Pivot Podcast

🦠169: Penney on Pandemic Opening Our Collective Pandora's Box (Part 2)

🦠169: Penney on Pandemic Opening Our Collective Pandora's Box (Part 2)

Part 2 of yesterday’s conversation with Penney Peirce (episode 168) — listen in as we continue unpacking her essay in conversation together, How Coronavirus is Speeding Us Toward Transparency.

In this second half, we talk about the stock market, how money is like a child and responds to our inner energy blueprint, how to find and reconnect with your home frequency, and making the most of business lulls (when ready).

Background: Since the pandemic started, I have been wondering what Penney’s take on all this would be. Longtime listeners know she needs no introduction, as people often remark to me that the episodes with her are their favorite! We have 11 conversations in the Penney & Jenny show so far, and in the previous episode (167) I read her essay on the crisis directly, How Coronavirus is Speeding Us Toward Transparency.

If you’d like to submit a question for us for a future episode visit http://PivotMethod.com/ask »

Special announcement! Penney will also be our featured guest for April’s Pivot Insider live video Q&A session. It will be on Wednesday, April 8 at 3:30pm ET. Join us at http://PivotMethod.com/insider by supporting the podcast with a small monthly donation, and you’ll also get instant access to 7+ months of archives and a slew of bonus resources, including a two-hour Upgrade Your Energy workshop.

View full show notes from this episode at http://pivotmethod.com/169 »

🦠168: Penney on Pandemic Opening Our Collective Pandora's Box (Part 1)

🦠168: Penney on Pandemic Opening Our Collective Pandora's Box (Part 1)

The Penney & Jenny Show is back! The latest installment (PJ Show #11!) answers a listener Q&A about pivoting out of toxic situations at work. Penny and I discuss how we evaluate when to stay vs. go, discerning normal ups and downs from true toxicity, and the highest emotional state that acts as a tuning fork and compass to pull you forward into a new direction and a new lease on life.

Enjoying the podcast and want to support the show? Become a Pivot Insider for as little as $8 each month and get access to a live monthly Q&A call—you’ll get six months of archived calls, a slew of bonus resources, including a two-hour Upgrade Your Energy workshop. Our next call is Wednesday, January 8—join now as a powerful way to kick-off this next decade!

Have a question related to this episode, or any in our Penney & Jenny series? Ask us here in a quick voice note. We look forward to rolling all of your questions together and creating a listener Q&A show soon :)

View full show notes from this episode at http://pivotmethod.com/148.

🦠167: Penney Peirce on How Coronavirus is Speeding Us Toward Transparency

🦠167: Penney Peirce on How Coronavirus is Speeding Us Toward Transparency

New York City is now in a state of emergency, the usually overflowing streets and parks are eerily vacant, and the line for Whole Foods was around a city block today, cordoned off by fences and a security guard. I’m so grateful to all grocery store workers, Amazon and USPS employees, teachers, and health care providers.  

Since the pandemic started, I have been wondering what Penney’s take would be. Longtime listeners know she needs no introduction, as people often remark to me that the episodes with her are their favorite! We have 11 conversations in the Penney & Jenny show so far, and another one scheduled this week to discuss her essay on the crisis, How Coronavirus is Speeding Us Toward Transparency. In advance of that, she has given me her blessing the read the essay in full here on the podcast, for those of you who prefer listening over reading. We hope things brings you comfort and a refreshing perspective; it’s certainly has for me. More from us soon!

If you’d like to submit a question for us, visit http://PivotMethod.com/ask

Special announcement! Penney will also be our featured guest for April’s Pivot Insider live video Q&A session. It will be on Wednesday, April 8 at 3:30pm ET. Join us at http://PivotMethod.com/insider by supporting the podcast with a small monthly donation, and you’ll also get instant access to 7+ months of archives and a slew of bonus resources, including a two-hour Upgrade Your Energy workshop.

View full show notes from this episode at http://pivotmethod.com/167 »

🦠166: Homeschooling While WFH with Kathryn Haydon

🦠166: Homeschooling While WFH with Kathryn Haydon

Pivot Insider member and creativity expert Kathryn Hayden is here to help parents “turn a difficult time into a time of possibility.” Over the past decade, she has written four books, several hundred articles, taught and trained thousands of kids, educators, and businesspeople, all while working from home and homeschooling her son, while her husband worked long hours at the office and on weekends.

Before we get into her many helpful ideas for homeschooling while WFH, a caveat: just hours after we finished recording, I read a New York Times article titled, “I Refuse to Run a Coronavirus Home School.” If you’re already maxed out with kids and home and trying to get your own work done, that article may provide much-needed solace! You have permission not to Pinterest your pandemic, as we said in episode 162.

If/when you do want some best practices from someone who home schooled for over a decade while also working from home, this episode is always here for you!

Kathryn is also a great podcast success story: she listened to the episode with Rohit Bhargava from December 2017, 75: Become a Trend Curator, reached out to him, and next thing you know his imprint Non-Obvious Guides was publishing her book, The Non-Obvious Guide to Being More Creative, No Matter Where You Work!

For a deeper dive, check out Kathryn’s Course: Work From Home With Kids and THRIVE, and this great list of online learning resources for kids from my business attorney, Francine Love.

View full show notes from this episode at http://pivotmethod.com/166 »

What’s on your mind? Submit follow-up questions for a future conversation at http://pivotmethod.com/ask

Background from our kick-off to this Pivoting Around A Pandemic series, episode 159: With so much happening daily in the world and global economy around coronavirus, we’re all dealing with massive amounts of uncertainty, pivots at work, and for many—fear and anxiety that comes with not only the health concerns, but questions around how to maintain our livelihoods moving forward.

When Momentum member and pandemic expert Dr. Michael J. Consuelos reached out to offer himself as a resource to the JBE team and the MoMo community, I jumped at the chance to record a conversation for all of you as well, which has now turned into a full-blown series:

🦠165: On Sadness with Rainer Maria Rilke — Letters To a Young Poet (#8)

🦠165: On Sadness with Rainer Maria Rilke — Letters To a Young Poet (#8)

Story time! ❤️📘🤓 Today I’m reading one of my all-time favorite passages for tough times, from Rainer Maria Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet. I love this timeless letter (#8, written in 1904) so much that I included an excerpt at the very start of Pivot, and a second excerpt to close the book—both are included in the full text that I’m reading on this episode.

View full show notes from this episode at http://pivotmethod.com/165 »

What’s on your mind? Submit follow-up questions for a future conversation at http://pivotmethod.com/ask

Background from our kick-off to this Pivoting Around A Pandemic series, episode 159: With so much happening daily in the world and global economy around coronavirus, we’re all dealing with massive amounts of uncertainty, pivots at work, and for many—fear and anxiety that comes with not only the health concerns, but questions around how to maintain our livelihoods moving forward.

When Momentum member and pandemic expert Dr. Michael J. Consuelos reached out to offer himself as a resource to the JBE team and the MoMo community, I jumped at the chance to record a conversation for all of you as well, which has now turned into a full-blown series:

164: Fix This Next (And Stop Keeping Up With The Entrepre-Joneses) with Mike Michalowicz

164: Fix This Next (And Stop Keeping Up With The Entrepre-Joneses) with Mike Michalowicz

I’m elated to bring you another one of my favorite friendtors, Mike Michaelowicz. He’s the author of several books that have dramatically improved my business: Profit First, Clockwork, and now this week we’re talking about his latest upcoming release, Fix This Next: Make the Vital Change that Will Level Up Your Business.

Mike was last on the show in episode 37, Surge: How to Spot and Ride Trend Waves.

This is also our second round of the live Pivot Podcast + Momentum Book Club, so you’ll hear a few Mo’ members ask questions at the end.

Reminder that doors for this round of Momentum enrollment close today! Join us here »

Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at PivotMethod.com/161.

🦠163: 25 Favorite Tips for WFH (Working From Home)

🦠163: 25 Favorite Tips for WFH (Working From Home)

While it can seem distracting and disorienting at first, working from home is an incredible opportunity to tune into your circadian rhythms and exactly how you work best. Even though your new commute may be from the bed to the living room to the office, you can still create rituals and boundaries that set you up for success when you start the day, and sanity when you end it. These are 25 of my favorite tips from nine years of working from home.

What’s on your mind? Submit follow-up questions for a future conversation at http://pivotmethod.com/ask

Background from our kick-off to this series, episode 159: With so much happening daily in the world and global economy around coronavirus, we’re all dealing with massive amounts of uncertainty, pivots at work, and for many—fear and anxiety that comes with not only the health concerns, but questions around how to maintain our livelihoods moving forward.

When Momentum member and pandemic expert Dr. Michael J. Consuelos reached out to offer himself as a resource to the JBE team and the MoMo community, I jumped at the chance to record a conversation for all of you as well, which has now turned into a full-blown series:

Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://PivotMethod.com/163

🦠162: What It's Like—Two Weeks in to Self-Quarantine in the Seattle Area (Hint: Ditch the Pressure for a Pinterest-Worthy Pandemic Response)

🦠162: What It's Like—Two Weeks in to Self-Quarantine in the Seattle Area (Hint: Ditch the Pressure for a Pinterest-Worthy Pandemic Response)

While all of us have been adjusting to self-imposed social distancing and quarantine this week under new global guidelines, Lindsay Pedersen had a head start. She and her family live in the greater Seattle area, which was the site of the first major outbreak in the U.S. In this conversation with Lindsey and Dr. Consuelos, we talk about the emotional rollercoaster of the entire family staying home all day, and creative ways to infuse silliness, sanity, and connection.

Quick background on both: Lindsay Pedersen is a brand strategist and author of Forging an Ironclad Brand. Dr. Michael J. Consuelos is the Principal at MJC Solutions, a veteran-owned, small business that provides professional consulting and advisory services to organizations serving the healthcare sector. He has held several leadership roles in emergency preparedness and pandemic response since 1997.

What’s on your mind? Submit follow-up questions for a future COVID-19 conversation at http://pivotmethod.com/ask

Background from our kick-off to this series, episode 159: With so much happening daily in the world and global economy around coronavirus, we’re all dealing with massive amounts of uncertainty, pivots at work, and for many—fear and anxiety that comes with not only the health concerns, but questions around how to maintain our livelihoods moving forward.

When Momentum member and pandemic expert Dr. Michael J. Consuelos reached out to offer himself as a resource to the JBE team and the MoMo community, I jumped at the chance to record a conversation for all of you as well, which has now turned into a full-blown series:

Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://PivotMethod.com/161

🦠 161: Personal Safety, Contingency Planning, and Crucial Conversations with Dr. Michael J. Consuelos

🦠 161: Personal Safety, Contingency Planning, and Crucial Conversations with Dr. Michael J. Consuelos

Just this morning (after we recorded), the recommendation has gone from not gathering in groups larger than 50 to groups larger than 10. Dr. Michael J. Conseulos and I are back in a “huddle” as we discuss what’s in the news now.

In this episode, we discuss how all of us can stay safe, think through contingency plans, and have crucial conversations with our family members and others as we all practice unprecedented social distancing.

What’s on your mind? Submit follow-up questions for a future COVID-19 conversation at http://pivotmethod.com/ask

Background from our kick-off to this series, episode 159: With so much happening daily in the world and global economy around coronavirus, we’re all dealing with massive amounts of uncertainty, pivots at work, and for many—fear and anxiety that comes with not only the health concerns, but questions around how to maintain our livelihoods moving forward.

When Momentum member and pandemic expert Dr. Michael J. Consuelos reached out to offer himself as a resource to the JBE team and the MoMo community, I jumped at the chance to record a conversation for all of you as well.

Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://PivotMethod.com/161

🦠 160: 11 Ways to Maintain Momentum for Solopreneurs

🦠 160: 11 Ways to Maintain Momentum for Solopreneurs

“Don’t buy in to the fear / media hype” is something I’ve heard more than once this week. No matter how calm you are staying (or not) there is no doubt our lives are already significantly impacted by the spread and precautions around coronavirus, far beyond fear itself.

I feel an urgency to keep this conversation going, with real-time content that addresses what’s going on around us, particularly at the intersection of mind, body, and business (my website mission in 2013-2014 before I started this podcast).

Acting like nothing is happening and it’s all just “business as usual” strikes me as out of touch, and certainly not Truth While It’s Fresh (a JBE team value). It’s not business as usual for any of us, and I don’t have to tell you that. There are very real impacts we are all navigating daily.

For that reason, I have scrapped or postponed several already-scheduled episodes, and am going to release podcasts more frequently for this series, Pivoting Around a Pandemic.

This is something unique in most of our lives — the shuttering of broadway, sports, schools, businesses, — not to mention travel bans, self-quarantine, and the very real possibility our family members or we could get sick before year’s end. This episode is for solopreneurs, but I’ll be doing a range that speak to entrepreneurs, executives, employees, and parents throughout the series.

In odd, but maybe perfect timing for some of you, Momentum doors are opening this week (3/17 - 3/20) — which partly inspired the theme for today’s episode. I debated postponing the launch (one we’ve planned around since the end of 2019) but with all that’s going on, now is the time small businesses need community, smart systems, and support more than ever to weather this storm.

Listen toward the end of the episode for bonuses just for podcast listeners, and there’s a free workshop coming up on Tuesday March 17 on 10 Scalable Streams of Solopreneur Income to learn more. Register to join us here »

For full show notes from this episode, visit http://pivotmethod.com/160

158: Trip Report—Oprah's 2020 Vision Tour

158: Trip Report—Oprah's 2020 Vision Tour

This week’s Pivot Podcast is a field report from seeing one of my heroes live! I attended Oprah’s 2020 Vision Tour: Your Life in Focus in Brooklyn in early February, and I was so curious going into this event that I thought you might like to hear about the experience and key takeaways.

Oprah is inviting a different headliner from each stop on the tour (ours was Michelle Obama), so if you want a peek into other cities and guests, listen to her Super Soul Conversations podcast — she’s had equally wonderful conversations with Jennifer Lopez, Lady Gaga, Kate Hudson, Tracee Ellis Ross, and more.

Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://PivotMethod.com/158.

Enjoying the show? Pivot Podcast is listener supported—consider donating to become a Pivot Insider and you’ll get access to a private monthly Q&A call where you can ask me anything, and discuss the latest books, tools and topics I’ve shared in recent episodes. Our next session is coming right up on Wednesday, March 11 — I’d love for you to join us!

157: "It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work" (Free-up Founder Time Excerpt)

157: "It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work" (Free-up Founder Time Excerpt)

What kind of company are you building (or working for)? Are you optimizing for chaos or for calm? One of my favorite books from recent years as it relates to company culture — even if you're a culture of one (or one+) — is It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy At Work, by Basecamp co-founders Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson.

Jason and David aim for a calm company, so every chapter (and business area) is about asking the question: How do we create calm? How do we choose calm?

This episode is preview lesson from my—totally free!—mini-course, Free-up Founder Time. I cover strategies for time blocking and content batching, and walk you through exactly how I set-up my schedule each week (knowing that life and work never go perfectly to plan).

After you listen, register for the course here — in 15 short actionable lessons, I cover topics like content batching, time blocking, getting ready for your big break, courage cookies, luck trucks, and a whole lot more. Each lesson as a combination of helpful tools, templates, podcast episodes, and book recommendations also available in audio format (most are 5-10 minutes long) for learning on the go.

Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://PivotMethod.com/157.

Enjoying the show? Pivot Podcast is listener supported—consider donating to become a Pivot Insider and you’ll get access to a private monthly Q&A call where you can ask me anything, and discuss the latest books, tools and topics I’ve shared in recent episodes.

