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Jump Start Your Joy®

This vibrant show dives into the inspiration, intention, and actions that bring a positive outlook to life, even in challenging times. Lovingly curated as a retreat from the everyday, each episode invites you to step outside routine and engage with uplifting stories and fresh perspectives. Guided by Henri Nouwen’s reminder that “Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day,” the show explores how resilience and purpose can turn ordinary moments into opportunities for joy.
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Now displaying: 2018
Dec 27, 2018

As entrepreneurs and solo-prenuers, let's look at a new definition of abundance that makes room for the lives we want to lead, the people we want to reach, and the we way want to show up in this world. Learn how on this final episode of 2108.

Dec 18, 2018

This week on the show, Andrea Owen returns for a second visit and this conversation is, hands down, the hardest I’ve laughed in quite some time. Andrea is a coach, author of two books (52 Ways to Live a Kick Ass Life and How to Stop Feeling Like Shit), and she’s the host of the amazing “Your Kick Ass Life” podcast. She and I talk about how to be taken seriously even when you’re not a serious person.

 

As an entrepreneur, and a woman out doing business in the world, I am betting that this episode will resonate with you strongly. It’s getting at the heart of some deep seated conditioning, and calling into question something my own personal inner critic is pretty tied to: as a person who does serious work (life coaching, business coaching and project management all require an understanding of deep emotional or business acumen), I often worry that if I present my light heartedness in front of others, my ability to be serious and taken as a credible intelligent person will be dismissed.

What I love is that in this chat, Andrea calls bullshit on this, for both of us. She says it’s “inner critic bullshit” that’s just getting in the way of our being our true selves. And, I agree with her.

I also love that this discussion goes meta and self-reflective on itself, as we start out talking about how we’re both silly people at heart, and how as humorous people we both worry that we can’t ALSO be serious. After laughing our butts off (you’ll have to listen because it is funny, I laughed out loud when I was editing this episode), we then dive into deep and serious territory. We talk about the death of her father, about numbing out, about PTSD, about the serious shit.

In other words, the conversation itself shows us that yes, you can be funny, and serious all in the same 45 minutes.

Inspiration and Intention:

Where are you undermining or downplaying your own natural way of being because you feel like they are not “acceptable” to others?

How can you look at those traits as a gift, using a different lens? Who are some other people you can identify (and maybe even look up to) that share those traits with the world?

In this episode, Andrea Owen and I talk about:

  • Body suits and blazers (and we have a good laugh about this)
  • How humor can be a way of connecting with others
  • That humor can be healing
  • Rumbling with your emotions
  • What happens when we label emotions as good or bad, instead of just letting them be
  • Surrendering to emotions
  • When it’s time to find help with emotions that are overwhelming
  • How to interact with unusual relatives at a holiday party
  • Body suits and blazers (yes, again)

Resources

Your Comfort Zone: A Rant (Episode 257 on Your KickAss Life)

Menudo on Silver Spoons 

Andrea Owen on Episode 115 of Jump Start Your Joy 

How to Stop Feeling Like Shit by Andrea Owen (on Amazon)

52 Ways to Live a KickAss Life by Andrea Owen (on Amazon) - her first book

Your Kickass Life - Andrea's website

Dec 11, 2018

A project manager with 20 years of experience, Paula breaks down how to take the basics of project management & apply the skills and toolset to your small business as an entrepreneur. A great primer in running a project & insights on what to look

Dec 4, 2018

Self Advocate, activist, mentor and coach, Christy Tending joins the show with a fresh take on leaning into our uniqueness, owning our imperfections, and waking up to our own freedom.

Nov 27, 2018

Sarah Von Bargen of Yes and Yes joins Paula to talk about how to build joyful, intentional habits, how to question the messages in the world around us, and how you can craft your most mindful and meaningful life.

Nov 20, 2018

Are you having anxiety about the family Thanksgiving dinner, your spouse's company party, or spending the holidays with your inlaws? In this episode, Paula talks about how to create an intentionally joyfilled holiday season.

Nov 13, 2018

Welcome to Season 4! This week on the show, I’m doing a solocast to kick off Season 4 and taking a look at the direction the show will be headed this season.

This week on the show I’m talking about:
– the three steps in the process of going after your dreams: inspiration, intention, and action
– why you need to build in time for rest and activity
– the bookends of emotions
– hanging on to the “anchor” of good times, even when you’re faced with difficult times
– my amazing time on the NKOTB Cruise X in 2018
– how people around us can inspire us and remind us of who we are and what’s important to us

Resources
8 Great Reasons to Start a Podcast / Episode 146
Kate Swaboda – “Courage When You Hate Your Job” on her Your Courageous Life Podcast
New Kids on the Block Cruise recap from 2017

Books
Art of War by Steven Pressfield
Lunar Abundance by Ezzie Spencer

See more pictures from NKOTB Cruise X 2018 on my Instagram Feed.

