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Welcome to The Guri Show, your go-to podcast for retreat leaders, coaches, and transformation seekers who are ready to create thriving businesses while embracing self-healing, wellness, and personal growth. Hosted by Guri Kaur, this show is your space to learn how to design life-changing retreats, confidently sell your offers, and master the mindset shifts needed to create abundance and impact.
Each episode dives deep into actionable strategies, personal insights, and soulful practices that combine business growth with inner transformation. From self-healing techniques and wellness rituals to powerful tools for scaling your coaching programs, we’ll help you align your purpose, your profits, and your peace.
Whether you’re building your first retreat or scaling to six figures and beyond, The Guri Show is your space to dream big, transform yourself, and empower others to do the same.
Tune in, grow your business, heal your soul, and create the legacy you’re destined for. Let’s thrive together!
Guri Kaur (00:02)
Flexibility, resilience and the power of collaboration. They weren't just lessons I learned in business, they were survival skills I had to master when everything felt like it was falling apart. What does it really take to build a life you're proud of after hitting rock bottom? Let's talk about it today.
Guri Kaur (01:26)
Hey there friends, welcome to the Guri Show. Today's episode is a special one where I will be sharing the 7 lessons I learned in 7 years. I just completed 7 years in the industry, actually in November to be exact. And what I wanted to do today is I wanted to come join you guys and share my journey in the 7 important lessons I learned on the way.
Some lessons were totally natural, like they just came natural to me. The other lessons were hard learned. So they weren't easy for me. But eventually I had to adapt. I had to learn them. And the moment I adjusted myself, adapted myself to those lessons, and I made space for those lessons, my business grew, my personality shifted.
and everything just became so much, so much easier.
Okay, so let's get in. Yeah. What I want you to do is I want you to grab your journal, pen pencil, grab your favorite drink, tea, coffee, get cozy, and let's dive into the lessons that have transformed me over the years. Okay, lesson number one, flexibility.
Now if I had to pick one value that's absolutely essential for anyone running a business, it's flexibility. When I started out, I had this idea that there was just one right way to do things because when I saw people online, I just saw them doing just one particular thing. I saw them posting on social media. saw them doing publishing a podcast once a week.
And I thought that this is the perfect way to do things. If this is not happening, then I'm not successful. If my launches are not successful, are not profitable, then I am not successful. And so the only way to be successful is to have a successful launch. Now you might think that, yeah, but that makes sense, isn't it?
Okay, let me complete my thought, let me just complete my lesson and then probably it'll make sense. So back then, I thought if I just followed a specific plan or formula, success would be guaranteed. Spoiler alert, it doesn't work like that because flexibility and this word, I have given, I've not taken flexibility for out of
a dictionary or out of someone else's life. This lesson is something that I lived by. So the flexibility term has come from my own experience. Okay. And the way I like to put it is that flexibility means being open to new approaches, new ideas, new ways of doing things, and even new dreams.
So it's about looking at setbacks not as failures but as opportunities to pivot. The people who thrive are the ones who adapt, not the ones who cling to how things should be. Some people look at flexibility as resourcefulness or the ability to adapt quickly. In entrepreneurship, things rarely go as planned. Yeah, that's a cold hard truth.
If there is one trait that's kept me moving forward, it's flexibility. Or you can call it resourcefulness, or you can call it adaptability. So when things are not working, let's say you're posting every day in your FB group, but it's not working. What I want you to do is I want you to stop. Take a step back.
and look at things as a successful entrepreneur, successful business owner, whatever identity, whatever label you want to give to yourself. Look at things as a successful identity and not as an obsessed lover. Ask yourself or ask universe source that if my outcome was inevitable and I believe that my outcome is inevitable, what can I do now?
to make it a possibility. Take several deep breaths and wait for an answer. When it comes, do go take action in that direction. So be flexible. Don't be rigid that only posting in your Facebook group every single day will get you the outcome. So for example, when I was selling my retreat, I did a retreat back in July, 2024 in Bali. When I was trying to sell it,
I tried multiple things and not because I didn't try multiple things because I was lost when it came to my strategy or that I felt like, this is not working, let me try something else, that is not working. No, that's not the reason why I tried multiple things. I tried multiple things because then I felt this is giving me...
20 % result. Let me see if something else can give me 40 % result in the same time. So if I'm applying one hour to do something inside a Facebook group, let me see if I can do the same. I can use that same one hour and use some other strategy, maybe email strategy, maybe Facebook ads, maybe something else, maybe, you know.
