Jenny Blake
363: 🌈 Taking a Quiet Sabbatical and ...

As I round the corner into this ninth year of podcasting, after over 700 episodes today, I’m announcing a pause for both shows.

Listen in to hear what factors helped me reach this decision across time, money, energy, depressing industry articles, the pace of both shows’ growth, and mix of additional business factors that make this an important moment to pause and regroup. You might also appreciate the even deeper dive with my longtime friend (and first coach) Adrian Klaphaak in Pivot episode 360: 📦 Unpacking a Big Business Decision and Dissolving Related Doubts.

Jenny Blake
362: Setting Creative Intentions Instead of ...

“Expectations are the enemy to the creative process. Sometimes you have to let go of the known to see the unknown.”

Today I’m speaking with James McCrae, an author, poet, and meme artist based in Austin, Texas. He is the founder of 🌻 Sunflower Club, a global school and community dedicated to conscious creativity.

Jenny Blake
361: On Decision Engineering and Evaluating ...

Good decision-making is not about omniscience or clairvoyance—it's more about resilience, according to today’s guest, decision engineer Michelle Florendo. “Decision-making is harder than ever before, and it's not your fault,” Michelle says. “People feel like they ‘should just know’ how to decide.”

Today we’re talking about a framework more helpful than pro-con lists, tuning into your head, heart and gut; why the quality of your decision is not equal to the outcome—did good or bad things happen; keeping a decision journal to evaluate the quality of your decisions regardless of the outcome; and how to drop the guilt of “bad” past outcomes.

Jenny Blake
360: 📦 Unpacking a Big Business Decision ...

What happens when you make a big decision but still have lingering doubt, fear, and even despair? How do you know when a “download” from the universe is worth following, and what does test-driving a decision look like? What happens on the other side or when a pivot is taking far longer than planned?

We’re unpacking all these topics in today’s twelfth and final (for now) conversation for the Pivot x Career Pathfinder series with Adrian Klaphaak.

Jenny Blake
359: “You can’t give what you don’t have” — ...

“You can’t give what you don’t have.” That’s just one of the powerful lessons that Nataly Kogan learned the hard way seven years ago, after suffering a debilitating phase of burnout. As a former refugee from the former Soviet Union, she began her American journey in the projects and on welfare, then going on to build an impressive career as a finance and tech executive and serial entrepreneur over the next 25 years. Until she crashed at thirty-eight years old and needed to find a new way of moving forward.

As part of her healing process, Nataly began to paint when she was 40 by signing up for a painting retreat in Tuscony (that turned out to be for semi-professional watercolorists), and now her paintings are on the cover of her books—front and center as part of her bold self-expression.

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175: Sizing People Up with Former FBI Agent Robin Dreeke

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175: Sizing People Up with Former FBI Agent Robin Dreeke

(Recorded March 4) How do you know when to trust your intuition? What is it about certain people that prickles your spidey senses? I’m delighted to bring you this conversation with former FBI Agent Robin Dreeke on how to read behavior signals for who we can trust — and who we can’t.

Robin and I also discuss one of the lowest points of his career, six months after 9/11. As he writes in his book, Sizing People Up, “The destruction of my dreams left me with nothing to lose, and my mindset shifted, as if on its own, and settled in a place that said it was acceptable to help one person at a time. It felt like neither capitulation nor epiphany.”

Although this was recorded just on the cusp of things getting quite serious around the pandemic here in the U.S., that advice is more true now than ever.

Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/175

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 April 8th — I’d love for you to join us!

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🦠166: Homeschooling While WFH with Kathryn Haydon

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🦠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:

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

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[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.

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130: Listener Q&A—Why I Can’t Stand the Question “Can I Pick Your Brain” And What to Offer Instead

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130: Listener Q&A—Why I Can’t Stand the Question “Can I Pick Your Brain” And What to Offer Instead

This week kicks off a new Listener Q&A feature of the podcast, but before we dive in: I would love to hear from you! Yes, you. As a listener, you might think as a listener I’m getting lots of submissions already, but that’s not the case—things like this always take some momentum to get going.

So drop me a voice note at http://pivotmethod.com/ask and share a challenge you’re facing or something you’re curious about, and I'll share my thoughts along with a BookRx: a book prescription of two or three books that have been helpful for me in that area.

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[Best Of] Deep Work: Ditch Cognitive Junk Food with Cal Newport

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[Best Of] Deep Work: Ditch Cognitive Junk Food with Cal Newport

As I get up to speed in my first semester at Union Theological Seminary, I’m re-launching a few of my favorite podcast episodes from four years of archives: I hope you enjoy some of these oldies but goodies, particularly if you missed them the first time around! Here’s a conversation I loved with Cal Newport from April 2016.

