“This is totally counterintuitive to what everybody says to do on Twitter, and to what most of these well-known entrepreneurial influencers tell you to do,” says Erik Severinghaus, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Bloomfilter. That kind of toxic, hustle culture advice, the kind that tells you to “do more, and go faster,” at the expense of your mental, physical and emotional well-being is like “psychological meth” he says. Stories about a handful of unicorn entrepreneurs tend to leave out the many variables of success, causing the vast majority of us to internalize messages of failure.    Instead, Erik offers hard-earned advice gleaned from his successes as well as failures. He talks to host Alex Raymond about the danger zone new entrepreneurs fall into when they experience quick success, the pitfalls of overconfidence, and the Dunning Kruger effect. An avid mountaineer, the literal life-saving lessons he learned while climbing Mt. Everest proved equally beneficial to business. He compiled them in his book “Scale Your Everest,” and he shares some of them here today.    On this episode of The Conscious Entrepreneur he’ll explain the four important elements to any entrepreneurial—and any human—journey—and how to learn to forgive yourself from past mistakes.    Quotes “I felt like I needed to figure out how to distill all this stuff into something that was relevant to entrepreneurship. That was juxtaposed with my experience climbing Mt. Everest, where I realized that what got me to the top of the mountain, and so many of the lessons that my guides were telling me, really was very different than what I heard in the hustle culture of entrepreneurship.” (16:37 | Erik Severinghaus) “I realized that the water that we’re swimming in as entrepreneurs is so toxic, from the perspective of the advice that we get, from ‘Hustle harder,’ to ‘Who cares if your friends and family hate you?’ ‘The only path to enlightenment effectively is material success and adding an extra zero to your bank account.’” (17:35 | Erik Severinghaus)“If I took the same approach to entrepreneurship that I took to climbing the mountain, my odds of success would be lower and my odds of physical death would be much higher. And what I realized is if I took the mountaineering approach to entrepreneurship, then the odds of success go up and the odds of personal success, well-being [go up].” (19:48 | Erik Severinghaus) “It’s not about working hard, necessarily, it’s about making sure that expenditure of energy is efficient in terms of what I’m trying to achieve. I don’t get any special points for staying at the office until two a.m.” (33:11 | Erik Severinghaus)   Links Connect with Erik Severinghaus: Website: https://www.severinghaus.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikseveringhaus/ Connect with Alex Raymond: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afraymond/ Website: https://consciousentrepreneur.us/ HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

“It changed my business, it saved my marriage, I have five kids and I use this every day.” Today’s guest Alexandra Jamieson, known for co-creating the documentary Supersize Me, recalls the words a friend said to her that encouraged Alexandra to write the book which eventually became “Radical Alignment.” Co-authored with her husband, Bob Gower, it is based on Alexandra’s four-step “all-in” method for approaching any personal and professional conversation so that everyone feels seen, heard and understood. On today’s episode of The Conscious Entrepreneur, she breaks down the method’s four parts—Intentions, Concerns, Boundaries, and Dreams, and why they are crucial to creating effective communication, strong leadership, reduced conflict and a sense of psychological safety in the workplace.   We should all be reevaluating our values as often as possible, Alexandra says, as they change as often as the seasons. She shares stories of clients she’s worked with in her coaching practice who were brave enough to make major life changes by listening to and honoring their own needs and deepest desires. She talks about the dangers of hustle culture, the prominence of imposter syndrome and how to best address them both.    Alexandra’s own life is full of rich and diverse experiences, and her website reads “don’t be defined by one box.” Join today’s discussion to hear more of her story.   Quotes “We change as we age. Life changes us and we discover new things about ourselves as we go through life. Our values, while they’re not going to change drastically, one value may become more important in your 40s, 50s and 60s than it was in your 20s. So, how can you get comfortable with shifting your identity? You’re not necessarily changing everything about who you are, you can still have great relationships with people you always loved, but how can you become fully yourself through the years?” (8:15 | Alexandra Jamieson) “I’ve gotta say, having worked with a lot of serial and successful entrepreneurs over the years, I think the hustle culture values that we have seen a lot in the last 20 years, man—it’s killing us. Quite literally.” (11:01 | Alexandra Jamieson)“I was very averse to conflict, in my earlier life, didn’t like it, avoided tough conversations. And then I realized, I can’t proceed through life like this, this is not how a leader leads their own life, and it causes other problems.” (14:51 | Alexandra Jamieson)“You might not come to an answer at the end of this, but it helps get all the cards on the table so that you can build empathy, be connected and then realize where the hidden landmines might be for a big conversation.” (16:26 | Alexandra Jamieson) “‘Boundaries’ is the hardest for most people. Depending on your age, your gender, how you were raised, you might not be used to having boundaries or being asked about them, or being allowed. And in a work scenario, it may not feel safe to say, ‘Oh, I don’t work past five.’ Boundaries can be the most challenging to bring up in a personal or professional setting.” (21:28 | Alexandra Jamieson)    Links Connect with Alexandra Jamieson: Website: https://www.alexandrajamieson.com/   Connect with Alex Raymond: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afraymond/ Website: https://consciousentrepreneur.us/ HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

“It’s about helping individuals, through the power of community, unlock and achieve the greatness within themselves,” says Sam Jacobs, of Pavilion, a community and platform for people who are trying to accelerate and improve their sales career and their performance in sales. On today’s episode of The Conscious Entrepreneur, Sam talks to host Alex Raymond about what happens when a group of likeminded people—and a concrete set of curricula—align and operate to make the world better. In a world that believes in growth at any cost, Pavilion believes—and teaches its business owners—that growth comes from aligning the sales marketing customer success and money is inextricable from delivering value.    Pavilion has recently, after a rocky period, rediscovered its center. In a continued effort to be genuine and vulnerable, Sam admits to having made some professional and personal mistakes recently that may have been the downfall of a lesser group. But, as Sam explains, challenges, which we all face, are just opportunities to learn the big ongoing lessons of life.    Throughout today’s conversation, Sam reveals the difficulties of living a public life, the message at the heart of his book “Kind People Finish First” and his five criteria for having an objectively good day.    