The Reboot podcast showcases the heart and soul, the wins and losses, the ups and downs of startup leadership. On the show, Entrepreneurs, CEO’s, and Startup Leaders discuss with Jerry Colonna the emotional and psychological challenges they face daily as leaders.
Episode 35 // March 17, 2016
Life happens. It’s full of moments, good and bad, we never thought would happen to us. The magic and opportunity lie in what you do with those moments. Everything is workable if we choose to work with it. And if we choose to let it work us.
Our podcast guest today, Richard Hughes-Jones, is choosing to work with it and the uncertainty. As a former management consultant, he was always a man with a plan both for himself and others. So it was quite a big leap for him to dive into the entrepreneurial world nearly two years ago, a place where a plan doesn’t guarantee survival. Instead, he was quickly reminded he was part of a bigger struggle, one where plans most certainly do not ensure success or survival: life. In this conversation with Jerry, Richard discusses his battle with cancer, the beauty of uncertainty, and the opportunity for all of us.
Top Quotes:
“I was a ‘corporate boy” for many years.” – Richard Hughes-Jones
“I did the whole ‘jump off a cliff while building a parachute on the way down’ thing.” – Richard Hughes-Jones
“I was a little bit of a reluctant coach.” – Richard Hughes-Jones
“You need to have a plan, but you need to be flexible as well because whatever you think is going to happen probably isn’t going to happen.” – Richard Hughes-Jones
“I can always tell when a client is at a maximum moment of complete anxiety when they come into my office and say, ‘I need a plan. I need to figure out what’s going to happen.’” – Jerry Colonna
“What fucked up thing is going to happen today?” – @jerrycolonna quoting @bfeld
“Something unexpected and completely fucked up is generally going to happen every day.” – Jerry Colonna
“I spent six months living in my camper van skiing in the Alps.” – Richard Hughes-Jones
“I set up my business on the basis of knowing it was going to be really tough, and I might end up with no money, but it’s not going to kill me.” – Richard Hughes-Jones
“I’ve been amazed of the parallels between the journey I have been on with cancer, and that of entrepreneurship.” – Richard Hughes-Jones
“I’m not a big fan of the Nietzsche notion of, ‘That which does not kill me makes me stronger.’” – Jerry Colonna
“Every experience we have can take us to a deeper level of humanity and our own spirituality.” – Jerry Colonna
“Every single day as a coach, you are going to encounter clients who have had the shit kicked out of them.” – Jerry Colonna
“Every one of the employees we work with has a fucked up thing that’s happening to them.” – Jerry Colonna
“Managing my own rational thinking through this process has been almost impossible.” – Richard Hughes-Jones
“You cannot think your way out of a life threatening illness.” – Jerry Colonna
“You can’t A/B test life.” – Jerry Colonna
“The amount I could figure out was so limited compared to the amount that I needed to feel my way through.” – Jerry Colonna
“Is it in service to the client, or is it in service to my own ego?” – Jerry Colonna
“I thought it was all about the power of positive thinking.” – Richard Hughes-Jones
“Coaching isn’t about just sitting there and telling the client that life is going to be great because often times it’s not.” – Richard Hughes-Jones
“Life is shit sometimes.” – Richard Hughes-Jones
“There’s a lot of people out there trying to give people advice.” – Richard Hughes-Jones
“There’s some really good advice out there, but there’s also some really shitty advice.” – Richard Hughes-Jones
“Fixing and advice giving are kissing cousins.” – Jerry Colonna
“Advice giving feels like it’s about helping the other person, but really it’s about helping ourselves manage our feelings of helplessness in the face of someone else’s difficulty.” – Jerry Colonna
“I don’t try to reach for happiness. I try to reach for equanimity. The funny by-product that happens is that I tend to be happy.” – Jerry Colonna
“The goal is to get to a point where there is pain and it’s okay, where there’s joy and it’s okay, where there’s sorrow and it’s okay, and where there’s happiness and it’s okay.” – Jerry Colonna
