Pivot with Jenny Blake

“The effort to try to feel happy is often precisely the thing that makes us miserable. It is our constant efforts to eliminate the negative — insecurity, uncertainty, failure, or sadness — that causes us to feel so insecure, anxious, uncertain, or unhappy.”—Oliver Burkeman, The Antidote

I read Oliver Burkeman’s The Antidote a few years after it came out, and it quickly ascended to the top of my all-time favorite books list. At one point during the most intense part of my tumultuous pivot year, I gave up on trying to be happy and focused on equanimity instead. Ah, the sweet relief! I no longer felt the self-imposed pressure to meet some benchmark of bliss every day, and instead surrendered into how I was really feeling: sad, confused, and tired.

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“To have something (a finished recording, a business, or millions of dollars) is the means, not the end. To be something (a good singer, a skilled entrepreneur, or just plain happy) is the real point. When you sign up to run a marathon, you don’t want a taxi to take you to the finish line.”—Derek Sivers, Ask Me Anything

My dad started a band called Mr. Gasoline that he ran for 25 years, and recalls uploading his Mr. Gasoline albums to CD Baby “back when Derek was still sleeping on a couch in the office.” I smiled when I heard that story—Derek’s dedication and humility are two of the traits I most admire about him, and what compelled me to follow his work more closely and start my own /now page. 

In his recently released book, Anything You Want, he shares the story and mindset behind the rise of his smashingly successful CD Baby venture, and the tough years leading up to his exit. What first attracted me to Derek was not that he built a $22 million business—but that when he sold the company, he gave all the proceeds to a charitable trust. Who does that? Someone who defines success on their own terms. 

📝 Check out full show notes and links from this episode and share it with a friend! http://itsfreetime.com/episodes/22

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Happy New Year Everyone!! Greetings from Tulum, Mexico where I’m taking a (solo) week of R&R with yoga, reading, and hanging out by the ocean. Gotta get myself prepped to head back to snowy NYC! 

I am also celebrating (and decompressing from!) ten years of running Life After College, and turning in the final draft of Pivot mid-December. After 14+ months of working on the manuscript, we are now moving on to a final copy edit and page layout this month. Read more and get my latest book and tool recommendations in my twice monthly behind-the-business newsletter. 

📝 Check out full show notes and links from this episode and share it with a friend! http://itsfreetime.com/episodes/21

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It’s the final countdown! Time to wrap-up the final days of 2015 then dream-and-scheme for what’s to come. I don’t set New Years Resolutions, but I do choose a theme for the year, do fun mind-mapping exercises, set quarterly targets, and hold myself accountable with mastermind groups.

In today’s final Pivot Podcast of the year, I share practical tips to help you set a 2016 strategy by doubling-down on what’s working, and setting up small experiments to test what’s next. AKA, the Pivot Method!

A quick favor: I can’t believe this is episode 15 already! If you have gotten value from the episodes so far, I would be very grateful for a rating and/or review in these early days of getting it off the ground. Thank you in advance! One of my top goals in 2016 is to continue bringing you awesome content, experts and ideas.  

📝 Check out full show notes and links from this episode and share it with a friend! http://itsfreetime.com/episodes/20

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