Certain Success™ Podcast
Welcome to The Certain Success™ Podcast, where faith, family, and business intersect to create a business (and a life) of purpose and design. Join your hosts Matt Fagioli & Joe Gaeta, both successful entrepreneurs, avid learners and disciples of Christ, as we share our stream-of-consciousness rants and interviews with fellow business owners & entrepreneurs to explore the unique challenges and opportunities of building and operating businesses while putting God first in life. Matt & Joe have dedicated much of their careers to helping entrepreneurs become more amazing humans that win big. If you're all about living intentionally and constantly growing and learning, this is the podcast for you!
Matt & Joe bring a fresh perspective to the world of business and entrepreneurship. Don't miss out on the chance to learn from experienced entrepreneurs and grow in your faith while building your business. Tune in to The Certain Success™ Podcast and discover the keys to living a life of certain success.
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Certain Success™ Podcast
The Pivot: Embracing Change with Faith and Courage
We've all felt that tug in our gut (from God) to make a big change.
Have you ever felt that calling to change your business path, but fear and uncertainty held you back?
Join us on the Certain Success Podcast as Matt and Joe share their personal journeys through significant career transitions, highlighting Joe's brave choice to leave a longstanding insurance career. In our episode, "The Pivot," we delve into the emotional and spiritual hurdles of these transitions and the critical role of aligning professional moves with personal happiness and faith. Joe's story of transitioning between different-sized companies and ultimately writing a book underscores the importance of listening to one's heart and divine guidance, even amidst fear and uncertainty.
In "Navigating Fear and Finding Joy," we dissect the internal battles faced when pursuing dreams and passions, such as self-doubt instilled by negative thoughts or the "deceiver." We contrast these with the positive encouragement from God, emphasizing the transformative power of faith and prayer. Discover how spiritual connections and supportive relationships can bring peace and courage to face life's pivots. Finally, "Faith-Based Pivot Strategies" offers insights into how the peace of Christ can help navigate life's transitions, encouraging listeners to embrace their next pivot with faith and confidence. Tune in for a heartfelt discussion that encourages taking bold steps towards aligning your life with your true aspirations and interests.
Hey guys, welcome back to the Certain Success Podcast.
Speaker 1:Matt and Joe here, and this episode is called the Pivot, and we are recording this episode and all of our episodes really because of conversations that we've had with each other and we go.
Speaker 1:You know, this is the thing we want to talk about right now. This is what God's put us on our heart to talk about, and you know, we love working with clients who are in a transition and we've both been through so many transitions in our lives and in our businesses. But we're zeroed in on business transitions and, from my perspective as a lifetime solopreneur, I've had I always say I've stepped on every landmine there is and I've had great successes and great failures. I've built three businesses that got over seven figures and started a bunch of things that never got off the ground and you know everything in between and and so you know I've been through all of these life transitions and Joe has to, and we've been talking about what that feels like and how hard it is to approach these pivots, how scary it can be, and, joe, I know you've been through a bunch of those be.
Speaker 2:And, joe, I know you've been through a bunch of those. Yeah, I think that's. You know. Just calling it the pivot makes all the sense in the world. Think about all the things that you've been through.
Speaker 2:And for my wife and I, when I think back on my insurance career that I was in for 15 years, I mean you know, you bust your butt, you get to a certain point, you make it to that corner office, you've got the furniture, I had the view of the beach and I'm like I made it until the one day I call her and I said I'm coming home. She says why you don't feel well? Cause I never I never called and said she says you don't feel well. I said no, I'm done. She said, well, before you walk out, why don't you come home? Let's talk about it.
Speaker 2:And over the next 30 days we made that transition, that pivot of getting me out of there and walking away from my angst, my pain. So that's happened a few times, from insurance to getting into technology and jumping into the real estate industry and working for various companies, to where you're on a road, you're kicking butt, you're taking names and you're happy, and then all of a sudden, the happy is gone and it's that moment of hitting. You know we talked yesterday about the pause. You know today is about okay, so what happens in that pause and over the last three decades of coaching business owners and and friends in the industry, that's the most important part is is transitioning through faith, through, through trusting God, and that's where and my and my wife Stacey has been a rock in all of our businesses we do it through prayer, we, we, we don't have all the answers, so, yeah, we, we've been there and done that a few times.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know, I remember you telling me the story. Well, I guess we'll go in backwards order, but in your most recent job transition, well, I'll take it back, let's go back to. So you, you, you left a a very large industry player, um, and I'm sure, going into that decision, there was a season of pivot where you were like I see this coming and I'm trying to figure out how to navigate it, and you made that transition. And then you went from that to another, actually polar opposite. You went from the biggest player in industry to the smallest player in an industry and then you made the smallest player in an industry and then you made the decision to make that pivot. So talk about those two pivots without you know, I don't want you to give away too much, but what did it?
