The Perfectionism Project

Ever since I started my blog in August 2013, building a six-figure business has been a dream of mine. Since my business will be crossing the six-figure mark this week, I thought now would be the perfect time to chat through what it feels like to finally be here.

Like most people, I believed that having a six-figure business would mean more happiness, more time and feeling more organised - but this hasn't quite been the case! I'm so grateful for where I am but also wanted to share what can happen mentally when we achieve our big goals.

I hope this episode inspires you to continue goal-setting and reminds you that there's no need to rush because you'll always be on the journey.

In This Episode You'll Learn:

• My exact month-by-month revenue from July 2018 to now
• The biggest misconceptions I had about having a six-figure business
• Why I'm starting to focus on building a team in Brisbane, even though I could work from anywhere in the world
• What 'marketer math' is and why you shouldn't believe all of the revenue figures you read
• The problems I'm facing in my business at the moment
• Why I'm not yet full-time in my business and how I'm planning to make the transition

Featured In The Episode:

• Figure Your Life Out - Join the waitlist here
• Get Out Of Your Own Way - join the waitlist here
• 1:1 Coaching Services
• Episode 58: 5 Signs You're Scared of Success
• Episode 79: The Final Update On My 2018 Impossible Goal + My 2019 Goals

The way you think about money determines how you feel about money and therefore what you do with money. More money doesn't solve money problems (because fear of not having enough turns into fear of losing it). It's an abundant money mindset that solves money problems and I LOVE sharing what I learn as I do the work to create my own.

One of the things I do to create an abundant money mindset is my money mindset routine. This inspired by Kathrin Zenkina's 'Money Mondays' but I've put my own spin on it. I can get a little nerdy with numbers (I do have a finance degree after all) but I've done my best to make this easy to understand! I hope this gives you some inspiration to be more intentional with your finances and a few ideas about what you can do to upgrade your money mindset.

In This Episode You'll Learn:

• How my money mindset routine changed my life
• My exact money mindset routine, step-by-step from start to finish
• Simple journaling exercises that will transform your money mindset
• How I manage my personal finances and stay out of debt
• How I manage my company finances including what I use an accountant for
• The two metrics I track each and every week in my business
• Why I don't recommend creating an 'emergency' account and what to call it instead

Featured In The Episode:

• Figure Your Life Out - Join the waitlist here
• 1:1 Coaching Services
• Manifestation Babe Podcast with Kathrin Zenikna
• Rich Babe Academy
• The Life Coach School Podcast with Brooke Castillo
• For The Love of Money Podcast with Chris Harder
• Abraham Hicks/Esther Hicks
• Chillpreneur by Denise Duffield-Thomas
• Episode 67: 4 Practical Ways To Transform Your Money Mindset

Being indecisive is costing you more than you realise. It's not just stopping you from creating your dream life - it's also draining you of precious mental energy!

In this episode, I'm sharing why we stay in confusion (even though it's so frustrating) and giving you a practical exercise you can use to create massive amounts of mental clarity today. It's time to start creating the life you deserve.

In This Episode You'll Learn:

• What creates indecision fatigue
• Why indecision and confusion keep us safe
• Why you can never make the 'wrong' decision
• How to use personal rules to reduce indecision fatigue
• Helpful frameworks for decision making (beyond the pros vs cons list)
• A simple exercise you can do today to escape decision fatigue

Featured In The Episode:

• Get Out Of Your Own Way - join the waitlist here
• Figure Your Life Out - join the waitlist here
• 1:1 Coaching Services
• Episode 97: How To Upgrade Your Habits Using Personal Rules
• The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson

I always help my 1:1 coaching clients to uplevel their morning and nighttime routine. How you start and end each day matters, and there's always room for improvement. Even for me!

In a couple of days, I'm taking a group of ambitious women under my wing and teaching them what I teach my 1:1 coaching clients about routines.

If you're interested in joining me for Perfect Your Morning & Nighttime Routine, there's less than 48 hours to sign up. If you do, you'll learn how to bridge the gap between where you are and where you want to be.

Click here to join me and dozens of ambitious women for Perfect Your Morning & Nighttime Routine.

In This Episode You'll Learn:

• How a morning and nighttime routine reduces exhaustion, stress and self-pity
• Why I help me 1:1 coaching clients uplevel their routines
• The surprising way that routines allow you to create self-confidence and self-trust
• Why a consistent morning and nighttime routine will help you bridge the gap between where you are and where you want to be
• How my morning and nighttime routine helped me to quit my full-time job for blogging
• Why I'm teaching ambitious women how to create their perfect routines with my upcoming workshop, Perfect Your Morning & Nighttime Routine

Featured In The Episode:

• Perfect Your Morning & Nighttime Routine - registration closes in less than 48 hours
• Episode 84: How To Escape The Self-Pity Cycle
• Episode 100: The 5 Biggest Mistakes Perfectionists Make When Creating A Growth Mindset

At the beginning of my personal development journey I had some serious resistance around rest. I've always wanted to feel busy. And because of that, I've been experimenting with it for just as long (see this blog post from 2014).

I feel like I'm now in quite a healthy place with rest - i.e. I actually allow myself to do it, without the guilt! I recently had two weeks completely off my business and was able to do so without even a twinge of regret. And my business continued to grow while I was away!

Not only has forced downtime allowed me to create an identity for myself outside of my business but I've become WAY more productive and successful. When I have less time to get shit done I can't be as sloppy with it!

In this episode, I'm sharing why perfectionists hate to rest, how to skyrocket your productivity levels and my own journey with guilt-free downtime.

In This Episode You'll Learn:

• Why you believe that unproductive moment is a moment wasted
• What 'productive procrastination' is and why perfectionists love it
• The unexpected consequences of not allowing yourself to rest
• Why perfectionists self-sabotage with busywork
• How I build guilt-free rest into my busy schedule
• My recommendation for how to ease into rest

Featured In The Episode:

• Episode 84: How To Escape The Self-Pity Cycle
• The 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss
• Episode 39: The 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss
• Episode 99: Personal Growth Update March 2019
• Episode 100: The 5 Biggest Growth Mindset Mistakes Perfectionists Make
• How To Stop Feeling Guilty About Not Studying On Weekends
• Ep #248: Superthinking on The Life Coach School Podcast

Perfectionism is created by the belief that if you can do everything perfectly, and look perfect, you won't have to experience the pain of judgement, blame and shame. Perfectionists aren't perfect people, they're people who feel ashamed that they're not perfect.

The beliefs that create the perfectionist mindset run deep, which is why catchy reminders like "done is better than perfect" don't tend to change behaviour at a fundamental level. Our human need to avoid the painful emotion of shame can override even our deepest desires and causes us to get in our own way.

Growing out of perfectionism requires a willingness to feel vulnerable. Alongside that, I've found that one of the most effective ways to evolve out of perfectionism is to focus on creating a growth mindset.

In this episode, I'm going to be sharing exactly what that is, how to create it and the biggest mistakes that perfectionists make when it comes to creating a growth mindset. I hope you find it helpful!

In This Episode You'll Learn:

• What the growth mindset is and isn't, and how it can help you achieve your goals
• Practical things you can do to create a growth mindset
• Why you need to have a growth mindset about creating a growth mindset
• Why detaching from the end result will actually allow you to achieve more

Featured In The Episode:

• My 1:1 coaching services
• Get Out Of Your Own Way - join the waitlist here
• Episode 45: 10 Signs You're A Perfectionist
• Mindset by Carol Dweck
• Carol Dweck interviewed by Tom Bilyeu
• Carol Dweck on Perfectionism
• Episode 59: Daring Greatly by Brené Brown
• Growth mindset examples in podcast interviews: Aisha Tyler on The Tim Ferriss Show, Katrin Davidsdottir on The School of Greatness, Ellen Bennett on Second Life, Tyler Hanley on Second Life
• Second Life podcast
• Losing My Virginity by Richard Branson
• Episode 57: 7 Differences Between High Achievers and Perfectionists
• Episode 41: My Fitness Journey + How I Created A Growth Mindset

March 2019 was an interesting and exciting month for me. The first half was filled with lessons and the second half filled with wonder (and even more lessons). I learned A LOT and am so excited to share the best of it with you in this episode.