Oct 23, 2018

Emily Ann Peterson joins to share about how to follow your heart, tap into "Bare Naked Bravery," and nourish and nurture yourself while living with an illness.

What we talk about in this episode:

  • Her early joy of music as a child, and taking inspiration from pieces like “Night on Bald Mountain.”
  • How Rob Bell talks about grief – that as a society we have difficulty with it being wide, and deep, and we are uncomfortable with grief being a public emotion
  • That music often expresses emotions for us the way that words can not
  • The three main ways to express bravery: vulnerability, creativity / imagination, and improvisation
  • How having defiant expectations can impact the outcome of anything you face
  • The art of letting go as an act of faith
  • Her community and podcast at Bare Naked Bravery
  • Her new book of the same name
  • Resistance as a necessary part of life
  • Ways to jump start your joy: writing, finding community, and finding connection

Resources:
Emily Ann Peterson’s website 

Bare Naked Bravery (the book) by Emily Ann Peterson (pre-order the bravery bundle)

Bare Naked Bravery the podcast

The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron (on Amazon)

Oct 16, 2018

Christy Tending joins the show to talk about how to go beyond self care, and to work with self advocacy. Learn how to take the steps to get what you need to nurture and nourish yourself and live a life you love.

Oct 9, 2018

Learn all about how to cope with grief and make space for what you need during times of loss in this interview with Debbie Augenthaler. This episode is part of the Nourish & Nurture series.

Sep 25, 2018

Host Paula Jenkins is counting down the top 10 most downloaded episodes on Jump Start Your Joy, Season 3. From coaches, to musicians, to authors and several solocasts, get a feel for the show and YOUR most favorite guests.

Who will be #1? Tune in to find out!

Also, take the survey about Season 3 by clicking here.

Sep 12, 2018

Joy and Grief are two parts of our human experience. Join Paula as she revisits the most impactful and joyful discussions of Season 3, and learn about mindfulness, making space for joy, and embracing all of your emotions with three important guests.

Sep 4, 2018

As Season 3 comes to a close, and Fall is just around the corner, I'm finding that I'm ready to slow down. Our summer was purposefully jam packed: We visited England, we went on a family trip to San Diego, and I traveled to Atlanta for a conference. It was fun, it was exciting, and it was exhausting. As the seasons change, I'm longing for a slower pace and an I'm finding myself tired of the busy-ness. In this week's episode, I'm looking back at the first episode of Season 3, which was all about the steps to slowing down and savoring joy.

Are you feeling the same way? With returning to school, and winding down from summer, do you feel the shift in perspective?

Somewhere in the midst of traveling, creating, connecting, loving, and following my heart, I think I got wrapped up in the busy-ness and distraction of other stuff, too. Promoting the show. Finding the perfect stock image and the quote to go with it. Staying up too late as I danced with perfectionism. Joy was getting intertangled with shoulds and being perfect and it got heavy.

What I needed to do was re-set my perspective.
Have you read the book, "Chasing Slow," by Erin Loechner? She says “It takes work to change your perspective. Work that is not easily done when you’re looking everywhere else.”

In the midst of sitting with a slower pace, and getting re-acquainted with joy, I found that these six steps are a great foundation for slowing down and saving joy:
1. Agree to slow down. Give yourself space.
2. Take a good hard look at the thing that is no longer bringing you the joy it once did, and take note of why.
3. Reflect on what about this thing used to bring you joy. Write it down.
4. Ask yourself what would make this thing joyful again?
5. If a break from the thing sounds good, take it, and let it be a true break. Notice what you miss about the thing if anything.
6. Check back in after a month or so and see if you want to return to doing the thing. If so, make your plan. If not, let it go.

Resources:
The book list from Episode 101: (includes affiliate links)
Paula recommends:The Spy: A Novel of Mata Hari by Paulo Coehlo
Laura recommends: Commonwealth: A Novel by Ann Patchett
Kate recommends: The Paris Wife by Paula McLain
Deb recommends: White Hot Truth by Danielle LaPorte
Michelle recommends: Chasing Slow by Erin Loechner OR Tim Gunn's Guide to Style
Listen to Episode 101, where Michelle shares about Erin Loechner's book.

Aug 28, 2018

This week on the show, let’s talk about some great ways to discover the right time to follow your dreams.

 

How to discover the right time to follow your dreams:

1. Have Patience
Sometimes, we think we are ready before we are.
What if, behind the scenes, the universe is making that path smooth for you?
What if there is something else you need to learn before you are ready for the next step?
Tune in to the podcast to hear a lot more on this.

2. Trust that the universe is looking out for you
I like to tell a story about my son, when he was 18 months old. He used to be obsessed with extension cords, wanting to chew on them if he found them in the house. We baby-proofed to make sure he didn’t harm himself, and I learned a lot about the human spirit in the process.
There have been plenty of times when I have been upset because I didn’t get what I wanted. Plenty of times when I was obsessed with something, and yet it was kept just out of my reach no matter how hard I tried to get to it.
Is it possible that the universe is looking out for you and me, and that there are things that are kept an arm’s length from us for our own best interest?

