As I round the corner into this ninth year of podcasting and 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...

“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. As a creative strategist, he has worked with top brands and startups. James is the author of Sh#t Your Ego Says and How to Laugh in Ironic Amusement During Your Existential Crisis,...

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.” More About Michelle: Michelle Florendo is a decision engineer and executive coach who is passionate about teaching people how to make decisions with less stress and more clarity, from the small,...

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. More About Adrian: Adrian Klaphaak is a coach,...

“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...

Bravery requires being off balance. You will only find the courage to “cross the cringe chasm” by remembering that the risk of losing your identity is greater than the risk of losing approval. As today’s guest Henna Pryor writes in her wonderful debut book, Good Awkward: “The idea of releasing this book into the world without knowing how you’ll receive it makes me cringe. But it makes me cringe even more to imagine walking through life as a person who doesn’t write and release the book that...

Holding space for thousands of others, primarily those who have experienced unspeakable trauma, is not for the faint of heart, nor should it be swept under the rug as simply par for the course of doing social work. Today’s guest, Dimple Dhabalia has written a forthcoming book that’s part memoir, part manifesto—Tell Me My Story—Challenging the Narrative of Service Before Self—a must-read for humanitarian professionals. While working in the field in Zambia interviewing asylum-seekers from the...

Are you running a Franken-Brand? A quick, inexpensive logo here. And then someone a few months later tries to write the brand strategy. And then another junior hire adds in graphics and you don’t even know where they came from. Suddenly, you have this brand that is cobbled together, and no one on the team is feeling compelled. In part two of today’s Free Time crossover episode, returning guest Adam Chaloeicheep and I are diving into the four personas of clients who are ready to do brand...

What do a flying money emoji, a stray takeaway coffee cup, and a heart have in common? Those were the starting clues I brought to Adam Chaloeicheep and his cofounder Marisol at Together Agency before starting work on the Free Time brand—as now expressed in my latest podcast, website, and book. This is a two-part crossover from the Free Time podcast; this episode originally aired in November 2021. We’re discussing the strategic thinking that goes into brand strategy long before the visual...

How do you “un-rut” yourself? If you want to say yes to exploring a pivot, what do you need to say no to? What's the secret dream? These are just some of the questions that recurring guest host Adrian Klaphaak and I answer in today’s live Pivot podcast taping. Are you looking for a little support and guidance on finding your purpose, or best next step? Check out Adrian’s Career Pathfinder Program and apply promo code PIVOT for a special offer on his group training. If you’d like to work with...

“You have to condition your nervous system to feel free, to access and hold that state, no matter the context.” In this conversation, we talk about leadership advisor John O’Connor’s pivot from masseuse to executive coach. He shares strategies for listening to your true calling, which often emerges from friction and frustration, and how those manifest physically in our bodies. John describes how we can tune into yearnings in different dimensions such as health, finances, relationships,...

It is a mistake to frame motivation as a muscle, according to today’s guest, Dr. Ayalet Fischbach. If you set your goals well, they will pull you like a magnet. In this conversation, we cover why numerical goals can backfire, the best practices for choosing a goal, how to monitor progress and cope with setbacks, and why social support is critical. More About Ayelet: Ayelet Fishbach, PhD, is the Jeffrey Breakenridge Keller Professor of Behavioral Science and Marketing at the University of...

Are you falling into “accidental jerk” mode while mentoring others without realizing it? Today’s guest, Scott Jeffrey Miller, is sharing nuances of mentoring that you have likely never considered. What it means to truly validate someone (with an example that made me blush!), how to set boundaries with your time and expectations, the thirteen different roles mentors can play, and his delightful six-step process for closing out with mentees. More About Scott: Scott Jeffrey Miller is a...

A short-and-sweet solo episode for you today on the three little words that instantly shift my mood from heavy obligation toward light, joyful action. Every time I remember to say this phrase, it’s like opening a window in a stuffy room—suddenly, there's space, air, and light. 🌟 3 Key Takeaways See tasks as opportunities, not burdens: What within them are you grateful for? What are your reasons for doing them in the first place? This phrase helps with three things: stress...

