All In or Nothing
“Everything you want is on the other side of fear.”
How do you define “risk”?
Sometimes, risk is doing anything that could endanger your life or physical health.
Other times, risk is doing something that could damage your reputation.
Most of the time though, the things we think of as “risks,” are really just reconfigurations of our deepest fears preventing us from living the life we truly desire.
While fear can be useful in some situations, the majority of time, fear does only one thing - it forces us to play small. Outside of the fear of death (which is still real for me), I’ve experienced
Fear of failure
Fear of letting people down
Fear of looking stupid
Fear of saying the wrong things
Fear of being judged
Fear of being average
Fear of being criticized
Fear of not being enough
Fear of rejection
… and certainly more that I could share, but as I was looking through my list, I noticed that the majority of these fears hinge upon other people’s opinion of me. And it dawned on me that my freedom would come in overcoming this one very real, yet very superficial, fear.
If I could learn how to give ZERO FUCKS about what other people thought of me (insofar as I was allowing their opinions to stand in front of my ability to live authentically) I would discover the life and reality I so deeply desired.
The GLOW was born out of shedding all of those fears, and as I interview more women on the podcast each week, I am more convinced than ever:
If you’re going to create the life you most desire, you must face your fears head on with an unapologetic vigor to go ALL IN OR NOTHING.
This week on The GLOW Podcast, I spoke with Shannon McLay, Founder and CEO of The Financial Gym about her mission to help millions of Americans manage their personal finances. She also embraced this “All In” mentality and despite very rational fears of running out of money, plunged off the deep end and made it out alive to tell the story.
She has now raised $7.3M for her startup, has 50+ employees working for her, but most people don’t know the sacrifices she made in order to keep her company and mission alive:
Went into $60,000 credit card debt
Depleted $250,000 of savings in her 401(k)
Sold her house
Had her former mother-in-law threatening to kick her out
In addition, we hear from Shannon why “raising venture capital money is the worst kind of dating… it’s worse than the pain of giving birth” and the lessons she’s learned as she goes through it (over and over again).
🎧 Listen: Apple Podcasts or Spotify
#CHALLENGE What is one small step you could take today to face your fears?
GLOW Cocktails: Season 1
Speaking of courage, so grateful for the amazing women below. They were the first ones willing to share their voices in The GLOW Podcast’s 1st season and it was the first time we all came into a room together. Many of them had never met before… (We had one woman fly in from LA to NYC and even face-timed a couple of them in!)
It was so magical seeing everyone connect so quickly and deeply over each other’s episodes, stories, and current ambitions… A powerful reminder of what is possible when we share our most vulnerable stories.
Do you have a story that needs to be heard? Share here for a chance to be featured in a future Global League of Women Podcast episode.
SHOUTOUTS
Thank you to the women + men who reached out to me personally last week to let me know how much The GLOW has resonated! I’m so grateful for you! ❤️
Jenn H., Lisa S.H., Kaitlyn B., Olive P., Laura W.L., Laura C., Shannon S., Courtney D., Tiffany H., Cynthia H., Lalita K., Mary L., Genevieve K., Sara C., Caryn D., Frank D., Arthur B., Kasey K., Sarah K., Ajay Y., Ashley C., Vanessa Z., Angie R., Katrina L., M FS., Theo W., Jessica S., Karen M.A., Barbara F., Karin B., Liz H.,
With all my love,
Lisa Carmen Wang, Founder & CEO, The GLOW (Global League of Women) ⚢
Want to chat? Connect with me on Linkedin!