How to Make Your Life Easier
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Mr. Biz Radio: How to Make Your Life "Easier"
Unedited transcription of the show is included below:
(00:04):
Welcome to Mr. Biz radio, Biz. Talk for Biz owners. If you're ready to stop faking the funk and take your business onward and upward, this show is for you. And now here's Mr. Biz, Ken Wentworth.
(00:20):
Right? Everyone. Welcome to another episode of Mr. Biz. Radio with me, Mr. Biz, Ken Wentworth. And we have a, a guest this week. That's gonna actually help something that everyone can relate to. Easy for me to say, I can't even get it out and it will be helpful to talk about what we're gonna talk about based on I'm tongue tied already. We just got into this. We're gonna talk about how to make your life easier and a lot of different ways. Our guest this week is now the Mr. Chris Westfall. He's one of the most sought after business coaches and keynote speakers in the world. He has helped launched over five dozen businesses and has appeared on ABC news, NBC TV, and CNN. He's a regular contributor to Forbes. He's worked thousands of leaders at fortune 500 companies, nonprofit organizations, and high tech startups. He's a coach to entrepreneurs and executives around the globe. His clients have appeared on shark tank, dragons, den, and shark tank Australia. He regularly consults with top tier universities in the oth or is the author of four other books including what we're gonna talk about today easier 60 ways to make your work life work for you, Chris Westfall welcome to Mr. Biz radio.
(01:23):
Thank you so much for having me. It's great to be here.
(01:25):
Yeah, I've been looking forward to this. I know we've got a booked a while back and had some fits and starts and everything, but I'm glad we were able to get it on the, on the calendar and get everything squared away. I guess let's just start, you know, I read the intro here, your, a little bit of your bio and let's talk about your journey, your entrepreneurial journey.
(01:42):
Well, my entrepreneurial journey started in corporate America. I was a reluctant entrepreneur. I, I, you know, my journey is one of finding an identity as an entrepreneur, quite frankly, because I was a corporate guy for so many years. And I didn't realize that inside of me, there was an entrepreneur lurking waiting to come out. And I'm so glad that I discovered about, I guess it was about 10, 12 years ago that I started my entrepreneurial career and people along the journey, along in, in the course of my life had been pointing towards the, the innovation, the creativity, the just the different skills that I bring to the table that, that make me effective as an entrepreneur and, and allow me to be helpful to the, the clients that I serve, who are entrepreneurs as well to tap into that, that sense of possibility. And for many, many years, as a corporate guy, that sense of possibility was what was missing because while I found having a specific role comforting, I, I wanted something more and that was what led me to launch my business, my first business which led me to launch several others. And I've run a video production business. I've had a small publishing company I've helped launch, as you mentioned in my introduction 60 plus businesses. So it's been an amazing journey so far.
(03:12):
Well, so Chris, I gotta ask. So I went down this path as well. I was in corporate America left, went on the entrepreneurial route as well. So I have to ask for you, what, what, what was that moment did, was there a moment in time, an epiphany type moment or anything that you were in corporate world and said, I gotta get out of this. I gotta, I gotta move and do my own thing.
(03:30):
I think the epiphany moment didn't, didn't come from me. It came from others outside of me. And in fact there was one, one gent who is, is a friend and a mentor to me to this day guy by the name of Jeffrey Hazlet. And I was actually in a mastermind group with him, trying to launch my business, trying to, to step onto a bigger stage. And I'm sure a lot of entrepreneurs can relate to that. And I was sharing some of the frustrations that I was having in my business. And Jeffrey has looked at me and very simply said, and I'll never forget it. He said, Chris, you gotta think big and act bigger. And I, and I thought about that for a second. I thought, what, what do you mean act bigger? Does that mean like fake it to you? Make it?
(04:17):
I mean, what was he trying to say? And, and I wasn't sure at first, but I sat with it and I realized that what he was trying to say was act bigger to take bigger action, not to be, not to be grandiose or over the top or something like that. In fact, there was, there was no fake till you make it inside of that at all. It was actually about being more authentic, more real, and more true to myself and taking bigger actions. So the path to entrepreneurship for me was really recognizing that that massive action is, is what is required if you want to create results. And, and so for me, having others along the journey to help shepherd me to help, to help me to see things that I couldn't see from my own limited perspective, those friends, coaches, mentors, advisors have made a huge, huge difference for me in my career. And, and quite frankly, that's why I work as a coach to, to give back, to give back not, not just my experiences, because I don't coach to the level of my experience. I want to help others to create the experiences that they want so that they can think big and act bigger, whatever that means in, in their own specific terms, because it's not about living life, according to my template or my script or my six step strategy, it's about walking the path and discovering what success means on your own terms.
