Sarah Kaler Joins Us On The Steve Jobs Inspired Join Up Dots Podcast
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Introducing Sarah Kaler
Sarah Kaler is our guest today, on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots free podcast interview
She is a lady who is climbing higher and higher into the rarefied world that we all want to have.
She is loving her life, loving her job, providing huge value to her clients, and looks great too.
She is a huge healthy package of glamour, professionalism and speciality is helping women CEO’s scale & grow their businesses for global impact without burnout.
And that one word “burnout” reveals a huge amount of what our guest has been through in her life.
Mid-way through her corporate career she began to have series of grand mal seizures due to stress and exhaustion.
How The Dots Joined Up For Sarah
In the span of ten years she spent more time in hospitals being analyzed, tested and assessed than most people do in their adult life.
My health had become a part-time job (and some years, my full-time job), and my body had become a story about injury, illness, disease, diagnosis, being different, not belonging, not being enough, not being capable, and most definitely NOT being strong.
As you can imagine, this led to a lot of soul-searching.
She knew something had to change, but she didn’t know what.
And as we see time and time again on Join Up Dots, when the dark times are at the darkest, there is a deep learning waiting to be had.
There is a gift within the struggles, and this was the case with today’s guest, as pulling herself out of the darkness, she found the thing that she knew the world was waiting for, and needed help dealing with.
As she says “I suffered a massive health crisis at the top of the my career, transformed my life and created a massively successful business in an impressively short amount of time. I support my clients on similar paths. I stand for and support my clients creating high performance results, legacy and an extraordinary life; knowing all of these can co-exist.
I know it’s possible for everyone and it requires being an extraordinary leader. I believe women in leadership are changing the world and being financially abundant and well managed allows us to lead and build legacies without limits.”
So how has she taken this realisation and converted it into a business which not only powers her, but also has become her own personal legacy?
And does she see the same issues in her clients lives time and time again as we all try to balance everything in our life, and more often than not fail?
Well lets find as we bring onto to show to start joining up dots with the one and only Sarah Kaler
Show Highlights
During the show we discussed such weighty topics with Sarah Kaler such as:
How she remembers starting her business without a website, branding, business card, but with a powerful calling that she had to start building connections. So she made the calls and hustled her way to where the clients might be.
Why it is so important to ensure that you are only focusing on the right things in your business, your health, and your life. Let everything else be handled by someone else.
How the name “Soulpowered” first came to her, and how these words simply jumped off the page as to the keys to her future, and have been proved so right ever since.
And lastly….
How it is possible to injure yourself in the bedroom (by just sleeping), and why we should all be aware of the ageing process as it gets us all in the end.
How To Connect With Sarah Kaler
Return To The Top Of Sarah Kaler
If you enjoyed this episode with Sarah Kaler then why not listen to some of our favourite podcast episodes such as Charles Gaudet, Sean Swarner, Kris Reid or the amazing Alfie Best
Or if you prefer just pop over to our podcast archive for thousands of amazing episodes to choose from.
Full Transcription Of Sarah Kaler Interview
Intro [0:10]
When we’re young, we have an amazing positive outlook about how great life is going to be. But somewhere along the line we forget to dream and end up settling. Join Up Dots features amazing people who refuse to give up and chose to go after their dreams. This is your blueprint for greatness. So here’s your host live from the back of his garden in the UK. David Ralph.
David Ralph [0:35]
Yes, hello there everybody. Yo, baby. I’m feeling good today. I’m feeling good. I started off this morning with a big cloud over me I sort of moped up to my recording studio light er, and after three and four shows, you can’t help to be inspired. So hopefully you’re gonna feel the same way. Because today’s guest has already told me some things which which are mind blowing, absolutely mind blowing, and maybe she will Don’t want to share them. But we were having a discussion about how you can injure yourself in the bedroom and the things that she told me was shocking. It was shocking. But it is true but she is a lady who is climbing higher and higher into the rarefied world. But we all want to have she’s loving her life, loving a job providing huge value to her client. And she looks great, too. She’s a huge healthy package of glamour, professionalism, and speciality is helping women CEOs scan and grow their businesses, but global impact without burnout, and that one word burnout reveals a huge amount of what our guest has been through in her life. Midway through a corporate career, she began to have a series of grand mal seizures due to stress and exhaustion. And in the span of 10 years, she spent more time in hospitals being analysed, tested and assessed than most people do in their adult life. As she says my health had become a part time job and some years my full time job and my body had become a story about injury, illness, disease, diagnosis being different, not belonging, not being enough not being capable, and mostly Definitely not being strong. As you can imagine, this led to a lot of soul searching. Now she knew something had to change but she didn’t know why. And as we see time and time again on Join Up Dots, when the dark times are at the darkest, there is a deep learning waiting to be had there is a gift within the struggles. And this was the case with today’s guest is pulling herself out of the darkness, she found the things that she knew the world was waiting for and needed help dealing with. As she says I suffered a massive health crisis at the top of my career, transformed my life and created a massively successful business. In an impressively short amount of time. I support my clients on similar paths. I stand for and support my clients creating high performance results legacy and an extraordinary life knowing all the fees can coexist. I know it’s possible for everyone and it requires being an extraordinary leader. I believe women in leadership are changing the world and being financially abundant and well managed, allows us to lead and build legacies without limits. Wow, powerful stuff. So how has she taken this realisation converted into a business, which not only powers her, but also has become her own personal legacy and does she see the same issues in our clients lives time and time again, as we all try to balance everything in our life and more often than not found well let’s find out as we bring onto the show to start Join Up Dots with the one and only Sarah Kaler. Good morning to you, Sarah. How are you?
