Episode 100 · Tuesday, 12 August 2025

Episode 100: A behind the scenes chat to celebrate 100 episodes!

A milestone reflection on why universal productivity systems fail most business owners and how self-awareness of personality frameworks can prevent burnout and resentment.

By Unfrazzle | 37m listen | 11 chapters
Episode 100: A behind the scenes chat to celebrate 100 episodes! cover
Unfrazzle · No. 100

About this episode

Louise Miller celebrates the 100th episode of the Unfrazzle podcast by welcoming marketing coach Janine Coombes to reverse the interview roles. Miller reveals how she leveraged Gretchen Rubin’s Four Tendencies framework to identify as an obliger, a realization that forced her to build external accountability systems to sustain her business and weekly content schedule. This milestone conversation challenges the industry obsession with rigid time blocking and universal productivity hacks that often fail the majority of business owners.

Janine Coombes shares her personal experience of deleting a coach’s mandatory time-blocking calendar to escape mental paralysis, while Miller details her Wealth Dynamics profile as a high-steel and high-tempo personality. The two discuss the limitations of ChatGPT and AI in personal coaching, citing a case study where automated advice provided contradictory guidance to a client. Miller highlights her work with Teresa Heath-Waring as a model for esoteric coaching that blends mentoring with hands-on implementation. The recap also addresses Miller’s history with work-related anxiety in her mid-30s and her subsequent shift toward the slow living movement inspired by authors Selena Barker and Marianne Cantwell.

Reflecting on the relentlessness of a weekly schedule, Miller explains her strategy of republishing archive episodes during summer breaks to prevent host resentment. She recounts her 2019 breakthrough in public speaking and references a memorable introverted speaker at Atomicon to illustrate the balance between self-awareness and comfort zone expansion. The episode concludes with a look toward the next century of episodes and an invitation to the Make It Happen Club.


CHAPTER 01 / 11 Discussion

Louise Miller and Janine Coombes Celebrate 100 Episodes

Louise Miller welcomes listeners to the 100th episode of the Unfrazzle podcast, marking the milestone with a special interview format. Marketing coach Janine Coombes joins the show to interview Miller about her business journey, consistency, and self-awareness. Miller also invites listeners to join the Make It Happen Club, described as a sanctuary for clarity and motivation.

louise miller· janine coombes· unfrazzle podcast· make it happen club· 100th episode

00:00 Before we get going, I have an invitation for you. If you're ready to find out how much easier it becomes to get things done when you have Make It Happen Club in your life? The doors are open to new members right now and i would love for you to join us! So Make It Happen club is a calm quiet sanctuary where you get the clarity focus and motivation you need And now, onto today's episode.

00:46 Welcome to Unfrazzle. It's me Louise Miller and I can't quite believe it but this is the 100th episode of the podcast and i thought i would mark the occasion by doing something a little bit different so, I've asked my friend client and marketing coach Janine Coombes if she'd be willing to interview me for today's episode Now I didn't tell her what questions to ask me, I thought it would be fun just to see what sort of things she wanted to hear about and to see what would happen when i was put on the spot. So we talked about all sorts of things including consistency the fact that I don't always do everything I put in my calendar either Why I find it tricky to sell what i do and the importance of self-awareness and how that's been such a key part of my own business journey. I often receive messages from people saying they enjoy the podcast so much they wish the episodes were a bit longer, So this one is for you! This IS a slightly longer conversation...I really hope you enjoy it we'll be back to normal again next week but for now grab a cuppa and let's get started

01:43 So Janine, thank you so much for agreeing to do this for me. I appreciate it so much! I am excited and actually also a little bit nervous about what you're going to ask me but i'll pass over...I'll hand over the reins! Welcome to your podcast! Oh it could be This Is Your Life couldn't it? If I'd got organized I could present I think we presented you with a big red book and the young people listening to this will not understand what i'm talking about. 200th episode, let's do that! Well done like isn't the statistic that only a small percentage of podcasters make it even beyond seven episodes? Yeah 100 feels like an achievement and I completely flew by the one year mark

