February 24, 2025 • 34 mins
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When life throws the unexpected your way, how do you keep going? Robin Waite shares his journey of facing a life-changing brain tumor diagnosis. Find out how you can find resilience in uncertainty. This episode will inspire you to stay strong, adapt, and move forward—no matter what.
What happens when life takes an unexpected turn? For Robin Waite, a shocking Brain Tumor diagnosis changed everything he thought he knew about business, success, and the future. In this episode of the Business Growth Architect Show, he opens up about his journey—how he went from being entirely focused on growing his coaching business to confronting a life-altering challenge that forced him to rethink everything. Hear his story on his fight to not give in to fear, but figuring out how to adapt, realign his priorities, and find a way to cope with this life altering event.
Robin and I discuss what it means to be resilient in business and in life. We dive into the importance of shifting your mindset when faced with an unchangeable and life altering event.How to recognize what really matters, and how to make intentional choices to create a life that aligns with your values. Whether it's a health crisis, financial setback, or any unexpected change, this episode offers deep insights into how to navigate uncertainty with confidence.
Overcoming adversity goes beyond survival. It’s personal growth. Robin shares how his experience led him to rethink the way he runs his business, the importance of asking for help, and why meaningful relationships are key to long-term success. His story is a testament to the fact that even in the face of the unknown, opportunities exist for those willing to embrace change and take bold steps forward.
If you've ever faced a challenge that shook your world, this episode is for you. Tune in now, share your biggest takeaway in the comments, and visit Robin’s Website to learn more about his fearless approach to business and life. And if you know someone who could use this inspiration, be sure to share this episode with them!
Resources Mentioned:
Robin Waite: Website | Linkedin | Instagram | Twitter
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Robin Waite (00:00):
Hi. I'm Robin Waite, author of multiple best
(00:02):
selling books, including "OnlineBusiness Startup", "Marketing
machine", and more recently,"Take Your Shot." I'm also the
founder of "Fearless Business,"which is a business accelerator
for coaches, consultants andfreelancers. And in my episode
for the Business GrowthArchitect Show, I'm going to be
sharing a story about when theunexpected happens. And in my
(00:22):
case, my personal journeystarted back in August when I
was diagnosed with a grade onebrain tumor. So if you want to
know what to do when theunexpected happens, head on over
and give the full show a listen.
And
BEATE CHELETTE (00:35):
hello, fabulous person! Beate Chelette, here. I
am the host of the BusinessGrowth Architect Show, and I
want to welcome you to today'sepisode where we discuss how to
navigate strategy andspirituality to achieve time and
financial freedom. Trulysuccessful people have learned
how to master both a clearintention and a strategy to
(00:57):
execute that in a spiritualpractice that will help them to
stay in alignment and onpurpose. Please enjoy the show
and listen to what our guesttoday has to say about this very
topic. Welcome back. BeateChelette here, the host of the
Business Growth Architect Show.
Today is Robin Waite with me,and we are talking about when
the unexpected happens and atopic that couldn't be any more
(01:21):
relevant, not just to you,Robin, but also obviously to me,
as we just faced losing our homein my business office in the
fire. So Robin, welcome to theshow. I'm excited to have you
here. Thank you,
Robin Waite (01:36):
Beate. I know as well. Like, I mean, I can't
imagine what you've been goingthrough. So for you to still go
ahead and actually invite meonto the show to chat, I It's
actually it means an awful lotto me. So thank you. Thank
BEATE CHELETTE (01:47):
you so much. I appreciate that. So Robin, for
somebody who is not familiarwith your work or has never
heard about or from you, willyou tell us what, what do you do
and how do you solve clientsproblems?
Robin Waite (02:01):
Yeah, so I run a coaching practice called
fearless business, and theconcept of it centers around
this idea of fearing the thingsin business and life ever so
slightly less that stop you fromachieving your goals. So a lot
of the clients which I work withare very similar in terms of my
background. So they're sort ofmid 30s up to sort of mid 50s.
They've got families, they'vegot challenges which they need
(02:23):
to get through. I work a lotwith very small grassroots
businesses, so coaches,consultants, freelancers, people
who are just kind of cutting itout there on their own, trying
to do something good for theirfamilies and get to that six
figure mark. My sweet spot,really, though, is helping those
types of businesses wherethey're charging sort of hourly
rates, day rates, figure outwhat their superpower is. So a
(02:44):
lot of people are busyexchanging time for money, or
very much based on time andmaterials, and they don't
realize that they need to beselling something based on the
outcomes and results which theydeliver for their clients,
because that's really what theirclients are buying. So I help to
figure out what their superpoweris. And then we have the pricing
conversation, digging in sort ofmoney mindset and their their
(03:04):
core beliefs around sort ofmoney limiting beliefs and
various things like that. Andthen also, because now we've got
a better product at a highprice, we then have to go
through the gears in terms ofsales and helping them to
articulate their value better sothat they can convey that
message to their clients.
BEATE CHELETTE (03:21):
Excellent. So you really help them to figure
out not just what theirsuperpower but also what their
super problem is, yes, and then,and then, once they know that,
then we can you can help themresolve that. You and I, we had
a previous conversation aboutwhen the unexpected happened,
and how to you face when theunexpected happens. Because when
(03:43):
the unexpected happens, there istypically a pivot, a change,
some sort of massive impact onthe way you are doing things. Do
you mind sharing your personalstory on what that unexpected
was for you? And then we'll diveinto it? Yeah.
Robin Waite (04:00):
Well, there's actually two, two instances, and
they're kind of linked in a way,actually. But the more recent
one, which we chatted aboutearlier on, sort of last year,
was in August. After a fewhealth complications, I got
diagnosed with a grade one tumoron my brain stem, which, I mean,
I've had a long, a lot of timeto process it. Now, at the time,
(04:20):
it was pretty horrific when youget sort of handed news like
that. And thankfully, I'm invery capable hands down at you
know, we have South Meadhospital down at Bristol, which
are just the whole team therehave been absolutely brilliant.
But at the time when theydiagnosed it, you hear the words
brain tumor, and just your worldmelts. You're just like
everything that you thought wasimportant, all of a sudden
(04:42):
disappears away. Business hasbeen my passion ever since I can
sort of remember, you know,through my my early teens. So
for the last 20 or 30 years,I've just been heavily into,
like, businesses andentrepreneurship and things like
that. And then I got the news,and it's just all of a sudden
that was just like, like, is, isany. Of this really important
and that. So it was August theI'm trying to think now what the
(05:05):
actual date was, but it was midAugust when I found out, I think
it's August the fourth actually,when I found out the news and I
had, I went through all of thephases of, like, grieving. I
mean, you've, you've experiencedthis as well. Now, probably not
just with the fire and what'shappened with your home, but
there will be other instances inyour life as well. But the
closest level of grief that Icould compare it to was when my
(05:27):
dad passed away 13 years ago,because in my head, and I've
been running businesses, I'mvery positive, and I make plans
about the future, and I have ayoung family in my head I'm
going to live to like I'm 100you know, and I got all these
years in front of me to buildthis future, and then all of a
sudden they say brain tumor. Andyou're like, Oh, crap, there's
(05:47):
some good news, right? So ifthere could be, so since I'm
speaking to the consultants,I've discovered that what I have
is called a sub ependymoma. Soif anybody did want to go and
Google that, you're welcome toit's quite rare. It's also
possibly one of the best kind oftumors that you can get in your
head, because it's, it's benign,and it's very slow growing. So
it's growing, but it's veryslow. And the typical, sort of
(06:11):
average age where people getsymptomatic with what I've got,
there's something calledhydrocephalus, where you get
brain fluid kind of builds upand nausea, and you fall over,
and all sorts of lovely stuff.
That's the nice stuff. Typicalage is, like mid 50s. So I'm
kind of, now I'm 43 and this iswhere I started to turn around
from sort of dealing with thatgrief and that shocking sort of
news. And I was very fortunate.
(06:34):
I tend not to work in Augustanyway, so I was kind of quite
in quite a period, quiet period,so far as the business was
concerned. So I had a lot oftime to process this, but then
coming out of it going right?
