We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Rachel Larkin. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Rachel below.
Rachel, we are so happy that our community is going to have a chance to learn more about you, your story and hopefully even take in some of the lessons you’ve learned along the way. Let’s start with self-care – what do you do for self-care and has it had any impact on your effectiveness?
Prioritizing self-care has fundamentally transformed my approach to being a business owner. No matter how pressed for time I am, each day begins with meditation and reflection (even for five minutes) to set a calm and centered tone right from the start. This morning ritual is my way of opening the day positively, mentally preparing me for whatever challenges might come. I’ve also incorporated a practice of acknowledging gratitude. By focusing on what I am thankful for, I naturally displace any negative thoughts that might cloud my cognitive thoughts. I once heard from a spiritual guru that the real estate in your mind is precious and limited, so it’s critical to fill it with positive energy so that anything negative is harder to enter.
Health and well-being are also huge factors in self-care! I strategically carve out time to get to the gym or run outdoors as much as possible during the week. Our bodies are our temples, and health is the greatest wealth of today. We are at the top of our game when our bodies run at peak performance. Stress relief, sharp thinking, and reduced anxiety are only some of the benefits of getting out there and sweating a few times a week.
Self-care is self-love. Tacking onto the belief that our bodies are our temples, our family is vegan and intentionally prioritizes clean eating into our lifestyle. While that doesn’t work for everyone, I have personally found a vast improvement in my clarity of thought, faster decision-making, and quicker results from working out. Sure, there will be times when we’ll treat ourselves to cheese with a glass of wine or incredible fish at a seaside restaurant while traveling. It ultimately comes down to balancing the zest of life with long-term self-care goals.
This combination of mental clarity, physical vigor, and nutritional conscientiousness has not just impacted my effectiveness—it has revolutionized it. It’s a holistic approach that keeps me balanced and ready to take on business challenges with a clear mind.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I’d love to! I’m the Founder & CEO of The Real Bonne Vivante, a travel and lifestyle brand that highlights topics on remote destinations, slow travel, and boutique places to stay. Each month, we enable an audience of tens of thousands of travelers to reach far-flung locations worldwide, offering in-depth itineraries, curated travel products, and inspiring editorial visuals.
We recently covered Colombia’s countryside of Caldas, about four and a half hours south of Medellín. Our readers were taken on an inspiring journey through these remote areas, and we provided insider resources for planning a trip to a location where there isn’t much information for international travelers.
This summer, we’ll launch in-depth downloadable itineraries with “boots on the ground” recommendations we have personally made while scouting these regions. These include everything from hotel recommendations and car rental information to granular daily itineraries for often multi-week trips. All of this will be available at an affordable, one-time cost.
As some readers have asked, we’ll also launch official The Real Bonne Vivante brand merchandise, which will be available on our website. We’re incredibly excited about that!
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Reflecting on my journey, I’d pinpoint resilience, strategic thinking, and emotional intelligence as the three most instrumental pillars.
Resilience has been vital. In the realm of entrepreneurship, setbacks are as common as opportunities. The ability to bounce back, learn from failures, and persistently pursue my vision has been crucial. For those starting, my advice is to view every setback as a stepping stone. It’s not about avoiding failures but learning how to recover from them that builds true resilience.
Strategic thinking has also played a critical role. It involves planning your moves, anticipating market trends, and adapting swiftly. For newcomers, I recommend constantly educating yourselves—read extensively, attend workshops, and engage with mentors. The more you understand your industry dynamics and are plugged into that world, the better your strategies will be.
Lastly, emotional intelligence has been vital, especially in leadership. Understanding and managing your emotions and empathetically interacting with others can tremendously enhance team dynamics and decision-making. To improve this, start by practicing mindfulness—beginning with yourself. Being present and genuinely engaging with others’ perspectives can completely change how you see the world around you.
We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?
Focusing primarily on your strengths while maintaining awareness of your weaknesses strikes the best balance. The rationale here is simple: leveraging what you are inherently good at typically yields faster and more impactful results and allows you to operate in your “zone of genius,” something I learned while reading The 5 AM Club by Robin Sharma.
However, this doesn’t mean completely neglecting weaknesses. It’s important to be targeted and intentional about one area you want to tackle before moving on to the next. The lesson here is not to spread yourself too thin at the risk of “resolving it” at a mediocre level.
There have been times when I learned something at the surface level and rushed through it—I’m looking at you, website SEO! I had to go back to re-learn it, then ultimately hire an expert to deal with it. I didn’t have the time or desire to fully immerse myself in that personal weak skillset — I had other things that made a bigger ROI for my time. Sometimes, the best decision is to lean on an expert for things you can delegate so you can focus on the personal things that no one else can do quite like you.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://therealbonnevivante.com/
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- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-real-bonne-vivante
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@therealbonnevivante
