%20(1).png)
Main Street Reimagined Podcast
This is a podcast for dreamers, creators, developers, and entrepreneurs to learn, share, and be inspired to change your community through small business.
Main Street Reimagined Podcast
Season 1 Recap: Themes, Lessons, and Takeaways with Luke Henry
In this episode, Luke recaps the first season of the Main Street Reimagined Podcast with discussion around the major themes and takeaways from the first 24 episodes! He not only touches on some of the stories shared by our guests, but also boils them down to a few key lessons for each theme, teasing out the finer points to apply to life and business, and also adds takeaway thoughts for you to take action on today!
Luke ends the episode with a heartfelt message to all the doers, creators, and entrepreneurs who have listened this season, or been guests on the show. He also gives some insights into what Season 2 will look like, and when the podcast will start back up!
Thank you for your support this season! We hope to hear your feedback, and we look forward to engaging with you next season!
Main Street Reimagined:
Facebook: facebook.com/MainStreetReimagined
The Main Street Reimagined Podcast, Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqfkmF5bRH0od1d3iiYKs3oEn_gvMYk7N
Henry Development Group:
Facebook: facebook.com/henrydevelopmentgroup
Website: www.henrydevelopmentgroup.com
Developing News Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/33110524eb5c/developing-news
Luke Henry:
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/luhenry
Facebook: facebook.com/luke.henry.148
#MainStreetReimagined #PodcastRecap #SeasonOneWrapUp #PodcastHighlights #SmallTownStories #EntrepreneurLife #SmallBusinessTips #LessonsInBusiness #CreatorsAndDoers #BusinessTakeaways
and I want you to know that you have what it takes. I believe that if you're listening to this, you're here because you want to get better. You want to change something that is not working in your community or your business or your family, and you have what it takes to make it better. This is the Main Street Reimagined podcast, a show for people ready to turn visions into realities and ideas into businesses. Hey, I'm Luke Henry, and each week I lead conversations with Main Street dreamers who took the leap to launch a business, renovate a building or start a movement, their ideas, their mindsets and their inspirations, as well as some of the highs and lows along the way. This is a place for dreamers, creators, developers and entrepreneurs to learn, share and be inspired to change your community through small business. Enjoy the show. Hey friends, luke Henry here.
Speaker 1:This is the Main Street Reimagined podcast, and this is a really special episode. I'm so glad that you are listening in. Thank you so much for being here. This is episode 25. Episode 25. So this is going to round out our first season of the Main Street Reimagined podcast, and so, with that, I wanted to take some time and reflect over our first 24 episodes. I've had a lot of fun looking back, thinking back at my notes and all of the notes that I took with all of our guests over this first season, and I just am blown away with all the information that's been shared, the great people that have been on, the stories that have been told, and I hope that you as a listener have really enjoyed this and learned a tinkle a lot away from it as well. So I want to continue to try to add value to you and so, as such, I've spent some time putting together some themes, some notes from this first season that I wanted to share, kind of recap, and share my thoughts as well as some of the lessons that I pulled out of the 24 interviews that I've done in this first season. So again, we'll kind of work through those.
Speaker 1:I want to start first and foremost by again just saying thank you and expressing my gratitude to all of our listeners. I have some visibility into kind of some statistics and I see that there are folks from seven different countries, 182 cities, that have listened to the Main Street Reimagined podcast, which just completely blows my mind, and then a ton of folks right here, local, to Marion so right here, local, and then literally all across the United States and some even around the world that have been listening, and again, I just can't thank you enough. I hope that you've been finding value in this and I hope that you keep coming back, and if you haven't listened to all the episodes, they're there Certainly I encourage you. There are lessons from each one of them and I'm going to pull some of those out as we go. So if you hear something interesting, feel free to go back, listen on your favorite podcast player, watch on YouTube and hopefully get some more value out of those. So, as I said, I've just loved hearing and sharing the stories through these first episodes. I love doers and entrepreneurs. I am inspired by your courage, your vision and your desire to improve upon the status quo and those of you that have come on the show and talked about those desires and those actions that you've taken. You've inspired some other people as well, and I just want to thank you for that. You've inspired some other people as well, and I just want to thank you for that.
