216. This One Thing Will Help You Get More Done – Interview with Jen Du Plessis

Susan Sly 00:00
Well, Hey everyone, what's up? I hope you're having an amazing day. Did you know we're in 121 countries now? My producer just told me that, I had no idea. Anyway, have a question for you. In your business in your career, do you ever feel that it owns you, as opposed to you owning it? Well, my guest today is a world class, badass expert in helping us claim our sanity, especially in life and business. Check it out. She's been on Good Morning America, Sirius XM radio, Voice America, Mortgage News Network. She's been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, oh my gosh. And on top of that, she's shared the stage with Les Brown, Tony Robbins, Darren Hardy, I mean, so many incredible speaking icons. And she's known as America's lifestyle business master and she is dedicated to helping sales professionals who are overwhelmed in their daily routines. Lean in. Well, okay, if you're on the treadmill, don't lean in, you might fall over. Get this. We're all in sales. You might think well, I'm a teacher, I'm not in sales. Yes, you are. You're selling those students every day on why they should listen to you. You might be thinking, well, I am a stay at home mom and I don't even have a business yet. I'm not in sales. I'm, sweetheart. Yes, you're in sales. We're all selling something. So I want you all to listen, because I'm so excited to take notes from my guest today. Jen Du Plessis. So Jen, thanks for being here.

Jen Du Plessis 01:29
Oh my gosh, thank you so much for having me. Susan, I am so excited to be here. And I we were laughing in the greenroom, right, that we got the memo to wear lavender today.

Susan Sly 01:39
Which is hilarious.

Jen Du Plessis 01:41
Because I normally don't wear this color every day. It's it's just fun. But you know, it's a sign. It's divine intervention. We're gonna have a blast on this episode. And I'm delighted to be here. So thank you.

Susan Sly 01:52
Well, it's so funny because I wasn't gonna wear this shirt today. And it was just like at that last minute.

Susan Sly 01:58
I was

Susan Sly 01:59
like, I want to feel like a badass today. So I'm gonna wear this.

Jen Du Plessis 02:02
Yeah, it looks beautiful.

Susan Sly 02:04
Thank you. So you got two podcasts, your best selling author? You're an entrepreneur, for people who don't know, you. My first question right out of the gate is tell us about all of the things that you were overseeing? And then the second part of that question is, how do you manage to do it looking amazing. Obviously, you've got this healthy glow about you, you're a mom, you're traveling, like so just give us like a little bit of a voyeuristic look into your life.

Jen Du Plessis 02:38
Well, thank you. First, I want to preface by saying that, you know, yes, I'm very busy. I think a lot of us are really busy right now. But it's all about creating habits. And so that's what's allowed me to do as much as I've been able to do and that I continue to do right now. Because I created habits. So you have to start somewhere. So I don't want anyone to think and go oh my gosh, I can't be like, Jen. It's not that and I'm not trying to glorify buisiness. Believe me, I'm not. But yeah, no, I have two podcasts. You know, one of them is called Mortgage Lending Mastery. And it's the longest running in that space. In fact, I've been doing that podcast for a little over six and a half years. So I am one of the veterans in podcasting. And then I started success to Significance: Life After Breaking Through Glass Ceilings last year, pegged to start in April of last year, ended up starting in May because of COVID. But goodness, I'm so thankful that it happened because so many of us are in this quandrum of, now what? Now, what am I going to do? You know, should I go back to work? Should I not go to work? Should I open my own business? Should I expand? Should I contract? So everyone's doing that. Yes. And then I'm in the midst of writing three books right now. We are writing an acronym book where we have 30 authors that are bringing in their acronym and their story behind it. And I'm writing another book called Tell Me I Can't because my whole life has been about tell me I can't and I'm going to show you how I did. And I have a TV show coming up streaming through JT three TV called Tell Me I Can't and I'm so excited because pretty much everybody's been told they can't even if they're told by themselves, right? That they can't. So it's a great opportunity. So we're going in the studio next week. And that's exciting. And so I coach, I speak, I'm an author. I'm a podcaster. I'm also a real estate investor. And I have airbnbs as well. And I'm a glama.

Susan Sly 04:43
So what do your grandchildren call you?

Jen Du Plessis 04:46
Dama. Dama, yeah, you know, we're, I'm German. I'm 100% German, I don't like oma, M right? And so I said, well call me glama. And my son said no, we're not gonna do that. So I said, Fine, just call me grandma. And whatever comes out o,f Molly is my eldest, whatever comes out of Molly's mouth will be what I'm called. And she called me dama. She couldn't say grandma. So dama was it. And it turns out it's Spanish for pretty lady Princess, so I got my glama, anyway.