Quotes “Community was the thing that I discovered, or stumbled upon, that was one of the solutions to how I was encountering challenges and obstacles in my day to day work and I needed some way of stress-testing the solutions. I needed some way of avoiding common errors and common pitfalls. And that’s where community rose up.” (4:36 | Sam Jacobs)“When we’ve been our strongest, when we’ve been the brightest beacon, it’s because we’re confident—or I am confident, or the company or whatever—the company has a point of view, the company has a language, the company has a vocabulary. And when we’ve lost our way, which has happened over the last couple of years, it’s when we’ve been led by financial motivations or talking about the world in terms of features and product sets, not in terms of common values and common vision.” (8:34 | Sam Jacobs) “That’s why I say, ‘back in the crucible,’ because it’s been a journey to get back to the point where, ‘Don’t worry about what it’s worth, don’t worry about anything but making sure you’re alive, that you’re profitable so that you can be alive, so that you keep helping people and keep fixing things and keep making the foundation better so that you can continue to be of service.” (26:10 | Sam Jacobs)“The lesson that I’ve learned over the last couple of months is, everything that’s happening is perfect, it’s not just OK. And that this is an opportunity. Every test, every challenge is an opportunity to rise to the occasion.” (27:38 | Sam Jacobs) “You don’t know how somebody hears something, or when they need to hear it, or from whom they need to hear it. Even when you think, ‘God, who am I to say these things?’ Well, you’re somebody that might touch somebody and you might impact somebody in a positive way.” (31:09 | Sam Jacobs)   Links Connect with Sam Jacobs: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samfjacobs/ Website: https://www.joinpavilion.com/ Connect with Alex Raymond: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afraymond/ Website: https://consciousentrepreneur.us/   HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

“I’ve had multiple founders say ‘I cry on the bathroom floor before my weekly stand up,’ and that same founder was at an event doing the ‘rah-rah’ spiel.”  Such is the nature of business-founding, says today’s guest Brad Baum: the personal and professional stress and sacrifice is hidden by the (albeit necessary) public-facing hustle culture, which, in turn, creates yet another element of pressure. As common as mental health struggles are among entrepreneurs, they remain, nonetheless stigmatized. Brad is seeking to change that with the Founder Mental Health Pledge, which he founded and co-created to support founders’ mental health and promote a culture of mental health in the startup community.    Signing the pledge—which many industry leaders already have in the short period of time since its founding—means promising to treat the direct cost of caring for founders’ mental health as a legitimate business expense and puts mental health as a priority. Brad talks to host Alex Raymond about the ability of such a pledge to build a bridge between the historically distant relationship between founder and investor, and the founders and VCs reporting that the pledge helped them win deals. They also discuss the changing attitudes toward mental health among Gen Z and on social media.    The overwhelming consensus from the startup world has been one of compassion and a desire to help. Join today’s discussion to learn more about how the Mental Health Pledge is doing its part to change the way we treat founders and their well-being.   Quotes “On the periphery, founders are sort of forced to run around to the Forbes Under 30 Summit and all these conferences and in board meetings and when they’re fundraising, everything’s ‘Up and to the right. We’re crushing it, man! Hustle-hustle, Grind,’ eighty-hour weeks, that whole spiel. And it’s not that that’s not true sometimes, it’s that, I think, the bulk of the time, you’re running around like a chicken with its head cut off, trying to figure out what to do next, you don’t have guidance, and it’s a struggle.”  (4:55 | Brad Baum) “We think the right signal to send is: treat mental health the same way you would treat accounting, legal, etc.— all these other expenses.” (12:59 | Brad Baum) “It’s been incredible to see—the ‘community’ word gets played out—but it’s more like this recognition of both the problem but then also recognition of the opportunity to change it.” (25:29 | Brad Baum) “There’s a social—not a moment in time, not fad—but a complete societal shift in how we think about our mental health, especially propagated by the rising generations and social media, where it’s no longer—actually, I can’t say it’s no longer—we’re getting to a place where it will no longer be, ‘Hey, I’m struggling. Hey, I think I might have anxiety or bipolar or depression.’ You go on TikTok these days, people 18 to 25 talk about it without batting an eye.” (26:13 | Brad Baum)“We’re not saying go to your investor and say, ‘Sit down, I need to tell you about all my anxiety and depression.’ We’re saying that conversation does not even need to happen because they’ve signed a pledge and/or have the clause…You should feel empowered to just go out and do it. No one needs to know if you don’t want them to. I think you’d be surprised with how much people can empathize and sympathize if you do, but that’s your prerogative.” (33:28 | Brad Baum)   Links Connect with Brad Baum: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/baumbrad/ Website: https://www.founderpledge.com/ Connect with Alex Raymond: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afraymond/ Website: https://consciousentrepreneur.us/ HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

“The biggest mistake people make is that they’re not themselves,” says today’s guest authenticity expert Erin Weed. Using a process she created called “The Dig,” Erin helps entrepreneurs and thought leaders discover and cultivate their most authentic selves in order to most effectively communicate with their audiences. Through a series of questions, she helps her clients discover their message on both the macro and micro levels, the ‘why’ behind the ‘how,’ so that they can clearly, confidently and concisely deliver their singular message to the world in a way that makes audiences sit up, listen, engage and trust. On today’s episode of Conscious Entrepreneur, Erin talks to host Alex Raymond about getting to the head/heart core and the biggest mistakes most leaders make with their messaging. Drawing from her own experience in founding a personal safety and self-defense company Girls Fight Back, she’ll share how you can get started on your own process of discovering your true self and the unique story you have to share with the world.    People are craving human connection beyond the facts and figures. We all have three core truths running within us at the same time, Erin says. She reveals what these truths are, what they mean, and how to plug into all three to begin expressing your fullest, most honest and most genuine self.    The journey to the core isn’t an easy one, but where entrepreneurs lead, the rest of the world tends to follow.    Quotes “Things started to shift over time, where audiences started appreciating the polish and the perfect less and they started craving the authenticity and the realness more.” (3:41 | Erin Weed)“I just think it’s our responsibility to be communicating our truth. It’s not up to other people to be mind readers or heart readers or gut readers. We have to, as conscious leaders, one of the things that I feel really passionate about is encouraging conscious leaders and entrepreneurs to be the ones to go first. To be willing to go into maybe the more uncomfortable of the three dimensions of your truth.” (9:32 | Erin Weed) “There are all these different bypasses to get to the truth, based on how a person is wired and what’s important to them.” (14:04 | Erin Weed)“I realized I would create the best talks of my life when I was simply telling a story, and then finding the bigger meaning in the story so that everyone else in the room could get something from what I just shared.” (16:16 | Erin Weed) “A lot of people don’t like their dig words because it’s your biggest life lesson, it is your path, and sometimes we can be very resentful of what we’ve been dealt. But I’d like to believe, on some spiritual level, that we picked it for ourselves for a very big reason.” (28:28 | Erin Weed) “One of the things that holds conscious entrepreneurs back is we do not know or accept the fact of how unique, special and needed our voices are.” (32:49 | Erin Weed)   Links Connect with Erin Weed: Website: https://www.erinweed.com/   Connect with Alex Raymond: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afraymond/ Website: https://consciousentrepreneur.us/   HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

