A System For Success You Can Repeat For Your Project Or Podcast - Episode 59

We all want to feel successful at the things we do and if you’re like me there are some things where the path to success feels more difficult or complicated like especially when doing something NEW, like a new project or venture. 

You deserve to give yourself the opportunity to have moments of success in anything you do but especially in the creative things you do because we need your voice and your perspective, we need you to keep going and if you feel success, it’s a lot easier to keep going. Listen to get my system for success that you can apply to any creative process you're in!

Barsi [00:00:00]:

Hi, welcome back. This is Barsi, your host of Be Bold Begin, and I am actually at a conference right now called Podcast Movement in Nashville, Tennessee, and I'm speaking there tomorrow. All about success. We all want to feel successful at the things we do. And if you're like me, there are some things where the path to the success feels more difficult or complicated, like especially when doing something new, like a new project or venture. So I want to talk to you today about success, because that is what I'm talking about at Podcast Movement tomorrow. So you actually get the sneak peek to the presentation.

Barsi [00:00:47]:

So maybe you are wanting to start a podcast, since this is the podcast. See, season, Season five is all about podcasting, if you haven't noticed. So we're going to use that as an example. And if you're feeling like there is so much to do and so much to focus on when getting a podcast started and getting things done, it can feel like a lot, then finding a way to create success as you go can seem like an obvious thing you want. But how do you begin to measure success? How do you begin to create opportunities for for success to happen? And how do you begin to measure success without falling into comparison and imposter syndrome and letting your fears take over? If you're like me, this will happen at some point, and honestly, it just happens to all of us. The only people it doesn't happen to maybe are people who aren't trying, who aren't putting action to their ideas and taking steps towards their creativity, and people who want to do something but maybe decided to opt out. Maybe they're not experiencing imposter syndrome and comparison and fear, but I think they might be so afraid that those things will happen that it becomes sort of an oxymoron because it is in fact their fears that are already stopping them before they start. So I digress a little, but I thought since some of you can't join me at the conference, that I would share with you my system for success that I will be sharing with everyone on stage at Podcast Movement tomorrow.

Barsi [00:02:21]:

And if you're attending by any chance, please join me. I would love to meet you. So if you have ever felt any of these things, and if there are things you want to create or in progress in right now, then this process is for you. You can actually use it for anything you're doing in your life that you want to show up for consistently. Here's a hint. Consistency is a big component. So I'm calling the presentation the Secret to Success Revealed.

Barsi [00:02:48]:

But for us I'll be focusing more on the formula I came up with as a system to success that you can use. Because if you've been following along on this podcast, then you already know a lot of the other things that I'm going to cover in the presentation. And if you're new and you're listening for the first time, then I suggest going back to episode 46 and 47 from the begin podcasting series. So episode 46 is called three steps to defining youg Message with Practice purpose, and episode 47 is called the Key to a Successful Podcast and Defining Goals to Measure By. Those are all really great foundational pieces that help support this process I'm about to talk about. And I'll tell you right off the bat right now what the secret is that I promise to reveal in the presentation I'm sharing tomorrow. Here it is. Success is a Feeling.

Barsi [00:03:40]:

That is the big reveal. I going to share with you a way to create more opportunities for success. But the fact is that success is a feeling because at the end of the day I can share this with you and you may still not buy in to your own success. You get to choose if you want to have it or not. There are tons of people out there who we perceive as successful who may be doing quote unquote well at their desired outcomes, but they may not feel successful. And that lack of successful feelings can create lots of problems. It can affect how you make creative decisions. Like for example, if you're creating something and aren't registering the successes you're having along the way, or even realistically measuring the unmet goals, you might make changes to your creative decisions that are actually working already.

Barsi [00:04:35]:

Or you may start focusing on the wrong details. But not to mention the fact that you deserve to give yourself the opportunity to have moments of success in anything you do, but especially in the creative things you do. Because we need your voice and your perspective. We need you to keep going. And if you feel success, it's a lot easier to keep going. Okay, here is your system for success that you can repeat for your project or podcast. The first thing I want to mention to you is that you really want to understand where you're at. And what I mean by that is really know what stage you're in in the process.

