#29: Cultivating what Matters with Lara Casey Isaacson, Founder & CEO of Cultivate What Matters
Does the thought of having to always chase perfection in your business and personal life overwhelm you?
Is the pressure to earn more money, gain more followers, and do more of everything burning you out?
If yes, grab a notebook-- Lara Casey Isaacson's tips today could be what you need to hear to change your life.
In today's interview, Lara tells us how she:
Went from genuinely hating goal setting to becoming the Founder and CEO of Cultivate What Matters.
Helps women get their focus back and make progress on the things that truly matter while setting goals that last.
Learned how to say no graciously.
Do one thing today to transform your future self and listen to this interview with Lara!
Learn more about Lara here: https://laracasey.com or follow her on Instagram @laracasey.
Listen to the Show:
Laura (00:00):
This is the Scale with Joy podcast, episode 29: cultivating what matters with Lara Casey Isaacson.
(00:11):
Welcome to the Scale with Joy show, a podcast about scaling your company while living your most purposeful life, because here's the thing: there are no rules to say you can't grow a massively profitable empire and have joy in the everyday. My name is Laura Meyer and let's get started
(00:35):
When we're in business, we can often feel so much pressure. Pressure to earn more money, more followers, and eventually this more and more and more can burn you out. And if you have felt this way, grab a notebook because this interview is filled with tips that you need to hear to change your life. Lara shares how she went from genuinely hating goal setting to becoming the Founder and CEO of a planning company that specializes in goal setting a company called Cultivate What Matters. And it helps us get our focus back and helps us to make progress on the things that matter most while setting up goals that are actually meant to, happen meant to last. And so if you wish that that one thing, that one goal could help transform your future self, this interview is going to help you so so much. It's also so inspiring and empowering to hear where Lara places, her focus and where she chooses not to spend her time and how she's learned the master of setting not only very specific goals, but very focused goals, singular goals, essential goals, and letting everything else go as she's grown and scaled her company. I'm so excited for you to learn and glean all of this wisdom and more from my friend, Lara Casey.
(02:04):
Hi! And welcome back to Scale with Joy. I am here with someone I've known for a long time, and I'm so joyful that she is going to have the opportunity to share her wisdom with you today. Her name is Lara Casey Isaacson. When I met her for the first time, it was without the Isaacson and at the end so that’s so fun to see on the zoom at the end. I did the same thing after about 10 years, I was like, I should probably take his name.
Lara (02:34):
It took me a little while, but I got there.
Laura (02:35):
The way that you told that story was also so beautiful. So maybe we'll get to that. But first I would love for you, if you wouldn't mind, just to introduce yourself and tell the viewers a little bit about who you are?
Lara (02:48):
Yes. Hi. Well, I'm so grateful to be here. And like you said, Laura, this is more of a delight for me personally, just to get, to spend time with you. We've known each other for a long time. And so has happened in that decade. It's just been crazy, but I am a mom of three kids. I work mostly here in my home office. We do have an office, but I run a business called cultivate what matters and we help women to do just that, to cultivate what matters in their lives and set goals that last, and I'm also the author of two books. I'm working on another one right now. And most of all, I'm just really passionate about not wasting my days and helping other women do the same.
Laura (03:26):
And it's so funny cause I've actually gifted power sheets to several people. I use it as the thought download. And we're going to talk a little bit about that today and your process for that. So just like if you wouldn't mind starting out and sharing a few ways that maybe you, you mentioned that it was all trial and error how you learned the idea of your passion for goal setting the hard way.
Lara (03:49):
I do not like goal setting. I still feel that way. And I'm the CEO of a pretty big goal setting company, but it's because there's so much pressure, there's so much unrealistic expectations. And so many things that I remember growing up as a girl and thinking, Ugh, goal-setting no, I mean, I want to achieve things. I want to achieve my dreams and live out all these great things, but I really don't like failure. I really don't like feeling like I have to pursue perfection and that if I mess up just once that I will be a failure. And so I really felt like traditional goal setting told me those things over and over and that over and over telling of that untrue goal-setting story led me to a lot of challenges in my life, dealing with even a battle with anorexia in college, just trying to chase them and that I would really never catch a perfection in my personal life.
(04:40):
And that led me to chasing perfection in my business many years later, almost 20 years later, trying to chase more money, more followers more and more and more until of course, you know, I'm sure all of you have experienced this at some point in your lives, you crash and you burn. And for those of us that are extra stubborn, like me, that takes few crashes and burns along the way. So I sat down at my desk one day and I thought, oh, I wish I could have made progress on the things that really mattered to me. And I looked back at the year, I had just lived and I thought I could have done it if I would have just remembered my goals to begin with and then tended to my goals little by little, it was like, wow, if I just would've remembered this, I could've just done it even maybe four times throughout the year and I would have made progress.
(05:29):
And so a light bulb went off for me and I wrote down all the things that were important to me at that time. So this is right around the time that I had just had Grace, my first child almost eight years ago. And I wrote down everything on that list from my marriage to my business at the time, I was the editor in chief of Southern Weddings at the time. And so many things going on, everything from marriage business, being a mother to my Facebook page, I'm pretty sure we only had Facebook back then. Yeah, there were no paid Facebook ads back then.
Laura (05:59):
Or if you knew how to do them, you're like killing it. Yeah. You're the only one.
Lara (06:02):
You were really making some cash, but I wrote all of those things down and that became what I called my tending list. It's just a list of things that I wanted to tend to, to grow in my life. And I kind of stuck it there on my desk. And that's a little worksheet I made for myself, grew to several more worksheets because I thought, well, how, how do you know what to put on this list? How do I know how to order these things on this list and know what's most important to spend my time on and low and behold that led to me creating the first set of power sheets, the worksheets that I really wanted to dig into powerful goals and the way I defined that at times the way I still define it. When you turn off a light switch, there's no light in the room. There's no way to know your direction, turn on the light switch. You have a way to know what's clearly in front of you and that's what power sheets helped me do. So that spiraled into creating the power sheets goal planner, which is very unlike traditional goal setting.
(06:59):
We start with number one, the big picture question of where do you want to be when you're 80 years old or 90 or a hundred. And that is a question I ask myself every single day. I do, every day when, especially in the times when, like I know you and I felt this before and anyone watching that, I felt totally spread then. And I think, I don't even know how to crawl out of this hole, but I've been there recently and I had to stop and say, all right, where do I want to be when I'm 80? What will matter to me then? And what won't matter to me then? And it helps me to really order my steps and say, okay, well, if that's what it's going to matter to me then, why am I not acting like it today? What am I spending my time on today? So, that is the, believe it or not, the short version of that answer of how I went from not loving goal setting to now knowing a true way to do, which is starting with the really big picture.
Laura (07:56):
What you just said is was like what I would call like a blip, right? Like you have these when you're growing and you're scaling and you're like an entrepreneur. And like you're doing all the things, many people who are watching this have an existing business and they're probably a little bit in the weeds, like they've lost sight. Right? And what you just said to me was so subtle, but I think it was so important, which is like, you had a moment recently. Right. And some people might think, and I remember you writing about a really, probably expanded version of that when your kids were little. Yes, especially when Josh was little. How do you, how do you move through that quicker now than maybe you did a few years ago?
Lara (08:37):
Well, I think that for me, I mean the logistical answer to that is there's just more, it sounds strange, there's more and more important things on my plate now. Now I have three children as opposed to having one child back then. And now I have clear boundaries on where my time has to be used. Like without fail. I am always going to drop it a hat to go and do whatever my kids need. And so that, that is a healthy boundary for me to say, I can't go and do 25 speaking engagements here. And I just don't do speaking anymore for that reason. The way I get through it is one by establishing those time boundaries to begin with, knowing my capacity. And in the times when I feel like I'm stretched beyond my capacity, I've got to say no.
(09:24):
And I I've always joked that if I ever write another chapter book, it would be called "no", or "all the things I've said no to". And I think really learning how to say no, how to say gracious no, and knowing that saying no to one thing is saying yes to something better helps me to say no a lot easier. So that's really the big thing. Especially in those times where I feel like, okay, I'm here again. How do I get through this quicker? I know more clearly what matters to me. I know more clearly what lasts at this point and I'm sure I will know more and more as time goes on, Lord willing, but I really know what's going to last and what's not. And so it's a little easier for me to say, sorry, project I committed to, I'm actually going to have to say no to that. And my humility is going to have to play a big part in this. And my pride is going to get hurt. And I will have to disappoint someone, but I know what matters. I know what I'm saying yes to.
Laura (10:18):
Yeah. And then something else might come up like this where you can reach a lot of people. Sometimes those opportunities only open up when you have create space for it. Right. I love what you're saying, because a lot of times you get into programs. Right. And I think a lot of people are probably signed up for programs because once you get to a certain level, you're like, I should probably be in a program. And that program might be saying, you know what? If you really want to get to the next level you got to get on stages. Yeah. To that next level you've really got to do this or do you that And I love what you're saying, which is like, you also just make your own rules.
