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launch into it.

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But I just want to first off start off by saying thank you so much for taking the time out
to speak with us.

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I mean, I did some gentle stalking of your LinkedIn and just I saw all the different
things that you're a part of.

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Like, I mean, your keynote speaker, you have your own organization, all of these things.

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And so I just wanted to first start off by saying thank you.

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We appreciate

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My pleasure.

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It's always wonderful to be found.

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So remind me later to ask you, how did you all find me?

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How did this work?

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But so starting off, just one of the things that really struck me looking through all the
different things that you've been a part of is the fact that you also put that you were at

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a time a yoga instructor as well as a creative director.

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Like both of those things were kind of flowing under LinkedIn.

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So and you've also mentioned about you being an athlete preneur.

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So I really want to talk to you about how

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sports, athletics, like that lifestyle, how that's all been integrated into your work.

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Yeah, wow, that's a big question.

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Just to clarify, so I'm not misrepresenting myself, I'm all things brand.

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So I actually taught spinning at a yoga studio, which was really cool because we were at,
so that comes from my athletic background.

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I was a pro elite cyclist, a cross country mountain biker, and I was teaching spin
classes.

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you know, in the very early days to supplement my race career.

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And then after I left that, then I kept doing it to pay for vacation.

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So I had a side hustle so I could travel because I love to travel.

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So how all of those came together?

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mean, essentially it comes down to what I was passionate about as someone who has ADHD,
full disclosure, self -diagnosed.

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when you tick all the boxes on several different surveys,

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I can't do things that don't hold my interest or that I'm not passionate about.

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And I can remember cycling being a thing ever since I had, you know, the banana seat bike
with the sparkly seat and it was purple and it was just gorgeous.

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And so I've always loved the freedom of being on my bike.

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And so I think freedom is also a topic that ties through in my life as

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the travel and being an entrepreneur and not being tied down to one thing and the freedom
to cross disciplines.

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So really, I think what you're seeing in my profile is me weaving together the things that
I love.

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And then also a lot of it is bringing together the people that I love.

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That is so cool.

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I really love the idea of freedom.

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Can you talk a little bit more about how you've been able to really delve into that?

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here are so many times, especially the entrepreneurial space, that you kind of have to
laser focus on one thing, like be a master, so to say.

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So how have you been able to bring about freedom instead?

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Yeah, I think it's much like the definition of success.

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You have to define what freedom looks like for yourself.

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I I certainly don't work a four hour work week.

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And I think part of that is because I can't imagine not being in the room with my clients
and the people that I get to collaborate with.

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So I think everybody chooses their own path of what freedom looks like.

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Freedom for me means, it's funny, I took a job.

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guess I would have been about 15 years ago after being an entrepreneur for many, many
years, having my own business.

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And it just felt like the right opportunity.

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And I was like, hey, I can give this a go.

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And where it really hit me on the freedom piece was when I had to go and ask if I could
take vacation and get permission for the dates.

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And I was like, whoa, no, no, no, no, no, this is no, hold up.

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My brain didn't comprehend

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Yeah.

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So freedom for me is the freedom to choose the clients that I get to work with.

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It's freedom to choose the collaborators and other strategic partners that I get to work
with.

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It's the freedom to create new events.

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I created a networking event here that's called Casual Fridays on the North Shore of North
Vancouver.

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I live in this beautiful place where everybody is athletic and they all tend to check out
on a Friday afternoon.

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And I'm like, hey,

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I've got this thing on a Friday and everybody was like, nobody will come.

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And I was like, really?

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Let's just give it a try.

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They're like, it's Friday afternoon.

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Nobody will come.

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I said, yeah, but we are in a way a commuter community and people are driving across the
bridges.

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And for those of us that work here, Vancouver, North Vancouver, West Vancouver is across
from Vancouver.

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The only way can get there is two bridges.

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The traffic is terrible.

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So if you don't leave for an event at four at two, forget

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Or you're lucky if you make it, but someday I've literally driven a loop of the bridges,
trying to get to an event.

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And I was just stuck in traffic for an hour and a half.

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So I created it for North Vancouver business owners and leaders who didn't want to drive
across a bridge.

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So selfishly again, there's that theme of freedom.

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I'm going to control the control, the thing control the day control the environment.

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So, and I called it casual Fridays because I was like, Hey, if you want to go for a
mountain bike ride or a trail run before the event and show

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know, muddy and what else?

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Like that's us.

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That's, that's, that's the vibe here in North Vancouver.

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and it has turned into, think we've been, we hosted it for about a year or so before COVID
had to shut it down, started it back up.

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we're hosting one next week and within a week we've got 65 % of the tickets sold out.

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Right.

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and yeah, and 50 tickets go pretty quickly.

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And so we've developed this amazing network of folks who surprisingly, a lot of them come,
there's one guy who drives in from the Valley, which

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could be an hour to an hour and a half away.

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So, you know, the freedom to create community is really great.

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Also had the opportunity recently to create a collective called the Rainbow on blah, blah,
blah, blah.

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It's a mouthful.

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The Rainbow Entrepreneur Collective.

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And there was a group of us who hosted a panel for Pride last year for business owners.

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And we recognize that post COVID, there were no organizations left that were bringing

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2SLGBTQI plus people together.

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And so we thought there's a great vibe here.

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Let's write it.

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Let's carry it.

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And so it's for co -hosts and we've been doing it for a year and it's getting great
reception.

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yeah.

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That is so refreshing to hear, especially, it's just, especially with, feel like the times
are shifting now, where like the definition of like work culture is just so much more

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different now, like the ability to be more of yourself and bring that into different
spheres and just kind of challenge that status quo.

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just, and even you talking about these initiatives that you're giving yourself the freedom
to start.

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While you're talking about that, I also hear just a lot of resilience, just a lot of
fearlessness to be able to do that.

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And so, I mean, I suffer from imposter syndrome and like, you know, having ideas and like
being afraid to start.

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So like, how are you able to craft and develop that skill?

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I think part of it comes from my background as an athlete.

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You know, I've always been an athlete.

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My parents enrolled me in figure skating when I was, I don't know if I was four or five,
and I quickly kind of moved up and showed potential, and I think it was around the age of

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six, they held tryouts, and I was selected of one of three.

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girls to be paired with three boys who were selected to be trained as the next top pairs
figure skaters in the world to represent Canada.

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I was seven years old.

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You know, and there's resilience required when you fall on the ice and get dropped by your
partner or, you know, or you trip them and, know, like there's the ice is hard.

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So physically from the start and the club I skated for, they were serious stuff.

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You know, they had hard rules and there was harsh punishments.

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You know, if you were showing a bad ad, as we got a little older, I don't want to make it
to be something that, you it wasn't.

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But I remember in, you know, 11 or 12 years old, they're really hard on the boys.

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It was like, you take care of your partner, you

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You drop her, you pick her up, you make sure if it's late and we have a late practice, you
walk her to her parents' car or you make sure she gets home safe or this or that.

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So they were tasked with a large amount of responsibility because that's what they needed
to be on ice in the competition.

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So they were training that in all aspects and it was really behavior and values based.