Well, I might not live to myhundreds, you know, my 90s or
whatever, but I've got a goodstretch in front of me now, at
least until my mid 50s, where itmight cause me problems. The
consultants have also said itmight never come to anything. It
(06:54):
might have stopped growing, andthen we're okay. So, yeah, big,
a big shock. So I think
BEATE CHELETTE (07:01):
what happens is when we get a diagnosis or a
news, you know, and in my case,it was like, I'm on my honeymoon
in Costa Rica, and three dayslater we find out there's a
fire. On the fourth day, myoffice burns. On the fifth day,
my house burns. So when you havea message that is life changing,
(07:25):
as in your case, as in my case,what did you do that honored
that massive change you mustmake, because I'm sure stress is
probably going to be one of theworst things you can do to
yourself. Now, and you're goingto have to watch your sleep.
You're going to have to watchyour exercise. You're going to
(07:47):
have to really take care ofyourself, bring a lot of joy in
your life, which is oftencontradictory to building a
business, because you buckle up,get through it, hustle, make it
work. How do you manage that?
Like, what did you do? What waswhat are their steps? Did you
put a process behind it? How didyou manage the emotional side?
(08:07):
So I have like, 10,000 questionsabout
Robin Waite (08:11):
this. Yeah. I mean, so, so you mentioned about,
like, the exercise and healthside of it specifically. So one
of, one of the clues thatsomething wasn't quite right
was, I'm a very keen cyclist andsurfer, and I used to go out on
Sunday mornings with my cyclingbuddies, and we'd do 50, 60, 70,
miles in a ride, you know, solong distances. And then from
about five years ago, the I usedto I got cramp. Now, cramp isn't
(08:34):
unusual when you're doing asport like cycling, and you'd
expect to get a cramp in yourcar for your hamstring or
something like that. But oneday, several years ago, my whole
body just shut down. So I wasgetting cramped from my jawline
all the way down to like,through my stomach, through my
arms, my everything, my wholebody just went and I had to call
my wife to come and pick me up.
I was gutted. She was busy. Butthankfully there was a chip shot
(08:56):
near me, so I just had stuff, myface full of food, and I managed
to sort of limp home. I wasthankfully not far from home.
But gradually I went on thisdecline with my with my rides
where I would I could do 40miles and then 35 miles, and 30
and 25 and it reached a pointearlier on this year, and this
is what led me to sort of and Iwas starting to get headaches
and other symptoms so and it gotto point where I was doing a
(09:18):
five mile bike ride and gettingfull body cramps, body was
shutting down. So the when Iwhen I finally got the
diagnosis, that's the point Iknow now something's wrong, and
you kind of have, you're like,right, okay, and I had to let go
of that. I'd always had thishope that it might be short term
and it might have been a virusor COVID or something that I
caught that might have createdthis. Now I'm like, No, it's a
(09:39):
tumor. It's not going anywhereunless I have it removed. I have
brain surgery. That's the onlyoption with what I've got. So I
just had to let go, let go of mydreams of becoming Olympic
cyclist or whatever it is. Youknow, would never have happened.
But just kind of accept that,okay, this is what I've got. And
so one of one of. Small changesI've made is I didn't want to go
(10:00):
out and be five or 10 miles outin the countryside and then have
this episode on my bike, so I'vedecked out my garage now with a
treadmill, some weights. I'mjust waiting on a rowing
machine, and there's a newstatic bike, which I want to get
in there, so at least I couldexercise and stay healthy and as
fit as I can. But if I collapse,I'll do it in my garage floor at
home, not out in the middle ofnowhere. So that was the first
(10:22):
thing. The second thing as wellis that my, I mean, I'd start
already, was on a journey withthe business, for example, where
I was starting to sort of bekinder to myself. Basically,
I've been in business for 20years, and I had made a pact
with myself before this anyway,I wouldn't work on Fridays. So
again, things like that justreaffirm this, right? No, not
only am I not going to work onFridays, but I'm also just going
(10:44):
to do something nice for myself,you know, treat myself, to go
and get my hair cut, or go andhave a massage at the local spa,
or just do something that waswholesome. It wasn't work that
wasn't necessarily familyresponsibilities, although that
obviously is an important partof the journey as well. And
those changes, like the biggestthing as well, I realized be
that I was saying yes to justtoo many things that weren't
(11:06):
really like lighting me up. Sothis was, like a big catalyst,
more recently, where I'm like,No, I want to, if I want to go
on a trip to Dubai, and I and Iit's been on my mind for 234,
years. This like there was, I'vegot friends out there, I've got
clients out there. I've got,there's a massive scene out
there, like an entrepreneurthen, and I was like, I want to
(11:29):
do that. And I'd been putting itoff and putting off because I'm
like, I it's not fair on mywife. If I go away for a week,
I'll miss the kids. And all theI made every excuse not to go to
Dubai and and I got diagnosed inAugust, and I was like, You know
what? Life's too short. I don'twant to miss out on going to
Dubai, so I booked it. I felt somuch guilt, guilty about leaving
my wife and kids and butactually it was probably one of
(11:50):
the best things I could havedone. I did, did a lot of
business stuff out there, but Ihad lovely time in the sunshine
just to contemplate and make aplan for 2025 and what changes I
need to make and but I was alsoable to invest, whilst I was out
there into two fairly sizeablepartnerships. You may or may not
have heard of these guys, butthey're sort of, they have.
They're well known in their owncircles, but two YouTubers, one
(12:12):
called Simon Squibb, who's kindof really blown up in the last
couple of years. For those thatknow him, he's the I have.
What's your dream guys? He goesup and interviews people in the
street and asks them what andasks them what their dream is.
And then also Chris Doe as well,who's got a fantastic YouTube
channel and a brand called TheFuture Chris. Chris Doe is
BEATE CHELETTE (12:30):
a personal friend of mine. There you go. I
had, believe it or not, I wasone of the first conversations
when he first thought aboutstarting his business. And then
if you ask him about our story.
He'll tell you about theconversation that we have had.
He says that there was a pivotalmoment in in our conversation
that made him really take theleap. So, you know, yes, he's a
(12:50):
good friend, a great humanbeing, a phenomenal, phenomenal
person.
Robin Waite (12:56):
He's just the guy's got, like, so much love to give.
And it was so he was speakingout of the 1 billion followers
summit in Dubai. And it's so wehaven't had a mutual friend,
this guy called Matt Etta, who'sone of his coaches, and I've
done a lot of work with Mattover the years. So Matt was
like, Come out to Dubai. Chrisis out here as well. And it
transpired, anyway, I didn't doa lot of work at the workshop
(13:17):
because Chris was doing histhing, but Chris invited me to
come and co-facilitate one ofthe workshops he was delivering
for this summit. Was just suchan honor. It was a dream for me
to be in Dubai working withsomebody of Chris's sort of
caliber, like that. Yeah, youknow, just honestly, it couldn't
have been better. So so one ofthe things which I did, so I'm
always looking at opportunitiesnow like that, because life is
(13:39):
harder than it was before I gotdiagnosed and and, like, getting
up in the morning is a struggleand various things like this.
And I'm like, I'm out in Dubai,Chris is out here. And I'm like,
so imagine if you had to spend,like, how much would it cost for
three hours of Chris's time?
Like, one to one, it'd be like,10s of 1000s of dollars right to
to do it to, you know? So hevery generously paid for my
summit ticket. And I thought,right, I need to, and he's
(14:00):
invited me out here to be in hisentourage. I thought I need to
repay him. So I don't feel likeme sharing this story or not.
But I booked a yacht. I think itwas like 700 pounds, like eight
or $900 or something. But partof my motivation behind that was
when I got to hang out withChris, but also Chris is on a
boat with me, like this is sucha great opportunity. Can't
leave. So it's a greatto do networking, right? So,
(14:21):
but, but it was just greatopportunity
hanging out with him, and hetold a few stories, and we
chatted and stuff like that. Heasked him about the business,
and his two sons were out thereas well with us as well. So they
got to join us on the boat, andthen a couple of mutual friends.
But you asked me before July, ifI could have seen myself in
January, being out and on a boatin Dubai with somebody like
(14:43):
Chris, I'd have been like, no,absolutely no, no hope in hell.
Would I have been able to dothat? And it's just this
realization that life is isprecious, and it's very short,
and you need to take theseopportunities when they do show
up.
BEATE CHELETTE (14:56):
Yeah, I mean, I absolutely love that. I actually
really love that, that Christois like part of this, this
story, that just makes me smilea lot. So now we talked about
when the unexpected happened,right? So you have, if I
rephrase this, you had to reallycome to terms with that. This
(15:16):
wasn't just something thathappened. You know, a cut. You
put a bend it on it, it heals.