Susan Sly 05:21
I love that. And this is redefining the listeners know, so my kids go from 11 to 26. My 26 year old has a little one, Honor. And I'm like, we can define it however we want. So girl, you look good. What's your acronym? So you're writing a book on acronyms, what's yours?

Jen Du Plessis 05:40
Spark. Yeah, mine is spark. My business, one of my businesses is called Kinetic Spark Consulting. And, you know, it's my personality. I'm just kind of out there with sparking. You know, my original, the first book I put out, launched, How To Take Your Business To New Heights is also an acronym, but I didn't use it in the book. So, but I didn't want to do it again. So spark is me. I'm kind of sparky and sparkly. And that's kind of how I roll. I mean, hang on, because I go fast. That's, that's what it is. I'm just putting a spark in everybody's lives.

Susan Sly 06:13
You've got me thinking about what mine would be. But that's for a different topic. So let me ask you a good, you know, so many of the guests that I've had on the show pivoted somehow because of COVID. And they came out stronger, right? Because this is not a show for victims. This is a show for champions. How did COVID change your business, if at all. And if it did, how did you pivot?

Jen Du Plessis 06:37
Yeah. Oh, it totally did. It totally did. Um, you know, I was spending, well, I retired from lending. It'll be three years in May. Three years coming up. And, you know, so I spent the last two years I would say, you know, if you've talked to me last year, you would say, I would, all I would say is I'm on the road two to three weeks out of every month, right? And I'm on stages, and I'm doing client acquisition, and I'm getting my word out. And I'm really springboarding on my credibility and my experience and my sort of celebrity in the mortgage space to really bring in a lot of business, but everything else was kind of pushed aside. You know, I'll do that later. I would do random acts of social media with a flight delay and go, Oh, maybe I should do a video. I think I will. And so when COVID started, I thought, Oh my gosh, I've been caught with my you know what's down, and I better do something about it. So I decided that we were all going to be locked down for a while. I did the 12 week year. So in 12 weeks, I accelerated my business one year. And put in all of the foundational pieces that I had been pushing aside. And I knew I needed to do because I coach people on this, right? I knew I needed to do but I was pushing it aside. And I did that again the first quarter of this year, and actually blew away my entire year's goal in three months. But I'm tired. So I'm relaxing right now and just, well I'm not really relaxing, but I'm not doing the 12 week year right now, so.

Susan Sly 08:14
Well, that front end loading and I think I love that you brought that up because one of the things I've always said, and when I wrote the book Organiz Your Life in 2015, it was essentially one of the premises was front end loader week, which I always do. Because as a mom, you know, living life everything by Thursday, yeah, I am freakin tired. But I like to bust it out Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. And people go, how do you get so much done?

Susan Sly 08:40
Well, you know,

Susan Sly 08:41
I leverage, I have a bunch of assistance. Yeah, I do all these things, but I just pack it in in the front. I love that. Putting a whole year in 12 weeks and feeling good about that. That's huge. You were in the top 1% of mortgage professionals. I mean, like, I need everyone to really think about this. And you know, and shout out to you. One of my dear, dear friends is Glenn Stearns and his wife Mindy, they just started a new lending company Kind Lending, amazing people. And it's not an easy business. No matter what, because ultimately, I don't care what someone's selling, whether it is a mortgage, or whether you know, in my case, I'm selling $50 million dollar artificial intelligence, five year contracts or whatever it is.

Susan Sly 09:33
Right. So

Susan Sly 09:34
almost everyone listening and watching has some kind of a business. It's either a side hustle, it's a main hustle. What, in your opinion, makes someone exceptional in sales?

Jen Du Plessis 09:48
Yeah, thank you. It's a great question. I want to also clarify something. I was actually in the top 200 loan officers. Wow. 1% is good because at the time there were about 785,000. So that would have been that I was in the top 75,000 at 1%. But I was actually in the top 200. And as a woman in a man's, male dominated industry, which is now changing, thank goodness. But that, you know, that's a pretty good, that's a pretty good feat. But you know, there's something I always say is, stop talking, take action, get results. So many people are talkers. They're talkers, and there's just such a lack of action. And it's funny, because I was just coaching, I coach a whole mortgage company, their entire staff, their entire management stuff. And even they don't do things. You know, I say, how many of you finished what we talked about last or two weeks ago? Nobody, nobody out of 70. Nobody does anything. So you know, it is about getting, you know, stop talking, take action, get results. And I think that that's one of the biggest things is that you have to, that's one thing. Number two, which really is number one, but we were talking about action, for me is clarity. I believe that a life of values adds value everywhere in your life. And if you can figure out what your values are, you can phone a friend, you can phone your value for every decision you make, your decisions are better, they're faster, they're more concise, because you're clear about what you want in your life. So that clarity is so important, rather than just the meandering around of capturing shiny objects and trying to find the magic pill, because it's not sexy. It's a lot of work. And those that have that tenacity to do that and the resilience to continue to go forward, regardless, are the ones who are the most successful. And that's why, you know, my book, and the show is called Tell Me I Can't, because there's nothing that will get in my way. Everything's possible.

Susan Sly11:58
And I love what you said, you know about that clarity. So many people lack clarity. They don't communicate. In one of my roles, I work with all men. I have, all my staff are men. All the co founders are men, Jen. And I'm like, would you all communicate? Let everyone know, you saw the slack message like oh, my gosh, and with clarity and certainty, there can be no overwhelm. But I had Dave Horsager on the show, and he is the global expert on trust. And, and one of the things he was saying, you know, without clarity, you lose trust, without trust, you lose deals.

Jen Du Plessis 12:39
Yeah. It's funny you say that, because, you know, I use the same sort of adage of, you know, clarity, you know, helps you with you your message, you know, it helps people recognize you, and it offers opportunities to meet people. And when you meet people, you have relationships, and when you have relationships, you make money. Therefore, clarity equals more success and more money. Same kind of thing. Yeah, I think it's, you know, it's a difference between being a brown paper bag and a Tiffany box. So many people are brown paper bags, are just the same thing. And you when you open up a brown paper bag, I don't know what's going to be in there. Right? Because it's not clear. Could it be good? Could it be bad? Is it going to be one thing and the other, but boy, when I receive a Tiffany box, I know exactly what to expect. And what's great about the Tiffany boxes that we all know, when we walk into Tiffany's, it's going to cost more. And that's okay, because it's the experience we're looking for. And without that clarity, you can't provide that experience, which creates a revolving door of clients. And so it's all about client attraction. Rather than chasing.

Susan Sly 13:46
I love that. And your, one of your core messages really comes down to people who are living a life, going through the motions, but their career and their business is essentially owning them. You know, it's one thing to get tired, because we've produced. We put 12 weeks, you know, we've accomplished as much in a year as we can, you know, in 12 weeks, but it's another thing because we're tired because we're not getting ahead. We're just going through the motions. And let's talk about that. You know, there are a lot of people watching and listening. That's the position they're in. I read a statistic from the SBA, that of all businesses, 29% make less than 25,000 a year. Yeah. 7% gets over a million,in my humble opinion, it starts with you know, getting your head on straight. Let me ask you this, someone who's watching, listening, they're overwhelmed. They're like, Jen, yes, my business is owning me. I'm exhausted. I'm ready to lose my mind. I'm ready to go back into the corporate world. What advice would you give them?

Jen Du Plessis 14:52
Yeah, so slow down so you can speed up. First thing is turn it all off, because most of what you're doing is most likely activities for the sake of activities, and you're eating soup with a fork. Right? Busy, busy, busy, busy, I should do this activity because someone said I should do this activity, I should do that activity, I should Oh, I should do that one too. And I should, oh, I need this. And, you know, you're eating soup with the fork. And when you get home at night, you're not fulfilled. You're not full. You're just exhausted. Right? So slowing down. And being that you know, there's a Bible verse to this too, which is be silent and no. And we have to slow it down to say, Okay, what really is important? And so there's three things that I just want to say about this. And that is, I believe that when you work with purpose, you can play with passion. You have to have intent, intention is everything. Knowing that when you get in, you're going to get in, get it done, know what you need to do. And then it's purposeful, so that you can go and have fun with your family. So you can go get a massage, you can go on a mini vacation. Every day could be a vacation. We all know what it's like when you're ready to go on a vacation, right? Everything gets done because you have a timeline. So what if you created that timeline every single day? That four o'clock I go to dance, because I'm a competitive ballroom Latin and swing dancer. So four o'clock, I'm out. I'm going dancing, that's my timeline. And it's a Parkinson's Law, right? Everything will get done in the time that you allot it. So you don't have that clarity and that purpos, that direction, and that intention, then everything will get done whenever it gets done. And this is why it stretches out. And people don't get to their goals. So that's number one. Number two is live your legacy while you're building it. Don't wait. To be as good to your business or to yourself as you are to your business. You're so good with your business. Now, be that with yourself or for yourself or for your family. be just as good. Live your legacy today. Enjoy life today. And it's not balanced. It is get in, do what you need to do to move the needle on your business. Get out and be present and enjoy your life.

Susan Sly17:19
I love it. And competitive. You know, in ballroom and Latin. I mean, oh my gosh. That's incredible. How long have you been doing that?

Jen Du Plessis 17:31
Yeah, I've been doing that about eight years now. And now here's what's funny. This is the girl side because I'm very girly. But this is the girl side of me. The other spectrum is that I'm a competitive marks woman.

Jen Du Plessis 17:46
Right? I'm doing a little bit about you know, and they don't have it same time.

Susan Sly 17:55
I think that would be like a, you know, an Angelina Jolie style movie if you were doing it both at the same time.

Jen Du Plessis 18:02
Dancing and moving around? Yeah. Yeah. It always reminds me of Batman. When when, you know, Nicholson, Jack Nicholson did that he was kind of jumping around. And then he was shooting and whatever. Yeah, I mean, I do both but look, what's important to me is living my life is more important to me. It's like, it's like a wheel on a car, right? The steel of the wheel is strong. And then the tire part. The rubber gets all the nails and the pavement and the wearing down and everything. And that's how I look at what happens with people is that they focus so hard on their business. And then their whole life starts crumbling around them. So what if we inverted it? What if the steel was your life? What do you want first? And then let's build a beautiful business around it. And one that you can multiply your results in record time because you're very focused and intentional about what you want to accomplish.

Susan Sly 19:00
About building your legacy, now, building your legacy while you're living it, right? And it's so fun. I have to think, they keep getting older and their ages change. So are 24 year olds. Yeah.

Jen Du Plessis 19:16
I don't even, my kids, I don't even know how, they're in their 30s.

Susan Sly 19:20
I just like Yeah, yeah. So our 24 year old, she's now a significant part of the digital agency that I own. And it's so fun. Because during COVID she graduated, and then she moved home. And so in the mornings over coffee, you know, we're talking about what are the ideas. And last night, she came in the door and she's like, I love our clients. And she said, Did you know that this one is doing this and this one is doing this? And it was just, it's so beautiful to see, right? And to be able to go, I get that. So when you say that, I resonate with that so strongly. And for the person who doesn't, it's a choice. It's just a choice and you start now. What do you want to say to the person? Because we have a huge range of, we have 12 year olds. And we have nine year olds who watch and listen. What do you say specifically to the person who's like, I'm too old to get started?

Jen Du Plessis 20:17
Oh, my gosh, yeah. Well, I hope you're not asking me because I'm old now.

Susan Sly 20:21
No, no, no. No. Because you're not.

Susan Sly 20:25
Old is just in your mind.

Jen Du Plessis 20:26
Of course it is. Yeah, of course it is. Yeah. Yeah. You know, I mean, I think that we're, we're all going to live much, much longer than we ever thought, you know. We are in a tsunami of technology change. We're in a tsunami of conscientiousness of culture change, right? There are so many things that are changing right now. And what I want to say to that person is it's not over until the fat lady sings, right? It is time to get, ride the wave, ride the wave. Because if you think that technology is just a shot in the pan, and it's gonna go, Wait, no, it's not. We're going to experience in the next five years more growth than we've experienced in the last 20, which was compared to what we had experienced in the last 200. Right? So we have to hang on to our hats because it's coming. So you know, lean in, don't lean back, there's so much opportunity. And furthermore in that, we now have five generations in the workforce right now. Because we have the ability to do this virtually. For example, I'll take for example, my dear friend, Brian Smith, who's the founder of Ugg boots. He's in his 70s. Look at Les Brown, he's in his late 70s. That is a generation that we all think you know. shouldn't be in the office. But look what they're doing right now. They're out there sharing their wisdom to millennials and Gen Z's. And now our new alpha generation, you know, the brand new generation that we have the alpha generation. And the reason they're called the alpha is because of the first generation that had all of this technology from the womb. Right? So now is the time to learn to work with all of the different generations together. That's what leadership is about is be the glue, and we need people on all spectrums right now. Everybody. In order for us to move forward.

Susan Sly 20:52
Okay, Lady Gaga, that was your mic drop. That was beautiful. And as you were speaking, Harvey Mackay is one of my dear friends, I've had the privilege to to know Harvey for almost 15 years. And he's 88. And he just came out with a new book on Getting A Job As A Job. So this is a fun story. So he, a couple years ago, he calls me and he's like, Susan, guess what? I said, What, Harvey? And he said, I just finished my bucket list. And I said, Wow, I said, What are you going to do now? He goes, I'm gonna start another one.