“It can be difficult for people to know who they can speak to about it,” says Amy Lewin, of entrepreneurs who are unhappy in their own companies.  Amy is the Editor at Sifted, a media platform focused on Europe’s startup ecosystem and she joins The Conscious Entrepreneur podcast to discuss a survey Sifted recently posed to a number of entrepreneurs, the vast majority of whom reported experiencing poor mental health, high stress and even a strong desire to leave their businesses within the coming year. Though these figures may seem alarming, they merely shed light on common struggles and pressures felt by entrepreneurs which are so often swept under the rug for fear of looking weak or needing to maintain an ultra positive mindset in order to see their businesses succeed. On today’s episode Amy will reveal more of the survey’s findings as well as what venture capitalists (VCs) can do to support entrepreneurs, in whom they, after all, have a vested interest.    The survey highlights the importance of a community in an entrepreneur’s life. Family and friends share the entrepreneur’s burden, while simultaneously being unable to relate. Professional networks of like-minded contemporaries can go a long way toward making isolated individuals feel heard and connected, as well as ease the mental health stigma.    Today, Amy shares the common regret shared among most entrepreneurs and why quitting might be the best thing they could do for their careers.    Quotes “It was just a real sign of the personal toll—and not just even on the founders, but on their family, on their friends, on their colleagues—just another reminder that building startups is really tough.”  (4:48 | Amy Lewin) “Whenever we publish stories about that personal side of company building at Sifted, we get the most amazing response. People love knowing that they’re not the only ones. And I think sometimes, startup culture is so much that you’ve got to be optimistic. You’ve got to believe that your company can be the one in 100 that’s going to really make it. You hear from so many people that your idea is never going to work and you have to believe in it yourself and I think when times are really hard it can be difficult for people to know who they can speak to about it.” (6:27 | Amy Lewin) “That attitude that’s going to be out there from some corners that if you are struggling in any way then you are weak and that you’re not in it for the long term, which I obviously don’t believe, but is obviously what some people still think.”  (13:04 | Amy Lewin)“Encourage founders to go on holiday. Encourage them to have a personal life. These things are important. We all need to recharge our batteries and ‘visionaries do,’ too. There’s that famous saying that comes from the VC world: “I’ve never seen a company go bust because the founder took a week off, but I have seen plenty of companies go bust because the founder didn’t.’”  (18:26 | Amy Lewin and Alex Raymond)   Links Connect with Amy Lewin: https://sifted.eu/articles/founder-mental-health-2024 Connect with Alex Raymond: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afraymond/ Website: https://consciousentrepreneur.us/ HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

“Getting better at business and growing as a person are very dovetailed together. They’ve been very mutually beneficial.” Entrepreneur Matthew Bellows’ career is proof that professional and personal success work in tandem. Recognizing time as a person’s most precious commodity, he was drawn to entrepreneurship as a means of gaining asymmetric returns on that time. He was moved to co-found Bodeswell, a company which invented self-service financial planning software, after sorting through his late father’s estate and becoming frustrated with the state of the financial planning space. Matthew joins The Conscious Entrepreneur podcast to discuss what he’s learned throughout his evolution from founder and CEO of WGR Media, to CEO and later Executive Chairman at Yesware, and now a General Partner at Grit Capital.    He’ll explain what it was like to cede his CEO position at Yesware, and what it taught him about the true mission of business. He’ll share what it was like to have American Express acquire Bodeswell, and the best way other entrepreneurs can prepare their companies for a similar acquisition. Learn what the biggest mistakes and assumptions are that most entrepreneurs make and what they can be doing differently.    Throughout his career, Matthew has maintained a seated meditation practice. Now a meditation teacher, he reveals on today’s episode how this practice has profoundly impacted both his professional and personal life.    Quotes “I needed to find some activity, professional activity, that would have potential for asymmetric returns on my time. In other words, just working for what amounts to an hourly wage, even if it’s a very good hourly wage, it has linear returns on your time, and your time is the only thing you’ve actually got in your life. So, what would be the things that I could do that would potentially break that linear curve into an exponential curve.” (4:31 | Matthew Bellows)“Sitting meditation for me provided a foundation to weather the storms that came. The storms absolutely came; there was no dodging the difficulties of going through that kind of process. But at least I felt like, for the most part, I had a ground and when I lost my ground, when I lost my foundation, I had a place to come back to.” (14:07 | Matthew Bellows) “It was very difficult to let go and to turn over the reins, in a sense. But at the end of the day, you’re not building a company for yourself. This is not a personal aggrandizement project, this is not something that is for any one person or any one investor. You’re building a company to serve customers and in order to serve customers your company needs to keep growing.” (22:26 | Matthew Bellows)“The combination of getting better at business and growing as a person, I think, are very dovetailed together. They’ve been very mutually beneficial.” (35:36 | Matthew Bellows) “You need to be prepared—mentally, emotionally, spiritually, physically, and financially— to wander in the desert for a year or two years, just trying to figure out, ‘Is this even a thing?’ So many people think, ‘I’m going to go and it’s going to just click,’ or they think, ‘Oh my God, I need to raise outside capital, and then I can figure out if this is a thing.” Neither of those two paths are optimal.” (37:59 | Matthew Bellows)   Links Connect with Matthew Bellows: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mbellows/   Connect with Alex Raymond: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afraymond/ Website: https://consciousentrepreneur.us/ HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Most people, explains today’s guest Finnian Kelly, pursue outcomes—like success in business or making a certain amount of money—in hopes of creating a resulting feeling. In fact, Finnian, a former wealth manager and now a leading intentionality coach, explains that through breathwork and by tapping into the Universal Intelligence to whom we all have access, that the feeling produces the outcome, and with much more ease.    Drawing from his forthcoming book “Intentionality: A Groundbreaking Guide to Breath, Consciousness and Radical Self-Transformation,” Finnian offers powerful antidotes to the social conditioning we commonly experience, to help bring us closer to the things we truly want.  He’ll explain the five key principles of intentionality, as well as how to develop an expansive mindset. Learn why breath is the bridge between the conscious and the subconscious and why repetition is the key to re-coding that subconscious.   Too many people, particularly entrepreneurs, make the mistake of thinking that success has to be hard. Instead, Finnian offers an approach to tap into the unlimited energy that’s available to all of us once we remove the limiting beliefs and old stories holding us back.   