#478: Do What Sets Your Soul ABLAZE with Kacia Ghetmiri, Podcaster, Speaker, & Entrepreneur

22:40But also watching your husband do it, I would imagine that's even harder because it's someone you love and you care for that you want to help. So I think what's interesting is we talk often about not comparing ourselves to other people, but what I've struggled with more is comparing myself to a prior version of myself when the circumstances were different, right? So like, for example, when we had our son and I decided I was going to start going back into work and like starting to host like retreats and events or whatever I was going to start doing. And I thought that I could approach it the same way that I did before having a baby.

23:11So I was trying to compare myself in this current new mom version, who's like hormones are all over the place, like super sleep deprived of like, this is how I'm going to approach business. Because, you know, four months ago before I had this baby, like I was able to do this. So I should be able to do it now. Same rules apply with doing anything new where it's like, you know, my first business in network marketing, I'm making like three or 400 grand a year speaking on these huge stages, like know what I'm doing. And then I decided to start a membership for my podcast community. And I was like riding on an easel with a Sharpie.

23:40And I was like, like, I don't know what I'm doing. I feel so stupid doing this. It was a$17 a month membership. So like the delta of the amount of money that I was making, like, I was just like, I don't know what I'm doing. Like, it's so much easier to go back to the familiar because when you do something at the very beginning, you just suck. It's like par for the course, you know, where like, of course, as you keep putting your reps in, like, you're going to get better and you're going to feel more confident. But I think like, I always have to keep in mind, like, I've never done this thing in this season of life before ever, right?

24:10Like as a mom with a one-year-old, like everything is drastically different. Like I don't sleep eight hours every night anymore. That's a huge part of like my productivity and my energy. So it's like anyone that's listening into this is like making sure that like your success criteria for this season of life and also your tenure with the thing that you're doing, whether it's a new career or it's a new business or it's a new offer or program service in your business, your first time public speaking, You're so sweaty and awkward. You have no idea if you're going to like puke or like whatever, what's going to happen.

24:39But after you put a couple reps in, like, okay, I've got the experience from my past that I can look back on and say, see, last time I did this thing, it worked out. And I think sometimes we just don't give ourselves grace and we beat ourselves up because it's like, we forget to take into consideration the season. And I know like, this is huge for me right now because I'm like, a one-year-old is so different where like, I can jump on a plane and go keynote at an event and come home. and he's not saying to me, mom, I wish you stayed home. You know, two years from now, that could be a different conversation when I have a three-year-old, like how am I gonna make choices in my business?

25:11Well, I'm not gonna worry about a future version of me's problems right now. I'm just gonna focus on what I need to do right now to keep moving forward and adjusting as I go. But I think we all need to do this as humans, you know? Oh, wow. It's so powerful. And what's weird, and I'm interested to hear your perspective on this. When you work in corporate America, so much of your time spent forecasting forward, right? It's like we're in Q4 right now, but we're planning for Q1. We're planning for 2025. Well, how are we going to hit that mark for two, Q3, Q4? And then what does that plan look like?

25:43I was always spending time in the future so much. So I do believe to your point, it allows for more worry because you're like, well, how am I going to, how am I going to do this? I have no idea. And I shouldn't be expected to know how to figure it out because technology is going to change. AI is going to be different by then. I have so many more tools and opportunities and bigger network by then. And what I've learned only in the past couple of years, having worked for myself, is to trust that that's all going to unfold, but just be where I am in this moment right now. And that is a discipline and a practice.

26:13And I just remind myself all the time, wait a minute, you're worrying about something that could happen in 20 days. Hang on, why don't you just get present in this moment and make this the best day possible? Something great could happen today or tomorrow that changes that whole forecast. How do you set yourself up to stay in that moment? Yeah. So I have a really interesting way that I do this in my head on a regular basis where like when I put my feet down on the ground, like I'm actually in my head, like this is where you are, like be present where your feet are. But I have a relationship with one year ago version of me and one year ahead version of me.

