We all wonder: “Do I know what I’m talking about?”
I got featured on a podcast! I feel especially excited about this podcast because not only is it my first, it’s also featuring some incredible entrepreneurs who have become close colleagues, collaborators, accountability-holders, and inspiration throughout my process of creating The Puzzle of Parenting program.
There’s a common goal in every parenting group (whether spoken or unspoken) of creating community - of providing a space for parents to connect with each other, to hear they are not alone, to reduce the intrinsic isolation of parenting. I’ve at times struggled with how best to achieve this goal - the isolation I experience as a parent doesn’t usually happen when one of these groups is meeting, or it’s not about a topic I necessarily want to bring to a group.
I’ve felt the same way about business development groups, too. I get the goal, we’re entrepreneurs, we’re working independently, we all feel lonely, but in a group we remember we’re in this together. And yet, I haven’t always felt less isolated - I’ve sometimes felt even more isolated. Lucky for me, Annie Schuessler brought together a different kind of group, and I feel so grateful to have been a part of it and to continue to build relationships with my fellow participants.
In Annie’s podcast, I talk a lot about my process of developing my program, about doubts I’ve had along the way (see blog title above), and perspectives I’ve found shifting. And amazingly, there are more parallels to parenting than I realized. For example, these three takeaways, which I could have just as easily written about parenting (with a few slight wording changes in #3):
1) I know that people are going to have different answers
2) I know that I’m going to make mistakes, and
3) I know when people sign up to work with me, it’s not about some secret I have access to that I’m going to share with them, it’s about my time and attention.
Or, as I conclude in the podcast: “I know that what I have to give is not just information, it is a way of thinking, a way of honoring effort, of building skills, of seeing and hearing, of creating empathy - and that comes from who I am and how I am, not only what I know. And, as it turns out, this is the same thing I want parents to know about parenting.”
If you're interested in listening, check out Rebel Therapist, Episode 181 at the link or wherever you listen to podcasts. Bonus: you'll get to hear about the powerful work my colleagues are doing, too. (In addition to the links shared in the podcast, I've linked to each of them below). If reading is more your style, I've posted a transcript of my portion on my web site.
A huge thank you to Staci, Sonya, Samantha, Heidi, J, Jesse, Valerie, Judy, Jen, Liz, and Kelly! And the biggest thank you to Annie, Rebel Therapist, who brought us all together and supported us in this journey.