Summary

[00:00:00] Dr. Stacey Gonzales: Welcome to the Build in Public Podcast. I'm Stacy Gonzalez and I am thrilled that you have decided to join me on this founder's journey of building a business in public. And today's podcast, I'm gonna start with a little admission. I have a goal that at the end of every day, I record a podcast episode to update on the. The bad, the ugly of this founder's journey and yesterday was Thursday and I took the day off by and large and really just had nothing much on my schedule. Had a full open day and frankly did not do much. Um, had. Happened to have like a meeting or two. But, um, I took a nap and I watched a Netflix show and I played with my puppy and it was, it was thundering and raining out. We had a lot of lightning storms and I like sat on the couch and watched the lightning and the rain and enjoyed it and appreciated it. And so yesterday I, at the end of the. Must have really taken my mind off because I forgot to record my Build in Public podcast . And so here is today's little late, but nonetheless podcast update. And the thing that I want to share and talk about today is the idea of hustle. And women in particular who are middle-aged, such as myself, I'm 48 years old, who are building their second careers in ways that feel honest, true, aligned, and more soulful for them. And I meet with women regularly who are leaving their career. um, the first careers similar to what I did and are navigating the complexities of building a business with the experiences and expertise that they have and doing it in a way that is digital, um, and allows them to build from a bootstrapped space. Um, because for many of us who have sacrificed for our children, Sacrificed for, um, our first careers and raising a family and being wives and, um, all the other things that come with that. We are desiring to do things differently, and that means giving ourselves more space to create and be creative. Um, you know, not having to have all the answers, but putting plans in place and trusting that when. show up when we, um, operate from a place that is in alignment with who we are and the desires of our heart. Opportunities will open up and unfold. And so as we think about this startup culture, hustle culture, uh, for many, we did that our first careers, and I'm not entru. in doing that again, this time around as I build this second, second foray, second chapter. And what's interesting is I find that I have a co-founder, Renee, um, she's on the, the last episode, if you wanna go back and hear that. But we have different ways of working. Obviously no two people work exactly the same and. When I start to feel stressed about all the things that we could be doing, should be doing, um, you know, outside of the goals that we have in place, um, and all the details around the work. And she'll say something like, I'm gonna go take the dog for a walk and I'm gonna da, da, da. and I know that what I'm feeling in that moment might be stressed about something and I'm thinking, well, I'd like to go take my dog for a walk right now. And the reality is, I can, I could stop. I could go take the dog for a walk. And so what I'm noticing is the mindset shifts and I'm giving myself time and space to understand. Past mindset patterns that are limiting beliefs. And as a founder, in order to build a successful, uh, business, we must be really clear and open to the things that are, are limiting us. Because if they're limiting us, they're gonna limit the pro the progress. They're gonna limit our businesses. They're gonna limit the potential for other people. when they engage with us. And so I take that really seriously and I spend a lot of time thinking about how, and, and not only thinking, but sensing my way through, um, and processing through from also a heart led space. How do I stay more open? How can I find the lifestyle and life that serves me first? So that I can serve others more openly, willingly, and with greater impact. And that's a journey. And really for me, that is what I am finding to be the most challenging part of this founder's journey. It requires a different type of courage. Courage that comes from a deep place within. that feels very charged when um, it's time to take a step in faith, step into trying something new and be being someone new. And really, cuz that's what this is about. It's about being who I believe I am in the, in the best way every day, kind of stepping into that, a new every day. And it's a different way of process. In a different way of being every day. And so as I continue to get clarity on that, um, sometimes I know I need to just give myself a break. And that was yesterday. The work is hard. The work for me is mostly inner work. Um, and, and as I'm working through that inner work at times, my, I have to remember, I need to give myself grace, kindness, and time for my mind, my body. my emotions to catch up sometimes. And so that is the building public journey that I am on, and I'm excited for those of you who are on this journey with me, there's some great things in store for us that are coming and I encourage you to hold on, hold deeply inside to find those riches for.