The End Of An Era

You might have noticed that you haven’t had a new podcast episode for a while. You might have gone to the podcast app or to the podcast page here on the website looking for a new episode and not found one. This is because I’ve made a decision that I’ve been mulling over for a while, now.

Actually, I’ve been struggling with it because this is a really big deal for me, but today it feels like the right time to say it out loud… I’m stopping my podcast 😢 I’m not pausing it. My podcast and I aren’t Ross and Rachel on a break. I’m stopping it for good.

I know I could have just let it go but I’d like to give you an explanation – firstly because you may be a long term listener, but also because there’s a valid business lesson here that I hope you’ll take as permission for you to do something similar if you need to.

For the past few years, my podcast has been about the non-diet space and intuitive eating. I love that work with every bone in my body. I still get mad and up on my soapbox about this stuff, I still believe every word I’ve said about it, and it’ll always be part of how I think and how I coach. That hasn’t changed. But where I am now and what I’m talking about now is different.

I’m deep into the mindset of being a business owner. I love the work around the confidence, self-belief, and the inner work that affects how we show up and build whatever it is we’re building. I tried to take the podcast with me. I rebranded, put together an episode to explain the changes, and recorded a few episodes. But for whatever reason it hasn’t felt quite right. Maybe the fit wasn’t right, and maybe the listeners from the original version of the podcast aren’t interested in the new episodes. Pretending otherwise wasn’t fair to anyone, including me!

It was such a hard decision though. My podcast has had over 120,000 downloads. That’s not a small thing. There’s a part of me that looks at that number and thinks surely you don’t just walk away from that? Surely you find a way to keep it going, even if it’s not quite right any more, because look how far it’s come?

But that’s exactly the kind of thinking I talk to my clients about all the time in our coaching sessions, and where I have to practice what I preach.

Holding onto something because of what it represents for you and not because of what it actually is for you now is not being in service to anyone, and doesn’t allow you to fully enjoy what you’re doing. It’s not right to keep a service of any kind active because stopping feels like waste, or failure, or like you’re letting people down.

It’s time to be honest with myself about this. It’s become a chore rather than something fun in my week, and it’s not serving the listeners or my business any longer, so I’m letting it go.

I’m letting it go with real gratitude for everything it’s been and everyone who’s listened. For every comment I’ve received, every download or view, every guest I’ve chatted with, and every bit of fun I’ve had along the way.

At some point, not too far away I’ll start a new podcast, built properly around what I’m actually here to talk about now.

So, on that note, if there’s something in your business you’ve been holding onto because of what it represents rather than what it actually gives you any more, I’d ask you to sit with that for a minute. What would it feel like to put it down?

p.s. this is exactly the kind of thing we’ll be working through inside The Rise Membership — letting go of what no longer fits, and building a business and a mindset that actually aligns with who you are now. Want to join us? Just click here.