Pivot with Jenny Blake

What’s the difference between distraction and traction? Why don’t we do the things that we know we should do? And how can we learn from techniques that tech companies use to hook us into their products in order to redirect our attention toward what we really want to be, do, and create in the world? Nir Eyal and I discuss these topics and more in this week’s podcast conversation based on his new book, Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life. He also outlines the four steps of the Indistractable model: master internal triggers, make time for traction, hack back external triggers, and prevent distraction with pacts. 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/131 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week kicks off a new Listener Q&A feature of the podcast, but before we dive in: I would love to hear from you! Yes, you. As a listener, you might think as a listener I’m getting lots of submissions already, but that’s not the case—things like this always take some momentum to get going. So drop me a voice note at http://pivotmethod.com/ask and share a challenge you’re facing or something you’re curious about, and I'll share my thoughts along with a BookRx: a book prescription of two or three books that have been helpful for me in that area. 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/130 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why do we hesitate when it comes to being more of ourselves? In this episode, which happens to be released on Penney’s birthday (woohoo!) we discuss why we fears and limitations that hold us back from our fullest expression. In this conversation, we talk about the cultural pressure to fit in, self-entertainment as spiritual practice, setting big goals and going too big or too small, willingness to be a “misfit,” why transparency attracts more joyful friendships, and what’s behind comparison to others—how noticing a quality in someone else means that you have that quality somewhere within you. 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/129 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Imagine landing in a country and not allowing yourself to speak your native language even once (for many Pivot Podcast listeners that’s English), even with your roommates or fellow travelers. You’d be diving into the deep end, but you’d integrate FAR more quickly and effectively than if you took the “pop out of the bubble” approach, of only speaking the second language when you’re comfortable, thus never truly gaining traction. As Scott Young, author of Ultralearning: Master Hard Skills, Outsmart the Competition, and Accelerate Your Career, describes it — the bubble method is the equivalent of getting cold water splashed into your face every day and never having a chance to adapt. That’s the difference between most approaches to learning and ultralearning, which he defines as stretching outside of the limits where you feel comfortable through strategic, intense, self-directed programs. In this episode, Scott walks us through several of his 9 principles that underlie ultralearning: metalearning (Draw a map), focus (sharpen your knife), directness (go straight ahead), drill (attack your weakest point), retrieval (test to learn), feedback (don’t dodge the punches), retention (don’t fill a leaky bucket), intuition (dig deep before building up), experimentation (explore outside your comfort zone). 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/128 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As soon as Michael woke up and gave me the “what have I done?!” look after launching his latest project @LifeOfALebaneseArtist on Instagram just 24 hours prior, I knew we had a juicy creative gem on our hands. I also knew that he was experiencing what so many of us do when we release a put-yourself-out-there post or project—a major vulnerability hangover! All the more reason to talk about it, of course, especially in keeping with my new intention of truth while it’s fresh :) I love seeing someone so enraptured by an idea that they stay up all night to work on it, and that’s exactly what Michael had done. He zipped through conception to launch of his hilarious (and deep!) meme project in a mere few hours, all with joy and ease—clear signals that he was onto a new soul goal endeavor. He’s now one month in, and continues to wake up excited every day bursting with ideas and ways to develop it further. 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/127 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week’s episode comes fresh off the heels of a two-day strategy sprint that my team and I ran to tackle our biggest business frogs. One commitment we made at the end was to “share truth while it's fresh” — with delightful specificity and crazy-smart systems — so that’s what I’m doing! This is a behind-the-scenes peek at what we're building (and how) during my “JB 3.0 Business Renaissance,” in as real-time as we can. 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/126 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Penney and I are back in action, with the 9th (!) installment of our Penney & Jenny show. If you missed last week’s episode (#124) on liminal space and embracing the in-between, check it out here. This is installment is all about discriminating truth, just rightness, and making good choices. How do you trust your truth and anxiety signals? How do you know when it's time to Pivot? What's the difference between authenticity, honesty, and humility versus hiding, avoidance, and apathy? As poet David Whyte says, some beautiful questions need to be lived. We explore how the body is the first level of knowing in the physical world, and how we can better trust and tune into our bodies to know if something is true or not. 