Surviving the Side Hustle

Rob Tracz
  • 4.8 (22)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Weekly

Welcome to "Surviving the Side Hustle," the ultimate podcast for balancing the demands of entrepreneurship with maintaining mental, physical, and emotional well-being. Hosted by Coach Rob Tracz, an expert in helping driven professionals achieve 'personal development for professional success,' this show is more than just storytelling—it's a masterclass in thriving amidst the entrepreneurial grind. Each episode features candid conversations with leaders who are rewriting the rules of entrepreneurship, sharing their unique stories, the creative solutions they're offering, and the everyday challenges they’re overcoming. Whether you’re a side hustler looking for your big break or an established entrepreneur seeking fresh perspectives, "Surviving the Side Hustle" provides valuable insights that resonate with the movers, the shakers, and everyone in between. Feeling burnt out and sidelining your own health? This podcast empowers you to overcome stagnation, build resilience, and optimize your life and business. We dive deep into your goals, identify obstacles, and share strategies to boost your energy, improve your strength, and keep the entrepreneurial grind enjoyable. Join us for inspiring stories, expert insights, and practical advice to help you look good, feel good, and do great things at every stage of your entrepreneurial journey. Let’s not just survive the side hustle—let's master it.

  1. 2d ago

    E210 - Lessons from Christy Meaux: Give Yourself Permission to Dream Bigger

    Picture the end of 2022: multiple major losses in a short stretch, waking up sad every day, hesitant to even step outside. That's where Christy Meaux was when she decided something had to change, and then walked into 2023 and decided she was going to brand herself, with no idea what that meant. In this Friday recap I pull out what stayed with me from the conversation: the networking-room question that changed everything ("who are you and what do you actually do?"), the decades she spent living inside other people's expectations before giving herself permission at 48, and why the power of the no turned out to be stronger than the power of the yes. Plus embodied vision, the London flight story, and how all of it connects to clarity and opportunity inside the Prime Performance process. Chapter Timestamps: 00:00 Show intro 01:39 Picture this: the end of 2022 02:04 Who Christy Meaux is and what Cohesive Confidence does 02:55 The script she was handed, and years building someone else's brand 03:38 Independent operator, certification, and writing bios for women 04:03 The question that changed everything 04:26 Decades spent inside other people's expectations 04:43 Fifty now, and zero apology 05:03 Saying yes to everything and confusing everyone around her 05:26 Why people can't dream past what's right in front of them 06:28 Embodied vision: getting in the feeling before it arrives 06:49 The London flight and the row 2 upgrade 07:09 The power of the no is stronger than the power of the yes 07:55 Clarity: know who you are and the decisions get easier 08:26 You can't catch an opportunity you're not paying attention to 08:53 Christy built a practice of noticing 09:19 Where to find Christy 10:15 What expectations are you still carrying that were never yours? 10:43 If Christy could do it at 48, you can do it now Connect with Christy: Website: https://cohesiveconfidence.com Instagram / TikTok / Facebook: @cohesiveconfidence LinkedIn: search Christy Meaux Listen to the full conversation with Christy in E209. Follow Surviving the Side Hustle at https://survivingthesidehustle.com for every episode.

