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Two Peas in a Podcast

Episode 109 - Diane Younes

Diane Younes is the Founder of Growth 2 Mindset - a consulting firm for wellness and sports companies that provides and implements growth strategies. Prior to founding G2M Diane had a complex legal background under Morgan Stanley and Baclays, as well as building out a startup in Hong Kong. The combination of past experiences and a vision for driving wellness forward makes Diane one of the best leaders in the space.


To connect with Diane reach out to:

https://growth2mindset.com/

https://www.instagram.com/diane.you.nes/

Broadcast on:
18 Sep 2024
Audio Format:
other
Enunas, outside of being so, so beautiful, so incredibly smart, an owner of a business, and an accomplished, I mean, professional in every aspect of your life. I am just so, so grateful for you sharing this time to join our platform. And thank you so much for spreading your message to our audience. You're I don't even know what to say to an introduction like that. That was super kind. Thank you, Igor. Thank you. You are very welcome. Now, Dee, tell us what is it exactly that you do today? What is it exactly that I do today? I do everything today. And that's actually the point. So growth to mindset is my consulting firm for wellness and sports brands. And it's called growth to mindset because it's growth squared. So in one end, we have growth for people and on the other end, we have growth for brands. So for brands, we help with their marketing, their partnership, their business development, events, exposure, legal stuff, because I am an attorney too. And on the people side, I'm a nutrition coach, I'm a CrossFit Level 2 trainer. I already have a certification from the American College of Sports Medicine. You know, with that, we do a lot of workshops like corporate wellness workshops. I do stuff for Lily Lemon staff, for example, fitness events. It's really fun and underneath that umbrella, we also volunteer in coach CrossFit to members of GG's Playhouse, which is an organization nationwide in the US that provides achievement centers to people with Down syndrome. So the whole point of growth to mindset really is just pushing wellness to the forefront through a really positive community message. God, I love that so much because it just feels like you're involved in so many different things with so many different people. And in the underlying layer of all of it is this woman who is just trying to spread the message of holistic wellness, of people bettering their lives to every single person she touches. Tell me how you think about holistic wellness and some of the big pieces that you see that might not be resonating or hitting the market in this specific way that you want them to be and how you envision them. I love that question and it's such a simple answer and it's really listening to what your body's telling you. That's it. That's what holistic wellness is. And I think with social media and all these things popping up, people get really confused with all the mixed messages. You know, the way someone eats may not be the right way to eat for you. The way someone moves, maybe CrossFit isn't the right thing for you, but it might be the right thing for me. So for me, holistic wellness is all about not really listening to all of that, but rather listen to someone who is telling you what's good for you and helping you kind of guide you through that with, hey, this is what's available. Maybe we can try this. Maybe we can try that, but just taking a step back, taking that information and really listening to what is it that I should do to be happy mentally, physically healthy, et cetera. And what kind of mindset will help me get to whatever goals I need to achieve, whatever those goals are, whether it's, you know, on a personal level, on a career level, anything. So it really boils down to coming back to basics. And the world right now is just completely the opposite of that. It's overcomplicating everything. Yeah. I have so much appreciation and that message resonates so much with me because I feel like every single part of every single fitness community that I've ever been a part of has always purchased this message of like, here is the specific one way to do this, whether it's CrossFit, whether it's Jiu Jitsu, whether it's, you know, P45 classes, it always feels like everyone is kind of stuck in this box. And the attitude that I always had was it doesn't matter what you do. All that matters is you stick with it, you find a specific pathway for you and you get off the couch, like, whatever reason, that one is so hard for people because people get lost in this overflow of information of like, there are 17 options of things I could be doing. And then they just don't end up sticking it with one. Exactly. And it's hard to stick with something when you don't enjoy it. What's the point of going to a gym, like a global gym, looking at the machines, not knowing what to do and not actually enjoying it? What's the point? I much rather you go outside and surf or whatever it is that makes your heart happy. Like life is too short to be doing what you think other people are telling you that you should be doing. Yes. Do I think there are certain basics that we should be hitting in terms of longevity? For sure. But there's definitely a room, like a margin of flexibility in how to get there as well. And how to get there means getting there happily as well. Yeah. Can you tell me a little bit about your own journey through? Let's start on the fitness side of how you came to be this person who just believes into doing something rather than sticking with like a specific program or finding a specific coach and what that trajectory looked like for you. There are a lot of mistakes. So many mistakes. I found quote unquote what works for me, I'd say like when I was 33, I'm turning 37 soon. You know, when you look at my life, that's late, you know, and I went through my teens, my twenties, thinking