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John Garrett [00:00:00]:
Hey, this is John Garrett. I’m passionate about making work more human, especially in this age of AI. I don’t just host this podcast, I also help organizations put people first through my keynote speaking, coaching and what’s yous and implementation programs. To learn more or to connect with me on LinkedIn or Instagram, I invite you to join the movement at what’s your and dot com. Now let’s jump into this week’s conversation.

Marit Burmood [00:00:28]:
What’s up? This is Marit Burmood and when I am not doing kickbox flips and skateboarding all over town, I’m listening to John Garrett on what’s yous. And.

John Garrett [00:00:39]:
Welcome to episode 699 of What’s Your “And”?. This is John Garrett and each Wednesday I interview a professional who, just like me, is known for a hobby or a passion or an interest outside of work. And to put it another way, it’s encouraging people to find their and those things above and beyond your technical skills. It’s the things that actually differentiate you when you’re at work. It’s the answer to the question of who else are you beyond the job title. And if you like what the show is about, be sure to check out the award-winning book. It’s on Amazon, Indigo, Barnes and Noble Bookshop, a few other websites. All the links are at www.whatsyourand.com. The book goes more in depth with the research behind why these outside-of-work passions are so crucial to your corporate culture.

John Garrett [00:01:17]:
And I can’t say how much it means that everyone’s reading it and writing such great reviews on Amazon. Thank you so much for those and more importantly, changing the cultures where they work because of it. And if you want me to read it to you, that’s right, this voice reading the book, look for What’s Your “And”? on Audible or wherever you get your audio books. And please don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast. You don’t miss any of the future episodes. I love sharing such interesting stories each and every week and this week is no different with my guest, Marit Burmood. She’s the owner of Flair Financial and a partner at Central Tax Agency out of Salt Lake City, Utah. And now she’s with me here today.

John Garrett [00:01:52]:
Marit, thanks so much for taking time to be with me on What’s Your “And”?.

Marit Burmood [00:01:56]:
Hey, thanks so much for having me. I didn’t have anything better to do. It’s, it’s extension season for taxes so figured I’d take a break.

John Garrett [00:02:04]:
Well, no, well, I appreciate it and it’s definitely going to be a nice break, I promise. And it’ll be worth it. So I do have some rapid-fire questions. Get to know Marit out of the gate here. So I think this is an easy one. Do you have a favorite color?

Marit Burmood [00:02:18]:
Green.

John Garrett [00:02:19]:
Green. Oh, solid.

Marit Burmood [00:02:20]:
Even before I became an accountant and, you know, had this love for money, green has always been.

John Garrett [00:02:26]:
Yeah, solid. So it was destiny. It was meant to be.

Marit Burmood [00:02:28]:
Yeah.

John Garrett [00:02:29]:
How about a least favorite color?

Marit Burmood [00:02:31]:
I don’t know. I don’t have one. I love all colors.

John Garrett [00:02:33]:
Oh. Just in case they’re listening.

Marit Burmood [00:02:34]:
You don’t want to offend one PC on the colors. Yeah, right.

John Garrett [00:02:38]:
Okay. All right. All right. Are you more early bird or night owl?

Marit Burmood [00:02:41]:
Early bird. I’m a mom, and so I get up early so I can have some time to myself. Night. Night doesn’t work for me.

John Garrett [00:02:48]:
There you go. How about a favorite actor or an actress?

Marit Burmood [00:02:52]:
You know, I don’t really watch much tv. Brad Pitt’s always been pretty hot, so I guess we’ll.

John Garrett [00:03:00]:
Actor, so.

Marit Burmood [00:03:00]:
Yeah, he’s a good actor. Yeah, he is. Yeah, that’s true.

John Garrett [00:03:03]:
Just in case, you know, your husband’s listening, unless you’re married to Brad Pitt, then good for you. Toilet paper roll. You go over or under?

Marit Burmood [00:03:10]:
Oh, man, I. I used to not care, and then my husband said only serial killers go under. So I go over.

John Garrett [00:03:16]:
Oh, I thought you were going to say you went under just to send a message.

Marit Burmood [00:03:22]:
He actually ended up being right. I was like, I fought it. And then I was like, dang it, he’s right. All right, we’ll go over.

John Garrett [00:03:28]:
That’s funny. Do you have a favorite band or musician?

Marit Burmood [00:03:31]:
I don’t have a favorite, but I do love all kinds of music. I love metal. I love punk rock. I love hip hop. I even like classical. I play the piano, so I could never choose. I’m very eclectic with music.

John Garrett [00:03:44]:
Very cool. Love it. That’s awesome.

Marit Burmood [00:03:45]:
Cumbia.

John Garrett [00:03:46]:
Oh, okay.

Marit Burmood [00:03:47]:
Reggae. Yeah. I have a friend, she’s like, don’t forget to tell people your love for cumbia. I’m like, okay, I do love cumbia.

John Garrett [00:03:55]:
Yeah. How about puzzles? Is it sudoku, Crossword? A jigsaw puzzle, maybe?

Marit Burmood [00:04:00]:
Jigsaw.

John Garrett [00:04:01]:
Jigsaw. There you go. Show me the picture and I’ll do that. There you go.

Marit Burmood [00:04:04]:
Well, I think too, when you do puzzles, you do it with other people and it takes so long. You really get to know people’s weirdness come out when they puzzle for too long. They start getting loopy and you start really. You start really Learning about them.

John Garrett [00:04:15]:
You’re right. Absolutely there. That’s very true. Like, how do you think these. These aren’t even the same colors. Why would you think these go together? That’s crazy. How about Star wars or Star Trek?

