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Foundation Brick 7: Get a Donkey!

If you lost your business tomorrow, would you still know who you are?

“Get a donkey” sounds like strange advice in a sales context, but stay with me. I mean your thing outside of work that grounds you, feeds your soul, and reminds you there’s more to life than your next settlement. For me, it literally became donkeys—two of them, in fact.

Running your own business, whether you’re the director or effectively running a business within someone else’s, can be demanding and downright stressful. Targets, goals, staff, cash flow, late nights, early mornings, constant pressure—it all adds up. Bit by bit, you can lose touch with the things that make you feel human. We get told we have to be more, do more, earn more. There’s nothing wrong with ambition. But if you sacrifice all your joy and grounding on the altar of performance, you will eventually hit a wall.

I’ve seen people crash and burn. I was one of them for a season. I became hardened, disconnected from myself, and off-course. It took stepping back, reconnecting with nature, with my family, and with simple pleasures to remember who I was without the numbers and the name on the door. Now, time with my donkeys is one of the ways I reset. It’s impossible to take yourself too seriously when you’re hanging out with a donkey.

Ask yourself:

  • When was the last time you walked in a forest and actually listened to the sounds around you?

  • When did you last kick your shoes off, run along the water’s edge, or roll down a grassy hill like you did as a kid?

  • What activity, place, or relationship makes you instantly exhale?

Your “donkey” might be surfing, painting, gardening, playing music, or being fully present with your kids. Whatever it is, it’s not optional. It’s part of the foundation that allows you to perform sustainably.

If you already know what grounds you and you haven’t done it for a while, schedule it in this week like you would a listing appointment. If you don’t know yet, it’s time to experiment until you find it. Life is fleeting. Build a business that fits inside a life you love—not the other way around.



Contact Valerie

Phone: 0447 312 218


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