Happy Birthday TWP! 1 Year of Podcasting

I share with you what I have learnt about commitment from publishing a year’s worth of podcast episodes (3:20), how to commit to your business like you would as an employee (10:45) and overcoming the ‘inner mean girl’ voices in your head (14:50).

Audio Transcript

Intro (0s):
The Wanderlover podcast was created with a mission to enable travel and freedom through entrepreneurship. I’m your host, Danielle Hu, business mentor, content creator, and founder of the Wanderlover. Tune in every week for episodes about travel online business, social media, and mindset that will inspire you to take massive action towards living the life of your dreams.

Danielle (36s):
If you’ve been enjoying The Wanderlover podcast, if you’ve been tuning in and finding inspiration and taking away value, it would mean so much to me. If you could take a second to leave us a review on apple podcasts, I continue to record these episodes for you every single week and take all of your comments and feedback to heart. Thank you guys so, so much. Hello, my loves and welcome back to The Wanderlover podcast and happy first birthday to The Wanderlover podcast. They say a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. And one year ago on October 5th, 2020, we started The Wanderlover podcast and 55 episodes later.

Danielle (1m 19s):
We are now celebrating our first year, which means we have released a new episode every week for the past year without fail. We launched with three episodes and it’s been 52 weeks since that. So that is definitely a cause for celebration. If you’ve been listening to this podcast for the past year, if you’ve been in my audience for a while, and there’s a part of you saying, you know what, maybe you should just give it a try, like start an online business. Maybe you should try to pursue your ideas and passions, but then another side of you, if you’re saying to yourself, I don’t know what online business to start. The market is too saturated.

Danielle (1m 59s):
I have so many ideas. I don’t know which one to choose. And you’re stuck in this limbo of paralysis by analysis. I am hosting my first monthly masterclass this Saturday on October 10th for 90 minutes. And it is the start your online business masterclass. So in these 90 minutes, you’ll get my custom framework on how to choose your best suited business. You’ll be reflecting, learning, and I will be mentoring you. So holding your hand through the whole process so that by the end, you will walk away with an action plan for the rest of the year. You’ll also be surrounded by other entrepreneurs on the same path.

Danielle (2m 39s):
This is my exact framework that I take all of my private clients, all of my mastermind clients through at the beginning of their journeys. And we’ve just seen so many aha moments through it all. And I am confident that if you are in that limbo space and you just want to move the needle forward, then this is for you. You can sign up in the episode description and I will see you this weekend. If you can’t make it live, it’s okay. Just DME, all of your questions beforehand, there will be a replay available that you can watch and rewatch for the rest of your life. And no matter what, just know that after this masterclass, you will be steps ahead of where you are right now.

Danielle (3m 20s):
Okay? So it is October. It has officially been one year of podcasting. For me, it is the beginning of quarter four, and this is the time of year where I tell all of my clients, all of my students to pick it up. And this episode is going to be not only a reflection of this past year, but also kind of a kick in the butt. If you will, for those of you who may be losing momentum, and I’m here to say that this is just the beginning and we are going to make quarter four of 20, 21 the best quarter yet. So I think it’s really important to set the tone before you start any venture, before you start any business is to ask yourself, are you committed?

Danielle (4m 9s):
Because if you aren’t committed. So let’s say I wanted to start this podcast last year, but I wasn’t fully committed. I would not, would not have produced a new episode every single week. Like we traveled around the globe. I’ve been in places without wifi. I’ve been to a number of parties where I just couldn’t function the next day. You know, like there were so many things in my life that pointed in all directions that the sustainability and this consistency was not possible. But when you are committed to something, your priorities surpass all of those obstacles, all of those excuses.

Danielle (4m 51s):
And so if you are thinking about starting an online business, or if you’re thinking about starting a YouTube channel, a podcast, a tick talk, ask yourself, are you committed? And a lot of times your gut will tell you you’ll be like, Hmm, I I’m curious, but I have like one foot in and one foot out, or like I’m committed until maybe something comes up and it shows that I’m not worthy of it. And then I’ll give up, right? Like be really honest to yourself. Are you committed to this new venture? And if you are honest yourself and you admit to yourself saying, I am not committed instead of just blindly committing to it, right?

