Are you a senior tech leader, architect, or enterprise sales executive sitting on high-value technical acumen, wondering how to channel your skills into an independent venture without sacrificing your corporate career?

In this transparent guest conversation, host Billy Keels sits down with Diwas Timsina, a Customer Success Architect at a market leading enterprise software and services company, founder and CTO of Sarva, and former TEDx speaker. Born in a refugee camp in eastern Nepal, Diwas details his journey of arriving in the U.S. at age 14, changing high schools three times, and ultimately earning his MBA while navigating corporate consulting and enterprise software. Discover how Diwas uses the methodology of "building quietly" to prove concepts to himself before sharing them publicly, how he translates C-suite enterprise client conversations into grassroots multilingual AI tools for small vendors, and how to maintain total perspective during career challenges by remembering your ultimate starting point.

🚀 Want to make your corporate role optional? Grab your FREE copy of Billy's 3-Step Process eBook here: https://www.makeitoptional.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p2olm

📌 Questions Answered in This Episode:

• How can an enterprise tech professional quietly build a side business without disrupting their main career track?

• What does it look like to transition from a refugee camp background into C-suite enterprise consulting?

• How do you leverage high-level corporate architecture reps to solve real-world problems for small businesses?

• Why is "building quietly and proving it to yourself first" the ultimate strategy for high performers?

• How do you maintain mental resilience and perspective when facing high-stress corporate or business obstacles?

⏱️ Episode Chapters:

• 00:00 - Broadcast Recording Setup: Thursday, July 23, 2026, with Diwas Timsina

• 03:07 - Dual-Track Success: Refugee Camp Origins to IBM Customer Success Architect

• 04:47 - The Golden Rule: Build Quietly, Prove It to Yourself, and Share What Works

• 07:22 - The 14-Year Refugee Journey: Resettling in the U.S. and Overcoming Multiple Resets

• 10:36 - Relocating to the Bay Area: Pursuing an MBA to Expand the Professional Network

• 14:30 - The CEO Meeting: How a Junior Achievement Opportunity with AT&T Shifted His Mindset

• 18:00 - Parental Sacrifices: Turning Generational Hustle into Enterprise Opportunity

• 22:30 - The Genesis of Sarva: Building Multilingual AI Tools for Underserved Small Businesses

• 28:48 - Enterprise Transferable Assets: Connecting Technical Dots with C-Suite Empathy

• 33:12 - Refusing the Trade-Off: Embracing Your Own Unique Journey Over Comparison Traps

• 37:08 - Grounding in the Trough: Using Past Real-Life Perspective to Overcome Roadblocks

• 42:00 - Connecting with Diwas Timsina and Exploring Sarva

Contact Diwas: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/diwas-timsina/ 📘 About Billy Keels & Corporate Optionality

If you're a corporate executive who wants to make your role optional, learn how to achieve true control over your career and turn your corporate skills into personal assets.

With 26 years of experience in corporate sales leadership, Billy Keels achieved true optionality through multiple income streams. Today, he has helped dozens of executives build a predictable path to take control of their time and start living their ideal day.

This free ebook gives you everything you need to identify, plan, and take control of your career while building financial optionality, leveraging your skills, and starting to live your IDEAL day - today!

Get the Free eBook: https://www.makeitoptional.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p2olm

• How to Leave a Review for The Going Long Podcast: https://youtu.be/qfRqLVcf8UI

Be sure to connect with Billy:

• Website: https://www.billykeels.com

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@billykeels

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billykeels

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/billykeels

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BillyKeelsFanPage

• Twitter/X: https://www.twitter.com/billykeels

Are you a senior corporate leader or high-performing director relying on your company's learning and development budget to dictate your personal growth and future security?

In this empowering solo episode, host Billy Keels reacts to a powerful life lesson from fellow podcaster Chris Williamson: no one is coming to save you. Billy pulls back the curtain on why market-leading multinationals constantly put their money where their mouth is—investing massive financial resources into technical skills, soft skills, and elite methodologies like MEDDIC or Challenger Sales to fuel their corporate organism. Discover why you must break the habit of putting yourself last, treat your personal transition as your own business line item, and aggressively invest your own time, effort, and capital into guided frameworks that unlock a predictable pathway to optionality while you continue to excel at your 9-to-5.