Jen Du Plessis 23:02
Another bucket list. Absolutely!

Susan Sly 23:07
I think that I love that concept of five generations, because we have so much to learn from one another. And to your point, technology is changing the landscape. By 2030 800 million jobs are going to be displaced by AI and robotics. That's why I went back to school. I'm turning 50 next year, and I'm studying at MIT in my spare time. Because this is you know, and I feel like all the time, and I'm sure you feel the same way, I'm just getting started. Like I'm like, I love hanging out with young people because I learn from them. I love hanging out with people in their 80s and 90s. I've learned from them. And I'm like, Yes, there's so much to do. It's so juicy. So maybe juicy will be mine.

Jen Du Plessis 23:49
Yeah, there you go. Yeah, it is. It is. I mean, again, it gets back to tell me I can't. Because I want people to understand that there's just so many possibilities. It doesn't matter. You know, anyone who tells you you can't, prove them wrong. Show them, show them that you can. It's all about the resilience of that. And I know that we all have stories like that. So you know if you're young, I mean, we're actually talking, my son has a podcast, my my daughter in law has a podcast, I have two, my daughter's about ready to start another one. We're all now entrepreneuring in that area, in addition to real estate. And I have a seven year old granddaughter who said, can I have a podcast? And I said, Absolutely you can. You can definitely have a podcast. And so we're going to explore the podcast with her and I actually have a girlfriend, a girlfriend slash colleague whose daughter started a podcast when she was eight. And she's now 13 and her podcast is running strong and there's no reason why my granddaughter can't have a podcast too.

Susan Sly24:55
Absolutely. I just interviewed Sam Crowley and Sam was saying, only 18% of podcasters podcast regularly.

Jen Du Plessis 25:04
I know. Drives me crazy, right?

Susan Sly25:07
Yeah. 82% of people haven't put out a new show in the last 90 days. Yeah. And so, you know, consistency to your point, like, I have two pages of notes. You know, being consistent, step back, take a breath, live your life and you know, then have your business on the outside, like, you know, have your business not be that main part of you,Yeah.

Jen Du Plessis 25:31
Well, you know, my mom has a quote, let me tell you the quote. We flatter those we scarcely know, we pleas the fleeting guests, but we deal many a thoughtless blow to those we love the best.

Susan Sly25:44
Oh my gosh, beautiful.

Jen Du Plessis 25:45
When the phone rings, it's more important than your daughter who has a recital, because we go, there'll be another recital. Right? So really focusing on what is important, but you don't even know that until you step back and slow down and be quiet, right? Be silent so that you know what is important. And creating boundaries and putting up walls around that to protect it. You know, if your family's important then why are you working till 11 o'clock at night while they're at home creating memories without you?

Susan Sly 26:23
You'll never get that time back. Never.

Susan Sly 26:25
Never. Well, Jen, thank

Susan Sly 26:28
you so much for being here.

Jen Du Plessis 26:30
Thank you.

Susan Sly 26:31
I want everyone to firstly go subscribe to Jen's shows. That's one. Number two, get ready because she's launching three bucks all at one time and her show Tell Me I Can't just coming up. And Jen What is the you know, before, when we were hanging out just before the show you had given your email. What's the best way for people to connect with you?

Jen Du Plessis 26:54
Yeah, I mean, I do think my email's the best way. jen@jendeplussis.com and you can go to my website jendeplussis.com. You can find me on you know, all over the place and we were all, everybody's all over the place. I'm nothing special. I'm just kind of everywhere too. But, you know, and I will respond to you because I'm on a mission you know, this is now my life's purpose is, to help people get their lives back and still have a killer business or businesses.

Susan Sly 27:22
In your case, it works and shows and you know.

Jen Du Plessis 27:25
Right, anything you want. Anything's possible. Anything's possible.

Susan Sly 27:30
I feel like we'll be chatting in third year so you'll be like I just finished my you know, 50th bucket list and I'm starting another one and I love it. All right. Well, Jen, thank you so much for being here. And Hey everyone, drop a comment. If you're on YouTube. If you're on Spotify or iTunes just give us a five star review. Give Jean and I a shout out on social. Best place for me is @susasnly on Instagram. And I will comment back to you. It's actually really me, not one of my staff. So with that, God bless go rock your day and this has been another episode of the Susan Sly project.