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Entrepreneur Shane Barker built a fast-growing company with 130 employees and a $25M valuation in just two years.

But behind the success was a dangerous reality.

He was working 18-20 hour days, living on coffee and energy drinks, missing his son’s baseball games, and slowly pushing his health to the edge.

Then came the realization that changed everything.

In this episode of Time to Press Pause, Shane shares the moment he understood that success without boundaries can cost you everything, your health, your relationships, and your presence in the moments that matter most.

Today, Shane leads a smaller team, protects his energy, and lives by a different philosophy of leadership.

A powerful conversation about ambition, burnout, delegation, and redefining what success actually means.

We talked about:

• The hidden cost of entrepreneurial hustle culture
• Why working 18–20 hours a day nearly broke him
• The moment Shane realized he was on track for a heart attack
• Why delegation is one of the most important leadership skills
• The difference between work-life balance and life harmony
• Why most entrepreneurs ignore the signals their body sends
• How COVID reinforced the importance of being present
• Building a lean company without sacrificing personal life

This conversation is a powerful reminder for entrepreneurs, leaders, and founders chasing growth at any cost.

🌐 Shane Barker
https://tracefuse.ai


📘 Ellen Williams
https://thesalientstrategist.com


📖 Ellen’s Book – Creating Time: The Key to Productivity and Peace
Available on major online bookstores.

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In Season 3, Episode 12 of Time To Press Pause, Ellen Williams sits down with Cory Dunham to explore what it truly means to disconnect in a world that never stops.

Cory introduces the concept of a “Digital Sabbath” a deliberate 24-hour period without screens, notifications, or digital noise.

But this conversation goes far beyond productivity hacks.

It’s about attention.
It’s about presence.
It’s about reclaiming humanity from the algorithms that compete for it.

Together, they discuss:

• Why leaders struggle to disconnect
• The anxiety that surfaces when we put the phone away
• How constant interruption erodes deep focus and meaningful relationships
• The difference between being informed and being consumed
• A simple starting point: the “Phone-Free First Hour”

Pressing pause isn’t about escaping the world.
It’s about returning to it, fully present.

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What happens when something you believed would succeed… doesn’t ?

In this episode of Time To Press Pause, Ellen Williams is joined by Jon Sheldon, founder of Bellewood Coaching, who shares a humbling and deeply honest press pause story about accountability, ego, and misalignment.

After years of success in real estate investing, Jon made a decision that looked right on paper, but slowly became unsustainable in real life.

What followed was a difficult realization: the problem wasn’t the market, the property, or the people involved. The problem was his lack of focus and accountability.

This conversation explores what it really means to take ownership, not just of success, but of failure and how pressing pause can help realign your time, attention, and intention.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• How ego can quietly drive misaligned decisions
• Why vision without accountability eventually breaks down
• The cost of assuming past success guarantees future results
• How to recognize when something no longer supports your life
• Why pressing pause is sometimes the most responsible leadership move

This episode is a powerful reminder that real growth begins when we stop deflecting and start owning the truth.



🔗 Learn more about Jon Sheldon and Bellewood Coaching:

👉 https://www.belleauwood.coach/

👉 https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-sheldon-82760a51/

🔗 Learn more about Ellen Williams:

📘 Ellen Williams upcoming book (pre-launch):
Creating Time: The Key to Productivity and Peace

👉 https://shopbooksdirect.com/product/creating-time/

📰 Subscribe to Ellen’s newsletter for updates on new episodes and the book launch:

👉 https://www.thesalientstrategist.com

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