Barsi [00:05:13]:

If we're talking about podcasting, I think we can narrow it down to five basic pre launch or beginning launching, year one intermediate, which I'm saying is anything after a year and ongoing, which means you've made it past a couple of years. So those are the five that I've narrowed it down to. The reason I like to point this out is because of those beasts I mentioned earlier, the imposter monster, also known as imposter syndrome in comparison, and our fears. If we have a very clear understanding where we are on this map of stages, then comparing ourselves to others who are clearly at different stages might be a little easier to identify and to avoid. It also helps us really hone in on what types of goals we want to set, which is what a lot of this system I'm about to talk about hinges on. So that said, let's go through this from the perspective of a launch phase. Let's say you're in the stage of launching. So we have our podcast, we have recorded a bunch of episodes, let's say 10, and we have a plan to release it once a week for the next 10 weeks.

Barsi [00:06:21]:

We did everything we need to do to set it up for release, and now we are ready to set our goals. But before I give you a few goals as examples that would work well for this stage, I I want to share the equation I created with you. So this is the system, this is the equation. So here it is, small goals plus action steps plus time period to test, which I should have added consistency, but showing up for all of those things consistent equals your measure of wins and misses. So again, that's small goals plus action steps plus time period to test, and that will equal your measure of wins and misses. And the idea here is to do all these things consistently for the time period that you've decided upon. Per our example, it's 10 weeks. So we set up some of these things already, like our time period.

Barsi [00:07:17]:

Like I mentioned, we decided to record 10 episodes to release over 10 weeks, which gives us how long we plan to be consistent with our actions so we can then have an accurate measurement of success. So what I mean by that is whatever goals we choose, we'll have action steps that we create in order to try and achieve those goals that we'll do consistently for 10 weeks. And we'll be able to check in on how these action steps are converting and helping us reach our goals, or whether we need to make some adjustments. So let's create some goals and remember, these are examples, but they are common ones for the launch phase as well. We just want two to five to really focus on per little period like this. So I created just a few. One, let's say we want to master our sound quality. Two, let's say we want to test and tweak Our format structure meaning the the type of format we use each time we create an episode.

Barsi [00:08:20]:

And number three, we want to release consistently each week during the 10 week period. I know I keep saying this, but this requires action steps and planning in itself. I know it's a little bit meta, but it's a good one to have on the list. So the idea for these goals is to check on whether your actions are getting you to your goal. It seems obvious, but it's not uncommon to skip the check in part, which is the part where you get to have the moments of success. Literally writing down your goals and how you plan to try and achieve them. Meaning your action steps can be a great way to start creating a more tangible process. And it can also help you remember what to assess when deciding what worked and what didn't.

Barsi [00:09:07]:

Again, since we're talking about podcasting, I actually don't recommend really making any real assessments before a little time has passed. You're most likely going to break that rule in the beginning and want to look at your analytics right away to see if anyone is tuned in. And that is totally normal and fine to do. But checking multiple times a day or even every day isn't necessarily helpful. I actually suggest maybe once a week, once you check, a few times after you launch, and depending on the goal, maybe even closer to once a month where you really do a deep dive and take a look at how things are going. But this is key. I don't suggest changing anything yet, even when you're checking. If you're checking along the way right before the 10 weeks is up, I don't suggest making any big changes.

Barsi [00:09:57]:

If you plan to test something for those 10 weeks, then I suggest keeping most of your original decisions in play for that time period so you can really see how everything progress performs. Of course there are situations where pivoting in the moment is your best choice and you are just going to have to trust your gut in those cases. So here's a bonus tip. Count your bonus wins. What are bonus wins? They are the awesome things that are happening along the way that aren't necessarily accounted for. They're not on your list. There are so many things that you're going to get better at just by engaging in the process. Like most of us become more confident on the mic or get better at creating questions or outlines.