3. Try a different angle
If you’ve come up against something that feels impassable, Is there another way you can approach your work, or the dream you’re working on?
Could you begin taking action on a different portion of the work related to your dream?
Action, in the way of taking the next step toward the dream you are working on, is important. If you’ve hit a place where you’re not getting traction on one part of your work, it may be valuable to switch up your approach.
You’ll learn new things, and keep your momentum going.

Resources:
Want to hear more from my friend Christy Tending?
Want to learn more about Byron Katie? Tune in to Mollie Larkin
Loving What Is by Byron Katie on Audible
The Work by Byron Katie

Aug 21, 2018

Feeling stuck and like you have no momentum sucks. The truth is you will more than likely feel stuck at some point in your life, whether that be in your business or around personal growth, or at a full time job. I often feel it, and find myself questioning if I’m “on the right path,” even four years into the podcast. This week on the podcast, I’m sharing about how I had an aha moment around “How to get Unstuck.”

At a recent conference, I attended a break-out session entitled “How to get Unstuck in Your Business.” My aha moment did not come from the speakers or the info that was being shared in the room, and it’s something I want to share with you, this week on the show.

I went into that room thinking that to be successful or to be well received or to be on the “right” path that I should be further along than I currently am. That I needed to have it all figured out, and that somehow my current situation wasn’t enough.

And then I started thinking. I like having time with my son, while he’s seven. I like having some space to breathe and to think. I love the clients I work with and I love the work I do.

And while it may seem super simple, or overly obvious, and very zen, I decided to ask my own intuition a few questions, and answer these questions in the form of a letter (you can learn more about it from Jess Lively.)

Instead of focusing on this idea that I’m stuck, or if you’re listening, instead of focusing on the idea that YOU are stuck… what if we stop fighting reality of what is, and accept that we are OK right now, just the way you and I are?

What if we change the Story in our head, or, the narrative, from “I’m not far enough along” to “I’m enough right where I am”??

What if instead of “I’m not far enough along,” I say “I’m learning and in the process, and I’m becoming exactly who I dream of being”??

As I was writing this letter, I found my intuition asking me if I was really stuck. I want to share this with you because I feel like it may be helpful for someone out there. Here’s what I wrote:

“There’s wisdom in staying put. In being OK with what is, right this moment. You want more time. The only fear based statement here is the false belief that things will not work out for you. Let that go. Your son is only going to be 7 once, and you want more time with him. This time you have now, it is a blessing.

About your business, there’s only one you. That’s the thing to focus on, and the thing to sell the shit out of. Because there is only one you and your services are valuable. You absolutely won’t find another client you love if you don’t put yourself out there. And there is wisdom in slowing down and letting this time be what it is.”

Here ere are four other ways to get unstuck.

1. Journal it out
Two Questions to Journal On:
So I’ll put that question back out to you. What is the truth of this time for you?
If you are feeling stuck, is it true that you are actually stuck?

2. Have Faith that you are just where you should be, right this second.
One of my mentors, Sister Michelle, used to teach us that “the right people will come, at the right moment, and with the right information.”
What happens if you shift how you view your current situation, and have the faith in the truth that things are happening, at the right time?

3. Do ‘The Work’
One of my favorite ways to work through what Byron Katie calls “painful thoughts” is to go through the steps of doing “The Work.” When you think of the thing or situation that is making you feel stuck, stop and ask yourself:
is it true?
And then you ask, is it really true?
Who am I when I believe this thought?
Who would I be without this thought?
You can learn more about this one at Byron Katie’s site.

4. Take Action and Turn up the Crossfade
Action is the quickest and most direct way to get unstuck. While you may currently be feeling stuck, I’m betting you have taken some steps, somewhere along the way, to start working towards your dream (or business, or personal growth).

One of my past guests, Matt Wood - a sound engineer for Skywalker sound, talked about how having the patience for things is a lot like turning up the cross fade in our life. He explained that the thing that you’re working on starts out at an almost un-perceivable level in your life. You know it’s there but you can’t quite hear it. Then, as time goes on, that thing gets more perceivable in your life. Like music in a cross fade, that thing gets louder, and then you can hear the melody of that thing in your life.
Before long, the crossfade has happened, and whatever dream or thing you’ve been following is now present, really and truly present in your life.

