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What if the hardest moments in your business were handing you something useful?
That is the idea at the heart of the gift mindset, and it is the focus of this episode of The Jane Anderson Show. I sat down with leadership, communication and mindset expert Renée Giarrusso, who had just released her book Gift Mindset: Unwrap the 12 Gifts to Lead and Live a Life of Purpose, Connection and Contribution.
Renée has run her own practice for around 14 years, working with leaders and teams across more than 24 industries. In this conversation she explains how she thinks about challenges as gifts, why she sees selling as sharing, and how she wrote a book while rebuilding a business through COVID. This article pulls out the lessons that matter most for experts, consultants and coaches building a practice under their personal brand.
Who Is Renée Giarrusso?
In my introduction, I describe Renée as a leadership and communication expert who has been helping leaders and teams reach their potential since 2006. Renée began her career in FMCG, where I note she won a National Make a Difference Award and was named national sales associate of the year, before building her own practice under her personal brand.
Renée's earlier book, Limitless Leadership, focuses on leading from the inside out. Gift Mindset is her newest, and she calls it "my baby in this lifetime." She told me the feedback had come from an unexpectedly wide range of readers, including teenagers, CEOs, cafe owners, start-ups and professors. For the full book details, the publisher's listing sets out the 12 gifts and the book's awards.
What Is the Gift Mindset?
Renée describes the gift mindset as a way of asking what is in an experience when things do not go to plan. In her words, gifts come from challenges as well as successes, and the work is "unwrapping them, learning the lessons, and using them."
She groups these lessons into 12 gifts, which she also thinks of as life skills or soft skills. The list started at 50. When she narrowed it down she landed on 12, which she says has always been her number. I remember Renée refusing a suggestion to stretch the list to 14.
When I asked which gift had mattered most in her own practice, Renée named two: resilience and contribution.
Resilience: Lessons From Nearly Losing the Business
Renée was candid about what COVID did to her business. Her practice was largely corporate face-to-face training, and she said the business lost 90% of its work in mid-April. She says she saved it "by a whisker," and that work is returning but is not yet where it needs to be.
She sees gratitude and optimism as the layers underneath resilience, and offers a handful of practical ways to build it.
Build a Strong Support Network
Renée is open that she is "not one to ask for help" and is usually the helper. She said it is only in the last couple of years that she has felt comfortable ringing certain people, and she has found that people love to help. When you are having a tough time, she suggests not going to someone who is struggling in the same way. Where you can, she says, surround yourself with optimists.
Know What Lights You Up, and Schedule It Early in the Week
For Renée, delivery gives her energy. She described delivering five full face-to-face days in a week and writing until 2am most nights. She still hit a wall on Saturday, but says the work itself energises her.
Her advice is to work out what does that for you and do it on a Monday where you can, to set the tone for the week. She shared the story of a client, a manager of engineers, who felt off during COVID. The client realised she was missing her team and only saw them on Thursdays. Renée suggested moving the meeting to Monday, and says she became a different person.
Focus on What You Have, Then Reframe
Renée's third tip is to focus on what you do have rather than what you do not. During COVID, that meant reminding herself that her programs were strong and she delivered them well. In her words: "I don't have to change what I do. I just need to change how I do it."
For more on how mindset shapes the way experts build a practice, you might also enjoy my conversation with Cathy Burke on scarcity mindset in business.
Contribution: Building a Practice From the Heart
The second gift Renée chose is contribution. She calls it a human need and says she does not feel good unless she is in service. Her view is that if you go into business wanting to contribute from the heart, "things will come your way."
That theme runs through her career. She says the "why" that pushed her to leave a corporate role and start her practice was to grow people, "not because I was their manager, but because they were ready for it." She calls it her "why fly" and says it fuels her motivation, since in this line of work "you can't not have that."
Stay Open to Evolve: Lessons in Branding and Client Fit
Renée's practice has changed shape repeatedly. She has had five business cards and five brands. Her first business had a very long name built around the word metamorphosis, and she likes the metaphor: if change was not meant to happen, there would be no butterflies.
Her advice is not to assume you have it all worked out once you have a logo, a brand and a market. Three practical points came out of the conversation:
Expect your clients to change. Renée says she is attracting different types of clients this year, and believes you attract who you are.
Choose quality over quantity. When she started, she said yes to everyone. Now she wants to do the best job for the right people.
Be disciplined about what is not yours to deliver. Renée admits she has been guilty of trying to be everything to everyone. Sometimes the right answer is "that's not me, but I know someone who could do that."
I added that once trust is built, clients begin asking for things you had not thought of offering. Renée agreed, and said some of her programs began that way, when a client’s need matched her expertise and she added her own ideas and original content.