Speaker 1:As we look back and as I'm recapping this season, I felt like three themes seemed to really bubble to the top, something that was discussed in almost every episode, and those are one, overcoming setbacks. Two, balancing business and personal life, and then three, leading through challenges, and those are some really meaningful and impactful themes, and there are things that I certainly struggle with every day and I'm still learning, and I learn from our guests and we're going to have some conversation. So I hope, over these next handful of minutes, that you'll stick with me and really give some thought to these, and as I go through each one, I'm going to kind of riff a little bit on each of them and then I'm going to ask some questions for you to reflect upon, to try to pull out your own wisdom from these and your own learning that you can take and get better, along with all of us. So, yeah, so almost all the guests mentioned some version of these themes, and I just wanted to share what I learned, what I feel like they were saying, and some of my own experiences. So we're going to hop right in here, okay, so here we go. Number one overcoming setbacks.
Speaker 1:So one of the stories that really resonated with this and I had a lot of people tell me that they enjoyed this and it resonated with them too was, back in episode eight, gretchen Jolliffe, who is the owner of Days Gone by Photography and Studio here in Marion, shared her story about her son's medical challenges. Her son, Caden, shortly after he was born, had some really significant medical challenges, was in Children's Hospital for a really long time, and she shared I mean, I'm not going to recap the whole story. If you want to hear it I certainly encourage you to go back and listen to it on episode eight but from that she shared the whole story about just how impactful that was, as you can imagine, to her life, to her husband, to their extended family, to their entire circle of friends and community. And really the takeaway here was just they came up against that really overwhelming situation and they were courageous. They leaned on their community and each other to find strength and she shared that she ended up being stronger than what she thought she was and that setback really prepared her for some of the things that now she's doing in business and some of the ways that she's had to be courageous there and the way that she's had to learn to rely on other people and the relationship that her and her husband galvanized through that time. And you know I'm also happy to say, spoiler that Caden came through all of that and is just doing incredibly and is a medical miracle and so, just so inspiring. And I was just reminded about the concept of finding your tribe during tough times and how the support systems that we build truly can make the difference between success and failure.
Speaker 1:We so often I know I'm guilty of this that we wrestle with things on our own when there are people out there who are willing to help. Again, I say my own life I have been a slow learner on this. I've been slow to ask for help and to find the right people to solve the problems, but I believe that I've seen the light. So, again, I'm a slow learner, but I do come around eventually. And I have found this new mantra. So there's a book called who, not how, and highly recommended. I think I've mentioned it on the podcast before, but that concept has been transformational to me and my business and life journey that so often early on I would just work harder and grind more and try to figure it out on my own and keep my feelings and problems and issues to myself and try to solve them. And now I can repeat that mantra and say who, who, not how. Who is it that can help solve this issue. Who do I need to reach out to? Who do I need to hire? Who do I need to involve in this situation in order to overcome the setback that I'm facing? So key takeaways here and, in my mind, kind of the lessons to really distill it down.
Speaker 1:So setbacks are inevitable. Every business is going to incur them. Every person is going to have setbacks in our lives, but that is what makes us who we are. They are transformative, they teach us resilience and they reveal our strengths that we didn't know that we had. I was just talking to a business owner last week. He reached out to me and shared that he's going through a really rough patch. Sales are down, cash is tight, customers aren't coming like they were before and he was in a tough spot. But good for him. He reached out and I was just reminded that we all experience these setbacks. We all have these issues and, as entrepreneurs, we're going to run into them all the time. We're always bumping into something that is difficult, something we haven't dealt with before. If we grow, it's going to be challenging because we've never been that big before. If we're not growing, it's going to be challenging. We've got to figure out how to adapt and overcome. And if we're by ourselves, it's going to be challenging. If we hire people, it's going to be challenging. So all of these setbacks are going to happen. It's all about how we respond.
