020 - Navigating Societal Expectations and Finding Purpose in Business with Dr. Esther Zeledón

In this episode of the 6 to 7 Figure Women Podcast, hosts Jessica Fearnley and Meghann Conter were joined by Dr. Esther Zeledón to explore the challenges women entrepreneurs face. We discussed societal pressures, the journey to find your purpose, and the importance of aligning business with personal vision. 

Esther shared her approach to helping people detach from roles and titles to envision their legacy, emphasizing self-reflection and overcoming societal narratives to discover their authentic self and create a meaningful impact.

What we discussed:

[00:00:46] Introducing Dr Esther Zeledón and her impactful journey, starting from her childhood in Nicaragua to her career and entrepreneurial pursuits.

[00:11:42] Societal pressures and the impact of societal narratives on your pursuit of purpose.

[00:17:55] The importance of aligning entrepreneurship with personal purpose and vision for creating impactful businesses.

[00:18:51] Failure, purpose, and fear in discovering your mission and vision.

[00:20:03] The changing dynamics of relationships and how it relates to personal and professional growth.

[00:23:34] Individual and team alignment with mission, vision, and purpose in various settings, including corporate and personal relationships.

[00:27:05] Esther discusses her work with NGOs and students, emphasizing the importance of clarity and alignment in achieving their missions and personal growth.

[00:29:55] The journey of self-knowledge, understanding narratives, and the impact of self-discovery on serving others.

[00:33:24] Exercises to help you overcome fear and find purpose, emphasizing the need to detach from current circumstances and envision a larger legacy.

[00:37:45] Visualizing your desired life and removing accolades from your visions.

[00:40:22] Starting with the legacy picture and flipping the approach to avoid pressure and work out the outcome.

[00:45:56] Discussion on what global problems we would solve and the problem-solving process.

[00:52:48] Esther shares where to find her book and announces the upcoming release of the Spanish version of the workbook.

 

Quotes:

“It was almost like this whole constraint around me. And even when I left that job, and I'm sure so many of the listeners can relate, and to entrepreneurship, how many people told me, you're making a mistake, you're giving up something that everybody wants and covets. … It's hard when you hear those things because you're like, am I? I don't know, am I being ungrateful? Am I being selfish? Right? And I had to sit there and say, actually, I'm not, because I'm going to create something bigger and it's going to have space for the people in that organization, but also create the space for everyone else outside.” - Dr. Esther Zeledón

“I don't believe in the word failure because you're heading towards a mission vision. You’ve got to test, like I see it more like a science experiment. You’ve got to test all these different ways of getting to that vision. It's just a test. It's like it failed. Not you failed.” - Dr. Esther Zeledón

“If only 20% of the people in the world know what their purpose is, I would say the 80% it's because they're afraid to actually look for it, because they don't think that they'll ever find it, and/or they'll figure out that their purpose is something completely different than what they're doing.” - Meghann Conter

“If you are going to be a successful entrepreneur, you realize that you have to have an attachment to your vision for the world as an individual and ideally speaking your business should be attached to that vision, and the mission that you have should be a vehicle that helps you get toward that vision, because then you're actually living in impact, you're living in purpose, you're living in power, and you've created something that's bigger than yourself.” - Meghann Conter

“It's like the more things change, the more things stay the same. I think as we get more rooted and I imagine for all of us here talking today and probably for our listeners as well, the more you are in entrepreneurship, it's that journey inwards, isn't it, that we need to understand ourselves better because when we have a problem, the business has a problem. And there's always that kind of parallel.” - Jessica Fearnley

 

Links:

Connect with Esther on LinkedIn

Follow Esther on Instagram

Esther’s Book - Creating Your Limitless Life

Join The Dames virtual roundtable: www.thedames.co/roundtable

Connect with Meghann on LinkedIn

Book a discovery call to work less and earn more: jessicafearnley.com

Connect with Jessica on LinkedIn

Guest Bio:

Dr. Esther Zeledón (Dr. EZ) is a master of making dreams work. Her pioneering work as an international diplomat, scientist, and life coach has proven to work for people of all cultures and across communities, corporates, and countries.

Dr. Esther Zeledon has created a formula for balanced success and brilliant productivity that everyone can use to create a limitless life.