Sarah Kaler [3:24]
Hello, I am fantastic. And I’m so excited to be here with you.
David Ralph [3:29]
We had a conversation before the show, didn’t we? That was for me. It was life changing. You were telling me how people can injure themselves in the bedroom?
Sarah Kaler [3:39]
Yes, indeed I was. It is very true in many ways. He’s very
David Ralph [3:44]
true in many ways, but this is a family show. So we’re not going to go there. But as I was saying in the last show, was I saying in the last show I probably was because he’s, it’s at the forefront of my mind. I’ve just I’ve got this dodgy knee that just come from nowhere and I never had it. When I went to bed. I woke up and when I Put my foot out and bang, it was gone. You look somebody who’s fit and healthy. And it makes me wonder, are you going to get those aches and pains or all your aches and pains out the way for the amount of time that you spent in hospital?
Sarah Kaler [4:13]
Ah, this is a great question because you know what’s interesting, one of the things that you and I were talking about was ageing. Right. And I went that that period of time that I was in hospital, I was quite young, right. So I didn’t have the average, you know, being in my 20s out in the club with my friends. That’s not where I was, I was in the hospital. Right? So for me, my health has actually become this sort of maintenance now, because what I learned all those years was, I couldn’t just take my health for granted, right? It actually became this, this like everyday practice for me and and now Actually, if I do have, you know, because I mean, let’s face it, you know, as we get older, you know, the exorbitant aches or pains, right? they emerge. So So I mean, frankly, I have to manage it, I have to get ahead of it. I have to be proactive. And that’s something that for me is is top of my mind all the time every day, and has helped you.
David Ralph [5:22]
I know, obviously, looking back, he wouldn’t want to be going through all those sort of medical tests, but they did seem to be a path that came from that time. So has it helped to not just in creating a business but yourself personally?
Sarah Kaler [5:37]
Absolutely. You know, it’s interesting, I get asked this a lot. Like, are you? You know, do do you feel like you missed out on a lot or, you know, is this a tragedy that you faced that that you feel basically horrible about right and I actually have immense gratitude for it because I have grown as a person, right? Not just like you said in my business, but I have grown and I appreciate so much more what I have now, you know, my son, my family, what I’m able to do and the fact that I’m just awake I’m, uh, I’m aware of what’s going on in a way that I wasn’t before.
David Ralph [6:19]
When I was looking at your website, and it certainly gives the vibe of somebody who has bought into her in her power, she’s not looking around at what other people are doing. She knows exactly what she’s doing and what she can deliver. Is that how your success was built in an impressively short amount of time? As we said in the introduction, is it a case of buying into your own super talent?
Sarah Kaler [6:43]
Oh, absolutely. That is a big part of it. Because you know, when I started my business, I was not even concerned about competition or the coaching industry, frankly, I just had this like burning Drive in my in my body to go do what I knew had to be done and what was sort of this calling inside of me, right? And and so for me, it wasn’t about figuring out, you know, my branding or figuring out, you know, what were the correct steps or some blueprint to follow. And frankly, I didn’t even have a website, I didn’t have a business card, I just put one foot in front of the other and started to build relationships. And because I had been, you know, the second part is because I had been in these big visible roles in my company, I had a network, but that network only knew me in one way. So I was really clear that I had to figure out how was I going to introduce myself or relate to those people in a new way. And that was part of it right? Because some of those people were definitely curious about what I was doing, but it does take a skill and positioning yourself And networking with those people in a new way to be able to, to start to connect with them in a way to do business.
David Ralph [8:10]
It is very important to have closure in your life, not just professionally, but personally as well, when you’re making that transition, where you your friends on a Friday, saying, Come out for a pint come out for a pint and you kind of think I moved on from that I’m not quite that person anymore. So you do have to close the door somehow and allow them to understand that you are not the same person, don’t you?
Sarah Kaler [8:33]
Mm hmm. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And I think that that it’s a really good point, because a lot of people in that transition, questioned what I was doing, right. A lot of people were supportive and excited and you know, go you go to your thing like this, you’re so meant for this, right? But there were a handful of people who I deeply cared about, who also were saying What are you doing, where you going. We want you to Back here, right in your old life. And because, you know, they saw that I was making an impact there, right? So they didn’t want me to venture off and do my thing and, and so, there was a sense of completion that had to happen there and I had to I had to be straight with those people, right? Like I had to just be real and straight and confident and be willing, at a certain points that I you know, just, I had to let go of those relationships at a certain point and let go of that, that they might not be okay with it.