Selling Is Sharing: Renée's Five Calls a Day
I pointed out that Renée does what most experts struggle to do, which is create, deliver and sell with equal energy. Renée puts it down to her sales background, and says she loves cold calling because the worst outcome is a no, which leaves her where she started.
Lose the Word “Selling”
Renée's reframe is to replace selling with sharing. She believes strongly that "failing to help someone make a buying decision is failing to help them," especially when they have come to you. If you have conviction in your message, she says, be excited about sharing it with people you know it will help.
She noticed that people with a barrier up around sales have often been sold to in an ugly way. Her take is that this is a gift too: you learn what not to do, and do the opposite. If you ever doubt yourself, she suggests reading a testimonial or thinking about a client with an amazing result, and asking how you could not share that.
The five-calls-a-day habit
Renée has kept the same sales ritual for 25 years: five calls a day. It does not have to be a formal call. Her examples of what counts include:
A call from a contact who has suggested someone you should speak to.
Spotting a company while driving and looking them up at lunch.
A short, friendly note on LinkedIn or an email.
She treats it as a game with herself. If you miss your five, you make them up. She gave a recent example of calling a construction company, leaving a message and getting a polite reply that they had no need at the moment. Her view is that this is fine, because they now have her details and she may be top of mind later.
I noted that the same habit of five connections a day, to current clients, past clients and potential new ones, is part of my own Expert to Influencer approach.
Tiny Habits That Keep a Practice Moving
When a listener asked about tiny habits, Renée shared several that she relies on:
Bookend habits. One habit in the morning and one at the end of the day, designed to be intentional. Renée says she is writing about these at the moment.
Batching like-minded work. On the day of the recording she was on five podcasts, so she planned to be in "podcast giving mode."
Writing content in blocks. She writes at least two blogs a fortnight in one sitting and passes them to the person who manages her social media. Every third Sunday is a "social media Sunday" where she plans themes and writes four or five pages of post content.
Resetting between virtual sessions. She asks for around 20 minutes between back-to-back sessions and changes her outfit for each one. She also wears different perfumes for workshops and webinars, which someone in her community described as an anchored trigger.
A 24-hour proposal turnaround. After scoping a client's needs, she promises a proposal within 24 hours. Templates make that possible.
A colour-coded diary. Her three categories are leading (writing, positioning, social media and the book), managing (delivery and the day-to-day) and self-growth.
On the self-growth side, Renée still reads a book a week. When she cannot, she uses the Blinkist app for short book summaries. She also recommended Into the Magic Shop by neurosurgeon James Doty, which Hachette describes as the story of a boy whose visit to a magic shop at age 12 changed his life. Renée shared a metaphor she loves from the book: intention works like a demister on a foggy window, and the clearer your intention, the more you can see.
Self-Publishing vs Traditional Publishing: What Renée Learned
Many listeners in my community are thinking about writing a book, so I asked Renée how she chose between self-publishing and a publisher. Renée has done both.
Limitless Leadership: A Self-Published Cluster Book
Renée self-published Limitless Leadership in 2016. She admits she did not understand the difference between self-publishing and traditional publishing at the time, and said no when a publisher approached her. It was what she calls a cluster book, meaning much of its content sits inside her programs. I explained that in Thought Leaders language, this is a book that goes with a program.
Renée says it became the backbone of her practice and complements the business. Her warning is not to expect a book to do everything on its own: "It's a marathon, not a sprint."
Gift Mindset: A Traditional Publisher
For Gift Mindset, the same publisher who had originally approached her got back in touch. Renée says the difference is guidance. You have to take on more feedback, and her publisher asked her to cut around a sixth of the book because it was too long. She told them to remove what they needed and not to tell her what had gone. The result, she says, is clearer and more concise. She also valued that her publisher actively shares the work of her authors, including those published years ago.
A traditional book also means investing in media. Renée spent about eight weeks writing articles in the evenings and on Sundays. By the time of the recording she was around three-quarters of the way through a media run that included TV, radio, Woman's Day, Body+Soul, Mind Food, CEO Magazine and Business Insider. It showed her how broad the message was, something she says she would not have learned otherwise.
My observation was that the choice came down to purpose. The first book was commercial and designed to sell programs. The second had a broader message that could reach a mainstream audience. Renée agreed that Limitless Leadership would not have appeared in Woman's Day. The two books were also built in opposite orders: she wrote Limitless Leadership from her programs, but wrote Gift Mindset first and created the program afterwards.
How to Write a Book While Running a Business
Renée's practical advice on writing came from doing it during COVID, while she was also saving the business.
Have an intention, and be open to changing it. Her book began with leaders in mind, but anyone could apply it, so she wrote in three to four voices in every chapter.