26:46And I kind of toggle back and forth sometimes where like, I have this perspective of like so much gratitude for the life that I'm currently living. Cause I recognize one year ago, I mean, actually like right now, one year ago, I was like waiting for this baby to come out who was like six days past his due date. And like, remember just like wishing for this life that I currently have now and the opportunities that I have now and the network that I have and the income and the impacts that I've made. Like I know how much work I had to do to get to this current stage that I'm at. So I can feel gratitude for that prior version of me.

27:15And then I also recognize that one year ahead for me is going to be able to look back on this exact version of me now. And like, what gifts am I gifting to her? Right? Like what confidence does she have? Like what connections does she have? Like what type of impact is she making? What opportunities does she have? Like how is she showing up the world? What type of marriage does she have? What's her health like? Because of all the actions that I'm taking. So instead of getting too worried about like, you know, especially people that listen into this podcast, it's like, like you and I, Heather, it's like, we have such big visions of like things that we want to do.

27:45And like the world is at our fingertips. Like, let's go, let's take it to the moon. That can also be really overwhelming if we get caught up in the distance between where we are now and where we want to go. But instead I just write it off right now where I'm like, of course, I have no idea how the hell I'm going to do that. But that's why I need the space, the distance between where I am now and where I want to go. That's like my qualification period where I stumble and I learn the grit and resourcefulness. And then I meet that person that I need. And then I connect with this person and I do X, Y, Z, like that's what the whole path is for.

28:16But it's difficult because we live in this like instant gratification, Amazon prime culture, where we're socialized to believe that if we get something more quickly, it means it's more desirable or we should be more proud of ourselves. Everybody's celebrating how fast someone did something. But in reality, if we're honest with ourself, and I know how they're like, you're so into fitness. So I feel like this is a good example for everyone. It's like a lot of people would be like, I want to lose 15 pounds tomorrow. It's like, okay, if you lost 15 pounds tomorrow, would you actually be able to maintain that?

28:46Would you have the habits and the stress management tools and the workout routine and the accountability. And would you be eating well? No, what would happen is you would lose 15 pounds and you would gain it all back and probably some more because you didn't build up the ecosystem to support it with like your habits. Right. So it's like, we almost need to just start to get more obsessed with the process of getting there rather than just what the process could produce or the end goal so that we don't get anxious, overwhelmed all the time, doubt ourselves. And so that like, we just enjoy our days because we don't know how many we had, you know, it's so interesting.

29:19And I have to express to you like what you just said, who it reminds me of Gary B as you know, he was my first guest here on the show and him explaining to me, like you have to enjoy the journey. And you know, what's funny is I wrote this post right after he explained that to me. And I was like, yeah, easy for him to say, cause he's already at the highest, he's like got the biggest podcast in the world. Like he's got more views than anyone. He's got more, you know, whatever, written more books, blah, blah, blah. So he's done all the things that I want to do. And I remember thinking like the journey is hard, like it is hard, but to your point, like the longer I'm on this planet, the more I'm starting to realize, giving yourself grace, being in that present moment.

30:01And part of that is seeing like what good thing is happening today that I can focus on, be grateful for, because this journey is actually where it's all at, like so little of it. And I remember I related to the come up in corporate America that come up for me was like, oh my gosh, you know, probably my early twenties until my early third, like a decade, like really like where I'm climbing a ladder before I hit the top in corporate America and made it to the C-suite. And I'll tell you like that grind was hard, but I, now I look back, I learned so much. I met so many incredible people. I did have so many unbelievable experiences.

30:32I don't know that I was really enjoying it because I was so focused on, I got to break this glass ceiling. I got to get in there. And so I've sort of learned from that, that, okay, I'm going to get to where I want to go. I know that I have total belief in faith. I can see it. I know it's happening. I don't know how it's happening. I don't know when it's happening, but I'm coming for you future me, future accomplishments. I get to start celebrating these wins along the way. And it's like a new discipline. Like it's, I don't know. It's just still, it's elusive to me. It's not easy every day. Yeah.