DM strategy or Collaboration strategy affiliate strategy. Let me try and give one hour to something else as well to see if I can get better result from that strategy and Once I realized that okay, there are certain things that are working really well but they're giving giving me result in lesser time and effort and money then that's my strategy
That's the way to go. Okay? So when I say flexibility, that is what I mean. Also, flexibility is yes, trying new things, but at the same time, learning which is gonna give you better results. Sometimes people become complacent. They feel that, just posting inside a Facebook group is giving me results, so why should I even try something else? Yes.
See, I am a firm believer of don't fix what's not broken. Yes, I totally am. But if you are in this game of business, of impact, for the long, if you are here to stay for the longest time, then you have to learn how to utilize your time in the best effective way.
You have to find ways to get the same result, get better result by using the same inputs. Okay. Now, if that makes sense, let's move to, let's move forward and talk a little bit more about flexibility, right? Because I've got some notes here. So the truth is success isn't about having everything figured out from day one. It's about being willing to learn.
pivot and use the tools you have at your disposal. Resourcefulness is what separates those who thrive from those who get stuck. Because at the same time you have to learn new skills. So by resourcefulness I'm also talking about learning new skills so that you can adapt quickly. Learning new strategies. And you can do that by hiring some one-on-one coaches, by joining some programs.
Etc, etc. Okay, lesson number two. Give up laziness. Give up some of your leisure time. Yes. Yes, this is cold hard truth. I know some people don't want to be called lazy. I know some people don't want to give up their leisure time because that means the most to them. But hear me out. This is my lesson.
and I want you to hear me out. Okay. Now some people also call this thing like giving up your comfort zone. So whatever resonates with you, go ahead with that. For me, I feel that there was a time in my life and I realized that I'm just procrastinating things and let me not even use procrastination because truly I just became lazy.
And I became lazy because multiple reasons to that procrastination, imposter syndrome. And also like I heard it somewhere, I read it somewhere that hard work doesn't get you more money or hard work doesn't take you where you are. Hustle won't take you where you are. Now, I don't mean that hustle is the way or hard work is the way, but what happened is that
I thought that, okay, these people are just working for two, three hours a day. That's all I got to do as well. And then I realized that, I have to get out of my, this laziness zone. I have to show up. I have to do what it takes. If I want a thousand downloads for my podcast, if I want 20 participants in my retreat,
If I want 1 million downloads for my podcast, if I want 10,000 people on my email list, then I have to get up and show up for it. I have to. If I want people to experience something, some impact, some transformation, then I have to go through that transformation. I have to practice what I preach. And so that meant
I have to give up some laziness. I have to give up leisure. I have to get out of my comfort zone, if you want to call it that. However, there can be some separation between the two because comfort zone is, to me, comfort zone, a lot of things can come in comfort zone, but laziness and leisure time are pretty obvious. They're pretty specific.
Okay, up until 2022 or even some of 2023, I was tempted to outsource everything. This is another example I want to give you. I was so tempted to outsource everything because I thought, you know, I have to be the CEO and I have to outsource everything. You know, why would I do a low paying job? Why would I do that? Why would I do this? know, stuff like that.
And I thought I'll just hire someone else to do the hard stuff or the boring stuff or behind the scenes stuff. Well, I focus on the fun parts. I would show up. I would just be chill. I would just record the podcast and that's it. And let me tell you one thing. Those are all the right things. Once you become the CEO, once you become the leader, once you become the face of your business.
But here's the thing. Before you can delegate, you need to understand the systems yourself. You cannot hire effectively if you don't know what works. You cannot hire VAs and managers and marketers if you don't know which message works. What does your audience truly want? So I rolled up my sleeves.
I created SOPs and I'm still doing for every launch I do that now. I figured out workflows. Now I know what needs to go out, how it needs to go out. So even if I just give it, I create a workflow, I create a SOP and I hand it over to a VA, I know that that person can take care of it and I can still get the same results.
So I did the job first. I found what worked before I brought anyone else into the mix. And let me tell you, I'm still doing it. My business is not making millions at this point, or billions, millions, whatever you want to call it. It's still in that stage where I'm still growing. And so that means I'm still building SAPs. I'm still testing things out. I'm still...
