The Perfectionism Project

No matter what you're trying to achieve in life, there will be an element of uncertainty. And even if you're not trying to achieve anything, there will still be uncertainty. It's completely unavoidable! In this episode, I'm sharing practical advice and tips on how to handle uncertainty as well as the things that I personally do so that I can embrace uncertainty and make sure that I keep growing. I hope you find it helpful! Mentioned In The Episode The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks

I often get asked for advice on how to change careers (since I did it myself last year) so I thought I'd record a podcast episode to share my thoughts and what I've learned. In this episode, I'm talking career changes, getting older and answering that good old question - when is it too late? I hope you find it helpful! Mentioned In The Episode: Tim Ferriss' Fear Setting Exercise Episode 3: Blogging, Self-Doubt + How To Get Started How To Use Affirmations To Achieve Your Goals Episode 49: What To Do When You Hate Your Job

I've spoken about morning routines A LOT but I'm yet to share my advice on a night time routine, so here it is! Creating a powerful night time routine is an amazing way to get your life together and become more productive and organised. But not only that, it's also the perfect compliment to your morning routine. In this episode, I share 5 essentials of a night time routine and my best advice for designing your own. I also share my advice on how to get to sleep on time and wake up early and give you a look into my night time routine. I hope you find it helpful! Mentioned In The Episode The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson Jim Rohn Episode 37: 10 Simple Ways To Optimise Your Morning Routine 10 Ideas For Your Morning Routine (you could do these things at night time)

In this episode, I'm sharing how I've been dealing with the negative podcast reviews I've been receiving and the shame that's brought up. I'm also chatting about money mindset, the book that's helped me uplevel my money game and the work I've been doing this month to feel more abundant. And I give an update on how I'm tracking with my goals. I hope it helps you! And if you haven't signed up for Get Out Of Your Own Way yet, make sure you do! You'll get my mini-course for master procrastinators as well as the new version of the course when it comes out (valued at $149+) and my bonus Productivity Masterclass For Procrastinators (valued at $99). You can learn more and sign up at samlaurabrown.com/courses. But registration is closing at midnight (EDT) on 30 September 2018 which means there's only a few hours left before the course closes and the bonuses disappear forever!

Becoming your best self sounds SO appealing. But what's rarely talked about is the process you have to go through to get there - and that it's not rainbows and butterflies. I've been a personal development addict for at least 5 years now and have found that I typically cycle through 3 stages as I continue to improve myself - discovery, implementation and recalibration (aka stagnation). I thought it might be helpful to share this so that when it feels like you've taken a few steps back, you'll know that nothing has gone wrong. It's just part of the process. I also thought it would be helpful in the sense that it will get you reflecting on what stage of personal growth you're currently in and perhaps a few of the reasons why you're not seeing the kind of change that you're hoping for. I hope you find the episode helpful! MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE My coaching services Get Out Of Your Own Way Perfect Blogger Daring Greatly by Brené Brown You Are A Badass by Jen Sincero The Law of Attraction Essential Collection by Jerry and Esther Hicks The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz How to make the most of self-help books Tim Ferriss' podcast interview with Scott Belsky Tim Ferriss' podcast interview with Ann Miura-Ko

I started Smart Twenties five years ago so I could blog about how to make the most of your twenties - a dilemma I was in the process of figuring out myself. As time has gone on, my focus has changed from figuring out how to make the most of my twenties to figuring out how to get out of my own way and overcome my perfectionist tendencies. But with the name 'Smart Twenties', that isn't particularly clear. In this episode, I'm sharing the reasons why I've decided to rebrand myself and leave the name Smart Twenties behind. Thank you for your support until this point and I hope you're as excited about the changes as I am! Subscribe To The Perfectionism Project iTunes Stitcher Soundcloud

One of the most important things I've learned on my personal development journey is the importance of making my goals feel normal. It's easier said than done, but the more normal my goals seem - the less self-sabotage that happens. And that's always in a win! In this episode of The Smart Twenties Podcast I'm sharing practical advice to help you transform your mindset around your goals. I hope you find it helpful! MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE My podcast recommendations How to use affirmations to achieve your goals My coaching services