Lara (10:54):
You do. Yeah. I think traditional paths would tell me there's a lot of things I should be doing right now or could be doing right now. But no, I just, I know what's important to me. And I know that sure, I could scale my business a whole lot more by now, but I'm intentionally choosing not to, because of the life that I feel like the Lord wants me to live and the impact he wants me to have on my family.
Laura (11:17):
I just heard a huge sigh of relief is like a bunch of people just got permission. Yes. I feel like you just gave them permission.
Lara (11:25):
No, and it's not easy. I'll say that. Cause it's really easy to look at what everybody else is doing. And I do it. I get caught up in it and I think, oh, I should have done this by now or this by now. And then I think here's what I do. Really. What I do is I sit whenever, I feel comparison, pop in, or I feel like I should be doing something. I think to myself, what if I was doing that? Like I just imagine myself. I remember this a few years ago, I had just finished my second book. And then they said, okay, well you should do another one at least 18 months after that. And I've had friends doing that too. And I thought, what if I was writing a book right now? That would be horrible. It would be awful. I have no time for that right now. I would be so stressed out. And that always clicks me back to reality. The made me grateful for where I am.
Laura (12:07):
I love that exercise. It's so intuitive because then you sort of imagine it. And then you intentionally just say, no thank you.
Lara (12:18):
Because you think you want those things. You think you want to like really to grow this part of your business or you think you want to be at that level by now, but what if you were and what does that kind of call you to do at this point? II like the gradual movement rather than skipping ahead to some things.
Laura (12:37):
It's so funny. So like if I consult sometimes for national brand and what else sometimes do is have them create a whole idea of something that I know they probably aren't going to do just so they can say no to it.
Lara (12:48):
Yes. And there's value in that.
Laura (12:49):
Absolutely. We intentionally said we are not going to take that position in the market or whatever. Right. But I love that you're doing that with like light. But I think because you've been intentional about developing yourself in this area, it adds so much value to people who are listening, who haven't thought of it before in that way and probably giving them permission. I do think, you know, a couple other speakers have said like you people always said, well, when you get to seven figures, you have to do this. Or you get to this point, you have to do this. And then they did it. And they realized like, oh wow. When you get, you almost have to listen to yourself more, you know, as you grow that business. I want to also talk about your team. I'm so interested in personally because managing a team as you scale is like one of the trickiest parts of office and every now and then I see it behind the scenes on your Instagram or your story. And I'm like, gosh, look at her. She's doing all these like cool things of getting your team aligned. Would you speak into that for a little bit for people who just don't know where to start with that?
Lara (13:56):
Yes, I will. And I will say that the answer I'm going to give you is going to frustrate you because I wish there was a one size fits all here's what you need to do, answer to this, but it's almost like giving you a one size, fits all answer to parenting. Managing people. And leading people has so many nuances in it. It's like trying to teach someone how to be a great person. You know, there's a million ways you could do it. And so I'll just tell you what I have done. And obviously like, I don't do it perfectly, but God has really blessed us with an amazing team. I was just saying yesterday to a group of business leaders, how grateful I am to even be a part of this. But I think some cornerstones applied to not just our business, but to other businesses. And they found success there. We use the traction model. So over two years now we've followed book traction. And that is the entrepreneurial operating system. And if you give that book a good read, it's going to totally overwhelm you. But then there's this one sentence in there that says it takes two years for you to actually implement this. And we laughed at that. We were like, Oh, you don't know us. We're going to implement this in like three weeks. And then the two-year mark came around and we were like, oh, it's all starting to click now.
(15:07):
So I'll say that the good things grow over time. If you choose to go the traction model, I highly recommend it. It's taken us a long time and a lot of intention to implement. And what it is is basically an operating system. Like how do you communicate with each other as a team? How do you hold each other accountable? How do you cast vision? How do you get goals done? And of course we're all about that. So it's a really great healthy framework for that. In the traction model and something that I think applies to multiple different models for business, we really do take our core values seriously. And core values is one of those buzz terms that just gets thrown around. We do it the traction way, which is not just creating them out of thin air and they sound good and they look good on a wall, but we identify what's the secret sauce in our business?
(15:51):
What are the things that we've done that have set us apart in the market, in our culture and we've identified things that are already there that we want to amplify more like what is, and I think in defining those things, we've now been able to hire by those, to fire by those, to hold people accountable by those and to call out excellence by those core values to so our core values are anything from the power of one. That would be one to one relationships being just as important, if not more important than marketing to the masses. Enthusiasm is a big one. And I think that if you looked at our brand, I hope that I wouldn't even have to say those to you. We don't have to say our core value is entrepreneurial spirit. We hope it plays out in the way we do things.
(16:31):
So that's one thing. As far as our team goes, we really do hire team members that can be a part of that magic and those core values. The other thing is we really hold each other accountable. So that comes through the ability to be a great communicator, another thing that I, I don't even highly recommend it I say it's a necessity is you've got to go to crucial conversations, training. It is how to have conversations and get things done when the stakes are high and in any business, whether you're a sole entrepreneur or you've got a team of five or 20, and there's also a book called crucial conversations, but we've sent all of our team members to that. It's a two-day training and it is awesome because you really do have to learn how to embrace healthy conflict.
(17:13):
And I feel like that's when very good things have come to us when we've been able to embrace healthy conflict, hold each other accountable in a clear way and I think people are usually surprised like our, our brand on the outside. It's very much what it is on the inside, but you guys don't get to see that we run like a large corporation behind the scenes and we're like serious businesswomen, but it's because we don't make up our systems. We try to use these tried and true principles and systems. And then the other thing is we pray a lot together. And I think that's probably the most important thing. Our leadership team, we on Mondays, we start our weeks laying out all the issues for the week, whether it's personal issues or business issues, things we're facing just in our team or our operations. And we pray over those things. And I can't negate the power of that in our business too.
Laura (18:03):
Wow. Was that a switch in most recent years? Like moving to cultivate? Obviously I always knew you were faith based, but I didn't know it was such an integrated part of your company until now.
Lara (18:15):
So that was two years now. I've been a part of a group, a mentorship group for Christian CEOs, and I've been a part of that group for two years now. And that's really helped me to understand business as ministry and to kind of get my unofficial MBA at the same time. But it's been really amazing to study various companies, various other companies that really do businesses ministry. So we're not like an outward facing ministry. You're not going to see us posting Bible verses on Instagram, but the way we operate, we hope reflects the light of Christ. And that's the way we operate internally too.
Laura (18:48):
So cool. There's so much good stuff in there. I've done EOS facilitation and I ran my own company that way too. I want to know if you made the same mistake that I did the first time I did it where you way too optimistic about what you could do in a quarter?
Lara (19:04):
It takes a long time, but that's really the way it is for anything because the alternative to not having an operating system, which sounds like intimidating, perhaps it did, to me, the alternative is kind of flying by the seat of your pants and that's no fun. So we really needed it.
Laura (19:24):
Yes. So when that happened to us so many times in a row, until we realized like to do things really, really well, and to have focus and to also make room for all the little things that are already on your plate and like answering all the emails and like getting back to all the people and doing all the things like you can actually only choose a few. So is there any goals setting as part of this process and with EOS, I had mentioned us very quickly. Like it's like a buzzword, but traction is the book to get started with and they do have worksheets on their website that are, I find extremely helpful. But is there any time where it's not collaborative, where you're just like, this is what we're doing.
Lara (20:08):
I'd say no. We have what we call an accountability chart, which is different than an organizational chart that you might see in corporate America. Accountability chart is what it sounds like it is who holds, who accountable for winning in their role. And so in our accountability chart, I am the visionary. So I sit at the top. There's no hierarchy here though. Really? As far as like, yeah, if push came to shove and I had to make the final call on something, yes I would. But the culture that we've created is where everybody is an equal and we're all holding each other accountable. So I'd say maybe with financial decisions, but that does fall into my role anyway, but truly no, like, I think I'm saying this because I also have a deep humility and knowing that my answer is not always the best one and I want to be pushed on.
(20:56):
I want to, and I feel like that's what great leaders do. I wouldn't consider myself a great leader, but I'm a great leader in training. I think that that's what you have to have is the ability to let, even the person who just came into their role a week ago, who just got out of college to speak into what that big decision is that you're trying to make. That's been very fruitful for us. You'd be surprised when you start asking questions of people who you think maybe have no experience on paper, how their perception really does help a lot. So, I think the answer is probably, no, I don't think that there are times when I say, okay, this is what we're doing. I think that creates a little bit of a dictatorship atmosphere and I've done it before and it has not been well received in years past. So I think I've just learned from my mistakes.
Laura (21:40):
Same, same. Yeah, you do get, and if you're sitting there being like, yes, I have gotten that feedback before and I've gotten a little defensive or I, you know, they don't understand that I'm in charge or you ever had those moments? Like it's so normal, it's so normal to feel that way then your heart, like you're going to feel that way, but this gets into the next question I want to ask you is what has this done for your life?
