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Eleanor Carey, a Physiotherapist, turned Entrepreneur and World Record Holder, Talks about the discipline of doing. During our conversation, she shared how she began as a physiotherapist and transitioned into entrepreneurship by launching a coworking innovation hub called The Generator, which was acquired in 2019.
Eleanor’s story flows from professional health practitioner to entrepreneur, adventurer, to dual World Record Holder, speaker and writer. She now uses all these skills as an entrepreneurial writer and speaker pioneering the space while building communities within the world of Web3.
Stepping into the unknown is something that Eleanor Carey has done over and over again. It is something that both excites and frightens her every single time.
From cycling solo across Europe in search of a career change to founding multiple businesses to battling hurricanes, extreme seasickness and sleep deprivation, she has learned how to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.
Spending 62 days at sea in a 7.5-metre boat, rowing day and night, is just one part of Eleanor’s experience that has built her ability to adapt to such a wide variety of conditions and circumstances and continue stepping forward in the face of fear and uncertainty.
In this interview we cover the following:
How to transition out of your career and find something interesting to work on
What it is like transitioning from being a Physiotherapist to an Entrepreneur
The real reasons why people dread going to work on Monday Mornings
How craving creativity, autonomy and being in control of your work can lead to a life as an entrepreneur.
How seeking out experiences to challenge yourself can lead to breaking assumptions of yourself and world records.
How do you use your experiences as great storytelling opportunities which can lead to professional speaking?
How adventure plays a key role in generating new business ideas
Why finding your people and tribe is important.
Why the “Build it and they will come, model is flawed.”
The harsh reality of learning and things don't always go the way you think they will
There is no greater learning than starting a business, even if you don't know enough to start!
Cofounder relationships are challenging why it's important to have a backup plan
How life gets in the way of building businesses and why this changes cofounder relationships
How to manage a business as a solo founder after starting with co-founders who left the business
Why jumping into the deep end can take a toll on your mental health
Mental health challenges in business may not always be related to the business. It's possible that there is underlying trauma that gets triggered or inhibits you from moving forward.
Why it’s important to be aware of your emotional state and mental health while running a business
How to challenge your reality by seeking experiences that stretch beliefs about yourself
How to find an opportunity to tackle a World Record Attempt
How three women broke the 2 World Records for Ocean Rowing after being at sea for 62 days.
Vow to yourself that you won't repeat mistakes that lead to unhappiness
Take lessons you learn about yourself and transform them into things you like
How to get started as a professional speaker from scratch with no experience
Listening to your intuition and being aware of the universe showing you the next steps
When to recognise that your work and existence aren't serving you and how to decide to make key life changes.
How a desire to move into digital space and run a business that wasn’t tied to a physical location led to becoming a speaker
Having a unique story or learnings to share forms a great basis to launch a speaking career
What key skills are needed to become a professional speaker
Unpacking what it takes to go from business owner to professional speaker
The process of launching your first talk, sharing that you are available to speak professionally
Is getting a speaking coach worth the investment? Things to consider.
How do you promote yourself as a speaker, leveraging your networks and formalising your content and making it easy to be contactable and bookable?
Methods of naming keynotes - what works and how to use peer feedback to pivot
Why it's important to put in the work to build a skill like professional writing
New writers starting need to practise skills that build the foundation that pushes content out to the public
How launching a blog helped build a habit of writing
Writing is like any skill that needs training and practice
Launching a blog on Substack makes it easy to build a subscriber list and community on the back of your writing.
What paid subscriptions to your blog teach you about your readers/audience
How do running mini-experiments help you find what your audience wants to read?
How to be proactive in the craft of writing
Writing 3-4 hours per week will help you become a better writer
Discipline is everything if you want to write consistently
Structuring your week and scheduling time to write is vital
Why you need to enjoy the activity to help increase your output
Envisioning the audience waiting for your content to drop can help boost your productivity and accountability.
QUESTIONS:
What is the biggest thing you have learned about yourself?
Getting to know yourself, your strengths, and your preferences is one of the most powerful things you can do because you can only structure your business or work around what gives you energy and avoid what drains you.
Where in the world have you not yet been and want to go?
Antarctica
Most favourite place in the world that holds a special place in your heart?
QUOTES
“You have to be prepared to let people know what you are doing, self-promotion is key otherwise you will be a billboard in the desert, and nobody will find you, know what you do or book you.” Eleanor Carey
“I get to read, I get to write while sitting in my office alone, it's complete bliss! Self-development and exploration have enabled me to engineer the ultimate existence for my personality type, skill sets and personal interests.” Eleanor Carey
“ A great strategy for anyone wanting to get better at writing, write for yourself 5 years ago. Write what you wish you knew back then. You have all the answers and learnings to share now.” Eleanor Carey
“Even though it is 100% daunting putting yourself out there, all the things you think people will judge you on are all in your mind. People don’t care. It's a trick of our minds that we need to conquer to succeed.” Eleanor Carey
“If you can provide something of value to people, that will help you grow your audience faster” Eleanor Carey
“With self-discovery comes learning, awareness and the ability to share those learnings with others. The next step is to find the most appropriate outlets for those creative skills” Eleanor Carey
“You don't have to be able to write, you have to be committed to the process of learning how to write. Even if you feel like you're no good, it doesn't mean you can't do it. It’s like practising a craft, discipline will get you there.” Eleanor Carey
Connect with Eleanor here:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/eleanorcarey
Website: www.Elenaorcarey.com