Marit Burmood [00:04:25]:
Star Trek. My mom was a Trekkie. She passed away about 10 years ago, but I was raised as a Trekkie. Big Trekkies in our family. Star Trek all the way.

John Garrett [00:04:35]:
Okay. All right. How about your computer? PC or Mac?

Marit Burmood [00:04:38]:
PC. And I bet a lot of other accountants feel me on this one because a lot of the tax software doesn’t run on the Mac, so you’ve got to do mirroring and all kinds of stuff. So I’m PC, actually. Never used a Mac. I’m behind on the Times.

John Garrett [00:04:51]:
Just. No, I’m just not cool enough to go into a Mac store. Even I. Even I’m Android. I’m all the things. Like, just keep me out of the.

Marit Burmood [00:04:58]:
They would see me. They’d be like, you’re old. Get out of here. You know, they would shame me out.

John Garrett [00:05:03]:
I don’t know about that. How about a. I’m a huge ice cream junkie. You go in a cup or in a cone all.

Marit Burmood [00:05:09]:
I love ice cream, too. I’ll eat it anyway. Anyway, I can get it just right.

John Garrett [00:05:14]:
Out of the tub. Just out of the Tupper lady. Like, I’m just coming back. That’s awesome. Are you more heels or flats?

Marit Burmood [00:05:22]:
I like flats, but I really rock a lot of heels. I mean, for comfort. Flats all the way. But I love the power that I feel when I’m wearing some 6 inch stilettos.

John Garrett [00:05:32]:
There you go. We need some Vans heels. That’s what needs to happen. And I do love that comes together. Right. Would you prefer more socks or shoes?

Marit Burmood [00:05:43]:
Well, socks I wear. So I’m in Utah where my feet are cold a lot, so I wear a lot of socks.

John Garrett [00:05:48]:
Yeah. Yeah. Okay. All right. That totally works. Somebody asked me that one and I just think it’s a great question.

Marit Burmood [00:05:53]:
It’s a good one.

John Garrett [00:05:54]:
Do you have a favorite cartoon from when you were a kid?

Marit Burmood [00:05:57]:
Flintstones. Jetsons. I kind of like the Jetsons more than the Flintstones, actually, because I loved how futuristic it was.

John Garrett [00:06:05]:
Right. And it was already like, it’s passed. We’re past when the Jetsons were happening. I think in the years, which is crazy. Those are great. Super classic.

Marit Burmood [00:06:14]:
I told you they’d kick me out of the Apple store for being old. I just said Flintstones and Jetsons. They’re like, ew, we don’t know what that is get out, right?

John Garrett [00:06:24]:
Exactly. We’ve never heard of that. That’s hilarious. Since you have the accounting background, more balance sheet or income statement?

Marit Burmood [00:06:32]:
I’m going to say balance sheet. It doesn’t get enough love, and it’s very important.

John Garrett [00:06:36]:
There you go. Okay. We stress very. All right. There you go. All right. Nice. How about A favorite number?

Marit Burmood [00:06:42]:
1. 1. 9 is my lucky number.

John Garrett [00:06:44]:
Oh, okay. All right. There you go. Do you have a favorite sports team?

Marit Burmood [00:06:49]:
I don’t really like traditional sports, but I would say my favorite male freestyle motocross. There’s Colby. Raha. Shout out to Colby. He’s a beast. Oh, my favorite female is Vicki Golden. She’s also a beast.

John Garrett [00:07:03]:
Very cool. All right. No, that. That totally counts. Of course that counts.

Marit Burmood [00:07:06]:
Oh, yeah.

John Garrett [00:07:07]:
Do you have, from when you were a kid, a favorite activity from gym class?

Marit Burmood [00:07:12]:
I wasn’t really ever sporty in gym, but I like to jump rope. I don’t know if we did that in gym class. Jump roping was fun when I was a kid.

John Garrett [00:07:22]:
Absolutely, Absolutely. And the last one, the favorite thing you have or the favorite thing you own?

Marit Burmood [00:07:27]:
Oh, well, I just got a grand piano. It’s 100% German Wilhelm Steinberg with a Renner action. So I would say that’s currently the favorite thing I own.

John Garrett [00:07:36]:
That is incredible. That’s very cool. That’s awesome. That’s. That’s fantastic. Yeah. Which is one of your hands playing the piano. But so is skateboarding, which don’t always come in the same person, which is fantastic.

John Garrett [00:07:50]:
But, yeah. So, like, skateboarding, like, how did you get started on that route? Was it something you did when you were a kid, when you weren’t jump roping or how did that work?

Marit Burmood [00:08:00]:
Well, I started skateboarding as an early teen. I had a. A boy across the street. I thought he was so cute, and he was like, oh, if you could learn how to kick flip, I would marry you. His name’s Dave Lind. Maybe one day he’ll listen to this. So Dave Lind and he. He was friends with the kid across the street, and he was older than me, and he was like, girls who skate are so hot.

Marit Burmood [00:08:23]:
And, like, if you ever learned how to skateboard, I would just date you. So I worked super hard to learn how to kick flip for Dave Lind, and it never did work out between us, but I did develop a love for skating through it all, which is probably better.

John Garrett [00:08:39]:
The skateboard’s still around.

Marit Burmood [00:08:41]:
Well, I’m still friends with Dave on Facebook.

John Garrett [00:08:43]:
Oh, okay.

Marit Burmood [00:08:44]:
Yeah. I mean, he’s got A beautiful, chubby baby. So maybe I’ll tell him, you know, listen, I gave you a shout out. So anyway, I skateboarded through high school, and then as a young adult, I didn’t have a car. And so I skateboarded everywhere. Right. It was my form of transportation. And then when I was in my early 20s, I had a job at a bar.

Marit Burmood [00:09:05]:
I was a bartender. And I would skate home every night at about, like, you know what, the bar closes at 2. And I. I ended up having. This is a weird. I didn’t never even think I’d talk about this, but I ended up having kind of a stalker that started visiting me at the bar a lot. And one night when I was skateboarding, I saw him kind of following me home. And I skated faster and faster to get home.

Marit Burmood [00:09:27]:
And then after that, I bought a car. But it was my form of transportation for a long time as I was kind of working my way into the world and getting the money to buy assets.

John Garrett [00:09:38]:
Right, Assets. Like cars?

Marit Burmood [00:09:40]:
Yeah, I like a car.

John Garrett [00:09:41]:
Right, right. That’s amazing. I mean, at night. Good lord. I mean, you can’t see rocks or potholes or who knows what. That’s amazing. But I mean, were you also like half pipes and ramps and things like this as well growing up, or was it more of the transportation, kick flip sort of thing?

Marit Burmood [00:10:01]:
I did a lot. I did a lot of park. So for like a hot second, I had a light sponsorship with a skate park. I was in a couple contests, so I would do rails and grind boxes and things like that. I did try to do more of the vert, but I just always had problems with the drop in. I could drop in, but a lot of times when you drop in the. You kind of. You’re too heavy on the tail.

Marit Burmood [00:10:25]:
As you drop in, the board will slip out from under you. And I had hit my head, you know, skateboarding. With skateboarding, especially back in the 90s, you didn’t wear helmets. It was not cool to wear a helmet.

John Garrett [00:10:35]:
Very much not correct.

Marit Burmood [00:10:37]:
No. Now helmets are a lot cooler. And I wear a helmet now when I skateboard. But back in the day, I didn’t. And so, you know, I had accidents that. With the half, like, you know, the half pipes and the vert. So I kind of stuck. I did break my wrist doing like some sort of grind on a box.

Marit Burmood [00:10:53]:
But that’s fine. It was no big deal.

John Garrett [00:10:56]:
No, that. That’s cool, though. Like, that’s awesome. Yeah, I. I skated a bit in. Yeah. Late elementary school, junior high, as well, and yeah, no, when you off the. Yeah, like you said, the drop in.

John Garrett [00:11:06]:
I mean, the board’s gonna fly out from under you, so you gotta really lean into it. You gotta come forward, but then not too far forward because then you look. Then you look extra stupid. If you go over the front of the board, then it’s like, what’s wrong with you? Like, at least look like everyone else where we go backwards type of thing.

Marit Burmood [00:11:20]:
But, yeah, and skateboarding is very technical, and so, you know, like, to even learn that kickflip for Dave, it took me all summer banging my shins, banging my shins. Falling, falling, falling, falling. And so, you know, I have found over the years, it’s really translated for me into. It has helped me a lot as an adult. And I’m sure a lot of team sports are the same. You learn a lot when you play sports. I think people underestimate as well what you learn with extreme sports because it’s. It takes a lot of that same grit and that same determination to just go after falling a million times.

Marit Burmood [00:11:57]:
And. And I’m very glad that I skated for so long and I, you know, then I got pregnant and I kind of had to ease off. I’ve had three babies, and so I eased off a little bit, and then I started to take it back up once they got older. And so now I’m back on the board. Feels really nice.

John Garrett [00:12:14]:
Interesting. Yeah. And I guess just to ask, like, is there a difference between the non skateboarding Marit vs the now skateboarding again Marit, do you feel there’s a difference?

Marit Burmood [00:12:25]:
Yeah, I definitely do because my family’s very active. My husband rides bmx, so that’s also funny because, you know, back in the 90s, they’re kicking me out of the Apple store with every word I speak. Back in the 90s, the skateboarders and the BMXers were like, oh, it was like, you know, Montague’s and Capulets. Like, we did not.

John Garrett [00:12:47]:
Now we’re going even older than that. The 1690s.

Marit Burmood [00:12:50]:
I was trying to think of the west side Story, too, where they were fighting on the west side Story.

John Garrett [00:12:54]:
Bloods and the Crips or who knows what. Yeah, yeah, sure.

Marit Burmood [00:12:56]:
Yeah. That was very 90s with Tupac and Biggie. Yeah. And so actually, I think my husband. I lived in the same area as him for just a few years as a teenager. Teenager before I moved. We could have ran across each other for all I know. But if he was a.

Marit Burmood [00:13:12]:
He was a BMXer at the time. And and then after, later I met him when I was 29 and I still found out he rode BMX. And I was like, it gave me the ick for a minute. I had to get over it. Yeah. Which is really funny because now, I mean, I’m totally into bmx. I have a BMX bike he bought me. He got me into dirt biking.

Marit Burmood [00:13:35]:
Now I love all two wheels. And I mean, those BMXers are amaz. And I don’t think there’s that same contrast that there was back in the day. That was just my. My conditioning was like only skater boys.

John Garrett [00:13:47]:
Right. Well, you know, the fact you called it kick flip for Dave means that clearly it’s skater boys. All the tricks I did had a four boys name attached to it, you know, type of thing. And yeah, I mean, in the dirt bike or. I mean, I guess I don’t want to call it the wrong thing because I’m going to. What did you say was the. Was it motocross or the two wheels that you do now as well?

