Unfiltered Founders
Unfiltered Founders is a raw, real, and refreshing podcast for anyone ready to break free from the corporate grind and embrace the unpredictable world of entrepreneurship. Hosted by Darren Penquite and Andy Baker—two former corporate professionals turned business owners—this show dives deep into the highs, lows, and everything in between of starting and scaling a business.
Each episode features candid conversations about the unfiltered realities of entrepreneurship: the wins, the losses, the sleepless nights, and the lessons learned along the way. Whether you're just considering taking the leap or you're a seasoned business owner looking for perspective, encouragement, or the next big idea, Unfiltered Founders delivers honest insights and practical advice—with a dash of humor and a whole lot of heart.
Tune in for stories that inspire, advice you can actually use, and the kind of support every founder needs but rarely finds.
Unfiltered Founders
Scratch an Itch, Find a Niche: The Mental Game of Entrepreneurship
What if your biggest business obstacle isn't market conditions or competition, but the voice inside your head? In this transformative conversation with mindset expert Collin Henderson, we uncover how entrepreneurs can break free from the mental barriers holding them back from true success.
Collin shares his remarkable journey from Division I athlete to pharmaceutical sales to founding Master Mindset LLC. His personal struggle with performance anxiety and perfectionism led him to discover powerful mindset techniques that completely transformed his results—techniques he now teaches to entrepreneurs, sales teams, and athletes worldwide.
The conversation dives deep into practical strategies that any business owner can implement immediately. Collin explains how our brains are "worry machines" designed for survival rather than success, and offers tools to counteract the negative thought patterns that sabotage performance. His mantra "I'm not defined by this" provides a powerful framework for separating self-worth from business outcomes.
We challenge the glorified "hustle culture" that leaves entrepreneurs burned out and unfulfilled. Instead, Collin advocates for what he calls "grooving rather than grinding"—finding energy-giving activities and delegating the rest. His three-year transition from side hustle to full-time business owner serves as a realistic roadmap for aspiring entrepreneurs who want sustainable success without sacrificing wellbeing.
Whether you're struggling with business fears, decision paralysis, or simply feeling that your work has become a grind, Collin's insights will help you reclaim your entrepreneurial spark. As he powerfully states at the end: "The body has limits, but the mind is limitless."
Ready to transform your entrepreneurial mindset? Listen now and discover how mastering your internal game might be the most profitable business move you'll ever make.
Welcome to the Unfiltered Founders Podcast. I am Darren.
Speaker 2:I'm Andy.
Speaker 1:Welcome to another week of raw, unfiltered, unadulterated business talk.
Speaker 2:That's right buddy Dude. I am gearing up for a little out-of-town trip with my son for a basketball tournament this weekend. So, I'm going to Vegas, man.
Speaker 1:Oh, you're doing that for your son, I'm sure.
Speaker 2:Yes, yeah, and I'm cramming all the work into, uh, you know, the first part of the week and then, uh, you know, trying to, trying to be able to make a list of the things I can keep up on while while traveling a bit.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, I'm sure, how about you? Um, we just got, let's see. Well, I last time we, last time we talked, I was at Bar Run.
Speaker 2:That's right.
Speaker 1:We did a little golf pool family vacation stuff. Just kind of stayed home, stayed chill for the 4th of July, lit off some legal fireworks in our cul-de-sac and drank a little whiskey with the neighbors and yeah, just had a chill, good day.
Speaker 2:There you go, man. That's great.
Speaker 2:Yeah, just in time for the little wild thunderstorm going through Southern Oregon, oh my goodness Just last night and you know, that kind of leads us into who we've got today, because I've been in thunderstorms in the South and this gentleman is from Nashville and I'm excited to introduce our guest today, colin Henderson, with Master your Mindset. Colin's got he's an author, he's gosh got podcasts. You've got so many things going on, colin, and I'm excited to have you just because you're a fellow entrepreneur and mindset is kind of your bailiwick. So welcome and tell us about your entrepreneurial ventures and kind of a little bit about yourself.
Speaker 3:Well, thank you, Andy and Darren. I'm imagining that hype music, entry music. I imagine Darren slapping the bass, Andy, you on that guitar, just getting everybody ready to go.
Speaker 1:That's right, we're very original here.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I found myself. I found myself night at the Roxbury, kind of jamming a little bit to that opening. But no, I'm grateful to have this conversation. My company is called Master Mindset LLC. The mission is to transform lives and normalize mindset training, and you can agree, Andy Darren, that entrepreneurship is a mindset shift. It's a risk.
Speaker 1:There's some fear 100%.
Speaker 3:Yeah, there's some uncertainty and you're leaving something that probably is. You know it well. You probably left a career doing something to embark on something that you're very passionate about. So I just love to help other business owners who are starting something from scratch that's really designed in your DNA, designed from a pain point that keeps you curious, that you want to solve. So I'm honored.
