Goal Alignment and Flow State for Entrepreneurs | Part 2

Goal alignment decides whether your work flows or fights you. In Part 2 of this Reignite Resilience episode, co-hosts Natalie Davis and Pamela Cass continue the conversation on discernment and speed of implementation, then turn to alignment, friction, and flow state.

Natalie shares why she threw out her entire business plan at the end of Q1. The plan had measurables and milestones. The plan made business sense. None of the goals belonged to her. She refused to lose another quarter to regret. She pivoted, fixed the plan, and kept going.

Pam and Natalie then take on a common trap: copying successful people. Pam's coaching client returned to her to-do list after someone told her to drop the habit. Natalie runs her team through Asana, keeps a paper to-do list on the left side of her desk, and tested an AI scheduling tool she ended up hating. The lesson: use the system matching how you work.

Natalie also tells a story from a small-group session with Phil Jones, author of Exactly What to Say. When an attendee asked how to build a website like his, he explained the full-time team and the tens of thousands of dollars behind the site. Most people copy the end result and skip the years of implementation behind the result. Build in stages.

In this episode, you will learn:

• How to tell when a goal belongs to someone else
• Why your why, your five-year vision, and your values work as filters for every action
• How friction signals misalignment and flow state signals alignment
• Why copying another person's system slows your progress
• How to build a to-do list around your unique genius
• What entrepreneurs miss when they compare themselves to bestselling authors

The hosts also talk candidly about adulting, entrepreneurship, and the days when you want someone else to handle the hard parts. They wrap with US Open fashion, Derby season, and a preview of Reignite Live 2027.

Reignite Live 2027 takes place January 22, 2027, in Loveland, Colorado. Eight speakers, all past guests of the show, cover the eight key areas of life, including career, relationships, finances, health and wellness, and fun. Search Reignite Live 2027 on Eventbrite for tickets and the full speaker lineup.

Watch on YouTube for the video version, and share this episode with a friend who needs a reset before Q4.

Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 3:06

All of us reach a point in time where we are depleted and need to somehow find a way to reignite the fire within. But how do we spark that flame? Welcome to Reignite Resilience, where we will venture into the heart of the human spirit. We'll discuss the art of reigniting our passion and strategies to stoke our enthusiasm. And now here are your hosts, Natalie Davis and Pamela Cass.

SPEAKER_01 3:44

I think the more you spend time and attention focused on like what you really are trying to achieve and why you're working to achieve it, the easier it becomes to have those moments where you say, Well, you know, I set this goal of X at the beginning of the year and I didn't really want to. Someone else kind of instilled that in me that I it it's like the next arbitrary step that I should take. And so it when you talk about the speed of implementation, I think when you are taking those action steps towards something that's not necessarily in alignment, it's not really moving you uh forward as quickly as you think you should be advancing, right? When you have that alignment, that's when you see the accelerated movement. Um so just yeah, that that again, going back to the discernment, you've got to be able to decide and tell, is this the piece that's in alignment? Is this what's for my greatest good, for the greatest good of the greatest good, right? Like is for the greater good of the greater good, um, or what that, whatever that's gonna look like. I think it it all comes together. Um and it's a constant assessment that we should be taking ourselves through, not just a one-off, like, oh, I've set my goals at the beginning of the year, I'll check in again in 12 months.

SPEAKER_02 4:56

Yeah. And I think that's why I mean, you and I are so diligent about every quarter we're looking at where am I? What were the goals? Are they still in alignment? Do I still want to do them? What are the friction points that are really getting me stuck? And what can I do to change that? Or is this something that the whole goal needs to be thrown away because it was never my goal to begin with? It was what I thought it was supposed to be. And exactly.

