Hi there,

Welcome to the first official edition of the Within newsletter!

Thanks for being one of the earliest members of this community. 

As a reminder, I’ll be visiting your inbox every other Tuesday with actionable ideas you can use to build with integrity, live a meaningful life and achieve unstoppable progress without burning out.

In today’s newsletter we’re talking about:

• How I’m building my second company differently to avoid burning out

• Journal prompts and resources for going deeper on self-compassion, body wisdom, and doing work you love

• Three founders who are building and doing the spiritual work in parallel

If you’re on the run and don’t have time to read all of this, I’ve explained the main concepts in a voice note - enjoy!

🌊 Where we go deep on a topic at the intersection of entrepreneurship and personal development.

How I’m Building Differently This Time

I’m not going to lie, the idea of launching a new company so soon after burning out from my last one scares me a little bit. Less than a year ago I was a shell of a human being. I was running my life on autopilot. I’d lost myself.

And I don’t want that to happen again.

So this time around, I’m intentionally changing the ways in which I build a company. 

Here are my ten non-negotiables for building without burning out this time around.

#1 REGULATE & HEAL YOUR NERVOUS SYSTEM

Last time I built a company, my nervous system was often getting stuck in a state of fight, flight or freeze. Emails, my to-do list, stressful conversations, worrying what people thought about me — all of these things were keeping me activated, making it near impossible to think straight, stay present and access my intuition. 

This time, I’m building a toolkit to both regulate and heal my nervous system. In moments when I’m activated, I’m allowing myself to feel the sensations in my body and to use methods like breathwork, feeling the five senses, and going outside. I’m also working with professionals in acupuncture and Somatic Experiencing to balance my nervous system and release old stuck patterns of fight, flight or freeze that never got to complete on their own.

Takeaway: If you’re someone who finds it hard to slow down, gets easily triggered, or is chronically stressed you might have some trauma stored in your body that’s keeping your nervous system stuck in fight, flight or freeze. You can learn more here.

#2 LISTEN TO YOUR BODY FOR SIGNS OF BURNOUT

Last time, I missed (or ignored) important signals from my body that things were going downhill fast. There’s a quote that says “If you listen to your body when it whispers… you won’t have to hear it scream”. I definitely heard it scream when I landed in full-on burnout, but I could’ve avoided that by learning to hear and respect the whispers.

This time, I’ll be listening to my body for signs of burnout and making adjustments real-time. For me the early signs of burnout are a dullness in my head, fatigue, heaviness, tight shoulders and neck, and a chronically activated nervous system. 

Takeaway: Take a moment to reflect on what your body’s signs of burnout are so you know when burnout’s creeping up. (You can reference this more comprehensive list of burnout symptoms.) Then, make changes that work for you. For example: more breaks to breathe, getting outside, prioritization & delegation. If you’re struggling to make the changes you know you need, working with a coach can help.

#3 PRACTICE SELF-COMPASSION

Last time, I was my own worst critic. I thought that I needed to criticize myself in order to improve, to achieve excellence. My expectations for myself were unreasonably high, and when I inevitably fell short, it was just more evidence to myself that I wasn’t good enough. It had me operating from this place of not-enoughness, which perpetuated me not hitting my own expectations.

This time, I’m building from a place of self-compassion. I’m intentionally recognizing and bringing my awareness to what I’m doing well. I keep a list of positive feedback and successes and update it regularly. I reflect on what I’ve done well each day and what it says about me. I tell my inner child how amazing she’s doing and how proud of her I am. I know that believing in myself, that I am enough, and of what I am capable of is critical to showing up as the version of myself that will turn my dreams into my reality.

Takeaway: Being kind yourself is a widely underrated superpower. I’m dead serious. Shift from self-criticism to self compassion.

#4 ENJOY WHAT YOU DO

Last time, I worked on many things that I thought were where I contributed the most value, but that I did not inherently enjoy. I saw myself as a numbers person, analytical, a left brain thinker, in part because this was highly valued in my upbringing and early career. But I had this whole side of me that was not fully being expressed, honored or appreciated in my work. 

This time, I’ve taken the time to reflect on what type of work lights me up. And as much as I do identify as a builder and operator, I’m also a creative person. I love working with people 1:1, I’m obsessed with personal development, and I love the opportunity to share my learnings. So, I’m launching a company that lets me do all of those things, because that’s ultimately where I’ll be at my best, and where I can have the most impact. 