Yeah, doing everything that's needed. And I'm still bringing people on to see how they can support me. And I'm teaching these things to others as well. And yes, it's not easy. It wasn't easy because it means and it meant giving up some Netflix nights, okay? Giving up some leisure time, giving up sitting on the couch and just...
you know, few hours gone by and enjoying life, giving up all of that. Not completely though, but like maybe Monday to Thursday, but like Friday, Saturday, Sunday or Saturday, Sunday, you can still have that. But here's the thing, I enjoy it. There are some people who won't enjoy it as much, but again, initially,
because your body and your brain is so accustomed, so habitual to the leisure time, to the laziness, that initially it is bound to be difficult. But give it some time, give it some time so that it becomes interesting. Right? That's how habits change. That's how habits are built. So for those of you who think that no, that's way too, that's not for me, you know, how can that means no life.
But look at it from the visionary perspective. Like, look at your life five years from now, 10 years from now. The effort that you put today is going to reap you fruits a year from now. So why wouldn't I go through this difficult, difficult experience today? Because I know that my future is going to be amazing. So some delayed...
ratification.
So these sacrifices actually lay the foundation for something much bigger.
Now, another thing that's associated with these and a lot of people use these words is freedom and success. And freedom and success aren't about doing whatever you want, whenever you want. They come from structure and discipline. when I, here's another example, when I first started, I resisted routine. Really? Because I thought it would feel restrictive.
And I wanted to live the dream of being my own boss, working whenever inspiration struck, taking it easy the rest of the time, working whenever I want to work, you know, and I would just wait, wait, wait for inspiration. And then I realized that I create inspiration. I create my life. I create the right time for me.
I'm not going to wait for it. I'm not going to wait for someone's validation or someone knocking on my door and telling me this is your time. No, I am going to create my time. I will do the work and bring the opportunity to my door. I'm going to do that. I'm going to create the life that I want. And that means that I have to see the vision first and have to then get up and do the work.
So, the routine that I resisted in the beginning, I started falling in love with it because then it was giving me all the freedom and all the success. It meant true freedom, true success. So discipline isn't the enemy of freedom, it's the foundation for it. Creating daily habits,
Sticking to schedule. Now, when I say schedule, I'm not saying eight hour, 10 hour schedule. I'm just saying schedule. It could be like three hour schedule, but making sure that you have it. And holding myself accountable allowed me to show up consistently and achieve my goals. The more I embrace discipline, the more freedom I found.
freedom to create, to take breaks without guilt, and to build a life I truly want.
Awesome. That being said, let's move to lesson number three, consistency. This one's simple, but so powerful. Show up. Consistency is the secret sauce of success because it's not about being perfect or having it all figured out. It's about being there every single day for your audience, your clients, and your goals. It's about showing up when it's hard, when it's messy.
And even when you're not sure if anyone's watching. See, people won't trust you if they don't see you. Think about your favorite thought leader or brand or creator. Why do you trust them? Why do you trust Dior? I recently bought a Dior foundation and I'm like, why do I get this feeling that this is the perfect foundation out there? Of course, it felt really nice on my skin, but
What else? Because Dior has showed up regularly, delivered value. And so every creator out there, every thought leader out there, every expert out there show up regularly, deliver value, being present, they are present and they building a relationship with you over time. And that's the magic of consistency. It's the bridge between your audience, knowing you and trusting you.
There's a concept in psychology called the Mare Exposure Effect. So the idea that people are more likely to trust you and like you simply because they've seen you more often. And this is why consistency isn't just a nice to have, it's a non-negotiable. If you're not showing up, you're missing the opportunity to build trust and connection.
In the early days of my business, I struggled with this, of course, because that's what the lesson learned, right? Because I let my ego get in the way, thinking I didn't need to post that because I'm better than this. There was this internal dialogue, this is not my thing. I can do better than this. So I would just keep creating and pushing aside all the content.
But the truth is, people don't know you, people don't know who you are unless you tell them. They don't see your vision unless you show it to them. So, I made a promise to myself, no matter what, I would keep showing up.
Imagine planting a seed. can't just water it once and expect a full grown tree the next day. You have to tend it to it daily even when you don't see immediate results. That's what consistency is. It's planting seeds of trust, value and connection. Knowing that over time they'll grow into something beautiful, something amazing, something mesmerizing, something so grounded and impactful.
that it just shifts your life and your energy. Consistency isn't about being robotic, let me tell you, or perfect. It's okay, so that's my point. It's okay to show up imperfectly. And that's the lesson I learned, that it's okay to show up imperfectly. That's who I am. People have to, because a lot, so I struggled with consistency because I put a lot of
pressure on myself and I used to keep thinking that no I'm not perfect yet, I don't look perfect, I don't look good, I'm not good enough and stuff like that. And the moment I accepted the fact, the simple fact that this is who I am, this is how I look, I cannot change this thing. Yes, I can lose some pounds, I can maybe do some makeup on my face.
