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. I'm really pleased and privileged to have with me today, Regina Huber. Regina is a transformational leadership coach and an inspirational speaker. Thank you so much for having me on, Brett. And yeah, Yes, it's such a great day I'm having here. We were talking briefly about some travel challenges and items that you had to pivot along. I think that's always the reality of how we lead and Yeah, absolutely. Adaptability. It's key Exactly. So, Regina, could you tell us, our Absolutely. Yes. So I am currently actually a visiting family in Germany. This is where I grew up many years ago. It's always lovely to come back. And I grew up on a farm in a little village. here in Germany, and I've since lived on several continents and several different cultures, which of course also requires a different type of adaptability. And yeah, I currently as a transformational leadership coach and freedom coach at my company, Transform Your Performance, I help my clients level up their leadership of self and others, so they can become thriving leaders with thriving teams. And that doesn't just include supporting them on their path through their leadership career or to help them upgrade their leadership skills and presence. It's also about allowing them to lead in their very own way, in their very authentic way, with the values they represent. having that what I call freaking amazing life at the same time. Now, freaking amazing life, Brett, has two main meanings. For to me, who has lived in many different places, it's really about living life on your own terms, in your own preferred way, living your dreams, and also at the same time, finding fulfillment through how you live, how you lead, and what I love how you share that freaking amazing life. I'm going to remember that. So. So. Yeah, I think I think a lot, a lot of times entrepreneurs and leaders forget that it's OK to have a freaking amazing life and do it in their terms. And people lose sight of that throughout the day-to-day grind. I'm sure you have plenty of experiences helping leaders navigate that. I know for me, for example, I used to have that illusion that I didn't have time. just didn't prioritize time. It didn't prioritize me time. I'm curious what kind of stories you have that you've helped your clients with and inspired others. You shared that you're also an inspirational speaker, so I'd Absolutely. And I love that you said prioritizing, because a lot of people still use the term time management, and we cannot really manage time. We can manage our calendar, we can manage our activities, our preferences, we can manage our resources, our priorities, as you said, but not time really. So it's really important to see that difference because It is really about determining what your priorities actually are at any given moment. And those priorities shift over a lifetime, as we have probably all experienced. So, you know, sometimes family is a priority. Sometimes work is a priority. Sometimes specific projects at work are a priority. So it really shifts all the time. And again, I always come back to this adaptability because your podcast is called the Adaptive Mindset. So it's a big piece of it all. And we just really gotta remember that it's also, it is okay to pivot sometimes. And it's okay to admit that we sometimes are our preference, right? Allow ourselves to be that and to take good care of ourselves Because if we are business owners without us and our health, and I'm not only referring to physical health here, but also mental health and our wellbeing, is really key for the company to function if we are business owners. And the same is true of leaders in Yeah, I connect with that in so many ways as a person and as a leader who's gone through tremendous change. Since October 2023, I've released 120 pounds. I lost it forever. It's gone. But I had a pivotal moment where I had a priority problem. And I connect with so many entrepreneurs through this podcast and other people. And entrepreneurship and leadership and business owners and management professionals, sometimes we're on an island and we think, we get so frustrated and we forget that the most important person that we need to prioritize is ourselves so that we have the oxygen mask to be able to help others and I see a lot of people drowning and I connect with that because I was that person before and all it takes often is just a 10 minute, 20 minute reset here and there, not just for the physical, but for the mental. Right before we had this conversation, I took time for 20, 30 minutes and went out in nature and had a little reset to reconnect and get myself grounded. And what you've shared is so important for leaders to remember that you have to take that action and prioritize Absolutely. It's a big piece, I would say, of self-leadership. I always like to say self-leadership is the basis for any leadership of other people or organizations or whoever we want to lead. And this is an important piece of it. It's not just about self-awareness around emotions, emotional intelligence. That's very important and it's actually connected to it too. Nothing is separate anyway in the end. But yes, taking good care of yourself is a key piece of self-leadership. If you forget about that, then there's a piece missing in your self-leadership. And actually it will also impact the people you work with. that people whose lives you touch, they will see that, they will feel it in the way you communicate with them, you interact with them. And I'm curious, your business, I'm sure it didn't start just quick snap. There, there, there must have been a story behind it, a pivotal moment where you decided to form your business. What, what inspired you to start it? And what, what is the story behind, behind Well, before owning this business, which is based in New York city, I lived in Brazil and before that in Argentina, and I had, I owned businesses in those two countries. Um, originally I had, uh, been an employee and most of the time at the Boston consulting group in several different locations on several continents, also in leadership roles after, um, or starting at age 27. And I was thrown into my first leadership role from one day to the next, so to speak, after I had moved to Spain 10 months earlier and just learned Spanish, it was a complete surprise to me. I had no relevant background, no studies, and I grew into it thanks to some people believing in me and transferring that belief somehow to me eventually, right? And yeah, so after seven years in Spain and also helping BCG open offices in Portugal and in Brazil, I worked with a BCG alum in Argentina, and I did a lot of work with all their Latin American offices. It was a startup. And then the crisis hit Argentina, and BCG hired me back for their San Francisco office. And this is how I got to the US for the first time, actually. After about three and a half years there, I felt a need to go back to Latin America. in this case to, to Argentina first. And I decided to buy a house and open a bed and breakfast for a change. That was quite an undertaking and venture. And so I had an investor's visa. It went pretty well, except that I didn't really enjoy dealing with corrupt authorities, which has, you know, which often times we need to do when we own businesses. It doesn't really matter where in the world, right? So that was that. And it was a lot of fun. But then I decided to move to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and sell the house. I didn't sell the business as such. I sold the property. And then opened a brand new business in Brazil after some time. And again, a brick and mortar business. But this time I partnered with someone for part of the business, not for the entire business. It was mainly mine, but his name was important in the whole game. And he turned out to be fraudulent. So this time it didn't go so well. It was like a huge lesson just before before inauguration day, so to speak, just before the housewarming party, I found out. So that was quite sobering. And I had to dismantle everything at the end because the business would not grow fast enough without his name. So at that time, I had to make a choice. What do I do next? I wanted to initially split my time between New York and and Brazil, but that wasn't very practical. So eventually I ended up moving to New York city and I tried to figure out what to do with all my eclectic experience in several different places, um, and in several different countries and, and very different types of experience also, and how to put that into a business that would make sense in terms of my experience, but also the fulfillment I could get through it. But of course, most importantly, the value I could provide through it. And that's how Transform Your Performance was eventually born. It was quite slow at the beginning because I had to go back and forth to Brazil to clean up the mess up there. But it came about and it grew into what it is today over time. And yeah, and that's the story behind it really. I really wanted to also use, and I heard you say before breath, you said release weight and that, brings me to another topic that I studied a lot of holistic modalities. And so I resonate a lot with that term, of course. And I brought all this knowledge together, including my passion for dance, believe it or not, because I learned so much through dance over the years. I always dance wherever I move, different types of dances from Latin to African and so on. I learned so much through those as well, through those dances. And I took all of this and brought it together into this business and just drawing from these different pieces of expertise and experience when it comes to serving my clients. I also, of course, through learning different languages, I have the advantage of being able to work with my clients in several different languages as well, which are currently English, German, Spanish, and Portuguese. I also speak French, but I don't work in It's not fluent enough at this time. You just said it, yes, I understand, yeah. Wow, what an interesting story and background that's molded you to where you are today. And I'm thinking, is thinking, as you were saying that, what incredible mindset that you've had to adapt and pivot along the way so many times. But how did you feel when you had to pivot? And then what mindset did you have to develop when you dealt with that partner that was fraudulent? And then adapting to say, okay, you had a successful business, you closed it, then to lead you. How has mindset played a role in this? And have you developed your mindset further? And what could Yeah. So apart from the practical, you know, which, and then doing a due diligence and all these different things that we always talk about, he has the mindset was the most, it was actually the central piece, I would say, Brett. So thanks for asking it in that way. Um, I, I noticed after some time, because at first, of course it was really frustrating and not just frustrating. I was extremely disappointed. I trusted this guy. I considered him a