The Secrets of a Happy Hustler with Cary Jack

Thank you for tuning in to the True Grit and Grace Podcast. I'm Amberly Lago, and I'll be sharing inspirational stories of resilience and empowering ideas to elevate your business and your life, ignite your passion, and fuel your purpose. Hey, y'all, thank you for tuning in today to the True Grit and Grace Podcast. I have one of my good friends on with me today, and I've been excited and looking forward to this because I need his wisdom and reminders, I'm sure, as much as every single person, every one of you that's listening. I mean, if you have ever been on the edge of burnout or are just tired or stressed or overwhelmed, or you're feeling, uh, um, like you're going after your dreams or already made it to the top of that mountain, but maybe you're unfulfilled, well, I'm grateful that you tuned in because I have a real treat for you, my friend. Carrie Jack, you're so amazing. All the things that you've done. I mean, you have such great tips and strategies. I've got your book right here, The Happy Hustle.

Yes.

10 Alignments to Avoid Burnout and Achieve Blissful Balance. And so I want to talk about today some of the things that I have taken away from your book, strategies That will allow you to find ultimate freedom, financial abundance, loving relationships, and everyday fulfillment. So I know it sounds too good to be true, but he is living proof that you can have that. So Kerry Jack is the founder of The Happy Hustle. He's the host of the top 0.5% podcast globally. Y'all, what an achievement. It's called The Happy Hustle Podcast. I had the honor of being on his show. He's a lifestyle entrepreneur. He has a book. booming mastermind. He's a philanthropist. He's been featured in every kind of magazine, on TV. He's been in Vogue, Yahoo, ESPN, just to name a few. Worked with some legendary entrepreneurs himself. And I'm just so glad to have you here with us because you have recently survived a carbon monoxide poisoning, and it's truly a miracle that you're here. So Carrie, thank you for being here. I could just— I just adore you. And I'm so grateful to have you here. I'm so blessed to call you a friend. And so glad that you are healing and that you're here. So thanks for being here.

Amberly, it's my honor to be with you. Honestly, you are just spreading so much love and light in the world. And I really am just so grateful for our collaboration and connection.

Oh, you're the real deal, man. Like, we met, I remember, We originally— I don't know how we got connected. I think it was maybe on Instagram or maybe someone introduced us, but I got to be a guest on your show and I just loved talking with you. But then we were doing some webinars and, and lives and stuff like that, and just, you were always providing value and always like there to help people and serve and have such a grateful heart. And so you've connected me with some amazing people. And just even before we started recording, you're like, hey, I have this that might help you, or let me do what I, you know, what can I do to help you? And so I love now that you are on this mission to help others. And you are the definition, seriously, of grit. And I feel like you've learned so much grace. But, you know, we were supposed to record last week. And I'm like, I don't know, Carrie, you just got out of the hospital. You know, maybe, maybe I'm like you and I want to push through, but maybe you should give yourself some grace. Um, you're recovering from this accident. I mean, for those of you, or for those that are listening that might not know you, before we get into like that, your book and all that you're doing, I just want to know like how you're feeling. Tell people what happened with the car. Like, you were in your home sleeping, or it was carbon dioxide?

No. Yeah, carbon monoxide. Yeah.

Okay, so I had it right. Carbon monoxide. I'm like, is it You can tell I didn't do well in science or chemistry.

Yeah, well, me either. But yeah, I'll tell the story quickly because it is a cautionary tale for anyone out there listening to double-check their CO alarms or carbon monoxide alarms and fire alarms for that matter. But essentially what happened, long story short, my dad had a heart attack. I live in Montana. He has a ranch home in Red Lodge, which is about a couple hours away. He had a heart attack. We didn't know what caused it, but he had to go to the ambulance or ambulance to the hospital. And essentially, I drove over, my brother and sister flew in, we were sitting bedside, you know, going through all the tests and the heart procedures and all this stuff in the hospital. Well, that night we went back to his ranch home, you know, not thinking anything of it, you know, had some soup, watched a movie with my brothers and sisters who I haven't seen in a while. And then went to bed. And at about 3:00 AM, I have 2 dogs, an old pit bull and a Belgian Malinois German Shepherd mix. And my dad's border collie was there too. And they were all barking. Specifically, my old pit bull was barking to get out at 3:00 AM. So I go to let them out. And as I let them outside the door, I collapsed unconscious into the door, hitting my head, gashing my forehead here. And Just was basically out cold. And I woke up to the dogs clawing to get back in. Then I let them back in. I like made my way to the bathroom. It gets really hazy here. My ears were like, wah, wah, wah. It was the craziest feeling, Amberly, like that I've ever had. And, you know, I've, I've had some crazy experiences in the past.

Yeah, I mean, I've seen you show up to a webinar with like a neck brace on. So yeah, I know you snowboarded for that one.