  2. 5d ago

    E209 - Why Confidence Is Something You Give Yourself with Christy Meaux

    In 2023, Christy Meaux came out of a long stretch of grief and had to decide whether she was going to keep living inside that identity or build a new one. Christy, a confidence coach and personal branding strategist, walks Rob through how she rebuilt from that point — and why confidence turned out to be something you hand yourself rather than something you're born with. The conversation covers why "what do you do?" is the wrong question and what to say instead, the permission letter Christy wrote herself at 48 to stop serving other people's expectations, and why gratitude has to come before manifestation if you want either to work. Rob and Christy also get into the stages of rebuilding after loss, the surprisingly hard skill of learning to receive help, and the boundaries and routines that hold it all together. Topics Covered: - The 2023 decision point: choosing whether to stay in a grief identity or build a new one from scratch - Why leading with your job title loses people, and the reframe Christy used instead — "I create cohesive confidence" - The permission letter: writing yourself explicit permission to want what you actually want - Giving herself permission at 48 to stop living out other people's expectations for her life - The stages of a rebuild, starting with letting yourself grieve things that aren't deaths — a job, a friendship, a business - Why gratitude has to come before manifestation, and what goes wrong when people skip straight to the vision board - Learning to receive: how a popped rib while moving forced Christy to practice asking for help - Practical structure — the "good news" notes habit, starting calls with a win, and a hard 6 o'clock shutdown Chapter Timestamps: 00:00 Show intro 01:37 Welcome and guest intro: who is Christy Meaux 03:08 Back to 2023: coming out of grief and choosing a new identity 04:51 Why "what do you do?" is the wrong question 06:07 "I create cohesive confidence": naming the result, not the title 10:04 Embodying the client experience 11:32 The permission letter you write to yourself 12:27 Giving herself permission at 48 15:01 The power of saying no and walking away well 16:38 Leaving the mortgage industry after six and a half years 19:24 Allow yourself to grieve: the stages of a rebuild 21:23 How gratitude journaling changed the way she executes 24:58 Learning to receive: reciprocity and asking for help 25:34 The popped rib that forced her to ask 27:10 Why gratitude has to come before manifestation 29:13 Writing it by hand and slowing the brain down 30:03 The "good news" notes app habit 31:00 Starting every coaching call with a win 33:06 Boundaries, routine, and the 6 o'clock shutdown 33:52 Defining manifestation in practical terms 34:27 The flight visualization that kept coming true 37:55 Manifestation works both ways 39:27 Turning 50 and what's coming next 40:57 Where to find Christy Connect with Christy: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cohesiveconfidence TikTok: @cohesiveconfidence Facebook: Cohesive Confidence LLC Follow Surviving the Side Hustle at https://survivingthesidehustle.com for every episode.

  3. Jul 31

    E208 - Lessons from Christopher Gabriel: Your Nervous System Is Running Your Business

    "Every human conflict in history, whether it's a war or a fight with your little brother, is the product of a dysregulated nervous system." That's the claim Christopher Gabriel made on this week's episode, and it's been rattling around my head ever since. In this Friday recap I pull out what stuck with me most: how many high performers are walking around chronically sympathetically activated and have no idea, what actually happens to your brain when that state never switches off, and the structure Christopher uses to stay inside his capacity instead of grinding through it. Ultradian rhythms, protecting your window, and five minutes of genuine stillness, plus how all of it maps back to resilience inside the Prime Performance process. Chapter Timestamps: 00:00 Show intro 01:38 "Every human conflict is a dysregulated nervous system" 02:06 Who Christopher Gabriel is and what Life Science Performance does 02:57 Consolidation: pulling back to the core of the practice 03:22 The audacious vision, global peace through regulation 03:48 Chronically sympathetically activated and not knowing it 04:11 What burnout actually does to your brain 04:37 Running your business on the emotional brain alone 05:20 The secret: structure in service of the nervous system 05:35 Ultradian rhythms and protecting your window 06:00 The stillness piece, five minutes with no input 06:27 How this maps to the Prime Performance process 06:51 Resilience is capacity to recover, not grinding through 07:19 Where to find Christopher 07:46 The concierge model and root-cause work 08:39 The one thing to sit with today 09:03 Go listen to the full conversation Connect with Christopher: Website: https://lifescienceperformance.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christophergabrielhealth YouTube: Life Science Performance Listen to the full conversation with Christopher in E207. Follow Surviving the Side Hustle at https://survivingthesidehustle.com for every episode.

