EP. 78 Having a growth mindset is not needing to spend time growing. It’s that you can look at every situation and take away what you’re learning from it.

In a world of growing inequality, deepening environmental problems, and significant global change, we have a lot of stuff that needs fixing!

And this episode’s guest is passionate about doing his bit to find and fund some of the world’s most pressing problems.

Meet Matt Hunter, CEO of the incredible Founders Pledge – a global community of entrepreneurs all committed to donating a % of their exit proceeds to charity. To date, the Founders Pledge has secured binding pledges of $1.6bn from 1200 business founders in 30 countries. YES! It’s incredible work, and the momentum keeps building as more entrepreneurs and business owners get onboard.

For me, this is an organization that holds a promise that altruism, philanthropy, and helping others will become the new north star. It’s why I couldn’t wait to get Matt on the show.

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Even in the worst moments, you can still choose how to react and respond. You will always have the freedom of choice.

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In this week’s episode, Matt shares the incredible story that cultivated his desire to give back. It all started on a bus ride in Panama and a paralysed right hand. As his condition spread and worsened, Matt received the devastating news that he’d contracted a life-threatening illness from which 20% of people die.

It was a turning point for Matt. He made a pledge to himself that if he survived this thing, he’d commit himself to helping others. And that’s exactly what he’s done – in the most profound way.

I just know you’re going to love this episode. Matt dives deep and you get to learn more about how this incredible man thinks.

In this episode we discuss:

• The story from self-serving to massive global impact
• The link between personal growth and helping others
• Imposter syndrome – what it is and how you can navigate it
• Why we need to cultivate courage and not confidence
• The powerful role that presence plays in Matt’s life
• All about the Founders Pledge and the amazing work it does

This episode is incredible for so many reasons.

If you’re a founder of a business and you want to make an impact with your exit strategy, this episode is definitely for you.

And if you’re simply curious to learn more about potent self-improvement strategies that will help you live an extraordinary life, Matt has a lot to teach you.

So dive in, enjoy, and discover how one man is helping to find and fund the world’s most pressing problems.

“When you subscribe to the Stay Grounded Podcast, you help new people discover the show. And it means the podcast will automatically show up in your app of choice every time a new episode is released on Mondays.”

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Ultimately, we’re not necessarily looking for confidence. We’re just looking for courage.

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Time Stamped Show Notes

[5:13]I kick off the conversation with a question about Matt being motivated by a love-driven mission. Simply put, he just wants to help. I ask him if something triggered during his journey that opened up his heart and allowed him to step into a more loving life experience?

He takes us through his journey. He and his best friend both had finance jobs that they weren’t happy with and, by age 23, they decided to quit and start a band. Simply put, they wanted to bring joy to people. Around that same time, they created a piece of technology that grew into a business. They quickly moved into the money making space, putting Matt on a path of becoming very focused on self; living a life filled with gifts and privilege. When he hit this realization, he left the company and set out to travel. A few months later, while in Panama, he had health scare that quickly progressed. He returned home to Canada and was strongly advised by doctors to rest and relax – they couldn’t guarantee his recovery but rest was the key to striving towards it. Having so much downtime forced him to reflect and he was met with a great deal of shame and embarrassment about how everything he’d done had been in service to himself.  Matt promised himself, that if he got better, his mission would be to eliminate the suffering of others and become more selfless.

[13:35] I ask Matt how he balances the responsibility of self-growth with the responsibility of ensuring the growth of others. In the past, as mentioned,  he got the balance all wrong and did a lot of focusing on himself. Matt finds a balance by finding the time to support himself and using what he learns to become more effective during his time helping others, creating an opportunity for them to scale faster. He also keeps his mornings sacred. He spends about 3 hours breathing, meditating and journaling. In the evening, he creates time to do great things: connecting with people and spending time with loves ones. The time in between is spent surrounded by others and simply being out in the world. Matt learns a lot from those around him and says that having a growth mindset is simply just that; it’s not necessarily creating specific time for growth instead, he suggests, that we look at every situation and find the learning opportunity.

[25:36] Matt flips the script and throws a question my way. He picks up on my mention of the importance of awareness and asks me how I cultivate a level of awareness? Journaling is a top practice, I also spend a lot of time in reflection. When things are off, I take a moment to tune in and try to understand why I’m feeling what I’m feeling, I’ll then put pen to paper and write out whatever comes to mind. Doing the things that scare me also helps me push my boundaries, allowing me to learn a great deal about myself. For me, awareness is synonymous with confidence; anything that I can do to be more aware of what’s holding me back helps me to become more confident and to better understand myself.

[36:15] I ask Matt what excites him about the work he does?  He says Founders Pledge is a global community of entrepreneurs that finds and funds solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges. They have a committed pledge capital of $1.8 billion dollars. With inequality growing at such a rapid pace, they have an opportunity to ensure that the resources and growth of these companies are distributed and conducted in a responsible way.

[42:19] Matt stays grounded by setting boundaries – with his schedule and with taking time off.  Being supported and surrounded by incredible people also helps – his team, his girlfriend and his friends all combine to become a pretty awesome force in his life.

Matt Hunter