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/125 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Penney and I are back in action, with the 8th (!!) installment of our Penney & Jenny show. This week we dive into why it can be so difficult to embrace liminal space, also known as a transitional state of “in-between.” Penney equates the liminal space to the time when a caterpillar has created and entered the cocoon, but has not transitioned into a butterfly. It is the space in which we are given the chance to rest, reset, and recharge before moving into the next phase. It sounds lovely when put that way, so why do we often want to rush the process? Tune into this episode to learn all about why hindering the liminal state is like fighting a tidal wave, and why taking the time to stop is so important to your life, brain, and success. 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/124 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I’m baaaaaack! Did you miss me? I sincerely apologize for (unintentionally) ghosting out on you. I hit a (Pivot) point of total overload and overwhelm with some BIG personal updates on school and my love life (you’ll have to listen in to get the full deets!). All while mid-way through second semester at seminary, moving to a new home in Manhattan, and traveling every week for speaking busy season this spring. Spotting burnout potential (I know it a mile away), and after hitting a clear decision fork-in-the-road, I gave myself permission to pause on non-essentials. Unfortunately that included the podcast and #PivotList newsletter! But what looked like a plateau from the outside (seeing as I haven’t released a new show in six months) sparked a mega-business renaissance on the inside. On Friday, July 5 I celebrate my eighth (!!) year of solopreneurship, and I’m getting ready to take things up to a whole new level of joy, revenue, meaning, momentum, and systems-ninjary. 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/123 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What are the hidden costs of digital clutter? How can we counter screen addiction and phantom phone vibrations? We explore these topics in this episode with Cal Newport as we discuss his new book, Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World. Cal Newport is a familiar voice on the Pivot Podcast and back by popular demand! On our first episode we discussed deep work—the increasingly important deliberate practice of focused work, especially in a world of cognitive junk. Now we turn to digital minimalism: applying a just enough mindset to our personal technology, freeing ourselves from the overwhelm, distraction, and “fear of missing out” side effects of the always-connected world. Or as Cal quotes Bill Maher from May 2017: “Likes is the new smoking . . . Philip Morris just wanted your lungs, The App Store wants your soul.” 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/122 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nobody knows the daily grind of competition and mental game better than athletes and coaches. Today I’m thrilled to share a conversation with basketball and performance coach Alan Stein Jr. on how we can apply these hard-fought principles to building better businesses. Alan first blew me away with his networking skills — he joined a private group we’re both part of and quickly became an integral member, after I’d been mostly wall-flowering as the hidden introvert that I am. We talk about his strategies for building relationships and ditching unhelpful compare-and-despair for mindsets that are far more helpful and empowering. 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/121 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What’s the difference between affirmations that feel fake and those that actually work? How can you move your body in a way that also transforms your mind? What falls under the category of spiritual bypassing versus actual transformation? Join me for a conversation with one of my favorite New York friends, Erin Stutland, as we discuss her new book: Mantras in Motion: Manifesting What You Want through Mindful Movement. Happy happy new year everyone! I’m thrilled to be jumpstarting the podcast again with this episode :) 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/120 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As I get up to speed in my first semester at Union Theological Seminary, I’m re-launching a few of my favorite podcast episodes from four years of archives: I hope you enjoy some of these oldies but goodies, particularly if you missed them the first time around! Here’s a conversation I loved with Cal Newport from April 2016. When was the last time you were in the zone?There’s nothing I love more than working with time flying. The sun rises and sets and I barely notice because I’m so engrossed in my work. Cal Newport calls this deep work, and says that contrary to what many assume, it is a skill, not a habit. That means it takes deliberate practice, and is a cognitive muscle that can atrophy with disuse—something we are all prone to as we get sucked into network tools like social media and email. I loved this conversation and I know you will