  4. Jul 28

    E207 - Why Your Nervous System Is Running Your Business with Christopher Gabriel

    Christopher Gabriel has a theory: every human conflict in history — from wars to arguments with your spouse — is the product of a dysregulated nervous system. Christopher, an integrative health practitioner and performance specialist, walks Rob through how the same system that kept our ancestors alive is quietly driving your decisions, your relationships, and your business. The conversation covers why the goal is spending as much of your day as possible in a parasympathetic state, what "flipping your lid" does to your executive function, and how voluntary stress — cold exposure, fasting, hard training — expands what you can handle instead of draining you. Rob and Christopher also get into the burnout cycles Christopher hit while building his own practice, structuring your day around 90-minute ultradian rhythms, and why nutrition is the fuel line for all of it. Topics Covered: - The theory that every human conflict traces back to a dysregulated nervous system, and the "global peace through regulation" vision behind Christopher's work - Beyond fight or flight: the four sympathetic responses (fight, flight, freeze, fawn) and how to spot your default state - Why the "stress makes you productive" idea is backwards, and what a parasympathetic baseline actually unlocks (flow = focus + calm) - The burnout cycles Christopher went through while building a practice in demand, and the structure he now uses to stay inside his capacity - Hormesis: how voluntary stressors like cold exposure and hard training raise your threshold so the same stress no longer pushes you over the edge - Circadian biology, morning sunlight, red light, and structuring your day around ultradian rhythms - Why nutrition is the Formula One fuel of performance, and the micronutrients powering every system you rely on Chapter Timestamps: 00:00 Show intro 01:39 Welcome and guest intro: who is Christopher Gabriel 03:00 Consolidation: returning to the core of his private practice 03:50 The theory: every human conflict traces to a dysregulated nervous system 06:04 Autonomic nervous system 101: sympathetic vs. parasympathetic 07:31 Beyond fight or flight: the four sympathetic responses 09:44 What's your default state? 11:37 The misconception: you don't need stress to be productive 13:53 "Flipping your lid": stress, executive function, and flow state 18:24 From clinical nutrition to nervous system work 20:52 Burnout cycles while building a practice in demand 22:34 Structure as the antidote: capacity, boundaries, recovery 24:49 Expanding what you can handle 26:27 Hormesis: voluntary stress that builds resilience 28:25 Circadian biology, sunlight, and red light 30:23 Hard things vs. hormetic stress: which is which 33:45 Fuel your body like a Formula One car 36:32 Rob's car analogy: food, media, and mindset as fuel 39:09 Setting boundaries on media and stimulation 42:11 Ultradian rhythms: structuring the day in 90-minute blocks 44:44 Sensory deprivation and true parasympathetic rest 47:07 What's next for Christopher and where to find him Connect with Christopher: Website: https://lifescienceperformance.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christophergabrielhealth Follow Surviving the Side Hustle at https://survivingthesidehustle.com for every episode.

  5. Jul 24

    E206 - Lessons from Joe Wyrwas: Tracking Means Nothing Without Change

    Four years of logging every minute of his life taught Joe Wyrwas one uncomfortable truth: the gap between the life you say you want and the life you are actually living is visible in the data, if you are willing to look. Rob recaps his conversation with leadership development coach Joe Wyrwas, tracing Joe's path from a quiet kid cracked open by a 10-day summer program to 15 years of unpaid volunteer work to finally launching his own LLC. The through-line is clarity, specifically the discipline of seeing yourself honestly before trying to lead anyone else. Rob connects Joe's four-year time audit and his skydiving approach to risk straight to the clarity principle inside the Prime Performance Process. What we cover: - Joe's origin story: a 10-day Archdiocese of Baltimore leadership camp the summer after sophomore year of high school that rewired how he saw himself - Fifteen-plus years of unpaid volunteer work in youth leadership before launching his LLC, and why he carries no regret about the timeline - The four-year daily time-tracking spreadsheet and what the data actually reveals about misalignment between stated priorities and real behavior - Joe's framework for overwhelm: write your why, write your list, connect the dots, and cut what does not serve the why - The skydiving analogy: instead of managing every second of the jump, identify the three moments where things can go wrong and focus attention there - Joe's honest stance on who he will and will not work with: if someone is not willing to grow, he is not the right fit - Rob's distinction between collecting data and using data: information without honest reflection is just noise - How the clarity principle from the six-principle Prime Performance Process applies: knowing your goal is not enough if you cannot see what is quietly pulling you away from it Chapters: 00:00 Opening: picturing the four-year time audit 00:42 Who Joe Wyrwas is and why his approach is different 01:18 Joe's origin: quiet kid, 10-day leadership camp, something cracked open 01:54 Fifteen years growing the seed through college, tech, and volunteer work 02:30 Launching the LLC and standing on the body of work 03:00 The psychological weight of giving your best energy to a side thing 03:45 What the time-tracking data really shows you 04:15 Joe's advice for the overwhelmed: write the why, connect the dots, cut what does not fit 04:40 The skydiving framework: find the critical failure points and focus there 05:10 How this maps to clarity in the Prime Performance Process 05:57 Data without honest reflection is just noise 06:30 Where to find Joe: LinkedIn and wiserwithjoe.com 07:53 Rob's closing challenge: pick one thing, connect it to your why, make a decision Connect with our guest: Joe Wyrwas on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joewyrwas Wiser with Joe: https://wiserwithjoe.com More from Rob: Rob Tracz: https://robtracz.com Free momentum assessment: https://gettheprime.com Free strategy session: https://survivingthesidehustle.com/freecall