This month I relaunched my perfectionism course Get Out Of Your Own Way, spent a week in Bali on the Manifestation Babe Retreat and finally gave myself permission to take a break from my business - even if it was only for a few days! Plus there was plenty of other stuff going on too. Tune in to find out what I got up to, the mistakes I made and what I learned.

In This Episode You'll Learn:

• What I thought of the Manifestation Babe Retreat in Bali + whether I'd recommend it
• My biggest takeaways from the MB Retreat
• An important lesson I learned while relaunching Get Out Of Your Own Way
• Why I gave myself permission to have a week off my business + the impact it had
• The consequence of neglecting my daily journaling practice (feeling stressed)
• How my goal to read 4 books per month is (or isn't) progressing
• My personal development experiment for the second quarter of 2019

Featured In The Episode:

• My 1:1 coaching services
• Episode 52: The 3 Stages of Personal Growth
• Get Out Of Your Own Way - join the waitlist here
• Manifestation Babe
• Rich Babe Academy
• Self-Coaching Scholars
• Tara Brunet
• Manifesting Your Dream Body by Tara Brunet
• J.Burrows Black Journal
• Chillpreneur by Denise Duffield-Thomas
• Rocket Fuel by Gino Wickman
• Books read in 2019: Principles by Ray Dalio, Never Split The Difference by Chris Voss, Unstoppable by Maria Sharapova, Still Me by Jojo Moyes, Incognito by David Eagleman, Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin, Losing My Virginity by Richard Branson, The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

When you have a perfectionist mindset, the temptation is always to only do things you'll be good at or pursue opportunities that might succeed (so that you don't waste effort). While that may sound logical, it's a very limiting way to live life and will only end in dissatisfaction.

In this episode, I'm sharing how you can use creativity to get yourself into a growth mindset (i.e. a mindset that will have you achieving more). Even if you don't view yourself as a creative person, I recommend tuning in!

In This Episode You'll Learn:

• How to use daily creativity to get yourself into a growth mindset
• The things I personally do just for the sake of creativity
• 3 benefits of daily creativity (beyond what you'd typically think)
• Why you should do something for yourself before you do something for your boss
• How to begin a daily creativity practice
• What I've learned so far from writing every day in 2019

Featured In The Episode:

• Mindset by Dr Carol Dweck
• The Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes
• Episode 79: The Final Update On My 2018 Impossible Goal + My Goals For 2019

Creating new habits can be challenging, but it doesn't always have to be that with! And the best news is that the answer isn't trying harder - you just need to change the way you're thinking about it.

In this episode, I'm sharing the mindset trick I've used to pull myself out of habits that have eluded me for years. The simple strategy I share will have you creating success habits with ease. I'm so grateful to be able to share it with you!

In This Episode You'll Learn:

• The power of personal rules / creating a minimum baseline
• How to create a personal rule for yourself
• Why personal rules are more effective than willpower
• The personal rules I have in my life that keep me organised and make me successful
• When to use a personal rule and how to choose one to get started with

Featured In The Episode:

• Episode 26: The Power of Self-Image
• Episode 96: 5 Simple Ways To Feel Better
• Tom Bilyeu talking about bright lines

If you've been telling yourself that happiness will meet you further down the road (when you get X or achieve Y or marry Z), it will always be further down the road - no matter what your circumstances are.

If you're not grateful for what you have, you won't be grateful for what you get. So in this episode, I'm sharing 5 simple gratitude practices that you can experiment with. Some of these I've learned from others and some I've improvised myself. Regardless, I'm sure you'll find one that resonates with you!

In This Episode You'll Learn:

• Why practicing gratitude is one of the most powerful ways to feel better
• The simple gratitude practice I've been using everyday for 4+ years
• Uncommon ways to increase gratitude
• How your gratitude practice can deepen your relationships, even if the other person doesn't reciprocate
• A powerful gratitude practice you can use when you're feeling overwhelmed
• How I turn a stressful week around

Featured In The Episode:

• The Five Minute Journal
• Esther Hicks / Abraham Hicks
• My blog post from 2014 about the gratitude practice I still use every day
• Episode 84: How To Escape The Self-Pity Cycle
• Podcast Episode: Failing on Purpose + Gratitude-Fueled Ambition