Latest / Plan Like A Boss | Planning, Productivity, and Strategy for Entrepreneurs / The Hidden Cost Of Entrepreneurship

Transcript

The Hidden Cost Of Entrepreneurship · Plan Like A Boss | Planning, Productivity, and Strategy for Entrepreneurs

• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to Plan Like a Boss, the podcast for entrepreneurs who are done doing business the hard way.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Tanya Lawson, and today we are gonna go somewhere a little different.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: We're getting vulnerable.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: Uncomfortably vulnerable.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: No strategy frameworks, no revenue breakdowns, no SEO talk today.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: Today, we're talking about the thing that nobody in the online business space wants to talk about.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: And honestly, that silence is part of the problem.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: So let's fix that right now.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: I want you to think about all the content you've consumed about entrepreneurship.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: The morning routine videos, the how I built a six-figure business threads, the productivity hacks, the mindset reels, the hustle highlights.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: Now I want you to tell me, how often does anyone talk about what it actually costs you?
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: Not financially, mentally.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: Almost never.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: And that is the elephant in the room we are addressing today.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: Someone once described entrepreneurship as jumping off a cliff and building a plane on the way down.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: And if you've been in this for any length of time, you know that's not even a little bit of an exaggeration.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: It's chaotic, it's uncertain, and the pressure, the constant, invisible, self-imposed pressure is relentless.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: Now, here's what struck me about this.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: If you broke your arm tomorrow, people would hold doors for you, offer you a seat, ask if you needed help.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: The pain would be visible, and the world would respond to it.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: But when your mind is breaking, there's no bandage, there's no cast, no visible evidence.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: So you suffer quietly, and the world keeps moving like nothing is wrong.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: That ends here today in this episode.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going to share some statistics that might shock you.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going to share my own story, the parts I don't like to talk about much, and I'm going to give you some real grounded tools to protect your mind while you build your business.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: Because you can't pour from an empty vessel.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: And this industry has been asking you to pour from an empty vessel for way too long.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: Let's call out the culture first because it's important.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: The startup and online business world has a very specific story.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: It tells about who succeeds.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: The best founders work the hardest.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: The best creators should never slow down.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: You should always be growing, scaling, grinding, launching, posting, optimizing.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: And vulnerability, that is not part of the brand.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: Think about it.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: As a business owner, as a coach, as a course creator, you're supposed to have it together.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: Your clients, your audience, your potential investors, they're watching you.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: So you don't get to fall apart.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: You keep the mask on and you keep moving.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're a team leader or you have employees, you can't even share your deepest fears with the people you work with every day.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: Because what does that do to their confidence in you?
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: So you carry it alone.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: And that isolation, it compounds everything.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: Now, here's where I want you to hear me because these numbers are not small.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: 72% of entrepreneurs are affected by mental health issues.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: Founders are twice as likely to suffer from depression, twice as likely to experience suicidal thoughts.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: These aren't edge cases.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: This is most of us.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: And yet the conversation in most business spaces sounds like just optimize your calendar and take cold showers.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: We treat mental health like a productivity problem instead of a human one.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so here's the part where I get personal.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: Because I think the only way to break stigma is for you to go first.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: My first experience with anxiety was after my dad died.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_00: I was managing my business.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: I was having to care for him.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: I was having to plan his funeral.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: My mom and sister were completely a wreck.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: I needed to take care of them.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: There were financial issues I had to deal with.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: And it all became too much.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: But I thought, you know, just give it a little time.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: This is normal.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: Everybody goes through this.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: Well, a year later, when it was getting worse, I realized something had to change because I was on the verge of burnout.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't want to go to work.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't want to do anything.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: So in my physical with my doctor, I brought the subject up and she suggested medication.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: And she put me on Lexapro.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: She told me it would take about a month for my body to adjust to it.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: But we would check in after a month and see how I was doing.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I took the Lexapro kind of belligerently.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't want to take it, but I was willing to give it a shot because I couldn't live that way anymore.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: And then all of a sudden, I would notice I was having anxiety.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: And that's when I realized now I notice when I have anxiety instead of just having it 24-7.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: And Lexa Pro changed my life.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: It really helped me deal with everything.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, I still had a lot on my plate, but medication was necessary for me to handle that anxiety.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: Fast forward to cancer.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: Cancer treatment went fine, anxiety not really there, surprisingly.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: And then I went on a medication after treatment to prevent cancer recurrence.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: And all of a sudden, I was hit with a hard depression.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: I had never experienced depression before, but this was crippling.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't want to get out of bed.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't want to work.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't want to do anything.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: And I didn't care about anything.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: So while I should have brought it up to my doctor, I didn't because I just didn't care.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: Until the medication had a worse side effect and my face turned red and started peeling off.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_00: And then I talked to my doctor about it.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: He took me off the medication, and all of a sudden the depression was gone.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: I was talking to my therapist about it, and she's like, Well, what did your doctor say?
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: My reply, well, I didn't tell him because I just didn't care.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: And that's the problem.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: It's hard to seek help when you just don't care.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: So my therapist kind of shook her finger at me and told me, if this ever happens again, you need to tell him.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: So fast forward to the new medication.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: Once again, to keep me from getting cancer.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_00: Depression hit again.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: And instantly I went to my oncologist and I told him what was going on.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_00: He decided that since it's happened with both medications, that it's probably this class of drugs that I have to be on.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_00: And he was very understanding and told me we had lots of options.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: And we were going to start just by increasing my Lexaprose since I already tolerated it really well.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_00: So we did that.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: And now, a few weeks later, I feel back to normal.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: And what I know now, looking back on that initial doctor's visit for anxiety, is that it wasn't caused by weakness.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: It was caused by simple math.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: The demand on me, emotionally, creatively, logistically, completely outpaced my resources.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: I was trying to run a business, take care of my family, deal with my own grief, all on a depleted tank.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_00: And eventually, that tank just ran dry.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: That's not a character flaw, that's science.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: So why didn't I say something sooner?
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: And why don't most of us?
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: Fear of judgment, plain and simple.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: We're afraid that if we admit we're struggling, investors will pull back.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: Clients will start to question us.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: Our audience will think we don't have it together.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_00: The people who look up to us will feel like we've let them down.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: So we do what we've been trained to do.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: We push through it.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_00: We tell ourselves it's all in our heads.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: We tell ourselves to walk it off.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: We tell ourselves that real entrepreneurs don't crack.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_00: And that works until it doesn't.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: Because here's the truth: ignoring your mental health is not discipline.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_00: It's self-neglect.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_00: And the longer you let it go unaddressed, the further you drift from your creativity, your clarity, and your ability to actually show up for the business you've been building.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: Eventually, you don't just hit a wall, you retreat, you shut down, you start to feel worthless.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_00: Not just as a business owner, but as a person.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: And that's not a place you can think your way out of by downloading another planner template or batching your content.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: I want to challenge something you've probably absorbed without even realizing it.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: The Google definition of success.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_00: Strategy, scalability, speed, hustle, more.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_00: That definition has never once factored in what it costs you to get there.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm here to tell you success at work must not come at the expense of your mental health.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: Full stop.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: That is not a trade-off, that is a trap.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: Here's the thing about your brain that I find fascinating.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_00: It actually works better when you feel good, like measurably better.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: Your prefrontal cortex, the part responsible for decision making, creativity, and strategic thinking, literally functions at a higher level when you're in a state of well-being.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: So mental health isn't just about avoiding breakdown.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: It's about building a brain that can actually innovate.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_00: Well-being drives creativity.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: Creativity drives innovation.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: Innovation drives sustainable success.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_00: That's the real formula.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_00: And it starts with taking care of yourself, not as a reward after you hit your revenue goal, but as a prerequisite to getting there.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_00: All right, so let's get into the actionable stuff because that's what we're here to do.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: Number one, I want you to detach yourself from the outcome.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: A huge chunk of entrepreneurial anxiety lives in the future.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: What if the launch flops?
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_00: What if nobody buys?
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: What if this whole thing was a mistake?
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_00: And the antidote?
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_00: I know it sounds simple, but stay with me.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's presence, not toxic positivity.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: Not manifesting, just what is the very next step?
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_00: That's it.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: What is the one thing in front of you right now?
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_00: When you zoom all the way in, the overwhelm loses its grip.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_00: Number two, practice self-awareness.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: This one requires you to slow down enough to observe yourself.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_00: And that can feel impossibly hard when your to-do list is 10 pages long.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: But try this.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: The next time anxiety shows up, don't just push it down.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: Pause and ask yourself, why am I feeling anxious today?
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_00: Is it a specific thing I'm avoiding?
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_00: A decision I keep putting off?
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: A boundary I need to set?
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: You cannot solve a problem you refuse to look at.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_00: Self-awareness is how you start to look.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_00: And for the mindfulness skeptics in the room, I'm not asking you to meditate for an hour.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_00: I'm asking you to find stillness in small moments.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_00: A cup of coffee you actually take time to taste.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_00: A walk without your phone.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_00: A few deep breaths before you open your inbox.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: Tiny anchors in the present moment can do more than you'd think.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: Number three, ask for help.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: This one might be the hardest and the most important.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_00: The biggest mistake I see entrepreneurs make is believing they have to figure everything out alone.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_00: That asking for help is a sign they're not cut out for this.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_00: It's actually the opposite.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_00: Showing vulnerability, admitting that you're not okay, that you need support, that you're carrying more than you can carry alone, that is not weakness.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_00: That is how you refill the tank.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: That is how you come back stronger.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_00: Whether that's a therapist, a coach, a mastermind, a trusted friend, or a community of people who actually get it, reach out.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_00: Let someone in.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_00: You do not have to white knuckle your way through building a business.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_00: Before I wrap up, I want to look you in the eyes.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_00: Or, well, speak directly into your ears, if you're listening on audio, and say this.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_00: If you are in a dark place right now, you are not alone, not even close.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: And I promise you, good things can come from the darkest seasons.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_00: I've lived it.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_00: If today's episode resonated with you, I would love for you to share your story if you feel comfortable.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_00: Drop a comment, send me a DM, or if you know someone who needs to hear this, share this episode with them.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_00: The more we talk about this, the less power the stigma has.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_00: I'm also going to link mental health resources and crisis hotlines in the show notes, because sometimes the bravest thing you can do is reach out to a professional.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_00: There is no shame in that.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_00: None.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for spending this time with me.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_00: I want you to take care of yourself this week, not as a luxury, but as a non negotiable.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: I'll see you in the next episode.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_00: And until then, plan smart, rest often, and remember there's space in this online world for all of us.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_00: So keep planning like a boss.