy it without good health.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
My largest project right now is finalizing and releasing my book — Not All That Shimmers Is Gold. It is a metaphorical story about the nature of change and human resilience.
My aim is to educate people about adapting to change and motivating them to take action when things are not working for them. A lot of people feel stuck and want more but don’t know how to get it while others simply don’t know what they want out of life. I hope my book inspires readers to take action because everyone deserves more and can have more. I am truly passionate about opening up people’s minds and revealing their potential.
What advice would you give to other executives or founders to help their employees to thrive?
Lead, don’t manage. It’s about allowing employees to see greatness in themselves, not watching over them and telling them what to do every millisecond — they are not babies! Learn to trust your employees. Build that relationship so they will learn to love and trust you as a leader and they will be so much more productive.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
My coaching on an individual and business level has a degree of impact, but if I was to inspire a movement, it would be to build a community of people who leave their day jobs to find and follow their passions through mindset change, which is why I am starting with my book. I am looking to expand on that to develop further programs so anyone can access support no matter where they are around the world and improve their lives.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Focus and follow through” — I learned this from my mentor who shared with me the Acres of Diamonds story by Earl Nightingale. I had multiple business failures in the past because I gave up when I didn’t see quick results or it got too ‘tough’. When I saw someone else succeeding, I jumped at the opportunity but the momentum soon fizzled and then I failed once again. It’s not about the business. No matter what business you are in, if you focus and follow through it will work for you and you can become successful. Once I committed to my business path of coaching and did what I needed to do, I saw results and success. Riches grow where you focus and follow through.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
You can visit my website at https://kimmiewong.com
or follow me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/officialkimmiewong
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.
Kimmie Wong: “To Develop Grit Commit and Follow Through” was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