156: MBS on Tipping Points and Pivoting Out of CEO (From His Own Company)

156: MBS on Tipping Points and Pivoting Out of CEO (From His Own Company)

I’m so excited to share this week’s Pivot conversation with one of my longtime friends and most important mentors, Michael Bungay Stanier. We talk about tipping points, preparing for TED Talks, and transitioning out of the CEO role from the company he founded nearly 20 years ago, Box of Crayons. We are also celebrating the launch of his latest brilliant book, The Advice Trap: Be Humble, Stay Curious, and Change the Way You Lead Forever.

To enroll in free upcoming workshops on the Pivot Method as a coaching for managers, mentors, and leaders, visit PivotMethod.com/live. Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at PivotMethod.com/156.

Enjoying the show? Pivot Podcast is listener supported—consider donating to become a Pivot Insider and you’ll get access to a private monthly Q&A call where you can ask me anything, and discuss the latest books, tools and topics I’ve shared in recent episodes. Our next call is coming up on March 11!

155: Becoming a Successful Speaker with Grant Baldwin

155: Becoming a Successful Speaker with Grant Baldwin

This week’s episode was recorded while on the road, preparing to speak at the International Monetary Fund to help them kick-off new career programs for 2020 (an honor!).

Thankful for a quiet hotel room all to myself in the midst of puppy-training (semi)chaos, I stacked a call with my attorney for a licensing contract, then recorded this interview and two solo shows — true to this week’s topic of navigating life as a professional speaker!

Grant and I discuss guidance from his new book, The Successful Speaker: Simple Steps to Make a Living Off Your Message, on everything from pricing, to outreach, to navigating life on the road.

Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at PivotMethod.com/155.

Enjoying the show? Pivot Podcast is listener supported—consider donating to become a Pivot Insider and you’ll get access to a private monthly Q&A call where you can ask me anything, and discuss the latest books, tools and topics I’ve shared in recent episodes.

154: Two-Month Report from the Puppy (and People!) Training Trenches

154: Two-Month Report from the Puppy (and People!) Training Trenches

In this week’s solo episode, we have the two-month report from the puppy training trenches! Michael and I brought Ryder home December 8, our little angel-in-a-fur-coat — aka the pup-pup. Take one look at his 8-week old cuteness in the photo gallery below and you'll understand why!

For inquiring minds, he's a German Shepherd—albeit a tiny one in the early photos, he has doubled in size in just two months. As our neighbors here in Harlem say daily (we make so many friends now!), "Look at those paws! He's gonna be BIIIIIG!"

Given this big life change, I didn't start 2020 on a particularly graceful note . . . I awoke at 4am on January 1 to throw on all my winter gear (including The Comfy), take him downstairs . . . and clean-up doggie diarrhea (sorry, I know that's graphic). Long story short: these last two months have been incredibly joyful AND I felt I was losing my mind at many moments!

In this episode of the Pivot Podcast I’m sharing the journey has been like so far, and all the best books and resources I've been relying on. These two articles also provided a lot of consolation on the chaos! Having Kids by Paul Graham, and Puppies are Harder Than Babies (h/t Adam). 

Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at PivotMethod.com/154 »

153: How to Create an Internal Coaching Program for Your Organization

153: How to Create an Internal Coaching Program for Your Organization

In 2007, while working within Sheryl Sandberg’s Online Sales and Operations organization at Google, I received a coaching session that changed my life. This was before the word coaching (and careers revolving around it) was ubiquitous outside of the sports arena.

In this episode I share more about how that one session helped spark an entire movement that’s still alive within Google today: an internal “drop-in” coaching program—to make coaching accessible, easy to sign up for, and free—for all employees at all levels of the company. I’ll dive into the big themes and mechanics of how to set this up if you’re hoping to run a pilot within your organization.

That first coach, Erik, in just two sessions also inspired me to attend coach training myself in 2008, restart my (at the time) sleeping website Life After College, and gave me hope that I could be an author someday . . . and the rest is history :)

Shoutout to Denny Clark for submitting the Listener Q&A that inspired this episode!

Learn more about Pivot Programs at PivotMethod.com/companies »

Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at PivotMethod.com/153 »

[Best Of] 96: The Million-Dollar, One-Person Business with Elaine Pofeldt

[Best Of] 96: The Million-Dollar, One-Person Business with Elaine Pofeldt

I have always been curious about solopreneurs who choose to stay small, like me. Seven years into running my own business, I still deliberately choose not to scale in a way that requires hiring any full-time employees or by too much added infrastructure, to support two of my biggest business values of freedom and agility.

But that doesn't mean that I exclude higher earnings as a necessary byproduct. My business mantras: optimize for revenue and joy, look for ways to earn twice as much in half the time (with ease and with even greater impact), and let it be easy, let it be fun.

So I was delighted to stumble upon Elaine Pofeldt, who is similarly obsessed with researching non-employer businesses with 7-figure earnings. In this week's conversation we dive into what she discovered while writing The Million-Dollar, One-Person BusinessRelated note: I've captured my best strategies for nearly quadrupling my income while working half the time (with no full-time employees) in my Delegation Ninja course.

[Best Of] 91: Divine Time Management and Putting Faith Forward in Business and Love with Elizabeth Grace Saunders

[Best Of] 91: Divine Time Management and Putting Faith Forward in Business and Love with Elizabeth Grace Saunders

Originally posted March 2018 — part of a “Best Of” series as I get caught up from a round of travel and puppy-adjusting :)

When my friend Elizabeth pivoted from time management author and coach to divine time management, her faith-based practice of "trusting God's loving plans for you," and with the release of her new book in November, I wanted to have her on the show. But I was nervous at the same time.

Is it okay to put faith forward in business? On the podcast? I'm not Christian—would that adversely affect the interview? Would it be divisive in any way for listeners? Our culture prides a separation of church and state, but what about spirituality and business?

In the months since Elizabeth's book launched, I have been sloooowly finding the courage to talk about these topics more prominently on the Pivot Podcast. And believe me, coming from an atheist-turned-agnostic, this was not an easy or obvious choice. But my soul's curiosity and passion for finding deeper meaning in our work says YES. I am grateful to now be exploring people and philosophies of many ranging faiths on this show.

With that, let's dive into this week's awesome episode! I love Elizabeth's advice on loosening the reigns of control, paying attention to inner stirrings, and her vulnerability in sharing how she has surrendered her timing around finding love. 

Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at PivotMethod.com/podcast/divine-time.

152: Glowing in the Dark with Kristoffer 'KC' Carter

152: Glowing in the Dark with Kristoffer 'KC' Carter

This week’s episode is another one of my favorite formats, just two new (soul) friends shooting the breeze in what we’ve dubbed a “podcast tango” :) Given that we both have podcasts, we decided to just hit record and do this joint conversation, neither of us officially interviewing the other. I hope you enjoy this conversation jam with insta-BFF Kristoffer “KC” Carter (shout-out to our mutual mensch mentor Jonathan Fields who introduced us!), whose new podcast This Epic Life is one I know you’ll also love. We deepen our budding BFF-ship and discuss the BIG topics of life—including death, dips, permission to shine, business pivots, his yogic and meditation practices, and much more.

Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at PivotMethod.com/152.

Enjoying the show? Pivot Podcast is listener supported—consider donating to become a Pivot Insider and you’ll get access to a private monthly Q&A call where you can ask me anything, and discuss the latest books, tools and topics I’ve shared in recent episodes.

151: Joy of Movement with Kelly McGonigal

151: Joy of Movement with Kelly McGonigal

Kelly McGonigal joins us this week to kick-off 2020 with a candid conversation on why movement is integral to our happiness and our humanity. Learn how to harness the power of authentic, joyful movement to create meaning and connection that goes far beyond the way we look or what the scale reads.

And for those of you in the NYC area, join us this week, Thursday January 9, for Jumpstart Joy 2020: a LIVE Pivot Podcast and celebration of Kelly’s book launch, with dancing and Nia movement! Learn more and get tickets (which includes a signed copy of the book) at http://pivotmethod.com/joy.

Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at PivotMethod.com/151.