This is an All Ears English podcast, episode 40.
Three ways to be an entrepreneur with your English learning.
Welcome to the All Ears English podcast where you'll finally get real native English conversation and fluency for business and life.
We're We believe in connection, not perfection when it comes to learning English.
Now here are your hosts Lindsay McMahon, the English adventurer, and Michelle Kaplan, the New York radio girl, coming to you from Boston and New York City, USA.
Hey.
Entrepreneurs think differently.
You can learn English the way an entrepreneur builds a business.
Today, get three habits of business builders that you can apply to your English learning.
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Hey there, Aubrey.
How's everything today?
Hey, I'm great.
How are you?
Good, good.
I'm excited to have you on the show.
Guys, Aubrey is often over on the IELTS Energy podcast.
So if you're taking IELTS, go check that out.
But Aubrey, I want to start off at the top of the show today with a question.
All right.
Let's hear it.
All right.
So do you have anyone in your life who is an entrepreneur, maybe a family member or a friend?
Yes.
My father is an artist.
He's an oil painter.
And so he's always been self-employed, self-made.
He paints and then he's been able to approach galleries and get his art in galleries.
He does lots of weekend shows and just...
Right.
Yeah.
Wow.
What an amazing thing for you to grow up and see that, right?
See that as an example of success.
That is so cool.
Yes.
Oh, for sure.
And the support that his partner, my mother, gave him because there were times where it was hard.
They were having a hard time making ends meet.
And he was offered teaching positions.
It was like, should you give up painting full time and take a position teaching?
And she really believed in him and told him, no, you're amazing.
You're talented.
You're a hard worker.
Keep this up.
And, you know, you can do it.
She supported him and he believed in himself as well.
And so he kept at it and was able to make it work.
Oh, I love it.
I love it so much.
It gives me the shivers.
I got to tell you I don't know there's something about that story in the entrepreneurial story that still just inspires me so, so much.
It is so good.
That is inspiring because it is a lot easier, maybe safer, less scary to take that safe route.
And there's something in you know, in you, that has to really be sparked and come alive, for you to take the risk to be an entrepreneur, to to be self-made.
There's, you know, insurance was not coming from anywhere for him.
And the next paycheck was not guaranteed ever.
And he had five kids, like a family, but he made it work.
Good for him.
That is amazing.
I think you and I kind of grew up with similar models in a way.
I mean, my dad was on a similar track.
He didn't have five kids.
He only had two. but he started a business.
He's an optometrist.
So he started a private practice and they sold glasses and he built this up to be very successful and sold it a few years ago.
But in 1979 he used to tell me stories where on his lunch break he would go into the alley behind his office and just cry like cry his eyes out because he didn't know how he was going to pay the rent to have his office pay his secretary.
It was just him and one secretary.
It just sounds like dark days.
Yes, right.
And to Matt, like from you know, especially those of us listening, those of us out there who have a very secure job that you feel very good about and you aren't worried about where your next paycheck is coming from, it's almost hard to empathize, to understand and put yourself in that situation and feel how scary that would be especially supporting a family to to be worried and scared and emotional about that.
I know I remember overhearing conversations with my parents where they were not sure where you know the money was coming from to support like scary, scary times.
It's scary, scary times and i think it can't be done without that support system.
You know, your mom supported your dad.
I mean, my mom supported my dad in a very, very similar way.
I mean, every conversation at night it felt like was about the business.
When the kids left the table me and my brother the conversation would go to my dad's business and my mom would support him.
If should you know, what should we do with this employee and this?
Yeah, it was just.
It's all about that, right?
So you see that growing up and so.
So today's episode is for you guys.
It's about, you know, entrepreneurs.
They think a little bit differently.
The way they see the world is not normal, It's different, but some of these ways of thinking can actually be applied for you guys.
You can apply them in English to learn English better or honestly anything in life.
We're not just talking about English learning, right, Aubrey?
Yeah, exactly.
This really is applicable everywhere in your life, right?
Because here's our first tip.
You're going to see why, right?
It's to be picky about who you spend time with, right?
Be selective about who you're hanging out with.
You want to be spending time with people who are native English speakers or who are learning English and are motivated, just like my dad.
If he had chosen a different partner who wasn't supportive, it would have been a whole different life for him.
It would have been very different.
And it almost makes me emotional to think of the paintings that he has created that are beautiful, that maybe would never have existed right.
And it's the same for you, right?
You're English skills and how proficient you become is, in some in part, dependent upon the people you spend time with that help you stay motivated.
100%.
And I also want to add on to this, Aubrey, I think the timing of this matters a lot.
So I'm thinking for your dad.
Probably it was most important to be around the right people in the beginning when he decided this is gonna be how I raise my kids, this is gonna be how I pay for the household just through this painting, this craft right.
So, especially until the entrepreneur can gain a sense of confidence that yes, the money's gonna come, it's gonna work.
There's the faith that time.
So for you guys, when you say I'm going to become fluent in English, I'm going to go try to apply for a job in English.
It matters who you're around, especially in the beginning.
Yeah.
And I think about with my dad, all the artists that he spends time with.
Some of them are sort of negative and pessimistic.
And he really tries to spend time with those who aren't, who are optimistic and believe it can work.
And it's the same with learning a language, right?
You want to be around people who believe that you can become as fluent as you want to be, and encourage you to make those connections.
Mm-hmm.
Exactly.
Exactly.
And if we're talking about entrepreneurs who go for VC funding, they literally have to believe it and they have to tell themselves that this can be done, because sometimes
It's just an idea.
And they have to paint a rosy picture of the future, of how all these people are going to adopt this product right.
They have to sell this to investors.
And so you really do kind of have to see the world with your own glasses in that kind of way.
So be careful who you spend time with.
That's the first thing.
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And then the second one, Aubrey, what is that?
What is that?
It's to pivot if something isn't working.
So, if you're not familiar with this phrase, pivot means to change something, to change the direction of something.
We use it in sports when we're changing the direction our body is facing, and we use it in business when we need to make a change with how we're doing something.
Yeah, I mean, I can come back to a lot of examples like we.
I don't know if you maybe I share this with you last time.
I think Michelle and I were talking about this.
I just recently heard that YouTube.
Do you know what YouTube started as?
No, I have no idea.
Okay, it started as a dating site, apparently.
What?
I did not know that.
Yep, yep.
I heard that on like the daily or maybe it was the Wall Street Journal podcast, something.
But yeah, they originally thought that I get I'm not sure exactly how it worked.
This was a long time ago.
People were putting up videos and it was a way to find dates.
That was that's what they thought they were building.
And so they eventually found that people were putting up cat videos.
And then they started to pivot.
So they changed.
They turned.
Of course, it started with cat videos.
I love that.
Of course.
That was the gateway drug to YouTube as it is today.
That's so awesome.
So how could a pivot work for our listeners in learning English?
Yeah, so you can make small changes if something isn't working, right?
Try listening to a different podcast if you've been listening to one that's not motivating you as much.
Or, you know, for example, if you're only listening to podcasts that are made for language learners to learn a language right where it's sort of like grammar lessons, etc.
Spend time with podcasts that are either made for natives, or one like this one, All Ears English, where we're challenging you a little bit more to make connections, to learn vocabulary and use it in the real world.
Exactly.
There are so many ways you could pivot.
Like Aubrey said.
I mean you can also pivot in terms of what your philosophy is on learning languages.
If you have always thought that you had to be perfect and now you found Allers English or other shows and you realize it's actually more about connection, not perfection, then you can pivot your vision for why you're learning right.
Yes.
The bottom line is if the method you're using isn't working for whatever reason, you don't feel motivated, you're not seeing results.
You're not seeing progress.
Find something new.
Try something new with the internet and everything that's out there, all of the resources you know.
There are options, things that you will find engaging that will work for you.
Exactly.
I love it.
So that is the second tip.
And that's the second thing that entrepreneurs obviously do as big as YouTube and as small as little mom and pop stores and shops and restaurants.
They're constantly pivoting or looking for that pivot.
Right, Aubrey?
Totally.
Yes, for sure.
I think about, I'm going to go back to my dad really quick.
When we were young, he would paint Western themes of pioneers, like early American pioneers.
And he loved it.
He was so interested in it, but they didn't sell.
Like just not a lot of people were interested in purchasing those.
So he pivoted and started painting like Tuscan landscapes. that were all so beautiful.
And he also loved painting those and they sold like hotcakes.
So it made such a difference.
He just needed to find something that the market wanted.
There you go.
Because it's not just you alone in the world creating this thing.
Someone has to buy the thing if you want to call it a business, right?
Exactly.
I love that.
Such a good pivot.
And I'm glad that that worked out.
That's so cool.
That's so cool.
And then the third thing, Aubrey, what is it that entrepreneurs do that our listeners, our learners can do?
Yeah.
So entrepreneurs say it, even if they don't believe it.
They might have a great idea, they've got this great invention, but they don't maybe really believe that it could work or that people are going to buy it.
It's going to be as perfect as they want.
But they have this entrepreneurial mindset that it can one day be there, it can one day be successful.
And you guys can do the same thing, right?
Say you speak English, even if you don't believe you are fluent.
Yes, I speak English.
Yeah.
I mean, I find myself even when someone asks me, what languages do you speak?
I'll say I speak Spanish, but then I'll say, oh, but I'm losing my accent and I'm forgetting.
No, I shouldn't say that.
I should say I speak Spanish, period.
Yes, it's true, right?
Believe it.
And then you'll be more confident.
You'll take those opportunities to speak in Spanish when you have a chance, instead of feeling like oh, it's not going to be perfect.
I don't know if I want to try.
Exactly.
I mean, no one is going to believe in you or your thing, your skills or the thing you're building, the business you're building, if you don't.
And it's not so much the words you say, it's how they hear it in your voice, right?
How your energy is when you talk about what you're doing.
And that can make all the difference.
So that's what we want you guys to do.
So what do you think about this, Aubrey?
Could these techniques work for our listeners?
Definitely, right?
You guys want to be competent.
It's going to make it easier for you to put yourself out there, have these conversations with others.
And Yeah, all three of these.
You should be picky about who you spend time with.
Make sure they're positive people who encourage you.
And then pivot.
If you're doing something that's not working, change what you're doing.
I love that.
So good.
I love it.
So in the next episode Aubrey, we're going to talk a little bit about why the biggest losers are the most successful at learning English.
I wonder what that's all about.
Oh, this is gonna be good.
Let's go check it out.
And guys, don't forget to follow All Ears English or subscribe on whatever app you are listening.
Make sure you are following so you don't miss.
We publish four days a week on All Ears English.
Okay, Aubrey, we're out of here for today.
All right.
See ya.
Okay, bye.
Bye.
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