Nick is a mental health advocate, not because he runs a cool company that sells cool T-shirts online to people struggling with mental health and mental illness, but because he’s running numerous companies and has grown personally, and has struggled himself with mental illness. I hope this interview is a slight departure from previous episodes where we can focus more on the struggles of what’s going on in your head as opposed to the exterior struggles and difficulties that business leaders face. I myself struggle with mental health and I hope you enjoy and gain something from this episode today. Struggling with anxiety and depression 1:07It’s scary to share this issue with others 4:12How to respond when people open up 10:36The first time is the hardest 14:23What things look like now 16:14“There’s also a fear when you’re dealing with these things of telling someone and having that person A) judge you, B) feel panic, like ‘Well I have to be the one to fix the problem,’ or C) retreat from you because they don’t know how to fix the problem, so they just remove themselves, and then you on the other end feel like you’re a leper.” 8:13wearemind.org @wearemind_
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23:08
Transparency Generates Customer Trust | Tori Dundas
Every company has a weak spot. Needs, things they need to accomplish, whether that is needing to secure more funding, being outside and defining their market more effectively, executing on sales and marketing, or simply hiring the right people, every company is struggling or trying to gain the upper hand in some way. We often get so myopically focused on our own company, whether that’s establishing a mural on the wall or getting something cool for our team, we often forget about the needs of our customers and how intimately we need to understand them. Today, I talk to Tori Dundas who has seen this, felt this, and made a fantastic company surrounding a very important need. Breaking away from the pack 1:04Coming up with the idea 3:22Getting through the hard times 7:10Her tactics for gaining people’s trust 12:06“The industry will tell you that this is what you should buy, but this is as much as you’re going to see with the naked eye. So is it more important to you that something is microscopically beautiful? Or just do you want something that you can maybe get a bit bigger of a diamond or clearer of a diamond and the clarity to the naked eye is good enough. Having those conversations is how I’ve been able to build that trust as myself, as my brand.” 13:07truecurateddesigns.com
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21:47
Gaining Perspective at Work and Home | Jesse Parent
Today’s interviewee, Jesse Parent, is a fantastic example of what it means to be able to understand who you are, understand what you are trying to accomplish, and then articulate that in a fashion that is not only impactful, but also is poetic. “I think good communication is about listening and adjusting, and not catering, but honoring. It’s one of those things where you have to work with what you have, recognizing who you are.” Jesse’s wife was diagnosed with cancer and he shares how initially it was one of the worst things to deal with, but then he and his wife saw it as something that really helped them grow and strengthen their relationship between each other. Sorenson Media and deaf videos 1:07Origin of communication skill 5:09Handling the hard conversations 6:54Coping with his wife’s cancer diagnosis 12:21Emerging from sorrow 18:00“I always say, ‘How can I keep you? Let’s have conversations about how we can work on you.’ And sometimes people just don’t want to do that work or they can’t. It’s one of those things where like, ‘Hey look, I think we both realize or both understand that we’ve tried, and we didn’t make it. So it’s time to say goodbye and move on to other things.’ It feels like the worst thing in the world, but sometimes it’s just the best thing for that person.” 8:07
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23:27
The Ebb and Flow of Entrepreneurship | Brian Sather
On January 24th, 1884, the Gold Rush started in Coloma California. The news of gold brought about 300,000 people from the rest of the United States to California to find their fortune. This particular gold rush caused a surge among the population and created entire industries surrounding them. Not only these prospectors, but their families, the people carrying shovels and sifters, or the people just making the machinery, or the hats and clothes that you needed to go and prospect for gold in the mountains. In the same method, today’s interviewee, Brian Sather’s father experienced a similar type of gold rush, what happened after the gold rush when people stopped visiting, and the lull that accompanied it. In entrepreneurship and starting a company, there are many things that involve the huge spike with the low valleys that we all experience and today’s interview highlights the ebb and flow of entrepreneurship with my wonderful guest, Brian Sather. Seeing and learning how business worked 1:22Be OK with the evolution of things 7:13A darker moment in Brian’s career 8:59Persevering in Blacksmith 15:42“I would say the darkest [ebb] for me was really early on when my dad lost everything, and that’s not my entrepreneurial career, but that felt really, really dark, but then I saw him pop out of it and the thing that I’ve learned from that life comes at you in waves. No matter how hard you try, you can be on top of the world, life is gonna find a way. The Universe is gonna find a way to knock you back on your heels because that’s how you grow. And that’s how you get better.” 9:00
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23:26
Eliminating Fear in Business | Alexander Szul
It’s in this podcast that I get the opportunity to speak with somebody my own age. I’m 30 and I’ve run this company, Launchpod Media, for a little over 3 years. Today I interview another fantastic, successful entrepreneur, Alexander Szul. He’s a fantastic leader, speaker, and he runs a fantastic company called Rome BlockChain. In our interview I just wanted to highlight how impressed I am at Alex’s ability to learn from failure and not be afraid of failure moving forward. I think we’re often boxed into our role or responsibility, or what we don’t know and what we do know. He was able to break out of that and encourage his team to break out of that as well, and I wonder if more people lead with that mindset and that type of leadership, how much more satisfied we would be as leaders, and our employees would be in moving the needle forward in their job. I invite you to tune in and enjoy this interview with my new friend, Alex. About Rome Blockchain Labs 1:32Fear is a beautiful thing 7:16One of Alex’s most impactful failures 12:42The feeling of fear when you’re a child 18:42“What IS fear? Practically speaking, what actually is fear? It’s sweaty palms, cold hands, it’s a tightness in the chest, it’s quick breathing, it’s perhaps a couple uncomfortable memories or thoughts in my mind, and Johnny that’s it. That’s all fear is actually. So when you can sit with that and actually let that entire process play out in your body and your mind, and you just watch it… the next time you’re afraid, it’s gonna be astronomically less. You’re actually gonna laugh at yourself because you’re thinking how funny it is that you were afraid of that in the first place.” 8:32https://romeblockchain.com/
Running a business is not as glamorous as instagram may make it seem. It’s not all fancy cars and nice watches, in reality running a company or leading an organization is more often about making light altering decisions than than flexing or gaining clout. The Business Leaders Handbook is a look story based podcast all about beating the odds and overcoming the difficulties of running a company. A direct look about what it takes to become a real leader, with stories told by the leaders themselves. This podcast is brought to you by LaunchPod Media inc.
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