What’s Saving Our Entrepreneur Lives

In her memoir, Leaving Church, Barbara Brown Taylor introduces the concept of asking and answering “what is saving your life right now?” For years since then, people have carried this question forward, and now we’ve asked it of ourselves. As entrepreneurs, there are always problems to solve, an unfinished to-do list (or several), and fires to put out.  

Instead of dwelling on our challenges, Barbara points out the redeeming nature of turning this upside down and thinking about what’s giving you life right now – by naming and celebrating where life is coming from, or what ordinary things are showing up as extraordinary. Taking time to pause and look for the good things that are happening – profound or simple – is critical along the entrepreneurial journey. 

Before you dive into our lists from Q2 (April, May, and June), we want to preface that these are personal and reflect the current phase of our own entrepreneurial journeys. You’ll also notice that these lists are somewhat of a smorgasbord. As an entrepreneur, life encompasses all things – business, personal, and everything in between – and these lists are no different. The goal is to recognize and appreciate the good that is happening, no matter how hard the current trail may be. Without further ado…  

What’s Saving Lindsey’s Entrepreneurial Life

1. Mobile hot spot. I got a separate hotspot (not connected to my phone) for me to use when I’m working and traveling so I never have to worry about access to the internet. I’ve continued to keep it as a back up and it came in handy this past quarter. On two separate occasions, the internet/cable line got cut – once at my office and once at my home! When so much of my work relies on a strong internet connection, this was the only way that I was able to get through the days to see clients and complete work. I’m so thankful I was able to avoid the headache of canceling and rescheduling appointments, not to mention the loss of the income from not working.

2. Books. I’ve always loved reading, but got out of the habit after all the required reading with grad school. To rekindle this, I set a low bar to read at least 12 books a year. Last year, I was able to read 60 books!! The more that I’m reading, the more I feel like myself. It’s a simple way to refill my energy and has a weird ability to fuel my creativity. Also, now that I’m reading more books, I’ve been able to be less discriminating in which books I read. This means I might read a nonfiction book related to business or sport and then switch to a “fun” read with a novel. Sometimes I even have more than one book going at a time!

3. Physical therapy. I have always believed Greg McKeown’s concept of “protect the asset.” I am my business and therefore need to protect myself the same way I would protect a star employee. This one is so much easier said than done for me. Mostly because I know how to “get by.” Over the last few months, I finally put myself first and began working with a physical therapist to address some long-standing issues (much longer-standing that I would really care to admit). Since committing to that, I’ve noticed some big changes in my physicality and a huge decrease in my chronic pain. While I know that my physical health is not a one-time fix, taking this huge first step (both in time and money) has been life-changing.

4. Cousins camp. Each year my parents take all of the cousins (currently 4 boys) for a week. Essentially I get free child care for a full week and my kids love it. Since we homeschool, having solid stretches over multiple days to accomplish a variety of tasks without being interrupted by kids is so incredibly beneficial to moving several business components forward. Bonus: my birthday was also during that week so I got to have a full day where I only did things I wanted to do – bake bread, read a book, have dinner with my husband, watch a movie – absolutely glorious!

5. ChatGPT. As the sole person in my business, having a sounding board can be incredibly helpful. I often use ChatGPT to bounce my ideas off of and get some clarifying direction and initial traction. My two current favorite ways to use ChatGPT (I’ve named mine Aiden) is to have it: 1) do “deep research” as a cursory Google dive on a particular topic, and 2) talk me through various technology issues that come up (i.e., my client is having trouble accessing the file I shared in Google drive, help me troubleshoot).

What’s Saving Abby’s Entrepreneurial Life

1. The pool. Y’all, it’s Georgia – it’s summer – it’s hot. The pool is not only a cool refuge for me (literally and figuratively), but one of the places my boys enjoy the most. Hours pass in what feels like moments. Being near or in water has also long been one of my favorite places, although that experience now feels wildly different with two small humans splashing around and saying, “watch this!” Nonetheless, we’ve been spending quite a bit of time at the pool since late May. 

2. Movement. Q1 (January, February, March), and even into April, I wasn’t physically moving as much as normal. Due to travel, deadlines, work, sickness, and winter, it was hard to have intentional, consistent movement in my life. In May, I reprioritized my health. In June I moved every single day (and am still going). I usually rotated through running, yoga, and working out – but some days it was a walk, a hike, or an easy stretching session. Sometimes this involved a nudge from my husband or getting movement in at weird hours (hello, 8 pm treadmill run after a day at the lake) – and, I did it. I always feel better when I’m moving consistently – and this aligns with one of my core values (being healthy, physically and mentally). 

3. Connection. I’ve really been leaning on my people lately. I feel super fortunate to have good people in my life who I respect and admire, who lift me up, and give me life. This looks like:

   • spending time with my mom crew (big fan of girls nights) and our families doing Sunday dinners together

   • enjoying time with and learning from my peer consult groups

   • texting friends – whether that’s laughing at a meme, sharing something that made us think of the other, making plans, sharing news, or just saying hi

   • reaching out to colleagues about a referral

   • consulting with trusted colleagues about a client

   • having meaningful conversations

4. Child care. If anyone tells you it’s easy to operate a business, maintain a household, be a person with a multi-faceted identity, and raise kids… run. Run far, far away (because that’s not real life). My “child care” preference is definitely school and the school year in general, as my boys do much better with a regular routine. With school ending in late May, we tried to substitute with camps in June. Now we’re transitioning into vacation mode and having the boys spend a few days a week with my parents. Nonetheless, quiet time to myself to work, see clients, move the needle on projects and contracts, and GSD is pretty much always on my “saving my life” list.

5. Looking ahead. These past few years, I’ve enjoyed traveling more and more, especially by myself – but also with my family. I love going to new places, making it an adventure, and spending quality time with good humans. Knowing that I have four personal trips and three work trips lined up gives me a lot to look forward to for the rest of the year.    

Now we wonder: what’s saving your life right now? Maybe it’s a person, a place, or a practice. Maybe it’s a thing or a resource. Whatever it is, take time to think about it – notice it – acknowledge it.