🚀 Want to make your corporate role optional? Grab your FREE copy of Billy's 3-Step Process eBook here: https://www.makeitoptional.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p2olm

📌 Questions Answered in This Episode:

• What does Chris Williamson's phrase "no one is coming to save you" mean for corporate leaders?

• Why do large multinational corporations invest so heavily in training their frontline executives?

• How do you shift your mindset from a corporate line item to creating your own personal L&D budget?

• What is the true opportunity cost of trying to launch a side business completely alone?

• How can making a significant personal financial investment dramatically accelerate your business decisions?

⏱️ Episode Chapters:

• 00:00 - Solo Strategy: Moving Beyond General Corporate Concepts

• 01:10 - Reacting to Chris Williamson: Life Lessons in 60 Seconds

• 02:00 - The Loud Inner Voice: Shifting from Promotable to Optional

• 02:45 - The High Cost of Going It Alone on Your Side Business

• 03:40 - Why Market Leaders Put Their Money Where Their Mouth Is

• 04:55 - MEDDIC, Spin, and Challenger: Analyzing Corporate L&D Investments

• 06:15 - Becoming the Market Leader of Your Own Personal Optionality

• 07:10 - Breaking the Habit of Putting Your Own Growth Last

• 08:35 - Billy's First Six-Figure Investment in a Personal Coach

• 09:50 - Maximizing the 168: Using Guided Action to Hit Your North Star

• 11:00 - Reclaiming Your Worth: Shifting From Theory into Practice

📘 About Billy Keels & Corporate Optionality

If you're a corporate executive who wants to make your role optional, learn how to achieve true control over your career and turn your corporate skills into personal assets.

With 26 years of experience in corporate sales leadership, Billy Keels achieved true optionality through multiple income streams. Today, he has helped dozens of executives build a predictable path to take control of their time and start living their ideal day.

This free ebook gives you everything you need to identify, plan, and take control of your career while building financial optionality, leveraging your skills, and starting to live your IDEAL day - today!

• Get the Free eBook: https://www.makeitoptional.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p2olm

• How to Leave a Review for The Going Long Podcast: https://youtu.be/qfRqLVcf8UI

Be sure to connect with Billy:

• Website: https://www.billykeels.com

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@billykeels

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billykeels

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/billykeels

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BillyKeelsFanPage

• Twitter/X: https://www.twitter.com/billykeels

Are you a senior executive or elite corporate leader who thinks achieving true career optionality means you are forced to quit the corporate game you actually enjoy?

In this highly unique guest conversation, host Billy Keels sits down with Chad Greenlee, a partner at Creative Planning and one of the very first members to go through what is known today as the Executive Edge Advisory Program. Chad pulls back the curtain on why typical "popular opinions" regarding financial independence are flawed, sharing how a midnight flight unlock forced him to ditch cookie-cutter definitions of work-life balance and build a customized "ideal day" model. Discover how Chad utilized ghostwriting, marketing, and copywriting skills honed in his side venture to build a multi-million dollar intern pipeline for his employer, land a massive promotion to Vice President of Sales after seven previous rejections, and confidently master his career on his own timeline.

🚀 Want to make your corporate role optional? Grab your FREE copy of Billy's 3-Step Process eBook here: https://www.makeitoptional.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p2olm

📌 Questions Answered in This Episode:

• What does career optionality actually look like for a senior leader who chooses not to quit their corporate job?

• How can an executive handle the emotional transition of scaling back a side business to go "all in" on a major corporate acquisition?

• Why is the foundational equation "Am I valuable and am I available?" the ultimate key to permanent employability[cite: 3, 5]?

• How can a senior professional bounce back after being turned down seven times for leadership positions to secure a VP of Sales role[cite: 3, 5]?

• What are the benefits of having an outside mentor regurgitate your words back to you to identify what tasks to stop doing?

⏱️ Episode Chapters:

• 00:00 - Following Your Curiosity: A Track Record of Corporate Excellence

• 01:14 - Redefining Freedom: Why Optionality Doesn't Mean Quitting Your Job

• 02:28 - Sabbatical Realities: The Delayed Midnight Notes App Breakthrough

• 03:40 - Transitioning from Burnout to Becoming an Executive Champion

• 04:55 - The FIRE Movement Trap: Why the Leisure Path Lacks Purpose

• 05:40 - The Miyagi Moment: Using One-on-One Accountability to See the Big Picture

• 06:35 - Platinum Advice: Why It is More Important to Choose What You Stop Doing

• 07:50 - Building a Personal L&D Budget: Leveraging Smart Phones to Close Deals

• 08:35 - Replacing a Corporate Salary in 90 Days Through Copywriting and Ghostwriting[cite: 3, 5]

• 09:50 - Overcoming 7 Corporate Rejections to Secure a VP of Sales Job[cite: 3, 5]

• 11:00 - The 360-Appointment Engine: Leading a High-Impact Intern Team[cite: 3, 5]

• 12:15 - Building a Board of Advisors: Controlling the Simplest First Steps[cite: 3, 5]

• 13:30 - How to Execute a Personalized Invitation to Connect with Chad Greenlee

Contact Chad Greenlee: Website: https://creativeplanning.com/team/chad-greenlee/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chadgreenlee/

📘 About Billy Keels & Corporate Optionality

If you're a corporate executive who wants to make your role optional, learn how to achieve true control over your career and turn your corporate skills into personal assets.

With 26 years of experience in corporate sales leadership, Billy Keels achieved true optionality through multiple income streams. Today, he has helped dozens of executives build a predictable path to take control of their time and start living their ideal day.

This free ebook gives you everything you need to identify, plan, and take control of your career while building financial optionality, leveraging your skills, and starting to live your IDEAL day - today!

• Get the Free eBook: https://www.makeitoptional.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p2olm

• How to Leave a Review for The Going Long Podcast: https://youtu.be/qfRqLVcf8UI

Be sure to connect with Billy:

• Website: https://www.billykeels.com

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@billykeels

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billykeels

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/billykeels

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BillyKeelsFanPage

• Twitter/X: https://www.twitter.com/billykeels

Even the greatest leaders in the world eventually hit the end of the road. Pep Guardiola, for the decade that he was at Manchester City, won 20 titles. But when it was time for him to walk away, it was the inner voice inside of him that told him it was that his time was up. This episode reveals exactly why every corporate relationship ends and what you can do to make sure that you don't have complacency destroy your edge.

Going Long Podcast Episode 652: Every Corporate Relationship Ends: Lessons from Pep Guardiola

( To see the Video Version of today's conversation just CLICK HERE. )

In today's episode of The Going Long Podcast, you'll learn the following:

• [00:24 - 00:53] Billy welcomes us to and introduces today's show.

• [00:53 - 09:31] Billy discusses the inevitability of corporate relationships ending, using Pep Guardiola's career as an example. emphasizing the importance of recognizing when it's time to move on and preparing for transitions.

• [13:10 - 14:11] Billy wraps up the show.

If you're a corporate executive who wants to make your role optional, then grab your FREE ebook with Billy's proven 3 step process at: www.makeitoptional.com What you can expect to get out of this ebook:

• Learn how to achieve corporate optionality

• Gain true control over your career

• Turn corporate skills into personal assets

With 26 years of experience in corporate sales leadership, achieved optionality through multiple income streams, Billy has helped dozens of executives build their paths to take control of their time.

This free ebook gives you everything you need to identify, plan, and take control of your career while building financial optionality, leveraging your skills, and start living your IDEAL day - today!

Go to: www.makeitoptional.com

Click the above link or just copy and paste the following directly into your browser to sign up and get your free ebook: https://www.makeitoptional.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p2olm

To see the Video Version of today's conversation just CLICK HERE.

How to leave a review for The Going Long Podcast: https://youtu.be/qfRqLVcf8UI

Be sure to connect with Billy! He's made it easy for you to do…Just go to any of these sites:

• Website: www.billykeels.com

• Youtube: billykeels

• Facebook: Billy Keels Fan Page

• Instagram: @billykeels

• Twitter: @billykeels

• LinkedIn: Billy Keels

Are you an overachieving general manager or country director running massive turnaround strategies, yet realizing your body is sending signals that your schedule is completely out of alignment?

In this transparent guest conversation, host Billy Keels sits down with Roger Simo, a veteran corporate executive with over two decades of experience leading world-class brands across Europe and West Africa, including Molson Coors, SAB Miller, Asahi, and Equatorial Coca-Cola Bottling Company. Roger shares the profound psychological impact of surviving a sudden, life-threatening appendicitis infection and medical evacuation while serving on the front lines of global enterprise expansion. Discover how to establish your own core value frameworks, transition away from the limiting belief that you are trapped by a single executive title, and leverage your high-stakes team alignment skills to handle major transition crossroads entirely by choice, not obligation.

🚀 Want to make your corporate role optional? Grab your FREE copy of Billy's 3-Step Process eBook here: https://www.makeitoptional.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p2olm

📌 Questions Answered in This Episode:

• How can a near-death health crisis fundamentally accelerate an executive's timeline to optionality?

• What does it look like to wear multiple functional hats inside smaller, high-growth multi-national business units?

• How can an enterprise sales leader use the discipline of elite competitive sports to build world-class corporate cultures?

• Why is defining your core personal values essential before making your next major corporate or independent move?

• What is the exact mathematical relationship between time control, cash flow, and true professional sovereignty?

⏱️ Episode Chapters:

• 00:00 - Elite Enterprise DNA: Running Multi-National Consumer Goods Operations

• 01:50 - The Transatlantic Evacuation: Surviving a Sudden Health Crisis in Cabo Verde

• 04:20 - Volatile and Fragile: Developing Grounded Gratitude One Year Later

• 06:51 - The Outsider Mindset: Driving Resourceful Market Turnarounds Under Pressure

• 09:00 - Wearing Multiple Hats: The Learning Speed of Smaller Business Units

• 10:55 - The Genetic Itch: Balancing Enterprise Excellence with Side Asset Curiosity

• 13:20 - The Cost of Overwhelm: Missing the Small Print on Side Real Estate Contracts

• 15:37 - Defining the Ultimate Metric: The Uncompromising Pursuit of Freedom

• 17:00 - The Strategic Core Four: Unpacking Kindness, Respect, Freedom, and Friendship

• 19:27 - Carving Out Introspection: Utilizing External Executive Coaches Amidst Chaos

• 21:40 - Defeating Limiting Beliefs: Choosing Team Synergy Over Individual All-Star Status

• 25:53 - The Last Dance Effect: Building Corporate Environments on Athletic Principles

• 29:55 - Friday at 7 PM: The Brutal Energy Realities of High-Performing Leaders

• 33:45 - Listening to the Machine: When the Body Forces You to Listen to Alignment

• 36:06 - At the Crossroads: Managing the Psychological Friction of Having Too Many Options

• 38:58 - The Trough Shield: Remembering That Everything Passes and Trusting Your Guts

• 44:02 - Expanding Your Circle: How to Leave a Personalized Invitation for Roger Simo

Find and Contact Roger Simó Garcia:

LinkedIn: https://es.linkedin.com/in/rogersimo/es

📘 About Billy Keels & Corporate Optionality

If you're a corporate executive who wants to make your role optional, learn how to achieve true control over your career and turn your corporate skills into personal assets.

With 26 years of experience in corporate sales leadership, Billy Keels achieved true optionality through multiple income streams. Today, he has helped dozens of executives build a predictable path to take control of their time and start living their ideal day.

This free ebook gives you everything you need to identify, plan, and take control of your career while building financial optionality, leveraging your skills, and starting to live your IDEAL day - today!

• Get the Free eBook: https://www.makeitoptional.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p2olm

• How to Leave a Review for The Going Long Podcast: https://youtu.be/qfRqLVcf8UI

Be sure to connect with Billy:

• Website: https://www.billykeels.com

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@billykeels

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billykeels

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/billykeels

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BillyKeelsFanPage

• Twitter/X: https://www.twitter.com/billykeels

Are you a senior corporate executive, VP, or elite account executive struggling with the cold reality that no matter how many deals you close, you are ultimately just a number to the machine?

In this powerful solo episode, host Billy Keels shares an essential mindset shift from his 26-year corporate career—recalling his own login ID, I037, which he typed up to a hundred times a day in a company of 150,000 employees. Billy drops a truth bomb for high achievers: being a corporate number isn't a bad thing if you stop resenting it and start using the exchange to your advantage. Learn how to emotionally detach your personal identity from your corporate title, deliver elite outcomes in fewer hours, and leverage your 9-to-5 corporate skills to safely construct 41 streams of income on the side so you can confidently walk into boardrooms strictly by choice, not necessity.

🚀 Want to make your corporate role optional? Grab your FREE copy of Billy's 3-Step Process eBook here: https://www.makeitoptional.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p2olm

📌 Questions Answered in This Episode:

• What does it mean to accept that you are a number in a large multinational corporation?

• How can emotionally detaching from your corporate title increase your confidence at work?

• How can a senior director utilize corporate sales skills to build a team in their 5-to-9 side venture?

• What are the benefits of transitioning from working more hours to producing highly optimized outcomes?

• How can an executive replace their corporate paycheck with $212,000+ in annual side revenue?

⏱️ Episode Chapters:

• 00:00 - The Reality of a 26-Year Multinational Corporate Career

• 01:15 - Managing a $100 Million EMEA Business Across Three Organizational Layers

• 02:00 - Employee ID I037: The Subconscious Reminder of the Corporate Machine

• 03:30 - The Jocko Mindset Shift: Embracing the Reality of Being a Number

• 04:30 - Why You Should Stop Chasing Promotions That Disrupt Your Lifestyle Design

• 05:40 - Building Generational Wealth Beyond the Corporate Login Field

• 06:35 - Turning Your 9-to-5 Multinational DNA into 5-to-9 Real Estate Cash Flow

• 07:50 - Navigating the Messy Middle: Working Smarter and Reaching for Help

• 09:10 - Managing 41 Streams of Income While Attending President's Club in Hawaii

• 10:15 - Reclaiming Total Control Over Your 168 Hours and Personal Identity

• 11:00 - Moving From Corporate Theory into Practice Outside the Enterprise walls

📘 About Billy Keels & Corporate Optionality

If you're a corporate executive who wants to make your role optional, learn how to achieve true control over your career and turn your corporate skills into personal assets.

With 26 years of experience in corporate sales leadership, Billy Keels achieved true optionality through multiple income streams. Today, he has helped dozens of executives build a predictable path to take control of their time and start living their ideal day.

This free ebook gives you everything you need to identify, plan, and take control of your career while building financial optionality, leveraging your skills, and starting to live your IDEAL day - today!

• Get the Free eBook: https://www.makeitoptional.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p2olm

• How to Leave a Review for The Going Long Podcast: https://youtu.be/qfRqLVcf8UI

Be sure to connect with Billy:

• Website: https://www.billykeels.com

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@billykeels

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billykeels

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/billykeels

Are you a senior corporate executive or high-performing leader sitting on immense professional capital, yet wondering how to safely translate your day-to-day corporate discipline into personal cash-flowing assets?

In this dynamic guest conversation, host Billy Keels sits down with Will Holdren—the founder of Aureate Properties LLC, host of the Will Power Podcast, and an elite professional operating within a high-net-worth family office. Will pulls back the curtain on his rapid career trajectory, sharing how he launched a podcast as a junior in high school to interview over 250 successful individuals, ultimately bypassing standard resume templates to secure a highly sophisticated corporate role. Discover how Will structures his 168 hours to cleanly isolate his 9-to-5 client execution from his 5-to-9 real estate projects, how he navigates multi-entity liability structures to decrease tax exposure, and why practicing the power of saying "no" to superficial distractions is the ultimate baseline for long-term career optionality.

🚀 Want to make your corporate role optional? Grab your FREE copy of Billy's 3-Step Process eBook here: https://www.makeitoptional.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p2olm

📌 Questions Answered in This Episode:

• How can a young professional utilize a podcasting engine to build an elite network and completely bypass standard job applications?

• What does it look like to leverage high-level corporate training in a family office to master complex business structures?

• How can an executive utilize a holding company model to legally offset subsidiary gains with short-term real estate depreciation losses?

• Why is absolute compartmentalization critical when balancing top-tier enterprise execution with an independent alternative venture?

• What are the 2 primary mindset struggles high performers face when scaling a side enterprise with no immediate guarantee of success?

⏱️ Episode Chapters:

• 00:00 - Dual-Track Mastery: Maximizing Client Success While Building Independent Options

• 03:53 - The Power of the Medium: Turning High School Curiosity Into a 250-Guest Network

• 05:39 - Dirt Roads and Amish Neighbors: Shifting Out of Comfort Zones into Metro Atlanta

• 09:35 - Finding the Pattern: Managing Structural Risks by Interviewing World-Class Operators

• 11:31 - Overcoming the Whiteboard Traps: Navigating the Setbacks of Your First Real Estate Acquisition

• 13:27 - The Family Office Vault: Gaining Elite Technical Acumen on a Holistic Basis

• 16:05 - Entity Structuring 101: Utilizing Subsidiaries for Clean Liability Shelters and Tax Reductions

• 17:49 - The Corporate Advantage: Why Launching with Corporate Footing Beats Immediate Entrepreneurship

• 19:58 - Go Time Execution: Protecting the Boundaries of Your 9-to-5 and Your 5-to-9

• 22:41 - The Half-Step Edge: Designing a Rigid Morning Routine to Handle QuickBooks and Accounts

• 24:54 - Platinum Advice: Learning to Say No and Putting Your Personal Timeline First

• 28:39 - The Passive Vehicle: Choosing Real Estate for Tax Efficiency and Asset Appreciation

• 30:59 - Lifelong Mediums: Landing Nine-Figure Network Partners via Cold Social Media DMs

• 33:27 - Staying Unstuck in the Trough: Winning the Day by Returning to the Fundamentals

• 37:22 - Open Lines: How to Connect with Will Holdren directly via Aria Properties

Connect with Will Holdren:

Website: https://aureateproperties.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/will_holdren/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/will-holdren

Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/willpower-podcast/id1466222099

📘 About Billy Keels & Corporate Optionality

If you're a corporate executive who wants to make your role optional, learn how to achieve true control over your career and turn your corporate skills into personal assets.

With 26 years of experience in corporate sales leadership, Billy Keels achieved true optionality through multiple income streams. Today, he has helped dozens of executives build a predictable path to take control of their time and start living their ideal day.

This free ebook gives you everything you need to identify, plan, and take control of your career while building financial optionality, leveraging your skills, and starting to live your IDEAL day - today!

• Get the Free eBook: https://www.makeitoptional.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p2olm

• How to Leave a Review for The Going Long Podcast: https://youtu.be/qfRqLVcf8UI

Be sure to connect with Billy:

• Website: https://www.billykeels.com

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@billykeels

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billykeels

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/billykeels

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BillyKeelsFanPage

• Twitter/X: https://www.twitter.com/billykeels

Are you an overachieving corporate director, VP, or senior AE who is completely exhausted from burning the candle at both ends trying to launch a side business?

In this empowering solo episode, host Billy Keels speaks directly to high-performing multinational professionals who feel stuck and overwhelmed by the sheer friction of balancing key performance indicators (KPIs) with their entrepreneurial dreams. Billy unpacks the common trap of building a side venture on a shaky, "sandy foundation" and introduces the exact three-step optionality equation required to transition from corporate dependence to true path control. Learn how to gain quantifiable clarity over your goals, integrate your career to deliver high-quality outcomes in fewer hours, and safely scale independent, predictable streams of income so you can walk into the office entirely by choice, not out of necessity.

🚀 Want to make your corporate role optional? Grab your FREE copy of Billy's 3-Step Process eBook here: https://www.makeitoptional.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p2olm

📌 Questions Answered in This Episode:

• Why do high performers get completely stuck and overwhelmed when launching a side business?

• What does it mean to build a side business on a "sandy foundation"?

• How can a senior corporate leader optimize their corporate outcomes while reducing their working hours?

• What are the 3 foundational steps to calculating your unique path to optionality?

• How can an executive build 41 streams of income over an 8-year period while working a demanding day job?

⏱️ Episode Chapters:

• 00:00 - Overcoming Overthink and Burnout as a High Performer

• 01:15 - Redefining Financial Freedom: Time Control vs. Keeping Money

• 02:30 - The Toll of Burning the Candle at Both Ends

• 03:40 - Understanding the Real Mindset of a Corporate Independent

• 04:30 - The Sandy Foundation: Why Your Side Venture is Causing Overwhelm

• 05:15 - Step 1: Getting Crystal Clear and Quantifiably Focused on Your Why

• 06:05 - Step 2: Optimizing Career Outcomes to Create Free Time

• 07:00 - Step 3: Reclaiming Control Over Your Time and Income Generation

• 08:15 - Navigating the Discomfort of Shifting Your Corporate Identity

• 09:10 - The 8-Year Blueprint: Building 41 Streams of Income on the Side

• 10:15 - The Power of Guided Action: Moving From Theory to Practice

📘 About Billy Keels & Corporate Optionality

If you're a corporate executive who wants to make your role optional, learn how to achieve true control over your career and turn your corporate skills into personal assets.

With 26 years of experience in corporate sales leadership, Billy Keels achieved true optionality through multiple income streams. Today, he has helped dozens of executives build a predictable path to take control of their time and start living their ideal day.

This free ebook gives you everything you need to identify, plan, and take control of your career while building financial optionality, leveraging your skills, and starting to live your IDEAL day - today!

• Get the Free eBook: https://www.makeitoptional.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p2olm

• How to Leave a Review for The Going Long Podcast: https://youtu.be/qfRqLVcf8UI

Be sure to connect with Billy:

• Website: https://www.billykeels.com

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@billykeels

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billykeels

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/billykeels

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BillyKeelsFanPage

• Twitter/X: https://www.twitter.com/billykeels

Are you a senior executive or high-performing corporate director who cracks your quarterly metrics, but wants to create more personal autonomy over your schedule?

In this transparent guest conversation, host Billy Keels sits down with Chris Gray—a former campus academic vice president who successfully translated his corporate leadership capital into multiple thriving independent ventures, including Red Palm Solutions, Bald Buck, and the Earn Core community of over 4,000 global business owners. Chris pulls back the curtain on his professional evolution, sharing how an honest look out his office window on a random Tuesday afternoon catalyzed his journey toward true lifestyle sovereignty. Discover how to lean into challenging personal seasons, stop letting distractions delay your execution, and use external advisors to unlock the radical self-awareness required to run your career completely by choice, not obligation.

🚀 Want to make your corporate role optional? Grab your FREE copy of Billy's 3-Step Process eBook here: https://www.makeitoptional.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p2olm

📌 Questions Answered in This Episode:

• What does it look like to maintain executive excellence while actively developing independent professional options?

• How can a senior leader audit their weekly 168 hours to prioritize high-impact execution over standard entertainment?

• Why is aligning with a mentor who is further along the path essential for an enterprise professional?

• How do you successfully transition corporate team-building and accountability reps into your own ventures?

• Why is letting go of the illusion of absolute personal control the ultimate key to expanding your financial choices?

⏱️ Episode Chapters:

• 00:00 - Maximizing Executive Performance: Moving From VP to Serial Venture Owner

• 01:37 - Shifting the Focus: Understanding Career Alignment in Higher Education Leadership

• 03:40 - The Tuesday Window: Analyzing Strategic Timelines and Lifestyle Design

• 05:20 - Reclaiming Your 168: Making Deliberate Short-Term Sacrifices for Long-Term Autonomy

• 06:32 - Navigating Tough Personal Seasons: Finding Grit in Jiu-Jitsu and Fatherhood

• 10:26 - Shifting Mindsets: Moving Past External Validation Toward Self-Approval

• 14:58 - Upgrading Your Network: Partnering with Advisors Who Are Steps Ahead

• 20:32 - Defeating Imposter Syndrome: Building a High Tolerance for Higher-Level Rooms

• 23:15 - Transferable Assets: Shifting Corporate Accountability Reps Outside the Walls

• 26:42 - Platinum Advice: Why You Cannot React Poorly If You Want the True Data

• 28:14 - Red Palm Solutions: Maximizing Local Business Models Using Smart AI

• 31:52 - Earn Core Community: Creating the Private No-Hide Mastermind Engine

• 36:22 - Letting Go of the Illusion of Absolute Personal Control to Accelerate Growth

• 40:19 - Reclaiming Your Freedom and Connecting with Chris Gray

How best to find and connect with Chris: Website: https://www.yochrisgray.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yochrisgray

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yochrisgray/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YoChrisGray/

📘 About Billy Keels & Corporate Optionality

If you're a corporate executive who wants to make your role optional, learn how to achieve true control over your career and turn your corporate skills into personal assets.

