Pivot with Jenny Blake

As I round the corner into this ninth year of podcasting and after over 700 episodes, today I’m announcing a pause for both shows. Listen in to hear what factors helped me reach this decision across time, money, energy, depressing industry articles, the pace of both shows’ growth, and mix of additional business factors that make this an important moment to pause and regroup. You might also appreciate the even deeper dive with my longtime friend (and first coach) Adrian Klaphaak in Pivot episode 360: 📦 Unpacking a Big Business Decision and Dissolving Related Doubts. While I will be sad not to bring fresh episodes to your earbuds every week, I truly want to say thank you so much for being here. This only represents a small fraction of listeners, but I was genuinely touched receiving the Spotify Wrapped for Podcasters stats at the end of 2023, after I knew I would be pausing once all the episodes “in the can” went live. Among Pivot listeners: for 681 this show is in your top ten on Spotify, for 373 it’s in your top five, and for 65 of you, this is your number one show (again, at least in Spotify’s podcast player)! Among Free Time listeners: for 423 of you this show is in your top ten on Spotify, for 247 it’s in the top five, and for 57 it is your number one show in Spotify—the highest honor!! I was shocked to see even one, truly, with so much other incredible audio content out there. There’s one thing I know for sure: I will miss you during this break 🥹 🌟 ;TLDR/L (Too Long Didn’t Listen) Top Takeaways: In addition to pausing my private community, I am pausing both podcasts for a bit (duration TBD) so I can clear financial and energetic space to listen to what my broader business wants to become. 🎧 Stay subscribed to both shows: Pivot with Jenny Blake and Free Time with Jenny Blake so that you still get episodes when I release them, even if a bit more sporadically (for now); I may switch to seasons if/when I resume 📧 Subscribe to any/all of my three Substacks if you’re not already: I hope to experiment with live tapings with interesting friends and guests, ones that are for paying subscribers where we can go into even more nitty gritty detail behind-the-scenes. 📝 Permission Pause and regroup on any of your creative projects so you can create space to hear what’s next. 🔗 Resources Mentioned Rolling in D🤦🏻‍♀️h: 🏆 Time to Put the Trophies Away Do What You Love and the Money Will Follow . . . IF Rebuilding from Rubble 👟 A Strange and Wonderful Morning: Walking Photo Essay Dear 2024: A Letter and From 2024: A Reply What Works: Making the Content Math Work Edison Research: Podcasting’s Big Hits and Long Tail Adam Davidson: The Rise and Fall of Podcasting The Daily Beast: Malcolm Gladwell’s Media Empire is Being Torn Apart Podcast Production: One Stone Creative ListenNotes: Pivot, Free Time 📚 Books Mentioned Free Time: Lose the Busywork, Love Your Business Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One Life After College 🎧 Related Episodes SPARKED: Jenny in Conversation with Jonathan Fields (Spotify Playlist) BFF Bonus: Upcoming Quiet Sabbatical + Important Membership Updates Pivot: 329: Five Types of People-Pleasers from The Joy of Saying No with Natalie Lue 342: “Whatever Comes Through Me Comes For Me First,” With Nicole Antoinette 360: 📦 Unpacking a Big Business Decision and Dissolving Related Doubts with Adrian Klaphaak Free Time: 042: How I Run My Business Without Social Media (Pivot Replay) 203: 🎢 Riding the Emotional Rollercoaster of Launching with Natalie Lue 250: Do what you love and the money will follow . . . IF you meet at least 3 of these 20 criteria 🦧 What to Do When You Lose Your Biggest Client, Part One and Part Two 📝 Check out full show notes at http://pivotmethod.com/363 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Good decision-making is not about omniscience or clairvoyance—it's more about resilience, according to today’s guest, decision engineer Michelle Florendo. “Decision-making is harder than ever before, and it's not your fault,” Michelle says. “People feel like they ‘should just know’ how to decide.” More About Michelle: Michelle Florendo is a decision engineer and executive coach who is passionate about teaching people how to make decisions with less stress and more clarity, from the small, consistent microdecisions over time that governs how you show up as a leader to the big macrodecisions you make about what direction to take next in business or life. Over the past decade, she has shown hundreds of driven professionals how to use the principles of decision science to grow their impact and fulfillment. She served on the inaugural coaching team for Seth Godin's altMBA, was a founding member of the Forbes Coaches Council, and helps train new coaches as a Faculty Coach at Berkeley Executive Coaching Institute. Michelle helped redesign the decision-making module in Stanford's famous Designing Your Life course and has taught courses on decision making for Stanford Continuing Studies, and hosts the podcast Ask a Decision Engineer. 🌟 4 Key Takeaways Saying no to something “good” — What makes it good? How is it delivering the things you want? It might look good on paper to your peers or family or to society, but does it still work for you? Every decision has three components: objectives (what is it you care about?), options (what are you choosing among), and information (about how those options might play out). Intuition is the sum of our internal wisdom: It’s not separate; rather, it’s a quick synthesis of our inputs and rational processes. If you can’t explain a decision, remind yourself that “I just haven’t built the bridge . . . yet.” ✅ Try This Next Tune into multiple sources of data: head+heart+body. Pro-con lists tend to mostly activate rational thinking. As an alternative, try an attractive-concerning table. Draw a 2x2 with a column for each option. What is attractive about each option? What is concerning? Look for themes that bubble up. 