Speaker 1:So, second lesson leaning into relationships can help provide us with the emotional and business and life support that we need. So again, this individual, he reached out, we met, we talked through it, we brainstormed, we came up with some ideas and he's going to execute. He's going to again adapt and overcome, and I'm very confident that he's going to execute. He's going to again adapt and overcome, and I'm very confident that he's going to figure it out. And you know, I encouraged him. He's figured it out before he got this far and he's going to continue to move forward. And then a third lesson is just that challenges are what help us to grow. Challenges are what help us to grow. Challenges are what help us to grow. So, just like, if we're lifting weights, the muscle has to be torn and kind of micro-damaged in order to get stronger and to heal back stronger than it was before. Such is our lives, such is our business pursuits. So let's seek the lessons that happen through the hardship.
Speaker 1:I was reminded of episode five, when Alex Sheridan was on with me. We were business partners in the early days of revitalization here in Marion and we were also business partners all the way through COVID. We opened an event venue three weeks before COVID shut everything down and it was a really hard time. It was a really, really tough season for us to go through. That was a tough time for a lot of people. But we look back and we reflected during that episode just on what we learned, how we adapted, how we worked together, how we brought others into the scenario and how we overcame it.
Speaker 1:And again, just as I started out saying, we have those setbacks. Overcoming them is what makes us who we are and it's what makes us stronger through the process of building a business or working through just the twists and turns of life. So I want to ask you so kind of takeaway action steps here, some kind of questions for reflection. Number one is reflect on a past setback that you had and think about what you learned from it. Reflect on a past setback and identify what you learned from it. Reflect on a past setback and identify what you learned from it. So hopefully, as you go through that, you just spend some time staring at the wall a little bit and thinking on that question. Hopefully it gives you some confidence for the next time that you bump up against a setback, that you are going to be able to overcome it. Maybe you look back at that setback and you realize that you found a who. You found someone else to help you overcome that and you didn't have to figure out how on your own. So you already figured out who, not how. Maybe you're a quicker learner than I am.
Speaker 1:One of my favorite quotes is that you are one person away from solving your biggest problem. You're one person away from solving your biggest problem. I've been in this spot so many times and that saying has brought me comfort. And whether that is a mentor, a team member, a consultant, a supplier, an attorney, a fellow business owner, there's someone out there, one person away from solving your biggest problem. So take heart, have hope, overcome those challenges and know that you're getting better as a result.
Speaker 1:Number two, an action takeaway here is take one small step today. This is my challenge to you. Take one small step today to build stronger connections within your personal or professional community. Take one step. What is that? One step that you can take to build stronger connections within your personal or professional community so that when you hit a setback as you invariably will we absolutely know that you're going to have setbacks who are you going to be able to lean on? So another favorite quote of mine is that in five years you will be the same person that you are today, except for the people you meet and the books that you read. The people you meet and the books that you read. We'll expand the books that you read into other ways that you're making yourself better. Maybe it's podcasts, maybe it's audio books. Maybe it's podcasts, maybe it's audio books, maybe it's YouTube videos, maybe it's a mastermind group that you're involved with. I guess that qualifies as people you meet. But if you're upgrading those areas, if you're upgrading your mindset, upgrading your work ethic, upgrading your relationships, you can fix anything. You can overcome any obstacles. So again, challenges. Take one small step. Today, someone you might need to meet a book you might need to read a way that you need to upgrade the way that you are doing things in order to be able to overcome a current or future setback. So again, some lessons that we learned, some little other lessons that I've learned throughout my journey that I weaved in there on this theme of overcoming setbacks that we heard from so many of our guests in this first season.
Speaker 1:Number two balancing business and personal life. Balancing business and personal life Everyone discussed some version of this because it is difficult, and I want to start out by saying that balancing personal and business life there is no perfect work-life balance. I think that some people think that it's kind of this like teeter-totter seesaw, where you've got work on one side and personal on the other side and if you work hard enough, you can figure out how to just balance that so that it stays in equilibrium all the time, and I just don't think that that's accurate. I think in the real world the way that that looks is more like seasonally. There's going to be times when work especially if you're building a business, you're adding a product line, you're launching something, you're growing something that it's going to take more than just the perfect balanced amount of work and there are going to be those times that you've really got to hunker down, you've got to grind, you've got to figure out how to make it work and in those seasons that's going to be out of balance. But I think the important thing that I've learned.