Quotes “I thought that when I received all this I’d suddenly feel whole and happy and really fulfilled and peaceful, but instead the opposite happened. So, I had to go through the typical hero’s story of dismantling everything to discover what really matters to me.” (6:46 | Finnian Kelly)“We are born with everything we need to build the life we’re searching for. And when I mention that, it really comes down to our breath, which is something we all have, and access to the Universal Mind which is this field of energy that all intelligence comes from. And I really want people to focus on this because a lot of people have a bit of a victim mindset, and it’s true, there is a lot of inequality in the world. But the one equalizer is that we all have access to these two things.” (9:29 | Finnian Kelly) “What is bad? It’s a story? There’s no such thing as bad or good. It’s all our perspective.” (15:34 | Finnian Kelly)“Most people focus on the outcome, hoping it will give them a feeling, but if you have the feeling, it means you have to have the outcome. It just hasn’t materialized into the 3D, material realm yet.” (26:38 | Finnian Kelly) “Military organizations, sport organizations have been using this for a really long time but for some reason we don’t think it applies in the entrepreneurial world. We think, ‘No, business, it has to be hard work.’ And I’m telling you, there’s an easier way. Now, that doesn’t mean you don’t have to do work. You still have to do the activity, but it’s coming from a different place. It’s an intuitive place.” (27:56 | Finnian Kelly)   Links Connect with Finnian Kelly: Website: https://www.finniankelly.com/   Connect with Alex Raymond: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afraymond/ Website: https://consciousentrepreneur.us/ HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast.  Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

“Disseminate spiritual wisdom.” This is a message Tami Simon heard loud and clear when she was just 21 and unsure of what she wanted to do and how she wanted to invest the sum of money she had inherited from her father. It remains her life’s purpose and the driving mission at the heart of Sounds True, the multimedia publishing company she founded. Sounds True  focuses on promoting spirituality, psychology, health and healing. She joins the Conscious Entrepreneur podcast to discuss the importance of being true to yourself, following your intuition, and why putting love ahead of money most often leads to money anyway. She compares founding and running a business to being in a long term relationship and, having recently passed on the CEO baton, what it feels like to let go.   Just as important as being yourself is allowing others to be themselves. One of the key components of the Inner MBA, which Sounds True puts on with LinkedIn and the annual Wisdom 2.0 conference, is learning how to make space for people who have different views from your own, learning to communicate and collaborate in order to achieve the best outcome for all. Creating such a culture within a corporation inevitably impacts the world at large.   Though she’s prone to a metaphor and a poetic line, Tami is committed to telling the truth, as it is one of the core principles, she says, of a spiritual entrepreneur. Join today’s discussion to hear more of Tami’s insights and initiatives which were well ahead of their time, and now, more timely than ever.    Quotes “For me it feels like a sacred contract, that’s one term that might shake people a bit. Or it feels like a promise that I made before I incarnated. It has that level of heft to it, in terms of how I experience it inside myself, as my purpose in life. And I’m very inspired by it. I continue to be inspired by it, it’s taken a lot of different forms over the years, and quite honestly it’s a little mysterious even to me.” (6:37 | Tami Simon)“The interesting thing is, I tracked over time—every single love project ended up being financially successful. Every single one. And I think that part of it is if I loved it, it was for a reason. And maybe it hadn’t had the level of exposure yet, or whatever, but there was something very genuine there that was drawing me in.” (13:18 | Tami Simon) “Let die what needs to die so what can be born can be born.” (22:14 | Tami Simon)“Be someone who says, ‘I take responsibility for the culture that we are creating together here. Here are my ideas. Be a vocal participant. And if we can invite and create organizations that encourage and welcome and inspire citizenship, we’ll find people acting like citizens in the world. And this is a connection that organizations can actually foster, the same kind of citizenship we want to see in our communities.” (38:49 | Tami Simon)“If you don’t do it, people aren’t going to go to bat the next time. They’re not going to stand up and raise their hands if you just say, ’No, we’re going to make the economic decision, or what the professionals say.” (40:25 | Tami Simon)“Spiritual integrity, as a person, is non-negotiable. It’s non-negotiable. How much money I make is negotiable.” (41:54 | Tami Simon)    Links Connect with Tami Simon: https://innermba.soundstrue.com/ https://www.soundstrue.com/ Connect with Alex Raymond: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afraymond/ Website: https://consciousentrepreneur.us/ HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

“Going whichever way the wind blows, depending on what other people want, that’s driftwood in the ocean,” explains Dr. Neha Sangwan, CEO and Founder of Intuitive Intelligence Inc. and author of “Powered By Me.” “When I know who I am and make decisions based on my highest values, I become a sailboat with a rudder, charting my own course.” From an early age, Dr. Neha fulfilled her family’s needs and desires, leading her to become an internal medicine physician, a mechanical engineer at Motorola, as well as completely burnt out by age 31.  On today’s episode of The Conscious Entrepreneur, Neha talks to host Alex Raymond about the triad that comprises burnout, its alarm systems, and how to determine whether it’s acute or chronic.   Part of serving both ourselves and others in a “me-we world,” as Dr. Neha describes it, is strengthening the bond with those around you through healthy conflict and communication. Drawing from her book “Talk RX,” she provides scenarios and techniques for taking in data from others’ reactions as well as from your own, how not to personalize or assume the worst. When difficult conversations arise, she says, get curious, not furious.   The world is suffering silently from burnout and self-care culture isn’t cutting it. Join today’s conversation to hear Dr. Neha talk about the power of vulnerability in the workplace and why failure can be our greatest strength.    Quotes “By 31, I had learned to push through my body, not partner with it. I was the master of knowing what the world wanted from me, and not knowing at all what the sound of my own heart was. I had surpassed my emotions, I had stopped communicating, because who needed to hear what I had to say, I just needed to know what you wanted from me.” (6:46 | Dr. Neha Sangwan)“What I think the world needs now more than ever, is us not only understanding who we are and picking up signals for ourselves, but when we miss them—because we have the passion of an entrepreneur, because we have the love of a doctor to serve—but the people around us, we are connected enough to them that we can trust them to say, ‘Hey, Neha, is everything OK?’” (8:17 | Neha Sangwan) “One thing I know, being an entrepreneur for about, I don’t know, 15 or 16 years now, is that I’ve gone to zero twice in this endeavor, and people say, ‘Oh, my God. Doesn’t that scare you? Isn’t that awful?’ And I say, ‘No. Now if I ever go to zero again, I know I have the confidence to rebuild. That needed to happen. It was necessary. It wasn’t a failure. It’s probably my greatest strength. It’s probably the reason I have conviction in my voice.” (41:35 | Dr. Neha Sangwan)“You can’t predict the world but that’s why we’re entrepreneurs, because we’re willing to go in the rough terrain, and we’re willing to figure it out. That’s our greatest gift.” (42:34 | Dr. Neha Sangwan) Links Connect with Neha Sangwan: https://intuitiveintelligenceinc.com/burnout-rx/ https://intuitiveintelligenceinc.com/ifive/ https://nehasangwan.com/events/ Connect with Alex Raymond: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afraymond/ Website: https://consciousentrepreneur.us/ HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

