Lana Jelenjev, a learning experience designer and author, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014, which led her to develop the concept of "selfful"—a balance between selfishness and selflessness with clear boundaries. She argues that effective communities need shared purpose beyond business goals, and that connection is key to happiness.
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Welcome to the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. This episode is brought to you by Authors Unite. Authors Unite provides you with the support you need to finish your book. Best part is, after you finish your book, they take care of the entire publishing and marketing process 100% for you. So if you want to become a successful author, make sure to check out authorsunite.com. Now let's jump into the episode.
All right everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner. Today I have Lana Yelenyev with us. She is a learning experience designer, author, and community alchemist. She is the co-author of Make Great Things Happen, The 90-Day Action Planner, and is the community strategist for Dream, See, Do, She Dares, Co.lab, and the Business Blast Club. So welcome to the show.
Hi, welcome.
Yes, pumped to have you here, Alana.
Yes, you are getting on talking about communities and what we're doing.
Yes, very, very excited. So we'll definitely weave that in. Should we start with our first question we normally ask is what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
What one of the stories that I always share was when I got diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014, and from there I reinvented myself and redesigned my life and believe in the aspect of being selfful. So it's very different from being selfish or being selfless, but the middle ground wherein you know your boundaries, know your yeses, understand your full nos, and live a life with more presence and visit and engagement.
And then what is the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry? And, you know, I know you have a lot of expertise in building community, so feel free to enlighten us in that area.
Well, When it comes to communities, one of the first things that I ask companies or small businesses is to think of communities as having a shared purpose. Oftentimes they think of communities as something that is directly related to their business goals, when communities in fact need to transcend beyond business goals and be a place where people can co-create a shared purpose.
Hmm, I agree. I love that. And then what is your best piece of overall business advice? So not necessarily industry-specific.
My best advice would be to find your why. And if it's taking too long to understanding why you're doing things, or really getting into the heart of your red thread, so to speak, I would say just to experiment, you know, I firmly believe in failing forward. And by experimenting and by adjusting your actions based on the learnings that you get along the way, you would definitely get back to the core of your mission and your vision and understand really why you're doing things.
And then if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
I would say not to be too attached to the end result. I grew up, I came from the Philippines and I grew up in a culture where you're so bombarded with, okay, you have to be like this, or you have to be academically bright in doing well. So that has, you know, that has limited me in that sense of exploring my capabilities. And I was so attached to a particular purpose or a particular result. So I would definitely say to my younger self, you know, not to listen to that, not to, you know, not to pay attention to what others are saying as what needs to happen when you're, you know, in your 20s and your 30s. So letting go of that particular result would definitely free you of whatever will come our way in life.
And then in your opinion, what is the key to happiness?
Oh, that's interesting. I would definitely say another C word, which is connection. I firmly believe in surrounding myself with people who nurture me and sustain my energy and my love for life. So having that, you know, having the circles of connection that would promote that is very much a big key of my happiness.
And what is the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from that?
Oh, I have so much. I love books. Let me think. I would say, and this is something that I read when I was just 16, and the book was Living, Loving, and Learning by Leo Buscaglia. And it was, just imagine, you know, at 16 years of age, going through life in university. It opened my eyes to the idea of self-development and the love for the self. So that for me was the book that I say I would give to my kids as part of their treasury of books that I'll be sharing with them.
And what is your favorite quote and why?
My favorite quote is, "Love means me leading you gently back to yourself." And that is Lea Bosquería's words. And the reason why I love this is it just gives so much openness and so much connection as to our roles to other people's lives, you know, how our presence and how our engagement affects them.
I love it, Lana. Thank you so much for coming on. The last one I have for you before we let you go is where can our audience best find you online?
Well, you can find me in my LinkedIn profile, Lana Yeleniev, or I also write about community, sendercremcido.org. And of course, the Business Blast Club. You can also hop in there, join the conversations, and take part in the community.
Awesome. Thank you again for coming on, Lana.
My pleasure. Thank you for having me, Tyler Wagner.
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