(05:44):
I love it. I love it. Well, you may have already answered. I was gonna ask what, along those lines, being in the corporate world, as well as now being an entrepreneur for a dozen or so years and launching all these businesses, what would you say is like the most important career lesson that you've learned at least so far
(06:00):
Learned to say yes. Learned to say, yes, I'll tell you you know, I launched my career as a coach, working with folks who, who wanted to go onto television shows like shark tank. And, and one day I took a, I took a phone call from an area code that I didn't recognize. And yes, I do answer my phone and my phone rang and I answered it and it was an area code I didn't recognize. And on the voice, on the other side of the phone said, Chris, we need your help. We need your help to get on a television show called Dragons Den. And I said, dragons, I've never heard of a show called dragons stand. He goes, of course not, we're we're, we're in Canada, you're in the United States in the United States. You call it shark tank. And so from these very humble beginnings, and by the way, my first thought was, I'm not sure if I can help this guy from these very humble beginnings. I found myself walking a path towards a coaching career that has, has been phenomenal so far to, to this day and continues to be incredibly satisfying. But it was because I said, yes, it was because I answered my phone. It was because I said, would you like some help with that, that an entire, an entire career unfolded for me as an entrepreneur. And it all started with a phone call.
(07:15):
Interesting. So anyone who listens to the show and has been listening to the show for a while. So every week I get have a Mr. Biz tip of the week. And one of my tips that I've used is literally, I, I promise guys, this was not a setup. I did not talk to Chris about this ahead of time. One of the tips is start with yes. With your employees, with your customers, with ideas. I, I think so many times that we a lot of folks anyway, you automatically with a new idea, even you start to think about how it won't work. Oh, well, we can't do that because, and you, you come up with this whole litany, a list of things of it won't work because of this. And we tried that, but it won't do, instead of saying, how could we make this work? Maybe it's something, you know, it would require something that's not possible. Maybe you don't have the capital the time, et cetera, et cetera, but at least figure out how it can work and decide if you're willing to make those sacrifices, et cetera, to, to make it happen.
(08:09):
Yes, absolutely. True. I couldn't agree with you more. And you know, what I like to say is, is you can do almost anything if you don't talk yourself out of it first. And that's exactly what you're saying is to, to get out of your own way is, is sometimes the greatest, the greatest coaching advice that, that anyone can possibly give. And it's, it's easier said than done, but when you stop stopping, you get started and that's that, there's a lot of power and a lot of wisdom in what you're saying. I, I agree with you 100%.
(08:40):
Yeah, love it. Love it. Well, guys, we're talking this week again with Mr. Chris Westfall, Westfall and associates, we'll find out more at westfallonline.com. We're gonna hit a break. We'll come back, we'll get the Mr. Biz tip of the week. Continue talking with Chris and find out more about how he, he helps business owners with the businesses.
(09:01):
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(10:10):
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(10:21):
All right. Welcome back to the show. It's time for the Mr. Biz tip of the week. And this week's tip is something that you I'm sure everyone may be guilty of it yourself or you at least know folks in your, in your life. That often times they they're always looking for the weekend, right? It's Wednesday. And I go, man, just two more days, just two more days. And the tip this week is don't make your weekends week ends. Whether you're in the corporate world, doing a nine to five, whether you're an entrepreneur, et cetera, don't make your weekends weekends. Don't make sure that you use that time effectively on the weekends for whatever it may be, your personal life to better your career, to, to, to work on your side hustle. If you're doing that to, to tweak things in your own business, use that time wisely, don't make it a week end. That's the tip Mr. Biz tip of the week, this week. All right. So let's get back into this, Chris. So talk to us a little bit about some of the things you do at Westfall and associates, how you help folks.
