Courage & Clarity

Not long ago, I was in a major funk. But recently, without much effort at all I've turned it around, and some amazing results have come. I'm laser focused now. Connected with you guys. Creating cool sh*t. Doubling my email list in one week. And I REALLY think it's because I'm more grounded. "More grounded" means I go through my day with more concentration and less stress / frazzled lady energy / overwhelm. I've been experimenting with adding 7 really special things into my day. In this episode, I take you deep into my favorite daily routine -- I'm talking exact tools, apps, favorite treats to get myself pumped up and more. If you keep hearing about "mindfulness", "meditation", "morning routines" or any combination of these, and you're equal parts annoyed & intrigued, this episode is for you.

This week on the show, I'm totally nerding out on all things productivity with Tonya Dalton, Founder of Inkwell Press!  (The CLARITY portion begins around 32 mins!) Especially with the recent launch of my new free 15 minute planner method, it's no secret that I'm a huge fan of conversations around productivity -- in particular, with a heavy dose of intention.  After all, checklists and to do lists are just tools. It's what we do with these tools, and why we're doing it in the first place, that makes it all come together.  By all measures of "success", Tonya had "made it" with her first business. And yet, she found herself miserable. Can you even imagine that? How do you figure out what to do next when all you know is that something is missing? In this episode, you'll hear:  The story of Tonya's first business, which she built from her dining room table with zero business experience  What happened when Tonya realized it was time for something new... but she had no idea why, or what to work on next  Why imbalance is actually a critical piece of finding success (and why we need to stop looking for "balance" all the time)  What it actually means when you feel overwhelmed (and how to fix it)  A real, tactical process for sitting down and discovering what you truly want to do next

In today's episode, I'm going talking about 4 steps to plan your entire week in 15 minutes. Yep, I'm for real -- 4 steps, 15 minutes, actually getting the good stuff DONE.  Head to courageandclarity.com/plan before you listen! So in my free guide, you'll see on the second page I describe this method as "the crockpot of productivity". Here's why: I have tried every single solitary planning method under the SUN, guys. In fact, if you've listened to me on this show or over on the Fizzle Show for any amount of time, you have almost definitely heard me talk about my various affairs with planners and tools. I've tried paper planners, digital planners, online tools like Trello and Asana, I've tried planning nothing at all, I've tried planning every single minute from sun up to sun down, I've tried the pomodoro method, rewards-based systems, and the list goes on and on. Now, don't misunderstand me -- I have nothing against any of these tools, and in fact, I think most of them are very useful in their own ways. So back to the crockpot analogy. With all the planning methods I've tried, I started to feel like I had a kitchen full of fancy cooking gadgets -- but whether or not dinner actually made it onto the table? That was another story completely. The weekly planning method I'm about to teach you works because, like the crockpot, we're going to sit down for just 15 minutes and plan your week ONCE. It's going to be simple, yet effective -- it gets the job done, without 17 pots and pans that you just don't need. IN THIS EPISODE, YOU'LL HEAR:  The big reason your big & exciting projects are the first thing to slip off the priority list An easy, stress-free approach to planning to avoid spinning your wheels  Why this method is like the crockpot of productivity, and how you can "set & forget" your week 4 steps to plan your week quickly & make real progress that drives results in your business 

This week I have Kali Rogers with me, Founder & CEO of Blush Online Life Coaching! Kali has created a life coaching membership site where women & girls around the world can receive guidance from Masters' Level Counselors for just $79/month. But of course, this is far from where Kali started. Years earlier, she moved her life to Texas only to be fired from her job a few weeks in. She felt trapped, stuck and deeply afraid that she'd be spinning her wheels forever. But Kali and her now-fiance took a leap of faith and moved their lives to LA, where Kali hustled Blush to success. In this Courage AND Clarity episode, you'll hear: How Kali started Blush (and all the fears along the way) Why Kali believes having a "back up plan" might not be compatible with entrepreneurial dreams How to coax yourself forward if you're feeling lost in life Practical, super useful daily exercises to help us work on decision making so we can stay OUT of crisis mode