Speaker 1:I've heard other really smart people that are figuring this out and they've been doing it for a while and they're really intentional with the way they invest their time and they invest in their family and their business and their kids and their spouse and all of that and friendships. And the way that it more often looks is this seasonal approach, where then they go through a busy season and then they intentionally kind of steer over the other way to have a season of then taking some quality family time. Maybe that looks like first quarter is really busy. So then we are working towards being able to take a family trip for a week or 10 days where we can totally unplug, we can kind of celebrate what we accomplished in that season, we can get reconnected and reset with our family, make some memories, and then we go into a little more balanced season for quarter two, season for quarter two, and then maybe things get a little busier on the family front because there's activity, kids activities during quarter three and then it's busy again quarter four with some business things. That's the way that it more often looks, I believe, and so we talked about that a fair amount in episode nine where I had my wife, lindsay Henry, on and we had a pretty candid conversation. If you haven't listened to that, I think that if you're in a family business or if you have a small business within your family whether it's one or the other of you or both that you're going to hear some things that I believe are really going to resonate, because we shared some of the struggles as well as some of the breakthroughs that we've had from being a small business family for the entire time that Lindsay and I have been married, which is almost 20 years, and I think that that qualifies us to at least share some of our mistakes and some of our lessons learned, and we shared a lot of those in episode nine about just balancing marriage, parenting, running a business and what that looks like.
Speaker 1:Episode 16, I had Jamie Reif and Abby Jordan on from the Remnant Coffee and Tea and they talked a lot about their experience of working closely not just their mother-daughter but also other sisters within the business and then how they also kind of had a whole family affair with some other folks from the family in-laws and friends that were also involved, especially with getting it launched, and how they've managed to kind of maintain family harmony through some conflicts that come up in day-to-day business. When you've got two or more people in the room, then you're going to have some disagreement, you're going to have some conflict from time to time, and they found that even as especially as maybe sisters and mothers and daughters, and so they talked a lot about that and how they've kind of come to be able to deal with that and balance that, kind of come to be able to deal with that and balance that. Episode 22, I had Lily Lloyd and Sophie Johnston, also sisters who are running Fable Bar Co, and they kind of shared their unique perspective on just navigating the overlap between their personal lives as sisters and then also their professional life of building out a space, launching a business, running a business day to day, trying to figure it out when it's stressful, when they don't know what they're doing. And they talked about some low times. There was tears, there was, you know, partners that were trying to kind of console them and help them navigate through those situations and just what that looked like in their particular family as well. So a couple others.
Speaker 1:Episode 15, emily Irie, irie Dance Academy, talked about her journey and working with her husband, caleb, who's been right along with her through the whole experience, also incorporating their kids just as even as toddlers. You know, being around the business what that looks like. Tracy from Beyond Beauty Lounge in episode 11 talked about mom guilt and that is a real thing that female mom entrepreneurs often deal with, and so we talked about that in a fair amount of detail. So those were just like five different situations that came to mind. So I know that again, it came up a lot through my interviews with people mind. So I know that again, this is it came up a lot through my interviews with people.
Speaker 1:It comes up a lot in my conversation with with other business owners and people that are just they're trying to get it right but it's difficult, and so some of the key lessons that I that I kind of jotted down as I was thinking back through those conversations and looking back in my notes notes the first is that just communication and honesty are the foundation of kind of blending the business and personal life and doing it successfully. The people that I know that are doing it well. They're working with friends, working with family, they are able to kind of separate the work and the personal, they're able to have those conversations that need to be had, and really I'll even go so far as to say that what I believe that they've done well is to create a culture of feedback, a culture of feedback not only in their business but also in their family, and this is something that we've worked really hard in some of our businesses and in our family to create a culture of feedback where people there's enough trust. This is built on trust that people trust that they can be honest, that they can communicate the issues that they see and, because they care and they want it to get better, they can be honest.
Speaker 1:What doesn't work is when people are just kind of sweeping issues under the rug. They're not saying what needs to be said, they're treating family members different than other team members. Those are just the signs of dysfunction and toxicity that are not going to get better with time. They're definitely going to get worse with time. So deal with things when they are small and be able to deal with them quickly, and that again comes from that culture of feedback, communication and honesty.
Speaker 1:So, secondly, prioritizing time and energy for family requires intention, boundaries and tough conversations. So I mentioned tough conversations already briefly, but intention boundaries and tough conversations shared in our podcast together, lindsay and I one of them that sometimes a few times, through our relationship and doing business, doing family, doing marriage and kids and everything together for as long as we have, there's been some seasons where Lindsay has looked at me and said long as we have, there's been some seasons where Lindsay has looked at me and said, sometimes I just feel like I'm your business partner and not your wife, and that has been really hard to hear in those moments. But it's kind of shook me back to reality that I've gotten too much into task orientation mode when it comes to okay, yes, I'm making sure that, like you know, the bills get paid, the kids get shuttled to where they need to go and that the family duties or the house duties are getting taken care of, but not that I'm actually prioritizing our relationship and connection, and that is really important. And so you know what I incur. What some people have to remind me of and what I have to remind some of my friends who are business owners and entrepreneurs about, is just to remember why you're working so hard. Remember why you're working so hard it's for your family, or at least you say it's for your family, and so we have to make sure that we're actually being intentional about making sure that, at least for over a longer period of time, we are not sacrificing our family for our business. Again, that's different than understanding and having agreement with my wife to say, hey, we're going into a busy season, here's what's going to be required, but then we're going to do this to intentionally shift it back the other way, so that the seesaw over the course of a few months, or especially over the course of six months or a year, few months, or especially over the course of six months or a year we're going to see, you know, a general balancing here, because we're going to be intentional about making sure that, yes, there's, you know, a heavy, heavy season of work, and then there's going to be an intentional focus on family and we're going to you know it's going to rock back and forth, it's not just going to always sit there in perfect equilibrium, but there's going to be intention about making sure that, overall, that there's balance.
Speaker 1:And my challenge to you also would be that if you are in a place where you cannot step away from your business, you legitimately feel like you can't step away from your business, feel like you can't step away from your business. Your business can't operate without you, that you need to rethink some of your business structure or your systems, and they need to be upgraded. It sounds like you might need to find a who to help you figure out how you can step away from your business and make sure that you're not neglecting the things that are most important in your life. So, number three it's okay to seek help. So, whether that's hiring more staff, whether that's finding a who, whether it's somebody that's employed by you, or maybe, again, a consultant or a mentor, somebody that can help you recalibrate your business so that it can operate without you Maybe it's a therapist, maybe it's somebody else to talk to and kind of work through some of the underlying feelings there. Just if you need that, don't be afraid to seek out that help. Look for a who to help you get through some of these challenges that you're facing.
Speaker 1:You don't have to be Superman or Superwoman. Yes, you've got to be tough, you need grit, but you also need some grace. So give yourself some grace. You're not always going to get it right. I certainly haven't. If you don't believe me, ask my wife. She'll confirm that I have not. But we have learned lots of lessons and we're at least being intentional about it and working hard together to get it right. So those are some lessons that I kind of pulled out from some of those conversations that I had with some of our guests, as well as just some things that I would add that I've learned as I've kind of tripped, fallen down and gotten back up regarding some of these issues.
Speaker 1:So takeaways for you, things for you to reflect on. One identify one boundary you need to set between work and personal life this week. One boundary that you need to set between work and personal life this week. Maybe that's not having your phone at dinner, maybe that's being home by 6 pm, maybe that's taking the kids to school one day a week. Whatever, you know, if there's a boundary, a commitment that you can make to bring some things into balance, I challenge you to think about how you're going to do that. Number two plan a meaningful moment or time with family or your spouse, a dinner outing, uninterrupted conversation, whatever that looks like.
Speaker 1:So again, I know we don't always get it right. I don't always get it right. I don't always get it right. Busy seasons happen, but we figure out. How can we be intentional about reconnecting, leaving our phones, doing something intentionally to reconnect. That might be an hour on the couch after the kids go to bed, maybe it's a date night, maybe it's a weekend away. Whatever it looks like in your particular case. Just show that intention. I think that's going to go a long way. And then, lastly, actionable takeaway step create a shared vision with your partner or your family about what success looks like in both life and business. So it's the end of the year.
