Jenny Blake
363: 🌈 Taking a Quiet Sabbatical and ...

As I round the corner into this ninth year of podcasting, 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.

Jenny Blake
362: Setting Creative Intentions Instead of ...

“Expectations are the enemy to the creative process. Sometimes you have to let go of the known to see the unknown.”

Today I’m speaking with James McCrae, an author, poet, and meme artist based in Austin, Texas. He is the founder of 🌻 Sunflower Club, a global school and community dedicated to conscious creativity.

Jenny Blake
361: On Decision Engineering and Evaluating ...

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.”

Today we’re talking about a framework more helpful than pro-con lists, tuning into your head, heart and gut; why the quality of your decision is not equal to the outcome—did good or bad things happen; keeping a decision journal to evaluate the quality of your decisions regardless of the outcome; and how to drop the guilt of “bad” past outcomes.

Jenny Blake
360: 📦 Unpacking a Big Business Decision ...

What happens when you make a big decision but still have lingering doubt, fear, and even despair? How do you know when a “download” from the universe is worth following, and what does test-driving a decision look like? What happens on the other side or when a pivot is taking far longer than planned?

We’re unpacking all these topics in today’s twelfth and final (for now) conversation for the Pivot x Career Pathfinder series with Adrian Klaphaak.

Jenny Blake
359: “You can’t give what you don’t have” — ...

“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.

As part of her healing process, Nataly began to paint when she was 40 by signing up for a painting retreat in Tuscony (that turned out to be for semi-professional watercolorists), and now her paintings are on the cover of her books—front and center as part of her bold self-expression.

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61: Virtual Freedom: Overcome Superhero Syndrome and Start Outsourcing with Chris Ducker

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61: Virtual Freedom: Overcome Superhero Syndrome and Start Outsourcing with Chris Ducker

When it comes to growing and scaling a business, the very superhero skills that facilitate your success may also one day become your biggest weakness. How can it be that you—the entrepreneur—might be the very person holding yourself back in the quest to move from employee-at-everyone-else's-whims to strategic business owner building a scalable operation?

This week's episode with serial entrepreneur Chris Ducker is a preview of what's to come in my new course, Delegation Ninja: Turn Frantic into Freedom, which kicks off on Monday, June 6. 

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60: How Emotionally Agile Are You? Strategies for Setbacks with Susan David

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60: How Emotionally Agile Are You? Strategies for Setbacks with Susan David

Turns out there's good news about bad moods—contrary to what it may seem in the moment, they can actually facilitate more creative, out-of-the-box thinking than when we're sailing along on autopilot during happier times.  

Discover the difference between brooding and venting, what types of writing are most helpful for processing difficult emotions, and how to "unhook" when you're in the grip of overpowering feelings. 

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59: Captivate: Secrets from Viral TED Talks with Vanessa Van Edwards

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What makes a person captivating? How can some instantly connect with an audience, while others fall flat? 

This week I'm thrilled to have one of my kindred spirits on the podcast with me. Vanessa Van Edwards is a professional people watcher, self-described "recovering awkward person," and author of the new book Captivate: The Science of Succeeding with People. 

Listen on to learn how Vanessa bootstrapped her Science of People research company, the best place to stand at a networking event, and the top secrets to make your TED talk go viral. 

More About Vanessa Van Edwards

Vanessa Van Edwards is a published author and behavioral investigator. She is a professional people watcher—speaking, researching and cracking the code of interesting human behavior for audiences around the world. Vanessa’s groundbreaking workshops and courses teach individuals how to succeed in business and life by understanding the hidden dynamics of people. Vanessa is a Huffington Post columnist and Penguin author. She has been featured on NPR, the Wall Street Journal, the Today Show and USA Today. She has written for CNN, Fast Company and Forbes.