🔗 Resources Mentioned Michelle on the web, IG, Twitter, LinkedIn Articles: Stanford Decision Engineer Shares 5 Mistakes People Make When Facing Hard Choices, DEAR SUGAR: The Ghost Ship That Didn’t Carry Us 15 Ways To Help Coaching Clients View Themselves Objectively Video: How to make a decision People: Stanford Professor Ronald Howard Stanford’s Life Design Lab Template: Michelle’s Decision Inventory Exercise 📚 Books Mentioned Designing Your Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans Thinking in Bets by Annie Duke Free Time: Lose the Busywork, Love Your Business Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One Life After College 🎧 Related Episodes Michelle’s Ask a Decision Engineer My First Million: The Decision Register, Newsletter Woes and An Audience of One Pivot: 322: Tips for Making Tough Decisions — Solo Spotlight with Sarah Young 360: 📦 Unpacking a Big Business Decision and Dissolving Related Doubts with Adrian Klaphaak Free Time: 154: The Hard No ❌ 138: ⛵️ Stop Sailing the Sea of Shiny Shoulds 📝 Check out full show notes at http://pivotmethod.com/361 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“You can’t give what you don’t have.” That’s just one of the powerful lessons that Nataly Kogan learned the hard way seven years ago, after suffering a debilitating phase of burnout. As a former refugee from the former Soviet Union, she began her American journey in the projects and on welfare, then going on to build an impressive career as a finance and tech executive and serial entrepreneur over the next 25 years. Until she crashed at thirty-eight years old and needed to find a new way of moving forward. Today we’re talking about how she got through that tough burnout period, the ways she practices putting her full self into the world, why it’s never too late to start something new, and how to drop the self-care guilt when filling your own energy reserves. More About Nataly: Nataly Kogan, a leading expert on emotional fitness and leadership, is a dynamic entrepreneur, best-selling author, and sought-after international keynote speaker. Despite starting from challenging circumstances, Nataly achieved remarkable success in her career, reaching top positions at McKinsey, Microsoft, a venture capital fund, and founding/executing five startups and tech companies. Her influential books, including HAPPIER NOW, GRATITUDE DAILY, THE AWESOME HUMAN PROJECT, THE AWESOME HUMAN JOURNAL, reflect her mission to help others thrive. Nataly hosts The Awesome Human Podcast, recognized as a transformative "best-self hour." 🌟 3 Key Takeaways You can either spend energy talking about why you are where you are, or spend that energy taking steps toward where you want to go. Don’t try to be anything you’re not. Embody the fullness of who you are, boldly and openly. Part of the reason, Nataly says, is that “We don’t expect enough of ourselves; we are capable of so much. In some ways we don’t expect enough greatness from ourselves.” You can’t give what you don’t have. A holon is something that is both a whole in itself (like a bicycle wheel) and part of another whole (the bicycle; without the wheels, it can’t function). Get rid of the self-care guilt by recognizing the gifts that self-care gives you. ✅ Try This Next “Don’t let the leftovers of yesterday spoil the freshness of today.” Fill-in this sentence: I am an awesome human because: ______________. 🔗 Resources Mentioned Nataly on the web, IG, Twitter, LinkedIn Articles: Entrepreneur Nataly Kogan Discovered That Well-Being Is Key to Success 6 Science-Backed Ways to Improve Your Well-Being at Work Malcolm Gladwell's O, MG newsletter on being instrumentally difficult versus malignantly difficult when referencing this much discussed and debated New Yorker profile of Succession actor Jeremy Strong. Videos: TEDxBoston—Sharer of Joy: Nataly Kogan, Author Nataly Kogan Shares No. 1 Tip To Live A Happier Life Tools: Procreate for iPad 📚 Books Mentioned The Awesome Human Journal: A Tool Kit for the Tough Days, the Good Days, and All the Days in Between The Awesome Human Project: Break Free from Daily Burnout, Struggle Less, and Thrive More in Work and Life Happier Now: How to Stop Chasing Perfection and Embrace Everyday Moments (Even the Difficult Ones) Gratitude Daily: 21 Days to More Joy and Less Stress Free Time: Lose the Busywork, Love Your Business Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One Life After College 🎧 Related Episodes Nataly’s The Awesome Human Podcast Pivot: 282: The Honor Roll Hangover with Melody Wilding Pivot x Career Pathfinder Series with Adrian (Spotify playlist) 329: Five Types of People-Pleasers from The Joy of Saying No with Natalie Lue Free Time: 191: Structuring Free Time as a Single Parent while Grieving and Rebuilding with Karen Allen 📝 Check out full show notes at http://pivotmethod.com/359 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Holding space for thousands of others, primarily those who have experienced unspeakable trauma, is not for the faint of heart, nor should it be swept under the rug as simply par for the