Episode 145 Transcript

Heather Porter (00:03.276)

Welcome back to episode 145. Question for you. Have you ever felt like you're just sprinting through life, but you're really just going nowhere? What if the fastest way to get ahead was actually to go slower? We live in a world with constant need for results, right? Like faster is better. Instant results, quick fixes, constant hustle.

 

But look, if you've been listening to this show at all for any amount of time, you believe probably what I believe. And this is that the rush of life often can lead to burnout mistakes and a lot of frustration, which is why I started this show, right? I don't want to see people having to hustle so much to get results in their life and constantly chase these results and.

 

things that you're on that constant treadmill. So here's the thing. The other day I was listening to a mentor of mine talk about his over 20 years in business and how he has seen so many businesses just come and go. They all change directions all the time hoping to capitalize on the trends that were happening at that time. And they never really took the

 

you know, moment to sit down and develop a mission for their business and actually stick with it. And through this conversation, that is what got me thinking about this episode, because when you're constantly chasing shiny objects and changing direction, then you might not be around anymore. You might not have a mission or a vision to fight for, to stay in business for. So

 

I want to challenge you to slow down instead of jumping on the bandwagon, instead of jumping on the latest trend, instead of grabbing the latest software, instead of signing up for the latest trial, instead of trying the latest offer in your business. How about just slow down? So there's some things I want you to consider to get better results by doing it the opposite way, perhaps for a change. So number one is to think about the power of clarity and focus.

 

Heather Porter (02:30.124)

When you slow down, you focus more clearly on what truly matters. Rushing around often leads to mistakes or, you know, like changing direction really quickly, which can actually waste time in the end. Clarity and focus is huge for me in my business this year and with my team. I mentioned in my previous solo ep that

 

I am doing a rebrand and a big part of that is the extreme focus that we want to have going ahead in our business. Number two, better decision making. Slowing down gives you the space to be more thoughtful, strategic instead of reacting, right? Impulsively to all the bells and whistles that are floating around. My, my old business partner, love the guy. However, man would be

 

would be like chasing all the bells and whistles. Like the latest new thing would come out and he'd be on it and he'd be like sucked in for a week of his life and his time. And he's like, we should develop this program. We should develop this training or this or that of this service. And the things that would come and go, they came and go so fast. By the time we would get a training going, just people didn't even want it. So it just makes me think about that, you know, slowing down for better decision making, staying on your mission, staying on that path.

 

The next thing to think about is skill mastery, taking time to build a solid foundation, whether it's learning a new skill or implementing a plan, ultimately ensures good, sustainable long-term results. Now, yes, we have AI. Absolutely. I'm going to bring lots of conversations coming forward in the future about that. And it makes it seem more accessible and easier to become an expert in things, right? Because you can just ask it and get answers.

 

So I'm not really talking about that. I'm talking about your wisdom that you develop. More than ever, I think beyond AI, people are going to want to connect with people for the wisdom stories and unique, I think, gifts that we developed ourselves over time that AI is not going to take over. So developing a certain skill is important. Avoiding burnout, right? So constantly rushing around can lead to absolute exhaustion and

 

Heather Porter (04:50.926)

Ultimately, because you're exhausted, you don't work as well. You don't actually produce good work. So slowing down can help you recharge and have like a really consistent progress in your business. I'm a victim of this. I still am from time to time, but like literally just going powering, powering, powering. And then I get exhausted. And then I'm like, why am I doing this? I don't even know if I like it. It's probably just because I'm more burnt out than anything, right? But I've gotten better these days. It's just really focusing on where I want to go. And

 

I haven't felt burnt out in years, in years, actually. don't even, I'm trying to even remember the last time it was, it was like way before I started this, show with you guys. Quality over speed is the next one, right? So taking the time to do things right the first time often prevents the need for rework. So in my space is so funny. I see a lot of people adapting and adopting these AI tools and they'll come to like me or people in my network and they'll be like, okay,

 

I want a really amazing copywriter. I want to get a really great skilled SEO person. They started with that in the mindset, right? Like I want the best, but then all of sudden they hear a class or a mentor saying, just go on chat GPT or whatever deep secret, whatever's floating around right now. Just ask it for keywords and then use those keywords and then ask it to write copy and just train yourself on prompts. And yes, you can absolutely do that. But what's funny is that I'm finding that

 

people are focused on this speed and then they're going like, it's good enough. Let's just put it out there. And it's quite funny and they won't even really proof the copy. So that's just one of myriad of examples. I'm sure you can think of something in your own business and your own industry, right? Where people are just hungry for speed rather than quality. think right now with fashion, with fast fashion, we're in a really interesting space with that. Like which path do we go on? So

 

Focusing on quality also will ultimately set you apart long term. That's where your really good referrals come from. Because you know your shit and you get it done in a really good way. Then we also have a compound effect. Small, deliberate steps add up over time. I literally was just talking about this in my last solo episode about my goals for the year ahead where I built like a health trolley and like how I take my supplements and how I'm looking after myself is little baby steps.

 

Heather Porter (07:14.882)

But it's true about slowing down, like where you focus on these methodical little steps. Slowing down to focus on consistency can create the exponential results that you're after. So I want to give you like a little story. I'm sure you guys have heard of Aesop, the Aesop's fable about the tortoise and the hare. Not going to remind you on what that is, don't worry, but I'm going to give you like a real world example of this. So like obviously in that fable, the principle of slow, deliberate progress over like crazy speed.

 

is what works in a lot of success stories. So I want to give you a real life example. You may or may not have already heard about this, but think about Toyota, you know, the car company. So they have a production system that's essentially around this concept of slow steady wins the race. So they revolutionized in the auto industry, this thing called lean manufacturing.