If you want to learn more about this, I have some resources for you:
Want to hear more about Byron Katie? Tune in to Molly Larkin in Episode 10.
More on turning up the crossfade? Matthew Wood in Episode 3.
Discover your accountability type via Gretchen Rubin’s Four Tendencies
Listen to "Loving What Is" by Byron Katie on Audible
A Thousand Words for Joy by Byron Katie on Amazon
Playing Big by Tara Mohr on Amazon
The Work by Byron Katie

Aug 21, 2018

Feeling stuck and like you have no momentum sucks. The truth is you will more than likely feel stuck at some point in your life, whether that be in your business or around personal growth, or at a full time job. I often feel it, and find myself questioning if I’m “on the right path,” even four years into the podcast. This week on the podcast, I’m sharing about how I had an aha moment around “How to get Unstuck.”

At a recent conference, I attended a break-out session entitled “How to get Unstuck in Your Business.” My aha moment did not come from the speakers or the info that was being shared in the room, and it’s something I want to share with you, this week on the show.

I went into that room thinking that to be successful or to be well received or to be on the “right” path that I should be further along than I currently am. That I needed to have it all figured out, and that somehow my current situation wasn’t enough.

And then I started thinking. I like having time with my son, while he’s seven. I like having some space to breathe and to think. I love the clients I work with and I love the work I do.

And while it may seem super simple, or overly obvious, and very zen, I decided to ask my own intuition a few questions, and answer these questions in the form of a letter (you can learn more about it from Jess Lively.)

Instead of focusing on this idea that I’m stuck, or if you’re listening, instead of focusing on the idea that YOU are stuck… what if we stop fighting reality of what is, and accept that we are OK right now, just the way you and I are?

What if we change the Story in our head, or, the narrative, from “I’m not far enough along” to “I’m enough right where I am”??

What if instead of “I’m not far enough along,” I say “I’m learning and in the process, and I’m becoming exactly who I dream of being”??

As I was writing this letter, I found my intuition asking me if I was really stuck. I want to share this with you because I feel like it may be helpful for someone out there. Here’s what I wrote:

“There’s wisdom in staying put. In being OK with what is, right this moment. You want more time. The only fear based statement here is the false belief that things will not work out for you. Let that go. Your son is only going to be 7 once, and you want more time with him. This time you have now, it is a blessing.

About your business, there’s only one you. That’s the thing to focus on, and the thing to sell the shit out of. Because there is only one you and your services are valuable. You absolutely won’t find another client you love if you don’t put yourself out there. And there is wisdom in slowing down and letting this time be what it is.”

Here ere are four other ways to get unstuck.

1. Journal it out
Two Questions to Journal On:
So I’ll put that question back out to you. What is the truth of this time for you?
If you are feeling stuck, is it true that you are actually stuck?

2. Have Faith that you are just where you should be, right this second.
One of my mentors, Sister Michelle, used to teach us that “the right people will come, at the right moment, and with the right information.”
What happens if you shift how you view your current situation, and have the faith in the truth that things are happening, at the right time?

3. Do ‘The Work’
One of my favorite ways to work through what Byron Katie calls “painful thoughts” is to go through the steps of doing “The Work.” When you think of the thing or situation that is making you feel stuck, stop and ask yourself:
is it true?
And then you ask, is it really true?
Who am I when I believe this thought?
Who would I be without this thought?
You can learn more about this one at Byron Katie’s site.

4. Take Action and Turn up the Crossfade
Action is the quickest and most direct way to get unstuck. While you may currently be feeling stuck, I’m betting you have taken some steps, somewhere along the way, to start working towards your dream (or business, or personal growth).

One of my past guests, Matt Wood - a sound engineer for Skywalker sound, talked about how having the patience for things is a lot like turning up the cross fade in our life. He explained that the thing that you’re working on starts out at an almost un-perceivable level in your life. You know it’s there but you can’t quite hear it. Then, as time goes on, that thing gets more perceivable in your life. Like music in a cross fade, that thing gets louder, and then you can hear the melody of that thing in your life.
Before long, the crossfade has happened, and whatever dream or thing you’ve been following is now present, really and truly present in your life.

If you want to learn more about this, I have some resources for you:
Want to hear more about Byron Katie? Tune in to Molly Larkin in Episode 10.
More on turning up the crossfade? Matthew Wood in Episode 3.
Discover your accountability type via Gretchen Rubin’s Four Tendencies
Listen to "Loving What Is" by Byron Katie on Audible
A Thousand Words for Joy by Byron Katie on Amazon
Playing Big by Tara Mohr on Amazon
The Work by Byron Katie

Aug 14, 2018

In this week's solocast, I'm sharing about the profound impact the book "Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less" by Greg Mckeown has had on my life. As a project manager and a life coach, I love that this book is both pragmatic on one level, and very philosophical and inspirational on the other. The two key areas that I focus on in this week's show are:

  1. Doing less, but better - doing the essential few instead of the trivial many
  2. Building in room for down time

I'm sharing about how I've been focusing on doing less, but better, and focusing on the essential few instead of the trivial many.

