Stories, Success & Stuff
Watch episodes at https://www.siarza.com/siarza-podcast
A Siarza Production
Hosted by Kristelle Siarza & Jace Downey
Executive Producer: Kristelle Siarza
Producer: Jace Downey
Videographer/Editor: Justin Otsuka
Stories, Success & Stuff
Episode 15: Brainwaves & Breakthroughs
Is your brain, the very core of your being, acting as your ally or your adversary on your path to success? In our latest episode, Kristelle and Jace uncover the astonishing truth that our brains are inherently wired for survival - not success - often throwing unexpected hurdles on our road to achievement.
Discover how these primal instincts can unconsciously hinder your success and what you can do to override them. Learn how the power of conscious intent and effective communication with your own brain can pave the way for a life filled with success and satisfaction.
Buckle up and prepare for a lively exploration of brain science and success. Are you ready to turn your brain from a barrier into a beacon of success? Tune in now!
A Siarza Production
Hosted by Kristelle Siarza Moon & Jace Downey
Executive Producer: Kristelle Siarza Moon
Producer: Jace Downey
Video/Editing: Justin Otsuka
Watch episodes at siarza.com/siarza-podcast
Follow us on FB, IG, TT, YT and TW @siarzatheagency
Follow Kristelle @kristellesiarza
www.misskristelle.com
Follow Jace @jacedowneyofficial
www.jacedowney.com
It's so stupid, the rain is so stupid, it does everything and yet it's so dumb. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, so we're not allowed to have fun anymore. Geez, all right, yeah, we're just here to make Justin's life miserable.
Kristelle:I thought we were allowed to have fun.
Jace:I guess that was only for the one episode. We can't do that for Manufactured fun. Right, this has all been fake laughter the entire time and now I'm going to have to weirdly intro it as well, which we are. We're mixing it up today. I'm going to intro us in. Welcome to Stories, Success and Stuff. I am your co-host, Jay Stowney. In the mix with us always is our leader, Crystal Siarza. That's you. I love the enthusiasm and we're going to have a lot of it today because we're talking about one of my favorite topics.
Jace:That is weirdly left out of the success conversation often, which is the role our brains play in success. Which is nuts, because it probably has the most impact on success of all of the things we've talked about. Now, I know every episode I'm like this is the most important thing for success. But the brain really is, because it is our control center, it's our space of operating all of the things.
Kristelle:Broadcast terminology master control.
Jace:It is our master control. I immediately thought of Master Builder from the Lego movie, which is different but also important.
Kristelle:That's great. We're secretly 12.
Jace:Yeah, I think we've based on our Disney conversations and the things that we laugh at. Yeah, that tracks, yeah, so that's what we're talking about today the brain and body and how unfortunately they're actually wired against success.
Kristelle:So I asked. I said, when we were preparing for this topic, I had asked what scientific evidence shows that the brain very much impacts the mind, the body, the heart, et cetera. Carrie Sissy, this is something that you very much researched before and you're like. I can see it coming out Like I can see it. You're like OK, let me tell you about all things about the brain.
Jace:Yes, buckle up right. Well and absolutely I'm not going to be here and be like, and if you'll refer to page three of your resource guide, we're not going to do any of that stuff. We're going to keep it very surface level on the brain, how it impacts everything. What's the brain's number one job? Think Nope. Oh, thinking is low priority. Do no Move Nope. Tell people what to do Nope. These are all your number one jobs. I don't know.
Kristelle:I don't know what the priority is.
Jace:Survival to keep us alive. The brain does so many things. That was exactly what I was going to say. That was the next one down the list. Survival yeah, it's the oldest part of the brain and it's the brain's top priority. It does other things. It will send resources other places after that top priority. So it is wired for survival, not success.
Kristelle:So, when you had mentioned this, that the brain operates in a very interesting way, it's wired to not succeed. Like what does that? Is that because of evolution? Is that because of current nature?