David Ralph [9:38]
In my coaching group that I’ve got dream starters Academy, we are very aware that dreams and inspiration and aspirations can just go out the window so easily. We’ve just one badly placed comment in your direction, and it’s made me realise over the last couple of years of doing what I’m doing, that people will generally support You on their big, crazy mad dreams. But the kind of the normal dreams that just take work and effort, they can’t see it. So if you said what I’m going to do, I’m going to get to the top of Everest, they go, Oh, go for you, sir, go for that, you know, that’s gonna be great. But if you want to build a business base or while you’re doing that, aren’t you happy where you are? And it’s because it’s obtainable to them as well somehow they’re happy to allow you to run free for something that they wouldn’t want to do themselves. But actually something that I think about be quite good, but there’s effort involved. Now, that’s that’s off bounds. You found that the same?
Sarah Kaler [10:38]
Yeah, absolutely. Because, you know, there’s, there’s risk people see risk, and they think, Well, why, you know, why do you want to go do that thing, you get a regular paycheck. And, you know, in my case, you know, I had equity, I had stock options, they, you know, and they’re going you, you’re starting a family and why would you want to go do this thing and put all that you know, on the Line, essentially, right? Like you’ve worked all these years for what people see as security. And from the Michiko, did
David Ralph [11:09]
you really put it all on the line? Was it a big risk? Or was it something that you had to do? Because from the outside, certain things will look like a risk. But inside if you know that it’s your absolute calling, it’s not a risk at all, is it?
Sarah Kaler [11:22]
Well, here’s the thing. You’re so on point here, because here’s the thing that was actually happening for me, because I had gone through a health crisis. And what was really on the line for me was if I stayed and I continue to live my life the way that I was and pursue that executive path, my life was on the line.
David Ralph [11:46]
as dramatic as it I was, I was so struck by I don’t know what to ask here. I’m just gonna go with a simple, dramatic or absolutely true.
Sarah Kaler [11:56]
That is absolutely true. Right? Like I have specialists telling me Sara, you cannot move forward this way. Right? I’ve been having these episodes for years. And then when my son was born, they got so bad that I had six grand mal seizures in one week. And they were saying you’re completely out of control.
David Ralph [12:15]
Now, when you look back on those kinds of seizures, or is it something you think actually I could have nipped this in the bud? I, if I could go back in time, like I will do later on the show, I’d actually choose a different path because it was all of my own making, or was it just life and situations which you couldn’t get out of that was of the making.
Sarah Kaler [12:35]
This is really tricky, because there’s so much that they don’t understand about the brain, right? And when you’re diagnosed with a seizure disorder, right, they actually see irregular electrical activity in your brain and then your that what they diagnose in my situation is very different person to person. So this is not a medical sermon for for everyone on the planet, but for me what they Our understanding was that due to my stress and exhaustion, right it was working anywhere from you know 7080 some weeks up upwards of 100 hours right so and I was on planes every week so my life was and this was normal for me right so my life was operating at this you know frequency and people were begging me to stop and slow down right and so when you have that mixture and the triggers are physical and emotional mental stress and exhaustion and then boom, this of these episodes hit
David Ralph [13:34]
right and you do believe in the frequency and GTP believe that the frequency has to be right because it seems now that your frequency is right because you look amazing. Your house it. I see a lot of websites and a lot of websites I look at the guests that are coming on the show, kind of look corporate bland, but yours actually seems, is a light, there’s a I want to say that there’s there’s It’s kind of translucent in a way, but there’s something more than just a person trying to make a business. It’s a person wanting to help. And normally you get to that point when that frequency is right in you.
Sarah Kaler [14:13]
Yeah, and it’s because I’ve changed, right if you had entered, you know, if we if we’ve been talking right like years back, I would have been way more wound and way more, you know, type A and, and, you know, a lot of those things, those sort of traits or characteristics are still a part of who I am right. I’m driven I’m an overachiever. You know, I’ve got drive in my belly when I wake up in the morning, right to, to serve out my mission. I have goals, all those things. But I’ve, I’ve not only completely turned my health around, but I’ve slowed down just tremendously, right because I’m lifting now. Like, I’m actually living life and I think It that what you’re feeling is also how I’m living. And what I woke up to was the fact that I was putting a lot on the line.
Unknown Speaker [15:11]
Right?
David Ralph [15:13]
With the situation that you’re in now, do you find it stressful because you’re trying to provide so much value to people and mentally there is. It’s never enough. There’s never enough value in your head when it’s a calling and you’re trying to deliver what your clients want and what you want to deliver to the world. Do you not find it stressful that you’re, you can never match up to the dream that you have or what you want to deliver?
Sarah Kaler [15:42]
You know, it’s a really great question. The way that I feel about it is I feel that I set my own container or parameters, right. So when versus when I was in a corporate space, I was delivering against someone else’s mission and vision and expectations, right? So it was Sara go work on this project and delivered this set of expectations and results. And I would go do that. And it was always more and more and more and more and more. Right. And, and when I’m the CEO of my own company, I’m pulling and pushing at my own pace, right. And so I’m in control. And because I’m so clear about what my long term vision and mission are, and I’m also very clear about what I’m working on in the next 90 days all the time. I do a few things at a time and I do them very well. So I don’t focus on that more and more more mentality and very focused on like discipline. And so that keeps me delivering value and quality, but it doesn’t keep me in that stretch too thin and go go go and more and more and more Yeah, it’s so it’s much different in mentality, but also a physical output. And so I know that I can deliver value. And I know over my lifespan, I’m going to be creating that impact and that you know, that global impact and influence that that I know I’m here to create.
David Ralph [17:22]
Let’s play some words now, man, we’re gonna delve into the building of your business a little bit more, because Oprah
Oprah Winfrey [17:28]
the way through the challenge is to get still and ask yourself, what is the next right move? not think about, Oh, I got all of this stuff. But what is the next right move. And then from that space, make the next right move, and the next right move and not to be overwhelmed by it because you know, your life is bigger than that one moment. You know, you’re not defined by what somebody says, is a failure for you because failure is just there to point you in a different direction.
David Ralph [18:00]
Only wise words, but anybody wanting to start building a business?
Sarah Kaler [18:06]
Oh my goodness, I love those words.
Like, oh, we’re so good. These are such good words. Because, you know, you can get lost in that long term game so easy to get lost in the long term. But what’s the then the next move is so key because that’s where you get the most traction and the most information and that’s where you can course correct and frankly, that’s where you get the, you know, the most tangible results for yourself, right and you learn and, and, and, and that that’s key when you’re especially in the early early early phases, but truthfully, in all phases of growth.
David Ralph [18:50]
It’s alright to say that now because you can sort of see with different glasses but when you’re building something and you think to yourself a I’ve got to bring income in Got to connect with clients. I’ve got to do this. I’ve got to do that. While all the time you’re looking around at people, but I’ve been doing it for like five or six years thinking, that’s what I want my website to look like. That’s what I want. But how do you sort of slow down and only do the right thing there? Because it is hustle time, isn’t it? hustle muscle flex is big time until you get to that tipping point where you actually realise what you’re at 20 years?
Sarah Kaler [19:24]
Sure, but I think I agree with you it is sort of hustle and bustle and you want to I mean, then the best next step and those early phases, you still want to be focused on what is the smartest next move, right? Because it’s so easy to be distracted. And it’s so easy for you to think I have to do it all now, when that’s not the truth. You know, I was saying a minute ago that, you know, I focus on the you know, just to kind of discipline a few things. And I think when you’re in those early phases, It’s easy to say, gotta build the website and the brand and the, you know, I got to do this and that and the other thing, when really you want to, you want to be focused on income generating activities and the right marketing strategies, the things that are actually going to move you forward towards, you know, building new clients or customers or whatever you’re you’re doing in your business, right? But you want to get people in the door, you want to have eyes on your service or product, right? You want people to know that you exist in the world. And those things are most important in the early days, and you can go and have that beautiful website and and a lot of those other things redone leader when you’ve got more cash flow, you know, I mean, I had I had six figures of revenue before I even had a website.
David Ralph [20:52]
How did you do that? Because I think that’s a huge stumbling block. Everyone thinks it’s got to be perfect before they get the eyes looking at you. So What do you What did you deliver?
Sarah Kaler [21:03]
I was all about people. Right? So I, my biggest thing I said to myself was how many people can i converse with every single day? because to me it was about prospects, right? It was how many people can I get in front of every day? Whether I’m speaking in front of my ideal audience, my target audience, how many people can I have one on one conversations with? How many people can I run a webinar for how many people can I run it was all all about sort of the big rocks that I could move and how many people could I teach or give value to or speak to or have coffee with and, and it was all about giving them value, having powerful conversations with that would lead to potential clients. And at the end, I just needed me
David Ralph [21:55]
if I understand that, but you try to get somebody to have coffee or you can Have somebody to come to a webinar where there’s nothing sort of tangible to look at. It’s that’s got to be almost impossible, hasn’t it?
Sarah Kaler [22:08]
Well, no, it wasn’t because I got in the first thing I did was I got clear on what was it that I was going to deliver? Right. What was the thing that I was you know, best at that time, I felt I was best in the world at in terms of the problem I was going to solve for these people.
David Ralph [22:29]
Right, so he’s brilliant. That’s brilliant. But you need to know that you need to know about before you’ve even started to build the business which normally do you are fascinating character because I’ve spoken to literally 600 people, and more often than not, they find this thing as we were saying the super talent after maybe a year and a half, two years of building a business and then pivoting, but you actually knew what you were delivering before you even had the business.
Sarah Kaler [22:55]
Well, here’s the thing. I had been doing this work my whole career. Right now and I want to I want to be straight about this because I think this is really, really key. When I stepped into delivering coaching and consulting, it wasn’t perfect. And what problem I thought I was solving, it pivoted, and it evolved, the further I got in my business, right? Because it got tighter, and my audience got more specific. Right. And but, but the thing I did was I didn’t waste time making it perfect. What I did was I went straight to people and went straight to the people who I knew could help me refine it, because I knew I wasn’t going to get it perfect sitting behind a computer in my head. I knew that I had to get into my marketplace, where they were going to give me real life feedback. And maybe that coffee date that I had would turn into a really powerful conversation where it was, maybe that person wasn’t going to become a client, but it was live market research for me and I would get insight from that. person about what their real problem was, and how I actually could solve it. That was slightly different than I thought.