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So if you stepped outside of the bounds and you showed a bad attitude or by that point,
you fall, you swear, you

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-hmm.

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get it right.

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It was like point to the door and go run 10k.

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That's your punishment out you go or go run.

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I can't remember how many ups and downs of the stadium stairs at one of the arenas there
was an athletic stadium next door.

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you you learn to work within the confines of the culture and the box and the structure.

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And I know that one of your recent episodes was was with a former military personnel and
he was talking about the same thing, you know, you

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grow up and you're step into a structured culture, you carry that with you.

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And so then sport wise, I went on to some crazy sports like gymnastics on horseback.

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I have a lot of experience falling.

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So if you change one word in the word falling, it spells failing.

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So I think giving yourself permission to fail and fail fast and get up.

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I mean,

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You fall off the horse, you get back on the horse, getting off in the middle of a lesson
and quitting is not only, can't just leave your horse standing there.

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It's not an option.

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being out of my mountain bikes now, I can't just fall and go, well, I've had enough for
the day when I'm 10 K from home.

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Yeah.

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You get yourself in, you get yourself out.

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So, yeah.

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And I, for me, I take so many of my life lessons from the trail and from sport, but I call
them lessons from the trail.

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And

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I read a ton of business books, I read a ton of self -help, I just love reading.

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But the things, I can comprehend them, but I can't viscerally understand them.

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I'm a very kinesthetic, very visual learner.

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And so often I'll gain a concept through a book, but then I'll go, I'll be running on the
trail and I'll be like, this is what they meant, because I can physically feel it in my

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body or it makes more sense to me.

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So I take a lot of what I have learned and what I do learn from the trail and apply it to
business.

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And I truly believe that sport has, has made me a successful entrepreneur because it's
built resilience and learning.

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that is so interesting.

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And so going back to like how you feel those lessons in your body, like kinesthetically,
when you're talking to different clients about failing or trying new things, how do you

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translate that to them if they may not have that sort of background?

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Like how do you kind of bridge that gap, help them understand

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A lot of the times it's encouraging them to test and measure.

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What's the next step you need to take or if you're gonna implement this thing, this
program, whatever it is, outline yourself a set of steps.

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When we get ready to go for a run or a bike ride, I don't all of a sudden, well, okay, to
be fair, sometimes I'm like, I've had enough, I'm gonna go for a ride.

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But in my head, I'm like, okay, I've gotta get my bike out, I gotta grab my helmet, I
gotta grab my gloves.

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I need, I'm going to need water.

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How far am I going?

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Do I need a toolkit?

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Do I need the serious toolkit?

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Like you don't just show up at the trailhead and go, there's things that you need to do.

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So anytime that my clients are taking on something new, it's, it's, it's giving them a
context of where, where are we heading?

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What's the objective?

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How are we going to get there?

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And what are the, what are the basic steps in structure so that you make it from start to
end?

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And then how did it go?

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I love

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Hmm.

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Yeah.

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What would we leave the same and what would we change or improve?

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And, you know, that's the thing that I think so often is missed in marketing.

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It didn't work.

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okay.

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Like what didn't work?

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What if we tweaked this one thing?

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What if we tweaked three things?

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Let's try it again.

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Same thing with brand.

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Everybody's like, how do you measure brand?

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like, well, we can go there if you want, but essentially how you measure brand is people
saying what you want them to say about you when you're not in the room.

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You know, when you hear back from someone, so -and -so referred me or said that I should
meet you.

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I'm always like, how did you meet me?

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Who referred you?

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tell me about what you know.

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So I'm always testing is what I'm putting out there.

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landing the way I want it to being received the way I wanted to want it to be received and
being put back to me in a you know, it'll always be in that person's words and voice.

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But is it in alignment with how I want to show up how I want my clients company to show
up.

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So

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It's like if we tweaked one little thing here or one little thing there, it would have
been amazing.

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But because time and budget and we've tried this before in the past, we don't want to
continue to invest in something that's failed or all that.

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to your point, just measuring it and that continual process of refinement is so important.

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Just, guess, kind of coming off the heels of that.

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Using that method, can you think of your biggest, I don't want to scare you with the
question.

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But like a client that is really memorable that you've seen the impact, like really either
they didn't follow it at all, like a great success or a great failure, like a client

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that's kind of hit both of those

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Oof, I can give you both, which one do you want?

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surprise

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Okay, let's start with the biggest success.

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The clients of ours that succeed are those that put what we build into action.

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And so I see it happen so often, be it the business plan, be it the marketing plan, be it
the brand plan or brand strategy, however you wanna call it, you build it, you get so

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excited that it's done.

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Cause those are all heavy lifts.

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They all

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in introspection, they require deep thought, they require a lot of writing.

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I mean, I'm working on one right now.

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It's 90 pages.

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Thank goodness the client and I are collaborating on doing the writing.

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Like they're heavy lifts for everyone.

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And so I think folks, I don't want to say they forget, but you know, we get to woohoo,
it's done, it's built.

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This is amazing.

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Go team.

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And then,

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everything that they might've had to set aside to make room for that because, you know,
small to mid -sized businesses always have too many things to do.

210
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It's not like the plan is linear, stuff comes up, market shifts, it's always evolving and
adapting.

211
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So they're either mentally or physically making a list or someone else in the company is
making a list of, these are the things that didn't get done while you were doing that.

212
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Now we've got time for

213
00:15:56,119 --> 00:16:06,824
And what I'm trying to instill in them is, a bit of the planning and change management
aspect, even though that has, it's not my job, so to speak, but I want to set them up for,

214
00:16:06,824 --> 00:16:11,686
okay, so team, what does success look like moving forward?

215
00:16:11,686 --> 00:16:13,207
How many meetings do you need to have?

216
00:16:13,207 --> 00:16:16,478
How much time needs to be scheduled to do this thing?

217
00:16:16,478 --> 00:16:21,211
And effectively it's about practice, right?

218
00:16:21,211 --> 00:16:22,307
We practice.

219
00:16:22,307 --> 00:16:31,021
What we do every day, if we come back to the, the yoga teacher aspect or the athlete
aspect is you get on your mat and you practice, you're not always going to nail that

220
00:16:31,021 --> 00:16:39,504
position or it's going to feel different in a different day, but you keep coming back to
the mat or you keep coming back to the ice or I keep coming back to my bike in a

221
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particular trail that I haven't yet cleaned and mastered.

222
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And it's about that iterative practice.

223
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so to execute a plan, you might be doing different steps, but you're still iterating.

224
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You're still showing up to practice.

225
00:16:52,001 --> 00:17:04,428
And so our clients coming back to the success story are really the ones who are committed
to the doing, to the practice, to the showing up to make sure that what they've invested

226
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in.

227
00:17:04,548 --> 00:17:05,949
And it's not just about money.

228
00:17:05,949 --> 00:17:10,271
It's about, you know, profit that they're investing to make this happen.

229
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It's about the time that people are showing up, the thought process, and sometimes the
agony of like, this is, this is hard.

230
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Yeah.

231
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You know, the blood, sweat and tears aspect of it is making sure that that's remembered.