Jace:It's not so much that it's wired to not succeed, it's wired to keep us alive, and success requires us to step outside of the known and the norm, and that's very dangerous To continue with our 12-year-old selves. Have you seen the Crudes? Yeah, ok, that's a good movie. It's such a good movie and it's the best outward depiction of how the brain views the world that I've ever seen. So if you haven't seen the Crudes, it's an animated movie, disney movie.
Kristelle:It's not a Disney movie, it's a DreamWorks movie. Yeah.
Jace:Nicholas Cage, emma Stone are the voices. Yeah, it's so good.
Kristelle:So the dad in the movie, these are cave people right, which is a perfect example of talking about evolution in the brain.
Jace:Absolutely, because we think we're evolved, but our brain is still here. So the dad is afraid of everything and his job is to keep the family together and alive, because you have to be together to be alive See your squad and community on the importance of that for success, but it's also true for our survival as well, right? So anything new that comes in, the dad squashes it because it'll kill you.
Jace:And it's this running joke the whole time that it's going to kill you. It's going to kill you. Yeah, that's right, and that's what our brain's doing all the time. Anything new that's introduced, it squashes it and it's like nope, that could kill you, and we're very alive here, so why would we try anything new when we're so alive right here? Success requires stepping into the unknown, and that makes the brain really uncomfortable. And yet simultaneously, we also have a reward system built in for novelty, because we have to continue learning and growing to survive. So it's a matter of finding ways of making sure your brain knows it's safe, that you're safe, and then it allocates those resources that it's reserving to other things like novelty, exploration, thinking, doing, telling people what to do. All of the stuff that you're dreaming, visioning. All of that stuff has to first have resources, actual caloric resources that the brain is now not putting towards your survival.
Kristelle:So it explains a lot in terms of the scarcity mindset of an entrepreneur.
Jace:Right.
Kristelle:I always the common theme of story, success and stuff is like, how do we tie it back to the lessons of an entrepreneur, the lessons of a business owner or just a person? Right? A normal Joe Schmo, filipina that's out in the street, right? So two things coming to mind the way that the brain operates in that scarcity, in that mindset of survival. That makes me think of some of the entrepreneurs that I've come across in terms of the Asian business collaborative, in business in general excuse me, even in public relations, right? Some of the folks say that they're burnt out Another topic that we're talking about in the future and when they talk about burnout, I ask them why are you burnt out? And they say I feel like I'm constantly fighting. I feel like I'm constantly trying to come up for air because I'm sinking and I need to survive. That scarcity mindset was with me for five years when I first started the company, and it was like 2019 where I finally said, oh, this is what it feels like to not have that scarcity anymore.
Jace:Yeah.
Kristelle:When you start to evolve your team and you start to figure out what are the things that make you exhausted at night, what are the things that keep you up at night, which obviously the brain is the reason why you keep yourself up at night, right among heartburn and stuff significant others.
Jace:I mean, you're keeping your brain up.
Kristelle:Yeah, yeah, you choose you unconsciously or consciously choose to stay up right, and the brain does that. So in this instance, I think what's really fascinating to me is that the brain does tell a lot of entrepreneurs that it needs to be this. It needs to be the sociopathic all over the place, Like we were talking about the good place. It needs to be a constant flow of Jeremy Bear Me time.
Jace:I wish I know Love a little. Jeremy Bear Me.
Kristelle:And so that I think to me is what creates chaos for an entrepreneur is, when they can't get their brain in check, to say we need to slow down or be mindful, like totally empty for a minute, so that way we can recharge and go back again. I sparked some love there for a second.
Jace:They do because it's so stupid. The brain is so stupid. It does everything and yet it's so dumb. Yeah, because and let me let me say why. So, whatever we're used to, the brain is like I got you, I'm going to adapt to this because this environment or scenario is the norm, and so I'm going to adapt you to it.
Jace:So much of, internally, how we develop as humans is based on our environment around us, and the brain doesn't go. Wait a second, you should have healthier parents than this. Let me, let me wire you for that. No, it goes. Oh, you're in constant dysfunction. I got you, let me adjust your stress levels. I'm going to have that little dopamine deficit rocking for you. It has our back, but it doesn't have any way of being like hey, by the way, it's not going to change our environment, it's going to adapt us to it.