Danielle (5m 31s):
Like tell yourself I’m not committed. And then ask yourself, why are you committed? Is it because of the fear that you’re not good enough? Is it because of the fear that you might not have enough time, whatever it is that comes up, address it. When you are honest to yourself and you admit to yourself that you aren’t committed, then all of those excuses surface. And then when you address those excuses, if you actually want something bad enough, you will commit 150%. So I just updated my free case study. I will also link that in the description, or you can find it on my website.

Danielle (6m 15s):
I just updated the case study after a few years. And I noticed that with all of my private clients who have children or who have gone through something really traumatic in their life, like losing a close family member, they have this level of commitment to their lives and to their businesses that surpasses their ego, that surpasses whatever life can throw at them, because they know that life is short and life has not addressed rehearsal. So God forbid, like I do not wish this upon anyone for you to have to experience something so traumatic or have to have a child, you know, like I don’t have any kids, but I understand I can feel their energy and feel their commitment because they’re doing it either for someone else or for a next level version of themselves.

Danielle (6m 59s):
They don’t care if they embarrass themselves, they don’t care if they fail, they know that they only have one life to live, or they know that they have a child to feed right, or a child to take care of. And this is the driving force behind their commitment. So I’m going to ask you, are you committed to your business and to yourself for the rest of the year? I do not want to hear any excuses. And if excuses come up then great, because then you can address them and silence them. Don’t tell yourself you’re committed. And then be like, oh, but I have this party to go to or, oh, but I need to take some weeks off. If that is you. And that is the case, then that’s completely fine.

Danielle (7m 42s):
If that’s what you prioritize on, what you want at this stage in your life, but do not expect to Excel in your online business or in whatever venture you’re pursuing. If you are not committed a hundred percent. Does that make sense? So ask yourself, what are your priorities at this point for quarter four, October, November, December, what are you prioritizing? Are you prioritizing your business after a year of podcasting? What I have also learned is that if you commit to something, you need to be committed to your discipline and your work ethic. This goes hand in hand with making up excuses.

Danielle (8m 24s):
If you are committed to disciplining your workflow and to have this seamless workflow where you can consistently create every week, when you can consistently show up for your audience, when you can consistently work on your business, then that is where success shows. So this is really hard as a full-time traveler. I will admit that I have an episode about like the pros and cons of traveling full-time personally, I would not trade it for the world. I believe that discovering new places, immersing myself in new environments that has led to the success of my business, because I can take in all this new energy, all this new creativity, I need to be constantly stimulated by my surroundings because that’s just the type of person who I am.

Danielle (9m 9s):
And that’s how I function. And that’s how I create the most effortlessly. However, if you are the same type of person and you don’t hone in on your discipline and your work ethic, and you’re just traveling and having fun and saying yes to anything and everything that comes up when you’re surrounded by other travelers and not prioritizing your business. Then like I said before, where your energy goes, where your attention goes, energy flows and results show. So if you’re not directing energy and you’re not committed to this a hundred percent and you’re prioritizing play and discovery and everything else over your workflow, then your work isn’t going to flow.

Danielle (9m 60s):
I’m not saying you have to give everything up in your life, but you need to book in when it is that you are 110% focused inside your business and figure it out for yourself. It’s going to be different for everyone. But for me, I usually don’t batch my podcasts episodes, and I know a lot of other people do that. But for me, it’s a lot more manageable if I just book out an hour or two and my calendar for one day, at least once a week. And that’s when I record. And that works so well for me. It doesn’t have to be a giant, giant chunk of time. But when you do book out that chunk of time on your calendar, make sure you are dedicating to creating and executing and producing whatever it is you intend to do.

Danielle (10m 46s):
So of course, it’s so much easier when you’re working in a corporate job. When you have that discipline and you have that work ethic because you go into an office and your mind just says, okay, this is my office. This is when I work. I’m being judged and watched by my coworkers and my bosses. I have to hold myself accountable because I could get fired. You’re capable of doing that, right? Like if you worked for someone else, you are fully capable of executing at that level. So why not do the same for your own business? Just because you can be working from the tropics doesn’t mean that you need to completely give up that really discipline side of yourself, right?

