The Real You
1:1 Long-Form Interviews with Interesting People Doing Amazing Things
In-depth discussion of people's journeys to tap into their full potential and find ways to be the truest version of themselves.
The Real You
EP 8: Unlocking Passion and Perseverance: Colleen Kranz on Her Unique Path to Success
Can anxiety be your secret weapon for entrepreneurial success? Join us for an enlightening conversation with Colleen Kranz, a versatile marketer and business owner who also builds saunas and airplanes in her spare time. Colleen opens up about her journey from the corporate world to becoming a full-time entrepreneur, sharing the emotional highs and lows of the transition. Her insights on managing anxiety and transforming it into a superpower offer valuable lessons for anyone in the entrepreneurial space. Colleen delves into her teenage years and how overcoming those challenges forged her path forward.
The transformative power of writing takes center stage as we explore how daily practices like journaling and maintaining a newsletter can catalyze personal and professional growth. Since January 2022, I've been on a journey of self-discovery through writing, using platforms like LinkedIn to share insights and build an authentic online presence. Colleen and I discuss the benefits of exercises like Morning Pages and the vital role of community feedback in creating engaging value-driven content. Authenticity in content creation and leveraging community insights are key emerging themes, offering practical takeaways for aspiring content creators.
Building connections and embracing diverse perspectives are crucial for fostering innovation and personal growth. Colleen shares her unique experience of building an airplane from scratch, a venture that underscores the power of collaboration and perseverance. We touch on the practical benefits of sauna and contrast therapy alongside strategies for balancing multiple life roles while prioritizing self-care and mental health.
This episode is a treasure trove of wisdom on aligning your work with your passions, understanding your core values, and ultimately leading a more fulfilling life. So, tune in for a conversation that promises to inspire and transform your entrepreneurial journey.
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Empathy and Marketing
Leveraging Writing for Personal Growth
Building Connections and Sharing Perspectives
Building an Airplane From Scratch
Sauna and Contrast Therapy Power
Balancing Priorities for Self-Care
Mental Health and Long-Term Growth
Exploring Self-Discovery and Personal Growth
https://www.catapultnorth.com/blog
Welcome to the Real you Podcast. I'm your host, david Young, and this is episode number eight. This podcast discusses tapping into your full potential and finding ways to be the truest version of yourself. Today, I'm joined by Colleen Kranz, a marketer, business owner, sauna and airplane builder, which is amazing, and I can't wait to talk more about that. We will discuss her career journey, her businesses using LinkedIn and how she manages to keep it all together with so much that she juggles. So, colleen, welcome to the show. I'm thrilled to have you on today. Thanks so much for joining me.
Speaker 2:Thank you, david. I'm so excited to be here. I've been wanting to have this conversation with you for a long time, and it's just happened to be being recorded, so it's just a great opportunity for me to have a nice discussion with you.
Speaker 1:Yes, thank you for saying that, and I'm in the same boat. I know we met once a couple months ago just for a little kind of short meet and greet, but I think this will be a little bit different, more in-depth, and just can't wait to get your insight and thoughts. Just can't wait. So thanks again. So, just to start out, I want to just thank you for all your support. You're one of my earliest supporters on LinkedIn a new journey for me back last summer and I don't even remember now exactly how we got connected, other than, I think, just seeing your content, and you've just always been very supportive of my efforts and what I'm trying to do. So just a public thank you for being so supportive of me.
Speaker 2:Oh, absolutely it's been super fun and we both, you know, we're experimenting and learning and I really gravitated to your content because it's so real and relatable and I think that's a voice that we all need to hear a lot more of, because, as an entrepreneur, you know, no one tells you hey, you're, there's not going to be like a clear path, you have to just figure it out. And it's going to be really a clear path, you have to just figure it out, and it's going to be really emotional, really emotionally trying for you. But that's okay, do it anyway.
Speaker 2:So it's been fun watching you grow and learn like in public. So I appreciate being. I don't even know how we connected. It was just the interwebs that put us together.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly, the lovely interwebs, and that was your post today, right, Wasn't it? Do it anyway, I think that's yeah, and you said that was like an internal message to yourself. So we always need those, we always need those reminders, and it's interesting that you brought up about kind of the emotional journey. I think that's the one thing, not the one. I'll say. One of the things that I underestimated in doing this full time is there's a much more emotional swings and roller coasters that I did not experience in corporate nine to five. They were different emotions and swings but they were more regulated because it was just mostly frustration and I just managed the frustration. But this is much more highs and lows and just all the stuff. So I think that would be a message to any. If anyone's listening out there that's considering this, um, just that's one thing. It's it's a little bit hard to prepare for and it's a little bit hard to explain, but there's definitely an emotional um, I don't even know what the right word is bandwidth.
Speaker 2:And it's totally normal. Bandwidth, yeah, and it's totally normal and you're not weird, because you're, you have anxiety, you're, you're not weird at all and I think that that anxiety kind of of that unknown, it can be a real superpower, um, when utilized effectively. Like, like you you were talking about, I need to get my posts out and I'm frustrated and you know, like but like, but you did it, you get it done. But I think that what becomes difficult is when we allow that mental space to control us and take over our lives. And, and it's just, it's hard to be creative when you feel controlled, I think, by that anxiety when you feel controlled, I think, by that anxiety.
Speaker 1:Yeah for sure. So that's just so funny that you brought that up, because I've been thinking a lot about that just in the last probably in the last week or week to two weeks, I think is when I really started to feel it, you know, more so than before. So, like you said, it's all one big experiment and it's one big learning after another. So let's start kind of go back to the beginning, like, um, like what was your career plan you got out of college, and like what did you, what did you think you wanted to do, and like what were your kind of goals as you were kind of starting out in the workplace?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I had, I had kind of a real, not kind of, I had a really rough teenage years. Uh, so the fact that I I look back and I'm like what would I tell myself? Now? I'm like thank God you made it out alive, it only can go up from here and um, uh, you know, I think that. Um, so my mom passed away when I was 13 to colon cancer.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:And, um, and I am very much like a highly emotional person, which can be a great thing because, um, I'm very empathetic, I really want to connect with people, but on the other hand, I feel things very deeply and so trying to navigate that in the teenage years was real tough. And um, so going into college I was like, okay, we can, we made it, we made it, we're here, we're doing this. And I did not go like, start my college years knowing exactly what I wanted to do. I did not realize that marketing was my calling. So I just started taking my generals, you know, some business courses and I also was studying French language classes.
Speaker 2:I did that in high school and I traveled to France and I was never really very good at it. But I thought, well, why not continue that in college? I've done something with it. And some friends in my French class were talking about their marketing classes. I'm like, okay, well, I should investigate that. And instantly I felt this connection to the material, because I see marketing as a communication method to help people solve their problems and to help people navigate the problems that they're facing and find solutions. And so I really come into marketing from a purposeful perspective we think of sometimes marketing like the 1960s, like what you would think of a marketer.
Speaker 2:They're in a room with a cigarette and how do we get people to do what we want them to do? And I think, especially in today's world, people to do what we want them to do, and I think, especially in today's world, consumers, buyers, see right through that it's not even a thing. So I really feel like the brands and the businesses that do it right and are able to connect with customers, lead with empathy about their buyers' problems. And so when I started learning about marketing and communication channels the tactics are all great and fun, like as a creative, I really enjoy the creation, the writing, that process but I think where the real power is is highclass marketing strategy is what, what services do you provide? Who exactly do you provide them to? Why do they care? What message will resonate?
Speaker 2:And then all those channels and tactics and from that emotional side and my upbringing, like you know, I feel things being able to relate to a buyer and get in like their daily. You know choices there, you know what is their ultimate end goal, and then aligning my solutions to fulfill their needs. I also think that, at the end of the day, creating results really resonated with me like doing something that creates results. At the end of the day, I mean, our purpose in life is different for everybody, but the way I see my purpose in life is really growing and helping others grow. So at the end of the day, if I can help somebody fulfill their purpose and help them fulfill their customer's purpose, that just felt really good to me.
Speaker 1:And did that. I love the way you said that about. I love, I love the empathy part, leading with empathy, which I think is a good process and a good idea, kind of no matter what, no matter what you're doing, and I don't think there's enough of that in today's society. So I love that. I love the tapping into the buyers, like trying to figure out like almost like what you're talking about, like their daily struggle or their daily journal and then how your solution, you know, fits into that. So you said when you kind of got turned on to the marketing from the French classes, something kind of spoke to you talk a little bit, I'd love to know more about that. Like what, what specifically do you think kind of inside of you like really resonated with the marketing and what like what did you find appealing or exciting when you kind of first got turned on to it?
Speaker 2:I think that what I really gravitated toward was the communication aspect of it, because even in our networks, you know, like we each have networks, we have kind of these circles of communities and if we just live in our circles of communities, we never like have this transfer of learning between our communities. And so even that's why casual relationships, you know, large scale communication, social media is so powerful because we're able to transfer information between people at scale. And I think that concept of like scaling communications, which meant scaling problem solving like, was really impactful for me. And the other thing that really stood out for me is that it was a way that I could harness my creativity and like bring that into my professional life, um so, like um thinking in new ways with um different ways to write. Uh, you know I I love um ways to write. You know I I love the strategy piece of it, but I I use writing, creating visuals, as really a way to just kind of get that creative energy out, which is a core value of mine. It just makes me feel fulfilled.
Speaker 1:I love that and I love that you kind of know that then about yourself and were able to find something which I think is a struggle for a lot of people and it was a struggle for me for a long time. When you're kind of misaligned with values and your kind of strengths and interests and then with your work and like those are all, just there's a lot of friction, you know, between those three and I think a lot of people unfortunately. I don't know if it's so much these days, but when I was in school you know there wasn't a great, there wasn't a great way to explain that to people. So it was just like pick a major, get a job, good luck, right. There wasn't, there wasn't a lot of thought about like am I good at this? Do I like this? Is this fun, do I feel fulfilled? Like that was, that was all like a bonus, like if you, if you got that, awesome, but it's really not, it doesn't matter, just get a job to make money so you can pay bills and be an adult. So again, that was a long time ago and I hope now there's more intentional thought and effort from guidance counselors and all guidance academic people and all that stuff with the young kids to like, hey, think about this, because I don't think that's that wasn't done. You know, back then, so did you.
Speaker 1:So did you do a lot of writing, uh, like in high school as you were trying to process the grief, like, was writing and creativity a way you use that, or was that something you did you kind of found later, cause I see that a lot on LinkedIn, you know, like every other post talks about journaling. Um, maybe even more than that.
Speaker 2:Maybe it's every post talks about journaling.
Speaker 1:I don't even know. It's a lot, lots of journaling. It's not just the journaling, but it's that cathartic process of writing. It's taking those thoughts from your brain, getting them out of your head onto paper. That works. How did you come across that? Or when did you start that? How did you know that that was a creative process that really like helped you?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so that is something that I did not realize. I was a writer before January 2023.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow.
Speaker 2:Yes, and you know it's something that I always did. I was like I checked the box kind of activity, but I didn't feel like I was really great at it and I think, for the same reasons you just talked about kind of like that, I wish there were more kind of interception or self-reflection opportunities in school for that and like this. This is part of your journey, david, too. Like all the steps along the way, you didn't realize that you know there was the opportunity to have a career that felt meaningful, and now you help people do that. For me, entrepreneurship was a reason for me to start writing, and so I started my business in January of 2022. And I used that time to January of 2022. And I used that time to. I'd never been a business owner. I known in my family, owned a business, but I use that year to kind of figure out oh my gosh, what are like, what's an EIN number, how do I do my book, what are taxes? You know like to figure all that stuff out, and I felt pretty comfortable. And then in January I said I'm going to start writing daily on LinkedIn and I'm going to start a newsletter, and I didn't really know how I was going to do it, but I was going to do it and I cannot. Yes, like now, that content feeds my business, but I think I would keep writing even if it didn't, because it's such a it's just a self-reflection tool, it's a growth tool, it's it's an emotional support tool. And so because of that commitment to writing, that's how I kind of grew into this character.
Speaker 2:I made for myself that now I'm a writer, and because I think that I created the time and the space needed to explore it. And now I think you know I really wasn't into journaling, now I am, but I think that it allows me the time and the space to explore the concepts that I want to explore. And oftentimes, in writing, it's more for me than anyone else. It's that I think it's important to explore the concepts that are meaningful for you, that you want to keep close. So most of my posts on LinkedIn, they're more for me than anybody else. And then the content in my newsletter, they're.
Speaker 2:You know, I keep a ticker of topics. There are things that pop into my head that like spark that. Oh, I wonder what about that. And then when you're forced to articulate what you know or what you've learned, then you really like, are able to understand it at a deeper level, and so it reinforced, I think, what I also know about three kind of pieces of my life. One is business growth systems. I really challenge myself to break down complex growth systems to be easy. To be simple, I hope to dive into the subject of purpose and what it means for us as people and businesses and simplifying that. And then for the subject of lifestyle design, I geek out and I love being able to create systems for what I want in life, identifying what I want, because oftentimes we don't even know that. Yeah, I did a journaling exercise with a friend last June and we it's called Morning Pages by Julia Cameron, and so it's three pages of writing stream of consciousness every morning.