We move on. This is somethingthat you're going to have to
deal with from here on out forthe rest of your life, most
likely. Now, your mindset isclear that self care is
important, that there arecertain things that you probably
should not be doing, that younow need to take care of
(15:40):
opportunities in a differentkind of a way. So was that a
strategy that you implementedwhere you said, I cannot hustle
the way I did? I need to go,let's say, to a place like
Dubai, where people that mightcreate opportunity are was this
a natural thing? Did you fallinto that, or did you
(16:02):
deliberately do it?
Robin Waite (16:05):
But bit of both. So my my background, I used to run
a marketing agency, so I was avery introverted web designer
and sort of creator, and it waseight years ago I transitioned
into coaching, and that's whereI started. You have to go onto
podcasts and speak from on thestage and do some what other
people would see as veryextroverted things. So kind of
(16:27):
getting outside of my comfortzone, and probably, like
fearless, is probably more of aprojection than it is just a
brand name. It's kind of likepart of me is that I always had
this desire to want to be a bitmore fearless. And I see all
these people having this, likeremarkable success, like Chris,
Daniel Priestley, Rich Litvin isanother guy who's based in LA, I
think, who amazing coach, who Ireally look up to and respect,
(16:48):
just doing these amazing things.
And it's taken me all of thislength of time, plus a little
bit of a nudge with whathappened in August, to realize
that you don't, if you don'task, you don't get right. And
I'd been, I would go to eventswhere I'd see these amazing,
creative people, and then Iwould just be a passenger. I
would just sit in the back rowand listen to it, and I would
enjoy the event. Don't get mewrong, I've learned lots,
absolutely, but I was always alittle bit, and I'm going to be
(17:11):
very honest now, there's alittle bit of the green eyed
monster, little bit of jealousywas coming out. Like I want to
be that. I want to be that guyon the stage,
BEATE CHELETTE (17:19):
that person that's so successful? But I'm
not, you know, and you're kindof good for them, yeah.
Robin Waite (17:24):
And I kind of like hoped that through, you know, I
like to think I'm one of thegood guys, that somehow I would
end up there, but becausesomebody placed me there, not
because I put myself there. AndI I've come to realize now that
being intentional about who itis that you are and what you
want to create for yourself isas important as having a very
(17:46):
clear and direct path, if thatmakes sense. So the so for me,
like what that looks like. Iwrote down a list of 10 people
who I vibed off their content, Iloved their values and their
message and their mission andeverything that they were about,
Chris obviously, being one ofthem. Simon Squibb on that list.
Ali Abdul's on that list,another great YouTuber, Daniel
(18:08):
Priestley as well. So there'sall these amazing creative minds
that I thought were just greatpeople, and I would love to hang
out with them. And so this, thiswas where the crossover happens,
because there's that point whereyou can, like, go to these
events and be, you know, be ashrinking violet at the back of
the room. But then I realized Ineeded to put myself in the
front row. I actually needed tosit in the front row so that I
(18:29):
can look into their whites oftheir eyes, and when they finish
their talk, stand up, shaketheir hand, take a selfie with
them, but also congratulate themon the amazing work which
they're doing. I know that a lotof these guys get their plaudits
and things like that, but also Irecognize that I've been in
business for 20 years, and theyprobably do look at me now they
know me and see that there'ssome experience there, which I'm
(18:50):
a good person to have around. Soactually, but I wouldn't have
done that two years ago. Iwouldn't have stepped up and had
a photo and shook their hand andlike congratulated them and
added value to their world. Sohere's a crazy story. One of the
things which I did around thissort of notion of choosing the
person, putting them on thelist, being intentional, and
then adding value. Ali Abdel wasrunning an event, and it was
(19:10):
about 600 people there, but itwas in a university, and it
wasn't like your traditionalbusiness sort of venue.
Everybody lost. So I put down mybag of my coat, and I started
directing people. I was like,loser over there, the cafes
there, the auditorium is thisway, you know, just being
helpful. And Ali's GeneralManager, guy called Angus. He
was he came up to me, it's like,Robin, what are you doing? And I
(19:31):
was like, well, everybody lost.
I thought I'd just help out andjust go give directions and
stuff. And like, oh, right,okay, you don't have to do that,
by the way, Robin, you're aguest here as well at this
event, you know. I was like,that's fine, doesn't matter. And
he went to walk away, and thenhe turned, took three steps,
turns around, comes back, and hesaid, Oh, actually, Robin,
whilst I've got you there's aproduct that we're thinking
about launching, I'd love topick your brains on the pricing
(19:52):
side of things. So I was like,bang. And so I didn't have to
ask for that. I just had to stepoutside my comfort zone a little
bit and do something. Which Idid feel a little bit awkward
about, but it sparked thatconversation. And behind the
scenes, I've ended up workingwith Angus as well as some of
the other people within Ali'steam. I do that work for free as
well, believe it or not, despitethe fact I'm the pricing guy.
(20:13):
But it's because thesepartnerships, I've realized the
value in, you know, just helpingpeople out. There's a lot of
people who get to a certainposition with their careers, and
it's very hard to know who totrust. And I think it's really
important to like when you'rebuilding a partnership, that you
give enough value to help buildthat trust up. And then if, so
long as, like, a lot of people,when they look at partnerships,
(20:35):
are like, they're alwaysthinking about what's in it. For
me, what can I get out of this?
How can I get referrals andmoney and commissions, and you
name it? Since the tumor,especially that news I've I'm
not motivated by money at all.
I'm like, if I do a good job onthis planet, I'll get the money
will come as a byproduct ofdoing a job well done. But I'm
now getting to hang out withsome really cool, fun people.
(20:57):
And not only that, but I alsoget to make a much greater
impact as a result of that nowand reach more people. If I'd
just been soldiering on on mylittle journey on my own,
there's only so many, so manypeople you can reach, so much
impact you can have. So Irealized I need other people in
order to be able to, you know,create more impact and reach
more people with Yeah, I
BEATE CHELETTE (21:19):
want to add something to that, which is
really a learning that I'm goingthrough right now, and it builds
up on what you said. So verymuch like you, I have given, I
mean, for decades, decades we'retalking about, you know, I just
turned 60 last year, and therecomes a point where you go, when
I look in my bank account, Ilook at the people that I've
helped and their bank account. Ido see a discrepancy. I made
(21:43):
good money when I sold mybusiness, but the business
wasn't generating as much moneyas I as I thought it should or
could have done. But now withthis disaster, with this
catastrophe, really thisapocalyptic catastrophe, it's
not just my house, it's my wholecommunity. It's the schools,
it's the shops, it's everybusiness owner in the Palisades.
(22:05):
It's, I mean, it's wiped fromthe planet. I mean, there is
nothing other than burnt burnstructures. But what I have
started to see is the outpour oflove and support toward me, so
the receiving now that I'mgetting from, you know, the
GoFundMe page to peopleresponding in person is
(22:28):
something very simple. I wroteabout this yesterday. I was
having a really tough dayyesterday, and I said, I'm
yearning for a fluffy robe towrap myself in for some comfort.
And two people immediatelyreached and texted me and said,
I'll get you the rope right now.
Tell me what you want. You'llhave it tomorrow. And for
somebody who is like you andsort of this giving and
(22:50):
understanding, this gratitudeprinciple, but there will come a
point where it comes to you, andthen the receiving, I think it's
twice as hard actually, toreceive from from other people,
but that's how the infinity loopcloses. You have to learn how to
do both. So the expectation ofthe giving. You know, to sum
(23:11):
this point up, is to give freelyand without an expectation of
return, because otherwise itit's quid pro quo. But when you
do, it creates a resonance thatat some point from somewhere you
don't even expect it, somethingcomes to you and you go, How did
(23:32):
that even happen? But that'sbecause of the resonance. How do
you feel about this? This partof
Robin Waite (23:39):
it, I wholeheartedly agree. I think
life, life is one great bigenergy exchange, essentially,
and kind of the fuel into thatis that you give more than you
can take. And actually, SimonSquibb is, he's really wonderful
because his mantra is givewithout take. And so I've
started to follow that as muchas I as I possibly can. It's
(24:00):
like give as much as I can. Andagain, there are some wonderful
sort of business events going onand things like that, which
asked me a year ago, would I,would I spend five or 10k to,
like, sponsor an event? Because,selfishly, no, because I'm like,
Well, it's my money, and what amI going to get out of this and
things like that. Now I'm like,no, because if I put 5k into an
event which 4000 people aregoing to go to and get to enjoy
(24:24):
as a result of my part, I get toplay in that, plus I get to
attend it, do a bit ofnetworking, have some fun whilst
I'm there as well. That's like areally wholesome thing to do,
and I hadn't seen that before.
It was very much in that sort ofone minded, sort of transaction
approach. But what you'vesuggested there is, like, you
know, what I always say is,like, the money is a byproduct
(24:45):
of a job well done. If you justdo a good job on this planet or
the best job you possibly cando, people will see that. But
I've noticed as well, you alsohave to be open to receiving it,
because there's a lot of peopleare also very closed off for.
From receiving help. Andinterestingly, that's one thing
which has definitely changed forme is is not just, not just
receiving the help and beingopen to that, but actually going
(25:09):
out and asking for
BEATE CHELETTE (25:11):
it. You have it, ask, yeah, and they're asking.
The asking is challenging,especially for if you've never
done this before, or if you havechildhood trauma and or you've
been in bad relationships andother people knowing what you
want was weaponized, so there isa lot of cleaning up to do in
order for you to receive in ahealthy in a healthy way,
(25:32):
contributions. But yes, peoplesay, How can we help? How big?
How can we help? And your firstreaction says, No, No, I'm okay,
but this is too big. This is toobig. I mean, this is too big
even for me, and I do need help.
And so when somebody says, Can Isend you a fluffy robe, I will
say yes, because I don't evenhave the time the energy to go
buy another thing, to go look toto take care of these things,
(25:55):
because there's so manydecisions I have to make. And I
think in your case, when theunexpected happens, it's the
same thing. There are otherpriorities that that are so
important and so primarilyimportant, that you do need help
with some of the other stuff. Sowhen somebody offers help,
figure out how have them, youknow, or something simple, we
(26:19):
realized that grocery shoppingand cooking and cleaning up
takes a lot of energy. So we'relike, send us meals, because
that's one less decision for usto make. And we open the fridge,
we can take something, we'llwarm it up. We're good to go. So
there are so many different wayswhere, just like, How can I
contribute? Where you can alsosay, What can I ask for? Yeah,
Robin Waite (26:43):
absolutely, I'm still in awe of you be in terms
of, like, the fact that we'restill stood here talking given
what you've been through, but italso shows the generosity in
that. Because I don't knowwhether that and you can answer
me honestly. I mean, I know forone you, obviously you want to
push forward with the podcastand things like that. But was
there not like a small part ofview, which is just like, just
(27:05):
park the podcast, just focus onfamily and getting our home back
together and things like that?
BEATE CHELETTE (27:10):
You know, when this happened? Interesting
question. We were on a spiritualretreat, and in this retreat,
what came up for me was lettinggo. Now let's just say this is
letting go extreme we I couldhave handled a bit more of an
easier version of it, but thatwas the theme of it. It. You
know, there were three thingsthat came up for me. One was
rest, the other one was lettinggo of everything in my past, and
(27:36):
really the third piece steppinginto wisdom, knowing when to
participate, knowing when tofacilitate and knowing when to
observe, and that I was toldthat at this point in my life,
that I'm asked now to takeeverything that I've created
over whatever the the 37 yearsI've been in business, all the
(27:58):
processes, the strategicfacilitations, the workbooks,
the how do you make it supersimple? The 90 day sprints, the
super simple goal setting,everything I have created, I'm
asked to make it available toeverybody. So the business model
is now changing into instead ofme looking for clients, is me
(28:20):
helping others in the consultingand coaching space on how to
perform better by all the thingsthat I have created, and the
clock ticking. It's a five yearplan, and I don't have any time
to waste, and I don't like thedwelling in the inevitable, so I
(28:40):
give myself time to fall intothese pits of despair and PTSD
and full on depression like lastnight. I had a really, really
tough day yesterday, but then Iget up in the morning and I go,
I have to focus on that theuniverse is a friendly place,
and that what's happening is forme and through me, and not
(29:06):
against me. And then the onlyway I can reframe it is I have
to see what it pushes me to do,because within that must be the
gift. But I don't see it yet.
Let's talk about losingeverything you have, every card
my daughter wrote, I will neverlook at a Mother's Day card my
daughter wrote when she was sixyears old. I will never wear the
(29:27):
beautiful Garnet necklace that Ibought myself when I sold my
business in Prague, that I puton when I need to be feeling
successful, all of these things.
I mean, hundreds and hundreds of1000s of dollars, I feel like a
yo yo at times, where I keepgoing up and down, but the only
(29:49):
sane way for me, for me to notgo nuts, is to sit here to talk
to you, to remind myself that mymindset is the key to what comes
out of this. Ultimately, when wedie, I can't take any Garnet
necklaces or Mother's Day cardswith me anyway. I mean, I would
have liked to have it foranother 30 years, but
(30:11):
ultimately, this is not ours.
We're borrowing everythinganyway. So that's what I'm
grappling with. But the only wayis forward, or I go nuts. I
literally will go crazy if Idon't do this. Yeah,
Robin Waite (30:22):
I think that's one of the things. I couldn't have
sat still in August and I gotthe news, and it sounds like
you're in a similar sort ofspace. Sometimes doing things
can be a much neededdistraction, actually, from from
that and give you that sense ofpurpose and staying on that
mission, which you've got inorder to help other business
owners. But I, I'll again, I'llshare something. It's a little
(30:43):
bit personal. I don't want to gotoo, too deep into this, but I
was having a tough day thismorning because just I was
tired, my daughter's like, I'mso proud of her. She's got into
county finals with her swimming.
You're sat by Paul cheering yourdaughter on things like that.
Literally, it's like, I haven'thad a break in two or three
weeks now, and I kitchen, I'mgonna, I'm gonna have to replay
it. This won't work for theaudio version of it, but I went
to do a video this morning formy YouTube channel, and I for 10
(31:06):
minutes, that was the position Iwas in.
BEATE CHELETTE (31:12):
So for those of you who can see him, his head is
like literally resting on themicrophone tip. And
Robin Waite (31:19):
then do you know what happened next? Right? So
I'm already feeling a bitrubbish my I'm just kind of
like, okay, right? Come on, pullyourself Yes, the weight of the
world, yes, not, not defeated,just just like, I mean, it was
just coming to terms. I've gotresponsibilities. I have a group
coaching call. I've got a coupleof client calls in the
afternoon, things like that inthis podcast as well, which mean
a lot to me. And pull yourselftogether, Robin. And then I
(31:40):
recorded the video. It's like,super proud of myself. Sent it
off, first message I get back,within 10 seconds of my team
receiving it. Robin, have yougot the audio to go with the
video? I was just at that point.
I was like, brilliant,brilliant. You can't do anything
else, though, can you? It's kindof like, you can't change the
(32:01):
past. You just got to keep on,like, having that slow march
forward. Who I think is a majorpart of this, business owners
and entrepreneurs especially, Ithink, get very attached to
outcomes. They get very stuckwith this. Like, I believe if I
do this, then this is going tohappen, and then when the
unexpected happens, they can'trationalize it. They can't deal
with it, and they feel is SimonSinek puts it really eloquently.
(32:23):
He talks about in his book TheInfinite game, people assume
that business is made up oflike, short term wins and
losses, and they can't reallyrationalize the losses. But
actually the goal in business isactually to stay in business for
as long as possible, win, loseor draw. It doesn't matter, but
the goal is to stay in business.
So
BEATE CHELETTE (32:40):
Robin, we're going to wrap up this interview
for somebody who's nowinterested in your coaching
services and maybe wants tofigure out how you can help
them. Where do we send them?
Robin Waite (32:52):
So I have a gift for everybody actually be so
it's a signed copy of my book.
"Take Your Shot." So and there'sa there's a story in there as
well, which is actually quiteright. I won't do a spoiler
alert, but relevant to whatwe've been discussing. Been
discussing today, it's a it'sactually written as a parable, a
story about Russ, who's a golfpro, and he's going on this
journey with this business. ButI won't say any more than that,
but I've got a copy. I'll sendthem anywhere in the world, but
fearless.biz/tys for take yourshot, and we'll send that out
(33:14):
there.
BEATE CHELETTE (33:17):
Sounds good to me. Well, thank you so much.
You've been amazing. I reallyappreciate you being on the
show. I will be following yourjourney, and I'm sure you and I
will be in touch in the
Robin Waite (33:27):
future. Likewise.
Thank you.
BEATE CHELETTE (33:29):
All right, and that's it for us, for today. If
you know somebody who is facingan unexpected challenge,
something that has derailed themor is very difficult for them,
feel free to share this episodewith them, and let's help more
people to really manage some oflife's unexpected turns, so that
(33:50):
as we help you, we can help morepeople. And with that, I say
goodbye until next time. Soappreciate you being here. Thank
you so much for listening to theentire episode. Please subscribe
to the podcast. Give us a fivestar, review, a comment and
share this episode with one moreperson so that you can help us
help more people. Thank youagain, until next time bye, bye.
Hi. I'm Robin Waite, author of multiple best
(00:02):
selling books, including "OnlineBusiness Startup", "Marketing
machine", and more recently,"Take Your Shot." I'm also the
founder of "Fearless Business,"which is a business accelerator
for coaches, consultants andfreelancers. And in my episode
for the Business GrowthArchitect Show, I'm going to be
sharing a story about when theunexpected happens. And in my
(00:22):
case, my personal journeystarted back in August when I
was diagnosed with a grade onebrain tumor. So if you want to
know what to do when theunexpected happens, head on over
and give the full show a listen.
And
BEATE CHELETTE (00:35):
hello, fabulous person! Beate Chelette, here. I
am the host of the BusinessGrowth Architect Show, and I
want to welcome you to today'sepisode where we discuss how to
navigate strategy andspirituality to achieve time and
financial freedom. Trulysuccessful people have learned
how to master both a clearintention and a strategy to
(00:57):
execute that in a spiritualpractice that will help them to
stay in alignment and onpurpose. Please enjoy the show
and listen to what our guesttoday has to say about this very
topic. Welcome back. BeateChelette here, the host of the
Business Growth Architect Show.
Today is Robin Waite with me,and we are talking about when
the unexpected happens and atopic that couldn't be any more
(01:21):
relevant, not just to you,Robin, but also obviously to me,
as we just faced losing our homein my business office in the
fire. So Robin, welcome to theshow. I'm excited to have you
here. Thank you,
Robin Waite (01:36):
Beate. I know as well. Like, I mean, I can't
imagine what you've been goingthrough. So for you to still go
ahead and actually invite meonto the show to chat, I It's
actually it means an awful lotto me. So thank you. Thank
BEATE CHELETTE (01:47):
you so much. I appreciate that. So Robin, for
somebody who is not familiarwith your work or has never
heard about or from you, willyou tell us what, what do you do
and how do you solve clientsproblems?
Robin Waite (02:01):
Yeah, so I run a coaching practice called
fearless business, and theconcept of it centers around
this idea of fearing the thingsin business and life ever so
slightly less that stop you fromachieving your goals. So a lot
of the clients which I work withare very similar in terms of my
background. So they're sort ofmid 30s up to sort of mid 50s.
They've got families, they'vegot challenges which they need
(02:23):
to get through. I work a lotwith very small grassroots
businesses, so coaches,consultants, freelancers, people
who are just kind of cutting itout there on their own, trying
to do something good for theirfamilies and get to that six
figure mark. My sweet spot,really, though, is helping those
types of businesses wherethey're charging sort of hourly
rates, day rates, figure outwhat their superpower is. So a
(02:44):
lot of people are busyexchanging time for money, or
very much based on time andmaterials, and they don't
realize that they need to beselling something based on the
outcomes and results which theydeliver for their clients,
because that's really what theirclients are buying. So I help to
figure out what their superpoweris. And then we have the pricing
conversation, digging in sort ofmoney mindset and their their
(03:04):
core beliefs around sort ofmoney limiting beliefs and
various things like that. Andthen also, because now we've got
a better product at a highprice, we then have to go
through the gears in terms ofsales and helping them to
articulate their value better sothat they can convey that
message to their clients.
BEATE CHELETTE (03:21):
Excellent. So you really help them to figure
out not just what theirsuperpower but also what their
super problem is, yes, and then,and then, once they know that,
then we can you can help themresolve that. You and I, we had
a previous conversation aboutwhen the unexpected happened,
and how to you face when theunexpected happens. Because when
(03:43):
the unexpected happens, there istypically a pivot, a change,
some sort of massive impact onthe way you are doing things. Do
you mind sharing your personalstory on what that unexpected
was for you? And then we'll diveinto it? Yeah.
Robin Waite (04:00):
Well, there's actually two, two instances, and
they're kind of linked in a way,actually. But the more recent
one, which we chatted aboutearlier on, sort of last year,
was in August. After a fewhealth complications, I got
diagnosed with a grade one tumoron my brain stem, which, I mean,
I've had a long, a lot of timeto process it. Now, at the time,
(04:20):
it was pretty horrific when youget sort of handed news like
that. And thankfully, I'm invery capable hands down at you
know, we have South Meadhospital down at Bristol, which
are just the whole team therehave been absolutely brilliant.
But at the time when theydiagnosed it, you hear the words
brain tumor, and just your worldmelts. You're just like
everything that you thought wasimportant, all of a sudden
(04:42):
disappears away. Business hasbeen my passion ever since I can
sort of remember, you know,through my my early teens. So
for the last 20 or 30 years,I've just been heavily into,
like, businesses andentrepreneurship and things like
that. And then I got the news,and it's just all of a sudden
that was just like, like, is, isany. Of this really important
and that. So it was August theI'm trying to think now what the
(05:05):
actual date was, but it was midAugust when I found out, I think
it's August the fourth actually,when I found out the news and I
had, I went through all of thephases of, like, grieving. I
mean, you've, you've experiencedthis as well. Now, probably not
just with the fire and what'shappened with your home, but
there will be other instances inyour life as well. But the
closest level of grief that Icould compare it to was when my
(05:27):
dad passed away 13 years ago,because in my head, and I've
been running businesses, I'mvery positive, and I make plans
about the future, and I have ayoung family in my head I'm
going to live to like I'm 100you know, and I got all these
years in front of me to buildthis future, and then all of a
sudden they say brain tumor. Andyou're like, Oh, crap, there's
(05:47):
some good news, right? So ifthere could be, so since I'm
speaking to the consultants,I've discovered that what I have
is called a sub ependymoma. Soif anybody did want to go and
Google that, you're welcome toit's quite rare. It's also
possibly one of the best kind oftumors that you can get in your
head, because it's, it's benign,and it's very slow growing. So
it's growing, but it's veryslow. And the typical, sort of
(06:11):
average age where people getsymptomatic with what I've got,
there's something calledhydrocephalus, where you get
brain fluid kind of builds upand nausea, and you fall over,
and all sorts of lovely stuff.
That's the nice stuff. Typicalage is, like mid 50s. So I'm
kind of, now I'm 43 and this iswhere I started to turn around
from sort of dealing with thatgrief and that shocking sort of
news. And I was very fortunate.
(06:34):
I tend not to work in Augustanyway, so I was kind of quite
in quite a period, quiet period,so far as the business was
concerned. So I had a lot oftime to process this, but then
coming out of it going right?
Well, I might not live to myhundreds, you know, my 90s or
whatever, but I've got a goodstretch in front of me now, at
least until my mid 50s, where itmight cause me problems. The
consultants have also said itmight never come to anything. It
(06:54):
might have stopped growing, andthen we're okay. So, yeah, big,
a big shock. So I think
BEATE CHELETTE (07:01):
what happens is when we get a diagnosis or a
news, you know, and in my case,it was like, I'm on my honeymoon
in Costa Rica, and three dayslater we find out there's a
fire. On the fourth day, myoffice burns. On the fifth day,
my house burns. So when you havea message that is life changing,
(07:25):
as in your case, as in my case,what did you do that honored
that massive change you mustmake, because I'm sure stress is
probably going to be one of theworst things you can do to
yourself. Now, and you're goingto have to watch your sleep.
You're going to have to watchyour exercise. You're going to
(07:47):
have to really take care ofyourself, bring a lot of joy in
your life, which is oftencontradictory to building a
business, because you buckle up,get through it, hustle, make it
work. How do you manage that?
Like, what did you do? What waswhat are their steps? Did you
put a process behind it? How didyou manage the emotional side?
(08:07):
So I have like, 10,000 questionsabout
Robin Waite (08:11):
this. Yeah. I mean, so, so you mentioned about,
like, the exercise and healthside of it specifically. So one
of, one of the clues thatsomething wasn't quite right
was, I'm a very keen cyclist andsurfer, and I used to go out on
Sunday mornings with my cyclingbuddies, and we'd do 50, 60, 70,
miles in a ride, you know, solong distances. And then from
about five years ago, the I usedto I got cramp. Now, cramp isn't
(08:34):
unusual when you're doing asport like cycling, and you'd
expect to get a cramp in yourcar for your hamstring or
something like that. But oneday, several years ago, my whole
body just shut down. So I wasgetting cramped from my jawline
all the way down to like,through my stomach, through my
arms, my everything, my wholebody just went and I had to call
my wife to come and pick me up.
I was gutted. She was busy. Butthankfully there was a chip shot
(08:56):
near me, so I just had stuff, myface full of food, and I managed
to sort of limp home. I wasthankfully not far from home.
But gradually I went on thisdecline with my with my rides
where I would I could do 40miles and then 35 miles, and 30
and 25 and it reached a pointearlier on this year, and this
is what led me to sort of and Iwas starting to get headaches
and other symptoms so and it gotto point where I was doing a
(09:18):
five mile bike ride and gettingfull body cramps, body was
shutting down. So the when Iwhen I finally got the
diagnosis, that's the point Iknow now something's wrong, and
you kind of have, you're like,right, okay, and I had to let go
of that. I'd always had thishope that it might be short term
and it might have been a virusor COVID or something that I
caught that might have createdthis. Now I'm like, No, it's a
(09:39):
tumor. It's not going anywhereunless I have it removed. I have
brain surgery. That's the onlyoption with what I've got. So I
just had to let go, let go of mydreams of becoming Olympic
cyclist or whatever it is. Youknow, would never have happened.
But just kind of accept that,okay, this is what I've got. And
so one of one of. Small changesI've made is I didn't want to go
(10:00):
out and be five or 10 miles outin the countryside and then have
this episode on my bike, so I'vedecked out my garage now with a
treadmill, some weights. I'mjust waiting on a rowing
machine, and there's a newstatic bike, which I want to get
in there, so at least I couldexercise and stay healthy and as
fit as I can. But if I collapse,I'll do it in my garage floor at
home, not out in the middle ofnowhere. So that was the first
(10:22):
thing. The second thing as wellis that my, I mean, I'd start
already, was on a journey withthe business, for example, where
I was starting to sort of bekinder to myself. Basically,
I've been in business for 20years, and I had made a pact
with myself before this anyway,I wouldn't work on Fridays. So
again, things like that justreaffirm this, right? No, not
only am I not going to work onFridays, but I'm also just going
(10:44):
to do something nice for myself,you know, treat myself, to go
and get my hair cut, or go andhave a massage at the local spa,
or just do something that waswholesome. It wasn't work that
wasn't necessarily familyresponsibilities, although that
obviously is an important partof the journey as well. And
those changes, like the biggestthing as well, I realized be
that I was saying yes to justtoo many things that weren't
(11:06):
really like lighting me up. Sothis was, like a big catalyst,
more recently, where I'm like,No, I want to, if I want to go
on a trip to Dubai, and I and Iit's been on my mind for 234,
years. This like there was, I'vegot friends out there, I've got
clients out there. I've got,there's a massive scene out
there, like an entrepreneurthen, and I was like, I want to
(11:29):
do that. And I'd been putting itoff and putting off because I'm
like, I it's not fair on mywife. If I go away for a week,
I'll miss the kids. And all theI made every excuse not to go to
Dubai and and I got diagnosed inAugust, and I was like, You know
what? Life's too short. I don'twant to miss out on going to
Dubai, so I booked it. I felt somuch guilt, guilty about leaving
my wife and kids and butactually it was probably one of
(11:50):
the best things I could havedone. I did, did a lot of
business stuff out there, but Ihad lovely time in the sunshine
just to contemplate and make aplan for 2025 and what changes I
need to make and but I was alsoable to invest, whilst I was out
there into two fairly sizeablepartnerships. You may or may not
have heard of these guys, butthey're sort of, they have.
They're well known in their owncircles, but two YouTubers, one
(12:12):
called Simon Squibb, who's kindof really blown up in the last
couple of years. For those thatknow him, he's the I have.
What's your dream guys? He goesup and interviews people in the
street and asks them what andasks them what their dream is.
And then also Chris Doe as well,who's got a fantastic YouTube
channel and a brand called TheFuture Chris. Chris Doe is
BEATE CHELETTE (12:30):
a personal friend of mine. There you go. I
had, believe it or not, I wasone of the first conversations
when he first thought aboutstarting his business. And then
if you ask him about our story.
He'll tell you about theconversation that we have had.
He says that there was a pivotalmoment in in our conversation
that made him really take theleap. So, you know, yes, he's a
(12:50):
good friend, a great humanbeing, a phenomenal, phenomenal
person.
Robin Waite (12:56):
He's just the guy's got, like, so much love to give.
And it was so he was speakingout of the 1 billion followers
summit in Dubai. And it's so wehaven't had a mutual friend,
this guy called Matt Etta, who'sone of his coaches, and I've
done a lot of work with Mattover the years. So Matt was
like, Come out to Dubai. Chrisis out here as well. And it
transpired, anyway, I didn't doa lot of work at the workshop
(13:17):
because Chris was doing histhing, but Chris invited me to
come and co-facilitate one ofthe workshops he was delivering
for this summit. Was just suchan honor. It was a dream for me
to be in Dubai working withsomebody of Chris's sort of
caliber, like that. Yeah, youknow, just honestly, it couldn't
have been better. So so one ofthe things which I did, so I'm
always looking at opportunitiesnow like that, because life is
(13:39):
harder than it was before I gotdiagnosed and and, like, getting
up in the morning is a struggleand various things like this.
And I'm like, I'm out in Dubai,Chris is out here. And I'm like,
so imagine if you had to spend,like, how much would it cost for
three hours of Chris's time?
Like, one to one, it'd be like,10s of 1000s of dollars right to
to do it to, you know? So hevery generously paid for my
summit ticket. And I thought,right, I need to, and he's
(14:00):
invited me out here to be in hisentourage. I thought I need to
repay him. So I don't feel likeme sharing this story or not.
But I booked a yacht. I think itwas like 700 pounds, like eight
or $900 or something. But partof my motivation behind that was
when I got to hang out withChris, but also Chris is on a
boat with me, like this is sucha great opportunity. Can't
leave. So it's a greatto do networking, right? So,
(14:21):
but, but it was just greatopportunity
hanging out with him, and hetold a few stories, and we
chatted and stuff like that. Heasked him about the business,
and his two sons were out thereas well with us as well. So they
got to join us on the boat, andthen a couple of mutual friends.
But you asked me before July, ifI could have seen myself in
January, being out and on a boatin Dubai with somebody like
(14:43):
Chris, I'd have been like, no,absolutely no, no hope in hell.
Would I have been able to dothat? And it's just this
realization that life is isprecious, and it's very short,
and you need to take theseopportunities when they do show
up.
BEATE CHELETTE (14:56):
Yeah, I mean, I absolutely love that. I actually
really love that, that Christois like part of this, this
story, that just makes me smilea lot. So now we talked about
when the unexpected happened,right? So you have, if I
rephrase this, you had to reallycome to terms with that. This
(15:16):
wasn't just something thathappened. You know, a cut. You
put a bend it on it, it heals.
We move on. This is somethingthat you're going to have to
deal with from here on out forthe rest of your life, most
likely. Now, your mindset isclear that self care is
important, that there arecertain things that you probably
should not be doing, that younow need to take care of
(15:40):
opportunities in a differentkind of a way. So was that a
strategy that you implementedwhere you said, I cannot hustle
the way I did? I need to go,let's say, to a place like
Dubai, where people that mightcreate opportunity are was this
a natural thing? Did you fallinto that, or did you
(16:02):
deliberately do it?
Robin Waite (16:05):
But bit of both. So my my background, I used to run
a marketing agency, so I was avery introverted web designer
and sort of creator, and it waseight years ago I transitioned
into coaching, and that's whereI started. You have to go onto
podcasts and speak from on thestage and do some what other
people would see as veryextroverted things. So kind of
(16:27):
getting outside of my comfortzone, and probably, like
fearless, is probably more of aprojection than it is just a
brand name. It's kind of likepart of me is that I always had
this desire to want to be a bitmore fearless. And I see all
these people having this, likeremarkable success, like Chris,
Daniel Priestley, Rich Litvin isanother guy who's based in LA, I
think, who amazing coach, who Ireally look up to and respect,
(16:48):
just doing these amazing things.
And it's taken me all of thislength of time, plus a little
bit of a nudge with whathappened in August, to realize
that you don't, if you don'task, you don't get right. And
I'd been, I would go to eventswhere I'd see these amazing,
creative people, and then Iwould just be a passenger. I
would just sit in the back rowand listen to it, and I would
enjoy the event. Don't get mewrong, I've learned lots,
absolutely, but I was always alittle bit, and I'm going to be
(17:11):
very honest now, there's alittle bit of the green eyed
monster, little bit of jealousywas coming out. Like I want to
be that. I want to be that guyon the stage,
BEATE CHELETTE (17:19):
that person that's so successful? But I'm
not, you know, and you're kindof good for them, yeah.
Robin Waite (17:24):
And I kind of like hoped that through, you know, I
like to think I'm one of thegood guys, that somehow I would
end up there, but becausesomebody placed me there, not
because I put myself there. AndI I've come to realize now that
being intentional about who itis that you are and what you
want to create for yourself isas important as having a very
(17:46):
clear and direct path, if thatmakes sense. So the so for me,
like what that looks like. Iwrote down a list of 10 people
who I vibed off their content, Iloved their values and their
message and their mission andeverything that they were about,
Chris obviously, being one ofthem. Simon Squibb on that list.
Ali Abdul's on that list,another great YouTuber, Daniel
(18:08):
Priestley as well. So there'sall these amazing creative minds
that I thought were just greatpeople, and I would love to hang
out with them. And so this, thiswas where the crossover happens,
because there's that point whereyou can, like, go to these
events and be, you know, be ashrinking violet at the back of
the room. But then I realized Ineeded to put myself in the
front row. I actually needed tosit in the front row so that I
(18:29):
can look into their whites oftheir eyes, and when they finish
their talk, stand up, shaketheir hand, take a selfie with
them, but also congratulate themon the amazing work which
they're doing. I know that a lotof these guys get their plaudits
and things like that, but also Irecognize that I've been in
business for 20 years, and theyprobably do look at me now they
know me and see that there'ssome experience there, which I'm
(18:50):
a good person to have around. Soactually, but I wouldn't have
done that two years ago. Iwouldn't have stepped up and had
a photo and shook their hand andlike congratulated them and
added value to their world. Sohere's a crazy story. One of the
things which I did around thissort of notion of choosing the
person, putting them on thelist, being intentional, and
then adding value. Ali Abdel wasrunning an event, and it was
(19:10):
about 600 people there, but itwas in a university, and it
wasn't like your traditionalbusiness sort of venue.
Everybody lost. So I put down mybag of my coat, and I started
directing people. I was like,loser over there, the cafes
there, the auditorium is thisway, you know, just being
helpful. And Ali's GeneralManager, guy called Angus. He
was he came up to me, it's like,Robin, what are you doing? And I
(19:31):
was like, well, everybody lost.
I thought I'd just help out andjust go give directions and
stuff. And like, oh, right,okay, you don't have to do that,
by the way, Robin, you're aguest here as well at this
event, you know. I was like,that's fine, doesn't matter. And
he went to walk away, and thenhe turned, took three steps,
turns around, comes back, and hesaid, Oh, actually, Robin,
whilst I've got you there's aproduct that we're thinking
about launching, I'd love topick your brains on the pricing
(19:52):
side of things. So I was like,bang. And so I didn't have to
ask for that. I just had to stepoutside my comfort zone a little
bit and do something. Which Idid feel a little bit awkward
about, but it sparked thatconversation. And behind the
scenes, I've ended up workingwith Angus as well as some of
the other people within Ali'steam. I do that work for free as
well, believe it or not, despitethe fact I'm the pricing guy.
(20:13):
But it's because thesepartnerships, I've realized the
value in, you know, just helpingpeople out. There's a lot of
people who get to a certainposition with their careers, and
it's very hard to know who totrust. And I think it's really
important to like when you'rebuilding a partnership, that you
give enough value to help buildthat trust up. And then if, so
long as, like, a lot of people,when they look at partnerships,
(20:35):
are like, they're alwaysthinking about what's in it. For
me, what can I get out of this?
How can I get referrals andmoney and commissions, and you
name it? Since the tumor,especially that news I've I'm
not motivated by money at all.
I'm like, if I do a good job onthis planet, I'll get the money
will come as a byproduct ofdoing a job well done. But I'm
now getting to hang out withsome really cool, fun people.
(20:57):
And not only that, but I alsoget to make a much greater
impact as a result of that nowand reach more people. If I'd
just been soldiering on on mylittle journey on my own,
there's only so many, so manypeople you can reach, so much
impact you can have. So Irealized I need other people in
order to be able to, you know,create more impact and reach
more people with Yeah, I
BEATE CHELETTE (21:19):
want to add something to that, which is
really a learning that I'm goingthrough right now, and it builds
up on what you said. So verymuch like you, I have given, I
mean, for decades, decades we'retalking about, you know, I just
turned 60 last year, and therecomes a point where you go, when
I look in my bank account, Ilook at the people that I've
helped and their bank account. Ido see a discrepancy. I made
(21:43):
good money when I sold mybusiness, but the business
wasn't generating as much moneyas I as I thought it should or
could have done. But now withthis disaster, with this
catastrophe, really thisapocalyptic catastrophe, it's
not just my house, it's my wholecommunity. It's the schools,
it's the shops, it's everybusiness owner in the Palisades.
(22:05):
It's, I mean, it's wiped fromthe planet. I mean, there is
nothing other than burnt burnstructures. But what I have
started to see is the outpour oflove and support toward me, so
the receiving now that I'mgetting from, you know, the
GoFundMe page to peopleresponding in person is
(22:28):
something very simple. I wroteabout this yesterday. I was
having a really tough dayyesterday, and I said, I'm
yearning for a fluffy robe towrap myself in for some comfort.
And two people immediatelyreached and texted me and said,
I'll get you the rope right now.
Tell me what you want. You'llhave it tomorrow. And for
somebody who is like you andsort of this giving and
(22:50):
understanding, this gratitudeprinciple, but there will come a
point where it comes to you, andthen the receiving, I think it's
twice as hard actually, toreceive from from other people,
but that's how the infinity loopcloses. You have to learn how to
do both. So the expectation ofthe giving. You know, to sum
(23:11):
this point up, is to give freelyand without an expectation of
return, because otherwise itit's quid pro quo. But when you
do, it creates a resonance thatat some point from somewhere you
don't even expect it, somethingcomes to you and you go, How did
(23:32):
that even happen? But that'sbecause of the resonance. How do
you feel about this? This partof
Robin Waite (23:39):
it, I wholeheartedly agree. I think
life, life is one great bigenergy exchange, essentially,
and kind of the fuel into thatis that you give more than you
can take. And actually, SimonSquibb is, he's really wonderful
because his mantra is givewithout take. And so I've
started to follow that as muchas I as I possibly can. It's
(24:00):
like give as much as I can. Andagain, there are some wonderful
sort of business events going onand things like that, which
asked me a year ago, would I,would I spend five or 10k to,
like, sponsor an event? Because,selfishly, no, because I'm like,
Well, it's my money, and what amI going to get out of this and
things like that. Now I'm like,no, because if I put 5k into an
event which 4000 people aregoing to go to and get to enjoy
(24:24):
as a result of my part, I get toplay in that, plus I get to
attend it, do a bit ofnetworking, have some fun whilst
I'm there as well. That's like areally wholesome thing to do,
and I hadn't seen that before.
It was very much in that sort ofone minded, sort of transaction
approach. But what you'vesuggested there is, like, you
know, what I always say is,like, the money is a byproduct
(24:45):
of a job well done. If you justdo a good job on this planet or
the best job you possibly cando, people will see that. But
I've noticed as well, you alsohave to be open to receiving it,
because there's a lot of peopleare also very closed off for.
From receiving help. Andinterestingly, that's one thing
which has definitely changed forme is is not just, not just
receiving the help and beingopen to that, but actually going
(25:09):
out and asking for
BEATE CHELETTE (25:11):
it. You have it, ask, yeah, and they're asking.
The asking is challenging,especially for if you've never
done this before, or if you havechildhood trauma and or you've
been in bad relationships andother people knowing what you
want was weaponized, so there isa lot of cleaning up to do in
order for you to receive in ahealthy in a healthy way,
(25:32):
contributions. But yes, peoplesay, How can we help? How big?
How can we help? And your firstreaction says, No, No, I'm okay,
but this is too big. This is toobig. I mean, this is too big
even for me, and I do need help.
And so when somebody says, Can Isend you a fluffy robe, I will
say yes, because I don't evenhave the time the energy to go
buy another thing, to go look toto take care of these things,
(25:55):
because there's so manydecisions I have to make. And I
think in your case, when theunexpected happens, it's the
same thing. There are otherpriorities that that are so
important and so primarilyimportant, that you do need help
with some of the other stuff. Sowhen somebody offers help,
figure out how have them, youknow, or something simple, we
(26:19):
realized that grocery shoppingand cooking and cleaning up
takes a lot of energy. So we'relike, send us meals, because
that's one less decision for usto make. And we open the fridge,
we can take something, we'llwarm it up. We're good to go. So
there are so many different wayswhere, just like, How can I
contribute? Where you can alsosay, What can I ask for? Yeah,
Robin Waite (26:43):
absolutely, I'm still in awe of you be in terms
of, like, the fact that we'restill stood here talking given
what you've been through, but italso shows the generosity in
that. Because I don't knowwhether that and you can answer
me honestly. I mean, I know forone you, obviously you want to
push forward with the podcastand things like that. But was
there not like a small part ofview, which is just like, just
(27:05):
park the podcast, just focus onfamily and getting our home back
together and things like that?
BEATE CHELETTE (27:10):
You know, when this happened? Interesting
question. We were on a spiritualretreat, and in this retreat,
what came up for me was lettinggo. Now let's just say this is
letting go extreme we I couldhave handled a bit more of an
easier version of it, but thatwas the theme of it. It. You
know, there were three thingsthat came up for me. One was
rest, the other one was lettinggo of everything in my past, and
(27:36):
really the third piece steppinginto wisdom, knowing when to
participate, knowing when tofacilitate and knowing when to
observe, and that I was toldthat at this point in my life,
that I'm asked now to takeeverything that I've created
over whatever the the 37 yearsI've been in business, all the
(27:58):
processes, the strategicfacilitations, the workbooks,
the how do you make it supersimple? The 90 day sprints, the
super simple goal setting,everything I have created, I'm
asked to make it available toeverybody. So the business model
is now changing into instead ofme looking for clients, is me
(28:20):
helping others in the consultingand coaching space on how to
perform better by all the thingsthat I have created, and the
clock ticking. It's a five yearplan, and I don't have any time
to waste, and I don't like thedwelling in the inevitable, so I
(28:40):
give myself time to fall intothese pits of despair and PTSD
and full on depression like lastnight. I had a really, really
tough day yesterday, but then Iget up in the morning and I go,
I have to focus on that theuniverse is a friendly place,
and that what's happening is forme and through me, and not
(29:06):
against me. And then the onlyway I can reframe it is I have
to see what it pushes me to do,because within that must be the
gift. But I don't see it yet.
Let's talk about losingeverything you have, every card
my daughter wrote, I will neverlook at a Mother's Day card my
daughter wrote when she was sixyears old. I will never wear the
(29:27):
beautiful Garnet necklace that Ibought myself when I sold my
business in Prague, that I puton when I need to be feeling
successful, all of these things.
I mean, hundreds and hundreds of1000s of dollars, I feel like a
yo yo at times, where I keepgoing up and down, but the only
(29:49):
sane way for me, for me to notgo nuts, is to sit here to talk
to you, to remind myself that mymindset is the key to what comes
out of this. Ultimately, when wedie, I can't take any Garnet
necklaces or Mother's Day cardswith me anyway. I mean, I would
have liked to have it foranother 30 years, but
(30:11):
ultimately, this is not ours.
We're borrowing everythinganyway. So that's what I'm
grappling with. But the only wayis forward, or I go nuts. I
literally will go crazy if Idon't do this. Yeah,
Robin Waite (30:22):
I think that's one of the things. I couldn't have
sat still in August and I gotthe news, and it sounds like
you're in a similar sort ofspace. Sometimes doing things
can be a much neededdistraction, actually, from from
that and give you that sense ofpurpose and staying on that
mission, which you've got inorder to help other business
owners. But I, I'll again, I'llshare something. It's a little
(30:43):
bit personal. I don't want to gotoo, too deep into this, but I
was having a tough day thismorning because just I was
tired, my daughter's like, I'mso proud of her. She's got into
county finals with her swimming.
You're sat by Paul cheering yourdaughter on things like that.
Literally, it's like, I haven'thad a break in two or three
weeks now, and I kitchen, I'mgonna, I'm gonna have to replay
it. This won't work for theaudio version of it, but I went
to do a video this morning formy YouTube channel, and I for 10
(31:06):
minutes, that was the position Iwas in.
BEATE CHELETTE (31:12):
So for those of you who can see him, his head is
like literally resting on themicrophone tip. And
Robin Waite (31:19):
then do you know what happened next? Right? So
I'm already feeling a bitrubbish my I'm just kind of
like, okay, right? Come on, pullyourself Yes, the weight of the
world, yes, not, not defeated,just just like, I mean, it was
just coming to terms. I've gotresponsibilities. I have a group
coaching call. I've got a coupleof client calls in the
afternoon, things like that inthis podcast as well, which mean
a lot to me. And pull yourselftogether, Robin. And then I
(31:40):
recorded the video. It's like,super proud of myself. Sent it
off, first message I get back,within 10 seconds of my team
receiving it. Robin, have yougot the audio to go with the
video? I was just at that point.
I was like, brilliant,brilliant. You can't do anything
else, though, can you? It's kindof like, you can't change the
(32:01):
past. You just got to keep on,like, having that slow march
forward. Who I think is a majorpart of this, business owners
and entrepreneurs especially, Ithink, get very attached to
outcomes. They get very stuckwith this. Like, I believe if I
do this, then this is going tohappen, and then when the
unexpected happens, they can'trationalize it. They can't deal
with it, and they feel is SimonSinek puts it really eloquently.
(32:23):
He talks about in his book TheInfinite game, people assume
that business is made up oflike, short term wins and
losses, and they can't reallyrationalize the losses. But
actually the goal in business isactually to stay in business for
as long as possible, win, loseor draw. It doesn't matter, but
the goal is to stay in business.
So
BEATE CHELETTE (32:40):
Robin, we're going to wrap up this interview
for somebody who's nowinterested in your coaching
services and maybe wants tofigure out how you can help
them. Where do we send them?
Robin Waite (32:52):
So I have a gift for everybody actually be so
it's a signed copy of my book.
"Take Your Shot." So and there'sa there's a story in there as
well, which is actually quiteright. I won't do a spoiler
alert, but relevant to whatwe've been discussing. Been
discussing today, it's a it'sactually written as a parable, a
story about Russ, who's a golfpro, and he's going on this
journey with this business. ButI won't say any more than that,
but I've got a copy. I'll sendthem anywhere in the world, but
fearless.biz/tys for take yourshot, and we'll send that out
(33:14):
there.
BEATE CHELETTE (33:17):
Sounds good to me. Well, thank you so much.
You've been amazing. I reallyappreciate you being on the
show. I will be following yourjourney, and I'm sure you and I
will be in touch in the
Robin Waite (33:27):
future. Likewise.
Thank you.
BEATE CHELETTE (33:29):
All right, and that's it for us, for today. If
you know somebody who is facingan unexpected challenge,
something that has derailed themor is very difficult for them,
feel free to share this episodewith them, and let's help more
people to really manage some oflife's unexpected turns, so that
(33:50):
as we help you, we can help morepeople. And with that, I say
goodbye until next time. Soappreciate you being here. Thank
you so much for listening to theentire episode. Please subscribe
to the podcast. Give us a fivestar, review, a comment and
share this episode with one moreperson so that you can help us
help more people. Thank youagain, until next time bye, bye.
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