too! Enjoy 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Laura Vanderkam is a productivity tour de force: she has written four books in the last several years, launched a podcast, and given talks all over the country—all while running a household with her husband and four children. I’d tell you that I truly don’t know how she does it, except that she already wrote a book to answer that question called, what else, I Know How She Does It: How Successful Women Make the Most of Their Time. One of my other favorites was her runaway bestseller among the Fast Company crowd, What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast: A Short Guide to Making Over Your Mornings--and Life. The focus of this week’s podcast conversation is her newest book, Off the Clock: Feel Less Busy While Getting More Done. Laura reveals the counterintuitive principles the most time-free people have adopted, and teaches mindset shifts to help you feel calm on the busiest days. 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/119 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Welcome to Holy Hogwarts,” my fellow first-year Ariel said to me with a smile, as I walked through the Union campus entrance into the school’s small courtyard for my first day of orientation. I was grateful for his warmth and levity, a brief reprieve from my nerves about what to expect from my classes and fellow students. After those three days of orientation I felt like I was on a rickety, upward-climbing rollercoaster, ticking up toward a crescendo before the rush of adrenaline and momentum to follow from the big drop. Am I making a huge mistake? I wondered. Will I fit in here? What if I can’t juggle school, work, speaking travel, and the new commute? Did I really think this through enough? 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/118 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I had the great fortune of sitting behind Marcus Glover on a bus ride to Wallkill Prison for a Defy Ventures business mentoring day, and time flew as we talked about everything from him teaching yoga and meditation at Rikers, to criminal justice work, to his mission of funding minority-owned businesses through disruptive venture capital. I can’t wait for you to listen in on this conversation and get your own powerful dose of Marcus magic! You’ll hear about his passion for well-told stories, practicing empathy (rather than the misguided savior complex), cultural competency around dismantling privilege, and much more. 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/117 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are you getting sucked into endless scrolling in Infinity Pools like email, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook? It's okay, we all do. We all know these apps are designed to be addictive. After all, tech is the only industry other than drugs that calls its customers "users." It's so easy to look back on the day and wonder, "Where on earth did the time go?!" We've drained ourselves of all energy and yet often come up empty, feeling we have nothing to show for it. At least I'll speak for myself and say that's how I feel when inadvertently taking a ride on what John Zeratsky calls the "Busy Bandwagon." 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/116 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mark Rufino is a social worker and audio engineer who works with adults with developmental disabilities and their families. However, even the term "developmental disability" or "intellectual disability" is becoming a misnomer. Mark is part of a growing movement of people who believe it's time we upgrade our old way of thinking "that we need to fix you to fit into our society." The term neurodiversity is growing in popularity, and implies that there is no “normal” way of thinking and “autistic” way of thinking, for example; we are all wired to do different things. I think you'll love this conversation around exploring what's behind behavior, Mark's emphasis on deeper listening (in surprising and novel ways), and his reference to a book that states "the opposite of anxiety is not calm, it’s trust.” 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/115 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is one of my favorite interviews, and a conversation that is crucial for understanding and revealing the hidden influences that shape many of our views on society, wealth and power. I have heard terms like white privilege (which applies to me), but I hadn't thought to look into the notion of invisible privilege until earlier this year. You may think it doesn't apply to you (as I used to), especially if you're not in the "Top 1%." 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/114 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So many of us are on a seekers journey—looking for greater knowledge, wisdom, healing, insight and transformation. And may even the ever-elusive holy grail of enlightenment, whatever that means. If you ask me, I believe we have three primary purposes on this planet: to learn, to love and to serve. And of course, to enjoy life along the way :) Daniel Aaron is a fascinating fellow seeker who describes his own journey as guided by a divine power, as he explores all variety of mystical and practical practices and shares them with thousands of others through yoga, sangha (community), and coaching. His mission is "to bring in a new era, where the new-normal is love and truth – kindness, authenticity and radiance – for all beings, of every species." I hope you enjoy the this week's conversation! 