CHAPTER 02 / 11 Discussion

Gretchen Rubin's Four Tendencies and Accountability Styles

Janine Coombes and Louise Miller discuss Gretchen Rubin's Four Tendencies framework, which categorizes how individuals respond to internal and external expectations. Miller identifies as an "obliger," noting that she requires external accountability to meet internal goals, such as maintaining a weekly newsletter and podcast. They contrast this with the "upholder" and "rebel" tendencies, exploring how self-awareness of these traits helps in managing business commitments.

gretchen rubin· four tendencies· obliger· upholder· accountability

02:27 I was thinking, oh i should have done something to mark the fact that we've been going for a year and I missed that one so I thought right 100 episodes. That's when I will take a moment to just pause and celebrate! So yeah... Is it fair to say that consistency is a superpower for you? Hmmmm....I don't know if I would have put it like that but when I've decided I'm gonna do something and I've made a commitment to doing it and I'm clear about what that thing is and why I'm doing it then yeah Probably is actually, I mean i've been emailing my list every week consistently for years now. Doing this every week consistently hasn't felt too difficult so yeah probably. Which leads me to a discussion point because we're both a bit of a fan of the odd personality profiling tool not all of them but some are extremely useful

03:22 And I think when we first spoke properly online, we bonded over Gretchen Rubin's Four Tendencies didn't we? We did. Yeah yeah that's one that i have found most helpful when it comes to helping my clients. I feel like...I don't know that it told me anything I didn't already know about me because I am in the group that is the most I'm going to test you now, go on.

03:59 So it's basically Gretchen Rubin's framework for how people deal with internal and external expectations. So the internal expectations being the things we want to do for ourselves, and nobody else is going to know about it, and external things being things we can do for other people or where other people will know so showing up for clients and all that kind of stuff um... And she's created these four different tendencies based on all of that I am an obliger which basically means I'm very good at doing things when other people are expecting something of me but if it's an internal expectation, i need accountability. But what I found most useful about the four tendencies is helping me understand other people who are not that way because you and I are not the same are we as far as that's concerned? No, no! I'm a sort of a questioner rebel so I swing from... So rebels don't want to do

04:55 It makes me sound really bad. But rebels, if they decide to do something and they commit to it then it makes them less want to do it and the people ask them to do it, they sort of naturally want to shun it and questioners in her matrix supposedly kind of want to prioritise what they want to do over what other people have asked them to do but in reality how it plays out is that they question everything so its a really super farm Being a questioner rebel and upholders, they do things that they want to do themselves and what other people expect of them. And it's funny because I kind of think of you more as an upholding. You know? I know you've always said that you're an obliger but like that...you know, I decided to do it. I knew the reasons. I did it. I've been emailing my list regularly for years.

05:48 So you've sailed past the year mark without even thinking about it for podcasting? Yeah, I think there is accountability in that though because in my mind those people are expecting that of me. So I am accountable to my audience as far as that's concerned even though I know none of them are going to tell me off nobody's paying me to do those things, you know they weekly emails and stuff but there are always things... You know I could put something And quite easily ignore it if nobody else knows about it. I'm not the sort of person who just decides they're going to do something and does it regardless, I'm struggling to think of an example of that now but there are definitely times when I have tried the whole put-it all in your diary and get it done which is very much an upholder way doing things and it hasn't worked for me

06:33 I'm struggling to think of an example, but yeah i'm definitely more of an obliger. If nobody else is expecting it from me and I haven't got that accountability It's much harder for me. Yeah well maybe it's just testament to the fact that you're very self-aware And you've found ways to manage it? And I probably don't talk about it when I don't do things, do I! Because none of us want to share that side of ourselves. Maybe I should! I seem to talk about when i don't do things a helluva lot, but maybe it's just for you? Like, I haven't done that thing again and moved that and the deadline has moved... yeah oh dear um there's another uh profiling whatnot

CHAPTER 03 / 11 Discussion

Wealth Dynamics Profiles and Business Collaboration

The discussion shifts to Wealth Dynamics, a profiling tool featuring eight business personalities and four energy types. Louise Miller explains her high "steel" and "tempo" energy, which makes her proficient in detail and timing but lower in "blaze" and "dynamo" creative energies. She credits Janine Coombes with providing the creative messaging support she lacked, leading to a mutual client relationship and professional collaboration.

wealth dynamics· steel energy· tempo energy· blaze energy· dynamo energy

07:17 I'm going to put that out there. It sounds a bit, it puts me off but at the same time it's quite useful and there are eight profiles? We're not going into every single one because we're here all day and it's not what we do but it was interesting the way we first met on LinkedIn didn't The first time I met you was in Brighton at an event in Brighton. We were at Helen Patterson's event together, yeah it was an excellent event she should have kept doing it just for us to go along um yeah so we met there and then you wanted help with your messaging and positioning of your services so you came to me and then as the weeks were going on I was like she is taking the mickey here because she's describing me on purpose!