SPEAKER_01 5:23

100%. Well, that's I mean, if for the listeners that tune in every episode, you all know, like we shared at the beginning of this year when we sat down to do another project with another creator and teacher and one of our mentors. And uh for for me, again, this is why I'm it's easier for me to kind of reflect on March because I remember that time frame is I forced this business plan, like I had to have a business plan and it needed to have these um measurables on it. And uh, and and you and you know, I had the milestones that were there, and none of it was mine. None of it was mine. It made sense from a business standpoint. Absolutely. These are the practical things that you need to do for your business, but they were not, I didn't have the why behind it. Like, why was I working to create the things that I was working to create? And so throwing out my entire business plan at the end of Q1 um is enough to give anyone, especially one that's type A controlling, anxiety. And so that's why I look at, okay, I I started the year out in a spot where again, this is I think ties back in where you have that gift of discernment when you flex it and you say, Okay, this is not what I need to work on. These are not the action steps that I need to take. What am I going to do? Because I could have taken the next quarter to just mull in the fact that I wasted three months, quote unquote wasted three months, um, but I didn't. It's just pivot, fix it, keep going, move on. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:52

Don't get don't get stuck in that space.

SPEAKER_01 6:55

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 6:56

I love and I and I also think um something that came up this last month is you know, we hear a lot of stuff and we try to replicate what successful people are doing because we think, well, because they were doing it and it works, I should be doing it and it's gonna work. And it was one of my coaching clients reminded me because I was taught or told by somebody you should never have a to-do list because it just ends up being this endless to-do list. Well, I use a to-do list every day, and I do it because I need it out of here and onto some sort of a document. And I feel good when I check stuff off, which you want to check more stuff off. So it works for me, but there are some people it doesn't work for. And I got on a coaching call with one of my clients and she goes, I'm going back to the to-do list because it's what works for me. And I was like, you know what? You're right. All totally different. We're wired. Yes. And so I think idea action feedback is if you get an idea and you're like, don't do to-do list, and you put action into it and it's not working, then that's your feedback. Go back and try to put a round peg in a square hole because it's just never gonna happen.

SPEAKER_01 8:12

It's not gonna happen. I am I am a paper and pen type of person. Now, I will say, like, as it comes to my planner, it's erasable ink, but it's ink nonetheless because I think it's more powerful and I don't like writing in pencil. Anyway, uh, I am paper and pen. And so I also have a to-do list. And let me tell you, when you talk about taking the action, the idea and the action, I am tried to get away from the same thing because people, you hear it so frequently, right? Like, oh, you don't need to have the to-do list and and you need to have the zero inbox. Like all of the things, all the little things that are like, oh, it's perfect if you have this. No, okay. I have a to-do list that I'm sitting and looking at. It sits on the left side of my desk every day. My planner sits on the right side of my desk. Exactly. I know exactly what I need to get done. I remember last year I was talking to one of my coaching clients because they uh rolled out a new product that it was AI backed before AI is what it is today. And you could load your to-do list into the program and it would find the segments in your calendar and just plug it in and time block it in your calendar. And I remember talking to my client and I said, Hey, I think I'm gonna try this platform out. And she goes, You're gonna hate it. And I was like, I don't think so. I think she's right. I like to control what I'm gonna do when I'm gonna do it.

SPEAKER_02 9:33

And I like Yeah, yes, I did not like it at all. I didn't like it. Maybe it's a Virgo, maybe it's a Virgo thing. But it's like I if I write it, I remember it. Yes. If I put it into if I type something into a computer, I will forget it. Yeah. So it doesn't mean that everything from my planner isn't also backed up in my computer. I mean, I still have that. But shoot, if it's not written and I in the morning when I'm doing kind of my quiet reflection time, my planner sits next to me. And anything pops into my head during that push, I wrote it down so that it's out and on the paper. Otherwise, I'm not gonna remember it. So so we're all different and so different.

SPEAKER_01 10:11

Yeah, but it's it's action nonetheless, because I think it's recognizing those things. Yeah. Recognizing those things. And it's so funny, like just a just a matter of like looking at your to-do list and the things that you're gonna that you're going to take action on. That's I've tried and I've toyed with so many different things. And and to speak to just a different philosophy. I had a a coaching session last week and um me getting coached and and the coach, you know, everyone on my team or that works with me, we run everything through Asana. I e I feed it into Asana and they execute all the things that need to get done. And uh we went through and she was like, Well, open it up. I want to take a look at it. I said, Perfect. I open up my asana. Nothing more terrifying than opening up your asana for your coach, by the way. So um, do something like that one day, just a little push. And so she's looking at it and she goes, Okay, well, where do you keep your tasks? And I right here. Literally on and and each day gets a different page. Like I flip the page the next day. It's something else. Sometimes things carry over, sometimes things fall off. And she was like, fair enough. If that works for you, that's great. And I was like, Great, let's move on. Like that was just one of those things. It's uh it it works. It works.