  6. Jul 21

    E205 - Tracking Every Minute and What It Taught About Leadership with Joe Wyrwas

    Joe Wyrwas spent four years building a custom app to log his life down to the minute, and what he learned had almost nothing to do with the data. Joe Wyrwas, leadership development coach and 600-plus-jump skydiver, walks Rob through the framework he uses to help individuals and organizations build stronger cultures, starting with self-awareness and ending with purposeful action. The conversation covers how leaders can communicate through uncertainty, why tracking data without making changes is just noise, and how skydiving taught Joe to find the three key failure points in any plan. Rob and Joe also get into the emotional side of leadership, including how naming a feeling out loud is often the first step to moving through it. What we cover: - How a 10-day faith-based leadership program in high school set Joe on a lifelong path of developing others - The three-part foundation Joe uses with every client: know yourself, communicate with others, anchor to your purpose - Why uncertainty, especially around AI, is the single biggest challenge he sees leaders facing right now - The four-year experiment of tracking his life to the minute and the three hard lessons it revealed - Why most people already know their misalignments and do not need more data to confirm them - How leaders can balance transparency with stability when communicating difficult news to their teams - Daily practices Joe uses to move from uncertainty and doubt into grounded, purposeful action Chapters: 00:01 Welcome and guest intro 01:04 Where Joe's leadership journey began: the 10-day high school program 02:31 Learning through real failure as a team of high schoolers 03:36 Joe's coaching framework: self, others, and purpose 06:33 Handling clients who think they already have it figured out 08:34 The power of listening to the words people choose 09:25 From nonprofit volunteer work to launching an LLC 12:12 Who Joe works with now: nonprofits and tech companies 14:20 The number one challenge leaders face right now: uncertainty 17:01 Joe's daily practice for processing doubt and fear 20:20 The four-year experiment tracking every minute of his life 22:46 Three lessons the data revealed, and why he finally stopped 24:52 Are leaders tracking too much or not enough? 27:49 Decision-making, risk tolerance, and the 70 percent rule 29:21 600-plus skydives and what they teach about calculated risk 31:10 The three key failure points: how to reduce risk without controlling everything 32:10 What Joe is building in 2026 If this conversation got you thinking about how you lead, follow Surviving the Side Hustle so you never miss an episode. Find us and every guest resource at SurvivingtheSideHustle.com. Connect with Joe: LinkedIn WyserWithJoe.com More from Rob: Website: https://robtracz.com Free momentum assessment: https://gettheprime.com Free strategy session: https://survivingthesidehustle.com/freecall

  7. Jul 17

    E204 - Lessons from Holly Porter: When a Near Death Experience Rewrites Everything

    You don't have to almost die to truly live. Holly Porter said it in her guest interview, and Rob hasn't stopped thinking about it since. Rob breaks down the biggest lessons from his conversation with Holly Porter, a 15-time international best-selling author who spent 70 days on a ventilator in 2021 and came out the other side with two new companies, a finished book, and a clarity she says most people never find. He walks through the unglamorous stretch that followed, two years of long COVID fog, a shelved manuscript, and a missed opportunity with a billionaire-backed company, before landing on the single question that kept Holly moving forward. Rob then connects her daily practice to the Prime Performance Process, making the case that clarity starts with an honest internal check-in, not a five-year plan. What we cover: - Holly's 70-day hospitalization, her near-death experience, and what she describes as the Stadium of Light - The slow, unglamorous recovery: going from 20 percent function to 70, and the two years she called hell - The book Near Death Shift, the year it sat untouched, and why she eventually took it back - The better is better motto and how a single morning question replaced the need for a big strategy - Gratitude as an active discipline, not a feeling to wait for, and serving others as an energy reset - Why Holly walked away from a deal backed by a billionaire based on what she was told in her near-death experience - Rob connecting Holly's daily self-check to the clarity principle inside the Prime Performance Process - Holly's Linktree, her nonprofit the Adventure Bucket Wish Foundation, and the International Retreat Association she is building Chapters: 00:01 Opening quote and introducing Holly 00:50 Who Holly is: author, founder, nonprofit builder 01:45 The 70-day hospitalization and the Stadium of Light 02:24 What happened after the hospital: new companies and the book 02:55 The honest low points: long COVID, fog, and two years of hell 04:14 The better is better motto 04:49 Gratitude as practice and serving others to shift energy 05:30 Connecting Holly's approach to the Prime Performance Process 06:20 Clarity as the core principle: internal calibration before action 07:10 Where to find Holly and her book Near Death Shift 07:55 Closing reflection and the one question to sit with Links: Holly Porter Linktree (book, website, social, retreat association, nonprofit): https://linktr.ee/hollyporter Hear the full conversation with Holly on episode 203, and catch every guest interview and Friday recap at SurvivingtheSideHustle.com. If you are not following the show yet, now is a good time.

