External Environment, Internal Reality: Raise Your Standards

Please enjoy this transcript of the Crown Yourself Podcast, with your host, transformational story coach, Kimberly Spencer (@Kimberly.Spencer)

What if your next business breakthrough doesn’t require a bigger team, more leads, or a more expensive strategy? What if it starts with moving a plant?

In this solo episode of Crown Yourself®, Kimberly Spencer shares how upgrading her podcast studio sparked a deeper conversation about personal standards, subconscious beliefs, and the environments we accept. A simple lighting change becomes an invitation to ask: Does the space around you reflect the leader you’re becoming—or the circumstances you’ve learned to tolerate?

Through stories of rearranging her office, helping her mother create an art studio for her third career at 77, and coaching seven-figure entrepreneurs, Kimberly explores the difference between accumulating more and making better use of what’s already available. One client reexamines team responsibilities and performance expectations. Another considers replacing constant lead chasing with fewer, deeper business conversations.

This is conscious business growth brought into everyday life: examining your assumptions, choosing your standards, and creating systems and spaces that support your next chapter. Kimberly also shares the spiritual principle that guides her approach to conscious manifestation, connecting inner awareness with the choices you make outside yourself.

You’ll leave with practical questions for assessing your workspace, team, and business development—and permission to make meaningful changes without turning every upgrade into an expensive project.

Queen, your next level may be closer than you think. Look around. What are you ready to stop tolerating, and what could you transform with the resources already in your hands?

In this episode of Crown Yourself®, you’ll learn how to:

• Raise your standards without spending more by making small, intentional changes that support the leader you’re becoming.
• Recognize what you’ve been tolerating in your workspace, daily routines, and business—and decide what needs to change.
• Question the belief that growth always requires “more” people, leads, space, or resources.
• Improve your existing team’s effectiveness through clearer responsibilities, project ownership, and performance expectations.
• Explore depth over volume in business development by prioritizing meaningful conversations over constant lead chasing.
• Bring conscious manifestation into everyday choices by aligning your environment and actions with what you want to create.

Your next breakthrough could begin with a better system, a higher standard—or simply moving a plant. 👑

*Transcripts may contain typos. We do our best to catch any human or robot errors prior to release. And we thank you in advance for your understanding. Enjoy!

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, or your favorite podcast platform. And, you can always watch the episode on YouTube here.

Before we dive in, boundaries are everything to protecting your energy and your empire, so please note some legal boundaries before we dive into the full episode transcript:

Crown Yourself LLC and Kimberly Spencer own the copyright in and to all content in and transcripts of the Crown Yourself podcast, with all rights reserved, as well as outright publicity.

WHAT YOU’RE WELCOME TO DO: You are welcome to share the below transcript (up to 500 words but not more) in media articles (e.g., Forbes, The New York Times, CNBC The Guardian), on your personal website, in a non-commercial article or blog post (e.g., Medium), and/or on a personal social media account for non-commercial purposes, provided that you include attribution to the “Crown Yourself Podcast” and link back to crownyoutself.com/podcast URL

For the sake of clarity, media outlets with advertising models are permitted to use excerpts from the transcript per the above release.

WHAT IS NOT ALLOWED: No one is authorized to copy any portion of the podcast content or use Kimberly Spencer’s name, image or likeness for any commercial purpose or use, including without limitation inclusion in any books, e-books, book summaries or synopses, or on a commercial website or social media site (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) that offers or promotes your or another’s products or services, except without explicit consent in writing, from Crown Yourself LLC. For the sake of clarity, media outlets are permitted to use photos of Kimberly Spencer from the Media Room at crownyourself.com/media or (obviously) licensed photos of Kimberly Spencer from Getty Images, etc.

We good? Great. Let's get to the goods.

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Raise Your Standards to Align Your Environment and Grow Your Business

Crown Yourself Episode 322 with Kimberly Spencer

Opening Recording Takes

[00:01]

Kimberly Spencer (host): Your external environment always reflects your what's going on inside. Hello, I'm Kimberly Spencer. I am a subconscious

[00:11]

Kimberly Spencer (host): The world's leading, like do we say?

[00:16]

Kimberly Spencer (host): Let's see.

Raise Your Standards Through Conscious Choices

[00:32]

Kimberly Spencer (host): Your external reality will always mirror what you have going on inside. Hello, I'm Kimberley Spencer, subconscious success strategist for visionary leaders who are looking to create greater income, impact, and visibility that actually converts. And I am here in my upgraded podcast studio. my gosh. So hubby just installed the lights. So excited. we did some upgrades in the background, and I was like, This is because we are taking this podcast to the next level.