course of doing social work. Today’s guest, Dimple Dhabalia has written a forthcoming book that’s part memoir, part manifesto—Tell Me My Story—Challenging the Narrative of Service Before Self—a must-read for humanitarian professionals. While working in the field in Zambia interviewing asylum-seekers from the Rwandan Genocide, she experienced autoimmune disease and recurring nightmares that she spent the last decade figuring out how to heal and solve for fellow service-oriented professionals. In this conversation, Dimple shines an important light on what it’s really like to serve in this capacity, and how to do it sustainably. Only by addressing the debilitating side effects of burnout, compassion fatigue, and vicarious trauma, can humanitarian workers heal themselves while so generously serving others. More About Dimple: Dimple Dhabalia is the founder of Roots in the Clouds, a boutique consulting firm specializing in using the power of story to heal individual and organizational trauma and moral injury. She is also a writer, podcaster, coach, and facilitator who brings over twenty years of public service experience working at the intersection of leadership, mindful awareness, and storytelling. Her first book, Tell Me My Story—Challenging the Narrative of Service Before Self launches in February 2024, and you can find her podcasts Service Without Sacrifice and What Would Ted Lasso Do? wherever you listen. 🌟 3 Key Takeaways There are five nervous-system survival reactions: fight, flight, freeze, fix, and fake. Moral injury: making choices that go against our own deeply held moral beliefs. There is a five-step process for moving through service-oriented work more sustainably: shaping, surviving, seeing, shifting, and sharing. ✅ Try This Next Notice one moment of your day where you’re trying to push through. Allow yourself to stop and take three nice, deep breaths. Come back and see how you feel. 🔗 Resources Mentioned Dimple on the web, IG, Twitter, LinkedIn Substack: Dear Humanitarian Video: Leading Through Crisis—Human-Centered Leadership Article: Why selectively muting your pain isn't an option TV Show: Ted Lasso on Apple TV+ Kajal Dhabalia’s Wholesome Soul 📚 Books Mentioned Tell Me My Story—Challenging the Narrative of Service Before Self Expressive Writing: Words That Heal by James W. Pennebaker Free Time: Lose the Busywork, Love Your Business Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One Life After College 🎧 Related Episodes Dimple’s podcasts: What Would Ted Lasso Do? and Service Without Sacrifice Pivot: 173: Beautiful Questions for Challenging Times with Steve Morris 172: Self-Care for Empaths and HSPs with Sarah Santacroce Free Time: 063: On Burnout and Business Intuition with Azul Terronez of Authors Who Lead ❤️ Enjoying the show? I'd be grateful for a rating and/or review! Even better? Share this episode with a friend :) 💌 Get my curated twice monthly PivotList newsletter ✍️ Connect with me on Substack: http://substack.com/@jennyblake 💻 Check out Pivot courses on LinkedIn Learning: Figuring Out Your Next Move, Holding 1:1 Career Conversations, Managing Introverts, Coaching New Hires, and Coaching New Managers 💬 I’d love to hear what’s on your mind! Take the Pivot listener survey ☎️ Submit a question or comment for future episodes 🎧 Make sure you’re subscribed wherever you listen to ‘casts 📝 Check out full show notes at http://pivotmethod.com/357 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What do a flying money emoji, a stray takeaway coffee cup, and a heart have in common? Those were the starting clues I brought to Adam Chaloeicheep and his cofounder Marisol at Together Agency before starting work on the Free Time brand—as now expressed in my latest podcast, website, and book. This is a two-part crossover from the Free Time podcast; this episode originally aired in November 2021. We’re discussing the strategic thinking that goes into brand strategy long before the visual assets are produced, the biggest misconceptions clients have about the investment and process, and why brand is so important for a business. More About Adam: Adam Chaloeicheep is co-founder of Together agency with his wife, Marisol Dahl, who I had the great pleasure of working with for five years in the early days of JBE. Adam is a creative business leader with over a decade of experience in a variety of startup areas including product and service concepting, building teams, operations, and brand-focused design and digital solutions. He is one of my closest friends (12 years and counting!), and a creative business leader with over a decade of experience in product and service concepting, building teams, and brand strategy. Together Agency is behind every big brand I have launched into the world including Pivot and Free Time. ✅ Try This Next Sit with one of the creative questions from Together Agency’s client intake/exploration survey: What texture is your brand? If your brand were a plant, which one would it be? A song? 