When you hate your job it feels like the only logical answer is to get a new one. But the reason that doesn't work for so many people is that the job isn't the problem - it's the way they're thinking about it! And when they get a new job, their old thinking comes with them and they continue to have the same experience. In this episode, I'm sharing my best advice on what to do when you hate your job. I talk about what makes a job feel fulfilling, a simple journaling exercise that will help you transform your mindset around your career, the hidden reason you're blocking yourself from liking your job and so much more! MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE Zig Ziglar's motivational speech about hating your job My coaching services

Finding the personal development world can be thrilling, but it can also be hard to know where to start and what to spend your time doing. And whether or not you have the money to invest in working 1:1 with a coach, learning how to coach yourself is one of the most important skills you can develop. In this episode, I'm sharing a few different things that you can add to your own routine to become your own mindset coach. These are the things that will help you reach your full potential and become the best version of yourself that you can be - I hope you find it helpful! MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE Brooke Castillo's Self-Coaching Model How To Make The Most Of Self-Help Books How To Read More Books The Four Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill Get Out Of Your Own Way Learn more about working with me

When my coaching clients start working with me, they feel stressed about their life and overwhelmed by their goals. In this episode, I'm sharing the simple step-by-step process I use to help my coaching clients get out of the headspace so they can start living into their full potential. I hope you find it helpful! I share the full step-by-step process in the episode but here are some questions that will help you apply what you've learned to your life: To create clarity and make a decision, ask: "If I could wave a magic wand, what would I want my life to look like?" To figure out the steps to take, ask: "What advice would I give a friend in the same situation as me?" To build an awareness of your current thinking, ask: "What are the reasons I haven't started this already?" or "What are the reasons I haven't made a decision yet?" To put your to-do list on your calendar, ask: "How would my higher self-plan this?" To follow through, keep a list of every distraction that tempts you so that you can stay on task and follow up on anything that needs to be done later MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE Online course: Get Out Of Your Own Way Learn more about working with me How To Figure Out What You Want

For the last few weeks I've been feeling like I'm really on the cusp of something and in this podcast episode I'm sharing why. August was a month full of important realizations and big decisions. It's been an incredible month of growth for me, particularly in terms of my money mindset, and I'm so excited to be giving you an update on everything I've got going on! MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE Perfect Blogger: The Ultimate Blogging Course For Perfectionists Get Out Of Your Own Way: A Mini-Course For Master Procrastinators Work With Me - 1:1 Mindset Coaching Self-Coaching Scholars The Life Coach School Podcast Rich Babe Academy Manifestation Babe Podcast

I get so many emails from readers and listeners saying that they can relate to what I talk about on the podcast but they don't think they're a perfectionist. So I thought it was about time that I explained what I mean when I talk about perfectionism! Perfectionism is something that underlies every single podcast episode I've ever recorded, but I've never actually done an episode on exactly what perfectionism is and how to overcome it. In this episode, I'm diving into the perfectionist mindset and talking about where it comes from, how to tell if you've got it and how to move out of it. I hope you find it helpful!To find out more make sure you visit the show notes. MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE Perfect Blogger: The Ultimate Blogging Course For Perfectionists Work With Me - 1:1 Mindset Coaching Episode 26: The Power of Self-Image Episode 41: My Fitness Journey + How I Created A Growth Mindset

At the beginning of 2018, I set myself an 'impossible' goal of making $500,000 in my business. The first 8 months of 2018 have taught me SO much about myself and have been a steep learning curve, so I thought I'd share it all with you. I've learned an incredible amount about myself and my beliefs already, as well as what it means to work towards a goal without knowing exactly how you're going to achieve it. I hope you find this helpful and if you're working towards a big goal, I have no doubt you'll be able to relate a lot of this! To find out more make sure you visit the show notes.

Over the last few years of my personal development journey, I've seen myself sabotage my goals in just about every way imaginable - some more obvious than others. In this week's podcast episode I'm sharing 15 reasons that you're not achieving your goals, particularly if you're a perfectionist! This was a fun one for me to record because it really reminded me just how many ways we undermine our own success and I hope you get a lot from it. MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE Find out more about my coaching program Tim Ferriss fear-setting exercise Episode 26: The Power of Self-Image Episode 22: How Personal Development Helped Me Overcome Self-Doubt

