Interview Replay: Behind The Human with Marc Champagne

Kara Goldin 0:00
I am unwilling to give up that I will start over from scratch as many times as it takes to get where I want to be I want to be you just want to make sure you will get knocked down but just make sure you don’t get knocked down knocked out. So your only choice should be go focus on what you can control control control. Hi everyone and welcome to the Kara Goldin show. Join me each week for inspiring conversations with some of the world’s greatest leaders. We’ll talk with founders, entrepreneurs, CEOs, and really some of the most interesting people of our time. Can’t wait to get started. Let’s go Let’s go. Today’s episode is a bonus episode from when I was a guest on Mark Champagnes podcast behind the human. I hope you enjoy it. And please make sure to tune in on Monday for the next episode of the Kara Goldin show. Have a great weekend.

Marc Champagne 1:09
All right, welcome everyone to another episode of Behind the human. I’m your host Mark Champagne, and it is my job to unpack the stories and mental fitness practices of people living at the top of their game personally and professionally. Today I’m here with Kara Goldin who is the founder and CEO of hint best known for its award winning hint water the leading unsweetened flavored water, which is fantastic I blew through a case of this recently, she has received numerous accolades including being named EY Entrepreneur of the Year and one of in styles, badass 50 She hosts the podcast the Kara Goldin show and also recently released her first book undaunted, overcoming doubts and doubters, which is now a Wall Street Journal, and Amazon Best Seller. Welcome to the show.

Kara Goldin 1:58
Thank you. Nice to be here.

Marc Champagne 2:01
I am excited. I’ve been diving into your book. And it’s just first of all, I love the size of the chapters because I feel like you know, it’s either been my morning read or my evening kind of wind down rain, it just puts my mind in a perfect place. So a personal thanks for that. And before but before we get into you the book, your story, your work, I would just love to know who you are. Everyone gets this question. Just who are you What defines you? As we speak now?

Kara Goldin 2:32
Great question. Well, I I’m Kara Goldin. And I started out actually, as a tech executive and decided, after a good run and tech that what I was really most interested in was health. And I never really articulated that or defined it. But found when I was actually starting my family, I had three kids under the age of four at the time, that I was really thinking about, Okay, what am I putting in their body, and I think one day I woke up and thought, gosh, maybe I should also think about, you know, my own, like, health issues and and I had gained a bunch of weight over the course of many pregnancies. I was always I was a competitive athlete growing up and knew how to train knew how to eat but somewhere along the way, just got, you know, lazy and really had fallen kind of prey to what I term now is healthy perception versus healthy reality. And, you know, the food and beverage industry and, and so one day when I was reading through labels, which I had gotten really good at when I was looking at not only ingredients for calories and my food, that’s when I looked at my diet soda, Diet Coke, in particular, this was a little over 16 years ago now, and saw that there were a lot of things in there that I was putting in my body that I just didn’t really even know what I was doing. I think I knew I knew more about what I was putting in my car than what I was putting in my body. And I had this aha moment, thinking, Gosh, I don’t know that I would feed my kids this, why am I feeding myself this and that’s when I decided to do a little test and take the Diet Coke way and start drinking plain water. And that’s when I had this other aha moment where I knew I was supposed to drink more water, but I just never did because water was just super boring. So I started slicing up fruit and throwing it in the water to make it you know, tastes better. And it was interesting because I had basically given up on trying to get healthy. I thought well, this is just the way it is as I grow older, you know, it’s just harder to lose weight. Well, you know, maybe hormone imbalance I don’t know like all these

Marc Champagne 4:59
things. and hold that to write for just as context for the listeners like you were, first of all, we’re not talking about one Diet Coke, there were several per day. And I think at one point you had physicians or MDS telling you that, okay, you need to explore like hormone therapy or different medications, resetting your hormones. I mean, how you not step back, like, the majority of the population is like, okay, I guess this is what I have to do.