Speaker 2:Yeah, man, it works. I'm excited to have you. I know you've got your own podcast there with Master your Mindset. And then, for those folks listening, if you haven't listened to Collins, hop on check it out. It's a great short one for the start of every day and I know I listen to it pretty frequently. But, colin, tell us a little bit about kind of your history, how you got here, you know, I mean from from division one athlete to where you are today and even before that, if you want to go that far.
Speaker 3:For sure. Uh, well, you mentioned Nashville. We did have a thunderstorm yesterday so some trees fell down across the street, but luckily everyone's safe. But I'm from Seattle, so not too far from Oregon. Uh, Puyallup, Washington, just south of Seattle. So grew up in Puyallup. Dad was a college quarterback at Washington State University, Mom was a college dancer. I did ballet as a kid. I did football, basketball, baseball. That was just something that we were into and went to Puyallup High School, got a scholarship to play at Washington State. I played two sports. I played football and baseball. Play at Washington State. I played two sports. I played football and baseball. And I think my curiosity in the mental performance space came after, as I reflected and many listeners, if you're an entrepreneur or if you're in a performance role, I had performance anxiety and I tell people I'm a recovering perfectionist, people pleaser who's codependent, who gets self-worth tied to performance that's a mouthful, yeah and that was conditioned unconsciously because I had a father who loved me deeply but he was a former cfo quarterback.
Speaker 3:He was a professional racquetball player. He's in the u-triple-s-a washington softball hall of fame, was a baller but was really intense and that intensity I think spilled over into I attach my worth to how well I played and performed and so I would just have this performance anxiety. My thought process was very future-based what if I don't get a hit? What if I strike out? What if I drop a pass? Everything was playing not-based. What if I don't get a hit? What if I strike out? What if I drop a pass? Everything was playing not to fail and it really, I think, hindered my ability to really optimize all my skills at that level. And by the time I was done, I played four years of football, three years of baseball.
Speaker 3:My fifth year at WSU was just baseball. I was completely mentally, emotionally burnt out. It just wasn't fun anymore because I would just have this mental warfare of self-image and my identity and work type of performance. And are people liking this? Am I pleasing everyone? So after graduate school I was in fundraising at WSU and then I got into pharmaceutical sales, which healthcare, life sciences I mean, it's like sports you got a winner, you got a loser, you got competition, you got pressure, you got a coach like a leader manager. There's a rankings, there's a scoreboard. So I basically just shifted all my fears and anxieties into another profession, cause that's really what I was used to. Yeah, um. So that's where I had, I think, my biggest I think finding patterns and it hit. I think my biggest I think finding patterns and it hit, I think, rock bottom, where I had like a panic attack before first game my junior year against Idaho, I had a similar experience. We used to have verbal tests over the phone where our compensation was a lot tied to these scientific conversations to some random operator in India that doesn't know our product, but we have to be like robots and answer these things with no notes and that would just flood my brain and my nervous system with panic and anxiety. So luckily that was so draining. I got out of that role and this is when everything shifted.
Speaker 3:When the student is ready, the teacher appears, and oftentimes we don't get this growth mode until we've kind of hit this like crisis mode, because a lot of us just get comfortable. We get comfortable, we got the 401k, we got the consistent paycheck and then until, like, you're either really hurt or frustrated or like have a rock bottom moment, you're probably not going to shift, so by changing companies. I started working with Bard devices urology devices. I had a sales trainer that was like a mindset coach. I had him for a week.
Speaker 3:I was driving in Chicago His name is Frankie Pretzel for a week with my sales trainer that week and he taught nothing but mindset stuff. He's like here are business books, here are books on neuroscience, brain science, self-talk, how to visualize. I'm just like what are you talking about? So I just he kind of led me a path of like what I really needed, which is the psychology of like how the brain works, how my past conditioning is influencing what I'm projecting and what I'm experiencing, and all these fears and all this shame.
Speaker 3:So I started like learn all these concepts and I saw a complete transformation of my health, my, my, uh, my, my skills and performance. I was number one in the country, was elevated to manage five states and was national sales trainer. I started blogging about these things, I started writing books and then I had this epiphany you think Tony Robbins will be selling catheters and running his business coaching and helping performers, I was like I'm in 2019. Once I have three months in a row of more income coaching speaking, I'm going to go all in. And so it's been since 2019 that I've been on this journey.
Speaker 1:So you've you talked about these panic and anxiety attacks. Was that something that, with your mindset training, you had to overcome? Or was it something you still have and you just learned how to channel that and embrace that into your job?
Speaker 3:Well, and here's a question, Darren do people think about their thinking? Do people?
Speaker 1:I do.