Speaker 1:Three pages.
Speaker 2:What was that?
Speaker 1:Did you say three pages?
Speaker 2:Three pages handwritten, yeah, but in that exercise, like the first two pages, you're just like you know, like I am writing. I don't know what to say right now, but I'm going to keep writing and my hand is getting tired and my son is snoring next to me and I can you know. But then once you get rid of all that junk and clutter, you like I'm starting to remember memories, um, and it was a great way for me to use some prompts and like what I really want, what makes me happy. There's all that surface level junk that gets in the way sometimes. So I am so happy that the whole LinkedIn newsletter ambition happened for me, because it really supports me as, like a whole person, not just my business.
Speaker 1:Well, and it shows too, because I subscribe to an obnoxious number of newsletters. Well, and it shows too, because I subscribe to an obnoxious number of newsletters, most of which I don't read, so I don't know why I signed up for them, but I do. But yours is one that I almost always read and I think the way that you described it and how much it means to you and how much you put into it is then reflected back into the product, because I always find it very valuable, there's always insights and it always comes across with that like authenticity. Um, that I don't see in a lot of newsletters, including my own, which I just suspended because mine was terrible. Um, and it's because I know I didn't really like doing it. I was just doing it because I thought I had to, or I thought I needed to, but it wasn't really something.
Speaker 2:I wanted to do.
Speaker 1:I wanted to create content. I wanted to do the podcast. I was doing the newsletter because I felt, thought I had to, or I thought I needed to, but it wasn't really something I wanted to do. I wanted to create content. I wanted to do the podcast. I was doing the newsletter because I felt like I had to, and so I just I never found a way to enjoy it and so I think that came across. So one of the things that you do that I love, well, you do it with your content too.
Speaker 1:But you talked about those circles of community. You're one of the best, if not the best, that I know of on the LinkedIn platform of really using your network to gain, like insight and ideas and you turn around and share those. So I know you've done two that come to mind. One is you did, I think, a fiction book. I think you did a fiction book, uh like list or something. It was right around Christmas time. Uh, then you shared that in your newsletter, which was really cool, just different ideas, books that people like reading. But then you just did one recently.
Speaker 1:Now I'm losing my train of thought. It was career pivots for people a little bit farther advanced in their career and maybe they think it's too late or they're not sure. But you gathered advice from different people, I think on LinkedIn, but then you wrote the newsletter, like kind of piecing those different pieces of advice, and then you cross share them. So it's a great use of your time because it feeds content and it also feeds the newsletter, but it's more than that, because it's so valuable to the people that are consuming it. So I think that's really genius on your part, the way that you really leverage the network to really provide that benefit. So I don't know if that's natural or if you just think of that, but I think that's really. I don't see a lot of people doing that and I think it's great.
Speaker 2:Well, thank you, I appreciate that, and thank you for the kudos on the newsletter. That means more to me than you know. I am always looking to improve it, but sometimes like taking action and listening to yourself and kudos to you for listening to yourself and your passions about stopping the newsletter. But oftentimes I think that getting diverse perspectives together working on a problem creates the best outcome, and so I and, for the example, like the winter fiction reading list, you know, when we're in our little community and tribe over here there's, we may never learn about these awesome, you know books or perspectives that we would ever hear about.
Speaker 2:So I think that, both on LinkedIn and in our networks, when we can create those paths between communities to create that information flow, you know that's really where the magic happens and really fulfills my purpose of helping people come to new ideas and meet new people.
Speaker 2:So I think that the other way that that has been really helpful is also making introductions in my network. So if I meet someone and I a one-on-one coaching client who is a leadership coach for rising leaders, and I have someone else in my network who you know, I know it is a professor, you know teaching MBA programs, it's there's two perfect introductions in my network and if I can take two people from different communities and and hopefully help them have a great conversation, I think that there's downward spiral activity that can come from that, which is a pretty wonderful gift to be able to give the network and the and the togetherness and not it's not just about building like connections and followers, like that's great, but if we stop there, then it's it's a little bit hollow, right Cause, then it's just a number Um.
Speaker 1:But if we're really using like people that we know in other areas, like you come across someone looking for you mentioned you know obviously taxes when you're doing like, when you're running your own business. A lot of us have done taxes, like for our personal finances. But doing a business, taxes is something that most people haven't done. So if you're not comfortable with that, I'm sure you know someone like hey, I know a person who does that, and then you can refer them. So you start to do that kind of stuff and it feels good when you know that you can provide like a solid resource or whatever to somebody. So I think it's great. I think it's a great way to think about your network and more than just just building it, but you know using it for whether it's, you know, insight, like you've done, or referrals or, like you said, two people that just you think would get along really well, or maybe they share a common interest or or whatever, and then boom, you put them together right Like that.
Speaker 1:That connector. I don't know if you've done your CliftonStrengths. I feel like connector would have to be one of your one of your top five because you're so good at it, so I love again.
Speaker 1:It all comes back to using strengths, Like if you're, if you do things that you're naturally good at regularly, it's hard not to be, not to feel good about like what you're doing versus fighting it.
Speaker 2:When you like learned about your true core values? Was that an eye opener for you to to investigate different things in your career or your life?
Speaker 1:You know that's a good question. I don't not. It wasn't that, it wasn't that, um, direct, it was more. It took much longer. Um, I didn't think of it, I didn't process it the right way. So I had the information but I didn't really know what to do with it and it took several years of kind of thinking and reading and researching, and then it took more career coaches. So it was a much more, just a more. I don't know what the right word is.
Speaker 2:Non-linear, it was like a stepping stone.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that was part of the process, but not so specifically that I was like, oh, I should do this. Frankly, even starting the content creation last summer that was more I was almost out of borderline desperation because I was so unhappy with just all of my corporate work. I just didn't feel anything to it, I wasn't connected to it, it didn't mean anything to me. So the content was like I need to do something different and this is about as different as I can do it. Then, as I started doing it, it felt good and I was like, oh, I kind of like doing this, and then it kind of built and then it kind of went from there and then I started to see it like, oh well, this is actually, if you look at my strengths, this actually aligns quite well because I do it in a very structured, very formatted way.
Speaker 1:It's a very rigid process that I follow, but I like doing things like that. I like things that repeat. So I that I follow, but I like doing things like that. I like things that repeat so I can repeat the same process to create content like every single day. So it all feeds to what I like. So, yeah, it's not I. I was a little slow on the uptake I it would have been better for me if I'd been a little quicker to be like oh, maybe I should do this, but you know, it's all.