Kara Goldin 5:26
Well, and I guess that’s what’s so interesting is that we just really believe, right, I think, as consumers, we believe that there’s, you know, lots of testing behind it, that someone’s watching. And, and for me, the word diet, in particular, meant health, and meant better for me, certainly better than regular full fledged soda. So I never really questioned it. And anyway, when I did the swap two and a half weeks later, I lost over 20 pounds, I had developed terrible adult acne that I didn’t even necessarily put the two together like the weight and the skin issues, until I did the swap, and my skin cleared up, I lost the weight, and my energy levels went up. And that’s when I really started thinking about how I was, you know, again, a successful smart executive, yet not so smart about my own health, which I think, frankly, is the case for so many people. And so that’s when I thought, gosh, if I could share this with lots of people, maybe then I could help a lot of people. And that’s when one day I thought, maybe I’ll just go to Whole Foods, whole foods that just opened up in San Francisco where I live, and maybe I’ll go to Whole Foods and see if I can get a product on the shelf that is just water with fruit, because the other thing is, is that when I used to go and buy my six packs, or 12 packs of of Diet Coke, it was really easy, it was convenient. And what I figured out, when I went and looked at everything for sale on the shelf was that it, it just had lots of stuff in it, and I just wanted fruit and water I didn’t want you know, the preservatives, I didn’t want the sweeteners, even diet sweeteners in it. And so, you know, that was really kind of jumping ahead a little bit. But I mean, that was really kind of where I saw maybe, you know, this fork in the road, where and and while I used to define myself and many other people define me as a successful tech executive, that’s when I thought I want to do something that I’m really passionate about, I was passionate about tech, but if I could actually help people and and you know, do something that is really going to help them live longer, stay healthy, enjoy what they do enjoy their families, all of these things, then that would be pretty awesome. So I would say that my definition of me today is probably, you know, somebody that really does want to help and and that’s extended obviously into other products beyond the water and and also my book as well. So my main reason for writing that was was also just to help people get unstuck, or know that they could do it if they really set their mind to it.

Marc Champagne 8:42
Well, let’s talk about a little bit about that. Because I feel like that’s there are two other thru lines that I’ve noticed just reading about your, your tech world and and obviously, all your work with hint and just, I feel like you as a person, there’s there are two characteristics that I see coming up over and over again. And that’s just this heightened sense or this, this passion towards curiosity, and courage, I think like in those two mix together in some way. It might have taken longer on the personal health side of things. But ultimately, you know, you started asking questions, and you were curious about, you know, what the hell was going on, and then then had the courage to actually go and pursue a brand new business? Yeah, right. I mean, the baby on the way.

Kara Goldin 9:31
fourth child on the way and and Justin Yeah, it and you know, it’s it’s interesting. I’ve thought a lot about this, you know, over the years, but I think the thing about tech that is really different than maybe other industries is that they and I would say that if you talk to anybody in tech, how they think about things is, let’s launch something. Let’s get it out the door, and there’ll be an upgrade there’ll be to point out, so you’re never done. Right there, you’re you’re always launching something. I mean, Elon Musk is, you know, putting something into space. But you know, there’s another one that is already, like, let’s get that up there. Let’s take some learnings from it. And then let’s keep adding on to it and keep moving forward, versus the food and beverage industry is, let’s, let’s launch this beautiful thing. And let’s see whether or not it’s successful. And if it’s not successful, then we kill it. Right, and there’s just, I mean, and so for me, I didn’t even get it. When I went into the tech in the ER, when I went from the tech industry into the beverage industry. I just what I knew was that I wanted to do something that I wanted to share something about this like, Aha thing that I had discovered. But again, I knew that I could help a lot of other people. But I think that my curiosity definitely enabled me to go and ask questions. But I all but I also have to say that I got kind of a kick out of, you know, this idea that I wasn’t actually the most knowledgeable person in the room, I think that even looking back at I was at America Online prior to starting my company. And and I really enjoyed it had been through a hockey stick. You know, it was it was very exciting to help it grow. It was a billion dollars in E commerce revenue that I helped lead. And I think for, for me, it was it, I got kind of tired of, of always mentoring and managing, which I it’s something that I talk about a lot throughout, you know, my interviews and also throughout my book is that, it’s just that if you’re not in a position, you can do all of that you can mentor and manage it manage. But if you’re not in a position where you’re actually learning yourself, and putting yourself into those vulnerable positions, then you get a little bored, you get cranky, you get tired, whatever it is, that is, you know, the sort of, you know, that’s how you feel after you’re, you’re getting in this in the situation. And yet nobody really talks about those things, right? Instead, they talk about, go be a manager, go be, you know, a VP or CEO, or, but they don’t talk about, okay, you’ve achieved a certain thing. Now, go down to the bottom, again, it’s hard to go down to the bottom in your own industry, because you’re so knowledgeable, right, and you’re great at mentoring and manager. But instead when when you jump over into a different in industry that you’re curious about, you can actually take some of those skills that you’ve learned in another industry, and come over and listen and learn and be the student again, which again, I mean, it was truly by accident. But I think that that’s what I was so excited to sort of put myself into that position. And I encourage everybody to do the same if they have an opportunity to do so.