232
00:17:24,957 --> 00:17:39,168
So they move towards the plan and, like any, you know, any goal that you want to achieve
again, coming back to sport, having a coach, having a training program, tracking your

233
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results, come back to testing and measuring again.

234
00:17:42,951 --> 00:17:49,977
So our clients, when they implement our methodology of building a brand.

235
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They realize that they have a toolkit and they start using it.

236
00:17:53,380 --> 00:17:57,934
And what I get most excited about the result that keeps coming back is they're achieving
their goal.

237
00:17:57,934 --> 00:18:01,826
So if it's a five year goal, they're achieving it in about two and a half years.

238
00:18:02,027 --> 00:18:06,390
If it's a two and a half year goal, one of our clients knocked it out of the park and
achieved it in eight months.

239
00:18:07,252 --> 00:18:10,024
And so I could just get so excited about that acceleration.

240
00:18:10,024 --> 00:18:14,137
And really what it is is saying, Hey gang, we're giving you a set of tools.

241
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Make sure you use them.

242
00:18:16,279 --> 00:18:18,340
And then on the flip side, the ones

243
00:18:18,607 --> 00:18:21,866
haven't succeeded, who have failed, guess what?

244
00:18:21,866 --> 00:18:23,459
Guess what they didn't do.

245
00:18:23,844 --> 00:18:24,957
the plant.

246
00:18:25,711 --> 00:18:26,092
Right?

247
00:18:26,092 --> 00:18:27,455
They didn't use the tools.

248
00:18:27,455 --> 00:18:29,028
They didn't follow the plan.

249
00:18:29,028 --> 00:18:31,653
They didn't create the time to practice.

250
00:18:34,158 --> 00:18:37,459
Sorry, just writing that down, but that is so like creating time.

251
00:18:37,459 --> 00:18:40,901
I mean, I feel like everyone's like, like we don't have time for this.

252
00:18:40,901 --> 00:18:49,344
Like if only I time for this and it's just really being intentional and allocating those
resources as best you can to get the results that you really want.

253
00:18:49,925 --> 00:18:59,128
So just going back to something that you touched upon when you were talking about freedom
and defining what freedom means for you, for you in your life, because you've talked about

254
00:18:59,128 --> 00:19:00,829
success, what that means for your clients.

255
00:19:00,829 --> 00:19:03,190
How have you defined success for yourself?

256
00:19:03,350 --> 00:19:06,438
in your personal life, professionally, whatever you feel like answering.

257
00:19:07,833 --> 00:19:09,213
Great question.

258
00:19:13,095 --> 00:19:17,017
You know, you would think a former pro athlete would have a success to find, wouldn't you?

259
00:19:17,017 --> 00:19:22,619
I mean, I certainly know what it looks like from a what's the revenue goal and where am I
heading?

260
00:19:23,420 --> 00:19:30,743
But really success for me means that I can find flow and enjoyment in what I'm doing.

261
00:19:31,044 --> 00:19:34,615
One of my strengths finders is the maximizer.

262
00:19:34,615 --> 00:19:40,154
So I'm always tweaking the processes so I can squeeze the most out of that.

263
00:19:40,516 --> 00:19:45,183
So if, you it's just tightening things up and,

264
00:19:47,843 --> 00:19:52,757
Yeah, success is having the ability to choose who I want to work with.

265
00:19:52,757 --> 00:19:56,380
And, you know, sometimes in lean times that doesn't always happen.

266
00:19:56,380 --> 00:20:13,202
But as you get more aware of who you love to work with, what you love to do, what the
processes are for what you love to do, you can really quickly identify what is a right

267
00:20:13,202 --> 00:20:14,883
client and project for you.

268
00:20:15,263 --> 00:20:17,884
And so I feel like I've really honed that down.

269
00:20:17,884 --> 00:20:25,526
And one of my, my ADHD challenges is my clients call me and they'll be like, Hey, we have
a Carly problem.

270
00:20:25,526 --> 00:20:28,696
And I'm like, okay.

271
00:20:29,397 --> 00:20:37,979
And what they're really saying is we need someone to pull us up out of the weeds and help
us get from A to B, but it's not always in the heart of what I do.

272
00:20:37,979 --> 00:20:42,340
so remembering to be careful about what I choose.

273
00:20:42,340 --> 00:20:45,059
And sometimes, sometimes I'm game.

274
00:20:45,059 --> 00:20:47,020
You know, sometimes I'm game to help them figure it out.

275
00:20:47,020 --> 00:20:48,710
Cause again, where are they?

276
00:20:48,710 --> 00:20:50,340
Where do they want to, where do they want to go?

277
00:20:50,340 --> 00:20:51,991
And how are we going to get them there?

278
00:20:51,991 --> 00:20:54,492
It's not really my job to tell them.

279
00:20:54,492 --> 00:20:58,653
And I, and I work in a mixture of a coaching and consulting model.

280
00:20:58,653 --> 00:21:01,544
So I'm down the rabbit hole coming back up to what freedom looks like.

281
00:21:01,544 --> 00:21:03,184
It's the freedom to choose those.

282
00:21:03,184 --> 00:21:10,156
It's the freedom to, you know, I pinged a friend yesterday cause I have to go up to
Whistler, to get my bike measured.

283
00:21:10,156 --> 00:21:14,277
And I was like, Hey, do you want to bag off a day with me and go riding in Whistler?

284
00:21:14,409 --> 00:21:16,011
And she's like, yes.

285
00:21:16,011 --> 00:21:18,212
And I'm like, great, let me find the dates.

286
00:21:18,212 --> 00:21:24,600
So it's, it's, it's being able to look ahead and go, I have that opportunity or I can make
this opportunity.

287
00:21:24,600 --> 00:21:25,960
I'm going to do it.

288
00:21:26,141 --> 00:21:34,689
Freedom is making, you know, enough revenue to travel or finding creative ways that, you
know, the business can pay for that travel.

289
00:21:36,071 --> 00:21:37,132
Freedom

290
00:21:40,173 --> 00:21:49,979
I think working to create freedom for others so people can, I don't want say have the
right to choose who they love, but I think you get my vibe.

291
00:21:49,979 --> 00:21:57,263
So people still have that freedom because, well, let's not get into politics, but anyways.

292
00:22:02,427 --> 00:22:03,467
Yes.

293
00:22:03,728 --> 00:22:05,408
So yeah.

294
00:22:05,729 --> 00:22:13,042
But so, and another question that I have for you, because I just, relate so much to the
ADHD portion.

295
00:22:13,042 --> 00:22:15,432
I mean, I feel like I self -diagnosed.

296
00:22:15,653 --> 00:22:17,253
Yeah, just, right?

297
00:22:17,293 --> 00:22:19,034
One too many introductions.

298
00:22:20,155 --> 00:22:28,662
And I also just hear how you've been able to just so seamlessly blend these different
worlds and different loves and organize your time in a way where you can maximize.

299
00:22:28,662 --> 00:22:30,784
Maximize all of that.

300
00:22:31,465 --> 00:22:32,747
How did you do it?

301
00:22:32,747 --> 00:22:35,029
How did you get into the practice of that?