friend. And, uh, and, uh, you know, I felt, uh, deceived and all these different things that we feel. I felt self-resentment. That was the worst part, right? Because although we resent the other person, the self-resentment and the self, um, yeah, It's very low vibe, so it doesn't really serve us. Of course, there was this moment, I will admit it completely. There was this moment, it was going on for a little bit because it also came as a complete surprise and it was like somebody hits you in the face. Then at some point, I had to just really take a step back and say, wow, you know what? First of all, I somehow created this, even though, you know, I didn't wanna go into more self-resentment or judgment, because that doesn't serve us. And I had already, I had started studying holistic modalities for some time, you know? So those really helped me a lot. I also took sessions with friends. We did exchanges and they helped me through this phase by, for example, helping me with limiting beliefs, with self-forgiveness, with all these different methods. And self-forgiveness was a very big piece. That's probably the one piece that took me the longest. What I had noticed though is as long as I stayed in victim mode or in victimhood, I could not resolve anything. I would stay stuck. And so I really had to make a decision to move out of victim mode and into a more self-empowering mindset where I could take action again and where the action would actually be effective. Because we can take action and we certainly will take action in those situations usually, but it's not always And also channel it to be the, why am I doing this? Right. And also sometimes we're just not giving it the energy, although it might be the right action that could give us results. But if the energy is, is very low vibe, then the action will So I think that was one of the most important pieces and then Yes, I did sue him. You know, there is a lot of money involved and between the two of us, but also I had a loss already because I had to sell at a loss. I had, of course, bought lots of equipment. You know, all these different things and time was going by and I had expenses and all these So anyway, um, I was in that situation and I said, okay, what can I do with this now? Right. Uh, unfortunately, well, I shouldn't even use that word because there is no such thing. We create everything in hindsight. It's just easier to see it and to talk about it then when At the time, I also lost my investor's visa because of certain circumstances. First of all, most importantly, corruption. But also because I didn't have this business anymore and then I had to renew my visa. And I got into this cycle of this whole process of corrupt authorities again. And I just never paid anybody off. I just refuse to do that. And I always will. And so I So I just prefer to stay in my integrity and, and, you know, true to my values rather than doing that. And that's why it also was a bit more strenuous, but I thought in hindsight, I'm glad I did it that way, right? And, you know, I think one centerpiece that I would like to share, if you allow me, Brett, of living on several continents, and because we have talked about adaptability a little bit already, is really, and especially also living in several different cultures, right? Because it's not about the location, it's about the culture more than anything else. So one centerpiece is really to adapt while staying true to myself, right? Staying true to who I am. So it's that combination of adaptability and And also to filter out what we, as we go through this process and move to different places on the planet, filter out what we want to adopt in a different culture and what not, because it's a choice. Now, all cultures have some great aspects on the one hand and some not so great ones or limiting ones on the other, right? Or some that we don't like. And so it's really important to use discretion. We don't have to adopt everything, right, You can accept the best of what is good in your world and leave the rest behind. You don't have to accept and adapt to everything. You can make good choices. and integrate it into your reality, but some of it you can choose. There's a saying that I love, if you don't like the way things are, or the way they are, you don't have to adapt it, you can change, you're not a tree. So you don't have to take all of that from that culture, you can take bits of it, you need to respect the reality of it. You can chart your own course, like what you Yeah, I think it's always about being in alignment with who Yeah, yeah, that's so true. I had a list of questions and there was a list of questions that you shared with me that you could ask, and I was reflecting on that this a little bit before we started this, but now hearing in this conversation, this beautiful conversation we've been having so far, You talk about your self-empowering mindset and heartset. Something really I want to, and we touched on it a bit here a Oh, yes. So I also talk about heartset because I always say the mind and the heart are better together. I believe that we store our unique wisdom that only we have. We store that in the heart. And the mind, of course, is our intellectual power. We have our conscious mind, our subconscious mind. The subconscious mind sometimes serves us and sometimes it doesn't, right? Sometimes it limits us. And So we have the programming part or conditioning part of the mind, and then we have the intellectual part, the reasoning, the analytical, the logical, it's all valuable. It's just that there is this other piece, which is that heart wisdom. And it's not just about the wisdom, it's also about intuition, actually. Yes, we say sometimes gut feeling, but you know, It's not just in the gut, that is more the instinctual. I believe personally that, and you know, we could have different opinions, of course, but But intuition is that heart-related ability. It's your truth-speaking voice. It always speaks your Yeah, yeah. The heart never lies. That intuition you know. I know I'm not connecting this the right way, but I'm thinking about this right now. I always, when I'm dealing with puzzles, problems, I call problems puzzles, because puzzles can be solved. When I hold my children close, I don't hold them close to my knee. I hold them close to my heart. And the Yes. And you're bringing something else to my mind now. Yeah. It is the electromagnetic field that we emanate through the heart. That's how we connect with people. That's how we connect to the world around us. And this electromagnetic field is the strongest in our body, right? So we could talk about the heart as a concept and the heart as the physical heart. I mean, in a way they're even connected because... Our intentions, my intention with what I do is to serve. I want to help people. And sometimes people get confused sometimes thinking that I just want to sell them. No, I, you, I do have a solution for you. I hope you choose me, but my intention is to make you be aware that you need to take action with your cybersecurity. Hopefully you choose us, but I, I just want you to know. And right. you know, intention and heartset, mindset, they're all connected, so. Yes, totally, and it's also where we find compassion, where we find that, you know, I just had this conversation the other day, actually two conversations, because we had two episodes together with a lady from Arizona, Amber, and she talks a lot about heart-centered leadership too, as I do too. We do it in different ways and yet similar ways, right? And she was also saying, look, when you really consider, when you really lead from the heart and you consider all the implications that a decision could have on everybody involved, you often, actually fare much better. It takes a little bit more time in the beginning, but then you get results that last longer or results that are just more valuable in the long term. And I think there's so much value in the heart. Like we find courage in the heart. We don't usually find courage in the mind. The Yes, yes, yeah, the fear, fear is, fear can be so powerful, but it can also be so draining. And I heard somebody share this recently before, but I'm always mindful for now since I've heard it this way. Fear, another way of looking at it is it's false evidence appearing Yeah, I've heard that quite a few times. And on the other hand, I mean, fear does have, first of all, fear has a function. It keeps us alive, right? So we don't have to go into that now, but further, but yes, it has a function. Now we have a lot of fear that does not really have a function. And it's a lot of fear that makes actually no sense. Sometimes it's irrational fear. Oftentimes fear is what we, project into the future. And it's based on things that we have learned in the past. And sometimes the fear isn't even ours. We just took it on from someone else. So what's important, and this is really, really key, is to not suppress your fear, but to really look at it. because we suppress our emotions, like anger, sadness, fear, far too much, and then they get stuck, and then they're always somehow present, even if subconsciously or under the surface. So it's a really good idea to sit with it and to truly embrace through it and to transmute it when you need to, okay? Because otherwise, we have all this, these emotions stuck inside of ourselves, they are not digested, and that's also very limiting. It's not just our beliefs. Oftentimes, I see that with my clients and with myself, the most limiting and often even stifling factor are Yeah, yes, yes. Yeah, I can connect with that in so many ways. I was looking at your profile and I was happy to see something. You'll have to correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe you've written a I have written two books. Yes. And co-authored a Could you tell our audience a little bit about your most recent Absolutely. So it is called Living My Freaking Amazing Life. Create the life that's perfect for you anywhere in the world. And you is capitalized because it needs to be the life that's perfect for you and no one else. Because so often people get frustrated or burned out or whatever that term is, because they do not live the life they actually want. they would prefer desire for themselves. And they live somebody else's dream, right? So the book is now available. Yeah. So the book is now available in English and Portuguese on Amazon. And it describes some highlights of the eclectic journey that I have been through so far. filled I mean, so many countries and so many challenges and puzzles Yeah. But also some really beautiful experiences, um, on, on five continents. And it's also, so the, the, the experiences I share there are from living in different places, uh, from some, you know, of those business challenges and from the leadership lessons I've I've learned along the way leadership of self and others again, and also some really beautiful experiences like adventures where I got to see places of, for example, of Johannesburg, you know, that probably no tourist ever gets to see. And the book is really meant to inspire people to live life on their terms and find the courage to start a new chapter when they, feel like it's time to do that. And that's usually when the inner self tells you, you know, and really honor that wisdom that you have gained, that unique wisdom that we talked about earlier, right? That you have gained and stored in your heart, right? And the book also includes leadership lessons for the leadership of self and others in most of the chapters, because I also wanted to make it available, sorry, valuable in Beautiful. What inspired you to write the book? Was it something on your heart that you were called to do it? So years ago, friends always said, or business friends even also, Regina, when are you finally writing this book? And I had written another book, which is Speak Up, Stand Out and Shine, but it's more like a practical techniques and tools book, you know, tips to prepare for public speaking or, or speaking in meetings and things like that and job interviews, whatever. So that was published in 2016. This is a very different book now. And I had started writing down some notes and recording a few things, ideas. A while ago, and then it was sitting there on my computer as a project, just waiting for you to embrace and complete and finish. It was just calling your name, Regina, right? Yeah. I didn't know why it wasn't because I didn't want to do it, but it was because I was trying to find the right focus for it. I didn't just want to write a And you needed the right experiences, the right perspective, and the right time. But you were doing all the work, all the experiences, and you were playing with it. But finally, it came And that's when it actually started moving along, you know, when I wrote some like almost every day, Yeah. Wow. That's incredible. How, so how do people find you to connect with you? Is LinkedIn Yeah. In terms of social media, LinkedIn and YouTube, my YouTube channel is called Regina Huber. And then LinkedIn, also Regina Huber. I also have a LinkedIn career growth strategies newsletter where I publish weekly on leadership career and also self-leadership, of course, and related topics. So these two, LinkedIn and YouTube, and then of course my website, transformyourperformance.com. And Yes, I'll have to check that out. So you have an offering on the website. I understand that Well, I have. Yeah, I have. Or maybe you So one link that I would at this point like to include and there are several different several different free gifts that I have developed. But one thing that would be maybe good for your audience is because we talked about the freaking amazing life, there is a So that's why I'm choosing that now. So it is. it is a free create your freaking amazing life template where you just can get started you know to to get some inspiration and journal and and and really also um figure out what what is unique about you that could inspire you to create your next chapter. Or maybe it's not your next chapter. Maybe you just want to add some, you know, some freakiness to your life. And I'm saying this in a very neutral way, because not everybody wants to travel and live in different places. And that's totally okay. It's got to be right for you. So Incredible, and I hope everyone takes Regina up on that offer. It would be a really great self-discovery. If you had one thing you wanted to share with the world. Sorry to interrupt you, but I'm sure you're going to add the link if I send it to you. What is transformyourperformance.com like like my website and then forward slash freaking amazing life and the freaking is without the g at the end because it's freaking okay okay freak okay yes that will be in the show notes everyone okay please please click on it and and take her up on on on that incredible offer to to wrap up You had one thing you want to share with the world. Regina, Yeah, I believe that what we currently need and if always needed, but more than ever is more self-empowered individuals. And so please do not wait for anyone to empower you. That's not even possible. You can only empower yourself because it's about connecting with the power that's already inside of you. That power is that creative power. It's your, your, energetic power, it's your spiritual power, it's, you know, whatever you want to call it, because it doesn't really matter. It's that power, that inherent power that's already inside of you. And we Incredible. Everyone, I would really want, first of all, I want to thank you today, Regina, for this conversation. It was wonderful, and I know quite a few, many of our audience is really going to appreciate this. And perhaps, and I know for those of you that are listening, someone you know needs to hear the words that Regina shared with us today. And I know, and I'm sure Regina would appreciate this as well, if this episode had an impact on you or if you know someone in your network, think of three people that you may know. If there's somebody in that circle of three or five that needs to hear the words that Regina shared today, biggest way to say thank you to Regina for what she shared is to share this episode, share her message, share that link. You can impact somebody's life today by sharing this podcast. And what a noble way to help someone by just clicking share and sending it to someone. Regina, it was such a pleasure to have you today. I'm really glad we had the opportunity Well, I'm saying absolutely the same. Thank you so much for having me on. It's been an honor. It's been a pleasure. And Excellent. 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,