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.

Plant

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191: 7 Strategies (and Permission) for Digital Introverts

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191: 7 Strategies (and Permission) for Digital Introverts

Are you feeling digitally overwhelmed or maxed out during this time? Big thanks to Brooke, who submitted this week’s Listener Q&A on something I mentioned in a previous Pivot podcast: digital introversion.

Contrary to the dictionary definition of introverts as “shy or reticent” (lame!) I resonate more with the etymology of the word from the mid-17th century: in latin intro- (to the inside) and vertere (to turn) combine to be defined as: to turn one’s thoughts inwards (in spiritual contemplation). How epic is that?!

Susan Cain, author of the mega-bestseller Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking and accompanying 2012 TED Talk with nearly 26 million views, has been a central leader in redefining the term introversion to correspond more with how one gets energy and recharges. She founded a movement called Quiet Revolution, and I encourage you to take her online assessment.

In this episode, I share 7 strategies that I’m still practicing as it relates to navigating this new, even more digital world as I answer Brooke’s question: How can I connect with heartfelt community in this digital world?

What’s on your mind? Submit follow-up questions for a future conversation at http://pivotmethod.com/ask

Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/191

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188: The Pondering Method (for Rebels) with Michael Karsouny

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188: The Pondering Method (for Rebels) with Michael Karsouny

Life on lockdown means a perfect opportunity to capture spontaneous thoughts from a very special guest . . . and no, it’s not Ryder :)

First I give an overview of Gretchen Rubin’s Four Tendencies framework (take the quiz along with nearly 3 million others!) and how you can tackle this time according to your personality. Then you’ll hear from my favorite “Rebel” on tackling contemplation without the guilt of procrastination.

Get show notes from this episode at http://pivotmethod.com/188 »

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🦠186: Apokalypsis, Improvisation, and Light with Dr. MJC

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🦠186: Apokalypsis, Improvisation, and Light with Dr. MJC

(Recorded 4/11/20) Dr. MJC and I start this week’s check-in with the New York Times article, “To people of many religions, crisis has signs of apocalypse.” As the intro states, this is the first time in nearly two decades all three of the major April holidays overlap: Easter, Passover, and Ramadan.

In Greek “apokalypsis" means an unveiling, a revelation. Michael and I discuss collective catharsis and gratitude, finding meaning and light in the dark, and how improvisation can help with acceptance.

What’s on your mind? Submit follow-up questions for a future conversation at http://pivotmethod.com/ask

Check out show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/186 »

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181: Find Your Edge (And Collect 10 No's to Pass Go) with Laura Huang

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181: Find Your Edge (And Collect 10 No's to Pass Go) with Laura Huang

(Recorded 2/12/20) Laura Huang is a professor at Harvard Business School who studies interpersonal relationships and implicit bias in entrepreneurship and in the workplace. In this conversation, we’re talking about her new book Edge: Turning Adversity Into Advantage.

You’ll learn about her framework: Enrich, Delight, Guide, Effort — and how she recovered from almost getting kicked out of Elon Musk’s office within the first two minutes of their meeting.

Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/181

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 where you can ask me anything, and discuss the latest books, tools and topics I’ve shared in recent episodes. Our next session is April 8th — I’d love for you to join us! Learn more at http://pivotmethod.com/insider.

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🦠180: Pivot-in-Progress—12 Reflection Questions

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🦠180: Pivot-in-Progress—12 Reflection Questions

Here in the U.S., a record 10 million people have filed for unemployment in the last two weeks, and employment estimates are at a mind-boggling 13%—which doesn’t even include gig economy workers.

I have friends who are pregnant, slated to get married, and who have family members who are sick that they can’t visit. On a personal level, I am staying buoyant, although in the last few weeks I have lost 90% of my projected income for Q2, including money that I had been planning on putting directly into a six-month business reserves account long before the pandemic hit.

I did end up applying for the Small Business Association’s COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan (also called the Payroll Protection Plan), despite initial hesitations that there were people who needed it more than me.

We are all feeling it. I have been trying to journal through this, both in my 5 Star Spiral Notebook (a 15+ year staple) and my new One Line a Day: Five-Year Memory Book.

Along those lines, today I’m sharing some reflection questions that have been helpful for me and others. We’re still early in all this, so I recommend revisiting these even on a monthly basis (as well as episode 173 with Steven Morris on beautiful questions that reorient one’s life trajectory).

I am purposefully not going through my analysis on the podcast yet, because I want to give you the space to reflect on your own without influence from my responses, but I’m happy to share in a future episode.

❤️ Finally, remember the Buddhist saying: nothing is permanent, personal, or perfect.

What’s on your mind? Submit follow-up questions for a future conversation at http://pivotmethod.com/ask

Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/180

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🦠177: Pivot Method as 4-Stage Coaching Framework [Workshop Replay]

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🦠177: Pivot Method as 4-Stage Coaching Framework [Workshop Replay]

How do we help others navigate change, particularly during moments of crisis?

In this episode, I’m including a replay from another recent workshop I delivered on March 25: Pivot for Managers, Mentors, and Coaches. This mirrors the keynote I give within organizations around helping managers and coaches improve their career conversation capabilities, but I have shifted (ahem—pivoted) the content to more directly address what we’re all going through now.

Listen for strategies and reflection questions on how to apply the Pivot Method as a coaching tool, even just to help others envision one day, one week, or one month from now. To watch the video version of this session, with slides, visit http://pivotmethod.com/watch.

Submit follow-up questions or audio notes for a future conversation at http://pivotmethod.com/ask

Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/177

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🦠176: Daily Pivots—Map What's Next [Workshop Replay]

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🦠176: Daily Pivots—Map What's Next [Workshop Replay]

How do we map what’s next when the ground underneath us shifts on a daily, if not hourly, basis? How do we navigate change when change is accelerating so quickly?

In this episode, I’m including a replay from the recent Map What’s Next workshop I ran for individuals. This mirrors the keynote I give within organizations and my annual “Set Your Strategy” podcast episode, but I have shifted (ahem—pivoted) the content to more directly address what we’re all going through now.

Listen for strategies and reflection questions on how to adapt the Pivot Method to envisioning even just one day, one week, or one month from now. To watch the video version of this session, with slides, visit http://pivotmethod.com/watch.

Submit follow-up questions or audio notes for a future conversation at http://pivotmethod.com/ask

Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/176

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🦠172: Self-Care for Empaths and HSPs with Sarah Santacroce

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🦠172: Self-Care for Empaths and HSPs with Sarah Santacroce

If you ever feel like a sponge for the energy (and moods) of people around you, particularly during times of massive change or crisis; if you feel flooded by emotion, overwhelmed with empathy, more sensitive than usual to sights, sounds, and media; and/or hit with powerful bursts of intuition, this episode is for you.

Sarah Santacroce and I recorded a two-way conversation for Pivot and her podcast, Gentle Business Revolution (be sure to also check out the PDF of her manifesto, Gentle Business Revolution Manifesto).

View full show notes from this episode at http://pivotmethod.com/172 »

What’s on your mind? Submit follow-up questions for a future conversation at http://pivotmethod.com/ask »

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🦠165: On Sadness with Rainer Maria Rilke — Letters To a Young Poet (#8)

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🦠165: On Sadness with Rainer Maria Rilke — Letters To a Young Poet (#8)

Story time! ❤️📘🤓 Today I’m reading one of my all-time favorite passages for tough times, from Rainer Maria Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet. I love this timeless letter (#8, written in 1904) so much that I included an excerpt at the very start of Pivot, and a second excerpt to close the book—both are included in the full text that I’m reading on this episode.

View full show notes from this episode at http://pivotmethod.com/165 »

What’s on your mind? Submit follow-up questions for a future conversation at http://pivotmethod.com/ask

Background from our kick-off to this Pivoting Around A Pandemic series, episode 159: With so much happening daily in the world and global economy around coronavirus, we’re all dealing with massive amounts of uncertainty, pivots at work, and for many—fear and anxiety that comes with not only the health concerns, but questions around how to maintain our livelihoods moving forward.

When Momentum member and pandemic expert Dr. Michael J. Consuelos reached out to offer himself as a resource to the JBE team and the MoMo community, I jumped at the chance to record a conversation for all of you as well, which has now turned into a full-blown series:

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149: Career Homecoming with Laura Simms

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149: Career Homecoming with Laura Simms

Laura Simms and I have been traveling parallel Pivot paths for a while now — nearly a decade of tracking each other’s work, but finally for the first time speaking live, 1:1! Of course we hit it off as fast friends, as we discuss ageism, passion vs. purpose, and working through insecurities when navigating career pivots.

