Latest / WOC and Allies: Business and Career Realtalk with Elaine Lou Cartas / 115: My Mid-Year 2025 Check-In: What’s working, what’s not & my predictions

Transcript

115: My Mid-Year 2025 Check-In: What’s working, what’s not & my predictions · WOC and Allies: Business and Career Realtalk with Elaine Lou Cartas

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Happy June.
• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: We are halfway through the year.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: And it's also my half birthday.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: I'm recording this podcast episode on a Monday, and what a great day.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: Looked at my CEO dashboard, cash flow, my investments, went to the gym.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: I'm trying this thing where I lift really slowly with no music.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: There's actually research that proves by not listening to music, listening to your body and honoring it can increase muscle growth by 20%.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: So for my fellow weightlifters, just know that.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: And this makes complete sense, right?
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: It's being honest and listening to your body.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: And when I learned this, I was like, count me in.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: And then after I went to the gym, met up with a friend and colleague, we both did our coaching certification through the International Coaching Federation together.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: And this month in June, I'm back to back partying every weekend.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: And it's not the partying you think, it's the literally kid birthday parties every weekend.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: I got a one-year-old birthday party, a seven-year-old, a one-year-old, all in a single digits.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: And it's like, Elaine, why are you sharing with me your day?
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: I'm here because I want to know the tea.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: I want to know what's working in your life, what's not.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: I want to know your predictions because you always get it right.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: I always do actually get my trends predictions correct.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: Like, why is she talking about her boring life of going to the gym and looking at her CEO dashboard?
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I share this because I am enjoying my life, my personal life, my hobbies.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: It's not all about work.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: And oh my gosh, if my younger self saw this version, she'd be like, Who are you?
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: And I was just despite saying how amazing my life is working out and meeting up with a friend and not having any calls today.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: And that's an extrovert talking.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: I was just talking to my assistant, Miss Sage, chat GPT, that's her name, by the way.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: And I put this prompt.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: I asked her, Hey, with the questions you know about me, what are roadblocks?
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: And I want you to be real.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: Don't try to be nice to me.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: Ooh, she was real with me that I have decision fatigue.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: I'm focused on too many things.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: And she's right.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: However, Sage is not a human.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: She doesn't know that I have come a long way.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: Like, yes, I have decision fatigue.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: I'm focused on too many things, but not like the Elaine five years ago.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: Doesn't she know I love external validation?
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: At the same time, this is why I still have a coach and a therapist because Sage ain't human.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: She's Chat GPT.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: Anyways, let's let's reel me back in.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: You're here to listen about what's working, what's not, my predictions.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: And like I said, I'm sharing my date because that's what's been working, my life.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: It's lifing.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: I'm hitting up these parties in the single digits for humans, you know?
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: And as I shared in my last podcast episode with a replay of my number one pitch, I already hit my 2024 revenue.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: And we're in June.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: We're halfway.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: All right, you are done with my small talk.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: In this episode, I'm gonna share what's been working in my business and life, and also what's been working with for my clients, not just the business owners, but executives.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I'll share predictions of how I think AI will shape things and what I expect's gonna happen with these chaotic times.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: We've been hearing like turbulent times, chaos, blah, blah, blah, blah.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: So to set this tone, this is not a highlight reel.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: It's a check-in from someone, me, who's growing, learning, and seeing trends beyond the surface.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: So grab your coffee, tea, boba, or beverage of your choice, no judgment, and let's drop the beat.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: All right, how I'm breaking this episode up.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: It's four parts.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: We're gonna talk about what's been working, second, what's not working, third, that all of you are excited about, trends and predictions, and fourth, this is extra credit because my name's Elaine Lucartas.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: And when I was a kid, people gave me nicknames of EC because Elaine Garthas, extra credit, get it.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: So my extra credit for you that I'm providing you, you are welcome, is what I'm doing moving forward because all of you are nosing always want to know what I'm doing.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: And you're gonna want to take notes on this.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: So let's just jump right to it.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: All right, you know how in the beginning, first, let's talk about AI.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: That's what's been working, aka Sage.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: And I asked Chat GPT what I should call her.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: She said Sage because it fits how I'm wise, intuitive, and direct.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: And I share Chat GPT because she, Sage, is a great sparring partner.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: It's saved my time getting ideas, feedback on email subject headings, even ideas on how I was gonna pitch, send a proposal, even with this podcast.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: I had bullet points for this podcast, but I still pretty much obviously talk off the fly and do the storytelling.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: And she also keeps me right on track.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: By the way, Sage, I have identified her as a she, her pronouns, Sage, chat GPT, not to confuse you.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, we're gonna just keep talking about Sage AI.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: And I will say you don't need the paid version.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: The free version helps, but I use the free version so much, I kept getting timed out, which is why I have the paid version of$20 a month.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: And despite, yes, it's helping me save time and create bullet points.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: I also want to emphasize I still infuse my human element, sharing my stories and my humor.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: So for anyone using AI, whether it's Chat GPT or Gemini or whatever AI tool you're using, sure, get ideas from it, but don't forget to add your personality, your humor, your stories, because that's what's going to make you stand out, regardless if you have a business or not.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: Second thing that has been working, and it's weird because I will I will preface this by saying that I didn't expect this to be a business ROI.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: It was more so personal just because I'm getting older, but giving myself time to learn more of my family history.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_00: And like I shared in point number one with using AI, how that's working, as AI is being used more, our personal stories are gonna be more important.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: From my last podcast episode, where I did my pitch and I introduced myself as the oldest daughter of a Filipino immigrant farmer, that really resonated with my audience.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: And I will say, before I said it out loud on stage, when I wrote it for the first time on the steps that I'm recording this podcast episode, to even when I practiced it in my closet with the face mask on, there was moments I would cry saying that line.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: When I visited my aunt, I learned that my great-grandfather was tortured for more.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_00: And I already knew my grandfather, my mom's dad did, and I'm not gonna go into details.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_00: But as I've taken time to even reflect that with two direct lines to my ancestry, it's it kind of validated why I love Muay Thai, which is Thai kickboxing so much.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: It just, I don't know.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: I even though this is personal to me as I'm sharing like my family history, things started making sense.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: Like, oh, this is why I am the way I am.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: Or even when both my grandmothers passed away within a year of each other, and we learned so much about family members after they passed away, learning that they were both entrepreneurial, one of them gangster, like rolling tobacco leaves, organic ones in Philippines, and the other one doing hair in her province and village.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, wow, they were both entrepreneurial, and I'm entrepreneurial.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yet the difference is that I have this privilege to actually go all in with it, unlike them.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_00: And it's because they were willing to make sacrifices so future generations could have this privilege that they didn't have.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: Then I am so honored and grateful.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_00: So I've been giving myself more time to ask my parents, my aunts, my uncles, the histories of the past, the challenges, even if they're uncomfortable and difficult for me to hear.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: And I know there's a saying, right, the past is the past, just forget about it.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: But those before us have sacrificed so much so we could have the privilege of choice we have now.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm gonna be this big sister, auntie, faunty, however you want to acknowledge me as, or coach, hello, that is my professional title.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: Your action item, I want to encourage you to learn more about your history.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_00: And it's interesting as I've been learning more, and not that I say this in big stages, but just even one-on-one conversations.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: And you're like, Elaine, but you're sharing this at a podcast.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: Honestly, this feels intimate when I share in a podcast.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not on stage.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_00: I am wearing a very comfortable shirt on a ponytail with a mic.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: So this feels one-to-one.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I know you're probably driving, you're walking, you're washing dishes or doing errands, but I don't know.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_00: I've been able to just have deeper conversations with other people.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_00: All right, to third thing that's been working.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: Understanding my time and energy is the most important resource.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_00: I've always kind of said this, but I feel like this past year, it's really resonated with me.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_00: I was talking to my coach, and I was like, okay, I always like known this in the surface level, but for some reason, this past year, like it's really hit me.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_00: Like my time and energy, my body, physical, mental, spiritual, emotional is so important.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_00: How I take care of it.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_00: More important than money because hello, how are you supposed to receive more money if we don't take care of ourselves?
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: And I was talking to my mentor, and I told him, like, what do you think shifted?
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_00: He's like, I think it's just finally deeper into your subconscious.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: You've had to learn from the six, but it's deep into your subconscious because you've learned it and you've grown and you have been able to implement it more.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_00: And this past month, I mean, I started last month, but last month because I had so much speaking engagements and facilitations with clients, I was like, okay, I'm gonna be outwardly putting so much energy.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_00: So how can I pour more energy into me so I show up?
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_00: And what I did was make sure I had time to do Muay Thai.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: I made sure to block off a week, sprinkle in a couple of client calls because I have to schedule them, but making sure there was time that and space that allowed me to be creative and to be present so I conserved my energy for the time that I would perform.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_00: And I talk about that in terms of being able to do that for work, but even in my personal life, making sure I block off dinner time with my partner, I saw this.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know if I should share, but I'll share it anyways.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_00: I saw this like viral reel of this guy who does jujitsu and Muay Thai.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: And he shared how he was talking to a friend who his marriage was falling apart because he was so focused on going to the gym every single day and getting better at it.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: And usually the the busiest time for classes is in the evening, which is dinner time.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: It was just interesting he was sharing that because I noticed it when I got into Muay Thai, even at a young age, like, oh gosh, don't these older men have like families and wives?
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_00: And people focus on getting better.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: But then it's like, okay, you're getting better, but yes, in your health and fitness, but what's the time and energy that you're giving into your relationship?
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_00: And so even I have friends that ask me, oh, why don't you go in the evening class?
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_00: Like, because my time and energy is dedicated to my relationship, making dinner, eating dinner, doing Costco errands.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_00: That may seem boring to you, but if I'm prioritizing working out, if I'm prioritizing doing speaking engagements, I need to prioritize my personal life.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: And I've had to learn too, you know, rest is not a privilege.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: It's not what we do until we get burnt out.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_00: Rest is a right.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_00: Rest allows us to rethink and listen to the uncomfortable in our minds, things we might have to change.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: It always comes in whispers.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_00: And when I'm quiet, the best insights come.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_00: For example, I realized I was just like, oh, there was an event that I did coaching on a few years ago.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_00: And I followed up with them because I realized that they're coming back to do an event and I wanted to offer my availability to coach these executives again.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_00: And then they're like, actually, I know we have an event this fall, but we'd love for you to come speak and coach leaders and hospitalities with big brands like Hilton, American Express, and Enterprise.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_00: And and it just came from like just me being quiet and looking, oh, I remember this.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_00: And that probably wouldn't have happened if I was like, oh my gosh, what else do I need to do?
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: I just the constant hamster wheel.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_00: So I know I'm talking about business, but even in personal life, I noticed I wasn't getting the results I wanted working out.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_00: Let's say specifically weightlifting.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_00: And for us women, as we get older, we tend to gain more fat, especially if you're like then childbearing ages and just our bones get more brittle.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I realized I think I might be lifting too fast, and my ego's in the way where I want to add weights.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_00: Just intuitively, I was just like, what if I slow down?
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_00: What if I hold the poses, stretch more longer?
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_00: What if I need to go slower and lighter when lifting and listen to less music?
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_00: So I was like, you know what?
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_00: Let me research this.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_00: And guess what?
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_00: I did research it.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_00: Apparently, when you don't listen to any music and you go slower, your muscles can increase by 20% because you're more mindful and present.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_00: And for those of you that might not weightlift and you're like, oh, I just don't want to gain more muscle.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_00: Do you know that muscle, the mass of muscle is less than a mass of fat?
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_00: And as you have more muscle, you could burn more fat, which means when you eat and when you're resting, you're burning more fat because you have more muscle compared to fat.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_00: So action item for you.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_00: But are you giving yourself time to listen to what's working, what's not?
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_00: Are you brave enough to listen to your own voice?
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_00: I talked about the three things that that's working.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_00: One, chat GPT, aka my my girl Sage.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: Two, giving myself time to learn more about my family history.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_00: And then three, really understanding my time and energy is the most important resource.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_00: Now, to the second part of this episode.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_00: What is not working?
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_00: Let's go back to the prompt I asked Sage on what I need to work on.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_00: What are my blind spots?
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_00: And she said, number one, my perfectionism.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_00: I thought I healed myself from this, but you know what?
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_00: I am a recovering perfectionist.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_00: I'm always asking when, even like editing this, I don't even know if this is the final title of the podcast episode that I want that's in my head.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm always like, hey, how can I make this subject line better?
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_00: Or give me five more options to it.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: I need to know when enough is enough.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes I focus on something so small, like the podcast line or the email line for like 20 minutes.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_00: And by focusing so much in the detailed things, I'm not focused on my brilliance.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_00: And when I asked ChatGPT, because I was seeking external validation because that's a weakness of mine, like ChatGPT, give me some external validation.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_00: What is my brilliance based off of everything I ask you?
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_00: And Sage did say my creativity and ability to connect with others.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_00: And that makes complete sense.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_00: Like I actually love bullet pointing what I am going to say in my podcasts.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_00: I like drafting my podcast episodes, I love connecting with people.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_00: However, when I'm about to hit that send or schedule button, I'm like, okay, there needs to be things that's edited.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_00: This is not quite perfect.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm working on that.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_00: And that is what's uh not working for me.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm working on getting better at that.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_00: I know this episode is so good.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_00: And you're like, how can I get more of this?
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I have a newsletter that comes out every Thursday that's free, fun, and full of real talk.
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_00: It's a live journal Zanga on leadership and life with actual scripts, behind-the-scenes stories, and lessons from mistakes I've made so you don't have to for work and life.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_00: Just go to ElaineLew.com forward slash join.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_00: That's E-L-A-I-N-E-L-O-U.com forward slash join.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_00: All right, back to the episode.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_00: Second, what's not working is this is hard for me to admit.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_00: Not going deeper into the things that are working and not going deeper into things that are working that I may not enjoy as much.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, for example, this is a weird analogy, but I don't enjoy brushing my teeth, but I do it every morning and evening.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_00: I know you're like Elaine, wait, you don't brush your teeth.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_00: That's gross.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_00: I'm never meeting you in person.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_00: No, I do, I do.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_00: But it's not like, oh, I really enjoy brushing my teeth.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_00: I do it, right?
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_00: It's automatic.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_00: Like I pay my taxes, for example, but it's not like, oh my gosh, I love it.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_00: I'm a natural extrovert.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_00: I love connecting with people.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_00: I love recording this podcast.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_00: But real talk, I am so behind from doing blogs to help me with my SEO.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_00: SEO is a huge strategy.
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_00: I've shared this in my podcast in how I get clients.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_00: I'm so focused on the networking relationship building because it brings me joy.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_00: I love connecting with people, especially when we had that, you know, year called 2020 happen where we couldn't see people.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_00: And I do make time in building the relationships, but I know I need to block off time and work on my SEO and blogs, which I plan to do this month.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_00: And personally, even in Muay Thai, Thai kickboxing, yes, I've been doing it for 21 years, but I've been on and off.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_00: I know I need to improve on my technique.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_00: So when I catch things I'm doing wrong, I go slower.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_00: Like, oh, I did this wrong.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_00: Wait.
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_00: And then I tell my sparring partner, hey, I need to go slower on this because I really want to get this right.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_00: Can you give me feedback?
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_00: Or I go to the coach, hey, this feels off.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_00: Can you watch what I might be doing wrong?
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_00: So are there things you are rushing?
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you should slow down, see what you need to improve.
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_00: Even overall in this summer, as I know, and I'm honoring the trends that it is slower.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_00: It was interesting.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_00: I was messaging a good friend of mine who is a business owner as well.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_00: We've known each other since we were kids.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_00: And he was sharing with me, oh, I'm not gonna get so much gigs this past summer.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, well, it's a summer though.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_00: Is does that usually happen?
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_00: He was like, Yeah, like why don't you just honor the summer?
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_00: How it's slow, and I'm honoring the summer.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm focused this summer on editing my website.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_00: By the way, I do it like everywhere.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_00: I just edited my website in the beginning of this year, but I'm doing it again just because I energetically don't feel aligned with it.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_00: There's things I need to edit, and I want to do it before my eight-year business anniversary, which is next month in July.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_00: I'm also saying this out loud because I want y'all to be my accountability partner.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_00: I need to update it because especially I also have all these amazing executives, speaking engagements, and companies I've been working with lately, these videos and photos.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_00: All right, so I need to work on getting deeper into my work.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_00: The third thing is saying yes too soon.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_00: I used to react so quickly as if I'm my life dependent on it.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_00: If I got invited to an event or got asked to do something, now I give myself 24 hours, which I remind my clients like, hey, wait 24 hours before you say yes to something or decide.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_00: For example, I got asked to do a speaking gig, but it's in between these two weeks I'm traveling.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_00: And as much as I want to do it, I just know my energy and I just know I'm tired and I need that one day to break.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_00: So I said no to it.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_00: And your action item, I want you to practice.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_00: When you get asked to do something, give yourself 24 hours at least.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_00: It could be more than that to.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: Answer to reply back.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_00: So the things that haven't worked for me.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_00: My perfectionism.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_00: One.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_00: Two, not going deeper into the work I really need to do, especially the things that I don't enjoy as much.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_00: And third, saying yes too soon.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_00: You might relate.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_00: All right, we're gonna go to the third part of this episode.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_00: My trends and predictions.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_00: The first one's actually kind of a trend.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_00: I've been seeing it more, but I will say I have been talking about this.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_00: And that trend is work-life balance is a lie.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_00: It's been a trend I've been noticing on social media, but I have receipts.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_00: I recorded a podcast episode 2023, episode 54.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_00: Work life balance, the lie with Natalie Kuhn.
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_00: And it's my highest number of downloads to date.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_00: I put the podcast episode in the show notes.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_00: What's funny is I recorded this podcast episode in a room with not a professional mic, which I'm using right now, just like regular iPhone headphones.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_00: And I fell off the chair and I told my podcast editor, hey, I fell off this chair I was sitting at, but keep that in there because I think my audience will love hearing me fall.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_00: And y'all did.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_00: So why is work-life balance a lie a trend?
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_00: Because we've just been more real and honest with ourselves.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_00: We can't do everything at one time.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_00: As a coach, I have a tool.
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_00: It's called the Life Balance Wheel, where you put all the different areas of your life: health, wealth, personal relationships, work, money, just any aspect of your life.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_00: And you rate it one to 10, 10 being the highest, one being the lowest.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_00: Even the way I'm I'm discussing this to you verbally, you can do it yourself and be honest with yourself.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_00: Rate yourself.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_00: The goal is not to be 10 in every area of your life, it's just to be honest.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_00: And then pick out, I suggest three parts where you need to focus on in this time of your life.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_00: For example, my friend that I met up with for coffee, her dad's not doing so well, it doesn't look good.
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_00: Her dad's in his 90s.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_00: And she's gonna be shifting her life to focus more on being there for her dad and for her mom.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_00: We can't control everything in our life, and that's gonna take more energy.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_00: Or even a friend of mine who wanted to do an MBA program with USC that her work was gonna pay for.
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, she really wanted to do it.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, wait, they're gonna pay for that.
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_00: But as she was getting feedback from her friends who did the MBA program, they told her, hey, the ones that didn't do well were the mothers who had kids under the age of five.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_00: My friend has two kids under the age of five.
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_00: So based off her doing that research, she had to be transparent and honest with herself and realized it's not the time to do it.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna do it at a later time.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_00: Because the reality is that we're only limited to 24 hours in a day.
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_00: Sleep is important.
• 25:02
  SPEAKER_00: There's more research on that.
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_00: We know that spending time with our kids, especially before the age of five, is so important for the brain development.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_00: So, what is important in your life right now?
• 25:16
  SPEAKER_00: All right, second trend influencers out, humans in.
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_00: I was just listening to this amazing podcast episode with Simon Sinek, who has a famous TED Talk, Start with Why, and Stephen Bartlett, the host of Diary of the CEO.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_00: And I could put the link of this podcast episode in the show notes.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_00: It's the most shared right now, talking about the effects of AI.
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_00: Simon's gonna be writing a book on friendship.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_00: It's not out yet.
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_00: And Simon Shared Hughes at an event.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_00: Someone told him, Hey, did you see that person?
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_00: She's a famous influencer.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_00: And he responded, You mean an independent contractor of an algorithm?
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_00: I laughed so hard because it's true, people that you see influencing, posting, making viral stuff all the time, they are an independent contractor of an algorithm.
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_00: This is why I don't focus on creating a perfect podcast with a whole production studio.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_00: It's just me, my mic, and like really not so cute clothes right now, but I'm not recording in video, so that's fine.
• 26:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yet the amount of compliments and feedback I get from people who say they love my energy and insights, that's been huge.
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_00: And hey, for real, like I actually do get clients from this podcast.
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_00: One, and then two, I'm also able to give back because I know not everybody could have a coach, but this is an accessible resource to all.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_00: And reflection for me, I didn't realize, but I'm funny.
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_00: I know that's weird for me to say, but I say that because I did a I've been doing a lot of speaking engagements this past year.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_00: That's been a goal of mine and infusing humor into it.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_00: And so many people have given me compliments like, hey, I loved your talk or I loved your pitch.
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_00: And my follow-up question, and this is actually not for external validation, this is just for me being curious and getting feedback so I know what to focus more on and improve.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_00: I loved your energy and I loved your humor.
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_00: You're hilarious.
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, wait, how come I wasn't told I was funny before when I was younger?
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_00: And the unfortunate thing is that being funny wasn't rewarded in school when I was straight A's valedictorian, which is unfortunate.
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_00: So I feel like not even just for work, but just me cracking jokes actually heals this inner child for me.
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_00: And I am planning to do improv.
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, have the benefit of living in LA, but doing improv so I could just sharpen that tool.
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_00: And and I did take one improv workshop before, but this was like a decade ago.
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_00: And it was fun.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_00: But as I'm doing more speaking engagements and facilitation, it helps because it's all about energy in a room.
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_00: As much as you plan to facilitate to speak, to do a pitch, when you meet the people or you see the people in the room, it may not be what you planned for.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_00: And you have to be able to pivot because then you realize, oh, this humor is not gonna work.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_00: Or I can't do a lot of cuss words with this group.
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_00: So improving helps with that.
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm pretty good at it right now.
• 28:25
  SPEAKER_00: I just want to sharpen that.
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_00: So I want you to think about it.
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_00: How can you be more human and transparent with your team or your clients or your personal relationship?
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_00: Recently, I was transparent with my clients.
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_00: I shared with them why I was moving actually my office hours from weekly to bi-weekly.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_00: And it's because I changed my B2C coaching, my business to client coaching.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_00: Because I used to do monthly one-to-ones where my clients would meet with me monthly.
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_00: Now I'm doing bi-weekly one-to-ones.
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_00: And with that, I still had my weekly office hours and I started feeling resentful.
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, oh, I'm giving them so much.
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_00: So I scaled back doing bi-weekly.
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_00: And I was transparent why.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_00: And why did I move to bi-weekly one-to-ones?
• 29:06
  SPEAKER_00: Because I just realized I think just in this time now, what we're going through, people do need that individualized attention.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_00: And honestly, I want my clients to get better results.
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_00: There's a reason why I have 300 plus client reviews.
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_00: All right, third trend: owning our content and IP.
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_00: With A on the rise, how are you going to stand out?
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_00: What are you going to be known for?
• 29:27
  SPEAKER_00: This is why I trademarked conscious conversations.
• 29:30
  SPEAKER_00: And why Fortune 500 executives and leaders and companies work with me is I have a process.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_00: And in terms of owning my content, I'm I don't own content on LinkedIn or Instagram.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_00: I own my content here on this podcast.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_00: I own my content in my blogs.
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_00: I own content in my emails.
• 29:49
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_00: Fourth thing is congruence and resonance.
• 29:54
  SPEAKER_00: See, people can sense when something feels off.
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_00: We got a trust issue all throughout this world.
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_00: And with that, our bullshit sensors are high.
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_00: Mine so much more because I used to work in politics.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_00: For example, I really love Muay Thai.
• 30:10
  SPEAKER_00: And it's insane because on Instagram, Muay Thai content that I post has the highest comments, views, and likes more than anything else.
• 30:17
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm not surprised because just the energy.
• 30:19
  SPEAKER_00: Like this cardio turbo kickboxing class for 24 hours at in college.
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_00: It's not the same, but it was the closest thing to Muay Thai.
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_00: And I was always in the front, and people would always share with me, you have the meanest look, but you're so energetic.
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_00: That's because I get into it.
• 30:39
  SPEAKER_00: Also, I do have like a really mean fighter's look.
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_00: And I just get it because that's how I was trained.
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_00: And talking about congruence in residence, like I've been sharing funny stories of me and my partner at Costco, clubbing, air quotes clubbing, because we love Costco.
• 30:55
  SPEAKER_00: And all they stand for with diversity.
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_00: And I get so much engagement, and which I'm surprised.
• 30:59
  SPEAKER_00: And in my last podcast episode where I did my pitch, the amount of people who came to me because of my energy was really overwhelming in a good way, but I didn't realize how it was gonna resonate with so many people.
• 31:12
  SPEAKER_00: So for you, what can you do just to be more like you?
• 31:16
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't have to be bit for business and work, it could just be for you.
• 31:20
  SPEAKER_00: And for me, I'm taking more time to journal and rest, do a Muay Thai, weightlift, and space to be honest with myself.
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_00: Now we're getting to the end of this episode.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_00: I want you to reflect what are shifts you're sensing with yourself, with who you work with, the energy, and your industry.
• 31:40
  SPEAKER_00: And how are you going to show up because of that?
• 31:44
  SPEAKER_00: So if there's one thing I would like for you to do from this episode is to reflect and journal on that.
• 31:51
  SPEAKER_00: So I'll repeat it again.
• 31:52
  SPEAKER_00: What are shifts you're sensing with who you work with, the energy and in your industry?
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_00: And how are you going to show up because of that?
• 32:00
  SPEAKER_00: All right, I already repeated that twice.
• 32:02
  SPEAKER_00: So if you need to hear that again, just you know, hit the rewind button.
• 32:06
  SPEAKER_00: And the fourth part of this episode.
• 32:09
  SPEAKER_00: So what am I doing moving forward?
• 32:11
  SPEAKER_00: I'm focused.
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna continue working with just 15 individual clients at one time so they get individualized coaching and support because I care about their experience and results.
• 32:20
  SPEAKER_00: Work with five companies at one time with their leaders and teams.
• 32:24
  SPEAKER_00: Continue to block off time to do Muay Thai and weightlifting, see what little improvements I can do.
• 32:30
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not gonna make a decision unless it's at least 24 hours, but unless it's like life or death, like do I want that chocolate ice cream or not?
• 32:38
  SPEAKER_00: And this summer I'm honoring the slower pace of editing and working on my website, my blogs, and continuing to connect with people because I really draw on energy and more importantly, connecting with myself when I'm alone.
• 33:00
  SPEAKER_00: Here's what I want you to really take away from this episode.
• 33:04
  SPEAKER_00: Trust your own pace by giving yourself the space and grace to reflect and pause.
• 33:11
  SPEAKER_00: It's not about getting there faster or doing everything at once.
• 33:16
  SPEAKER_00: It's about going deeper in the things you love and becoming an expert in what you do best.
• 33:23
  SPEAKER_00: If this episode resonated with you, share this with a friend or two who might benefit from it.
• 33:27
  SPEAKER_00: Just send them a personal note on how it could support them.
• 33:30
  SPEAKER_00: And hey, if you truly loved this episode, it would mean so much to me and my team if you could leave a five-star rating in review.
• 33:39
  SPEAKER_00: It would help other women of color and allies find this podcast as a free resource.
• 33:45
  SPEAKER_00: Because we created this with heart to make it accessible for all.
• 33:50
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're curious about working together, then schedule an introductory coaching call with me at elanelu.com forward slash call.
• 34:00
  SPEAKER_00: That's E L A I N E L O U.com forward slash call.
• 34:05
  SPEAKER_00: And you'll receive three personalized action items to support your growth.