It's Thanksgiving week! To celebrate, this episode has got a Thanksgiving-themed twist to it, and I'll bet it's not what you think. Lately, it seems I've been having a LOT of conversations with listeners & Fizzle members who express a general restless or unsettled feeling in their businesses right now. It's almost like they're itching to burn it all to the ground, re-brand, start over or quit something in order to feel a spark or some freshness again. Does that sound familiar to you right now? If I'm honest, I've felt it too. So today on the show, we're digging into this funk. It seems to me that most of us are SO focused on all the areas where we're falling short, all of the things we haven’t gotten done. As the year 2017 draws to a close -- we’re coming up on the very last month of the year -- it’s easy to start beating ourselves up for all of the things that we didn’t finish this year and all of the promises that we couldn't keep. In other words, all the ways that we fell short. And so instead, because I know you’re gonna feel this way because I have felt this way, I want to ask you a question...

It's a Courage AND Clarity mega episode with Kristen Ley, Founder of Thimblepress! In this episode, you'll hear both the Courage & Clarity components stitched together with some music inbetween so you know when we're switching. We talk about: Kristen's story of how she hustled Thimblepress out of her garage while she had a day job she actually liked Why she had zero fears nor doubts about her business, and how you can feel this in your business too 6 big ideas for creating a compelling story for your brand How to make selling easier, lighter and more fun by leveraging a story

Today on the show, Arianna Taboada is back for her Clarity episode -- she's dropping 4 major ingredients we need to cook up the perfect maternity leave. In this episode, you'll hear: How to figure out how much business help you're actually going to need as a new mom What you need to know about delegating, BEFORE you go into labor How to know exactly what you're going to need, and how to actually ask for it  The key to a less-bumpy transition back to work And a bonus: what's working for me 18 months in!

In this Courage episode, I'm talking to Arianna Taboada, a Maternal Health Consultant for Entrepreneurs who helps ease the collision between business and babies! I can't articulate how important and compelling I believe Arianna's work is having gone through "la pequeña muerte" myself. In this episode we go deeper into Arianna's work, her recent trans-international move prompted by violence & conflict, and how she streamlined her income to become the sole bread winner while moving in with her parents and dealing with her grandmother's death. ... Whoa, I felt exhausted just TYPING that. Arianna's been through a lot, but despite the upheaval she has a refreshing perspective on the role work can play during times of personal chaos. She's got me challenging how I view my own work, and I hope you take the same thing away from this conversation!

In this special episode, I'm sharing details about an exciting November Challenge I'm spearheading with my new friend, Crystal Escobar! In this episode, you'll hear: A recap of my recent experience as a keynote speaker (in front of 300 people, eek!) My 4 big tips for excellent public speaking How you can leverage video tools like Facebook and Instagram to sharpen your speaking skills Crystal's experience with creating video every day for 6 months, including the unexpected results in her personal life How to get your hands on 15 days of prompts to jump-start and up-level your video strategy (think FB live + insta stories) Join us for the challenge starting November 1 at wannabebalanced.com/wannabefearless!

It's been a while since I set my microphone down and asked you exactly what you'd like to hear, so this week's episode is dedicated to just that: it's my Fall 2017 Q+A episode!  You guys asked some awesome questions, and as I listened back to the recording I thought "man, this is like 5 episodes packed into one!"  In this special Q+A episode, you'll hear me talk about:  Exactly how my target audience has changed over time (and what you can learn from this evolution)  A painfully honest look into my "morning routine" (spoiler alert: I really don't have one, and there's something that works better for me instead)   What to do when you feel like things aren't going your way & where I turn when I need answers   How to set up your life when you work from home to avoid feeling like a hot mess all day How my goals have changed in the last 5 years, and how this shift has shaken me (eek, this one was kinda scary to tell you about!)  A huge thanks to everyone who submitted Q's this time around!