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/113 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I am beyond lucky to have the brilliant Petra Kolber as one of my best friends in New York City, and just delighted to celebrate her book launch this week!! It's been a long journey, and one that forced her to confront the very message of her book: overcoming the inner critic and imposter syndrome because "the world needs your voice, not your perfect silence." As I wrote in the show notes for our first Pivot Podcast interview in January 2017, Petra just radiates joy and truly walks her talk. When she enters a room, it lights all the way up with her positivity, passion for life and joie de vivre. 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/112 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the best parts of having this podcast is who I am fortunate to cross paths with, and the ongoing surprise of who reaches out to me. Some of you may remember when I was falling out of my chair (or rather, the closet that doubles as podcasting studio) to interview one of my favorite musicians, Trevor Hall. Well, one of the best side outcomes was getting to know his team better, Tim and Isabelle at N3W LEVEL Management. We met in-person for the first time earlier this summer, and the hours flew by! Instant kindred spirits and friends for life :) 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/111 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I love serendipitous podcast guest recruiting. This one starts over coffee with my longtime blog-turned-IRL friend Rachael King, who recently founded a company called PodPeople to connect new shows with creative teams. When I told her about themes I had been exploring on the Pivot Podcast she said, "You HAVE to talk to Jonathan Parks-Ramage." She had just helped produce a new podcast for Medium where he read his article aloud, Jesus, Mary and Joe Jonas: A Journey Into LA's Hippest Evangelical Church. I was captivated by his story, and by his intention to research and write about topics at the intersection of faith, LGBTQ advocacy and the entertainment industry. A man after my own unique pivot intersection heart! 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/110 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I'm sharing some big personal pivot news in this week's solo episode . . . I am starting a two year Masters program at Union Theological Seminary this fall! It's a partner school to Columbia here in New York City, and if it seems to come out of the blue for you, don't worry—it did for me too! I got the idea, applied and accepted in a matter of weeks earlier this Spring. It seems fitting to share now, given that my 7-year solopreneurship anniversary was just yesterday — I'm looking forward to seeing where these next two years take me :) 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/109 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I'm delighted to bring you the seventh (!) episode in a side series of this podcast we affectionately call the Penney & Jenny show :) It's a growing set of conversations with one of my dear friends and mentors (friendtors), Penney Peirce. We had so much fun during our first interview together that we added a second . . . which became a third . . . and so on, until it was a regular feature on the Pivot Podcast! This week we're riffing on the intersection of spirituality and small business—how we apply intuition, transparency, non-physical realms, and personal practices toward business-building, attracting clients, and earning a living in a way that feels easeful and joyful. You can check out all of our interviews here, and for easier listening, tune in on our SoundCloud playlist. 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/108 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I'm so grateful to Brooke Siem for opening up and sharing her story with us this week. Not only is she a woman of many talents (ballerina! chef! Chopped champion! bakery owner! crossfitter! writer!), Brooke has spent the last two years sober. Sober from medications that doctors, the assumed authority figures of her life, had been prescribing for the last fifteen years and an estimated 30,000 pills. 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/107 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It was love at first listen when I first heard Mandy Harvey perform at a fundraiser for Erik Weinenmayer's No Barriers summit coming up here in New York City in October. Erik, a previous guest on the Pivot Podcast (Turning Pain Into Purpose: Blind Adventurer Erik Weihenmayer on Kayaking the Grand Canyon, Climbing Everest and Building No Barriers), said Mandy was a must-meet, and he was right. Her performance was exquisite, and I was mesmerized by her signing while singing and sharing her inspiring story with the audience. 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/106 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Contrary to popular belief that trolling for a new job or client is the drag of all drags, a process that should be hurried through as quickly as possible, Dev Ajula believes our careers can be avenues for inquiry. His book, 50 Ways to Get a Job has a hidden curriculum that stretches so far beyond the job-search, and is relevant to everyone, including entrepreneurs. “Our careers and the questions they answer are lifelong pursuits,” Dev says. 