Speaker 3:Yeah, or maybe you, maybe it's. It's a productive observation, but I think a lot of us are in these negative thought patterns, these thought loops of shame and fear. And I teach people the brain is a worry machine. The brain is designed to survive, not thrive, and our conditioning is not shaped by good experiences. The brain keeps us covered of all your failures, not your wins, so our conditioning is shaped by what I call trauma drama, daddy and mama, shit, okay. So a lot of times we're unconsciously spiraling and we don't really know the source. We don't know why we have not conditioned gratitude, we haven't conditioned.
Speaker 3:I'm not defined by this result. I'm defined by am I authentic? Am I present? Am I growing? So some of these panic attacks, I would get myself so worked up. This is what Dr Michael Gervais calls the number one epidemic in performance day, which is FOPO fear of other people's opinions. I was, as a child, conditioned to attach my worth to performance. So every time I perform as a matter of life and death, because if I had a good game, the car ride home was great. If I didn't, the car ride home was not great.
Speaker 1:It was awful, it was quiet.
Speaker 3:Yeah, no, it was hitting the steering wheel. Why didn't you hit the ball? Or score the basket? Or, at quarterback, why didn't you throw the ball? I mean, it was just I had to do this sabermetrics analysis, like I'm talking to, like I was in trouble when I was just playing a game.
Speaker 3:I'm 12 years old. 11 years old and the frontal lobe, the prefrontal cortex, is not fully developed until you're around 25. And that's how you navigate complex things, your emotions, how to make choices Like this little brain is not designed to have these adult, intense conversations. So great advice I would tell any parent that has kids who are performing in band music, choir, debate, chess, sports, horse riding, doesn't matter what it is is the best. Fans are grandparents because they don't say anything. They just let their kid be a kid and they're just happy to be there.
Speaker 3:Bruce Brown, who's from the Northwest, did some research on, like interviewing college scholarship athletes, what helped them get to where they are, and he found that parents would say something similar these six words is I love to watch you play, and they would say nothing else. So I think that conditioning was shaped early. So there was a lot of unwinding and kind of healing of you know, facing fears, and my fear of what other people thought manifested into a slight stutter. In sixth grade changed schools and honors program had to read out loud, started stuttering because I was wondering what people thought. That anxiety spilled over into socially and I kind of dealt with that stuttering for a while and that's where a lot of that like panic attack is there. I mean, you're worried about failing or I'm worried about what if I can't put together a sentence because I'm so anxious. You know I did, yeah.
Speaker 1:I. I find myself in these kind of panic attacks, sometimes going where's my business at? Am I doing the right thing? I don't feel like I am. Um, I just had a rough day today mentally and I come home at the end of the day and I grab a glass of whiskey or I grab a beer and I sit down in front of my computer and I look at my numbers, I pull up my data and I go okay, I'm 15% over where I was at this time last year. My calendar is full. My margins look great. What in the world do I have to complain about or be worried about? I'm doing something right. Just got to keep on keeping on, you know.
Speaker 3:That's really good. I like that. You a system at Limitless Minds, who I've been a consultant, a head coach, for a few years, is from Trevor Moad, a great book to check out. Is it Takes what it Takes. It's shifting to neutral, not positive, not negative. Shifting to neutral and neutral thinking is not more positive, it's less negative. There's power to pause. Well, part of neutral thinking is going to truth. So you're just going to facts. How many of us create assumptions and we create stories? Research by dr joe dispensa shows that 25, 35 to 50 percent of our memories are not true. So how many times are we projecting things are not real or not true? It's your ancient brain that's trying to survive. There's no benefit for your brain to be grateful or happy. Your brain wants to worry. And is there a saber, saber tooth? Am I making enough money? It thinks that by worrying it's helping you, but it's actually not.
Speaker 2:So one of the things that I kind of want to go back to a little bit here, Colin, is you talked about how perfectionism was a big part of your identity, and so when you start a business, perfectionism is something sometimes you can't even really worry about. Sometimes you just got to get the product out there, the service out there, and it's a lot of tweaking as you go and a lot of adjusting to the market and a lot of different things. How did you process that and go from being afraid of not being perfect to being able to get something out in the, in the market and um and essentially sell services that you have?
Speaker 3:Well, I think the good news for me is, uh, I had a steady job where I had a 401k, I had benefits, money was coming in and and, but my, my entrepreneurial journey was really a side hustle for three years. So I had a three-year runway where I got a lot of reps. I built what I call this entrepreneurial momentum, where the snowball was started three years ago. So I had enough noise in the marketplace. I've created a brand for myself. I've outreached to enough people in sports, schools and sales and business that you know I didn't have to do a ton of cold calling after three years where I had enough clients that would either come back or they'd hear from another experience or uh. So I just think, be nice to yourself and I just don't think it's smart to start cold Turkey. I think give yourself some time to have a runway. If it's built fast, it won't last. If it's built slow, it will grow. And just have some patience and the good news that what I'm doing now and I just Darren, I feel so blessed I'm.
Speaker 3:So I just did a call with AstraZeneca Medical Affairs global team. They're in Switzerland, they're in the UK, there's a group in the United States at 7.15 am Central Time and the good news at this stage in my career is I'm like Taylor Swift, like what era, what album am I going to play today? Like I don't need to create a bunch of new content. I listened to their problem, their needs, and in my mind I've already concocted kind of a core thing of what I'm doing for an hour on a whiteboard with a global team. I just walked them through. You know how to get in the present moment, how to turn adversity into opportunity, how to connect deeper with people that you care about, that you work with. So I'm just teaching frameworks. So it takes some time and I think just we need to be kind to ourself. Like just give yourself some time to build your assets, build your skills, build your clients.
Speaker 2:And what kind of advice would you have for somebody who's you know, like what Darren was dealing with, like, dealing with those, those fears, the way that our brain is wired? You were saying, you know, getting to neutral, I know, is one of the suggestions you had, but you know, what other tools would you recommend for those entrepreneurs that are dealing with all of that fear of you know? Am I doing it right? Am I? Am I going to make, make this happen? Um, you know, because some are taking that leap.
Speaker 1:Seeking validation.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, right, and you're not going to get it from customers every time. Right, I mean, you're going to, you're going to get a little bit, and then you're going to get complaints.
Speaker 1:You won't get it from yourself either.
Speaker 2:That's right, that's right.
Speaker 3:I would have any performer I work with or coaches master these five words. Performer I work with or coach has mastered these five words. I'm not defined by this. How many of you get what you do and define your identity and your work and who you are? And as entrepreneurs, really you're probably in a field that represents something you're passionate about or something that you're skilled in. So we sometimes let that performance on the basketball court define who I am, our performance in that pitch with that angel investor defined If I don't get that return I want, then I must be bad. So I think it's just realizing you're a human being choosing to step into a field that does not define you. When you lose playing checkers, is the world going to end? I mean, probably not. I mean, but you hopefully learn a different set of moves. So it's just kind of like having this what Dr Dweck at Stanford calls a growth mindset, and just really love the process versus the outcome, love the journey versus the reward, and just not get so hung up on what you do doesn't define who you are. Let's shift how we define ourselves into what you do doesn't define who you are. Let's shift our how we define ourself into what you, what you value.
Speaker 3:I have a G tattoo which reminds me you know God first, gratitude give, grow. And grace Like that's in my control, that's what I can do every day. Those are behaviors of praying, a behavior of gratitude, a behavior of of of giving and serving others, a behavior of of growing and learning and journaling and reflecting. And grace is just for self-forgiveness and forgiveness of others. So I think we just take ourselves so damn serious sometimes and we get so outcome future-based and we project instead of all right, what are my goals? I think we should write them down, don't just think and ink it. That's an important tool. But then what are some behaviors that I can really lock in on that I love to do, that give me energy that serve that goal.
Speaker 3:And another thing I think as entrepreneurs is there's this glorifying of the grind. Oh, I'm only getting four hours of sleep. I'm grinding. That is not cool, that's not healthy. So are you grinding or are you grooving? What are some self-care, rest, recovery, hydration, sleep strategies, some things you can do? The last thing I would say about this for these appendicit taxes, man, do you have people that you lean on? Do you have other entrepreneurs that have the skills and the success that you're looking for. Lean on them. Success leaves clues, and don't be afraid to ask for help. Get a small group, a community. Get a coach, get a counselor, get a therapist. Just get a team around you that can surround you almost like a bubble wrap, that, like I, am protected. I have a healthy identity. I have people in my corner. I'm serving a purpose bigger than myself that I'm obsessed with, and I'm not defined by it.
Speaker 1:So you talk about being an entrepreneur, where we usually get into a field that you know, with something that we're very passionate about, something that we're skilled in, without having a boss, without having a work schedule, without having you know a checklist of things that's put in front of us that we have to do every day, like we do in the corporate world. How do you strike that balance of not being defined by your career?
Speaker 3:Well, I just think, look at the habits and behaviors that are required to run a business and hopefully we do what I call an energy audit and hopefully you're at a place where you're doing behaviors that give you energy and if they don't give you energy, can you eliminate, delegate or automate so you can hire for the shit you don't like to do or the shit that comes not naturally to you and you're the boss so you can design a lifestyle. I call myself, I'm a lifestyle entrepreneur. I work with my best friends. I build these relationships with these sales leaders, these coaches. I love you, man. We're just serving at this common goal, but I think as an entrepreneur is align yourself with other people who have a similar passion as you. It makes things a lot easier.
Speaker 1:This is so refreshing because usually on this podcast we talk about, you know, entrepreneurship is not all fun and games. It's a grind so much of the time because it's just us. We don't get to just clock in and clock out at the end of the day and collect a paycheck. So this is, you know, very, very refreshing information that you're providing to us.
Speaker 3:So we thank you for that. But I'd also echo this thought is success without fulfillment is the ultimate failure. But you know, you know, tony Robbins dropped his name again said that. So if you're not present for your family, if you're not enjoying the fruits of your labor, why the shit would you be an entrepreneur and you're stressed and anxious all the time? Like that doesn't to me sound very good.
Speaker 3:So go back to your nine to five. If you have something that's stable, like try to find an area of expertise as an entrepreneur that you don't have the Sunday scaries, that you have a skillset or you have a team around you that can absorb some of those fears and you have cushion. You have runway where I've saved financially I'm good for six months to a year. I put away money to where I'm not stressing every single week or month. Did this come in? Having some discipline in how you offer? And maybe your offer isn't right. Maybe, if you're not making the income you want, you have to assess is my message clear? Is my audience clear? Is the problem that I solve clear? Are the products that I offer? Are those clear? And if they're not, you know? Again, there's no laws that says or rules you run your business Like to me. I think of the word leadership and one word is influence. The word influence and one word is value. How do I bring value to the marketplace that I am serving?
Speaker 2:value to the marketplace that I am serving. I understand and I and I think that's one thing that you know I I've learned as well through being an entrepreneur is, you know, kind of what you're talking about before is being able to enjoy the things that I'm in it for. You know, and, and you know talking about the grind and how that grind is so glorified in our culture of, you know, working constantly. I won't forget a few years back, we decided to take a family vacation and what I did is I wrote a full page of here's everything where I'm at, and so I could actually have something to go back to and say this is where everything was left off, and I could actually just let it go no-transcript that value or that momentum, or the brand I've created or the skills I've developed over the years.
Speaker 3:So now I'm enjoying the fruits of that labor. So I think that perspective is there's going to be. You know, early on, if you're starting out it's going to be a lot of work but it's going to be worth it. But just knowing that at some point you need to clock out and be really present with your partner, present with your kids or with your friends, and just if you let what you do define you, it's going to consume you.
Speaker 1:So you talked earlier take it slow and then it'll grow. At what point in your slow growth on your side hustles, being an entrepreneur did it dawn on you? Okay, this is no longer a side hustle. It's now time to jump in both feet. What defines that time.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I can give you the whole timeline. So 2012, 13,. My blood pressure was in the high 140s, high 150s. I would escape my work day. I'd go watch movies in the matinee for maybe twice a week to numb myself. It wasn't drugs, alcohol, it was movies. Stressed out, these verbal tests on the phone. I was in the space of oncology Hard to see those physicians, it's like just not fulfilled. April of March of 2014, changed companies got into device.
Speaker 3:I think environment is really critical for anyone. Are you in the right environment that's not toxic, that plays to your strengths, that is in alignment with what you're seeking? I think so. I got into a different environment and Frankie gave me all these mindset concepts. So for two years I was reading five books a month. I was watching TED Talks. I was literally building my education of this area of brain science, neuroscience, mindset, this concept of mental skills coaching that now every major baseball team has a mental skills coach. This was like a developing field 10 years ago. So I had a lot of success at work and I was healthier, happier, I was thriving and I was like happier, I was thriving and I was like. Other people need to know what I've learned, because I know people are stressed. I know people are burnout and I didn't learn this shit until I was 33. So now it's.
Speaker 3:I just got back from our national sales meeting. I was number two in the entire country. I hit sales records in the Northwest that I've never seen before and country. I hit sales records in the Northwest that they've never seen before and I was like I just need to let people know. I remember I was on a trip by the gym, like I didn't need to teach people, so I was like this is old school blog spot, google.
Speaker 3:I started blogging. I created a blog called Project Rise. I would write two or three blog posts every week in February of 2016. 2017, september. I published my first book, started doing curriculum. I had partners, you know, at sports organizations, schools, uh, different businesses. January of 2019. So almost three years. When I started blogging, I set a goal Once I make three months in a row, more income speaking, consulting, more than selling catheters like that's my benchmark Three months in a row I've set that goal. In January it was June I had hit three months in a row, or July. I'm like how many of us? We set dreams and goals but we don't honor them.
Speaker 1:You know we someday, someday.
Speaker 3:We live on what Brian Tracy calls Someday Island. You know we suffer from Someday-itis, like, when that time comes, like are you willing to actually take the step? Storm the island, burn the boats. So I referenced it briefly. We were at Burgermaster in Bellevue. The whole family were having cheeseburgers. I'm leaving the car it was a drive-in to throw it away and I had this like God voice Do you think Tony Robbins will be selling catheters and running his live events, his business? No, he wouldn't, so do it. So I let my supervisor boss whatever national sales leader and they knew what I was doing, they saw what I was doing, they were all about it. I was like I'm going all in, like amazing, so September 2019. So that was the whole timeline. So I gave myself over three years.
Speaker 1:So the ideal situation would be to leave the sales role and have the company you left hire you as a consultant to train their new salespeople.
Speaker 3:Well, what if I told you I've done that with other life science companies? That's like my bread and butter If you have device or pharma or diagnostics or that medical health leadership influence. I've been cycling through those companies a lot.
Speaker 1:That's your wheelhouse.
Speaker 3:Yeah, because I can speak, the medical, the science, I know the industry, but the mental skills of resilience, confidence, influence leadership. But there's also schools and sports teams and you don't have to be in sales to use all this stuff.
Speaker 1:Can anybody get into entrepreneurship or do you think that there's certain key mentality traits that are absolutely critical if you want to become self-employed?
Speaker 3:Well, I look at it like do you want to be in a zoo or do you want to be in the wild? I think a lot of people like being in a zoo. I get fed these certain amount of times, I have safety, I have shelter. I just kind of like to know what to expect, and there's nothing wrong with that, and it's in 2025.
Speaker 1:We were talking about this last week. Now, in 2025, you're delusional if you think that you can find security in the corporate world because things are changing so rapidly with the, with AI coming in into play, with you know all these, you know automation with with shipping stuff overseas, or whatever the case may be. You may think that you're secure in your corporate job and then you get handed your pink slip the next day. That just blindsided you. You know it's. I mean, I guess there's still some good, secure jobs out there, but I think they're very few and far between.
Speaker 3:Yeah, but I think being an entrepreneur like you have to be able to know how to hunt and have that and enjoy the hunt as much as the kill Like and having the freedom to roam, have the freedom to call the shots Like I. I answered to nobody, which feels pretty cool. Actually, I do have partners that I align with, but like no one's saying you got to do this, I can say yes to an opportunity, I can say no to opportunity and just, man, is it work as a play? Can't tell it feels the same. I don't know what day it is. I kind of do know what day it is because it was the fourth last week, but like I just. But this is taking me some time to get here and I will say I did take a little bit of a pay cut, year one, year two. But betting on myself, developing the skills, building the brand, finding loyal clients that they keep coming back, like I make way more now than I ever did in like the corporate America and I have just this like peace of mind, I have freedom and I have lifelong friendships that I work with. So, yeah, there is. It is a little bit of scariness, but I think if we can learn.
Speaker 3:When my dad passed away two years ago, he had a bracelet for one of his baseball teams. I helped make it said process over outcome. You just have to love the process more than the outcome. You have to love the lifestyle, love the area of expertise, love just all that the reason why Tom Brady is goaded at 45, he loved the process as much as he loved winning. You can say this with anyone. I think Steve Jobs says you can't be great at anything unless you love it.
Speaker 1:Tom Brady was a great quarterback, but he was an even better leader.
Speaker 3:Leader, but he was smart. But he loved watching film. He loved going to the facility. He loved competition. What I love about Michael Jordan and the Last Dance he said the basketball court. He loved competition. What I love about Michael Jordan and the last dance he said the basketball court is my escape. I don't feel pressure when I'm performing on the court. I feel pressure and anxiety when I'm off the court. If you haven't seen, it.
Speaker 1:look it up on YouTube too. There's an interview with Steve Young, who interviewed Brock Purdy, and take a look at that. Take a look at that interview. I think it's about 35 minutes long and it will blow your mind. As far as Brock Purdy being a rookie, coming out onto the field with that mindset of of I don't want not that he doesn't care, but this mindset of my you know I'm finding my worth elsewhere and it's not on this field and being able to execute these plays with um with the sense of calm that most seasoned quarterbacks don't have yeah, a really good book to check out by George Mumford who was the mental coach with the bulls, phil jackson and lakers with jordan and kobe.
Speaker 3:It's called unlocked and kobe and george used to have a conversation around the best way to score is to not try to score. It's to be in flow, it's to be in rhythm and it's kind of like dating when you're out there, when you're really thirsty and you're forcing it, and in sales if you have commission breath like people don't want that what's so if you're done that in a long time, well, I'm just saying but, but that that's just a metaphor for like, if you're super, I have to get the results.
Speaker 3:You're not free, you're not authentic, you're not loose, you're not agile, and if you're so consumed by what other people think, that's robbing you from being present, it's robbing you from unlocking your best. I had this thought for some reason before we jumped on. I don't know where this came from. I was making a salad. Follow this equation your skill plus your practice, minus internal interference, equals your execution, your potential execution. So we all have a level of skill and experience that we can pull from. So the higher skill probably less practice you need. The lower skill you have. The higher practice you need, probably less practice you need the lower skill you have the higher practice you need. But the X factor is how much internal interference is sabotaging your skill and your practice, as in outside noise of what people think, stress and fear of what if I fail. The lower the internal interference, the more you'll maximize your skill and how much practice you put in your skill and how much practice you put in.
Speaker 3:So what Brock Purdy is describing is the reason why he's 5'11" Mr Irrelevant last pick of the draft is because he is completely present. He has very little external noise that's infiltrating his ability to focus, be present and lock in. How many of us have the skills to execute but we let self doubt, self talk. That's negative, Yep. So nature nurture. I think maybe he was built like that. So my job as a mental performance coach is to help you lower that internal interference so you can activate your skills. Activate you know how much work you put in. So when you're in the moment of an entrepreneur you're launching a new course, a new product, a new pitch man, your true, authentic self gets to actually shine.
Speaker 1:So when you're in the oh, go ahead. Andy.
Speaker 2:I've got a question for you. Go ahead, darren. You're good, go ahead.
Speaker 1:When your business is growing, you're being successful, and I'm sure this is a little bit different with everybody. But at what point do you draw the line? Make that you know, draw that threshold where you go. Okay, I'm satisfied. I'm going to keep going how I'm going, or go okay. What steps do I need to take now to take my business to a new level? How can I duplicate myself? What more can I automate? How much more work do I need to take now to take my business to a new level? How can I duplicate myself? What more can I automate? How much more work do I want to put into it? Do I want to hire people? What kind of thought process goes into? Okay, my business is tapped out, I'm happy. Or let's take this to a new level.
Speaker 3:I think there's a few measures as entrepreneurs we can evaluate. The first I mentioned is energy. Do I have good energy or bad energy? Do I have anxiety or do I have joy? How's my energy right now Do I feel when I wake up? Am I a gazelle or a lion? Gazelles run away, lions run towards. Am I running towards something or am I avoiding something? So energy is one.
Speaker 3:I do think money is something we can measure. Are you generating income or wealth? That is, giving you feedback, because value is reciprocal. It's reciprocal is the value I'm bringing to the marketplace. Coming back to me, because I found what I call scratch an itch, find a niche, you'll be rich bitch. Have I found the niche that has the problem that I'm curious about? But am I bringing value to that? And really you bring value, not just with solutions, but you are a great problem finder and you can articulate here's the audience that I'm serving. We have this problem. Here's a product or solution.
Speaker 3:The third thing I think we can measure in our success as entrepreneur is what rooms are you in? What people are you around? The more energy you have, the more value you give. It opens more doors to be around people who have more skills than you, have, more reach or access than you do. So for me, I kind of measure energy. I'm measuring am I getting? Am I elevating resources because of value? Am I in bigger rooms of people who are way smarter than me? So you can do that with masterminds, you can do that with coaching, you can do that by elevating conferences or circles you're in. You can do that on LinkedIn, on Instagram. I would be hunting energy and giving some real-time feedback on revenue and resources. But what people can you be around?
Speaker 2:Well, I think that's an important part too, because community is incredibly important to your identity and accountability to your identity and who you are. So if you don't have that community, it's an important thing to you know, to certainly put together to your point here. One question I had for you, colin, is you know, I deal a lot with entrepreneurs, aspiring entrepreneurs primarily, and so many people are in that spot of. I work in corporate America but I've always wanted to be an entrepreneur. I've always wanted to do this and a lot of I work in corporate America, but I've always wanted to be an entrepreneur. I've always wanted to do this and a lot of what I do is kind of work through are you ready? You know whether you want to or not.
Speaker 2:Are you ready and that's not necessarily mindset coaching, but from a mindset perspective, what would your suggestions or advice be for somebody who keeps saying you know, I have this pull inside of me that I have to be a business owner, I want to be an entrepreneur, when we're surrounded in a culture of where that's, that's the goal, right, I mean, we are all supposed to be. You know that. You know, at least from what we hear. But how do you filter through that with your mindset of is that really for you and, uh, you know, is that that internal tug, something you to listen to and how do you work through that?
Speaker 3:Yeah, you may have heard of, we have two births when we're born and then when we find our purpose, like that's when we really come alive. And I think some people they just don't know. I think when you you know, simon said start with why, like some people that I don't know what that why is? So I think that pull to me is what are you curious about? What do you think about? What do you research? What do you talk about? And I can speak from just my personal experience. I would never tell anybody to do. Something I haven't done is when you find that area, get some reps. I think so many entrepreneurs try to come out the gate I got to make this much money and they evaluate their beginning to someone's middle, which is just not realistic. So give yourself a runway and repetition is the mother of mastery. Get a lot of reps in that space, in that field, and do you all know how many hours there are in a week?
Speaker 1:40.
Speaker 2:Off the top of my head. I'm trying to do the math.
Speaker 3:Let's see 24 hours a day, seven days a week, I don't know. Yeah, so it's 168. So let's just hypothetically say we value rest and recover, we're getting eight hours sleep per night. We're working 40 hours a week. Let's say you have a nine to five. So that added up as a hundred, 168 minus a hundred, is 68. You got 68 hours in seven days to establish whatever side hustle you want To research, mentors, coaching, dabble practice offer and granted part of that 68, let's say 30 of that is like family time, like deep family connected, or 40 hours of that, you still got 28 hours to do in a week. Whatever you want to do. I just think so many of us are scrolling on Instagram, we're watching, we're binging on Netflix, we're doing tasks that do nothing to move the needle.
Speaker 1:They numb your mind.
Speaker 3:Yeah. So I just think, man, life is too short not to love what you do, and I know that a lot of people's jobs are really killing them. So you may have heard of the analogy. You have someone you know they're building either a church or a school. I've heard people tell it and they ask this person like what do you do? I lay bricks. What do you do? I'm building a school or a church. I'm building a school that's elevating our youth to be the next generation to change the world. Or I'm building a church. I'm building a school that's elevating our youth to be the next generation to change the world. Or I'm building a church to bring people closer to God. One is a job, one's a career, one is a calling. So just like finding what is your calling, what makes you come alive, like, how can you be of service to the world that really solves a problem that you're obsessed with?
Speaker 1:What is the one thing you think that you said some people's jobs are killing them. What is the one trait that people have the hardest time overcoming in entrepreneurship? That sinks them?
Speaker 3:So you're talking as an entrepreneur? Yes, like, what is killing them? I think stress is killing them. I think stress, and so I don't know if you've heard.
Speaker 1:Is it the lack of ability to delegate? Is it that type A personality that most entrepreneurs have, where you have a hard time letting go of certain things?
Speaker 3:Well, remember I said, scratch it. Find a niche you'll be rich Like. Have you found a niche that has a real problem that needs solving, that you can charge for, that you can monetize? I mean, there's a lot of entrepreneurial roles that probably the market is just hasn't hit yet. I know you're super fascinated on this one little random thing. But you have to look at is this a viable product that the market needs, that the market wants? And maybe you need to rearrange how you tell that story, how you create here's a problem story on why you need this product or why you need this service.
Speaker 3:So I think part of being a wise entrepreneur is finding a market that has a real problem and do you provide a service or a widget that effectively solves that problem? And do you provide a service or a widget that effectively solves that problem and do you have a way to market and to network and get people behind it? So I think that is really critical in choosing, and the good news for me is that I don't see anxiety going away. Not a good thing. That sounds bad.
Speaker 3:I just don't see stress, burnout, overwhelm is going to be there, no matter what time we're in, what industry we're in is going to be there, no matter what time we're in, what industry we're in, and the good news is, I guess, is that people are now more open to doing this work where years ago, therapy, coaching, talking about your emotions, your mental state is kind of taboo, the good, positive advent of social media is like these conversations now are normal. And this is actually a recruiting tool. I've spent over three years as the director of mental conditioning for UCLA women's basketball and one of a powerful recruiting tools for high school kids or transfers is we have a robust mental conditioning program. You're going to develop your skills physically, but we're going to train you how to be mentally the best you can be, and companies are finding this, so find an area where there is an actual need.
Speaker 1:That's great advice.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I love it, and I think you know, um, you know, we see some, some things in corporate America at least that I think of immediately are those motivational posters, and I think that's just a coping mechanism. But I think you got to find your way of how you process this stuff, and I think what Colin shared here are a lot of tools and how you can do that, and I think that's an important piece as an entrepreneur, as you prepare to find that niche and whatever you're looking to do and use your skills and expertise and experience to put your business together, make sure that you're mentally prepared for it too, and you have those tools, you have the ability to reset, you have those triggers and you know what's going to happen if I have a bad week, if I have a bad day, if I have a bad conversation, and you prepare yourself for those and when you can go into that. Being more mentally resilient, I think you're going to be able to thrive a little differently when you're launching a business for yourself.
Speaker 1:Good closing words, Andy Colin, thank you, if people want to learn more about you. If they want to get in touch with you, how can they? How can they find out more about you?
Speaker 3:Yeah Well, thanks again Darren and Andy for having me. I think the easiest way is to go to Instagram or LinkedIn at Colin Henderson. Two L's you can go to where all podcasts are found. Master your mindset tools on the inner game those are free. Two L's you can go to where all podcasts are found. Master your Mindset Tools when the Inner Game those are free resources right off the bat.
Speaker 1:I'm going to be looking that up tonight.
Speaker 3:And then you can go to Amazon and check out Colin Henderson Books. I've written seven books and two journals.
Speaker 2:Wow, that's awesome man. Congratulations on all your success, yeah yeah, for sure, man, you got some good stuff and I I do recommend that podcast for sure. I listen to it and I appreciate that what you're doing out there. So keep it up and we look forward to keeping in touch and hopefully have you back one of these days sounds great.
Speaker 3:Hey, the body has limits, but the mind is limitless great words.
Speaker 1:Until next week, take care.