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Surviving the Side Hustle
Welcome to "Surviving the Side Hustle," the ultimate podcast for balancing the demands of entrepreneurship with maintaining mental, physical, and emotional well-being.
Hosted by Coach Rob Tracz, an expert in helping driven professionals achieve 'personal development for professional success,' this show is more than just storytelling—it's a masterclass in thriving amidst the entrepreneurial grind. Each episode features candid conversations with leaders who are rewriting the rules of entrepreneurship, sharing their unique stories, the creative solutions they're offering, and the everyday challenges they’re overcoming.
Whether you’re a side hustler looking for your big break or an established entrepreneur seeking fresh perspectives, "Surviving the Side Hustle" provides valuable insights that resonate with the movers, the shakers, and everyone in between.
Feeling burnt out and sidelining your own health? This podcast empowers you to overcome stagnation, build resilience, and optimize your life and business. We dive deep into your goals, identify obstacles, and share strategies to boost your energy, improve your strength, and keep the entrepreneurial grind enjoyable.
Join us for inspiring stories, expert insights, and practical advice to help you look good, feel good, and do great things at every stage of your entrepreneurial journey. Let’s not just survive the side hustle—let's master it.
Surviving the Side Hustle
E120 - Lessons from Aisha Makara: Color Outside the Lines
What if the real success in life isn't climbing ladders but creating something so authentic it feels like art? This question frames my profound conversation with Aisha, a remarkable artist and global nomad who has lived in over 60 countries and even had her artwork sent to space.
I first met Aisha years ago at a wellness retreat where I was speaking, and since then, I've watched in awe as she's lived one of the boldest, most authentic missions I've ever witnessed. From Lisbon to Miami and countless places between, she's transformed her life into a canvas filled with color, curiosity, and courage. Our conversation explores three transformative ideas that could reshape how you view success and authenticity.
First, we dive into how curiosity serves as the true gateway to growth. Aisha doesn't just travel to collect experiences – she immerses herself in different cultures to gain perspectives that deepen her self-understanding. This made me reflect: where have we stopped being curious in our own lives? The second revelation centers on bravery as a prerequisite for authenticity. As Aisha so eloquently puts it, anyone can decide to be an artist, but the real challenge lies in daring to live authentically when others question your choices. I share my own struggle with this when transitioning from strength conditioning to performance coaching, highlighting how difficult it can be to shed identities that no longer serve us. Finally, we explore the delicate balance between embracing struggle as a grounding force while never abandoning ambitious dreams – from pursuing art exhibitions to literally sending work into space.
This conversation perfectly aligns with what we teach in Prime Performance Coaching: just as resilience develops through challenge, authenticity emerges when we embrace risk. If you've been waiting for permission to live more boldly, consider this your sign. DM me your biggest takeaway or go back to the full episode and share your favorite part – I'd love to hear how you're choosing to create a life that feels like art.
what's going on and welcome back to a friday recap solo episode. Hopefully, keep this nice and short for you guys and you take away these valuable informations and get out there and get rolling. Uh, so quick to start it off. What's the question? Question of the week is what if the real success in life isn't about climbing the ladder but about creating a life so authentic that it feels like art? Okay, so that's the message from the conversation with my friend, aisha. She's an artist, traveler and global creative force who's lived in more than 60 countries and even had her artwork sent into space countries, and even had her artwork sent into space.
Speaker 1:I met Aisha years ago at this wellness retreat that I was speaking at and since then I've watched her live out one of the boldest, most authentic missions I've ever seen To inspire people to embrace their creativity, take risks and reinvent themselves without fear. From Lisbon to Miami, to countless cultures around the world, aisha has built her life as a canvas full of color, curiosity and courage, and in our conversation she reminded me, and hopefully you too, that life is too short to live on autopilot. And the three things that I want you to remember from this conversation. So first one being curiosity is the doorway to growth. Aisha travels not just to see new places, but to gain new perspectives. Every culture, every language, every interaction deepens her understanding of herself. So where in your life have you stopped being curious, and how could asking better questions open new doors for you? See, I think this is insanely valuable. There's that old saying like curiosity killed the cat, and I'm not a fan of that. I don't buy into that. I think curiosity really is the doorway to growth and I think you have to be willing to kind of open the door and step through it and be curious, because that's where you're going to get those different perspectives and you're going to be able to see what others are going through and broaden your lens that you view everything through. So, remember, ask yourself where in your life have you stopped being curious, and how could asking better questions open new doors for you?
Speaker 1:Number two takeaway that I want you to bring home is authenticity requires bravery. I just said it so simply too, on the podcast anyone can decide to be an artist. The real challenge is daring to live authentically when others don't understand your choices. That courage is what makes your story worth telling. So what masks are you still wearing just to please others, and what would it look like to finally take it off? See, this is interesting because this reminds me specifically of when I was getting out of the strength and conditioning world and I'm thinking about, like okay, what is this high performance coaching? What is prime performance coaching? Is what I'm trying to build? Even a thing Like how do I do this? And I was afraid, and I was still wearing my strength and conditioning hat and I didn't want to leave that identity behind, because I was afraid to think of like okay, well, what else am I going to do? Can I actually make any money doing this? And it was tough. So that bravery really does come through.
Speaker 1:And the third thing I want you to kind of remember from the conversation is that struggle keeps you humble, but dreams keep you moving. Now Aisha talked about how she embraces struggle as part of staying grounded, but she makes sure to never stop dreaming big, from chasing art shows to literally sending her work into space. She reminded me that challenges aren't setbacks, they're seasons for the journey. So what's one dream that you've been shelving because it feels too big and what's one small step that you could take towards it? Today I'll tell you. For me it was essentially this podcast Started this time of recording. Now I think it was about almost three years ago when I first recorded my first episode and it was tough and I've been listening to podcasts for years and always was like, oh, that'd be kind of cool, cool way to create some content, have some conversations for myself, to kind of learn shared experiences and stuff, and I didn't understand how to get through it, I didn't know what to do, and it's just like social media too. It's like don't have to have a huge production, you don't have to do all these crazy edits and all this other crazy stuff. Like lowering the expectations and just taking the first step forward could be such a powerful strategy, or at least a reminder too.
Speaker 1:Now coming back to the conversation with Aisha. This conversation really sticks out because it ties directly to what we're teaching in Prime Performance Coaching. Just like resilience is forged through challenge and prime performance coaching, just like resilience is forged through challenge, authenticity is built through risk. And, like Aisha, I found that when you lean into that curiosity, clarity and courage, you create a life that feels like art, one that inspires others by the way that you live, not just the results you achieve Kind of like building the life. So you don't need the vacation and we all know that we need to be taking vacations eventually but stepping in and enjoying what you're doing and creating a life that feels beautiful, feels clear and feels like art. So if you've been waiting for permission to live more authentically, stop waiting.
Speaker 1:As Aisha said at the beginning or at the end of our conversation, I believe she said believe in yourself, never give up and remember that we're all winners. If you're interested in following her journey online, you can see how she continues to create color and courage in the world. And if this episode sparked something for you, dm me. Your biggest takeaway Go back and listen to the full episode and let me know your favorite part. I'd love to hear how you're choosing to live more boldly and authentically this week, because, guys, at the end of the day, success isn't about power or titles. It's about creating a life that feels like art.