The SECRET To Making More Money | Heather Stone

You need to be of service. How am I going to help others? You know, what raises up one raises up all. It's a different way of thinking. But again, chasing that mighty dollar. The dollars will come if you're on the right path.

You travel and speak. You do that. You're very philanthropic. You have a capital. You're have a capital fund. You're, you're. You focus on, you know, sustainability. Like, how did you get into all of those different things? Because it seems like it would take a lifetime just to do one of them.

Well, it took a lifetime to get to this point. Right. So working hard, head down, and very focused. I'm a very driven and focused person. I'm a goal oriented person. But I've got a partner and my husband, he. I would say, like, I'm double A, he's quadruple A. So I think together we kind of push each other forward. So I have to say, it's. I don't do it alone. We do it together. Yeah.

That makes you guys a package of Duracell batteries, from what I understand.

Pretty much. Yes. It's a little crazy, but. But it's fun. We. We feed off one another. So it's a lot of fun.

Yeah, absolutely. Well, I was very fortunate to spend some time with you. Gosh, it's been close to a year ago now, which is crazy up in Nashville. And one of the things that really, really spoke to my heart a little bit is the passion that you shared about entrepreneurship, especially in those that are marginalized in getting into entrepreneurship or the difficulties they face. How did you discover that? Given that you've already been so super successful in your own entrepreneurial ventures, how did you discover that need in other people?

Well, of course, we're always trying to solve a need somewhere that's buried deep within us. Right. So you have to have a couple of failures before you have your successes. I think that's what really drives everyone. A lot of people give up, and it really bothered me when I finally hit my stride. But I would see other people clearly struggling and losing their confidence because I know what that feels like and giving up. And, you know, there's so much potential in that person. And so that's what gets me super excited. That's what I really love to do, and I think that's what I want to spend my time doing, is helping people have that aha. Moment to say, someone reach out a hand and help someone else. They can get there. They just need someone to look out for them and help them. Kind of pave the way a little bit. That answers that question.

Yeah, absolutely. Well, you know, it's. Look, it's. It's. It's all about trying to understand. You know, there's a thousand different ways to say it. Rory says it one way, one of our mutual friends. I say it a different way. You know, the greatest purpose in life is serving the person used to be. I've heard, like, 18 different variations of that same life truth. And, you know, I always like to ask that question because, you know, you know, I mentioned to you that many of my leaders are very, very successful female leaders. And as an owner, as an entrepreneur, I actually. I like to surround myself with people who are just more amazing than I am at any given thing that I. That I suck at. And then some of the things that you'd mentioned was that some of the struggles and things that I didn't even think it was even top of mind, that, like, you know, I even went back to my cfo, who's amazing, and I said, I'm just curious, like, did you struggle with X, Y, and Z? She's like, absolutely. And I was like, really? Because, you know, to me, she's. She's so accomplished. Right? You know, and then she's like, oh, yeah, I'll take you a step further. Not only did I go and do X, Y, and Z, but I also did it while I was pregnant. I also did it while I was trying to, you know, have a. Have a family. I also did it while. And I'm like. I said, okay, your story now supersedes mine. So, like, keep talking. Like, I want to hear more about it. So, I mean, to be sure, like, there's a reason behind why you're so passionate about, you know, helping. I know you love to help everybody, but I see a real. I see a light up when we start talking about female entrepreneurship or female professionals.

Where does that. I mean, that spark come from? Why does it resonate so deeply?

Well, you know, I've walked in those shoes. I can say I can help men, but I'm most passionate about women because I am one. I see it through a different lens. It's a little bit different than the way men see different things. I can't speak to someone else's plight or their problem past a certain point because I haven't lived it. I haven't felt it. And, you know, when you feel those emotions, when you have those setbacks, or you have an instance where you feel less than or you're treated differently just because of your Gender. And I don't want to get on a rant for that. I'm just saying that there are certain things we all have to overcome. And being a woman, you have a certain set of things that you need to overcome, whether they are real or perceived. And it's a challenge, and that needs to be addressed. And someone needs to be out there, gloves off and saying, let me just break it down for you and be really transparent. You can do this. I was in your shoes. Let's move it forward. And those are the conversations that I really like to have. And I think it needs to be talked about a little bit more.

Yeah, absolutely. Well, that was one of the things I witnessed when I was hanging out with you. We had a wonderful table of female entrepreneurs sitting at our table. I was very fortunate to be in that environment. And.

