Pivot with Jenny Blake

Silent meditation retreats always intimidated me. What would it be like? Would I get bored? Antsy beyond belief? So uncomfortable I can't stand it anymore? Could I handle something like that? Do I even want to try? 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/57 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Petra Kolber radiates. When she walks into a room, it lights all the way up with her positivity, passion for life and joie de vivre. 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/56 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What lies on the other side of our fear? According to Kamal Ravikant, magic. "That's the promise of the heart," he writes in an early chapter of his wonderful new book, Rebirth: A Fable of Love, Forgiveness, and Following Your Heart. This is one of my all-time favorite Pivot Podcast conversations: Kamal inspires courage in vulnerability, living with an open heart, and road-tested practices on lovi...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! I'm grateful every day to all of you for being here listening—it's an honor to be walking our pivot paths together. I'm on Day 2 of my first five day silent meditation retreat, but didn't want to leave you hanging! Today I'm sharing the latest Q&A call recording for Momentum, my private community for side-hustlers and solopreneurs, to help you plan your 2017 pivot and set "soul go...

Tomorrow I head out for my first 5-day silent meditation retreat . . . I have no clue what to expect! The idea of doing something like this used to terrify me, even just 24 hours of silence seemed almost impossible. Now, especially after all the book marketing commotion, I am absolutely craving it. 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmeth...

This week we tackle a tiny little topic—enlightenment—with one of my all-time favorite authors and thinkers, Martha Beck. I have read all eight of Martha's books (two or three times each) as they helped me through some of my biggest transitions in life and work.  📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/52 Learn more about your ad c...

Many people want to avoid thinking about death, let alone talking about it—not to mention writing a book with "die" in the title. 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...

What an epic pivot point for our country with this presidential election. Wild week for all involved, as half the country celebrates with relief and the other half navigates its grief. 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/50 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1 in 3 people say they want to write a book someday. Are you one of them? As Michael Larsen puts it, it's no longer a question of if you can publish a book, but when and how. This week's podcast, an excerpt from my 5-Day The (He)art of Book Publishing, dives into the how of getting a book deal with a traditional publisher. (Pardon the brief echoey-ness at points!) 📝 Check out full show notes from...

How do you eliminate competition? According to Scott Stratten, who earns $1 million per year in speaking fees, the answer is simple: ignore it. Be yourself, and there is no competition. 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/48 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jonathan Fields' mission is to "live fiercely and study deeply." How does he do that while earning a living? That's what we unpack in this week's episode. According to Jonathan, "There are only two ways to earn a living: you're either solving a problem or delivering a delight. If you're lucky and creative, you do both simultaneously." 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to re...

What do the most agile pivoters have in common? That's what I unpack in this week's episode with Professor Tom Guariello, founder of RoboPsych and my co-pilot in creating the Pivotability Index self-assessment.  Researches often cite the "Big Five" personality traits: openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism (often listed under the acronyms OCEAN or C...

What happens just after you pivot? Can you sit at the edge of uncertainty—and its ensuing discomfort—and not try to fix it? After two very exciting weeks launching PIVOT, I returned home from a mini book tour and immediately got sucked into The Void. Although I knew it would come (I even blocked the entire last week off so that I had no meetings), and although I maintained all my mind-body practic...

How do hackers, innovators and icons accelerate success? Find out in this week's episode with one of my favorite authors, Shane Snow. I loved Smartcuts so much when I first picked it up that I would walk down the streets of New York holding the hardcover version so I could continue reading while walking. Move over annoying texting-while-walking pedestrians! I brought distracted strolling to a whol...

One of my favorite authors, bloggers and friends—James Altucher, author of Choose Yourself and the Choose Yourself Guide to Wealth—takes over the Pivot Podcast this week to interview yours truly. I couldn't imagine a better way to celebrate the book launch—be sure to grab your copy wherever books are sold!!  📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http:/...

Neil Pasricha's writing is like a cup of hot chocolate, or as he would describe it in Awesome Thing #119, like watching butter melt on a hot piece of toast. It is comforting and delightful. His latest book is about what he learned along his own roller coaster ride of reaching smashing success with his 1,000 Awesome Things blog and books, then realizing he still wasn't happy. We break down topics l...

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? 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with li...

The final countdown is on! PIVOT: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One launches in two weeks . . . !!! Today's episode is an excerpt from one of my favorite chapters, High Net Growth. I give an overview of career operating modes, how to assess your risk threshold, and share my pivot story of leaving Google, then resuscitating my business when I almost "blew up" two years later. You can down...

According to Gregg Easterbrook, "The men and women at middle-class standards or above in the United States and European Union now live better than 99.4 percent of the human beings who have ever existed," including most of the royalty of history. And yet, we are no happier. How can this be? 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/41...

Have you fallen into the trap of thinking that all stress is toxic? If so, you may be unknowingly compounding the effects of it on your body and mind—or at least missing out on some of the benefits and insights stress has to offer. Kelly McGonigal, a pioneer in the field of "science help" and one of my favorite authors, debunks a number of stress myths in the episode. I hope you enjoy the conversa...

This week’s guest, long-time blog friend Srini Rao, raises the bar on creativity. Don’t just create art, he says, strive for unmistakable art—output so unique it doesn’t even require a signature, and by nature eliminates all competition. It is yours and yours alone. And of course, achieving this is not a simple, straightforward feat. Check out this week’s episode on what Srini has learned from his...

A week after I returned home from the safari, I fell into a bit of a bliss crash (as my dad would call it). The trip was so exciting and rejuvenating, and on my way home I realized: my book is launching in TWO MONTHS. Two months! 📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/38 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoic...

I always have a blast talking with Mike Michalowicz—Mike is the author of several business books, one of which—Profit First—completely changed how I handle my expenses and banking. But alas, today we’re talking about his latest book, Surge, on how entrepreneurs can make their own luck by learning to spot trend waves and ride them effectively, and when to “dump” a wave as it’s about to crash upon t...

I almost fainted when today’s guest, Kevin Kelly, said yes to be on the Pivot Podcast. Kind, brilliant and the king of techno-literacy, Kevin is one of the great technologists, futurists, and thinkers of our time. We talk about how to get better at systems thinking, become more techno-literate in an ever-changing environment that fosters a constant “newbie state,” artificial intelligence, centaurs...

What happens when you reach previously unimaginable pinnacles of success . . . and still find yourself miserable? I’m stoked to bring you today’s Pivot Podcast with Ryan Holiday—marketing master, studier of Stoic philosophy, and author of several bestselling books. His first, Trust Me, I’m Lying—which the Financial Times called an “astonishing, disturbing book”—was a debut bestseller. His next boo...