08:16 I felt like you were describing me on purpose and i was like she's gonna say something soon because this is obviously me, and you hadn't clocked it. No! You know what was in my brain? And I suppose over time we have become a lot more honest with each other but at the beginning of any kind of working relationship I think that's one great thing about what we do is that I get to see behind that and what is really going on for people. So yeah, I didn't realise you were struggling with the things that I was talking about until...I suppose over time you did keep going right this sounds like me let me just think what would I say in those situations?

09:03 So, Janine as my ideal client in helping me with my messaging because you could just speak from your own experience which... It's still my woes and my moments. Yeah so the long of the short of it was, you were a client of mine but very soon I was a client of yours and then we're mutual clients edged closer to some kind of collaboration, but we haven't launched anything yet. But never say never! Never say never yeah and I think going back to the wealth dynamics thing the reason that i came to you was because I realised...I knew that what I did was brilliant and the people who experienced it loved it but my personality, my skill set all of that stuff was making it really hard for me to help other people understand all of that

09:50 So I needed someone very different from me to help me figure that out, which is you. You know, I was stalking you on LinkedIn for a couple of years before I reached out watching your fabulous creativity on display and I thought that's what I need and I'd done what we all do invested in other people and it wasn't exactly what i needed but I got real clarity around I need someone who can help me with my messaging and articulating all this stuff yeah which was really helpful for me In Wealth Dynamics, there's these eight profiles that kind of sit around a square and there are four different energy types. And for me in my profile my highest energy types are steel and tempo which means I'm very good at detail, I'm very good at timing if i say I'm going to do something it will get done and you can rely on me to help get it done

10:38 The other energy types are blaze and dynamo. I have got almost zero of both of those things, and the blaze dynamo is putting yourself out there going paddaaah! And kind of schmoozing and being visible and all that stuff...and the dynamo is similar to that it's about ideas. I'm gonna hope I haven't got all this wrong, haven't got my notes in front of me. Oz if you're listening forgive me but But it's all the kind of ideas and the creativity and all of that stuff, both those things are quite low for me. So trying to think of new ways of expressing something and sharing something with the world was just impossible so you were a massive help for me as far as that was concerned I think what you discovered is that you needed support with the steel and tempo over on my side of that Wealth Dynamics square

11:24 And I think your book, which is over my shoulder just there if you're watching this on YouTube. You kindly put a little message in the cover of the book for me saying something like thank you for being near the half of my brain and i feel very much that way about you and I think Wealth Dynamics helped us see that yeah articulate that for us Yeah it sounds like I'm going really deep now maybe I am but knowing you has allowed me to get myself get to know myself more And the same I think, we work really well together and we do help each other a lot. We have all these little lovings every now and then like, I appreciate you so much! Yeah. And we all need that and sometimes we feel like we should be able to do it ourselves

CHAPTER 04 / 11 Discussion

Rejecting Universal Productivity Hacks and Time Blocking

Louise Miller emphasizes the message that individuals are not "broken" if popular productivity hacks like time blocking fail them. Janine Coombes shares a personal anecdote about feeling paralyzed by a coach's rigid time-blocking requirements until she deleted the entries to regain mental space. They conclude that most productivity advice is tailored for "upholders," who represent a small minority of the population.

time blocking· productivity hacks· self-acceptance· gretchen rubin· business coaching

12:15 And that if we can't, that means we're failing somehow and we can't do it all on our own. We all need people around us whether that's just cheerleaders or people actually filling the gaps that we have in our own skill set and knowledge. Yes, and segueing into what you actually doing? One of the things that reassured me About working with you and being a client of yours is this whole message that you keep feeding out regularly about, You are not broken. If you find it hard to get stuff done, you're not broken It just means that you haven't found a way that works for you And you're trying to follow all these other hacks and tips and advice They work for some people but just because they don't work for you doesn't mean

