We had the good fortune of connecting with Hillary Bell and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Hillary, other than deciding to work for yourself, what was the single most important decision you made that contributed to your success?
Personal development is so important when building a business. I would say the decision to invest in my personal growth was one of the best things I could have done to contribute to my success so far. Influence plays a big role in creating a strong foundation for your reputation. Personal development also leads to great effectiveness when trying to produce great results by increasing motivation and productivity. By improving my self-awareness, self-knowledge, leadership skills, job performance, and much more I have become a better business owner in all aspects of entrepreneurship.

Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. 
I don’t think anyone would say it is always easy to be professional. I have had a mentor to help coach me along the way of my journey. There are many times when I am in the work place and I would love to act a fool and tell off an employee but how professional would that be? What would that say about my character and self discipline? Maintaining patience and an educated mind will take you far when working your way up the ladder. You have to lead with consistency. There are several exercises I have used to help me overcome challenges I have faced such as deep breathing, unplugging, interrupting my negative thought process with positive thoughts (Thinking Feeling Cycle), and much more. All learned from my mentor. I have taken extra measures to learn how to become more effective because I want to make a positive difference in the world one day. The area of my life I am in now is strictly to build a strong foundation for what is yet to arise.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I am a very adventurous person. I would have to take my bestfriend to Six Flags for a thriller. We would have to visit the Reunion Ball for the scenic views. We would also have to visit a couple of the museums.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would have to give credit to Shun Strickland. She is my mentor but also a coach, pastor, and a woman making a difference in many lives of the world today. I was at a very dark place in my life when I met her at our church, Fellowship of Champions. I started signing up for different programs she offered. One being Passion for Profits in which I started Phatbows right after taking it. Phatbows started as an exercise she gave us from that class and I ran with it. It really jumped off when I started promoting our products. Shun is always speaking some powerful words so I decided to continue my journey with her by taking her mentoring classes. She has built me to be a much stronger and wiser person. She doesn’t just teach but she also cares about the success of her clients. Behind every lesson she teaches she is going to hold to hold you fully accountable and she will check you next class if you haven’t made progress. Words couldn’t describe how much of an influence she has made in bettering my life.

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