DN131 - Laura Gassner Otting: How To Carve Your Own Path

Laura Gassner Otting, or LGO for short, or the ‘Wonderwoman’ for those whose life has been touched by her, is our today’s guest. She really is a true Wonderwoman as she is now helping other people break through their barriers and become limitless, just as how she’s blazed her path. She is someone that I know you, our dear tribe, would resonate with. Laura’s vision is to help other people realize that they are bigger than the life they deserve, that they can achieve the life that they demand. She helps other people saw the greatness that's in them and to become the best versions of themselves.

 

However, like most thought-leaders and entrepreneurs, Laura spent years discovering what job is good for her, and not just a good job. Laura described her young self as a super nerdy, civics geek. She went to the law school, as she thought she wanted to get into politics but she realized she’s more of a stage left person who finds delight in lifting others up. She ended up dropping out of law school and helped a politician secure his office and then worked in an executive search firm. After a few years of working, she saw a different way that she knew would be a better way to run the firm. She left and started her own firm which she leads for about 15 years. She sold her shares and pursue a path she feels would allow her to make an even greater impact on other people and to the world. Today, we will be blessed with huge chunks of wisdom Laura has freely and happily shared with us.

 

We will be learning about determining what success really means to us and we will understand that wherever and whatever we’ve been through and are going through, there is greatness inside each and every one of us and that we are able to determine and achieve what kind of life we desire. We will understand that money and comfort should not stop us from achieving greater things. We will understand that we are limitless. Be ready to blaze your own greater path today!

 

 

 

Here’s What You Missed

 

Laura’s early career years that made her realize what kind of life she wants to pursue

How to determine what success means to you

Who to listen to

The truth about work-life balance

What is a side quest and when you should go into it

What kind of a leader are you?

Where to find the motivation?

Dreams come from confidence

 

 

Knowledge Nuggets

 

 

8:18] The success on paper wasn't happiness to me. I filled in all, check boxes all along the path that everybody else told me I should fill in. So why aren't I happy? We are told what makes a job good, but we're never asked, what's going to make a job good for you.

 

[12:25] Ask these questions: What does success mean to me? Is it, making tons of money? Is it having a huge impact on the world? Is it being able to have dinner with my family every night at 6:00 PM? Is it, travel?

 

[13:33] Nobody gets a vote in this life, except you. The problem is we're giving votes to people in our lives who shouldn't even have voices. So the first question to ask yourself is whose vote actually counts?

 

[16:01]I think that we all need 'control' differently. So control, I think is one part of the four elements, of continence. There's connection, calling, contribution and control.

 

[19:56] There's no work-life balance. I would rather see you build work that actually allows you to manifest who you are all day, every day because then you can be the full version of yourself.

 

[23:56] Go on a side quest. If you feel like you can't necessarily do things now, go on a side quest, because dreams come from confidence. People say like, "if you can dream it, you can do it". But I actually believe if you can start to do it, you can dream about it. As you get the confidence, as you start to display competence, you can develop the confidence, then dream an even bigger dream.

 

[25:59] Failure is not the finale. It's actually fulcrum. It's the place where we learn and we innovate and regrow.

 

[30:11] My role as a leader is to pull out the best in the people that I'm serving. However, entrepreneurs should be very clear with what brings out their best, when they can serve their people their best.

 

[38:40] The difference between price and value: It's not about how fast and how cheaply you can do something. It's not about how fast and how cheaply you can do something, it's about the value that you're bringing to it.

 

[40:54] Do I feel fulfilled? Never, because with every new success, it's not that I want more, I want more money, more fame or this or that. But, I want more reach. I want more impact. I want to learn more.

 

[41:59] We all just get this one big juicy life. That's all we get, right? Why not live into every moment of it?

 

[46:01] Internal/Intrinsic motivation is the key to motivation. You cannot be insatiably hungry for someone else's goals, for someone else's dreams, for someone else's success for someone else's happiness, but you can be insatiably hungry for the thing that you actually want.

 

[48:11] "You would worry a whole lot less about what people thought of you if you realized how seldom they did."- Eleanor Roosevelt

 

[49:57] The best antidote to any rut is action. If the antidote to any rut is action, and you're trying to figure out what action to take, choose an action that allows you to be more of your 'fundamental best person' because you already are that person. You're just not that person enough yet.

 

Important Reads and Links

 

 

Book:

Limitless: How to Ignore Everybody, Carve Your Own Path, and Live Your Best Life by Laura Gassner Otting

 

Laura Gassner Otting Website:                                         https://lauragassnerotting.com/

Laura Gassner Otting Course:                                           https://lauragassnerotting.com/limitless-course/

Laura Gassner Otting Twitter:                                           https://twitter.com/heylgo

Laura Gassner Otting Instagram:                      https://www.instagram.com/heylgo/

 

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