When was the last time you were in the zone?There’s nothing I love more than working with time flying. The sun rises and sets and I barely notice because I’m so engrossed in my work. Cal Newport calls this deep work, and says that contrary to what many assume, it is a skill, not a habit. That means it takes deliberate practice, and is a cognitive muscle that can atrophy with disuse—something we are all prone to as we get sucked into network tools like social media and email. I loved this conversation and I know you will too! Enjoy 

“At the exact point that deep work is becoming increasingly valuable, it is also becoming more rare.”

—Cal Newport

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108: Penney & Jenny Show Returns! On Spirituality and Small Business

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108: Penney & Jenny Show Returns! On Spirituality and Small Business

I'm delighted to bring you the seventh (!) episode in a side series of this podcast we affectionately call the Penney & Jenny show :) It's a series of conversations with one of my dear friends and mentors (friendtors), Penney Peirce. We had so much fun during our first interview together that we added a second . . . which became a third . . . and so on, until it was a regular feature on the Pivot Podcast! 

This week we're riffing on the intersection of spirituality and small business—how we apply intuition, transparency, non-physical realms, and personal practices toward business-building, attracting clients, and earning a living in a way that feels easeful and joyful. You can check out all of our interviews here (and check for future episodes)—and for easier listening, tune in on our SoundCloud playlist. 

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105: Tools for Transitions—Just Ahead Mentors, Jealousy Antidotes, and Powerful Small Steps to Find Jobs (or Clients) with Dev Aujla

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105: Tools for Transitions—Just Ahead Mentors, Jealousy Antidotes, and Powerful Small Steps to Find Jobs (or Clients) with Dev Aujla

Contrary to popular belief that trolling for a new job or client is the drag of all drags, a process that should be hurried through as quickly as possible, Dev Ajula believes our careers can be avenues for inquiry. His book, 50 Ways to Get a Job has a hidden curriculum that stretches so far beyond the job-search, and is relevant to everyone, including entrepreneurs. “Our careers and the questions they answer are lifelong pursuits,” Dev says.

I thoroughly enjoyed this conversation and learning more about Dev's incredible long-term passion project: building a non-traditional Sorted Library based on the power of inquiry in DUMBO, New York (the Instagram account alone is a must-peruse!). 

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104: (A Course in) Miracles at Work—On Spiritual Intelligence with Emily Bennington

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104: (A Course in) Miracles at Work—On Spiritual Intelligence with Emily Bennington

Emily Bennington and I have been on parallel pivot paths since we first connected online in 2011. So imagine my surprise when I was searching on Google images for a visual depiction of the word "Grace." I downloaded my favorite and lo and behold, it was pointing to Emily's site with a landing page informing readers about her new direction: teaching others to live and lead with grace, based upon her interpretations of the Course in Miracles as it applies to work and careers.  

In this episode we talk about what the Course is, how we can apply spiritual intelligence to our day-to-day interactions, how to create miracles through powerful mental shifts, and Emily's pivot from entrepreneur giving mainstream career advice to an exciting new full-time role as Executive Director for the Circle of Atonement.

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

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

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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.

More About Elizabeth Grace Saunders

elizabeth_saunders_400_3_left.jpg

Elizabeth Grace Saunders is an internationally recognized expert on effective time management and the founder of Real Life E Time Coaching and Speaking (www.RealLifeE.com). Her company partners with individuals on the journey from feeling guilty, overwhelmed and frustrated to feeling peaceful, confident and accomplished.  Her first two books are The 3 Secrets to Effective Time Investment: How to Achieve More Success with Less Stress and How to Invest Your Time Like Money. Her newest is Divine Time Management: The Joy of Trusting God’s Loving Plans for You. 

Topics We Cover

  • How the calling for this book came to her, "part desire and part command"

  • Her process of writing the book proposal as she developed the practices

  • Being "patient zero" of needing to relinquish control

  • Finding the courage to put her faith more forward in business

  • How to pay attention to inner stirrings

  • Letting go of forcing your storyline

  • What to do around "sexy shoulds" and how to handle indecision, saying no

  • Finding right relationship with self and others

Podcast: Divine Time Management and Putting Faith Forward in Business with Elizabeth Grace Saunders

Listen below or on iTunes, SoundCloud, YouTube, Overcast, Stitcher, or Google Play Music:

Check out other episodes of the Pivot Podcast here. Be sure to subscribe via iTunes, Google Play or SoundCloud, and if you enjoy the show I would be very grateful for a rating and/or review! Sign-up for my weekly(ish) #PivotList newsletter to receive curated round-ups of what I'm reading, watching, listening to, and new tools I'm geeking out on.

Want to support the show and become a founding member of the Pivot Podcast community? Join us on Patreon here.

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83: Pivot From Working in the Morgue to the Ministry with Former Forensic Pathologist Dr. Thomas Andrew

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83: Pivot From Working in the Morgue to the Ministry with Former Forensic Pathologist Dr. Thomas Andrew

As soon as I saw this New York Times feature story, As Overdose Deaths Pile Up, a Medical Examiner Quits the Morgue, I knew I had to have Dr. Thomas Andrew on the show.

A shift from our typical author guest, Dr. Andrew is working on an incredible career pivot-in-progress. Upset by how many opioid deaths he observed after 20 years as a forensic pathologist who performed over 5,800 autopsies in the morgue, he recently retired and is heading to divinity school so that he can counsel people in his community while they’re still alive. I’m fascinated by his story, and I know you’ll love this conversation too about his views on life, death, learning, faith, resiliency, empathy, and next moves.

An excerpt from the NYT article: 

"After laboring here as the chief forensic pathologist for two decades, exploring the mysteries of the dead, he retired in September to explore the mysteries of the soul. In a sharp career turn, he is entering a seminary program to pursue a divinity degree, and ultimately plans to minister to young people to stay away from drugs.

With 64,000 overdose deaths last year nationwide — a staggering 22 percent jump over the previous year — it is little wonder that overdoses, the leading cause of death among Americans under 50, are reducing life expectancy. They are also straining the staffs and resources of morgues, and causing major backlogs.

“After seeing thousands of sudden, unexpected or violent deaths,” Dr. Andrew said, “I have found it impossible not to ponder the spiritual dimension of these events for both the deceased and especially those left behind.”

View full show notes at PivotMethod.com/podcast/ministry. Support the show and become a founding member of the Pivot Podcast community on Patreon by donating $1 a show at Patreon.com/pivot.

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82: Hunch: How to Translate Intuition into Business Ideas with Bernadette Jiwa

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82: Hunch: How to Translate Intuition into Business Ideas with Bernadette Jiwa

"Anxiety over being more innovative leads entrepreneurs to create solutions instead of problems. But what if you could use your intuition to identify an existing problem that’s begging for a solution?”

—Bernadette Jiwa, Hunch: Turn Your Everyday Insights Into The Next Big Thing

When Bernadette Jiwa’s little book that packs a big punch, Hunch, arrived in the mail, I immediately thought, “I wish I wrote that book!” But I’m thrilled that she did, because Bernadette’s beautiful heart shines through every page as she describes tools and stories to help you transform everyday insights into big ideas that make an impact.

In this episode you’ll learn how to tap into your innate curiosity to uncover better business ideas, why distraction and external inputs are the enemies of insight, and a deeper look at the formula for uncovering your best hunches: a combination of insight (patterns and practices) and foresight (potential and predictions). 

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75: Become a Trend Curator + Non-Obvious Trends for 2018 with Rohit Bhargava

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75: Become a Trend Curator + Non-Obvious Trends for 2018 with Rohit Bhargava

"The secret to predicting the future is to get better at understanding the present."
—Rohit Bhargava, Non-Obvious 2018 Edition: How to Predict Trends and Win the Future

I've always been fascinated by futurists and trend spotters (turns out the latter is a myth). How do they see trends coming before the rest of us? What are they doing to sift through the noise to extrapolate a clear signal of where things are heading? Turns out, true to the Pivot Method, that the key to predicting the future lies right under our feet: we just need to get better at understanding how to spot ideas, capture them effectively, and sift through them.

Enter this week's guest, trend curator (What's that, you ask? You'll find out!) Rohit Bhargava. I'm super excited to help us all get a jump on the new year with a conversation about how we can all become better trend curators and apply Rohit's Haystack Method: gather idea hay first, then sit down to find the needles or key themes. We also had fun diving into 7 of his 15 trends for 2018 more closely; our combined list includes: lightspeed learning, approachable luxury, human mode, touchworthy, truthing, enlightened consumption, and manufactured outrage.

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68: On the self-help taboo of staying inside your comfort zone—when and how to reach with Andy Molinsky

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As Andy Molinksy writes in Reach, chances are if you've ever been interested in the topic of personal growth as it relates to risk, you've heard tropes like "life begins at the end of your comfort zone" and have encountered this meme-of-all-memes: 

comfort-zone-magic-happens.jpg

He says, "And then of course, there are the stories—successful and confident people who had the courage to go for it, and are now spokespeople for Comfort Zone, Inc., imploring us to do the same: Take the leap! Go for it! The only thing to fear is fear itself!" 