In the last two years, I've experienced an incredible amount of growth - both in myself and in my business. And in the last two years, I've started investing - both in myself and in my business. It's no coincidence. Without investing in myself I would not be where I am today. I believe that you don't NEED to invest money in yourself to get to where you want to go but it for sure speeds up the process and makes it a million times easier. At least that's been my experience! In this podcast episode I'm sharing every investment I've made over the last two years so that I can tell you what the process is like from my perspective, including how I make decisions, how I know how much to spend, how I know whether something will be worth it etc. I also chat about the MAGIC that investing in myself has created as well as all the unexpected opportunities and relationships that have flowed from it. My hope with this episode is to give you an inside look at the things that have made all the difference in my personal and business growth. And by doing so, I hope I inspire you to start investing in yourself so you too can make your dreams a reality. Everything mentioned in this podcast episode (and there are A LOT of things) can be found in the show notes at smart-twenties.com/episode42.

For years I was completely trapped in an all-or-nothing mindset when it came to exercise. I was either working out everyday of the week or not at all. I couldn't make it through more than four weeks of a fitness program without abandoning it (and then I had to start back at Week 1 so I could do it 'properly'). And I always beat myself up for not doing what I'd planned. I always thought my issue was motivation, but it wasn't. My issue was that I was so focused on the results and so scared to waste effort that I pulled back whenever it looked like I might not be successful. That way, I could point to my lack of effort, rather than my lack of worth, as the cause of failure. But it also meant that I spent a lot of time struggling with very little to show for it. About two years ago I began experimenting with the way I approached fitness and over time, I managed to find a formula that has allowed me to create a growth mindset and stay consistent without the struggle. In this podcast episode, I'm sharing the things I did to get myself out of an all-or-nothing mindset and I hope you find it helpful! MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE Episode 10 - The Fear of Wasting Effort

In the last month I've spent a lot of time out of my comfort zone, I've started to make big changes in my business and I've been settling into a new routine. It's been messy AF (as always!) but it's also been a great month - not because of any particular accomplishment I can point to, but because it feels like part of a bigger evolution. And that feels pretty magical. In this week's podcast episode I'm chatting through the highs and lows of the month as well as what I've been working on, thinking about and struggling with. I hope you enjoy it! MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST Erin May Henry Self-Coaching Scholars At Home With… Aisha Tyler's Interview on The Tim Ferriss Show The Life Coach School Podcast My instagram account

A few weeks ago, I was feeling really lost with my blog. Again. Even though I'd only recently revamped the way that I was producing content, I still felt something was off. I was putting a heaps time into my blog and yet it was stagnating. I knew it was time to reexamine the way I was doing things and when I saw The 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss in the book store, I knew it would be the perfect book to help. I originally read The 4-Hour Work Week a few years ago, as an audiobook, and learned A LOT from it. But because I didn't do the journaling exercises, those lessons were quickly forgotten and my life stayed about the same. This time around, I went to this book with highlighters and tabs in hand, and it's completely transformed the way I approach my business and my personal life. And I'm going to be sharing those lessons with you! The 4-Hour Work Week is a book with a gimmicky title - but please don't let that put you off. It's really just a book about how to be effective and actually enjoy your life, rather than working for work's sake and accumulating stuff. And if you're anything like me, you have a lot to learn! If you're interested in reading the book (which I 100% recommend), I advise getting yourself a physical copy so you can really digest all the wisdom in this book and do the journaling exercise - the magic in this book is in the application! MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE The Tim Ferriss Show Podcast The 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss Tim Ferriss' Fear-Setting Exercise The 4-Hour Body by Tim Ferriss The 4-Hour Chef by Tim Ferriss Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss Tribe of Mentors by Tim Ferriss My podcast episode on Tribe of Mentors by Tim Ferriss How I make the most of self-help books My instagram account

Until recently, I did my best to hide my obsession with self-help from my friends. I was scared people would think there was something wrong with me - why else would I be trying to improve myself? If you've ever felt ashamed for being into self-help, you're not alone! In this episode, I'm chatting about the stigma around self-help, whether I talk about it with my friends and how I stopped feeling ashamed for being a self-help junkie. You can find everything I mention in the show notes. MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE 16personalities.com INFJ personality type Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

It's no secret I'm a BIG fan of morning routines. Since I've already written a few blog posts about what to do in the morning, I thought it was time I talk about how to do it. The reality is that a morning routine doesn't need to be elaborate to have a huge impact on your productivity and your willpower. There are simple changes you can make to your current morning routine (no matter what it is) that will help you get more out of each day. And I'm sharing them with you in this episode. To find everything I mention in this podcast episode, make sure you visit the show notes here. And if you'd like to learn more about the Promote Your Blog Workshop, click here to get the details and sign up.

I'm not sure about you, but I always find the middle of the year to be a great time to stop and reflect on how the year's been going and what's to come. So that's what I've been doing. As most of you already know, this year I'm working towards an 'impossible' goal - to make $500,000 in my business in 2018. And I've found myself wanting to sneakily pull away from this goal so that I don't have to fail at it. But I'm not letting myself do that and in this episode I'm sharing the process I've been going through to recommit to my challenging goal. I hope you enjoy it!

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill is considered by many to be one of the most influential business and personal development books ever written. Being the self-development junkie I am, I of course got myself a copy! The first time I read it, however, I didn't really get much from it. It was a few years ago and while I made my way through the book I did so without really engaging with it. While I felt inspired at some level, I didn't put any of Napoleon Hill's advice into practice, I quickly forgot everything I'd learned and was left believing that perhaps this book had been overhyped. But a couple of months ago, I saw this book on my shelf when I was packing for a holiday and decided to take it with me. Mainly because I'd been learning a lot about the law of attraction and this book comes up a lot in that context too. Long story short, it felt like I was reading a completely different book to the one I was the first time (even though it was the exact same copy) and took so many lessons away from it - many of which I've put into practice. This book is challenging to summarise, as the magic of this book can really only by discovered by reading it cover-to-cover. So instead, I'm sharing the biggest lessons I learned from this book and how I've been applying them to my life. I hope you enjoy it! And to find everything I mention in the episode, make sure you visit the show notes here.

In June I decided to take a step back from everything I've been doing in my business and figure out where I should be spending my time. To do it, I asked myself a question that came from The Four-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss - "What are the 20% of activities that are yielding 80% of my results?". After having a good look at everything I was doing, I realised that a few months ago I decided to make my content creation process more time intensive. And while I do love spending time making content, I didn't make this decision for the right reason - although I didn't know it at the time. I was self-sabotaging. By keeping myself busy with the easy stuff, I didn't have enough time to do the challenging stuff. The put myself out there stuff. The risk rejection stuff. The grow my business stuff. And I've realized that if I want to achieve my impossible goal, I need to make more room in my calendar for the activities that will lead to that. Since I get the most love from you guys about my podcast and my Instagram account, that's where I'll be spending most of my time. At least for the next few months while I test out a new way of doing things! But the good news is that I've decided to do more podcast episodes. And, because I'm no longer doing my daily vlog, I thought it'd be fun to give you guys a monthly update in podcast form. I hope you enjoy it! MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE The Four-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill Lucky Bitch by Denise Duffield-Thomas Meditations by Marcus Aurelius The Curated Closet by Anuschka Rees Tim Ferriss Fear-Setting Exercise

As many of you know, when I first started my blog I was studying full-time and working part-time. When I finished studying, I was working full-time whilst trying to grow my blog. And it wasn't easy! Gaining momentum can be challenging when you only have a couple of hours each day, but it can be done! Over the last five years I've done my fair share of experimenting and have had to figure out how to make the most of the limited time I had - and in this episode I'm sharing it all with you. If you've been struggling to make time for your side hustle (or maybe you haven't even been able to begin), listen to this episode to get my best advice on how to use the limited time you have. If you want my help growing your blog, make sure you find out more and sign up for my Grow Your Blog Workshop by clicking here. Registration will close strictly at midnight (EDT) on Friday, 29 June 2018 and I'll be teaching you everything you need to do to set your blog up for success (as well as how to deal with fear of judgement and perfectionism). And as usual, you can find everything mentioned in this podcast episode in the show notes.

