Empire Building

If you listen to a lot of news, you may be a little nervous about real estate right now—a feeling some of us knew all too well around and after 2008. But businesses of all kinds need to learn to be resilient, whether that’s just in your mind or in your finances. Today we’re going to share some strategies to help you stay grounded (particularly as the real estate market looks scary) and get through uncertain times.

Connect on Instagram:

• Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp
• Vija Williams: @viavija
• Sarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsoji
• Wendy Papasan: @wendypapasan

This episode is a personal one because we get to dive into Sarah Reynolds' personal life—specifically, her health journey. We’re all about building big businesses and even bigger lives, and the truth is that none of that matters if you don’t have your health. We talk about the patterns of her childhood, struggling to make health a priority and putting it on the back burner while she built her business, using food to cope with stress, and finally her big a-ha moment where it all began to turn around.

Connect on Instagram:

• Eat, Fast and Live Longer
• Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp
• Vija Williams: @viavija
• Sarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsoji
• Wendy Papasan: @wendypapasan

We’ve talked before about the value of doing hard things, and this episode is proof that we are true to our word. In the middle of everything else going on, Vija took on one of the hardest things a human can do: A marathon at the bottom of the world in Patagonia. Hear about how she learned from her experiences, the lessons she learned, and moving forward when failure is the only option.

Connect on Instagram:

• Read: It Takes What It Takes: How to Think Neutrally and Gain Control of Your Life
• Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp
• Vija Williams: @viavija
• Sarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsoji
• Wendy Papasan: @wendypapasan

Often we’re told to focus on what we need to improve at. Starting with school, where we’re trained to train our weaknesses instead of leaning into our strengths. But leaning into your own personal strengths can lead to extraordinary results. We’re going to share the tools you can use to identify your own strengths, and what you can do to leverage those strengths for success.

Connect on Instagram:

• CliftonStrengths Online Talent Assessment
• Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp
• Vija Williams: @viavija
• Sarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsoji
• Wendy Papasan: @wendypapasan

One of our favorite things here at Empire Building is travel. It does so much: It reinvigorates us, gives us new experiences, allows us to spend time with family and friends, and more. Whether traveling for work or for the joy of it, we have some tips for getting the most out of your trip. We’ll share some of our favorite places we’ve visited, as well as how to manage the three parts of every trip: pre, during, and post.

Connect on Instagram:

• Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp
• Vija Williams: @viavija
• Sarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsoji
• Wendy Papasan: @wendypapasan

Leaders are readers. Books offer some of the best return on value you can get anywhere—you can learn the lessons of amazing leaders for just a few dollars and some time. We’re going to share the books that we’re reading and what we’re learning from them.

Books mentioned:

• The Power of Regret by Daniel H. Pink
• The Four Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss
• How the Mighty Fall by Jim Collins
• Lifestyle Investor by Justin Donald
• Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand
• The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn
• The Lifeguards by Amanda Eyre Ward
• Multipliers by Liz Weisman
• The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
• Falling Upward by Ricahrd Rohr
• Final Gifts by Maggie Callnhan and Patricia Kelly
• 13 Fatal Errors Managers Make and How You Can Avoid Them by W. Steven Brown
• Will by Will Smith
• Hello, Molly! by Molly Shannon

Connect on Instagram:

• Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp
• Vija Williams: @viavija
• Sarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsoji
• Wendy Papasan: @wendypapasan

Being married to an entrepreneur can be a challenge. Whether it’s balancing the needs of a business and a family, or trying to draw the right boundaries, it doesn’t come easy. It can be rewarding and amazing but it’s also full of sacrifice. It’s important that entrepreneurial couples get on the same page about their priorities and values. We’re going to talk about setting goals together as a couple, finding alignment as a team, and some of the mistakes we’ve made before during the process.

Connect on Instagram:

• Join the Goal Setting Retreat at the1thing.com/events and use code WENDY for a discount
• Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp
• Vija Williams: @viavija
• Sarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsoji
• Wendy Papasan: @wendypapasan

We’re at the final part of our series on leadership, and we’ve saved the best for last: Culture. Culture is the core of your business. We’ve all experienced what it looks like when a culture is strong, and we’ve also seen what it looks like to be in a toxic culture. We’re going to learn about how to create a good culture at work.

Resources:

• Empire Building Episode Recap: Vision

Connect on Instagram:

• Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp
• Vija Williams: @viavija
• Sarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsoji
• Wendy Papasan: @wendypapasan

One thing that many people don’t like to talk about in business but that’s essential to growing your empire are numbers. There are four numbers that every CEO should know in their business. We’re going to share what those numbers are, why they matter, and how you can optimize for them.

Connect on Instagram:

• Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp
• Vija Williams: @viavija
• Sarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsoji
• Wendy Papasan: @wendypapasan

As we continue our series on leadership, we’re going to focus on leading people. Specifically, what are some of the traits that world-class CEOs have that you can incorporate into your leadership? We are going to share 10 traits of all the best CEOs and why those traits are so important.

Connect on Instagram:

• Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp
• Vija Williams: @viavija
• Sarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsoji
• Wendy Papasan: @wendypapasan