Courage & Clarity

This week I'm so excited to bring you a different & special version of the Courage & Clarity podcast! 

Today, you're hearing the audio from my first ever Facebook LIVE podcast. 

Verdict? It was so fun to be live with you guys!

Not only did my energy feel much higher (can you tell?), but I absolutely loved interacting with many of you during the recording.

I received lots of awesome comments and questions for that -- I can't thank you enough for that! 

This episode's topic was inspired by Fizzle community member Sinead N. She started an epic conversation in our forums, and after reading through the discussion & participating myself I knew I had to take it deeper with you. 

Here's Sinead's question: 

Do you feel alienated when people tell you that if you truly loved and believed in something, you'd get the work done? Does it make you second guess yourself and your ideas or business?

I'm dissecting this extremely relevant question in 6 parts: 

• Breaking down what the question is really asking
• The big fear running in the background here, without us realizing it (and what to do!)
• Why we sabotage our progress on projects, even if we REALLY love them 
• The incredible power of celebrating wins 
• Answering the question, "but how hard do I push?"
• How to start small (and be genuinely okay with the progress)

SHOW NOTES:

• Episodes with Jessica Eley 
• Big Magic
• Jess Lively 
• Eat Within Your Means 
• Fizzle - Grab 5 weeks for free!

Welcome to another week of incredible interviews on Courage & Clarity! 

Jessica Eley is a mindset coach for high achievers who helps people figure out how to get their heads in the right space to achieve the success they want in their lives.  

In this courage episode she tells us how she went from a mega high achiever who finished college early while working full time and planning a wedding, to hitting a breaking point and calling a major timeout.

She quit her corporate job spontaneously after putting 5 years in, and within two weeks she replaced her corporate income. 

In this episode we talk about how Jessica realized she didn’t need to become a guru overnight in order to make real money as an entrepreneur just using the talents she already had. 

She’ll also tell us what we need to do to STOP our fears from holding us back, and why Jessica considers herself “anti positivity moment”. 

In this Courage episode, you'll hear: 

• What happened when Jessica spontaneously quit her corporate job after 5 years with zero plan (hint: it involves replacing her income in two weeks) 
• What to do if you feel like you wish you had a teleporter to your future successful self
• Why the whole "positivity movement" might actually be holding us back 
• Exactly what to do if your fears are paralyzing you & preventing action 
• An important wake-up call about what's on your vision board right now 

SHOW NOTES:

• Jessica's website
• Abagail & Emylee 
• Smart Passive Income with Pat Flynn 
• Fizzle - get 5 weeks free! 

Welcome to this week's Clarity episode featuring Jessica Eley, a mindset coach who knows a whole lot about money.

In this conversation we’re digging deeper into how Jessica was able to replace her corporate income in TWO WEEKS without much of a game plan. 

She tells us there are two different types of money, and we need to focus on earning each one at different times. So depending on where we are in our journey, that’s going to dictate which to focus on. 

She’s going to tell us how she originally earned her living as a copywriter when she quit her corporate job, without really intending for that to happen. Ultimately she switched to coaching, and she’ll share how to transition from survival mode to dream biz mode. 

In this Clarity episode, you'll hear: 

• Two differing approaches to money -- how & when to generate real money using each strategy 
• Exactly how Jessica managed to replace her corporate income in 2 weeks after she quit her job with zero plan 
• How to earn a living doing work you find fun & purposeful 
• How you can start earning money and figure out what you want to be doing with your life at the same exact time 
• Values, priorities & vision, and what questions to ask to discover yours

SHOW NOTES:

• Jessica's website
• Lewis Howes
• Christina Scalera 
• Fizzle - try 5 weeks free

Okay friends, buckle up & grab your cup of coffee (orrrrr somethin' stronger) -- today it's getting real. 

I'm talking about the worst feedback I've gotten about this podcast so far. And guys, I won't lie -- that sh*t hurts!

So when you have a podcast, this thing happens where you notice you've got a new iTunes review. You think, oh my gosh, another review! I can't wait to read it....

So I raced over to iTunes... but in this particular case, what I found made my stomach drop. 

It wasn't positive. It wasn't flattering. In fact, it was anything but. And damn it, it did NOT make me feel good. 

My initial reaction was to point fingers, call names, blame others, turn my feelings off and mark this firmly under the heading of "haters gonna hate". 