SPEAKER_02 11:26

Do what works for you when we try to go outside of that because we think somebody it thinks it's the well everybody else is doing it, I should totally do that. Then that's where you're gonna get that friction, and then you're not gonna get the results that you want. And you're gonna be like, why am I not getting the results? And it's like, well, because you're going against what's in alignment with who you are, what your values are, what your how you do things, how you learn, how you take action, just everything.

SPEAKER_01 11:51

Habits that you have. Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_02 11:54

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:54

And it it goes back to what you mentioned, like we see how other people have achieved achieved success, and we think, oh, we need to do that because that's what they do. Um, and we try to mimic or duplicate exactly what they've done or what they're doing in that moment. And I think we often create our action items based off of the results that they've had for instead of like what it took for that person to get from their point A to point B. We're just looking at, well, they've arrived at point B and that's what I want to have. So let me just duplicate what they're doing now. There's growth and progression. They had to implement action, right?

SPEAKER_02 12:29

And we're we're seeing the end result. We exactly be the beginning.

SPEAKER_01 12:34

Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 12:35

Implementation of it.

SPEAKER_01 12:37

Yeah. The implementation piece. Yeah. And how long it took for them to do that.

SPEAKER_02 12:40

Yeah. And so, yeah. So I mean, I think probably the first thing that anybody should do is make sure that you are very aware of what your why is, like, why are why are you doing this? What vision do you have for yourself five years from now? And what are my values? And I think if you can have those filters, and you and I talked about this all the time, if you have those filters, you will 100% know when you're going to do an action that is misaligned with all of this, your values, your vision, your purpose. And is and if you feel that friction, then it's probably not what you should be doing. It probably should be something else. We all have our own unique genius, and that's what we need to lean into.

SPEAKER_01 13:25

That's what we have to lean into. Yeah. And that friction that that Pam talks about, like it's not to say that you'll never achieve the goal. You'll see success. It's just going to feel like it's going against the grain because you are going against the grain. Like those foundational pieces that she talks about, like knowing your why, knowing your values, tapping into your unique genius when you're delivering whatever it is that you're going to deliver to the world to create the impact that you're going to have. Um, you go against any of those, any of those, you're going to have some friction. And that's, it doesn't stop you. It just could be so much easier.

SPEAKER_02 14:03

And a lot more than that's not the right word.

SPEAKER_01 14:06

It could flow smoothly. It's because it's not easy.

SPEAKER_02 14:10

It's getting in the flow state. And everybody on that's listening knows a point in their life where they have been in that flow state where they feel like time has stood still and you are just in this zone and it's just flowing through and you're getting it done. That's the state you want to be in. That's the state when you're in alignment with your values and your mission and your purpose and everything. That's when you get into the flow state. The friction points, like you said, you'll get there, but it's going to take you a lot longer. It's going to, you're going to be doing, you know, instead of this straight line, you're going to be like do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, all these little like squiggly.

SPEAKER_01 14:46

It's not necessary. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 14:48

Yeah. No, not necessary.

SPEAKER_01 14:50

And you, I feel it for me, like taking it back to the to-do list that we have. Like if I have a to-do list for a day and it's all of the things that are not in my unique genius space, like that space that I like. If it's not creative, it's not fun. Um, bookkeeping is always a great example. Any time that I have to do like back-end cleanup stuff, um, right now I'm going through the interview process for a marketing person. Like, these are not things that I enjoy. I'm like, let's just everybody buckle in, let's just get things done. And so if I have a to-do list that's filled with like the things that don't bring me joy, those days, those are usually the days where lots of the things carry over. But then the days that are like filled with the things that absolutely are in alignment and that I enjoy doing and that bring me joy and fulfillment, and I can feel like I'm having an impact. I will wrap up those days and I'm like, I killed that shit. Like, I did knock everything out. Like, let's go. Next day, let's do it.

unknown 15:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:45

Not every day is gonna be like that. No, not every day like that.