🔗 Resources Mentioned Adam on the web, IG, Twitter, LinkedIn Agency: Together, Instagram, LinkedIn Together Portfolio: Free Time Brand Strategy Substacks: Mind Brew, Re:Brand Articles: Free Time feature in Print Magazine, Activate Your Brand: From Idea to Reality, recent feature on Behance Jenny’s Substack: Rolling in D🤦🏻‍♀️h Tools: Upwork, Behance, Canva, Working Not Working, ChatGPT, Substack 📚 Books Mentioned Free Time: Lose the Busywork, Love Your Business Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One Life After College 🎧 Related Episodes Pivot: 12: Belly of the Pivot Beast: On Bouncing Back from Zero with Adam Chaloeicheep Free Time: 005: Brand Obsessed with Emily Heyward ❤️ Enjoying the show? I'd be grateful for a rating and/or review! Even better? Share this episode with a friend :) 💌 Get my curated twice monthly PivotList newsletter ✍️ Connect with me on Substack: http://substack.com/@jennyblake 💻 Check out Pivot courses on LinkedIn Learning: Figuring Out Your Next Move, Holding 1:1 Career Conversations, Managing Introverts, Coaching New Hires, and Coaching New Managers 💬 I’d love to hear what’s on your mind! Take the Pivot listener survey ☎️ Submit a question or comment for future episodes 🎧 Make sure you’re subscribed wherever you listen to ‘casts 📝 Check out full show notes at http://pivotmethod.com/355 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“You have to condition your nervous system to feel free, to access and hold that state, no matter the context.” In this conversation, we talk about leadership advisor John O’Connor’s pivot from masseuse to executive coach. He shares strategies for listening to your true calling, which often emerges from friction and frustration, and how those manifest physically in our bodies. John describes how we can tune into yearnings in different dimensions such as health, finances, relationships, community, and business; and how to create portals for new opportunities while noticing who is already orbiting around you. More About John: John O’Connor is a leadership advisor to high performers looking to go deeper, find their calling, and align with their higher purpose. With over 10,000 hours under his belt coaching CEO’s, social impact entrepreneurs, athletes and post-exit founders, he is skilled at guiding people to uncover the things that are blocking them from creating a sense of freedom and fulfillment. 🌟 3 Key Takeaways Calling often emerges out of friction and frustration, and can manifest physically. Reflect: what’s the desire under the frustration? Swap out the word purpose with: What is meaningful? And what is most important? What are the most meaningful, important dimensions of life? What wants to emerge? What wants to come through my life in each dimension? The Core Five: Health and wellness, finances, intimate relationships, community, business. In each of those, there is a calling—something that wants to come through, a yearning. ✅ Try This Next: When you find yourself complaining or irritated by something, honor how you’ve been, i.e. “The way this is happening doesn’t work for me.” That’s how it has been; then ask, “How would I like it to be different?” What are the three to five steps to make that happen? Write it down, and remember: you’re only a few simple moves away. 🔗 Resources Mentioned John on the web, IG, Twitter, LinkedIn The ManKind Project 📚 Books Mentioned Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection by John Sarno The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield & Shawn Coyne Free Time: Lose the Busywork, Love Your Business Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One Life After College 🎧 Related Episodes Pivot: 325: 10+ Conference Networking Strategies with Alisa Cohn 328: Accessing Your True Self Through IFS with Adrian Klaphaak, 332: IFS Part(s) Two—Understanding Our “Not Enough” Exiles with Adrian Klaphaak 72: BREATHE. From Burned-Out Bodybuilder to Yin Strength Trainer with Anders Varner Free Time: 196: 🍩 What Do Donuts, Coffee, Conversation, and Energy Cliffs Have in Common? (My Mini Daily Audio Diary from Attending TED 2023) ❤️ Enjoying the show? I'd be grateful for a rating and/or review! Even better? Share this episode with a friend :) 💌 Get my curated weekly(ish) PivotList newsletter 💻 Check out Jenny’s Pivot courses on LinkedIn Learning: Figuring Out Your Next Move, Holding 1:1 Career Conversations With Your Team, Managing Introverts, Coaching New Hires, and Coaching New Managers 💬 I’d love to hear what’s on your mind! Take the Pivot listener survey ☎️ Submit a question or comment for future episodes 🎧 Make sure you’re subscribed wherever you listen to ‘casts 📝 Check out full show notes at http://pivotmethod.com/353 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are you falling into “accidental jerk” mode while mentoring others without realizing it? Today’s guest, Scott Jeffrey Miller, is sharing nuances of mentoring that you have likely never considered. What it means to truly validate someone (with an example that made me blush!), how to set boundaries with your time and expectations, the thirteen different roles mentors can play, and his delightful six-step process for closing out with mentees. More About Scott: Scott Jeffrey Miller is a sought-after speaker, WSJ-bestselling author, and podcast host. He currently serves as FranklinCovey’s senior advisor on thought leadership. Prior to his advisory role, Scott was a twenty-five-year FranklinCovey associate, serving as the Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice President. He is host of On Leadership With Scott Miller, and today we’re talking about his latest book, The Ultimate Guide to Great Mentorship: 13 Roles to Making a True Impact. 