(11:18):
Well, the primary focus of my business right now is on coaching. And so I work with fortune 500 companies. I work with footsie 100 companies in the UK, and I work with individuals as well. And the way that I work with, with individuals, let me, I I'll just give you an example. I, I had a, an executive a regional vice president who came to me and he said, you know, I'm a regional vice president in finance, and I want to be, I want to be in the C-suite. I want to be a chief operations officer or a chief financial officer, but I, I don't have a background in accounting. And I mean, I've worked in finance and operations, my whole career, but I don't have a background in accounting and I I'm, I'm going in on these interviews and I'm, you know, I'm, I'm coming in second place.
(12:02):
Can you help me? And so we met here in my home office. I, I invite people here to, to my home in Houston and we sit down and talk about what, what he was seeing and what he was going through. And in the course of our conversation, he shared with me some very ambitious goals that he had, you know, a 12 year plan, what he wanted to do and all of these things that, that were his ambitions and which I appreciated, I appreciated sharing that. We've all got those ambitions and those dreams, right. But I, I shared with him something that, that I think really helped him to gain focus, and I I'll share it with you and, and for everybody today, if, and if it's okay with you, I'm gonna share it via a green screen. I know your producer didn't expect this, but I'm just gonna throw up a green screen just real quick.
(12:47):
And here it is, this is what I share with him. Two words right here. I like it slow down, slow down. And when we slowed down, he was able to take a fresh look at his career goals. And we looked at the way that he was interviewing the way that he was showing up. And I shared with him that the, you know, the way you show up is what's creating the world around you. And from this understanding, he began to interview differently. And right now I'm proud to say that I, I got another one of those phone calls. <Laugh> where he told me that he had moved into a CFO position and he couldn't have been happier. And it, it was because of our conversations and because he was able to slow down and that, I'm sure that sounds counterintuitive and crazy, but in this go, go go world.
(13:38):
When we slow down, we see other possibilities. We see ways to, to answer interview questions. We see ways to interact with, with the people that we care about. And, and that has been for me, one of the most satisfying things in my coaching work is to, is to share with executives and leaders and, and not just C-suite leaders, but aspiring C-suite leaders, the path forward, which is not my path. It's not my way. It's helping people to find their own way and to show up in a way that's more powerful where they get out of their own way to really discover what that path looks like.
(14:13):
Interesting. Yeah. You know, it's funny you say that Chris, I had this sort of epiphany myself. Mm-Hmm <affirmative> I wanna say probably three years ago. I was go, go, go. And I hadn't even how I work, interact with people as a fractional CFO, working with business leaders is I, I coach them and I work with them to take a step back and think very strategically on the business. And I hadn't done it in my own business because I was it's like you said, I was constantly going and I had to slow down. So now I literally book time on my calendar every month. The third Friday of every month, I have a four hour window where I do nothing, but take a full step back and look at everything, monitor and measure things. What's working. What's not working. How do I, you know, what do I wanna do with this in three years and five years and seven years? And how do I need to adjust the plan? But I had to slow down mm-hmm <affirmative>. And it, you know, it's so frustrating sometimes for me, because the things that I work with business owners on, sometimes I find that I don't even drink my own Koolaid. I'm not even doing it myself. And it's just silly, you know?
(15:18):
Yeah. It, but that investment in yourself is so crucial. And, and when we see that we have to invest in ourselves and that's not being selfish, that's called self-care it. We sharpen the saw as Steven Covey says, we see things in a new way. And I think putting yourself on your calendar and that's what you're doing, that's really what you're saying is you're, you're putting yourself on the calendar. And, and that investment always, always, always pays dividends. And, and, you know, for me, for my work, a lot of the entrepreneurs that I work with, they're, they're looking for ways to, to capitalize on investment. And I, I had an entrepreneur who came to me and it was, he was getting ready to be on shark tank this past season, season 12. And he said, you know, I, I, I need your help because he had been coached by the producers on shark tank that, that who he needed to be.
(16:12):
And you could see the air quotes, the persona that he needed to assume was this like high energy kind of almost, almost like an infomercial, kind of a sham wow. Sort of vibe. And he showed me the videos and he's like, you know, I, I did this, but it just doesn't feel like me. I don't think I can sustain this on the show. And he was right. And what we had to do was to take some time to invest in who he was and come back to that identity, to come back to looking at the person, not the persona, to seeing beyond what he had been told he should do to what he knew he could do. And we focused on doing the doable. And as a result, he, he went on shark tank. Not only did he go on the show, but he got a deal that is unprecedented in the 12 years of shark tank, Barbara Corcoran made him an offer. And then later, Robert Cheick who actually wasn't on the show, also jumped in for an investment in his business. So it was a real success story, but it all started with coming back to investing in yourself and recognizing that the strongest persona isn't a persona at all at all. It's, it's being the person you were meant to be and stepping into that identity.
(17:28):
It's interesting. Yeah. I, I Sarah Blakely, who was the founder of spans until the Kardashian, one of the Kardashian girls, she was the youngest, self-made female billionaire mm-hmm <affirmative> at the time from, from founding spans. And she talks about that's what she does once a quarter. She goes away for a long weekend. No kids, no husband, and goes to some, you know, hotel gets massages and all this other stuff, drinks, some wine just relaxes and just only self-care, but only slows down to think again about the business, taking the time to think strategically, et cetera. And she said, she found as she was going through building spanks, that that's what she needed to do because she got into this whole thing. We were just talking about run, run, run, go, go, go. And she said, I really found that I had to take that step back. And it was crucially important for her to continue to build spans and build it into what, what it is now.
(18:19):
W you gotta wonder, where does innovation come from? And I mean, Sarah Blakely, she's been so innovative and she clearly knows what so many times we forget. I know I forget this in my business, but you have to step back. And, and one of the things that I've found that can make business very difficult is when we, when we zooming in trying to figure something out, rather than zooming out and letting innovation come to us, that's what you're talking about. I think that's a very powerful message.
(18:47):
Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Well guys, again, this week, we're talking with Mr. Chris Westfall, you can find out more at westfallonline.com. We'll come back after the break. We're gonna dive into talking about his most recent book, easier 60 ways to make your work life work for you. You can find out more about the book at easier-book.com.
(19:10):
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(20:11):
Check out all three of Mr. Business best-selling books at mrbizbooks.com. Now, once again, here's Mr. Biz.
(20:20):
All right. Welcome back to the show and talking this week with Mr. Chris Westfall. And I wanna dive in talking a little bit about the book, your most recent book, I should say. I know you've got a few others, but the book easier. So you, and one of the things I know you cover in the book and you talk about is how do you, how is the best way, cuz I think everyone can relate to this and resonate at some point or another in your lives, in your career. How do you pivot from a, a, a mindset of how, how do I get through this to what can I get from this?
(20:52):
Yeah, what you're describing is shifting from a, a victim mindset to having some, some agency in, in your life. And there is a way to step through difficult circumstances. And that's really at the center of easier. The, the idea, the premise of the book is that life isn't easy, but there is a way to show up that makes things easier. And when we go from, how am I gonna get through this? Which is what we say, when things are difficult to, what can I get from this? We experience a shift in perspective. And some may describe that as a mindset shift. I would describe it as a shift in my state of mind. And I had to, I had to experience this from a really, really difficult place because I, I lost my dad. I lost my dad to COVID in the early days of the pandemic before vaccines and all that stuff.
(21:50):
And he, it was a thing where he tested positive on a Monday and by Friday he was gone. Oh, geez. And yeah, it was it was a shock, as you can imagine. And I found myself just, just racked with grief, right. And I mean, I, I would be sitting at a traffic light and I, I would just, I would just start to weep cause he wasn't just my father. He was my friend I had happened. So suddenly, I mean, I could go on and on with all the things that, that maybe just, you know, shake my fists at the sky and say, how am I gonna get through this? But then I realized something and it actually was realization that happened to me as I'm sitting there at a traffic light, just gripping the steering wheel, weeping uncontrollably. I realized that if I were gonna get through this and try to make these tears go away, right.
(22:36):
And we've all said that to ourselves, get a grip, get, get this under control. If I were gonna do that, I would have to erase the memory of what my father meant to me. And I was willing to do that. I would never give that up. And what happened for me was I learned to step into my grief and understand that it was part of my, my experience. We've all experienced loss, but instead of saying, oh, I, you know, I gotta fight that. I gotta get I, how can I get through this? I saw that my grief was love persevering. I saw that my grief was an honor of the memory of my father and from this very, very difficult place I shifted. And I said, what, what can I get from this, this horrible situation, this situation that is not easy by any means, but what can I get from this?
(23:31):
And you know, one of the things I've realized grief never goes away. It never disappears. But when we make our human experience, okay, when we get okay with what it is that we are feeling, what we can get from this can be something quite amazing. And, and I, that probably sounds crazy, but I've experienced this, that from loss, disappointment can come new realizations and new discoveries. And for me, the, what I discovered was the, the themes inside of easier and to be able to share these themes and these ideas and these stories has, has been my way of honoring my father's memory. And it has been for me quite personally and quite powerfully. What's good about this.
(24:19):
Well, and, and it's a great segue to another thing that you talk about in the book and and it relates to what you were just talking about in some ways, but you talk about how you can have resilience and adaptability and how it can be available to anyone at any time. Talk us through some of that, if you would, Chris how can we, how can we sort of tap into that?
(24:38):
So many times people think resilience is some sort of motivational mumbo Jambo, right? It's something, you know, just be resilient, you'll bounce back which is sort of a version of just get over yourself, which nobody needs to hear. And that's not very helpful. Yeah. Resilience though, is, is part of our DNA. It's, it's like five fingers on a hand, we all possess it. We all possess the ability to bounce back. And one of the things I share in the book is not a motivational story, but a scientific one that I came to know through an author by the name of David Eagleman, Eagleman wrote a book called live wired. And this is the most inspiring book that I've read in the last decade. And the crazy thing is, is it's a science book. David Eagleman is a scientist and he shares stories of people.
(25:27):
Who've experienced loss. They've lost their hearing. They've lost their sense of sight. They've lost limbs. They've, they've lost certain capabilities and Eagleman who is a, a neuroscientist by the way. And he's a, he works at Stanford. He's a professor there. He shares that for all of these individuals, they are able to rewire their brain to compensate, to find resilience in the midst of losing a limb, losing sight, et cetera. And the story is incredibly, incredibly inspiring because it's not a superhero story. It's a story about humanity. These people who have learned how to read braille, how to read through their fingertips because of the way that our brains rewire the portion of our brain that is used for sight. When we lose our sight, it begins rewiring so that our other senses become more sensitive, more, more aware. And Eagleman says in the book that this change happens in about an hour scientific studies have been done to track how quickly this, this resilience shows up.
(26:40):
And again, not a superhero story stories about human beings, people just like you and me. And what that means is is that we all have the ability to bounce back. You think about it. We live in a world where second chances exist. You may say, well, I don't know. I don't know about second chances with my ex-wife. Well, no, but you do have second chance to start over, to find someone new, to create a new relationship. Second chances always exist. And what that means is, is that resilience, isn't some, some motivational mumbo jumbo or a story of sunshine and peppermint. It's a story that we can all access because it's built into our DNA.
(27:21):
Awesome. Yeah. That's powerful. Very powerful. Well, we've only got about a couple minutes left here, but so I'll, I'll, I'll ask you one more question. I think the book's called easier and there's 60 ways. Mm-Hmm, <affirmative> give us one thing. What's one thing Chris, that, that the listeners viewers can take from and take action today to make their lives easier.
(27:45):
Well, inside easier, it's the story of a man who wants more from his career. And he's thinking about launching his own business. He's a corporate guy, but he wants to start his entrepreneurial journey. He's not sure where to begin little, does he know he's about to be fired in just five days? So he hires a coach to get through these difficult circumstances and the coach shares with him these words, and, and I'm gonna share it as, as my number one tip for folks who are facing tough times. I don't know if it's as tough as a job loss or maybe even tougher than that, but regardless of what you're facing, you can remember these, I guess these are three words and here they are, do the doable, do the doable. If you wanna create the impossible, if you wanna achieve great things, or if you just wanna find your way to get from a bad situation into a place where you can say, what can I get from this consider how doing the doable is the first step to creating the impossible, to taking the journey that you are meant to take. Entrepreneurship can be daunting, but it doesn't have to be because thousands, millions of people are entrepreneurs today. And if you see that you can do the doable, you can discover your journey and discover your path forward. And it becomes easier.
(28:59):
I love it. I love it. That's a, that's something that everyone can do today for sure. And really kind of pulls you back and, and makes you think about things a little bit and, and, and create some positive momentum forward. Well, we're out of time here, but again, guys, if you're interested in finding out more about the book again, you can find out more easier-book.com or westfallonline.com. You can find out more about what Chris does. Chris, thanks so much for coming on the show. I really appreciate it.
(29:25):
My pleasure. Thanks for having me. It was great.
(29:27):
Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Well guys, thanks for watching. Thanks for listening. Have a great week. And don't forget as always cash flow is king
(29:40):
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