Speaker 1:This is kind of prime goal-setting season. This is a great time to recalibrate your schedule, your rhythms, your vision. What does that look like for you? So a couple tactics that I'll share that has worked for our family. Last year we did as a family this includes my middle school age kids we did vision boards. We did them electronically and found pictures on the Internet, things that showed our vision for the coming year Pictures, and we created those. We talked about them, why we chose what we did. We printed them off, we put them in frames and we put them in an area in our home where we see them every day. Just something to kind of recalibrate our vision, making sure that we're not getting too myopic and focusing on the wrong things.
Speaker 1:Another thing that Lindsay and I use is a document that I got from a mastermind group that I'm in called GoBundance, called the Life Happiness Index Life Happiness Index, and so it's a really simple tool. And so it's a really simple tool Basically it just lists 15, 16 different areas of life and you rate on a scale of 1 to 10 how happy or fulfilled you feel in those areas, can add them up and create an average if you want, or you can just look at the numbers one through 10. And what's been really powerful for she and I is that we both fill it out and then we compare notes and we talk about, you know, why is this area six, why is this area nine? And not only does it create some really rich conversation between the two of us to identify where we're winning and where we're not, but also it helps our goal setting because we can see what's going well and what's not, and some of those low numbers most likely are going to be some areas where we want to set some goals, going to be some areas where we want to set some goals. So if our score that relates to our kids is low, that's probably because we haven't been making connections, we haven't been intentional about time or, you know, one-on-one time, and so maybe we create some goals around that specifically. So if you have questions about that tool, goal setting, reach out to me. I'd be happy to share with you, have a little bit of conversation, get a little more about how we use that. But that is a tool, a shared vision with your spouse, your family, about what success looks like for both life and business. What does that seesaw look like? Does it change from season to season? What are those seasons? Talk about those rhythms and hopefully that can improve your balance between business and personal life.
Speaker 1:All right, so then, moving on to the third theme that I identified, which was leading through challenges, change and adversity Leading through challenges, change and adversity. So, again, many guests mentioned some version of this and a few of those people I will mention. With community building and all of the projects that he's done in Bell Fountain, Ohio, to not only restore buildings but to empower and help and partner with different entrepreneurs, small business owners, to create these places and spaces that are unique and that help fulfill a dream. And along the way, he has endured a lot of critics. He navigated, he shared in the episode which, again, I encourage you to listen back to. But he navigated some different business partner challenges, some business partnerships that did not end well or that had to stop, based on substance abuse or addiction, or just challenges that couldn't be overcome in the business, businesses that had to close, projects that didn't go as planned, his personal fears through all of that and then still being able to ultimately lead with boldness and to drive transformation of that community. So, again, if you haven't listened to that episode, I believe that you will be inspired if you do, and it certainly was very meaningful to me. Again, jason and I we talk about in the episode we've been friends since college and have both seen a lot of challenges and have really grown as a result of those challenges and we wouldn't be who we are today without trying to do some bold things failing, getting up, figuring out another way and overcoming. So his story of leading through challenges, change and adversity was very meaningful. So if you haven't listened to that, I encourage you to again episode 10.
Speaker 1:But in terms of fear, many guests talked about fear and what it was like to take the leap. We had our leap section in our segment in nearly every episode where people talked about they, dreamed, they had the ideas, they researched the things, they had all the information, but there still came that time when they'd climbed the ladder, they'd walked out to the edge of the diving board and it still required them to have the courage to overcome the fear to actually jump off. Courage to overcome the fear to actually jump off. And all the people that I talked to are ones that successfully took that leap, and some of them belly smacked on their way off the diving board and they shared some of those stories. But a lot of them are living proof that, taking that risk, they've become different people. They've overcome things that they never thought they could the challenges, the fears, the change. And so some of those I jotted down Chelsea Sharp, jenny Luss, chris Rennick they started out our podcast series in episodes one, two and three, talking about their really great leap stories.
Speaker 1:I encourage you to listen to those. Krista Pugh, courtney Danner, beth Fox also had really unique stories of how they overcame fear of taking the leap on a real estate venture or a new business or all of the above. Those are episodes 7, 12, and 18. And just I believe that you'll be inspired by listening to those. So if you haven't listened to all of those. I certainly really encourage it.