It was a really powerhouse table in that you began seeing some of the same struggles and things like that. And it had me dawn on me thinking. I began thinking, what paradigm shifts as a man could help me better prepare my female leaders for further leadership? And I began thinking, well, so. Well, I think, first of all, it's just being aware of some of the things that.

That the. Or my women, my female leaders face that I haven't faced. Like you talked about a second ago about, you know, just that there's certain things you can speak to and certain things you really can't, or at least not at a deep level. And maybe, maybe, maybe if you're okay with it, maybe we spend a little time on talking about four, five, six items that. That could cause a paradigm shift, you know, from masculine to feminine, then feminine back to masculine. Because I feel like if we can bring more awareness to the areas in which people get stifled, whether accidental or intentional, we can break some bondage, so to speak.

Yep, I completely agree. So one of the things that I. When I talk to women, one of the things that I say is, obviously, I'm a little bit older, I'm not 20 something. So my upbringing was copy what the men do, do everything the men do, and then try and be better prepared. Um, so, you know, we had the business suits, we had the power suits, we had all of this. And it was really. It really took me 15 years until I figured out, I'm going to be me. I'm going to. You need to lean into your femininity. And I think being feminine, you have a softer side. You have a different way of analyzing and looking at things. So we're great strategists, I have to say. Women are great strategists. Women are. Women are great multitaskers. So you should use that. Guys are good at all of those things, but they have certain core strengths, and guys can compartmentalize like nobody else. I know some women that do it, but guys are much better, as a general rule, than girls are. So if you kind of pair up, you know, men and women in a team, and you realize what their strengths and their weaknesses are, you've got a powerhouse of a team right there. And just lean into that, right? So, you know, be feminine, be graceful, be smart, be powerful. But it doesn't mean you need to raise your voice. I learned that early on. You get so frustrated, but that just actually makes you look like a whiny child. Right? No one wants to listen to that. You know what I'm talking about? Don't cry in the office. We're all emotional. Guys are emotional. Don't cry in the office because you're not helping your case. Take it outside. But I think understanding women and men, if they try and understand where the other one is coming from, or maybe where the general. Guys are pre wired to think this way. Girls are pre wired to think that way. It's not a personal thing, but it really is. Take a minute and understand where might they be coming from. Once you get that foundation laid out, you can just charge ahead and get over it. Because we all have the same brains. We all have the same ability to skyrocket. It's just that understanding to say, look, it's not his fault. This is the way he's wired. This is the way he's thinking, and this is the way he approaches problems. And this is the way she may. Don't make her be just like the guy, and don't make a guy be just like a girl. You know, you can all coexist. Just take a breath, right?

Yeah. Cause we all have strengths and things we can add. Like I said, the things that my CFO loves to do, I can't stand doing. Now. I like what numbers do. Don't get me wrong. I like being able to look at a strong P and L street sheet and balance sheet and everything and see great numbers there. Um, but I don't know that I want to do everything that's going into it just to kind of produce it kind of thing. No, I love that. Let me ask you this. All right, so let's. Let's talk a bit about a workplace culture, right? Cause a lot of the people that listen and watch the show, they're either aspiring Entrepreneurs. So they're, they're budding, they're, they're, you know, hoping to create something, or they're established entrepreneurs who are probably, you know, $5 million in top line revenue and trying to scale it and grow it. And speaking from personal experience, when I got to the five or $10 million mark and top line revenue, one of the things that I began to really struggle with was me. I really began to struggle with me because I didn't have, you know, I didn't have the education, so to speak. I mean, I had, I was just, you know, I was high school dropouts. All I was doing, everything I had done was by grit. Right. And therefore I wasn't as emotionally intelligent as I could have been early on. And it took some, some pretty brave people to help awaken that within me. And I think that's where my question comes in is, have you seen techniques or practices that have come up to basically create a much better work, workplace slash culture environment so they can have the moment where people are being recognized for their strengths and, and stuff like that, rather than kind of like what I, what I've seen in times past, which is like the insecure leadership kind of phase?

Yes. So we did things a little bit differently at our company. We actually encouraged everyone to speak up, have an idea, and I don't care what your title was, you were listened to. That's very empowering because your best idea might come from the receptionist who's been there listening and absorbing all the conversations around her for the last six months. And she just wants to say one thing. And you know what? She's no dummy. Just because she's got a different title and a lot of people bring a different perspective. But once you listen to someone, then they feel like, okay, I'm part of the conversation, I'm being heard. Right. I matter. And then they become even more engaged, and then they want to do better, and then they just elevate themselves. And if you keep recognizing them, you help them elevate and they grow that way. Just like a flower and water, right?