Marit Burmood [00:14:10]:
Yeah. I had a missing piece in my life. Even when I would take the kids out, it was, you know, if I even had a skateboard and I was trying to get my ollie back. I was interrupted 10 million times. And so now they’re seven and nine and they want. It’s still kind of hard because they want me to teach them how to skateboard. And I’m like, I just want to get my heel flip back. Leave me alone.

Marit Burmood [00:14:32]:
But I’m so much happier because I do feel like in general those. Those times with my life, being a mom, and I’m sure, you know, that’s a lot of premise of your show is why the ands are important. I didn’t have my and for a while. And as fulfilling as it is being a mother, when I finally was able to start getting some of those activities back, it felt so much better. It’s a very good outlet. And I’m not really a traditional go to the gym type girl, but I do need to work out. And so it’s. It’s a fun way to get exercise too, which is a plus us.

John Garrett [00:15:06]:
Yeah. And. And that’s the thing about, you know, being a parent that after the book came out and, and stay at home parents responding to me saying, you know, hey, I was a stay at home mom or a stay at home dad and my kid went away to college. And this book applies to me just as much as my professional spouse because my identity was lost because I was soccer mom or lacrosse dad or whatever. It is, you know, skater mom, you know, and then all of a sudden they left and now I’m like, ah, who am I? And, and that’s the thing when I, you know, because work you, there’s a home you, but there’s also a you, that’s just you. And, and that’s the first one we abandon, the first one we leave outside, the first one we forget. And that’s the only one that matters, you know, type of thing. And so it’s cool to hear that when that one came back in the fold, you could feel it and you could sense it.

Marit Burmood [00:15:58]:
Yeah. And when I posted my kick flip because I had finally got it back and it’s that same determination coming back, but yet I’m 40. And it’s that same feeling when you’re at the skate park when you’re 14 and you’re the only girl in trying to do your kick flip and all the boys are looking at you like, who is this? It’s the same thing when you’re a 40 year old mom at the skate park. And so I had to tell myself, just don’t think about them. And then I’m like, I have this lame helmet on. Helmets are lame. And I’m like, no, they’re not. Helmets are good.

Marit Burmood [00:16:25]:
Wear your helmet, you’re a mom, it’s important. Teach your kids the importance of helmet. And so I do this kick. I couldn’t land it. I couldn’t land it. My husband, you know, he’s just a ripper. He just shreds on everything. So he’s like, go again, go again.

Marit Burmood [00:16:38]:
You have to land it. And then I finally land it and I post it. And then our mutual friend Misty, she gave me so much love for it and I wasn’t even going to post it because I look at it and I’m like, that is so weak compared to where I once was. But, you know, it’s nice that people still think it’s impressive.

John Garrett [00:16:55]:
Well, it’s you alive. I mean, that’s, that’s really what it is. I mean, it’s you fully alive and fully activated. And you know, are you, you know, the next female Tony Hawk? Maybe not, but it doesn’t matter.

Marit Burmood [00:17:08]:
Definitely not.

John Garrett [00:17:09]:
You know, Well, I didn’t actually.

Marit Burmood [00:17:11]:
You would say, am I the next Leticia Bo Phony? If you guys don’t know her, she is a great female skateboarder.

John Garrett [00:17:17]:
She kills it. Yes, there you go. And, and so, but it’s, it’s something that you enjoy and that’s all you’re Doing it for is that, you know, it’s, it’s not for anyone else. It’s not for anyone’s approval or anyone’s, you know, judgment. Like, I don’t, I don’t care if you think I’m good or not. I’m doing it for me. You know, this isn’t my job. This is just something that lights me up and I’m out here having fun and, and that’s, that’s, that’s all that matters, you know.

John Garrett [00:17:40]:
But in this world of, you know, this, this doing, doing, doing, and this chronically damaged hustle culture that we live in, well, do you make money at it or is it revenue generating? Is it. No, it’s not. It shouldn’t be. Like, it’s literally just me being me with zero pressure, except for, I guess, your husband to, like, making sure that you land it.

Marit Burmood [00:17:58]:
And, and it really does light me up. We went to the skate park for Father’s Day because he wanted to ride his bike. Like I said, he does bmx, and I chose the skateboard the whole time. I like to ride bikes, but I, it is, it’s my number choice of, of fun. I just, I love it. Even though it’s so hard. It’s so, so hard.

John Garrett [00:18:18]:
Yeah. Well, I mean, and that might be part of it, you know, the challenge and, and all that. And then when you land at the satisfaction of that of like, oh, wow, that was cool. All right. You know, type of thing. And do you feel like any of this translates over to your. Your work?

Marit Burmood [00:18:31]:
Yeah, oh, yeah, It. It translates so much because, you know, when you get just beat up and beat up and beat up and you have to try again and, and, you know, it’s the same with all of the ext. I’ve dabbled in and everything that he’s done with bmx. And I have a lot of clients that I, you know, help them run their businesses. And they’re also extreme athletes. And the mentality is just so similar among the. Again, you know, speaking only for extreme sports, I’m sure there’s a lot of comparison with original or traditional sports as well. But I think in general, people who do these kinds of sports, it is something where you just.

Marit Burmood [00:19:12]:
You can’t give up. If you give up, you just. You have to try and try and try and try and try and try and try and try and try. And there’s a difference between the people that give up and they end up not being very good and the people that try until they get it. So I’m Very lucky I have my husband to push me because, you know, when I was a kid, I would go and go and go and go. But now that I’m older, I’m like, do I really want to do this? And he’s like, keep going. I just think it really helps them. When you go into work and you have these difficult, challenging situations.

Marit Burmood [00:19:41]:
You have that mindset of, like, I know I can do. I know I can get through this and get to the end. I just have to keep going, even if I feel kicked. Kicked down.

John Garrett [00:19:51]:
Right. Right. Yeah. Well, I mean, you know, right now, in the middle of extension season, which it seems like is always extension season for tax people, but I didn’t know it went away. You know, I thought it was just 365 days a year. But. Yeah, but when you’re in the middle of that or, you know, it’s. It’s a grind sometimes, and it’s like, you know, I’ve been through worse.

John Garrett [00:20:07]:
I can do this. You know, it’s a. It’s a muscle that you’ve exercised in a. In a joyous way that’s from skating and, you know, biking and other things that then it’s like, okay, you know, I can do this. I mean, this is nothing.

Marit Burmood [00:20:19]:
Yeah. And you know what else he makes me do? Because he’s so good at riding his bike? He films himself and then he, like, analyzes, oh, I did this with my hand, or I did this with my feet. Right. And so he’s. That’s also translated into work as I’ve done more public speaking, and I’ve. I’m an educator by heart. I do taxes, and I help people with their businesses. But my passion is really going out there and educating the business owners, giving.

Marit Burmood [00:20:47]:
Giving them all this information that I’ve accumulated over the past decade. I want everyone to just succeed. And so as I’m going out and I’m speaking, I also have to be able to take the feedback right so that I can get better. And that’s something that. Again, when I get filmed skateboarding and then I have to watch myself or, you know, things like that, it’s so difficult to watch. But you get used to watching yourself not be perfect at something or, oh, look, I made this mistake here. And the feedback really is the only way that we grow. So that also translates a lot into the professional workplace.

Marit Burmood [00:21:24]:
I think a lot of people have problems taking feedback, but when you’re looking at it like, okay, these are the little tweaks I can make to do better, it’s so much more helpful.

John Garrett [00:21:32]:
Yeah, well, and the important part of that, just as a speaker myself, is, you know, make sure that it’s feedback from someone that you respect and. Or admire and. Or their feedback matters to you. Because if you listen to everyone, then you’ll go crazy and you’ll lose who you really are.

Marit Burmood [00:21:50]:
Are.

John Garrett [00:21:50]:
So, you know, definitely looking at, you know, because, I mean, sometimes on the feedback forms, it’s, you know, well, the room was cold. Or, you know, I was disappointed he wasn’t Canadian. That was one once. And I was like, really? Okay. Well, I don’t know. Like, I’m just not gonna. Like, this is dumb. Or sometimes people are, like, super triggered, and it’s like, well, you know, I think I did my job then, actually, because I don’t want you to just walk away, Vanilla.

John Garrett [00:22:12]:
I want you to remember this. I want this to stick, you know, sort of a thing. And so, you know, that’s. That certainly helps. And so I think, you know, probably watching yourself is probably the most important feedback you can give to yourself of just like, oh, wow, because I’m. I’m a much harsher critic of myself than anyone else could possibly be, you know, type of thing. But. But it.

John Garrett [00:22:33]:
It’s amazing to hear all these things that come from you just doing what lights you up, you know, just organically. All these things that make your work better as well, because it’s making all of you better. I guess it would be a way to think about. About it.

Marit Burmood [00:22:46]:
Yeah, I think so. I think it’s especially too. You know, we talked earlier about being a parent and having all of these other things on your plate. I think, you know, being a woman and. And also having that mom guilt. Like my husband gets dad guilt sometimes, but he rests his head a lot easier on the pillow than I do at night. And I think it’s very easy to get so sucked into, you know, all of these things that it takes to. I want to be a good mom, and I do want to help them and nourish them and their hobbies and make sure that everyone’s happy.

Marit Burmood [00:23:20]:
And you put so much pressure on yourself. And so many women that I know that are also working women, they do generally put anything that’s important to them last. And I’m not saying I’m perfect at it by any means, but I am trying to get better at doing the things that, you know, I love because it is important. We’re raising children, and they are going to one day, like the empty nester said, they’re gonna have their own lives. And they’re gonna, they’re not gonna be around mom forever. And then I don’t. I just never wanted to wake up and be like, dang, that thing that I love, it passed me by. And now I really can’t do it.

Marit Burmood [00:24:00]:
Now my body really is not letting me do it. And I could have taken that time and I didn’t.

John Garrett [00:24:04]:
No, that, that’s. That’s really beautiful that you recognize that. And two, your kids want to see you alive. They don’t want to see you just going through the motions doing whatever they want to do. Like, they want to see what lights you to want up too, you know, and see you fully activated. I mean, you know, that’s, that’s important. So is this something that you share with clients, co workers, people in work, or is the, the. The skateboarding side of you kind of hidden and just at home?

Marit Burmood [00:24:31]:
I have had a hard time over the years. You know, when I first started this practice, I was very insecure and I felt like I hid pretty much everything about my life. You know, if I would do client calls, I would tell the kids, you can’t make a noise. And I would just always wear my buttoned up shirt because I thought that was. Had to be. And then over time, as I really started to evaluate my practice and what I was building and what types of clients I had, and why don’t. Why do all these clients, why are they just, ugh, I don’t even want to talk to them. It’s because I had built a life where they didn’t know that I was a human and they didn’t know that I had children or that I worked from home or anything.

Marit Burmood [00:25:10]:
And I started to slowly kind of say, you know, what if they don’t know that I, I am at least a mom and I, you know, I have a dog that might bark during a client call, then they’re not the right client for me. That was my first little dipping my toe in. And then, like I said, I slowly would post something here and there about. Because I also, like, I have been a punk rocker since high school. I love punk rock, I love metal, I really love hip hop. You know, we talked about Biggie and tupac in the 90s. You know, I’m one of those 90s moms that grew up on gangster rap. And so I have all of these things about me that I, I just, I’m still kind of like, I don’t really know.

Marit Burmood [00:25:51]:
Sometimes on LinkedIn, I’m like, I don’t know if I I, I’m still trying to find my footing as to how much you share as a professional. And so I think it’s great that you, you know, are doing this podcast because you’re making it more normal. I don’t really know where the line is in terms of being looked at like a knowledgeable professional, but still saying, hey, I’ve got these really, you know, I mean, it’s not just like, I play the harmonica for fun. I’m. I’m riding dirt bikes and, you know, head banging. Like, do they really want a CPA who does that? I don’t, actually. I can’t head bang anymore. It hurts my neck.

John Garrett [00:26:27]:
I wear neck brace when I come.

Marit Burmood [00:26:29]:
To the concerts, but you can still find me in a Slayer shirt. You know, it’s like, but is that professional? I don’t know.

John Garrett [00:26:37]:
I bet you have clients that have Slayer shirts. I bet you have clients that listen to Biggie and Tupac. I bet you have. And so that’s relatability. That makes you a better professional in relating to your client. You know, if you’re just super smart accountant, CPA person, well, then they’re a dime a dozen. I mean, there’s millions of them, literally.

Marit Burmood [00:26:55]:
Yeah, so I’ve, I’ve gotten over that part. But then, John, you know, you’re the, you’re the pro here when it comes to getting out more in terms of public speaking, keynote speaking. I mean, I’m submitting for all of these presentations and gigs, and they want to see my LinkedIn, they want to look at my social. And I’m thinking, I don’t, I don’t know what they’re look, you know, I don’t know if they’re going to look. I. That’s my newest hurdle is getting into that area because now my clients are cool, but now where do we go from here?

John Garrett [00:27:28]:
But it’s exactly the same game as when you were buttoned up and, you know, being pretend marit and then you, the clients you had in the business you had built was something that you were like, this is all not me. This is not. This doesn’t feel good. The same thing’s going to happen. You’re going to end up at a conference and you’re going to end up with, you know, speaking clients that are miserable. They’re going to ask you for a full transcript of everything you’re going to say. They’re going to want the slides, like, two months in advance. They’re going to, like, police every word you say.

John Garrett [00:27:56]:
They’re going to like you Know, it’s going to be a nightmare. And instead it’s like, this is me. Take it or leave it, and this is it, you know, like in. When you’re on stage, the same thing. Because you can’t be down the middle. Because if you’re down the middle, well, then anyone could have given this talk. Like, this is stupid. Like, you.

John Garrett [00:28:12]:
You have to bring you to it, no matter if it’s the speaking or, or your work or your career, and that all matters. And as long as it’s not super mega taboo or it’s going to inhibit someone else’s ability to do their job, then bring it, you know, Like, I mean, you know, it’s. It’s. Then that’s totally, totally cool, you know, I mean, you know, it’s. It’s. You know, there. There are things that, you know, you know, are going to trigger people and, you know, are going to light a firestorm and don’t lead with that, you know, but skateboarding isn’t certainly one of them. Slayer is definitely not one of them.

John Garrett [00:28:48]:
You know, Like, I mean, it’s like, well, yeah, we. I’m not too. You know, and then you create that connection with people, and then that’s why we’re on Earth to begin with, you know, like, why, if we’re all walking around behind masks and pretending to be what we think we’re supposed to be, which come to find out is a farce to begin with, like, we’re all trying to be this super nerd accountant. Well, that’s not real. That’s not even a real stereotype. It’s fake. And so we’re all pretending to be that. And then, you know, when you stop the merry go round and everyone’s like, oh, I can get off.

John Garrett [00:29:23]:
I don’t have to stay on this dumb ride. Yeah, get off. Like, totally cool. And so, yeah, so, I mean, more. More of that because. Because who cares? I mean, like, you know, if you lose a client because of that or if you lose a speaking engagement because of that, well, then you dodged a bullet, because that’s a nightmare waiting to happen for sure.

Marit Burmood [00:29:44]:
And I do think you’re right. I’ve. I’ve definitely gone to presentations and conferences and classes where the speaker is just kind of regurgitating with no personality. And it definitely doesn’t hit the same.

John Garrett [00:29:57]:
And it doesn’t hit at all, let’s be honest.

Marit Burmood [00:30:01]:
Yeah, and what you were talking about when you said I might make people leave and they’re upset. I have looked into that. It’s called Being a thought leader, which, you know, again, I am such a. I’ve always tried to kind of figure out my place in terms of, do I say too much? Am I saying enough? I don’t know if I want to say something super mega taboo or, you know, you’re kind of. Everyone’s kind of stepping around, trying to find where they fit. And I had looked that up one day, and they said, if you want to be a thought leader, you’re gonna make people upset because you’re gonna say things that make them think about, you know, something they might not have ever thought about before. And they don’t like that necessarily. And so.

John Garrett [00:30:39]:
But that’s their fault, and that’s not yours, first of all. And second of all, you’re gonna 10x people that are gonna just mega love you. So, you know, that’s. That’s fine. You just have to be okay with that. And that’s how it works. So. So do you have any words of encouragement to people listening that maybe have an.

John Garrett [00:30:55]:
And that they feel like has nothing to do with my job and no one’s gonna care about. About it?

Marit Burmood [00:31:00]:
You know what I do. I was on another podcast recently where we got. Really?

John Garrett [00:31:04]:
No, you were not. No, I’m just teasing. I’m totally. I’m totally joking.

Marit Burmood [00:31:09]:
We got really vulnerable about kind of, you know, just the things inside that we struggle with or, you know, being professionals and being balanced. And I think it actually does relate back to being balanced. You know, you have to stay true to yourself and. And continue to find that balance within yourself, because if you don’t, it really does spill out into that personal aspect of your career, and people can tell when you’re being inauthentic. And, you know, as much as I say, I’m kind of trying to figure it out. I’m never sure, you know, what I should disclose or not. I have definitely been around other CPAs and accountants that are so buttoned up that I don’t. My radar goes off.

Marit Burmood [00:31:50]:
I’m like, they’re not being real with me, and then I don’t have as much trust with them. We don’t have as much of a connection. And it will also hurt your business, hurt your networking, hurt your, you know, support team that you could potentially build by just saying, hey, I’m a human. I have fears. I have. I have things that I like that are nerdy. I. This is me.

Marit Burmood [00:32:10]:
It actually does build a lot more connection. And beyond just with clients, I have a lot of outside support, you know, other professionals in awesome Groups I can call when I need help with because I didn’t go into their acting like I’m just this end all be all and I know everything and that’s the only person I am them.

John Garrett [00:32:28]:
No, that’s. You’re. You’re exactly right. And. And then, you know, especially in the accounting space and consulting space. But I called myself a trusted advisor, so that means you have to trust me. It’s like, no, no. Now I extra don’t trust you because you’re trying to put lipstick on a pig, and this isn’t going to work.

John Garrett [00:32:43]:
Like, it’s. It’s terrible. And. And, you know, just tell us you’re.

Marit Burmood [00:32:46]:
A pig, we’ll like you a lot better.

John Garrett [00:32:49]:
Yes, exactly. Exactly. There it is.

Marit Burmood [00:32:51]:
Just admit you were raised in a bar barn, because most of us were. All right, were you. Were you raised in a barn? Yes, I was. Fine. I was.

John Garrett [00:33:00]:
That’s hilarious. That’s awesome. Well, this has been so great and it’s so cool to hear. You know, you’re a living example of what’s your. And. But I feel like since I rudely peppered you with questions in the beginning, it’s only fair that I turn the tables and turn this into the Marit Burmood podcast. So happy to be your guest. And I’m in the hot seat, whatever questions you have for me.

John Garrett [00:33:21]:
And I’m also very nervous, to be honest. So there we go.

Marit Burmood [00:33:25]:
So, John, we’re easing right on into this one.

John Garrett [00:33:29]:
Oh, here we go.

Marit Burmood [00:33:30]:
I’m throwing it back at you. What’s your actress that you think is hot?

John Garrett [00:33:36]:
Well, that is not at all the question that I asked you. I asked you, what’s your favorite actor?

Marit Burmood [00:33:41]:
Or this isn’t your podcast anymore.

John Garrett [00:33:45]:
Brad Pitt. He’s.

Marit Burmood [00:33:48]:
I said actress.

John Garrett [00:33:49]:
Oh, okay. All right. Actress. Actress. So when I was in. In college, I met Jenny McCarthy. And this was in the prime of Jenny. This is like late 90s Jenny McCarthy.

John Garrett [00:34:02]:
So she’s as big as it gets. I went to Notre Dame and I was in the marching band, and we were playing our rival, which is Southern Cal. She came to the pep rally before the game, and we marched in and the trombones were in the front and we had spelled out. So I had my shirt off with a giant letter painted on my chest. And all of a sudden she comes walking out, like, right two feet away from me, and I was like, this is not how we were supposed to meet. Like, this was not how this was supposed to go down. Like, it was. It was really bad.

John Garrett [00:34:34]:
She, of course, does not remember it at all. And I very much remember it like it was yesterday. But, yes. So that I would say that, you know, back in the day. Yeah. And also getting to, like, just having that personal meat moment just elevated it to another level of, like, oh, now I’m shot. Like, this is never gonna. As if it was gonna happen before that, but now that you show me, shirt off, letter on my chest, now it’s over.

John Garrett [00:34:59]:
Like, great, thanks, universe. Like, you know, type of thing. So there you go.

Marit Burmood [00:35:02]:
That was a much better, longer response than mine. I liked it. I loved it. Okay, we’re gonna keep that in. We’re gonna keep that in the show.

John Garrett [00:35:10]:
Okay. All right. Yeah, well, yeah, you’re the. You’re the executive producer, so there you go.

Marit Burmood [00:35:14]:
Okay, so then next, what’s your favorite color?

John Garrett [00:35:19]:
Blue.

Marit Burmood [00:35:19]:
Why?

John Garrett [00:35:20]:
Green? So kind of a dark teal. Almost like the COVID of my book and on my website. Website. I really like that. It’s unique. That dark teal. It’s different. It’s a little bit regal, but it’s not hoity toity, you know, type of thing.

Marit Burmood [00:35:33]:
Have you ever done your color palette to find out what your season is?

John Garrett [00:35:38]:
I have.

Marit Burmood [00:35:39]:
Not your color analysis. That’s what it’s called.

John Garrett [00:35:41]:
But I feel like this is an intervention and it’s about to happen.

Marit Burmood [00:35:44]:
Well, I need to get one as well. Shout out to the burnout bestie for telling me about those. Yeah. So we can get our color analysis together because our favorite colors might change.