Jace:So things like chaos even though they seem nuts, those, and they're all over the place, and it seems very stressful. If that's what someone's used to and I certainly was that's the comfort level, and so the brain is going to keep us there, just like you're saying, because it's safe there, because, even though it's bunkers, the brain's like oh, but this is what we do. This has been normal for us, so let's hang here. And when we try to shift out of that, like doing things, like quieting the mind, mindfulness, healthy things, healthy brain, goes no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. What are you doing? We might die Like it's the dad from the crudes, where it's like boom, don't pause, don't rest. That might be our demise.
Kristelle:Yeah, yeah, I think about you. Know you talk about your recovery. You talk about your recovery and your addiction stories and and meaningfulness. I think that a lot of entrepreneurs put themselves in a position where they try to. Their mind tells them what they want to do. Their mind also tells them what not to do. At the same time, their mind also tells them to constantly be at that winning and losing and winning and losing streak.
Jace:I think you know where I'm going with this.
Kristelle:I myself have definitely battled from a gambling addiction. First time I said it out loud to those that are not close to me you are both very close to me, Justin. You but definitely in a more public form. I think that's the first time I've ever said it, especially with a lot of the challenges that we're still kind of recouping I'm recouping from with that, but I think the brain really plays.
Jace:It was the perfect topic to talk about, intentionally surprising you and why you wanted to talk about this topic. Yeah, I was like, oh shit.
Kristelle:Oh shit, we're doing this, yeah, okay, because the brain taught me. Studying my brain and also studying addiction is very much one of the things that I never thought that I would be one of those. They say it's a disease, it's a dysfunction, it's how we were born, it's how we were manufactured, et cetera. The brain plays a lot when it comes to addiction, as you know, big time, big time. And so for me, as I was a gambling addict, I would. There was a lot of things. Emotions would play a part in it. I felt like it was the activity my family and I wanted to do. All the time he felt like there was only certain places that I felt very comforted in and I felt like there I didn't also want to be alone.
Kristelle:I dated a gambler that had replaced one terrible habit with gambling and then and this was like many, many years ago and then I think about you know what are, what is the highs and lows of that? Dopamine, dopamine change. The brain puts it in right, yep, or the brain creates that. And so gambling for me, at first it started as like a hobby, a little pastime, entertainment, et cetera, and then it became the scarcity mindset I have to make sure I make payroll. I need to make sure that I supply for my family. I need to make sure that my son has lunch. I was more broke, obviously as a gambler than anything.
Kristelle:But I think people don't realize that that was like, that was my escape back then, as painful as it was, and how, how I'm still paying back a lot of the mistakes that I made as a gambler. My brain was just not in the right space. Yeah, it wasn't at all. And now I look back on those moments where you know, as an entrepreneur, my brain I would tell myself like I want to jump off a bridge right now. Yep, I would fucking want to jump off a bridge because I lost and I lost. I lost 50 bucks, I lost something of an uncertain amount, and my brain would be so wired to just be numb.
Kristelle:Yeah, that numbing feeling that I think entrepreneurs are sometimes, or business owners are, trying to seek, because they just don't want to think, they don't want to look, they don't want to feel, they don't want to do anything, they just want to numb themselves. That's what gambling was for me and I, as much as I regret it, I definitely learned from it. Though the brain is very powerful, it can work to your advantage, or sometimes you really have to focus yourself so you don't do that anymore.
Jace:Yeah, so what that is? Thank you for your willingness to be vulnerable with all of that stuff.
Kristelle:I had to I it had to come out.
Jace:I feel you, but that's still Super cool because I know other people that are watching Can relate.
Jace:yeah, and they're in that space and in my experience, it's helpful for someone to go like, oh hey, by the way, I Know what you're feeling like I know what you're in the mix of and numbing component you bring up is really great because we do like this is all tying in, like the burnout and the staying up at night, and all of these things are working against our success, yeah, and yet the brain is built to do them, which is weird. We spend 47% of our day on autopilot. That's very scary.