🌟 3 Key Takeaways The 13 roles mentors can play (not mutually exclusive) are: The Revealer, The Boundary Setter, The Absorber, The Questioner, The Challenger, The Validator, The Navigator, The Visionary, The Flagger, The Distiller, The Activator, The Connector, and The Closer. Don’t be an accidental jerk: The session and mentoring relationship are not about you! You are not your mentee. Don’t dominate the sessions by talking too much, or lean too heavily on advice-giving. Scott’s 6-Step Close-Out Process: Revisit where your mentee started, share funny/tender learnings about their growth, re-identify and communicate go-forward commitments, resurface worthy concepts that were closed or tabled, celebrate the wins and learn from the losses, recap your confidence in them and outline any areas of potential support. There are important differences between coaches, mentors, managers, allies, champions, and sponsors: Coaching is a profession; you have a process and a pedagogy. Mentors are usually in a leadership position; marshaling their wisdom for the benefit of someone else; it’s mission-centric and pro-bono, a little more informal. Allies and champions know how trustworthy you are, can recommend you for roles. ✅ Try This Next Help your mentee clarify their goals of what they are really trying to accomplish. Be hyper-aware of what it’s like to be mentored by you. Bonus: Create a hand-crafted certificate of completion, from the heart, for the next mentee who closes out with you. As Scott writes, “I’m totally serious. Don’t download a certificate from some site. Draw one. With markers and crayons and illustrate what you’re certifying them in—what specifically you’re awarding them with.” 🔗 Resources Mentioned Scott on the web, IG, Twitter, LinkedIn Articles: Scott’s Inc.com column 📚 Books Mentioned The Ultimate Guide to Great Mentorship by Scott Jeffrey Miller The Road Less Stupid by Keith Cunningham Your Next Five Moves by Patrick Bet-David The Advice Trap by Michael Bungay Stanier Free Time: Lose the Busywork, Love Your Business Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One Life After College 🎧 Related Episodes On Leadership with Scott Miller: Your Next Five Moves with Patrick Bet-David Pivot: 026: Tame the Advice Monster with Michael Bungay Stanier Free Time: 057: You+ vs. You 2.0 with MBS ❤️ Enjoying the show? I'd be grateful for a rating and/or review! Even better? Share this episode with a friend :) 💌 Get my curated weekly(ish) PivotList newsletter 💻 Check out Jenny’s Pivot courses on LinkedIn Learning: Figuring Out Your Next Move, Holding 1:1 Career Conversations With Your Team, Managing Introverts, Coaching New Hires, and Coaching New Managers 💬 I’d love to hear what’s on your mind! Take the Pivot listener survey ☎️ Submit a question or comment for future episodes 🎧 Make sure you’re subscribed wherever you listen to ‘casts 📝 Check out full show notes at http://pivotmethod.com/351 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As relationship expert Ester Perel says, “Too many people bring the best of themselves to work, and bring the leftovers home.” This is one of several notions that sparked today’s guest, Simone Stolzoff, to reconsider his relationship to work. We’re talking about his unique approach to researching his new book, The Good Enough Job, interviewing over 100 primarily white-collar workers, but only featuring nine stories in depth. His goal is that you’ll treat this book—and our conversations—less like a textbook and more like a mirror. “I hope [it] prompts you, as writing it did for me, to examine your own relationship to your job.” More About Simone: Simone Stolzoff is an independent journalist and consultant from San Francisco. A former design lead at the global innovation firm IDEO, he regularly works with leaders—from the Surgeon General of the United States to the Chief Talent Officer at Google—on how to make the workplace more human-centered. His feature writing on the intersection of labor and Silicon Valley has appeared in The Atlantic, WIRED, The San Francisco Chronicle, and numerous other publications. Today we’re talking about his new book, The Good Enough Job: Reclaiming Life from Work. 🌟 3 Key Takeaways If all your needs were met, what would you do with your life? How might that inform the work you do to get paid versus the activities that nourish your spirit? Michael Norton at HBR asks millionaires two questions: How happy are you on a scale of 1 to 10? And how much more money would you need to get to a 10 out of 10? Regardless of whether people had $1 or $2 or $5 million, respondents all answered the same way: that they’ll be happier when they have two to three times more money than they have now. You may still experience grief even if you’re making a decision that can be a better path for you in the future. ✅ Try This Next Consider how your identity is shaped by the people you are surrounded by. Find communities that can reinforce an identity of yours beyond the commercial value you contribute to the world, beyond your professional life. What group/s can you join where what you do for work doesn’t matter to them at all? (Think intramural sports or even time outside with pets :) 🔗 Resources Mentioned Simone on the web, IG, Twitter, LinkedIn Simone’s Substack: Simone Stolzoff Articles: NYT—Please Don’t Call My Job a Calling 📚 Books Mentioned The Good Enough Job: Reclaiming Life from Work by Simone Stolzoff The Pathless Path: Imagining a New Story for Work and Life by Paul Millerd Free Time: Lose the Busywork, Love Your Business Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One Life After College 🎧 Related Episodes Pivot x RadReads: Conversations with Khe Hy (Spotify Playlist) Pivot: 341: Pivoting From Prestigious Consulting Jobs To The Pathless Path With Paul Millerd 321: ChatGPT as Universal Intern and Excellent Advice for Living with Kevin Kelly Free Time: 203: 🎢 Riding the Emotional Rollercoaster of Launching with Natalie Lue 205: Why Paul Millerd Turned Down a $200K Two-Book Traditional Publishing Deal ❤️ Enjoying the show? I'd be grateful for a rating and/or review! Even better? Share this episode with a friend :) 💌 Get my curated weekly(ish) PivotList newsletter 💻 Check out Jenny’s Pivot courses on LinkedIn Learning: Figuring Out Your Next Move, Holding 1:1 Career Conversations With Your Team, Managing Introverts, Coaching New Hires, and Coaching New Managers 💬 I’d love to hear what’s on your mind! Take the Pivot listener survey ☎️ Submit a question or comment for future episodes 🎧 Make sure you’re subscribed wherever you listen to ‘casts 📝 Check out full show notes at http://pivotmethod.com/349 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“By trying to appeal to everyone, you appeal to no one,” writes Lisa Bragg. “Instead of broadcasting, think of narrowcasting.” The clue to today’s conversation is in her name, an idea she grew up grappling with: to brag (or not). “Hidden gems” are often told to work in the background or “be so great they can’t ignore you.” But the world is just too noisy for that now. Lisa is sharing how we can “shimmer with pride” gracefully, without veering into obnoxious braggadociousness (yes, I just made that word up). More About Lisa: Living with the name Bragg, Lisa has had to master the art and science of self promotion. She’s seen when being too humble has cost international deals and when bragging right has unlocked opportunities leading to untold fortunes. Lisa helps high-achievers of all sorts to be seen, heard and share their value with the world. Her book, Bragging Rights: How to Talk about Your Work Using Purposeful Self Promotion, launched in May. 🌟 3 Key Takeaways Self-Promotion Myths: Your work speaks for yourself; cream rises to the top; and if you wait for it, you will be chosen. Bragging Rights Strategy: How are you? Who are you? Who do you serve? What do you know? Who do you know? Who knows you? What’s next? Own your knowledgeable authority: You can be influential by having a point of view and articulating it, either as a: knowledge broker (curating ideas with a central theme), expert (developing your own thought-leadership), and/or visionary (seeing around corners or into the future and communicating a distinct vision). ✅ Try This Next: Journal on the following prompts—When do you wish you had been bolder? Reflect on a time you were bold. What happened? Bonus: Start your brag book—capture kudos that you didn’t get, compliments you want, “keeper” emails people have sent you (a smile file). 🔗 Resources Mentioned Lisa on the web, IG, Twitter, LinkedIn 📚 Books Mentioned Bragging Rights: How to Talk about Your Work Using Purposeful Self Promotion Invisibles: The Power of Anonymous Work in an Age of Relentless Self-Promotion Find Your Red Thread by Tamsen Webster Free Time: Lose the Busywork, Love Your Business Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One Life After College 🎧 Related Episodes Lisa’s podcast: Bold(h)er: Stories of and for Women Who Stand Out, for BMO for Women. Pivot: 293: Are You Saying Yes to Spaghetti-Throwers? and 013: Upside of Being Invisible with David Zweig Free Time: 196: 🍩 What Do Donuts, Coffee, Conversation, and Energy Cliffs Have in Common? (My Mini Daily Audio Diary from Attending TED 2023) ❤️ Enjoying the show? I'd be grateful for a rating and/or review! Even better? Share this episode with a friend :) 💌 Get my curated weekly(ish) PivotList newsletter 💻 Check out Jenny’s Pivot courses on LinkedIn Learning: Figuring Out Your Next Move, Holding 1:1 Career Conversations With Your Team, Managing Introverts, Coaching New Hires, and Coaching New Managers 💬 I’d love to hear what’s on your mind! Take the Pivot listener survey ☎️ Submit a question or comment for future episodes 🎧 Make sure you’re subscribed wherever you listen to ‘casts 📝 Check out full show notes at http://pivotmethod.com/347 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How are you holding yourself back? From the whispers of your soul, your deepest power and purpose, from your highest calling? That’s what we’re diving into in today’s tenth (!) Pivot x Career Pathfinder series podcast episodes with Adrian Klaphaak. You’re invited! Join us live for the next recording session on November 7 at 1:30 p.m. ET — ask questions in the chat or if you’re feeling brave, come off of mute to be in the coaching hot seat :) Register to join us here » Are you looking for a little support and guidance on finding your purpose, or best next step? Check out Adrian’s Career Pathfinder Program and apply promo code PIVOT for a special offer on his group training. More about Adrian: Adrian Klaphaak is a coach, purpose guide, entrepreneur, and founder of A Path That Fits Career and Life Coaching. His coaching approach is holistic—a constant balance between getting results and a quest for meaning and fulfillment. He describes himself as “a deep seeker with a constant itch to make things happen.” 🌟 7+ Ways We Hold Ourselves Back from our Calling Obligation, doing what we should Being overly practical Looking for perfection Fear of failure Doubting our abilities or undervaluing them Not having enough time Staying in our comfort zone What would you add? ✅ Try This Next Ask yourself: How am I holding myself back from finding my calling? Write about it, be honest about it. Next: What will you do differently as a result of this awareness? 