Laura is an expert in meaningful work who challenges conventional wisdom by asking people to ditch their passions and start with purpose. She’s the creator of Your Career Homecoming, a celebrated career change program that helps people discover the meaningful work that’s right for them. 

Laura’s colorful career history includes a history degree, an MFA in acting, getting fired from a dream project, quitting multiple jobs (including one after the first day), teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and a successful career as an actor where she worked on network television, performed in every state on the Eastern seaboard, received multiple callbacks from Cirque du Soleil, and shared a sound booth with Sandra Oh. She lives in Atlanta with her husband and son, where she loves walking in the woods and trying to find the best whiskey cocktail in town.

Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at PivotMethod.com/149.

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 where you can ask me anything!

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137: What's Your Brand Archetype? Unlock Your Innate Advantage with Kaye Putnam

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137: What's Your Brand Archetype? Unlock Your Innate Advantage with Kaye Putnam

Do you ever experience “design block” or personal branding BLEGH when you think about how to present yourself and your business online? If so, you are not alone! That makes at least two of us :)

You are going to love this episode with brand strategist Kaye Putnam on authentic expression, the 12 brand archetypes, and why sometimes understanding our own brand is like reading a label from the inside of a jar—and what to do about it.

Kaye believes that when you have a clear brand, your clients love, respect, and are willing to pay premium prices for your work—which gives you the clarity and confidence to scale your impact and income.

Speaking of which! If you haven’t yet signed up for my free upcoming 90-minute Masterclass on 10 Scalable Streams of Solopreneur Income on 10/10 at 10am ET, you can do that here »

Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at PivotMethod.com/137.

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 where you can ask me anything—our next one is coming right up! On my birthday, 10/9 :) Shout-out to my fellow Libras!

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131: Indistractable with Nir Eyal

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131: Indistractable with Nir Eyal

What’s the difference between distraction and traction? Why don’t we do the things that we know we should do? And how can we learn from techniques that tech companies use to hook us into their products in order to redirect our attention toward what we really want to be, do, and create in the world?

Nir Eyal and I discuss these topics and more in this week’s podcast conversation based on his new book, Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life. He also outlines the four steps of the Indistractable model: master internal triggers, make time for traction, hack back external triggers, and prevent distraction with pacts.

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122: Digital Minimalism with Cal Newport

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122: Digital Minimalism with Cal Newport

What are the hidden costs of digital clutter? How can we counter screen addiction and phantom phone vibrations? We explore these topics in this episode with Cal Newport as we discuss his new book, Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World.

Cal Newport is a familiar voice on the Pivot Podcast and back by popular demand! On our first episode we discussed deep work—the increasingly important deliberate practice of focused work, especially in a world of cognitive junk. Now we turn to digital minimalism: applying a just enough mindset to our personal technology, freeing ourselves from the overwhelm, distraction, and “fear of missing out” side effects of the always-connected world. Or as Cal quotes Bill Maher from May 2017: “Likes is the new smoking . . . Philip Morris just wanted your lungs, The App Store wants your soul.” 

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[Best Of] Deep Work: Ditch Cognitive Junk Food with Cal Newport

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[Best Of] Deep Work: Ditch Cognitive Junk Food with Cal Newport

As I get up to speed in my first semester at Union Theological Seminary, I’m re-launching a few of my favorite podcast episodes from four years of archives: I hope you enjoy some of these oldies but goodies, particularly if you missed them the first time around! Here’s a conversation I loved with Cal Newport from April 2016.

When was the last time you were in the zone?There’s nothing I love more than working with time flying. The sun rises and sets and I barely notice because I’m so engrossed in my work. Cal Newport calls this deep work, and says that contrary to what many assume, it is a skill, not a habit. That means it takes deliberate practice, and is a cognitive muscle that can atrophy with disuse—something we are all prone to as we get sucked into network tools like social media and email. I loved this conversation and I know you will too! Enjoy 

“At the exact point that deep work is becoming increasingly valuable, it is also becoming more rare.”

—Cal Newport

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[Best Of] Martha Beck on Enlightenment and Messages our Bodies Send

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[Best Of] Martha Beck on Enlightenment and Messages our Bodies Send

As I get up to speed in my first semester at Union, I’m re-launching a few of my favorite podcast episodes from four years of archives: I hope you enjoy some of these oldies but goodies, particularly if you missed them the first time around! Here’s a conversation with one of my author superheroes, Martha Beck, who says “Suffering is a sign you are about to be woken up again.”

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. Martha is someone who blazes her own trails and has inspired me to do the same time and time again. 

I admire Martha for her tremendous courage. She's been through hell and back, from leaving the Mormon church despite getting death threats and her entire family disowning her, keeping her pregnancy after finding out her baby had Down Syndrome and her Harvard colleagues suggested otherwise, or following her body's signals to turn away from the academic life that was making her sick, and even saying no to Oprah when it didn't feel right to say yes.

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114: Illuminating Invisible Privilege with Karen Pittelman (and Why She Gave Away Her $3 Million Trust At 24)

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114: Illuminating Invisible Privilege with Karen Pittelman (and Why She Gave Away Her $3 Million Trust At 24)

This is one of my favorite interviews, and a conversation that is crucial for understanding and revealing the hidden influences that shape many of our views on society, wealth and power. I have heard terms like white privilege (which applies to me), but I hadn't thought to look into the notion of invisible privilege until earlier this year. You may think it doesn't apply to you (as I used to), especially if you're not in the "Top 1%."

But as a recent Atlantic article revealed, The 9.9 Percent is the New American Aristocracy, privilege is something that affects more of us than we might immediately self-identify with, particularly for many who see themselves as part of the "middle class." (A necessary note: some of you may be in the Top 1%—and you're welcome here!—and some of you may be struggling to get by, and  you're welcome here too).

After hearing it thrown around quite a bit in social change circles, I got curious. What does invisible privilege really mean? How does it affect me, and others like me? And how does it relate to broader social change? I'm so grateful for Karen Pittleman, who answers these questions with kindness, compassion, and clarity in this week's conversation. I can't wait for you to hear her story of giving away a $3 million trust fund when she turned 24 years old (now she's given over $13 million to activist-led funds), and her input on how we can all work together to redistribute wealth and power as we work toward a more just society.  

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113: The Seeker's Journey with Daniel Aaron

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So many of us are on a seekers journey—looking for greater knowledge, wisdom, healing, insight and transformation. And may even the ever-elusive holy grail of enlightenment, whatever that means. If you ask me, I believe we have three primary purposes on this planet: to learn, to love and to serve. And of course, to enjoy life along the way :) 

Daniel Aaron is a fascinating fellow seeker who describes his own journey as guided by a divine power, as he explores all variety of mystical and practical practices and shares them with thousands of others through yoga, sangha (community), and coaching. His mission is "to bring in a new era, where the new-normal is love and truth – kindness, authenticity and radiance – for all beings, of every species." I hope you enjoy the this week's conversation! 

Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at PivotMethod.com/podcast/daniel-aaron. Enjoying the show? Make my week by donating just $1 and episode at Patreon.com/pivot.

More About Daniel Aaron

daniel-aaron.jpg

Daniel Aaron is a teacher, writer, and human potential coach with a half century of joyous seeking and more than 25 years of experience in yoga and personal transformation for thousands of others.

Creator of the world-recognized Daniel Aaron Yoga Teacher Trainings in 2005, Daniel also founded the Radiantly Alive Yoga studio in Ubud, Bali in 2012. He is a seeker of wisdom, mystical and practical, and how we can apply it to radically upgrade our lives.

From enlightened gurus to the deepest therapists, cutting-edge nutrition, fasting and cleansing Ashrams, centers and caves, Maine to Bali (with a few hundred vistas along the way), he has lived everything from an excruciating childhood (which was also full of love) to helping others find everyday, guaranteed joy and entrepreneurial brilliance (including his own massively painful lessons and mistakes). 

Topics We Cover

  • His chaotic childhood upbringing, a crucial realization at three years old: “There’s got to be more than this"

  • Being orphaned at a relatively early age amongst parents and siblings

  • How he pulled himself out of hopelessness and turned to a path of seeking

  • Discovering astrology in his twenties despite previously thinking it was ridiculous

  • Describing himself as “He is as ordinary as ordinary can be.”

  • We shine and are our best selves when we accept all parts of ourselves

  • What inspired him to start Radiantly Alive—and how he knew it was time to leave

  • Seeker’s mission: awaken, heal, discover, learn

  • Pain and difficulty as a signal to move on, no longer living his dharma (true path)

  • Creating a virtual sangha, or community, to amplify individuals’ vibrant lives - creates an energy unto itself

  • Buddhism, “It’s hard to awaken on one’s own”

  • Satsang: “Gathering of people in the name of truth” - it’s about our intention when we come together

  • To live a spiritual life in a way that is fulfilling and also contributing to the world

  • What’s behind his philosophies that “his religion is his life,” and his passion in studying "The real yoga of life, beyond the physical fitness practices”

  • Patanjali’s teachings of ahimsa, doing as little harm as possible (non-violence), and satya, or honesty and authenticity—the key to it is to live both of those at the same time

  • His mission is to bring in a new era, where the new-normal is love and truth – kindness, authenticity and radiance – for all beings, of every species.

  • "A world where an aberrant act of meanness creates a ripple of alarm that immediately engenders a response of love and understanding so powerful that it melts the pain and meanness and harmony is restored.”

  • What we are all needing to learn as a culture, the gifts of the darkness: we can’t afford to have division, what we need is inclusion

  • The Fantastic 4 of his daily rituals: The importance of daily practices to remember where he’s set his compass coordinates and stay connected to hope and positivity

  • The Sun Breath exercise and why it’s so powerful to raise frequency or vibration

The Seeker's Journey with Daniel Aaron

Listen below or on iTunes, SoundCloud, YouTube, Overcast, Stitcher, or Google Play Music:

Check out other episodes of the Pivot Podcast here. Be sure to subscribe via iTunes, Google Play or SoundCloud, 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.

Want to support the show and become a founding member of the Pivot Podcast community? Join us on Patreon here.

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107: (Un)Medicating Grief—Recovering Feeling After Decades on Anti-Depressants with Brooke Siem

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I'm so grateful to Brooke Siem for opening up and sharing her story with us this week. Not only is she a woman of many talents (ballerina! chef! Chopped champion! bakery owner! crossfitter! writer!), Brooke has spent the last two years sober. Sober from medications that doctors, the assumed authority figures of her life, had been prescribing for the last fifteen years and an estimated 30,000 pills.

It all stemmed from an attempt quell her initial grief at the sudden death of her father when she was just a teenager. Brooke assumed she was broken, that she couldn't function in society without the drugs. It was only recently that she began to question what life would—or could—be without these medications driving modulating her emotions. Listen in to this week's conversation for how Brooke is navigating her newfound life—re-learning what it means and how to be herself, if not truly figuring it out for the very first time.

Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at PivotMethod.com/podcast/brooke-siem. Enjoying the show? Make my week by donating just $1 an episode at Patreon.com/pivot.

More About Brooke

brooke siem.jpeg

Brooke Siem is a speaker, writer, and chef who spent a eight years in the New York City food and wine industry before an opportunity to travel around the world with Remote Year fell into her lap. Despite a career that included honors such as being named one of Zagat's 30 Under 30, becoming a Food Network "Chopped" champion, and co-founding Prohibition Bakery and authoring the book of the same name, Brooke's "successful" Manhattan life also fueled a lifelong battle with depression. Prescribed antidepressant and anti-anxiety drugs at 15 years old after her father's sudden death of pancreatic cancer, the opportunity for a life abroad sparked the realization that she had been heavily medicated for half of her life. She decided to make a massive change.

First, she booked a one-way ticket to Malaysia.

Then, she got off all the prescription drugs.

Two years and 17 countries later, Brooke's primary focus is on advocating for mental health and wellness without the use of antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs. Though she believes that these sorts of drugs can have their place on the road to healing, her own experience has taught her that these medications are often poorly monitored by doctors, prescribed without thought of the long term consequences, and prioritize the notion of "existing" versus thriving. Brooke's goal is to show that it is possible to live a joyful, centered life without the use of antidepressants, no matter how far down the rabbit hole we once were.