Barsi [00:10:41]:

Where are you noticing things getting easier? So those are amazing opportunities for success as well. Once you do decide to really check in on how you met your small goals during this time period, make sure to acknowledge them. You may even want to decide how you want to acknowledge them. Like, do you want to share it somewhere or celebrate it in some small way with yourself or your partners? Or even just write it down next to your goal that it has been achieved, which is pretty cool. So I have to take a moment and mention the importance of community during this time or really at any time, because community really helps you feel apart and helps with that sort of isolation that happens when you're in the process sometimes. So finding a space where there are people creating something similar and. And going through a similar process as you can be priceless. Sharing wins with a group like this is such a great way to celebrate your success and to connect and know that you're not alone and to have people on the other end who really do understand the struggle because they are also embarking on similar goals.

Barsi [00:11:51]:

And it's one of the best ways to also be realistic when measuring success. But it also helps you keep going, which of course creates more opportunities for you to have success. If you are indeed wanting to podcast or are already podcasting, then I mentioned that I met Podcast Movement. They have a huge and amazing Facebook group that I've utilized many times. I love that group. I love this community. I really do love them. It's why I'm here.

Barsi [00:12:19]:

It's why I came all the way to Nashville to talk to them. And I go every year whenever I can. That's a wonderful resource. Also, if you get stuck along the way and if you love this show and what we talk about here, we have My Community, my Be Bold Begin community, which is also Facebook group. And if you join me there, then we can talk about what stage you're in, in whatever you're doing and what you're working on. And of course I definitely want to hear your wins, so please come hang out with me there. And of course, there's a link in the show notes in all of the episodes to join us at the People Begin Facebook group. I promise you, community can really make a difference.

Barsi [00:12:59]:

So I can't talk about where things went right without talking about where things might have been a little off. So when setting small goals like this, it's important to also observe and acknowledge where things aren't going as planned. This will allow you to adjust your action steps, decide if it goes on your next goal list or if you just need to refocus and remove it for now. Sometimes we pick goals that don't really belong at the stage we're in, but we don't know that yet. Until we go through the process a little bit. So sometimes when we look at things that aren't working, we can let them overshadow the things that are. So my tip for this is to try and come from a place of observation. Just notice the things that aren't exactly working as best that you can.

Barsi [00:13:44]:

Just notice them. Like observe it. A phrase I like to use for myself is I wonder. Like I wonder why people aren't responding when I ask them to review my show. Or I wonder if there is a better way to ask them. This helps me come up with solutions by just asking it in question form rather than getting hung up on not getting the result I want from the efforts I've made. Then the last thing you have to do is keep going. Soon enough it'll be time for another set of goals and action steps to try for another period of time.

Barsi [00:14:20]:

And the process here is ongoing. So keeping it positive by staying connected to your joy and your reason for doing it again. Check out those other episodes I mentioned earlier for more on that episodes 46 and 47 from the begin Podcasting series. But creating opportunities for success becomes a huge factor in keeping it going and keeping yourself growing and the project growing as well. You get to choose if you want to have a process filled with doubt and uncertainty, or if you want a process that feels successful. Because remember, success is a feeling and feelings can be fleeting. So finding ways to choose the good stuff so that you can fall in love with the process again and again is how success builds and how it really happens. So I hope this helps you along your journey and whatever you're creating, whether it's a podcast or something else.

Barsi [00:15:19]:

And of course I want to hear about it in our Facebook group, our Be Bold Begin Facebook group. So I hope to see you there and I will talk to you next week. Bye. Thank you for listening to Be Bold Begin. Don't forget to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts so as not to miss an episode. So the best way to ensure you get all the new episodes is by subscribing Help us build a positive community by joining the Facebook group also called Be Bold Begin. I'll be checking it daily to answer and acknowledge any of your questions and comments. Stay positive and safe out there.