Working Towards Our Purpose

Welcome to Working Towards Our Purpose, a podcast that

offers a different perspective on what a job can be. For everyone

out there that's heard that voice in the back of their head asking for something

more, it's time to listen to it. I'm your host, Gino,

and join me as I interview people who have decided to work in their own

purpose. Together, we will learn, become inspired,

and hopefully find our own path towards working in our purpose.

Joining me today is Chelsea Risling, the founder and owner of Meraki

Supply Co, a retail boutique turned consulting company based in

Calgary, Alberta, Canada. She spent the last 2 years here in New Haven

working for Yale as director of operations for the women's hockey

team. Chelsea, thank you so much for being here. How are you today?

Thanks. I'm great. Yeah. It's a nice, beautiful, sunny day in New Haven.

Yes. It is. So yeah. So, I guess the first question

is, always, like, what was your kinda childhood like? And,

like, you know, what did you do for schooling? Or, like, what was it like

growing up in Canada? I mean, that's probably different than America. So

kinda, yeah, just a little bit about your story. Yeah. I grew

up in Saskatchewan, which is one province east of

Alberta, and, yeah, I had a very normal childhood. I

grew up with my dad and got to play lots of sports

and have lots of friends and have just a really pretty normal

upbringing. And in high school, I moved to boarding

school, and it was like a Catholic boarding

school. And it was awesome. I made a lot of friends there.

I think that was probably one of the most foundational

couple years of my life was moving away from home and

start starting to figure out who I am as a person and

establishing a lot of lifelong friendships. And after

that, I moved to Calgary, to the University of Calgary, to

pursue a degree in philosophy.

Interesting. What, led you to, like, philosophy? Was that just

something that, like, intrigued you? Or Yeah. 1000%.

I know it's not the most practical

university degree a person can take, but I I loved the

conversation and, you know, diving in-depth

into various topics. And and, yeah, I just

found it really stimulating. So, yeah, that's kind of what I

did for 4 to 5 years. After that, I did

some traveling. I backpacked across Australia, which

was really fun, and I had to make a decision,

join the corporate world and pursue a law

school or further education or open my

own business. And I was presented with sort of a fork in the

road, and I chose to take a huge risk and a

huge leap and open up a store at age 24.

And with knowing nothing about it, yeah, it actually

all worked out for me, which is really cool. That is cool. And we'll

definitely, like, get into that because I have a lot of questions about that. But

I get think the first thing that comes to mind for me is, like, is

is the view of, like, going to school and getting a

job for, like, 40 years for the best, is that a similar view that, like,

Canada also shares to the United States? Or is there, like, a difference, do you

think, between, like, work culture and, like, life

balance? I think Canada in that

aspect is very influenced by American culture. The

university aspect or going to school

or choosing your career in a sense right out of high school, whatever that may

be. There's, like, a lot of pressure to sorta

have it figured out. And I think that's so silly to think that

16, 17, 18 year old kids these days could have

any idea what they wanna spend the rest of their life doing. And I

think that's, like, a dangerous pressure to put

people under. I wish more people would take time and

travel or work or figure out who they are, you know, focus

on making friends, community, or being somewhere that they

actually enjoy. And yeah.

Mhmm. Yeah. Totally. Definitely agree with that. So did

that affect, like, what you went to college for? Because

you you even said, like, maybe it's not a practical degree, but I

remember, like, for me, when I picked a degree, like, that was kinda the only

thing I was thinking about, like, where it would position me to after

college. So what, like, made you pick the thing that you were interested

in versus, like, maybe a quote, unquote more practical

degree? Yeah. I think that's maybe what sparked

my sort of outside the box life Mhmm. In not

pursuing something that just led straight to

a career job and choosing something that did pique my interest

more than being practical. Yeah.

That's really cool. So then you did some traveling after you

graduated, and what spawned you to go to Australia?

That's very far away. Yeah. I had some friends who were

out there doing some traveling, and I was just about done

my degree at the U of C. And, I decided

I'm gonna book a one way flight out there, and we're gonna get a van

and drive up the coast and camp with no return

flight or anything. And that was really fun. I'm a bit of a spontaneous

person, always up for adventure. And

that was a really fun summer of my life to, get to

experience that in in a bit of a different part of the world. Yeah.

It was cool. I also had moved

out east for a year of my university

time to work for the University of New Hampshire's women's

hockey team, and I did my courses online from my

university. So that was kinda cool. I got a little taste of

Eastern America, just north of Boston, and, yeah, that

was a really, really fun time, too. I've never been afraid

of making a move or changing cities or, you

know, going into something a bit unknown. And and yeah. So I feel like that

was rooted in me from a bit of a young age.

Yeah. Definitely. So yeah. So then you came back

from Australia and then you just decided that you wanted to open a business. What

was that process like or decision making like? Did you think about

it a lot or was it like something that kinda just came up and you

took it? Yeah. I moved back, and

I was studying for my LSATs

and sort of planning on, I guess, this is the next step, like

going continuing my education and and going into law

school. And I had finished those, was happy with my scores,

but felt a little bit of, you know,

I don't know if this is the right decision for me. I think there's a

part of me that doesn't quite fit into the corporate world, and

that was the part of it that I worried about

the most. You know, I'm a really passionate person. When I find

something I love, I'm a 110% into it.

But I'm also myself. I'm very myself, and I

don't know that I could fit into conforming into the corporate

world in the way that I would have probably needed to to be successful

in that career. And, yeah, one thing led to

another, and I think it's it's that little bug

you get bit by or that little seed that gets planted in your brain

that you know what? I've seen other people open businesses.

I I feel like I could really do this and give it a shot.

And that was sort of the moment when I changed course

and pivoted from continuing education

to taking a risk. Shortly after that, I found

a space to lease. And from there, it was you

know, looking back, I designed the space and and made

it my own. And and, yeah.

So did you have to sign, like, a certain amount a year lease?

Because I know with commercial leasing, it's usually, like, not just 1 year. It's like

a bigger commitment than that. Was it similar? And if so,

like, was that, like, nerve wracking or scary to

kinda commit to that big chunk of time?

Yeah. It was a 5 year lease in a

trendy little neighborhood in Calgary called Kensington.

And, yeah, it was a huge risk, but I didn't view it as that

for even one second. I was I had my mind

set, and I figured I would make it work

no matter what. I didn't really experience

any fear going into it. I was just so excited

to do something of my own. And that may

be the little secret to the success or

to it all kind of working out for me was a little

bit of ignorance and being young and being

naive and taking a big risk.

Yeah. Yeah. I I guess, something that kinda comes

up in the people that I interview, I was thinking specifically of an one

episode I did, but like the way that people make decisions can be

different, like depending on your personality and that sort of thing. I think some people

make decisions with their head a lot and, like, very logical and that sort of

thing, and then some people make decisions with, like, their heart or maybe

more with passion. Is that something that, like, you notice when you make

decisions? Because I guess I'm kinda, like, thinking about the decision you made to go

to college and the decision to open a business. Sounds like you more so follow

something that, like, you're interested in or that you're passionate about versus logic. Is

that, I don't know, something you ever think about? Yeah. Yeah. I

definitely think about that. And I think we're all a combination

of all of those things depending on what it

is. And, you know, age really does play a

factor in that or responsibilities that come up in life, but

I've never let logic stop me from doing something that

I'm passionate about. I feel that trumps all.

Yeah. I think it's something that I bring up because it's always something that

I, like, I balance and play with because I think I also am a very

passionate person when it comes to the things that, like, I enjoy, but I also

am very logical. And like, I went to school for mechanical engineering. It's

very, you know, follow the formula sort of thing.

So it's something that, like, I constantly balance and I think the older I get,

the more I lean off of the logic and more of like the,

what intrigues me. And I think it has been

helpful. So yeah, just interesting to, to get your

perspective on that. So what, what was like the first step of like

starting a store? Like, did you, did you find a

space and then decide what you wanted the business to be? Or did you think

about what the business was and then find the space?

Yeah. I think those 2 went pretty hand in hand, finding the space

and having the concept and the vision all kind of panning out at the

same time. It's about a 6 month period of

creativity and brainstorming and coming up with the concept

and all the little details, but, yeah, I

had an idea of wanting a little store that sold a lot of

products that aren't represented in other stores, which is pretty typical of

a boutique. I mean, a lot of these smaller brands maybe

don't have a storefront to sell in, or maybe they're only at markets from time

to time. So my idea was to make a space

around local goods or local makers

and sort of combine that with a bit of the outdoorsy culture that

exists in Calgary and make a little store. So

yeah. Interesting. So

what was the, like, the first biggest challenge, I guess, as

opening your own store? Like, so you're a boutique finding

kinda other people's unique items. What was the process

like to even find stuff to put in your store? Yeah. A lot

of it was, at first, you you kinda make connections through social

media. I think at that time in 2013,

2014, Instagram was sort of starting to really become

not just a social app, but a tool for businesses.

And I was really lucky to experience

the beginning phases of Instagram as a

business tool, which was really cool, connecting with people

in my city, but also people internationally,

and really built a community around

this little concept, this little lifestyle concept, if you will.

And that was really fun. I think a lot of the Meraki community was

outside of Calgary as well. I had a lot of people throughout the years

who had followed us for years come through town and make

us a pit stop, and, you know, we'd send product

out to people, you know, in California or

Colorado. And it was really cool to connect. And I think

that is an aspect of the business that I didn't foresee and

how Instagram really played a huge role in that too, in that

connection, in that community building, even with other businesses, other

whether it was other vendors or other stores similar to mine.

Calgary itself has a really cool small business scene. And

especially back then, it was really booming before sort of

the the downfall of oil and gas and the pandemic and all

those things. I think that was such a prime time to be a

part of something really special and a lot of success in that

city at that time too. It was a really booming

period and a really cool time to start a business. And, you

know, whatever your idea of success is, I felt it was

coming through in a lot of different ways in community and

connection and helping others and building something bigger than

myself. Yeah. That that word community is something that,

like, is important to me also. And

something that I also didn't really expect when I first like, because I first started

my business, it was like completely online. Didn't really have to talk to anybody,

kinda just tried to find clients through Instagram and, you know, other ways

like that. But I think once I started being involved

in, like, even the New Haven local entrepreneur community and just other

people who are doing similar things is when things changed a lot for me.

So, yeah, it's interesting that that's something that, like, I both of

us maybe didn't see coming, but became instrumental. And then

even for me, certainly rewarding as far as,

just connecting with other people and, like, figuring out my own mission

more. Did did connecting with the community kinda

change the way that your business even was or, like,

you know, from the original idea? Yeah. 1000%.

It was the whole purpose. It became the whole purpose

of the business, whether it was, you know,

making friendships and connections with people, helping

other people with their small businesses, or even just the ability

to have my own space where my friends knew where to

find me every single day. It was really cool. I

got to have my dog with me at work every day, And we

became the little staple of the neighborhood and just went to

the same coffee shop across the street every day and lived above

my store, which was really cool. There was a really strong

community aspect to having this

shop that I didn't foresee. And

that is what I ended up enjoying the most

about it. That was by far the most important part about

having this space was its

potential to be anything I wanted it to be. We ended up hosting

various events with other breweries

or, you know, different companies in town or or, you

know, musicians and and things like that. We did a lot of pop ups

and even just had our own little parties and things and stuff. It was a

really cool space that became multidimensional, and

that was that was something I didn't foresee at all, but

became sort of the pillar of Meraki.

Yeah. I like that. And I think too, nowadays,

it's it's cool to, like, have a multi use

space, even like maybe from like a, you know, income aspect. It's

like hard to make one specific thing work. I think it's cool that like

businesses are, like, combining things and, like, having different like, the other day I

saw this tattoo shop that's also gonna be, like, a coffee shop, which

is so cool to me because, like, they're trying to invite people to, like, come

hang out. And, like, obviously, there's gotta be some separation for, like, health

concerns, but, just the idea of, like, people hanging out there and

seeing what's going on and like something else is going on in the back. I

think that that's like a really cool way to run a business because it's

inviting the community. So it's cool that you, like, got to do

that. So I really like that idea of, like, having a physical location be more

of something than just selling something. But I guess that

kinda like brings me to like, so what about like from the business end of

running the business, like, you know, obviously you gotta pay for your rent and

lights and, and all that stuff. Did selling products,

like, initially, was that enough for you to

to keep the lights on, or did you have to, like, start selling online? Like,

what did that look like? Yeah. The store itself did

did fairly well. I'd say my expectations in that aspect

were exceeded. There was a big push for me to sell

online and do ecommerce, or I guess not a push, but

more pressure from people who maybe didn't live in the city and things like

that. And I dabbled in that a bit, but I found something a

bit impersonal about the online

space of of selling a product. You know, that, at the end of the day,

just, like, wasn't what I was trying to do

initially. But ecommerce in that time frame, in those 6

years, did become one of the main ways of

consuming and shopping. So sort of pivoting to

that in some degree, but a bit in a resistance

sort of way. The point was to come down to the store, you know, and

see the space. Upon opening, I

didn't have a lot of start up money at all to open up, but I

spent every last dime on making the space

feel a certain way when people walked into it, where

you almost feel a bit transported when you walk into the space. It

was all Douglas fir, wood paneling, and big

huge beams, and, you know, a really cozy space with

with exposed brick and things like that and, you know,

dim lighting. And I wanted people to feel like they were walking

into a cozy space and a space that felt like

quality, and that was then reflected in the products as well.

