Episode 706: The Power of Duality in Entrepreneurship (Mindset & Self-Care)

EBT706 – The Power of Duality in Entrepreneurship

Intro  00:01

Hey food bloggers. Thank you so much for joining me in this mindset and self-care focused episode here on Eat Blog Talk. One of the reasons I started a blog talk was to hold a space to talk about the importance of mindset and self-care. Being an entrepreneur can be a lot. If we are not taking care of ourselves, then getting actionable information about SEO Pinterest or whatever else is all moot. I will meet you back here every Wednesday to discuss various mindset and self-care topics. So you have the energy and space to tackle the rest.

[00:00:37]   

Hello food bloggers. How are you today? How’s your week going? I hope it’s amazing. Today we are going to talk about the power of duality in entrepreneurship. I love this topic. It’s been on my heart lately in the best way possible. I’ve been thinking a lot about this concept of just the dualities that we navigate as entrepreneurs. So those moments where two seemingly opposite truths exist at one time.

[00:01:07]   

And it’s like we’re not invited to pick just one over the other, but we’re invited to hold both at the same time. This concept came up in a conversation I had recently with somebody. How so often we think we need to fix one part of ourselves before we can feel successful. Like once I’m more confident, then I will be ready to pitch brands, or once I’m consistent, then I will be able to take myself more seriously or fill in the blank.

[00:01:44]   

But what if that isn’t actually the point at all?

[00:01:48]   

What if the real magic, the real, actual growth happens when we allow ourselves to show up fully human with all of our contradictions and imperfections? Let me tell you a little story. So a couple of weeks ago, Melissa and I, she is my business partner for Flavor Media Summit if you don’t know that. We hosted the conference.We hosted Flavor Media and it was incredible.

[00:02:20]   

It was so amazing and magical. We felt so proud of what we had created. And it was just the best experience, I think for us, but also for the attendees and everyone who was there. But I was also super aware the entire time we were at the conference that I wasn’t showing up perfectly.My opening talk was riddled with nerves.

[00:02:47]   

I was so nervous. There were things I wanted to say that just never made it out of my mouth. I found myself saying awkward things to people throughout the event that just didn’t land the way I had intended for them to. I remember a few times after saying something to people, looking at their faces and seeing kind of a look of confusion, I was like, oh that didn’t quite land as I had hoped.

[00:03:13]   

I was not showing up perfectly.

[00:03:16]   

But the cool thing that also happened was that I didn’t spiral after having these realizations. I did not beat myself up. I did not fall into that overthinking and overanalyzing mode as a previous version of myself definitely would have done, because I just acknowledged the fact that I was showing up. I was in the arena.In Brene Brown’s words, I was present.

[00:03:44]   

I was being vulnerable, and I was doing the thing that I know I meant to do in this world. And to me, that felt like success. It would have been so easy for me to fixate on those imperfections. The things I was saying that did not land with people, the nerves, all of that, to let those things overshadow the bigger picture.But instead, I held both truths at the same time.

[00:04:16]   

I was nervous and I was proud. I stumbled and I showed up. I felt off in some moments, and I felt deeply aligned at the same time. This is what I mean when I say that success in this space lives in duality. You can be both brave and scared.

[00:04:41]   

You can be imperfect and impactful. You can be a beginner and a leader. You can be grateful and overwhelmed. You can be proud of what you’ve built and still desiring more. We get into trouble when we believe we have to resolve one side before we can claim the other.

[00:05:04]   

The truth is, you can feel two things at once, no matter what moment you’re in. In fact, I would say the most successful entrepreneurs I know are the ones who have learned to hold their own duality with so much grace. They’re not waiting until they’re fearless. There’s no such thing. Everyone has fear.

[00:05:26]   

They are moving forward with the fear. They’re not waiting to feel 100% confident. They’re building as they go. So if you’re listening to this and thinking, oh, I feel so inconsistent, or I’m still figuring it out, or I’m still insecure sometimes, or not confident, welcome. This is the whole deal.

[00:05:49]   

And it’s not something that you need to fix. It’s something that you should be honoring. Here’s a little practice I love. Next time you feel that tension inside between who you are and who you’re becoming, pause and name it. So you can say to yourself, I’m feeling both X and Y, and that is okay.

[00:06:14]   

You can also say, I’m proud of myself and I wish I’d done that differently, or I’m showing up scared. And that still counts because it does. This level of acceptance is powerful. It makes you resilient. It keeps you in the game when others are burning out.

[00:06:34]   

At the end of the day, success is not found in perfection. We all know this. It’s found in presence. It’s found in showing up, in staying in the arena. Even when your voice shakes and quivers or your slides glitch or your sentences come out weird.

[00:06:52]   

That’s where your power lies. Not in being flawless or perfect, but in being fully here. So I will leave you with this. You are allowed to be wildly successful and wildly messy. You can hold two truths at once.

[00:07:09]   

You can be both. You are already enough. Keep showing up as you are, as your awesome self. Because you are so awesome. If this message landed with you today, I’d love to hear what duality you are holding right now in your life.

[00:07:24]   

Send me an email [email protected] I truly would love to hear it. What are you learning to embrace in yourself, in your journey, in your business, in your life? I’d love to hear from you. And that’s all. This was a short and sweet one today, but so powerful. Thank you for joining me. I will see you again next week.

[00:07:45]   Outro

Thank you so much for listening to this mindset and self-care episode of Eat Blog Talk. These mindset episodes are now available on YouTube so watch it over there. Search Eat Blog Talk on YouTube and we’ll see you over there.