30:59It's one of those things where like all of us have the double-edged sword of like our strengths where for me, like I'm probably one of the most like optimistic, happy-go-lucky, excitable people that I literally know. But on the flip side of that is if I'm bored, I have to get so good at like staying in the mundane, unsexy, like doing the reps because I get shiny object syndrome where I'm like, oh, that looks like that could be more fun. That could be more fun. That would be more energizing. So it's like all of us have our own thing. We're like, you are super, super goal oriented. We're like, I will do the shit.

31:32Whatever I need to do to get me where I want to go, like I'm in it, blinders on. You're like my husband in that way where it's like, this is the goal. See the goal, hit the goal, go versus me. I'm like, but it's going to be so fun along the way, which I think that joy part is so required, but it's also everything has its double-edged sword where you can miss some of the joy along the way. If you're not intentional, I can miss getting to the goal. If I let myself squirrel with all these like squirrels raving in my brain, like Keisha, do this, do this, do this. It's like, no focus. So every personality type has its things that we have to work on.

32:03Oh, that's it. So, so true. but I'm appreciating you explain that because I didn't realize so much of it was personality until you just broke it down, but you're right. And literally kid, you're one-on-one. So you're like the only one on the planet like that. And it needs to be celebrated. Okay. So talk to us a little bit about, we were talking offline about the beginning of your entrepreneurial career involved being in an MLM. And when you broke down for me, what's happened over the last couple of years, I was shocked. I had no idea. And I want you to share with everybody so people can understand why it's important to set themselves up for not just having one job, one revenue stream, because you put yourself at risk in such a big way.

32:40Yeah. Oh my gosh. This is like one of my favorite topics to jam about in so many different ways. So for context, for people that don't know network marketing, like MLM structures, basically how it works is instead of a company having brick and mortar locations, they have representatives and different companies, they're called different things. My first network marketing company that I worked with, and the only one I've ever worked with was called Beachbody. People are probably familiar with like 21 Day Fix, Insanity, P90X. These are some of the workout programs that they created. Well, back in the day, they had a network marketing model where you made income based off of selling like subscriptions to their workouts or their supplements or their shakes.

33:17But you also made money off of the volume of people that were in your organization. So as you helped people learn how to build their business, that's where the multi-level marketing like comes in. So what they just did a couple of weeks ago is Beachbody announced as many other network marketing companies have announced, like there's been like five or six major ones that have announced this in the last like year or two, that they switched from that network marketing model where you're paid out based off of your team volume and like recruiting people in to a direct affiliate model. Meaning like you've got a code that people use or a link that people use and you just get paid a percentage off of someone buying the product.

33:51So for people that built up massive teams or spent like, and there are some people in Beachbody that spent decades building up thousands and thousands and thousands of people teams, their income is gone come January 1st, except for if they want to sign up for this affiliate model, which like, think of example, that would be like 5 % of their total income compared to what they used to make. So why that's important. Obviously, there are some people listening into this that maybe you are interested in network marketing. I actually do think it's a really awesome business model in that like I started in that and it was like my gateway drug into entrepreneurship.

34:23And I was able to leverage my experience there to take those skills and then go build my own thing. It's a lot easier to build a network marketing business, but you don't own it. So it's just keeping in mind that at any point in time, the company can change the structure. Just like my personal beliefs are that a W-2 job is not any safer than being an entrepreneur because at any point in time, a company can restructure, layoffs can happen. So I think this experience of thinking about my husband was a dentist during COVID, when COVID happened in California, they closed down all offices. You could only do emergency procedures.

34:57So his income was basically gone. We would have been totally screwed if we were completely relying on that. And then thinking of like this network marketing model, like closing their doors and people that had all their eggs in that basket, what that looks like. I think of friends of mine that are like, you know, executive level at corporations that like layoffs happen and restructures happen. And it's like, I don't say that to scare people, but in a way I do think it's really valuable for all of us to understand that no one stream of income is safe. not being just a business owner with one product, program, or service, not being a W2 owner, not network marketing, not insert anything.