Resources

Purchase "Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less" by Greg Mckeown on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2MkaQRy

Greg McKeown’s speech at Google Talks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQKrt1-IDaE

Logan Nickleson in Episode 27 and “Creative Minimalism”: http://jumpstartyourjoy.com/2016/03/episode-27-logan-nickleson-on-creating-music-for-makers/

Michelle Ward on the Friendpreneur Series in Episode on “Right Sizing the Effort”: http://jumpstartyourjoy.com/2018/04/michelle-ward-ten-years-entrepreneur/

 

Aug 8, 2018

As the host of Mom is in Control, and the amazing “Dying to be a Good Mother” Tedtalk, I’m thrilled to have Heather Chauvin joining me this week to talk all about abundance, ambition, time management, and how she found her way to a career she loves after being diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. Heather is a true inspiration, and I’m delighted to feature her as the last guest for Season 3.

In this episode, Heather and I talk about:

  • Her path from working as a social worker to becoming a coach
  • How researching mindfulness and meditation for her son impacted her life
  • Living as an introvert disguised as an extrovert
  • Working with parents who feel overwhelmed and without resources
  • How to get in touch with your core desired feelings, and why you need to
  • How to make a plan and take action on how you want to feel in your life
  • Parenting from the green zone
  • Being a flexible parent
  • Her podcast, Mom is in Control
  • How to jump start your joy: giving back and being in service to others, Asking what you want, what you crave, and what you desire

Resources

Heather Chauvin’s podcast: Mom is in Control
Heather’s website
Time Freedom Challenge – Heather’s freebie mastery program
The Magnolia Story by Chip and Joanna Gaines on Amazon
Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert on Amazon

Jul 31, 2018

As someone who has always been drawn to a myriad of interests and passions, you probably already know that I self-identify as a “multi-passionate” or “multi-potentialite” - which simply means that I’m the kind of person who is drawn to a myriad of interests and have a hard time narrowing down my interests and my career into just one thing. It’s a topic that comes up often on the show, and this week on the show I’m sharing all about the power of owning your expertise as a multi-potentialite.

The term multi-potentialite (or multipassionate, or scanner, or renaissance soul), is one that describes anyone who has more than one interest and has a hard time choosing to do “just one thing” with their life or career. Many creative entrepreneurs can relate to this trait - if you’re curious about many things, if you enjoy dabbling in many disparate topics, and if you find yourself picking up a lot of new hobbies / interests and moving along from them after a short amount of time, you are likely a multi-potentialite.

It’s a wonderful thing to be, really. It means you’re a quick study. You synthesize the various disparate things you have spent time learning about in new ways. You often approach life and the world with a beginner’s mind, seeing yourself as a life long learner, instead of someone who sees themselves as a narrowly defined expert. Things stay fresh and new to “multipods,” and you probably see things in a very different way than those around you who are specialists.

What about being an expert?
One of the key things that comes up for multipotentialites is that with all of the going from topic to topic, it can also be hard to see yourself as an expert. At least in today’s society, experts are often labeled as such because of their long, linear path of study. Our schools teach us to be specialists, they’re even set up to have a clear linear path from one topic to the next, which generally yields someone in the workforce who is a specialist in a single area.

Multipotentialites can also be experts, although the definition of your expertise might require that you look at what it means to be an expert in a slightly different way. If you look back at the many things you’ve dabbled in, whether that be in your career, or in your hobbies and interests, you’ll likely start to see a pattern emerge. It might be that you are good with organizing people, or inventing things, or that you are an excellent project manager because you have the ability to be a quick study.

For multipotentialites, our expertise lies in the abilities we’ve developed to be interested in many things. While the interests might not seem to have a common thread, if you dig a bit deeper, I’m betting you will recognize it in your own work and interests.

Name your “human job description”
In addition to knowing your multipotentialite super powers, it’s also really important to be able to name your own human job description.

  1. Create the “obvious” description for yourself: I’m a _____ who ______. What's your day job,or your current title? Example: I'm a project manager who leads projects in digital marketing.
  2. Dig a little deeper. What does your multipotentialite skill set and super powers from the worksheet above say about you? Who is the true you?
    When I dig deeper, I’m a ________ who helps others to ______________.
    Example: I'm a joyful human connector who helps people see the parts of themselves they may have forgotten along the way.

Resources
Past episodes with Emilie Wapnick
Violeta Nedkova on Jump Start Your Joy

Jul 24, 2018

This week on the show, I’m excited to be talking about taking messy action with Christine Blubaugh. Christine is a copywriter from Ohio, who has had a very interesting path. She works with entrepreneurs to help other people in being objective about themselves, and craft copy that represents their offerings to the world.

Having been a health coach, and food blogger for many years (along with a personal chef), Christine had a realization that this was not her true calling. She was well established in her role, and found herself saying “this health and wellness thing isn’t a thing anymore. I don’t know what I’ll do with myself if I don’t do this.”

