Head Down, Push Through, and Pivot
In this episode, we look at the interplay of being "heads down and pushing through," or pivoting to something new. Where is the balance between having goals and pivoting and making sure you're not working really hard in the wrong direction. This is one of the biggest mistakes I see in entrepreneurship.
Thanks for Listening
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Episode Resources
Ari Meisel: Less Doing, More Living
In this episode of Art of Authenticity I had a thoughtful conversation with Ari Meisel, an entrepreneur who has built a business around taking work off of the plates of busy entrepreneurs.Ari Meisel is the author of multiple books, a speaker, business owner, and father. How does he do it all? His business, Less Doing, is all about answering that question — both for himself, and for the hundreds of business owners and entrepreneurs that use his services.Ari’s story starts in 2006, when some unexpected news derailed his booming real estate career: Crohn’s Disease: A highly-debilitating digestive ailment, Crohn's barred Ari from leading a normal life. He lost weight, energy, and the ability to work with regularity—in fact, there were times he could only work for sixty minutes a day.With a blossoming business to run, Ari knew an hour per day was unacceptable. Against the advice of doctors and loved-ones, Ari embarked upon an extraordinarily painful journey to cure what medical textbooks consider an incurable disease.Through excruciating amounts of trial and error, Ari not only regained control of his life but beat this seemingly unbeatable disease—and is now symptom-free.
Thanks for Listening
Again, thank you so much for your support! Please subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already!
Show Notes
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How Ari came across the "Less Doing" ideology [02:45]
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Some things people can do today to simplify their lives [04:39]
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The mentality people need to have before they look at tools [05:10]
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What Ari means by identifying the problem [06:47]
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What to do if you can't figure out how to proceduralize something [09:40]
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What Ari's company does for businesses and solopreneurs [11:11]
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The most common mistake people make with outsourcing [13:17]
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How Ari prevents himself from feeling overwhelm [15:30]
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How to figure out when to invest in automation and outsourcing [17:18]
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Why Ari hates the phrase "heads down" [19:53]
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What it means to Ari to have an authentic life [21:20]
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How to make authentic decisions under stress [23:54]
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What habits Ari uses to keep his life moving [25:09]
More About Ari
Anything you want to know about Ari can be found at his website, Leverage.
Episode Resources
How Not to Communicate Like an Amateur
Effective communication is both easy and hard at the same time. It's hard because we often make so many simple mistakes that lead to large issues over time. It's easy because communicating well can be as simple as remembering to be human when you're speaking with someone. In this episode, I share communication lessons learned while running the company I co-founded and sold to a Fortune 500 company after 15 years.
Thanks for Listening
Again, thank you so much for your support! Please subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already!
Episode Resources
Felica Spahr: How to Focus on What Matters
In this episode of Art of Authenticity I had a thoughtful conversation with Felicia Spahr about how to focus on the things that truly matter in a world that seems designed to distract us at every turn.Felicia is a leadership coach who helps ambitious, professional women focus on what matters and eliminate and delegate what doesn’t to move towards bigger goals, all without burning out.She helps people find productivity systems that work so that you can stay consistent and motivated. She works with project managers, lawyers, doctors, marketers, etc. She works with women specifically who want to do their best and feel overwhelmed.
It's very easy to be overwhelmed in today's world, and I think that we all already know this to be the case. The case for single tasking and focusing on what's truly important has never been stronger, but the advice on how to get there is sometimes lacking.That's why I loved this conversation with Felicia. She really knows her stuff and has focused on a specific type of person — busy and successful women — so she can really hone in and help them with their specific problems. As one of those women myself, I got a lot out of this conversation personally and know that you will as well. Thanks once again for tuning in — I appreciate it!
Thanks for Listening
Again, thank you so much for your support! Please subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already!
Show Notes
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Felicia discusses the myth of having to sacrifice things you enjoy in exchange for personal growth. 2:37
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Questions we should ask ourselves in order to reach our goals. 4:48
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Breaking down what we want in life, isolating an area of your life to focus on, and how that will affect other areas of lives. 5:57
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How the book "French Woman Don't get Fat" helped improved multiple areas of Felica's life. 7:19
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Different perspective on how to improve your life. Focusing on what is working well, rather than what's wrong in your life. Which makes improving your life feel more natural. 9:04
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Feeling overwhelmed because of not knowing what your priorities are. Why the feeling of being overwhelmed in and of itself, is actually a good thing.10:47
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Why you shouldn't give everything "top priority", and why you should let go of less important things. 13:08
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In the "assembly line" you come first, so in order to be your best you must prioritize yourself first. 14:32
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Your second priority should be your relationship, so that you have a good foundation to resolve any problems that may occur. 15:35
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It is better to have a system that fosters relationships rather than a one-time fix. 18:46
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How to work with woman who have lost track of their priorities. Sometimes, they don't even know that they have lost track of their priorities.
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Woman are used to beating themselves up which leads to a feeling of guilt 26:01
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On woman having the urge to be busy all the time. Always filling up free time when it becomes available. 28:00
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Tuning in to what your body is telling you is important. 31:13
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Realizing that work life and personal life is actually one life. If everything is working in one area of your life, then that area you think is working probably isn't working. 32:29
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Felicia's personal story on the feeling of being on the path of self-destruction, and how she moved on to become a coach.
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Emotional story of grandfather being ill, and the importance of allowing yourself to grieve and being your own advocate. What do you need to do in order to allow yourself to heal properly without feeling guilty. 39:01
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Everyday routine and habits to be more productive. "Before anything comes in, I want to get it all out". 43:34
Books Mentioned in this Episode
More About Felicia
Episode Resources
Deserve: The Ugliest Word in the English Language
Today, I wanted to talk to you about a question. Have you ever asked yourself, "Do I deserve this?"Replace "this" with anything you want. Am I worthy of ____? Do I deserve that ice cream? Did I work out enough today? Do I deserve it? Do I deserve a promotion?Have I worked really hard at my job and have I been overlooked or I got a promotion, did I deserve it?Have you asked yourself if you deserve to find love in your life?I have such an issue with this concept. The word “deserve”: do something or have or show qualities worthy of reward or punishment, right? That’s the actual definition of the word deserve. So in other words, do I have the right to, am I entitled to, am I qualified for, am I worthy of ___?But here’s the issue: I get it.You have to work hard and then you get the reward. We don’t want to have a world in which we just give everything out for free.
Thanks for Listening
Again, thank you so much for your support! Please subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already!
Episode Resources
Download the MP3Download the Transcript
Jonathan Raymond: Good Authority
In this episode of the Art of Authenticity, I had a deep conversation with Jonathan Raymond about authority and leadership, along with his new book, Good Authority.
Jonathan is the author of the upcoming book Good Authority and the owner of Refound, an advisory firm that offers accountability skills training programs for owners, executives, and managers. He is the former CEO and Chief Brand Officer of EMyth, where he led the transformation of a global coaching brand and has worked in tech, clean tech, and the nonprofit world after graduating law school in 1998. After twenty years of not being able to decide whether he was a business development guy or a personal growth teacher, Jonathan stopped trying to figure it out.
When it comes to authenticity, leadership, and authority, there's probably no one better to speak to than Jonathan Raymond. In our personal and professional lives, the challenge of leading people while empowering them instead of disempowering them is more important than ever. And authenticity is the key to unlocking good leadership — or as Jonathan calls it in his new book, good authority.I think you'll enjoy this episode if you have trouble being your authentic self while in a leadership role of any kind — I know I got a lot out of this conversation. Thanks for listening.
Thanks for Listening
Again, thank you so much for your support! Please subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already!
Show Notes
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Why Jonathan stopped trying to figure out if he was a business development guy or personal growth teacher [02:15]
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Refactoring how people can translate over the lessons learned from ancient introspective practices into their daily roles [04:37]
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Some of the interesting events in Jonathans life that lead to the creation of his book [06:08]
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How Jonathan was disempowering employees through his initial leadership style [08:29]
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Feedback that is both personal and professional at the same time [10:30]
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Helping people grow by increasing the ability to see how their behavior affects other people [13:12]
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The economic cost of overanalyzing habits of employees [15:57]
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Jonathans secret tactic: “Reset the table” by explaining that something has been on your mind and you waited to long to say it you can open up communication [17:45]
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Jonathan provides an example of “Owning the context” [19:14]
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Emotional transparency: saying what you are feeling so you don’t act it out [20:14]
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Discussing the meaning behind the title “More Yoda. Less Superman”. – “Feeling a sense of I got this, the teams got this, and we can deal with anything that comes” [22:27]
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On placing the quote, “The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are,” at the beginning of the book and thoughts on being authentic [26:23]
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What does and authentic life mean to Jonathan? No regrets on making choices and taking risks [28:27]
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Walking trails help in times of stress and struggle [29:29]
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Jonathan discusses how he works on actively asking for and offering people for help [30:40]
Episode Resources
Jonathan's book, Good Authority (also found at Refound)Download the TranscriptDownload the MP3
James Clear: Are Goals Just Guesses?
In this episode of The Art of Authenticity, Laura Coe talks with James Clear about systems over goals, and how to reach new heights of productivity without the stress.
About James Clear
James Clear writes about behavioral psychology, habit formation and performance improvement. He studies successful people across many disciplines, including entrepreneurs, artists and athletes, to uncover the habits and routines that make them the best at what they do.
The question so many people ask
“How do I implement, have the discipline, the motivation to change my life?”
James talks about goal setting, taking action and changing habits: practical things, like putting your gym shoes next to your bed so you can run in the morning, and the psychology behind why we set goals but can’t follow through. We think it’s just us; that we’re lazy or not motivated. If you want to improve this area of your life, this is the episode to listen to.
Show Notes
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James’s personal story — forced to overcome major hurdles, he learned to focus on small wins [3:05]
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On the importance of having a good team [6:50]
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How James displayed entrepreneurial behavior without realizing it at first when he was in graduate school [8:36]
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James’s early years as an entrepreneur involved incubating his skill sets [10:23]
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James’s turning point — starting http://jamesclear.com/ and feeling invested in writing about behavior change and high performance [11:15]
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How James views goals, setting goals, and how to think about that process first [14:20]
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Entrepreneurship, marriage, and children as the three great teachers in life — accepting that there is no finish line [15:05]
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Committing to systems over goals allows happiness now, instead of it always being postponed until the next goal is finally reached [18:20]
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Most experiments that you run in your business will not work because results are very contextual—you must keep experimenting and measure/track your results [19:06]
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Measure backward over a short time span (instead of measuring forward) to improve over time [20:55]
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Forget willpower, change your environment — i.e., priming your environment to make the good behaviors easier and the bad behaviors harder [26:35]
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Keystone habits have a cascade effect: changing one or two key behaviors influences a lot of other areas as well [28:33]
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To figure out your keystone habit(s), experiment but also ask yourself what goes right on the days when you’re at your best [30:40]
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How James got so interested in the importance of sleep — sleep-deprived people become blind to their own performance decline [33:00]
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Questioning the cultural belief that sleep must suffer because “a busy person is an important person” — why occasional laziness can be very healthy [35:59]
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What does it mean to have an authentic life? James’s yearly integrity report, where he admits faults to progress forward [38:04]
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James’s top practices for authenticity — his keystone habits of lifting weights (testing the body) and writing (testing the mind) [40:15]
Books Mentioned in this Episode
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Charles Duhigg, The Power of Habit
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Mason Currey, Daily Rituals: How Great Minds Make Time, Find Inspiration, and Get to Work
More About James
James’s first book will be out soon from Penguin Random House in the next year. Find all his books at http://jamesclear.com/books. Subscribe to his weekly newsletter at http://jamesclear.com/newsletter.
Frequently asked questions
Why does James Clear favour systems over goals?
Committing to systems allows happiness now, instead of always postponing it until the next goal is reached.
What is a keystone habit?
A habit with a cascade effect: changing one or two key behaviors influences many other areas.
Is willpower the answer?
James suggests changing your environment instead, making good behaviors easier and bad ones harder.
Related episodes
- Gretchen Rubin: Habits, Tendencies and How to Be Yourself
- Why You Shouldn’t Wait for Success to Celebrate
Zach Obront: On Finding a Business That's Authentic
In this episode of Art of Authenticity I had a deep conversation with Zach Obront, the co-founder of Book in a Box, about his new company and authentic entrepreneurship.Zach Obront is a cofounder of Book in a Box. Book in a Box is a new type of publishing company focused on allowing busy experts with important messages to share their book without the usual barriers. Writing a book can be almost impossible for people who are really busy so Book in a Box helps by transcribing the book for the expert, they grew from zero to 300 authors in a very short period.
Zach and I go back quite a bit. I met Zach because I was launching of my book
Emotional Obesity
, and at the time Zach was a guy who was helping others like myself launch books. So, we have an interesting history together and it ties in to Zach’s business,
.Zach is here to talk about entrepreneurship. How he tried a whole bunch of different things, something took off, and what that process looked like in real time. He really dives into the details here, so for anyone trying to get something started or move it into the next level, Zach has a really candid, honest discussion here.He also talks about working on a business that is meaningful and authentic and fun.Thank you
so
much for tuning in. I’m sure you’ll love today’s episode.
Thanks for Listening
Again, thank you so much for your support! Please subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already!
Show Notes
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How Zach and Tucker found a business that "took off" [02:43]
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How Book in a Box was the obvious choice out of a multitude of author-focused businesses [07:42]
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Why it's better to do everything for authors instead of piecemeal [08:31]
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What he says to authors who say "I just want to write a book" [09:42]
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Thinking through a book as a businessperson vs. as an author [11:02]
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The Book in a Box process and how it enables more people to share their story [12:11]
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Definition of success for an author [14:20]
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How BIAB helps authors define their goals [16:21]
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How he decided to shut down all other businesses to focus on Book in a Box [17:44]
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Why it was hard for him to let go [19:11]
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The next 12 months for Book in a Box [21:05]
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What an authentic life means to Zach [24:12]
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Why he journals...a lot [25:13]
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On if he had a "turning point moment" [29:38]
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On why people don't finish what they start [30:55]
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Other things he does besides journaling to stay authentic [32:10]
More About Zach and Book in a Box:
Episode Resources
Why Authenticity Matters More Than Happiness
Today, I’m going to answer a question that has been asked so many times. I’ve probably gotten this question 10, 20, 30 times. I haven’t kept track.
Why not the Art of Happiness?
The question is: “Why did you do a podcast on the Art of Authenticity? Why not the Art of Happiness?” People ask me that question in a variety of ways. They ask, “Why are you interested in authenticity and not happiness?” Or they say that they are interested in happiness but don’t really understand authenticity.
The reason behind the choice
There’s a very good reason why I chose to talk about authenticity over happiness, and I dig into it in this episode.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the podcast called The Art of Authenticity and not The Art of Happiness?
That is exactly the question Laura answers in this episode.
Is authenticity the same as happiness?
No. Many people say they are interested in happiness but don’t really understand authenticity; this episode explains why Laura chose authenticity.
Related episodes
- What Authenticity Is NOT
- A Primer on How to Find Authenticity in Your Life
- How Do We Define a Happy Life?