 

And it essentially emphasizes deliberate methodical processes over rushing to produce more cars. They're focused on quality control. It's all about quality control and continuous improvement. You guys ever heard of the word Kaizen? Kaizen? Kaizen? Kaizen? By the way, one of my little mastermind groups, that's the name of it. So Kaizen meant, so what they, they developed this sort of con-

 

Quality control, continuous improvement means slowing down at key stages. Let me rephrase that. Slowing down at key phrases to ensure each vehicle was built correctly the first time. And the result? Fewer defects, saving ultimately time and resources in the long run. But also the reputation they got was phenomenal. A global leader, right? Known for reliability.

 

This shows how taking the time to do things right can actually accelerate success over time. It might take you a little bit longer to get there, but your results will be better. So just consider that. So based on that, I just have a few areas that you can focus on to actually slow down in your business to get better results. And isn't that like heaven as well? Because rushing, you just rush through life. Like I said, you're rushing on the hamster wheel.

 

Heather Porter (09:34.7)

What if slowing down was the key this year, the ultimate key to your success and where you want to go in your business and life. So some areas that you can slow down in. Decision making, taking time to evaluate your options. Now I am all about making decisions fast when you know how, when you're clear on your mission. But also you need to understand what things to say yes to.

 

So really evaluating, they go through your filters of, know, are they going to help you with your mission? Like back to the initial story I said, are you clear on your mission as well? So that's really important. Decision making. Skill development, like I said before, focus on mastery instead of quick wins. Now you can use tools to help you get there like the AI tools that are out there right now. But what do you want to master? There's another mentor of mine. I'm in a lot of these groups, school, S-K-O-

 

OL Alex Hermosys sort of platform that he has there's a lot of business leaders creating communities in there I mean I'm in a group in there for b2b and It's really quite amazing and the guy actually James Tuckerman is the guy who founded it I think he's got known like as mr. B2b or something like that Anyway, he used to have magazine called Ant Hill in Australia. He knows his stuff. So he has this group and he's talking in there around like

 

Essentially, let's say you're a photographer and that's your business. You are really good photographer. So you're maybe in the top 25%. But then suddenly you're like, okay, I'm going to niche down. I'm going to be a corporate photographer. Oh, suddenly you go into the top 10%. Then you niche down again. And now you are a sports corporate photographer. This is his example. So all you do is like sport.

 

launches, parties, galas, all that sort of stuff. Now you're in the top 1 % because you master one specific thing. thinking through that and getting really good at that, obviously you kind of have to slow down because you're hand picking your projects and you're really refining and getting good at your systems and processes for those particular things. But then now you're going to be known as the best. So skill development, personal growth as well.

 

Heather Porter (11:54.582)

allowing time for reflection and alignment, like not just jumping from book to book to book, but going through a book and circling action steps and then going into your project management system and then developing a project plan. One thing I've learned with slowing down is that one thing and my head of sales and my one of my coaches says, Adam says, is it a task or a project plan? And a lot of people like just try and jam tasks rather than creating a project plan that's going to have longevity and quality.

 

and putting tasks within it. you know, personal growth rather than just trying to skim through everything really fast and nothing sinks in. It's more about hand picking things that right here are good for you and then making the time to action the most profound things in the, you know, content that you're learning. And then relationships as well, you know, something else to slow down in is enjoying your relationships, building that trust and connection gradually.

 

So important. mean, I see everywhere I'm going right now. It's community, community, community is so important. Really connection hands on individual in person. And that takes time building trust. Thank God. So look, there's just some areas of ideas. And I want to leave you with another example on the power of quality and slowing down. I'm sure you guys may know a little company named Apple.

 

Well, when Apple was first developing the iPhone, Steve Jobs famously slowed down the process for perfection. At one point, the design team actually presented him with like a plastic prototype of the screen plastic. So Jobs basically said, no way, no way in hell am I going to use that. I want a glass screen that is scratch resistant and it needs to feel premium.

 

So switching to the glass meant redesigning, you can imagine, like everything, all the major components. It delayed production. It increased all the costs. It wasn't the fastest way there in any way, shape or form, but he believed in the quality of the design and the experience that the consumer would have and was okay with delaying things until it was just right. Now the result, iPhone launched in 20.

 

Heather Porter (14:17.582)

2007 and it absolutely as you know revolutionized the smartphone industry and that commitment to quality made the iPhone synonymous with innovation and excellence and to the point where Apple upped its game even more and everyone's desperate to attend the app, you know the Apple events to hear what's coming up. So just another story whether it's Toyota or Apple and the iPhone on the power of slowing down and I guess

 

You know, I'm seeing this suddenly trickling out to others as well. And as I wrap up, I'm going to just leave you with one more thing that made me really proud when I saw this in action the other day with one of my clients. So a newer client of mine has a really large national training company here in Australia. And we were, you know, signing, getting the contract signed and everything and getting ready to onboard his team and my team. And he said to me, he surprised me. He said,

 

If our project needs to, to, go longer than what's on this timeline, I am completely okay with that. I want us to be able to have the time to do our best work. There you go. So remember slowing down isn't actually about doing less. It's about doing what matters most better. Hopefully.

 

You got some ideas in this you guys and as you embrace the year ahead, think about the quality of the work that you're putting out there and think about mastering what you do. I just feel as we go ahead with technology that is out there right now that that is going to be very important. So over to you. I always love to hear your thoughts by the way you guys so find me on the socials.

 

You can go hustle rebellion.com. have a little form on there where you can reach out and contact me or leave me a review over on wherever you're listening to this podcast. It helps this get out to more people who might need to hear this message right now. So thank you. Thank you for tuning in as always. And we'll talk very soon. Next up is an amazing interview. So stay tuned. We have a few more coming up. Don't want to miss them. Okay. Talk soon. Bye you guys.