🔗 Resources Mentioned Adrian on the web, Yelp, Facebook, LinkedIn Course: Career Pathfinder, promo code PIVOT Video: Finding Your Calling Articles: Pulling the Thread—How’s the Wanting Going?, The Free Press—You Can Be Addicted to Weed. I Was When I Was Twelve. JB’s Rolling in D🤦🏻‍♀️h: The Business Yips & 51/49, Ignore the Odds Tools: Substack app 📚 Books Mentioned Write for Life by Julia Cameron Free Time: Lose the Busywork, Love Your Business Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One Life After College 🎧 Related Episodes Pivot: Pivot x Career Pathfinder podcast episodes with Adrian (Spotify playlist) Free Time: 223: The Confidence Trap: Why You Don’t Need It to Do Big Things (SPARKED Crossover) ❤️ Enjoying the show? I'd be grateful for a rating and/or review! Even better? Share this episode with a friend :) ✍️ Connect with me on Substack: http://substack.com/@jennyblake 💌 Get my curated weekly(ish) PivotList newsletter 💬 We’d love to hear what’s on your mind! Take the Pivot listener survey ☎️ Submit a question or comment for future episodes 🎧 Make sure you’re subscribed wherever you listen to ‘casts 📝 Check out full show notes at http://pivotmethod.com/345 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I love celebrating big milestones here on the pod, so in honor of my 40th birthday tomorrow, I decided to do something a little different for today's solo episode. In lieu of a “40 things I’ve learned in 40 years listicle,” since I am only sure of less as time passes, I asked my husband Michael if he could think of four questions for me to answer. He threw in a bonus in the middle that nearly made me spit out my coffee :) 🌟 Michael’s Five Questions In this new world full of daily disasters, how do you find the courage to be vulnerable? Systems play a big role in freeing up your time. What is THE system you implemented that had the most significant positive impact on your life? Do you still love Tim Ferriss more than me? Why or why not? (See also: Michael’s googley-eyed book signing interaction at SXSW) What are you most looking forward to in this new decade of your life? Who are the 3 people, dead or alive you’d love to have on your podcasts? 🔗 Resources Mentioned Articles: Oprah.com—What is Your Happiness Formula? (Jenny’s guest post after Pivot launched!) and The Oprah Winfrey Show Finale. Quote mentioned: "I've talked to nearly 30,000 people on this show, and all 30,000 had one thing in common: They all wanted validation. If I could reach through this television and sit on your sofa or sit on a stool in your kitchen right now, I would tell you that every single person you will ever meet shares that common desire. They want to know: 'Do you see me? Do you hear me? Does what I say mean anything to you?’” Newsletter: Tim Ferriss’ Five-Bullet Friday Coffee: Tim’s and I also love my monthly surprise bag via Trade Rolling in D🤦🏻‍♀️h: Fearing the Other Shoe—Part One, Part Two; Getaway Car The Mount in Lenox, MA (Edith Wharton’s Estate) Loom Video: Walkthrough of Jenny’s Idea Collection bucket (Notion) Tools: Readwise, Notion, Done-for-you Free Time Operations Dashboard, Substack 📚 Books Mentioned Building a Second Brain by Tiago Forte The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke Three Novels of New York: The House of Mirth, The Custom of the Country, The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton Free Time: Lose the Busywork, Love Your Business Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One Life After College 🎧 Related Episodes BFF Bonuses: 098: Moving Through Vulnerability Hangovers The Writing Practice That Changed My Life Free Time: 031: Eleventh-Hour Creative Gremlins 111: Building a Second Brain with Tiago Forte Pivot: 220: Protect Your Flame with Michael Karsouny + Adventure Meditation! 127: Live from the Vulnerability Hangover! Launching @LifeOfALebaneseArtist with Michael Karsouny 342: “Whatever Comes Through Me Comes for Me First,” with Nicole Antoinette 158: Trip Report—Oprah's 2020 Vision Tour ✍️ Connect with me on Substack: http://substack.com/@jennyblake ❤️ Enjoying the show? I'd be grateful for a rating and/or review! Even better? Share this episode with a friend :) 💌 Get my curated twice monthly PivotList newsletter 💻 Check out Pivot courses on LinkedIn Learning: Figuring Out Your Next Move, Holding 1:1 Career Conversations, Managing Introverts, Coaching New Hires, and Coaching New Managers 💬 I’d love to hear what’s on your mind! Take the Pivot listener survey ☎️ Submit a question or comment for future episodes 🎧 Make sure you’re subscribed wherever you listen to ‘casts 📝 Check out full show notes at http://pivotmethod.com/343 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“I was in the wrong environment, playing the wrong game . . . so I started self-sabotaging.” That’s how today’s guest, Paul Millerd, knew it was time to opt out of conventional thinking about his career, and turn slowly but deliberately in a new direction. In this conversation we talk about how important it is to define enough, develop an immunity to what other people are doing, and his mantra, “coming alive over getting ahead.” Be sure to listen to our Free Time conversation 205: Why Paul Millerd Turned Down a $200K Two-Book Traditional Publishing Deal, and our conversation for Paul’s podcast, Pathless Path on 156: Saying "no" to something good. More About Paul: Paul Millerd is an independent writer, freelancer, coach, and digital creator. He is the author of The Pathless Path: Imagining a New Story for Work and Life, in which he explores the invisible scripts that constrain our lives. He is also the host of The Pathless Path podcast where he talks with the most interesting people on unconventional paths**.