Twelve Years of Fire: Lessons from Building a Life, a Brand, and a Business That Lasts with Rachel Marie Martin

0:01John Lee Dumas:Boom! Shake the room, Fire Nation. JLD here and welcome to Entrepreneurs on Fire, brought to you by High Level, the all-in-one sales and marketing platform. Today we'll be breaking down 12 years of fire, lessons from building a life, a brand, and a business that lasts. And today we'll be talking about starting before you feel ready, growth, how it's not linear, it's layered, protecting the spark, and oh so much more. And a big thank you for sponsoring today's episode goes to Rachel and our sponsors. If you're an entrepreneur, you probably know the feeling. Nonstop meetings, constant conversations, and too much information to keep track of.

0:34John Lee Dumas:That's why I've been using Plod, an AI-powered wearable that helps capture meetings, discussions, and key details throughout the day so nothing important slips through the cracks. Plod, the world's number one AI note-taking brand. Check out plod.ai slash EOF and use code EOF for 10 % off. If you are building a real business, you need real infrastructure. Sure. High Level gives you website hosting, funnels, email marketing, automation, calendar booking, payments, and course hosting all on one platform, plus award-winning 24-7 support. Get a 30-day free trial and my full bonus stack that includes a 15-minute private call with me and much more at highlevelfire.com.

1:13Highlevelfire.com.

1:15John Lee Dumas:Rachel, say what's up to Fire Nation and share something that you believe about becoming successful that most people disagree with. I really, I had to think about this one a lot, but I really think that most people aren't stuck because they lack strategy. I really think that they're stuck because they're kind of waiting to feel ready. And ready isn't something that you, there's not a eureka moment for it. I really truly believe that clarity and confidence follow movement and it's not the other way around. Well, I can tell you after interviewing over 5 ,000 entrepreneurs in 14 years, I definitely concur with that.

1:55John Lee Dumas:And we're going to be diving deeper into 12 years of FIRE, FIRE Nation, lessons from building a life, a brand, and a business that lasts. Now, I want to talk about starting before you feel ready, Rachel. I mean, you said that every meaningful thing begins before you feel prepared. So take us back 12 years to when you first started. I mean, what did starting before ready actually look like in real life? Okay. It looks imperfect. And you are the perfect example for that because when I was on your podcast 12, maybe 13 years ago now, I did not have everything that I thought I needed to have. In fact, I remember recording that podcast in my suburban, in my driveway.

2:42John Lee Dumas:Oh, man. Those are memories. And I can tell you what, I was pretty close in the same boat. I mean, 13 years ago, I was still probably like six or eight months in. I mean, think about that. I mean, I was starting before I was ready. I was not a good interviewer, not a good host, not a good facilitator of conversations. I didn't know what I was doing. Expound a little more into that, Rachel. I mean, what did that look like in real life? I mean, you're in your car, you're talking to JLD and Entrepreneurs on Fire. I mean, what's happening? It's full of energy. That's what I really think about when you wait too long.

3:13You kind of lose the energy because you tend to overanalyze. You think, ah, what about this? What about that? But when you just decide, okay, I'm all in, which is the way I really like to live life, is then you have this, you've taken the step and you just do the things that you actually need to accomplish without worrying so much about making sure that all the logistics are in place. And I've always taken that approach of, okay, I'm being an early adopter of technology, of blogging, and of any of that kind of entrepreneurial world. And because of that, there's places where you fall, but there's also places where you can learn from it and then keep that momentum going.

3:57John Lee Dumas:Well, let's talk about growth, how it's not linear, but how it's actually layered. Because you often describe growth as layered instead of linear. So what does that mean in practice? And how can entrepreneurs, how can our listeners, Fire Nation, stay encouraged when progress just feels so slow, or sometimes even invisible? Okay. Well, progress often is invisible because we tend to see the splash moments in life. You're like, whoa, look at that. And we forget all those years building up to it. But the layered, not linear concept, it really comes, a lot of times you look at progress as I'm going to do A and then B and then C, and then I'm going to eventually get to Z.

4:36And it's really kind of that back and forth and that zigzag. But the idea of layering is, So I lived in Minnesota for 40 years. And when you live in a cold climate, you understand layering. You know, I need to bring this coat, maybe a sweater, all of that.

4:51John Lee Dumas:You're talking to a manor. I get it. Yes. Yes. And you can pick and choose like you don't go full in with all of the layers. You kind of choose what you need. And in the entrepreneurial world, there are some times where you might need this strategy. But if you cling to it too tightly, you kind of resist and you, I would say, constrict growth because you might need to actually take it off. You might need to adopt a new strategy to free yourself up. And so the layering concept comes with, you know, you still want to get to Z, but maybe this time you need A and C and B and maybe J. And when you kind of look at what you need, you get to pick and choose versus it being so structured.

