Harley Finkelstein

And if you feel that's important, you'll probably do really well at Shopify.

Going back to the fake it till you make it. You can fake it till you make it for a period of time. I did that with t-shirts. But the mentor of mine in 2005 who said, your t-shirt business is nice, but this is not going to be your life's work, that concept. He was right. That I think where you find your life's work is where your personal mission and your professional mission overlap.

Going back to the fake it till you make it. You can fake it till you make it for a period of time. I did that with t-shirts. But the mentor of mine in 2005 who said, your t-shirt business is nice, but this is not going to be your life's work, that concept. He was right. That I think where you find your life's work is where your personal mission and your professional mission overlap.

They don't have to overlap entirely, but where they begin to overlap, you begin to see glimmers of what people often refer to as life's work. And this idea of life's work is not something that my grandfather or my grandmother could have ever even, the term was not something they ever thought about because that almost seems like a luxury.

They don't have to overlap entirely, but where they begin to overlap, you begin to see glimmers of what people often refer to as life's work. And this idea of life's work is not something that my grandfather or my grandmother could have ever even, the term was not something they ever thought about because that almost seems like a luxury.

Well, it is a luxury to be able to do something that you feel deeply passionate about. They were doing something that they felt that they had no choice but to do. But if you can find something like that, one, I think it makes you a lot happier, a lot more satisfied, a lot more optimistic. There's a lot more meaning in your life.

Well, it is a luxury to be able to do something that you feel deeply passionate about. They were doing something that they felt that they had no choice but to do. But if you can find something like that, one, I think it makes you a lot happier, a lot more satisfied, a lot more optimistic. There's a lot more meaning in your life.

But two, I think that's how you build the most successful businesses is where you actually really care about it. We are not selling widgets anymore. Go back 50 years ago and you look at the person running Coca-Cola or the person running Chrysler or the person running Goodyear Tires. Unless it was a direct descendant of the family, I suspect that to them, it was just another widget.

But two, I think that's how you build the most successful businesses is where you actually really care about it. We are not selling widgets anymore. Go back 50 years ago and you look at the person running Coca-Cola or the person running Chrysler or the person running Goodyear Tires. Unless it was a direct descendant of the family, I suspect that to them, it was just another widget.

And whether they're selling soda or selling tires, it didn't matter to them. It was just their job was to sell the thing, the widget. That's not the case anymore. We're actually a lot closer to the olden days where the baker sold bread, the cobbler sold shoes, and man, that cobbler really cared about their shoes.

And whether they're selling soda or selling tires, it didn't matter to them. It was just their job was to sell the thing, the widget. That's not the case anymore. We're actually a lot closer to the olden days where the baker sold bread, the cobbler sold shoes, and man, that cobbler really cared about their shoes.

I was going to mention that particular example. So one is, I don't think you can trick your subconscious. You can tell yourself, you can positive visualization and mindfulness practices. You can trick yourself for a period of time that what you're doing is the right thing. And actually, in some cases, you don't really have a choice.

I was going to mention that particular example. So one is, I don't think you can trick your subconscious. You can tell yourself, you can positive visualization and mindfulness practices. You can trick yourself for a period of time that what you're doing is the right thing. And actually, in some cases, you don't really have a choice.

If things are going a particular way for you personally, or the company's in a state of change, you kind of just need to get it done. One of the major expressions you hear around Shopify is get shit done. Just get it done. We just need to get to the next stage of this thing. And there are times where you just have to get shit done. I mentioned my kids.

If things are going a particular way for you personally, or the company's in a state of change, you kind of just need to get it done. One of the major expressions you hear around Shopify is get shit done. Just get it done. We just need to get to the next stage of this thing. And there are times where you just have to get shit done. I mentioned my kids.

I have a five-year-old Zoe and an eight-year-old Bailey. When they were newborns, as anyone who is a parent knows, there's no way to be mindful and be thoughtful when you have a newborn crying at four o'clock in the morning and you haven't slept in five weeks and you kind of just need to get it done. There's a time and a place just to get it done.

I have a five-year-old Zoe and an eight-year-old Bailey. When they were newborns, as anyone who is a parent knows, there's no way to be mindful and be thoughtful when you have a newborn crying at four o'clock in the morning and you haven't slept in five weeks and you kind of just need to get it done. There's a time and a place just to get it done.

But once the fog leaves and you have some clarity, that's where I think There is no trickier subconscious. And for me, in 2016, I was asked to be this chief operating officer, COO of the company. And I want to be a really great COO. How you do anything is how you do everything. I want to be really great.

But once the fog leaves and you have some clarity, that's where I think There is no trickier subconscious. And for me, in 2016, I was asked to be this chief operating officer, COO of the company. And I want to be a really great COO. How you do anything is how you do everything. I want to be really great.

So I had mentors who were some of the best COOs of the largest companies talking to me, giving me advice. I was reading all these books like Riding Shotgun, which is the famous COO book. I was constantly trying to get better at this stuff that was required of me as a COO of the company. But something was missing. And so I did it. I made sure I gave it everything I could.