As of May of 2017, Brooke sold her half of Prohibition Bakery in order to continue working and writing remotely. She is currently working on her second book, a memoir, and is currently based in Vancouver, BC. You can also say hi on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Topics We Cover

  • Deciding to detox after realizing she had been medicated for over half her life

  • Pivot points of her inner landscape: being put on antidepressants to manage her grief "on a timeline that worked for everybody else.”

  • Don’t remember much, "living under the impression I was broken”

  • In her Legacy Show talk she shared, “When they first put you on the drugs, they don’t tell you that you’ll forget how to feel."

  • Taking 4-7 medications at any given time, 30,000+ pills over the course of her life

  • New York Times article: Many People Taking Antidepressants Discover They Cannot Quit (and the ensuing backlash)

  • Detoxing at 30 years old felt much like going through a second puberty; became extremely sensitive to sounds, crowds, pain, tastes, music, clothing, everything - “I have no idea who this person is”

  • Jealous of children who could express their feelings and anger out loud

  • Sleep had always been the antidote

  • What carried her through the down moments of detox when it could’ve been easier to go back to the meds

  • Buying a one-way ticket to Malaysia, aha of starting to feel again - raindrops on her skin - little things to hold onto, started painting - felt creative for the first time in her life

  • Finding a spiritual therapist - working with Edward Mannix; compassion key healing process

  • Growing up in a very spiritual environment - picking angel cards as a child

  • “He didn’t try to teach me how to cope, that my brain was broken or the solution was in a pill - he told me he thought it was possible to heal. We have all these experiences in this life and past lives that converge together and influence all of our decisions.”

  • On clearing past karma, wipe off the lens of our life through self-compassion and feeling some of the things we’re feeling

  • Silver lining doesn’t always work, on wondering about the why of all this

  • All the issues of my life that I believed were permanent

  • Self-compassion process: start with the phrase, “I’m so sorry . . .”

  • Now approaching the two-year anniversary of getting off her last drug

  • Living in Vancouver with her boyfriend, move around every four weeks or so; priorities have really shifted, don’t feel the need to look for validation in external things when it’s so much more important to spend time with the people who are important to her

  • Created a much smaller life - love the idea of a tiny house

  • On winning Chopped with chocolate, crabs and caviar

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.

Want to support the show and become a founding member of the Pivot Podcast community? Join us on Patreon here.

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99: My Morning Routine—How Successful People Start Every Day Inspired with Benjamin Spall

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99: My Morning Routine—How Successful People Start Every Day Inspired with Benjamin Spall

Although many of us aspire to rewarding morning routines (and enjoy geeking out on the best of what others come up with), on some days just getting out of bed is a victory. To this end, one of my favorite quotes from Benjamin Spall and Michael Xander's new book, My Morning Routine: How Successful People Start Every Day Inspired, comes from Ana Marie Cox, a political columnist and culture critic.

Cox says, "When you come up with a morning routine, understand that you’re undertaking it in order to do something good for yourself, not to meet some stranger’s standard of productivity."

With that in mind, I invite you to this week's conversation with Ben where we discuss common themes across morning routines, and how to take some pressure off of trying to meet impossibly high Inner Critic Morning Routine Police expectations. I'm also honored to be featured in My Morning Routine, with a subtitle for my chapter that made me chuckle: "When your evening routine starts at 3:00 in the afternoon." Listen in to find out what I do with all that wind-down time :) 

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92: Adulting to Win: Powerful Questions and Pivotal Plot Points with Paul Angone

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92: Adulting to Win: Powerful Questions and Pivotal Plot Points with Paul Angone

What is fear keeping you from doing? Is it worth it? Are you afflicted with an additional form of OCD, Obsessive Comparison Disorder? What are the pivotal plot points of your story, the triumphs and the tragedies? What sacrifices are you willing to make to honor your soul values?

These are the powerful questions that my longtime friend Paul Angone asks and collects in his new book, 101 Questions You Need to Ask in Your Twenties. The book covers four categories that we also dive into on the podcast: adulting to win, careerish, relationshipping and finding your signature sauce. I love Paul's humility and humor, and I can't wait for you to see which of the questions we cover might just change your day, your week, or your life :)