35:31And it's like, how can we diversify and start to give ourselves more streams of income so that we're safe? Should the economy change or should our circumstances or honestly, even our desires change? How can we set ourselves up more for success? And I've been thinking about this since I left network marketing in 2019. I've been thinking, There's no way that that will continue. And I was wrong that it took so much longer for it actually totally to be gone. But this has always been in the back of my mind.

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37:56Well, one of the things you were talking about was with your son, Brody, and how obviously your life has changed so much. I mean, from becoming a mother is just like, I believe it's probably the biggest shift that any woman will go through right in your life from being an individual just has to take care of yourself to all of a sudden having a second person is wild and incredible, as you know, and are so excited about. It's amazing. But, you know, when you were explaining to me setting yourself up so that you could take a break from business, which is incredible. And I'm so happy you were able to do that.

38:26One of the ways you were able to is because years ago you started saying, I want to diversify and set myself. So how did you set yourself up for that? And then how do you move forward now that you have a child? How does that all change? Yeah. What you're referring to is like, when I was working as an entrepreneur, I had a bunch of different products, programs, and services, and everything that I did required me. So, you know, podcasting for my own show and, you know, hosting big events and retreats and speaking and courses that I was on for. I really liked what I was doing business-wise though.

38:59So I wasn't really interested in like creating a bunch of like evergreen courses and stuff like that because I loved getting to intimately work with people and I love in-person events. So I love hosting them, but like there was no way for me to take myself out of my business. And I saw that as a problem for giving me future options, but I also like didn't want to change it because I loved what I was doing. So instead I was like, what if we use this business to fuel another business that didn't require my face, my voice, my time, me physically being there. So instead, what we started to do is take all of the revenue that was coming in from like horses, memberships, events, sponsorships on podcasts, all of that.

39:36We took all that revenue and I basically just passed it to my husband, Sina, who had left dentistry and was in real estate investing. And we would just buy properties. So in the last two and a half years now, we've bought seven different investment properties. The first Airbnb that we bought here in Denver made more than he made as a dentist. And we were like, ooh, baby, we're onto something. And it was so fun and it was so creative because we looked at the market here in Denver when we first got into real estate investing. And we're like, there's a need for like bachelorette party retreat themed houses.

40:07Why is there not that many of these in Denver? So we created one, it crushed. We're like, okay, let's figure out how we can do the next one. We did the next one. We're like, okay, now let's go to the mountains. Let's do like an A-frame. Let's do the next one. And like, we've just been kind of scaling, taking one property, getting up and running, then moving it, doing the next property. And now we're sitting here with this awesome investment portfolio that spits off a nice cash flow, that it gives us a lot more optionality of what we want to do next. So I share that because I think that like, there are some people that are listening into this that are really relying on something being safe.

40:39And like the economy changes and market change and like things change all the time in business and definitely in the corporate structure too, that it's like, what could you do on the side? Or how could you like set yourself up if you're a dual income household, how could you take one income and start using that to start like diversifying on the side or building a personal brand or starting a podcast or creating something outside of what you're doing so that if one of these like really blows up, you have another stream that you could pour into. So you're not having to like come from this desperation place, but you're doing it because you can kind of funnel from one to the other.

41:12It's so smart and you're not watching people when you are in corporate. It's not really talked about what if people were doing it, I didn't know anybody was people just talked about your nine to five and your 401k and like, just kind of more the standard or more antiquated way of looking at it. And the ways that you're talking about, it's literally the options are limitless. And because of the learning industry and people like you and your husband teaching people through podcasts, how to do this, the information's out there. People are teaching it. People are often doing it many times through podcasts for free.

41:43Like you are, you know, what are some of the experiences you've had teaching people how to do the same things that you're doing? Yeah. So from a real estate perspective, I think it feels really nerve wracking for people because it's such a big investment, like buying a property. But like what I always remind people is like everything that's ever broken on a house has broken before. Right. And with like changes in technology and stuff, it's like, I will bet forever that physical people need physical houses to live in. So it doesn't matter what happens with AI or different industries. Like, you know, I was talking with one of my friends that's in the recruiting space, which is what I was in way back at Google in 2014, the recruiting industry is going to change so drastically in a couple of years because of AI.

42:23So it's like looking at your own job and looking at your own business and being like, what could change based off of the way that like the world is going and asking yourself, like, am I willing to get uncomfortable with something like real estate investing and like learning how to diversify like my income? Can I get a little bit uncomfortable doing that? Or am Like my job is gone. And I just, I care about this because like, I just truly believe that we're here on this planet, all of us to live lives that we're obsessed with. And I want people to have options and the freedom that comes from like really diversifying yourself, like from an income perspective means you could just spend the time doing the things that you want to be doing.

43:01And if you have a shitty boss or you hate where you're at, like you have the option that you could leave and you could like at least float yourself for a few months while you found something else. You don't have to stay in environments that are sucking your soul from a tactical perspective. I think it's like figuring out what type of asset class that you're interested in. Like we talk a lot about short-term rental because we are big in the short-term rental space. We've also done midterm rentals, which are like 30 day plus days. We have a long-term rental property and like starting to just think like, what am I curious about?

43:30And then asking the people that you're connected to if anyone else is curious about that. Because so often we tell ourselves a story like, oh, I don't have the capital to invest in real estate where it's like, I bet you, you might have someone that you went to college with that you worked out in a previous job that you're connected with now that might have the capital, but they don't want to operate the deal. Or maybe you're really good at finding the deal, but somebody else can fund the deal. Or maybe you can fund the deal and somebody else can find the deal. There's so many different components of this.

43:56And so I just want to encourage people that it's like the thing that's stopping you, there's a solution to that thing. And sometimes you just have to raise the necessity to actually want to go do it because you have to picture a future where you have more options because you did this now. So I relate this back to a conversation I had yesterday with my son, which is so funny. I love this idea of give yourself as many options as possible. You know, don't be a victim to not having the options, which I sort of felt like when I got fired, I was like, I'm optionless. I have a non-competent. I have no options.

44:25It's so weird that I thought that way back then. And I don't want him to think that way, right? Because that's not true. That was a lie. I was telling myself it's limitless. The options that you have, I couldn't work in the media industry. So what, right? That's like one tiny industry. Anyhow, It's all how you perceive things. He gets his PSAT scores back the other day and they weren't bad. They weren't horrible. They weren't great. Right. They were okay. Clearly I was not worried. It's the first time he ever took the test. And I said, let me know what you think. And he's like, I think it's, you know, it's fine.

44:51I said, right. I said, so do you think we should get a tutor or put you in one of these classes that, you know, so that you can get some reps in so you don't have to be a beginner at it. So you won't suck next time. And he said, I don't know. I don't know that I need it. You know, cause what 17 year old boy wants to take a PSAT class. Right. I get that. I'm from the same mold. I'd rather be out having fun. So I said, okay, let me just explain one thing to you. A year from now, do you want to have a ton of options available to you by way of different universities that you got into? Or do you want to kind of be like, oh shoot, I only got into one.

45:23I guess that's one I have to go to. And he's like, well, obviously I want all of the options. I'm like, great. So if we take it on the chin right now and do something hard, taking a class for eight weeks or whatever it is, and it's going to suck a little bit. It's not like something you're excited about, that's going to unlock all of these opportunities. Is that pain right now worth that reward for a year from now? And he's like, oh yeah, it is. It was just like this great teaching moment for him to say, yeah, you're right. I don't want to do it. But now suddenly I'm raising my hand. I do want to do it.

45:52I want the options. Yeah. That's such a good lesson for all of us, regardless of like age or stage of life, where it's like going back to like, what are you gifting to a future version of you? Are you going to feel more stuck. Because like the thing is too, there are some people listening into this, I know that are in stages that you and I have both been in where it's like, I have this thing that I want to do like, uh, but insert like this habit of hesitation, like next year, next month, or I'll get to it or down the road or eventually. And it's like, I just don't want someone listening into this to have this thing that they want to do this change that they want to make.

