Lessons from a Quitter

Here is what we chat about in this episode:

- What the FIRE movement is really about

- How Paula got started on her own journey to financial independence

- How freelancing gave her freedom to travel for over 2 years and the skills to never go back to a "job"

- Where the big opportunities in freelance writing are today

- How she built her rental property portfolio and the resources she offers her community to do the same

- What some possible downsides are to the FIRE movement and how to have the proper discussions to work around those issues

- And so much more!

Here is what we chat about in this episode:

- What the FIRE movement is really about

- How Paula got started on her own journey to financial independence

- How freelancing gave her freedom to travel for over 2 years and the skills to never go back to a “job”

- Where the big opportunities in freelance writing are today

- How she built her rental property portfolio and the resources she offers her community to do the same

- What some possible downsides are to the FIRE movement and how to have the proper discussions to work around those issues

- And so much more!

Our book review for April is Brene Brown's Rising Strong. The entire premise of the book is how to get back up when life has thrown you down. Given that every one of us will get knocked down in life, learning how to rise and write your own story is one of the greatest skills we can cultivate.

Especially during this uncertain time of a global pandemic, Brene Brown's insights can help us weather the storm and regain some control.

Here is what we cover in this episode:

• What the 3 steps of Rising Strong include
• Why it's so important to get curious about your emotions
• Why the messy middle is a non-negotiable
• How to deal with grief
• How to own your story

Our book review for April is Brene Brown’s Rising Strong. The entire premise of the book is how to get back up when life has thrown you down. Given that every one of us will get knocked down in life, learning how to rise and write your own story is one of the greatest skills we can cultivate. 

Especially during this uncertain time of a global pandemic, Brene Brown’s insights can help us weather the storm and regain some control. 

Here is what we cover in this episode:

• What the 3 steps of Rising Strong include
• Why it’s so important to get curious about your emotions
• Why the messy middle is a non-negotiable 
• How to deal with grief
• How to own your story 

One of the things that I try to stress on this podcast is the fact that there are opportunities everywhere. As new technologies emerge, entire new industries are born and those industries sprout tons of new jobs and business ideas. My guests today have been taking advantage of just that.

After Airbnb started gaining in popularity, Annette Grant and Sarah Karakaian each saw an opportunity to leverage the platform into a short-term rental business. And they each did it in their own unique way--Annette teamed up with a business partner who invested in the properties while Annette runs the business and Sarah and her husband started by renting out their own properties on Airbnb.

And it was on this mission to share their spaces and live their dreams that Annette and Sarah met at a City Council meeting in Columbus, Ohio, where they were fighting for their right to host these short-term rentals responsibly and legally.

Since then, they knew they would have to find a way to elevate their voice and share what it means to be a host with heart so that having a short-term rental in a community was an asset, not a nuisance.

Aside from managing 20+ properties, Sarah and Annette host a popular podcast all about the short-term rental industry called Thanks for Visiting.

Before their Airbnb endeavours, Annette helped build two businesses from the ground up into multi-million dollar businesses. Her expertise ranges from service-based to e-commerce.

And Sarah spent 14 years in New York City as a musical theatre performer before she hung up her character shoes, packed up her life with her husband, Nick, and 12 lb. cockapoo and moved to the midwest. Inspired by their opportunity to be involved in 8 episodes of an HGTV show, Sarah and Nick knew that working in and around homes was their calling! They flip, stage, and invest in homes with stories all around Columbus, OH.

One of the things that I try to stress on this podcast is the fact that there are opportunities everywhere. As new technologies emerge, entire new industries are born and those industries sprout tons of new jobs and business ideas. My guests today have been taking advantage of just that. 

After Airbnb started gaining in popularity, Annette Grant and Sarah Karakaian each saw an opportunity to leverage the platform into a short-term rental business. And they each did it in their own unique way--Annette teamed up with a business partner who invested in the properties while Annette runs the business and Sarah and her husband started by renting out their own properties on Airbnb.  

And it was on this mission to share their spaces and live their dreams that Annette and Sarah met at a City Council meeting in Columbus, Ohio, where they were fighting for their right to host these short-term rentals responsibly and legally. 

Since then, they knew they would have to find a way to elevate their voice and share what it means to be a host with heart so that having a short-term rental in a community was an asset, not a nuisance. 

Aside from managing 20+ properties, Sarah and Annette host a popular podcast all about the short-term rental industry called Thanks for Visiting. 

Before their Airbnb endeavours, Annette helped build two businesses from the ground up into multi-million dollar businesses. Her expertise ranges from service-based to e-commerce.

And Sarah spent 14 years in New York City as a musical theatre performer before she hung up her character shoes, packed up her life with her husband, Nick, and 12 lb. cockapoo and moved to the midwest. Inspired by their opportunity to be involved in 8 episodes of an HGTV show, Sarah and Nick knew that working in and around homes was their calling! They flip, stage, and invest in homes with stories all around Columbus, OH.

While the podcast showcases the specific steps and tactics people used to start over in new careers, my goal is to actually demonstrate the mindset that you need to take the leap.

Because without the mindset, all of the tactics in the world won't help you start over. If you get stuck in the fear and the doubt, you'll be stuck forever.

Through my own journey and talking with over 90 quitters, I've come to realize that the most important mindset shift is in truly understanding that you CAN figure anything out. Once you become comfortable with the unknown, not because you're certain, but because you're confident in your ability to figure it out, you become unstoppable.

No one embodies that mentality more than my guest this week, Emily Sexton.

Emily started out on Wall Street as Vice President of Communications and Change Management. Feeling like something was missing, she quit without knowing her next move. When Emily discovered the opportunity to open up a pop-up retail truck that would combine her love of fashion with her desire to support female vendors from developing countries, a cause she was passionate about, she jumped on it.

With no retail experience, Emily leaned on her community to make the pop-up shop a success. A year later, she turned the Flourish Market into a brick-and-mortar shop. And when she was presented with the opportunity to move to a bigger space, she seized that too. But the space was actually too big for just a retail shop. Emily had to figure out what to do with all the extra space. So in the Summer of 2019, she launched The Locality, a co-working space + incubator for 60 female entrepreneurs, with membership spots selling out before construction even started!

And now with the Covid pandemic, when so many businesses are struggling, Emily took only a couple of days to pivot her co-working space into an online membership.

She is such a testament to the fact that opportunities are all around us, if we're willing to see them. Her outlook and attitude are infectious. And she provides the hope and clarity we need in this time!

While the podcast showcases the specific steps and tactics people used to start over in new careers, my goal is to actually demonstrate the mindset that you need to take the leap. 

Because without the mindset, all of the tactics in the world won’t help you start over. If you get stuck in the fear and the doubt, you’ll be stuck forever. 

Through my own journey and talking with over 90 quitters, I’ve come to realize that the most important mindset shift is in truly understanding that you CAN figure anything out. Once you become comfortable with the unknown, not because you’re certain, but because you’re confident in your ability to figure it out, you become unstoppable. 

No one embodies that mentality more than my guest this week, Emily Sexton. 

Emily started out on Wall Street as Vice President of Communications and Change Management. Feeling like something was missing, she quit without knowing her next move. When Emily discovered the opportunity to open up a pop-up retail truck that would combine her love of fashion with her desire to support female vendors from developing countries, a cause she was passionate about, she jumped on it. 

With no retail experience, Emily leaned on her community to make the pop-up shop a success. A year later, she turned the Flourish Market into a brick-and-mortar shop. And when she was presented with the opportunity to move to a bigger space, she seized that too. But the space was actually too big for just a retail shop. Emily had to figure out what to do with all the extra space. So in the Summer of 2019, she launched The Locality, a co-working space + incubator for 60 female entrepreneurs, with membership spots selling out before construction even started!

And now with the Covid pandemic, when so many businesses are struggling, Emily took only a couple of days to pivot her co-working space into an online membership.

She is such a testament to the fact that opportunities are all around us, if we’re willing to see them. Her outlook and attitude are infectious. And she provides the hope and clarity we need in this time!

What if the secret to your happiness wasn't in getting to the next milestone, or doing a bunch of things that society tells you to do, or accomplishing anything? What if the secret was in undoing all of the BS you were sold? What if the secret was in returning to who you were always meant to be before you were forced to be something you're not? This week on the podcast, I got to talk to Erika Gerdes about how she left the dream career and dream life -- an executive at Google, married with 2 young kids -- to start undoing the facade that she had built around herself. We'll talk about how it took a divorce and quitting a job at the height of her career, and one she actually liked, for Erika to master the Art of Undoing -- a framework that she now uses to help other people. We talk all about how she jumped without a plan while being a single mom of two little girls and the sole breadwinner! Erika is such an incredible example of the fact that you can always go back to who you were always meant to be.

What if the secret to your happiness wasn't in getting to the next milestone, or doing a bunch of things that society tells you to do, or accomplishing anything? 

What if the secret was in undoing all of the BS you were sold? 

What if the secret was in returning to who you were always meant to be before you were forced to be something you're not?

This week on the podcast, I got to talk to Erika Gerdes about how she left the dream career and dream life -- an executive at Google, married with 2 young kids -- to start undoing the facade that she had built around herself. 

We'll talk about how it took a divorce and quitting a job at the height of her career, and one she actually liked, for Erika to master the Art of Undoing -- a framework that she now uses to help other people.

We talk all about how she jumped without a plan while being a single mom of two little girls and the sole breadwinner! 

Erika is such an incredible example of the fact that you can always go back to who you were always meant to be.