5:31John Lee Dumas:See, I love this concept because there were so many times when I started, I mean, we're going to go back to 2013, 2012 again, where I was just like, man, am I making any progress? Or, you know, I've hit another plateau and it just doesn't feel like anything's happening, you know, for a decent amount of time. And, you know, for me, luckily, I read this book called The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson. And I kept going back to that book and just recognizing the power of just doing the small things right every single day and how it doesn't always seem like over a short timeframe, you're making all this progress.

6:05John Lee Dumas:But over a greater timeframe, I mean, you are compounding at such a fantastic rate. And that kind of leads us to protecting the spark because so many entrepreneurs, Rachel, I mean, they live on the edge of burnout. It's every day they wake out. I mean, they're at risk of burning out that day. So you teach the goal isn't to recover from burnout, but to prevent it altogether. So how do you personally protect your spark while still building big audacious things? I love the word audacious and I want everybody to be audacious about protecting their own spark as well as what they're building. And being audacious about yourself means deciding my health, whether it's mental, physical, spiritual, emotional, is just as important as this push forward.

6:56Because when you hit burnout, you're no good to anybody at that point because you've hit capacity. I often give the analogy as if you got in your vehicle and you had to go 30 miles to an appointment and the vehicle said you have about 18 miles of gas, would you push it and keep going? There's no way. We would all stop, fill up the tank, maybe be a little bit late. Maybe it wouldn't look like what it should have been, but we would be unapologetic about getting gas. And yet in our own lives, we sometimes are like, I don't know if I have time for it. I don't know what it is. And then we hit burnout and we're like, I have no idea how that happened.

7:31And so in my own life, I've taken up running. I meditate. I take walks. I really do put on my calendar times that I'm unapologetic that are really the refueling parts in my life. And that is part of my mission is to encourage entrepreneurs and just people in general to be unapologetic about that time.

7:53John Lee Dumas:Yeah, I've always loved that big, hairy, audacious goals. I mean, to me, that was always like, yes, that's why I'm here. Like, that's why I'm on this earth, because I want that audaciousness to be in my world. I want my impact to not be tiny or small, but big and loud. And Fire Nation, we have so much more to talk about, how your story is the strategy, letting the business evolve, joy is ROI, and more when we get back from thanking our sponsors. One thing I've realized over the years interviewing more than 5 ,000 entrepreneurs is this. Some of the best ideas disappear fast. A conversation ends, a meeting wraps up, you're walking between appointments, and suddenly the key insight is gone.

8:35John Lee Dumas:That's why I've been using Plod. Plod creates AI-powered wearable devices that help capture, organize, and retrieve important of conversations and ideas in real life, not just virtual meetings. I've especially liked how frictionless it feels. Instead of constantly typing notes or pulling out my phone, I can stay fully present in the conversation while Plot handles the capture side in the background. Their Note Pro is great for discussions, meeting, interviews, and deeper work sessions. While the Notes Pin S is perfect if you want hands-free capture throughout the day, honestly, it's one of those tools that quietly removes mental overload and helps you focus on what actually matters the conversation itself.

9:11John Lee Dumas:Check out plaud.ai.iof. That's P-L-A-U-D.ai.iof and use code E-O-F for 10 % off. Fire Nation, if you are building a real business, you need real infrastructure. That is why High Level is Entrepreneur on Fire's featured partner. High Level gives you a website builder and hosting, funnels and landing pages, email marketing, appointment scheduling, payment processing, course and membership hosting, and so much more. Everything you need to succeed all under one roof. No duct tape, no juggling five platforms, just one clean system for your business and their award-winning 24-7 support has your back when you need it most.

9:50John Lee Dumas:When you sign up at highlevelfire.com, you also get my exclusive bonus stack, a 30-day free trial, a private 15-minute call with me, JLD, access to my weekly live office hours, a digital copy of my book, The Common Path to Uncommon Success, my 50 Days to Something Execution Roadmap, and more. Visit highlevelfire.com and start building your something today. Rachel, we're back and let's talk about your story and how your story is the strategy. I mean, you've built a global brand by leading with honesty and story. So why do you believe telling the truth still wins in a world obsessed with trends, with hacks, and with these crazy algorithms?