46:25And then know that one year from now, they're going to be in the same place because that's one year of action that you could have taken, it's going to get you closer to the vision that you have. But also like one year that you sat there waiting on the sidelines, watching other people do the thing that you wanted to do when they're not any more capable than you are, they just decided to go and suck and put their reps in. And now you're comparing yourself to them because they're good because they sucked at the beginning while you were just waiting, you know? Oh my gosh. It's so obvious. You've got to show up and suck at first.

46:55All right. Talk to us a little bit about, you had so many options because you set yourself up this way by putting the reps and taking the risk and betting on yourself. You had so many options after having Brody. What is it about the Empower Her podcast that made you want to lean back there? Yeah. So I started the podcast, you know, like we mentioned at the end of 2018 and the whole idea behind it was that it was going to be this very come with me, let's figure out life together type of show rather than like a look at me. I've got this all figured out because I was craving it. Like I remember so many podcasters at that time, it felt like they were giving advice in hindsight.

47:28Like back when I was in that season of life or in my marriage or in my career or my business, here's what I did. And because I'm five years removed from it, let me tell you about it now, which is so helpful. I've learned so much from people that are a couple of steps down the road. I mean, I've learned so much from you being a couple of steps down the road in different areas and stuff. It's interesting because I was craving someone that was like ugly crying on their bathroom floor with me. That was like, what do I do now? I don't know what's next. Like crap. Like I just, I really wanted it to be like, almost like we were girlfriends chatting.

47:57I used to always talk about it on the show where I was like, it was like, we're girlfriends chatting over spicy margaritas. Like that was the vibe that I wanted it to be because I think we're just supposed to create what we wish existed. So I was like, why have people not have podcasts like this? I was like, well, shoot, I guess, you know, it's not being represented the way I want. I guess I'm supposed to be the representation. So what's been interesting about this journey now, you know, you and I both having shows for such a long time is like, especially becoming a mom, I've evolved so much. And I truly gave myself full permission to play out every option of what I could do next, where I was like, do I want to be a stay-at-home mom?

48:29I played that out for like five minutes and I realized that is not aligned for me. I played out like, should I just burn everything to the ground and start something completely brand new? Should I jump into this real estate business that we have and just go full send in that with my husband? That doesn't really feel aligned. I played out to the end like pros and cons of like every single thing of what was next. And I was like, what's always true to me is like, I love bringing people along on the ride and peeling back the curtain and talking about the things that most people aren't willing to talk about.

48:57And like, I was so open and transparent about my journey of like, what am I doing with my business? Do I burn it down and move to a deserted Island and work at a tiki house? Like, what do I do? And I think a lot of people resonate with that. And that's where I feel like the most at home is when I'm just being myself rather than having to feel like I'm posturing, like I'm an expert and I'm an expert in certain things, but like the podcast, it feels so conversational and fun for me. So like, I'm excited to kind of like lean back that direction and start really like asking, what is it that that community wants again?

49:26I've always created from a place of like, what problems does my community have that I'm most excited to solve? Like, Ooh, I'll create courses, events, insert whatever for them. So like, I'm excited to kind of like feel like myself again after this like weird journey of postpartum and now I'll jump back into it. Oh, you're so back and better than ever. I am so proud of you. And I'm so grateful that you're leaning into the show that people worship that show. And I'm so grateful to be a guest on it. Guys, you got to check out the episode. I'm on Casey's show and I can't wait for you to listen to it on Power Her podcast.

49:59I'm going to link the show in the show notes below. And I just want to tell you, I'm proud of you. I love you. And thank you for doing all the great things that you're doing. This world needs you so big. Thank you. I love you, girl. Thank you so much. All right, guys. Check out Empower Her podcast. Check out my episode. Let me know what you think. And until next week, keep creating your confidence. You know I will be. I decided to change that dynamic. I couldn't be more excited for what you're going to hear. Start learning and growing. Inevitably, something will happen. No one succeeds.

50:38I'm on this journey with me.