With 26 years of experience in corporate sales leadership, Billy Keels achieved true optionality through multiple income streams. Today, he has helped dozens of executives build a predictable path to take control of their time and start living their ideal day.

This free ebook gives you everything you need to identify, plan, and take control of your career while building financial optionality, leveraging your skills, and starting to live your IDEAL day - today!

• Get the Free eBook: https://www.makeitoptional.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p2olm

• How to Leave a Review for The Going Long Podcast: https://youtu.be/qfRqLVcf8UI

Be sure to connect with Billy:

• Website: https://www.billykeels.com

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@billykeels

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billykeels

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/billykeels

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BillyKeelsFanPage

• Twitter/X: https://www.twitter.com/billykeels

Are you a senior executive or elite enterprise tech leader counting on corporate salary and fluctuating stock options for your ultimate long-term security?

In this highly authentic and controversial solo episode, host Billy Keels drops an unpopular opinion about the realities of massive corporate workforce reductions at giants like Meta and Oracle. Drawing from 26 years of personal experience in enterprise hardware and software sales leadership, Billy unpacks why every multinational corporation is simply an organism wired to do whatever it takes to preserve its own life—including shedding thousands of jobs when it carries too much weight. Discover the exact 3-step pathway to optionality that allows you to continue excelling as a top performer while systematically building transferable skills, taking control of your time, and engineering predictable income streams that ensure you are completely prepared when your corporate relationship inevitably ends.

🚀 Want to make your corporate role optional? Grab your FREE copy of Billy's 3-Step Process eBook here: https://www.makeitoptional.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p2olm

📌 Questions Answered in This Episode:

• Why are large tech companies like Meta and Oracle continuously reducing their workforces?

• What does it mean to treat a multinational corporate employer as a living organism?

• How can a high-performing director excel at their day job while simultaneously building an independent dream?

• What are the 3 core steps required to transition a single corporate paycheck into true career optionality?

• How do you successfully decouple your personal financial security from unpredictable company stock performance?

⏱️ Episode Chapters:

• 00:00 - The Triggering Reality of Today's Corporate Environment

• 01:10 - Deconstructing the Meta and Oracle Layoffs in Enterprise Software

• 02:15 - Rethinking Career Security After 26 Years in Enterprise Tech

• 03:30 - The Identity Trap: Is Your Life Entirely Wrapped Up in Your Role

• 04:25 - The Unpopular Truth: Every Corporate Relationship Ends

• 05:15 - Understanding the Corporate Organism and Its Survival Instincts

• 06:30 - What Side of the Equation Are You On?

• 07:25 - The 3 Steps to Optionality: Clarity, Integration, and Total Control

• 08:45 - Reclaiming Overachieving Metrics Without Sacrificing Your Time

• 09:50 - Building Highly Transferable Skill Sets Outside the Corporate Walls

• 11:00 - Moving From Corporate Survival Theory to Guided Practice

📘 About Billy Keels & Corporate Optionality

If you're a corporate executive who wants to make your role optional, learn how to achieve true control over your career and turn your corporate skills into personal assets.

With 26 years of experience in corporate sales leadership, Billy Keels achieved true optionality through multiple income streams. Today, he has helped dozens of executives build a predictable path to take control of their time and start living their ideal day.

This free ebook gives you everything you need to identify, plan, and take control of your career while building financial optionality, leveraging your skills, and starting to live your IDEAL day - today!

• Get the Free eBook: https://www.makeitoptional.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p2olm

How to Leave a Review for The Going Long Podcast: https://youtu.be/qfRqLVcf8UI

Be sure to connect with Billy:

• Website: https://www.billykeels.com

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@billykeels

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billykeels

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/billykeels

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BillyKeelsFanPage

• Twitter/X: https://www.twitter.com/billykeels