Do you feel comfortable being vulnerable in your work?

Austin Church wants to inspire you to get vulnerable to make your work better, so you have the freedom to bring your whole self into your work.

I met him a ConvertKit’s Craft + Commerce Conference this past summer and we connected over a common vision of creating working with intention.

I like to think of him as a serial soloprenuer. He has built a variety of ventures to help writers, bloggers and freelancers build businesses they love. Some of those ventures include:

• Balernum, a firm helping brands launch, pivot and grow.
• The SPACE retreat, a real-time mastermind.
• Wunderbar, a consultancy to help people build profitable businesses they love.
• More recently, he published children’s book, Grabbling, a story about being brave and knowing when you’ve had enough.

Lot of great lessons in our conversation including:

1. Create better working relationships by being more vulnerable.
2. Why he cultivates a portfolio of side hustles.
3. Austin’s exercise of “go there” to analyze situations.
4. Why resistance is an indicator of growth.
5. How sensitivity can help you be more resilient and create better boundaries.

Life Skills That Matter In This Episode

• Tell your story
• Build your community
• Embrace discomfort
• Practice self-awareness

How Austin Works and Thinks

• Wake up time:   It depends, he rarely sets an alarm.
• Core work activities + habits:  1) Praying.  2) Running.  3) Having a passion project or side hustle he can devote 15-30 minutes to each day.
• Superpower:  Caring.
• 90-day goal:  Setting up the new project manager up to succeed and replace him in a lot of their project management activity so he can finish up a book.

Inspirational Quotes

“When I think about when I have been the most vulnerable, those are some of the most transformative moments I’ve seen 2 with clients.”

“It’s just fun to create something, put it out in the world, and see it make an impact.”

“One thing that I love about sensitivity is its relationship with wisdom and discernment.”

Resources + Bonus Materials

Craft + Commerce Conference

Balernum Branding and Marketing Agency

Grabbling by Austin Church

Fofi Productivity and Time Management cards

Austin’s SPACE Retreats 

Tribe Conference

The Obstacle Is The Way by Ryan Holiday

Wunderbar 

Related Episodes

Bring All The Parts Of Yourself To Your Work With Liz Ryan (221)

How To Practice Self Care When You Work For Yourself With Brodie Welch (248)

Connect With Austin

Website

LinkedIn

Twitter