“We know the anti-aging message, which is a lot of things get worse with age, and I really wanted to focus on what gets better with age and why,” says Chip Conley founder of the Modern Elder Academy and author of several books about the benefits of aging including “Learning to Love Midlife: 12 Reasons Why Life Gets Better with Age.” There is a U-curve to aging and happiness hits a low at about age 47. After that, happiness increases. We begin to change our mindset from being concerned with what it says on our resume, money or status to leaving a legacy. Short term memory gets weaker while wisdom and Emotional Intelligence expand. Chip reveals major misconceptions about aging, the most crucial component to a healthy life in your 80s and 90s—and it isn’t diet, exercise or stress management—and why men tend to struggle more than women.   Like many successful entrepreneurs, Chip realized around the age of 50 that he had wisdom he wanted to share and found himself as a “men-tern” (a combination of mentor and intern) at AirBnB. There he learned the imposter syndrome is overcome by developing explorer syndrome, the importance of trading a fixed mindset to a growth mindset and what mentors can learn from mentees.   In this episode of The Conscious Entrepreneur, you will learn that your greatest years may just be ahead of you and that what once was considered a midlife crisis, is actually a midlife chrysalis.    Quotes “The societal narrative on aging is ‘Just don’t do it,’ and once you hit your mid-life crisis around 45 or 50, it’s all downhill from there. But that’s the societal narrative. The personal narrative, based upon this research, is, actually, people get happier after 50.”  (5:33 | Chip Conley)“One of the things we get wrong is that we think our body is the only playing field of life.” (7:53 | Chip Conley)“There are a lot of tech bros in Silicon Valley trying to help us live forever but they tend to be extremely focused on the scientific, physical side of longevity, and not the socio-emotional side of longevity which frankly, at this point, has a greater impact.” (12:54 | Chip Conley) “Believing you can learn, this is a growth mindset versus a fixed mindset. A fixed mindset has this belief that you have a fixed amount of knowledge, or a fixed amount of capacity or skill and you’re supposed to optimize it, and you want to prove yourself and you want to win. A growth mindset is less focused on proving yourself and more focused on improving yourself. It’s not about winning, it’s about learning.” (30:46 | Chip Conley)    Links Connect with Chip Conley: Website: https://www.meawisdom.com/     Connect with Alex Raymond: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afraymond/ Website: https://consciousentrepreneur.us/ HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast.  Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Eleanor Allen joins The Conscious Entrepreneur podcast to discuss the power of business to act as a force for good. It’s a culture, she says, that is formed from the top. Following her passion for environmentalism and entrepreneurship, she worked as CEO of clean water charity Water for People and while there, she attended an inner development program run by a non-profit out of Paris called the Well-Being Project.  There, while gaining tools and learning skills to help prevent the pitfalls frequently experienced by those in the social impact space—high rates of burnout, divorce, and depression—she also learned to be vulnerable, unlock her heart and to deal with her biggest fears, worries and impediments. Believing similar strategies would make CEOs better and more aligned with their missions, she founded Catapult for Change, a public benefit corporation (PBC) where, through her coaching and consulting services, she helps entrepreneurs launch new ideas that are grounded in well-being.  After Water for People, Eleanor worked as a lead executive for B Lab, a global nonprofit which works to transform the economy so that it benefits all people, communities, and the planet. She explains what it takes for for-profit corporations to become B Corps—certified by B Lab to meet vigorous standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability. She explains the difference between working under a shareholder’s mindset versus a stakeholder’s mindset, and balancing a mission with the ever-present need to make a profit.  She and host Alex Raymond discuss her plans for a future of conscious capitalism in which all businesses run as B Corps. They also discuss the issue of corporate greenwashing and the importance of diversity in the workplace.    Quotes “I did have a very strong belief, and still do, of ‘Don’t stay too long in the seat.’ When you have a top job, don’t get too comfortable. And I had gotten to the point where I was super comfortable.” (6:56 | Eleanor Allen)“I truly believe, and this has a lot to do with my own personal journey—that unlocking the full potential of leaders, of their teams and then of the greater organization, can really bring out the best in people and help them prepare for their future success.” (10:28 | Eleanor Allen)“If you have a good, diverse mix of people with diversity of thought, diversity of experience, and diversity of where they are in the world, you’re going to get a stronger mix of ideas and almost certainly, better outcomes.” (31:40 | Eleanor Allen) “It is about organizational culture change, but we know it needs the tone at the top and the leadership to do these microshift and change their practices so that changes ripple through the organization.” (38:50 | Eleanor Allen) Links Connect with Eleanor Allen: Website:https://catapultforchange.com/ LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/eleanor-allen/ Connect with Alex Raymond: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afraymond/ Website: https://consciousentrepreneur.us/   HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

“Entrepreneurs are in a very small category in this world, and as such, it might seem like you’re kind of nutty sometimes in your own head and that people don’t get you except for your peers.” Join us on The Conscious Entrepreneur as Rob Dube, co-founder of The 10 Disciplines, delves into the key insights of his latest book, “Shine: How Looking Inward is the Key to Unlocking True Entrepreneurial Freedom,” co-authored with Gino Wickman. This episode explores how entrepreneurs can achieve genuine freedom by embracing self-discovery and creating the life they've always wanted. Rob emphasizes that entrepreneurs are unique, driven individuals who possess the power to change the world with their ideas and resilience. Yet, this drive often has its roots in past traumas, leading to challenges such as difficulty relaxing, delegating, and connecting with non-entrepreneurs. Despite these obstacles, Rob argues that the solution isn't to suppress this drive but to channel it more effectively through self-awareness.  “Shine” encourages entrepreneurs to reflect on their motivations, whether they stem from love or ego, and offers a framework for using this awareness to make better decisions and align closer with their true desires. Rob assures listeners that true success and peace come from authenticity and self-understanding, leading to a life where one can operate at their highest potential. Tune in to discover how to navigate the journey of self-discovery, redefine success, and unlock your true potential as an entrepreneur.   Quotes “Isn’t it funny, but not funny, how things just come together in life when you allow yourself to let go and follow what’s on the inside.” (4:31 | Rob Dube)“When we say ‘maximize your energy,’ we’re talking about vibrating high, every single day.” (28:02 | Rob Dube)“The resilience–when you keep getting knocked down over and over again–the resilience we have is unbelievable. Except for a momentary blip where we doubt ourselves, but then we just get right back up. It’s a super power.”  (30: 21 | Rob Dube)“For me, I had these traumatic experiences, as I mentioned at the outset. So, what did I want to do? I wanted to control my life. How can I control my life in business? If I go get a job, I can’t control that. So, I decided being an entrepreneur was the way I was going to control things, even though I later found out I can’t control anything. But you think you can because you’re self-employed. I’m going to make my own way.” (32:32 | Rob Dube)“Your true self is the real you. It’s the most authentic version of who you are. It’s unshaped by societal expectations, professional roles or social masks. It’s the core identity that remains constant beneath the various hats that you wear in different areas of your life and it’s typically buried behind your ego, your personality and the suit of armor that you’ve developed over your lifetime, often due to some kind of pain, trauma, conditioning, imprints, things of that nature.” (40:56 | Rob Dube ) “One of the things that entrepreneurs fear is that driven nature that they have and that in some way they think that if they let go of that edge, for peace, they won’t be as they hoped. And what we’re saying is, you’re not going to have to let go of the driven nature, you’re actually going to use it better.”  (47:26 | Rob Dube)  Links Connect with Rob Dube: Book: https://the10disciplines.com/shine/   Connect with Alex Raymond: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afraymond/ Website: https://consciousentrepreneur.us/ HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

“I really had to face off with myself,” says Dom Farnan, founder of DotConnect, about the courage, humility and work it took to admit that since 2019, when she transitioned from a solopreneur to leading a team of nearly 100 people, she had been acting as a toxic boss. She was controlling, deep in her ego, and helped foster a culture of drama and gossip. In 2020, however, after hiring a coach, attending the MasterMind personal growth summit, and reading books such as “The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership,” she began to create a conscious culture with her team, a “Dot 2.0,” as she calls it. And she chronicled the whole journey in a book entitled “Now Here: A Journey from Toxic Boss to Conscious Connector.” On this episode of The Conscious Entrepreneur, Dom explains how she dealt with the skepticism and eye rolling she received from certain team members when she explained the new direction in which she’d be taking the company. She discusses which of the 15 commitments she uses most often in her daily practice, the therapeutic modalities she incorporates into meetings and the deep digging she did to find the source of her toxicity.  As Alex notes, of all the resources available to entrepreneurs, bosses, and CEOs, there are few that deal with the inner feelings involved with those positions. Dom describes the burnout that led her to create a team in the first place as well as her struggles with imposter syndrome and how she leaned on fellow women entrepreneurs when male counterparts rattled her confidence. Led by DotConnect’s Vivid Vision mission statement, Dom and her team are continuing to co-create a more conscious working environment.    Quotes “I was really scared. I thought my clients wouldn’t want to still work with people who were not me. I was really big in my ego, ‘Oh, they’ll only work with me.’ Well, it turns out that they would work with my team, whoever I endorsed to bring in.” (5:20 | Dom Farnan)“I didn’t know that I was toxic, I wouldn’t have called myself that. That wasn’t a term that was even on my radar. But how that showed up in my company was there was drama, there was gossip, there was probably a sense of insecurity from the team. I was super emotionally reactive. I was a perfectionist and so if things didn’t go exactly perfect, my way, I would lose my mind over the small details and very much controlling of everything.”  (9:54 | Dom Farnan) “I just really had to unlearn everything that I thought I knew, so it’s been an unbecoming-who-I-thought-I-was process, and now a kind of putting-myself-back-together process.” (10:58 | Dom Farnan) “I put that out into the world and I shared it with the team, and some people were excited and some people left. They just weren’t aligned and didn’t want to support the vision, which was totally acceptable. That’s exactly, actually, what I wanted to happen. I wanted it to weed out anybody who wasn’t game for it.” (22:02 | Dom Farnan) Links Connect with Dom Farnan: Website:https://www.domfarnan.com/ Vivid Vision: https://dotconnectllc.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/VIVID-VISION-X-DC-1-1.pdf LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dom-farnan/   Connect with Alex Raymond: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afraymond/ Website: https://consciousentrepreneur.us/ HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

“It’s not just outside in nature, it’s out of your comfort zone and outside of corporate norms, and doing things a little bit differently.” Shortly after moving to Boulder, CO, Bart Foster, founder and CEO of BusinessOutside, took a meeting with a fellow entrepreneur. Instead of meeting for lunch or coffee, they went for a walk. Hiking in nature, Bart found, imbued him with a sense of creativity, vulnerability, renewed energy and wellbeing, and allowed him to open up to his colleague about a recent professional trauma.  Soon he began rethinking traditional workplace settings and culture, and how we can cut through mindless small talk and ask questions that “go deeper, faster” and generate more genuine and productive business relationships. Motion, he says, causes emotion. After all, time is precious. He explains how he used the “zip code strategy,” taught by Jim Sharpe of Harvard Business School to move his family from Atlanta to Boulder. Picking out where you want to live first, and figuring out the rest later is part of Bart’s goal to minimize regret.  Bart’s story is one of personal growth, creativity, and self-discovery in entrepreneurship. He walks listeners through some questions they can ask themselves to determine their personal value set, outside of the values assigned by society, and how to create what he calls “a gratitude loop.”    Quotes “I realized when I’m outside, I’m more creative, I’m more authentic, I’m more innovative. I feel happier, I feel more alive, I feel more energetic.” (4:12 | Bart Foster) “What I learned is if I can go deeper, quicker, it gives other people the permission.”(10:09 | Bart Foster)“It’s lonely. We often feel that we have to put up this mask, this veneer, ‘I’m raising capital,” and all these things. It’s hard. It’s really, really hard to be an entrepreneur and it’s lonely,” (11:50 | Bart Foster)“I got people to be vulnerable. I got them outside, we walked and all of a sudden, you could just feel it, the energy was different. And that just put me on this journey of, ‘Hey, I wonder if there’s a different way to do business?’” (23:40 | Bart Foster) “It’s not just outside in nature, it’s out of your comfort zone and outside of corporate norms, and doing things a little bit differently.” (24:52 | Bart Foster)“Health, money and time. How do we calibrate to maximize our life energy? That’s what I’m trying to do.” (33:40 | Bart Foster)“Shared experiences, not advice. We say to have empathy, not to judge. You want to have no judgment and just say, ‘Hey, this is what happened to me, here’s how I handled it.’ And then you get to make the decision.” (39:34 | Bart Foster)   Links Connect with Bart Foster: Website: https://www.businessoutside.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fosterbart/ Connection Questions: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/658f0890ea656379d1a749a6/t/659db7683bf81b506ddc4a06/1704834920419/BusinessOutside+Connection+Questions.pdf   Connect with Alex Raymond: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afraymond/ Website: https://consciousentrepreneur.us/ HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