Danielle (11m 27s):
Find that balance and find a way that makes it blend really well with your life. It’s going to take practice. It’s going to take time. I know, at least for me coming from corporate, every time I took days off and I took a vacation, you would not think about work at all, right? You can completely disconnect from it. But if you are an entrepreneur, it becomes this work life blend. And over time, what’s amazing is you’re creating and taking photos and showing up for your audience and documenting similar to how you are documenting when you go on vacation on your personal Instagram or on Snapchat and stories, right?

Danielle (12m 7s):
But this time you share it with your audience and it becomes part of your brand. And if you really are committed, you will find the discipline and you will find the work ethic. Let’s say you want to release a new YouTube video every single week. If you are going to hold yourself up to that standard, you will budget out time in your week to edit your video, to create that video, to brainstorm for that video. Right? I promise you, you are completely capable. I also came across this post on the internet that I will probably share to my stories, but I want to share it with you guys. First it’s called truth bombs. So what it says is healthy grocery shop, a hundred dollars too expensive dinner date, a hundred dollars reasonable month supplements, a hundred dollars.

Danielle (12m 58s):
Oh, can’t afford that night out drinking a hundred dollars. Oh, it’s a weekly occurrence, personal growth seminar. $250 crazy talk, no way. Gucci belt $250 need to have it start a business. A thousand dollars. I can’t justify that iPhone a thousand dollars. The newest model is a necessity. 60 minutes at the gym. I wish I had time. 60 minutes watching Netflix, time flies. Let’s watch another episode. Everything in life is about priorities and what you prioritize will dictate what your life looks like.

Danielle (13m 37s):
Where will you be in five years? And in this case, where will you be at the end of the year? So in three months time, I also want to walk through a few very relevant and likable examples of what discipline looks like in business and what I’ve learned this past year, just from doing it over and over and really getting my own system down. So growing up, I was super rebellious. Like anytime someone imposed any kind of roles all my life, I would instinctively rebel. I think this came from growing up in a conservative, relatively strict Asian American household. When my mom told me that I couldn’t get my ears piers, I literally, I took a safety pin and I put it over our stove and I pierced my ears in front of her.

Danielle (14m 26s):
And she also like really hated tattoos. So the day I turned 18, I went to go get my tattoo, even in corporate, you know? And I was like, well, I only have this many vacation days. Like that was also a reason why I probably quit because I didn’t like being told what time to be in the office. And I didn’t like being told how often I could travel in a year. It just wasn’t fitting. And so taking this over to entrepreneurship, I’m sure a lot of you can relate because I tend to attract those of you who are also rebellious and think in this manner, when it comes to entrepreneurship, I feel like over time, I’ve developed this duality, you know, those voices in your head.

Danielle (15m 5s):
Sometimes they’re like the inner mean girl. Other times, it’s just this other voice in your head trying to talk you out of your ideas. Sometimes their limiting beliefs. Sometimes you listen to those voices. Sometimes you give in and most of the time, they’re usually the side of you. That’s a little lazier, that’s a little less disciplined. That’s talking you into a choice. That’s more comfortable. And most of the time, a choice that will keep you in your exact same situation. So for example, let’s say you set out today to create a real and Instagram real within the next hour. And this is something that I prioritize a lot of times in my business. I’ll be like, I need to create a real today.

Danielle (15m 47s):
So I’m going to take the next hour to find a real, recreate it and post it. I have a bunch of saved sounds in my Instagram library. So a lot of times I’ll refer to those, but other times, you know, I will not really be completely motivated to be creating this real. And then this little voice in the back of my mind, we’ll just, we’ll be like, you know what? Let’s do some market research. Let’s just look through the reels. Let’s look through all of these reels for quote unquote inspiration. And so I go on Instagram and I’m starting to scroll through the reels for quote, unquote inspiration, and then 10 minutes will have passed.

Danielle (16m 29s):
And I’m still scrolling, still scrolling. And at that point, you know, it’s not inspiration anymore. It’s just you getting distracted. And you can realize that, right? Like you clearly know that you are spending time not creating for your business. And you’re trying to find quote, unquote inspiration. And that is the exact time when that voice comes up again. And they’re like, no, just keep going. You’re finding inspiration. This is your work, but your conscious knows that that’s a lie. And when you catch yourself lying to yourself, that is when you need to take back the power and just execute change direction, be like stop.