It's normal to feel discouraged when things aren't turning out the way you'd planned but that doesn't mean it's fun! But the thing is - if you quit and give up, you're only creating more discouragement. Which is exactly what you're trying to avoid. So learning how to manage your mind is SO important. In this episode I'm sharing: - What creates the feeling of discouragement and how to get yourself out of that emotion - Why it's normal to feel discouraged when you start something new and how to manage your expectations without losing hope or aiming too low - How setting effort-based goals, rather than results-based goals, can help you persist through the initial stages of something new - Why gratitude is so powerful and simple ways to practice it - And more! If you've been feeling discouraged when it comes to growing your blog, make sure you find out more and sign up for my Grow Your Blog Workshop by clicking here. Registration will close strictly at midnight (EDT) on Friday, 29 June 2018 and I'll be teaching you everything you need to do to set your blog up for success (as well as how to deal with fear of judgement and perfectionism). And as usual, you can find everything mentioned in this podcast episode in the show notes.

After spending the last two weeks listening to just about every seminar Jim Rohn ever gave (thanks YouTube!) I've been inspired to dedicate time to reading everyday. Even though I love reading, in the past I've really struggled to make consistent time for it and I've always had a lot of very good reasons (excuses) as to why I can't fit it in. But I'm managed to get back into the habit by making a few key mindset shifts and doing a few very simple things, so I thought I'd share them with you! So in this podcast episode, I'm sharing how to read more books. I hope you find it helpful! And to find out more about anything I mention in this podcast episode, make sure you visit the show notes.

Blogging has been one of the most powerful personal development tools I've ever come across, it's enabled me to become more confident, to inspire others, to make money and helped me figure out what to do with my life. So it's not surprising I'm a HUGE advocate of blogging. In this episode, I'm sharing exactly why I recommend starting a blog - even if you don't have ambitions to become a successful blogger. If you're interested in starting a blog, make sure you sign up for my Start Your Blog Workshop this weekend. CLICK HERE to find out more and sign up! I don't know if or when I'll be doing something like it again.

I started Smart Twenties in 2013 and at the time, I had no confidence in myself whatsoever. Starting a blog brought up insecurities I never even knew I had and those insecurities kept me small and stuck for a long time. Five years on, I still struggle with many of the insecurities I had when I first started but I've learned how to manage them and how to keep myself moving forward. In this episode, I share the biggest lessons I've learned and how you can move past your fears - if you have the same ones I had! If you've been wanting to start a blog, make sure you join my Start Your Blog Workshop that's coming up on 10 June 2018. Click here to find out more and sign up.

At the beginning of 2018, I set myself an 'impossible' goal of making $500,000 in my business. The first 5 months of 2018 have been a rollercoaster ride filled with failure and self-sabotage, so I thought I'd share it all with you. I've learned an incredible amount about myself and my beliefs already, as well as what it means to work towards a goal without knowing exactly how you're going to achieve it. I hope you find this helpful and if you're working towards a big goal, I have no doubt you'll be able to relate. To find out more make sure you visit the show notes. And if you want to sign up for my Start Your Blog Workshop that will be happening in the coming weeks make sure you click here.

I asked you guys if you'd like me to chat about personal development on Instagram Live (@smarttwenties) and you said yes! But some of you said it's hard to find the time so I thought I'd put it all of it up on the podcast too! In this episode, I'm sharing some of the thoughts behind two of my popular instagram quotes (since the captions never give me enough room). Here are the quotes I'm chatting about: "It's always wise to ask yourself whether you're failing on purpose to avoid failing at your purpose." "To get what you want, you must be grateful for what you have. Otherwise, you'll always be waiting for more - even when you get it." I hope you guys enjoy this style of episode and as always, I'd love you to let me know if you do! I'll be putting one of these up every time I've done a couple of Instagram Lives. And if you're not already following me on instagram, make sure you find me at @smarttwenties!

If you don't know what you want, it's insanely hard to get it. And while we all know that intellectually, many of us are still blocking ourselves from finding the answer - without even knowing! In this episode, I'm share 5 reasons you can't figure out what you want as well as the way that I've blocked myself from creating goals in the past. I hope you find it helpful! And as always, this episode is part of a series on this topic. I've written a blog post about how to figure out what you want, created a free workbook to walk you through each of the life-changing exercises and filmed a YouTube video that will help you see why you've been holding yourself back. You can find it all in the show notes.

The fear of what people think is one that controls many of our lives. Even though we intellectually know that it doesn't matter what people think, we still find ourselves bending over backwards for approval again and again. In this episode, I'm sharing my journey with the fear of what people think and the exercises and breakthroughs that have helped me overcome that fear. I hope you find it helpful! And as always, this episode is part of a series on this topic. I've written a blog post about how to stop caring what people think, created a free workbook to walk you through the journaling exercises that will help you take this to the next level and a Youtube video that will help you keep moving forward while your fear is still there. You can find it all in the show notes.

So many of us work so hard towards our goals without realising that the opinion we have of ourselves is causing us to self-sabotage and stop ourselves from achieving them. It's something I've really started to see in my own life and I have no doubt you'll be able to relate to what I'm talking about in this episode! In this episode I share the aspects of my self-image that have been stopping me from being successful, from struggling to identify myself as an entrepreneur (and even a blogger), to seeing myself as a disorganised person that's always late and being bad with money. I also chat about the things I'm doing on a daily basis to reshape my identity and how you can do it too! This is part of a series on self-image. If you'd like to learn more about it, check out the show notes where I share my blog post on 5 Steps To Change Your Self-Image as well as my YouTube video on 3 Reasons You're Not Achieving Your Goals and my guide to walk you through the process of taking control of your self-image so you can achieve your goals.

There's an overwhelming amount of information out there about how to be successful. And while it's important that you have certain things right, it's also extremely important that you're not unknowingly blocking yourself from achieving your goals - which so many of us do! In this episode I'm sharing 10 ways that you might be blocking yourself from success (don't feel bad - I'm guilty of all of them) and I also share which ones I'm currently working on in my business, as I haven't got this all figured out yet! This is part of a series on the Law of Attraction. If you'd like to learn more about it, check out the show notes where I share my blog post on The Law of Attraction for Beginners as well as my YouTube video on the best Law of Attraction Youtube channels and my guide to help you get started with using the Law of Attraction to achieve your goals!

I used to love doing the Smart Twenties Book Club back in the day, but I always found it quite challenging to talk about books. Which is why I eventually stopped. But now that I have a podcast, I thought it would be fun to bring the Smart Twenties Book Club back in a chattier form. So that's what I'm doing! This is the first of many bonus episodes that will share the lessons I've learned from a book I've just finished reading. These episodes will be going out as frequently or as infrequently as I finish books and I won't be doing book reviews so much as I'll just be chatting about each book as if we were catching up over a coffee. For the first episode, I'm sharing lessons and takeaways from Tribe of Mentors by Tim Ferriss. If you've been following me for more than two seconds you already know I looove Tim Ferriss' work and this book is no exception! Listen to the episode to hear my favourite quotes and lessons from the book as well as the highlighting and tabbing system I use to make the most of all of the personal development books I read. Also, there are A LOT of books that were recommended within Tribe of Mentors and I'm planning to read pretty much all of them, but I thought it might be boring to read off the list. So I've included links and a little description of each book in the show notes in case you've been looking for some new reading material. Make sure you check it out after you listen to the episode!

If you've never tried using affirmations to help you achieve your goals, now is the perfect time to start! Affirmations are a simple way to help you train your brain to see possibilities you've never seen before (if you need a scientific reason to try it - it's called reticular activation) and create beliefs that will help you achieve your goals and stop you from self-sabotaging. In this podcast episode I'm sharing my personal experience with affirmations, including the affirmations that haven't worked and why. I hope you find it helpful! This podcast episode is part of a series on affirmations so if you're interesting in doing a deep dive into affirmations and giving them a try, make sure you watch the YouTube video where I share the do's and don'ts of affirmations as well as my blog post where I share more about how to use affirmations to help you achieve your goals and a workbook that will help you create your first affirmation. For everything mentioned in this podcast episode, as well as all of the other resources in the affirmation series, make sure you visit the show notes!

Journaling is such a powerful personal development tool that I thought it might be helpful to dive into the things that help me stay consistent with my journaling habit. As someone who tends towards an all-or-nothing mindset, there are certain things I make sure I do and don't do when it comes to journaling. And I hope that by sharing the things that keep me on track, and the things that reliably throw me off my habit, you'll be able to create a consistent journaling habit too! For everything mentioned in this podcast episode, make sure you visit the show notes!

Personal development is a journey and one that I'm still very much in the process of. That said, I've had some significant breakthroughs in the last few years of my personal development journey that have helped me release the shame I attached to traumatic events in my childhood and begin to see myself as the intelligent, beautiful and capable woman that I am. I hope that by sharing my breakthroughs and hearing about my journey you will be able to gain insights into your life that you didn't have before. For everything mentioned in this podcast episode, make sure you visit the show notes!

Failure is a topic that's uncomfortable to talk about and like anyone, I find it challenging to open up about the things that haven't gone so well! But I'm definitely not immune from failure and I want to make sure you guys know that, so in this episode I'm sharing the 'failure' I experienced when I launched my new online course, Your Perfect Semester, in February this year and the biggest lessons I learned. I hope that by sharing my experience you will not necessarily avoid failure (I truly believe that if you're not failing, you're not trying anything new) but find yourself better equipped to handle it when it does happen. For everything mentioned in this podcast episode, make sure you visit the show notes!

This episode of The Smart Twenties Podcast is a little different. I hadn't planned to record this episode but felt compelled to get out my microphone this morning and chat about what I've been thinking about with my business and sharing the messy middle with you – because I don't always have it figured out! And if you're a student and you struggle with procrastination, make sure you check out my new online course Your Perfect Semester that is coming out this week!

THINGS I MENTION The Tim Ferris Show Podcast 17 Questions That Changed My Life The Life Coach School Podcast Brooke Castillo's program: Self-Coaching Scholars My Daily Vlog: 365 Days of Personal Growth

Excuses can be hard to spot in our own lives (as they always feel so real) so I hope by sharing this experience you'll be able to reflect on your own life and see where you too might be using 'too busy', 'too tired' or 'too broke' to keep yourself safe from rejection and failure.

Listen in to hear about the big planning process I just went through for 2018 and my best advice on how to plan your life so you can get everything done! MENTIONED The Best Alternatives To New Year's Resolutions Episode 5: All Things Productivity Brooke Castillo's program: Self-Coaching Scholars My Daily Vlog: 365 Days of Personal Growth Facebook group: The Smart Twenties Community

I loved recording this podcast episode because I get so many emails from you guys saying that you feel overwhelmed, confused and disheartened, and I'm so glad that my experience with all of that can finally be put to good use! If you've just started a blog or Youtube Channel (or want to) this is the perfect episode to help you set the right expectations and give yourself the space to create something amazing! MENTIONED 7 Fears I Had Before I Started A Blog (And Why I Started Anyway) My YouTube Channel Wayback Machine My Daily Vlog: 365 Days of Personal Growth Facebook group: The Smart Twenties Community

MENTIONED How To Stay Consistent Even When You're Unmotivated And if you're a student and your goal is to stop procrastinating, make sure you find out more about my online course Get Out Of Your Own Way!

MENTIONED Brooke Castillo of The Life Coach School Tim Ferriss: 17 Questions That Changed My Life And if you've spent the year struggling with procrastination, make sure you find out more about my online course Get Out Of Your Own Way!

This was such a fun episode to record and I highly recommend you create a list of your biggest lessons from this year too. Here are the lessons I chat about in the episode: Believe the what before the how Success is simple, stress and overwhelm are self-sabotage My opinion of me is more important than anything else's Perfectionism is a protection mechanism against shame Coaching is so worth the money Procrastination is draining Courage is a prerequisite for growth Do math without the drama No matter how much busywork you do, you will never be productive Defend your plans Impatience is ego There's always enough time Ask for what you want Marketing makes all the difference Either you run the day or the day runs you The perfect time to start is now Go for it And if you've spent the year struggling to achieve your goals and want to make sure that next year isn't the same, make sure you find out more about my online course Get Out Of Your Own Way!

In this episode, I also chat about my advice on how to make that decision for yourself and how to know whether you should travel or settle down. This isn't a topic I've really talked about anywhere else so I hope you find it insightful!

In this episode of The Smart Twenties Podcast I share my thoughts on motivation, why I choose determination over motivation, an exercise that will help you create the feeling of determination and my thoughts on using accountability buddies to keep you motivated! If you've spent the year struggling to achieve your goals and want to make sure that next year isn't the same, make sure you find out more about my online course Get Out Of Your Own Way!

I'm going to help you learn more about exactly what this fear is, where it comes from and how to stop it from ruling your life. In the episode I also recommend doing Tim Ferriss' exercise called fear-setting. You can watch the YouTube video where I walk you through the whole process here. And if you're ready to stop hiding behind your fears but have no idea where to start, I highly recommend you consider taking my online course Get Out Of Your Own Way!