Yeah, I push my body, you know, I live life. That's really the truth of it. I'm happy hustling my dream reality and sometimes I push it a little too hard. This one, this one was out of my control and I ended up going to the bathroom or attempting to go to the bathroom. As I lifted the seat, I collapsed again unconscious and then I woke up to my canine, my Belgian Malinois German Shepherd mix Ninja over my body licking my bloody wound and whimpering. So he basically saved my life because he knew something was wrong. I then heard a big clunk. Apparently, that was my sister who came down the stairs and she collapsed in the other bathroom, bit through her tongue, knocked her face, broke her glasses, bruised up her knees. She was out cold in the other bathroom. We then both woke up, got together. I woke my brother up and my brother was like pretty coherent. But he was, he was, he was definitely off. But he said, you know, I think my dad just had a new heater installed. maybe they installed it improperly or something went wrong. Maybe this is carbon monoxide poisoning. Like he put it together.

He like thought of that. Wow.

He was—

I wouldn't have even thought of that.

Well, it's if you have natural gas, which in Montana most people do, you know, and specifically cold places, you have propane or natural gas. This is a common thing. They call it the silent killer because carbon monoxide is absolutely lethal. It's odorless, it's colorless, it's tasteless, but it can kill you in a In no time. So we went outside, we got in the truck, then the fire department came. We brought the dogs out, obviously. And they, they came and they tested the house instantly. It was off their reader. They said this is the highest levels of carbon monoxide they've ever seen.

Wow.

So we essentially had to rush to the ER. We had to get pure O2 and hyperbaric oxygen therapy to push this carbon monoxide from our bloodstream. Long story short, I had 16.7% of my blood with carbon monoxide. And at 20 is apparently the lethal limit. So I was really close to dying. Still, you know, recovering because it's only been a couple weeks. I have some like lingering effects. Severe tinnitus, like even right now I hear you, but I also hear this ringing like nonstop in my head.

What is that tremor? You had said, let me change my headphones earlier.

Yeah, it's quiet. It's a little bit Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And I mean, and I saw the, the tremor in your hand. Um, have you had your blood level checked? Yeah, levels checked since.

Yeah, so I've had my bloods checked. Uh, you know, we've done vitamin IVs and we're doing some brain detox protocols and these HBOT treatments where you go down like essentially 2.4 atmospheric pressure to force the CO out of your blood. Yeah, it's intense in and of itself.

Yeah.

But it's like going down in a submarine and like—

It is.

You know, all that, that those toxins from your bloodstream with using that atmospheric pressure. Anyway, we're on the rise. I'm confident, you know, as I told you, my mantra is I'm happy, I'm healthy, I'm healing. So that's how I overcome it with true grit and grace. And, you know, it's just another inevitable adversity that life faces and or that life will throw at you. Maybe not inevitable, like specifically to carbon monoxide, but like adversity will strike in any capacity. So the takeaway here is whatever you're going through out there listening, you know, know that adversity will strike and you can choose the mindset in which you overcome it, you know, with that true grit and grace. And it's not always easy, you know, but it is one of those choices that we all have to make.

Yeah. And you know what, thank you for saying that. I really believe it is so much about your mindset. I mean, look, in the very beginning, you know, my mindset is why I have 2 legs right now. You know, the doctor said you've got a 1% chance of saving your leg. I'm like, oh, okay, well, there's still a chance. There's a chance. And I think there's so many people that struggle, they become victim to their circumstances. And we can choose to be the victor of our lives. And that begins with your mindset. And I mean, I feel like your mindset and so many things that you've done, I feel like you have lived the life, many lives. Because when I had so much fun researching you, I mean, I knew, like, I knew you through, you know, just our lives and our webinars and stuff like that and getting to talk. But researching you, you are so full of life and joy. And you were a model and were in marketing and advertising. You had the successful company and were really hustling though, and working like 100 hours a week, which is honestly easy to do when you love what you do.

Mm-hmm.

But that can lead to burnout. Tell us a little bit about what led to you completely pivoting really and deciding that you wanted to live a more fulfilled life?

Yeah. Well, as you mentioned, I was hustling, but I definitely wasn't happy. I mean, fast forward throughout my childhood, I've always been an entrepreneur, but I really started a legit tech company in New York City. I was wearing the fancy suit and tie. My brother, business partner, and best friend and I were out there pounding the pavement, going to meetings, networking. We were soliciting a figure VC funding deal and massive partnerships for this tech company. We essentially built an algorithm that quantified feedback. And we were on the grind, Amberly. And eventually, after about 18 months of hard work, we got the deal.

Wow.

We inked a 7-figure funding deal. We're very close to— we had the paperwork. We didn't complete the paperwork, which I'll get into. We had partnerships with Microsoft and IBM lined up. And, you You know, we just, we were doing all the things to have this massive company and this massive exit, but we were essentially doing it for profit and success and ego and title. And I think a lot of people out there can resonate with some of those drivers. You know, but those really truly won't lead to fulfillment. And we found that out the hard way. You know, I was barely getting, you know, 5 hours of sleep each night, 100+ hour weeks. And we just burnt out. All I was doing was working and I was in complete imbalance in my life. And what we did was have a heart-to-heart conversation, my brother, before we signed the 7-figure funding deal. We were in our little dump of an apartment in Queens, New York. We were actually sharing a queen-size bed at the time, my brother and I. We were really faking it till we make it kind of deal. But we had this conversation and we were just crying and pretty emotional about We can't take this money, you know, the next 5, you know, because if someone's going to give you that much money, they want to make sure you're in it to win it. So it came with a 5-year, you know, commitment clause, rightfully so. And we just, we didn't want the next 5 years of our life to be like this.

To look like it was. Yeah. Yeah.

And so we made a very hard choice. We said no to the funding deal, no to the partnerships. We folded our tech company. I moved to Bangkok, Thailand for 10 months. My brother went back to University of Florida to get his master's degree. And it was in Thailand where I really figured out a better way to work and live, you know, a way to be happy within the everyday hustle and a way to actually make income and an impact. Like, I was like, wow. And I actually made my first dollar online over there as well. And so that's where the Happy Hustle was born.

What year was that?

2010-ish.

Yeah. Yeah. Is that the year you got your tattoo on your ankle as well?

Uh, yeah, I did get a smiley face tattoo in my— on my ankle in Bali. It was around that time. Yep.

Yeah, yeah. Life-changing events happened in 2010. That's the year I got hit by an SUV too. And just— oh wow, your ability to transform your life is incredible. So yeah, you just took off. That had to be such a tough decision, but when you made that decision, did you feel relief? Or how did you know it was the right decision?

Well, you never know per se with certainty. You always kind of have that, like, second-guessing, you know, what-ifs, right? But I knew in my heart that I couldn't continue that path. And I didn't want to sacrifice my soul for success. And that was the bargain. And I was unwilling to compromise on that. So I said, you know, there's got to be more to life and to being quote unquote successful. And I think everyone out there should define their own version of success. What does that actually look like to you? We all have a different version. And if you don't create your version of success, you'll just take someone else's, oftentimes society's, which deems materialistic items success or significant success. But truly defining what success looks like for you. For me, success is being completely balanced both personally and professionally, having a Phenomenal relationship with my lover, Steph, having amazing friendships, being able to go fly fishing like I did yesterday in the middle of the day, horseback riding, working 20 hours per week, but still making an impact, still making an income. And I think everyone just out there should define their version of success. And when I realized that wasn't what I wanted for success, that's when I made the pivot.

Oh yeah. I love your definition of success. To me, that's what success is too, you know, not grinding yourself to where— for me, how I got into trouble was I would push and push and push until I was in the hospital because it would affect my health. And I think so many people hustle and they're pursuing or chasing this idea of what success is at the cost of their relationships or at the cost of their health. And so what are some of the things that you were able to shift? Well, First of all, I mean, I just have to hold your book up again. If you're watching this on YouTube, here is the Happy Hustle book. And I love you've got 10 alignments to really avoid that burnout. And you lay it out in your book about these 10 things to do to make sure that you're— you even have a calendar, a checkoff. Thank you for sending that to me, by the way.

Yeah.

where you can mark off, like, are you doing these things? And I think, well, first of all, if someone were to come to you, and they're feeling burnout, and they're like, I'm unfulfilled, I'm stressed out, my health is suffering, my relationship's falling apart, help me, what can I do? What would you say? Where would you start with them? Because I know you do consulting too. Where would you start?

Yeah, truly, it starts with an assessment. You know, in order to grow in any capacity, you need to know Right? And you need to have that awareness. So that's where, like going back to Thailand, that's where I just scratched my own itch and started to look at these different buckets of life. Right? I call them the 10 Alignments. And it evolved into this framework that's now helped thousands of happy hustlers all over the world. But it didn't start like that. You know, it was initially like, hey, I need to figure out my life and figure out where I'm lacking. And so what I would say to someone out there listening who maybe feels a little stressed or overwhelmed or unfulfilled, or maybe waking up not excited to tackle today. It starts with an assessment. And if it's cool with you, Amberly, we can kind of go through it right now and we can put everyone through an assessment.

I would love that. I mean, I seriously, like, I have all these notes written down for things I didn't want to forget to ask you, but I was like, well, you know, I know you do audits. Could we do like a little audit?

Yeah, let's do it.

Okay, let's do it.

All right. For everyone out there listening, I get the most out of podcasts like this when I'm an active participant, not just a passive listener. So I really highly urge you to actually get out a pen and paper or your phone, as long as you're not driving, and actually like write down your score in each of these 10 alignments. And Amberly, if you're feeling brave, we're going to put you on the spot. I'm brave.

Yes, I'm ready. You can call me. I'm ready to do this.

I've been looking forward to this. Okay. So So the 10 alignments make up an acronym called Soul Mapping. Soul Mapping, it's your soul's map to the blissfully balanced promised land.

Okay?

Now, each of these 10 alignments, I want you to rank yourself 1 to 5. Okay? 5 would be like an A, you're crushing it. You're happy hustling in this area. And then 1 is an F, meaning you're failing, right? I wasn't much for school, but I do know the grading scale. So you can keep it in terms of 1 to 5, A through F. Okay? Now, I want you to think about just the last 30 days. Okay? When you give yourself this score, think of the last 30 days. Now, selfless service is the first part. S stands for selfless service. The first alignment. Are you giving to others or are you living for yourself? Are you just focused on your own personal gain? Maybe you're volunteering. Maybe you're giving, donating 10% of your income, or maybe not. Rank where you actually land in selfless service. Okay? That's the S. O stands for optimized health. You, Amberly, you're a big fitness buff, and as am I. Health is a priority to Happy Hustle in any capacity. But you have to ask yourself out there where you rank in this one, 1 to 5. 5s, you're crushing it. 1s and F, are you mentally and physically optimized? U stands for unplugged digitally.

Okay.

Unplug digitally. Are you getting away from your devices, disconnecting from all the noise and the smartwatches and the Bluetooth headsets and all the streaming shows? Or are you just caught up and, you know, not given that time for yourself to just digitally detox? Rank where you are at in this one. L stands for loving relationships. Okay. What is it all for if you don't have love in your life, right? You have to just make sure that you are You're climbing that mountaintop, sure, but you're not leaving your loved ones behind and neglecting the people in your life that you care most about. So rank where you're at in loving relationships. And Amberly, if you want to pause here, we can kind of go through your first 4 scores if you're feeling courageous and want to share.

I'm feeling courageous. Well, you know what I'm all about? Like, this show is all about keeping it real. And I think that we have to be like brutally honest with ourselves if we want true transformation. So I'm happy to share because I think it's important for, for you listening to be really— that's how my life started to change. And, and I know that I'm going through some changes right now. And, you know, I call myself out, my family calls me out all the time. But the number— the first one for service, I, I'm a 5. Like Sometimes to a fault though. Like last night I was doing— I said yes to doing a presentation at 9:30 at night, which then messes with my other scores, you know? So there's like a balance I need to get in balance there. Um, 5 on the next one.

Yep.

Uh, 1 on the third one.

Unplug digitally. Yeah.

Unplug digitally. Um, I tend to be online a lot. lot.

Yeah.

And then on the relationships, I'm— I have to admit, I'm a 2. Like, I have some great relationships with, you know, my sober sisters and some of my business partners. And then a lot of time— and my daughter too. And a lot of times, like, I know that I need to spend more time with my husband, and I am committed to doing that. And lately, I think there are seasons Where you're— there's seasons where you're in a push either for a launch or events, and, and maybe you can't spend as much time. But I would like to get it to where that's a non-negotiable, that we are committed to spending that time. So that's where I am now. So right now I'm— yeah, yeah.

Well, give yourself grace, you know.

I'm giving myself grace. I'm only ranked at a 13 right now.

Track of the score.

Out of 20. Yeah.

Okay. Yeah. Keep track and we'll tally them up at the end. But essentially, you know, this is the first piece, the soul part of the soul mapping. Now we'll get to the mapping part. And the M stands for mindful spirituality. Okay? Are you connecting to a higher power? Do you have faith in something bigger than yourself? You know, are you meditating and practicing gratitude? Or maybe not so much, you know? Rank where you're at in this one.

Okay.

A stands for abundance financially. Are you living paycheck to paycheck in fear of your finances? Or maybe you're saving and investing and spending wisely, right? Rank where you're at in this one. P stands for personal development. Are you growing and evolving or are you shrinking and dissolving, right? Are you listening to podcasts like True Grit and Grace or are you just not? Are you doing things? Obviously, if you're listening to this, you are. You know, you have to be putting good stuff in your brain. And just a little Happy Hustle hack on this one. I like to focus on this 90-minute personal growth system where I listen to 30 minutes of something inspirational and educational in the afternoon. I read something inspirational and educational in the morning, and then I watch something inspirational and educational in the evening. So 30, 30, 30, 30-minute blocks, you know, in this one that keeps my score high. So make sure I'm always growing and evolving.

Yeah. And I would say, don't confuse that with scrolling on TikTok. Or Instagram. Yes. You know what I mean? Yeah. Because sometimes people go, oh, I'm researching, or oh, I'm doing personal development. I'm like, no, you're just scrolling through. I mean, I've caught myself going, whoa, what am I doing? Get off of this.

Yeah, there goes an hour.

When I wake up in the morning, I will not look at my phone other than to check. Um, I do do— I check my— I wear this ring that monitors how much sleep I'm getting because I've—

Oura Ring or whatever.

Yeah, yeah, I love it. And I'm not sponsored by them, unfortunately, but I'm sure they're listening to the show. If you really want to sponsor—

Sponsor Amberly.

Yeah, but okay, I'm loving this.

Loving it.

So far I'm 5, 5, 5. Woo!

Dang, girl. All right, now we got— well, the next one, the next P is passionate hobbies, right? You know, are you actually doing fun things that you enjoy? Or, you know, have you just been working a lot or taking your kids around and focus on other people? And I find that a lot of Type A driven entrepreneurs neglect this one, like, because, you know, we are hungry for success and helping others. But then when it comes time to doing passionate hobbies and things we love, sometimes that takes a back seat, right?

I'm a 1.

Yeah. I stands for impactful work. Okay. Are you actually, you know, infusing your passion, which I believe your passion is like that inward calling. on your heartstrings? And then to actually serve a purpose, right? Like that outward-serving mission to make a positive impact, right? Like actually doing things with integrity that actually help other people. That's I, impactful work. Rank where you're at in that one. And then N stands for nature connection. Are you getting outside and connecting to this beautiful planet? And oh, by the way, are you protecting it? Are you being a conscious consumer supporting B corporations and companies that have sustainable supply chains because we all need to band together to protect our planet. So, and that's really one of the reasons why I do my Montana Mastermind Epic Camping Adventures is to connect these high-level entrepreneurs with nature because I feel like nature is very much lacking in a lot of people's lives and it really is powerful. So that is the mapping. And Amberly, let's run through yours.

Well, I love it. And you know what was so one of the reasons I was really excited to talk with you because I knew this was going to help everybody who's listening, but I knew it was going to help me too. Selfishly, I'm like, oh, I can't wait to talk to Carrie because it's going to help me. I realized so, and I'm glad you said do this assessment within like the, you know, based on your last 30 days. And so I just got back from LA. I was— it was a quick trip. And I knew when I flew in, I was only there for a day and a half. I knew I'm gonna land, get my rental car, head straight to the beach. Because The thing I love living here in, in Dallas, but there's not hiking like there was in California. And I'm big into nature. That's where I fill my cup. That's where I get energized. That's where I connect with God. And I realized going and being there that that was one thing that I'm really lacking. And so I think it's important to get grounded in nature. I had a friend of mine ask me yesterday, she goes, I know you're a woman of faith. Where do you connect with God, and that's my higher power I call God. I said, well, I connect, I go to church. I said, but where I really connect is with myself and with God and spark creativity is in nature. And so I thought, I've been, even since I've been home, in between Zoom calls, just going outside in the neighborhood to get some vitamin D and just be outside. But It's interesting, through this score that, that you just did, or my scores from going through these, I had written down things that I wanted to tap into. I was like, I don't know if he has time to go through all 10 of them, but it was the unplugging for me. I scored 5s on most everything except for unplugging, the hobbies, relationships, passionate hobbies. In nature.

Yep.

And it's just, I'm— I've been hustling a little bit and I'm, I'm happy, but I know that I will not feel as fulfilled at the end of the day if I'm not putting the things— taking care of me a little bit too. And so, I mean, just yesterday, you should see, like, I'm big on, like, I have this paper calendar and you can see all the highlights.

Oh yeah.

I have started highlighting in my book on when it's time for me to work out, when it's time For me to be of service to others. I mean, all the things, because if I don't, then the day somebody else will start controlling my day for me. And I think it's important for us to control our day.

Oh, amen to that. Now let me just, you know, cap it off for everyone listening. I'd like you to add up your scores, okay? And if you're 37 or above, congrats, you're a happy hustler. You know, there's always room for improvement, but that's an awesome sign. And if you're 36 or below, Unfortunately, we got some work to do. And I just want to mention this as well, Amberly. You know, this is your baseline. And for me, balance isn't a finite destination, right? Balance is a never-ending journey. It requires constant tweaks and assessments and pivots.

Mm-hmm.

And so what I like to do, I take my own medicine, actually. I actually do this same assessment every Sunday evening for the week prior, 7 days prior. And then I look at where I'm lacking. And then I prioritize change for the week ahead. And that's why I have that Blissful Balancer, that whiteboard fridge magnet as well, because inside the book I mention it, but essentially I created this analog whiteboard fridge magnet. And you go to your fridge probably 3 times a day, as I do. So I always look at it and I keep track of my action tasks for each of these 10 alignments. So for instance, selfless service, maybe give 15 minutes of my time or expertise today. Optimize health. Did I do a 30-minute workout and drink a gallon of water? Right? Little action tasks. And then it's binary. It's yes or no. Did I do it or did I not do it for each of the days of the week? That way, at the end of the week, I can see where I'm lacking and where I need to change. And again, for everyone out there, give yourself grace. Realize that this is just the first step, awareness, right? And now that you have this knowledge where you're at and where you're lacking, then you can change it. Like Amberly, maybe we need to set some tech restrictions, some barriers I mentioned in the book. You know, 60 minutes in the morning and 60 minutes before I go to bed, I do no tech. I airplane mode my phone. And then I have a digital detox that I schedule in where I actually typically do a 7-day dopamine detox where I'll do no social media, you know, no YouTube, no streaming shows, no nothing, just reading. And then if I have a podcast, you know, I'm going to do that one.

Wait, how often do you do that?

Typically once a month.

Once a month? You do 7 days?

Yeah, well, that when I'm, you know, that's amazing on my games.

So yeah, I have heard so many successful, highly successful entrepreneurs that that is what they do. They take— they not only do that, they have their team do it too. So yeah, yeah, just—

And well, someone like you, you, you know, who has a team, you, you pre-plan your posts, you pre-plan your schedule. And you'll find, like, I made more money in the last week that I did that than I did in the whole month that I didn't. Isn't that crazy? Like, literally 6 figures.

I had someone else say the same thing, that they were like, uh, and, and even taking a week off of social media as well. You've got a lot of people out there saying you've got to post 2 times a day, you got to post 3 times a day, you got to post every day, or whatever it is. But I know some of the most successful entrepreneurs that they don't post all the time, all day, every day, or they have a team that does it for them. Tell us where the next part— what, what do you got to do to make it happen?

The next step is take action, right? You know, we actually have to take this knowledge and then apply it to our lives. And inside my book and On the Happy Hustle Podcast, I talk about the different action tasks, and actually I call them happy hustle hacks for each of these different alignment, each of these 10 different alignments. Probably don't have time to get into all of those now for each of the 10 different areas. But one thing I will say as one of the key happy hustle principles for all of your audience, and this was like a light bulb moment for me, And it is, you must prioritize and give equal importance to each of these 10 different alignments, but focusing one at a time. Okay? So you must prioritize and give equal importance to each of these 10 different alignments, but one at a time, focusing. Let's say if I'm on this podcast interview with Amberly, I'm 110% here. I'm not doing other things. I'm not thinking about, you know, my date night with my fiancée Saturday or whatever, right? When I'm fly fishing, I'm 100% there. When I'm giving back and volunteering with the kids with special needs with the horsemanship program that I give my time to, I'm 100% there. And I find a lot of people out there, we multitask to a fault.

Yeah.

And when we're at work, we're thinking about our family. When we're with our family, we're thinking about work. And we're not doing either effectively. So that is just a huge Happy Hustling principle that you have to apply to each of these 10 different areas, each of these 10 different alignments of life.

Thank you for reminding me of that. I mean, I think that's so important. I had somebody share that with me. It was another speaker. We were doing an event together, and she's gold medalist Leah, who's been on the show. And she was saying that, you know, she's got a family, she does a lot of traveling for speaking, and when she's with her family, she is 100% there. Like, she's not on her phone. They have dinners with no devices. When she's speaking, she's all there. And so I have really, really— I mean, I mess up sometimes.

Yeah, well, you all do mess up a lot, but a lot.

But no, but I— that's what I strive for. And so, and I've also taught my, my family that too, that when I'm at an event, I'm there. And I remember there was one time I was speaking at an event and I was on a panel for 2 hours. And that is Like, you are focused. You are sitting on a panel and there's an audience and they're asking you questions. And I was stressed out when I got off because I had like 10 missed calls from my family. And I'm like, oh my God, the house must be on fire.

Yeah.

And I did call them back and I said, what, what is going on? So, oh well, Ruby wants to order this new collectible Breyer horse and we need your PayPal. And I'm like, What? Like, do you know I'm at an event? Like, I thought the house was burning down. Because I think that's why it's also— I'm so glad you were like, you turn notifications off. That is one reason I do turn notifications off a lot of times now. Not— my family has a system to where if they call twice, it will go through. Um, but they know that. And so I was on a Zoom and they called twice and they were in the car and, and And I heard, and I said, is everything okay? I'm on Zoom. I'm with a client. Is everything okay? And I heard my husband say, I told you she would think it was an emergency.

Yeah.

And it wasn't. They were just like, if that system really worked. And I'm like, yep, it does. You know, but I think it is important to, to focus on those things. One, and I'm horrible at that. Like I'm, I am, I, get very distracted. And I don't know, I think I've never been diagnosed with ADD, and I don't really like labels because I've got a lot of labels already that I'm like, oh, get over that. But, you know, I was put in the, the special learning class in school for the— I mean, it's horrible, but the other kids called it the short bus. class. Like, I was in the short bus, like the special needs kind of class, because I was so distracted and I would be thinking of all these other things instead of what I was supposed to be thinking of. And yeah, and that's, I think, why I wasn't good at baseball either, because I wasn't focused on the game. I was like daydreaming, looking up, and people yelling, and the ball would be right beside me. Um, and so how do you suggest— what is a tip that you can give people to get them Yeah, it comes down to discipline.

And as Jocko Willink says, discipline equals freedom, right?

Yes.

And it comes down to giving yourself consequences. I think it's not enough to just talk about discipline. For me, I actually have consequences and things that are high stakes. Like one thing, if I don't— like when I was writing my book, for example, If I didn't write my book from 6:00 to 8:00 AM every morning, Monday through Friday, if I missed a day, I had a large sum of money that I was donating to a cause that I despised. That'll motivate you.

Wow.

And I was like, I don't want to give my money to this cause because I really don't want to support them. And so it's little things like that that we all need that accountability. And sometimes if we don't have coaches or mentors, which I highly recommend you do, and I know Amberly has, you know, a coaching and consulting program and a mastermind, and those are the type of things that I involve myself with to make sure that I do have that accountability. But also I take it a step further and I give myself accountability with consequences.

I love the consequences, and I'm so big on consequences. I mean, whether it's you're trying to write a book or you're trying to stay sober or you're trying to follow a fitness program or trying to launch that course. And I have the question that people ask me a lot is, how did you write your book? And I'm like, I wrote every day, and it took me a long time. And there were some times that I was in and out of surgery and I missed a few days, but you just have to decide and commit. And then, you know, like your podcast— and y'all, highly recommend you listen to the Happy Hustle podcast because all the value that Kerry's given us in this episode. His podcast is one of those shows that you really get value. So I highly suggest you listen to his podcast and you grab his, his book. Or if you're a— my fellas, I got some guys listening into the show.

Yeah.

He's got a mastermind and he meets in— oh gosh, you have one coming up in June, I think July, August, even September, where you take fellas. I'm waiting for the girls to get invited.

Yes.

For the gals to get invited. Or us to do one together, because I think that it would be so beneficial for, you know, for anyone to take a break, get in nature, go fly fishing, go horseback riding, go camping, be away from your devices and just refuel and spark curiosity and creativity and feel that balance that we, we all need. And so, yeah. So go check out, where can they find information about your mastermind that you're doing?

Yeah. So, well, we're definitely going to do a ladies' one. So all the ladies listening, feel free to apply and then you'll be put on the waitlist as well. But essentially, I live in beautiful Montana, grew up half here, half in Florida, but I love the wilderness and just being out in nature. And I just kept getting asked by high-level entrepreneurs and friends to, hey, I want to come fishing, camping, hunting, hiking with with you, Carey. So I put this Montana Mastermind Epic Camping Adventure together, and we essentially go into the wilderness for 5 days, 4 nights. We hike in about 12 miles up a 2,500-foot elevation climb. It's no cakewalk, right? And you're typically carrying about a 50-pound pack. And we have a business mastermind in the wilderness, completely off the grid. There's no service, no devices, no distractions, just Mother Nature and your fellow happy hustlers. And then I bring in a primitive survival expert who teaches the art of surviving and thriving. He was on the show alone and actually a US Marine, teaches everyone how to make bow drill fires and snare game and shoot bow and arrows and all of these really important skills. We do fly fishing. I teach fly fishing. And we actually have a fly rod reel kit that you get to keep so you can continue the passionate hobby in the future.

Love that.

And then we have a professional backcountry chef who is cooking up organic, healthy, delicious food in the back. He cooks for Tom Brady. Brady and Will Ferrell and all these big people at the Yellowstone Club here. But essentially, it's an amazing adventure. And right now it's for males only. This, you know, this June, July, August, September, we have a trip, one each month. So if you're feeling called or want to apply and see if it's a fit, you can go to carryjack.com/montana. And we can link that up as well. But carryjack.com/montana. And what we're going to do for all the True Grit and Grace listeners, we're actually going to do $500 off the ticket investment just for your audience.

Oh.

So I want to actually connect with you if you're feeling called to it. And we'll do that for the ladies as well. So if they do want to apply and get the hookup, just mention where you heard it and we'll get that taken care of. But it really is a powerful way to refresh, recharge, digitally detox, tap into your primal self, and then just mastermind and think through life's next adventures while being surrounded by a like-minded group of badass entrepreneurs. So yeah.

Well, you know what I mean? It sounds amazing and I can't wait to start the ladies up doing it. And for those of you listening, I think most people listening know what a mastermind is because I've talked about my own Unstoppable Life Mastermind. And that's what I love, like about you and I, we are in such alignment with things that we're doing and striving for. I mean, I'm going to get a little more balanced on my scores here. Then I'll check back in with you. It's just, I need to I need to unplug. I need to do a mastermind out in the wilderness. But the mastermind, I can't just stress enough, like how important it is to keep growing and learning. I mean, I've been coaching for 26 years and I just invested in myself and I'm going to be coaching starting next month with someone who I've been wanting to coach with. So I can then share what I learned with the people in my mastermind. I'm in a mastermind right now and I have my mastermind going on right now.

Yeah.

know for you listening, it might seem like, gosh, that just seems like so much. But when I have invested, every time I've been in a few, every time I have invested in a mastermind, the people that I have met and the experience that I've had, it has leveled up my career like in leaps and bounds. There's nothing quite like it because it's that connection and that brainstorming.

Yeah.

And I loved reading about You've got freaking amazing connections. I mean, you've got Danette May giving, you know, shouting out your book. Rory Vaden. I love AJ and Rory Vaden, by the way. Yeah, yeah, they're speaking into my mastermind for this group. Yeah, so they're coming in and AJ texted me this morning. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, they're awesome. But in— and I just have to say, you guys, If you've— if you got real, you got honest with yourself and got some awareness about that, the, the just the whole process that he took us through and asked questions, and you've given yourself that score, even if you're, you know, a 36 like me, or maybe you're at a much lower, maybe you're at 18, I don't know.

Mm-hmm.

But I will say that this book gives you not only like the action steps to go through it, but then you have embarrassing fun facts about yourself. And you know what else I love about your book, I have to say? And I don't get into books like so much on the podcast, but I just have to say one of the reasons I love your book is because you have fun pictures.

I love it. I had to do it. I, I'm very visual myself, and I always love books with pictures, so I put I put a ton of pictures.