I find this so very relatable, and it probably is for many of you, as well. I have found that many clients spend a fair amount of time establishing themselves in a career, and after awhile they are tired of that industry. Or they find that a role they once loved doesn’t fit them as well as it once had. And here’s where I see the frustration or confusion arise: when your identity is wrapped up in that role, it’s hard to visualize yourself elsewhere, doing anything else.

In the face of feeling stuck, Christine made the decision to leave health coaching. Of that decision, she reflects “I had to just let go and practice just being.” And that is when she got her first client as a copywriter. A friend asked for input about some headlines, and over a text conversation, Christine shared some ideas. It lead to that person being her first client.

Joy comes from taking action, and being open to the unexpected
And that is what I love about this conversation. Christine didn’t know what was next when she left her role in health and wellness. She moved back to Ohio from the West Coast. She took a chance on it all working out, and it did. She opened herself up to the unexpected, and took what she calls “messy action” to figure out what was next. Instead of getting wrapped up in the notion that maybe she had to have “it all figured out” before taking a next step, she jumped in and started trying new things.

In this episode, Christine Blubaugh and I talk about:

  • Her shift from being a health and wellness coach and blogger to becoming a copywriter
  • Where people often get stuck in trying to write their own copy about themselves for a website
  • Finding your way when you are no longer as excited about doing a job as you were when you started out
  • How “messy action” brings results and helps get you to something new
  • That relationships are at the heart of business, and why we can’t rely on going it solo
  • How to get in touch with your authentic voice to make copywriting a conversation with your ideal client
  • How do deal with resistance
  • How to jump start your joy: Slow down, start the day doing something joyful, and taking time to move each day
Jul 24, 2018

This week on the show, I’m excited to be talking about taking messy action with Christine Blubaugh. Christine is a copywriter from Ohio, who has had a very interesting path. She works with entrepreneurs to help other people in being objective about themselves, and craft copy that represents their offerings to the world.

Having been a health coach, and food blogger for many years (along with a personal chef), Christine had a realization that this was not her true calling. She was well established in her role, and found herself saying “this health and wellness thing isn’t a thing anymore. I don’t know what I’ll do with myself if I don’t do this.”

I find this so very relatable, and it probably is for many of you, as well. I have found that many clients spend a fair amount of time establishing themselves in a career, and after awhile they are tired of that industry. Or they find that a role they once loved doesn’t fit them as well as it once had. And here’s where I see the frustration or confusion arise: when your identity is wrapped up in that role, it’s hard to visualize yourself elsewhere, doing anything else.

In the face of feeling stuck, Christine made the decision to leave health coaching. Of that decision, she reflects “I had to just let go and practice just being.” And that is when she got her first client as a copywriter. A friend asked for input about some headlines, and over a text conversation, Christine shared some ideas. It lead to that person being her first client.

Joy comes from taking action, and being open to the unexpected
And that is what I love about this conversation. Christine didn’t know what was next when she left her role in health and wellness. She moved back to Ohio from the West Coast. She took a chance on it all working out, and it did. She opened herself up to the unexpected, and took what she calls “messy action” to figure out what was next. Instead of getting wrapped up in the notion that maybe she had to have “it all figured out” before taking a next step, she jumped in and started trying new things.

In this episode, Christine Blubaugh and I talk about:

  • Her shift from being a health and wellness coach and blogger to becoming a copywriter
  • Where people often get stuck in trying to write their own copy about themselves for a website
  • Finding your way when you are no longer as excited about doing a job as you were when you started out
  • How “messy action” brings results and helps get you to something new
  • That relationships are at the heart of business, and why we can’t rely on going it solo
  • How to get in touch with your authentic voice to make copywriting a conversation with your ideal client
  • How do deal with resistance
  • How to jump start your joy: Slow down, start the day doing something joyful, and taking time to move each day
Jul 17, 2018

This week on the podcast, I’m sharing one of my favorite topics, 8 great reasons to start a podcast. While this episode is a solocast, I’ve shared this information in various other formats: webinars, as a guest instructor in other courses, and in my own podcasting class, Jump Start Your Podcast. And, I think it’s a great perspective for anyone who is considering starting your own show, especially if you are a a service provider of any type (coach, doctor, VA, or someone who works supporting others).

I’ve found that there are a handful of reasons that you should start a podcast if you are considering it. Here are the top eight reasons you should start a podcast.

1. It Helps You Get Super Clear on Your Niche
Laying the groundwork for the show goes hand in hand with defining the nature of the show, and the topic that you want to spend (a lot of) time with. In marketing speak, the topic needs to be “campaign-able,” meaning it should be something that is vast enough for you to spend time exploring, but narrow enough that the audience understands what the container is for it.

For you to start a show, you’ll want to spend time with that niche. What is it?
What do people interested in that niche want to hear more about?
How can you serve the population that is interested in that niche?
And, what is the crossover between your WORK and how you can provide service to that group of people?