Yeah.

Don't put it in a corner and ignore it just because they're not at a certain point yet. And I have to say that some of the most intelligent women that I have worked with and helped to mentor, their college degrees didn't mean anything. It was all learning through experience. So it really doesn't matter. You don't need a college education to do well. Sometimes it's that chip on your shoulder that helps you push forward. Right. But you really, you don't need that. If you're in finance and you're doing other things, you have to have certain certifications because you need to be qualified to know what to do with those numbers, like your cfo. But the rest is recognize it and encourage people. And you would be surprised what happens with someone who walks in the door. If you don't judge them by their cover and you give them a little bit of food and direction. It's kind of amazing. So that was our culture. And that's what I would say to people, is start recognizing the people you pass every day that you just ignore. You might be surprised.

Yeah, I would dare say that. I think, thank God that many of my businesses have survived many of my ideas and have thrived based on the ideas of other people. So, yeah, I've been very fortunate there. You know, as we start talking about entrepreneurship and we start. And apparently Siri decided to talk to me about that. Anyway, as we start trying to like walk through this, you know, one of the things that I dealt with, and I see a lot of entrepreneurs deal with, is this.

For lack of better word, burnout, right? You're pushing so hard for so long. You're waiting for your big break, you're waiting for the big deal, you're waiting for your first customer, your 100th customer, your million dollar customer. All this kind of stuff you're putting in, the extra hours, the extra effort, you know, to, to, to obtain whatever it is you're trying to obtain. How important is it to take a break and actually get some rest, get some replenishment and, and like, you know, because I know I struggle with that for a while. How, how important have you seen it to be? Really kind of operate at your peak performance.

I think it's vital, I think it's imperative that you do that. You force yourself to do that. I was a workaholic, there is no doubt about it. That's. I was just so driven. I don't know how to go from, you know, slow to overdrive. I just go straight to overdrive. And I learned it the hard way. A lot of people don't know this story. I learned it the hard way in the back of an ambulance. My numbers were crazy. I was doing rockstar things. Insane. I was pushing myself so far. But you know, we all have that wake up moment and I wasn't listening to certain things. And so I woke up to the paramedics leaning over me and I thought, okay, well, I guess I needed a two by four to hit me across the head to figure out I need to slow down. So every year I do, which is great. I've got this. This the first time I'm opening this retreat up to the public. But it's my retreat that's rejuvenate 2023. You need to go away. Turn off the phone, turn off electronics, turn off everyone. Do not take your best friend, your partner, go by yourself and put yourself in a place where you're reflective and you figure out, why am I doing what I'm doing? What is it that I want in the end of this? And if you're driven by money, at least for me, money never drove me. If you're driven by money, stop and turn around and really look at your priorities. Because. Because you shouldn't be feeding yourself, putting a roof over your head, providing for your family. Yes. But if you're chasing that mighty dollar and worshiping that mighty dollar, you're going to find yourself in a sad, lonely place at some point. I never did, but I saw people that did and say, why am I so sad when I get here? That's a whole nother conversation in a workshop. Right. But it's very important to go away. So I would go away for four or five days at least once a year by myself. People thought I was nuts. And I'm like, look at my numbers. They don't lie. I need to do this. I need to do it for my sanity and everyone else around me. It's very important.

Yeah, well, I mean, to that point, I mean, obviously you got rejuvenate 2023 coming up. Why did you decide to open up to the public when this is something that you would normally go off and do by yourself?

Because my whole motivation now is to help ignite that fire in someone and help give someone that encouragement to say, oh, yes, you're almost there. Don't give up. And I've had so many people ask me, what's your method? How do you do it? How do you just smash your goals? You know, what is it that you're doing? I want some of that. And I do this on my retreats we talked about earlier when we met. You know, I've taken women up Everest. I've taken women up Kilimanjaro. I've taken. I've done all these crazy things just to help women, you know, tap into their inner warrior. And so this is just another thing that people have said, I want some more of that. I said, all right, I'm going to let you in on my little secret. If you'd like to come. I'm giving a workshop. This is how I do it to set my year up. I've been doing it for the last 18 years and it hasn't failed me. So I'm going to stick with it and I'm going to share it.