“The real source of why I’m starting this company is actually deep love–deep love for myself, deep love and a desire for connection for anybody that struggles with loneliness,” said Tracy Lawrence of founding her company Chewse. The company, which provides group format catering for offices, was founded as a response to the social isolation and bullying she experienced as a kid in school.  Throughout the next decade she would have subsequent encounters with loneliness which she met with rigorous introspection, honesty, and courage. Each time she emerged with an understanding that while she was fully empowered on her own, we are all interconnected and can—and must—rely on each other in order to thrive.  Her journey brought her into the world of psychedelics and after selling Chewse, she began to practice psychedelic integration work and now does healing coaching in Honolulu. She explains modalities that listeners can engage in to promote their own healing, including Peter Levine’s alternative therapy known as somatic experiencing, as well as helpful teachings from Richard Schwartz and Joe Dispenza.  On today’s episode of the Conscious Entrepreneur, Tracy takes us through her experiences with burnout, and shares what she learned from and about her team each time she chose to be honest and vulnerable with them instead of hiding her emotions.    Quotes “I built a company that was group format-style catering because I wanted to make sure nobody ever ate alone.” (5:42 | Tracy Lawrence) “I thought ‘No, no, no.’ Leaders do not express fear. We are always in control and we are always powerful.’ No fear. We’re courageous.” (9:19 | Tracy Lawrence)“And in the moment, I looked at the team, and I told them, I said, I love working with you. And genuinely, I would be so devastated if we didn't raise this round, and we didn't get a chance to work together. And there was not a dry eye in the room. And it was a huge moment for my personal leadership philosophy being developed.” (9:46 | Tracy Lawrence) “In the psychedelic world, and in that journey, what happens is that all of the defense systems, all your layers, what you might call the protectors, they all stand down. You’ll see them start to stand down in layers, so that you can really see what your pure, highest self looks like looking out at the world.” (21:14 | Tracy Lawrence) “There is no spiritual practice like being deathly ill and coming to terms with the fact that you might not wake up the next day.” (36:58 | Tracy Lawrence)“If the brain thinks, the heart knows.” (45:44 | Tracy Lawrence) Links Connect with Tracy Lawrence: Guide: https://tracy-lawrence.ck.page/banishburnout Website: https://goloveengine.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracylawrence/   Connect with Alex Raymond: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afraymond/ Website: https://consciousentrepreneur.us/   HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Bryan Leach spent his school days and much of his early life “chasing a series of brass rings.” A self-described “anxious achiever,” he basked in the social cache of attending Harvard, Oxford University, and finally Yale Law and later clerking for U.S. Supreme Court justices and making partner at a major firm. Eventually, though, he found himself wanting to be more creative and to put something new into the world. He founded Ibotta, leading cashback rewards network in the United States and the first-ever performance-based marketing tool, one which powers large loyalty programs with major corporations like Kroger, Walmart, and Dollar General. This new venture required not only a new set of skills, but a whole new mindset from the one he developed as a lawyer. Being driven by praise and reward helped him to advance academically and professionally, but left him averse to taking risks–a trait essential to entrepreneurship.  As a lawyer, he was used to boasting his credentials and “being paid to be right,” while as an entrepreneur, he had to stand on the strength of his ideas and the results he delivered. How could he change his perspective so that the same obsessiveness and passion that made him successful didn’t burn him out or drive him crazy?  The answers are somewhat paradoxical. You have to be vulnerable enough to care deeply about your work, but also be OK if it never works out and you don’t get what you want. By asking more questions, showing you don’t have all the answers, sharing credit as well as pressure, you show yourself to be a more effective leader than if you act like you can do it all and have it all under control. The bigger the company grows, the more you must trust others to help control it. Though you must keep your identity from being too wrapped up in your company, your personal history and life events will show up in your work style. Bryan tauts the virtues of therapy and shares how he navigated the many instances of what Ben Horowitz calls WFIO (We’re F**ked, It’s Over). Everyone has WFIO moments, and their own unique path to success, despite our cultures insistence on sharing only superhero stories. In this episode, Bryan shares how, through  mental and emotional resilience, we can successfully navigate our own course.    Quotes “You have to figure out how to build the muscle of rebounding from emotional setbacks and failure at a much higher rate than you ever did when you were striving to be a lawyer.” (9:18 | Bryan Leach)“It’s very tempting to fall back on that storytelling trope that we have as a society which overemphasizes the contributions of the founder, hides all the struggles of the founder, and also leads everyone to kind of expect that.” (19:28 | Bryan Leach)“The more vulnerable you are, the more you admit you don’t know, the more you seek opportunities to apologize, take responsibility, the stronger you come across, the more authentic you are seen as a leader, the more effective you are.” (25:03 | Bryan Leach)“A lot of people who are successful are happy to share credit but when there’s blame they internalize all that blame within themselves. What you should be able to do is share credit and share ownership and responsibility for problem solving, so you’re not putting the weight of the Western world on your shoulders all the time.” (28:30 | Bryan Leach) “You have to create a world where if the company fails you’re still OK and proud of yourself, and you’re still happy and you learn things and you can go on and try something different. (29:26 | Bryan Leach) Links Connect with Bryan Leach: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEriFU1JEYM LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bwleach/ Website: https://home.ibotta.com/   Connect with Alex Raymond: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afraymond/ Website: https://consciousentrepreneur.us/ HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Entrepreneurship is more than a career or an identity; it's an emotional journey that demands resilience. In this episode of The Conscious Entrepreneur podcast, host Alex Raymond invites Dr. Michael Freeman to explore the intricate relationship between mental health and entrepreneurial success. Dr. Freeman, a renowned psychiatrist and expert in entrepreneur mental health, sheds light on the unique challenges faced by those in the entrepreneurial world. Discussing the highs and lows inherent in entrepreneurship, Dr. Freeman emphasizes the critical role of mental health resources in sustaining growth and wellbeing. His research offers a surprising perspective: entrepreneurs with mental health conditions often have an edge in business, a testament to the complex interplay between personality traits and mental wellbeing. Dr. Freeman shares essential strategies for maintaining mental health, including prioritizing rest, exercise, and connecting with nature. He also highlights the value of building a support network of peers and engaging in authentic relationships within entrepreneurial communities. As the conversation draws to a close, Dr. Freeman calls for a shift in entrepreneurial culture – one where mental health is as prioritized as business strategy. He envisions a future where entrepreneurs openly embrace their mental health journey, integrating self-care into their roadmap to success. By redefining the entrepreneurial narrative to include mental wellness, Dr. Freeman believes we can foster a new generation of resilient, balanced, and successful entrepreneurs.   Quotes: “The research over and over and over again demonstrates that entrepreneurs would have had more successful lives by a number of metrics had they pursued a career instead.”  (4:46 | Michael Freeman)“My colleagues and I studied a thousand entrepreneurs and we found that there was a 3% suicide rate among these people. It's a very good sample that we did this with the Gallup organization and we got a national probability sample, a very good robust methodology, 3.3% suicidality, suicide attempts, 1.7% psychiatric hospitalization, and about 40% of this whole group had one or more diagnosable mental health conditions. So that's worth knowing because the symptoms from those mental health conditions can derail your personal life and your professional life, and they can mostly be prevented. That's part one. Part two is that they're also associated with superpowers, and you can make those superpowers work for you, and that's part of why entrepreneurs succeed.” (8:32 | Michael Freeman) “Personality traits are neither good nor bad. You just need to understand what they are and then have ways of managing them so they work for you, not against you.” (18:21 | Michael Freeman) “The entrepreneurs that I've worked with tend to feel like they are the hero in the action drama of their own startup. And that if the startup succeeds, that means they succeed. And if the startup fails, that means they're a failure. Not true. And so being able to get out of that mentality, I think, is a level of consciousness that allows you to be way less stressed out about building business.” (26:00 | Michael Freeman)      Links Connect with Michael A. Freeman: Website: https://econa.net/  Are Entrepreneurs Touched with Fire? https://econa.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Are-Entrepreneurs-Touched-with-Fire.pdf Connect with Alex Raymond: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afraymond/ Website: https://consciousentrepreneur.us/ HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

"There's a people revolution," says Kendra Prospero, founder and CEO of Turning the Corner, in this insightful episode of The Conscious Entrepreneur podcast hosted by Alex Raymond. Kendra delves into the evolving dynamics between employees and employers, emphasizing the growing demand for workplaces that genuinely respect and value their staff. Kendra discusses how leaders must adapt to this shift, creating environments where employees don’t just show up for work but feel truly supported and appreciated. She shares strategies for developing an outstanding company culture, focusing on the importance of leaders addressing their own "head trash" to become more effective and empathetic. Regular pulse surveys and stay interviews are highlighted as key tools for measuring employee satisfaction and addressing concerns proactively. Kendra advocates for these practices as vital to maintaining a positive and responsive work culture. Flexibility stands out as a cornerstone of Turning the Corner's culture. Kendra talks about implementing flexible schedules, benefits, and compensation to meet the varied needs of their team, underlining the importance of adaptability in fostering a thriving workplace. A particularly challenging aspect of leadership, the decision to fire employees, is also addressed. Kendra emphasizes the importance of aligning these tough decisions with company values and maintaining authentic leadership throughout the process. This episode offers valuable insights into the "people revolution" in the modern workplace and practical strategies for entrepreneurs looking to build a culture that aligns with the needs and goals of today's workforce. Kendra Prospero's expertise provides a roadmap for nurturing a company environment that respects, supports, and grows with its people.   Quotes: “We can no longer just have this command and control, I'm paying you, so do what I say, kind of environment. People are not going to stay in those types of companies.” (5:25 | Kendra Propsero)“When you're an entrepreneur, you are always, always, always, always, always on a roller coaster. It will be up and it will be down and it will be up and it will be down. You're never going to get off of it unless you go get a regular job. Like you will always be on this roller coaster. And the minute I just accepted that, I felt peace because it's like, okay, some days are going to be great and some days are just going to be awful. All right.” (15:41 | Kendra Propsero)“There will always be some spoilage. You will always have some customers who are unhappy. You will always have some staff that leaves you and you didn't want them to go. That's just inevitable. And it's so much easier to just embrace it. Now, you don't want a lot of it, obviously. You wouldn't survive if there's a lot. But there's always going to be a little bit.” (16:08 | Kendra Propsero)“My top three priorities are my family, my business and my health. And if you look at my calendar, that's where my time goes. So I spend time with my kids and my family. I work on the business and then I work out every day. I get good sleep. I eat well.” (1:38 | Kendra Propsero) Links Connect with Kendra Prospero: Website: https://turningthecornerllc.com/ Website: https://www.kendraprospero.com/ Podcast: https://turningthecornerllc.com/podcast/   Connect with Alex Raymond: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afraymond/ Website: https://consciousentrepreneur.us/   HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast.   Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Is your definition of success conventional?  This episode of The Conscious Entrepreneur podcast features host Alex Raymond in conversation with Dr. Srikumar Rao, celebrated author, speaker, and coach. Dr. Rao’s shares what some may consider an unconventional definition of success. He encourages entrepreneurs to seek joy and fulfillment in their work, steering away from the pursuit of material gains and societal recognition.  He guides clients to recognize their true nature as pure awareness, transcending ego-based goals. His focus is on personal development through business, cultivating gratitude and well-being. A key theme of the episode is the idea of a benevolent universe. Dr. Rao suggests entrepreneurs embrace life’s uncertainties, letting go of the need for control. This acceptance can lead to reduced stress and a more peaceful approach to the inevitable challenges of entrepreneurship. Dr. Rao also offers strategies for reframing stress and adversity. He encourages viewing events without immediate judgment, opening the door to resilience and optimism. His perspective is supported by references to spiritual teachings and figures, enriching the conversation with profound insights. This episode provides practical advice and profound insights for entrepreneurs looking to align their professional journey with personal and spiritual growth. Dr. Rao's unique perspective offers valuable guidance for navigating the entrepreneurial path with a deeper sense of purpose and consciousness. Quotes: “You want to grow your business, you want to take care of your employees, you do it to the best extent you're capable of. But in the process of doing that, what you're really doing is you're working on yourself. You want to be the best parent you can if you have children, but in the process of doing that, you're really working on yourself. The only thing you ever do in life is you work on yourself.” (8:39 | Srikumar Rao)“Give up the sense of doership. And as you give up the sense of doership and allow the universe to unfold, you'll be pleasantly surprised at what it can do in your life. That's the message I have for entrepreneurs.” (26:33 | Srikumar Rao)“Whatever is your path in life, which is going to give you your spiritual growth is going to come into your life. Recognize that and be patient.” (38:16 | Srikumar Rao)“Ask yourself, is what happened necessarily a bad thing? And if not, is there anything I can do to make it good? This is how you move seamlessly from the realm of despair to the realm of possibility.”  (51:12 | Srikumar Rao)    Links Connect with Srikumar Rao: Website: https://theraoinstitute.com/ Book: https://www.amazon.com/Modern-Wisdom-Ancient-Roots-Unstoppable/dp/1632995417   Connect with Alex Raymond: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afraymond/ Website: https://consciousentrepreneur.us/ HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm