As the saying goes, “Worrying is praying for what you don’t want.” A close cousin is future-tripping: projecting and living in the future instead of being present with what is actually happening, keeping an open mind about whatever might happen next. 

If you are inclined to catastrophize, you’re not alone! But getting caught in a fictional movie can mean missing out on important opportunities, ideas, and relationships. Today, I’m talking about why we do this, how future-tripping manifests, and strategies for shifting into what I call present-calming instead.

As the saying goes, “Worrying is praying for what you don’t want.” A close cousin is future-tripping: projecting and living in the future instead of being present with what is actually happening, keeping an open mind about whatever might happen next. 

If you are inclined to catastrophize, you’re not alone! But getting caught in a fictional movie can mean missing out on important opportunities, ideas, and relationships. Today, I’m talking about why we do this, how future-tripping manifests, and strategies for shifting into what I call present-calming instead.

It’s time to leave guilt spirals, perfectionism, and hedging behind. Today’s guest, Lia Garvin, is sharing her favorite tools for reframing frustrating situations through powerful questions and helpful feedback.

I’m complete. Have you ever landed on that sense of satisfaction, perhaps after a peak experience when you’ve given everything you could? Often what quickly follows: Now, what’s next? 

My guest this week — the very first partner coach I brought on to help in my business — pivoted out of academia after an accomplished trajectory into running her own coaching practice. Several years ago, she was featured in Shana Gaynor’s wonderful Business Insider article, I went to a career coach, so you don't have to—and it was a rude awakening, that has been bringing clients our way ever since!

“The Sensitive Leader is a wayfinder, not a truth teller” with all the answers. Learn how serendipity helped today’s guest, Ciela Hartanov, successfully pitch an internal project to co-found and lead The Google School for Leaders; why sense-making is an essential skill when pivoting; and how to “right-size” a proposal until you get a yes. 

We also discuss what it means to develop “identity agency,” how Ciela knew it was time to go out on her own, why building a personal brand isn’t the end-all-be-all, and how to build trend-spotting skills.

“No [person] ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river, and they are not the same [person].” —Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher from ~500 BC

I share this quote in nearly every Pivot keynote because it speaks to the reality of uncertainty in every aspect of our lives, even when we’re not intentionally pursuing bigger career changes. Every day we are different, as are the companies we work for, the broader economy, our community, and even our physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional bodies.

Today, recurring guest Adrian Klaphaak and I are exploring how to keep moving and build momentum, even when you aren’t in a position to take big risks. How do you double down on your strengths and take small steps to pivot in place, creating room for bigger opportunities down the road?

Leaving the cool shade of a corporate tree with a great salary and benefits to start a business is never easy. But making the call mere months before a global pandemic hits seems on the surface to be ill-timed—to say the least. Or perhaps cosmic. 

Don’t feel bad for Tony McGaharan, who is a pro at finding the silver lining in any situation. Suddenly the market for his budding business went from Belfast to global through virtual events, and his business is thriving because of it.

In this conversation, we cover how he knew it was time to give his two-weeks notice (and not just pivot internally), how he addressed financial fears of leaving a six-figure salary, navigating the first few months of the pandemic as a new business owner, and how he builds relationships to generate new business—including Google still a key part of his client roster. As his coach says to him, “Be careful what you do because what you do, you do more of.”

Is it too late to wish you a Happy New Year? Larry David, one of my favorite curmudgeons, would say yes — I have surpassed the HNY statute of limitations.

While the “new year, new you” energy is still fresh, I invite you to conduct a calendar audit: What are your shiny shoulds? The coulds? The so goods?

Today I’m sharing a crossover from the Free Time podcast and book about one of the most popular topics that readers ask me about most: Sailing the Sea of Shiny Shoulds. This also ties into one of the Pivot Paradoxes I share in the Pilot stage of Pivot: The Fauxspiration Foe.

The opening epigraph to Luke Burgis’ brilliant book gave me such a chuckle that I can’t resist sharing it here:

“We want what other people want because other people want it, and it’s penciled-in eyebrows all the way down, down to the depths of the nth circle of hell where we all die immediately of a Brazilian butt lift, over and over again.” —Dayna Tortorici via n+1 (as quoted in Wanting)

In today’s conversation, we’re talking about mimetic desire and our relationship to wanting. It’s a fundamental aspect of the fact that humans are social creatures: I see, therefore I want; I want, therefore I am.

