Welcome to the Adaptive Mindset. I'm Brett Gallant, cybersecurity thought leader and founder of Adaptive Office Solutions. Here, we don't just talk tech, we unlock the strategies, stories, and mindset shifts you need to stay secure, lead boldly, and thrive in a digital world. Let's get started. Welcome back to the Adaptive Mindset. Really, really happy to be back for a solo episode. And this one's special folks. This one's hitting me hard. It's hitting me in the right places because it's, it's one of those moments I had this week that has been a theme throughout all my life. where I've taken, where I've had the courage to step forward and recognize a place where there's an opportunity for growth. And for me, that's going to be the cornerstone of today's episode, courage. A lot of times in life, sometimes we hold back. And we don't have that courage to step forward, to reach out and take that leap, that leap forward. And for some of you that have been following me for some time know that I've had this incredible transformation. That transformation goes back to the date of October, 2023, where it started with one question, one question from my coach, Dave. When I said to Dave, I said, Dave, I don't have time to make it to the gym. And he said to me, but you mean to tell me you don't have time to go to the gym when you own your own business. And that moment struck me. Struck me because I knew it was a lie. I was telling myself. And so I had to have courage to make a decision. to start putting me first. And if I look back along the ways in a lot of different places in my life, there's a theme. It even goes back to 1996 when I made the courageous choice to say, Hey, I needed to take a chance and go beyond where I was comfortable. I was working for McDonald's. I was happy there. But I knew something had to change. And I had an opportunity to go out to Western Canada. But at the same time, there was an opportunity for a job for a construction fabrication company. I had my interview on Friday and I told the gentleman that was interviewing me that I needed to know by Sunday, otherwise I was going to Western Canada. It took courage for me to say that. Who was I to say that to an employer? But I said it, I knew what I wanted, and I knew I had to take drastic action. I had courage to say that at the time. Looking back at that, I'm so glad I did because Sunday evening, I did get the call. I did get the call that they wanted me and I had a successful run with that organization for 14 years. And 14 years later, before April of 2010, I had the courage again to take a leap of faith and step into my fear of the unknown and start this wonderful company, adaptive office solutions with, you know, hope, high expectations that it would be successful. And it was, had I not had the courage to take that step, to leave a great organization and go and embrace entrepreneurship, I never would have had all these other opportunities that have come into my life. So today, what I want to really step into is talking about all these times where we know we should be looking at taking that bold leap of faith or facing our fear, having that courage. Because a lot of times when we look at at what we're doing, there's ratios of risk. When I had that job with Sunny Corner Enterprises, what am I doing? I'm taking this chance of leaving this stable income to start a new company, to boldly embrace entrepreneurship. What if it isn't successful? But here's the thing, question we don't often say to ourselves is, okay, what if, what if it is successful? What happens if I, what would happen if I never embraced that? And a lot of times there's that, that risk that we calculate and we second guess ourselves. We second guess how great we are and how capable we are. I think when we look at this, we need to really ask ourselves, what is driving that? Who's really driving the seat? Who is driving what I really want to do, what I'm capable of? Sometimes we second guess ourselves and we don't really embrace that. So this week, I realized that I'd been playing And don't get me wrong. I I've been executing and doing things great, but I know I'm capable of going even further. And I had another moment on a coaching session where I realized that Sometimes what I've been doing in some cases, I've been doing that ratio of risk that, hey, I don't want to put on the gas as far as I know I can, because I've been comfortable. And this past Friday was another one of those moments for me, like what it was in October, 2023. where I had that incredible transformation, released over 130 pounds since then. And I built that accountability. I built that accountability with my mastermind, whom I meet with every Thursday and accountability partners. And I started sharing my journey and I got really honest with myself during that call with my coach, and I'm getting honest with you right now. And I honestly can't believe I'm, I'm sharing this publicly, but I think there's a lot of truth here and honesty that by me sharing with you today, what's on my heart and what I know to be true for me, I'm sharing it with the intention that perhaps that one of you listening will know that there's something that you're called to do, something that you need to have the courage to take action and embrace that. So I made this decision on Friday, and I've been reflecting on it a lot since then. And I've been reflecting on it for a while, even before that. And like I alluded to a few moments ago, that fear and the ratios of risk, and we know that When we talk about fear, I really think we really need to recognize an acronym that's near and dear to my heart, FACE EVERYTHING AND RISE, or FALSE EVIDENCE APPEARING REAL. See, I'm holding back a little bit because I don't want to let go of some of my comfort zones. But I know they're not true. I have this really great comfort level where I was concerned about losing the quality of my time where I can get out to do my walks, my hiking, but I can still do that. I can build my time and guard my time still. I'm in control. I was just living. a lie of telling myself something that wasn't true. So I've wrote down five steps of what I'm going to start doing, and I'm holding myself accountable with my coach, I'm going to embrace the power of my mastermind, my accountability partner, and my team, my incredible team that I get to work with every day that allows me to do what I do, allows us, gives us the privilege to serve people with managing their cyber risk and their IT needs, and now with their AI strategy. And I'm boldly leaping off in new and exciting directions. Now, let me correct that. We're just going to amplify it and give more fuel so that we can serve more people in other ways. So when you're looking at yourself this week, ask yourself, Where is one area in your life that maybe that you need to have that mindset and shed that limiting belief and have that courage? Maybe it's a relationship that you need to enhance or a relationship you need to change, change for the better. Maybe it's a new business venture, or maybe it's a side hustle, or maybe it's an opportunity to volunteer. become involved with great organizations. There's so many organizations in our community that need people like you. And perhaps if you're a person of faith, maybe it's an opportunity to serve in your faith community or another passion project, but have that courage to step forward Not the competitive win, but I have a desire to win in life, to be the best version of me. And I have the desire to see others around me win. I want to see people successful. And I'm hoping with what I'm sharing today, that you make a decision to have that courage and put that fear that a lot of times that we put in the driver's seat of our lives, put them, put that fear aside and say, Hey, fear, you are going to be in the passenger seat, or maybe in the back seat. It can be there. That voice, it can be there as that other voice of, reason or other feedback, but it's time to embrace what you really want. Put yourself in the driver's seat and embrace the true potential of you. And that's what I'm doing. That was what May 30th, 2025, when I recorded this, That was the decision day to have that courage to embrace that truth and go further and beyond. I'm so excited just talking about this. And I think of other moments in my life where I've done this. Like think of these times, like a lot of times I think I know, especially when you're a person like me that genuinely just wants to serve. I'm a person who says yes, I've said yes to everything a lot of times, and sometimes saying yes to everything is not the pathway to the best course of action for yourself. Sometimes you have to know that the biggest yes you can say is what you say no to. I had some other changes in my life over the years. I've shared these stories in the past. Another pivotal moment where I had courage in my own business was when I made a decision on a Friday afternoon to say, to my service coordinator at the time, put a sign up and say effective September 1st, we are no longer serving residential clients. And that was a hard decision for me. And it took courage for me to do that. I didn't want to do it. but I knew it was the right choice for my business, for myself and for my business, for my business clients. And ultimately it was a good decision for the clients we used to serve in residential because it gave opportunities for somebody else in our community to serve that niche. And I'm forever grateful that I made that decision. And I'm forever thankful for the people I had the privilege to serve over the years. But it takes courage to make those decisions and take that leap of faith and do those, do the hard things. That was hard for me. But I know when you do hard things, everything becomes easier because part of those foundations of all these things I've talked about, I realized that a lot of times in business, we forget that The biggest thing we can do for ourselves is to make sure that we're putting our own oxygen mask on. And I was forgetting a key part in my own life, which was looting, getting back to that moment in October, 2023 with my coach. I said, I didn't have time to go to the gym. I was forgetting to put one hour or even 30 minutes 30 minutes a day in the morning or 20 minutes, putting me first so I had the energy and more oxygen and the clarity to think so I could help my clients, be more present for my family, set the example for my family, inspire others. I know with my weight loss transformation, and not just my weight loss transformation, but my mindset, I know I've inspired others and others have inspired me before. And I decided to share this episode today, a solo episode as another shout out to, with the intention of helping myself along this journey of this decision I made for me, another pivotal moment in my growth. But I shared it with the intention to help others And I really, really want this one to connect. And I do hope that any of this that is resonating with you today, that you know of somebody in your own network that would be driven to take action because of what I shared or be inspired to, to have the courage to know that it's okay to take that and calculate, look at that ratios of risk, what I talked about, face your fear, embrace what's possible. So this week, when I encourage you to join me on my journey, I want to encourage you to choose one thing that you know you really want to do. It doesn't have to be anything major. It can be just something simple. Have the courage. Maybe it's the courage to give yourself 10 minutes or 20 minutes a day to go for a walk. Or perhaps it's somebody that you haven't talked to in a while. Maybe there's a relationship you need to restore. And that takes courage sometimes, doesn't it? To connect with somebody. We're human beings and sometimes we say things to people that hurt each other, but have that courage. Maybe it's courage to be the first one to call or the courage to serve in a volunteer organization, or maybe you have a entrepreneurial goal or a new business venture that you want to launch. this week, had the courage to take that first step, first step with the intention of serving others, but to 10X yourself and go further. And I just want to thank you and thank everyone in the audience who's been listening and And just from my bottom of my heart, how grateful I am to be able to have the opportunity to share these words on this podcast, but on top of that, to be able to come in here and work in my business and serve the community, serve the various different organizations we get to serve. This week, let's face our fear, face everything and rise, take that first step. And like I said, my favorite quote with Wayne Gretzky, you miss a hundred percent the shots you don't take. So this week, take your shot. small action, remember consistency compounds and develop that habit and go forward, face everything and rise. Have an incredible week everyone. So grateful to be here and take care. Thanks for tuning into the Adaptive Mindset. If you found value in today's episode, don't forget to subscribe, leave a review and share it with someone who's ready to thrive in the digital age. Stay secure,