But I thought what an epic testimonial embodiment, demonstration of what choosing to up level your internal standards can look like, even just in a visual simple thing like a podcast background. Because when you I I live by because I live by one simple, very simple principle. And it was something that my mentor taught to me years ago. It's that which is conscious manifests happily, and that which is unconscious manifests unhappily, which allows you to take incredible personal ownership for the co-creation of your manifestations, of that which you want to create in life.

And I have created amazing things in life. I have amazing clients, amazing business, amazing kids, amazing home, like amazing things. It didn't start that way. It started when I was a Blamey, victim-y, sad, bulimic, who just genuinely wanted to help people, but really wanted to help herself feel better. And I got started on this journey through my first business, which was teaching Pilates, which was nearly 20 years ago.

Oh my gosh! And to now being one of the top coaches and subconscious success strategy and specializing in visibility that actually converts. I wrote the book on it, "Make Every Podcast Want You". I even figured out because I'm not like super the techiest of techie persons, even though I am the default in our households, I'm the most techie of my family, which is not saying much.

I've even figured out how to make it so that this is not backwards, like in title, so that you can actually read what the title is. Same with this. Go figure. But that

Stop Accepting the Standards You Have Outgrown

[02:50]

Kimberly Spencer (host): that's the power of learning, of exploring, of choosing to look at standards that you have tolerated and no longer accepting them as the current modus operandi. And I've been having a lot of conversations with clients over the past week, specifically around what standards are they currently tolerating? One of my favorite questions is. in our Queen Bee series of coaching with my one-on-one clients, is in session six, I always ask a very provocative question that is to the tune of "Why are you not making more money?" I say it a little bit more effervaciously, emphatically, maybe add a few like expletives in there, depending upon the client.

But I really look at like what is all the reasons why? And for the most part, people give me All the reasons of their childhood trauma, their scarcity mindset, their upbringing, the da-da-da-da. And it's a litany of things. And I'm like, all of those are within your control. Do you want to keep accepting that as the receipt for your current circumstances? So you're either accepting, "Oh, that's my reality, this is why I'm not doing it," versus "I'm gonna consciously choose to upgrade my standards." And so our podcast studio got an upgraded standard.

Align Your Environment With Who You Want to Become

Kimberly Spencer (host): My jewelry got an upgraded standard. No, this is not real. Not that I would have any shame around it being real. I'm I'm really okay with it if it was real, but this is really fun. And being able to elevate the standards for who you want to be and how you want to show up in this world. That's That's the core. It's It's not about doing something that you should be doing, or it's like, "Oh my podcast studio should look like this or a performative thing".

It's like, "No, I want to look and see and act and feel and be in an environment that is reflective of that which is going on inside". And your environment, like just take a look around. Is it accurately reflecting who you want to become and where you want to where you want to go? Do you have piles all over the place? Do you have, do you have clutter?

I grew up in a home with a lot of clutter. my gosh. When we sold my childhood home and moved my mom with us to Texas.

Raise Your Standards With Small Affordable Changes

[05:11]

Kimberly Spencer (host): We had so much furniture that we gave away to Habitat for Humanity. Because literally, my childhood home was wall-to-wall furniture, like things were packed in. And that's kind of what the chaos felt like. It was like, here's all this furniture to cover up. We don't want any open spaces because then we'd actually have to look at what's actually going on. Whereas now I have a lot of spaciousness in my home.

Like my home, we we designed to have like spaciousness and beauty and things that like light me up and make me feel good and make my husband feel good and make my kids feel good and like make everyone feel like in this really collaborative, beautiful environment. And my mom in her space, she gets to have her wall-to-wall stuff because that's her. And that's that's who she chooses to be.

But look at your environment. Is it accurately reflecting who you want to become? And if it's not, how can you change it? Like this.

Choose Everyday Items That Reflect Your Standards

Kimberly Spencer (host): Not an expensive change, like 40 bucks on Amazon, like for a twinkle, pretty like a really pretty light. But like little small changes. It doesn't have to cost a lot. But look at what you can change. Like certain things, like I just got I'll show you. I just got an upgrade for my phone. And I was like, I looked at the case, I got a case that I was kind of like assigned, and I definitely needed a case because when you have three young children, it's nice to have something that actually offers protection like because they always like to pick up my phone.

So I was like, okay, I had this case. And then I just started getting like I my kids would put stickers on it. And I was like, that's fine, because it was kind of a plain, bland case. And I was like, this doesn't feel reflective and beautiful and filling my heart and my cup. And it's something that I use every single day.

So how can I make it something that how can I adapt it? I'm either accepting it, like, well, it's kind, it's like, okay. And I really started asking the question, is this something that I'm willing to tolerate? And my standard just elevated. I was like, no, I want sparkles. I want something that's reflective and I want something that has a magnetic stand.