2. Find and/or Develop Your Online Voice
For many, it is much easier to ease into their “voice” when they are actually speaking (as opposed to writing.) It’s a natural way of communicating, and it’s easy to use it. I find that many of us who are service providers are an excellent fit for being a podcast host because you and I are working in a field where interacting with others is part of what we are already comfortable doing.

A few other considerations around becoming a podcaster:
One thing I like to ask people when they are considering a podcast is “Are you an ‘external processor’?”.
(Do you like to work through things verbally, with another person? Do you “talk it out” as opposed to thinking it through on your own?)

Have you enjoyed doing drama or speaking in the past? (in some ways this is much easier as you don’t see your audience).

For me, I found my true voice and comfort with being on air several months in. I could feel myself easing in to my personality with guests, and then it extended in to my doing what I call solocasts. The interesting thing to me is that I also use that voice now in blogging, and in writing my weekly newsletter.

3. Become More Confident in Your Speaking & Presenting
Once you’ve edited yourself a couple of times, you’ll be very aware of your verbal tics and catch yourself doing them, You’ll hear the “ums” and “ahhhhs,” and notice your speech patterns. And once you notice those things, you’ll also start self-editing as you speak.

The other confidence building aspect of being a podcaster is that pitching and interviewing VIPs is life changing & a huge confidence booster. After having a big name person in whatever industry you’re in say yes, and then actually having a full conversation with them? Your confidence will increase in your art, and in what you do.

If you are in a field like coaching or consulting, you’ll notice that you are more in tune with how you say things and become a better active listener.

4. Up Your “Know, Trust, Like” Factor with Potential Clients
Podcasting offers a way for potential clients to “get to know you” by listening in on conversations and hearing your point of view on topics. I know many podcast listeners who say they feel that they know a podcaster. They listen to them in the car, while gardening, while cooking or doing other work around the home. These are spaces and places that are personal to the listener. And, there’s no other media that invites and allows a person (like you, the host), into a person’s routine the way that podcasting does, because podcasting is “portable.”

5. Marketing Stops Being “Icky”
Before I started a podcast, I will admit that I found marketing to be kind of “icky.” It didn’t feel natural, and it often felt forced.

Here’s the cool thing about podcasts. Once your show is live, it provides weekly inspiration of stories you’re excited to share across social media. You have something you want to talk about and share, and it comes from a place of authentic excitement. Add to it that similar to having guest posts on your blog or site, guests are excited to share their conversation with you.

All of that points to marketing, and reaching new potential clients, in a way that is organic and feels natural. It’s exciting when the ick factor is gone.

6. Expand Your Skillset As You Interview Experts
If you have an interview show, you will be lining up conversations with experts and learning more about the field they represent by:

  • Researching and reading their work
  • Getting answers directly from them based on the questions you create
  • Interacting with others about the material

This adds to your continuing education on a topic, and allows you to share what you learn with others. You’ll also find that when you expand your knowledge in your show, you’ll have new things to share with your client base.

7. You Have an Important Message to Share with the World
As a service based business owner or blogger, you’re likely already focused on a mission. You’ve discovered your “Why” and want to share it with the world, and make an impact. Podcasting offers you a platform to share this, and leave a mark, and find other like minded individuals that also share your point of view.

8. Naturally Grow Your Network
In addition to learning with each guest, you also make several kinds of connections:
Professional connections with other experts in your field (or your podcast’s area of focus) allows the following things to happen:

  • Listeners find you based on the topic you cover
  • You get to know other podcasters, either because you are next to them each week on the charts, or because you join a networking group with them
  • Make friends: I’ve become friends with guests, and other podcasters
  • Introduce you to people with whom you may want to create other collaborative projects with - such as classes, business ventures, or other things that fit your shared interests
  • Find new clients for your business

Already in the midst of creating a show? You’ll get a free month of hosting from Liberated Syndication (Libsyn), using my (affiliate) code: JOY.

Jul 10, 2018

This week, I’m thrilled to be speaking to Violeta Nedkova on how to embrace the life of a creative rebel. Violeta is a coach and a creative rebel who believes you can stop following everyone else’s rules, be your own boss, and do things your own way … and make a living doing it. She offers courses, coaching, and classes for creative rebels at her website, www.violetanedkova.com.

Living in Bulgaria, Violeta and I met during the 2018 Multipassionate Must-Haves, where we were both participants. I could tell by visiting her site that we’d get along famously, and I’m thrilled to have her on the show this week. I think you’ll love her rebel attitude, and the fact that she truly embraces the ideology that there are no rules in building a business.

How it fits in to the tenets of joy: Action

Violeta and I talk a lot about what it means to be a creative multipassionate entrepreneur. Many of us get stuck as we try to narrow down what to focus on, and how to make that into a business. It’s not easy, especially when you have so many interests, to narrow them down.

