Have you ever wanted to start a business, a blog, a membership or a podcast? I think I’ve wanted all of the above at one point or another but the big, exciting one for me was the podcast. I dreamt of hosting inspiring guests, creating meaningful connections and having interesting conversations all with the scope of helping others do more of what made them feel alive…
Blocking myself
It took me a ridiculously long time to get this far and a major stumbling block for me was wanting clarity on what to talk about, or rather, what my message was. I was still figuring it out and then trying to come up with a podcast that would fit but nothing felt right. In 2022 I was close, as I started making lists of people I’d like to have on the show and I could see something of a ‘vibe’ but nothing I could put into words yet. It was frustrating to say the least. By the Summer I got so frustrated with my inaction, that I decided I just had to start in some way, even without being clear on everything. That’s something I’ve heard said a million times, “start before you’re ready” and “with action comes clarity”, but it’s not easy to start something when you can’t see where you’re headed.
Just get the damn thing started!
The catalyst came when I decided to get all my equipment out one day when my partner and children were out. I was sick of being the person who talked about starting a podcast but never did it. That was not who I wanted to be so I made the decision to become someone else, someone who felt the fear but did it anyway. It was a fun afternoon recording myself trying out introductions, a trailer, freestyling… most of what I said got binned but it was a LOT of fun! I figured since I didn’t know exactly how to describe what the podcast was or who I wanted to talk to, I would begin with a couple of solo episodes and work on a trailer. I must have recorded that damn trailer about 15 times – including the most recent version, finally released in January 2023.
A deadline makes it real
But back to 2022… The Summer went by with 5 weeks spent in the UK and although I was more determined than ever to get my voice out there, I wasn’t taking the action I needed to. Autumn rolled around and I’d had enough. I made a new list of guests, including several friends and people from my existing network to help me ease into this scary, exciting project and remarkably, almost all of them said yes! The ball was finally rolling but rather than rush through the various interviews and editing with a Halloween deadline as I’d originally thought, instead I chose to proceed cautiously, booking guests from October to December, for launching in January 2023. I know that these first episodes will be shaky, amateur, a bit home-made. The questions will not always hit the mark and the audience may never come. But, for me it’s already a personal achievement just to have gotten this far! If no-one listens, I’ve lost nothing, but if someone has even the smallest of breakthroughs, it’ll all be totally worth it!
How you can get out of your own way?
So what can you do to get yourself moving? In the first place, you’ve got to want it more than any fear you have of doing it! This is probably the biggest step you could overcome. Then you’ve got to hold yourself accountable. Set a date, even a rough one and start talking about it. Let your friends (or just one friend) know so then it has to happen. Make it easy for yourself. I used my friends as my first guests because I knew I’d be super nervous but I could feel my confidence growing with each interview I completed. So much so, that for Season 2 I’ve approached people I don’t even know. Progress over perfection. Don’t get hung up on being industry standard from the get-go. This is a sure-fire way to destroy your own confidence. Start where you are, with what you have and build up from there. It feels counterintuitive to begin something when you’re not exactly sure how you’re going to do it or what the message is, or who your target audience is. We’ve all heard the ‘experts’ telling us you need to get clear on who you’re talking to or you’ll end up talking to no-one BUT, I’d like to counter this argument by saying that if you’re indecisive like me, you will NEVER get going if you let yourself get hung up on stuff like this. Start now, clarity will come, then pivot later. I wish I could go back and tell myself this 2 years ago. Finally, make a plan with some level of flexibility and then crack straight on!
As I hit publish on those first few episodes, I’m excited, nervous, proud, scared, happy and grateful for the experience and growing I’ve had to do in order to push through the discomfort of getting started. Have you ever wanted to do something similar? Have you got a project you can’t stop thinking about but at the same time just can’t seem to get going?! Get in touch if I can help you, or if you have any questions about my novice podcasting set-up!
If you’d like to listen, search THE MISCHIEF MOVEMENT PODCAST on Spotify or Apple Podcasts or click here. Let me know what you think and if you enjoy it, please support me by sharing it with a friend or leaving a review.
Until next week…
Zoe x