  8. Jul 14

    E203 - Building an Industry From Scratch After a Near Death Shift with Holly Porter

    In this episode, Holly Porter returns for part two of her conversation with Rob. A 15-time best-selling author and founder of more than a dozen businesses, Holly shares what has happened since her near death experience and how that experience continues to shape every decision she makes. Holly walks through the writing of her book Near Death Shift, from a working title she sat on for two years to the moment the chapters clicked into place. She then explains how, mid-manuscript, she received the idea for the International Retreat Association, an organization she is now building from nothing in an industry that has never had one. The conversation covers imposter syndrome, the habit of comparing yourself to who you were yesterday, and why gratitude starts to change what you notice. What we cover: - How a COVID hospitalization of 70 days produced out of body and near death experiences that redirected her business decisions - Why she walked away from a billionaire-backed partnership based on what she was told during the near death experience - The stop-and-start process of writing Near Death Shift, including handing the project off and then taking it back - How the acronym SHIFT emerged after the title change and how it connected to a personal development program she had built five years earlier - The gap she found in the retreat industry: an estimated two to three million retreat leaders with no association to belong to - How she incorporated the International Retreat Association in December, set founding member pricing at 111 dollars per year, and filled half the leadership council before the landing page was even live - Why she told her attorney they did not need everything figured out before launch, drawing a parallel to how Apple and PayPal update their terms over time - The difference between imposter syndrome before her experience and the absence of it now with the association - Her recovery motto, better is better, and how asking what you can do today to be better than yesterday applies beyond health Chapters: 00:01 Welcome back and guest introduction 01:31 Holly reacts to the intro 02:20 The near death experience and what changed 04:45 Two years of illness after the hospital and finding resilience 05:32 Why she listened to the calling over the billionaire deal 07:25 The gift of all knowing in the stadium of light 08:02 How the idea for Near Death Shift arrived 10:06 Taking the manuscript back and finishing it 11:58 Finding the title and the SHIFT acronym 13:54 Connecting the book to a five-year-old program 14:20 The idea for the International Retreat Association arrives 16:36 Building an industry structure from a blank canvas 18:29 Professional standards, values, and the founding member model 19:25 Why she told her attorney they do not need all the answers first 20:35 Pricing at 111 dollars and the 11-11 connection 21:17 Imposter syndrome before versus the absence of it now 22:12 Questions she asked herself while dying in the hospital 23:18 Comparing yourself to who you were yesterday 25:46 Attracting negativity versus noticing the good, and the better is better motto Links: Holly Porter link tree (book, website, social, email): https://linktr.ee If something in this episode moved you, share it with someone who needs to hear it. Follow Surviving the Side Hustle and find every episode at SurvivingtheSideHustle.com.

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4.8
out of 5
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About

Welcome to "Surviving the Side Hustle," the ultimate podcast for balancing the demands of entrepreneurship with maintaining mental, physical, and emotional well-being. Hosted by Coach Rob Tracz, an expert in helping driven professionals achieve 'personal development for professional success,' this show is more than just storytelling—it's a masterclass in thriving amidst the entrepreneurial grind. Each episode features candid conversations with leaders who are rewriting the rules of entrepreneurship, sharing their unique stories, the creative solutions they're offering, and the everyday challenges they’re overcoming. Whether you’re a side hustler looking for your big break or an established entrepreneur seeking fresh perspectives, "Surviving the Side Hustle" provides valuable insights that resonate with the movers, the shakers, and everyone in between. Feeling burnt out and sidelining your own health? This podcast empowers you to overcome stagnation, build resilience, and optimize your life and business. We dive deep into your goals, identify obstacles, and share strategies to boost your energy, improve your strength, and keep the entrepreneurial grind enjoyable. Join us for inspiring stories, expert insights, and practical advice to help you look good, feel good, and do great things at every stage of your entrepreneurial journey. Let’s not just survive the side hustle—let's master it.

Information

  • Creator
    Rob Tracz
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    211
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Rob Tracz
  • Show Website
    Surviving the Side Hustle