“If you’re a multi-passionate,” says Violeta about marketing, “How can you niche down? Go with an umbrella brand.”

What she recommends is to see your business and your life as a puzzle, and approach both as if you are collecting the pieces. The key here is action. Look for the next piece of the puzzle, follow the nudges you have to find what interests you, and give yourself the space and permission to build the picture as you go. Our conversation takes a very interesting turn near the end, when we talk about how resistance and exploring the things that piss us off can both be a way to get in touch with the things that matter, and the things we want to change or work on in the world.

Violeta Nedkova and I talk about:

  • Why most creative types resonate with rebellion
  • How creativity is an act of rebellion itself
  • Violeta’s path to becoming a creative coach for rebels
  • What it looks like to strive for “enough” for yourself, instead of making someone else’s ideal your goal
  • Creating a brand that encompasses all of your ideas as an entrepreneur
  • Looking at life and your work as a puzzle, one that we are collecting the pieces of to discover our larger picture and purpose
  • The role of resistance and discomfort, and how that can help create focus, or distract from, the creative process
  • Her earliest sparks of joy: playing with fairies, making up games, and stories
  • How to jump start your joy: gratitude, doing something just for you, and doing things her own way

Resources
Violeta Nedkova’s website
Violeta Nedkova’s podcast: Rebel Reset

Jul 3, 2018

This week’s episode is a lookback lesson with Andrea Owen on "How to Stop Feeling Like Shit." This episode originally aired earlier this year, when her second book came out. Andrea Owen is an author, mentor, and certified life coach who helps high-achieving women let go of perfectionism, control, and isolation and choose courage and confidence instead. She has helped thousands of women manage their inner-critic to create loving connections and live their most kick-ass life.

I loved this episode because Andrea and I talk about people pleasing, perfecting, approving and performing, and our experience with all of them. What I love is that near the end of this interview, we talk about the myth of having to “be strong” as women, and how that can be both a habit and burden that is not necessarily serving us.

We also talk about:

  • How to Stop Feeling Like Shit (her new book)
  • Andrea studying with Brene Brown in 2014 and how that influenced her life and this book
  • how the armor we build up works, until it doesn’t, and what happens next
  • boundaries and how to set them
  • the cycle of pleasing, perfecting, approving, performing
  • how women (and all people) avoid shame, and why we do it
  • the 14 common behaviors that we all do when things get hard in life, and why they aren’t serving us
  • how feeling and acknowledging the pain in our lives opens us up to more joy
  • Andrea’s earliest memories of joy
  • how she will be “stepping up and stepping forward” this year
  • Andrea’s thoughts on how to jumpstart your joy: make room for creativity

Resources:
How to Stop Feeling Like Shit by Andrea Owen (on Amazon)
52 Ways to Live a KickAss Life by Andrea Owen (on Amazon) – her first book
Your Kickass Life – Andrea’s website
The Big Leap: Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Life to the Next Level by Gay Hendricks (on Amazon)

Jun 26, 2018

Jill Stanton of Screw the 9 to 5 is my guest this week on the podcast. She’s a true force to be reckoned with in the online lifestyle entrepreneur space, and I’m really excited to be speaking with her about how she has created a lively, exciting brand and community that’s built from an authentic and interesting space. Having started in 2012 with an affiliate skincare site, and changed and shifted the focus and approach of her business, Jill and her now husband Josh, have grown their business into a full time gig with a team. And now, with their new son, Kai here, they are looking at how they shift their business again to include time and space for a child.

 

Jill and I have a very fun, fast paced discussion about how she has evolved her online business over the past 6 years. She started in the beauty and skincare business, and met her husband Josh who was using social media to support venues while he was a bartender. The two joined forces, and took their collective knowledge to create the business “Screw the 9 to 5,” which started as a dream on a beach in Thailand.

Jill has a lot to share about HOW to start an online business, and what helps move the needle.

In general, the mindset pieces she shares are:

  • Don’t overcomplicate it
  • Start imperfectly; you don’t need everything all in order to begin
  • Focus on making connections with people who are in the same area and niche as you are, and help each other
  • Notice the difference between the “employee” and the entrepreneur mindset
  • Don’t be afraid to do things your way
  • Learn to be comfortable with the uncomfortable

Some of the more tactical steps she sites are

  • Grow your traffic by getting on other people’s platforms through interviews, guest posts, etc
  • Be active in Facebook groups about your area of expertise
  • You only need a very few things to start: a site, an email optin, and a social media profile
  • Create a runway for yourself by building up a business with 80% of your income
  • Build traffic and take visibility seriously

Jill also shares about how having a child changes things:

  • It means you prioritize the things that move the needle
  • She and her husband set aside Fridays for family time
  • You may hire people to cover roles
  • Don’t mess around with things in your business that are working and don’t need to be tweaked
  • Hire people offline to support your family, if you can a cleaner, nanny, order groceries, etc
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