Welcome to the Heart Led Business Show, where compassion meets commerce and leaders lead with love. Join your host, Tom Jackobs, as he delves into the insightful conversations with visionary business leaders who defy the status quo, putting humanity first and profit second. From heartfelt strategies to inspiring stories, this podcast is your compass in the world of conscious capitalism. So buckle up and let's go. Let your heart guide your business journey.

All right, ladies and gents, we got a real chin up champ for you today. The daring dynamo, Carlo Taormina, conquered the colossal climb of depression. Now this life coach is known for lobbying lifelines to help folks float in both fortune 500 companies, all the way to doing keynote stages. And local lounges. So get ready to giggle, gasp, and grow with Carlos's grand guidance on the heart led business show. So buckle up and brace for this heartfelt episode. Carlo, that was a mouthful, but welcome to the show. How are you today?

I'm doing well. Thank you so much for having me. It's a, it's a blast. I can't wait to share my story and just lead with some heart, you know. Thanks.

That is the show. That's great. So speaking of that, what would be your definition of a heart led business?

To me, what a heartlit business means is going in to business with a hundred percent authenticity, something that speaks to me personally, and that's something we're going to get into obviously later on, but something that I need needed to tap into that I wasn't necessarily tapped into a hundred percent, especially towards the beginning of my entrepreneurial journey. And what it means to me is just how can I serve somebody? How can I help somebody? How can I, let's say metaphorically take my shirt off my back and give it to somebody if they're cold, right? So for me, it's just pure service, pure help and pure value. And. All I want to do is every single day, do something that speaks from my heart, speaks with my authentic self. And I know when I'm doing that, I'm doing something

Oh, that's, that's beautiful. I love that. That's a, that's a really good, good definition. And that, that authenticity definitely comes through as well. So what inspired you to start a heart led business and just kind of go into what you're doing now and what you used to be doing as well, if you don't mind?

Yeah, absolutely. Well, it's quite a journey. You know, I remember going back to when I was a kid, all I wanted to do was help people in some way, shape or form. I just didn't know how exactly, you know, all I remember is when I was a kid, just talking to my mom and be like, mom, I want to help people. I'm going to leave my mark on the world and I'm going to leave it better than I found it. And that was just always the philosophy. But I never knew exactly how I was going to do it. And when I turned 18, I started to really fall in love with fitness. And it became part of my identity. It was like something I had to do every single day. I loved it. And then when I was starting to grow into my early 20s, I kind of wanted to marry the two aspects of doing something I really love, which is fitness, and something I really wanted to do that was natural in me, which was to help people. And I thought it would be a great idea to kind of merge the two and become a personal trainer. And help people with their health goals and be of service. So that's what I did. And towards the end of 2020 things kind of took a turn. You know, I had my own personal training certificate that I got and I was trying to be a trainer. I actually started my own online training business. And that was what I thought was going to be my. My thing, right? My niche, my, my meat potatoes basically, which is to help people with their fitness goals, but I didn't realize that life had other plans for me. Like the universe had other plans for me and how I'm much more in a heart centered business now is through my own personal journey. What I went through. So what happened towards the end of 2020 was I went through what I like to call my hell week, which basically to me is anything that could go wrong, did go wrong within one week. And I felt as if my life kind of like fell apart and I didn't know how to react, respond. And it kind of broke me in a sense. So what happened was at the time, because I wasn't a full time entrepreneur at that time, I still had the nine to five job and my job was actually being a manager of a gym. I didn't want to leave that space, you know, and I thought it'd been a great opportunity to just keep learning, keep growing and be within that same realm. So right before Christmas, right before my birthday, I got fired from this job. And that was like the best thing I could have gotten, especially during that time. And then in that same week I had dealt, I was dealing with a really bad injury. I had a herniated disc in my L5S1 vertebrae and it was so painful to the point where I couldn't walk for a period of time. And like last thing I could be or wanted to be doing was to be laying in bed, not be able to move and just be thinking all the time. So that was something that really took a blow on me, especially as being somebody as the fitness guy who needs to move to operate. Right. It took part of me away. And then to add more insult to injury, there was this young lady I was seeing at the time. And, you know, of course the story involves a girl. And I remember, You know, we were so madly in love. This person said that they want to marry me, have kids, blah, blah, blah, all that, you know, do the whole nine. And I fell head over heels. I was like, okay, this is real. This is something that's going to lead to something else. I like it. Well, one day she calls me and she's like, Hey, I want to break up in the same week. And I was like, okay, we're three for three. We're doing really well here. And then to make matters worse, like I mentioned before, I was doing my own online personal training business, but it was doing terribly, right? I was losing so much money. I was paying more money than I was making, spending more than I was making. I was going into debt and I didn't know what to do. And I felt like this jobless loser who wanted to help people, but now I'm like, I feel like I have nothing. So I didn't know what to do or how to react or how to respond. So I kind of took this step back and looked at my life at like the bigger picture. And I was like, why did this happen to me? What did I do to deserve this? I started asking all those questions. And then I told myself, I don't want to be in business anymore. I don't want to work a job anymore. Like I hate doing, like, I don't want to do anything. I quit. So I pretty much spent the entire year of 2021 just laying in bed. You know, trying to escape my thoughts of how I was feeling by watching TV, listening to music, you know, watching scrolling through social media, just as trying to escape how I was feeling inside. Cause I just, I didn't know what to do. You know, I felt like I couldn't do anything. I felt like I was this huge failure. I felt like a giant loser. In fact, I even told myself I was a professional loser. And if losing was an Olympic sport, I would be a gold medalist. I just didn't feel fulfilled like even if I I've experienced this before especially with some of the clients I help too is like they'll say oh, I've achieved this success but I'm not fulfilled, you know, I have things externally I just I don't feel fulfilled or not motivated to do anything anymore. And that's how I felt. I felt kind of hopeless and it was so bad. It came to a point where I just didn't like who I was. I hated who I was actually. So I purposely didn't look in the mirror because I didn't want to see my own reflection. And I thought to myself, there's no way out of this. Like I I'm so lost. I don't know what to do. I feel overwhelmed by all of these thoughts. So I'm just going to do nothing. And it no longer became a question of if, but when I decided to take, to take my own life because I thought that was the only answer at the time. And that's how it was for a year, you know, in some days I might feel a little bit better. I might have that spark, but then it would just fizzle out. And I had a lot of living beliefs about myself that said, Oh, you can't do this. You're not good enough, the whole nine. And I just, I really believed those stories. And I honestly thought, okay, this is it. There's nothing for me, like nothing will get better. And this is like my life now. So there's really no way out of it. So I thought the best decision to do was make the one decision you can't come back from. Now I'm so glad I did make that decision, but it was very hard to stick around. And I remember one day my family was like, Hey, let's go out to lunch, come out and get out of the house. You know, let's, let's do something different. And I remember just being like, no, go on without me. I don't want to just leave me alone because I cut off pretty much communication with my family. I didn't talk to anybody. So it was hard to leave bed and you know, communicate and socialize. I just didn't want to do it. Eventually they kind of wore me down and talked me into it. And I was like, okay, fine. I'll got some lunch. It was the most awkward lunch of my life. I was there like in the booth, eating my little salad, not talking to anybody. And then my brother at the time, he says, Hey, come to me, come drive home with me. It'll be just us two. And then we, I was like, okay, fine. So we're driving home and we parked in the driveway and then he's like, okay, what are we going to do? How are we going to help you? How are we going to solve this problem? What can we do? Please tell us because we want to help. And I said, there's nothing you can do. Like what do you want from me? I tried, you know, if I could figure it out, I would have done it by now. You know, I want to be this business entrepreneur guy, help people, but I can't. Like, look at the evidence. And I was so focused on this limiting belief I had, you know, this hopeless feeling I had, you know, this lack of motivation I had. And he's like, okay, Hey, listen to me. I'm your brother and I would do anything for you. You're my brother. Would you do anything for me? And I said, of course I would. He's like, okay, perfect. I have a favor I need from you. And I was like, okay, that was a trap. That was a trap. Okay. Good one. But, I was like hesitant. I said, what's this favor you need for me? What is it? He's like, okay, well, I need you to do something different. Go on a trip, get out of here, do something different. And I thought he was crazy. I was like, you want me to go on a trip? Do you know how hard it was to leave bed to go out to lunch with you guys? Now you want me to go somewhere? And then the next thing he said really struck a chord with me. It really made me process it. It really made me think and put me, honestly, I would credit that this conversation put me on the path to finding my breakthrough that led to everything that I have now. And he said, what do you have to lose at this point? And I let those words sink in. I let the question sink in. And it was as if time stood still, like I was the only person in the universe. Nothing else was moving. It was just me and my thoughts. And I really processed that question and like agreed with it. I was like, I, I really don't have anything to lose this point. You know, I'm at rock bottom, at least that's what it feels like. So there's really nothing for me to lose. So, and what happened too, is I had this weird safety net backup plan, plan B. And obviously this wasn't the best and no one should do this, but this is what gave me comfort is I told myself if this one last attempt. This one last leap of faith doesn't work. I know what I can still do. I still clock out early. And that was just my thought process at the time. So as I was processing this question, I was thinking of two things. The first was I just kept saying to myself over and over again, I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to go. I don't want to leave. I kept folk. I shifted my focus actually to from the life I was living, you know, laying in bed every day, not having motivation to do anything, not believing in myself to shifting that focus to the life I really wanted to help people, you know, to live out my dreams, right. And see them as reality. So I shifted my focus to that particular side. And then what I also did was, I don't know how I thought of this, I imagined I struck a match from a matchbook, and there was this tiny little flame at the end of it. And I imagined that this tiny flame represented the real me, the real Carlo, who was funny, who was ambitious, who wanted to help people. But it was so small, like a little match, that sat in my gut. And even though the real me was down there, it was so small, I knew it was still, like, alive. And the more I thought of it it grew, it grew, it grew to all to which point it kind of consumed me. And I was like this giant fireball. And then I answered my brother. I was like, okay, fine. I'll go on this trip. Like I'll do it. Like I had this fire in me. He's like, he was like, okay, perfect, perfect. Perfect. Well, what are we gonna do? Where do you want to go? So I was like, I don't know, let's. Go somewhere warm because here in Virginia at that time it was in November. It was a little chilly So I didn't feel like going to another place. I was cold. So I was like, let's go to Florida He was like, okay, perfect. When do you want to go? And I said soon? He says, okay Well, do you want to go alone? Do you want to go with me? What's the deal? I said, please come with me I don't want to go alone. I'll probably just lay in the hotel every day. Like please come so he's like, okay. Don't worry about a thing. I will send you the details tonight And that was a Sunday. And then our flight was on a Tuesday. So, we arrived in Florida, and I immediately regretted it. I was like, why am I in Florida? Why are we here? I should stay in bed, I should have stayed at home, and I was just miserable. And the second day when we were down there, it was the exact same. I didn't want to do anything, my brother's trying to rent jet skis, book a fishing trip, rent bicycles, go to the beach. I'm like, I don't want to do any of that stuff. Let's just go home. And then I remember we were at this like cafe restaurant and we were sitting outside of this patio table and we're just talking, trying to find things to do. And all of a sudden he's like, he just looks at me. He says, okay, I booked us something to do. I'm not telling you what it is. Let's just walk and follow me. And for me at the time, I was feeling like super anxious. I was like, what are we doing? Are we going to some nightclub? Are we getting on a boat to go fishing? Are we joining a cult? What's going to happen? And he's like, just shut up and follow me. So I was like, okay, so we're walking, we're walking and we're in West Palm beach, mind you. And neither of us have heard of West Palm Beach. No, we didn't know if it was on the East coast, West coast. We didn't know. So we're on West Palm Beach. We're just walking down the Boulevard. And as we're walking, I see this convention center, the West Palm Beach convention center, right our stoplight, and we're about to cross the street and the light is red. So I can't cross yet. So I'm just spending some time looking around and all of a sudden I see the sign in front of the West Palm Beach convention center. And it says, Tony Robbins, unleash the power within. And, for me, and I'm not a spokesperson for Tony, but my brother and I are big fans of Tony. We're all up into personal development, professional development, and it was so funny, and I don't think this was coincidental. I think this was like divine timing, divine intervention, because we didn't know he was down there. My brother didn't know he was down there. We happened to be in the same state, in the same city, at the right time. And there happens to be an event. So my brother booked this event, not knowing what, like, that he was down here. And I was like, in shock. I was like, we're at this event? It's like, what, what? He's like, you, I was like, you booked this ticket? He was like he didn't say anything, but I knew what happened. And I remember if anyone who doesn't know about Tony Robbins and his events, you're in a room of 10, 000 people. And I remember as I was in the room of all these people, I was sitting in my chair and I was having that same feeling I did like before I left when I was kind of frozen in time and stuck in time. And I was like alone with my thoughts and I was like, I don't know if this is going to work. I was really skeptical. I said to myself, I hope this isn't like a concert experience where you're having fun, you know, woohoo. Or it might be a vacation experience. Like you might have a good time now, but when you're done, it's like, okay, back to reality. I really feared that that was what was going to happen. Luckily it didn't. And from that action step, I took from diving in taking a leap of faith. What I learned was I found the real me again. I found my purpose and it was like, I had this telepathic communication with the universe. It was like, Carlo, you're not gone yet. You're still here because this is the reason. And it like hit me like a shockwave. I was like, this is how I'm going to help people. I'm going to help people like me, you know, high achieving men who feel like they have these living beliefs who lack motivation, lack fulfillment like I did. I want to help them because I know I can now. I know what I can do and I'm still learning, still growing. I've learned so much since then. And I've become somebody who's equipped to help those people. And it was as clear as day. It was like, Carlo, these are the people you need to help. And this is how I got in my own heartland business by going through these trials and tribulations, going through this dark period at the time, not knowing why. But now knowing that it was essential for me, for my growth, my journey, and my purpose, which is to help people. And now, since I went through that experience, I'm being able to, giving the privilege, giving this gift, this blessing to coach people, to speak on stages, to do podcasts like this, to not only share my story, but to share how people like everyday men, women, like every day, how you can. Overcome these challenges and that's how I got my own heart led business and it was definitely a rollercoaster ride but I wouldn't change it.

Wow. Wow. What, what a story and what a, what a happy coincidence to, you know, kind of the quintessential, you know, self development guy out there is there at the right time to kind of help you along as well and go through that, that, that unleash the power within that's amazing. You had said something at the beginning where. You always were telling your mom you want to do something that would help people. Where do you think that came from? And how old were you when you started kind of thinking that?

Remeber being like I want to say like 11 12 years old of wanting to help people and honestly, I think it came from a couple different places, like, just this natural thing in me, you know? I remember, like, I would see homeless people on the side of the streets. I just, I have this feeling like I should help. You know, anytime somebody needed help, they fell I would be the one to like reach out a hand. It was just something that was natural in me. And then there were times where when I was a kid growing up, you know, 12, 13, 14, all the way to my teenage years is I would find opportunities to help, to serve, and it wouldn't be anything like magical. It was like giving a buck to somebody on the side of the street. I remember. One year, my family vacationed in the Dominican Republic and That's a pretty poor country. You know, they're definitely thriving on tourism. That's like a big part of their economy. And I remember one day we were on the beach and I see a group of kids. And for a tourist attraction like that in Dominican Republic, we're in a resort. There are people walking up and down the beach every single day, like promoting tourist attractions, you know, excursions, you know, there are people who will give you a massage, like all these different people. And I see a group of kids and they legit have like, like a drum and they're like singing and dancing. And there's this one kid in particular, who's like the star of the show. He's just dancing his little heart out. And something like spoke to me. I was like, I want to give them something. So I went in my wallet, I pulled out a bill and I gave it to them. And the look on their face was like, they didn't believe it. Like, it was like they hit the lottery. They hit the jackpot. They found gold. They found gold at the end of the rainbow. Like they could not believe it. They were so excited. They stopped what they were doing. They legit just ran in the opposite direction and they were celebrating. Like one of the kids put the bill in his mouth, was like showing it off. They were so happy. And it wasn't like, Oh, I have money. Like, let me, it wasn't that it was just like, how can I help somebody? And I just, the first thing I thought was, let me just give them a bill. And as soon as I did that, they were ecstatic and they were celebrating. And this feeling I got inside was so fulfilling, was so full of love. I felt like I was outside of myself and it just felt good. And then I remember like no one knew I was going to do this, but then my dad. Says to me, he's like, yeah, God saw that. Like the universe saw that, like, like you did good. And I wasn't doing it for, you know, it's for something to return. Like I wasn't doing it for that. It was just something inside of me told me to do it. And I felt so good afterwards. And I kind of got addicted to that feeling. I was like, wow, helping people feels really good. And I think that's where it started. And then like every once in a while, I would see another opportunity and I'll just do something, you know, and it just little moments like that, that kind of contributed to the overall feeling. And then eventually it kind of boiled up where I was like, Hey, let's make this like a lifestyle. And I think that's where it

That's interesting. Do you, do you think, and I run across this a lot when I'm talking to other heart led business owners and, this happened to me as well. Do you feel like that constant giving kind of just makes a cup empty and that that can sometimes lead to the depression or the feeling like, I'm always giving, I'm always giving and and nothing seemed to be coming back? There's no like value exchange?

I can see how people can get to that. However, the way I see it is like, it's not like I have a cup of water. It's like I have this unlimited ocean, this stream, this river that just keeps running, right? It's not limited. I feel like it's unlimited because I feel right now I'm as wealthy as I can be, you know, and I'll be honest, I'm not a millionaire. I don't have the New York Times bestseller yet, but like I don't have these external things. I just have things that cannot be taken away from me, right? I have these moments from my past, my life, where I feel so grateful, so fulfilled. So proud, so exciting, so amazing, where I know this is never going to run out. It's never going to go away. Cause like, these are my experiences. I can't just erase them. And from me reflecting on the blessing I already have and continue to do every day to add to that library or that. Vault, so to speak. I'm only adding to myself more and not necessarily depleting my resources, so to speak. So by the time I'm giving, giving, giving, it's like, oh, I don't have any reserves left. It's not that at all It's like, there's this unlimited nature and it's like I can give and give and give and I'll still be Good.

Good. That's really good. Good to hear. So looking at the, at the business then, so, you know, you're, you're helping people, you're wanting to do all this you started with the online business and that, like you said, kind of crashed and, and burned a little bit with the, the training. Like what was the turnaround for you? Like how did that happen after the personal turnaround in terms of the turnaround for the business?

Yeah, so I think a couple things change really. So I remember when I was strictly doing personal training, Of course I was in the business to help people, but I feel like the scales were a little unbalanced because I was so focused on the outcome. I was so hyper focused on the results. And being, Oh, I'm gonna achieve this financial freedom. Like I keep seeing and Instagram, like I want that. And I want to help people, but I want this and I want the passive income. I'll be laying on a beach somewhere and I see, Oh, I got money from so and so. And I was so hyper focused on that side of business where I lost sight of the genuine and being authentic of oneself to really help somebody and to really Not only that, but the person I'm becoming in the process to succeed in business, right? And I was kind of overseeing that and only focusing on the finish line. And every day that passed, that didn't reflect. The standard I held myself of, of being successful, of hitting these numbers, getting these sales, it kind of took a chip away from me. It took a bit of me out. I was like, man, I really not this entrepreneur, a successful guy, right? Cause I was so focused on the outcome, the money, the all that stuff, the significance I would feel from it and the shift that I went through not only helped me personally, as I just mentioned in the story, but financially in the business as well, because I'm so focused on the person. I felt things are just coming to me now. It's like, I'm just doing anything. If I'm speaking on stage, if I'm doing a podcast, if I'm doing a post online, if I can just impact one person, I know, I know I won for the day. And then that person will like, they'll message me saying, Hey, Carlo, I really resonated with this. Can you help me? I have a question. And I feel like it's so much, I don't want to say easy, but I feel like it's Because like business is not easy. I feel like the steps to take are simple, but it's not an easy journey. Right? And as any entrepreneur, they'll know that's, true. So it really helped me, not so much be so focused on the outcome, but be focused on how I can help somebody. How can I control my controllables and what person am I becoming in order to achieve these goals? And when I focus on that, that's where I think things started to open up for me.

That's a really, really powerful insight, and especially for somebody that's, you know, like, as you described yourself, just always giving, giving, giving, and then you're focusing on the profit. And that's what took you away from the product. And helping other people. And, and when you went back to, okay, I'm going to focus on how I'm delivering, how I'm connecting with those people, that's when the business took off and turned for you versus you're looking at the profit first, which is really interesting that happened for you.

Yeah. Yeah. It was trippy. Yeah.

I think a lot of entrepreneurs when they're too focused on, you know, the, the profit, then they lose sight of one, who they're helping and two, how they're helping. And if you're not really focusing on the product and the delivery of that and making sure it's the best that it can be, then the profit isn't going to happen. But when you focus on how great that product is, how great your delivery is, then, you know, the old saying, if you do what you love, the profit will happen, right? Or the income will happen at some point. Sounds like that's you're living proof of, of that actual philosophy.

right?

That's awesome. Well, cool.

Yeah, I'll be the picture boy. I'll be the poster boy of that.

Awesome. Very cool. So, how can people get ahold of you or, you know, learn more about what you're doing in terms of helping people, you know, live a better life?

Yeah, absolutely. So everyone who wants to dive deeper, who really wants to connect with me, you can follow me on Instagram. And I'm sure it's gonna be in the show notes, but it's@carlotaormina_lifecoach. There you can learn so many different ways on how to overcome your living beliefs, that lack of motivation or fulfillment you may have. I teach you how to transform your mindset or perform at the highest level, whether it be in your business or your personal life. And as an extension, as a free gift, I would love to offer to all the listeners, because I really appreciate you taking the time to listen is I would love to offer you a free strategy call. No questions asked, no strings attached, just I want to help serve. And if you want to dive deeper and it sounds like something that you would benefit from, I'd love to

connect. Wow, that's super generous of you and giving of your time, but it makes sense. You're, you're a total giver. So that's, that's amazing. Really appreciate that. We'll link all that down in the show notes. And Carlo, thank you so much for sharing your, your story, sharing your vulnerability with the audience, and more importantly, sharing kind of the business insights as well, in terms of being a heart led business owner.

Thank you so much for having me. It was a pleasure. You know, I can't thank you enough and you've been a blast. Thank you to everyone listening.

And just a reminder to our listeners if you don't mind do what other smart and considerate listeners do and rate and review the podcast. So other people can learn more about heart led business owners and their stories that invigorate us and inspire us as well. So until the next episode, we'll live your best Heartled self.

You've been listening to the Heart Led Business Show, hosted by Tom Jackobs. Join us next time for another inspiring journey into the heart of business.