813: This is NOT comfortable! (And that's the point...)

Hey, what is up? Welcome to this episode of the Entrepreneur to Entrepreneur podcast. As always, I'm your host, brian Lofermento, and in this Solo Sunday episode, we are going to talk about being uncomfortable. This is gonna be a really candid conversation. It's something that we all know. It's a very big topic within the world of entrepreneurship, but I'm really excited to put so much into light so that it's just a constant reminder for us and for those of us who have been doing things for a while. I think it's really important to come back to this and really focus on being uncomfortable.

With regards to growth, I'm excited about this one. Let's dive in. So I'm super grateful I'll tell you what on this Easter Sunday, I'm so grateful for so many incredible guests that we've had on the show already here during Q1. It is absolutely wild to me that Q1 is flying by. April 1st is tomorrow, which is nuts by the time that this airs. So super excited about a really awesome Q2 that is ahead of us. And I'll tell you what Q1 featured so many incredible guests and actually even more interviews and conversations than you all have heard, because we are typically a few months ahead of the ball when it comes to our post-production schedule and our release schedule. So, with that said, I've already had dozens and dozens and dozens of conversations with incredible entrepreneurs this year, and it's those off-camera conversations that always leave a mark on me, hearing the way that, so many different ways, whether it's through their professional career, their entrepreneurial career the impact that they have made or they are making in the world, and I cherish, I'm so grateful for all of those conversations that I get to have with these inspiring and incredible people not just entrepreneurs, but, gosh, our guests are all amazing people as well, and so I preface with all of that background information because I'll tell you what lately, there's been one recurring theme in all of these conversations that I've been having off air with guests, and so much that theme has been about growth and about being uncomfortable. I think that Q1 always sets us up, it sets the theme for the year, and so many of our amazing guests have said to me off air, they're like gosh, brian, that was my first ever podcast interview.

I was a little bit nervous before we hit record today, but I got through it and I feel like this is really going to motivate me to create more content or to show up more, to put more stuff out into the world or tell my story more or share my strategies even more, and it's that feeling Obviously, we're 813 episodes into this podcast. This is probably one of the environments where I feel the most at ease. I feel the most comfortable doing these podcast episodes, but it's because, of course, I've done it 813 times Well, actually, I've done it 850 plus times just on this show, but those episodes are going to air over the coming months and so, with all of that in mind, it really made me look inward and start asking myself that big question of yeah, what am I doing? That makes me uncomfortable? What are the new roles that I'm wearing? What are the exciting things that I'm stepping into, not knowing exactly how I'm going to do, or not even knowing exactly what I'm gonna do or how I'm gonna do it, but just putting myself out there and I feel so many of those seeds of growth in my life and in my businesses. This year, and especially in the past year in particular, I don't know, it's probably been a really evolutionary year. I talked about it a lot towards the end of 2023, how that very much felt like a foundational year for me, about setting up for so many future things, and here we are in 2024, and I'm already starting to see my own growth and all of these opportunities starting to take shape, and so it got me thinking a lot.

I said at the top of this episode about being uncomfortable, and I think it's something that we all have heard that kind of surface level advice in our lives about. You know, growth happens outside of your comfort zone and all of those things, but today I just I wanted to put it into perspective for us in really simple terms, but terms that serve as a reminder to us and wherever it is that you are in your own journey. I think that it's important to confront these things because I think that every day when we wake up, every week, every month, every quarter, whatever timeline you zoom in or zoom out on, I think that we always have those two choices of do we wanna be comfortable? Because if we wanna be comfortable, so that's choice number one. If we wanna be comfortable, well, we know what life currently looks like. We know what life looks like inside of our comfort zone and even more so than that, I think, even more importantly than that, we know what we look like in our comfort zone. We already know whatever traits it is that you already have. Those traits have been the product of your experiences up to this point. So if you continue to stay within the comfy confines of those experiences, then that's cool, because we know the traits that those comfy confines will produce. And so if you want to get new traits, if you want to gain new skills, if you want to gain new perspectives and life experiences and stories and all of those good things that come with it, well then you're gonna have to go outside of the things you already know, because we already know what that version of you looks like.

And I saw a post on Instagram the other day that said everyone wants to skip the struggle, not knowing that that's where character is built. I absolutely love that concept. Everyone wants to skip the struggle, not knowing that that's where character is built. And so when I saw that, I thought about struggle in my life and I thought about my moments of being uncomfortable. And I'll tell you what I'm constantly in new situations where I'm uncomfortable. Obviously, I've gotten more comfortable at all the things that I've been doing. I'm really comfortable behind a microphone. I'm really comfortable interviewing people. I'm really comfortable talking to strangers. I'm really comfortable with regards to sales and marketing. I'm comfortable with all of these things, but I'm constantly putting myself into new situations, new roles, for example, having a growing team right now.

This is, in many ways, I've loved being a solo entrepreneur for a long time now. Solopreneurship is so near and dear to my heart. It's why so many of our guests that come on this show we love identifying and inviting on solopreneurs, because that's a form of business, a form of entrepreneurship that I so much adore. But, as I look to change gears in the next chapter of my entrepreneurial life involves being a boss, being a leader, being a true CEO, chief executive officer, rather than merely an operator, a practitioner. That's a new and sometimes uncomfortable role for me, one that I want to continue to improve. And, trust me off air. It's something that I focus on so much with so many of our amazing guests, and I love how much they bring on the air for all of you to talk about those leadership positions. If you've been looking at our content, you think, gosh, they talk a lot about leadership. Now Then it's intentional on our behalf. It's because I think that that's a necessary evolution in all of our journeys. But all of that is to say that being uncomfortable is where we need to be to expand, and that's why we talk about growth.

And I think back to gosh 2017, when I moved to Los Angeles as a you know, mid twenties. I forget how old I was let's 26, 27 years old probably and and I left everything I ever knew on the East coast. I grew up in Boston, I went to college in Boston, I started my first two businesses in Boston I had. Most of my clients were in the new England area, all my friends, my family was in new England and that was what was comfortable to me. But for one reason or another, I felt the need to grow, I felt the need to expand. And in that moment, what did I have to do? Could I grow or expand in an area where I was so comfortable and I'm not just talking geography? Well, what did I do? I literally packed my car up and, two weeks later, drove across the country to move to Los Angeles, california. And what did I do when I got there?

I don't think I've talked about this story very much in public, but I didn't know that city very well. I'd been a few times before. The first time I went to LA was when I was 16. It was for a national soccer tournament. Didn't even get to see the city, but I saw enough. I saw the palm trees, I saw the mountains, I saw the ocean and I was like, ah, I need to live here one day. And so I moved out there. I knew, gosh, maybe three or four people, loosely just people I went to college with, or we went to the same college, and we knew some of the same people. I didn't really know anyone. I had no foundation out in Los Angeles.

It was extraordinarily uncomfortable for me. I had never moved that far away from friends and family. I had always lived in Massachusetts. And so moving out to LA, guess what I did? Because I didn't know the city, didn't have a place to rent I hopped on Airbnb and I rented a place for three months, ended up moving in with two complete strangers in this tiny Airbnb where I had to share a bathroom. That's not my favorite thing in the world to do. So I don't miss those days, but I do miss those people that I lived with. We are still friends to this day. They're big parts of my lives.

But, with all of that said, that was uncomfortable, that put me in environments that, quite literally, I had never been in, as far as living condition wise, as far as being in a new city, as far as being in a new time zone, as far as there were business shifts that came with switching to the West Coast. That was a pivotal time in my business in so many different ways, so I had so much that I was figuring out. Also, I was freshly single. So there were all these new things that were going on in my life. And guess what? It is not coincidental that that was the time period in my life where I evolved, where I grew, where I learned more than I had learned in the past few years, even though I was already running full-time businesses, although I was a full-time entrepreneur.

Even with those experiences, just that move alone brought me to the next level. It's called Brian 2.0 or Brian 3.0 or 4.0. Who knows where I was in my evolution and who knows where I am in my evolution? But, with all of that said, it brought out new things in me. I was forced to be more social and make more friends. I was forced to learn how to go to dinner by myself. I was forced to proactively say you know what I'm going to explore a new area, because I've never lived in California before, I never explored the geographic region of the Southwest of the United States before. There was so much that was new for me and I had to put myself out there in all new ways. And when I look back at it 2024 me, 35 year old me, looks back at 26, 27 year old me, in 2017 me and I can recognize those traits, those skills, those perspectives, the mindset, the growth that I experienced through those moments in my life that continue to serve me to this day. And so being uncomfortable was so key to who I've become today. It so much has shaped the person, the man, the entrepreneur, the boss, the brother, the son, the uncle, the friend, all of these things. It has helped to shape all of these things for me, and I can't help but look back and just really revisit.

What would life look like if I never left Boston? Or if I never left Massachusetts or New England? And I stayed? I was very comfortable there. I had a good life there. I do love New England. I do not love it when it's cold, but that's exactly why I used to travel every single winter, but I had so much good stuff there. I had so many amazing friends that were lifelong friends. You can't replace that when you move outside of your home geographic region. You're not gonna have lifelong friends Doesn't mean you're not gonna have deep and meaningful friendships, but that's a skill that you have to gain to build those, because we didn't need skills to build those lifelong friendships. We grew up with those people. It's easy to take that stuff for granted, but to restart, to do it again as an adult in well, yeah, to do it again in adulthood is incredibly difficult, and so that's why I love that quote of a ship in a harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for. I'm going to say that again A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for. Just think about it. I would actually argue that that is so true of life. We were not meant to be comfortable. We will not grow if and when we're comfortable.

So for all of our podcast guests who come on and say, oh my gosh, this was uncomfortable, but I did it. I did my first ever podcast interview. This was so much fun I'm going to go do this. I can't tell you. It's like such a source of pride for me. I'll be honest, I've never said this. I've never even said this to my internal team. I've never said it to anyone.

It makes me so proud to see how many of our past guests one our first time podcast guests and two go on to launch their own podcast, their own YouTube channels, their own live streams on social media. It's so cool how many of them make that plunge and decide you know what? I don't? Just want to be of service one time here publicly on the entrepreneur to entrepreneur podcast. I want to continue to be uncomfortable. And it's no coincidence that they start doing it. It's because coming on here for a lot of them not all of them, but for some of them it is their first time and it is uncomfortable for them. And it's no coincidence that breaking through that barrier then leads to so many other growth points, transition points, inflection points. It changes their journey and I love to see that. And this podcast is just gosh one tiny, tiny example of all the different growth things that we can all go through in our entrepreneurial journeys.

But at the root of it is that important understanding of it's time to be uncomfortable, because if I continue to be comfortable. It's only going to solidify the person that I already know that I am, and perhaps that's where, ultimately, we were meant to go in today's session. Is that reflection of the fact that I don't know me just yet? The only version of me that I know is the version of me that exists thanks to all of the things that I have done up to this point and all of the things that I'm currently doing.

But I'm the first to admit to everybody I don't want to be the same person a year from now. I certainly do not want to be the same person five years from now. What I want to do instead is I want to do things that make me uncomfortable, that force me to put myself out there, that force me to grow and evolve. Why? Because I'm really excited to see what the highest version of myself looks like, and I don't think I'm anywhere near that. I don't think five years from now I'll be anywhere near that.

I mean, I can tell you very confidently, from my perspective as someone with a growth mindset and someone who proactively chases evolution and growth, that I'm not going to be the same person a year from now. I'm certainly not the same person that I was a year ago. I am certainly not the same person that moved to LA back in my mid-20s. I am certainly not the same person that went through so many life experiences and business experiences and super high highs and very, very low lows. I am not the same person that I was entering those things, and I think it's so important for all of us to have that understanding that the person who enters any of these experiences will not be the same person who leaves that experience. Why? Because you can't help but have your perspective changed.

Having gone through those storms, having gone through those winds, having gone through those challenges and obstacles and barriers, the person who's going to come out the other side is always going to be wiser, stronger, more experienced. And whatever you do with those things, it means that what comes next you're going to be better prepared for, and so for me, all of this means that I'm just on a never-ending journey. I'm just gonna keep doing things, I'm just gonna keep trying things, and that's why I continue to grow. It's such a core part of my psyche, it's such a core part of my entrepreneurial journey. Always excited, never stagnant those are the four words that when I sat down many years ago to write my Instagram bio, I was like gosh, how do I sum up my mindset, how do I sum up what I stand for? In not very many characters that Instagram gives us for an Instagram bio and it's just those four words. It's been there in my bio for years, always excited, never stagnant.

I always want to be pushing the envelope because every year, every experience, every moment of discomfort, I change and and I wanna continue changing. A ship in a harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for. So if you're sitting there and you're listening to this and you're saying, brian, I wanna start growing my business. I wanna start having more sales conversations. I wanna start asking people for more money. I wanna start going on podcasts. I wanna start my own podcast. I wanna start asking people for more money. I want to start going on podcasts. I want to start my own podcast. I want to start being on video more. I want to start writing more. I want to start showing up on social media more.

Whatever it is, I get it. Let's acknowledge the fact, let's call it out it's uncomfortable, 100% it's uncomfortable. It's supposed to be uncomfortable, and that's where the growth happens, and I think that's the important stuff that I hope you take away from today's episode. It's just this reminder. I know I'm not saying anything earth shattering, I know that none of this stuff is stuff you haven't heard before, but hopefully, seeing it through my lens in this candid conversation, I had no idea what we were going to talk about today, by the way, but with all of these thoughts in mind, I hope that you attack that discomfort.

I hope you attack those things that feel uncomfortable in the pursuit of this exact same growth, in this exact same evolution that I've just shared with you, that I'm on, because I think, if we all do this gosh, we're going to be new versions of ourselves, and none of us know what that looks like, and that, to me, is incredibly exciting. It's so exciting to know that Brian, a year from now, is going to have so much more experience, knowledge, skill set, a more resilient and powerful mind. So many of those things are coming, but how? Only if I continue to do things that make me uncomfortable, because the alternative is to stay comfortable, to keep doing only the things that I'm already comfortable with, and if I keep doing those things, I'll keep being the me that's here today and I, like him a heck of a lot, but I don't like him as much as I'm going to like the even better version. So that's why I'm on that journey to keep on getting better, and I think it's something we all need to embrace as people, as entrepreneurs and just as us.

I think that for us to actually get to know ourselves it's funny I'm going to add this last random thought here, because I just had it in real time on the air is that so many people you know. Life is a journey of getting to know other people, and it's easy for us to meet someone new and say, oh well, that person doesn't just know me yet. But I think it's even more fun to think about is I don't know me yet. There's a lot of things that I've learned about myself and there's a lot of things that I've done really intentional personal development work to understand about myself, but I'll never know me. Of course, no one else will ever fully know me because I'll never know me, because I constantly want to be on this journey of growth and evolution to one day, hopefully. I feel like that's like one of the most ultimate things that we can accomplish in life is to somehow strive for and find the highest, best versions of ourselves. But how do we get there? By being uncomfortable. So that's it for me in today's episode.

I hope this hits you in the right place. I hope that, wherever it is that you are, gosh do. I wish I could talk to you individually about your life, your situation, your levels of comfort and discomfort. But that's why I hope just you and I, hanging out here on a beautiful solo Sunday episode for 20 some odd minutes Hope that it strikes you and resonates with exactly what you needed here, on whatever day it is, in whatever corner of the world you're in. But that's why I'm so grateful that you tune in and you allow me to be somewhat of a part of your day or of your week. And you already know you can pound that subscribe button because we've got new episodes coming your way every Monday, wednesday, friday, saturday and Sunday. Our April episodes are absolutely epic. So pound that subscribe button and I'll see you right back here tomorrow.

Hey, it's Brian here, and thanks for tuning in to yet another episode of the Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur podcast. If you haven't checked us out online, there's so much good stuff there. Check out the show's website and all the show notes that we talked about in today's episode at thewantrepreneurshowcom, and I just want to give a shout out to our amazing guests. There's a reason why we are ad free and have produced so many incredible episodes five days a week for you, and it's because our guests step up to the plate.

These are not sponsored episodes. These are not infomercials. Our guests help us cover the costs of our productions. They so deeply believe in the power of getting their message out in front of you, awesome wantrepreneurs and entrepreneurs, that they contribute to help us make these productions possible. So thank you to not only today's guests, but all of our guests in general, and I just want to invite you check out our website because you can send us a voicemail there. We also have live chat. If you want to interact directly with me, go to thewantrepreneurshowcom, initiate a live chat. It's for real me and I'm excited because I'll see you, as always every Monday, wednesday, friday, saturday and Sunday here on the Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur podcast.