Danielle (17m 12s):
I’m going to pick one song and I’m just going to start recording. So stop that pattern. Stop yourself from scrolling to the next reel, realize that you’re lying to yourself because it’s no longer for inspiration and you’re just getting distracted and it’s not for your business. And you need to commit and prioritize your business. Another example, sometimes I put on my calendar from nine to 10:00 AM. I need to record my podcasts, but then I’ll be eating breakfast at eight 30. And I finished breakfast at like eight. And I’m supposed to be recording my podcast at nine in 10 minutes.

Danielle (17m 54s):
And I’ll say to myself, oh, but you’re just so comfortable here. And you’re digesting it’s self-care I don’t need to be rushing to do this. I can do it at 11. I can do it later in the day. I don’t need to record my podcast. That is the voice, recognize that voice and realize that they are not serving you. So when I catch that voice saying that to myself, I don’t feed into that. I don’t give into it anymore. I feel like it’s just this voice. That’s so conditioned from, I don’t know, my corporate days or my childhood, but it does not move your business forward. And so what I will do is I will literally jump out of my chair and go get my microphone and commit to that 9:00 AM deadline that I have set for myself.

Danielle (18m 44s):
Like sure, I could have done it at 10. I could have done it at 11, but when you hold yourself to that standard for your business, how do you think your business is going to end up? Right? Like if you worked for a company and they told you to get into work at nine and you’re like, oh, I can show up at 10. I can show up at 11, you would get fired. So why not hold yourself to that same accountability? Don’t give yourself an extra hour or two when you really aren’t doing anything else, right? Like if you would do it for, for me, it was bank of America. Like I would do it for bank of America. I should sure as hell be doing that for the wander lover. Another example of discipline and not lying to yourself.

Danielle (19m 26s):
I hope you guys can relate to. And I’m not just, you know, saying things that I go through and you’re like, what you do that. So another example, weekly newsletter every week, Thursdays at 8:00 PM. So that’s 8:00 AM New York time. And let’s say, I didn’t write it that week. And Thursday comes along. It’s 6:00 PM. And my friends text me, Hey, let’s go out for dinner. There is a really cool pasta deal. And we’re all going in my mind. I could be like, well, this weekly newsletter could wait until Friday.

Danielle (20m 7s):
I could be like, I can write it after. And I don’t need to hold myself to my deadline. And I really want to go out with my friends. But in reality, if you go out that is prioritizing friends over your business, and I’m not saying you need to, but at that point, if you haven’t prioritized your business enough where your weekly newsletter isn’t ready by then, then at that point, if you’re not going to honor the deadline you set for yourself, you are prioritizing your friendships over your business. And so if you don’t want that to happen, make sure you have time in your week, maybe the day before, maybe two days before and not procrastinate, half those workflows in place.

Danielle (20m 53s):
So you don’t need to prioritize friendship over your business, right? Make both of those work. But if you continuously prioritize all of your friendships, all of your fun over your business, and you’re not dedicating the same amount of effort to your business, you’re not going to see results. And had I not figured this out, had I, you know, just waited last minute and then talk myself out of it. I would not have released a new episode for the wander lover podcast every single week by 1:00 AM Eastern. So every single week I released a new episode at 1:00 AM.

Danielle (21m 34s):
So that my listeners who are in New York, who are commuting to work, they have my voice to listen to on their morning commute, they have new content and new inspiration and things to laugh about. And I cherish that. I know that it’s doing not only me, a disservice, but my entire audience, my entire community of listeners, that if I don’t hold myself, if I don’t find my discipline and I’m not committed, it’s not just me on the line. It’s my listeners right now, all of my future listeners and my entire brand as The Wanderlover. So the next time you catch that voice, trying to convince you out of doing something or trying to talk you out of doing something, ask yourself, are you going to listen to it?