John Garrett [00:35:53]:
There we go. That’s that. Well, yeah. Well. And it is interesting when I do ask that favorite color, a lot of the responses are based on what people like to wear or what looks good on them, as opposed to just truly, what’s your favorite color? Type of thing. It is interesting how our mind turns it into, well, what do I look good in? Sort of a thing.

Marit Burmood [00:36:10]:
Okay, so here’s my next question. What does your morning routine look like to really, you know, get you going for your day? Do you have one, or do you just roll out of bed and drink a bunch of coffee? Coffee.

John Garrett [00:36:22]:
You know, I miss the coffee train. I am not a coffee guy at all. Like, I’ve maybe had two cups of coffee in my life. I’m definitely a hot chocolate snob, though. Very much. But that’s not in the morning, so. Yeah, so in the morning is. I have a.

John Garrett [00:36:34]:
A toddler daughter. So I get up with her in the morning, let mom sleep, and we do breakfast, usually oatmeal with blueberries, and I drop a little cacao in as well on mine and then granola and that. So that’s sort of that. That morning routine. And it’s good. I would love to be able to get up earlier than she does, but man, that is already early. So.

Marit Burmood [00:36:59]:
Yeah, I feel you on that one.

John Garrett [00:37:01]:
So, yeah, so that’s. That’s sort of the morning routine. And then it’s. And then. Yeah. And then I really. During the day, I try to just laser focus for like, you know, maybe three hours in that morning time when I’m most productive, and then take a little break for lunch and hang out. And then in the afternoon, if I get some more done, then that’s great.

John Garrett [00:37:18]:
And if I don’t, then, you know, that’s also great. But I feel like just being laser focused for three to four hours is so much more productive than eight hours of whatever I pretended to do when I worked in an office, so.

Marit Burmood [00:37:31]:
True. Yeah. So when do you get your workouts and what kind of workout do you like to do?

John Garrett [00:37:37]:
I like to just laugh. And that’s pretty much it. That’s how I’m burning calories. Like, I’m not. I mean, I do have a rowing machine that I do on occasion, but it’s very efficient. Efficient. It’s full body in about 15 to 20 minutes, and that’s great. I feel like the gym doesn’t have enough weight for me to lift, so it’s embarrassing for them.

John Garrett [00:37:54]:
So that’s why I’m like, you know, I’m just, you know, you don’t have enough pink ones for me, really, is what the problem is.

Marit Burmood [00:37:59]:
Yeah. Like, you don’t have any 90 pounders in here. Like a waste of my time.

John Garrett [00:38:04]:
I wouldn’t even know what to do if I went to a gym other than walk out. That’s pretty much it. So. Yeah. So, I mean, that and hiking, I guess, would be, you know, just hiking here in Colorado is something. But I’m not crazy extreme 14er. I need to get killed by a lightning strike hiker. I’m.

John Garrett [00:38:21]:
You know what, it’s a little bit exertion, but, you know, it’s just being in nature kind of hiker, if that makes sense.

Marit Burmood [00:38:28]:
Okay. All right. Okay. I have another one. What would you choose to do? Because I’ve done both. Would you walk on burning coals or would you do a cold plunge?

John Garrett [00:38:40]:
And you’ve done both.

Marit Burmood [00:38:41]:
I did both. I did them in the same day. So we first we walked across the burning coals and then we did a cold plunge. But if you had to choose which one? Would you rather cold plunge or would you rather walk across the coals?

John Garrett [00:38:53]:
Yeah, you know, I think I would probably do the cold plunge. Yeah. Because that one just seems less permanent, I guess.

Marit Burmood [00:39:02]:
You do a light hike, 10 minutes of rowing, and a cold plunge.

John Garrett [00:39:07]:
I see what’s happening here. I see what’s happening. Like, I mean, why do the. The coals? Just to say you did.

Marit Burmood [00:39:15]:
It’s actually a great exercise in mental fortitude, because if your mind doesn’t signal to your feet that it’s fire, then they won’t send up the action to make them blister to your brain. So that’s how people can walk across hot coals without getting blisters, as long as they don’t let their mind tell their feet that this is fire.

John Garrett [00:39:37]:
There you go.

Marit Burmood [00:39:38]:
Don’t quote me on this that, because I’m not a scientist, but that’s what they told me.

John Garrett [00:39:42]:
Would you rather walk across cold coals or do a fire plunge? Like, there you go. Fire plunge. Come on, don’t be a baby about it. That’s awesome. Well, that’s impressive. That’s impressive. Yeah, maybe. Maybe one day, but I just feel like cold plunge is probably more.

Marit Burmood [00:40:01]:
I think we’re going to do it. I think we’re already in the middle of setting up a meeting. I’m in Utah, you’re in Colorado, where we get our color analysis now. Done. And then we walk on the coals, then we do the plunge, and then we drink some hot chocolate and we video it.

John Garrett [00:40:17]:
So then.

Marit Burmood [00:40:18]:
And we video it all for feedback.

John Garrett [00:40:20]:
Exactly. Exactly. Perfect. Perfect. Wrapping it all up. Well, thank you so much, Marit, for being a part of this and being a living example of what you’re in. This has been awesome.

Marit Burmood [00:40:31]:
Yeah. Thank you for having me. I had a great time.

John Garrett [00:40:37]:
Yeah, ditto. And everybody listening. If you want to see some pictures of Marit in action or connect with her on social media, be sure to go to www.WhatsYourAnd.com. all the links are there. And while you’re on the page, please click that big button. Do the anonymous research survey about corporate culture, and don’t forget to read the book. So thanks again for subscribing on Apple podcasts or whatever app you use and for sharing this with your friends so they get the message that we’re all trying to spread that who you are is so much more than what you do.