302
00:22:35,029 --> 00:22:39,744
Like how are you able to be so specific so you can focus on the things that you truly

303
00:22:41,093 --> 00:22:52,409
I believe that had I have not been in that figure skating club and been a part of their
structure and program and learned it very early, I don't know that if I would be where I

304
00:22:52,409 --> 00:22:58,863
am today or without sport of some kind and every sport that I've been a part of.

305
00:22:58,863 --> 00:23:09,221
And I'm not saying that there are sports that don't require structure and discipline, but
you know, I went from figure skating to equestrian with a high level of responsibility.

306
00:23:09,221 --> 00:23:13,880
I own my own horse at 14 or 15.

307
00:23:14,001 --> 00:23:29,421
To be responsible for another being is huge when you're going through that phase of life
where hormones and school and you're just learning to be a proper human in the world and

308
00:23:29,421 --> 00:23:31,781
being responsible for another being.

309
00:23:31,781 --> 00:23:33,847
And I was riding.

310
00:23:34,021 --> 00:23:37,801
It's funny that for the folks who know horseback riding, this will, this will sound really
funny.

311
00:23:37,801 --> 00:23:43,111
I was riding an 18 one per Tron thoroughbred cross, effectively a half heavy horse
dressage.

312
00:23:43,111 --> 00:23:49,761
And I was training him dressage, which is again, a very structured formal sport.

313
00:23:50,361 --> 00:23:52,361
So yeah.

314
00:23:52,561 --> 00:24:02,829
So lots and lots of discipline has been, and I find myself what I've learned through my
reading about trying to understand my brain, whether it is completely.

315
00:24:02,829 --> 00:24:08,243
ADHD, whether it is comorbid with other things, I've always been challenged with anxiety.

316
00:24:08,243 --> 00:24:11,054
think part of that is just created from my drive.

317
00:24:12,796 --> 00:24:20,601
But it's about if there is not a structure or if I don't create one, I will spin all day
long.

318
00:24:21,922 --> 00:24:32,889
And so working with a few coaches right now, and I've said to them, I am game for any
task, but I really need you to help me build a structure.

319
00:24:33,045 --> 00:24:38,528
to do the homework because if you're just like, go create the thing, I'm gonna spin and
waste too much time.

320
00:24:38,528 --> 00:24:39,748
I'm gonna get frustrated.

321
00:24:39,748 --> 00:24:44,650
I'm gonna have a four -year -old meltdown because I can't see it.

322
00:24:44,650 --> 00:24:46,411
And that's another thing for me.

323
00:24:46,411 --> 00:24:50,293
I think in pictures.

324
00:24:50,773 --> 00:24:56,336
it's always interesting to me because we can't see through anybody else's eyes.

325
00:24:56,336 --> 00:24:59,651
Often when I'm building something for clients, let's say,

326
00:24:59,651 --> 00:25:08,203
Back in the day when I started my career in design and I still do a bit of it to help
clients map things out, I'm helping them map out a website from a strategic point or a

327
00:25:08,203 --> 00:25:09,144
tool.

328
00:25:09,144 --> 00:25:13,605
I draw boxes and I create a wire frame and they're like, that is such a cool way to do
things.

329
00:25:13,605 --> 00:25:18,786
like, I don't understand the world if there aren't lines and boxes and structure.

330
00:25:18,786 --> 00:25:22,987
I can't operate in the world effectively if there's not structure.

331
00:25:23,287 --> 00:25:27,769
So, and that comes right down what you're talking about creating time, time blocking.

332
00:25:27,769 --> 00:25:29,859
As soon as I learned that, my gosh.

333
00:25:30,744 --> 00:25:33,131
But can you, just, I'm so interested.

334
00:25:33,131 --> 00:25:35,197
What is your time blocking process?

335
00:25:35,197 --> 00:25:37,853
Because I also need some tips for you.

336
00:25:38,216 --> 00:25:39,216
Okay.

337
00:25:43,407 --> 00:25:55,482
Well, I'll just talk mine through is we've created like an overarching structure of
Mondays and Fridays are on the business or doing days.

338
00:25:56,063 --> 00:26:03,206
If we do not, unless it's a special case, book client sessions or large client meetings.

339
00:26:03,206 --> 00:26:09,068
If it's a quick catch up of, we need to check in on this so we can roll into it next week,
no problem.

340
00:26:10,798 --> 00:26:15,302
So, then Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday are our meeting days.

341
00:26:15,302 --> 00:26:17,843
And I have some rules around.

342
00:26:18,965 --> 00:26:26,392
We typically do max three hour sessions because we know it burns out our clients brains
and it burns out our brains.

343
00:26:26,392 --> 00:26:33,498
And I don't function well if I and I never are too booked in one day because our clients
are not going to get the best of me.

344
00:26:33,498 --> 00:26:34,449
We're not going to Mac.

345
00:26:34,449 --> 00:26:36,520
There's the maximizer again, right?

346
00:26:37,157 --> 00:26:42,217
And so the most I would have in a week is three and three for me is a lot.

347
00:26:42,217 --> 00:26:47,357
Like my wife will come home and she'll be like, how many sessions on a Friday and be like,
how many sessions did you have this week?

348
00:26:47,357 --> 00:26:49,017
And I'm like, yeah, there were three.

349
00:26:49,017 --> 00:26:53,957
Cause I am just like my brain is you can see tilt written in my eyes.

350
00:26:54,597 --> 00:26:59,247
and so again, coming down to structure, we always try and make those meetings in the front
end of the day.

351
00:26:59,247 --> 00:27:07,173
So they're either nine to 12, for example, or one to four or 12 to three so that I have
space to think and do.

352
00:27:07,173 --> 00:27:10,133
So they're not crossing and killing a day.

353
00:27:10,133 --> 00:27:18,373
There's nothing more frustrating than starting something in the middle of the day and what
are you gonna do before and after unless you're a super early riser?

354
00:27:18,393 --> 00:27:19,693
What else?

355
00:27:19,693 --> 00:27:33,613
I always structure my writing and creating time between 6 a and 10 a I know that's when
I'm doing my best thinking and doing my best processing.

356
00:27:34,413 --> 00:27:35,841
What else?

357
00:27:35,961 --> 00:27:39,614
I always make sure that I schedule in my break in the middle of the day.

358
00:27:39,614 --> 00:27:48,902
And I make sure that I set recurring things for, not that I'm going right now, because I'm
injured, but going to the gym.

359
00:27:48,902 --> 00:27:51,815
It's in my calendar, walking the pup.

360
00:27:51,815 --> 00:27:59,481
It's in my calendar with lunch, making sure that I know when my wife, Elise, is taking him
and when I'm taking him.

361
00:27:59,481 --> 00:28:04,565
And so, I mean, a lot of people look at my calendar and are just like, whoa.

362
00:28:04,717 --> 00:28:05,838
and find it overwhelming.

363
00:28:05,838 --> 00:28:12,220
I find it overwhelming when I don't know what's going on in a day because I can just
squirrel all over the place.