Danielle (22m 20s):
Are you going to give in and realize that if you do give in, realize that you’re prioritizing something else over your business. And that also means I’m not committed and it doesn’t mean you’re not committed forever. It just means you’re not committed in that decision. So whether that’s, I’m not committed to sending out my weekly newsletter, I’m not committed to releasing this podcast episode on time, admit that to yourself. And that’s how you will hold yourself accountable. Don’t lie to yourself. Don’t be like, yes, I’m committed. But I also really want to go out like, be honest with yourself. Just say, no, I’m going to prioritize this over that.

Danielle (23m 3s):
And next time it will be different. And once you can do that, then you can start seeing how you can frame your days to be the most conducive to everything that you want to achieve out of life. The other thing I learned over this past year, and just over the past few years of running my own online business is that starting and running your business is like having a baby. I don’t have any babies, but I can only imagine what it’s like. And the fact is your business is like your baby. So your learning will never end your nurturing as a parent will never end. And I think when I first started this podcast and when I started my business, I was a shortsighted.

Danielle (23m 47s):
I kind of thought, oh, I don’t have to do this for forever. Right? Like I can make a million dollars by running Facebook ads, or I can make a million dollars by launching this one program. Or there was always an end to my business. And over time I realized that your learning never stops. It’s never going to be one course or one program or one coach or one episode. That’s going to make you quote unquote, make it. You’re never going to quote unquote, make it. You’re always going to be trying to reach the newest milestone. There’s always going to be something more.

Danielle (24m 28s):
And even the people you admire, you know, Gary Vaynerchuk, Tony Robbins, they’ve been in business for so many years and they’re still going. Your business is your baby. And you need to look at it like that. You need to embody that there is no failure. If you keep going, right? Like if your child fails at soccer, it doesn’t mean that they’re a failure. They can surf. They can play tennis. There’s so many other things. And so not viewing business as a one hit wonder and not viewing podcasting as, oh, I’ll record 10 episodes and be a chart.

Danielle (25m 8s):
Topping podcaster, not releasing like two YouTube videos and thinking those are the two YouTube videos. That’s gonna give you a million subscribers. It’s literally a child. So nurture it, pay attention to it, keep learning. And it’s going to be with you for the rest of your life. And similarly, you’re not going to know how to be a parent, unless you’re actually parenting. Unless you actually have the baby, you can conceptualize and theorize how being a parent would be. But I’m aware that I will never know until I actually have a child myself and with your business, it’s the same.

Danielle (25m 50s):
You can read all about it. You can watch other people do it, but you’re not going to learn and actually get any solid experience for yourself until you start your own business. So learn by doing and also realize it’s okay to not have it all figured out in the beginning. It’s okay to feel like you’re not ready to start a business. Sometimes people don’t feel ready to have a baby, you know, and life happens and you can start one and still be successful. So I think these are my main takeaways from this past year of just consistently podcasting, consistently traveling and growing my business.

Danielle (26m 32s):
The last tip I will leave. All of you is to ask questions and learn from people who have been there, learn from people who have the answers. If you’re wondering how do something and you don’t ask the question, it’s not going to fall into your lap. You need to be proactive and realize that you’re wasting time. If you’re not finding the answer, you’re wasting your precious time waiting for an answer to plop into your lab. And most of the time that’s not going to happen. And if you keep that up, your business, isn’t going to be successful. So if you have any questions, go ask someone. I am hosting my first masterclass this Saturday. If you’ve been wanting to start your online business, and you want to decide on your business idea and have a strategy for the rest of the year, within a week, sign up for start your business masterclass.

Danielle (27m 26s):
In the episode description, we’re going to have Q and a. I’m going to be welcoming questions all along the way. So it’s going to be super intimate and interactive and transformational. So I really hope to see all of you in my first master class, I’m also secretly doing it because I hate public speaking in front of strangers. And I’m like, what better way to do it than just doing it right? So I’m scheduling this every single month until I feel like I have no more topics to cover, which probably will never happen. But for all of you who are kind of scared, I’m with you and you just have to do it, can’t wait to celebrate this podcast.

Danielle (28m 7s):
Second birthday with all of you next year, have an amazing week guys. And I will see you all next week.

~~~

✧ Register for Start Your Online Business Masterclass LIVE: https://thewanderlover.com/start-your-online-business 

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