James Whittaker is a best selling author, award-winning entrepreneur and host of the Win The Day Podcast. James has helped thousands of people in over twenty different countries to ‘win the day every day’, and he’s personally coached Olympic gold medalists, million dollar CEOs and even Special Forces operators. His superpower is helping ambitious but frustrated people gain immediate clarity on what they want, and he gives them a bulletproof plan on how to achieve it.
3:05 – Lauren shares a bit more about her background with James, reveals some industry secrets that she’s collected along the way, and why she has launched Building Doors.
- With a decade of experience as a recruiter and development coach in the construction and engineering spaces, Lauren found that her priorities rapidly changed after the birth of her two children.
- After returning to work, Lauren found herself unable to achieve true work life balance, and launched Karan & Co and the Building Doors podcast to focus on retention and development instead of just acquisition.
6:43 James and Lauren reflect on the challenges of balancing a family and a career, and Lauren shares a noteworthy moment when the pressure of being a working mum got the better of her.
- After the birth of her son, Lauren was promoted to a recruitment role that covered the whole of Australia and New Zealand. During a coaching session, she burst into tears confessing that she felt like a terrible mother.
- Lauren and James discuss how social media places extra pressure on working parents, as the glossy content doesn’t necessarily paint a true picture on how lonely the not so glamorous moments can feel like, and how parenthood redefines you.
8:45 James gives his take on what he thinks the concept of ‘Building Doors’ means, while Lauren elaborates on the lucrative benefits that can come from doing so.
- James feels that the Building Doors podcast is perfect for someone who feels like they’re treading water in their career, and want to know how to build a door to get them to that next level for that happiness or that zone of meaning or purpose.
- Lauren explains that the initial inspiration for Building Doors came from her favourite saying, ‘if opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door’, and how the philosophy is particularly relevant for women who want something that doesn’t exist yet.
13:10 Lauren and James discuss the importance of getting out of your comfort zone in order to get what you truly want, and how to overcome self doubt.
- James shares that everybody has the choice of two pains: the pain of discipline, or the pain of regret. He believes that confidence is key to unlocking real willpower, and gets tips from Lauren on how to get the right energy for building doors.
- Lauren indicates that her trick to overcoming ‘imposter syndrome’ was done by finding a purpose that was bigger than herself, and for her, it’s been all about making the world better for her children.
17:07 James and Lauren talk about forming the habit of building doors, and how to develop enough resilience and resourcefulness for when those doors are slammed in your face.
- Lauren shares how two very different experiences as a singer and as a parent shaped how she approached people telling her no, and how having the right people on your team will encourage you to take the right types of risks.
- James points out that having the right mentality is everything, and shares that during the first two years of building his personal brand, he struggled with the realisation that he was not in control of what people said about him.
28:10 James explores the concept that losing our identity can make building doors incredibly difficult, and why the quality of our energy and connections are so important.
- James outlines why feeling burnout and depleted erodes our connections both at work and at home, and why self care is the key to figuring out what we truly want and which direction to work towards.
- According to Lauren, self care is like making an appointment with yourself, and it’s important to keep time for yourself and apply the right amount of discipline to avoid a ‘give, give, give’ mentality.
31:20 James asks Lauren if there are any key career lessons that she’s learned that she’s also applied to her home life, and if so, do they actually work?
- ‘Beg for forgiveness rather than waiting to seek permission’ is something that one of her earlier mentors shared with Lauren, and is something that she has applied in her day to day life, such as moving to the country and working remotely ‘before it was cool’.
- Lauren also shares the wisdom she’s learned from the fact that just because someone tells you no, it just means that they won’t be the person to help you, and that your environment can have huge consequences on getting what you want.
38:02 For someone who is frustrated with their career, whether it’s money, growth or even just freedom, James asks Sarah what advice and insights she would provide.
- Lauren believes that people become so caught up in the logistics, that she makes a point of getting back to basics and asking someone if they are really passionate about what they’re doing or not, and if so, then the rest is flexible – so don’t settle.
- According to Lauren, managers can make or break any employee’s working experience, and that they need to be able to inspire and validate their team members in order to instill confidence and hold their attention and loyalty.
40:33 James and Lauren switch the Rocket Round questions featured on each episode of ‘Building Doors’, and they cover everything from cats, to coffee, to Christmas.
Successful people build doors, while unsuccessful people wait for one to be built for them. To say hello, or express interest in a guest appearance on the ‘Building Doors Podcast’ get in touch with us at hello@karanandco.com.au