“Even when you think something is set in stone—literal, actual stone—it changes.” Take it from actor-turned-entrepreneur and rock-climbing aficionado Ryan Devlin: successful pivots involve constant micro-adjustments. Even when you feel most stuck, you can find a new way forward, but you’ll need to double down on your unique skills and abilities.

I had so much fun chatting with Ryan about starting his give-back company, This Saves Lives, and his journey from a successful actor living the Hollywood life to an experimental entrepreneur piloting a new podcast based on his passion.

Happy new year, my friends!! Transitioning from holiday time off to the frenetic energy of returning to work and regular life can be rough — so today, recurring guest (and my first career coach) Adrian Klaphaak joins me back on the pod to jam about calmer ways of reentering a new year, and recentering to decide what kind of planning and tracking is the most joyful for you.

“When life takes you down, it changes you. You’re not the same after,” says Dr. Susan Biali in her new book, The Resilient Life. “When I look back on my career, my most cherished accomplishments all came with significant stress.”

And yet, sometimes, that work-related stress can tip into burnout if we’re not careful—something particularly prominent these last few years. Susan is one of my longest-time friendtors (fifteen years and counting!), and in this long-overdue Pivot conversation, we talk about what personality traits make someone most prone to burnout, social overwhelm, the power of small doses of relaxation response activities, and more.

What happens when you write a book called The Revenge of Analog, only to find a pandemic relentlessly converting everything to virtual a few years later?

David Sax answered the call with a follow-up book, the only one he could write from the confines of home, describing the malaise of digital pushed to its extremes, again making the case for RR: Real Reality (and you know we couldn’t resist a few pirate jokes to follow).

I know you’ll love this conversation as much as I did about the timeless nature of our most meaningful moments; the future of books, book clubs, and bookstores; and why the metaverse has nothing to do with our salvation as a species.

Since launching this show in September 2015, the podcasting landscape has grown and changed tremendously. What was once a niche sandbox of independent producers pursuing passion projects has blossomed into an abundant field where it seems as though every major media property, celebrity, side hustler, and business owner decided to throw their hat (mic?) into the audio arena.

Since I’m not nearly ambitious or prolific enough to share three hundred lessons learned in honor of today’s major milestone, or even thirty, I thought I’d boil it down to my top three creative lessons learned in seven years of creating content in a constantly changing space.

When times are uncertain should we be playing it safe? We all have a different relationship to risk—and recession-talk tends to turn the dial up on anxiety about what the future has in store. Today, I’m back in conversation with Adrian Klaphaak, talking about how to be pragmatic, taking the economic environment into account, while also keeping a flame lit for pursuing our bigger dreams.

Have you ever gotten a sudden sense of certainty that you need to pursue something — maybe something totally different than your career or typical areas of interest?

I had the pleasure of podcasting in-person with today’s guests, Alisa Cohn and Dorie Clark, to learn more about how their interest sparked to co-found a Broadway theater investing company together. Building upon their successful careers in the business arena, we talk about what it’s like to start from scratch in a new industry when it comes to networking, investing, collaborating and experimenting.

What’s your favorite kind of failure? The question isn’t if you’ll fail or get rejected, but when. So don’t let it stop you from taking action or making decisions. Today I’m sharing more on a favorite practice that I’ve heard others espouse: creating a failure resume.

We have had so many shakeups in the last couple of years that I’d be surprised if most of us haven’t considered pivots large, small, and totally surprising. Inspired by a thread in our BFF Community, I’ve put together a list of do’s and three don’ts for leaving a corporate job. How you leave any relationship is as important to how you begin, especially if there are personal or professional connections you want to bring forward with you!

“Fun isn’t just a result of human thriving; it is a cause.” Our guest today, Catherine Price, is breaking down the difference between True Fun (the intersection of playfulness, connection, and flow) and Fake Fun, the hypnosis of passive consumption. Fun creates a self-reinforcing cycle that helps us prioritize the things that bring us joy. Life isn’t all joy, of course, and we also talk about the nerves that can result from things like preparing to give a TED talk. We discuss overcoming those nerves and how Cathering gave one of the most well-received talks that year.

“Fun isn’t just a result of human thriving; it is a cause.” Our guest today, Catherine Price, is breaking down the difference between True Fun (the intersection of playfulness, connection, and flow) and Fake Fun, the hypnosis of passive consumption. Fun creates a self-reinforcing cycle that helps us prioritize the things that bring us joy. Life isn’t all joy, of course, and we also talk about the nerves that can result from things like preparing to give a TED talk. We discuss overcoming those nerves and how Cathering gave one of the most well-received talks that year.