But I couldn't stop thinking about it, so I started talking to my inner circle about it. 

I realized no one is talking about this. At least, not in the specific "I'm not afraid to read my negative review on a podcast" sort of way. 

I want to bring this to light so we can learn from it. So today, I am doing just that.

Today, I am reading the worst review I've ever received on the podcast airwaves for you. 

Not because I need you to reassure me (though y'all are sweet, and I love you!) Not because I need to prove anything. 

I'm doing it because: 1. You've been here and you need solidarity or 2. You haven't been here yet but you are terrified of the dreaded negative feedback. 

So, in this podcast you'll hear: 

• Me reading, word for word, the worst review I've received so far. Ouch. 
• How to decipher mean feedback from negative (or constructive) criticism 
• 3 strategies for dealing with negative feedback, and growing from it! 
• How to re-frame feedback & turn it into momentum, even when it freakin' hurts 
• Why I'm not subscribing to the "haters gonna hate!" mentality, even though I reeeeally want to sometimes!

*And hey, by the way? About 40 of you have left seriously amazing iTunes reviews -- and many more of you have reached out via email, Instagram, Facebook & more. This one negative review doesn't take any of that away. I love y'all more than you will EVER know. 

Welcome to Part Two of my conversation with Ashlyn Carter, a sharp & sweet conversion copywriter for creative entrepreneurs! 

This might just be one of the most info-packed Clarity episodes to date. Ashlyn & I couldn't decide between two awesome topics, so we decided to give it all! 

If you struggle to figure out how to craft your message in a way that truly lures people in, I think this episode will be perfect for you. 

The truth is, there's no magic bullet to copywriting. There's no voo doo formula here. This is about really listening and paying attention to the market, simplifying your message, and crafting your copy in a way that truly resonates. 

In this Clarity episode, you'll learn:

• The concept of customer led copy, and how great copy is assembled instead of created out of thin air
• How to leverage the words on your website in a way that actually gets you PAID
• How to "coach the conversion" -- aka, the 5 steps your audience needs to walk through to go from new follower to paying customer 
• 7 little known secrets to copywriting that will make all the difference in your business 

SHOW NOTES: 

• Writing Copy for the Web: A Guide for Copywriting 
• Ask by Ryan Levesque
• Ray Edwards
• Breakthrough Advertising by Eugene Schwartz
• Jab Jab Jab Right Hook by Gary Vaynerchuk 
• Start a Blog That Matters -- 5 weeks free at Fizzle
• Grammarly 

This week I'm excited to share two fabulous conversations with Ashlyn Carter, conversion copywriter for creative entrepreneurs! 

Soon after meeting Ashlyn, I learned she's played a major part in some huge launches around the internet, including some names you might have heard before such as Jenna Kutcher, Heather Crabtree and Hilary Rushford. 

While Ashlyn now runs a thriving business, it wasn't always this way. In today's Courage story, she bravely shares how she went from sleeping with her phone under pillow as an ever-striving Public Relations professional to recognizing her mental health had been shuffled to the backburner in a major way. 

Ashlyn was hospitalized for a full blown eating disorder and generalized anxiety, and after dealing with frustration and feeling lost, she knew a change was on the horizon. 

In today's Courage story, you'll learn: 

• Ashlyn's rocky road to entrepreneurship, including why she had to hit "pause" on her life while she was hospitalized for two months 
• How she challenged her career mindset and decided to forge a completely new path after a successful, striving-based PR career 
• How she got started as a copywriter
• The BIG thing she did to accelerate her business and become the "go to girl" for launch copywriting in her industry in just one month 

SHOW NOTES:

• Ashlyn's website
• Jenna Kutcher 
• Fizzle - grab 5 weeks for free!

Season 3 of the podcast is HERE! I'm so excited to bring you yet another series of mind-blowing interviews with some of the most inspiring and savvy minds the internet has to offer.

With me today I have Reina Pomeroy, a life and biz success coach who emphasizes heart based business. She helps people pinpoint what's most important to them so they can become the go-to expert in their industry.

Reina has become a great internet friend of mine ever since I was interviewed on her podcast, Creative Empire, which she runs with Christina Scalera who you heard from back in Season 1.

Reina has a big heart, she's really fun to talk to, she's incredibly relatable and I really think you're going to enjoy this COURAGE story where she tells us all about her winding path to what she does today.

We're talking about: 

• How Reina felt her identity as an outgoing creative was ripped from her when she was a new mama trying to juggle work 
• how to discover your values -- the things you must have to make you happy -- and find work that honors them instead of compromising 
• How to step back from your current reality enough to see your situation clearly 
• The value of a "bridge job" and some criteria for finding the right one for you
• Why jumping straight to results and answers right away might not be the best strategy when it comes to finding your path 

SHOW NOTES:

• Reina's website 
• Fizzle - get 5 weeks free
• Powersheets by Lara Casey 

Welcome to the second conversation I'm having with Reina Pomeroy, the life and biz success coach behind Reina & Co who emphasizes heart based business. She helps people pinpoint what's most important to them so they can become the go-to expert in their industry.

We're diving deep into Reina's area of expertise, which is visibility -- aka, how to show people you actually exist, and be known as a go-to expert in your industry.

In this episode Reina is going to teach us two of her signature strategies -- she'll tell us about her Social Glue Coffee Chats, as well as how she implements verticals in her business to dictate what she's really about and provide value around those subjects.

Reina's teaching us: 

• How to figure out what you want to be known for 
• One simple and powerful tactic you can use today to start making a name for yourself (all you need are the email addresses of your family & friends) 
• How to make your business idea jump out at you
• Handling "cliquey vibes" in Facebook groups or other places you might be hanging out  
• The concept of verticals in our businesses and how we can use them to plan content and show up as professionals 

“You don’t need all the fancy schmancy stuff in order to do visibility well.” 

“When you are very clear about what you do, the competition doesn’t exist.” 

SHOW NOTES: 

• Customer Conversations (get 5 weeks free at Fizzle)
• Savvy Business Owners group
• Powersheets group
• Social Glue: Reina's free resource
• Verticals: Reina's free resource 

And just like that, we're wrapping up the Meaningful Work Series! Today I'm excited to share Part 3 of 3. If you missed the first parts of the series, go here: How to Make a Living Doing Something You Actually Like & Vision: 5 Steps to Design Your Life Instead of Living By Default. 

So far in the series, we've gone deep on vision and the importance of understanding exactly where you want to go. But even the best-crafted vision can't answer the big question... 

How the heck do we get there? 

WE NEED A PROCESS. 

Process is the Clarity component of our meaningful work equation. Having a process means we know the exact steps we need to take, we're equipped with the tools we need to move forward and we know how to measure our success. 

That all sounds great, I know. But I'll give you the bad news first... 

There are going to obstacles. Major ones. They'll obstruct your clarity. They're the pitfalls that keep you from seeing the path in front of you.  

These obstacles so treacherous, they might make you consider giving up on your meaningful work altogether. 

Remember that if this were easy, everyone would be doing it. But they aren't. 

And now for the good news: the most threatening obstacles tend to show up time and time again across ambitious people seeking meaningful work. 

So today, we're diving into the 8 most common obstacles I've noticed in people working towards earning a living doing what they love. If you can bust through these, then clarity can find you -- and that means you'll keep making progress. 

SHOW NOTES: 

• Jess Lively: Quantum Living Quick Guide
• Minimum Viable Income
• Try Fizzle for 5 weeks free (including the roadmap!) 

Part 2 of the Meaningful Work Series is here! If you missed the first episode, here's where to find it: How to Make a Living Doing Something You Actually Like. 

Today we're blowing the doors off of the Courage part of Courage & Clarity. And guys, there is so much I want to share with you about vision...

WE NEED VISION. Strategy, tools & tactics get all the glory, but even the best map in the world can't get you to your destination if you don't know where the heck you're going! 

In this deep-dive into Vision, aka the "Courage" half of Courage & Clarity, we're dissecting 5 parts: 

1. Why we NEED vision & inspiration (psst, it's not all "fluff"!)
2. The dangers of inspiration overload (and how to avoid them)
3. The DNA of Meaningful Work in 4 puzzle pieces 
4. Setting Goals that Don't Suck
5. Using vision to overcome your biggest obstacle: DOUBT

SHOW NOTES: 

• Ep 38 // How to Make a Living Doing Something You Like
• Ep 14 //  A Stress-Free Approach to Getting What You Want
• Essentialism by Greg McKeown 
• Ep 37 & Ep 38 with Clarity on Fire
• Goal Setting Sucks! Here's a New 5-Step Approach