364
00:28:12,220 --> 00:28:20,223
And sometimes I just leave a day open so I can squirrel because that's when some of my
best thinking happens or I just want to get pulled into something.

365
00:28:20,364 --> 00:28:23,785
So also leaving yourself space is really, important.

366
00:28:23,785 --> 00:28:26,706
And another piece of that is rest.

367
00:28:27,326 --> 00:28:29,307
Can't stress sleep enough.

368
00:28:29,347 --> 00:28:34,199
I haven't been hitting my eight hour goal lately, but I just, love sleep.

369
00:28:34,233 --> 00:28:37,675
Like if some people guard their food, I guard my sleep.

370
00:28:39,356 --> 00:28:44,098
And another thing, there's a great book called Peak Performance.

371
00:28:44,098 --> 00:28:52,003
And they do exactly what I had figured out was they take lessons from sport and high
performance and bring it into business.

372
00:28:52,003 --> 00:28:56,695
And one of them is a trainer for athletes.

373
00:28:56,695 --> 00:29:01,407
I think it might be running marathon, but I can't remember.

374
00:29:01,568 --> 00:29:04,152
But stress plus rest.

375
00:29:04,152 --> 00:29:05,429
equals growth.

376
00:29:06,400 --> 00:29:07,231
Okay.

377
00:29:08,623 --> 00:29:11,084
So stress plus stress equals burnout.

378
00:29:14,084 --> 00:29:14,938
I've never heard of that.

379
00:29:14,938 --> 00:29:17,257
Stress plus rest equals growth.

380
00:29:18,179 --> 00:29:29,227
Yeah, and that's very much a, if you think about weight workouts, when you are going to
the gym and you're lifting to build muscle, not just maintain, you're tearing the fibers

381
00:29:29,227 --> 00:29:30,258
of the muscle.

382
00:29:30,699 --> 00:29:37,113
The only way that's going to repair itself is if you give it time to heal and then it
overlays and builds new muscle.

383
00:29:37,113 --> 00:29:44,705
And then you go and you, you know, go do legs on one day, tear them, rest them, do arms
the next day, and then alternate.

384
00:29:44,705 --> 00:29:48,376
And so you're constantly building these layers upon layers.

385
00:29:48,376 --> 00:29:53,698
So stress plus rest equals growth, but it applies to the whole human body, including the
brain.

386
00:29:54,036 --> 00:29:54,967
Mm -hmm.

387
00:29:55,068 --> 00:30:01,849
It's so cool seeing different parallels of things and like, you know, other realms just
like nothing is in a silo.

388
00:30:01,849 --> 00:30:03,300
It's all connected.

389
00:30:03,421 --> 00:30:05,223
That's that's really cool.

390
00:30:05,571 --> 00:30:07,933
And I would say to your audience, know, they're like, great.

391
00:30:07,933 --> 00:30:09,094
I have no interest in sport.

392
00:30:09,094 --> 00:30:14,028
You know, I'm kind of starting to check out now because Carly's like sports, sports,
sports, sports, athlete, athlete.

393
00:30:14,028 --> 00:30:19,212
And I'm, and I'm thinking, you know, if you love knitting, Knitting's got structure.

394
00:30:19,212 --> 00:30:20,804
What, what works for you?

395
00:30:20,804 --> 00:30:21,805
What frustrates you?

396
00:30:21,805 --> 00:30:23,256
What have you learned?

397
00:30:23,256 --> 00:30:34,705
You know, not every needle works for everything or, you know, insert your passion and
think about, well, what have you learned about gaming?

398
00:30:35,493 --> 00:30:36,545
Where have you failed?

399
00:30:36,545 --> 00:30:38,800
How do you apply that to life?

400
00:30:38,800 --> 00:30:39,832
How do you win at life?

401
00:30:39,832 --> 00:30:41,465
How do you win at business?

402
00:30:43,010 --> 00:30:44,041
That is so true.

403
00:30:44,041 --> 00:30:52,968
I mean, I don't know if this is going to be edited out, but Ari and I were actually having
conversation a little bit earlier and I was telling him how I also act on the side.

404
00:30:52,968 --> 00:31:04,527
And so for me, the parallels with just communicating with people, I never knew until I
really took acting more seriously and just understood myself more and then other.

405
00:31:04,527 --> 00:31:06,988
It's so interesting how everything is connected.

406
00:31:06,988 --> 00:31:09,007
Anywho, back to you.

407
00:31:09,007 --> 00:31:09,718
No, I love that.

408
00:31:09,718 --> 00:31:10,440
Now I'm curious.

409
00:31:10,440 --> 00:31:12,324
Talk to me a little bit more about the communicating.

410
00:31:12,324 --> 00:31:16,872
I mean, it's such a big topic, but how does that show up and make you a better actor?

411
00:31:16,872 --> 00:31:21,775
mean, it's like kind of one of those, could be a high thanks Captain Obvious, but I think
it's deeper than

412
00:31:21,775 --> 00:31:22,656
No, but it is.

413
00:31:22,656 --> 00:31:29,281
it's like, it's one of those things where, so for me, I went through a period of time
where I was trying to learn different acting elements and different techniques.

414
00:31:29,281 --> 00:31:39,170
And so there are some things that just work better than others, but like fundamentally,
the ability to be present and to be able to respond in time with the person you're talking

415
00:31:39,170 --> 00:31:42,513
to is just so fundamental.

416
00:31:42,513 --> 00:31:47,647
And then also the fearlessness to try something new in the moment with said person.

417
00:31:47,647 --> 00:31:49,012
I mean,

418
00:31:49,012 --> 00:31:54,728
I've, it's helped me just look at opportunities differently and just be like, I'm
interested.

419
00:31:54,728 --> 00:31:55,318
Why not?

420
00:31:55,318 --> 00:32:02,395
You know, instead of just think of, maybe I have to be the perfect candidate or if I have
the interest and the passion and I'm there, why not?

421
00:32:02,395 --> 00:32:05,225
So that's something I've been learning recently.

422
00:32:05,225 --> 00:32:09,045
as women, we're just expected to show up perfectly all the time.

423
00:32:09,045 --> 00:32:11,685
Can we just kick that, you know what, to the curb?

424
00:32:11,685 --> 00:32:16,905
Please, can we just leave it in the back drawer, you know, maybe the back shed somewhere?

425
00:32:16,965 --> 00:32:20,145
Go look at it once in a while and be like, I remember that.

426
00:32:20,145 --> 00:32:22,385
yeah, remember like the bad haircut in grade 12?

427
00:32:22,385 --> 00:32:25,740
You're like, ooh, you know, let's just put that back in the box.

428
00:32:25,740 --> 00:32:26,510
Yep.

429
00:32:26,510 --> 00:32:30,392
I will never forget I was in the fifth grade and my mother, God bless her, I love her.

430
00:32:30,392 --> 00:32:36,335
But I had these like short, short black braids like and I just looked like an Oompa
Loompa.

431
00:32:36,335 --> 00:32:37,405
I looked like an Oompa Loompa.

432
00:32:37,405 --> 00:32:39,996
I was cute, but I looked like an Oompa Loompa.

433
00:32:39,996 --> 00:32:43,378
So giving Oompa Loompa realness all fifth grade.

434
00:32:44,517 --> 00:32:48,843
You know, cute for the Oompas, not so much for Duchess.

435
00:32:48,843 --> 00:32:50,243
Yeah, she's different now.

436
00:32:50,243 --> 00:32:50,713
She's grown.

437
00:32:50,713 --> 00:32:54,305
Yeah.

438
00:32:54,945 --> 00:33:09,541
But so one thing I did really, when it comes to creativity in the corporate workspace,
I've never, not that I don't think that they can't exist, but it's just one of those

439
00:33:09,541 --> 00:33:12,252
things that I feel like is its own skill set.

440
00:33:12,252 --> 00:33:15,083
And it's just, for me, I've always found it counterintuitive.

441
00:33:15,083 --> 00:33:16,434
Like how do you

442
00:33:17,154 --> 00:33:19,375
discipline yourself to create.

443
00:33:19,375 --> 00:33:20,176
You know what I mean?

444
00:33:20,176 --> 00:33:25,479
Like how do you harness the skill of creativity when it's creativity is so spontaneous?

445
00:33:25,479 --> 00:33:30,302
So for you, how have you been able throughout your career work on that skill?

446
00:33:32,293 --> 00:33:37,608
It's funny as you're asking that question, I'm like, am I creative?

447
00:33:37,608 --> 00:33:40,200
Because I create processes for everything.

448
00:33:41,223 --> 00:33:47,501
And that's another thing every creative I asked this is like am I really creative and it's
like yes you are

449
00:33:47,538 --> 00:34:04,453
No, no, know I am, it's, I think the way I would explain it is, anytime I've seen
brilliance developed and a lot of the, if I think back to the creative awards when I was

450
00:34:04,453 --> 00:34:13,827
back in like big agency world, almost in the Mad Men days, the best campaigns came out

451
00:34:13,827 --> 00:34:19,159
the tightest restraints, which was often for your nonprofits.

452
00:34:20,440 --> 00:34:30,904
Now, the kind of cool thing about that is small budget was almost always the restraint or
no budget because we're doing this, you know, pro bono.

453
00:34:31,005 --> 00:34:35,886
But then there was this permission to be as creative as you wanted.

454
00:34:36,127 --> 00:34:37,777
But I also think it was necessary.

455
00:34:37,777 --> 00:34:41,649
Like you get this teeny tiny box that you need to fit into.

456
00:34:42,015 --> 00:34:55,000
My solution to that is, you know, pushing all arms and legs against the edge of the box
and going, how far can I stretch this before it breaks, AKA before I get a no?

457
00:34:55,000 --> 00:35:03,294
Like, or how can I cut a little window here and a little door there and get the client to
say yes?

458
00:35:03,434 --> 00:35:09,636
You know, that's the creativity is finding a way to the yeses in an unexpected way.

459
00:35:11,781 --> 00:35:22,170
taking what you've learned from another industry or a different type of project in the
bigger picture from a different discipline and applying it here.

460
00:35:22,170 --> 00:35:24,472
And to me, that's what innovation is all about.

461
00:35:24,472 --> 00:35:27,695
mean, some would argue that innovation is truly something new.

462
00:35:27,695 --> 00:35:29,776
They would say that's augmentation.

463
00:35:30,557 --> 00:35:40,035
Let's not get into the argument of that, but augmenting, innovating, creating is, I think,
the ability to look at things differently.

464
00:35:40,865 --> 00:35:51,873
And I don't know if, because I certainly do not have a linear brain, but I question if
those with a linear brain are the ones that struggle with creativity, because they're

465
00:35:51,873 --> 00:36:00,038
literally following, know, engineers following the bouncing ball for good reason, because
bridges should not fall down.

466
00:36:00,840 --> 00:36:01,980
Right?

467
00:36:02,821 --> 00:36:08,825
So yeah, and I mean, linear brains are needed, and so are those that are nonlinear.

468
00:36:08,825 --> 00:36:14,389
Bring those two together and there's, and that's, think the other thing in creativity is
who else can you bring into this?

469
00:36:14,409 --> 00:36:16,751
Are you open to other people's ideas?

470
00:36:17,332 --> 00:36:28,641
So again, I think when on the opposing side of that, the worst ideas and the worst
campaigns are just when people are given too much freedom.

471
00:36:28,641 --> 00:36:31,342
Cause they wander too far off into the forest.

472
00:36:31,803 --> 00:36:34,305
I'm sorry, where did that, what, what, what, what?

473
00:36:35,522 --> 00:36:43,678
Yeah, I was just thinking like, because you're so right, I've heard this with other
innovators and you know, like, it's always among the like the smallest constraints, they

474
00:36:43,678 --> 00:36:47,171
make some of the most life changing life altering things.

475
00:36:47,171 --> 00:36:53,796
But like, I also have to think about your multimillion dollar, like businesses that have
the budget to be big.

476
00:36:53,796 --> 00:36:58,859
And so they think we have the resources, we have that unlimited potential, let's go for
it.

477
00:36:58,900 --> 00:37:00,341
But what is it?

478
00:37:00,381 --> 00:37:01,682
How do you even

479
00:37:01,910 --> 00:37:08,418
So have you had clients like that where you've had too much resources and it's like, how
do you find that same brilliance?

480
00:37:09,645 --> 00:37:11,867
No.

481
00:37:11,867 --> 00:37:15,169
No, haven't had any clients like that.

482
00:37:15,931 --> 00:37:18,493
The zone I play in is small to mid -sized businesses.

483
00:37:18,493 --> 00:37:29,782
So they're always stealing from the profit pot to implement this new thing that terrifies
them, but they know they need to do it or they've come crashing down or something shifted

484
00:37:29,782 --> 00:37:33,125
and they need to make quick changes.

485
00:37:33,125 --> 00:37:37,429
their hand in a way, they're either making a conscious choice because

486
00:37:37,507 --> 00:37:45,042
want to change something or grow something or achieve more results or their hand is being
forced by an external thing, you know, the pandemic.

487
00:37:45,042 --> 00:37:49,045
I mean, I worked on so many pivots during the pandemic with clients.

488
00:37:49,045 --> 00:37:54,539
I I thought I was gonna be sitting around twiddling my thumbs and people were calling me
going, okay, help, I need to pivot.

489
00:37:54,539 --> 00:38:04,016
And that's why I'm so grateful to have, you know, moved from being a graphic designer in
the initial parts of my career up to a creative director and to a strategist is now I get

490
00:38:04,016 --> 00:38:06,031
to play in the really interesting part is how do

491
00:38:06,031 --> 00:38:08,182
take this business and turn it around.

492
00:38:09,742 --> 00:38:12,108
So just going back to that, that's so true.

493
00:38:12,108 --> 00:38:14,655
How have you defined strategy for yourself?

494
00:38:14,655 --> 00:38:19,326
Like what are some hallmarks of a good strategy that you've seen in your career?

495
00:38:21,961 --> 00:38:30,005
I the first most important thing for our audience is to say that strategy has been made
over complicated.

496
00:38:31,326 --> 00:38:34,278
So many things have been clouded and over complicated.

497
00:38:34,278 --> 00:38:41,671
So I think to hold people back, to hold people down, to make them think that, you can't
understand this.

498
00:38:41,892 --> 00:38:44,343
So let's talk about what I believe strategy is.

499
00:38:44,343 --> 00:38:52,013
It's getting above, getting out of the weeds, being able to see the reality of where we
are now.

500
00:38:52,013 --> 00:38:57,446
and see that bigger picture and go, where do we want to go?

501
00:38:57,446 --> 00:39:01,418
And the strategy is the, are we going to get there?

502
00:39:01,859 --> 00:39:14,296
There's never one strategy, just like there's never one solution, but it's defining, well,
if we know what the outcomes are, we know what we want to achieve, we know what success

503
00:39:14,296 --> 00:39:20,569
looks like for our company, what is the strategy that's going to get us there?

504
00:39:21,239 --> 00:39:36,690
in alignment with our purpose, our values, AKA guiding principles, who we are and how we
want to make people feel, and what's going to get us closer to or closest to our three to

505
00:39:36,690 --> 00:39:37,999
five year vision.

506
00:39:38,081 --> 00:39:44,976
And funny enough, I even just as I was saying that it was so natural to me because that's
exactly what I built.

507
00:39:44,976 --> 00:39:49,839
I built what's called the surefire strategy and I help our clients get clear on

508
00:39:49,839 --> 00:39:59,707
what their purpose is beyond making a profit, what their values are, where they're headed
in a five year, three to five year term, what is their company gonna look like, short to

509
00:39:59,707 --> 00:40:03,580
midterm vision, and how do they wanna show up?

510
00:40:03,580 --> 00:40:06,162
How they wanna make people feel and what's their tone of voice?

511
00:40:06,163 --> 00:40:17,892
And so if you can choose a strategy that says, yes, we're gonna achieve it, being in
alignment with all those things, to me, that's a successful strategy.

512
00:40:19,215 --> 00:40:25,211
Just a shiny object, if it's a squirrel that's gonna move us farther from achieving our
vision, don't do it.

513
00:40:25,492 --> 00:40:33,820
If it's grading against you and makes you feel uncomfortable and you realize it's in
contrast to one or more of our values, don't do it.

514
00:40:33,820 --> 00:40:36,502
And that goes for people as well.

515
00:40:37,324 --> 00:40:42,839
It applies in the corporate world for a personal brand, for a thought leader brand, same
thing.

516
00:40:44,611 --> 00:40:53,905
Know what your purpose is, know your why, know what you stand for, what the deal breakers
are, know how you want to show up in the world, and know where you're going.

517
00:40:53,965 --> 00:40:56,346
And don't let anything compromise that.

518
00:40:56,346 --> 00:41:03,479
Not a strategy, not a tactic, not a job, not a boss, not a partner.

519
00:41:06,773 --> 00:41:15,937
And so, as, my, was, no, no, I was just about to say, like all of that makes so much
sense.

520
00:41:15,937 --> 00:41:23,401
And I think because it makes so much sense, it's also kind of terrifying because it's
like, well, of course you would do that.

521
00:41:23,401 --> 00:41:33,535
But when you're in it, when you're living it, when you have that partner or that boss or
that tactic that C -suite wants you to put, all of these things that don't necessarily

522
00:41:33,535 --> 00:41:35,886
align with that, that vision.

523
00:41:36,987 --> 00:41:40,481
My next question is just like, how do you work around that fear?

524
00:41:40,481 --> 00:41:49,142
Like how do you make those tough choices and go for it knowing that it's in alignment, but
not everyone else might be able to see it

525
00:41:51,257 --> 00:41:56,221
Yeah, mean, the first thing is, you know, first thing is awareness, right?

526
00:41:56,221 --> 00:41:58,262
Like, why doesn't this feel right?

527
00:41:58,262 --> 00:41:59,403
Why am I miserable?

528
00:41:59,403 --> 00:42:02,785
Why am I like an exploring and coming back to self?

529
00:42:03,566 --> 00:42:11,511
And if you're finding that, wow, I don't do that, is really moving into doing some study
on EQ and self -awareness.

530
00:42:11,952 --> 00:42:18,605
Because what happens is, is you pick up when things are misaligned or feeling
uncomfortable.

531
00:42:18,605 --> 00:42:21,567
or just simply not right, you pick up on them much quicker.

532
00:42:21,567 --> 00:42:25,980
So you can pull the rip cord a lot sooner.

533
00:42:25,980 --> 00:42:28,591
And that's a lot less painful in everyone.

534
00:42:28,692 --> 00:42:36,837
It's that dragging on and procrastinating and it makes it worse and just weighs you down.

535
00:42:37,038 --> 00:42:41,680
But it's not easy having those boundaries in place.

536
00:42:41,921 --> 00:42:45,943
Yeah, it's hard to go, okay, I'm out and this is why.

537
00:42:47,171 --> 00:42:47,909
Yeah.

538
00:42:47,909 --> 00:42:49,497
That guts.

539
00:42:49,497 --> 00:42:52,066
That takes practice.

540
00:42:52,109 --> 00:42:53,332
There's that word

541
00:42:54,029 --> 00:42:54,908
Yeah.

542
00:42:57,561 --> 00:42:59,773
You know, and we've all stayed in relationships too long.

543
00:42:59,773 --> 00:43:01,124
I've done it in business relationships.

544
00:43:01,124 --> 00:43:04,906
I've done it in personal relationships, done it in client relationships.

545
00:43:05,547 --> 00:43:14,402
You know, you know when you need to go, you just got to, you got to armor up and have the
hard conversation.

546
00:43:16,696 --> 00:43:17,787
That is so true.

547
00:43:17,787 --> 00:43:19,017
You do know when you need to go.

548
00:43:19,017 --> 00:43:28,803
And it's that, man, as you were saying, it's just like having that conversation, being
able to take that next step, that's just so challenging.

549
00:43:28,803 --> 00:43:30,154
And it's in a weird way.

550
00:43:30,154 --> 00:43:35,277
It's kind of refreshing that everyone along the totem pole kind of feels the exact same
thing.

551
00:43:35,277 --> 00:43:40,960
know, like from as you're starting out to like C -suite, like everyone kind of knows.

552
00:43:41,341 --> 00:43:43,622
So it's just the courage to be able to go for

553
00:43:44,363 --> 00:43:47,614
And I think one of the big things is we're not alone.

554
00:43:49,515 --> 00:44:02,558
Is building the scaffolding of people who will hold you up when things get tough or the
winds pick up or can ground you down when you feel that you can't stand in your own truth.

555
00:44:02,558 --> 00:44:06,190
And who will call you out or hold you accountable.

556
00:44:06,190 --> 00:44:09,500
Hey, you said you were gonna have this conversation two weeks ago.

557
00:44:10,261 --> 00:44:11,401
What's going

558
00:44:11,705 --> 00:44:19,628
You know, and you need the people who are tough love, that tends to be a thing that I'm
good at, and you need the people that are going to be empathetic and finding that balanced

559
00:44:19,628 --> 00:44:24,550
team, circle of friends, mentors, mastermind group around you.

560
00:44:24,550 --> 00:44:33,494
When you have, you know you have good people to fall back into, to lean on, to debrief
with.

561
00:44:34,234 --> 00:44:39,376
It gets a lot easier knowing, okay, if I screw this up, they're going to pick me up.

562
00:44:39,376 --> 00:44:41,817
They're going to pick me up when I fall on my face.

563
00:44:41,839 --> 00:44:44,701
Cause you know, who wants to pick themselves up when they've fallen on their face?

564
00:44:44,701 --> 00:44:46,512
I've literally done it trail running.

565
00:44:46,512 --> 00:44:53,796
Thankfully, the day that I Superman myself, I had an ER doc and an ER nurse who I was
running with.

566
00:44:53,796 --> 00:45:01,740
And I can tell you lessons from the trail, always run with medical staff, always, always
be surrounded by people you trust.

567
00:45:01,740 --> 00:45:02,670
Yeah.

568
00:45:02,931 --> 00:45:04,111
that's funny.

569
00:45:04,111 --> 00:45:07,323
How I just, the Superman is, I mean, that's insane.

570
00:45:07,323 --> 00:45:08,554
Like that's so cool.

571
00:45:08,554 --> 00:45:11,075
How were you able to train for that?

572
00:45:11,075 --> 00:45:11,355
Do it?

573
00:45:11,355 --> 00:45:16,438
I mean, you've been a cyclist athlete all your life, but like what made you say, let me go
for that goal.

574
00:45:18,777 --> 00:45:22,798
Is this the way I'm wired?

575
00:45:22,798 --> 00:45:26,579
And I think legit, I'm addicted to the dopamine hit.

576
00:45:26,579 --> 00:45:29,610
I'm addicted to the high, right?

577
00:45:29,610 --> 00:45:39,923
Like I said, I'm injured right now and I was being good for a while because I've either
torn my meniscus or my MCL in my knee and I've never torn a ligament before.

578
00:45:39,923 --> 00:45:44,994
And let me tell you, it's a whole other pain and weirdness sense of hurt.

579
00:45:44,994 --> 00:45:46,704
so I was committed.

580
00:45:49,285 --> 00:45:54,870
to being good and just like, okay, I'm gonna let my body heal.

581
00:45:54,870 --> 00:45:57,632
And then four weeks in, I'm like, okay, I need to get back on my bike again.

582
00:45:57,632 --> 00:45:58,743
Okay, I'm losing my mind.

583
00:45:58,743 --> 00:46:02,836
Okay, I'm just getting, I'm being an angry, cranky, crusty, around the edges person.

584
00:46:03,137 --> 00:46:16,017
Because I am so used to, my physiology is so used to that physical release and that
physical challenge and being like, I call it raising the roof, getting out of the office

585
00:46:16,017 --> 00:46:18,073
and just letting my mind,

586
00:46:18,073 --> 00:46:28,819
go, my subconscious mind go do its thing while I hone in and focus on, you know, not
Supermanning myself on the trail and sending myself over my handlebars or, you know, and

587
00:46:28,819 --> 00:46:31,501
paying attention to being completely in the moment.

588
00:46:31,501 --> 00:46:34,122
And I think that's why I love the sports I do.

589
00:46:34,142 --> 00:46:40,165
You can't do anything, any sport that I've done and not be completely in the moment
because the consequences are way too high.

590
00:46:41,306 --> 00:46:45,909
So there's, there's this physiology in me that needs those things.

591
00:46:45,909 --> 00:46:46,689
And

592
00:46:47,257 --> 00:46:48,799
You know, I didn't just go back to biking.

593
00:46:48,799 --> 00:46:50,521
went out and bought a whole new bike.

594
00:46:51,043 --> 00:46:56,070
So, so let's just hope I don't injure myself many more times because it's going to get
really expensive.

595
00:46:59,354 --> 00:47:01,105
I so I'm looking at the time.

596
00:47:01,105 --> 00:47:12,261
I want to be respectful of yours I have one final question for you, but I just have to say
if this has been Such a pleasure you were a light so amazing to talk to you If you were to

597
00:47:12,261 --> 00:47:20,986
go back to and I always ask this question because I just think it's fun to your different
people's responses But if you were to go back to you just starting out your first job

598
00:47:20,986 --> 00:47:28,536
straight out of wherever and you have to give yourself some Advice that you know has
changed not just your career your life

599
00:47:28,536 --> 00:47:29,959
What would you have said to yourself?

600
00:47:34,210 --> 00:47:41,422
I'm laughing because I think about the me going into agencies.

601
00:47:41,422 --> 00:47:45,003
I was pretty cocky.

602
00:47:45,003 --> 00:47:48,033
I knew I was good.

603
00:47:49,814 --> 00:47:53,255
At the same time, I had a real balance of imposter syndrome.

604
00:47:53,255 --> 00:47:58,917
So I think that kind of kept it balanced, but I would really tell myself.

605
00:47:59,545 --> 00:48:10,452
to understand what I needed to practice, to take what I had learned from sport, because it
wasn't till I got on the trails and really started having these epiphany aha moments of,

606
00:48:10,633 --> 00:48:19,429
know, pick the trails that have the view at the top so the climb's gotta be worth the
descent, right?

607
00:48:19,429 --> 00:48:26,323
Like taking those lessons and using what I learned in my physicality and applying them to
business.

608
00:48:26,363 --> 00:48:29,113
And I think taking risks sooner.

609
00:48:29,113 --> 00:48:32,776
I think everybody around me thinks that I take risks pretty quickly.

610
00:48:32,776 --> 00:48:35,399
But as one of my friends said to me once, she goes, you know what?

611
00:48:35,399 --> 00:48:37,801
She goes, she goes, she drives me crazy.

612
00:48:37,801 --> 00:48:42,816
She goes, it looks like you just climb up the high dive for the first time and off you go.

613
00:48:42,816 --> 00:48:47,420
And you just like off, you know, off that high dive, go no scare, no fear.

614
00:48:47,420 --> 00:48:51,394
And she goes, even if there's no water in the pool, she's like, you walk out, like you
don't break yourself.

615
00:48:51,394 --> 00:48:52,655
You walk out.

616
00:48:52,655 --> 00:48:54,819
And I'm like, she goes, but what I really know.

617
00:48:54,819 --> 00:49:02,486
as you walk around that pool and you go up and down that ladder and you stand on the edge
of the high dive when nobody else is around and you do it about a thousand times.

618
00:49:02,486 --> 00:49:03,957
And I'm like, yes, I

619
00:49:05,240 --> 00:49:08,592
Yeah, that is so nice.

620
00:49:08,673 --> 00:49:10,795
Thank you so much for your time.

621
00:49:10,795 --> 00:49:12,567
It's been so amazing talking to you.

622
00:49:12,567 --> 00:49:15,979
I have pages of notes for myself.

623
00:49:18,112 --> 00:49:22,766
thank you.

624
00:49:22,766 --> 00:49:25,147
So I really appreciate it.