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/105 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emily Bennington and I have been on parallel pivot paths since we first connected online in 2011. So imagine my surprise when I was searching on Google images for a visual depiction of the word "Grace." I downloaded my favorite and lo and behold, it was pointing to Emily's site! She had set-upa landing page informing readers about her new direction: teaching others to live and lead with grace, based upon her interpretations of the Course in Miracles as it applies to work and careers 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/104 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amy Clover has a powerful story to share about pivoting her mindset from one of self-flagellation and control toward acceptance and flexibility in body, mind and spirit. After battling for years with eating disorders, depression and a failed suicide attempt in a fitness industry that grew increasingly oppressive, she now teaches people how to build strength from the inside out. In her own words: I know what it’s like to look in the mirror and hate who’s looking back, to feel like you have no control whatsoever over your mind or your life, to feel like you’re so broken that you’re beyond healing. I’ve struggled with clinical depression, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and eating disorders throughout my entire life. In fact, they almost killed me. I hit rock bottom in 2005 when I was hospitalized on suicide watch. 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/103 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is pivoting just a way of rebranding failure as NYT writer Jacob Silverman would have us believe? I say no way José. In fact, pivots are often a product of our success. As I shared in the #PivotList newsletter I wrote in response to Silverman's somewhat snarky article, Silicon Valley start-ups do tend to talk about pivoting in response to their initial strategy failing. Or in the case of Ross from Friends, when a couch just won't fit around a tight corner :) But the fact is that nothing in business is as stable as it was even ten years ago, and companies (and leaders) of all shapes and sizes are required to navigate micro-changes much more frequently than in the past. 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/102 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When exploring a branch of highly evolved animal consciousness that evolved in parallel (and completely separate) from our own, Sy Montgomery is sure of one thing: “If I have a soul, an octopus does too.” If you want even the tiniest dose of confirmation, try to keep your eyes dry while watching this octopus thank its rescuer in a two-minute video that has garnered 11 million views and counting: releasing a stranded octopus. (If you have more time, Amazing Octopus: Most Intelligent Animal on Earth is a must-watch too!) I am over-the-moon to bring you this week's interview with Sy, who became an instant soul-friend the moment we started talking. I'm in awe of her career as a naturalist writing about and befriending pigs, tigers, dolphins, hyenas, and now octopuses (not octopi as many assume for plural form!) around the world. I love her passion for animals, and the heart with which she shares their beautiful stories and spirits. 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/101 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week marks a big milestone for the Pivot Podcast, as we celebrate the 100th episode! This has been more than three years in the making, from the show's early scrappy beginnings in late 2014 when I got the book deal for Pivot, to when I started publishing weekly in earnest in 2015. Podcasting is a labor of love, but the biggest surprises for me have come from the priceless benefits: connecting more deeply with my author heroes, with all of you who are here listening, and learning every day along the way. 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/100 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Although many of us aspire to rewarding morning routines (and enjoy geeking out on the best of what others come up with), on some days just getting out of bed is a victory. To this end, one of my favorite quotes from Benjamin Spall and Michael Xander's new book, My Morning Routine: How Successful People Start Every Day Inspired, comes from Ana Marie Cox, a political columnist and culture critic. Cox says, "When you come up with a morning routine, understand that you’re undertaking it in order to do something good for yourself, not to meet some stranger’s standard of productivity." 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/99 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason Wang knows a thing or two about being an underdog. Growing up as an only child of two immigrant parents living through poverty and abuse, he knows all too well the challenges of overcoming obstacles to transform generational legacies of poverty, crime, and violence. I had the great pleasure of meeting him earlier this year at a mentoring night for Defy Ventures, an organization that teaches entrepreneurship to men and women with criminal histories to help "transform their hustle." (Find a volunteer opportunity near you here!) Jason's radiance, joy and contagious positive energy blew me away. And then I heard his powerful comeback story and knew I had to share it with all of you. But first, a little context about what brought me to that mentoring night . . . 