In this episode of Encourage Mindset, Ethan sits down with Karel Stoy, founder of Stoy Media, a performance marketing company. Karel started his first agency at 16 with no overhead and a simple mindset: just try it. He shares what it felt like to bet everything on his business when the only plan was "this works or I go homeless," and how that pressure eventually gave way to a calmer, faith-rooted confidence.
The conversation goes deep on the stuff that actually drives a person, not the Ferrari-and-big-house version of why. Karel explains that he simply loves the work itself, comparing it to the gym: you do not always enjoy it in the moment, but you are grateful you showed up. He works six days a week, keeps Sunday for church, and credits his relationship with God as the foundation of his mindset. Both Karel and Ethan dig into a hard truth they have heard from wealthy, successful people over and over: money, fame, and power do not fill the hole, and chasing them as your purpose leaves you empty.
From there they get into the real-life skills nobody teaches you: how hard it is to make genuine friends in your 20s, why you have to rip off the Band-Aid and put yourself in uncomfortable situations, and how being bold and receptive opens doors most people never walk through. Karel introduces the crabs-in-a-bucket mindset, where the people around you try to drag you back down the moment you try to climb out, and why protecting your inner circle matters so much. They also cover haters and doubt, the danger of social media as a personal time-sink versus a business tool, patience on your own path, and Karel's tactic for beating laziness: stack small hard things like cold showers and the gym until doing hard things becomes normal.
The episode closes on faith as the answer that quiets most mindset questions, and a reminder that being open about what you believe tends to draw people in rather than push them away.
What are you waiting for? There is NEVER a right time to make a positive change in your life. Stay disciplined, keep growing, and focus on becoming the best version of yourself. Don’t allow fear or failure to stop you from moving forward.
Speakers: Ethan Van De Hey and Rick DeMedeiros
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Email: vandeheyethan@outlook.com