But what if, as someone asked me recently at the end of one of my keynotes, you're actually (gasp!) happy in your comfort zone? Do you always have to reach? I'm excited to unpack this question in this week's episode—Andy and I talk about when to reach outside of your comfort zone, how to build a risk portfolio, and common pitfalls that get in the way such as fear of what others will think, insecurities about our own competence, and resentment, or "Why do I have to do this in the first place?"

More About Andy Molinsky

AndyMolinsky.jpg

Andy Molinsky is a Professor at Brandeis University’s International Business School. Andy helps people develop the insights and courage necessary to act outside their personal and cultural comfort zones when doing important, but challenging, tasks in work and life. His work has been featured in HBR, the Financial Times, the Boston Globe, NPR and Voice of America. Andy is the author of Reach: A New Strategy to Help You Step Outside Your Comfort Zone, Rise to the Challenge, and Build Confidence and Global Dexterity: How to Adapt Your Behavior Across Cultures and Not Lose Yourself in the Process
 

Topics We Cover

  • When is it okay to stay inside your comfort zone?

  • Managing your comfort vs. risk portfolio: when to reach and when to adjust so you don't enter your panic zone

  • Authenticity and remaining joyful in stepping outside our comfort zone

  • The vicious cycle of avoidance

  • The three C's to successful reaches: conviction, customization, and clarity

  • We tend to catastrophize stepping outside our comfort zone. Clarity helps ground our perspective

  • No matter the reach or their outcome, it is all a learning experience

  • Our reaches are also the ways we support people

Resources Mentioned

Check out other episodes of the Pivot Podcast here. Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen, and if you enjoy the show I would be very grateful for a rating and/or review! Sign-up for my weekly(ish) #PivotList newsletter to receive curated round-ups of what I’m reading, watching, listening to, and new tools I’m geeking out on.

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66: Create Multiple Streams of Income with Dorie Clark

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66: Create Multiple Streams of Income with Dorie Clark

Self-employed for eleven years, Dorie interviewed over 50 entrepreneurs, several who earn multiple six figures each month, to understand what specific tactics it takes to sustain a successful business. In her new book and on this episode, Dorie shares this gold mine of sage advice with us. We talk about how to build the courage and savvy to monetize your expertise and create multiple streams of income so that no matter what happens—the market shifts or you lose your biggest client—you can and will bounce back, and create your ideal lifestyle business in the process.  

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62: Real Artists Don't Starve with Jeff Goins

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62: Real Artists Don't Starve with Jeff Goins

"Being a starving artist is a choice, not a necessary condition of doing creative work."

—Jeff Goins, Real Artists Don't Starve

Is it possible to do creative work and make a living? What does it take to thrive, not just survive? This week on the Pivot Podcast I'm thrilled to chat with bestselling author, keynote speaker, and popular blogger Jeff Goins. Listen on as we bust the myth behind the "starving artist," the return to creative patronage (and how you can become your own best patron), and why "exposure gigs" are out and charging for your work is in.  

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58: Monetize Your Ideas with Dorie Clark

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58: Monetize Your Ideas with Dorie Clark

What's the secret to becoming a recognized expert? Once you are well-known in your field, how do you monetize those ideas (without being sleazy) to build a successful business?

This week I'm bringing my good friend Dorie Clark back on the podcast to share her best road-tested tips for reputation- and business-building. She’s the author of two fantastic books that I mention in PIVOT—Reinventing You and Stand Out—and the New York Times has called her an “expert at self-reinvention and helping others make changes in their lives.”

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51: Die Empty — With Todd Henry

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51: Die Empty — With Todd Henry

"You cannot pursue greatness and comfort at the same time . . . How do you set in motion a course of action that will allow you to unleash your best, most valuable work while you still can?"
—Todd Henry, Die Empty: Unleash Your Best Work Every Day

Many people want to avoid thinking about death, let alone talking about it—not to mention writing a book on the subject. Not Todd Henry. True to the concept of memento mori, reflecting on death to be more present and grateful in life, Todd believes contemplating death helps us fully explore and realize our creative gifts. I absolutely loved this conversation and Todd's thoughts on how to "die empty" without feeling pressure to do it all; how to minimize minutiae and pursue great work while also riding out natural dips in creativity, transition, or clarity.

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43: Humans are Underrated with Geoff Colvin

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43: Humans are Underrated with Geoff Colvin

What can people do that computers never will? According to Geoff Colvin, that's the wrong question. It is futile to ask what computers will never be able to do, since they are accomplishing new, previously unthinkable feats at an astonishing rate. Instead, we must ask what it is that humans will insist continue to be performed by other humans? 

The answer lies in the shift happening as we speak: from a knowledge economy to what Colvin calls the relationship economy. We also talk about his first book, why talent is overrated (and the two qualities you can cultivate instead). I hope you find this conversation as fascinating as I did!