The Entrepreneur Ethos

Jane Enright

Jarie Bolander -

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Summary

Hey everyone. Stay tuned to the end of the interview where I’ll give you some actionable insights that I learned from my guest. These insights are also in the show notes. As always, thanks for listening.

Now on to my guest for today, Jane Enright, author of Butter Side Up: How I Survived My Most Terrible Year and Created My Super Awesome Life. Jane and I will be appearing together on June 8 at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco for more conversation and we hope you will join us. The link for a free ticket is in the show notes.

Jane's journey starts with what most would consider a crisis: she was laid off from her job at a nonprofit. But her boss, a creative thinker, offered to work with her on a freelance basis. That was the start of a successful career that led to speaking and helping businesses, a career that would come to a halt after another crisis. One day, while at a volleyball tournament, an angry athlete hit the ball into the stands, hitting Jane hard on the head. Jane consequently suffered a traumatic brain injury. She experienced a decline in cognitive function, affecting her memory and speech and putting a stop to her previous activities. That same year, Jane's fiancé also suffered a traumatic brain injury that left him unable to walk - or to remember who Jane was.

Jane's book, Butter Side Up, chronicles her journey and the key ideas that helped her to successfully re-invent her life as an author. Now instead of speaking, she writes her message. A forthcoming book, Jane's Jam, provides further ideas and inspiration for others to create their own "super awesome life." In our conversation, Jane and I talk about the importance of deciding to step back and inventory your strengths, cultivate resilience, and get comfortable with being uncomfortable.

Now, let’s get better together.

Actionable Insights

When you are confronting a challenge:

  • "Acceptance is the first step to navigating change," Jane says. Acceptance will help you to move beyond denial and resistance.
  • Try to step back and look at what's happening objectively. See it as a project to manage or a problem to solve rather than engaging in self-pity or blame. Jane talks about how she takes stock of her strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities. She learned to apply what she'd learned working in business to the rest of her life. Another technique is to ask yourself, If I were my friend, what would I say?
  • Strengthen yourself for challenges by cultivating a positive attitude and noticing what you are grateful for in your life. Purposely challenge yourself by trying new things to build resilience. This will help you better navigate the hard times.  

If you're in the San Francisco area, please join Jane and me for an in-person conversation at the Commonwealth Club on June 8, 6-8:30 p.m. You can still get your free ticket here.

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