Marc Champagne 13:28
Do you? Is there a balance of that? You know, putting yourself out there being vulnerable? Starting something completely brand new, because that’s a that’s a big thing are big tasks to take on mentally, financially, in all capacity. But is there a balance of that? And the stability part or certainty part in your life? They were you thinking of those things? Or did you have elements like that in your life that could bounce them out? Or was it just like all in on on x?

Kara Goldin 13:58
It’s a great question, because they feel I always people were kind of worried that I was going and and doing something kind of crazy, right? They’re like, wait, what, you know what happened? And I said, Nothing really happened. I’m just really curious about this. And I think I’ve got great ideas to go and potentially solve this issue and help a lot of people. And I kept thinking that if if it didn’t work out, I could always go back to being a tech executive. I think it’s something that people forget about, right? That especially if you’re if you’re really considered great at something, that doesn’t mean that you can’t take a break or you can’t go and figure out why you really love something. Right? And it’s like, it’s the concept of you know, go go set me free for a little while and maybe I’ll come back kind of thing, right? And it’s just and I kept thinking that about my industry that maybe I needed to take a break maybe I didn’t like what I was doing Maybe I loved what I was doing. But I just needed to go and explore and figure out how much I loved it. And so I think when you think about new ventures in that way, it puts you at ease, right? Like mentally you can you get yourself into that mindset that I’m gonna go try this for a while, maybe you actually need to set a timeline. But then what you realize is that, you know, you’re smiling every day you’re engaged, your curiosity is, you know, it’s hard. It’s not that it isn’t hard stuff. But I think as long as you are learning along the way, and appreciating and feeling that you’re getting traction, then you know, you, you sort of put yourself at ease a little bit to think, okay, maybe I could go back. And that was another reason why I really wanted to get this book out there to that it’s just, it takes a lot of courage to get going. But you know, if you don’t, it often, if you think too much about the end, then you’ll never get started. Right? And it’s true, right? And so you just have to kind of take a couple of steps, I always tell people, it’s like, it’s not that you don’t think about the overall goal, but you set the goal. And then you sort of park it, right? Maybe you hide it in a box somewhere that this is where I really want to be going. But think about today, just a couple of those things that you need to do in order to, you know, feel like you’re making some kind of progress on it. So that was that was really kind of my mindset along the way, and always sort of maybe in in the other camp was thinking, you know, if I’m not making progress multiple days in a row, then maybe I stop, right, maybe I go, maybe I go back to tech. But I think that what I realized is that I was making progress. And and you know, and I think that’s another piece to that you really, you’re always going to have setbacks along the way. But you have to kind of celebrate your little wins along the way too. Because if you don’t, though setbacks and failures, challenges, however you want to think about them, they can seem really, really big and daunting, and and sort of, you know, get you thinking, oh, gosh, maybe I shouldn’t be doing this.

Marc Champagne 17:20
Yeah, it reminds me of I interviewed Scott Belsky from Adobe, Adobe A while back when he had written the messy middle. And he coined it as mental gymnastics kind of taking those little micro moments like what you’re talking about and celebrating the smallest of wins, right? For example, was at the beginning, when he was running Behance, they were a typo in Google, it would always autocorrect to enhance and said, you know, maybe one day we won’t be a typo. And like that was the motivator to keep going and then they would celebrate these, these wins, right? And it just anyway, just makes me think of all the reframing that that you’ve done. And there’s a there’s a really awesome question that I resonate within the book, and I think it was around this timeframe. And it’s I think you just asked something like, like, what’s the worst that can happen?

Kara Goldin 18:10
Yeah, right. Yeah. And I got, yeah, and I do that all the time. I mean, I still do that. And, in fact, I was telling my son who’s in college, and he was thinking about what he ultimately wanted to do. And I was, like, you know, giving him the exact same advice that you’ve just got to take steps forward, and you got to, you know, keep appreciating what you love doing. And, you know, the beauty is, is that you can change, right? You can change what you’re doing. I mean, I think that so often, we think like, oh, you know, I’ve got to go and take on this major or, or go, you know, to this job, I always thought that if I didn’t love what I was doing every single day, or, or appreciate it, if I wasn’t learning all of these different aspects about what I wanted to be doing, then that’s when I made the change. And that’s what but until then, you know, it’s just don’t make things so daunting, that you’re that you cannot move forward. Instead, just try and figure out you know, what are those ways that you’re going to enjoy what you’re doing and make progress? Love it. Hey, Kara, here. We are thrilled you’re listening with us. And I hope you’re enjoying this episode. I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing so many amazing guests over the past few years, and there are so many more to come. I cannot wait and my focus is on entrepreneurs and CEOs, real innovators and leaders who are making a difference. That’s what I’m looking forward to bringing you. One of the reasons I enjoy interviewing many of my guests is that I get to learn. We all need to hear stories that teach us to Be better inspire us and help us get through those challenging moments. I can’t remember the last time I had to guess that didn’t leave me feeling like a major hurdle had been overcome. We just don’t hear the stories enough. And when we do, we learn to be smarter and stronger. Don’t you agree? Episodes are concise, but packed with amazing info that you will surely be inspired by, do me a favor and send me a DM and tell me what you think about each interview that you get a chance to be inspired by end. If you are so inclined, please leave one of those five star reviews for the Kara Goldin show on one of your favorite podcast platforms as well. Reviews really, really help. Now let’s get back to this episode.

Marc Champagne 20:51
So how does it feel? Because why don’t you should share your your personal story with the Wall Street Journal. So I know you’ve got quite a deep connection with that journal. So how does it feel to be a best seller on a Wall Street Journal list? I mean, that must be unbelievable.

Kara Goldin 21:06
Pretty crazy. Yeah. So I was, you know, when I was in college, that was for the first time that I had ever, I mean, I knew what the Wall Street Journal was, but I never imagined ever opening up a Wall Street Journal and reading it until I was in college. And I was taking some finance classes, I was a minor in finance, which I always talk on college campuses about this, that when I was at school, I was a journalism major. And for me, journalism and writing and communications was was, wasn’t always easy, but it was easier. And it seemed very natural to me. And I was curious about it. And you know, I love to write and all of that. And some of my friends were taking finance classes, and I thought, I don’t understand anything you guys are talking about. So maybe I’m gonna take some classes in order to learn some things. Well, that ended up parlaying into getting a minor in finance. And then I found myself in hot water that I was just like, oh, my gosh, I’m in these classes, there’s no drop time left to get out of these courses. And instead, I had to really figure out how do I get through these classes. And that’s when a professor said to me, you know, you should read the Wall Street Journal every single day. And I thought, oh, my gosh, that’s just gonna make my life even harder. Why would I do that? And so he said, You know, there’s two magazines that are two publications that you should get subscriptions to, you should get Fortune Magazine, and also the Wall Street Journal. And so the Wall Street Journal, I never had time to read it, it seemed like and I would keep stacks and stacks in my apartment. And I had a couple of roommates. And they would laugh, because there would be outside our, our front door, there would be stacks of Wall Street Journals. And I’m like, don’t throw them away. I’m going to read on this weekend, and then I never would. So it was. And so one day, one of the funny stories, many, many funny stories, but one day, they decided to wallpaper my room with Wall Street Journal, so I would read them. Yeah, that’s the roommates I had. And it was pretty funny. And we, and so that’s when, you know, I really, I read him a little bit at night. And it was, you know, I gained a lot of appreciation, because I thought it was really great advice. Once you start immersing yourself in something hard, you do understand that maybe you have to go a little bit slower. Maybe you have to, you know, maybe it’s not as easy for you. But I think when you look back on how daunting it was, I mean, now to this day, I read the Wall Street Journal almost every day. And you know, I’ll skim it that I don’t read it, you know, pay corner to corner of the publication but I think it’s just a story of don’t allow things that you’re afraid of, to prevent you from taking those things on. Yeah, and I think that that’s something that you know, is is really just a life lesson. Yeah.

Marc Champagne 24:13
I love it. It’s well and we can go in so many different ways especially with magazines and companies it’s there’s you have so many crazy stories about your job your first jobs but I met will say that for a part to one time, because I would love to start to get to know a little bit more into your mental fitness and your practices because it’s I think probably the listeners can pick up your you seem like a very reflective person. By nature. You’re definitely asking really powerful questions and you’re curious and whatnot. But I’m wondering, you know, what, what have been some of the non negotiables in your life when it comes to slowing down and thinking the thought process what comes to mind right now though, just I have to share this one is I have this mental image because I think I just read this one on the weekend where you’re giving Taking a long weekend with your husband and driving down the coast in a convertible with white whiteboards sticking out of the back. Which I’m sure, yeah, too much. But I maybe think like, Okay, you’re, you’re mapping things out. And that that’s kind of how your mind works. But, you know, please share obviously, what, what works for you?

Kara Goldin 25:20
Yeah, I mean, I’m clearly a very visual learner. And so for me, when I’m really have to think about something and think, you know, especially if it’s something that is really challenging to me and hard that I think, for me, it’s, it’s about sketching them out. So it’s still, you know, kind of pen to paper, and all just sit there and start, you know, drawing and doodling and thinking about things. And, and so, I mean, I think that, that’s part of it, especially, you know, it doesn’t even have to be a business problem or, like a, it could be, you know, sort of a life problem. I mean, I’m, I’m really kind of mapping out steps along the way in order to, you know, try and figure out how that makes sense to move forward. But I think also just putting myself into a position every single day, that I’m able to, kind of move forward to, like I, you know, I work out every single morning, if I don’t, I’m a bit of a mess, because I think for me, it’s really about starting, you know, my brain in the right way, and breathing in lots of oxygen, I live in a place where I, you know, have lots of trees for me and life. And, you know, there’s lots of wildlife, like, those kinds of things are really, you know, frankly, I think underestimated for people that they, it certainly was underestimated for me even growing up in Arizona, I didn’t realize how much I really missed that when I you know, lived in a big city and then and then ended up moving out to Marin County where I live now where, you know, it’s just, it’s a different kind of geography than the desert, which I grew up in, but it’s Yeah, but it doesn’t matter to me, whether it’s trees or desert, it’s really just kind of, you know, topography in some way that has life and, and that I’m able to see that. So I think that those are, you know, key things for my own mental health. But I would say that, you know, those are probably the, those are key things. And then I would just say the third one is, is really surrounding myself with people that are curious people too. And they don’t have to believe exactly what I believe. But I think that opens it up for more and more learning as well.

Marc Champagne 27:55
The dialogues there. Definitely. That’s interesting. I resonate with just, you know, nature and connecting back to nature and whatnot. I had told you, I live just outside of Toronto, and we used to live in Toronto, right, kind of in the core. And we’re about two hours now north of the city in a ski town, essentially. So full of nature and in mountains for at least for the East Coast. Yeah. But I would love to just given you, you’ve lived in big cities, yourself, as well. And a lot of listeners that are on the other side of this, do, like were any suggestions on how to find some of that stillness, or I guess that quietness of the mind? Or reflective time if you’re living in New York or something like that?

Kara Goldin 28:41
Yeah, I mean, I think that, look, I think you can always find it in places. I mean, you mentioned New York as as a, you know, example, I mean, there’s Central Park, right? Where you can, you can always find a place like, it might be a little bit more difficult, but instead of actually thinking, you know, it’s not here at all. It you know, instead of asking yourself, what can you do? Maybe it’s What can I find, right? And try and figure out how do you put yourself into that mindset. And when you think about it, that kind of satisfies your curiosity too, because it puts yourself into a place where, you know, maybe you initially think that you can’t, or that something’s not there, and then you go and set yourself on a path to trying to figure out where it’s at. So I think that that’s like another it’s it’s sort of a mind challenge to whenever I find myself, you know, searching for a product or a place or whatever, i i Finally, think about the fact that it has to be here, and I just have to figure out what it is and instead of actually saying that it’s not, not anywhere around Hear and it can’t be here. And I mean, it’s kind of the same. I don’t know if this makes sense. But it’s sort of the same as kind of giving up, right? As you know, so many, so many people think about not starting a company or, you know, not starting a podcast or you know, whatever it is, or not writing a book, because they think about all the barriers, right. And instead, I think that, it might be a little bit more challenging to do the things that you want to do. But instead of actually saying you can’t figure out what you can do, and, and figure out how you can do it, it might not be perfect, it might not be exactly what you were envisioning. But just trying to figure out how you can do something and, you know, not staying complacent, too, is sort of, you know, it’s, it’s all in kind of the fun of it.

Marc Champagne 30:56
Yeah. Love it. I’ll move on from this topic a minute. But I definitely need to get a few of your reflective questions. I mean, we’ve, you’ve provided a few, but if there are any questions that you find yourself, either journaling on or thinking about during walks or whatever, they that are frequent in your life, or during big life changing events, like what kind of questions pop up for you?

Kara Goldin 31:23
Questions, I mean, you know, I think, if you really start every day with with thinking about, what am I going to learn today, and, and kind of so often we, we start our day, naturally, with thinking, Okay, what do I need to do today, you can actually turn that around and think about what am I going to go learn today. And sometimes they’re the same things. But it’s just a, it’s set your brain headed in the right direction, like you’re, you get excited about going and learning about things like maybe you’ve got a meeting, right, you’re gonna go and figure out what are those things that I’m going to learn today in that meeting. And, and then reflecting back on those things, and figuring out, I think, so often, when we have a mindset that we want to go learn something to, we end up learning more, or something different than, you know, versus actually looking at things like a, you know, kind of a task or a, you know, something that we don’t want to do. So I think that that’s something that I think a lot about, on a daily basis. And you know, and I think more than anything, also trying to figure out how to help people how to help people get to a place where, where they do move forward. And because I really think that this concept of learning is something that I didn’t get until, you know, much later in life, and that I thought, you know, you go to school, and you master that, and then you go get a job and you make money. Right? And that was kind of that was it, but instead thinking about, okay, how am I going to keep learning? And and I don’t think a lot of people think about that, instead, they think, you know, how do I climb the mountain, but they don’t think about maybe I need to go back a few steps and learn some things in order to, you know, continue growing in some way. And when I think about learning and growing, I really think that, you know, those those things add to mental happiness as well, because you’re challenging yourself, and you’re learning every single day yet. I think that that seems to be the piece that is missing for so many.

Marc Champagne 33:51
Well, I think, I mean, again, just this is just my personal experience or take on or opinion, I guess you could say is that you spent a good part of the early life accumulating, like really total knowledge and titles and jobs and things and all of that. And then there comes a point. And I think it’s different for everyone. But there comes a point where you flip into like an editing mode of your life. And I this terminology, I’m not coming up with this is from Chip Conley, a conversation with him at one point, but it makes sense in the sense that you start, I think you start living more intentionally and like, Hey, this is where I want to go. And then I guess to your point of learning, you start seeking the knowledge that really fills that gap or where you’re at in your life versus just like a water hose of knowledge in your face. Right.

Kara Goldin 34:40
Yeah, totally. And I think that it’s also I mean, you mentioned chip at so I’ve met him a couple of times many many years ago, but very successful person has done incredibly you know great things, but that’s a person that is leading his life of learning. right and doing things that, you know, frankly, might seem a little different, odd whatever, like, considering his his experience, though true, right. And yet, he seems quite happy doing it. Right. And he and he’s always learning about new things and, and challenging himself. I mean, he’s a perfect example of somebody that that is practicing, you know, this stuff and, and I just, I think that there’s so much that if we take a moment to kind of look back on, you know, people that are, that have sort of lived the life that they’re supposed to be leading, but then, you know, chapter two was something, you know, a little bit different. I think it’s, it’s just, those really are kind of the happier people and that, and not just happy, like, you know, put a smile on your face, but really, kind of leading this life of, of truly being, you know, you consider them a very happy person not to say that they don’t have challenges or you no deal dealing with, you know, whatever along the way. But, I mean, I think Richard Branson is another one, right? That I think it’s, he’s somebody that I’ve never met, but I, I’ve talked to friends who have, you know, been to Necker Island, and, you know, just hearing stories about just hanging out there. I mean, he just enjoys that, right? And he enjoys being there. And he enjoys learning and being around people, and it’s not like, you know, come to my resort, and I’m just going to sit in, you know, another room. I mean, he’s actually there and being around other people and wanting to learn from them and what they’re doing and how they’re thinking about things. So, again, I I just, I think a lot about those those people every single day.

Marc Champagne 36:58
Yeah, yeah, that’s a really good point. And really good link with with learning what it related to your book and writing the book, I guess what surprise you or what did you learn just going through the process of essentially putting your life out on these pages?

Kara Goldin 37:15
Yeah, well, I think that, that it look, I knew the book would be great for entrepreneurs, and, you know, probably female entrepreneurs as well. And, you know, maybe college students who are thinking about, okay, I can, I guess I can really go get a job and what I should be thinking about, but probably the most surprising thing for me about the book is that I’ve heard from so many executives who have never been entrepreneurs, who are, you know, kind of thinking about their, their own life, maybe even, you know, the pandemic kind of made these people even think differently than if we wouldn’t have had a pandemic, right, that they that they’re thinking about, Okay, now, what am I doing next? Or do I still want to be doing what I’m doing? And, and those people reaching out to me saying how this book really affected them, and how it it kind of reset them and made them start to think it’s not that they necessarily want to go even start a company, it’s really thinking about, do I actually step into my fears? Do I? Do I, you know, consider myself any challenges or kind of things that I’m sort of hiding in the closet about myself? Maybe I actually, instead should take those as learnings, own them, and then, you know, figure out how to move forward. And I and, and I think it’s it’s just, it’s really exciting, and to hear from so many people that that is what they’re getting out of the book. Because, again, that wasn’t my intent and writing it. But it certainly has messages for people who are not entrepreneurs as well.

Marc Champagne 39:14
Yeah. Well, I mean, it’s, I mean, I probably don’t fall into any of the categories that you described. And I know for myself, I put it down like a shared I read in the morning in the evening, because I know the mental state I’ll be in when I put it down. And it causes for me at least it causes curiosity or causes that like stop and read. And, wow, that was an interesting way she did that or thought about that. And then you start applying that to your own life. And, you know, it just sparks ideas. So yeah, so thank you for that, because you’ve been a part of my mental fitness and routine and I highly encourage everyone to check out your work, the book, everything you’re up to you’re It’s such awesome out there. Thank you for that. Is there? Are there any other kind of final words or places that you’d like to direct people to?

Kara Goldin 40:08
Well, I, as you and I were discussing a little bit, I have a podcast that I actually review other founders and entrepreneurs on. It’s called the Kara Goldin show, it’s been a lot of fun. We’ve been doing it for three years, it’s now every Monday and Wednesday. And so I, what I really like to get out there for people is I’ve, you mentioned a few people like Chip Conley, I haven’t had chip on yet, but I would love to have him on as well. But it’s just talking about people’s journeys, because I think so often we, you know, hear oh, that person is the founder, or maybe the CEO of this company, and they’re really successful. And instead, what I’ve always felt is that there’s so many stories along the way, like, how did they get here? Did they end up? Where they going? Right? And then they figured out, oh, I actually should be going left? And or did they have, you know, monumental things along the way that really, you know, kind of rebooted them in some way and brought humility, humanity, all these different things in and so it’s a, it’s, it’s a great, it’s not my stories, it’s, it’s really, I always weave in sort of, you know, different examples in my own life, how maybe there’s some similarity, but more than anything, what I realized is that, the most honest, the most authentic people out there are also oftentimes, you know, great leaders, and I want to get those stories out there as much as possible, because I think we can all learn from them.

Marc Champagne 41:57
Love it. Well, I will definitely link to all of that in the show notes. It’s, it’s been a real pleasure speaking with you, Kara. I mean, again, thank you personally, for your work and coming on the show. But another huge thank you, I think a higher thing I should say. Related to just you dedicating your energy and a lot of your work to helping others and changing the lives of others. And I imagine saving lives as well, just through your words, and through your company, and all the health initiatives and all of that. So thank you for that.

Kara Goldin 42:29
Thank you. I really appreciate that. So and of course, pick up case of hand and if you haven’t tried it, and yeah, just a hint, and hopefully you’ll get a chance to listen to my book or it’s on Audible you and I were chatting about I read the book as well. So that was a lot of fun and or pick up a copy of the book and I’d love to hear from you. Amazing. Before we sign off, I want to talk to you about fear. People like to talk about fearless leaders. But achieving big goals isn’t about fearlessness. Successful leaders recognize their fears and decide to deal with them head on in order to move forward. This is where my new book undaunted comes in. This book is designed for anyone who wants to succeed in the face of fear, overcome doubts and live a little undaunted. Order your copy today at undaunted, the book.com and learn how to look your doubts and doubters in the eye and achieve your dreams. For a limited time. You’ll also receive a free case of hint water. Do you have a question for me or want to nominate an innovator to spotlight send me a tweet at Kara Goldin and let me know. And if you liked what you heard, please leave me a review on Apple podcasts. You can also follow along with me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn at Kara Goldin. Thanks for listening