Takeaway: Chances are if you’re doing work that doesn’t energize you, you’re making things so much harder on yourself than they need be. You’re probably hustling and grinding for results, when they could be flowing. Go deeper.

#5 FACE YOUR FEARS & LIMITING BELIEFS

Last time, I let my fears hold me back from showing up how I wanted to in my company and in the world. I was scared of judgment. As a result I presented to the world with this mask, of what I thought everyone wanted to see (which was EXHAUSTING). I shied away from public speaking opportunities, where I could really be seen for myself, but also could risk messing up and being judged. I avoided hard conversations that felt activating for me. I avoided putting my true self out there — to my team, on social media, even to those closest to me.

This time, I know that if I run from my fears, they’ll always control me, and keep me from what I desire most. I recognize that doing the thing I’m scared of consistently is the only thing that will make it less scary. This time, I’m showing up authentically online and it feels really vulnerable, but every time it gets a little easier and brings me closer to those I'm meant to connect with. I’m saying yes to public speaking opportunities. I’m healing parts of my life that I’ve repressed for a long time, and facing big emotions. 

Takeaways: The only way out is through. Being scared and doing it anyway feels better than being stuck in a place where your fear is standing between you and your dreams.

Keep Reading: Read the rest of my 10 non-negotiables for not burning out here.

🪞 Your turn to reflect. Take these prompts to your morning journal or talk it over with a friend or coach.

• What work genuinely energizes me? What’s one step I can take this week to open up time and space for this type of work?

• What feels like the scariest next step for me to take? What’s on the other side of that fear? What’s one tiny step I can take this week towards transcending this fear? 

• What are my tell-tale signs of burnout? What’s one thing I can do to take care of myself when I experience the early signs of burnout?

🤿 If you want to go deeper than the deep dive, I curated these resources especially for you. <3

ON DOING WHAT GIVES YOU ENERGY

• Read: I highly recommend Dan Martell’s Buy Back Your Time for thinking about how to evolve your scope and hire a team with the purpose of ensuring YOU as the founder continue to work on work that energizes you and where you can be most impactful in your company. 

• Read: I wrote about my experience with leaning into what energizes you in my post What You Want to Do is What You’re Meant To Do

• Read: If you feel like you need permission to actually focus on what you love, Martha Beck’s The Way of Integrity will convince you that doing so is the best thing for you, those around you and the world.

ON NERVOUS SYSTEM MANAGEMENT

• Learn More: Read this wonderful Nervous System Regulation 101 guide by Amanda Baudier, a holistic executive coach. I’ve also been working with her 1:1 on Somatic Experiencing. It’s transformative work.
  

• Read: Waking the Tiger by Peter Levine absolutely blew my mind. It’s all about how trauma is stored in your body and how it can affect you years later if you don’t process that trauma AND how the body knows how it heal itself naturally.

ON SELF COMPASSION

• Read: Kristen Neff’s Self-Compassion is a classic. She goes deep on her research around self-compassion, its effects and how we can cultivate it.

• Read: I wrote about my journey with shifting from being my own worst critic, into self-compassion here.

• Listen: Burnout Prevention, Self Compassion, and the Beauty of Post-Burnout Growth on Fried. The Burnout Podcast.

💥 We’re not really about Forbes 30u30 over here. We’re shining a light on the founders and coaches building from the heart and keeping it real.

• I loved how transparent and vulnerable the 437 founders, Hyla & Adrien, were in this podcast episode on the realness of owning their brand, the challenges they faced in building it (burnout, self-reinvention, cash flow issues) and how those challenges shaped their new outlook on business and life. This episode is all about the importance of staying rooted in your values and your unique vision for your ideal life (not what the outside world defines as success).
  

• On this Female Founders World podcast episode, Mayssa, founder of Behave, keeps it very real talking about her experience with building Behave, including burning out and burning her business to the ground in order to rebuild it in a way that felt in integrity for her. Mayssa is a founder who REALLY gets that entrepreneurship is a spiritual journey and discusses it in her newsletter.

This newsletter is brand new so all feedback is welcome and very much encouraged! Topics? Format? Length? I wanna know what you think!🙏

Thank you for being here!

With love,
Roslyn 💚