Speaker 2:That's the way life goes If you've not been ready to do that at that time.
Speaker 1:But looking back you're kind of like well, no wonder that right that totally aligns. Now, yeah, so it's. You know, we're all on our same. No, we're all on the same timeline, right? This is not a race and it's not a zero-sum game. So like I win doesn't mean you have to lose, and like all that kind of stuff. So, but again, this took me a long, long time to realize all of this. Um much, much later in life you know.
Speaker 2:You know that is what like makes you so relatable, because you went through like just really frustrating times and those pains and challenges like we were talking about, like me learning in my marketing classes. Like you get it. You've been in those shoes, you You've been like. You know you know how difficult it is, so that just is part of your story.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it is. It's a big part. Could have happened earlier, but hey, better late than never, what? So? So you the newsletter now. So, if I follow the timeline, you started the Entrepreneur Journey January 22, and then started the newsletter on January 23. Is that correct? Yes, and then LinkedIn, also January 23. So both of those are about 14 or so months. What would you say in that time, like have kind of been your big kind of takeaways besides the, just the connections and the network, anything in writing, that many newsletter additions and just all the content and the, uh, the interaction, like anything that you've really I don't know that maybe surprised you or that you feel like are like big takeaways from, from doing it um, I would say there are a couple.
Speaker 2:Generally, with both. I think that oftentimes we are so afraid of looking dumb, like that's why we don't do a lot of things, because, well, I, what would I? You know, people will think I post too much. Well, people will think I'm not credible enough. Who am I to write a newsletter? You know, we have so many things in our mind that prevent us from just doing it, like just taking action.
Speaker 2:And so for me, like I always thought of LinkedIn, like, well, people are gonna, you know, think I post too much and for me, I really had to come to terms and get that. There are people who are going to see what I write and disagree with me. They are, they could hate me. They don't get it as much as I don't. You know, that is kind of hard to hear. It's the truth. Most people are going to just be indifferent. They're just going to be like, okay, well, they don't really have an opinion, but there are some people that are going to get it and like that it's going to resonate and it's going to make a difference and that's your audience and it's.
Speaker 2:And for me, if I was to not create because of the fear of a few people at the expense of not creating content that would help some people. That would be, that would be unfortunate, that would be a travesty, because not only am I helping myself by creating, but I'm helping some people, and so that was really eye-opening for me to be okay with not everyone liking me, and that's actually a really difficult lesson I learned with Good Plain Living, which was our YouTube channel, and LinkedIn is very nice, like everyone's just kind. Like for the most part, everyone's just kind and professional and they're just not nice people on YouTube sometimes. So as we were posting videos about our airplane build and vlog, there were some not nice comments and going through that process kind of just helped me, like whatever, and frankly, you got to disappoint some people in the whole process and that's okay yeah, I mean, it's the whole.
Speaker 1:If you're for everybody, if there's a quote, if you're for everybody, you're for nobody, or something like that, so you're, I mean you're not going to be nobody. None of us are for everyone, like it, just right? It's not possible and, first of all, I don't know how anybody could have said anything negative about you guys if your airplane vlog because I I watched a few of those and I thought they were amazing and I don't know how anyone could have watched those and be like, oh, this is really negative.
Speaker 2:Well, that's very kind of you, David.
Speaker 1:How is that possible? A family building an airplane and taking their kids on trips in a plane they built? That's like the least negative story, I think, in the history of time. I don't know how anyone could watch that and do that and be like, oh yeah, this is like bringing me down. This is terrible. Why are they doing this? What Like that's? Yeah, we could go. We could do a whole episode on that.
Speaker 2:Well, thank you, david, that's very kind, yeah.
Speaker 1:I thought they were amazing and I think that whole it's really fascinating. How did that even start? How did you guys decide, hey, I think we can build our own airplane, because that's not something I've ever heard of before. Cars, yes, houses, definitely, log cabins, for sure, planes. Never heard of anyone saying we're going to build our plane.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, let's hear more about that one. Yeah, yeah, we're gonna build our plane. So, yeah, let's, let's hear more about that one. Yeah, yeah, um. So, uh, a little bit of uh context here about, uh, my husband ed, my uh, my husband ed and I, we we've been married for over 20 years nice, and we couldn't be more opposite.
Speaker 2:You know, I'm very empathetic, I'm creative, I'm a deep feeler. I, um, I'm kind of like, you know, high level Ed is, and you know I I'm his biggest cheerleader, but he is a brilliant maximizer. When there's a challenge, he, he wants to re-envision it. And um, which, which, through the years, as we work on projects together, that works really well, like we, you know. Of course, you know we don't get along all the time, but we figured out how to do projects really well because we talk through problems together. He raises things, I raise things, we.
Speaker 2:When he turned 30, um, he always wanted to get his pilot's license and I am afraid of heights, claustrophobic and get airsick, and so you can imagine I was like, yeah, honey, you, you should do that, just don't make me go up there. Uh, and so he, uh, he got his pilot's license and we were part of a flying club, you know kind of like the entry level thing. And we, he got me in the airplane. I had like wristbands, dramamine and all the things and I did it. I was in there and we got.
Speaker 2:We flew to the Apostle Islands on the north side of Wisconsin they're beautiful and a headlight went out on the airplane and we were grounded because we had to wait for a certified mechanic to replace the headlight. And my husband, ed, is really handy and he was like that's silly, I could just replace that headlight. And that's what prompted us to go down the path of yes, you can build your own airplane. There are a number of different kit planes. We built one called a Vans RV-10. Vans is the manufacturer and RV-10 is the model.
Speaker 2:It's very similar to, if you know, cirrus aircraft, kind of like a four-seater, but you fly, you know it's very comfortable, you fly around the country, cedar, but you fly, if you know it's very comfortable, you fly around the country. And um, so he, you know, he prompted me with the idea and, um, at that time, you know, I was really excited about the projects we've done thus far. So we said, yes, let's do it. So we started building the airplane on Valentine's day in our garage with a Papa Murphy's pizza, and we just bought the tail kit just to get started. And, uh, rivet by rivet, uh, we built the tail kit. I'm just like we did this, this is, this is okay, well then we'll, we'll just buy the wing kit. And that's how, that's how it happened. We just kind of put these pieces together and we just did it.
Speaker 2:And in the meantime we had our first baby. And so, you know, I was, you know, pretty busy some nights and sometimes I'd say I can't do it, I'll go in the garage, you go up take care of baby. But at the end of it I'm like just get the damn thing done. Like just get it done. It was like this other baby that had taken up our whole lives. But it took us three and a half years, 2,800 hours. We built the majority of it just in our garage.