Lara (22:04):
That's a great question. You know, it makes me think of times that there have been high stakes decisions on our plates and it really does give me so much peace of mind and freedom. So for me personally, running our business this way helps to take the pressure off because we really do operate as a team. It doesn't mean that there are 20 cooks in the kitchen for every decision, but it means that my goal as the visionary of the company is to make sure that everyone shares the vision for every decision that's made. And our kind of unofficial office motto is that if you're not excited about it, nobody's going to be excited about it. So if I step in and I say, here's what we're doing, but no one else is on board with that. We're not going to get to that destination. So I think for me personally, it's just given me a lot of peace of mind.
(22:51):
I mean, I truly feel so ridiculously grateful to work alongside these women every day and just to get to share our days together. We also know that as a brand called Cultivate Mhat matters if we're not cultivating what matters together, there's not really a way for us to give that and teach that to each other. So we have to fight a lot to avoid burn out. And it's not to say we don't get there, we do. To avoid burnout, make sure our personal lives come first to make sure that we are asking each other how the other person is doing and getting all this stuff done from that heart. So I think it's just given me a lot of peace.
Laura (23:26):
Yes. The peace. And then the word, one of the first words you said was freedom.
Lara (23:29):
Yeah. Freedom, freedom to also, I just feel like my part of my spiritual calling in this business is to train leaders and to grow leaders, not just for this business, but for God's kingdom. And so when I'm focused on that, it gives me so much freedom to, to know like there's a much bigger picture here and I don't have to do it by myself. And it's okay to, you know, dig into hard things and disciple women, or whoever’s on our team. Uh, because this, this business is not really the end all be all.
Laura (24:01):
And what would you say to somebody who is like Laura, I am running a business here. I don't have time to set up all these structures and read these ducks. And you know, I'm managing all the things like what was the point, which you were like, I got to make time.
Lara (24:18):
I can think of multiple times. That's what I'm kind of laughing. And again, it took us a good two years to get here and we still say, okay, wait, what does traction say? Let's go look at the book again. And another author I'll throw out there is Patrick Lencioni. We love Patrick Lencioni's teaching. I can't recommend all of his books enough. We also use right now media and they have some great video trainings. I will throw all those resources out there. But what I would say is do what you can sometimes you truly just have to stay above water, but make sure you're surrounding yourself with the right teaching. I cannot stress this enough.
(24:51):
Instagram is not the right teaching. Even somebody else's course is not the right teaching look to businesses that are outside of your realm of work and surround yourself with truly great leaders and great leaders aren't just about the bottom line. They're about the profit of people. And that's what we're about. We need to make sure that we're changing lives and not just changing the numbers that are in our KPIs. So yeah, I could go on and on about that, but I feel like the most important thing is to do what you can. Little by little progress, truly does add up whether it means that you're listening to the traction audio book and it takes you a year to get through it. It took us six months to get through it as a team, or it's just, I'm going to decide not to look at Instagram and instead go stick my nose in a business book. And for me, it was joining my CEO's group, just being around those leaders there are not in any type of digital marketing business at all. It runs the gamut of various types of companies that they have but being in a group of people and hearing how they solve problems from a gospel mindset is really helpful.
Laura (25:57):
Because you're in C12. Is that right? And I'm super curious about this, cause I've done all the Vestige and the EO and everything. What made you decide to choose that.
Lara (26:07):
Well, actually a personal connection. So Will Ray, Nancy Ray's husband, Nancy Ray is a photographer, he is the leader of our group. And elbowed me a little bit say, hey, I think you'd be really good at this group. You need to join this group. And I'm really glad I did.
Laura (26:25):
And it's nice cause it's probably local to you versus going to a mastermind that's travel and all of that. But I'm sure it's the, it's the faith-based centering.
Lara (26:33):
Yep. Yep. Really tried and true teaching too. It's been phenomenal.
Laura (26:38):
So awesome. I am so just grateful that you're here.
Lara (26:42):
It's our pleasure. It's our pleasure. I hope it encourages you all.
Laura (26:45):
All right. Thank you.
(26:51):
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The Scale with Joy podcast dives into the mindset and strategies of scaling your company to the million dollar mark and beyond. Each week, we follow the journeys of innovators, disruptors, experts and leaders - sharing behind the scenes stories of their most challenging moments and greatest lessons learned-all while building their multi-million dollar empires.