Yeah. And I know it's going to be amazing too. I mean, it's funny when I. When I get around you and I watch you with others, people gravitate towards you very quickly. And I think, I think it's because.

I don't remember who said this, but they said when somebody's been through it or they've. They've actually done the experience, they've done the work. You can see it directly in their eyes. Like, it. You could just. You can just pick up on it. And it's funny was when I watch you engage with others, they gravitate towards you because I think you bring a realness and an authenticity that they don't expect. Um, and as a result, I feel like that's why a certain level of magnetism kind of, kind of happens. And, and they open up to you about all kinds of amazing things. And the compassion in which you lead them is pretty stinking incredible to watch from as a bystander, you know. So I can only imagine what's going to happen at the event. Big, like big time. Now, correct me wrong. It's. It's like you're. It's. So it's pretty closed loop. It's not going to be a lot of people. Like, it's only gonna be a handful of people.

No. And it's. No, it's an intimate group. It's an intimate group because I think if I'm speaking to, you know, a thousand people, I. I can't give that one on one time. And you're right. I really like to, you know, T shirt, blue jeans. Let's just get down to it, where both. We both put our pants on one leg at a time. I want to get to know you. I'm really, truly, honestly interested in your success. I'm interested in who you are, where you've been, and what do we need to get rid of in order to help you move forward. That just gets me so excited. So that's why I've kept it as an intimate group. A lot of people are pretty excited about it. So I'm already starting to plan the second one because I can see that.

We'Re going to sell it because the other one, the first one's filling up fast. Yeah.

But it's going to be a lot of fun. And I do. I honestly, I love stories. I love to hear about people. I could care less really about myself. I want to hear about other people. And I just. I want to get in there and say, okay, we can fix this. Let's. Let's do it together. So I love that.

Yeah. And you and I share that in common. We always want to, like, figure out what the problem is and just, like, put it back together.

Right.

Which is great. Well, I mean, so ideally, let's. Let's talk about it a little bit. Who, ideally, is this event for? Like, who's the best suited person to come and be part of this?

Anyone who is looking. I'll say anyone who is looking to grow so you don't have to be a powerhouse executive woman in the corporate world. I have solopreneurs, entrepreneurs. I have housewives. And I use that loosely. Right. Because I know that that can be a derogatory term. But I have people that have said, I've raised my family. I've dedicated my life to my family. My husband put them through law school. Whatever I did, he's out. He's got his title. He's shining on his own, making big dollars and big, big impressions in the world. My kids are going off to college, and now I want to do something, but who am I? So there's also a section for those women. I also have younger women that are in their mid-30s that really say, I want to go from, you know, middle management and up. I've hit the ceiling. I want to go up. How do I do this? So this is for anyone. This is for someone who says, I'm in a horrible relationship. I want to leave that relationship and stand on my own. I just need the power and the courage to do it. Anybody who's looking to grow and say, I've got a goal, and I have no idea how to get there, I need some help. I need some. I need everything. I need some mentorship. And really, that's who it's for. So I have powerhouse women that you've read about in Forbes that are coming, and I have women that are in their 30s that are coming, that are just in middle management. They're kind of stuck there. And then I've got some other people that are saying, I don't have a big corporate name behind me, but I just so want to be part of this, because I want some of that.

So, yeah, I mean, well, the circumference of the influence. Right. So I Mean, my biggest growth moments have come in a state of reflection away from the world, but in a group of people who are further along than I was in that particular part of the journey because they can see things I can't see, including my limiting beliefs, including my, my emotional roadblocks, or even practically and tactically, it's like, well, dude, why are you investing here when the rate of return is better, much better over here? You know that kind of stuff. No. Now talk a little about some of the, some of the female leaders you're also going to have there. I know a couple of them, thank God, and they're, they're both amazing in their own rights and their own categories. So, so talk to us a little about them.

Yes. So we've got Stephanie Shostak. She's a French American actress. She's been in so many different TV shows, hit TV shows, and Iron man, including Iron man, which is funny because when I, when I talked to her, Devil Wears Prada, she was in Devil Wears Prada. I don't know one woman that hasn't watched that about 20 times. But I was more excited about Iron man because I am such a Robert Downey Jr. Freak. So. And then, you know, dinner for schmucks and a million little things. So she's an amazing person. She's also a fantastic golfer. Um, she's responsible for getting me back into golf, which is a whole nother story.

And she's hilarious, so.

Well, there you go. She's hilarious and she's a great person. But she's got, she's got some great things to talk about. She's coming. And then I've got Dr. Celine. So we're going to be talking, I always do. Mind, body, soul. We throw some beauty in there. We throw a lot of health in there. So Dr. Seline is going to talk to us about health and beauty, all the surface Y things and all the things that you're afraid to ask your doctor. We're going to talk to her about that. So that's going to be a very interesting Q and A session. And then I've got some other people that are powerhouse people I can't reveal yet. And they're going to do some drop ins. I know, but we were close. We are close. I love to spoil my friends and my friends, meaning anyone that comes to one of my seminars, my conferences, my retreats. And so I like to have more than they expected. And, but they're going to be some powerhouse women there that you think, why are they here? Why do they need help? Guess what? We all need help. We all want to go to that next level. So you need to bounce it off other people, and you need to be energized around people, just like you said, like yourself. You don't need to be in a room full of duds. You need to be in a room full of progressive thinkers. And that's what this is.

No, that's. That's so good. That's so good. I just got me thinking. It's like, you could be doing anything. Like, so. All right, so, audience, let me. Heather will never share this, but when I say she's successful, she's incredibly successful in the entrepreneurship space. You can Google yourself till you're blue in the face. Good luck there. She doesn't have to be doing any of this. She doesn't be doing retreats. She doesn't have to be doing any kind of coaching or mentoring or speaking or whatever. She could literally be doing anything and everything that she would ever want to do. So my question is, given the fact that you could do anything and everything that you would ever want to do and could do, why are you so focused on giving back?

I'm focused on giving back because. Well, it's selfish in a way, because it makes me feel really good. So my motto is, see, see good, do good, be good. That's what I want to live by. And I've had the bumps in the road, and I know what it feels like when I didn't do something I should have. Right. And you kind of regret that. I don't want to have any more regrets. And I want to leave this world saying, I made an impact. I made a difference in people's lives for the better. They're a happier person. The people around them are happier. They feel more confident. And then it's that ripple effect. Right, the pebble in the pond.

Yeah.

And I could list a lot of the people that I've helped, not pat myself on the back, but I was just looking at a list today, and I was like, oh, my goodness, look where she is now. Look where he is now. I mean, what's better than that? What's better than that? So, yeah, this is what. It gets me a little bit back from it.

So, yeah, I mean, I'm going to be honest. I'll tell you, audience, you guys don't know this, and I'm not going to reveal the what yet, but Heather has a specific skill set that I'm tapping, and I've been asking questions about on something else that I'm working on. And her information has been invaluable, including, hey, when you go to make this kind of decision, you also are looking at things that you need to kind of be aware of emotionally. That's going to take time. You're going to need this, that and the other thing. And I was like, I hadn't thought about that. And I immediately went home after that event and talked to my wife and I was like, hey, X, Y and Z, what are you, what do you think? She's like, yeah, that makes total sense. Makes total sense. So, guys, you don't, you don't, you don't know what you're missing. If you're not working or talking to Heather or following Heather, hands down, you need to be doing that regardless of whoever else you follow. Why? Because she's done the work. She's not, she's not out someone who's just selling goods. She's actually done the work and actually trying to progress people forward, which is one of the things I admire about her most, which is why we click. The other thing I wanted to talk to you about is that amazing podcast that you have, mentors and moguls. Like, what made you decide to start a podcast? Cause I mean, obviously it's an amazing podcast. I love it myself. But what made you decide to start it?

So I was doing. I started out under a. I had a different branding, right. And I started out as soon as, as I sold my last company. I said, this is what I want to do. I didn't have these strong female mentors. I'm going to find them and I'm going to make them accessible to anybody who wants them. Because I so desperately was craving that. I had a lot of great guys that were brilliant. My husband is brilliant. I love him to death. But there is a certain point where he stopped. And I was like, you just don't get it. I mean, you just don't get it. And there was a point of frustration. So I took a film crew and we went all over the United States, a little bit out of the United States as well. And I interviewed all these women that were badasses.

I mean, like serious bad asses.

See, I mean, like.

The woman who created Title nine and that's when she just got started. And how did she do that? You hear her story and you're just going to, what? How come I've never heard of her? There were just a lot of things that women had done and overcome. So that was, that was pretty exciting for me. And then I Got approached by a gigantic outlet that wanted to make me famous. I don't care about being famous. I don't care about being famous. I care about leaving an impact. And they wanted to put me on blast everywhere. And I said, well, that's great. But then I turned it into a podcast. After conversation, I said, I can do this. I turned into a podcast. And I said, I kind of still want to do it my way. Loves off everybody. Like, don't tell me what to do. I want to do it my way. Yeah.

Go, Heather.

So that's how the podcast was born. It was a YouTube, you know, YouTube channel at first, and then the podcast, they said you could reach more people. And then I started getting feedback and I said, okay, this is. And it was fun. I love doing it. I get to meet people like you, and I get a kick out of it. So it's fun.

No, it's awesome.

Well.

And look, the reality is, one of the things I love about media specifically is there's enough media that's not helpful. Let's just say it's not helpful that you almost need to counterbalance it with media that is helpful. You know, one of my daily routines that I've mentioned, everybody, is each day of the week, you know, I get up at 5, head to the gym. I'm at the gym by 5:30, after prayer and meditation. And then I'm focusing on one specific area of life each day of the week all the way through. Yes. There's seven days. There's eight areas of life that we share about. The eighth is contribution. So you can do that all the above. But one of those areas is the thought process that moguls, if you will, have the badasses of the world. Right. They think differently. My first mentor you and I have talked about before, when I started, began referring to him as old man Myrick because people got confused, because I always say, Steven, Steven. So, but old man Myrick, and he, his very first comment to me was, you know what's been a rich man, a poor man. What's the way they think? Right? And that's why I love getting around you. I love getting around your podcast, I love getting around your retreats. I love getting around all the types of things that you're working on because it forces you to think different.

Yes.

Now, did you. Did you. Did you discover that live truth, or did someone mentor you to that point where they taught you to think different? Was it innate? Can it be taught?

It can be taught. It absolutely can be taught. Because I've seen it. Our culture in our companies was very different. And everyone said, when I come in here, it's like family, but it's not family. There's something. You're doing huge things. What's happening, and it comes from the top down. And then you keep feeding that. I do think that you can teach it, but I will say this. If you treat everyone from the janitor to the CEO with the same respect, dignity and thoughtfulness in your life, that is the first step. Don't ever talk down to someone else. You can push back if they're pushing you.

But it can be taught. But. And you need to be of service. How am I going to help others? You benefit. You totally benefit. You know, what raises up one, raises up all. So, yes, it can't be taught, but it's a different way of thinking. But again, chasing that mighty dollar, you're going to hit a roadblock. At some point. The dollars will come if you're on the right path. You know that. You know?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, let's. Let's talk about impact for just a second. You're already making an amazing impact, and I would dare say that. And I'll just, I'll put this out there.

Some of us, especially, especially early stage entrepreneurs, we're making an impact by simply doing the business that we're doing.

Yes.

Bringing value in a service and something to the marketplace. Now, you would discover yourself along the way as you were challenged and expanding and stuff like that.

An interesting friend, a friend of mine, not too long ago. So what's. He gave me this question, so I'm a fire to you. And he said, what's going to be on your epitaph? Like when you finish your. When you finish your world, when you. When you. When you've done all you can do, it's time for you to rest because I don't sit still. You know this about me, right?

What's going to be on your epitaph now? Share mine. After you share yours.

Oh, after.

Yeah, I can't get.

I can't.

You can't steal my idea.

Okay. All right.

Well, I think what I would love people to say when they're standing around having the best party. By the way, I've already planned out my funeral and is going to be one badass party because I like to have a good time.

The Rolling Stones will be playing as the opening song, but I want people to really remember that I made a difference in a positive way in someone's life so they could make a difference in A positive way and pass it on. That, I think, is. I mean, what more is that, right? Nobody cares what you own, how you lived, whatever. They care about your character and what did you do outside of yourself. So, in a nutshell, maybe that's my answer.

Okay, so now you're going to put it in a sentence. Here lies. Here lies Heather.

Here lies Heather. She was a lot of fun. She did crazy things, and she helped way more people than she knew.

Awesome. Yeah, that's good. Okay, that's not too far from mine. Yeah. So mine is going to be. This is my hope. Right? Here lies Steven, loving husband and father and a man who set out to change the world and did.

Oh, well. Okay, Mic drop on that one.

You got.

I just. You know, it's funny, when you get around people who are chasing impact over income, right? Just something special happens, right? You know, And. And a lot of times when you get. Especially in the early stages, when you're chasing impact over income, it takes a while for the income to come because of the impact. It, like, takes time. It takes time to build momentum. Right. And thinking through that, I'm just. I'm just curious, what has been the lifespan of doing what you must do to do what you want to do? Like what? How long did it take you to get to the point where you could. You had to do one before you could do the other? Because I feel like people are chasing. I want to do X, Y and Z, but they're not doing what they need to do to get to X, Y, and Z to begin with.

Well, it's a continuous cycle. I mean, because I'm a serial entrepreneur, let's say that whether it's a big business or a small venture, I'm always starting at ground zero when I'm starting something new. You're starting a podcast. You're starting at ground zero. Oh, my gosh. Seriously. I've done all these great things in the tech world. Now I'm going back to what's a podcast? How do I do it? So there's. If you're growing, you're constantly putting yourself in that phase. So the must do things. You're going to have to grind it out.

Someone very famous said to me one time, you can't cheat the grind. And I love that. I mean, I should just stamp that on my forehead. You can't cheat the grind. Anything you're going to do is going to be a lot of work to lay that foundation, right? You can't just step in and say, I'm Superman. And here we go. You've got to put in the groundwork to say, I'm ready to launch, I'm ready to do something. Whether it's building a tech company, whether it's building a family, right?

Whether it's being a good friend. You've got to be a good friend to get a good friend, right? So no matter what it is, I don't have a time frame on that. You know, I mean, my husband and I had. We had several companies, but the biggest one we had over 28 years, and we had a couple iterations of that 28 years. I was grinding it out. And then, you know, you hear, you hear someone that said, oh, I just started up and I sold this app for a billion dollars and it was two years and I'm so exhausted, I'm like, oh, my God. But, you know, that's the way it goes.

You're not an entrepreneur.

They are. They just figured out faster.

However, you're just good at sales, right?

But I did everything. I mean, I did everything. I was never too proud to do anything. So I felt like I worked until I hit my finish line, and then I go and I crazily started all over again with something new.

Well, all right, so here's the other side of that, right? Because a lot of times we go to, we, we as entrepreneurs, business owners, we set out to go build something amazing, okay? And at least early days, I don't know about you, but for me, it was like, it's going to be amazing. It's going to be this, it's going to be that. So it's in my head, right? So then I start to game plan, I start to strategize, I start to build, I start the process, and all of a sudden I realize this is going to be. This is harder than I thought it was going to be. This is right? And you start going through that and then. But in the meanwhile, you get about medium way through. Like, it's almost like you have support midway through and you don't have the results after you've already paying a sacrifice or a price or not cheating the grind or whatever. And the people around you say, dude, if you were meant to do this, it happened by now, right? I want to hit there really hard because I feel like so you and I have both. We've both built businesses, some successful, some, you know, that were got to successful later than anticipated kind of thing. But I want to maybe hit on that one subject for a little bit because there is a point in time where you may have to say, okay, this is not the venture. This is not the thing. This is not the direction I should be going. And maybe a pivot's required. At the same time, there's also a time and a place to.

For lack of a better word, not listen to naysayers.

Yep.

How have you been able to approach and discern when the 2 is supposed to happen? I mean, this is a selfish question for me, by the way, but this.

Is a question I think everybody has at some point in their life, right? Even if you're in high school, you have this question at various stages in your life and over and over again sometimes, when do you give up? Or when do you think you're crazy? Or when do you realistically just keep going, saying, I can do it. Look at Arnold Schwarzenegger data. I can do it. So the word I just wrote down was ego. Are you driven by your ego or are you driven by facts and your why? Look at that again. I'm going to go back to the retreat. Because this is when you need to not pump the brakes. This is when you need to step out in the stillness and the silence and you really need to get deep with yourself and what am I doing this for? Why? And then you also listen to the feedback, not of the other Chatty Cathys, because you know what? Susie over there didn't start this business. I did. I took the leap. She's getting a paycheck. She's got her comfort zone going on. She's never missed a meal. I'm the one who stays up sweating if I'm going to make payroll or not, right? Whatever it is. So what's your reason why? And are you driven by ego or are you missing the signs, being so bullheaded that you're realizing you're flushing your entire savings down the toilet? And it is the craziest idea. You know, nobody wants pink toilet paper flushers, right? Like, let it go and try something else. Because out of every one of those tries, you learn so many valuable lessons, it's going to make you speed up and get to your success in the next venture so much faster. Everything happens for a reason. You need to learn lessons. When they hit you in the face, you need to listen to them and then go, okay, thank you for that. It was an opportunity for me to grow, right? A problem, not a problem to stop you. A problem is an opportunity for you to reassess. And you just really need to know, where am I coming from? And if you do that, I guarantee you it'll come to you. Because if you listen to your gut. I'm really big on intuition. If you listen to your gut, you know, once you shut down all the noise, don't worry about if people are going to laugh at you. So what? That's their life. They're not even trying and doing anything. You tried, right? Look at Elon Musk, right?

He pushes it to the brink, and yeah, yeah, he goes after it.

And a lot of people laugh at him. And I'm like, oh, well, who's laughing now? Yeah, but if he never would have tried, he never. So you just have to turn everybody else off and just say, why am I doing this? What do I want out of it? And what is it that is driving me and you pretty much. You unpeel the wrapper like that, you'll figure it out.

No, it's. That is so good. And I'm thinking through. I'm thinking through Elon, and the only time I can ever think of him showing his butt is when he's been pushed too many times. Other than that, he walks around in a fairly humble state constantly. Right? No, I love that. Well, let me ask you this. All right? So I'm kind of like, you got my brain thinking now, like, spinning a little bit. Okay, so let's talk about the ego, right? So as an entrepreneur, I will be honest with you and the audience and say, as an entrepreneur, I have acted out of ego. I have made decisions out of ego. I have pursued things out of ego. I've also acted out of love, acted out of grace, acted out of mission, done things, and, like, done it that direction. And I've also been confused about whether or not I'm acting out of ego or whether or not I'm actually acting out of impact before. How do we clarify that? Is. Is. Is it not the best time to. To. To. To kind of have a replenishment phase with people you know like, or people you know like, and trust that are ahead of you? Is that. Is that not the best way to figure out, hey, am I doing this right?

Well, get a good mentor around you or a series of mentors around you. There's no doubt about it. That's the whole purpose of a mentor, right? To pave the way and help you be a sounding board to bounce things off of. But I'm going to go back and I'm going to say, you know, I know. Do you know how tempting it was when they said, we're going to make you famous, we're going to splash your face all over billboards and this and that. It was tempting for about a half a second. And that was the ego. And I thought, but that's not the path I want. Might be great for someone else. It's not the path I want. It's not going to get me what I want. Deep down inside.

You just have to be still and then go to someone you trust. So you had a mentor growing up. I'm sure you've got a couple other mentors in different areas for different things, right? Like, my husband is a phenomenal mentor in certain areas and other areas. I wouldn't dare ask him because he just. He has a different lens. Right? So go to those people that you trust and bounce it off of them. And those friends, those mentors are so good at putting up a mirror. They don't even have to tell you the answer, but just through talking to them and saying it out loud sometimes, you know.

Yeah.

Your own best mentors.

That's so good.

Yeah.

That's what she's talking about. Using that intuition, by the way.

But you, you. You do know. But we all need help.

You can't.

Can't do this by yourself. It's nuts. If you think you can.

Oh, my gosh, I could talk to you for days. Well, let me ask you this. Like, where can everybody find out more about you and learn especially about the retreat and all that good stuff? I want to make sure everybody, like, seriously, guys, if there's one person you're going to add to your mentor list this year, it's Heather. So make sure you make sure you follow her accordingly. So where can everybody find you?

So everybody can find me, go to my website. It's heatherrstone.com you can find the events page there. You can find heatherrstone.com rejuvenate2023 to sign up. They're selling fast, but I'd love to see people there. We are going to add another one through the. Halfway through the year because this has been so popular. The first one, we're, we're almost full of the first one. So I'm pretty excited about that. But I've got plenty of other great surprise guests to bring to the next one. Um, yeah, and it at Instagram, it's Heather R. Stone official. And then you can just find it on the website. I'm out there. Mentors and Moguls podcast. Go find that. It's on YouTube and it's Amazon Audible. Everywhere you can find podcasts.

Rock on. Rock on. Well, look, I've enjoyed having you, and I got to have you back on again, and especially with all the new stuff cooking, man. Just seriously, thank you so much for spending some time with me today.

Well, thank you. It's been a pleasure. Have a great day.

All right. Take care. Peace.

Bye. Bye.

I hope you liked that video. And if you did, make sure you check out this next video right here.

What stories can I tell myself when presented with an event that will lead me to the action that I know I need to take in order to get the results and create the life that I want? Those stories that you choose to tell yourself in that moment will dictate the actions you take and what your life becomes.