Speaker 2:We didn't need any special training to do it. It's something anyone can do if they work hard, follow an instruction manual. There are tech counselors that help you. Work hard, follow an instruction manual, there are tech counselors that help you, and there's an entire community around the Experimental Aircraft Association, eaa.
Speaker 2:And so we took it from our garage on a trailer to an airport that was over a low populated area and assembled the final touches and had an inspection and then had a test pilot fly it for us for the very first time and it was incredible and it was. It was kind of it was just a just a crazy experience that what you'd worked on this far is now flying. And so now we vlog kind of sporadically now, but we have a couple of tricks coming up just about what that looks like that flying around the country with your family is something you can do and it looks pretty different. And if someone one of the kids has to have a potty break, you just land and there are airports all over. So there are just those nuances of aviation. That part of our reason for doing it was to get the awareness and the message out. We also did time lapse video of the build process, so anyone who's looking to build an airplane can kind of go to that section of the build process and see how it comes together.
Speaker 1:That is so fascinating. That's one of the most fascinating stories I've ever heard. I have so many questions. We could talk about that forever. So each of those kits that you bought, did they come with instructions? Is that? So that's how you knew how to do that section yeah, so each came with the instructions.
Speaker 2:But but, um, there's also just a master book like it's about yay, big, like really long, about here's how to build a vans rv10, and there's like schematics and um instruction manual and it's kind of I it's like a more complex Lego. But there is, you know, stuff that you have to figure out how to do like fabrication, like just in the avionics. You know you can have a shop do that or you can do it.
Speaker 2:So there are skills that you need to figure out and learn how to do yeah but you can figure it out, just like you figured out how to do a podcast I, I could not figure that out.
Speaker 1:Doing a podcast doing a podcast is like doing one push-up. Building an airplane is like doing nine iron men back to back. So those are not related at all. I could not. I can't build. I have zero. I'm not handy at anything. I can't build anything.
Speaker 1:My wife is the builder. I don't have the spatial Like. My brain doesn't operate in terms of geometry, so I can't visualize how pieces go together. I just don't have it. If I had to build like, if you said to me like, if you can build this ikea piece of furniture like and we'll give you like a million dollars if you can do it in like two days, I probably wouldn't even try. I'd just be like keep the money, because I wouldn't. Just I couldn't do it like. I just it's just I don't have it. So no, I could not build an airplane. But I do appreciate the your thought of like you can learn if you're interested and you have the ability like, even if you don't know how to do it specifically, right, you can, you can get better. So there's a life lesson there, but it is not for me for building planes.
Speaker 1:But um when did you, at what point did you guys start thinking like we're just gonna build the whole thing and fly it? Or was that always kind of in the back of your mind? Or you got like halfway through and you're like, hey, wait a second, so we've got half this plane built, like let's just finish it and fly it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know. So that kind of started the same way that the sauna project did. It's it's like, okay, worst case scenario, we build the first thing and think this is the worst, this was horrible, we don't want to do this. So you sell it, you sell the tail kit and chalk it up to a good, you know, a good chuckle, you know. So that's kind of we, we went in with the intention that this could likely lead, you know, to an airplane. We, we have friends that built it. We had dream vacations to take, we had like a vision of what our lives could be, um, but if it didn't work out, we just sell it.
Speaker 1:and that's that's really how, like the sauna project came to be, because if the business didn't pan out, we'd have a kick-ass sauna that we bring to friends houses yeah, so, yeah, so talk about that, um, because you guys did the airplanes for a while and then now that the sauna thing is relatively recently, uh, right within the last like six months give or take, um, like, how did that, what was kind of the genesis of that? And and talk a little bit about that project, cause it's, it's also really cool this.
Speaker 2:The catalyst for this was just an idea that then we researched and we, ed and I, feed off of each other, you know, and you get each other excited. So, uh, let's see I would say fall of 2022, we were at a friend's house it was like a hot tubbing night and this friend had a cold plunge tank in their garage and I had always been like I would for the polar plunge. I would raise a ton of money for the polar plunge but I would never actually plunge. Do you know, when you do that, you get a shirt that says two chicken to plunge and there's a chicken on it that's above the water. Like that was me. I did not like cold. It's a fun fact, but so like.
Speaker 2:But for whatever reason, at that time in my life I was ready and I did that cold plunge tank in his garage and I felt like I could do anything. I felt amazing. I um, and I'd been a freeze baby my whole life and this led us to like, start researching contrast therapy, like what is all this science about? How it's so good for you, why is that? Which led us down the path of sauna, listening to Huberman lab podcasts the science-based podcast and doing, um, just learning more about it and being curious about it. Um, and so we, uh, we had then been going to an experiencing sauna like traditional Finnish sauna. I also really enjoy, um, you know, kind of the lower temperature in infrared sauna, like 140, but I really really enjoy like a high heat sauna. So we were, you know, trying it. You know, seeing how we felt. Whenever I would do a sauna you know, 180, 190 degrees I would sleep better, my skin was better, less anxiety, felt better. So they were like these benefits that I felt in my body. So they were like these benefits that I felt in my body. But then, because of this research, I started learning about heat shock proteins and cold shock proteins, which is what you're. They called HSTs and your body's way of looking at cells Okay, this cell needs to be recycled, let's make more cells and it's like your body's way of recycling and optimizing because you're under a stressful situation. So it thinks that you need that support.
Speaker 2:And so we were sold on it. We were going to put one in our basement and we were going to do some all the time and just have it for us. And then we read a book. I think it was Rich Dad, poor Dad, which I don't agree with everything on that book, but all of a sudden it just kind of stuck in our head.
Speaker 2:We could invest that money in a sauna in our basement, or we could put it on a trailer and share it with people, and what's the worst that could happen? Like I said, we have a kick-ass mobile sauna that we take to people's houses. But the best that could happen is if we get the message of sauna and contrast therapy to as many people as possible and other people can experience it. And there was a study recently coming out of Europe I forget the name of it. I'll send you a link so you can include it in the show notes but essentially it was a 20-year study and people that sauna'd three to four times a week were, I think, 38% to 42% less likely to die of any disease.
Speaker 1:Wow.
Speaker 2:Heart attack, cancer, and so there's these scientifically backed benefits. But also one of the best things, when we do a sauna event and someone leaves and says I feel so much better than when I showed up. Or people come with their family and you know, a mom and a son came and she and the mom said my son chose this as our activity to do for today. And then they, they go in the heat and then they go run and splash in the water and she's like I had a great time with my son, like we've never bonded like this before. So that idea that something that we were super passionate about married with the idea to spread that and share it with other people was kind of the idea that led us to build.
Speaker 1:No, I love that and it kind of just goes back to your the kind of the core theme of empathy, helping people, connecting right. It just feels good to do. Yeah, that would have been fine for you guys to do it for yourselves and that would have been perfectly, perfectly fine, but then you take it a step farther, in that we can still benefit from it. We also can help others and spread the word, and you know the medical part and just helping people feel better, I think I mean it's just, it's amazing. It's such a great idea. What I'm trying to think if I've ever been in a sauna, I feel like the answer is yes, but it was like when I was a teenager, so definitely not as an adult. So how long at 180, 190 degrees, like how long are you in there? And then is it literally just like put your bathing suit on and go sit, or is there like an activity that you're doing in there or just it's just literally just absorbing the heat.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So just a little bit of backstory. You know I really hadn't given sauna a second thought until we got into it and what I thought of sauna I kind of thought of like an old gym sauna, you know where, like they say, don't put water on the rocks, and it's like you don't really feel that good after, and you know it's. I just had this, this impression of it, or just like it's kind of like everybody's in there and sweaty and so, um, I, uh, what I would love to say is that, um, one sauna is incredibly, uh healthy and um, and also, when built uh in a way that uh, maximizes um airflow. So, um, ventilation is really important, insulation is really important, how your feet are in comparison to the stove is really important. So there's a lot of details in sauna design that help you have the best experience possible so that, if you're going to take the time to do it, feel your best. So traditional Finnish sauna is typically a four part cycle, and so you spend time heating up and you know that can be any, you know, anywhere between you know 170 and 200. The research that I cited was at temperatures above 176 degrees and every one is a bit different and also people that sauna for long periods. You know their tolerance typically increases, but anywhere between eight to 12 minutes is very normal and you let yourself get to a temperature that you're like okay, I'm ready to leave Some, some people time themselves. There's a lot of different methodologies, um for for doing this, but I I would just uh caution that obviously anyone with heart problems or um, where a you know, a high heartbeat or stress on your heart would be difficult. You definitely want to be aware of that, obviously. Um, you know you want to be careful if you're pregnant and and and things like that. So you let your body get up to temperature to a point that you are ready to exit and then come out, you rest, you let your body come back to normal, you hydrate, drinking a whole lot of water because obviously you're, you know you're detoxifying, and so you're kind of moving in and out of these cycles of heat, cool, hydrate, rest, and you know one might go through, depending on the time that you have three to four cycles For a public sauna.
Speaker 2:So our events we do social sessions with eight people on the bench or private sessions with up to 10 people. Typically you can either wear swimwear or athletic wear or whatever you feel comfortable in, and if it's, if it's your own, obviously you just wear whatever you want in there. But it's it's. It's cool.
Speaker 2:Especially in Minnesota, where I'm from, the benefits of sauna are really becoming known and you know a lot. You know there were Finnish immigrants and people from Europe, russia. They enjoyed banya. You know that was part. Or maybe you know, through the generations we haven't kept up with it and it's, it's cool to see a reemergence of it and do it in a community setting.
Speaker 2:I think that you know some people you know do solo sauna, but there's nothing like having friends in a sauna, experiencing it together. And as far as what to do in a sauna, you know sometimes I use it as like a meditation time when I'm by myself. There's no phones in there, you can't take in anything metal. Obviously it's going to get really hot. So I've really enjoyed using it as a way to reconnect with my body. I think us as entrepreneurs, sometimes growth builders, ambitious people, we get in our head a lot Like we think through things and spin through ideas and we get stuck up here and I think that like cuts us off from how are we feeling in our body about this? What does our gut tell us about this? How's our body feeling? Did we move enough today? And it's a way to like reconnect with my body. Did we move enough today? And it's a way to like reconnect with my body? Uh and, and personally, I've just really enjoyed like listening to my heartbeat and um and being quiet.
Speaker 2:So uh and then social sessions. Um, you know it's sauna. Talk is the best talk and if you choose doing cold, plunge together is like a way to do it and you know you get your friends to do it. Of course it is not needed in sauna, but it's easier to do with friends that's hilarious.
Speaker 1:Sauna talk is the best talk. I think we need to get that on a t-shirt oh, that's, that is it.
Speaker 2:You just gave us our our next t-shirt idea there you go, I'm happy to happy to help.
Speaker 1:Um, that's amazing. So, yeah, I wonder, is so? Is that a thing? I mean, obviously you guys started this and this, the kind of the mobile and take it around to to places and stuff. Is that, is it a franchise or are other people doing it? Is there a company that, like is in charge or like could I find that here? Or like what? Like how would I if I were interested or anybody was interested in finding it? Is it local or how would they go about it?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So, as much as I would like to say that it's like there's a lot of franchises that do it, it's not necessarily yet the case. I think that there's a lot of opportunities for business to expand in that way. I think the best way to find sauna near you is to like Google, like sauna near your location. Or, you know, there are mobile sauna operators that either have purchased a sauna or built one themselves, that will rent them, or just seeking out sauna events. Um, they're becoming more popular Um, and then there are manufacturers of sauna so you can choose to do just kind of like a sauna in your basement, sauna in your backyard.
Speaker 2:You can choose between electric and wood fire, um, but I think the best way to try it is um to see if you like it is to uh, you know, go find an event. Oftentimes they have them at gyms too, and they'll have some sort of membership around it. Um, so Sonable uh, we manufactured our first trailer last year and we will likely uh build another one this summer. Our season runs from September to May and um, we've really loved doing hosted events at a local uh park, right, uh, right next to a beach, so the water is right there for people to splash in and have fun. Um and uh, we've shied a little bit away from the sauna rentals. Um, we, we, we've done them a little bit, but it's really hard to let your baby just go and, yeah, you know, when you're not there to operate it. Uh, so yeah, um, I would highly recommend doing a Google search near you If. If you're not sure about it, grab a friend and do it with a friend.
Speaker 1:No, I love it. I'm definitely going to check it out. I don't. I just thought something that would have been on my radar if I hadn't probably come across your journey and hearing you talk about it.
Speaker 2:I have one more plug. Can I send you a link to the Huberman Lab podcast about sauna?
Speaker 1:Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 2:Okay, I think that's a great listen to.