David Ralph [24:07]
Wow, nice. I love this.
Sarah Kaler [24:11]
Yeah. So then by just getting in the game, I went, Whoa, I know exactly how I can solve that person’s problem. And right there in the moment, I would tell them, I would say, you know what, I know exactly how I can help you.
David Ralph [24:26]
I mean, it was market research. It was live market research, you can sing solutions to problems. And once you find enough problems, and you drill down into one, but you see time and time again, then you’ve got your business.
Sarah Kaler [24:41]
Yeah. And so what I knew that I had sort of this, it almost to two decades of experience, I realised, oh, I see there’s trends and things here, right, lots of people and small businesses and larger companies. Everyone’s having these problems. And then I just saw how to position myself, because you’re having tough conversations. And you see the aims and trends emerge.
David Ralph [25:07]
Right? Okay. So for somebody who is new, who’s listening to this conversation thinking, right, okay, this is the lady for me, I love this. She’s somebody that doesn’t try to line up all her dots, but she makes the best of it until she can make it a little bit more perfect, and then makes the best of it until it’s a little bit more perfect. What is a good way? Is it the idea of having an idea, first of all, or is it starting to talk to people? Because you’ve got to position yourself in a certain way to be able to connect with these people, don’t you?
Sarah Kaler [25:39]
Yes, and so I think, I think when you start a business, I think that you always want to do market research. So I think it’s really really key to start with, you know, most most people have a set of ideas or they have some idea of what they want to do. Right. Most most people that I I’ve experienced. So I think if your idea feels sort of half baked, right, then absolutely get out there and take that into the market research mode. Right? That’s essential. And even if you feel like I’ve got it, yes, this is the answer, this is the solution to the problem. Still go do the market research, because you’re going to learn, because you do not want to be guessing.
David Ralph [26:29]
And forums, good place, Facebook, good place. I imagine anywhere that people are talking. It’s a good place to actually get this information.
Sarah Kaler [26:38]
Yes, I mean, you’re gonna learn it just by observing people having conversations, you know, even the comments of blogs, sometimes if you can get in there, you know, Facebook groups, LinkedIn groups, all kinds of communities. And then of course, you know, phone calls, talks, like I was saying, there’s so many different areas where you can actually Be in human to human connection. Right. But I think that, you know, there’s more than ever we have access to people through technology, right? So there’s no shortage of ways to connect with human beings.
David Ralph [27:18]
Now your website or your business, so it is called soul powered.com. How did that name come about? And how does it work for you? Because it seems to be one that is working very well. does it connect with people? Is there a sort of meaning behind it?
Sarah Kaler [27:35]
Absolutely. You know, for me, when I started my company, I I was start I started part time my company while I was still in corporate, so I had this part time company, and initially it wasn’t console powered. It was like Sarah Kaler LLC, you know, blah, blah, blah, kind of boring name. And it didn’t resonate for me. I just basically got the LLC to get the hell out. See, right? And like I said, I had this I was doing my thing in the world. And I just kept thinking this, isn’t it? And this isn’t it. And as I got closer to going full time, I thought, you know what, I’ve got to really get clear with that bigger vision of what I’m doing in the world. So I sat down with a notebook just you know, the one you get at the drugstore with the the rule paper and college ruled paper. And I started to draw out What does my company stand for? What does it look? What does it look like? And I still have it today, and it’s got values on it. And I started to think about what is this brand really about? And how is it going to serve in the world. And I started to play with names because I knew it wasn’t going to just be Sara Kaler calm, because I wanted it to stand for other things such as community and social impact. And other things. It was gonna be bigger than me because it wasn’t just about up being a personal brand. And as I started to play with words and values, it suddenly just hit me that it had to had to be so powered. And it was it was a sort of a intuitive hit moment, but it also was really grounded in, in values and in sort of principles in a sense, because I knew that it could not be like you set up a corporate feeling company, right? It was never going to be that it was going to be so much more about a way of leading and living in the world. Right. And I develop leaders. So I thought, well, I’m interested in evolving leadership and changing how we do business in the world, ultimately, is what we’re talking about and, and I want that to come from a place that not only are people building you know, like you’re saying a calling, which I you know, I often refer to as the people’s legacy, right? But I want that to come from ultimate purpose and people start ranks, right. And when I think about that, where, you know, where’s that really deep, deepest place that that comes from, to me that soul right, and I want people to move from that place. And, and, you know, power for me is that’s where the strategy, the business skill that you know some of that hustle right that grit comes from, because I’m not somebody who’s You know, I’ve got that drive that no nonsense I want results, right. So you bring those two things together and i think it’s it’s a really incredible place to come from. I love the
David Ralph [30:34]
fact that you knew when you knew that you sort of word sole power default. Yeah, that’s it, and you sort of built around it. I had a similar thing with Join Up Dots. I remember being in a pub. And I don’t even remember it was going to be a show. I’m not sure what it was. But I remember having this discussion with a guy. And I said, I’m going to call the Join Up Dots. He said, Well, what does that mean? And I said, well, it’s kind of based around a speech by Steve Jobs. He said, Yeah, but what does that mean? And I went, I don’t know really, but it just feels right feels Right now, after about two and a half years, it’s so right because I realised that my passion is actually creating the path not developing leaders. But I like the first step. I like the people that are in the cubicle, who are listening to these shows and want to take that first step onto the first dot. And it’s funny when you realise but it’s almost like, I don’t know, your subconscious is working, or, you know, the universe is working. These things come into your life and you accept them. But it’s not until maybe two years down the line that you really buy into its power. And you understand actually, what was there right at the very beginning. It’s fascinating, isn’t it?
Sarah Kaler [31:38]
Yeah, absolutely. I love that story. Because it is just like that, you know, when you know, and if it doesn’t feel right, it doesn’t feel right. So I think that’s absolutely correct. Well, let’s play some more words.
David Ralph [31:49]
I feel inspired here, Sam. So I’m gonna bring them up, bring them on out here. And this is Jim Carrey. My
Unknown Speaker [31:55]
father could have been a great comedian, but he didn’t believe that that was possible for him. And so he made a conservative choice. Instead, he got a safe job as an accountant. And when I was 12 years old, he was let go from that safe job. And our family had to do whatever we could to survive. I learned many great lessons from my father, not the least of which was that you can fail at what you don’t want. So you might as well take a chance on doing what you love.
David Ralph [32:22]
And when you listen to those words, as well about the kind of words that you would play to your child now, are they the kind of ones? Would you be happy for them to go into a corporate gig like you were? Or are you now totally unemployable when you want that vibe to transcend your your generations that you’re creating?
Sarah Kaler [32:41]
I love this, because I do often feel totally unemployable. And I’m also married to an entrepreneur. So we have two. We have two companies in a household, right? And our son, I often look at him and I think wow, what are you going to do you know When you grow up, because not only is he growing up in a, in a completely different generation, who knows what university will even look like, right? When he gets to that age? And what opportunities will even be available? What will technology look like then what will business resources look like then? Right? So I, I’m curious about that. And he’s growing up in a household with two parents who are entrepreneurs. So that you know, there are no, there are no sort of like paychecks, benefits, you know, that whole mentality is not here. So, would I play that for him? Yeah, I would, and do I want him to do whatever lights him up and what has him feel absolutely at his best every day 100%
David Ralph [33:47]
there’s, I’m in a sort of dodgy place at the moment because of how my life has turned down. My kids are going through high school, senior school, and unfortunately, they’re doing very well. They’re doing very well and the teachers are really pleased with it. My daughter came back with straight A’s, which my God, I couldn’t believe it. But part of me is kind of wants them to go, you know, don’t worry about Don’t worry about the education as such, you know, it’s more what you do afterwards. It’s street hustle. It is the VAT kind of vibe, more than if you get a degree in geography. You know, it’s good to have the education but it’s better to be streetwise. But I want to hold back from that because I still think it’s right for them to sort of study and work where you feel the same when your son sort of gets to that point where you kind of be going, right, you really got to knuckle down, but inside feels slightly hypocritical. Because you know, that actually is probably more what you do afterwards.
Sarah Kaler [34:39]
Yeah, I mean, I here’s the thing. I think, I think what I want for my son is I want him to have educational experiences that are fantastic, right, that open him up and to two new things. I agree with you that that there is that sort of contradict have, you know, the stream experience, the real life experience that, that hustled? That is really what kind of gives you that edge right in life and and certainly in business and know how. And I look at him and I think, you know, I want you to do well not because I want you to just get A’s right. You know, I mean, that’s not really what I care about. I want you to do well, in the sense of learning things like personal responsibility and accountability and ownership and, and like failing and in recovering from failing, like bouncing back, right, like learning that you grow and deepen and like those kinds of things, right? And that’s more what I care about, then. The straight A’s, right. I just want sort of that the the learnings behind all of it.
David Ralph [35:51]
And with your clients, obviously, we’re going to talk about your clients just for a little bit. Do you have to sort of force them into straight A’s? How do you actually Then
Sarah Kaler [36:02]
oh gosh my clients they are such overachievers right i mean they’re flying a high flying I said that my words high flying people right they’re they’re people who are already have accomplished so much in their lives right in their businesses and in terms of impacts and big dreams. So I’d say that often My job is to, to have them see how can they get to their next level or their next chapter and create the impact that they want to scale in the way that they want to and have that that lifestyle that they they desire to have, because as we started this conversation, typically some component of that is being compromised. Or, you know, it’s in there, they’ve reached some kind of glass ceiling right where they’ve They’re doing it all and it’s not working right. And they’re burnt out overwhelmed. And they have a team that’s not functioning right. Or they’re trying. They’re they’re kind of in founder syndrome, they don’t want it. They’re tightly cringing or tightly gripping, under control, right, they don’t want to let go. And so in order to, you know, really scale and grow, they’ve got to learn a new set of skills around leadership and being a leader of their own business. And for a lot of people, they got into business because they wanted to do what they love, because they had a passion or they wanted to serve a purpose. And they didn’t realise that at a certain point in business. They had to step into leadership skills and be in the business of people, right where there was going to be a team or to grow to a certain level there was going to be a new set of skills that they were going to need to learn. And that’s usually when I step in.
David Ralph [37:57]
Do you find it strange No, you’re gonna say no, because you’re involved in it. And I think no as well, but I would think the man on the street would think it was strange. But these guys who are really high achievers actually need somebody like you. Because when you haven’t started, you look at these guys, but they’ve, they’ve got all the answers. That’s why they’re there. But the big learning for all of us and I think is a real wake up call to anybody who thinks they can achieve the same is these guys have a screw up as we are? Every single one of us? We’re just not perfect. We haven’t got the answers. We’re just accepting more failures, really. And that’s how it builds up to something tangible.
Sarah Kaler [38:40]
That’s right. That’s right. And I’m looking at it this way. Every You know, every person who has achieved greatness every athlete right every it mean we can look across every industry, right? athletes, actors, politicians, I mean, you name it, right? Everybody has a coach, advisor and mentor consultant, somebody in their court supporting them to be at high levels of performance. And CEOs or leaders of companies. They for sure have somebody in their corner if not multiple people. He’s
David Ralph [39:24]
done you think he’s strange but or maybe it’s just how humans are that we’re always wanting to evolve. But these guys don’t rest on their laurels. So they’re still looking to upskill themselves and knowledge. I probably answered my own question there is just the way that humans are. If we go to the moon, we want to go to Mars. If we go to Mars, we want to go to the sun. We’re just constantly looking for the next thing.
Sarah Kaler [39:47]
I think part of it is we’re looking for the next thing, but I also think that part of it is that people are looking for in my case, I’m gonna speak specifically to my case. The peak the human means that I work with in particular, are looking for not just how do I get to the next thing because I want I want more like it’s not just more money, more stuff more, more, more more. It’s how do I change and evolve in a way that I can sustain? What I’ve created, right and not lose it? And also, how do I keep learning? How do I get how do I become better at what do I do? How do I become more efficient? How can I be healthier? How can I be a better leader? Right? Because they see that there’s something there’s a cost involved, right, like something’s not working, as well as it could be. Right? So they usually come to me at a point when something’s not working. So it’s not all roses and rainbows and unicorns when they show up, right? So, you know, they’re they want to get out of something, a place that They’re in. And, and it’s not necessarily more, more more, but I want to feel better. I want to do this better, because I care about the people I work with. I want to leave this world a better place, or I care about, you know, impacting lives. It’s that sort of mentality. And I think that people recognise also, when you get to a certain level of performance, there’s this phrase, and there’s a phrase for a reason, and then it gets lonely at the top. Right. And people want to be with other people. They want partnership and want collaboration, they want support. And that becomes really key when you’re in business that you don’t have to do it all by yourself, and certainly not at that level.
David Ralph [41:53]
So who do you turn to your husband? Is he your kind of coach or do you have your own coach?
Sarah Kaler [41:58]
I laugh because I’m My husband’s a psychologist. And the stories I could tell, you know, and in all fairness, I work with coaches, consultants, just like, you know, just like anyone. So, yeah, I over time I look at what do I need, right in any given time and sometimes I’ve got multiple people that I that I work with in my business, depending on where I feel like I need to experience growth. And also, I look at on a on a personal level, you know, we were talking about health earlier, I look at where do I need support in a holistic sense to right, so I see my me as a function of my business, right? Can I lead myself is a direct reflection of Can I lead my business? Because if I’m not functioning at 100%, then I certainly can’t lead a sustainable business. So I’ll look at you know, do I need somebody in my inner circle In the personal sense of, well, do I need a trainer? Do I need somebody like a naturopath? Is there somebody who I need in my life right now, right to support me to be at my best. And then I also have my coaches and consultants on my business, depending on what area of my business needs to grow.
David Ralph [43:18]
And that’s the key, isn’t it? It’s always looking to develop. Every area is like a garden, you need to water it, you need to prune it, you need to let it grow.
Sarah Kaler [43:28]
That’s right, because I believe that if we’re not evolving, and growing, we’re stagnant, we’re stagnant and we we become irrelevant at a certain point, because the world is growing and evolving. And it’s important that we stay relevant.
David Ralph [43:47]
Oh, I thought you were keeping going there. I was. I was I was I was engrossed in your words there. Well, what I’m going to do is bring on some more words. We have to have this guy every day. He’s no longer with us but he is left on words which are, quite frankly, so powerful, we need to listen to them again, Steve Jobs course,
Steve Jobs [44:05]
it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards 10 years later. Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something, your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. Because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well worn path. And that will make all the difference.
David Ralph [44:40]
So the question we asked 95% of the guests on this show is when you look back in your life is a big dot where you kind of look back and think yeah, I think that was it. That’s when everything started going the way I wanted.
Sarah Kaler [44:54]
I would say well, I don’t know if it if it went away. Everything went the way I wanted. But I would say that once once I made the conscious choice to take my business full time, and, you know, leave corporate. And that’s when things really picked up momentum actually. And, and I always say it didn’t happen overnight, right? Because I like to be real about these things, right? Because it took work right and like you’ve been saying there’s that there’s a hustle. But for me, it was about being really intentional about what I wanted to create in my life. So I wasn’t I was building my business and rebuilding my life simultaneously. And so for me, every step that I took, it wasn’t just about bringing the clients in the door. It was about bringing, or laying down the foundation for the lifestyle that I needed to have so I could be at my best and have the foundation. nation to maintain the business I wanted and make the impact in the world that I wanted, right. And so for me when I started to make really conscious choices about that, and how my business model was going to look, that’s really when everything started to come together with a level of integrity that had been missing before.
David Ralph [46:24]
I can see this, I can see this so, so clearly, and it’s probably second stage of my business. The first stage was just to get it going. The second stage was to sort of make money on it. And we’re probably in about the fourth stage now. And that is when you’re tying up all these loose ends into something that is has integrity, it has value, and it’s somewhere that people want to come and need to come. And once you get that, then you really are cooking on gas, aren’t you?
Sarah Kaler [46:55]
Yes, absolutely.
David Ralph [46:58]
Well, this is the end of the show. And this is the bit where we call it a sermon on mic when we send you back in time to have a one on one with your younger self. And if you could go back in time and speak to the young server, what advice would you give and what age would you choose? Well, we’re going to find out because I’m going to play the theme tune. And when it fades, you’re up. This is the Sermon on the mind.
Unknown Speaker [47:23]
We go with the best bit of the show.
Unknown Speaker [47:29]
My
Unknown Speaker [47:31]
man
Sarah Kaler [47:41]
So Sarah, I’m looking back at you 24 year old Sarah. And, you know, I just want to tell you to give up the looking good game. It’s you know, it’s not worth it and you’re working so hard to prove yourself. If you have to prove yourself, you know, if you have to work this hard to prove yourself, then it’s not worth it to, you’re gonna, you’re gonna hit rock bottom right, you’re, it’s gonna fall apart. And, frankly, there’s so much more in the world for you that you don’t even realise yet, right? You’re so much more than this. And your potential is massive. So move in the direction of your strengths and master them. And most of all, I want you to live I want you to live and experience life more because you’ve got so much driving you but that drive is always going to be there. And what you haven’t done is actually spent time in the world living and all that time spent being perfect and looking good and getting the results is so Hang up that time for life. So get out there and enjoy it. Because there’s a lot of a lot of time to get those results.
David Ralph [49:10]
Yeah, what’s the number one best way that our audience can connect with you and your company?
Sarah Kaler [49:15]
Sure, they the link that I provided is soul powered.com forward slash Dream Team. And it’s a it’s a guide on how to actually start hiring those a players into your business so that you’ve got a world class team supporting you so that you don’t have to do this whole thing by yourself regardless on where you are in the in your business, whether you’re hiring your first person or you are advanced and further down the road and you’ve got a team and you’re looking to really bring top talent in the door.
David Ralph [49:53]
Nothing stuff. We have over links on the show notes. So thank you so much for spending time with us today. Joining us those dots, please come back again when you have more dots to join up, because I do believe that by joining up the dots and connecting our past is the best way to build our futures. Sarah, Kayla, thank you so much.
Sarah Kaler [50:10]
Thanks so much for having me.
David Ralph [50:14]
So how many times do you think you’ve got to get it right at the very beginning, you’ve got to spend money on web development, you’ve got to get your business cards done, you gotta get all that stuff. She’s proved that by actually canvassing opinion, finding out what the product was, that was required by people that she could then say to them, I am the solution. And if you do that, with enough conviction, people will buy into it. And that’s how business is made. You don’t want to create a business from the top of your head. You want to get out and find out if other people will want that business, not just a couple of your mates because they’re probably say, yeah, it’s going to be great. But you’ve got to find the people that will really be honest, truthful with you, and we’ll push you on to achieve greatness you need coaching groups you need whatever whatever you want in your life. You need to go out and find the information, solve the problems, and then you’ve got a business. Thanks very much for listening. This was David Ralph. That was Episode 565. And we will see you again very shortly. All right.
Are you tired of the same routine that nine to five the mundane? Or perhaps have lost touch with the dreams and passions that lead to a life? That’s a wow and simply don’t know where to start? Then Join Up Dots has the answer. Dream starter Academy is the number one group mastermind online today showing our members how to create their own business lifestyle or dream job teaching you how to find your thing, teaching you how to build income around your passions and giving you a life where you leap out of bed with a set of we surround you 24 seven with the greatest entrepreneurs, business owners and dreamers online today who are ready to help you get going They followed the simple steps laid out for them and saw their lives changed forever and you can do the same. So are you ready to change your life, explode your income and create the dream life that you’ve always dreamt up? thing. join with us today by heading over to Join Up dots.com and look for dream starter Academy. We look forward to working with you see you on the inside. David doesn’t want you to become a faded version of the brilliant self you or wants to become. So he’s put together an amazing guide for you called the eight pieces of advice that every successful entrepreneur practices, including the two that changed his life. Head over to Join Up dots.com to download this amazing guide for free and we’ll see you tomorrow on Join Up Dots.