that you should eat less, you should be skinny, I tried to be skinny, I never could, because even if I wanted to be skinny, like my body just doesn't go there. And just eating a certain way, not eating enough, not eating enough protein. I mean, all these things. And then I remember, I mean, I did college basketball, right? I did high school and college basketball. And then started my career. So obviously was at a desk, a lot in investment banking, got bigger, wasn't happy because I wasn't moving as much. I was playing basketball on the weekends, but it was never enough. I just became this whole version of myself that I didn't understand. I didn't understand my body, my mindset was all over the place mentally. It wasn't clear. It was kind of foggy. And when I was about, gosh, 30, I think, I just thought I want to look like I work out. That's on the physical side. I also want to feel strong. That's what I want, right? And then I just started doing some research and then fell on CrossFit. CrossFit worked for me. Do I think it's perfect for from it? It really is not perfect, but it worked for me. But I also, because I started going down the road of CrossFit, realized I needed to eat more. And that just became a whole sort of new world to me, like, oh, wait, the way they were telling me to eat or not eat, oh, so actually I should be eating more and actually it feels really good. Now I have lots of energy and I feel strong and I'm developing muscles and developing skills. And I feel sharper, right? So that was my journey. But through that, I got really curious and I started just looking into recovery and different ways of eating, maybe fasting. I worked with other people as I got certified, seeing what worked with them. And I just realized after working with clients that there's no one size fits all. But it got, it really took till my 30s to get there and I'm really, really, really trying to sort of preach this message of, this is what's available to you. Try it out and try it out early in your life, right? And I'm definitely preaching that to my nieces. They're like in their teens, but like, I love that. I just want the younger generation to grow up with this vast array of options that they can try out and see what works for them with the ultimate goal of being their most healthiest, happiest self. And that's also what growth to mindset does because by working with all these different clients in wellness and in health and in fitness, I'm helping them grow. So the more they grow, the more exposure they have, the more out there they are. So people know, okay, this is my menu of options. Let me try this. So that's the whole thing behind growth to mindset. I love, love, love the specific way that you talk about this because it resonates with me so much. And there's so much overlap in kind of our fitness journeys as well. Like in my 20s in high school, I was always a swimmer and college waterfall player. Even on the back end of that, I just developed really, really bad habits, both in eating as well as working out, and I saw CrossFit as a solution where, hey, if I do the workout the right way, I just get to put trash into my system and keep eating crap the rest of the time without really getting too big. Like even though, even though I looked halfway skinny, I knew that, hey, something is wrong. My body is not operating the best way that it should be. And then as I sat in an office for years, I kind of had back issues, I had all sorts of continuous knee pains and all of these weird small quirks where I went. I don't think this is normal. I think there are ways to get around this. And in my 30s, I developed the same thing where we might have slowed down on CrossFit and we started doing a little bit more functional bodybuilding, but changes in diet and changes in recovery. And some of the crazy things where the payoffs are so, so wild, I just went, oh, my God, I feel like I'm the youngest, best-looking, fittest, and skinniest in my entire life. I wish I knew this was available. So let me ask you this important question. On the recovery side, what are some of the big things that you preach to your clients as well as to the fitness community to make sure that they're taking the right steps to have their body ready for the workout as well as activities of everyday life? Hmm. Make it simple. Make it super simple. I'm a strong believer of your body, obviously, breaks down muscle, becomes sore, et cetera. The more you work out, but it also stores a lot of stress, a lot of emotions. And part of recovery is not only addressing the physical part, which is obviously the muscle rebuild and giving them rest, et cetera. And accelerating the healing of the muscles, but also very much mental and emotional. So sometimes recovery can be as simple as just go for a walk. Put your phone down, go for a walk. Maybe it's as simple as spending time with your family, right, like really connecting. Obviously, then you can start adding layers like, okay, do you want to try an ice bath? Do you want to try a sauna? Right? There's so many things that you could be doing, but I think you have to master the basics, which is strip down everything and just see, like, just put down your phone, stop listening to stuff, stop thinking that you need to go to this crazy, amazing place that offers a million things, just come back to basics and relax, de-stress. And that in itself will do everyone a world of good because then cortisol comes down, inflammation goes down. And it's funny, like, there's so many studies and I've read books as well on this. We retain so much stress in our bodies. Like you're probably, I don't know about you, Igor, but my shoulders are up, right? I have to tell myself to relax and bring my shoulders down away from my ears. Just that. What does that mean? I'm holding tension for no reason. I'm having a conversation and I'm holding tension from the intense workday I just had, right? That started with an event. So definitely just come back to