At the end of the day, I'm still this person and I'm not gonna change, right? I'm going to be the DNA. I hope you get it. Yes, there are certain things that we can work on, we can improve, but still this is me. And if I find myself imperfect today, then I'm not creating a story for myself so that two years from now or five years from now,
I can connect the dots back and I can share this story with people. So I have to show up today the way I am. have to accept today the way I am so that I can create the stories, the experiences for the next three years, five years, 10 years. And 10 years later, I can connect all the dots back and tell this story to my people.
I showed up consistently for the last seven years. That's the reason why I'm able to share these lessons with you today. And that's what I'm talking about.
Okay? And now what I'm trying to say is I'm not asking you to follow a schedule as in like, I have to do this, I have to do this. Yes, I want you to do this. And even though, even if, you know, in the beginning it feels like I have to, that's totally fine. That's how habits change. That's how habits build. But what I want to point out
Importantly is that consistency isn't just about frequency. It's about authenticity. Like I said, being authentic today. So I want you to ask yourself, where do I need to show up more consistently? Where do you need to show up more consistently? Ask yourself. Whether it's in your content, your relationships.
or your own self-care, consistency will always pay off. Okay.
Lesson number four, resilience. Resilience is the backbone of everything I've achieved. Over the past seven years, I've faced failures, crushing debt, moments so dark, I wasn't sure how I would get through. But every single time, I found a way to rise. I like to think of resilience as being like a rubber band. When life stretches you,
to what feels like your breaking point, resilience is what lets you snap back. Not necessarily to the same shape, but to a stronger, more capable version of yourself.
There's a great book by Angela Duckworth called Grit, The Power of Passion and Perseverance. In this book, she talks about how success isn't about talent or luck. It's about sticking together, sticking with something long after others would give up. She calls it grit. And honestly, that's what resilience feels like to me.
It's the ability to keep moving forward, even when it feels like the odds are stacked against you. Take 2020 for example, I was drowning in $30,000 of debt, no clients, no income, no clear path forward. My launches were failing, my Facebook ad account and my Facebook profile was hacked. And at one point I couldn't even pay for my internet.
It felt like the world was closing in on me. But resilience doesn't mean pretending everything is fine. It means sitting with the discomfort, feeling the pain and still deciding this is not how my story ends.
I told myself multiple times, if I can't go through this, I'll go around it. And slowly but surely, I started to rebuild. I picked up new clients, learned new skills. You know, I was talking about resourcefulness and adaptability before. I joined programs that helped me shift my mindset. So resilience wasn't a superpower.
It was a series of small choices to keep going, even when I didn't want to do. I didn't want to.
Okay, let me just take a breather. Think of resilience like a lighthouse in a storm. The waves may crash against it, the wind may howl, but the lighthouse stands firm. That's what resilience does for you. It grounds you in your ability to weather life's storms, no matter how rough they get.
And it isn't something you're born with, it's something you build, one challenge at a time. So it's not like a superpower, you build it. Every time you face a setback and choose to keep going, you're strengthening that rubber band, making it harder for life to break you the next time. So when life stretches you to the limit, ask yourself, how do I want this story to end?
Because the answer to that question is what resilience is all about.
Awesome! Lesson number five. Invest in yourself even when it's scary.
One of the biggest shifts I've made in the past seven years is understanding the importance of investing in myself. When I was just starting out, I took out a loan to work with a one-on-one coach because I believed in the power of learning from someone who had already walked.
It was terrifying. I didn't know how I would pay it back. And the pressure of those EMIs was real. But that investment taught me skills that changed the course of my journey. And I'm not alone. Did you know that according to a survey by CNBC and Accorns, the average successful entrepreneur invests at least 1000 to $5,000 annually in personal
and professional development. And for many, for many, the number is much higher. And it's not uncommon to see six figure investments over time as people scale their business and themselves. For me, the number has been significant. So over the past seven years, I've invested nearly $40,000 in my own growth on coaching, on courses, programs and skills.
that would allow me to grow my business and step into my potential. And let me tell you, every single dollar was worth it. So investing in yourself isn't just about money. It's about time, energy and commitment. Whether it's hiring a coach, learning new strategies or even creating space for self-reflection, these investments often feel risky in the moment. But
They pay off in ways you can't always measure right away. So if you think about it, you are your greatest asset. The knowledge, the skills and experiences you gain stay with you forever. And they are the key to unlocking your next level. As Warren Buffet says, the best investment you can make is in yourself.