I love it. This is the best. If you're watching on YouTube, you'll have to check out his book, but him like doing the splits, holding a fan and a sword.

Yes.

In your front yard. But you give actionable takeaways. Like you give actionable takeaways and brilliant resources. Like you tell what books to read, what podcasts to listen to. You mentioned John Gordon's podcast. Him and Kathy are good friends of mine. What movies to watch and what courses to take. And not just promoting your own stuff, you're promoting other people, like people that you have learned from. And so I love that.

Exactly.

Yeah. So you are just doing amazing things. I, I just, I can't say enough. Like, this is like a great roadmap for anyone to, to really— your soul mapping system is a great way for people to live a fulfilling life. So thank you for sharing that. If there's one takeaway that you could give people who are listening that are like, dang, I've got so much work to do, I don't know, how can I move forward and not feel burnt out? Like, what's one takeaway you could give them just to start?

I truly believe balance equals happiness. Like, balance to me equals happiness. When I'm balanced both personally and professionally, I'm happy. I'm at my happiest. And in order to get in that balanced state, you need to just take the assessment regularly. Even if you create your own, I just want you to determine where you're lacking, where you're out of balance, and what you need to do to change it. So if there's one small action step, it's start with the awareness piece. Take the assessment. And I actually have— the assessment's free if you want to go to thehappyhustle.com/assessment. We already talked about a couple different links, so I don't want to confuse people, but that is another one if they do want to take it for free, you know, and you can get your score in 60 seconds. And I just bookmarked that same little quiz. It's nothing fancy, but it tells you where you're lacking, you know. And so that would be the one action step.

I love that. And I think it is so much about— for me, I always say it's radical acceptance of where you are. Like, take the blinders off and take a look at what is not working in your life, some of the habits that you're doing, that maybe aren't as healthy or not moving you closer to your goal. And then you have the power to, to make those changes and those small shifts. It doesn't have to happen overnight, but one day at a time, one step at a time, you can create the life that you've always imagined. Just— and it starts with that awareness and then taking action. Not wishing it was different, not manifesting it's going to be different. That's all good. But you got to take action, hold that vision and take action. So tell us where we can find you on Instagram and all that fun stuff and where they can find you to your website and all that. So I want people to connect with you. And they— then you also— wait, I have to mention before we go, because I am blown away by this. You said that if people wanted to like do like some kind of audit or something, you would—

Oh yeah, yeah.

Give this to the listeners. You guys, how lucky are The True Grit and Grace listeners are truly blessed because you made an offer and I'm going to be like, well, let's share that because it's amazing. No, I—

and I don't do this, you know, often. And I really care about you, Amberly. I love what you're doing and who you are. And I wanted to do something special for your audience. So, anyone who does feel called to pick up a copy of the book, The Happy Hustle: 10 Alignments to Avoid Burnout and Achieve Blissful Balance, you can go to thehappyhustlebook.com. You can get it for free actually, and just help out with shipping and handling. It'll go right to your door. Anyone who picks up a copy of the book, actually reads it, and DMs me on Instagram your number one takeaway, we'll send you a Calendly booking link to do what I call a Happy Hustle Huddle, which will be 20 minutes of Kerry, my actual time, not my assistant or my team, my time hopping on a one-on-one call to help you happy hustle your dream reality. This will be going through your 10 alignment scores and helping you make key pivots to then create your dream reality. So that is something I want to do, especially for you guys out there listening and watching.

Oh my God.

thehappyhustlebook.com. And then send a DM. My Instagram is just @kerry__jack. And then you guys can get on with me and we can connect. And my time is my most precious commodity, as with Amberly's. And I don't typically do coaching. I really am more selective on consulting even. But this is one of those things specifically for readers who invested their time into reading the book. This is one of the best ways that I can serve them at a deeper level is just give them some of my time to really help them with those key next steps. So—

Oh my goodness. That is like so— I am blown away by your generosity. Thank you so much. Because you're not only giving You're like, okay, you guys read the book and you give me your takeaway. So DM him, y'all. He's giving you a free book. And all you have to do is read it and give him your takeaway on DM. Go head over to Instagram. And I promise you, when, when we talked about like looking at something valuable and learning, if you watch his videos, you're gonna learn, but you're also gonna be entertained. But also put your takeaway here and, you know, shout it out. Take a picture, whether you're listening on your favorite podcast platform or YouTube, just take a screenshot and tag Carrie Jack and Amberly Lago Motivation. I'm happy to share that in my story. But oh my goodness, Carrie, you are amazing. I value you and your time and appreciate you so much.

Thank you.

It is just such a blessing to have you on the show. I appreciate your generosity to all the listeners. Thank you so, so much. And you guys, thank you so much for tuning in. And yeah, go over, head over to Carey and show him some love. Tell him you heard him on the True Grit and Grace. Yeah, grab his book. And I hope to see you in Montana horseback riding or fly fishing soon.

Yeah, doors open. Come on out. And thanks everyone again for watching and listening. All right, peace and love, everyone.