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/98 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Although it wouldn't be like him to take much (if any) credit, Fred Kofman changed the trajectory of my life. This week I got the privilege of thanking him, live on the Pivot Podcast. A little backstory: In 2006, while working at Google on the training team under Sheryl Sandberg’s Online Sales & Operations organization, I was fortunate to participate in a three-day immersion called Conscious Business, based on a book by visionary leader, teacher, and thinker Fred Kofman. 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/97 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I have always been curious about solopreneurs who choose to stay small, like me. Seven years into running my own business, I still deliberately choose not to scale in a way that requires hiring any full-time employees or buy too much added infrastructure, to support two of my biggest business values of freedom and agility. But that doesn't mean that I exclude higher earnings as a necessary byproduct. My business mantras: optimize for revenue and joy, look for ways to earn twice as much in half the time (with ease and with even greater impact), and let it be easy, let it be fun. 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/96 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kate Swoboda believes that "courage can absolutely be cultivated,” just as we improve other skills with habit-building principles in mind. The problem is that sometimes we apply the cue-routine-reward to our fears instead. We get triggered, fall into familiar patterns, then gloss over it with a reward that's a pale replacement for what our heart really wants. What's the alternative? Listen to this week's Pivot Podcast conversation to learn Kate's four-step process for avoiding common fear routine traps—perfectionist, saboteur, martyr, or pessimist—and building your courage muscles instead. 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/95 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On a sunny, spring day in 2016 doctors told Keith McArthur his kidneys were about to fail. Over the next 12 months they continued to break down, no longer able to filter toxins. Poisons built up in his body and brain. He began to feel sick and tired and confused. After a life-saving transplant from one of his sisters, and despite being a lifelong skeptic, Keith began "ingesting every self-help resource [he] could get [his] hands on." No longer convinced they were all "written by charlatans and mansplainers," he began a journey to discover how to truly live. As he writes in his new book, 18 Steps to Own Your Life: Simple Powers for a Healthier, Happier You, “It’s not like I was unhappy before…but something was missing. Like most of us, I never really learned how to be human. No really. So, I made a decision to learn the skills I needed to finally own my life.” In this conversation, we cover Keith's powerful story and insights about life before and after almost dying from kidney failure, lessons from raising a child with severe mental and physical disabilities, how he listens to his body's signals more after the operation, and what it means to "permit the pivot." Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at PivotMethod.com/podcast/keith-mcarthur. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You all know how I love serendipity—well, this week's guest, Stanford professor and philanthropist Kathleen Kelly Janus, and I met in one of my favorite ways! Sitting next to each other on an airplane. Kathleen was traveling to New York City to meet with publishers to try to get a book deal, Pivot was about to come out, and I had known her agent Lisa DiMona for many years (she represented Seth Godin at the time I met him). 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/93 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is fear keeping you from doing? Is it worth it? Are you afflicted with an additional form of OCD, Obsessive Comparison Disorder? What are the pivotal plot points of your story, the triumphs and the tragedies? What sacrifices are you willing to make to honor your soul values? These are the powerful questions that my longtime friend Paul Angone asks and collects in his new book, 101 Questions You Need to Ask in Your Twenties. The book covers four categories that we also dive into on the podcast: adulting to win, careerish, relationshipping and finding your signature sauce. I love Paul's humility and humor, and I can't wait for you to see which of the questions we cover might just change your day, your week, or your life :) 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/92 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When my friend Elizabeth pivoted from time management author and coach to divine time management, her faith-based practice of "trusting God's loving plans for you," and with the release of her new book in November, I wanted to have her on the show. But I was nervous at the same time. Is it okay to put faith forward in business? On the podcast? I'm not Christian—would that adversely affect the interview? Would it be divisive in any way for listeners? Our culture prides a separation of church and state, but what about spirituality and business? 