So when I took out that loan, I was terrified, but the skills I learned helped me rank my travel blog on the first page of Google and opened the door to creating online courses, a decision that eventually became the foundation of my business. That single investment created a ripple effect, and I wouldn't be here today without it. So if you're on the fence about investing yourself, investing
in yourself, ask yourself this. What's the cost of staying where you are? Because the price of stagnation is always higher than the price of growth.
Alright, that being said, let's move to lesson number six. Impact and authenticity drive sustainable success. Again, in the beginning, I thought success was about fame and money. All I wanted was money, money, money, money. I wanted to be rich. I wanted to get rich quickly. I wanted to make a name for myself. But over time, I realized...
that real success isn't about, isn't just about how much money you make or how many people know your name. It's about the impact you create and the lives you touch. There are billionaires present on this planet Earth whose name you don't know, but they're running cities, they're running big companies, they're running nations.
and creating real impact. And what I realized is that to be able to earn that money, I have to create something that can shift people's life, that can create some impact. The money cannot come to me just like that. I have to be able to create that money because at the end of the day, money is just the source.
to experiences. It's just the access to people. If I create a program today and you join my program, what we are gaining at the end of the day is access to each other. You're gaining my access, you're gaining my knowledge access. And if I join someone else, I'm gaining their access. If I'm going somewhere, so money is really the ability to buy experiences.
and to buy access. And it doesn't happen if you're not creating impact or transformation in some way or the other. And so when I shifted my focus to helping others through retreats, coaching, transformational programs, everything changed. I literally put myself to work. I didn't assume my success. Yes, my success is inevitable.
but I just didn't sit on my couch and expect things to just happen. I believed and then I allowed my need to receive. And something amazing happened. People started coming to me not because I had flashy ads or a big following, but because they trusted me to help them grow. And authenticity builds trust and trust builds businesses.
When you align with your values and lead with your heart, success becomes not just sustainable, but deeply fulfilling. Okay, the last lesson, collaboration over competition. For a long time, I thought success was a solo journey, that I had to figure everything out myself, outpace everyone else.
and stay ahead of my competition. But one of the most valuable lessons I've learned over the years is that collaboration always, always beats competition. Some of my biggest breakthroughs came when I leaned into community, working with like-minded people, sharing resources, and supporting one another.
Whether it was joining programs, hosting retreats, or simply connecting with like-minded people who get it, I realized that we rise together. We rise higher together than we ever could alone. I spent three years on the solo journey, three to four years, and then when I stepped out of it, and in the fifth year, fourth or fifth year,
I started collaborating, connecting, I realized that those three, the amount of things that I've achieved in one year, in three years, I could have achieved those things in one to two years maybe. But I'm not in any way discrediting or discounting those three years. Those three years when I was alone have a huge impact on me and they're always going to be a part of my journey. So I'm not...
guilty of anything, I'm not, you know, I'm missing the word. But anyway, I don't want to change anything in my life. But again, if you want to go faster, sometimes you have to see things differently. Now.
Okay, and there you have it, my seven lessons in seven years. And these aren't just lessons I've learned, they are values I live by, and they've helped me build a business. They are helping me build a business and the life that I'm super, super proud of. Okay, here's a quick recap. Number one, flexibility. Number two, give up laziness and comfort zones.
3. Consistency 4. Resilience 5. Invest in yourself 6. Impact and authenticity drive success 7. Collaboration over competition Now, I want you to tell me which one of these lessons speaks to you the most. I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments or in the DM or share this episode with someone who needs to hear it.
And don't forget, every mistake, every challenge, every pivot, it's all part of your story. You're exactly where you need to be. These lessons are my lessons. Your lessons might be different. So, you're exactly where you need to be, and you're enough just the way you are.
Stay tuned for next week's episode where we'll continue with the Retweet Business 101 series. These two lessons, these two episodes, the seven lessons one and the last one were New Year's specials. Next week I'll catch up with you with the Retweet Business 101 series. Until then, keep growing, keep evolving, and remember, the best is yet to come.