Kristelle:I feel like I only spend 4% on autopilot because I feel yeah.
Jace:And yet we're functioning left and right. We don't have, we wouldn't, we aren't able to be fully present all the time, most of us right and so that like constant doing this and bouncing off the walls and the chaos and the stress, and what about this? And not Sleeping? How am I gonna do that? Like the brain does call for a break at times, or it starts to break down in our body.
Kristelle:Yeah, yeah, absolutely. We think we talked about how, or we've talked about this before. Like there are people that have actually been Literally heartbroken, like they've died of a broken heart, right. Well, their heart might have misfunction. What controls the heart, the brain right to a certain degree?
Jace:Yeah and yeah the brain is where everything goes through. It's where it's the in the origin yeah, of all of our things. So, yeah, our emotions, our thoughts, our perceptions, like all of these things. We think of them as being elusive, but their actual components of energy that are going on and they're trackable and they're, and, like with physics and quantum physics, we're learning more and more about it and it's super fascinating and like they don't actually know what makes up a human person Like we know very little like same about the ocean.
Jace:We know very little about what makes up being a person. But the things we do know we can start to use to our Advantage, and a big piece of this comes To the brain and safety, to making sure that we have agency over where our resources are going. Yeah, most of us do not, because we don't talk about the brain and body in this country, in this culture, as being part of the whole. We think of it as a separate thing. So if I were to, I have someone in my life. They have all these digestion issues, always have stuff going on with their GI and their stressed often yeah and they don't have the connection, like when we're stressed, and there's a place for momentary, healthy stress.
Jace:That exists. But when we're in this chronic stress response, which most of us are, then we are actually operating in that fight or flight part of the brain the oldest part of the brain all the time, yeah, and our brain is gonna prioritize the threat and the survival because it does not understand that it's not an Actual life or death threat. The brain doesn't go hold on. That meeting with your boss that you're nervous about Isn't really that big of a deal. No, anxiety and stress get put in as actual life or death threats into the brain and then our bodies respond accordingly, which is gonna mean prioritizing our resources Mm-hmm, to our fight, flight, freeze responses in the body so that we can survive you.
Kristelle:I Think we we should give a lot of credit to also the art of communication, or the science of Communication too, because I think that okay. So, academically speaking, when we talk about Communication, we've got this classic theory of communication there's a sender and a receiver. The receiver has to you know, adhere to the message, understand the message, consume the message and you know, social media, public relations, all that comes right in the middle to actually interfere the decision-making of a receiver.
Kristelle:Yeah if we're talking about it from the lens of a marketing sense, right? So the sender, though the center and receiver, can't operate without the brain. I think that's also a very important, that, if you, the fight or flight instinct in that particular situation or the stress level of a person can be fought if they simply listen or they consume a message, or they understand a message or consume a message that comes delivered to them. And I think it's our Responsibility as leaders or as individuals that are in business, and sometimes we have to be conscious of the person's brain that we're working with. Because if let's say, for example, I called you in, right, and I said we got to work together. We got to work together, so let's meet in our office tomorrow. Have you heard that Mm-hmm? And didn't know me very well, yeah, and I said come into my office and let's work together, you're like, well, fuck, I'm in trouble, right? Or while she's saying that we need to work together, is this a positive sentiment?
Jace:or a negative sentiment.
Kristelle:Yeah, so, depending on what. If it's positive, there's that excitement level or that nervousness level. If it's strictly being business, or being very negative or or challenging in nature, your body responds. But I think that's it. That's an important part for us as communicators, to actually realize that we are you're talking about the brain and its responses we also have a responsibility to actually communicate to it, so that way we don't fuck it up.
Jace:Yeah, you're getting right like this is something I get made fun of until people try it.
