The Happy Entrepreneur

If you're like me (or the me 10 years ago) you believe in mind over matter.As a hyper rational human I used think that thinking was all there was.My body was just a vehicle through which my mind would navigate life.I always lived in my head and ignored the signals that came from my body (other than pleasure, pain and hunger).Because of that I was very much cut off and unaware of my feelings.I thought that feelings only started in the mind.But I've now come to understand how much the sensations in our bodies affect the quality of our thinking.And how our thinking can ramp up the feelings in our bodies.It's a highly interconnected system that can go horribly wrong if you ignore the connection.Burnout, poor decision making and inability to face real challenges are all symptoms of being out of touch with our bodies.We can't only think our ways to success; we also have to feel our way there too.On the Friday Fireside we'll be exploring how we can get ourselves being more aware of our bodies and we'll present a different way of thinking and learning that isn't just head driven.We'll be joined by Ruth Polden. She's a Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner, Yoga teacher, YogaBirth Senior Tutor and former dancer /choreographer.The Feldenkrais Method is a powerful, innovative approach to learning. Blending biology, physics, neuroscience, and motor development, it is designed to engage with our brain’s “neuroplasticity,” (our brain’s awesome ability to change, rewire itself, adapt and repair), to benefit our body and how we move and function in life.Being a physicist I'm looking forward to seeing how physics and feelings combine!

As a leader of a business it’s up to you to tell everyone where you’re going.It’s your responsibility to create a clear vision for everyone to buy into and have clarity as to the direction and relevance of their work.However, in an ever-changing world what happens when you don’t have all the answers.How do you balance the vulnerability of not knowing with the need for a clear vision of the future?And how do you cope, after spending a big chunk of your life knowing exactly where you’re going and what you’re aiming for, when you need to change but don’t know what that change should be.You can do all the rational analysis you want but you can still feel unclear.This is where being more in tune with your body can help.And cultivating (and trusting) your instincts.On this episode of the Friday Fireside we’re joined by Pauline Tenner, author of Laid Bare: What The Business Leader Learnt From The Stripper.It’s a self-help book for business leaders and entrepreneurs that care about employee well-being and business profitability.But the bit that interested me was how it talks to showing up unapologetically in your role as a business leader.I’m also fascinated by Paulina’s current journey of transitioning out of her business and finding a new path.As well as an author, Paulina is an entrepreneur, an angel investor, TEDx speaker and a founder of GrantTree. She started her business with a purpose to help tech startups navigate the complex world of government funding and since 2010 has grown her team organically from 2 to 50 and raised over £200M for more than 600 technology startups.A couple of fascinating aspects of GrantTree are that it has an open culture company which pioneered a self set salary scheme and that it also employs holacracy in its management approach.Her new book, which encapsulated her learnings is now a Hot New Release on Amazon which you can pre-order here [http://www.paulinatenner.com/book.](http://www.paulinatenner.com/book.)Mentioned in this episode:Happy Startup Summer Camp 2022 Join us s for a weekend of possibility, and a lifetime of impact. 16th-18th September.

Shamash Alidina is a mindfulness and ACT trainer. And is also the author of mindfulness for dummies.ACT stands for acceptance and commitment therapy and in this episode of the podcast Shamash shares some of the principles of ACT and how they can help us cultivate more resilience and self-compassion in our lives.In summary the key principles of ACT are:Be presentOpen upDo what mattersBy following these principles we’re more able to make conscious choices and overcome any challenges we face because of them.Most of the time there are no wrong or right choices.There are just choices and repercussions.If we believe that we’re able to deal with any repercussions then it becomes much easier to make choices.It’s when we find ourselves unable to make choices that we get stuck.We also talk to Shamash about how pain and purpose are two sides of the same coin.And how doing something meaningful usually mean that it’s also going to be challenging.We talk about how achieving goals and living our values affect our sense of happiness and meaning.As well as the pressure we put ourselves under to always be happy, particularly in our community.Being happy all the time isn’t really the point. Particularly if we criticise ourselves for not being so.If you're an entrepreneur or you're starting a new project or venture and you’re wondering if you’ll be able to overcome all the difficulties and challenges that will inevitably come your way then I recommend you listen to this episode.Because there are a few nuggets of wisdom that Shamash will share with you that will help you cultivate the resilience and resourcefulness you need.Mentioned in this episode:Happy Startup Summer Camp 2022 Join us s for a weekend of possibility, and a lifetime of impact. 16th-18th September.

"Think Different" is the famous slogan used by Apple to differentiate themselves from the grey PC boxes that IBM were churning out in the 80s and 90s.However, what if you think differently at a fundamental level? You see the world differently. You process the world differently. And you engage with the world differently.On this episode, Carlos and Laurence talk with Matthew Bellringer - coach, consultant, speaker and divergent pathfinder.They learn from him and guests about neurodivergence and why the conventional ways of working and being in business aren't suited to everyone.Matthew himself has recently been diagnosed with ADHD and he's been on a journey of understanding how to align the way he works with the way he thinks.If you feel like a misfit at work or an unconventional entrepreneur that needs to do things differently, you're in the right place.Mentioned in this episode:Happy Startup Summer Camp 2022 Join us s for a weekend of possibility, and a lifetime of impact. 16th-18th September.

Marianne is training as a Purpose Guide™ and on this Friday Fireside we're going to explore with her what it means to discover our true purpose.It's easy to beat yourself up because you haven't started living your life's purpose yet.But purpose may not be a process of searching outside of you.Maybe it's about looking inside and sensing.If you'd like to feel your way to purpose rather than forcing yourself to find it then join us."The place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet"Mentioned in this episode:Happy Startup Summer Camp 2022 Join us s for a weekend of possibility, and a lifetime of impact. 16th-18th September.

What's your 10 year plan? What's you 5 year plan? What are your goals for next year? WTF are you actually going to do tomorrow?In business people are obsessed with plans and strategy. But what happens if you don't really know what you want? And what happens if you change your mind?What happens if the world changes along the way?Carlos loves plans, and hates uncertainty. But he's learned about the power of serendipity and the power of being present.In a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world, how do we navigate our way to success in our lives and in our businesses.It's one step at a time. Simple to say, Harder to do.In this conversation, Laurence and Carlos explore this topic together and reflect on how it's been core to how they've got this far with the Happy Startup School.Mentioned in this episode:Happy Startup Summer Camp 2022 Join us s for a weekend of possibility, and a lifetime of impact. 16th-18th September.

How do we put down our armour of self-sufficiency and competence?While it protects us from challenges and shields us from criticism, it also cuts us off from deep connection and essential support.We think that we need the armour to “hold ourselves together” because if we “let go”, we might not be able to pull ourselves together again.Holding it all in affects our ability to be creative, make healthy business decisions, and have lives which spring from our core values.Holding it all in is a form of unkindness to ourselves because we’re not allowing ourselves to show weakness. We’re telling ourselves that weakness is bad.Holding it all in means we don’t really get to see what’s inside.We cut ourselves off from our sense of inner knowing, and from really knowing others.We are social animals that have evolved to survive as a group. Not as individuals.But in the modern world of the hyper-successful founders and all-knowing influencers we’ve forgotten this.We’ve forgotten how to be really happy  because we’re too busy striving.To experience real happiness we need to experience all three directions of kindness: giving to others, giving to ourselves, and receiving.Which means from time to time we need to put our armour down.On this episode of the podcast, we’re joined by Anya Pearse, an intuitive advisor, Head of Positive Psychology at The Museum of Happiness, and Fellow of the Positive Psychology Guild.She has reframed her 15 years of disability through chronic illness into a spiritual path, combining a researcher’s curiosity, a poet’s turn of phrase, and a comic’s sense of timing to explore and share positive psychology and self-compassion with others.At the Happy Startup School we believe that community is foundational to helping creative entrepreneurs thrive in this modern money-driven world.We’re not built of the same stuff as the unicorn driving silicon valley founders or the hard nosed CEOs of the corporate world.We crave connection and we thrive on mutual support.In our conversation we explore how kindness and compassion are essential to our way of doing and being in business.

Writing a book takes time and effort.And life's too short to write a book that no one will read.On this episode, we invited someone to help us understand how to minimise the risk of writing books that aren't actually useful or reach their audience.His name is Rob Fitzpatrick and he's the author of Write Useful Books, The Workshop Survival Guide and one that we've been recommending for years, The Mom Test.Carlos has been reading his latest book Write Useful Books and thought it was a really useful  take on how to approach writing non-fiction that helps people.He combines the product design, lean strategy and marketing concepts to provide a practical and structured approach that helps you focus on writing something of value.Rob is an entrepreneur of 14 years and has written three books about his learnings along the way, including the best-selling handbook for doing better Customer Development, The Mom Test: How to talk to customers and figure out if your business is a good idea when everyone is lying to you.Back in 2007, he dropped out of grad school to go through YCombinator with his first startup, and has been building products and businesses ever since. Beyond software, he has also kickstarted a physical card game, built an education agency, and more.A programmer by training, Rob was forced to learn enterprise sales the hard way at his first company. With a foot in each of those worlds, and with his experience both bootstrapping and raising funding across a wide range of products, industries, and business models, he offers an broad and balanced view of the entrepreneurial journey.

We’re joined by Tad Hargrave, founder of Marketing for Hippies, who shares his thoughts on how to market well so that sales becomes effortless. We talk about purpose, problems, premise and promise.Our obsession with selling tactics is actually compensation for our poor marketing.When we’re having to work hard to “convince” people of the value of our work then we’re probably talking to the wrong people.As a creative or purpose-driven entrepreneur you’re repulsed by the idea of manipulating people or having to convince them to buy from you.And so you’re put off the idea of “selling”.Unfortunately selling has for a long time been associated with winning and losing; a dominance game of who has the strongest influence.But where is the consent?If you’re doing hard sales it feels like trying to get the other person to agree with the choice you’ve already made for them. It’s a mission to hear your words come out of their mouths.Is that the kind of selling you want to do?If you’re like us this feels awful and unethical.But you don’t have to do it that way.You can actually do sales better if you go for truth rather than persuasion.You need to tell your truth and the truth of your work in a way that it connects with the right people.And that’s all about marketing and storytelling.When done well you can stop “selling”.All you do is just connect your truth with the truth of your customers. When they’re ready they’ll work with you.

Most creative and purpose-driven entrepreneurs love coming up with new ideas and working with their customers and clients.But they hate sales, marketing and working on finances and spreadsheets.They also complain about cashflow, profitability and burnout.Their wheels are spinning because they focus on a narrow aspect of their business (delivery and ideas).And they ignore all the other bits that they consider “boring” or “uninspiring” or “difficult” (finances, marketing, positioning, selling, recruitment etc…).There’s a massive imbalance in where they put their attention and energy.Alan, our mentor and friend, joins us to help you learn to love all of the business of business.He lays out the different building blocks of your business and helps you appreciate the bits you shy away from, and how working on them can bring more ease to your life.