Systematic Leader

In this interview, you’ll learn about the importance of self-awareness and why it matters so much in business and life. Dan Zavorotny is a co-founder of Nutrisense, a company that helps people understand how your body works well. One of my favorite parts of this interview is how Dan uses mentors to help him learn something new.

Highlights from the interview:

• How Dan immigrated from Ukraine and help co-found a business.
• Taking on opportunities that push him outside his comfort zone.
• Taking a moment to release stress before making a decision.
• Building a business without a marketing budget.
• Building a company into a 30 million a year in revenue.
• The importance of having a growth mindset.
• The framework he uses to learn something new.
• Why we should not focus on being an expert.
• Finding someone that is a year ahead of you to learn from.
• Why we need stressful events in our lives.
• He took a job in France without knowing the language.
• How expecting stress from a situation will help reduce your stress levels.
• How to remove your “negative objection voice” from your inner dialogue.
• Growing your self-awareness.
• How to reframe the “no’s” so you can grow from these rejections.
• Turning a “no” into an opportunity.
• Finding new connections from people that aren’t ready to work with you.
• Your mentors are critical to your success.
• Being self-aware enough to ask for help.
• Reaching out to people who are one level above you to learn from them.
• The formula to reach your goals.
• Putting an end date on your hypothesis.
• Using an artificial constraint to get more things done.
• The importance of having a positive impact in the world.]
• Finding multiple ways to win.

You can learn more about Dan Zavortotny over at the Nutrisense website. You can connect with Dan over at his LinkedIn page.

And as always, if you have any questions or want to submit a guest for the podcast that you think would be amazing, just reach out to me on the Dig to Fly website, and I’ll do my best to get them on. If you enjoy the interview, please take 30 seconds to rate the Dig to Fly podcast on your favorite platform. Thanks!

In this interview, you’ll learn how to have difficult conversations so you grow stronger relationships. Desiree Adaway is the founder of the Adaway group. They consult with businesses to create an inclusive culture. One of my favorite parts of this interview was how we can stay in the right relationship even when in conflict.

Highlights from the interview:

• Why Desiree likes to have difficult conversations.
• Staying connected during a conflict.
• Understanding why deep change is possible.
• Why conflict is essential to the change process.
• Why she was afraid of conflict as a kid.
• How Audre Lord taught her about her voice.
• She shares Dr. Love’s four steps of consciousness.
• Why we filter our thoughts to fit in with others.
• Understanding what is the worst thing that will happen if we speak up.
• Why playing it safe is not the answer.
• Ask yourself, “Who benefits when I don’t speak up?”
• Making room in the middle so we all have a chance to speak.
• We can be in conflict and hold each other with great care.
• How to look at the bigger picture instead of protecting our egos.
• Why most of us don’t know how to apologize.
• The power of putting yourself out there.
• How not to worry about what other people think of us.
• Why we must have conflict at work to drive positive change.
• How to understand our expectations going into the meeting.
• Talking about things that make us feel broken.

You can learn more about Desiree Adaway over at the Adaway Group. You can also connect with her on LinkedIn as well. 

And as always, if you have any questions or want to submit a guest for the podcast that you think would be amazing, just reach out to me on the Dig to Fly website, and I’ll do my best to get them on. If you enjoy the interview, please take 30 seconds to rate the Dig to Fly podcast on your favorite platform. Thanks!

Do you ever wish you could take back a bad decision?

Investing in Bitcoin when it was at its all-time high. Anyone? Just me? 

I’ve said “Yes” to the wrong opportunities and “No” to the right ones. It’s only by looking back on these situations that I’ve learned to improve my decision-making skills.

Many of us have these regrets, but most don’t have a system to review our decisions. Our decision-making process needs to improve. Otherwise, we won’t reach our goals.

Many people struggle with uncertainty, fear of making the wrong choice, lack of information, emotional biases, and conflicting priorities when making important decisions. Social pressures, past experiences, and self-doubt may also influence them. These factors can make it difficult for individuals to weigh the options and make a clear, confident choice.

I struggled in many aspects of my career. I would let my fear of mistakes hold me back. When I made a mistake, I would berate myself. I didn’t want to be mean to myself. I hurt my future decisions for months, even years.

As author Ryan Holiday writes, this is why our ego can be our enemy. We try something challenging, and when it fails, as it often does, we beat ourselves up. No wonder we don’t take smart risks. We are too afraid.

I remember working for a client who wanted my help rewriting the company’s board of directors report. They added to my scope of work, but I was afraid to speak up. I didn’t feel like I was good enough to speak up. My inner voice kept saying, “Just do the work. Worry about payment later. You’re just lucky to have this client.” 

This made my so angry I destroyed one of my favorite possessions. You can find out what I destroyed in the link below.

You can learn more about this topic on my blog. I wrote an article to compliment this episode: https://digtofly.com/how-to-get-over-a-bad-decision/

In this interview, you’ll learn how to use mental models to make better decisions. Justin Khanna is a Michelin-trained chef turned entrepreneur. One of my favorite parts of this interview was when he shared how frameworks helped him overcome his inner blocks around money.

Highlights from the interview:

• Justin shares his story about turning from a chef into an entrepreneur.
• He dissects how he got into the culinary arts.
• Three core parts of our inner voice.
• Why a lot of people struggle with apathy.
• Using mental frameworks to get to the heart of an issue.
• The power of learning from the right people.
• Developing systems that you can’t trust kills people’s productivity.
• How guardrails can help us be more creative.
• Being able to say “No” to projects that aren’t a fit for your future self.
• Why ego can be your enemy.
• Shooting for the goal that will make you truly happy.
• Building something more sustainable.
• Focusing on the larger goals will help you make better decisions each day.
• How he almost burned his apartment down.
• How Tim Ferriss changed how he looked at his career.
• Understanding how to create and execute on your goals.
• What was really holding him back from growing his business.
• How his beliefs around money had him stuck.
• Alex Hormozi’s framework around building a better business.
• Most impactful book and favorite toy as a kid.

You can learn more about Justin Khanna over at his personal website and Repertoire where he teaches hospitality professional how to build a career. You can also connect with him on his YouTube channel and LinkedIn.

And as always, if you have any questions or want to submit a guest for the podcast that you think would be amazing, just reach out to me on the Dig to Fly website, and I’ll do my best to get them on. If you enjoy the interview, please take 30 seconds to rate the Dig to Fly podcast on your favorite platform. Thanks!

In this interview, you’ll learn how you can be committed and unattached to impact the world without getting hooked by your emotions. Leo Babauta is a best-selling author, blogger, and entrepreneur. He has millions of readers and shares some of his greatest frameworks to help you succeed in your career. 

Highlights from the interview:

• Leo explains how he started Zen Habits and how he quit smoking.
• Becoming aware of our urges is the first step to changing our habits.
• Working with your inner voice, so you build a better relationship with yourself.
• Where our negative inner voice comes from.
• What he writes down and what his inner voice tells him when he wants to rationalize a decision.
• How we fool ourselves into being hard on ourselves.
• Balancing out our negative inner voice so we actually get things done.
• Being committed and unattached. 
• Why we don’t try our best on an important project.
• How we can get off the hamster wheel of goals.
• Facing the resistance that a big project has within it.
• Showing up fully committed to the day.
• How I learned to change my lens to learning to help me stay focused in a meeting.
• Noticing perfectionist tendencies and letting go of it, so you can be more present and make better decisions.
• How to let go of grasping for a certain outcome and focusing on this instead.
• Training with uncertainty and fear will help us grow.
• Why clients have the tools, but don’t actually make progress.
• Sitting with uncomfortable feelings and how this practice can help us improve our productivity.
• Favorite toy as a kid.

You can learn more about Leo over at Zen Habits. Check out his book, Essential Zen Habits: Mastering the Art of Change, Briefly (Amazon Link) You can also connect with him over at Twitter.

And as always, if you have any questions or want to submit a guest for the podcast that you think would be amazing, just reach out to me on the Dig to Fly website, and I’ll do my best to get them on. If you enjoy the interview, please take 30 seconds to rate the Dig to Fly podcast on your favorite platform. Thanks!

In this interview, you’ll learn about how you can build systems to help you try new businesses or ideas to grow your career. Nick Loper is an entrepreneur and founder of the Side Hustle Show. One of my favorite parts of this interview is how he talks through his method for capturing his ideas and turning them into action.

Highlights from the interview:

• Nick explains why he is an introvert and how he gets energy from relationships.
• How motivation in different areas of his life help spur new ideas.
• Finding creative periods to help grow his business.
• Creating a sprint deadline to get stuff done.
• Your best energy should be sacred to you.
• How to ask yourself better questions, so you are able to be more productive and happier.
• Developing a quarterly progress report to help you understand what is working well, what isn’t and how to adjust.
• Testing out little ideas that can really boost your business.
• The importance of looking at your new ideas as just a hypothesis.
• How he deals with failure.
• He gives an example of a failed product.
• Testing out ideas instead of going all in on an idea.
• How to capture ideas, so you can use them later.
• How to figure out what things to create that people will want to buy.
• Creating processes that help you create systems that help you improve your business.
• How AI can help you in your business.
• Creating processes that help you save time.
• Noticing where our energy rises when we work.
• Why he hired a coach to help him become a better interviewer.
• Most impactful book, impactful podcast, favorite toy as a kid.

You can learn more about Nick Loper over at the Side Hustle Nation. Check out his podcast Side Hustle Show. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn.

And as always, if you have any questions or want to submit a guest for the podcast that you think would be amazing, just reach out to me on the Dig to Fly website, and I’ll do my best to get them on. If you enjoy the interview, please take 30 seconds to rate the Dig to Fly podcast on your favorite platform. Thanks!

In this interview, you’ll learn how to understand how you can improve your communication by becoming a better listener. They go hand-in-hand. Patti DeNucci is an author and speaker. One of my favorite parts of this interview is when she talks about the lens through which we view life.

Highlights from the interview:

• What Patti was like as a kid and how her personality influenced her career.
• Why having freedom as a kid is so important to creativity.
• How I’ve struggled with being playful in my career.
• Inserting fun into work.
• How not to take yourself too seriously.
• Why sharing an embarrassing story helps us connect with others.
• She shares her embarrassing story with us.
• Listening and understanding to your ego to help you avoid getting stuck.
• Acknowledging our inner critic helps us get better results.
• What advice her mom would give to her as a kid and how she applies it in her career.
• How her parents influenced her.
• How her fears have influenced her decisions.
• Learning to be a lot imperfect.
• How perfectionism has held her back from finishing her book.
• How to get out of the weeds so you fly in your career.
• Why I was afraid to put time into something because I struggle with perfectionism.
• Building her legacy.
• How to surface our doubts so we don’t allow them to dictate our decisions.
• Why she focuses on her vision at the beginning of a project.
• Noticing the patterns is vital to understanding your vision of a big project.
• How to understand unuseful questions so you can focus on what matters.
• Developing your intuition when trying to make good decisions.
• Understanding her strengths and weaknesses so she works on projects that fit her personality.
• The art of making decisions when working on a big project.
• Checking in with your whole body when making decisions.
• Understanding the lens through which we view life.
• The nervous mechanism of overtalking.
• Giving ourselves attention helps us become better listeners.
• Understanding how much energy a certain task takes and how to meet our needs while doing it.
• Most impactful book, podcast, favorite toy, and essential tool in her career.

You can learn more about Patti DeNucci over at Intentional Networker. You can also connect with her on LinkedIn. Check out her book, More Than Just Talk: The Essential Guide for Anyone Who Wants to Enjoy Better Conversations (Amazon Link).

And as always, if you have any questions or want to submit a guest for the podcast that you think would be amazing, just reach out to me on the Dig to Fly website, and I’ll do my best to get them on. If you enjoy the interview, please take 30 seconds to rate the Dig to Fly podcast on your favorite platform. Thanks!

Every choice is an opportunity. When we are stuck, we stop seeing the value of the choices that we do have. Instead, we become afraid. We don’t want to rush or wait too long to make a decision. We must have a process, so we have a balanced approach. One that checks in with our head (facts), heart (passions), and gut (larger purpose).

“On an important decision one rarely has 100% of the information needed for a good decision no matter how much one spends or how long one waits. And, if one waits too long, he has a different problem and has to start all over. This is the terrible dilemma of the hesitant decision maker.” Robert K. Greenleaf, The Servant as Leader

You have a great opportunity to learn more about what you really want if you make time to dig into the truth. It’s an opportunity to slow down and course correct, so you can make sure your head, heart, and gut are aligned with your next set of actions. 

This phrase was spun from Plato the Greek philosopher who said, “Our need will be the real creator”.

Being stuck is a regular part of life. It means that you care about the situation and want it to turn out well. You should start by checking with yourself before you can get unstuck. You have to get clear on the issue that makes you feel stuck. It starts with understanding the lens through which you are viewing the situation.

In this interview, you’ll learn how to create more memorable stories in your career. I put myself on the hot seat to hopefully set an example for you to learn. Sam Horn is a best-selling author and speaker. You’ll love the frameworks around storytelling that she talks about. One of my favorite parts of this interview was how to pull out an “aha” from a story.

Highlights from the interview:

• How to stand out in the crowd.
• How she came up with the concept of Tongue Fu.
• Peeling away our layers to gain more confidence.
• How not to fall back into bad habits.
• Understanding why we feel like imposters.
• Speaking is a great way to grow your personal brand, career and business.
• Why perfectionism holds us back in our careers.
• How to embrace our gifts to help people.
• How to stop beliefs that compromise our effectiveness.
• How Candy fell into a depression after her daughter died in a car accident.
• How to lose our self-doubts.
• The 70-10-10-10 exercise that turns infobesity into intrigue.
• Why stories are so powerful to help us remember things.
• How to break down the scene of the story for your audience.
• Pulling out a story that is an “aha” for the audience.
• Great questions help frame the story.
• Jot your thoughts when they are hot.
• The power of good frameworks.
• Crafting propriety work that helps us grow our brand.
• Make the familiar fresh.
• Bring in stories that relate to your topic.
• Connecting what you do with your message.
• Crafting your story in a way that makes it memorable.
• The three most influential people in her life.

You can learn more about Sam Horn over at her website. You can also connect with her on LinkedIn and Twitter.

And as always, if you have any questions or want to submit a guest for the podcast that you think would be amazing, just reach out to me on the Dig to Fly website, and I’ll do my best to get them on. If you enjoy the interview, please take 30 seconds to rate the Dig to Fly podcast on your favorite platform. Thanks!

I often ask my kids “Would you rather” questions. They love it because it gets them thinking. I love asking them questions like…

Would you rather have the superpower to turn invisible or be super strong?

My one son would rather be super strong while my other son would like to be invisible.

The idea of turning invisible is tempting to anyone especially if they get embarrassed. We want to hide when we feel embarrassed, overwhelmed and tired. We feel safer.

When we explore our inner thoughts and dialogue a whole world opens up to us. We understand why we choose a coke over sparkling water during a stressful day. We understand why we keep getting irritated by an annoying coworker.

Think of the moments when you have your most creative ideas. It’s often during a shower, walk, working out, meditating, praying etc. It’s because we are slowing down and connecting with the universe, God, infinite, or whatever you want to call it. This is where we find our hidden opportunities.