The Perfectionism Project

I'm not sure about you, but I always find the middle of the year to be a great time to stop and reflect on how the year's been going and what's to come. So that's what I've been doing. As most of you already know, this year I'm working towards an 'impossible' goal - to make $500,000 in my business in 2018. And I've found myself wanting to sneakily pull away from this goal so that I don't have to f...

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill is considered by many to be one of the most influential business and personal development books ever written. Being the self-development junkie I am, I of course got myself a copy! The first time I read it, however, I didn't really get much from it. It was a few years ago and while I made my way through the book I did so without really engaging with it. While I...

In June I decided to take a step back from everything I've been doing in my business and figure out where I should be spending my time. To do it, I asked myself a question that came from The Four-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss - "What are the 20% of activities that are yielding 80% of my results?". After having a good look at everything I was doing, I realised that a few months ago I decided to mak...

As many of you know, when I first started my blog I was studying full-time and working part-time. When I finished studying, I was working full-time whilst trying to grow my blog. And it wasn't easy! Gaining momentum can be challenging when you only have a couple of hours each day, but it can be done! Over the last five years I've done my fair share of experimenting and have had to figure out how t...

It's normal to feel discouraged when things aren't turning out the way you'd planned but that doesn't mean it's fun! But the thing is - if you quit and give up, you're only creating more discouragement. Which is exactly what you're trying to avoid. So learning how to manage your mind is SO important. In this episode I'm sharing: - What creates the feeling of discouragement and how to get yourself...

After spending the last two weeks listening to just about every seminar Jim Rohn ever gave (thanks YouTube!) I've been inspired to dedicate time to reading everyday. Even though I love reading, in the past I've really struggled to make consistent time for it and I've always had a lot of very good reasons (excuses) as to why I can't fit it in. But I'm managed to get back into the habit by making a...

Blogging has been one of the most powerful personal development tools I've ever come across, it's enabled me to become more confident, to inspire others, to make money and helped me figure out what to do with my life. So it's not surprising I'm a HUGE advocate of blogging. In this episode, I'm sharing exactly why I recommend starting a blog - even if you don't have ambitions to become a successful...

I started Smart Twenties in 2013 and at the time, I had no confidence in myself whatsoever. Starting a blog brought up insecurities I never even knew I had and those insecurities kept me small and stuck for a long time. Five years on, I still struggle with many of the insecurities I had when I first started but I've learned how to manage them and how to keep myself moving forward. In this episode,...

At the beginning of 2018, I set myself an 'impossible' goal of making $500,000 in my business. The first 5 months of 2018 have been a rollercoaster ride filled with failure and self-sabotage, so I thought I'd share it all with you. I've learned an incredible amount about myself and my beliefs already, as well as what it means to work towards a goal without knowing exactly how you're going to achie...

I asked you guys if you'd like me to chat about personal development on Instagram Live (@smarttwenties) and you said yes! But some of you said it's hard to find the time so I thought I'd put it all of it up on the podcast too! In this episode, I'm sharing some of the thoughts behind two of my popular instagram quotes (since the captions never give me enough room). Here are the quotes I'm chatting...

If you don't know what you want, it's insanely hard to get it. And while we all know that intellectually, many of us are still blocking ourselves from finding the answer - without even knowing! In this episode, I'm share 5 reasons you can't figure out what you want as well as the way that I've blocked myself from creating goals in the past. I hope you find it helpful! And as always, this episode i...

The fear of what people think is one that controls many of our lives. Even though we intellectually know that it doesn't matter what people think, we still find ourselves bending over backwards for approval again and again. In this episode, I'm sharing my journey with the fear of what people think and the exercises and breakthroughs that have helped me overcome that fear. I hope you find it helpfu...

So many of us work so hard towards our goals without realising that the opinion we have of ourselves is causing us to self-sabotage and stop ourselves from achieving them. It's something I've really started to see in my own life and I have no doubt you'll be able to relate to what I'm talking about in this episode! In this episode I share the aspects of my self-image that have been stopping me fro...

There's an overwhelming amount of information out there about how to be successful. And while it's important that you have certain things right, it's also extremely important that you're not unknowingly blocking yourself from achieving your goals - which so many of us do! In this episode I'm sharing 10 ways that you might be blocking yourself from success (don't feel bad - I'm guilty of all of the...

I used to love doing the Smart Twenties Book Club back in the day, but I always found it quite challenging to talk about books. Which is why I eventually stopped. But now that I have a podcast, I thought it would be fun to bring the Smart Twenties Book Club back in a chattier form. So that's what I'm doing! This is the first of many bonus episodes that will share the lessons I've learned from a bo...

If you've never tried using affirmations to help you achieve your goals, now is the perfect time to start! Affirmations are a simple way to help you train your brain to see possibilities you've never seen before (if you need a scientific reason to try it - it's called reticular activation) and create beliefs that will help you achieve your goals and stop you from self-sabotaging. In this podcast e...

Journaling is such a powerful personal development tool that I thought it might be helpful to dive into the things that help me stay consistent with my journaling habit. As someone who tends towards an all-or-nothing mindset, there are certain things I make sure I do and don't do when it comes to journaling. And I hope that by sharing the things that keep me on track, and the things that reliably...

Personal development is a journey and one that I'm still very much in the process of. That said, I've had some significant breakthroughs in the last few years of my personal development journey that have helped me release the shame I attached to traumatic events in my childhood and begin to see myself as the intelligent, beautiful and capable woman that I am. I hope that by sharing my breakthrough...

Failure is a topic that's uncomfortable to talk about and like anyone, I find it challenging to open up about the things that haven't gone so well! But I'm definitely not immune from failure and I want to make sure you guys know that, so in this episode I'm sharing the 'failure' I experienced when I launched my new online course, Your Perfect Semester , in February this year and the biggest lesson...

This episode of The Smart Twenties Podcast is a little different. I hadn't planned to record this episode but felt compelled to get out my microphone this morning and chat about what I've been thinking about with my business and sharing the messy middle with you – because I don't always have it figured out! And if you're a student and you struggle with procrastination, make sure you check out my n...

THINGS I MENTION The Tim Ferris Show Podcast 17 Questions That Changed My Life The Life Coach School Podcast Brooke Castillo's program:  Self-Coaching Scholars My Daily Vlog: 365 Days of Personal Growth

Excuses can be hard to spot in our own lives (as they always feel so real) so I hope by sharing this experience you'll be able to reflect on your own life and see where you too might be using 'too busy', 'too tired' or 'too broke' to keep yourself safe from rejection and failure.

Listen in to hear about the big planning process I just went through for 2018 and my best advice on how to plan your life so you can get everything done! MENTIONED The Best Alternatives To New Year's Resolutions Episode 5: All Things Productivity Brooke Castillo's program:  Self-Coaching Scholars My Daily Vlog: 365 Days of Personal Growth Facebook group:  The Smart Twenties Community

I loved recording this podcast episode because I get so many emails from you guys saying that you feel overwhelmed, confused and disheartened, and I'm so glad that my experience with all of that can finally be put to good use! If you've just started a blog or Youtube Channel (or want to) this is the perfect episode to help you set the right expectations and give yourself the space to create someth...

MENTIONED How To Stay Consistent Even When You're Unmotivated And if you're a student and your goal is to stop procrastinating, make sure you find out more about my online course  Get Out Of Your Own Way!