Like that's like not as an advertisement, but like I wanted something that was pretty. I wanted something that was sparkly. I wanted something that, but also elegant.

Align Your Workspace With Your Goals

[07:31]

Kimberly Spencer (host): Not too over the top. So having that mix and that dance. Because look at the little things that you're accepting. Maybe it's as simple as like your computer case. Maybe it's as simple as like a wall that you stare at every day. Like I just recently moved one of my plants in my office over to the other side because it was like this barren, sad, boring, like open gaping space in my wall.

And I was like, I am literally looking at this wall every single day. And it has my "reign together" neon sign and has a nice couch that my dog likes to sit on and my kids like to come in and sit on. But there was a spot and I was like, I'd like something that shows like things are growing. And I had this one plant that just skyrocketed.

That literally it skyrocketed up. I don't know how, like, whether it was the watering, whether it was the light. I have no idea. It's an easy plant. And not a sponsorship, just like, It's an easy plant. I water it once a month. It fills up. I don't have to touch it. And it's very simple. And I was like, this plant just grew.

And it was covering what my my movie poster of the film that I wrote co-wrote Bro. It was covering my movie poster of the film that I co-wrote Bro, starring Danny Trejo, and that I wrote like way back in my early twenties. And back in the day. And I was like, no, I really want I'm really proud that I fulfilled a childhood dream.

I got a f a feature film that I co-wrote, produced, distributed, Lionsgate picked it up. I'm proud. I want that poster displayed and seen in my office. And the the the freaking plant grew so big it covered it. And I was like, okay, this plant has got to move. And so I just relocated it. But simple little shifts, like you don't have to necessarily go out and even buy a bunch of other things.

Simple little shifts that shift your environment to matching what you deeply desire and what you want and what you want to be seen as and how you want to show up in the world. This is not a complex topic. And if you think like, well, mindset, mindset is always, you know, I have to work up here. No, it's also externally. You will know if your mindset is aligned, if you actually like the environment that you're in, if you actually are moving, if you actually have shifts and changes in your environment.

Set Standards While Respecting Family Autonomy

[09:46]

Kimberly Spencer (host): You will know your evolution by the growth of the environment that you're in. Now, this can be upgrading your home and like actually physically moving, or it can just be looking around and saying, I'm a little done, tired, like tolerating the chaos of having mess in this area. And you set standards, maybe with your family, like my family and I, we have standards for what is going to be messy.

My kids, they can have mess in their room. I'll go in, I'll tuck them into bed. That's great, but I'm not living in their room. They get to control that environment and we have discussions around it. Like currently, there's a massive cardboard fort that is could like starting to dominate and take over the boys' bedroom. But we'll have discussions around it, around like what that looks like.

And it was really prideful, like and not prideful. It felt really good to me when my nine-year-old son Declan came into my office and he goes, "Mom, your office is like really organized." And I was like, "Yeah, because I like having systems and processes and things in place and having things be clean." And he goes, "Grandma's is very messy." And it's nice that he gets to see the juxtaposition.

Her mess works for her. That's fine. Where c Where judgment comes into play is when we say, "You should do it my way." No, we can have a discussion around like what is the best way. So like

Create a Space That Supports Creative Work

Kimberly Spencer (host): we had a discussion about a year ago when we hired professional organizers to come in and retool my mom's office so that it would actually fit and be an art studio for her because she was doing her art in the garage and it there was like a funky weird smell. And I was like, this isn't healthy for a 70-something year old woman.

And I she didn't really want to go in there because it didn't have like completely sealed, it wasn't completely sealed off. So some bugs got in, and I was like, "This is gross." Like this, "You deserve better, mom." And I And I said, "You don't have a business anymore. Like, let's redo your office. Let's make it something that feels really good and nice that you will you can do your art in." And so we brought in a TV.

Like we made sure that she could have a TV because she likes to listen to things while she while she paints. And hired professional organizers to come in and redo and restructure the entire office

Build Better Systems With the Space You Already Have

[12:07]

Kimberly Spencer (host): so that she could have an effective system that really worked for her so she could do her artwork and do launch her third career at 77 years old. And now she's gonna be featured in a magazine. But she wouldn't have been as committed to that if she was going into like the gross environment of the garage. Like that was currently where her paintings could be, because she likes big paintings and she didn't have the space in her office.

And so I said, "Well, you don't have a business. Let's redo it. Let's reevaluate the space." And she was a little unsure. We're gonna be honest. She was a little hesitant because she was like, "Kim, you're gonna come in and swoop in and change all the things." And I was like, "Yes, and but it's not gonna be me." So I put a buffer in between.