As relationship expert Ester Perel says, “Too many people bring the best of themselves to work, and bring the leftovers home.” This is one of several notions that sparked today’s guest, Simone Stolzoff, to reconsider his relationship to work. We’re talking about his unique approach to researching his new book, The Good Enough Job, interviewing over 100 primarily white-collar workers, but only featuring nine stories in depth. His goal is that you’ll treat this book—and our conversations—less...

“The evolution of our species built into our brains and bodies an emotion, our species-defining passion, that enables us to wonder together about the great questions of living.” That’s just one of many illuminating conclusions that researcher Dr. Dacher Keltner discovered in his scientific studies of awe. In this conversation, you’ll learn about the eight wonders of life, how to experience more everyday awe (and take yourself on awe walks), and what’s behind our current crisis of meaning. As...

“By trying to appeal to everyone, you appeal to no one,” writes Lisa Bragg. “Instead of broadcasting, think of narrowcasting.” The clue to today’s conversation is in her name, an idea she grew up grappling with: to brag (or not). “Hidden gems” are often told to work in the background or “be so great they can’t ignore you.” But the world is just too noisy for that now. Lisa is sharing how we can “shimmer with pride” gracefully, without veering into obnoxious braggadociousness (yes, I just made...

“If it’s not a paradox, it’s not true.” So says today’s guest Marc Lesser, long-time mindfulness teacher and business leader. In his latest book, he considers what would happen if Homer Simpson, the Buddha, and Alice in Wonderland walked into a proverbial bar. How would each react to tricky situations? What would be the integrated way forward? We also talk about being asked to leave his previous company, Brush Dance, after fifteen years and how he navigated a new phase of his career as a...

How are you holding yourself back? From the whispers of your soul, your deepest power and purpose, from your highest calling? That’s what we’re diving into in today’s tenth (!) Pivot x Career Pathfinder series podcast episodes with Adrian Klaphaak. You’re invited! Join us live for the next recording session on November 7 at 1:30 p.m. ET — ask questions in the chat or if you’re feeling brave, come off of mute to be in the coaching hot seat :) Register to join us here » Are you looking for a...

Two-thirds of Americans say they’re unhappy with their work (70%), and three-quarters say they plan to look for new work over the next year—that’s 100 million Americans. Today’s guest breaks down what’s behind these workquakes; why they are happening more frequently; how he navigated a major “pile-up” in his 40s of death, disease, and financial disaster; ghost jobs; and the most powerful question you can ask yourself about what’s next. More About Bruce: Bruce Feiler is the author of seven New...

I love celebrating big milestones here on the pod, so in honor of my 40th birthday tomorrow, I decided to do something a little different for today's solo episode. In lieu of a “40 things I’ve learned in 40 years listicle,” since I am only sure of less as time passes, I asked my husband Michael if he could think of four questions for me to answer. He threw in a bonus in the middle that nearly made me spit out my coffee :) 🌟 Michael’s Five Questions In this new world full of daily...

“So many things in my past were painful because I stayed on too long.” How do you know when it’s time to say goodbye to something, no matter how good it may seem or how hard it is to leave? For today’s guest, Nicole Antoinette, staying too long created a pattern of “scorched earth change,” where dramatic moves became the only way out. In this conversation, we discuss where she thinks the creator economy is heading, why she shut down her successful Patreon, and how she makes tough decisions...

“I was in the wrong environment, playing the wrong game . . . so I started self-sabotaging.” That’s how today’s guest, Paul Millerd, knew it was time to opt out of conventional thinking about his career, and turn slowly but deliberately in a new direction. In this conversation we talk about how important it is to define enough, develop an immunity to what other people are doing, and his mantra, “coming alive over getting ahead.” Be sure to listen to our Free Time conversation 205: Why Paul...

We are celebrating a very special milestone today—the Pivot podcast’s eighth birthday! It's a veritable third-grader by now. This podcast first launched in September 2015 as a teeny tiny scrappy side project to supplement the Pivot book while I was writing it. I had so much fun interviewing people and hitting record that by the time the book launched in the fall of 2016 one year later, the podcast had almost eclipsed it as the favorite thing that I do on a day-to-day basis. Now, thanks to...