"The fastest route to success is never traditional, and the conventions we grew up with can be hacked."
—Shane Snow, author of Smartcuts
How do hackers, innovators and icons accelerate success? Find out in this week's episode with one of my favorite authors, Shane Snow.
I loved Smartcuts so much when I first picked it up that I would walk down the streets of New York holding the hardcover version so I could continue reading while walking. Move over annoying texting-while-walking pedestrians! I brought distracted strolling to a whole new level. Now that's a true testament to how hard this book was to put back down once I picked it up, and it's now out on paperback for your reading pleasure!
More About Shane Snow
Shane Snow is an award-winning journalist, celebrated entrepreneur, and the bestselling author of Smartcuts: The Surprising Power of Lateral Thinking. He is co-founder of the content technology company Contently, which helps creative people and companies tell great stories together, and serves on the board of the Contently Foundation for Investigative Journalism.
Snow's writing has appeared in Fast Company, Wired, The New Yorker, and dozens more top publications. He’s been called a “Wunderkind” by The New York Times, a “Digital Maverick” by Details, and his work “Insanely addicting” by GQ—though he wishes they had been talking about his abs.
Topics We Cover
What is means to think laterally and why it matters
How breakthroughs happen
The career trajectory of U.S. presidents—it's not what you expect!
The importance of flexibility
Why we rationalize failure; how to turn failure into feedback
How moving sideways from gig to gig helps you accelerate your own journey rather than climbing the traditional career ladder
Why not you? Why not reach for a new level of success?
How momentum, not experience, is the biggest predictor of success
Smartcuts for mapping your next move
Resources Mentioned
Shane's business Contently
Shane's Book: Smartcuts: The Surprising Power of Lateral Thinking
Join Momentum 2.0
I'm excited to announce some new changes to Momentum, my private community for side-hustlers and solopreneurs. If you're looking to generate focus, freedom, flow and feedback in your side hustle or solopreneur-based business, look no further!
In addition to an all-access pass to my best tips, tools and resources, you'll get:
A private Facebook Group, where you can chat, mastermind, and share resources with other Momentum Members.
The Full JB Content Library, where you will have access to every course I have ever created, all call recordings, and templates.
Bi-weekly Q&A calls with me over the phone and quarterly multi-day courses, where we will deep dive into a major skill or topic, based on input and requests from the group.
Upcoming workshops include:
Launch Ninja (+ JB Lessons Learned) where I'll sit down with the Momentum Crew for a private debrief on the launch, best practices when launching, and lessons I've learned along the way.
The investment for all of the above?
My coaching costs $1,500 per month and I'm not taking on new clients at this time; this is the best way to partner on your goals, for just $97 per quarter.
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.
Casper ter Kuile is helping to build a world of joyful belonging. He is the author of The Power of Ritual and the co-host of the award-winning podcast Harry Potter and the Sacred Text. Casper is a Ministry Innovation Fellow at Harvard Divinity School and the co-founder of startup Sacred Design Lab - a research and design consultancy working to create a culture of belonging and becoming. He also co-authored “How We Gather” and collaborated with Holstee on his new Ritual Life Planner.
❤️ Enjoying the show? The best way to say thank you is leaving a rating or review. Free Time is listener supported—consider donating to become a podcast Insider and you’ll get access to a private monthly Q&A call:
💸 Enroll in the complimentary Free-up Founder Time mini-course before the price goes up
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📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned
Hi Friends! As I mentioned in the last solo episode, my team and I have been hard at work creating a brand new podcast that will run in parallel to Pivot! I'm thrilled to welcome you to Free Time — your home for Heart-Based Business.
I'm sharing the inaugural episode here with you on Pivot, but be sure you go subscribe to that one too, if the subject matter interests you! Search for "Free Time with Jenny Blake" or visit http://pod.link/freetime to subscribe in your favorite podcasts app.
In this preview episode, I share what inspired me to start the show, how I’m handling the Imposter Monster sitting right next to me, and what’s next for Jenny Blake Enterprises. A pivot for Pivot, if you will :)
❤️ Enjoying the show? The best way to say thank you is leaving a rating or review. Free Time is listener supported—consider donating to become a podcast Insider and you’ll get access to a private monthly Q&A call:
📘 Books Mentioned: Pivot, Essentialism, Finite and Infinite Games
🔗 Links Mentioned: Gimlet Media’s StartUp, Pivot podcast episodes 228 (how I run my business without social media) and 251 (Imposter Monsters)
💌 Subscribe to the Time Well Spent newsletter: http://itsfreetime.com/join
💸 Enroll in the Mini-Course: Free-up Founder Time
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🗣 Submit a voice question or comment for future episodes: http://itsfreetime.com/ask
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📝 Check out full show notes and links from this episode and share it with a friend! http://itsfreetime.com/episodes/001
Hi Friends! I’m back with another “staycation” solo episode on what I’ve been up to. It’s a quick take on systems to support seasons of retreat for creativity and rest, my favorite books of the year so far, and a peek into my forthcoming projects.
Key questions:
What are you ready to let go of? How can you say no to “good” to say yes to what’s next?
For your new projects, ask: Who Not How? (Strategic Coach, Impact Filter PDF)
How can you design systems to support cyclical work? (Check out Stefan Sagmeister’s TEDx Talk on 7-year sabbaticals)
📘 Books Mentioned: Pivot, Wintering, Who Not How, Clockwork, The Power of Full Engagement
💸 Enroll in the complimentary Free-up Founder Time mini-course before the price goes up
❤️ Enjoying the show? Pivot Podcast is listener supported—consider donating to become a Pivot Insider and you’ll get access to a private monthly Q&A call with Jenny
💌 Get my curated weekly(ish) PivotList newsletter
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🗣 Submit a question or comment for future episodes
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📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned
I’m thrilled to be back from holiday hiatus (and a deep work creation cave on my new book and podcast - more on that soon!) with an episode from someone who inspires me greatly in heart-based business: Sarah Santacroce.
Sarah’s new book is called The Gentle Marketing Revolution: A Radical Business Approach to Get New Clients with Integrity and Kindness. I was honored to co-write the foreword with Penney Pierce in a fun, delightful, in the moment, flowing way. You'll hear more about that and how to launch with serendipity and ease in this episode! Be sure to also check out Sarah’s Gentle Business Revolution Manifesto, and our most recent conversation on her podcast, Kindness in Business.
❤️ Enjoying the show? Pivot Podcast is listener supported—consider donating to become a Pivot Insider and you’ll get access to a private monthly Q&A call: http://pivotmethod.com/insider
💌 Subscribe to the PivotList newsletter, a curated weekly(ish) round-up of my favorite finds ‘round the web: http://pivotmethod.com/pivotlist
💬 I’d love to hear what’s on your mind! Take the Pivot listener survey at http://pivotmethod.com/survey
🗣 Submit a question or comment for future episodes at http://pivotmethod.com/ask
🎧 Make sure you’re subscribed wherever you listen to ‘casts: https://pod.link/1054817076
📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/257
Pandemic-response expert Dr. MJC is back for our Sweet 16th (!) installment in the Pivoting Around a Pandemic series. We discuss updates on the Pfizer vaccine trial he’s participating in, fantasies about “when there’s a vaccine,” challenges to global rollout, our reaction to the election results, and the need for deep rest after all that we’ve collectively been through this year, and particularly this season.
📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/255, and our related (previous) conversation: 🦠248: Horseshoe Theories and Ongoing Pandemic Pivots with Dr. MJC.
💌 Get my curated weekly(ish) PivotList newsletter at http://pivotmethod.com/pivotlist
💬 I’d love to hear what’s on your mind! Take the Pivot listener survey at http://pivotmethod.com/survey
🗣 Submit a question or comment for future episodes at http://pivotmethod.com/ask
🎧 Make sure you’re subscribed wherever you listen to ‘casts: https://pod.link/1054817076
❤️ Enjoying the show? Pivot Podcast is listener supported—consider donating to become a Pivot Insider and you’ll get access to a private monthly Q&A call with Jenny: http://pivotmethod.com/insider
"The marketing-industrial complex has been on a tear for a hundred years to make almost everyone feel inadequate, because it's the single best way to sell you something. If that game isn't giving you joy, don't play that game.”
My next guest needs no introduction — though he deserves one nonetheless! Seth Godin is an inventor, thought-leader, contrarian, mentor, mensch, and an ongoing inspiration to so many of us. He is the author of 19 bestselling books, and this week we are celebrating his latest! The Practice: Shipping Creative Work, one that inspired me to get back on the mic after a two-month hiatus, to record this interview in early September.
Listen in as we celebrate our (almost) ten-year friendiversary and discuss a range of topics for those in the business of playing with ideas: shipping creative work even when tired, generosity and building with word-of-mouth in mind, choosing which information “rooms” to hang out in online, Tik Tok and social media tourism, and speaking to (and selecting for) the yearning of the people you seek to serve.
Although I’m at my awkward finest when interviewing my biggest heroes, Seth chief among them, I hope you enjoy this conversation on all things leadership and creativity :)
Links Mentioned:
Book: The Practice: Shipping Creative Work by Seth Godin
Courses: The Podcasting Workshop and (He)art of Podcasting
Jenny’s Author Toolkit: http://pivotmethod.com/authors (including the new book marketing spreadsheet, and the Behind-the-Book Toolkit for writing, editing, marketing, and launching)
❤️ Enjoying the show? Pivot Podcast is listener supported—consider donating to become a Pivot Insider and you’ll get access to a private monthly Q&A call: http://pivotmethod.com/insider
💌 Get my curated weekly(ish) PivotList newsletter at http://pivotmethod.com/pivotlist
💬 I’d love to hear what’s on your mind! Take the Pivot listener survey at http://pivotmethod.com/survey
🗣 Submit a question or comment for future episodes at http://pivotmethod.com/ask
🎧 Make sure you’re subscribed wherever you listen to ‘casts: https://pod.link/1054817076
📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/254
Pandemic-response expert Dr. MJC is back for our 15th (!) installment in the Pivoting Around a Pandemic series. In this “pandepic” two-hour round, we riff on: what we’ve been up to this summer, the five gnarly viruses we’re experiencing (COVID being only one), the horseshoe theory of political ideologies, discourse and censorship, tyranny and the fall of empires, vaccine trials, vitamin D, second-hand social media, and more.
📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/248
💌 Get my curated weekly(ish) PivotList newsletter at http://pivotmethod.com/pivotlist
💬 I’d love to hear what’s on your mind! Take the Pivot listener survey at http://pivotmethod.com/survey
🗣 Submit a question or comment for future episodes at http://pivotmethod.com/ask
🎧 Make sure you’re subscribed wherever you listen to ‘casts: https://pod.link/1054817076
❤️ Enjoying the show? Pivot Podcast is listener supported—consider donating to become a Pivot Insider and you’ll get access to a private monthly Q&A call with Jenny: http://pivotmethod.com/insider
Happy summer, friends! I’m taking a short break to pause and design what’s next for the podcast content-wise. Please enjoy this series with Penney Peirce, released M/W/Fri in keeping with my latest experiment.
Penney is consistently named as a listener favorite when I get feedback notes, and after our first interview together we jokingly started naming these follow-up conversations “The Penney & Jenny Show.” Until now, these interviews were spread out over the last four years — now they’ll be bingeable as a consecutive series :)
🗣 Want to help shape what’s next? Take the listener survey if you haven’t already! http://pivotmethod.com/survey »
📝 View full show notes from this episode at http://pivotmethod.com/podcast/penney7 »
***
Original air date: July 15, 2018
I'm delighted to bring you the seventh (!) episode in a side series of this podcast we affectionately call the Penney & Jenny show :) It's a growing set of conversations with one of my dear friends and mentors (friendtors), Penney Peirce. We had so much fun during our first interview together that we added a second . . . which became a third . . . and so on, until it was a regular feature on the Pivot Podcast!
This week we're riffing on the intersection of spirituality and small business—how we apply intuition, transparency, non-physical realms, and personal practices toward business-building, attracting clients, and earning a living in a way that feels easeful and joyful. You can check out all of our interviews here, and for easier listening, tune in on our SoundCloud playlist.
As the Republic website states, “Talent is evenly distributed, but opportunity is not.” That’s why they are democratizing angel investing by creating a platform where diverse founders and mission-driven start-ups can get the capital they need—and even those of us without millions in the bank can invest in emerging companies we believe in, for as little as $10.
This conversation with Chuck Petid was recorded pre-pandemic (back in 2019), but is relevant more than ever with so many companies looking for assistance during these trying economic times.
📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/243
💌 Get my curated weekly(ish) PivotList newsletter at http://pivotmethod.com/pivotlist
💬 I’d love to hear what’s on your mind! Take the Pivot listener survey at http://pivotmethod.com/survey
🗣 Submit a question or comment for future episodes at http://pivotmethod.com/ask
🎧 Enjoying the show? Pivot Podcast is listener supported—consider donating to become a Pivot Insider and you’ll get access to a private monthly Q&A call: http://pivotmethod.com/insider
What happens when you find yourself on autopilot, even with a perfect-on-paper role or business? It can be hard to admit—even to oneself—not being 100% #grateful, #blessed, and #fulfilled.
Longtime friendtor Antonio Neves and I talk about how to find the courage to boldly go your own way—to be your own benefactor—even when your next direction isn’t a proven Pivot yet. You’ll hear about Tony’s aha moment that helped him kick a secret coping habit, and starting taking authentic steps in a new direction into a new phase of life and work where he’s betting on himself.
📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/241
💌 Get my curated weekly(ish) PivotList newsletter at http://pivotmethod.com/pivotlist
💬 I’d love to hear what’s on your mind! Take the Pivot listener survey at http://pivotmethod.com/survey
🗣 Submit a question or comment for future episodes at http://pivotmethod.com/ask
🎧 Enjoying the show? Pivot Podcast is listener supported—consider donating to become a Pivot Insider and you’ll get access to a private monthly Q&A call: http://pivotmethod.com/insider