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Telling the stories of startup founders and creators and their unique journey. Each episode features actionable tips, practical advice and inspirational insight.
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:30:06
Welcome to the Founders Journey podcast. Inspiration education for Founders by Founders. Hey, I'm Greg Moran. I'm a multi-asset founder turned VC and host of the Founders Journey podcast, built a number of companies, and I've got all the same scars that you either have or developing as you go. So today we're going to dive into one of the most critical skills that every founder really needs to master.
00:00:30:07 - 00:01:04:20
And that's how to stay focused under pressure. So whether you're in the middle of a product launch, a fundraising round, or you're just managing the day to day daily chaos, how you handle pressure will make or break your success, and also make or break the way that you the effectiveness with which you lead your team. So in the next couple of minutes, I'm going to walk you through the exact mental frameworks and strategies that I've seen used by successful founders to go from having a big vision to consistently executing under stress.
00:01:04:20 - 00:01:33:22
And it's a hard thing to master. First, I want to talk about my why pressure, why the pressure can feel so overwhelming. As a founder or startup leader and for founders, pressure comes in all directions. It's coming for, you know, every minute from your investors, your team members, your customers, and often and worst of all, from ourselves. This constant barrage creates a feeling that you're being pulled in a hundred different directions.
00:01:33:22 - 00:02:00:13
And you know what? You are getting pulled in 100 different directions. The key problem that we tend to lose focus on is the bigger vision. And we get caught putting out fires constantly. So how do you counteract this? It starts with clarity. You need a crystal clear vision of where you're going. So let's dive into practical solutions. You need a system to focus.
00:02:00:15 - 00:02:26:18
You can't rely on sheer willpower or motivation. It's not going to get you through. It's too fleeting. Instead, you need a routine or a structure that creates focus for you. So what system I recommend is time blocking. You create specific time blocks of time in your day. It's exactly what it sounds like. Those time blocks allow you to focus solely on that task.
00:02:26:20 - 00:02:52:14
So if you're still going through your day thinking you're multitasking and everything, it's complete bullshit. You're not right. What time blocking does is it allows you to focus, and that's what you need as a founder. So for example, I know founders, you schedule 90 minutes of deep work sessions in the morning before any meetings. There's no emails. There's no distractions.
00:02:52:18 - 00:03:15:01
There's just focused work on the highest priority tasks. It's also important to review these priorities weekly, right. Because these priorities can change. So you want to make sure that they're still aligned with your long term goals. I personally use this time blocking method. I try to block out a couple hours first thing in the morning just for those high value tests, so it's something I do.
00:03:15:01 - 00:03:42:11
I also block out all of Friday to get focused on the things that I need to accomplish to set up the next week and complete this week. Strong. So another method is a two list strategy. So one list contains your long term goals, the other your immediate tasks at the start of each day. Prioritize what those things that are going to move the needle on your long term goals.
00:03:42:12 - 00:04:02:16
So look at those immediate tasks. Are they actually going to move the needle or are they not? If they are, prioritize them. If they're not, they fall to the bottom of the list. The to list strategies are really effective way for helping make sure you're prioritizing those things that are really going to drive your business and yourself forward.
00:04:02:18 - 00:04:24:19
So let's move into mental resilience. And this is another really important. How do you how do you keep your focus sharp when things aren't going as planned. And as a founder or startup leader, things almost never go as planned. We all know that. So one technique that I've seen work wonders is visualization. Big fan of visualization. High performers.
00:04:24:19 - 00:04:49:09
I don't care if you're an athlete, a movie star, rock star, or an entrepreneur. High performers use this all the time. Before you start your day or you enter a big meeting. Take five minutes. Just five minutes to visualize yourself executing the tasks that you need to be able to succeed. This primes your brain to focus on the right actions.
00:04:49:11 - 00:05:21:07
You're going through the actual process before the process takes place. That's what visualization does, right? It allows us to work out the kinks before we're in the spotlight. Visualization is an incredibly powerful tool if you haven't used it before. Another technique is mindfulness meditation. So there's a lot of studies out there on meditation that show even ten minutes a day to help reduce that can really help you reduce stress and increase your focus.
00:05:21:09 - 00:05:47:19
It sounds really simple, but what it does is it trains your brain to stay in the moment, which is crucial under pressure. Now, personally, when I think about meditation, for me meditation is. I live in the mountains in Colorado. I can walk out. I can take a hike through the woods. I don't have to sit, you know, in a yoga position for meditation.
00:05:47:21 - 00:06:09:21
That kind of quiet in nature is really what I need. So determine what is your form of meditation, right? Because it really does help your brain to stay in the moment and really helps when the pressure starts to mount. Last, I want to talk about something a lot of founders overlook, and I'm hoping it's exactly why you're here today.
00:06:09:23 - 00:06:35:02
Founders need a support system. It's that simple. You can't do this alone. As a founder, you're often the one supporting everybody. But you need your own sounding board as well. This could be a mentor, a coach, a peer group. There's so many great peer groups out there. Find other founders that you can bring together to be your own mastermind group.
00:06:35:07 - 00:07:01:10
Get a coach. Get a mentor. I work with a lot of great founders to really help them kind of work through this. Working under pressure. So some of the most successful founders I know meet regularly with small peer advisory groups. They discuss their challenges, they get feedback, and it helps them stay accountable for their big goals. Right. And that's a lot of what this is, right?
00:07:01:10 - 00:07:33:08
It's just helping us stay on focus when the pressure starts to mount. So in summary, to go from vision to execution under pressure is not about working hard to dispel that notion. It's about having systems in place, maintaining mental clarity, and surrounding yourself with the right support. Start building those systems now and you're going to find that executing your vision becomes far more consistent, even in the face of adversity.
00:07:33:10 - 00:07:54:19
So thanks for tuning in. Don't forget to like and subscribe. To the to the podcast for more actionable insights on how to scale your business. Hit the bell. The notification bell so you never miss an episode. And if you found this valuable, share it with a fellow founder who can use it. Leave comments, leave questions. And, really appreciate you tuning in today.