basics, keep it simple, then you start adding. Yeah. Tell me first and foremost about this really big piece and this golden nugget that you put in there, which is put your phone down because just like you, for whatever reason, I find that people of European descent have a much better understanding than a lot of Americans do about the negative impact of technology. So whenever I talk to people about, hey, what is like the one thing holding you back? And I talk about two things. First being your cell phone and second being your TV. And the second you turned on the TV, like you already made the choice of sitting at your couch and doing the things that are not as good for you. And the second that you took out that cell phone, you're breaking the connections, whether it's with your parents, with your loved ones, with your spouse, with your dogs, whoever it is. I just always talk about like, hey, you are looking for entertainment and a quick dopamine hit rather than trying to listen to you or have a conversation with someone where you might develop, where you might get a little bit more knowledge. But I always like, what is that within us that like, that we can't resist that quick dopamine hits so much that we let these companies just take away our energy and zap away our days. I mean, when you put it like that, it gets me really angry that I've kind of been given into them. Unfortunately, and I've said this before, I think we're not meant for the world that we've built. And unfortunately, I know, for example, I can only speak about friends, you know, they have specific work hours, you can't email after that or on weekends, like it's actually against the law. Wow. And yeah. I like that idea. Yeah. It's really an interesting way of doing things, but in the US, it's very hard, I'll speak for myself to put away my phone, including on weekends, because of work, right, and social media is work too, right, whether it's my personal one or the growth to mindset one. I also manage some of the clients, um, Instagrams as well. Now, at the end of the day, have to do it. So what I'm trying to do, at least for myself is, okay, so these are the things that I cannot control. What can I control? And for me, what's worked is basically saying, okay, for these sort of moments and these sort of hours, I will not pick up my phone. One of them being about, I'd say, an hour to an hour and a half before bedtime. I do not want to look at my phone. I really don't. It actually messes with my sleep. I don't want to see any sort of urgent message, you know, corals, spikes, like I want to wind down for at a certain time. And if that, like, if you figure out that that's important to you, you'll make the changes, right? But unfortunately, I can't go like, I don't know, a week without answering my phone. Plus I have, I have an inbox zero problem. I don't, I don't understand people who have all these notifications on red. It would completely blow my mind and I'd be like, Oh my God, I need to take care of this now. Yeah. So this is the one where I get to challenge you. And I'll explain, I'll explain because this is the best way that I think about it. Okay. I always go, Hey, in, in the decision making process, you as a business leader, you as a creator, you as a person are always making a decision and every answered email is a trade off of your time. And I always go, Hey, is this email or is answering this thing important enough to steal time away from my wife? There are some things where it's like, Hey, that person is waiting for a reply. They, it's urgent enough. We have a meeting tomorrow. There's a thing that needs to get done. But if the answer is that person is scheduled for a week out, we have four or five days where there are a lot more communications to happen. I go today's time with my wife is a much bigger priority than that person's email. So if that number is 10, if that number is 20, if that number is a manageable number of emails, I always go like, that's enough. Like at some point this has to turn off. So I just think that, that like mindset shift is a really, really important part of wellness as well. And it's awesome to hear you on the other side preaching all of the wellness, but still be human enough to know that there are things that you are always working on as well. Um, um, as human is you and as human is anyone on this earth, I have a million issues. I'm good at some things, but I suck at others. I mean, I, that's the whole point of wellness is knowing your humanness. It's knowing what it is that you need because of something that you cannot do or it's, it's just against your nature. You can't handle or anything like that. We, like I said, are not meant for this world that we built and you just have to kind of figure stuff out. And there's, it's interesting, for example, I'll tell you a little story about, you know, three or four years ago, a friend of mine sent me an article. She said, you're HSP and you should read this article and I'm like, what the heck is HSP? It stands for highly sensitive person. I had never heard about this before granted. My mom is a psychologist. My sister is a psychologist. My sister after I told her that she's like, Oh, I've known for years at your HSP. And I'm like, I'm sorry, you did not tell me I, and it's not, it's a personality trait. It's not a disorder, anything like that. There's quite a high percentage of people in the population who are born with it. It's genetic. You're basically easily overstimulated by certain things like sounds or smells or light. My whole life I have before going to bed, been dimming lights. Always, I had to because otherwise I cannot sleep. And there's this like feeling in my mind that's just so turned on when the lights are on and a certain hour. And I really don't like that. It completely disturbs my sleep. And there are other things in it as well, like the importance of music, how it calms you, et cetera. I've been listening to music forever. Music is always on HSP's listen to music because they're very sensitive to it in that it helps calm them. The lights are overstimulating, right? And they like, I've always been good at also feeling other people's energy as siblings. I have a brother and a sister. All three of us would sometimes walk into your room and walk the heck out. Why? We just felt something. Something was off. We didn't like it. We're out. And again, like I highly encourage you and the listeners to look up HSP, probably a bunch of them are and didn't know. I had no clue yet basically built a world around it to quote unquote cope with this overstimulation that the world was giving to me. So it's the same thing with wellness. You kind of build the tools to cope with the things that are overstimulating you or stressing you out and things like that. It's the exact same thing. And you might know that you're doing it or you might not. Another example is a few years ago, as I was living in Singapore, it was at the height of COVID. And when I moved from Hong Kong to Singapore, there were these crazy lockdowns, crazy rules. When you were traveling, you had to surf quarantine in a hotel where they basically lock you up in a hotel for 14 days straight before entering Singapore that I did not know was going to kind of start a chapter in my life where it made me really sad. And I had no clue why it had affected me so much that I was in this hotel room for 14 days. I was so against what they were doing, I couldn't believe that I was being locked up. I'm also coming from a lawyer background, I strongly believe in basic human rights and people being quote unquote locked up only in certain circumstances, like all these things kind of snowballed. And I remember coming out and thinking, okay, I'm not myself. It's as if my light had been dimmed. And I didn't know why, and I didn't know how to get back to myself. And it took me to be honest, two years from that moment to get back to who I was. And what I didn't know during that two year period is that I was actually doing things to heal myself without knowing that I was doing it during that two year period in Singapore, I kept wanting to go outside all the time. I kept wanting to breathe for a share, see greenery, which luckily in Singapore, there's a lot of, I wanted to be in the sun, I wanted to move. That's when I started getting more serious about CrossFit. And I started seeing that all these things made me happier. And we're kind of like a stepping stone in the right direction to becoming Deann again. That to be honest is what started the whole growth to mindset journey as well, because I just realized if I need this, and I didn't even know I needed these things, I wish everyone grew up knowing these things so that they didn't have to go through a period of being sad, or maybe having a period of bad body image as well, because they know that they're eating right for themselves, right? So that's really a long, wooden answer to everything. And it's, I just, I just want to give people the tools like, Hey, this is available, whatever you're going through in life, pick and choose, see what sticks. God, I love you so much other person, because I think you are so, so intelligent, you are so in tune with exactly who you are as a person, and you're just trying to make other people better and share good messages with them. And I love that part of this conversation is that I get to keep challenging you on some really cool things because yeah, do it. I think this point of you talking about being a highly sensitive person, I actually think that is the norm, not the outlier. I think a lot more of us are exactly like you. We just go through living our lives, being too busy with our typical job with caffeine, with stuffing our faces with sugar, to even notice that things like super, super bright lights staring us in the face is not necessarily the way that we're supposed to be living. And the fact that a lot of people until the moment they get in bed, they just go, my God, I feel great. It's kind of insane to me because I go, Hey, there are these moments where TV is blaring at you, you are just combining like ridiculous amounts of food, and you are not the epitome of what we would consider healthy 30, 40, 50 years ago, where a lot more people were spending more time outside, where mental health issues were a lot more rare, where a lot more people were healthier, and had way better communities and had way better relationships. And I go, some of the things that we do today are just not aligned with who we are as homo sapiens. And to me, it's insane that more people don't recognize that. And I have so much value for you talking about these walks that you do whenever you get stressed out to put away the technology. Tell me the value that you find in them, because this is a one piece that is so, so easy for people to hit. But I feel like a lot of people don't have the right intentions when they do it. And they kind of miss the point and the value that these can add to your health. Yeah, and they think it's boring, which I completely understand I was in that bucket before, you know, walks are so simple. Physically, you definitely have advantage mentally too. So on the physical side, you're moving. If you think that going to the gym, for example, for, let's say, an hour or two, and then sitting down all day after that, or before that, is good enough, it ain't. Because you're basically spending most of your time sitting down or not moving. That's the easiest way to get your heart rate up, you know, just move. I'm not even talking about losing weight burning calories. Who cares about that? We just want your body to be mostly moving throughout the day, because that's when it becomes healthier. Your heart is beating. It's not just really still, right? You get moving, your blood is flowing. So that's on the physical side. On the mental side, there are multiple studies that if you allow your eyes to go left and right and forwards, just constantly kind of looking around as opposed to