"What if the thing that has 'nothing to do with anything' is the fuel for you and your business?"
(00:00:00):
Tanya, thank you so much for being here.
(00:00:03):
And I'd sent you a form ahead of this conversation that was just kind of asking a
(00:00:07):
little bit about what was present.
(00:00:08):
And I thought it was interesting.
(00:00:10):
You told me about a moment you had journaling this morning and trying to kind of
(00:00:16):
identify what it is you want to work on.
(00:00:19):
And so where I'd love to start is tell me about like that moment this morning and
(00:00:23):
kind of what came up for you.
(00:00:24):
Yeah, I was going through Dickie Bush's journaling prompt thing that he has.
(00:00:29):
I was like, I've never tried his.
(00:00:31):
Let me try it.
(00:00:31):
I looked it up.
(00:00:32):
And it was like, the last question was five questions.
(00:00:35):
The last question was,
(00:00:37):
What do I need to do right now?
(00:00:40):
And I was just like stuck in paralysis.
(00:00:43):
And I chose something that has nothing to do with like the three things that I
(00:00:48):
filled out in that form.
(00:00:49):
It has nothing to do with those things.
(00:00:51):
Like the actual answer I gave after like five minutes of staring at this was this
(00:00:57):
client project that's on the deck next week.
(00:01:01):
I could feel the default into that without like the intentional,
(00:01:05):
this is the thing I'm working on.
(00:01:07):
Yeah,
(00:01:07):
everything is feel I don't want to say feels like urgent,
(00:01:10):
but everything does feel important.
(00:01:12):
And normally I'm really good at finding the dependencies and being like,
(00:01:17):
oh,
(00:01:17):
this needs to happen first.
(00:01:19):
But it's like I'm not convinced all the way for either for like any of the things.
(00:01:24):
So because I'm not convinced all the way, I'll just default to whatever's coming up next week.
(00:01:29):
Yeah.
(00:01:30):
So frustrating.
(00:01:31):
Yeah.
(00:01:32):
Right, because it could be, it's like, yeah, am I defaulting to what's easy?
(00:01:37):
Am I avoiding the intention that I'm setting?
(00:01:41):
With the things that you wrote in that list before defaulting to the client,
(00:01:46):
Did you actually feel like those were things that really mattered to you or were
(00:01:49):
those in some ways also a default?
(00:01:53):
I think they're important to do.
(00:01:55):
I don't know if I can say that they matter to me,
(00:01:58):
but they feel important,
(00:02:01):
which I just realized they feel important.
(00:02:03):
And I guess when I say they feel important,
(00:02:05):
I mean,
(00:02:05):
I can see the leverage points for each one of them really clearly,
(00:02:10):
but there's still like a disconnect on if they actually matter to me.
(00:02:15):
Yeah, I think they're important.
(00:02:17):
I can see the leverage point.
(00:02:19):
You're like, what do you care?
(00:02:21):
And do I care about that?
(00:02:22):
Yeah, it's such a great thing to pull out of anything.
(00:02:27):
So let's let's sit in like, let's allow those to kind of go away.
(00:02:31):
Because I think you're saying in this just in this moment,
(00:02:34):
let's stick with what you actually kind of care about.
(00:02:39):
And let's say that those might be a good idea for somebody to do or someone in my
(00:02:43):
position could do this and it would be beneficial for them.
(00:02:46):
You know, is there an area or what area do you feel more connected to?
(00:02:54):
And maybe that's not obvious to you and we can explore that,
(00:02:56):
but is there something else that now starts to surface once those have gone away?
(00:03:01):
Yeah, there is, but it has legitimately nothing to do with anything in the sense
(00:03:06):
It has legitimately nothing to do with anything.
(00:03:09):
And I want you to finish the sentence.
(00:03:11):
Related to what?
(00:03:12):
Related to the business.
(00:03:14):
Okay.
(00:03:14):
So I have something important that's coming to the surface and it has nothing to do
(00:03:19):
related to the business.
(00:03:21):
Yeah.
(00:03:22):
And right now that scene is maybe not okay, but let's include it in this.
(00:03:25):
So what's coming up?
(00:03:26):
Yes, it was coming up for me is this this desire to compose.
(00:03:31):
So when I was younger, I used to compose music.
(00:03:33):
I used to do like scores for little films.
(00:03:36):
And I haven't done it in many, many years.
(00:03:38):
And it's just it's just something that is rising to the top.
(00:03:42):
A lot.
(00:03:43):
Yeah.
(00:03:43):
Yeah.
(00:03:44):
A lot.
(00:03:44):
OK.
(00:03:45):
More than just this.
(00:03:46):
More than just today.
(00:03:47):
Yeah, yeah, definitely.
(00:03:49):
Yeah, it's just like I don't, but I also don't give any like space to it.
(00:03:53):
So part of me is like,
(00:03:53):
well,
(00:03:54):
if I gave space to it,
(00:03:55):
would it,
(00:03:56):
you know,
(00:03:56):
would it still be coming up as much?
(00:03:58):
I haven't really tested that.
(00:04:01):
So it keeps kind of like pushing up.
(00:04:03):
It keeps kind of bubbling up and then it keeps getting kind of pushed away.
(00:04:06):
Yeah.
(00:04:07):
And I wonder,
(00:04:08):
I think what we don't know is what happens if you allow,
(00:04:11):
what would happen if you allow yourself to have some space for that?
(00:04:15):
Yeah.
(00:04:15):
Yeah,
(00:04:16):
I think it's funny because for me,
(00:04:18):
the business has always been this channel of impact,
(00:04:22):
but it's also this big channel of freedom.
(00:04:24):
And so in my mind, I'm like, oh, I want to do this thing.
(00:04:28):
Let's build the runways to do this thing.
(00:04:30):
And I kind of get stuck in that weird loop.
(00:04:34):
I don't have the freedom yet to compose music in my business.