Speaker 2:feel like going into the pivot, away from the big player. Well, first of all, I don't like jumping very often. I was with that large player for seven years, to the day I started, and then when I moved from big to small, I was only with that company for a year, but the catalyst for the decision was my heart and my happiness. I just loathe coming to the computer every day and doing something that wasn't fun anymore and instead of having them fire me I mean there really wasn't an agenda for them to get rid of me, it was me. I can't point my finger and start blaming. Well, I feel this way because of you all. I don't like the way that you manage. It was me that had to change. I had to be the one to pivot. So, going from this big company, well-known household name, to a company nobody knew that was the first difficult decision, but it was my decision and it went through. There was a lot of prayer that went along with that. And then when I go with the smaller company and they're running it like a small company typically does and they're stubbing their toe along the way and I can't make a change with my advice, and here's what I think we should do, and they just kept doing things, doing things the same way. You know the definition of insanity I had to fire myself again. So twice in a year's time I had to fire myself.
Speaker 2:But it was also being true to who I am and listening to God and saying what is it that you want from me and what do you do during that season? Matt, and you know this is God laid it on my heart to write a book, and I wrote that book in four months, and so I was able to. I didn't want to get to heaven, and maybe this resonates with a lot of people out there. I did not want to get to heaven and face my creator and he looks at me and says you know, I laid on your heart to write a book and you didn't listen. I laid on your heart to do this and you didn't listen. I laid on your heart to do this and you were fearful. 365 times in the Bible it says do not fear. Why'd you fear? So that was why I wrote that book. I want to get to heaven and say, hey, I wrote the book, and he's going to say, okay, great, but what about all these other things that I laid on your heart Nobody's perfect.
Speaker 1:But you know, what I heard in that whole last few minutes is you followed your heart, you were mindful of what brings you joy and what doesn't bring you joy.
Speaker 1:And when you, when you went to work for that big, big player, you were excited and joyful about joining and you were there for a long season. But then you, you felt it when that season was over, you knew it. But then you felt it when that season was over. You knew it. You're like this is no longer bringing me joy, yeah, and then you made the jump to the little guy and I think you probably knew pretty quickly that it wasn't bringing you joy. But you gave it a good effort. But at some point you're like not for me Not bringing me joy. And then God said I want you to write a book. And you're like you know, not for me not bringing me joy. And then God said I want you to write a book. And you're like, lit up, joyful, got up every day hitting it, writing it and busting it out, because it was what was bringing you joy. And so I think for our friends that are listening to this, like that's the number one filter If you're you're, you're running your, your business, or you're in a job or whatever it is, and you're in that moment where the the joy is gone, man, the joy is gone, and the joy is gone and you're probably feeling some fear of this pivot. Like man, if it's what, if it's a career job that you're in, and you, like man, I can't throw away 20 years of this to go. And you know, I, one of one of our clients, joe, I don't even know if you know this story told me I was like what. And you know, I, one of one of our clients, joe, I don't even know if you know this story told me I was like what, do you know, if you could do anything else, if money was no object, like what would you do? And he was like I would buy a boat and be a captain and do charters in the caribbean. And I, I was like what, like it completely caught me off guard. I guess it just he was not a person that I was expecting to say that, but that's what he said. And I'm like like, okay, like what's stopping you from chucking it all, getting a boat, going to the caribbean, being a captain?
Speaker 1:And our whole entire world around us screams no, you can't do that, that's's, that's, you know, irresponsible and you're going to die. Right, you know our, our, our friend and digital mentor, jamie Winships, uses that language Like our greatest fear is we're going to die. Like, whatever the thing is, it's going to kill us, whether it's financially kill us or kill our. You know our wife's going to kill us If we're like, hey, honey, I'm going to, I'm going to chuck it all and go be a captain in the Caribbean, you know, whatever. So our world says no, no, no, no, no. But our heart is saying do it, go for it, chuck it all, go be. He could end up being the most successful boat captain in the Caribbean with, if he wanted it, you know, a fleet of boats and and whatever, so, so, anyway. So if you're, you're thinking about this and you're like I can't chuck it out, yes, you can chuck it all jump.
Speaker 2:And I. I shared with you and I share it with friends and family and anyone who's willing to listen the entire time that I wrote that book. The evil one is saying you're not good enough, you were never meant to be a writer. Why do you think you, why do you think you have a single thought that anybody wants to read? I fought that bastard the entire way and I wasn't going to let him win and at the end of the day, he didn't and I, and that's the excitement.
Speaker 2:It's like the boat captain story just now. That is that's how many. How many people are. That's their. Their joy is sitting there saying you should be a chef, or you should be a boat captain, or you should own your own business in another country. Maybe it is, you know, going to the Bahamas and or wherever, and starting fresh. And that's that fear that you know false evidence appearing real. You know that. That's what. That's what blocks a lot of the success that we all have just waiting to come out of us and so many of the people that you and I have met. They've been successful multiple times over.
Speaker 1:And we talked about the example of I'm in a job and I've been doing it for 20 years and I want to quit, and but it's the same thing if you've been an entrepreneur and you've been running a company for five or 10 or 15 or 20 years or whatever it is, and same thing. You're like, oh, it's even heavier because now you've got this thing, it's not a job, I can quit and walk out. I mean it depends, I guess, on the status of the business, how big it is and everything else. But you've got this thing. Maybe you've got employees that are relying on you and all this stuff that you've built and this asset that you hope to sell one day. But yet you know that that pivot is. You're facing the pivot. Nonetheless, you know that the joy is gone from the business. Maybe the revenue is gone. A lot of times the lack of revenue drives the lack of joy.
Speaker 2:Funny how those two work hand in hand.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, it's easier to deal with some pain if you're making lots of money, but, whatever it is, you're at a place in your business where you're like man, the joy's gone and something's got to change and I don't know how to navigate from here has got to change and I don't know how to navigate from here, and that's the place of the pivot that we're, that we're talking about, and, um, you said to me earlier today you were talking about Jeremiah 33, three and, um, you know, asking God to show us things that we don't know, and being a being mindful of that, we, we have a god who still speaks. We have a god who is alive and was ready to show us this thing. That's next that we don't understand. And, you know, I just love that conversation, um, and that stepping into that, the unknown, and jumping off the cliff that's in front of us it's one of the most exhilarating and fearful things that people do on a daily basis.
Speaker 2:But and this is the big but if we could just take that fear and lay it at the foot of Christ and say you take that.
Speaker 2:I'm all for exhilarating. You take the part that I really don't want to deal with and that's where I think we'll see so many people in our lives, personally and professionally, where they come out of it and they just say, gosh. I wish I would have done this sooner. About one of our current clients where, when you listen to this individual talk about how they feel right now, in their current situation, it was nothing but angst. But when they talked about something they have a love for and they're very good at, and their voice inflection changed you know we're watching them on a Zoom and his body language changed. It was like his body language changed. It's like that's what it there it is. That's what you need to be doing and and that's the excitement.
Speaker 1:Uh, I think you and I have experienced, with a lot of people over you know, between the two of us, 60 to 70 years of working with good humans well, and the spark you know what you're talking about is the spark, you see, when somebody is talking about their dream and like how incredible it would be to do this thing, and then like, immediately, the deceiver is in your head and going oh yeah, you can't do that. Hey, you're not good enough for sure, and you don't have enough money and your wife's going to murder you, and you're, and you're, you're probably going to fail. Actually, like all of that is in your head the minute you launch toward your dream and there's a reason for that. Right, like he's not after you, the deceiver is not after you when you're just, you know, doing backstrokes and like comfortable, yeah, comfortable in life.
Speaker 1:But, man, you turn your attention to your dream and your passion. Man, he's going to come, he's going to come after you and that's how it happens. It happens between your ears and he comes and goes you're not good enough, you're going to fail. You're, you can't. Why would you think that you could do that? You know, joe Matt, why would you think that you could do that? That's that deceiver. So you got God and the joy going yes, do it, jump, go. And then like, three seconds later, it's you're not good enough, you're going to fail.
Speaker 2:Exactly. Well, that's that's. Uh, that brings us to such a a powerful point to wrap up on is that whenever anyone and I'll raise my hand first is experiencing something that doesn't feel right, you know this isn't where you're supposed to be and I've been there and you've been there as soon as I get into that place of peace and for me, peace is my quiet time with God and prayer and my peace is having that conversation with the people I love and trust. When I can get through that, everything starts to stable. That turbulence. Suddenly, oxygen masks that have been falling out and helping us through that turbulence we finally level out and for me, and I believe for you as well, christ is the one who eliminates the turbulence and he brings that peace, that overwhelming peace, and say follow me, do not fear, stand firm. I mean I can't tell you how many times I've read in the Bible those two words stand firm.
Speaker 1:So, dude, there's no, yeah, there's no way. Without the peace of Christ, there's no way that I would have made it through all of the transitions and you know the pivots and what we've talked about today is just the front end of the pivot like making the decision to go forward and step into the pivot, and then there's going to be new, new fears and doubts every day as you go through that, that transition. Right, you're going to be halfway through it and be like, oh, oh, now I'm really going to die and so it's all that. But yeah, this was good stuff, dude. And so, guys, thanks for listening to the Certain Success Podcast, and here's to your next pivot with the Lord. God bless.
