828: Can we have it all? (MY ANSWER IS NOT POSITIVE!)

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Hey, what is up?

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Welcome to this episode of the Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur podcast.

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As always, I'm your host, brian Lofermento.

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In this Solo Sunday episode, we are going to ask an important question of can we have it all?

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And, spoiler alert, my answer is not going to be yes.

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I'm excited about this one.

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Let's dive in.

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So in today's episode, I'm really gonna call out some of my fellow podcasters and authors and really people who create a lot of content with regards to entrepreneurship and growing a business, because I feel like we have all been lied to and I feel like we are misled when it comes to this topic that we're talking about today, because so many gurus really are out there preaching about the fact that we can have it all that we can talking about today, because so many gurus really are out there preaching about the fact that we can have it all, that we can have it all in life and in business, and I think that it oftentimes I think it does two things.

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One, I think it sets a really misleading example, because people look at all of these multiple seven figure entrepreneurs or eight figure entrepreneurs and YouTubers who are saying, yeah, I am able to do this and I'm able to have a one and a half hour morning routine and I'm able to spend all the time with my kids and, at the same time, I'm able to automate all of my business stuff so that I get to have this lifestyle business and I'm always traveling and I get eight hours of sleep a night and I stay on top of all of my fitness.

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And I feel like it has become such a common message in the world of entrepreneurship and in the world of personal development I'm going to call that out as well that we've all been duped and the reality is and this is something I've been thinking about so much frequently, which is obviously why I wanted to do a solo Sunday episode on this topic but what I've been thinking about frequently is that it's actively discouraging because when our results don't align with those results that we see literally everywhere, then we think that we are doing something wrong and we continue to try to replicate something that is an unrealistic example.

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And I say this because when we hear these people who are saying this, it is always coming from people who have quote unquote made it.

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It is always coming from these gurus, these seven figure, multiple, seven figure, eight figure entrepreneurs, these entrepreneurs who have had huge exits.

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They've sold their companies for $50 million, and it's so easy for them to say that on the other side of success.

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But if you are a wantrepreneur, if you are still a beginner entrepreneur, if you are still in the initial growth phases, heck.

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Even if you're in the more mature growth phases.

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I think a more realistic message is that we actually do need to make sacrifices.

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And so when we talk about the question of can we have it all, my answer is actually it's twofold.

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This obviously you all know.

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I'm going to try to turn this into some sort of positive, hopeful episode for all of us, because I think we all need that along our journeys, but my gut reaction to that question is no, we cannot have it all, at least in every available moment.

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We cannot have it all.

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Life, just like business, is a matter of choices, and when we choose things, we must not choose other things.

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And that is where sacrifice comes in.

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And sacrifice is an essential and inevitable part of both life and business, and relationships and health and fitness.

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Literally, anything that we want to accomplish in life requires I was gonna say includes, but the truth is it requires sacrifice.

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We must give up other things in order to achieve and choose the things that we do want, and so the more hopeful answer, of course, is that we can have it all.

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Just not right now, just not yet.

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Eventually, we can probably have it all if we make the right choices.

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But in order for us to get there, it requires sacrifice.

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And I know this because all of the people who are preaching that you can have it all and you can have eight hours of sleep and two hour long morning routines and all these other crazy things that we hear on podcasts, in YouTube videos, in New York Times, bestselling books, all of those things that we hear those people didn't get there by not sacrificing.

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Those people didn't get there by always getting eight hours of sleep every night and by always having a crazy two-hour morning routine that requires meditation and journaling and all these other things.

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Can that work and can it be a part of your daily choices?

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Yes, but way too many newer entrepreneurs are out there doing those things and managing nine to five jobs and managing personal relationships and families and life responsibilities.

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They're trying to do all of those things and grow a business and they're wondering why it doesn't all fit, and the reason is is because time is finite.

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We only have a certain amount of time in a day.

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We only have 24 hours.

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So something's got to give.

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And the good news is these sacrifices, they're not permanent.

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So I'm not standing here today saying to you give up sleep.

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You know you're going to have give up sleep.

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You know you're going to have to give up sleep when it comes to growing your business.

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Will there be days, yes, will there be weeks, yes, will there be months Maybe, but you will have to make sacrifices and I'm not just gonna pick on sleep.

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For example, when I started my first business, it was the summer after my freshman year in college, and whenever people talk to me about college you know so many people their college experiences are parties and going to all these epic social events and having all this fun.

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And for me I really I mean my college memories instead of parties are more like pulling all-nighters in the library with my roommates and my friends who were working on my business with me and who we were all committed to growing together.

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I remember there was an article about me and two of my closest college friends in the Boston Globe and there was a picture of us within the library in one of the conference rooms that we used to always pull all-nighters in and our eyes were exhausted.

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We have bags under our eyes.

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We were absolutely exhausted, but was it worth it?