SPEAKER_02 15:47

Because we do, I mean, gosh, you know, I what did I say the other day? I was like, adulting is hard. So hard. That's not always fun. And sometimes I just want to call my parents and say, would you just do that for me?

SPEAKER_01 16:01

Someone take care of it. Do it. Gosh, I won't want to do this anymore. I don't want to do that. Yeah. And then layer that with entrepreneurship because that's always fun, right? Like if you if you think adulting is hard, then go ahead and start a whole business and then be responsible for other people. That's fine.

SPEAKER_02 16:16

It's it's so it's so funny because I'm watching my son go through this entrepreneurial thing right now. There are days where he just looks disheveled. He just hair messy, and he's like whining about something, something. And I was like, welcome to business ownership, dude. Buckle in. It doesn't get much easier in life.

SPEAKER_01 16:40

It doesn't get easier, but it comes becomes more enjoyable. It's yeah, you get a rhythm. You get yeah.

SPEAKER_02 16:45

Yeah, it's just it's I just chuckle to myself because it's not owning a business is not for everybody.

SPEAKER_01 16:52

Oh my gosh, no, it's not. It's not. And there's some I think that's if we go back, I actually had an opportunity to, oh, I'm gonna uh Phil Jones. Oh my gosh, I almost went blank on his name. Um, Phil Jones, which uh we'll circle back to Simon Sinek here in a moment. But Phil Jones uh joined us for a segment a few months ago and I was able to sit kind of a small setting, maybe 50 of us that were going through kind of some teaching lessons with him. And um, he was sharing his website and kind of the extent of what his website can do. Phil Jones is the author of Exactly What to Say. And so um he went, you know, all of the attendees went to his website to check it out. And one of the participants in the room, she goes, I love your website. Is there like a specific company that you use to build it out? Yeah. So he's like a 10-time New York Times bestseller, right? Like he's built an entire platform. And she goes, I just like it. I think I want to build my website like yours. And he said, Well, let me just let you know. Um, I have like X number of people that are dedicated to the website full time every day. I also invested tens of thousands of dollars on the front end to build out the website, and it takes X amount of dollars to run the website. And he goes, But good luck with that. And he like walked away from her. He just went over and just popped her bubble. Is that well, here's the thing that's again, we get so enamored with the end result that we don't think about. He built this up, and it was probably one hire at a time that now he has 15 people that work back end behind the house while he can go out and like travel the world and talk to and feed into other people. Yeah. We've got to like we talk about entrepreneurship. It's in stages. When you own a business, when you're whenever you're birthing, whatever it is, the idea or the project or whatever it is that you're working on, podcast, whatever it is that you're working on, um, just know that there are steps. Don't just try to leap to that.

SPEAKER_02 18:49

There's no joke. There's no joke. It it would be like saying that, you know what, I think I want to be a pro uh tennis player. I just saw the World Cup. I can do that. Just a ball with a racket. Like, how hard could that be? I can run around. Like I'm in good shape. Yeah, no. I think so.

SPEAKER_01 19:06

I that's so funny. That's the only thing that I know about the open that's happening right now is looking at the ladies' like opening outfit, like their open outfits, like what they go out on the court with and then they strip down to their match attire. I don't know what it's called. I'm here for those moments. So you keep the ball, you keep the racket. I just want to see the outfits. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 19:28

And I and I will tell you, staying in the hotel with hundreds of people that were going to the matches every day. They all had their little lanyards on. The outfits were like, wow. Like it didn't look like you were going to a tennis match. It looked like you were going to like a social event. And so it was fun. It was fun to it was fun to see people getting all dressed up to go to these matches, but that's tennis.

SPEAKER_01 19:53

Attract more of those events into my life. I think that's great. I had a chance to go to the derby, not the full-blown, but um when it was derby season in Kentucky a few years ago. And I was like, this is spectacular. I will absolutely want to go.

SPEAKER_02 20:08

Yeah. Yes. Love it. I love it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:11

I'm not even a horse person. Anyway, whatever.

SPEAKER_02 20:15

I think you have to be a horse person to be a derby person.

SPEAKER_01 20:18

It's all about because I I do deem myself a derby person. I'm not a jockey, though.

SPEAKER_02 20:25

I don't want to do that. And I don't play one on TV, so that's for sure.

SPEAKER_01 20:31

Okay, y'all. That's it. Discernment and the speed of implementation.

unknown 20:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 20:38

Which leads us to just reminding everybody about our incredible in-person event that is going to be on January 22nd, 2027, which will be here before we know it. We have eight incredible speakers coming from all over the United States. And we're going to dive into this very thought, this the SOI, the sphere of implementation, and into the discernment because it's what it's all about. And we're going to look at the eight parts of our life that sometimes are not in alignment with each other. And we want to get them all kind of working together. And so if you are thinking that one, you want to meet Natalie and I in person because we are just as dynamic in person as we are on Zoom. And we're probably more so because you usually have to give twice as much energy just to be yourself. And yeah, we're we're double as fun. We're doubly as fun.

SPEAKER_01 21:36

Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 21:37

It's a good we're we're a good time. We are well, and at least we think we are. So it doesn't matter. People tell us we are.

SPEAKER_01 21:44

But I'm a good time to me. If you're not having a good time, that's hard for you. You're not that's hard. You're responsible for your own level of exactly. I cannot be responsible for that. No. No, Pam is exactly right. We're tickets are available. Um, if you head over to Eventbrite and search Reignite Live 2027, um, you will find that it's taking place in Loveland, Colorado. We are truly excited. And as as Pam mentioned, like we're gonna dive into the eight key areas of life, which is um really key because that's what we focus on here on the show is talking about adversities that pop up in our life. And it's not just the um work-life balance that people often refer to. And because life is the other seven areas, uh, it includes your career and your relationships and your finances and your health and wellness and how much fun you're having. And so we're gonna dive into all of those key areas. And the approach is from a business um, or if not business, from a planning standpoint, right? Like truly being able to paint a picture of what you want this next season of life to look like in every area because the they all speak to one another and um it's important for us to play pay attention to and have focus on each of those key areas uh as we're as we're you know just continuing on this journey that we call life. So yeah, it's gonna be fun.

SPEAKER_02 23:09

It is gonna be fun.

SPEAKER_01 23:10

And informative. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:11

Cannot wait.

SPEAKER_01 23:12

Yeah. I know it's exciting. And if you are not getting our think letter or watching us on YouTube, because why would you not? Make sure that you head on over and listen to the episodes on YouTube as well. Um, you get the video format of us there. And uh if yeah, if you're enjoying these, share these episodes with a friend.

SPEAKER_02 23:31

Yeah, awesome. I love it. This was fun, fun, fun.

SPEAKER_01 23:35

It always, always, always is fun.

unknown 23:38

Always is fun.

SPEAKER_02 23:39

That is true. We are a good time.

SPEAKER_01 23:41

We're a good time. And oh my goodness. And we will make sure that we um start to tag our guest, all of our guest speakers for I almost forgot about that part. Guest speakers for the Reign Live event have all been on. They're past guests of the show. So we'll have to start sharing little teasers in terms of who's coming. Um, but if you go and register and buy your ticket, you're gonna see who's coming because we tell you they're. You're gonna know. You're gonna know. My goodness, this has been amazing. Um, make sure that you are following us on Facebook and Instagram and downloading and subscribing on your favorite streaming platform in terms of listening to the show. We enjoy having you all here with us. Until next time, we'll see y'all soon.

SPEAKER_02 24:23

Bye, everyone.

SPEAKER_00 24:36

Thank you for joining us today on the Reignite Resilience Podcast. We hope you had some aha moments and learned a few new real-life ideas to fuel the flames of passion. Please subscribe on your favorite streaming platform, like or download your favorite episodes, and of course, share with your friends and family. We look forward to seeing you again next time on Reignite Resilience.