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/91 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Pivot I ask what your sliding doors career/s might be: in a parallel universe, if time, money and judgement from others were not a factor, what other career paths could you see yourself taking? I play this game with friends even while going about life in New York, calling out alternate reality careers when I see them. For example, in one scenario I’m a book-color-coding consultant for wealthy people's personal libraries, traveling up and down Manhattan and beautifying their bookshelves. 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/90 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"My father had been like a broom, constantly sweeping me out into the world, and my mother was like the dustpan gathering up the shattered pieces and rebuilding me, only to have my father sweep me out again."—Eric Weihenmayer, No Barriers: A Blind Man’s Journey to Kayak the Grand Canyon This week's guest, Erik Weihenmayer, needs no introduction beyond his incredible life story and mission, and I cannot wait for you to meet him. Erik is an adventurer, author, activist and motivational speaker, who has also become a celebrated and accomplished athlete despite losing his vision at the age of 13. " 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/89 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Ultimate freedom would mean having just enough money not to have to think about money, and not to have to work all the time.”—Artist Seth Price, F*ck Seth Price *Language warning for this week's episode if you have kiddos around! Per the book title above :)* I am so excited about this week's guest that I was at peak awkwardness during the interview, so please forgive a few choppy edits here and there! I normally don't edit "in line" for the Pivot pod to keep things as natural (and perfectly imperfect!) as possible, but in this case I cleaned up the recording for clarity and concision so that you could get the very best of Seth Price's brilliant mind and philosophy as a renowned multi-disciplinary visual artist. 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/88 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're back! Penney Peirce and I continue our ongoing series based on her vast spiritual oeuvre—this time with the microphone tables turned. She's interviewing me as we dive deeper into past lives, alignment practices, saying no to "sexy shoulds," clearing one's personal field to contribute to collective energy healing, marketing and manifesting in an authentic way, and so much more. Be sure to check out Penney's new book, Transparency: Seeing Through to Our Expanded Human Capacity, for which I was delighted and deeply honored to write the foreword :) 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/87 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you're based in NYC or know someone who is, come to my workshop for reluctant writers on Saturday, February 24! Register at http://caveat.nyc/events and use promo code WRITENOW for $5 off. Introducing BookRx! Submit Your Question for the Pivot Podcast I read anywhere from 5-10 books a month, and probably to a fault, I'm the friend that is always throwing out book recs or "cures" for issues that friends are experiencing. In this week's Grab Bag episode I pilot a brand new feature that I've had in mind for a while, called BookRx. It's a listener-submission format where I suggest non-fiction book "prescriptions" for what ails you or what you're most curious about—and riff on the benefits of awkwardness. 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/86 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"Mama well she told me time / is such a wonderful gift / You're not running out / You're really running in."—Lyrics to You Can't Rush Your Healing, by Trevor HallI am absolutely elated to bring you this week's guest—one of my favorite artists, singer/songwriter Trevor Hall. Trevor's divinely-guided music is infused with soul and spirit, and lifts me (and so many others) up who crave connection to meaningful lyrics and exquisite melodies. 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/85 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"Though trepidation has haunted me every step of this journey, I have a trusted force that I cannot see." —Michele Rigby Assad, Breaking Cover: My secret life in the CIA and what it taught me about what's worth fighting for When faced with life-or-death situations on a daily basis, Michele Rigby Assad knew she had to turn to something greater than herself for support. Drawn toward international affairs as a child obsessed with reading National Geographic, she later spent 10 years working undercover in the CIA, interrogating terrorists while stationed in the most dangerous war zones across the Middle East. 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/84 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As soon as I saw this New York Times feature story, As Overdose Deaths Pile Up, a Medical Examiner Quits the Morgue, I knew I had to have Dr. Thomas Andrew on the show. A shift from our typical author guest, Dr. Andrew is working on an incredible career pivot-in-progress. Upset by how many opioid deaths he observed after 20 years as a forensic pathologist (he performed over 5,800 autopsies in the morgue), Tom recently retired and is heading to divinity school so that he can counsel people in his community while they’re still alive. 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/83 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices