I'm Writing a Book. And Here's Why It Couldn't Wait | EP 577

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Transcript

Welcome And Mini Ep Setup

The Book Announcement And Why

Growth At All Costs Backlash

Integration, Trust, And Burnout

Stepping Back To Recalibrate

Life Upheaval And Grief

Returning To Self Care For Business

Redefining Success And Metrics

Introducing The First Chapters Club

Early Access, Perks, And Thanks

Sheila 0:01

There are a lot of kinds of return that are compounding in your business right now, whether you're tracking them or not. And the founders I've watched build something that truly lasts are paying attention to all of them. Hi, welcome to the podcast. I'm Sheila Botelho, and I believe true success is built from the inside out. You're listening to a mini sew designed to help you live into what lights you up this week. I have something to share with you today that I've been sitting with for a while. And honestly, the fact that I'm saying it out loud means it's real now. So here we go. I'm writing a book. And I want to tell you why. Because the why is the whole thing. Over the past year, I've had a front row seat to something I can't stop thinking about. I've been working with founders and leaders across a really wide range of businesses. And what I kept witnessing over and over was this relentless push for growth, quarter over quarter, number after number, big sweeping plans that shifted constantly because of what was showing up on a leaderboard. And while momentum matters, of course, I'm not here to say that it doesn't, especially in business. What I noticed was that there was almost no time built in for things to integrate, for people to actually absorb what they'd built before pushing through toward the next thing. And what happened as a result was that trust started to erode. Clients began questioning the direction of the businesses they were working with. And burnout was a real thing that I was watching happen over and over in real time. Turnover started to climb. People needed more personal days just to function. And the culture that had been so carefully built started to come apart. And the leaders that I was holding space for, these brilliant, capable visionaries, were starting to run on fumes. And I'll be honest, holding that space started to impact me too. So I did something I hadn't done in a while. I stepped back from that segment of my work. I started taking longer walks, getting into nature more, talking to different kinds of people about different things, getting back into the arts just for pleasure, just to feel creative again without an outcome attached to it. And during that season, a few big things happened. My family and I made the decision to move. And while all of that was unfolding, the house, the move, the new chapter, there were also some really heavy things happening in my extended family: loss, grief, and watching the emotional weight of that become a physical one for the people that I love. And that cycle, the professional, the personal, the physical, the emotional, it all came together in a way that I couldn't ignore. And it brought me back to the very beginning of why I started this work, self-care for business. Years ago, I watched women in my world, women who were checking every box, building real things, showing up for everyone get sick. Some of them were seriously sick and they weren't even at midlife yet. And I thought, there has to be a different way. A way to build a thriving business where the person building it is actually thriving too. And that's what started my season's success method. That's what self-care for business was born from. And this past year, going through everything I went through, zooming out and asking myself, okay, but what do I actually value? Not what the masterminds are saying or what the events are saying or what the list of things I'm supposed to be doing is saying. What do I say? What's my version of success? And that question is the book. It's about how we measure what we're building. And the idea that if we only measure one thing, revenue growth, the number. We're working with incomplete data. There are a lot of kinds of return that are compounding in your business right now, whether you're tracking them or not. And the founders I've watched build something that truly lasts are paying attention to all of them. And I've been talking about pieces of this on the show for years. And now it's time to put it all in one place. And here's how you can be part of it before anyone else. I'm opening something called the First Chapters Club. It's a small group of founders and leaders who will receive chapters as I write this book. And this will be before the book exists anywhere else. You'll get the chapters, reflection questions, and my personal notes as I'm working through it. Your name goes in the acknowledgments of the finished book, and you'll receive early bird pricing when it launches. The first 10 people also receive a 30-second ad spot in this podcast for their business. Just 10. That is all. So the link is in the show notes for more details. If this is for you, you will know. Thank you so much for being here. This community is exactly why this book is happening.