** 🌟 3 Key Takeaways Be wary of the achievement narrative: If you don’t define “enough” for yourself, it’s easy to default to more, which makes it impossible to understand when to say no. The trap of prestigious career paths: Instead of thinking about what you want to do with your life, you default to the options, norms, and desires most admired by your peers. Embracing the pathless path requires grappling with the feeling of being a bad egg ✅ Try This Next Paul’s process for new ideas: ship, quit, and learn. What small experiments can you set up that you can quit quickly? How can you take action in the next week, and design it for quitting? 🔗 Resources Mentioned Paul on the web, IG: @pathlesspaul, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube Articles: Paul’s Substack, essays, Ben Hunt’s Epsilon Theory—The Industrially Necessary Egg, Rad Reads—The $645,099 Business Pivot Reflections on Saying No to a Book Deal & Betting on Myself #219, Original Twitter thread, and From Blog to Book: How to Self-Publish on Your Own Terms Swag: StickerMule (Bubble Envelopes) Tools and Templates: Jenny’s Author Toolkit 📚 Books Mentioned The Pathless Path: Imagining a New Story for Work and Life Free Time: Lose the Busywork, Love Your Business Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One Life After College 🎧 Related Episodes **The Pathless Path with Paul Millerd:** Ben Hunt on Industrially Necessary Paths & How To Live In The Now Free Time’s full Behind-the-Book Playlist (Spotify), 205: Why Paul Millerd Turned Down a $200K Two-Book Traditional Publishing Deal, 173: Cut Your Losses—Even While Pivoting in Public—with Khe Hy Pivot: Rad Reads x Pivot (Spotify playlist) ❤️ Enjoying the show? I'd be grateful for a rating and/or review! Even better? Share with a friend :) 💌 Get my curated weekly(ish) PivotList newsletter ✍️ Connect with me on Substack: http://substack.com/@jennyblake 💻 Check out Jenny’s Pivot courses on LinkedIn Learning: Figuring Out Your Next Move, Holding 1:1 Career Conversations With Your Team, Managing Introverts, Coaching New Hires, and Coaching New Managers 💬 I’d love to hear what’s on your mind! Take the Pivot listener survey ☎️ Submit a question or comment for future episodes 🎧 Make sure you’re subscribed wherever you listen to ‘casts 📝 Check out full show notes at http://pivotmethod.com/341 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“To live a rich, joyful, and connected life . . . achieve less.” That’s the counterintuitive path to MoneyZen that this week’s guest Manisha Thakor shares. For the first half of her life, money represented a scorecard of self-worth and a sense of safety. She says, “For a long time, the equation I operated on was net worth = self worth (which has no end in sight).” Even with abundant salaries from her financial services roles, Manisha fell into The Cult of Never Enough, often displayed in “the peacock feathers of possessions.” Listen to learn more about the powerful shifts she made toward joy-based spending instead. More About Manisha: Manisha Thakor is the author of MoneyZen: The Secret to Finding Your "Enough” and has worked in financial services for over thirty years, helping individuals of all ages to balance financial health and emotional wealth. 🌟 3 Key Takeaways Societal forces are constantly telling us we should earn more, so we can buy more, in order to be more, “the peacock feathers of possessions” Buy few, but buy the best you can afford at that time MoneyZen (calm, confidence, clarity) = Financial Health + Emotional Wealth ✅ Try This Next Try joy-based spending. Take a piece of paper, and every time you spend money, write down the item and the amount. At the end of the week or month, highlight anything you spent money on that didn’t bring you joy, what Manisha calls money leaks. Bonus: Every day, eliminate one thing you no longer need from your life (either clutter around the house or even obligations or meetings you no longer want to keep). 🔗 Resources Mentioned Manisha on the web, IG: @manishathakor, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook Quiz: Are You Trapped in The Cult of Never Enough? Articles: What If You Already Have Enough Money? (The Cut), How Your Money Mindset Can Lead to Burnout at Work (Forbes), Stop Lying To Yourself About Why You Work So Much (Fast Company) 📚 Books Mentioned MoneyZen: The Secret to Finding Your "Enough” by Manisha Thackor Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez Free Time: Lose the Busywork, Love Your Business Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One Life After College 🎧 Related Episodes Pivot: 338: Is Midlife Messing with Your Enoughness? with Mandy Lehto Free Time: 028: When the Financial Tides Recede ❤️ Enjoying the show? I'd be grateful for a rating and/or review! Even better? Share this episode with a friend :) 💌 Get my curated weekly(ish) PivotList newsletter 💻 Check out Jenny’s Pivot courses on LinkedIn Learning: Figuring Out Your Next Move, Holding 1:1 Career Conversations With Your Team, Managing Introverts, Coaching New Hires, and Coaching New Managers 💬 I’d love to hear what’s on your mind! Take the Pivot listener survey ☎️ Submit a question or comment for future episodes 🎧 Make sure you’re subscribed wherever you listen to ‘casts 📝 Check out full show notes at http://pivotmethod.com/339 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices