#81 - Behind the Hustle: Stories of Grit, Growth, and Grinding

In this episode, I am going share what I have learned in the last two years as an entrepreneur: the behind the scenes of becoming. My goal is to offer up what is really required to “make it”, confess what it actually feels like to live in the realm of uncertainty, and what I think anyone should know as they consider embarking on the greatest adventure of a lifetime.

Song of the Week: Honey - Disco Lines

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Podcast Tags:
self-improvement, mindset, growth journey, intentional living, spiritual awakening, financial freedom, personal development, entrepreneurship, goal setting, wealth building, real estate investing, tax liens, networking, becoming your own bank, short term rentals, STR, airbnb, airbnb host, healthy living, health conscious, subconscious, reprogram your mind, authentic living, breaking free, infinite banking, living from the inside out, mindset transformation, letting go, success habits, financial literacy, meditation, positive psychology, resilience, abundance mindset, habit formation, emotional intelligence, self-reflection, investing in yourself, mental wellness, empowerment, inspirational stories, healthy habits, actionable advice, overcoming ...

Transcript

Hello Everyone! Welcome to The Game of Life Podcast; I am Alexandria Burek and I am your host.

Thank you for picking my show; you will find this show is a blend of personal stories and life lessons covering a wide range of topics that are designed to help you live life, a little better everyday; my goal in sharing these personal stories, wins, whatever it may be is always to inspire you–my life is so radically different now even I am a bit amazed at the transformation that's taken place over the last 3 years. With that, no better time to get into it than the present. 

Today we are continuing with the unconventional style because I like it–in today’s episode I am going share what I have learned in the last two years as an entrepreneur: the behind the scenes of becoming an airbnb host, getting licensed to sell life insurance, bidding on tax liens, launching a froyo business for dogs, detailing boats and other ventures I have experimented with. As I share these stories, my goal is to offer up what is really required to “make it”, confess what it actually feels like to live in the realm of uncertainty, and what I think anyone should know as they consider embarking on the greatest adventure of a lifetime.

Before we get into it, I will give you guys the standard style personal update: 

Personal Update:

My goal with the personal update is to put my money where my mouth is and lead by example. I’ll share three personal wins, weave in some gratitude, hit you with a new original thought and drop in the song of the week (link will be in the show notes). 

Wins: 

First, I believe I have landed on a housing solution. It is not what I had in mind, but I am going to make the best of it, and now I am even EXCITED about it. So after an incredible amount of creativity, flexibility, and resolve, I have decided that I will go to St. Petersburg FL rather than Chicago. Now I have spent the last week crying about it, because that was the why behind what I am doing. That was the goal. There is obviously a different plan for me, and that plan includes moving to St. Pete for 6 weeks. I asked myself, how can this be amazing for me, so I made a St. Pete bucket list including restaurants, experiences, coffee shops, bars and dog adventures. The WIN here, is two fold. One, I chose to make this a good thing, and two, I have landed on a solution that makes sense to me.         

Second, I built a grill. I have never built a grill before, I hope I never have to build a grill again. But. I did it. It is done. It works.          

Third, in the last week I ran my fastest 5k yet. It was outside, along the lakefront where I typically walk. And it felt really good. It was challenging but it did make me feel good in so many ways.   

Gratitude: I am so grateful that I am surrounded by other entrepreneurs; often times we are out on social media, at meetups, or talking to friends about how amazing things are, and THEY ARE, BUT, there is also this equally terrifying force that lives inside of us, that most of us don’t talk about. Luckily for me, throughout my journey, I have been blessed with people’s opening up and normalizing the emotional rollercoaster that is entrepreneurship. I am so thankful that these people shared their experiences, and I am thankful that I am not alone.       

Original Thought: This one is a not so original thought, but I will give you my original take. If it were easy everyone would do it. That has rang true for me in the last two years countless times. As I look back and I think about the variety of experiences I have had, I think about how many times I got back up, I got back at it, I found a way forward. Alex Hormozi has this frame, and he says whenever he is facing a really difficult time, he says to himself, this will be the story I tell. 

Feature song of the week. This week’s song is Honey by Disco Lines. This song is just a bit of a vibe. It’s an edm song–of course. It just makes me happy and I hope you like it. 

Now that the personal update is done, let's get to this behind the entrepreneurial scene. 

I am going to start by saying, there has never been a better time to be alive. The opportunities on the horizon are once in a century. The real estate market, the stock market, AI. Whatever it is. There is such an abundance of opportunity it is hard to choose. 

Fun lessons 

• I am capable of so much more than I could have imagined, and so are you. You likely just haven’t found your limit.  And even when you think you’ve found your limit, you will still have capacity. A couple weeks ago, I said to my mom, I think I am at max capacity I literally do not think I can take on another thing. I have a full time job, a part time job, a workshop in development, this Airbnb launch, and two podcasts. Then I came up with an incredible idea, it’s gaining momentum and support. So even after I thought I was done. I took on one more thing. Just when I thought I was at capacity, I found a little more gas in the tank. 
• Mindset really is 90% of success. In order to make it in life, no matter what that is for you, you need an unshakable belief in yourself. When you’re down and out, when you get told no, when shit hits the fan, when your plan crumbles, you need the ability to pick yourself up and get after it. You need to believe that you can find a way. For about a year, has this mantra I spoke to myself, I find a way to win. I’m finding a way to win. 
• Your circle will determine your success. In talking to a woman who is building an amazing MTR business whom I have been connected with through my real estate networking nicely reminded me to take care of myself. She shared her experience with burnout. I felt a weight lifted off my shoulders. I was feeling weak for not diving right into launching a MTR. I realized it’s taken a lot out of me to get this place up and the move out. She also inspired this episode. Shoutout Christina for being the angel I needed in a handful of ways. 
• You need to know who to call for different things. Some friends will be your shoulder to cry on, others will lift you up, and others will give you the tough love you need to get back in the ring. If any of you are listening I love you and thank you for being there. 
• There is always a solution. I can’t even count the number of living situations I explored, contacts I exhausted, and channels I posted on to try and find a place. Like I gave an addict a run for their money on the effort I put in. Moving to St Pete is not what I envisioned for myself, but if the biggest failure I experience with this Airbnb launch is moving to the beach for 6 weeks, that’s hardly a bad situation to be in. I am committed to making it the adventure of a lifetime. I’ve lived in Chicago and I will own a condo there someday, probably sooner than I can even imagine. I’ll be back to Wisconsin, I do own a house here that I am committed to keeping. So. Now I guess it’s off to FL to see what that part of the world has to offer. 
• Let delayed gratification be your greatest weapon. Work for 2 and 5 and 10 years from now. Not today or this week or this month or even this year. If you’re working on a short timeframe you’re trapped. You are on the wheel. Start from five years out, then hen build your years, months, weeks and days on that. 
• It is only risky if you don’t research it. Dice deep. Leverage AI. But most importantly, take action. Action beats out deliberation every time. Call people. An idea came to me last Tuesday. I have an MVP, I tested the market to validate there is no solution like the one I created. I now have tentative clients. Move slow to move fast. 

Not so fun lessons 

• Everything is way harder than people make it seem. The Airbnb influencers  will undoubtedly underplay what actually goes into it. The life insurance recruiters will tell you all you need to do is talk to 5 people a day. The trqders will say, just draw these trend lines and do this. Now. None of this is meant to be shade thrown. But. Don’t expect to do something without spending 1,000 plus hours on it. Period. Probably 10,000 hours. But once you’re in 1,000 you’ll be into deep to go back. 
• Even if people are cheering you on, they kinda think you’re crazy. This is totally fine. But the shitty part is, you’re probably not going to have a lot of people to relate to, or get encouragement from. That’s ok too. You’ll find your tribe. Build and you will find other builders. Show up everyday and keep going. 
• When you talk about success some people will claim you’re talking down to them. You aren’t. You’re just passionate about getting the most out of life. You want to bring people with you. You’re encouraged by all the amazing opportunities that are out there. You just don’t understand how people are willing to sacrifice their lives building someone else’s dream. And that is also ok. If people don’t like your grind and you don’t like surface level conversations about meaningless things that is ok. As Mel Robbin’s says, let them. 
• You’re going to question yourself. A lot. Single best thing I’ve used, is to think about where you came from and the progress you’ve made. This is the gap vs gain. This is comparing yourself to you in the past. 
• When you’re building big things, you really can’t ask people who live a standard life for advice. This past Saturday after my hopeful Chicago living situation declined my request to sublet, I started thinking I needed to give up. I started bargaining with myself. I cried at the bar. The people I was talking to said, maybe it’s not your time. Maybe you need to regroup. They weren’t wrong. Most normal people would have thrown in the towel a long time ago. Most people would not be willing to move 1,000 miles away. But that is a solution. 
• Man or woman, you will cry more than you care to admit. One of the most successful entrepreneurs I know, shared after he exited, that for years he would workout, get in the shower and cry because he had no idea how he was going to make it work. I’m here to tell you he made it. And the worst part, even his success made him sad. Because now what. The goal is achieved. That’s a scary place to be. 

So. Now that I have poured my heart out. You might be wondering what is the point of this episode. The takeaway is, if someone you know or love is an entrepreneur, give them some grace. Rather than criticize them or question them, encourage them and have some sympathy. Having the brain of an entrepreneur is a thrill, but just as much if not more, it’s a bit tormenting. If you’re considering a leap, know that the entrepreneur community is a supportive one. Also brace yourself to be challenged more than you can imagine. Go in knowing, it’s going to be harder and take longer than you can reasonably fathom. But also know. The journey will be one you look at fondly. 

Closeout

You guys, I hope you enjoyed this episode. I hope this prompted some reflection and encouraged you to think about who you are being and how you are living. I hope you are able to think about it from both an internal and personal perspective as well as from the perspective of those you interact with. 

Thank you so much for spending this time with me—I hope it’s making your day, and maybe your life, a little better. I’d love your thoughts on what I shared today—leave a comment, shoot me a text via the fanmail link in the show notes, either way I would love to hear what’s sticking with you! If you loved this, or even just liked it, please share the show and or give it a 5 star rating! 

Get out in the world. Do good. Be good. Byeeeee.