Navigating Entrepreneurship like a Toddler: Lessons in Purpose and Perseverance

Every stride in a child's first steps brims with the raw courage and unfiltered curiosity we often yearn to recapture as adults. As we navigate the trials and triumphs of building a life filled with purpose and joy, I share how observing and learning from those around us is as crucial for us as it is for the young ones taking their tentative first steps. 

With every skinned knee and beaming smile of success, we find lessons in resilience that translate seamlessly into the entrepreneurial world.  Together, we explore the art of embracing changes, marking our small wins, and never losing sight of the 'why' behind our ambitions. As no journey of great significance is ever taken alone, this episode stands as your sideline cheerleader, inspiring you to rise after every fall, your heart buoyed by the unwavering support of a community that believes in your vision as much as you do. Join us on this uplifting adventure, and let's rediscover the joy and curiosity that once guided our youngest steps, to propel us forward in our most passionate pursuits.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Howdy ho and welcome to another episode of Farm to Heart. I'm so grateful that you are here, and in today's episode we're going to be talking about the parallels of being a toddler or an infant and learning to walk and starting or running a business. So let's get this thing going. Welcome to the Farm to Heart Podcast, a podcast for heart-centered entrepreneurs and dreamers alike, seeking to plant their seeds and grow a life of alignment, purpose and their own version of joy-filled success. I'm Sarah Rutter, a former award-winning bakery owner, turned mama, animal rescuer and multi-passionate entrepreneur with a desire to help others ignite their dreams and create a life they love without the burnout. So whether you're seeking guidance on personal growth, launching or growing your current business, or simply looking for inspiration to ignite your entrepreneurial spirit, this podcast will be your loyal companion. So join me as we plant the seeds of your dreams, nurture their growth and cultivate a life of purpose, abundance and fulfillment. So saddle up and let's go. So I hope that at some point in their life, everybody gets to experience a child taking their first steps and learning to walk, because it is equally magical as it is terrifying and it's just a really cool thing to experience and I have a two and a half year old now. So he started walking right when he turned one, basically, and so it's been a while where very he is well past walking. Now he is running everywhere. He only knows one speed. But I remember as clear as it just happened that the moment that he took his first steps, and the pure joy that Calvin and I had, but also just the realizing that life wasn't ever going to be the same, moving forward, and then I kind of just had this realization that starting a business or running a business or pursuing a dream or going after what you believe your purpose, is so similar to what it probably feels like to be an infant learning to walk. So I just kind of wanted to compare the two today and just really hopefully give you permission to just give yourself grace if you are in the infant stage of going after whatever it is that is on your heart, because we all literally every single one of us has been there at some point in our life. So let's just kind of kick this thing off.

Speaker 1: 2:59

So most of the time not all of the time, but most of the time babies will crawl for a while before they start walking and during the time that they're walking and like learning to stand, maybe even, and get their balance. They're just spending time observing, and they're observing everyone around them that is walking on two feet and even dogs walking on four feet, and they're just trying to figure out. How can I do that and I want to do that and that is where I want to be. So they just kind of sit back and observe and they watch and I think, as people with dreams and people with ideas and passions and wanting to start whatever it is that you want to go after, it's important that we don't miss this step, that we don't that we it's important that we take the time to just really be still and watch and observe the people that have some form of what it is that we are going after, because I think that this step is so important to not only see our goal or our mission achieved in some similar way, but also just to really observe and start planning out what that's going to look like for us.

Speaker 1: 4:22

And then there are the wonderful and amazing and equally terrifying first steps and whatever stage of life, that is, whether you are an infant learning to walk, or you are starting a business, or you are going to train for a marathon or you want to try to break an addiction that you have or anything. Whatever it is that you are taking the first steps on, it is just this moment that is so full of uncertainty and fear, but also just incredible courage, and I think that there is so much that can be learned by just thinking of ourselves as children and the first steps that we took and really just giving ourself grace as adults and going back to the first steps that we took as infants and toddlers and applying that to where we are in our lives now and whatever it is that we are going after and it was in the last episode I was talking about how one of my words of the year is presence and I think just taking those first steps requires you to be so present in where your feet are and to really just focus one step at a time. When you see a baby learning to walk, they aren't worried about 20 steps from now. They're worried about the one step that they are on and keeping their balance and learning how to move their other foot, and that is how the mindset that we should have as entrepreneurs and creatives and human beings is just really focusing on the present and not worrying so much about the future, because there is absolutely a time and place to be planning for and worrying about 20 steps ahead.

Speaker 1: 6:19

But when you just are first starting out and taking those first couple of steps, it is so important to really just be focused on those first couple of steps, because that is what is going to make every step after that stronger and stronger, and stronger and before you know it, you're gonna be so good at walking that you can't help but just run, and then you're gonna be sprinting and then you can do whatever you want, do whatever you set your mind to. But, like I said, those first couple steps that you take are absolutely gonna be the scariest, they're gonna be the most shaky, they're gonna be the ugliest, but they're gonna be the ones that really set you up for success and just are crucial for building your confidence and for getting on the right path, but also just starting the journey of learning as you go. But it's also so important to point out that every toddler with shaky legs and fear and joy mixed into their face has a support system behind them. It doesn't matter if it's friends or family or whoever it is. They have somebody most likely kind of holding their hands for those first few steps and whatever it is for us in our journey, in our first few steps. It is equally as important to have somebody that's guiding us and supporting us, especially in the beginning of our journey, because that guiding support is going to keep us from walking off of a ledge after our first few steps and that guiding support is going to be what keeps our confidence up on the days that are really hard or after we make mistakes, which we're going to absolutely, and the whole journey is going to be full of mistakes and learning and growing. And that's why it's so important to just have that guiding support system somewhat, holding your hands or even just close to you to help you, pick you up when you fall down, because you will fall down, it's part of life, it's inevitable. But it's just so important to have people on your side that are supporting that dream and supporting the business and even if they don't understand it, they're still there, loving that you are going after it and they are supporting it Because a toddler doesn't fall down after their first few steps and then just say, well, I guess I'm never walking Like that would be silly.

Speaker 1: 8:56

They just only have one mission in their mind and that is to pick themselves up and get stronger and keep learning how to walk, because they want to walk with mom and dad or and they want to walk alongside the people that they love. As we are now, as adults, like we should want, we need to be able to pick ourselves up, but also, sometimes we can't, and sometimes we need somebody there to help pick us up and to help be the ones that get us back stable on our feet and just encourage us to take another step and another step. So, whatever is for you, whatever you are starting or want to start, I highly, highly encourage looking for some sort of community or support or mentorship or just a coach or anything like that that is able to be there to kind of be that guiding hand for you, and sometimes that's not always a friend or a family member, sometimes it's easier to go to a complete stranger and that but they understand what it is you're going after and maybe they've succeeded at going after the same thing and they can help encourage you and guide you. And so I just really encourage anybody that has any sort of dream on their heart or goal to really just find that mentorship and that support to back you up Because, like I said, you will fall Unfortunately is going to happen.

Speaker 1: 10:27

But it is all part of the learning process and, like toddlers stumble, adults stumble Everybody. Even after you learn how to walk for two, five, 10, 50 years, we still fall down and it's just we have to learn how to get back up. Because I mean, if it's a business like you're going to fall down but you shouldn't just give up on your business because you have a setback, like you have to be able to build that strength and build that resilience to get back up and know that your calling and your purpose is worth the stumble and you have to keep going. And you, if you don't have somebody in your corner to be your community or your mentor, please reach out to me, because I would love to just talk to you and hear about what it is that you want to take your first steps with and maybe even be that person for you, because everybody deserves to have somebody to help guide them and help pick them up. And I just fully want to congratulate and commend you if you have taken the first steps on whatever it is that you are going after, because those are by far the hardest steps to take and the scariest, and I unfortunately hate to break it to you, but you're going to take multiple first steps along your journey as you reach new milestones.

Speaker 1: 11:53

But just starting, just those first initial steps, are what really get things going, and that is the hardest part is just saying, okay, I deserve this, I want this, this is my purpose, this is my passion, and you just go for it. And so if you, if that is you, or if you are getting close to that point, I just congratulate you and I would love to hear about your journey. But to continue on with the, as toddlers Start walking and get more confident in their skills, they definitely their curiosity kind of lights up and they start getting more adventurous about where their newfound legs can take them. And I think that this is a really beautiful stage for us as adults too, to really like, once you get past the first initial hard part and you kind of Get your footing and you feel like, okay, like I kind of got this, it feels pretty good.

Speaker 1: 12:51

It's, that's such a good time to just really start being curious about what direction you want your legs to go and and just start exploring, like what aligns with you and where do you want the direction of your business or your personal growth or your whatever it is that you were going after, your dream, your purpose, creativity, whatever, whatever passionate is that you're going after. It's a great time once you kind of get those first few steps out of the way. And I should note too that those first couple steps are they look different for everybody, like for some people those steps will take Years even, and for some people it'll just happen in a day and then they'll be off to start exploring and get curious about what comes next for them. So it's just really important to remember that it's different for everybody, and I know it can be super easy with social media to start comparing our first steps to somebody else's 20th step, and it's just it's really important to not do that and to just really focus on where you are and how far you have come in your own journey, and just focus on that and how much you've grown and where you want to go next. And then the more curious you get and the more adventuresome you get, the more you're going to be able to adapt to certain things that come your way, like with Brett, for instance.

Speaker 1: 14:22

We, since we live on a farm, we don't have any sidewalks and we don't have a person that's, we don't have any sidewalks and we don't have a paved road. So he adapted very quickly to uneven ground and rocks in the sand and horse poop in the pasture and he just had to learn Very quickly to adapt to whatever was in front of him and I honestly think that that played a huge part in just his strength as a two year old to be just as crazy as he is running around and climbing on everything and you can like see the little muscles in his legs and it kind of feels like it's abnormal. But I think it's partially because of his environment and just what he has grown up because that's all he's ever known is just the uneven ground and the dips and holes and rocks and all that stuff. So but he learned to adapt pretty much right away with that and as business owners and creatives and dreamers and just heart centered people, it's super important to be able to adapt to things that come our way and really to just have the ability to change.

Speaker 1: 15:39

If something that we thought was going to feel right doesn't, it's okay to turn and go a different direction. That's kind of exactly what happened with me with gold mine. Cupcakes, like it, was something that I thought was going to be my forever career, until it didn't feel like that anymore and until I knew that it wasn't. It wasn't my purpose forever, it was the purpose for that stage of my life and my calling for that stage of life. And then I completely pivoted and and here we are, up on the farm and so it's okay, it's okay to adjust, it's okay to change your direction, it's okay to pivot, and toddlers are a really great example of that of just being able to.

Speaker 1: 16:27

I mean, if you, if you ever try to walk on a straight sidewalk with a toddler, you know that it's impossible to keep them in a straight line, but that's okay because they're exploring and they're trying new things and they're looking all different directions to see what lights them up and what makes them happy. And I think that there's so much to be learned from that. And along that journey, I think that we really need to stop and celebrate the little wins along the way, just like we celebrated our toddlers first steps, and just like we celebrate when they fall down and get back up again or when they start running for the first time, like all those small little wins we need to be celebrating because we need to be our biggest cheerleaders when it comes to pursuing our purpose and our passions. And and yes, it's important to have other cheerleaders on our side, but they're not always going to be there and when little stuff happens and you pick yourself back up, you're going to be the one to clap for yourself and give yourself a hug and be like, yes, like the old me would not have done that, but the but now you're stronger and you're better and you've adapted and you're succeeding at whatever it is. I even think that we need to be celebrating our stumbles and our falls because typically, most likely, when you pick yourself back up from that, you're going to be stronger and you are going to have learned so much from that and there will be so much to be celebrated after you pick yourself back up from that, because you're not going to stay down forever. You're going to, you're going to learn to pick yourself back up and just be better when you get back to your feet and as you start to pick up momentum, it's super, super important to keep revisiting why you took those first steps.

Speaker 1: 18:21

Why are you going after that goal? Why did you start that business? When a toddler starts walking there? Why is because they want to walk with you, next to the people that they love. That's their why. They want to be more mobile, they want to be able to keep up and be more independent, and so, for us, we need to be equally aligned with the why behind why we are taking those first steps. Because that is going to keep our path aligned in the direction that we need to be going and help us to not get lost and to not step off the path and go a direction that we don't need to be going or that we don't want to be going. Because that why that you are standing on the why becomes your foundation. It becomes the shoes that you never take off, it becomes just the ground underneath your feet and that is going to be what makes you stronger, it's going to be your guide on the trail and that is just really going to take you to the next level. And that is where you are going to start running, because you're really going to feel inside of you that you have what it takes and you, it's your purpose and you are able to go after it with confidence and with strength and just know that that is the right path for you.

Speaker 1: 19:42

And I think this parallel with toddlers and infants compared to dreamers and business owners and creatives and all of that is has really kind of hit home for me, especially just like watching Brett, watching him grow and how quickly he changes and adapts and how fast he's growing, and it just like blows my mind. But it also is such a cool reminder of just to really kind of reconnect with the child inside of me and and just kind of ask myself like what would little Sarah want to do in this moment? And really just remember to bring that joy into whatever is that you're doing? Because toddlers really find joy in almost everything. I mean they have yes, they have their meltdowns and their tantrums, but there is just so much joy in their journeys as they are learning to be little adults and little humans in this big world. And so I think it's super important to, just as we get stronger out, as we get our footing, to really just reconnect with our own child inside of us and find that joy in those little steps every day as well. Because, as Brett would say, brett fell down, brett. It's okay. Brett got up and I fully feel that for you as well. I know that you will fall down and you will get up and you will be okay, and I am here to help and support you along that journey, as you take those first steps and as you start to just really find your footing and go after what it is that's on your heart. So thank you so much for being here today. I hope this was kind of a fun little parallel to just the beauty of watching a child grow and the wonder and beauty of really going after your dreams and your purpose and just everything that comes along with growing along that journey. So I will see you next week. Have a wonderful week. Thank you so much for listening today.

Speaker 1: 21:56

If you enjoyed the show, please like and subscribe to the podcast on your favorite listening platform. You can also leave a review anytime or send me a DM on Instagram at farm to heart. Sarah, I would love to hear from you and hear more about your story. You can also help the podcast even more by financially supporting the tech and time costs of each episode, starting at just $3 per month. Click the support the show link and show notes to learn more. Today's show plus more farm fun can be found on the blog at sweetfreedomfarmcocom. I can't wait to talk to you again next week. Have a beautiful day everyone.