Why do you think that some leaders hide from
funding their vision? And then how can those
same leaders then lean into funding that vision?
It's such a good question, Harry. I think often
people don't do things because they're afraid
or they don't know how. And the truth is some
leaders do need funding. They need capital to
move their vision forward, whether it's a business
or a project or an idea. it's important for us
to share those out in the universe and think
about tapping the network and creating collaborative
relationships because you never know there could
be someone who shares the vision and wants to
help you put it into practice but to answer the
question very simply i think sometimes it's fear
um i want to say it's almost every time it's
fear because fear of uncertainty because they
don't know And we can explore both sides, I would
say. If you're going to explore the financial
side, I would say most entrepreneurs, and I think
I am guilty of that too, most entrepreneurs are
scared to bet on themselves early enough that
they win. And that could come because they're
afraid that this might not work or that they
don't have clarity on how to get it to work.
yeah yeah think about it this way right if you
knew that if you start a business today it'll
take you 10 years and you have to do these these
these these things along the way but within the
10th year mark you will be maybe 10 times more
profitable as you would from working on a 95
job i think 10 out of 10 if people knew the path
they will take that step every time The difference,
I think, comes along when people try to look
for shortcuts. They don't realize that what you
have to build is different than what the market
teaches a lot of times. I would say the gurus
teach all the time. So thank you for sharing
that. I love your thoughts on that. I think you
have something that you want to really, really
say. I do. I do. I'm itching to share. I love
that you talked about this long game. You know,
you talked about the 10 -year plan. And you're
right. I think we all get impatient. But when
we're building a business, when we're building
a vision, it takes time. It's not an overnight
success. There may be wins and there may be failures
along the way, and that's okay. our eye on the
prize and think about what are the steps we need
to get there. And I'll tell you, Harry, I think
the most important thing too is to celebrate
the wins along the journey because the challenges
are hard and they can get us down and it's really
tough and it gets, you know, the fear really
festers, but we've got to celebrate the wins.
You are absolutely right on that. And I can personally
testify, I can testify to the level of achieving
goals on a bigger level yeah but i can do for
small things this is one thing i was missing
from the things i've tried to do in my life was
every time i would fail to do something right
i would say in my mind oh gosh harry you failed
to get up on time today or harry you were supposed
to go do these these sets of exercise but or
you're supposed to in that i play pickleball
uh So you're supposed to hit that shot that way.
But I realized it very, very recently that if
I celebrate the small wins to a great degree,
it is amazing what impact it has on your brain.
So one time, I think it was very recently, what
was I working on? I was reading some scriptures
I was supposed to do, right? And I have a habit
of doing it. Not a habit yet, but like it's doing
it at least 30 to 50 minutes a day. And every
time I would fail to do so, like I would like,
oh, geez, Harry. But now I'm like, hey, Harry,
congratulations. You did 30 minutes of exercise.
I did this very similar thing with my wife. My
wife is getting into working out now. And we're
like, hey, great job. You showed up for. today
like you've worked out for 40 -50 minutes and
that's awesome and we should go celebrate that
even though we get some little bit of calories
I think it's better to celebrate and get that
that there's chemicals that don't mean hit dopamine
hit so I want to give you an analogy that I think
is really relevant here especially since we're
talking about out and pickleball so I have participated
in several charity half marathons where I was
raising money on behalf of an organization that
I believed in. Now, admittedly, I am not a runner.
That's not my happy place. I'm not the kind of
person that just says, I'm going to go for a
run. So I had to learn how to run 13 .2 miles.
And we had trainers who were helping us understand,
add a little bit more each time, and eventually
you'll get there. Your body will condition and
train. So the first time was a quarter of a mile.
you know and it was such a celebration to say
i ran for an entire quarter of a mile and then
next time i'm gonna work up to a half a mile
and i remember you know feeling great about five
miles and then seven miles and you just have
to keep adding so i appreciate your your interest
there and sharing the wins yeah and i want to
add one more thing on that i think going back
to looking up to having the picture, like having
the eye on the bigger prize, the way you're going.
But that does not mean that even though it's
going to take you 10 years, that you be lackadaisical
in your efforts now. You cannot absolutely do
that. I think that's what most people realize.
Oh, it's going to take me 10 years. You know
what? I can skip this or I can do that. I can
do that. That will never work because the effort
is with the right direction. what gets you to
your goals and learning along the way. If you
don't do, you will never get there. You'll always
keep pushing the goalpost year and year forward.
You can't cut corners. I like to think of building
a foundation, whether it's a business or a project.
If you don't build a solid foundation, your house
is going to fall down. So the same thing with
your business. You need to build that solid foundation.
And there are things that are going to go wrong,
and that's okay, but you need to figure out Next
time, how do I do better? Correct. Yes, exactly.
You've got to learn from what you didn't do.
Maybe analyze, hey, this is why this didn't work.
Repurpose your strategy and then go back to the
path you're supposed to be on. Exactly right.
Awesome. Thank you for sharing that with us.
That was a great conversation so far. My next
question for you, Caroline, and I think it goes
down to what we were just talking about. tips
do you have for leaders or entrepreneurs that
you would like to share from your experience
you've had over the years? Yeah, I read an interesting
article recently on LinkedIn that talked about
how entrepreneurs, especially in the early stages
of a business that they're standing up, are terrible
at self -care. You know, they're taking care
of all the things, they're doing all the work,
it's exhausting. Often it's a very lean financial
time because we're bootstrapping it, trying to
make ends meet. And we don't take care of ourselves.
And I've fallen into that trap, right? We have
this tremendous energy and enthusiasm. We think
I can power through. So my advice to all of the
leaders listening and all of the entrepreneurs
is you have one body, one mind. Take care of
them. Honor them. Be good to them. Because if
you get sick, it is much more difficult to get
healthy again. And it's really important to not
lose sight of your health and well -being. going
along that how does an entrepreneur who is who
does not think they have time to do these things
how do they include that in their schedule like
what do they do what do you do i mean i hear
you it sounds you know people say i don't have
time i'm busy all day i'm working internationally
so i've got morning noon and night right in different
time zones and i hear that and i would say yes
and your body will shut down and take a break
because you are exhausted when it is the most
inconvenient so you really do need to honor your
body with rest some movement i mean i love how
you said you're playing pickleball you're doing
things it doesn't mean you have to have two hours
in the gym every day but even starting with a
little walk you know take a break move around
be conscious of what you eat and be conscious
of your stress Because the stress can be silently
debilitating and very harmful. Yes. Alan, I want
to add to that because you mentioned a great
point. And this is something I've very, very,
very recently learned, I would say like within
a few months, where when people say that they
don't have time, I think that's a bogus bullcrap
reason. Yeah. In reality, the thing is they didn't
make time for that. Because... Everyone in the
world has 24 hours a day. And if you're sleeping
that eight hours and let's take off another two
to four hours from eating, getting up, et cetera,
et cetera, you still have 12 hours of the day.
Most people. cannot work 12 hours even if they
do and be productive at the same time right you
can't do it like your body can't handle your
mind will stop working if you have to be some
kind of crazy maniac and very very very very
dedicated to certain mission in your life that
it's this or die that you have to be working
12 hours a day continuous to do that and most
people don't do that and even if you work 8 to
10 hours a day that still leaves you two hours
to do things that that And it doesn't have to
be, I think it doesn't have to be just exercise.
I play pickleball because I love it. I think
it's something to me when I go do that, I can
forget about everything else I do or don't do
or things I fall short of or things I do well
when I'm playing pickleball. It does not matter.
In that two, three hours, whatever I give to
it, it doesn't matter. And that's what I do.
It's my... I would say it's my zone place. Yeah,
yeah, yeah. Yeah, and I love it. And that's what
I think that's a very important concept. So thank
you for sharing that. I think you want to add
something to it too. You said something that
really resonated with me. People that are working
12 and 14 hours aren't doing good work. You know,
their bodies are exhausted. And I agree, we've
got to make time or we've got to prioritize time
because I'd much rather... have eight hours of
incredible work where I was doing my best work
than 12 hours of mediocre work, right, where
my body was trying so hard to just stay focused.
And I think people, even very ambitious entrepreneurs,
the busy badge of honor does not really work.
And we need to change the culture because what
if you work so hard that you're exhausted and
you become sick and then you can't take your
business to the next level? because you you've
worked 14 hours a day for a year i guarantee
no one can be healthy and work that much without
rest and recuperation and you're not just physical
activity rest is really important and i'm not
just talking about sleeping it might be some
quiet time to reflect yes i think that's absolutely
right because i mean not because and because
what if When I'm not sleeping properly and I
wake up either earlier than I'm supposed to,
I am dead exhausting in my meeting. Even if I'm
listening and I'm not comprehending, my brain's
not there. Imagine doing that if you're not your
best and you're not all present in the moment.
How many clients, leads, operations, quality,
so much you're going to lose. It's better to
do one client but do it well then it is to take
on 15 clients and not do them like do it like
bad like it i don't think that's any good for
any entrepreneur ever and harry i would add to
that we have one life to lead right exactly family
that we have the partners the friends that we're
with so if we don't honor that you can't get
that time back you cannot get yesterday back
you can't get an hour ago back Right. So I think
we can be ambitious. We can be all in in our
businesses. And as leaders, we can have that
vision. But if we miss our lives, to what end?
Yes, exactly. You know, there's one thing to
say, but there's another thing to do. I would
love your insights on how you do and how you
manage your time and what you do with your day.
And I'll be really honest and vulnerable with
you and your audience. This is the new me because
I used to be that person, right? I was burning
the candle at both ends. And I thought I had
this tremendous work ethic. But the truth is,
I was really terrible at it. And I had no life
ethic. I missed my life. And I became sick and
debilitated. And I also wasn't doing my best
work. So only because I burned out and lived
to tell the tale. Do I now understand how dangerous
that is? And I wouldn't encourage anybody to
do that, especially for an extended period of
time. We need a real culture shift in this world
to say it's OK to work really hard. And now you
need to live really hard. Maybe not hard is the
right word, but live and enjoy your life. So
what do you what does your day look like every
day now? So it's interesting because five days
a week, sometimes six, but always five. I start
my day with exercise, and it has revolutionized
my health and well -being. It's a stress reliever,
just like you said with pickleball. I'm in the
zone. You can't be stressed when you're exercising.
You just can't. Your body can't do both. So it's
a beautiful stress reliever. It's good for my
cardiovascular system, but it's also good for
my mental well -being. So I start the day with
exercise. i work through the day and sometimes
there's a late client call at night with a different
time zone but i make sure that i'm enjoying things
in between and harry another thing that i try
to do is only work for 90 minutes straight before
i take a very brief break it might be five minutes
it might be 10 minutes but it's a way to reboot
my brain and have some clarity and give my brain
a chance to rest so even five minutes every 90
minutes has been a big improvement okay and um
um how does your sleep uh come in i love to sleep
i'm really good at it and i commit to eight hours
every night now you know i am a better person
with eight hours of sleep and we miss a big big
part family our friends where does that fit in
Yeah, really important. You know, I think now
that I'm in my own business, I can say that I'm
done at a certain time of day and enjoy the time
that I spend with my husband and really commit
to that. and share that precious time together
and be with my family. And I don't feel guilty
about it. Thank you for being here today. I'm
really happy that you tuned in to Vision Pros
Live. I'm looking forward to seeing your reactions
as these episodes continue to move forward. This
is going to get more and more fun. We'll have
more and more engagement as well. We'll invite
people to participate in the show. And thank
you for giving us your time and attention. Have
an excellent time building out your vision and
becoming a vision pro yourself.