13:04 that you're wrong, they are wrong for you. And that was just such a relief and it was so funny because then I saw those examples everywhere. As you know, I work with a coach who was such an evangelist for time blocking as a rebel-y person, I felt like I was in a straitjacket. And I had all these diary entries in my diary, the whole diary was booked out for months And I couldn't, like...I felt paralyzed. I couldn't actually work until I deleted it all and I could breathe again! Yeah yeah and these people that share that stuff they're really well-meaning no one is going out there on purpose trying to make people feel rubbish about themselves

13:49 But I think, and I think it's a risk for a lot of people. We find what works for us is the same with food and exercise and all that kind of stuff isn't it? You find what works for you and you do want to go around sharing it with everyone say, I found the secret! And it's amazing if you just do this too but It just isn't right for everybody and a lot of people who work well with time blocking or that kinda stuff are upholders going back to Gretchen Rubin's four tendencies and the upholders are the smallest group out of the four from her research And yet they're the people that we think we need to be listening too, because they can do it. So if we do what they're doing but just doesn't work like that so yeah for me is much more about helping people figure out or identify what's worked for them in the past What feels good? What doesn't feel good and over time iterating how they do things until they find a groove that works for them Until maybe it stops working for them and I need to change things up a bit and again That's not failing that just does evolving. So yeah It's very much that

CHAPTER 05 / 11 Discussion

Creating Thinking Space Through Slow Productivity

Drawing from her experience as a virtual assistant for over 20 clients, Louise Miller explains that business owners often lack thinking space rather than better systems. She argues that tools like Asana or AI are secondary to the need for slowing down and prioritizing effectively. This philosophy led to the creation of the Make It Happen Club five years ago, focusing on calm and clarity over quick fixes.

virtual assistant· asana· thinking space· make it happen club· productivity systems

14:46 Though a lot of your clients are similar to me, we're like idea people and very pingy and too many ideas. Too many ideas and notes everywhere on all that jazz which you're not like that but somehow you have come up with a set of ways of working and holding space for people And your methodologies that help people like me. So how did that happen? Because if you're not like me, how did you... because the common route is what we've just talked about this work for me and it really I'm done brilliantly because it works for me and I'm going to teach you the same way whereas you seem to have built this

15:29 So, how does that work? That is such an interesting question and I'm going to think the answer through out loud so who knows what's gonna happen. First of all, having worked as a VA for as long with more people than I did, I wouldn't even want to try and guess how many clients, at least 20 It gave me that insight into how lots of different people do things and how we're not all the same. And what works for one person isn't going to work for the other, and it was a very big privilege to see behind-the-scenes in people's businesses so I think that gave me insight that I wouldn't have had otherwise. And I also think that it very quickly became apparent to me that it's not the system that people need – it's not about teaching them

16:25 To get organized, how to manage their time. How to plan that's kind of secondary for me I think what i realized was happening is that people were not giving themselves space so that is...I would say the biggest part of what I do is giving people that space and when they've got this space to think they do start to notice about you know what's working for them and what isn't it does become easier to prioritize To think about, okay how much is it helpful for me to put in my calendar and how much if I put too much in? Is that going to start to feel constricted like you were saying. So I've never been the sort of productivity person who is about...I'm gonna teach you all how to use Asana or look at this new app that's just been released and there are people like that there are people who are very with

17:16 Like down with the tech and all of the newfangled things that are coming out, and how you can use AI to help you. And all of that for me is not actually the solution to the problem. The solution to the problem is slow it down step back for a minute think about what think about what you're trying to do? And now what do you need to do to get there? How are you going to make that happen? It's that thinking space that people aren't giving themselves. It's not about the tips and tricks I don't know whether that's answered your question but that's kind of come into my head Yeah, just go with it. No I know what you mean so it's the classic strategy before tactics isn't it? The asana and the tools are fabulous once you know what you're doing yeah and you can't asana yourself into knowing what you're doing you need space and I do meditation you know just 10 minutes a day on the car map

18:08 But that's all about quietening. So your methods are quite meditative, it's like let's quiet it all down and lets have some space and I'm going to talk you through this way and allow people to find their own answers Yeah, and I think... It's nice to be coaching without coaching isn't it? Yeah it is. And I think I've had enough creative ideas people who were very busy bouncing around all over the place come back to me after a session and say oh my god I came feeling so stressed out and now I feel really calm and clear and know what I'm doing. And I think over time getting that feedback, I mean Make It Happen Club will be five years old this year So there has been a lot of people sharing that feedback with me That made me go yeah this is, I am on the right track This is helping people

18:54 Getting people to the point where they realise that and come and sit in the room an experience it is very different because I think we're used to, particularly with kind of this speed at which people want to be moving these days looking for a quick fix and looking for the solution and looking for the free download all that stuff. But yeah, it's not that. It's the sitting quietly and if you're an extrovert and you're out bouncing around giving all of your energy to other people all the time You're not giving yourself the space to think and go what do I want? What do I need how am i going to make that happen So yeah, it's pretty special even if I do say so myself. It is! And it's interesting you saying, you know people just want

CHAPTER 06 / 11 Discussion

Limitations of AI and ChatGPT in Personal Coaching

The conversation addresses the rise of ChatGPT and AI in coaching and therapy, with Louise Miller expressing concern over the lack of human nuance. She recounts a client's experience where AI provided contradictory advice, highlighting that technology cannot access a person's innermost workings or intuition. The hosts advocate for trusting one's own "inner knowing" rather than seeking immediate, automated answers.

chatgpt· artificial intelligence· intuition· coaching· therapy

19:36 We're so used to like just productivity and quick, in the quickest way possible. And dare I say that chat GPT and AI is not helping in some ways because then it becomes oh just ask chat for GPT? Yeah What's what what's the next direction they using it for coaching people are using AI for therapy? That scares me a little bit. I had a client talking to me about that recently, she'd asked... she'd been using chat GPT to help her with something that she was getting stuck on and she read..she was like oh it was really helpful and she read back to me what chat GPT has said to her and it contradicted itself about three times in what she'd read to me and she so wanted to believe it and for it to be helpful she missed it

20:23 All that ChatGPT is doing is scouring all of the stuff on the internet and serving you up things that it thinks are going to help. It doesn't know about your innermost workings, what has worked for you in the past and what hasn't or any of that stuff. The nuance isn't there and humanity isn't there. I suppose to compare, ChatGPT could give you a quick answer which may not be the right answer but you're helping people Think into their knowing and find a way to listen to their own intuition. I mean, that's what we need always to reconnect with and stay connected too isn't it? Your inner intuition. Yeah! It is trusting yourself isn't it...I think

21:11 Rather than expecting somebody else to know better and for somebody else to have the answer, I mean I fall into that trap as well. You know, I come to you all the time asking you stuff and you're like what do you think? And yes, I do know the answer! I just want someone else to tell it to me so yeah if we can all just trust ourselves a little bit more...and you know i get it feels when you get that answer from chatbgpt and you think oh yeah that sounds good It does feel good because you think you've solved a problem and maybe you have for about five minutes But is that really going to stick and be sustainable in the long term? I don't know. I suppose it depends on the... There are things that is useful for, and there's things that we should be using our intuition for on our garden things So talking about how wonderful you are And how wonderful Make It Happen Club is And your wonderful one-to-one program In It Together People are obviously just gonna get one sniff of you and sign up aren't they

CHAPTER 07 / 11 Discussion

Esoteric Coaching and the Teresa Heath-Waring Case Study

Louise Miller discusses the challenge of marketing her "esoteric" coaching style, which blends mentoring with practical, hands-on implementation. She cites her work with Teresa Heath-Waring as an example of a partnership that focuses on the "nitty-gritty" of getting tasks done. They distinguish this approach from "pure coaching," which only extracts answers, and "consultancy," which only gives instructions.

teresa heath-waring· business mentoring· consultancy· practical coaching· marketing

22:15 Well, as we found out the issue with what you do it's weird and magical so that people don't get it do they? Not immediately. No absolutely and that's where you have been a big help when I started working with you initially I thought I was doing something wrong And after I'd spoken to you for a while, you said, I am not surprised you're finding this difficult. It is difficult because it's not something that people know. It's not like I can say I'm a graphic designer or I'm a bookkeeper and these things people understand so yeah it has been and continues to be a challenge. I think the word is getting out there that it works. I could feel the momentum building

22:52 And I'm forever trying to find ways of giving people an experience of what it feels like. And I'm hoping that the podcast has been doing that for people, just giving people a sense of... well helping them get to know me a little bit better and giving them those little minutes of quiet and calm where the pace just changes a little bit and noticing what that does for them in their nervous system but yeah it's an interesting old thing trying to… It feels really counter-cultural what I'm doing And swimming against the tide a little bit and that can sometimes be a little bit exhausting. Yeah, I mean like we touched on earlier it's like coaching without coaching now how do you sell that? How do you explain to people that is worth your time and money in your investment It's a very...it's an esoteric concept at the moment So just going to give you an example and i'm gonna name a name because I know she's talked about this openly as well so she won't mind but Teresa Heath-Waring is one of my one-to-one clients

23:52 And the reason I was able to work with her was because I jumped on a call with her, to do some research for her. She was looking for research people to do some market research and I said I'll do that! So i went have a chat with her and then as she was hearing about what I do and I was explaining it to her... It was like a light bulb went on and she went hmmm....I think that might be what I need And she had been looking for a coach and the coaches she'd been looking for weren't giving her what she needed because it wasn't hands-on enough and it wasn't practical enough. Because most coaches, it's not their job and they don't want to get into the nitty gritty and get into the weeds around well what exactly are you going to do when are you going to do it? And that's essentially what I do when I'm working with people one-to-one so it was only from having that conversation where she was like oh! I think maybe I want that...I think that maybe is what I need and then we had more conversations and then we ended up working together

24:48 I don't know why am i looking at the time. Time doesn't help me know the answer to that question but in a year and a half we've been working together now um and it's a partnership made in heaven and she has managed to get some amazing things done with me kind of helping her stay focused and prioritized with all this stuff she's juggling, but yeah it's that kind of how helping people understand what it is that's tricky. Yeah because coaching is fabulous you know? I'm a huge fan of coaching! I've had loads of coaches not got coached moment who Get so much out of, but coaching. Pure coaching is extracting the answers from people and consultancy is telling people what to do and sometimes you don't need either of those things. Yeah yeah and the answer's you know what you should be doing it's just these ideas people we get sort of wrapped up in and confused

25:44 Overwhelmed. Yeah, trying to unpick it all I remember having a conversation with someone a good few years ago now who had she'd got coach as well and she was coming off calls with her coach really fired up and excited about all of the things they said they were going to do and then she come to me going when and how am i gonna get all this done based on everything else I'm doing So both things can work together nicely. But yeah, it's a very different beast I think. So let's bring it back to the podcast! So 100 episodes are you still enjoying it? Do you enjoy doing it? Yeah, I do

CHAPTER 08 / 11 Discussion

Podcast Sustainability and Avoiding Host Resentment

Reflecting on 100 episodes, Louise Miller explains how she maintains podcast consistency by planning episodes in advance to avoid the stress of "winging it." She shares her strategy of republishing old episodes during a summer break to prevent resentment toward the "relentlessness" of a weekly schedule. This approach allows her to honor her introverted personality while maintaining a presence for her audience.

podcasting· content planning· introversion· summer break· consistency

26:24 Yeah, I think this is something else that has been a key part of my kind of evolution in my business and i'm glad and grateful that I started this way. I started out my business journey going deep into who I am without wanting to get too existential like what works for me? What doesn't? What feels good or what doesn't? And as soon as I started the podcast I knew I needed to do it in a way that suited me and my personality And the fact that I did that from the start, I think is what has allowed it to stay feeling easeful and doable. I'm not naturally the sort of person who would want to be having guests on every week and interviewing people – I would find that stressful! I also don't think I could talk for half an hour

27:09 I'm much more... We say that but we're, you know, we're doing pretty well. That's true if it was just me talking i wouldn't be able to do it for half an hour but i found a way of doing it that works for me and you know i plan my episodes i know what i'm going to say before i press record i'm not a winging-it kind of person so knowing all of that about myself allows me to factor that in when i'm planning it and how i'm recording it and putting it out there I am enjoying it. Sometimes, I think i'm running out of ideas and then I realize I'm not! We're just coming off the back of me pressing pause a little bit over the summer so I've decided that for about a month over summer I'm just going to republish some old episodes so I can give myself a break. I think that helps so I don't start to get resentful

CHAPTER 09 / 11 Discussion

Introversion and the Slow Living Movement

Louise Miller describes her journey toward self-awareness, which began in her mid-30s following a period of work-related stress and anxiety. Discovering the concepts of introversion and the "slow living" movement allowed her to stop pursuing traditional markers of success like larger houses or cars. She credits authors Selena Barker and Marianne Cantwell with helping her design a business grounded in her personal values.

introversion· slow living· selena barker· marianne cantwell· work-related stress

27:59 The relentlessness of it, I still enjoy doing it. So yeah, long answer to your question! So I'm quite envious of your self-knowledge like I feel like I am more knowledgeable about myself than ever naturally but It feels like you are so aware Of your personality, your likes and dislikes You know what? Your strong at what you would prefer to avoid and it just feels like you give yourself Pause when you need to pause and you manage your energy. Like how have you become so self-aware? When did that happen and how, and why? So I mean it didn't start to happen until probably about 10 years ago. So i'm 45 now and I think I was mid 30s when I started to kind of think about that stuff because things were feeling a bit off back when it was in my job and I was suffering from work related stress and anxiety and all of that

28:56 I discovered introversion, that was a big aha light bulb moment. Oh this whole must speak up more thing is nonsense actually i'm fine as I am there's nothing wrong with me so that was my first hint of the you're not broken thing and naturally introversion can be a superpower but when I was signed off work with stress and anxiety that's when I then discovered the slow living movement which is all about slowing down and being intentional To think more deeply and differently about what I wanted from life, and what i didn't want from life. And I can remember really clearly walking through a really nice affluent part of the county that we live in looking at the houses and the cars going...I don't want that! You know you think you're supposed to be getting a bigger house every however many years and upgrading your car every however often? And I just thought I don't want that because I don't want what goes with it in terms of distress

29:54 And having to maintain that kind of lifestyle. So there was kind of those bigger questions around what do I want from life? But to be honest, I think when it came to starting the business it was just my way in. It...I came into it via two amazing people called Selena Barker and Marianne Cantwell. Marianne's got a brilliant book called Be A Free-Range Human. I'm in the second edition so if you go get that look out for me um and Selena Barker has uh she's all about designing a life that you love and you can't design a life you love if you don't know What makes you tick and what you love and don't love. So I consider myself really lucky that was the case because it meant everything i've been doing right from the word go has been kind of grounded in that knowledge and awareness, but I don't have to do like everyone else

CHAPTER 10 / 11 Discussion

Balancing Self-Awareness with Comfort Zone Expansion

The hosts discuss the fine line between honoring one's personality and using self-knowledge as a limitation. Louise Miller shares how she overcame a fear of public speaking in 2019 to grow her business, despite her initial resistance. They compare this to an anecdote about an introverted speaker at Atomicon who performed well but decided never to repeat the experience, illustrating the importance of trial and error.

public speaking· atomicon· comfort zone· professional growth· networking

30:45 But also, you know saying that I think you can limit yourself having this self-knowledge of what you like and don't like is very easy to then limit yourself. So i've also been challenged in that over the years. I remember in 2019 my coach at the time invited me to speak at her networking event and my response was have you met me? It's absolutely no way! I would ever dream of doing that and if she hadn't had that faith in me, I would have just said no. I would never have put myself forward and i did it and I loved it! And if I hadn't done that and stepped outside of that well-that's not for me mindset...I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you right now so whilst self-awareness is really good we need to be careful not to allow it limit what we're doing. What do you say your experience has been? That's a biggie isn't it?!

31:39 I think that's a question that i've wondered about myself as well is how do you know whether you're saying no to something because You know it's gonna waste energy and it's the wrong thing to do, and you're trusting your gut. Or are you saying no because it is too far outside your comfort zone or it is outside of comfort zone? What's that difference? And as one my favourite things to ask... As you know I work with coaches a lot It's one of my favorite things to ask coaches The answer usually is oh you feel in your gut and I'm like can you? Can you? Maybe I am just not tuned up enough

32:22 Yeah, I think that's where having a really strong grasp on what you want your life to look like can be helpful. For me the speaking thing if i want to have the business that I want with the clients that I want people need to know who I am so I'm gonna have to make myself uncomfortable and it's stretching the comfort zone isn't it until that becomes your new normal and in new comfortable but you're right I think tuning into knowing the difference between This is absolutely not the right thing for me and the kind of rumbly feeling you get when something's nerve making, nerve-wracking but also a bit exciting. It's very nuanced isn't it? And I actually think that sometimes you only know by trying it as long as you're not committing yourself to doing the same thing for the next five years why not dip your toe in the water and see what happens. That's true, not many things are

33:20 Irreversible if you know what I mean. As you know, I spoke at Atomicon a few years ago and one of my fellow speakers is an introvert and she did an amazing job! She was brilliant really good feedback from everyone and we spoke about it afterwards she's like i'm never doing that again Never doing that again, even though she did a really good job. She seemed calm she came across fine feedback was amazing I've no doubt it helped her business but she knew never again whereas i loved it yeah get me off once on the stage yeah so yeah i suppose that is

34:02 That is the gut, maybe. You might not know before you try it and then if you try it and yes deep in my bones this is not where I'm meant to be and I hate it. Exactly! And a lot of people keep themselves stuck because they're waiting for that clarity and they're waiting to know and have that certainty and don't want to move until they know but the clarity, confidence and certainty comes from taking action doesn't it? Not sitting around waiting for divine intervention If we have a listener, well let's hope we've got more than one. Let's hope we've got a listener yeah! To the millions of people listening to this episode what is the one thing that you would like to say to them? Thank you is that really cheesy thank you for listening I really love knowing that there are people

CHAPTER 11 / 11 Discussion

Final Reflections and Episode 101 Preview

Louise Miller concludes the 100th episode by thanking her listeners for their support and feedback. She encourages those struggling with productivity to experiment with self-awareness and "quiet calm" to find ease in their lives. Miller provides links for Janine Coombes' LinkedIn, the Make It Happen Club, and a "Buy Me a Coffee" support page before looking forward to episode 101.

make it happen club· linkedin· buy me a coffee· podcast reviews· episode 101

34:58 Finding what I'm sharing helpful and I get responses from people all the time telling me that they find this a little pocket of calm. So thank you for listening is my initial thought but, I think i want to go back to what we said right at the very beginning if you struggle with any of this stuff it's not your fault there's nothing wrong with you just haven't figured out yet and the only way you're going figure out how is to try stuff experiment Try and build that self-awareness so that you can put your blinkers on a little bit around You know, blocking out the noise of what is and isn't right for you. And if you can give yourself that quiet and calm and make that part of the rhythm in your business and your life... In my experience, and I think in yours as well, things start to feel easier. Doesn't mean they're ever completely easy but we find more ease in there, I think. Yeah

35:51 Well, Louise Miller it has been an absolute pleasure. Thank you for coming and speaking on your own podcast! Thank you Janine for having me on my own podcast no thank you for doing this I really appreciate you being willing to come and chat with me today Always Thank you so much for listening. If you are still here at the end, I know this is a slightly longer than normal episode. I just want to say thank you for sticking with me! I really hope you enjoyed this peek behind the curtain of my business and my brain So Janine and I talked a little bit about the work that i do And if you're at all curious about that and what it looks like to work with me then head over to The Show Notes and I'll share a link To more information about Make It Happen Club and My One-to-One Mentoring

36:33 And if you want to know more about Janine, you can connect with her over on LinkedIn via the link that I'll pop in the show notes too. If you want to support the podcast, you can buy me a coffee. Again the link is in the show notes and last but not least I just want to say huge heartfelt thanks for lending your ears, leaving ratings and reviews and sharing your favourite episodes with friends. I couldn't have got 100 episodes without you! Thank you so much for your support and I look forward to seeing you again next week for episode 101