Speaker 1:But we know, and we certainly learned and had it reinforced through here, that leadership requires emotional fortitude and the willingness to step into, to take, to make and to stand with hard decisions in order to have long-term success. So particularly in terms of leading with change episode 17, mayor Bill Collins talked about the changes that he has made, came into a new role and was fearful, was uncertain as she came into that role but was able to, with the encouragement of some mentors and her spouse and through kind of her own soul searching, decided to move forward and shares that whole story. So again, some great episodes. If you haven't listened back to those, I encourage you to do so. So some key lessons that I pulled out of there to actually kind of put a fine point on some of the different stories that were shared. One is that leadership isn't about perfection. Leadership is not about perfection. It's about resilience and adaptability in the face of challenges. And I kind of added some points around that with having to know your why, really understanding why you're doing the things that you're doing. Knowing your why is what will carry you through. It has to be more than just making money or growing a business looking good on social media. It has to be a deep resolve that you are doing something for a bigger purpose, a higher calling, and that is, I believe, what has carried me through, and that is what has carried a lot of our guests through and the stories that they told is knowing why they're doing it. And so I encourage you to think about what is your why? That's what's going to help your resilience, your adaptability when these challenges do inevitably come. Next, handling criticism constructively and staying focused on your vision is what allows for progress.
Speaker 1:Episode 24 here, katie Grimes talked about the book Extreme Ownership. She and I talked about our love for that book. Jocko Willink wrote that book. If you haven't read it yet, I encourage you to do so. To do so and in that we learn to check our ego. Take the feedback, use it to grow when people care enough to give us feedback or when things go wrong, and we're the leader, we're in charge, we're the owner, we're the boss, whatever. We have to be able to take that and learn from it and grow forward. And that's how we can lead through challenges, change and adversity. And last key lesson is just that our bold decisions. They do carry risk. But that's what can lead us to the extraordinary outcomes when we align those with our values and goals.
Speaker 1:Something I want you to know if you're a big thinker, not everyone can see what you see. If you're a dreamer, a doer, a creator, an entrepreneur, what you see, not everyone can see and they're not always going to believe it. They're not always going to see it. But you can take the feedback and involve others in the process. But know that sometimes it may come down to where you have to take the big step, take the bold move and not everyone's going to agree and you've got to do what you believe is right, because you know your why, because you believe in the mission and what you're doing and working towards it, and make that bold decision, lead, lead through the challenges, the change and the adversity. So some actionable takeaways here.
Speaker 1:A few kind of thoughts or questions for reflection. So one reflect on a recent leadership challenge and how you could improve your response the next time. Think about something that was challenging here recently how could you improve your response the next time? We have to admit that we're not perfect None of us are but I like the saying I reserve the right to get better and smarter as I go. I reserve the right. When I know better, I will do better, and so, therefore, if in the past, I, when I know better, I will do better, and so, therefore, if in the past I didn't do better, it's because maybe I didn't know better and so I learned from that. I failed forward, and now I'm going to do better, as I know better and we all can get better. So it does take that intentionality, though, to give some thought. To debrief, if you've got a team, talk with them about it. Do some reflecting on your own. How can we do better the next time to better overcome the challenges?
Speaker 1:Number two think about an area where fear may be holding you back and commit to taking a bold step forward. Your biggest breakthrough is on the other side of your biggest fear. Your biggest breakthrough is on the other side of your biggest fear. So I want to encourage you to not be afraid to take bold action. We all have times when fear is holding us back. Don't let it hold you back. Take the bold step, move forward. And, lastly, seek feedback from your team, your family, your peers, those around you, about how you lead, and use it to refine your approach, use it to get better. The best leaders that I know are humble enough to know that they don't know it all and always have a lifelong learning approach. So get that feedback, get to where you know better. Then you can do better and move it forward. So those are some areas that hopefully are helpful to you. The three themes that I kind of summarized again, just to recap One, setbacks are what shape us and make us stronger. Two, balance in our work and personal life requires effort and intentionality. And third, leadership is about showing up with courage and taking bold steps, especially during the tough times. So those are the themes that I heard from our guests as we went through 24 episodes.
Speaker 1:And listen. I want to speak directly to you, so if you're on YouTube, you'll see me looking straight at the camera here, trying to look you in the eyeballs through the camera. Trying to look you in the eyeballs through the camera. If you're not, know that I'm looking at you across the radio waves here, but I want to speak to the leaders and entrepreneurs who are listening to this podcast and I want you to know that you have what it takes. I believe that if you're listening to this, you're here because you want to get better. You want to change something that is not working in your community or your business or your family, and you have what it takes to make it better. Hopefully with some encouragement from this episode, from this first season, you've learned some things tactically, you've been inspired. You've gotten some educational resources.
Speaker 1:I hope that you know that you can do this thing, and if you're someone who's been listening to this and you've been working up the courage to take the leap to start a business, to buy a building, to get into the game some way to change your community for the better, do it. You have what it takes. You can figure it out. If somebody like me can figure it out, you can figure it out too. You're not going to know everything. Before you take the leap, get educated, get ready as much as you can, but you're never going to be completely ready. Take the leap. If you're someone who already has and you're doubting your decision or you're up against adversity, you're having challenges. Again, I believe in you. If you're listening to this, it means that you care and that you're working hard to get better, and so I know that you can figure it out.
Speaker 1:If I can be a resource to you, let me know. I'm happy to do that. Maybe I can make a connection for you or give you a word of encouragement or share a book or some advice that I've learned along the way. I'm happy to do that and I hope that you'll reach out if that is the case. So I hope, like me, you have been inspired, educated through the guest's experience from this first season. I know that what I've learned and the relationships that I've built and the stories that I've heard, they've helped me in my life, my business, my leadership, as I'm continually trying to get better, and I'm just reminded that persistence, connection and bold action, it works and it'll get us to where we want to go. So, kind of, looking ahead, we are planning a season two, so be ready for that. We'll be launching in January, relaunching, so look for new stories, some fresh formats, some more opportunities for us to learn and grow together. I'm not going to tell you too much, but I've got some ideas and so just more stories, more lessons coming your way, and so I'm excited to be able to offer that, please.
Speaker 1:I ask that if you have a favorite moment or theme from the season, I'd love to hear from you. I'd love to have you share if there's other lessons or things that really resonated or actions that you took as a result of some of the things you heard, please. You know I shared at the top of the episode, like I see, all these statistics about how many people are listening and where they are and all of that, but I don't know any of your names, I don't know specifically who's listening and I don't know if you're ready to take the leap, if you're looking for education, if you're looking for inspiration, what you've learned. I would really love to hear from you. So please, reach out. You're welcome to do that through social media, through email, whatever works I'm not too hard to find. So shoot me a message and I'd love to hear from you about that. Also, if you have ideas about certain topics, formats or guests that you would like to see or hear on season two of the main street reimagined podcast, I'd love to hear from you on that as well.
Speaker 1:Lastly, I do have to ask once again if this show has been helpful to you at all that you would go on. As soon as this episode ends, you would pop on your podcast player or there on YouTube and you would leave us a rating and a review. It would mean the world to me. It helps this podcast get out to more people, who hopefully can be educated and inspired as a result. So if I can ask you to do that, it would be a personal gift to me and I would really, really appreciate it. So thank you again. Thank you for listening. I greatly appreciate it. Thank you to all our guests who have been on. You have just enriched my life and you've enriched the lives of others by being part of this.
Speaker 1:Obviously, I took a lot of notes just from the lessons that I could think of. I don't even remember every detail from every episode, but there's been so much richness. So if you've listened to some of them, listen to the rest of them. Listen to them again. I know that some of my favorite podcast episodes that I've listened to through the years I've listened to multiple times.
Speaker 1:Again, I said earlier I think I'm a slow learner. Sometimes I've got to hear it more than once for it to, especially if it's something tactical that I need to move from knowing to doing. I need to hear it again. I need to get reeducated, reinspired, and so, if that's what you need, listen back to some of these episodes that we chatted about today. So again, thank you so much for being part of our community here on the Main Street Reimagined podcast. I look forward to seeing you in season two. Thanks for listening to the Main Street Reimagined podcast. To learn more about Main Street Reimagined Henry Development Group or our work in downtown Marion, ohio, please visit MainStreetReimaginecom If you want to connect or if you know someone who we need to interview, shoot us an email at info at MainStreetReimaginecom. Until next time, keep dreaming and don't be afraid to take the leap.