focusing on a screen, it actually distresses you. And what I like about my walks is it's actually where I'm, because I'm not thinking about the specific task at hand, I'm able to get creative. It's where I have what I believe to be my best ideas ever, it's on a walk. It's when I'm away from my phone, I'm looking at greenery. I'm even, I use them to walk my dog, right? Obviously, you know, we don't have that much time in the day to constantly go walk solo. So when I have to walk my dog, I go on these walks where I'm just literally just being, right? I actually encourage people to walk with me on these walks. So sometimes at work, you know, people are like, hey, I'd like to meet you with you for this and that. I'm like, come on a walk with me. Let's walk and let's talk. And people, actually, those tend to be the best meetings because that's where they open up, I open up, we get more creative and people sometimes are more comfortable with looking around as opposed to looking at you or having you look directly at them. They might, it might just seem too formal, too stressful. So these walks are actually a great way to get business done. And sometimes I will take a meeting, you know, in my ear as I'm walking as well. Obviously, it depends on the meeting and whether I do need it alone time. But these walks are honestly, they're for free. You don't need anything more, you know, you don't need some special shoes or anything like that. Just go outside and I highly encourage it. And what I like, actually, it's funny in Florida, obviously, it's known for having these, you know, large, elderly communities. Yep. I always see them walk. They look so, I don't know what's going on inside, whether they're healthy or not. But they look fit, they look happy, they're walking. And it just shows like it's something that you can do till your later age in life. And I wish more people did it. And to be honest, I wish I had more time to do it. I wish I could walk more. Yeah. I feel like it is such a common thing that people who are on the move more, obviously, live longer, obviously have happier lives. And you don't need scientific studies to know that vitamin D, being outside, breathing fresh air and building a community through these small conversations, through positive interactions with your neighbors are just good for your brain. There is a very interesting tidbit that you already dropped and that is with the eye movement side to side. Do you know about the specific therapy where they actually use the side to side eye movement to diagnose ADHD as well as some other deficiencies? Is it because, correct me if I'm wrong with the ADHD is that they can't focus on where you're pointing at? Yeah. Is that correct? Got it. Okay. And one of the treatments that they use and that I've heard actually from the therapist side is a little bit of that side to side movement to get you to slow down. And it's so interesting that when you talked about being outside, that's the point that you brought up because when I think about it, I talk about it with the same strategy but different goals. I go try to notice some things that you don't usually see whether that birds, whether that's airplanes, whether that's bunnies for us because we live in like this awesome little community too. I just go see that bunny like out of the corner of your eye, pay attention to that thing because they're as a human, the way that we developed as homo sapiens was hunting for food. And we have these instincts where our vision gets better, our health gets better and your mind gets clearer when you're able to recognize things going on around you without necessarily having to pay attention to. Yeah. Seeing the beauty and things as well, I think we kind of forget how beautiful our world is. You know, thankfully I've lived in beautiful cities my whole life and I got to see amazing things but I wish growing up, I could actually stop and stare at certain things and actually really appreciate them. I appreciate nature so much more now in my 30s. I feel like I cannot live without it. I was living in New York City for nine years and I was like, "Oh, I'm fine, I can go up state once in a while to see some greenery" and things like that. It's such a concrete jungle, like to me it's now too much. I really need greenery and now being in Miami, there's so much greenery everywhere that I'm just like in all of how beautiful nature can be. It's really nice and it's funny. I wish my 20-year-old self could listen to my 30-something-year-old self now because I was completely different. It's funny how we evolve. I love that you said that specifically that way. It's an evolution where you find meaning in new things where you find beauty in everyday life and where you... I talk about this as connecting with your mind and I love that you said that about walks because I also say that about sauna and I always say that the best part of sauna is that in this miserable situation maybe it's two levels above walking where you're sweating where your body is having this extreme response. You have the ability to connect with your mind. You work on this muscle that tells you, "Hey, I have to get up now and you tell it quiet down. The mind is in control." And at the same time you have the ability to think about the things that are going on in your day in a productive way where you get to take a step back and you get to go, how can I make that better? Here's option A, B, and C, what are the good things? What are the bad things from each one? And I always find the people who are able to disconnect that way and rather than rush with that email response and just take a second back to themselves and go, "Every decision is just a trade-off and I want to make sure that I make the right one." And these people I just find to be in tune with who they are as business leaders as well as people who just make right decisions consistently. What is the value for you in the SANA recovery, the combination of bucket of things on top of just health-wise that you notice that make you a better business leader specifically? Because I think that that's a really important transition and connection that a lot of people don't make. Well, you know, I know that you ask for more than physically, but first of all, physically, if you're in pain, how can you think clearly? I mean, I don't know about you, but my training sessions, it's not that I'm in pain, but I work hard. And my body tells me afterwards, "Hey, you worked hard." So obviously I want to make sure that I'm not in pain, first of all. So I just can't think clearly. On a mental side, again, it's just slowing things down. You know, for example, you talk about SANA, for me, that effect that you get with SANA, I get with the ice. I need to get into something cold and what I like is actually listening to my breath. It actually calms me down a lot. And I don't know what it is. Again, I think it's maybe just like coming back to basics, like connecting with yourself and realizing something so simple that you do every day without even noticing and all of a sudden you notice it and you realize how important it is that you're breathing and how thankful you are about it, that you are breathing and then you notice how you're breathing and then you realize, "Oh, I can control my breathing. Let me slow it down even more." So these sorts of things just reconnect me to myself. And by doing that, I feel like I can sort of propel the best version of me, right? Because if I'm constantly giving, giving, giving, whether family, relationships, work, et cetera, if I'm constantly giving, at one point, there's nothing left to give. So if I'm constantly replenishing by letting things come back to, "This is my breath. This is me. This is how I feel. These are my needs," et cetera. I can then continue to give, but it becomes a really healthy cycle, right? Because you don't want to constantly take, take, take. You also want to give, but you have to have something to give. And that's how I think I can become just sort of the best version of me in order to be the best consultant, for example. And even, for example, with walks, I need to be creative in my job. I need to do these pitches and be like, "I have an idea for you. This is how we're going to attack the product launch. Here's how we're going to make sure that you guys get more exposure. I need to be creative." And if I'm constantly being logical, constantly just giving, giving, giving, I have no creativity to give at the end of the day. So I have to go on these walks. I have to be in the ice, et cetera, to just focus back on me. And that's worked really well, the ice for me. I know a lot of people are scared of the ice or they don't get that hit that I do. But yeah, that definitely has helped me a lot. Yeah. I find the same value in the ice bath and cold showers in this ability to withstand this ability to connect with yourself and this ability to learn things about yourself. Speaking of learning experiences, it's incredible to me the career that you've had because you've accomplished so much in so many different aspects in your life. And let me ask you a really hard question now, and that is this one. At which point, at which point in your investment banking career did you know that this wasn't going to be the path for you? This wasn't going to be the thing that you do forever. That's so interesting because I've asked myself the same question. So when I graduated from law school, my second law degree, that was in New York. And it was basically in the middle of the recession. So that in itself created a very interesting environment at work because every so often they would have days where they would fire X amount of people. So you was normally on a Friday, you'd say at your desk and you'd wait for that call, hoping that you don't get that call, because if that call comes through, it's a chore to tell you to go into a meeting room and then they tell you, we're sorry, we're letting you go. So I also saw like I was new to that environment. So obviously I was scared, but I also saw the fear in other people's eyes, right? Who were further in their careers, they had families, kids to support, et cetera. At the time I think I was 23, so I was young and I entered investment banking with that. Okay, so then I'm like, okay, I need to hustle because in order to keep my job, I need to show my value, right? Otherwise, they're going to let me go. That because I want to achieve, I feel like I'm wired. My brain is wired like I want to achieve, right? So now I'm like, I have to achieve. So we went into like double the achievement power, you know, like just trying to get to that goal. And so I think I overworked myself and I tried to go too fast in understanding the world, understanding how things work, the politics, the not only the job, the job itself, like the tasks is the easiest part in every job, I believe. But whatever on top of that that you need to take care of is actually the hardest and that's not only dealing with people. So when you deal with a very, very sort of leveled hierarchy where you have multiple people over you and then you have the ultimate boss, like you kind of are trying to figure out the whole dynamics. And I think being so intense during that time in trying to achieve, I think as I got older, I was like, wait a second, is this even what I want? Right? Because I was just trying to survive. I put myself in survival mode. So I just think how long was I in investment banking like six years? I think the last two years I started asking myself, like, is there more to this? Do I want to be more creative? Like do I want to create my own company? Do I want to be my own boss? And then the year before I actually decided to leave, like it took me that was when, okay, I want to leave, but I didn't know how to. I had to undo so many years of trying to achieve. And what I thought was like, hey, doing the right thing, like, to me growing up was I had to do the right thing. I had to get great, I had to go to the best schools, get the best diplomas, everything, and then go to the best banks and be the best. Like, to me, like, this was so normal. It was ingrained in me and it's not, I don't think it came from my parents at all. They just, they always kind of let me do my thing. They always knew, hey, Diane's going to do her homework. It was just ingrained in me. So taking the time to undo that and then even admitting to myself, like, hey, starting to imagine this new life and what it would entail took me about a year. And then when I did decide to leave, I was very much ready, very confident. I felt like no one could stop me. And to be honest, really glad I did it, but I'm also really, really glad that I gave six years of my life to investment banking. Like, I learned so much and I'm so thankful with the tools of survival that it gave me. Yeah. And I have so much appreciation for you as a human being going through this experience, because there again is just so much overlap in our lives where I had literally the exact same trajectory and career trajectory as you where I spent six years and I always talk about the final two as this point where I just knew that whatever I was doing just didn't seem as important as other people made it seem to be like I wanted. There is just something inside me that says that there is more to life. There's more than just climbing the ladder. There is more than just doing this thing, even though I understand that at the end of the day, I might be making an impact on a few super, super wealthy people. But it's not necessarily in the way that I want to be making an impact on people. And one of the things. True. And sorry to cut you off. I'd love to just put an emphasis on what you said, because you decided it was in right for you. And I love that you found that out, but I think it's also the right path for a lot of other people. Like, you know, I was I'm still absolutely surrounded by people in investment banking, whether it be my friends, whether it be my family, investment banking fed me. My parents were investment bankers. So, you know, to me, like I couldn't have gone to the schools that I had gone to if it wasn't for investment banking. So, and they were very happy with their past. It's just figuring out like you and I, hey, it wasn't for us. Right? And I think that's the ultimate power of, hey, this is great for some, but this is not great for me. And then you kind of being brave enough to jump. And that jump, I'm sure, was scary for you, right? It's for sure a scary one. And it gives me so much appreciation. And it just makes me so proud of you today sitting here and be talking about your business because I know especially as a female in the space, starting your own thing is so incredibly difficult. How good does it feel today, knowing that A, you're a super successful female who got out of the rat race and is now following exactly what she's passionate about. And B, that you're having this really, really positive influence on people's lives. Oh, it's sometimes I have to pinch myself. Just the opportunity to create something is huge, just having it, right? Like trying, being allowed to try is huge to me. And I'm so thankful for it to then be successful is a whole other level, right? But I'm just happy waking up doing what I do. And that, like there's no money for that feeling of just being like, I wake up and I'm excited for my day. It's such a luxury. And to then also, at least for me, you know, working with clients that I actually really believe in, I don't work with everyone. And I get to choose and that in itself, I think it's such another luxury as well. I'm just, I feel, I don't know if you can tell, I'm kind of at a loss for words because I cannot yet describe the feeling that I have running growth to mindset, because I still cannot believe that I get to do it, like that's my job. And I built growth to mindset based off of my skill set and what I enjoy doing. Who gets to do that, right? I just was like, okay, I'm really good with brands. I'm really good with creative stuff. I'm a lawyer. I'm really good with drafting and negotiating contracts. I love fitness events. I love coaching people on their nutrition and their, their fitness. I love having a podcast. So I love speaking. So why don't I create growth to mindset? Like who gets to do that? So I am thankful, but behind that happiness and thankfulness, there's a lot of hustle. There's a lot of bad days where you question yourself, you question your path. You don't know whether things will turn out right. And I just think that's part of life and there, you know, it being an entrepreneur is like this or rather like this and then like this and goes back, you know, it's just that's what being an entrepreneur is like so I don't want it to be so rosy where everything is perfect and I'm happy every day. I'm happy to do my job every day. There are obstacles, but I am going at them with full force. I feel rejuvenated. I feel like myself again and I feel like I'm just ready to learn the lessons that I need to learn and I can't wait to see where this goes because my dreams are huge. Like I feel like I'm at 1% of what I want to achieve in life and I feel young and I can't wait to achieve. You are young and you are working every day. And I respect so much that you actually know that about yourself. There are so, so few people who can do what you are doing today. And it's absolutely incredible because not only do you know that you're doing it, but every single day you wake up and you know that there is a hell of a lot of work to be done. And the only person who you get to fall back on is yourself. Now you keep coming back to this idea of happiness and just like you, I find that my life's meaning since leaving the corporate world has been to find happiness. So let me hit you with this hard question. What does happiness mean to you? I've actually thought about this a lot because when you've been on the other side of the spectrum of being really sad for a long time, you think about. So what does it take to make me happy? And honestly, for me, it's being free and feeling free. It can mean that freedom can meet gazillion different things for so many people. What freedom means to me is the freedom to be who I am. The freedom to feel, the freedom to express myself, the freedom to do the job that I want. Those are parts of freedom that are so important to me and I really hope and plan to keep running towards that idea of freedom every day of my life. Obviously, as we grow older, every decade kind of represents maybe something different and you kind of see life differently. I do think that this aspect of freedom and how important it is to me will last a lifetime. I think how I get there might be different like decade to decade, but it's really important to me to just feel free. Just imagine a wild horse just running like in a field or on a beach that I want that to be me my whole life. And I think that's what happiness is. I love, love, love that answers so much. And what's amazing to me is the way that I talk to my wife, Megan, about it is exactly the same way. I said the best thing that ever happened to me is this freedom where I felt like I took a backpack off and now I'm just lighter, I'm just on the path to find out exactly what it is that I can achieve. Here is the last question and this one is a doozy as well. You are all about the growth mindset to the point where your company and your brand are attached to growth mindset. What is the meaning of growth mindset and the vision for you? Growth mindset for me is constantly trying to better yourself, whatever that means to you whether it's in your career, your life, your body, your mental, your nutrition, whatever it is, because what's the point of being on this earth during this lifetime if you're not doing something with it? I really don't see the value of just living, of just copying and pasting your day and people call that life. And for some that makes them happy and that's great but that's not the way I want to live my life. I want to learn, I want to speak to people, I want to connect, I want to love, I want to feel, I want to eat, I want to do stuff, I want to feel like I've lived and I've actually really taken advantage of my time and hopefully it's a long, long life where I can look back when I'm like 90 something, maybe 100 and be like, boy I got stories for you, I lived and I lived on my own terms and that's what's really carrying me through life, my work and that's what growth mindset means to me. It really is and it's just be looking back on your life later and just being like, wow, I actually did something and it doesn't necessarily mean being successful. It can mean just seizing opportunities like I was able to travel to this place, I was able to jump out of a plane, I was able to read this many books and get this much knowledge, I was able to connect with this person and learn that. I just don't want to live life in a straight line that is so monotone, I want the opposite. Yeah, I love that so much because I feel like the best people in my entire life understand that life is just all about the experiences and the people and the relationships that you get to carry with you and establish during your life, it's about doing those incredibly hard things, it's about looking fear in the face and going, hey, I have what it takes to get it done and it's about overcoming this big thing that I think gets in the way of a lot of people's journey and it's this fear of the unknown. Yeah. For whatever reason, we as humans just naturally shy away from breaking patterns, from breaking habits because we are so scared that whatever we do isn't going to work out, that we never consider that, hey, it just might. And the reason why I have so much respect and so much appreciation and admiration for you as a person is because you're on the other side of this. You could have had an incredible life playing within the bounds, doing exactly what other people do, but you took the steps, you made the leap, you went out of your way to chase happiness, knowing that along the way, there's going to be a lot of hard times. There's going to be a lot of wins, but there's going to be a lot of losses as well. And I think you are doing an incredible, incredible job. Thank you. Thank you. It's, you know, life isn't easy. Let's be frank now, you know, life isn't just like rainbows and roses and all these things. Like at the end of the day, we all go through so much and no matter what you do, there will be obstacles. Like, no matter what you, even if you live like such a monotone life, there will always life will always do stuff that you that you have to deal with. So might as well just live big, you know, might as well just do you. It's just like, I've always said this, you can wear a certain outfit. Some people will love it. Some people will hate it. It's just the way it is. And some people may look at you and say, I like this person. Some other people will say, I don't like this person. You may not even open your mouth. They just look at you. I don't like her. You cannot. There are so many things you can't control, including what life throws at you. So I'm just like, might as well just live it your way. And that way you find your own true happiness. But, you know, yeah, I'm on the other side of things and I'm really happy to be doing growth to mindset. But I just really, you know, I'm sure your listeners, everyone goes through hard times. It's just the way it is and it just makes the nicer, beautiful times even better. That's all. I love music with it. Yeah. I literally could not have said it any better. Dee, thank you for sharing your time. And thank you for sharing yourself with me and our audience. We love you. We appreciate you. We literally cannot wait to see the incredible things you're going to accomplish. Thank you, Igor. Thank you for having me. You are always welcome. And thank you guys for listening. We will see you next time.