(00:04:38):
Is that what you're saying?
(00:04:38):
Yeah, that's what I tell myself, but it's like such bullshit.
(00:04:41):
And I know that it's bullshit.
(00:04:43):
I can feel it when I say it out loud, but there is like a mental block.
(00:04:47):
I think there's like,
(00:04:49):
because when I get really into something,
(00:04:51):
I sort of fall into it,
(00:04:52):
like truly.
(00:04:53):
And so the idea of being like, well, I'll give myself an hour or two hours.
(00:04:58):
It doesn't, it's just like so surface level.
(00:05:01):
And so I'm like not even attracted to that idea.
(00:05:04):
How many hours sounds good?
(00:05:06):
I agree.
(00:05:07):
One or two hours.
(00:05:08):
It's too little, right?
(00:05:09):
So I'm sure what's bubbling up.
(00:05:10):
Yeah.
(00:05:11):
Okay.
(00:05:12):
I want a week.
(00:05:12):
I want a week to just compose music.
(00:05:14):
Yeah.
(00:05:15):
Yeah.
(00:05:16):
That would be good.
(00:05:17):
And I want to build a business to have the freedom to take a week off to compose music.
(00:05:22):
Yeah.
(00:05:23):
Yeah.
(00:05:23):
Like with that being the only thing I'm thinking about.
(00:05:27):
So those two things are aligned.
(00:05:29):
You're building a business that can create freedom and you have this desire to
(00:05:33):
compose music for a week.
(00:05:35):
I think the interesting question,
(00:05:37):
given that it keeps popping up,
(00:05:39):
is at what point in your business will you be ready,
(00:05:44):
able,
(00:05:45):
available to take off a week?
(00:05:46):
And what's preventing that from being now?
(00:05:50):
Yeah, that's a good question.
(00:05:52):
I think if I were to communicate it properly to certain clients, it would be fine.
(00:05:57):
But what ends up happening is I,
(00:05:59):
and I can see it started from afar,
(00:06:01):
is I'll tell myself,
(00:06:02):
well,
(00:06:02):
I have four projects on deck.
(00:06:04):
Let me close those out.
(00:06:05):
If I could just really focus and do this in a sprint in four or five or six hours,
(00:06:10):
then I'll clear it up and then,
(00:06:12):
you know,
(00:06:12):
have a little bit of space.
(00:06:14):
And I tell myself that.
(00:06:16):
But then it's like I have no creative energy left.
(00:06:18):
I've just given it to the client.
(00:06:21):
Yeah,
(00:06:21):
and what I read a little,
(00:06:22):
just for people watching and listening,
(00:06:24):
that there's also maybe you're feeling a little less of that creative energy just
(00:06:27):
in general,
(00:06:28):
right?
(00:06:29):
And so might it be that the composing is what brings that energy back?
(00:06:34):
I think the order of operations here is kind of maybe what we're playing, which is...
(00:06:41):
What if doing the music improves my business?
(00:06:44):
What if that frees my creativity up?
(00:06:47):
What if creating the space to do that helps me create a business that allows me to
(00:06:52):
keep taking space in this way,
(00:06:53):
which is why I'm building it in the first place?
(00:06:57):
Man,
(00:06:57):
David,
(00:06:58):
my stomach is turning at the thought of that because it feels accurate and also
(00:07:03):
like a dummy moment for me.
(00:07:06):
This is so interesting.
(00:07:07):
Yeah, I could see that being the case.
(00:07:10):
I definitely know that when I am in that space of composing or making something,
(00:07:14):
The creative energy is up.
(00:07:16):
I guess I just never thought about it in that way.
(00:07:18):
You can overflow into other areas of your life.
(00:07:21):
Yeah, I think.
(00:07:22):
Yeah.
(00:07:23):
And I do think there's like the sense of and we talked a little bit about this last
(00:07:27):
time where I definitely have it over responsibility.
(00:07:30):
It's something I've been working on for a while and it's something I'm getting
(00:07:32):
better at very slowly.
(00:07:34):
But I think because of that, the business always comes first.
(00:07:38):
And so it doesn't even cross my mind that put me first.
(00:07:42):
Yeah.
(00:07:43):
Yeah.
(00:07:43):
Or like,
(00:07:44):
because there's not like a,
(00:07:45):
there's no aim really for a monetary return on the music side.
(00:07:49):
It is, it is for me.
(00:07:50):
I do share it and people love it.
(00:07:53):
I think this is something that's really interesting too,
(00:07:55):
is people when like people will message me and be like,
(00:07:58):
post a song,
(00:07:59):
like just post,
(00:08:00):
you know,
(00:08:01):
which is so cool.
(00:08:02):
It's so validating, but there's nothing in my brain that's like, Oh, I should, you know,
(00:08:07):
do more with that everything has been a very personal like oh I would love to just
(00:08:11):
take a week maybe two weeks and like just put together like four or five songs and
(00:08:16):
just like put it out there I think that would be so fun but because I can't tie it
(00:08:20):
to money I'm like
(00:08:23):
That's not, that doesn't go first.
(00:08:26):
Which I think you're enlightening me on this.
(00:08:28):
That might be the wrong way to look at it.
(00:08:30):
Well, and you told me the reason for the business in the first place was to have the freedom.
(00:08:34):
Yeah.
(00:08:35):
To do that type of thing.
(00:08:36):
Yeah.
(00:08:36):
And so the hard thing is when will I start participating in that freedom?
(00:08:41):
It's really easy to have that be some fictional point in the future,
(00:08:45):
which you probably already set a milestone that you've already crossed.
(00:08:48):
Yeah.
(00:08:49):
And then now it's just natural.
(00:08:50):
We all do that, right?
(00:08:51):
Especially as entrepreneurs, you kind of move the gold post.
(00:08:54):
Yeah, I change it, yeah.
(00:08:56):
And, and I think it doesn't, there's not an either or there's just sort of a more or less.
(00:09:01):
Am I using this freedom that I've created for myself already in my business?
(00:09:04):
I mean, I do know from our previous conversation, you've had a business for some time now.
(00:09:09):
So am I getting some of the fruits of that labor now?
(00:09:13):
Maybe it's not a full, maybe you don't feel ready for a full week.
(00:09:16):
Maybe that's a few days instead.
(00:09:17):
I'm not sure.
(00:09:19):
what the right amount is at this stage.
(00:09:21):
And what I hear is that you would enjoy,
(00:09:24):
benefit,
(00:09:24):
it would be life-giving,
(00:09:25):
creative giving for you to have some relationship to the music soon,
(00:09:31):
now.
(00:09:32):
Yeah.
(00:09:33):
When I think of my business,
(00:09:34):
I'm super grateful because I work realistically 20 or 30 hours a week.
(00:09:40):
And so in my brain, I'm like, I have the freedom.
(00:09:42):
I just don't have it in the way that I want.
(00:09:44):
Or maybe I do and I'm just not giving it to myself in the way that I want, you know?
(00:09:48):
What type of freedom do you want?
(00:09:50):
Let's clarify that because that's really helpful.
(00:09:52):
Yeah, I want the immersion.
(00:09:56):
That's a big thing for me.
(00:09:57):
Even when I think of other things that I want to do,
(00:09:59):
like,
(00:09:59):
you know,
(00:09:59):
one of my sort of,
(00:10:00):
I don't want to call it like a bucket list thing,
(00:10:03):
but it is a thing that I would like to do is I spent some time in Paris,
(00:10:07):
but I would love to actually take a language class in Paris.
(00:10:09):
I'd like to do it for a week.
(00:10:11):
And I'd like that immersion.
(00:10:13):
And so I think for me, freedom doesn't mean 20 hours a week.
(00:10:16):
It means
(00:10:17):
leaving and just like, you know, immersing myself in a thing, in a place or in an activity.
(00:10:24):
I think that that is what freedom means to me.
(00:10:27):
So the freedom you built in your business was a slack in your schedule that
(00:10:31):
actually isn't being maybe used to the degree you want because the type of freedom
(00:10:36):
you want is this deep,
(00:10:38):
immersive experience.
(00:10:39):
And I love that we've got some specific examples of that.
(00:10:42):
A week in Paris, language immersion.
(00:10:45):
Yeah.
(00:10:46):
a week or two weeks composing music.
(00:10:49):
And you can place these out right through the calendar year, however you want them to be.
(00:10:55):
That's a new way of working with the freedom that you can create in your business.
(00:11:00):
That's a great point.
(00:11:01):
Yeah.
(00:11:01):
Is there any other,
(00:11:02):
just since we're in this,
(00:11:03):
a week,
(00:11:04):
and you don't have to do any of these,
(00:11:05):
we're just brainstorming,
(00:11:05):
a week in Paris learning languages,
(00:11:07):
a week or two weeks composing.
(00:11:09):
Anything else come to mind like that?
(00:11:10):
Let's just add it anymore.
(00:11:11):
Two years, oh, is it 2025?
(00:11:13):
Yeah.
(00:11:15):
In 2023, there was a time that I felt super inspired as in Chicago.
(00:11:19):
And I took like, legitimately, it was about six weeks off of just like writing poems.
(00:11:27):
And I did like a very, I was kind of in maintenance mode on the business.
(00:11:31):
And I was fine.
(00:11:32):
I like loved it.
(00:11:33):
When I look back on that time, I'm like, I am so grateful for that time.
(00:11:36):
But it wasn't planned.
(00:11:37):
It wasn't anticipated.
(00:11:38):
It was like, this is where I am and I can do this.
(00:11:43):
Like, let's just do it.
(00:11:44):
And when I look back on that, it doesn't feel like, oh, I wasted time.
(00:11:47):
It's like one of the best times of my life.
(00:11:50):
Yeah.
(00:11:50):
Yeah.
(00:11:51):
Yeah.
(00:11:52):
Right.
(00:11:52):
100%.
(00:11:52):
I love that you have an example to pull on.
(00:11:56):
You've done this before.
(00:11:58):
Yeah, but I guess I haven't done it with much intention.
(00:12:00):
I think that's what it is.
(00:12:01):
It's like I've done it because I've sort of I've sort of fallen into it.
(00:12:06):
And it was like, I have to in the best way.
(00:12:09):
You know what I mean?
(00:12:11):
Yeah.
(00:12:11):
Yeah.
(00:12:12):
And that could be your model.
(00:12:14):
You know, I you could you can continue to do it that way.
(00:12:17):
I think I have to do it with intention because I think to wait for that is like
(00:12:21):
creates a weird burnout.
(00:12:23):
Yeah.
(00:12:24):
Yeah.
(00:12:25):
So this is a great opportunity.
(00:12:27):
We're kind of towards the end of the year.
(00:12:29):
You know, what is what does creating this with intention look like?
(00:12:33):
And you don't need to solve it all or have it all figured out.
(00:12:35):
But let's just look at what you might do to create more intention in freedom and
(00:12:41):
doing some of these things in your business.
(00:12:42):
Like, for example, would you plan your year out in advance with big time off?
(00:12:46):
Would you tell your clients in advance just what comes to mind?
(00:12:50):
I probably book a ticket.
(00:12:51):
That usually is my milestone.
(00:12:53):
Nice.
(00:12:53):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
(00:12:54):
I love that.
(00:12:54):
Milestone is booking the ticket.
(00:12:56):
Yeah, because I know that when that happens, I get to play.
(00:13:00):
I know that, you know, and that's wonderful.
(00:13:02):
I love that so much.
(00:13:04):
It's a very great experience.
(00:13:06):
But yeah, that's a good one.
(00:13:09):
Even like the last time.
(00:13:10):
So I was in London for three months and I loved it.
(00:13:13):
And I actually went without much intention except to like take pictures of cool
(00:13:17):
buildings and to work from there.
(00:13:19):
Like that was like the thing that I wanted to do.
(00:13:21):
But yeah, I do.
(00:13:22):
I think that something happens where I'm like, yeah, I was in London.
(00:13:25):
I took hundreds of pictures of buildings and I was like,
(00:13:27):
oh,
(00:13:28):
I should totally do like a little photo book of this.
(00:13:29):
It'd be so cool.
(00:13:31):
But then like the moment I start in something like that, I'm like, what am I doing?
(00:13:35):
I'm not doing anything that's,
(00:13:36):
you know,
(00:13:37):
that's like helping the business and it's vulnerable,
(00:13:41):
not in a good way.
(00:13:41):
Why am I doing that?
(00:13:42):
And then so I'll pull back on that project or I'll start it and there'll be like,
(00:13:46):
you know,
(00:13:47):
15%,
(00:13:47):
20% of the way there.
(00:13:49):
You were still working there.
(00:13:50):
You didn't allow for the full immersion.
(00:13:52):
Yeah.
(00:13:53):
And so this voice,
(00:13:54):
which is kind of a separate conversation,
(00:13:56):
keeps kind of coming back and then it's like,
(00:13:59):
well,
(00:13:59):
which am I immersed or am I working?
(00:14:01):
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
(00:14:03):
And so it's like I'm never fully in either one.
(00:14:07):
So I want to kind of pause here to lay out what I think could be a fun sort of
(00:14:12):
opportunity,
(00:14:12):
which is defining three of these tickets that you can purchase ahead of time for
(00:14:17):
the year.
(00:14:17):
Okay.
(00:14:19):
One could be an actual ticket.
(00:14:20):
Yeah.
(00:14:21):
And I want to share personally my relationship to what we're talking about because
(00:14:25):
I've also navigated this a little bit,
(00:14:28):
if that's okay,
(00:14:29):
if I share that as well.
(00:14:30):
Yeah, absolutely.
(00:14:31):
So what I found,
(00:14:33):
and I've done this with a lot of clients I work with as well,
(00:14:35):
is when my clients and when I have set part of my calendar out ahead of time,
(00:14:41):
which actually this was inspired by Jesse Itzler.
(00:14:43):
I don't know if you've heard his stuff online or whatever, but he's got a good kind of
(00:14:47):
framing on this but what I found is that if you lay out part of your year in
(00:14:51):
advance time off something fun for you he does like hard projects that he'll put
(00:14:58):
slotted in like a trip or something like that where it's like a climb a mountain
(00:15:01):
type of thing but when you have that laid out across your year
(00:15:07):
Two things I notice happen for myself and for entrepreneurs.
(00:15:10):
One is you have all this really enjoyable anticipation.
(00:15:14):
Like you just know the stuff is coming.
(00:15:17):
Like, you know, hey, this is in my calendar.
(00:15:18):
It's happening.
(00:15:19):
Not only do I know for sure my immersion is happening, learning language is happening.
(00:15:23):
Like,
(00:15:23):
it's just exciting to just like kind of see your calendar and be like,
(00:15:27):
wow,
(00:15:27):
I just have like such a cool year like coming up and it's happening.
(00:15:32):
So there's just like an excitement that I think you get from that.
(00:15:34):
You know, the anticipation of a trip is just like fun.
(00:15:37):
And the other thing is what I noticed for founders and entrepreneurs is you have a
(00:15:40):
diversity of experience.
(00:15:43):
so that your life feels less monotonous, right?
(00:15:45):
When you get in this cycle of the client work and it's just heads down and it's
(00:15:49):
like,
(00:15:49):
you're so tunneled in,
(00:15:51):
you start to lose some of that diversity of like just rich experiences,
(00:15:56):
like I'm doing this.
(00:15:57):
And then it's like this completely other thing.
(00:15:59):
And I think founder types,
(00:16:00):
like you want to do a lot and you like excited,
(00:16:03):
you're curious about a lot.
(00:16:04):
And so like, it's nice to feed that.
(00:16:06):
And I think it balances the work really nicely as well.
(00:16:09):
It's like,
(00:16:10):
I just was learning this language and now I'm kind of back, right?
(00:16:13):
So it adds a texture to your year that I think is really,
(00:16:16):
like you said,
(00:16:16):
you remember in 2023 having that,
(00:16:18):
it's like a memorable experience.
(00:16:20):
So yeah,
(00:16:21):
book,
(00:16:21):
I would book in advance three tickets to something for yourself for next year and
(00:16:26):
then just know
(00:16:28):
I'm building my business around that.
(00:16:30):
Yeah.
(00:16:30):
I actually really, I really, I do really like that.
(00:16:34):
I think the challenge for me is going to be making them weighty, right?
(00:16:39):
So minimum a week.
(00:16:43):
Yeah.
(00:16:44):
Yeah.
(00:16:44):
Minimum a week, I would say.
(00:16:45):
And then I think sometimes I get stuck where I'm like,
(00:16:48):
oh,
(00:16:49):
you know,
(00:16:49):
if I'm going to go here for a month,
(00:16:50):
I have to do this in order to like justify or earn it,
(00:16:54):
you know,
(00:16:55):
like not doesn't make sense when I say it out loud.
(00:16:58):
But that is something that comes up.
(00:17:00):
There's also something else that comes up that I'm going to bounce off you.
(00:17:03):
But I am aware that this is probably something and it is something for me to work
(00:17:08):
through personally.
(00:17:09):
But
(00:17:10):
it came up while you were talking while you're telling that story which is i had
(00:17:13):
this experience of planning out something the big goal was taking my parents on a
(00:17:19):
trip going on a trip with my parents to europe and so we had done this and so i'd
(00:17:23):
planned this in advance so for me it was like the work was easy to do because i saw
(00:17:27):
this coming you know i saw this awesome trip coming up and then my dad passed away
(00:17:33):
like six days before the trip yeah
(00:17:35):
And there is,
(00:17:36):
like,
(00:17:36):
something,
(00:17:37):
I would say,
(00:17:38):
like,
(00:17:38):
since then that's,
(00:17:39):
like,
(00:17:39):
it's almost like I don't want to,
(00:17:44):
when I put it on the calendar,
(00:17:45):
like,
(00:17:45):
what ends up happening is I don't put it on the calendar now with this sort of,
(00:17:48):
like,
(00:17:49):
anticipation,
(00:17:49):
like,
(00:17:50):
oh,
(00:17:50):
I'm going to work really hard and then do the thing.
(00:17:52):
Because I don't think that.
(00:17:54):
Or at least my body doesn't think that.
(00:17:57):
It's more so like I'm just going to continue as normal.
(00:18:01):
And then if I get there and I'm able to go, I will go on this thing.
(00:18:04):
You know, it's like there isn't like this.
(00:18:06):
Sure.
(00:18:07):
This like confidence that like I'm going to get to do the thing.
(00:18:10):
And so because I don't have the confidence to do it, I'm like.
(00:18:14):
Do I really try hard right now?
(00:18:17):
You know what I mean?
(00:18:18):
Two things.
(00:18:18):
One,
(00:18:18):
I'm so happy you brought this up because this is an example of an experience you've
(00:18:22):
had that is really difficult around having a trip planned,
(00:18:27):
having the anticipation,
(00:18:29):
having your father pass before that.
(00:18:31):
So I really appreciate bringing that up because it's an experience that is really
(00:18:36):
informing this on some level.
(00:18:38):
And so I do think that that's something to work with.
(00:18:43):
What I'm hearing you say is,
(00:18:46):
slightly different though on top of that,
(00:18:48):
which is I need to be motivated in a certain way to get the reward of the trip or I
(00:18:54):
need to be working harder before the trip or,
(00:18:56):
and so help me understand what the point of that is.
(00:19:00):
That's a good question.
(00:19:04):
Yeah, there's definitely a sense of earning that I think is embedded.
(00:19:09):
It's like, well, if you get to do this, you have to do something for it, which I don't know.
(00:19:13):
I know that that doesn't make sense out loud.
(00:19:15):
Yeah.
(00:19:16):
And isn't the, I mean, obviously these things cost money.
(00:19:19):
They take time.
(00:19:20):
Like, I guess in some ways it isn't the earning that you're creating a business.
(00:19:23):
You already, you already earned that.
(00:19:25):
Right.
(00:19:25):
I mean, what is, you know,
(00:19:27):
Yeah.
(00:19:27):
You're like, what is the thing that I have to earn?
(00:19:30):
You're doing the work already.
(00:19:32):
I think we're talking about the extra.
(00:19:34):
Why is that?
(00:19:35):
What is the purpose of the extra work?
(00:19:37):
Yes.
(00:19:37):
What is the extra work for?
(00:19:39):
Yeah.
(00:19:40):
And if it felt good and it was like,
(00:19:41):
oh,
(00:19:42):
I'm going to do a little more work,
(00:19:43):
create a little more income and then I can splurge like that's that's aligned.
(00:19:48):
Yeah.
(00:19:50):
This isn't like that.
(00:19:51):
I kind of wish it was that.
(00:19:53):
That was a little better.
(00:19:54):
Yeah.
(00:19:54):
Yeah.
(00:19:55):
But yeah, it's not really that I'm not sure.
(00:19:58):
I think I think I feel guilty a little bit.
(00:20:00):
I think I feel a little bit guilty that I get to do it.
(00:20:07):
Yeah.
(00:20:09):
It's weird.
(00:20:10):
It doesn't need to be this way because it could be with yourself.
(00:20:12):
But is there a relationship like is that in relationship to someone else or is that
(00:20:17):
with yourself the guilt?
(00:20:19):
I think it is with myself,
(00:20:22):
but it's like,
(00:20:22):
it's because of,
(00:20:25):
I would say,
(00:20:25):
a lot of the core people around me.
(00:20:28):
And so when I'm,
(00:20:29):
depending on where I am,
(00:20:31):
to be totally honest,
(00:20:33):
I think this is one of the things I really appreciated about being in London is I
(00:20:36):
felt really surrounded by people who sort of got it and they worked like me and
(00:20:42):
they shared the same values.
(00:20:43):
Whereas like when I'm in Phoenix, if I'm surrounded by, you know, my mom or a
(00:20:48):
my siblings, it's like everyone else is a pretty traditional work environment.
(00:20:54):
And so they just think I'm playing all the time,
(00:20:57):
which of course I know that I'm not,
(00:20:59):
but it's,
(00:20:59):
I feel bad.
(00:21:00):
I do.
(00:21:00):
I feel bad.
(00:21:01):
I feel like, I don't know.
(00:21:03):
I just, I don't really, I feel like if I don't tell them that I'm going here to do this thing,
(00:21:10):
Even though they're so supportive.
(00:21:12):
To be honest, even with my mother, she's always like, go.
(00:21:15):
If you have a chance to go, go.
(00:21:17):
Super supportive.
(00:21:20):
Then I'll speak to her and she's worked a 60-hour week and she has a week off every year.
(00:21:26):
I'm just like, I kind of feel like an asshole.
(00:21:29):
I'll invite her and I will do all the things that I think will make me feel better,
(00:21:34):
which is strange.
(00:21:36):
But...
(00:21:38):
What's the judgment against you?
(00:21:39):
Like from myself, you mean?
(00:21:41):
Yeah, or from others.
(00:21:42):
What's the judgment that you're just playing?
(00:21:45):
Yeah, that's definitely a big one.
(00:21:47):
Yeah, I think that's a big one.
(00:21:49):
Even when someone jokes, it must be nice.
(00:21:52):
It like stings a bit.
(00:21:55):
And I feel like I was in a different place mentally or emotionally with it.
(00:21:59):
I could take it as the joke.
(00:22:02):
What do you want to say in that?
(00:22:03):
What do you want to say?
(00:22:04):
I want to say I worked my ass off.
(00:22:07):
Yeah.
(00:22:07):
Yeah.
(00:22:07):
Okay.
(00:22:08):
Yeah.
(00:22:08):
Right.
(00:22:09):
Right.
(00:22:09):
That's really what I want to say.
(00:22:10):
I want to say I worked my ass off for, for a long fucking time.
(00:22:14):
Yeah.
(00:22:15):
I was like a kid since I was like 15 without a social life.
(00:22:19):
Like, right.
(00:22:20):
And I loved it.
(00:22:21):
Don't get me wrong.
(00:22:21):
It was, I loved it.
(00:22:23):
It was, when we moved from Chicago to Arizona, it didn't have any of my cousins around me.
(00:22:29):
Didn't have it.
(00:22:29):
You know, I was like,
(00:22:31):
young teenagers and have any like easy friends in the beginning and it was like the
(00:22:35):
thing i did for fun but it's also work and now i want and now i want what i worked
(00:22:43):
my ass off and now i want freedom i don't know yeah what would you tell them i
(00:22:49):
would say and now i want to just go and play and have the freedom to play yeah yeah
(00:22:55):
Yeah, I it's you know, it's tough to say that to an immigrant mother.
(00:23:01):
She's like, I have been through a war.
(00:23:03):
And it's funny because like she truly is like she she would never make me feel bad.
(00:23:06):
I think my my partner kind of what my siblings certainly would not in any real way,
(00:23:11):
but they would definitely make jokes.
(00:23:14):
Right.
(00:23:14):
And so now it's kind of like, I mean, how does it feel sharing?
(00:23:17):
How are you feeling right now?
(00:23:19):
Just like saying, I work my ass off.
(00:23:21):
How does it all feel now?
(00:23:22):
It's quite validating to be like, yeah, go on your phone.
(00:23:26):
Yeah.
(00:23:27):
Yeah.
(00:23:27):
Right.
(00:23:28):
Right.
(00:23:28):
So maybe that's a little of that feeling like in some ways we can play into the
(00:23:33):
story we have about what the dynamic is and how we're coming off.
(00:23:36):
And so I'm hearing you kind of show up in a way that feels better for you.
(00:23:40):
Yeah.
(00:23:41):
It's harder,
(00:23:42):
easier said than done,
(00:23:43):
but it's like holding that space a little bit of like,
(00:23:46):
oh,
(00:23:46):
yeah,
(00:23:46):
like,
(00:23:46):
hold on,
(00:23:47):
I can tap back into I worked my ass off.
(00:23:49):
Wait, actually, I'm good.
(00:23:50):
Yeah.
(00:23:50):
And I want to do I want to have no agenda or plan on this trip.
(00:23:54):
Yeah, I definitely feel much more open to that.
(00:23:56):
Thanks for breaking that for me, David.
(00:23:58):
You're really good at breaking things, which I like about you.
(00:24:02):
Yeah, yeah.
(00:24:04):
So that's kind of the,
(00:24:05):
and I wonder in showing up in that way,
(00:24:08):
how that's then received or if there's as much of that kind of like relational
(00:24:12):
stickiness that,
(00:24:14):
you may have felt in the past um i want to take us to one kind of last place here
(00:24:20):
if you're if you're open to it which is because you've brought it up twice now in
(00:24:24):
your note in our last conversation about your mom and that there's some
(00:24:28):
responsibility there maybe it relates to this trip maybe it doesn't i guess yeah i
(00:24:32):
just want to explore that a little bit are you are you open to that absolutely yeah
(00:24:35):
yeah that like relationship because because
(00:24:39):
Yeah, I wonder where responsibility sits.
(00:24:41):
You were saying something about that,
(00:24:43):
like responsibility to your mom and where that is in this context we're talking
(00:24:47):
about.
(00:24:48):
Yeah, that's a great question.
(00:24:49):
It's funny, I have a couple different ways of looking at it.
(00:24:51):
The bigger way,
(00:24:53):
it's interesting,
(00:24:54):
actually,
(00:24:54):
now that you even bring this up,
(00:24:55):
I'm thinking of,
(00:24:57):
I have responsibility in like two ways,
(00:24:59):
which is so interesting.
(00:25:01):
With my mom, I would say,
(00:25:03):
that I feel this sensibility to create a business that is more sustainable,
(00:25:08):
that I am not necessarily the bottleneck of.
(00:25:12):
The revenue goals and things like that,
(00:25:14):
I feel very responsible to my mother who,
(00:25:17):
God bless her,
(00:25:18):
never really asked for anything,
(00:25:19):
but I definitely feel this sense of responsibility.
(00:25:23):
Whereas it's so funny,
(00:25:24):
like when I think of now,
(00:25:25):
when I travel,
(00:25:26):
I also feel a sense of responsibility too.
(00:25:29):
I have an aunt that I love.
(00:25:31):
I just love her so much.
(00:25:32):
We actually think really similarly, but she's not mobile.
(00:25:35):
She's moved and she loves the world.
(00:25:37):
And so when I go, I take pictures and I post pictures and it's like a very,
(00:25:41):
intentional I am bringing you with me you know beautiful yeah and I love it and I
(00:25:48):
think when it comes to the social side of things like people people really
(00:25:52):
appreciate it which I think is very cool because it's like a different approach to
(00:25:55):
social and I like that because I think of her all the time anytime I'm seeing like
(00:25:59):
something beautiful
(00:26:00):
But yeah,
(00:26:00):
when it comes to my mom,
(00:26:01):
I'm definitely thinking like,
(00:26:02):
oh,
(00:26:03):
I need,
(00:26:03):
you know,
(00:26:04):
I should do this.
(00:26:05):
I should do the revenue goal.
(00:26:07):
I should do, I should hire on and like make this more sustainable.
(00:26:10):
I should, you know, productize this better.
(00:26:14):
Like the, I don't want to say an obligation to her, but that sense of over responsibility.
(00:26:20):
I think what it does is it puts me in a more secure place to help her.
(00:26:27):
That's it.
(00:26:28):
Financially, so you feel there's specific financial support that you want to provide.
(00:26:33):
Is that what we're talking about?
(00:26:36):
It almost feels like a responsibility to level things up for her,
(00:26:42):
even if she doesn't care about it.
(00:26:44):
Even if she has a car that runs fine, I'm like, we should get you a better car.
(00:26:49):
If she's got a house, she's okay.
(00:26:51):
And I'm like, well, I know you really want a big backyard.
(00:26:52):
Yeah.
(00:26:53):
You know,
(00:26:53):
like I get very like,
(00:26:55):
and for some reason I have volunteered as tribute to be the channel for this.
(00:27:01):
Yeah.
(00:27:01):
Yeah.
(00:27:02):
I have a potentially difficult question,
(00:27:06):
which is how,
(00:27:07):
how are you,
(00:27:08):
how have you been participating?
(00:27:10):
Well,
(00:27:10):
real quick,
(00:27:11):
but the ant thing,
(00:27:11):
that's awesome because you build connection with her through the travel and like,
(00:27:17):
that's just so,
(00:27:19):
so great,
(00:27:19):
you know,
(00:27:20):
that whole process.
(00:27:21):
So I really love that.
(00:27:22):
And I think it's a cool part of this travel thing for you and that connection.
(00:27:26):
And so,
(00:27:27):
There's this very aligned connection between you two where you get to go do the
(00:27:30):
thing and then there's the sharing.
(00:27:32):
And so that's amazing.
(00:27:34):
Thank you.
(00:27:34):
It's funny because every time I'm in those cities where I have friends,
(00:27:37):
they always message me and they're like,
(00:27:39):
I love the way you see where I live.
(00:27:42):
And other people too.
(00:27:43):
Yeah, they love it.
(00:27:44):
People know if I'm traveling based on whether or not I'm posting.
(00:27:48):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, right.
(00:27:49):
So that's great.
(00:27:51):
And that aligns with what we talked about at the beginning.
(00:27:53):
You know,
(00:27:53):
with your mom,
(00:27:54):
and this is a more complex topic,
(00:27:56):
and our relationship with our parents is the most complex of all the areas to work
(00:28:00):
through interpersonally.
(00:28:02):
There's so much there.
(00:28:03):
What I am curious about is,
(00:28:06):
how has that support been shown over time?
(00:28:10):
Meaning, have you been, let me just throw this out there.
(00:28:13):
Have you been, Hey, I got an extra client, got some cash.
(00:28:16):
Here's a gift.
(00:28:19):
Now you're bonded, you know, and like, that was great.
(00:28:21):
And then you go do it again and it's a different thing or like,
(00:28:23):
is that,
(00:28:24):
I know this is a harder question,
(00:28:25):
but has that been happening or is this imagined of something you might do one day?
(00:28:31):
Yeah, that's a great question because to be totally honest, it is mostly imagined now.
(00:28:37):
In the past, it's been being the person who is dependent on when all else fails.
(00:28:46):
Like my mother doesn't really ask for help, so she asks for help because she needs something.
(00:28:50):
But it's kind of this like, you know, you need to buy a ticket to Australia tomorrow.
(00:28:57):
No problem.
(00:28:59):
it's not an issue covering when it's needed yeah exactly exactly that's not a
(00:29:02):
problem we got it yeah there's something you know up with the car needs fixing
(00:29:08):
don't want you to worry about it we can we can do this together like it's like that
(00:29:11):
is the thing is like there's a sense of dependability that i take a i take a bit of
(00:29:17):
pride in i will say and i think i'm pretty good about knowing the difference
(00:29:22):
usually of like when that's really you know needed and not
(00:29:27):
That sounds like a good thing.
(00:29:28):
And it sounds like it's something that you,
(00:29:31):
that there's not as much of like a extra thing in that,
(00:29:35):
that it's,
(00:29:36):
I got you,
(00:29:36):
I'm dependable when you need it.
(00:29:38):
It like works well in the same way that with your aunt,
(00:29:41):
you could build this connection from travel.
(00:29:42):
It's like with your mom, this dependability, the financial support when it's there.
(00:29:47):
Like, so now we're kind of talking about this extra part.
(00:29:51):
So that, that I almost, to me feels very like aligned and I totally,
(00:29:56):
I think that if you're working and building your business to say,
(00:29:58):
I want to continue to be that dependable person.
(00:30:00):
Less pressure.
(00:30:02):
It's less pressure.
(00:30:02):
Yeah.
(00:30:03):
It's less like,
(00:30:03):
yes,
(00:30:04):
you're being less pressured to do something else that maybe is,
(00:30:07):
it's unclear how necessary it is or not.
(00:30:09):
Like, yeah, that's, it's a line.
(00:30:10):
That's the best way I can put it.
(00:30:11):
Yeah.
(00:30:13):
So dependability, like that feels good.
(00:30:14):
Yeah.
(00:30:16):
I definitely have some pride around it.
(00:30:17):
Yeah.
(00:30:18):
Yeah.
(00:30:18):
And I don't think the pride is a bad thing.
(00:30:19):
I think it's a good thing.
(00:30:20):
And so like,
(00:30:22):
Growing that or staying with that,
(00:30:25):
you know,
(00:30:25):
I think can be a good driver,
(00:30:27):
a good motivator,
(00:30:29):
not a pressure motivator.
(00:30:30):
This imagined thing,
(00:30:31):
you know,
(00:30:33):
it's a different thing to tackle because it's thinking something,
(00:30:36):
I must be doing something else other than that.
(00:30:39):
Yeah.
(00:30:40):
You know, and and I think there there's more to unpack there.
(00:30:45):
I want to be conscious of time.
(00:30:47):
What I will say as a starting point for that is and it's funny because where my
(00:30:51):
mind goes is the love languages.
(00:30:53):
I don't know if you know that book.
(00:30:55):
It's such a service.
(00:30:56):
fantastic model of things it really works well in relationships I almost this is
(00:31:02):
kind of funny but I'm almost curious what her love languages are like what what
(00:31:07):
does she want and does that align right because we might want to give gifts for
(00:31:10):
people but that's not how they what they need you know how they want to so and so
(00:31:16):
some dialogue or some testing or some way of seeing hey this other imagined thing
(00:31:21):
that I might do
(00:31:22):
is that actually important?
(00:31:24):
And that could actually just be a conversation too.
(00:31:27):
Like I've been feeling this pressure and I like want to do this and it could come
(00:31:32):
with reassurance.
(00:31:34):
You know, I want to tell you, I'll tell you quickly a personal thing.
(00:31:36):
You know, my, my wife has a very traditional job.
(00:31:38):
I have a very, I've been an entrepreneur for a really long time and I've had that pressure of,
(00:31:44):
you know,
(00:31:44):
shouldn't my work be a little bit more like straightforward or like not going in
(00:31:48):
different directions,
(00:31:49):
right?
(00:31:49):
And so I felt this pressure, probably still sometimes do feel that pressure.
(00:31:53):
And I'm like,
(00:31:55):
And in bringing that up with my wife,
(00:31:56):
it's like,
(00:31:57):
she's like,
(00:31:57):
oh,
(00:31:57):
well,
(00:31:58):
you're just not that person.
(00:31:59):
Like you'll never do.
(00:32:00):
Wow.
(00:32:01):
That type of thing.
(00:32:02):
That you don't have.
(00:32:03):
Yeah.
(00:32:03):
So I'm like, oh, okay, great.
(00:32:04):
Like, I'm happy to hear that validation that you see me that way.
(00:32:07):
Because I was thinking I also had to be this extra person.
(00:32:09):
And it was helpful to hear her say, no, like you're not that person.
(00:32:13):
So like, I don't put anything to do that.
(00:32:15):
So some dialogue, again, I don't know where your relationship is at.
(00:32:20):
And again, things are complex, but speaking to it could help.
(00:32:24):
Yeah, that's a great point.
(00:32:25):
I think if I would,
(00:32:26):
that's when I even just imagine that,
(00:32:28):
and I will talk to her about the section.
(00:32:29):
I think it's a great conversation because I know the moment that I say it,
(00:32:34):
she's going to be like,
(00:32:35):
that's not your job.
(00:32:37):
And then I will start crying because I'm like,
(00:32:40):
you know,
(00:32:41):
because I'm like,
(00:32:41):
I want you to be taken care of.
(00:32:43):
I get this like panic of like,
(00:32:45):
Yeah.
(00:32:45):
And maybe stay with that because there might actually be more dialogue than just that.
(00:32:51):
Right.
(00:32:52):
Because like, it might be something about why isn't it my job?
(00:32:55):
Like there might actually be a little more.
(00:32:57):
Okay.
(00:32:58):
Okay.
(00:32:59):
Yeah, exactly.
(00:33:00):
Like, it's kind of like, you know, someone being like, well, don't worry about that.
(00:33:03):
It's like, well, I'm still worried.
(00:33:04):
Yeah.
(00:33:07):
Yeah,
(00:33:08):
really what there might be is an insight about how your mom views that that is
(00:33:14):
enlightening to why there's less pressure than you think.
(00:33:17):
Yeah, that's so helpful, David.
(00:33:18):
Thank you.
(00:33:19):
Yeah, I really appreciate that.
(00:33:21):
Absolutely.
(00:33:22):
So I'm going to send you a recap.
(00:33:24):
The thing that I would recommend most is carving the time out in advance for something.
(00:33:30):
So yeah,
(00:33:31):
just saying like next year,
(00:33:32):
no matter what,
(00:33:33):
I've got these three things coming up and I'm
(00:33:36):
And I will work around that.
(00:33:38):
And maybe you'll actually work in new ways to create that outcome,
(00:33:42):
not in a pressured way,
(00:33:43):
but just,
(00:33:43):
you know,
(00:33:43):
it's there.
(00:33:44):
So that's what I'd recommend.
(00:33:46):
Yeah, I will totally do that.
(00:33:47):
And I'm very good about using like natural milestones.
(00:33:49):
I have like a lease up end of March.
(00:33:52):
Nice.
(00:33:53):
Perfect.
(00:33:54):
Yeah.
(00:33:55):
Yeah.
(00:33:55):
Yeah.
(00:33:55):
Book the ticket,
(00:33:56):
use the lease,
(00:33:57):
like do the thing,
(00:33:57):
tell your friends,
(00:33:58):
I've been working really hard for this.
(00:34:00):
I'm going to go play for a while.
(00:34:01):
Yeah.
(00:34:02):
You know, and.
(00:34:03):
No, I will do that.
(00:34:04):
That'll be part of my year end, my year end planning for sure.
(00:34:07):
Yeah.
(00:34:07):
Awesome.
(00:34:08):
Thanks, David.
(00:34:08):
This has been really, you're so good at like opening people up.
(00:34:13):
And like, and really just bring insight.
(00:34:15):
Yeah.
(00:34:15):
It's really, it's really powerful.
(00:34:16):
And I'm, I'm really grateful to do this with you.
(00:34:19):
Thank you.
(00:34:20):
Thank you.
(00:34:20):
Thanks for being here.
(00:34:21):
Of course.
(00:34:23):
Sweet.
(00:34:24):
All right.
(00:34:24):
I look forward to the recap.