Jace:So the brain is a is a communication central as well, where it gives messages and receives messages all the time. It's happening constantly and it's nuts and we don't often intentionally communicate to our brain, yeah, and so I'm talking about actually talking to the brain. So I think, like the brain is an organ and it's super cool and dumb, but it's very cool and it has lots of neat things. And then we have our consciousness, which actually is above the brain, and we know that because we can observe the brain. So it is an internal, external force and part of being a grown-up not an adult who pays their bills, but a grown-up is Moving into that space of consciousness where now we have Intentional choice and we can communicate with the brain. Yeah, so, for example, let's say you're a little kid and All of a sudden your parents are packing up all of your stuff and you see boxes and then they're moving it out of your home that feels like me in 2001, when my dad and my mom start packing up our house in Daly City.
Kristelle:Immediately the response I felt was oh shit, something's wrong something's wrong.
Jace:And if you're a little kid, where are they going? Am I going with them? What's happening? What should I be doing? Did I do something wrong?
Jace:We always bring it back to the eye, especially children's the ego. Check that episode and you'd be panicking, you'd be very scared and then you would start noticing everything that might be scary. Oh, yeah, right, so that's what a lot of us do with the brain. We don't communicate it with it at all. Now imagine your parents told you we are moving to a new neighborhood, we're gonna have a new house, and they take you to it. They show you your room, you. They show you the park that's nearby, that you're gonna love, your school, that you're gonna meet. They explain the moving process to you. You're gonna start seeing boxes. It's okay, all of the stuff's coming with us, and so are you, and they actually talk you through the process.
Jace:Now, all of a sudden, you're freaking. Sighted has super cool swing set. You're about it. You like your new teacher. That was super cool, is very colorful. Rule like now you're on board, yeah, and so that's when we talk about communicating with the brain. It's actually letting it know. Here's what's going on. I'm about to move into a new endeavor. There's a lot of uncertainty with it. Yeah, it's gonna be a little bit of a risk. I'm starting a company. A lot's gonna come up. We are absolutely safe, yeah, yeah. Literally telling the brain we're gonna be safe, you are safe, you not gonna be. We are right now. The brain only operates in the present.
Jace:Yeah so, like I have an ongoing Set of affirmations I use all the time yeah, I am safe and I'm significant, I am loved, I'm abundantly provided for and all is well I. I giggle, I'm sorry, you do no, I think this is great.
Kristelle:No, this is great, but you're not gonna. I don't fuck it. If you don't like it, that's fine Hit me with it, so my daily affirmation is Don't be an asshole.
Kristelle:I already know it. Don't be an asshole. Yeah, I woke up telling myself don't be an asshole today. But like, okay, back to the brain, if I chose to be mean, upset, grumpy all the time, or if I chose not to recheck myself and own the grumpiness, I find myself in this a lot actually. Yeah, it might be the challenge of a client, the challenge of a financial situation. I find myself just stuck in my mental state, yeah. And when I'm stuck in my mental state of negativity, I don't know what to do or how to pick myself back up. And I have to tell myself, like, did you wake up today, crystal, to be an asshole? No, did you wake up today to be negative? Is this how you really wanna live your life today? No, and once I give myself that inner pep talk because, remember, you and I are different. You're calm, cool, fun, collected I'm like fucking go, let's go.
Kristelle:Like that's who I am Sorry if the mic went hollering on that, Justin, it's true. Like why? Why, we all have choices, we all have. I made the choice. I made the conscious choice to actually make a difference in my life and change my life so that way it's beneficial for me. Not because of my family, not because of the finances of this company, but I stopped gambling because I chose not to gamble today. Period right, and that's my brain telling me. You're fucking doing whatever's best for you.
Jace:So here's the thing with the choice component when we're in that survival state which, if we're in scarcity, if we're in constant stress, if we're not getting enough sleep, if we have that anxiety rolling, if we come from dysfunction that hasn't been healed, we're in the survival state. So this is our old part of the brain is kicking it back. Here we actually lose the connectivity to our prefrontal cortex, which is our newer part of the brain, where decision making and long-term thinking and judgment take place. So if we are in there's a lot of science.
Jace:You asked for it.
Kristelle:Yeah, you know I did so. You're saying the back doesn't talk to the front. It's like a mullet.
Jace:It's like a mullet and it's like hey, I thought we were business, and then the back's like it's a party back here, but they're not communicating and we actually lose function to communicate and our gray matter can go offline, where we're actually in, this space where we can think things like consequences and long-term. So this is why it's crucial to work with the brain and to work with the resources that it is allocating in different places, so that we can be in that newer, cooler part of the brain that can analyze and can plan long-term and can take care of bills two weeks early or whatever, and then set yourself up for success. We can't really success and survive simultaneously. We have to move out of survival mode to be successful. We can grind and we can claw our way to some form of success in that, but it is not the only option.
Kristelle:Okay, so let me take that same thought. What are your thoughts on athletes, athletes especially and the while? I think there's so many things to study about an athlete. To begin with, right, everybody's an athlete in their own different way, but we're talking about, like professional athletes as a perfect example, especially like Olympians.
Jace:I was just gonna say like Olympic level athlete.
Kristelle:Yeah, so like think about Simone Biles. Hold on with me for a second Simone Biles in 2022,. Simone Biles in 2022 versus Simone Biles in 2018. 2018, simone Biles said my mind is going to overtake my body and my body is going to do XYZ my mind. However, in 2020, her decision to actually withdraw. From a lot of different events, she saw that her mind couldn't overtake the body. So, while she was the goat in 2018, she's now well known for her attention to mental health, her brain, her mind, because her mind said you're not in the right space right now and your body's gonna misfunction. And sure enough, her fiance or boyfriend at the time said, while she was in the air doing a lot of these different things I knew it wasn't her.
Kristelle:I knew she wasn't okay, because she was getting lost in her tumbles and her routine that she wasn't all there. And because she wasn't all there, she was perfectly happy being in silver. But her brain is so wired to win. So what makes an athlete so unique in your mind about their brain and body and that connection or disconnect behind?
Jace:it Intentionality. So we're out in the world, most of us, and we don't consider our brain and body in our formula for success. We're not taking care of them. We don't get the sleep that we need. Oftentimes we're not feeding ourselves in ways that are fueling to the brain. We don't surround ourselves with positive people. We're not thinking about our thoughts and our belief systems. We're just like crossing our fingers and hoping our efforts work right. Athletes are intentional about the care of their brain and body. They know that visualization is gonna actually wire their brain and body to do the movements they need to succeed. They know that their outlook and attitude plays a huge role in performance. They are intentional in their care and they're exercising of the brain and body and we see them go to unbelievable levels because of it. Athletes are awesome because they show us on a really clear level because it's physical, we can watch it how much greater humans can be than we've been told.
Kristelle:That's a bear. Put that in writing somewhere, make that a proverb, like 100%.
Jace:We can learn a lot, yeah, a lot.
Kristelle:So, like our competition episode, we talked about how business owners some of the most fascinating business owners that I've met are the ones that were former athletes, college D1, pro, whatever that might be. But do you think then that at that point, when a business owner says I need to work out, they're not really working out to get swole?
Jace:Are we talking about actual working out Like?
Kristelle:actually going to the gym, yeah, yeah.
Jace:Ok, I was like are we doing a metaphor here? Because I can get on board with this Actually working out, all right, they're getting their fitness. Yeah, yeah, actually going to the gym, right.
Kristelle:Like those types of business owners understand that their mind needs to take a break, but their body needs to move.
Jace:Sure.
Kristelle:Right. That gives them a more competitive advantage because their mind is in the right space to make better decisions.
Jace:Well, and actually taking care of the body, takes care of the brain, like they're all buddies. It's all buddies inside Peanut butter and jelly Great pals Great pals until you bring bananas into the mix and then it ruins everything. Yeah, it's all working together and the more time and attention we can spend on that and recognize that our brain health is actually going to not might, absolutely is going to dictate our level of success and we actually prioritize that, get out of the way. Everybody else, like you're going to be an unstoppable force, but we have to do that conscientiously.
Kristelle:Sure, so we also. You had spearheaded a blog that's in motion at the moment. We'll be posted on CRScom, a blog that talks about National Wellness Month, which is in August. You asked the team what are your ways of stress relieving, so that helps clear your mind, focus your brain? What did the team say? I'll tell you mine last but I was curious to see what other team members said.
Jace:Oh no, yeah, nobody has sent anything yet. Nobody sent anything yet. I haven't checked it the last two days. I have to go look. So I do have Ed's, our old friend of the show, by this. We're going to have to put Ed on the show at some point so people know who we're talking about Maybe for our money, episode Ed, our finance manager, that's a great idea.
Jace:He's in the next office, can you hear us? So he said, jay, I want to talk to you about stress. And I was like, are you stressed right now? Like do we need a session? That's not really my job here, brother. But what's up? And he goes no, no, no, no, no. I discovered after all this time why I live so lighthearted and carefree.
Jace:I was like yeah hit me with it, man, and he told me it's because I don't wait until things are fires that need to be put out. I just deal with everything early. So if I have a deadline of next Friday but I can do it this Tuesday, I'm going to do it this Tuesday. I don't wait until Thursday night. Yeah, I was like what is this magical concept you speak of?
Kristelle:Dude's never heard of procrastination ever in his life, I know, and I was like this is a superpower.
Jace:So I'm like how do we make this a system? Because you just doing that and having done it your entire life is neat, but for the rest of us who do not do that, how do we turn this into a system?
Jace:Which absolutely can be done and that's the really cool thing. I joke that the brain is stupid because in a lot of ways it is, but it's also really amazing because it can be rewired. Neuroplasticity is something that we used to believe was only possible in our younger years and that you get to a very big science work. It's the moldability of your brain, like Play-Doh Exactly like Play-Doh. So we used to think that you would mold it during childhood, in your early years, and then whatever shape you ended up with whether it was a castle or a really bad goose then that was your brain for the rest of time. And now we know that's wildly inaccurate, that we continue to learn and shift and grow our whole lives if we do it right, and that the brain remains plastic our whole lives. So we can make these adjustments, we can rewire the brain at any time If we have the resources and tools and willingness to actually do it, and a lot of these things can be really simple, like exercise.
Kristelle:Yeah, and is that what Ed said? No, ok.
Jace:The more he talked. I literally told him today you don't have a lot of trauma in your past, do you? And I'm like, which is awesome, but you come from a functional family, I'm assuming, because the thing is, and what I brought, I'm like that's a really great concept, but for people who have already been in a state of constantly putting out fires, you don't have the space and time to plan to next Friday Because you have six fires that have to be put out this Tuesday, and so there's a grace period that needs to be put in place when we are making big shifts like this and communicating to them, to the brain.
Kristelle:I think that's a really good point in leadership. I'll get to my two stress moments really quickly too. Sometimes I see folks in the community that they run really phenomenal businesses and organizations. There's one leader in particular I remember specifically Not one of my favorite leaders, but I remember her saying it's a 911 culture around here and I feel very much so that there might have been some trauma that nobody really knows, talks about, willing to say.
Kristelle:And then I also said to another leader I said something very similar to that phrase. I said I used to have a boss. They used to tell me that it was a 911 culture and she was like oh no, no, no, crystal, that's not the case. That's definitely not it. It's not a constant state of panic. When a leader has their brain wired like that, that's going to filter throughout the entire organization. Sometimes I know for a fact around here it drives people nuts that sometimes I don't operate with that fast. We got to get it and we got to get it done. Now I have that mentality and I know that there was a list that showed that the top 10 professions that are ultimately stressful. Public relations and advertising was definitely in one of those lists as one of the very stressful jobs because of the deadlines, and it's exactly what you're talking about.
Kristelle:But it goes back to what is your leadership trying to do for the culture. Is your culture really trying to be that 911 ambulance chasing culture, or is it at the point where it's like we all need to focus and function and really pay attention to quality? Now I'll admit, we have our moments Like today was a perfect example. Today was not on schedule. Sure, at all. Right, I don't even know if we're on schedule for this show, but it's not on schedule. And yes, you have to roll with the punches. How many damn punches do you have to roll with in order for you to say I'm fucking done Right?
Jace:I'm done. If you go stop this episode now and then go re-listen to all of the different references to fighting yeah, fighting for success punches. We have this mentality, we have a survival mentality built into our culture. There are no punches, we don't have to fight for success. Even with a deadline, you can still be calm and relaxed with it, recognizing it is, and we do that by keeping a broad perspective, right, yeah, I would think about it when I was a content creator and I'd be like, oh my god, I have all the stuff I have to pump out and I'm hitting deadline, and I'd be panicking and I'd be like Jace Time out, time out. It's social media content that people are going to look at maybe for one or two seconds and move on. Now the quality and hitting the commitment that we've made to the client is significant and important 100%, but recognizing there's no crisis here.
Kristelle:It's not, pr, it's not, and PR, not PR, and even if it is, we can still stay in the present moment.
Jace:This is a big piece of a takeaway, for a healthy brain is staying in the present, because 911 and panic and all that happens in the future and in the past, there are very few actual emergency situations that have to be dealt with right now.
Kristelle:Yeah. So let me ask you this so the situation that we had I was preparing for the early today is preparing for tomorrow. So Monday we have our business development call. Because you're part of the business development team and I said, hey, we're $120,000 to goal. Yeah, Did it put you in a panic? No Good, that wasn't my goal.
Jace:That wasn't my goal. Yeah, you have to try harder to freak me out.
Kristelle:Yeah, it wasn't my goal to put you in a panic, but we have a sales goal, yeah, right, or sorry. We have a gross profit goal. I want to make sure that we hit the top line number. That's how we lead the company. I manage through the numbers. I had to learn how to manage through the numbers so, as we were managing through the numbers and moving forward in it, I said to myself perfect example 2016 Crystal would be like oh shit, we're $120,000 to goal. We got to go. We got to keep fighting. We got to keep going. I hope I didn't leave you with that feeling no To move forward, because that wasn't what I was trying to do. I'm glad that you didn't continue it that way Because to me, I said to myself I know we're going to get there. I know we're going to be at that point. Even if we don't, it's not do or die, right, right, it's going to suck, yeah, but there's things that we can adapt and change and overcome or build or refocus. Yeah, the brain has usually told me to panic.
Jace:Panic and see, and what you just described is changing your perspective to let the brain know it's safe. This might happen, but if it does, we have a contingency plan in place. There's no reason to panic here. There's no lion about to eat us. We're kicking it. We can still be focused. You're actually more focused when you're calm. Things move more slowly. We can actually let the brain know, exactly like you did. There's no crisis here, we're safe, all is well, all is absolutely well. And let's wrap it there. Does that feel good? Do you feel calm? Do you feel stressed?
Kristelle:Yeah, I definitely am thinking about OK, what am I going to do to de-stress myself? Today wasn't good but stressful day, so I'm going to tell my brain how do I empty itself. But that's something that I think all entrepreneurs need to figure out right. They need to figure out, like you said, potentially practicing mindfulness how athletes are able to really wire themselves, the cortex vortex. What did you talk about? Prefrontal?
Jace:cortex. I love that the cortex vortex.
Kristelle:I might have an MBA, but I don't have anything in science. Anyways, I'll let you wrap up.
Jace:Yeah Well, we talked about some meditation practices in our shit show episode. You can check those out Nutrition, rest, laughter, play fun, community sleep. Finding what works for you to calm the brain is super important and it is going to be your make it or break it for success, absolutely. Thank you all so much for joining us for this week's episode of Stories, success and Stuff as we covered the brain's impact on success. Hopefully we didn't stress you out too much If we did just let your brain know it is safe. If you enjoyed today's episode, please hit subscribe. Let us know that you're digging it and we will see you. Though your name will be different, I will be different.
Jace:This is our last episode with you as Crystal Ciarza.
Kristelle:Yeah, I totally forgot. I mean, I told you I was like, oh, this is going to be the last episode. Yeah, and it was really the episode, my brain is rewiring to soon call myself Crystal Ciarza. Moon Change in perspective.
Jace:Change in perspective for sure. Thank you all, and thank you for opening up and being so vulnerable with us today and just generally kicking butt Like I see. We appreciate you all and we'll see you next week.