10:34I really believe, especially now more than ever, that the more human we can be, the more power and impact we have. This is beyond even the trends and hacks and algorithms. As a writer, I have noticed that people have thanked me for my humanness, and that's the story part. AI, at least at this point, can't completely replicate that humanness, that raw emotion, that depth. And if you're going to talk about layering, they can look at the content I've written and see the layers, the years of storytelling, of ups and downs, of speed bumps that I've hit. And I really, truly believe that when we share a piece of ourselves, that human part of ourselves, we can connect with so many others in a much more powerful way where people are like, okay, this is a real live person.

11:27And that power of being human in a world that's saturated digitally is incredibly powerful right now.

11:36John Lee Dumas:Fire Nation, what are we doing if we're not going after power and letting the business evolve? I mean, that's kind of the next topic I want to mention because over 12 years, I mean, you've shifted, Rachel. You've grown. And to be honest, you've reimagined your work a few times. So what does it look like to let your business evolve alongside your life? instead of clinging to this outdated definition of success that so many people do? All I have to say is Blockbuster. That's my favorite analogy is if you look at Blockbuster, now they're the humor point in movies. And I have to explain to my kids what they were.

12:15Blockbuster had an opportunity to shift. They had an opportunity to go, okay, the world is shifting from physical movies to something digital. And as a writer, content creator, entrepreneur, there is always an algorithm shift. And it's not my job to be like, well, that algorithm shift says I should stop. It's really the opportunity for me to go, okay, this is where I am now. What can I do that matches the world where I am in now versus the world where you and I started 12, 13 years ago?

12:45John Lee Dumas:What's like another example like that where maybe you or one of your clients, I mean, maybe even your husband, I mean, talk about a story, an example, a case study of this in real life? Oh, wow. There's so many. I think that for us, we used to travel quite a bit, uh, leading in real life, like in-person workshops. And then, uh, life shifted, kids got older and we had to make a pivot. And during that pivot was when we really started selling our BC stack product and meeting people where they were. And that pivot It happened kind of alongside when the pandemic hit, when people were at home. And if we had clung so tightly to our company, it does in-person all-day-long workshops when the pandemic would have hit, we would have been stuck.

13:37We would have been outdated. But because of the years before that, we had already started to pivot and look into new options. So we were positioned in this perfect spot at that moment. it really means being willing to shift and look at what might be a different opportunity in the future. And it also means paying attention, paying attention to the trends, reading about the stuff that's happening. And for me, I actually, I love it. I think it's exciting. If everything was always the same, it could get really boring.

14:07John Lee Dumas:Variety is the spice of life, Fire Nation.

14:16John Lee Dumas:Please you say that joy is the ultimate return on investment. What does that look like for you today? And let's actually start there. This is a very good question for me since I am the voice behind finding joy and I get asked about joy all the time. And which is, you know, a little funny side note is often people will write in and say, thanks so much joy. Cause they assume it's like finding myself, but I've dealt with that many years. But for me, joy has been this beautiful choice that we as humans get to get to choose every single day. It's very different than happiness. And I'm also a big proponent in happiness.

14:55But joy to me is looking at where our lives are now and choosing something in our day that might be that's just good, that we're just grateful for. And oftentimes I give an example of when life gets chaotic or when we go through hardships or whatever it may be, the first thing that we often tend to do is say, I just want normal again. I really just want normal. And then when we're in normal, we're like, ah, this is so, it's the same. It's the normal thing. And I have challenged thousands to create something in their normal life every single day that might be boring, might be mundane, doing the dishes, doing laundry, whatever it may be, and to create it and make it something sacred.

15:39as a benchmark for something good. And that to me, at its very core, is really what joy is about. I remember when my son was young, this is about the time, about 13 years ago, he was in the hospital and he has celiac disease. And at that point, he went into some crisis issue with celiac and they didn't know what was going on. And I was sitting at the Children's Hospital in Minneapolis and I was very, very overwhelmed. And at that one moment, I remember hearing his heart rate monitor with its very consistent blip you know it was blip blip and I was overwhelmed with with gratitude in that moment because I knew in that very hospital where I was waiting that there was there were many parents that would be very grateful and wish for that consistent heart rate at that moment and I took it to myself to grab a piece of paper and to list every single thing I was grateful for in that moment in the hard bit.

16:37And that truly was a lot of the birth of what finding joy has become. And joy as an ROI means that as entrepreneurs, it is not always smooth sailing, which you know, you've interviewed so many, but it's really this capacity that I have decided that I am so grateful for this opportunity to be able to, to write, to create a business, to connect with thousands and thousands of people worldwide. And that to me is what joy is all about.

17:09John Lee Dumas:Now, what would you say to someone who's successful on paper, but they're disconnected on the inside? First, you're not alone. Honestly, I believe many of us have a hard time even admitting that. And because admitting it, we're like, I think I might be the only one. And you're not alone if you're in that spot. And the very first step to connecting on the inside is actually admitting, oh, my gosh, I am very successful, but I don't know who I am anymore. And that journey, it's that's the first step is understanding and being filled with grace for your own story. Like if it was you or it was me and we said that, we'd be like, OK, we would have this level of grace and understanding.

17:52And then we sometimes lose it for our own selves. So I would say, truly, no, you're not alone. and then my big life mission is what's one thing I can do every single day? What is one thing I can do every single day? And if every single day you do one thing within 365 days, you will never be in the same spot where you are.

18:12John Lee Dumas:Man, that's powerful. And I mean, Fire Nation, gratitude is so huge. Perspective. I mean, you can be having the worst day that you think you're having the worst day in the world. And then you just hear something. And this happened to me the other day. I was like, man, I was just not having the best day. Like I wasn't feeling that great. My son was like not doing well. Like he was just like, just feeling like maybe like a little bit of a flu. And then I just got word that like one of my dear friends in the army who I lost touch with, but he was a good friend during my time in the army. He had passed away from cancer and like he has a wife and two daughters.

18:45John Lee Dumas:And I was just like, oh my God, like, like this is perspective. Like I'm here feeling sorry for myself, but that's like a real tragedy. That's real sadness. And I mean, you got to snap yourself out of it and be like, man, I have so much to be grateful for and recognize that because there will come a time in the future when you really do have something probably that's unfortunately quite the tragedy, quite the devastation. I mean, most of us face that at some point in our lives, if not multiple times. And you don't want to have the days that should be great because you had these little minor issues, not be great days.

19:18John Lee Dumas:Like you want to enjoy those days. So for anyone listening, Rachel, who feels called to something more, but they're still waiting to feel ready, what's one truth they need to hear right now? You're never going to feel perfectly ready. I'm really going circling all the way back to that beginning. I think readiness and feeling ready, it's an illusion that keeps us stuck. And I will say that I'm going to give the running analogy. People will tell me all the time I could never run. And I said, well, can you run to your stop sign? I don't know. And then I said, well, let's do it. Let's try it. And then if they run to the stop sign and then the next day, can you run maybe five, five feet beyond the stop sign?

19:57It's being willing to be the beginner to try to do that first mile. And I can tell you what, and whatever your first mile analogy may be, uh, because there's going to come a day when you're going to look back and you're going to be so grateful. Oh my goodness. I'm so grateful for that me that decided I'm willing to take that first step. I'm willing to run that first mile. I'm willing to try.

20:20John Lee Dumas:Rachel, if Fire Nation wants to connect with you, wants to learn more of what you have going on, what is your call to action for our listeners today? Most people find me at my website, findingjoy.net, or they find me on Facebook, but it's Finding Joy blog. And if you look, you'll find my face and a blue check mark that says I'm real. Fire Nation, you're the average of five people that you spend the most time with and you have been hanging out with RMM and JLD today. So keep up that heat. And for links to everything that we talked about, visit eofire.com, type Rachel in the search bar. By the way, her episode from 2013 will also pop up.

20:59John Lee Dumas:If you want to give that a listen, that'd be great. And the show notes page will pop right up with links for everything too. Rachel, thank you for sharing your truth, your knowledge, your value with Fire Nation today. For that, we salute you and we will catch you on the flip side. Thank you. Hey, Fire Nation, a huge thank you to our sponsors and Rachel for sponsoring today's episode. And Fire Nation, are you an entrepreneur on fire who's looking to share your amazing message with the world? If yes, we are now accepting applications for EO Fire to learn more about becoming a guest, visit EOfire.com slash guest.

21:29John Lee Dumas:And I'll catch you there or on the flip side. If you're an entrepreneur, you probably know the feeling. Non-stop meetings, constant conversations, and too much information to keep track of. That's why I've been using Plod, an AI-powered wearable that helps capture meetings, discussions, and key details throughout the day so nothing important slips through the cracks. Plod, the world's number one AI note-taking brand. Check out plod.ai slash EOF and use code EOF for 10 % off. If you are building a real business, you need real infrastructure. High Level gives you website hosting, funnels, email marketing, automation, calendar booking, payments, and course hosting all on one platform, plus award-winning 24-7 support.

22:08John Lee Dumas:Get a 30-day free trial and my full bonus stack that includes a 15-minute private call with me and much more at highlevelfire.com. Highlevelfire.com.