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 healthChapters:00:01 Welcome back and guest introduction01:31 Holly reacts to the intro02:20 The near death experience and what changed04:45 Two years of illness after the hospital and finding resilience05:32 Why she listened to the calling over the billionaire deal07:25 The gift of all knowing in the stadium of light08:02 How the idea for Near Death Shift arrived10:06 Taking the manuscript back and finishing it11:58 Finding the title and the SHIFT acronym13:54 Connecting the book to a five-year-old program14:20 The idea for the International Retreat Association arrives16:36 Building an industry structure from a blank canvas18:29 Professional standards, values, and the founding member model19:25 Why she told her attorney they do not need all the answers first20:35 Pricing at 111 dollars and the 11-11 connection21:17 Imposter syndrome before versus the absence of it now22:12 Questions she asked herself while dying in the hospital23:18 Comparing yourself to who you were yesterday25:46 Attracting negativity versus noticing the good, and the better is better mottoLinks:Holly Porter link tree (book, website, social, email): https://linktr.eeIf 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.