But, you know, the product's almost being an afterthought to how the

space initially felt. And I think anyone who's stepped foot

in Meraki knows what I'm talking about, and I'm sure there'll be

some people listening to this that that have been there. And,

yeah, so I think ecommerce is something I was a bit

hesitant to do because, you know, you just you it's it's

impersonal. And at the end of the day, all of the brands that I

sold in the store had their own ecommerce sites and their own and

their own website. So that's an interesting

reality of of being somebody who's a vendor for other

people's products, which then led it to us making some one

off drops of, you know, Meraki products and things, which was really fun,

just to have that little creative touch and get to do

some things like that that we wanted to to make. Yeah.

Cool. Yeah. I I like that. I because I'm kinda the same way. Like, I'm

at more of an in person sort of being.

And, like, I really like the way that you describe, I

guess, the aesthetic of the store and, like, how that was almost

more important or a primary driver versus,

like, the actual products. And I think I noticed

if there was, like, pictures of products and stuff like that, but it's all just,

like, an aesthetic of, like I don't know. You feel a

certain way by looking at all the pictures that are, like, curated. Do you know

what that is? Like, the the drive to, like, want to, like, curate this kind

of aesthetic almost? Yeah. You know, I haven't thought

too much about that. As you said, it's kinda been like that from the

beginning, but I guess it's it's sort of storytelling

in a sense or or something like that. It's visual storytelling,

and it's I wanted to reflect, you

know, quality and consistency in in our

products. And I think that was the main platform for that.

Funny thing is I had never had to spend a dime on

advertising or marketing. You know, I just figured it out as I

went, which was really fun. So the Instagram

page kinda says it all, and the photos and all that. And,

you know, reposting a lot of other people's photos from afar

sort of became, you know, another aspect of of the

visual side. Yeah. It definitely

is, important part. I think if anything, because I'm just thinking

like if I go to a coffee shop, I'm usually picking it

based off of like the space and like how it feels in there versus

like, if their coffee's good. Maybe everybody doesn't do that,

but I feel like that's more important than if the

coffee is good. Like, because if I'm gonna be sitting in there and working, like,

I wanna be comfortable and, like, feel a certain way, feel productive.

So I think that that's, I don't know, at least for me, something that, like,

maybe a lot of people don't specifically talk about because it's probably

hard to root that back to, like, sales, but I

think it's important. So it's cool that that you kinda, like, went in that direction.

So what did you said you had the store for 5 years. What did,

like, the evolution look like from, like, 1st year to,

like, you know, mid 2, 3 years in to, like, the end of

it? Yeah. I'd say that it started off

pretty small, you know, and not a lot of product. It

was sort of getting people to buy into the concept

and put their product in the store, and, you know, then we

sell it, and then we both get a cut. So the consignment

aspect was how I initially built up the ability

to build an inventory and the ability to

wholesale product from there, which then granted me the ability

to have more products from different makers and, you know,

some from further away and things like that. So it was a

slow growth, but in a sustainable way. I think

growth doesn't have to be so rapid and all at

once. And I think I was happy with how

the growth every year was noticeable. And

how do I word it? I'd say the growth was

noticeable, but not overwhelming. Mhmm. Because that's the other thing

with with quick growth, sometimes things can really get out of

control. So I'd say it started off pretty small, and

by 20 17, 2018, really became

more what I wanted it to be initially. And and it took some patience and

and time and and hard work and a lot of sacrifice

as a young person being there every day. But

it was very worth it for so many reasons that I could have never

expected. By the end of the 5 years,

I decided to give my landlords a call and say, you know,

I'm unsure if I wanna do another 5 or not.

And how would you feel, you know, just

extending my lease by 1 more year? And they were they were cool

with that, you know, with the idea that after that

one additional year, I would then decide if I'm gonna stay for another 5

or not. And on December 31,

2019, I decided that I need a break

and that I had put, you know, 6 years pretty

much working every day into this into this space. And

I was happy with where it was, but I was ready for it to almost

bloom into its its new thing, which I wanted a bigger

space. I wanted, like you said earlier, more more

multifaceted aspects of it, maybe a coffee bar, maybe an event

space, seating for people to hang out and and make it more of a

community concept. So closing the store was

a hard decision, but also kind of an easy decision because in the back of

my mind, I knew that or I thought I knew that it was going to

come back kind of bigger and better and and more built around

community. And, I mean, a few months later, we

all know what happened in March of 2020 with the pandemic.

And that sort of changed the fate of of what I was building at the

time. You know, I didn't know how long the pandemic would last.

I didn't know if it was gonna be a month or a year or longer,

which it ended up being. So it ended up having to

pivot into something to help other businesses stay

alive at that time. Yeah. That's

interesting timing. It's almost kinda perfect timing to close a

physical location when everybody was kinda shut down.

So how did you then kinda grow into that

next role of helping other businesses? Was it something that,

like, kinda just came to you? Like, people started asking you, how do

you do these certain things? Or, was this something that you kinda went out

and tried to do? I mean, it kind of

came naturally. I think there was a couple struggling businesses in the neighborhood

who didn't know where to begin with with sort of

online marketing and and also ecommerce and things like that.

So it's it really started out local and then sort of became

a way to, you know, continue making a living, you know,

switching to sort of helping others with their media and their marketing.

And I think the biggest thing was trying to be something that I

almost wish I had when I was starting my store because

I didn't know how to do any of this stuff. I didn't know how to

set up a POS system or build a website or take

photos, and I had to learn all of those things

on my own, you know, to save money and and things like that.

And, yeah, sort of just kind of using

all my skills that I built in those 6 years to,

help other people stay alive during the pandemic and which turned

into helping some other businesses open up throughout that time

and help other some other businesses grow or open new

departments where they needed to pivot into something a little bit different

to stand through that, you know, really difficult

time economically. And yeah, and so it was it was pretty

rewarding in that sense, I would say. Yeah. I

I also think it's kind of neat that you get to help somebody

with, like you said, almost a younger version of yourself who you

wish you kinda had this, and now you can help those people because you kinda

know where they're at. So I think that's a really cool way to, like, you

know, I guess, make a business off of the things that you already know how

to do, which is I think maybe the most natural

way to have a business or start a business. I think I

think about that a lot and, like, trying to

I'm noticing, like, as you're speaking, it kinda seems like that

you kinda just seem to, like, follow what makes sense and,

like, maybe not overthink, but I could totally be missing

that. Like, how do you feel about overthinking? I feel personally that, like, I

overthink a lot of things to the point where, like, I don't even do them.

Right. So, like, how how do you combat that? Is

that something that, like, is a challenge for you over overthinking things?

Yeah. I think there are things in my life. And as

I've gotten older, I I find that I'm overthinking things

a lot more, because you go through stuff. You know? You go there's a reason

we overthink, and that's a protection mechanism. And

it's wanting to make the right decision with limited

information. You know, overthinking

is not always a bad thing, but it can hold a person

back. And I find in the last few years of my

life since since since I've closed down my shop. You know, I find

myself overthinking, you know, some opportunities

and trying to be that person who that I

am deep down, who is a little more impulsive,

who is open to adventure and opportunities

and, you know, open to the unknown. I

think when I think about what I want my life to look like when

I'm old and unable to do these things,

I want to look back and say that I said yes

to things as often as I could within

reason. But it's harder to do when you get older. You feel like you have

to be more responsible. You know, there's social pressures or,

you know, subconscious things, a place that you're supposed

to be by the time you're in your thirties. And, you

know, I I think I've sacrificed a lot of having a normal life

or having a life where I'm able to up and move to

Connecticut or, you know, go on a big road trip for

half a year or maybe take a risk in

helping someone open a business and be at this point in my life

where I don't know what it's gonna look like, but I think that's how I

want it to be. Mhmm. Yeah. I definitely

resonate with that a lot. And for from

coming from, like, a college path going into corporate, I think

I felt as if that younger part of my life, I was

very excited to like kind of do something and then almost held back

by the job position that I had or, like, you know, the 40 hours you

gotta be there. And I and I think about this

the last few interviews is this kinda come up where it's like

I think about how I was back then and,

like the energy and, I don't know, desire that I had to do something,

but it doesn't necessarily mean, like, you can't do that now.

Like, you could, I don't know. Like, you're a different age and, you know,

circumstances are different, but you could still, like, push yourself to do the

things that you wanna do or kinda more try to weed out the

social pressures and all the other external pressures and, really

nothing is kinda holding you back except yourself. So

almost kinda reframing it and looking at it in a different way and being like,

oh, I could have that exploratory twenties,

early twenties period now. Like, there's not really anything that

is stopping me from doing that except me. Mhmm. So I think I'm

trying to make more decisions now based off of just, like, enjoyment. Like, do I

like doing this? Is this something that's giving me something in return?

You know, not just financially, but, like, am I learning something? Is it

fun? Am I building relationships? Like, that's kinda how I try to move more so

now, I think. So what you were saying was resonating with me

as far as, like, that feeling. But yeah. So as I guess you think about,

like, what it is that you wanna do next. You you

did say that you had some sort of reservations maybe, but, like, what what do

you think that you would wanna do next? Do you wanna open up another location

back in Canada? Yeah. You know, this question comes

up a lot, and I think I've spent maybe the last couple

years unconsciously avoiding that reality

of the next thing. Right? And, you know, which has led me

to some pretty cool places and some really neat opportunities. But at the end of

the day, figuring out what the next thing is for me is is a bit

daunting. My plan is to move back to Canada

in the next month or 2 and figure it

out from there. I know that it's a bit open ended of an

answer, but that's kinda where I'm at right now. And I

need to remember to not be fearing the

future in a time like this, but actually be excited for the

opportunities that could come. And, you

know, I think that's kinda the main question people ask me a

lot is, oh, well, what's next? And where are you gonna live next? And what

are you gonna do next? And I I don't know. I don't know. And

I kind of like it that way by design. You know? It's it's sort of

like that on purpose. I want to do

something that I'm passionate about, but I don't think it's gonna be a

retail location again. You know? A lot of reasons for that.

Some practical and some more emotional. You know, the

economy's changed. How businesses operate has

changed. You know? Look at Amazon in the last 10 years

from 2014 when I opened my store to now. Most people just

wanna shop online, and it's really hard to compete with that.

But also building something that isn't

unknown, like, you know, building something practical too, building something that can

help purpose, building something that I can see myself doing for a

while. And I'm not sure what that is. I've, you know, I've

helped restaurants and people in that world start up, and and

part of me is really interested in that from a passion perspective.

You know, but my skill sets lie in, you know, maybe

more marketing and business vision and things like that. So

I don't know what the future holds, and I think that's really exciting. And

I need to, you know, remember that. And talking with people like you really helps

me to remember that, oh, yeah. This is this is

exciting, and this is okay. One thing you had touched on earlier

with with sort of this topic, it's okay to be in your

thirties and and do things that maybe you might have wanted to do in

your twenties. And I'm seeing a bit of a trend with people our

age. You know, I'm 33, and, you know, a lot of my

peers who have done the corporate thing or one job

for the last, you know, 10, 15 years,

they're they're almost getting this itch to,

you know, oh, I wish I would I could start something of my own up

or try this or you know, and

the comfort of their their

corporate position and and, you know, financially or maybe responsibilities,

like, you know, a family or a mortgage, holds them back

from doing something that they could be really passionate about. And

I am really happy that I took the route I did and sort of

scratch that itch at an early age. And I'm not looking back,

you know, wishing I could do something that maybe I

can't do now. You know? My life doesn't look like what a lot of those

people's lives look like, and that's okay. I do

hope that people our age can feel

comfortable and confident enough to not think

it's too late to try something new and and try something

exciting. Mhmm. Yeah. I

100% agree with that, and that's kind of a part of the

reason that this podcast exists. Because I think when I finally broke out

of that corporate model, I

met so many cool people of all different ages doing so many different cool things.

And I'm like, woah. There's a whole other world out here of, like, people

figuring it out and getting by and being fine and doing the things

that they care about and, like, helping people that they care about. And,

that's certainly, like, one of the first reasons why this podcast exists because

I just wanted to, like, ask them about their stories and, like, highlight them

and be an example for other purpose. Because I think if I'm thinking about a

younger version of myself, that's what I wanted to hear. I wanted to hear, like,

somebody doing something different and, like, being okay and taking a

risk, making a jump and, like, figuring it out. Because, yeah, it's

you'll always figure it out in the end. Like it it'll come

together in ways that you couldn't imagine, but

I think taking the jump is like the hardest thing. So yeah, I,

I really like what you just said. And it, it

is super exciting, to, to go into something and be like, I don't know what

I'm gonna do, but I'm gonna follow my heart and

it'll lead me to what I'm supposed to be doing next. And I think that

that's in and of itself super empowering and a cool way to look at it

for sure. Yeah. Yeah. I feel really fortunate to be in

the position I am in. I feel like my phase in life

right now is very much a follow my heart kind

of phase. You know? I'm feeling ready to move back.

I'm feeling really excited for the future,

and I've got a lot of really awesome people in life too that

are really supportive. I always inspired

by, you know, my friends and my peers and, you know, other

business owners and people like you who, you

know, make me remember that, you know, it's gonna be

okay. And, you know, the support

that's that's success in and of itself is, like, you know, who do

you have in your life helping you become whoever it is that

you wanna be? Mhmm. Yes. I, again,

totally agree. And that's definitely something that, like, you

can't quantify, but it's so important and just helps you get through

because I think a big part of it too is, like, it's not just this

steady kind of doing the same thing every day, getting the same paycheck every

week. There's ups and downs, and I think you need people and

community to help you through those times. And

in getting together with other people who are doing similar things,

like minded people, you are then inspiring each other and,

like, growing together as a whole, which is, I think, is, like, the coolest thing.

So, yeah, it makes me think about, like, physical

location places where, like, people can come together and do that. And I

think maybe one day I'll have some sort of place where people can do that

because I really like the idea of people in person, like communicating and

working off of each other's energies and inspiring each other. But

yeah, we'll see down the road. That's a very cool idea. I I

love that idea, and I think that we need more of that in the world,

you know, to feel connected and to feel inspired and, you

know, to build off of each other's energy and passion.

Mhmm. Totally. So we are kinda getting to the end of

our time, but I do have to ask you the same question I ask

everybody in that is, what does purpose mean to you? For

me, it's, you know, kind of an important word and it's, you know, in this

podcast. So wanna get your perspective on what purpose means. What

does purpose mean to me? Yeah. That's a that's a tough one.

That's ever changing. That is, I

think, a big a big part of purpose for

me is just authenticity and and being true to who I

am and whatever whatever season of my life that

that is. You know? Honoring that, you know, it's always

going to be changing, and that's okay. We're we're meant to change, and we're meant

to grow, and there's ebbs and flows to life. And

it's easy to say right now, but, of course, it's difficult when you're experiencing

that. But, you know, my purpose is to be me.

Be authentic to me. Be kind.

Be you know, help others, inspire

others, but but just always remain true to who I

am. And, you know, know when it's time to say goodbye

or time to say no. And know when it's time to jump in, you

know, feet burst into something exciting. And,

you know, I'm I'm proud to have done the things that I've done, and I'm

excited for what the future holds. But, yeah, I'd say purpose is really

rooted in authenticity at the end of the day.

Yeah. I love that. And I'm also finding that

myself, that that's also a really important piece of it. And

I tend, I have words like it seems every year, like different

words that seem important, and authenticity is one of them

for this year for me. Because I think that that's how you can inspire people

the most is by being your most true

self, and then it inspires other people to do the same. So, yeah, I

I really like that answer. Yeah. Yeah. I I love that. That is

so true. It's truly what inspires others too is just

being you, which is the craziest life hack ever. Just be

yourself. I know. Sounds so easy, but

it's it's Yeah. Not very difficult sometimes,

but, but yeah, thank you so much for sharing all of your

wisdom and your experiences with us. And I definitely wish you the

best In the future, we'll have to have you back on when you get to

back to Canada and and figure out your new thing, and see and see how

far you've gotten. Thanks, Gino. Appreciate it. This has been super fun and,

you know, something a little out of my comfort zone, but I'm super glad I

did it. So thank you for giving me that opportunity, and thanks for being

someone that inspires me. Oh, thank you so much. Thank you for being someone that

inspires me. Awesome. Well, have a good day, Gino. See you.

Thank you for listening to Working Towards Our Purpose. If you liked today's

episode and are interested in more, you can sign up for my Substack

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tips, and ideas that I'm learning along my journey to help inspire

you. The show was produced by Pleasant Podcast at pleasant podcast

dotcom.