Create a writing habit and protect it. Before COVID she wrote every weekend and spent two nights a week researching and doing podcast interviews. She transcribed those interviews into the book as stories. During lockdown, she wrote 8am to 1pm on Saturdays, 3pm to 6pm on Saturday evenings, and 10am to 5pm on Sundays.
Set a deadline with your editor. She asked her editor for a chapter every week, even though the editor suggested every two weeks. The book is around 80,000 words, and they finished earlier than planned.
Check the timing is right. If you are struggling to keep a habit, Renée suggests asking whether now is the right time. She told one client who has two years to write to take it lightly and make it a Wednesday-night hobby.
Keep the outcome visible. Renée made a book cover on Canva and pinned it on the back of her office door before she started writing. The final cover looked nothing like it. I agreed that visual reminders help you keep going.
Stay involved in the design. With a marketing background, Renée worked with the publisher on cover concepts. Of five, she says three were a no and two were close.
She added that whichever route you take, self-published or traditionally published, it is no different in terms of what you share with the world.
What Renée Would Do Differently
I asked what advice Renée would give to someone earlier in their journey. She gave three answers.
Write the book earlier. Renée says she had imagined writing her book on a beach in her 60s, which she now calls a limiting belief. She has since written three books in four years. If you are already blogging, she says, you are already an author. An e-book or a white paper also gives you something to send before you have met someone.
Get help sooner. Looking back, she would even have taken out a loan to hire support, because the time saved would have let her step into her strengths. She says she still does things she should not be doing.
Build a strong support network, and ask for help. This returns to her point about resilience.
I added that generosity comes back to you, and that watching an experienced expert at work, whether in a workshop or by helping at an event, is one of the best ways to benchmark your own practice.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the gift mindset?
It is Renée Giarrusso's approach to asking what lesson or opportunity sits inside any experience, whether a challenge or a success. She describes unwrapping the gift, learning the lesson and then using it. Her book organises these lessons into 12 gifts.
How many gifts are in Gift Mindset?
Twelve. Renée started with around 50 and narrowed them to 12. In the episode she discusses resilience and contribution as the two that mattered most to her practice. The publisher's listing names the full set, which includes optimism, courage, gratitude and connection.
What is Renée Giarrusso's five calls a day habit?
It is a daily sales ritual she has kept for 25 years. Her five can include phone calls, a note on LinkedIn, an email, or a follow-up on a referral. If she misses a day, she makes up the shortfall. She treats it as a game.
Should consultants self-publish or use a traditional publisher?
Renée has done both and says the right choice depends on purpose. She self-published Limitless Leadership as a cluster book to support her programs. She chose a traditional publisher for Gift Mindset because the message was broader and she wanted the guidance, though she says it also requires feedback and investment in media.
How long did it take Renée to write Gift Mindset?
She wrote it during COVID, working weekends and sending her editor a chapter every week. The finished book is around 80,000 words, and the publisher asked her to cut about a sixth of the original.
How does Renée recommend building resilience?
She suggests three things: a strong support network, knowing what lights you up, and focusing on what you have rather than what you do not. She also recommends reframing a setback as a change in how you deliver, not in what you do.
Conclusion
Renée Giarrusso's story is a reminder that a practice is built through habits and choices more than a single breakthrough. She nearly lost her business during COVID, wrote a book through lockdown, and still describes her approach as staying focused on service while remaining open to change.
If you are an expert thinking about your next step, the practical lessons are clear. Write the book sooner rather than later. Get help sooner. Reframe selling as sharing, and build a small daily habit that keeps you connected to the people you can help.
Work With Jane Anderson
If Renée's story resonated with you, here are some ways to take the next step:
Women With Influence: Join a community of B2B women consultants, coaches and advisors building world-class practices.
1:1 Coaching: Work directly with me on your personal brand and business growth strategy.
Grow With Influence: Explore my coaching program for B2B consultants and advisors who want to grow their practice.
Tune in to hear a conversation about mindset, resilience, writing your book and selling with heart.
Key Takeaways from Today’s Episode:
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Renée's gift mindset treats challenges and successes as sources of lessons. Unwrapping them, learning from them and using them is the work.
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Renée's tips are a strong support network, knowing what lights you up, and focusing on what you have. When her business lost 90% of its work, she reframed it as changing how she delivers, not what she delivers.
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Five brands and five business cards taught Renée that clients and offers change. Quality over quantity, and referring work that is not yours, keeps a practice focused.
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Renée's view is that failing to help someone make a buying decision is failing to help them. If you believe in your message, share it with the people it will help.
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Her five calls a day, 24-hour proposals, batched content and colour-coded diary all lower the effort of doing important work.
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A self-published cluster book can support a program. A traditionally published book offers guidance and reach, but asks for feedback and a real investment in media.
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Renée's weekly chapter deadline and fixed writing blocks are how an 80,000-word book got written during a difficult year.