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Yes, and I've done so many episodes in the past where we talk about the juice is worth the squeeze, but I don't feel like we're transparent enough about this and I feel like the loudest voices that we hear in life, in personal development, in entrepreneurship, are the voices of those who have quote unquote made it.

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They have the resources to reach a lot of people and to have their voice amplified, which is awesome, but they often preach about things that serve them based on where they are now, and that's why I do think it's so important for all of us to always remember and consider and prioritize taking advice that is relevant to us where we are, and it's the very notion of the entrepreneur to entrepreneur podcast.

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This is why we don't often have multiple seven figure or eight figure entrepreneurs on.

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We do.

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We make that a consistent part of our scheduling.

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We always make sure we have a blend of those, but we also have a blend of entrepreneurs who are just one tiny step ahead of a lot of our entrepreneurial listeners.

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We have a very healthy and intentional blend of entrepreneurs at all different levels, because the advice that you need needs to be relevant to where you are.

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And so if you're only listening to the Tony Robbins of the world, and Tony Robbins is telling you you can have it all and we need to focus on these things Go read one of his autobiographies, because Tony Robbins once upon a time was a janitor, and after his nine to five job which was phenomenal, for sure, not nine to five this man was hustling, this man was sacrificing, and that's why he made it I'm not saying any of this to knock Tony Robbins Gosh.

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That dude is an incredible entrepreneur and he has made a massive impact on people all over the world.

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We can all hope to have a fraction of the impact that Tony Robbins has had on this world and what his legacy is going to be.

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His legacy is going to live on far longer than him, not only through the people he served, but through his books, his videos, all the great stuff that he puts out there.

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But it's easy for him to say we can have it all now that he's on the other side of that, and so for you and I, the everyday entrepreneurs, my message to both of us, yourself and myself here today, is that we do need to be intentional about sacrifice and we do need to understand that we are sacrificing for longer term benefits, but we must make those sacrifices today.

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We must make those sacrifices short term to make this stuff work, because it's not all going to work at the same time.

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You're not.

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You may not be able to get all the sleep in the world early on in your entrepreneurial journey, but you're doing that because, longer term, you may be able to have it all, and that's why I teased at the top of this episode.

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My answer to this question is not yes, because it's maybe.

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Maybe we can have it all, just not yet.

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I can very confidently say that we can't have it all just yet.

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If you somehow have all the time in the world to truly have it all right here, right now, you are one of the lucky ones and that's awesome and I applaud you and I hope that long may that continue.

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However, for all of us who are managing so many different things in our lives, let's be willing to make those sacrifices.

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We have to be willing to make those sacrifices, and if you're not, then you are making priorities.

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You're making other choices.

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You're choosing sleep, or you're choosing fun, or you're choosing exercise.

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You're choosing something other than growing your business, and guess what?

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That's fine.

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All of life is choices, and that's fine if you choose those other things.

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But at the end of the day, if you're wondering, how do I finally actually grow my business, it comes down to choices and priorities, and both of those things both choices and priorities require sacrifice, and so hopefully this episode not only points that out to you, but hopefully it makes you sit down today, this weekend, this week, this month, whatever cycle it is that you operate within, and be more intentional about those sacrifices and make deals with yourselves on a weekly basis and say, look, this week I understand, I've got these responsibilities.

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I may not get eight hours of sleep a night, or I may have to skip this social function and just know that it's a sacrifice and kudos to you, because most people don't see those and most people aren't willing to do those.

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It's why I laugh every time people say to me oh, you're so lucky.

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You started your business when I was in college, and the reality is, nobody thought I was lucky when I was missing out on so many college experiences.

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All my college friends were like, dude, you're really just going to sit in your dorm room and blog about soccer, like that's what you're going to do right now.

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And now a lot of people say to me oh, you're so lucky you get to travel so much and you're so lucky you get to make your own schedule and work from coffee shops and see the world.

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Yeah, was I lucky.

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In both these instances, the two are very closely related and at the root of it is choices and priorities and sacrifice.

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So that's my message to you.

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I really hope it hits you where you need it to, because it's such.

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It's a deep promise and commitment from me to you and I'm talking directly to you, the listener, and obviously extrapolating it to all the listeners is that I wanna continue to bring you content that is relevant to where you are, because there's a lot of content.

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That's great when we've made it to the other side of success, but let's be real about the stuff that we need right here, right now, to get to where we wanna be.

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That's it for me this weekend.

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I'm so excited.

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Honestly.

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I know I say it every week, but we just we've got incredible guests coming up.

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Our team works so hard to be so intentional about who we invite to be guests here on the show.

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We have a very proactive outreach system where we go after the very guests that we want to come on the show.

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So you're in for a real treat this week.

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Make sure you pound that subscribe button, because we'll be back, as always every Monday, wednesday, friday, saturday and Sunday here on the entrepreneur to entrepreneur podcast.

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Hey, it's Brian here, and thanks for tuning in to yet another episode of the entrepreneur to entrepreneur podcast.

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