It's very valuable as a parent, as as a child, and as as a not parenting my aging parent, but like as a child who's in that sandwich generation, to not like to still let my mom have her absolute autonomy and still say, like, yes, we're gonna change it, but I'm gonna have a buffer, a third party who's gonna build some systems into place so it's not me doing it so that I'm not the bad guy.

And so by having a third party come in and do it, that changed the dynamic and it also changed her relationship to her art. She loves going upstairs now to her office, closing the door, having her time to just do that herself and be in that space. But it came with a choice of looking at the standards of what we were tolerating.

Question Whether Your Business Needs More

Kimberly Spencer (host): And so often there's a belief system, especially with entrepreneurs, where they think, this means I need more. I need, I, you know, and we It was It was very common because it came up in conversation, especially around this story around my mom's art studio. Cause she was like, "Well, what if we just built another studio and got like a she shed?" And I was like, that's like a you know, $10,000, $15,000 project for the ones that she was looking at.

And I was like, "I don't think we need to spend that much." But a lot of times with successful entrepreneurs, you think the question is more. I was just having a conversation with one of my seven-figure clients, and she was like, "I think I don't have enough team." And I said, "No, I don't think your team is being successfully executed and efficient enough for what you're doing." And we really re-evaluated her KPIs and looked at what she was actually requiring them to do and who had owned what project. And she walked away from that session feeling so supported by having a system

Grow Your Business by Using Resources More Effectively

[14:31]

Kimberly Spencer (host): that created more effectiveness in our business. Because the answer rarely is more. Like for me, it was a little more. It was like a little more, but it was like $40 more. Cause I was originally thinking, like, I wanted some lights back there. And this is a super, super surface example, but it's a very poignant example that we think the answer is more.

And really, it may be like a little more, like a little bit more, not a whole lot more. So I looked up electrical lights and I like, now we have to hire an electrician to come in and rewire the wall and have to move the bookcases and blah, blah, blah. And there were all of these things that stacked up onto the more of what I wanted to do and how I wanted to upgrade our podcast studio and my office.

And then I looked up on Amazon. I was like, hmm. I wonder if there are non-plug-in electrical lights that we could use. Turns out there are. You can drill them into the wall. And they are electrical, they're chargeable, so we just pop it off, charge the lights, and they all work. And that was a solution. So there's always a solution, but we have to get beyond the belief of I need more to do it.

Because a lot of times you don't actually need more, you're just not efficient with what you have. You're not being as resourceful with what you have. I had this conversation with another client at the seven-figure level.

Choose Deeper Business Conversations

Kimberly Spencer (host): And he was like, I, "You know, Kim, I thought I used to like need more leads, more leads, constant LinkedIn reach out, more, more, more, more, more. But really, what if we just had 10 to 15 depths, like deep conversations a month?" "How would that change your biz dev?" That was my question. And he was like, "That feels much more aligned than constantly going for more, than constantly going for width and breadth rather than depth." So often, it's less about having more.

It's more about maximizing the resources, the effectiveness of what you currently have. And that is how you can easily shift your environment to reflect what's going on internally. Cause if you think internally as your subconscious success strategy that the answer is more, sometimes that's not actually the answer. Sometimes the answer is it you believe you need more

Raise Your Standards by Maximizing What You Have

[16:48]

Kimberly Spencer (host): because you're scared to actually look at what you're actually not operationalizing, if that's a word. Like you're act you're looking at what you're not fully operationalizing, what you're fully not engaging to and stretching to the maximum effectiveness to its maximum performance capacity. And then you go for more. So look at every area in your business, whether it's your team or your leads or you’re in your physical environment of what you live in and how you're living.

And look at do you really need more? Do you really need more support or do you actually need to maximize the team that you already have? Do you actually need to maximize the resources that you already have? Maybe you just need to move a plant. If you love this episode and you're like, this gave me some food for thought. This shifted my paradigm.

I like her necklace. Then click down below, hit subscribe. And if you love this episode and you're like, I think that this podcast is a winning podcast, then definitely leave us a truthful, honest, preferably five star review. But please, the reviews really do help us go the extra mile when it comes to our work and getting it out into the world.

And spreading the width, but getting that depth. Thank you so much, and I'll see you in the next episode.

The Crown Yourself Podcast is a fast-growing self-improvement podcast, ranked in the top #200 personal-development podcasts in two countries, so far,  out of 4.5 million podcasts. Each week, you get the conscious leadership strategies you need to help you reign with courage, clarity, and confidence so that you too can make the income and impact you deserve. Imagine this podcast as your royal invitation to step into your full potential and reign in your divine purpose. To listen to any of the past episodes for free, check out this page.