Speaker 1:Awesome. So that kind of leads me into the next phase, which is and this is something my wife has struggled with and I'm sure you'll be able to relate to you know, mom, wife, friend, work, working out, feeling good mental health, physical health, getting dinner on the table, like there's so much right that you have to do in any given day, week, month, and she, similar to you, like an empathizer, she's a giver, kind of, always putting herself last, or at least not first, and then, through sequence of events, this year, kind of one of her 2024 goals was really like prioritizing herself. And if you don't take care of yourself, then you're not able to fulfill all of those other roles and duties, so to speak. So I'm just curious to get your just take on that and if it's something you've struggled with and, if so, kind of like how you take the time to, you're obviously making sure that you think and feel your best so that you are able to, you know, be there in all those different, you know, phases of life.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's such a good question and I really appreciate hearing the story of your wife, because so many women in particular, men too, but struggle with that. And I this is something I'm still working on day in and day out but I have been to some very dark, like burnout, phases in my life and I think that sometimes you have to hit like a rock bottom to actually make a change, because otherwise you're just kind of living in a suboptimal like life that it's hard but you don't really know how to change, and so you just kind of keep doing the same thing. So, no, I, and especially when my kids were young and obviously they required a lot of my time, and and I was I I was starting to explore writing about motherhood when they were really young, and so I was getting up like at 4, four, 30 in the morning and was like you know, I'm going to explore, you know, this concept of of motherhood, and then I would have to get them ready and then I would do my corporate job, and then, you know, pick them up and get dinner on the table and put bottles away, and so, uh, I only kept that up for about three or four months and I completely like my body shut down on me and I like, I like hit an absolute roadblock where I I could hardly even take action anymore because I was so burned out, like, but like just done, and I think that, um, when we're always operating at like the 110% because you know, obviously, you know we want to serve everyone and we want to do everything to the fullest, like that is a recipe for disaster. And so something that's really hard that I've tried to implement is functioning at like an 80%, and Tim Ferriss talks about this concept. He did a podcast interview with Hugh Jackman and Hugh, like you know he's you know he does these amazing things, but he's also, like, prone to burnout because he gets excited about things. That's something that is is a great thing. Like we get excited about things, we want to do everything, but we get so involved that we kind of lose ourselves in the excitement, and so I try to function at like a continual 80 percent, which is really really hard for me. Continual 80%, which is really really hard for me. But you know, when I think of like the different priorities, I think that the core value exercise and the vision exercise has been really helpful for me.
Speaker 2:Like where do I see myself in 10 years? What do I want to be doing in 10 years? In 10 years, like, what does a day look like? And then that kind of helps me create like my priorities of things that really matter, because it's so easy to get like bogged down in the details of everything that I have to do today. But really I want, you know, 10 years.
Speaker 2:My son is going to be graduating from high school. I want a really great relationship with my kids. I want a really great relationship with my husband and my family. I want a career that brings in a paycheck so that we can do what we want in life. But I want to be able to dig in my garden in the afternoon and dig in the dirt. And I think that when I really focus on, like, what is the high level vision of what I want, some of those things I have to do right now start to trickle down and they're not as as a high priority. So, and and and again, I don't want to say this from an I have it all figured out perspective, because I would love to read a book of someone that, like, has it all figured out because I would read that tomorrow, they'd be lying.
Speaker 2:But there are a couple other things that kind of help. Take this like vision. You know, these like woo, woo, like oh yeah, but what does that really mean? Like how is it actually going to make my life better when I have to take care of my kids and put food on the table and reach my dreams and take care of myself and my clients? And time blocking is something I've been doing since.
Speaker 2:I'd say I started it during COVID. Covid was a you know, that's really the way that I realized I wanted to start my own business, because having kids at home doing e-learning while trying to, you know, work was really difficult. While trying to, you know, work was really difficult. But time blocking really forces me to be realistic about what I can do, and so I can't like work through the night if I expect to put dinner on the table for my kids, but I can work on my newsletter when I drop my kids off at jujitsu. So it takes like all these, like you know, here's my vision and here's what I want in life, and it, it, it forces me to be realistic about what are the hours in a day here and what can I actually accomplish.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love the, I love the using the longer term vision for the short term action. Um, I think it's a really it's a really unique way. I I'm not I've kind of feel like I've kind of heard it in pieces, but I've never heard anybody really like talk about it as specifically as you just did and I just really like the way that you kind of worded it and kind of thought that through. Um, because I, you know, sometimes it is difficult in any one day or one week to you get unmotivated or or you don't feel like it or whatever, which is fine, but it's not losing sight of the 10 year, the 20 year as you get older and age, and wanting to be in good enough shape to travel and go to your kids' things and like all that kind of stuff. I think it's an interesting and good like kind of way to like mentally process it as like I'm doing this for my future self and for my like long-term vision, um, so really I really liked that Um, and I know you and I have talked about just some messaging stuff and uh, kind of struggles with anxiety and depression.
Speaker 1:Um, there's something I really struggle with, starting about 25 ish and then got progressively worse. Um, and I think back now and I wonder how much of that was, or how much my corporate frustration and dissatisfaction played a role, because I identified with those roles so much and I felt like a failure because I either wasn't good at them or I didn't like them or I didn't want to be doing it. But I was like getting older and I was still doing these jobs and then it was like, oh well, like I haven't, I haven't done it, I'm not even close to my potential and so like, even though work is supposed to be separate from life, that's not really the case, and so I would be like, well, I'm a failure at work and then you feel like a failure at home and it was just like this cycle and I just had a really hard time like getting out of it.
Speaker 1:Um, and it took a long time several therapists and many years of therapy and books and like it took just a really long time to kind of get, I won't say free from it, because it's kind of always there, but I was able to process it a little bit differently and start to understand that those were separate things. Um, so I'd be just I'm just really interested in your just perspective and, um, kind of your take on just the whole mental health and it's it's speaking of COVID like mental health is obviously more talked about, more, uh, more people are open about it, which is great, uh, cause so many people suffer still suffer in silence. But I think prior to COVID suffered a lot more in silence because it just it just wasn't something people talked about. So I'm just really curious to get your insight and input on that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. So a couple of things to unpack from that one. I think that employers in particular especially the forward-thinking employers and businesses now are starting to realize that motivated, well-taken care of employees with good work-life balance work harder. They're able to prioritize the right things. It's in our best interest to create really powerful supportive environments for employees instead of just trying to, like suck all the time out of them that we can. And not only that, but they create cultures that, like, people want to be a part of, and I think that I'm just so happy with the direction that that's going, since COVID is where, you know, we're, like you say, we're bringing that discussion, you know, forward as far as like, separating, you know, being able to create that distinction, which is, you know, a very difficult thing, and I'm so glad that you've gotten to a point where you kind of kind of separate.