The dreaded "Sunday Scaries" ... chances are you've had 'em. You know, that feeling on a Sunday that you are so overwhelmed by the thought of the week ahead, it can be hard to even get a good breath in your lungs? It's easy to get lost in that "how am I going to get through this? What can I DO to fix this??" panic. In this special Facebook Live encore episode, I'm dishing: A story of a revelation I had about major Sunday stress while I was in the shower -- it prompted this episode 3 things you can do, right away, to stop feeling so exhausted by the effort and relax into true acceptance instead A popular Instagram trope I can't stand, and how I suggest we edit it for massive improvement

It can be super intimidating to start a business when you look at your "heroes" and see they have 10k, 20k, 100k or even more followers. It can leave you wondering, how can I ever get that many people to pay attention to me? The good news is that you don't need so many people. Rachel is here to tell us about how it's completely possible to grow a profitable business with a small social media following, and she's got 5 actionable tips to get us started right away.   In this Clarity episode, you'll hear:  The under utilized power of your personal network  Which method Rachel recommends for having an easy excuse to keep getting in front of your ideal customers  One big tip for getting more exposure fast -- even though this one might make you nervous!  How to partner with influential people, even if your following is small  What Rachel recommends you offer to people in order to grow meaningfully, not just vanity metrics 

This week I'm chatting with Rachel Sandall, social media maven and owner behind Sandall Social and Inhouss!  When I connected with Rachel, I was fascinated by her two stories of rock bottom moments. She attributes a lot of her success to that make-it-or-break-it mindset.  In this Courage episode, you'll hear:  How this entrepreneur built not one, but two successful businesses with her back against the wall both times  How a 23 year old Editor in Chief found herself scrambling to avoid working at Starbucks A creative idea for hiring help, even if you have zero money to spare right now   How a rock bottom moment led Rachel and her husband to go into business together, folding his expertise in with hers

There's a trend I’ve noticed with entrepreneurs who find success: it's DILIGENCE. Discipline. They’re playing the long game. As such, it’s a marathon, not a sprint. And sometimes in a marathon, we must pace ourselves. BUT we must use caution here — sometimes “taking a break” can turn into hanging out at the water station for a while which turns into, eh I don’t need to finish this race anyway, I think I’ll just quietly quit. So what’s a stressed out, exhausted, emotionally spent entrepreneur to do? We don’t want to quit, and we don’t want to burn out. How do we do this dance? In this solocast episode, I'm exploring the space between pressing pause and powering through. I'm talking about how to take "a break with guidelines" -- it's a super honest episode about my current season, what I've learned, and what I did wrong.

There aren't enough words to describe how excited I am for you all to hear this conversation I'm having with Catherine Rains, also known as The Hotel Artist! Alternate titles for this episode include: "Catherine Rains blows Steph's mind live on the air waves" "Stop everything & listen to this" "Don't listen to this if you want to keep making excuses & staying stuck" In seriousness, it feels like I am telling you week after week that another of my "favorite episodes" is being published, which is such a cool feeling. But this episode is truly special. For one, the "Courage" & "Clarity" components are fused together in one jumbo episode because they were too intertwined to separate. Beyond that, Catherine is a captivating, open-book type storyteller who's got a few decades on me. As such, you'll hear her drop so much wisdom on me, I'm doing mental gymnastics live on the air just to keep up. There's so much growth here, so much to think about, and so much easy-to-apply-immediately mindset stuff that you really need to hear. In this episode, you'll hear: How to stop fighting AGAINST your circumstances, and instead learn to work WITH them A few precise mantras to help you stop dwelling in "tomorrow", "what if", "if only" & "someday" How Catherine used this mindset shift to go from hating her job, to loving it so much she cried when her dream job came along How Catherine was able to believe that cancer & divorce were amazing gifts, even as they were happening to her I know there's a lot of "mindset" and "positivity" stuff out there, but this episode resonated with me on a deeper level than many of the other books I've picked up or podcasts I've heard before. I hope you find the same to be true, and if you do, you have to let me know!