Rewriting the Rules: Building a Life Beyond Societal Expectations
Kat speaks with Rick Lorenzo, who challenges the traditional work week with his day one to seven philosophy. Rick shares how he broke free from the 9 to 5 life and started his own business. Their conversation explores societal expectations, from career choices to family planning and the importance of authenticity and kindness. Anyone listening to this episode, be mindful of your conditioning and your views and ask yourself, is it possible for you to have a completely different life in just a year? KEY TAKEAWAYS Rick's day one to seven philosophy reframes the traditional workweek, advocating for flexibility in when and how you work to create a life that aligns with your authentic self rather than conforming to societal expectations. The pressure to conform to conventional life paths (education, career, marriage, children) can lead to misalignment with our true values and desires, creating unnecessary suffering that often only surfaces during major life changes. Creating space for self-reflection is important and Rick and Kat both share how journaling and quiet contemplation help them recognise misalignments between values and daily choices. Getting comfortable with being uncomfortable is essential for anyone seeking change; Rick had to embrace uncertainty rather than clinging to false security to create the life he has now. Building a business culture based on trust, output rather than hours and genuine care for employees' wellbeing creates loyalty and productivity. Rick's team has had no staff turnover in seven years! Traditional ideas about legacy and ownership often distract from what truly matters such as experiences, relationships and making a difference while you're alive rather than accumulating stuff. Giving without expectation, whether through kindness, time, or opportunity, creates unexpected returns through connections and growth, a principle Rick learned from "The Go-Giver." Being mindful of our biases and judgments allows us to approach others with empathy, recognising that everyone's life experiences shape their choices and behaviours in ways we may not immediately understand. BEST MOMENTS "The whole point of being a human being is we do have the choice to actually do what we wanna do, when we wanna do it, as long as we can feed ourselves and look after ourselves. And that freed me up so much." " Well, that win-win sort of mindset means you're expecting something in return. If you can make somebody else win without any expectation... the universe has a way of paying you back in so many weird and wonderful ways." "I think one of the things I'd like anyone who's listening to our episode today to kind of think about is just to be mindful of your own conditioning and your own views... it is possible in 2025 to have a completely different life?" "The biggest buzz I get out of doing is when you show someone kindness and you get a smile back. Giving is a gift, literally gives you a good feeling. So give to people, be kind every day." ABOUT THE GUEST I look back at life, reflecting on the rules and guidelines given to us from a young age. Study, get a job and save for retirement. Years later, when I was broke and had no real career prospects in my late 40's, all I heard was that it's too late for me. The best I could expect was a low level sales job, to keep me fed and sheltered. All conventional wisdom indicated it was over for me. This fueled me into rethinking everything. The average life expectancy of a job today is 4 years. I had nothing to lose. So I started my own path, knocking shop doors, selling one product.. the start of a business. Fast forward 11 years, I have changed how I look at time and how I spend it. No weeks, no weekends.. just day one to day seven, with choices to do anything on any of those days. Unshackled from the norms, I can use my time (which is the most valuable and unknown) asset I have, in a way that works for me. Connect with Rick on Linkedin ABOUT THE HOST Kat started her career as a teacher, before moving into Tech where she worked in different executive roles within teaching and consulting working across the globe, both in the public and private sector. Despite appearing 'successful' on the outside, she paid a heavy ‘life’ price. In 2016, her whole world collapsed. The reason? The compound effect of years of unhealthy and toxic habits that destroyed her health, relationship and career. She suffered a severe breakdown and lost everything. In the middle of this she got headhunted for her first CEO role. She rebuilt herself by changing just one small habit, and built a series of positive habits which has transformed her professional and personal performance, resulting in becoming the healthiest and happiest version of herself. She is a positive habits international keynote speaker and teacher, giving talks and delivering high impact programmes to organisations across the globe. LinkedIn Instagram
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