Speaker 2:That it's a really hard thing for anybody and entrepreneurs Because it's. It's especially when we learn early in life that when we create results, we get validation and we get praise, and it feels good when we please people and it feels good when people recognize us. Like that can create those deep rooted belief systems that are really hard to break belief systems that are really hard to break. You know I say mantras in the morning because, you know, one of my mentors gave me the idea to put you know a couple mantras on a three by fiving index card and repeat those every day. There's a lot of work that we can do to break down those deep-rooted belief systems, but there are some subconscious beliefs in ourselves that are really hard to break and sometimes take a daily recommitment to get around those. But I think that when we can separate our value as a human being based on who we are and not what we do, like you said, that's that's really a valuable thing and there are a lot of tools to help us, like work through that.
Speaker 2:I think that the other piece of it is we're. We're human and we're also different, vastly different. Different, vastly different. So, either due to our unique upbringing story or our personality type, what works for me and has worked great for me? You know this, this is my toolkit. It wouldn't work for you, and so part of it is exploring what you know, what practices or what exercises or what, what helps you to feel your best and validated and who you are, and some of us don't really know who we are, you know. So I I think being curious and trying different things in life um is so worth it, because then it allows you this kind of lifetime of experiences and growth to reflect back on. But at the end of the day, I think, when we know who we are, and not who we are how other people see us, but deep down who we are, it doesn't matter what work is going on or how people think of us, because we own it and we enjoy being who we are.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that was really well said and what you talked about at the beginning with the whole results. We live in a results-oriented culture. Right Grades, winning and losing, making a sale, losing a sale, getting the client, not getting the client, performance reviews, you know, rate yourself one to five. Three is good, four is better, five's the best one? You suck, you know it's.
Speaker 1:There's a lot of emphasis put on results and I've tried to do with my kids more so in sports, but you know it carries over. It's a metaphor for life. But, like we try to praise effort and we try to praise um, trying and learning, uh, over winning, um and losing and like all that kind of stuff, cause a lot of times the results are there's a lot of factors that you can't control, um, that that you just it doesn't matter, like how well you play or how hard you try the other teams better, or you had a bad night or whatever, it doesn't matter Um, but you can always control your effort, you can always control your attitude, you can always control that kind of growth mindset and always trying to learn from, like, all the experiences. So, um, and I don't even I read it in a book somewhere, but they were like you know, just really be mindful, especially with younger kids, of like, really like praise effort don't praise result, like you said.
Speaker 1:Like if you get an a, you're good, but if you get a c minus you're not as um. That has nothing to do with, like, your value as a human or your worth right. That's a one grade on whatever one test, one paper, one class, it's, it's. It's irrelevant in terms of who you are. But you can, society can lead you to be like. You know, if I get an a, I'm good, I'm a good person, but if I'm just gonna see, I'm not that smart, so I'm not as good. If I get an F, I failed and I'm really like right, and it gets it's really out of it, gets really out of control.
Speaker 1:So I love that you talked about that, um, and I think it is. It's a challenge for me, uh, the whole just, and that's kind of why I started the show and called it the real you, because it's like this, it's this lifelong practice of really learning about, like, who you are. Like you said, some people don't know and that's totally okay Because, again, it's not a race.
Speaker 1:But just trying to figure out like who am I? What do I stand for? Can I be myself and not really worry too much about, like, what other people think or say? And I think it's a hard place to get to, but I think it's an admirable place to try to get to. Amen for sure admirable place to try to get to Amen For sure. Yeah, so this was awesome. I could, I could, we could go another two hours. I have so many things, so many more things I could ask you about.
Speaker 2:We're going to have to do a part two someday.
Speaker 1:Yeah, okay, and then I, oh, and then I'm going to turn the tables and interview you.
Speaker 2:That would be really fun Perfect.
Speaker 1:You can do it. Well, you can guest host. Oh yeah, so this is amazing. So many great nuggets, great insight. I love just what you're about and your message. This has just been wonderful and again, thank you for your time. Before we officially wrap up, any final thoughts, and then anybody listening that would be interested in learning more about you the newsletter, linkedin, business, like all the things that you do what would be the best way to find you and get in touch?
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. So just to put a button on the conversation. So we covered a lot of areas today and some really hard areas that people are struggling with. We covered burnout, we covered difficult times in life. You know, whenever we go to those areas, I always want to offer Phil Stutz, who's a psychologist he was part of a documentary with Jonah Hill on Netflix.
Speaker 2:He talks about that. He likes to not just listen to his clients' problems but he likes to give actual tools that you could implement today to feel better, and one of those tools he calls life force, and so it's like a pyramid that if you're struggling and facing difficulty, it's okay to ask for help. Number one and number two one of the first things that you can focus on today to feel better is your physical health, and I think that if that's just the first thing that we focused on, you know when I have a really stressful day but I can focus on my physical body and eating the right foods for me and being active and breathing of something even as simple as breathing in um psychological side, like a deep breath in and slow breath out, um box breathing, is also really great.
Speaker 2:And so, at the very least, you know, doing something like that, like that, will help us feel better. And number two, our relationships with others are, you know, our family, our friends, reaching out to people that mean something to us. Reaching out to people, you know who we can help. Just those, those connections and working on those, is something that will help us feel better and help others feel better. And then, lastly, the top of the pyramid is that relationship with yourself. So if you're feeling overwhelmed, like I don't know who I am, it's okay. Like you said, just focus on the bottom of the pyramid and work your way up. And it's a lifelong journey. So I always like to preface that it's his book called the Tools by Phil Stutz. Um, so that that's a great resource. And number two, I just really appreciate the opportunity to have the discussion today and just explore these topics. David, I think that, um, you know you sharing your journey, um creates like this safe space that it's. It's okay to not be in the perfect spot right now, but you know you can take steps every day to to get better. So I really appreciate the conversation.
Speaker 2:If anyone listening wants to find out more about me, you can follow me on LinkedIn. If you'd like daily excuse me, weekly tips on business growth, personal purpose and lifestyle design, you can subscribe for my to my newsletter with the link in my LinkedIn profile. Or just go to ColleenCranscom. And if you are curious about our family flying for going on airplane adventures and what that build process looked like, you can just go to Good Plane Living on YouTube and you'll see some of those different videos on YouTube and you'll see some of those different videos. And if you'd like to learn more about sauna the sauna events that we hold at some of the local state parks just go to saunablecom. Slash experiences and I just really appreciate the time today. Thanks for chatting with me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, awesome. Thanks again for coming on. It was so great and we'll definitely do it again. Appreciate you so much. Thanks, kelly.
Speaker 2:You too, see ya.