Topics We Cover

  • Pivot blessings in disguise

  • How Vanessa bootstrapped Science of People and why she decided to pivot away from her original passive income business

  • How to avoid reinventing the wheel—especially "broke down rickety wheels"

  • Why conducting original research makes your work more viral

  • How Vanessa started a research-based company without a Ph.D. in social science

  • Secrets from the most successful TED speakers: on hand gestures, how you share your message, why smiling makes you seem more intelligent, and the difference between memorized vs. internalized content

  • The most strategic spot to stand at a networking event for making the best connections

  • How to recover from social awkwardness

Resources Mentioned

Check out other episodes of the Pivot Podcast here. Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen, and if you enjoy the show I would be very grateful for a rating and/or review! Sign-up for my weekly(ish) #PivotList newsletter to receive curated round-ups of what I’m reading, watching, listening to, and new tools I’m geeking out on.

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58: Monetize Your Ideas with Dorie Clark

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58: Monetize Your Ideas with Dorie Clark

What's the secret to becoming a recognized expert? Once you are well-known in your field, how do you monetize those ideas (without being sleazy) to build a successful business?

This week I'm bringing my good friend Dorie Clark back on the podcast to share her best road-tested tips for reputation- and business-building. She’s the author of two fantastic books that I mention in PIVOT—Reinventing You and Stand Out—and the New York Times has called her an “expert at self-reinvention and helping others make changes in their lives.”

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57: What's a Silent Meditation Retreat Like? Sweet Sound of Silence (Part 2)

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Silent meditation retreats always intimidated me. What would it be like? Would I get bored? Antsy beyond belief? So uncomfortable I can't stand it anymore? Could I handle something like that? Do I even want to try?

At the end of 2016 I released an episode called the Sweet Sound of Silence (Part One)—on the powerful calm and insight that stillness has brought into my life—before heading into a five-day silent meditation retreat for New Year's to ring in 2017. This week on the Pivot Podcast I share what the experience was like.

And here's a haiku that came to me at the start of the retreat that I incorporated as a mantra to help me drop more deeply into meditation—try repeating it while releasing all the tiny muscles around your eyes, and any tension in your jaw, face or body:

Melt, soften, release
your grip. Open hand allows
space for everything.

Topics We Cover

  • What goes on at a silent retreat?

  • Releasing our grip

  • Gratitude and living with our inner truth

  • Soul speaks in stillness

  • Reentry to the world

 

Resources Mentioned

Check out other episodes of the Pivot Podcast here. Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen, and if you enjoy the show I would be very grateful for a rating and/or review! Sign-up for my weekly(ish) #PivotList newsletter to receive curated round-ups of what I’m reading, watching, listening to, and new tools I’m geeking out on.

Related Episodes
[Best Of] Trip Report—Oprah's Vision Tour: Your Life In Focus
[Best Of] Trip Report—Oprah's Vision Tour: Your Life In Focus
249: Self-Defense Strategies with Sensei Ando Mierzwa
249: Self-Defense Strategies with Sensei Ando Mierzwa
[Best Of] Penney & Jenny 7: On Spirituality and Small Business (July 2018)
[Best Of] Penney & Jenny 7: On Spirituality and Small Business (July 2018)
242: Nahko—Take Your Power Back + "Love Letters to God" Live
242: Nahko—Take Your Power Back + "Love Letters to God" Live
194: Deep Souls with Kathryn Haydon
194: Deep Souls with Kathryn Haydon
🦠172: Self-Care for Empaths and HSPs with Sarah Santacroce
🦠172: Self-Care for Empaths and HSPs with Sarah Santacroce
158: Trip Report—Oprah's 2020 Vision Tour
158: Trip Report—Oprah's 2020 Vision Tour
[Best Of] 91: Divine Time Management and Putting Faith Forward in Business and Love with Elizabeth Grace Saunders
[Best Of] 91: Divine Time Management and Putting Faith Forward in Business and Love with Elizabeth Grace Saunders
152: Glowing in the Dark with Kristoffer 'KC' Carter
152: Glowing in the Dark with Kristoffer 'KC' Carter
143: Transmogrify with Neil Pasricha
143: Transmogrify with Neil Pasricha
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56: Perfection Detox with Petra Kolber

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56: Perfection Detox with Petra Kolber

Petra Kolber radiates. When she walks into a room, it lights all the way up with her positivity, passion for life and joie de vivre. But that doesn't mean she hasn't wrestled with her own dragons, particularly around perfectionism (as have so many of us). Coming from decades in the fitness industry, Petra wrestled with the pressure to be perfect—looks, body, business, you name it. 

As a two-time cancer survivor, Petra is passionate about waking people up to the precious gift of time. Her mission is to inspire people to move more and to fear less, so they can stretch their dreams, strengthen their courage muscle, and build an inspired life full of joy and gratitude. In this week's show we explore how to dissolve the pressure to be perfect so that you can do the same.

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53: The Sweet Sound of Silence (Part 1)

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Tomorrow I head out for my first 5-day silent meditation retreat . . . I have no clue what to expect! The idea of doing something like this used to terrify me, even just 24 hours of silence seemed almost impossible. Now, especially after all the book marketing commotion, I am absolutely craving it.

Silence has become one of the greatest luxuries of my life, and my love for this simple and abundant gift has only grown as I approach almost 365 days of consecutive meditation. Take a listen to this week's 20-minute solo Pivot Podcast on the Sweet Sound of Silence. I'll record another one after I get back from the retreat to let you know what this inner adventure is like :)

Topics We Cover

  • The gift that is silence, or when you're at peace

  • Creating a pocket of silence for yourself

  • Harmony is space

  • Stop censoring yourself

Resources Mentioned:

Check out other episodes of the Pivot Podcast here. Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen, and if you enjoy the show I would be very grateful for a rating and/or review! Sign-up for my weekly(ish) #PivotList newsletter to receive curated round-ups of what I’m reading, watching, listening to, and new tools I’m geeking out on.

Related Episodes:
[Best Of] Trip Report—Oprah's Vision Tour: Your Life In Focus
[Best Of] Trip Report—Oprah's Vision Tour: Your Life In Focus
249: Self-Defense Strategies with Sensei Ando Mierzwa
249: Self-Defense Strategies with Sensei Ando Mierzwa
[Best Of] Penney & Jenny 7: On Spirituality and Small Business (July 2018)
[Best Of] Penney & Jenny 7: On Spirituality and Small Business (July 2018)
242: Nahko—Take Your Power Back + "Love Letters to God" Live
242: Nahko—Take Your Power Back + "Love Letters to God" Live
194: Deep Souls with Kathryn Haydon
194: Deep Souls with Kathryn Haydon
🦠172: Self-Care for Empaths and HSPs with Sarah Santacroce
🦠172: Self-Care for Empaths and HSPs with Sarah Santacroce
158: Trip Report—Oprah's 2020 Vision Tour
158: Trip Report—Oprah's 2020 Vision Tour
[Best Of] 91: Divine Time Management and Putting Faith Forward in Business and Love with Elizabeth Grace Saunders
[Best Of] 91: Divine Time Management and Putting Faith Forward in Business and Love with Elizabeth Grace Saunders
152: Glowing in the Dark with Kristoffer 'KC' Carter
152: Glowing in the Dark with Kristoffer 'KC' Carter
143: Transmogrify with Neil Pasricha
143: Transmogrify with Neil Pasricha
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52: Martha Beck on Enlightenment and Messages our Bodies Send

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52: Martha Beck on Enlightenment and Messages our Bodies Send

"Suffering is a sign you are about to be woken up again."
—Martha Beck

This week we tackle a tiny little topic—enlightenment—with one of my all-time favorite authors and thinkers, Martha Beck. I have read all eight of Martha's books (two or three times each) as they helped me through some of my biggest transitions in life and work.

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51: Die Empty — With Todd Henry

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51: Die Empty — With Todd Henry

"You cannot pursue greatness and comfort at the same time . . . How do you set in motion a course of action that will allow you to unleash your best, most valuable work while you still can?"
—Todd Henry, Die Empty: Unleash Your Best Work Every Day

Many people want to avoid thinking about death, let alone talking about it—not to mention writing a book on the subject. Not Todd Henry. True to the concept of memento mori, reflecting on death to be more present and grateful in life, Todd believes contemplating death helps us fully explore and realize our creative gifts. I absolutely loved this conversation and Todd's thoughts on how to "die empty" without feeling pressure to do it all; how to minimize minutiae and pursue great work while also riding out natural dips in creativity, transition, or clarity.

50: Post-Election Pivot Point: Find Order in Chaos

50: Post-Election Pivot Point: Find Order in Chaos

Man oh man . . . what an epic pivot point for our country with this presidential election. Wild week for all involved, as half the country celebrates with relief and the other half navigates its grief.

In this episode I zoom out to take a macro view. Partisan politics aside, how do we navigate a world and economy where truly anything can happen at any time? Where all the smartest pollsters and predictors were wrong? How do we create order and opportunity from what often seems like chaos at first? It starts within, and today I'm sharing some of my strategies as we all move forward from a truly surprising twist this week.

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49: The (He)art of Book Publishing Excerpt: Land a Traditional Publishing Deal — Q&A with My Editor at Portfolio/Penguin Random House

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49: The (He)art of Book Publishing Excerpt: Land a Traditional Publishing Deal — Q&A with My Editor at Portfolio/Penguin Random House

"I'm looking for a fresh idea. A clear thesis and a deep question that you're exploring in your work. Why are you the right person to represent this set of ideas to the world?"

—Natalie Horbachevsky, acquiring editor, Portfolio/Penguin Random House

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45: Post-Launch Pivot Point + Visit From the Furry Rest Monster

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45: Post-Launch Pivot Point + Visit From the Furry Rest Monster

What happens just after you pivot? Can you sit at the edge of uncertainty around what's next—and its ensuing discomfort—and not try to fix it? After two very exciting weeks launching PIVOT, I returned home and immediately got sucked into The Void.

The need for rest was all consuming. I was tired to the bone, and not just physically. It was the vacuum created by the energetic release of three years of hustling on a legacy project. The Void is a natural part of the creative process, and yet surfing it still feels disorienting every time. My mantra for this round: faith in flow. Trusting the natural cycles of building and release, hustle and flow, grit and grace.

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45: Happy Launch Day!! Pivot for the Podcast: James Altucher Interviews Jenny

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45: Happy Launch Day!! Pivot for the Podcast: James Altucher Interviews Jenny

HAPPY LAUNCH WEEK!! 

One of my favorite authors, bloggers and good friends—James Altucher, author of Choose Yourself and the Choose Yourself Guide to Wealth—takes over the Pivot Podcast this week to interview yours truly. I couldn't imagine a better way to celebrate the book launch—be sure to grab your copy wherever books are sold!! 

I also took over James' show today—if you don't already subscribe to his podcasts, get on it! They're my favorites that I listen to: The James Altucher Show and Question of the Day (with Freakonomics co-author Stephen Dubner).

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44: Want Nothing, Have Everything: The Happiness Equation with Neil Pasricha

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44: Want Nothing, Have Everything: The Happiness Equation with Neil Pasricha

"Be you. Be you, and be cool with it. There is nobody else you can be better. There is so much of you unique to the world. You are unique and complicated. You are different and dimensional."

—Neil Pasricha, The Happiness Equation: Want Nothing + Do Anything = Have Everything

Neil Pasricha's writing is like a cup of hot chocolate, or as he would describe it in Awesome Thing #119, like watching butter melt on a hot piece of toast. It is comforting and delightful. His latest book is about what he learned along his own roller coaster ride of reaching smashing success with his 1,000 Awesome Things blog and books, then realizing he still wasn't happy. We break down topics like The Saturday Morning Test, the three time buckets, and many more.