Latest / The Start, Scale & Succeed Podcast / Stop Hustling in the Wrong Direction with Stacey Berger (stage 2) - Ep. 445

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Stop Hustling in the Wrong Direction with Stacey Berger (stage 2) - Ep. 445 · The Start, Scale & Succeed Podcast

• 0:00
  Scott Ritzheimer: Hello, hello, and welcome, welcome once again
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  to the Start, Scale, and Succeed podcast that grows with you
• 0:07
  through all seven levels of your journey as a founder. I'm your
• 0:10
  host Scott Ritzheimer, and today we are tackling a problem that
• 0:15
  just about every founder faces: that you're working as hard as
• 0:19
  you can, as much as you can every waking hour, but how many
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  of those waking hours actually move you toward your goals? This
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  is especially true for those who are in that startup entrepreneur
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  stage, where if it's to be, it's up to ye. You have to do it, and
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  so much of the time, I think hustle gets a bad rep because
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  there are so many stages where hustle is a bad thing, and
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  there's so many ways that we can hustle the wrong way. But I
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  think we can actually hustle to some extent the right way. I
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  think we can do the right things on purpose, even when they're
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  hard, and achieve what we want, achieve the goals that we want.
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  But to help us steer clear of doing the wrong things and being
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  exhausted, and moving toward doing the right things and being
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  exhilarated, is our guest today, Stacey Berger, who is an
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  award-winning transformational coach, speaker, and entrepreneur
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  with over a decade of coaching experience and 16 years in
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  corporate business. She combines neuroscience-backed strategies
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  with practical action to help entrepreneurs and leaders
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  overcome self-sabotage, strengthen resilience, and
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  achieve sustainable success. Having coached more than 1000
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  clients across North America, Stacey is passionate about
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  helping people unlock their potential through mindset
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  mastery and intentional leadership. And she is here with
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  us today. Well, Stacey, welcome to the show. I'm excited about
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  this conversation. I was telling you before we started, you have
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  this thing called a habit tracker, and maybe at the end we
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  can show folks where they can get get a copy of it. But it
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  just struck me the simplicity of it, and and so I'd love to just
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  start with when when we've got a founder and they're just going
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  all in, but they don't really feel like they're making any
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  progress. How how can they start to figure out what's going
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  wrong, and how can they actually start making that progress that
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  they want?
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  Stacey Berger: Yeah, so so many of us get on this hamster wheel,
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  right? And and it's just too much to do, not enough time, and
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  that overwhelmed feeling, right? So we're going to bed feeling
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  like I didn't accomplish anything today. And one of the
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  things that I like to remind people of, especially at that
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  founder stage, is that you are probably accomplishing more in a
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  day than 99% of the population on the planet. You're just
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  holding yourself to an impossible standard, and we get
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  so focused on what we haven't done and where we're feeling
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  behind that we forget to celebrate all of the actions
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  that we have taken and everything that we have done,
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  and and just that mindset shift alone, instead of feeling
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  overwhelmed, exhausted, there's not enough time in the day. We
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  move into more of a celebratory energy, and wow, look at what
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  I've done today, which makes our nervous system feel better,
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  makes us feel more accomplished, and really creates a different
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  kind of momentum. So that little mental shift alone, learning to
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  celebrate what we are doing can be a game changer for people.
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  Scott Ritzheimer: It's so good and so true because there's this
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  vicious cycle that happens if you don't, where it's like the
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  more you do, the more you realize you haven't done all
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  these other things. Like there's just an infinite number of
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  things to do, and somehow we become more aware of that the
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  more we accomplish. Right? It's just a really big challenge. So
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  let's let's say we're we're dialing in on again, just kind
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  of being grateful and celebratory for what we've done.
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  How sometimes what I think can get in the way of that is is
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  wondering if it was the right thing. Like, did I did I do the
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  right thing? I know I was busy. Maybe even I know I got a couple
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  of things done, but did I do the right thing? How do you help
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  folks figure out what the right thing is to do to achieve their
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  goals?
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  Stacey Berger: Yeah, great question. I really teach people
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  to move from what we call an outside-in paradigm to an
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  inside-out paradigm. When you're starting a business, there is
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  all kinds of noise around. You got to get your branding and
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  your marketing, and you have to do this, and you have to do
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  that, and there's just this incredible amount of information
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  from experts telling us what we need to be doing when we need to
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  be doing it, which is this outside-in paradigm. What I
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  really help people do is lock in their vision. So usually we
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  start a business because we have a vision, we have a desire to
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  help people to have more freedom, but then we get so
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  wrapped up in the doing, we forget about the vision. And so,
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  when you have that clear vision of where you want to go, and now
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  we start asking from that the mindset of the vision, what's my
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  needle mover today? What's my action step today? We become
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  more internally guided rather than externally guided, and we
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  start to move that forward. I see so many people in busy work,
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  right? I got to get my branding and my logo and my website and
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  my business cards and all of this, and it's and it feels
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  productive, and yes, at some level it's necessary, but it's
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  usually not what's making the cash register ring. And so that
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  discernment between what what am I doing that I think I should be
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  doing, rather than what's actually going to move me
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  fastest and get that momentum going, and when we get that cash
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  register ringing, when we're doing the right activities, it
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  builds the momentum and it helps us to get into a position
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  quicker when we can start to hire some of those other things
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  out. So there's a few things in there that can help determine
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  what's the right move. I also think it's so important to
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  notice the patterns of second guessing yourself, right? And
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  so, if I'm constantly second guessing myself, that puts me in
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  a pattern. It creates self doubt. It decreases our
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  confidence, and and and when we're in that feeling, right?
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  That's what creates imposter syndrome, all of those different
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  emotions, and that can spiral us out as well. And so, really
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  being able to say, you know what, I did I do the right thing
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  or not today? I don't know, but I'm celebrating that I moved the
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  needle, and I trust myself enough to know that that things
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  are are going forward. And this is the power of having external
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  support because at the end of the day, we can spiral in that
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  thinking all day long if we don't have somebody to say,
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  "Hey, calm down, we got this."
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  Scott Ritzheimer: Yeah, it's so true. It's so true. So
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  interestingly, that there are habits play such a big role in
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  this because there will be habits that we start to build
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  that are self protective, right? I don't want to be rejected.
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  I've been rejected five times. I'm not going to pick up the
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  phone, or you know, I'm just kind of tired. So rather than
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  doing this work that I know is actually going to work, but it's
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  going to be really really hard, I'm going to do this work that I
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  hope would work, you know, and I'm going to send this email
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  that's going to go to 1000s of people and make me rich. But
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  then there are habits that, when when that when we start to build
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  on them, we start to direct our habits. They can create huge
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  results over time. So so tell us a little bit. How do you move
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  from like the the constant flurry of activity to defining
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  what habits are actually going to bring you success, and then
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  sticking with those habits.
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  Stacey Berger: Yeah, and and yes, right. It's ultimately our
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  habits and our action steps that are going to create results. The
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  thing that precedes our habits, and this is the fascinating
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  piece, is actually our mindset or our operating system. So our
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  subconscious mind is actually driving about 95% of our
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  thoughts, our feelings, and our actions, and so sometimes we're
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  we're in the action and we're like, why isn't it creating
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  results? Maybe I just got to do more. It needs more effort,
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  right? To your opening that hustle, push, drive, energy. But
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  here's the fascinating thing: is what's behind those habits is
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  actually our internal operating system, our paradigm, our
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  subconscious belief system, and in order to really create new
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  results, we we have to upgrade that operating system to be able
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  to take consistent action. So it's fascinating, right? It
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  really comes back to our self image and how we see ourselves.
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  So many of us, you know, identify. I'm a procrastinator,
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  or I work well under pressure, or I'm not good at sales, or I'm
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  not good with money. Right? We have these self images, and
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  especially to a to a founder, to somebody who's starting a new
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  business, chances are you came from an employment world, so
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  you're bringing an employee mindset to an entrepreneurial
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  journey, and those are very different mindsets that produce
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  very different results. And so, as an employee, there's this
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  external accountability, right? You have to do these things.
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  There's some accountability now. As a founder, you're more
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  internally driven, and so it's really shifting that identity,
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  and as we shift that identity, that helps to drive our
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  behaviors and to make them more sustainable.
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  Scott Ritzheimer: When when you see folks holding on to an
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  employee mindset, which would be level one in in our model here
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  that we use, Scale architects. When you see them hanging on to
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  that too long into level two, being an entrepreneur, what's an
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  example of that? Like, what's an employee mindset that doesn't
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  serve us very well as an entrepreneur, and and what's a
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  more suitable replacement for that that ideology, if you will?
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  Stacey Berger: Yeah, great question. Employee mindset. That
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  often is really that security, right? So the fear of what if I
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  what if I can't pay my bills? What if I don't have that
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  pension? What if I don't have my benefits? Right? So it's kind of
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  it's attaching to that security and really looking for the
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  evidence to feel secure And the entrepreneur needs to have. I'm
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  going to call it more faith in the unseen, more faith in the
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  vision and the possibility and the potential. So I can't see
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  the evidence yet. Right as an employee, I know where my
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  paycheck's coming from. I know it's going to be here every two
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  weeks. As an employee, I'm relying more on I have a vision
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  of where it is that I want to go. I don't know exactly how
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  it's going to work out, but I'm willing to have somewhat of
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  blind faith in possibility and in myself, and that's a that can
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  be a very scary move for people to make. But if we're not
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  willing to make it, we're kind of like clawing onto that old
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  life, and it's preventing us from really making welcome the
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  abundance that we're looking for.
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  Scott Ritzheimer: Yeah, yeah. What are then some of the habits
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  that stem from that belief of moving away from this kind of
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  protective, security-based mindset to really believing in
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  yourself? How do you see that show up in in in habitual ways
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  for founders, you know, going about their entrepreneurial
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  work?
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  Stacey Berger: Yeah, you spoke to a big part of it is is doing
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  what feels safe, doing what feels comfortable, right? This
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  is why we get, you know, being behind our computers and doing
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  some of the the busy work, the computer work, the admin work,
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  it can feel way safer and and way more comfortable. But it's
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  not what I call the needle moving activities. And so,
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  causing ourselves to be uncomfortable, right? You may
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  never like cold calls, right? You never, you may not like
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  standing in front of a camera and talking to to a camera. But
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  it's I'm willing to do that for the purpose of the impact it's
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  going to make, and that impact is going to create the income.
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  And so that ability to do the things that are uncomfortable
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  and to really value growth over comfort, that's the mental shift
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  that needs to be made.
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  Scott Ritzheimer: Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's that is easier said
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  than done, but it's so powerful when you do it. It it really is.
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  I I love that valuing growth over comfort. That's great,
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  great line. Stacey, there's a question that I ask all my
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  guests. I'm interested to see what you have to say, and and
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  the question is this: What would you say is the biggest secret
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  you wish wasn't a secret at all? What's that one thing you wish
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  every founder watching or listening today knew?
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  Stacey Berger: It's such a great question. I would say that one
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  secret is that you don't have to do it on your own. I I see this
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  so often that we feel like I've I've got to hold it all right.
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  I've got to keep it all together. I've got to do this on
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  my own. And as human beings, we are not meant to do life on our
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  own. And so I would say that asking for help, getting
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  support, is a sign of strength, not a sign of weakness.
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  Scott Ritzheimer: Yeah, yeah. Are there better places to look
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  for support? The reason I ask that is I think sometimes what
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  adds to that isolation is that maybe some of the folks around
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  us aren't on that entrepreneurial journey. They
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  they don't have that same call. They they they don't have that
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  same wiring. They don't have that same experience. And and I
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  mean I would go so far as to say if someone loves you, they
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  should tell you not to do it. There's like, depending on who
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  you ask, 6070, 80% chance of it not working. So sometimes it can
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  feel even more risky to go to the normal sources of that
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  affection and affirmation because they may not get it. How
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  do you help folks navigate where to get that support in their
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  entrepreneurial journey,
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  Stacey Berger: yeah. I and friends and family are not the
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  support system, right? They they play an important role. They're
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  a different kind of support. Usually, entrepreneurs are the
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  black sheep of the family, right? People in your circle
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  probably don't understand why the heck would you do that? That
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  feels so scary. That feels so risky. And so, putting yourself
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  in rooms with other entrepreneurs, and this is the
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  power of having coaching. This is the power of having
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  mentorship. And when you're looking for that support, I
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  think there's a few things to consider. Is does this person
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  understand how to create results? Have they been able to
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  do that in their own lives? Have they been able to help other
• 14:42
  people accomplish that. So, is there a track record and fit? I
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  call it vibrational fit. Right, this person cares about me. They
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  cares about my vision. That I can connect with them and relate
• 14:53
  with them. But I would say look outside of your inner circle.
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  They play a certain level of result. Support, but they're
• 15:02
  your friends and your family because you think the same, and
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  you want somebody who has a different level of awareness and
• 15:08
  mindset to really help you take help take you to that next
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  level.
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  Scott Ritzheimer: Yeah, yeah. Stacey, there's probably folks
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  listening to this, especially after this conversation, and and
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  especially with where we've we've gone here for the last few
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  minutes, saying yes, I need that support. I've been asking family
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  and friends to do things that that relationship's not designed
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  to do. I don't know who the other founders or entrepreneurs
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  or folks that I could look up to. Where can folks find more
• 15:34
  out about the work that you do in the community that you have
• 15:37
  around it?
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  Stacey Berger: Yeah, so find us. You know, we're all the social
• 15:40
  platforms, but StaceyBurger.ca. I am in Canada. We work with
• 15:45
  clients all around North America, but in Canada, so yeah,
• 15:47
  StaceyBurger.ca will take you to our website or or find us on all
• 15:51
  of the social media platforms. And at the end of the day, we
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  really help people with the mindset and the strategy to
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  create a successful business while living a life that you
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  love, so your life doesn't doesn't have to be sacrificed as
• 16:06
  you're growing this business. And I see so many entrepreneurs
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  that are burnt out; they're bankrupt in relationships and
• 16:13
  their health. And to me, that's not success. You really want
• 16:16
  that full spectrum success.
• 16:19
  Scott Ritzheimer: Yeah, yeah, it's so good, so good. We'll get
• 16:21
  the URL and the handles in the show notes for you, so you can
• 16:25
  just click a tap right there. You don't have to go find them.
• 16:27
  Stacey, thanks so much for being on. Really was a privilege and
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  honor having you here today. And for those of you watching and
• 16:33
  listening, you know your time and attention mean the world to
• 16:35
  us. I hope you got as much out of this conversation as I know I
• 16:38
  did, and I cannot wait to see you next time. Take care. Hey
• 16:46
  everyone, Scott Ritzheimer here. Thank you so much for listening
• 16:49
  to the Start, Scale, and Succeed podcast. I hope this episode
• 16:52
  gave you exactly what you need for the level you're in right
• 16:56
  now. If you want to discover what level you're in, take our
• 16:59
  10 question Founders Evolution Quiz for free at
• 17:03
  foundersquiz.com. That's foundersquiz.com. It'll pinpoint
• 17:07
  exactly where you are and give you tailored tips to move
• 17:11
  forward and reach that next level in your journey as a
• 17:14
  founder. If you got something out of today's episode, don't
• 17:17
  forget to subscribe, rate, or review. It helps us reach more
• 17:21
  founders like you, and let's be honest, it means a ton to me, my
• 17:25
  team, and all our incredible guests. So keep starting,
• 17:28
  scaling, and succeeding, and I'll see you in the next
• 17:32
  episode.