AMY PORTERFIELD: “I mentally, or energetically, let go. I just let go. And I thought, ‘Whatever is supposed to happen is going to happen.’ I'm still going to show up. I'm going to enjoy the podcast. I'm going to create these episodes that I love. But the outcome, I'm going to let go of my expectations, and I'm going to let myself enjoy it without obsessing about it. I'm not going to white knuckle this anymore.
And I am going to tell you right now, over the next two weeks to follow that, we saw a rise in downloads; opportunities came our way, that we were like, that's really cool; we saw growth; we saw new comments and a renewed energy around my new Tuesday episodes. Like, it was just so cool. We've had a really good two weeks around the podcast that just feels light and fun.”
INTRO: I’m Amy Porterfield, ex-corporate girl turned CEO of a multi-seven-figure business. But it wasn't all that long ago that I lacked the confidence, the budget, and the time to focus on growing my small-but-mighty business. Fast forward past many failed attempts and lessons learned, and you'll see the business I have today, one that changes lives and gives me more freedom than I ever thought possible, one that used to only exist as a daydream. I created the Online Marketing Made Easy podcast to give you simple, actionable, step-by-step strategies to help you do the same. If you're an ambitious entrepreneur, or one in the making, who's looking to create a business that makes an impact and a life you love, you're in the right place, friend. Let's get started.
AMY: My latest podcast obsession is My First Million, hosted by Sam Parr and Shaan Puri. They discuss how companies made their first million and brainstorm new business ideas based on the hottest trends. They recently released an episode with my friend Nathan Barry from ConvertKit. It was called “How to Become a Billion-Dollar Creator.” And I loved when Nathan talked about some of his biggest failures and what he'd do if he had to start over. You know I'm a sucker for conversations like that. You can check out My First Million wherever you listen to your podcasts.
Well, hey, there. Welcome to another episode of the Online Marketing Made Easy podcast. This is another Shorty episode, and I want to talk to you about white knuckling—holding onto something so tight, wanting to control everything around it, that it's just making you feel terrible.
So, I've got a personal example. I'm going to share that with you. But before I get there, please share this episode with a friend who is building their business or wanting to get into this entrepreneurial space, because you never know how it might support them. So sharing is caring. Grab the link to this episode, wherever you're listening to it; text it to a friend; and help them on their entrepreneurial journey, because as I always say, my mission for this podcast is to help as many entrepreneurs as I can to build businesses that they absolutely love. And I would really appreciate your help in sharing an episode that you feel would be valuable to your friends.
Okay. So, let's talk about today's episode, today's topic, and that is white knuckling. And when I talk about white knuckling, I'm specifically talking about you holding onto something in your business, and you're holding onto it really tight. And the reason you're holding onto it really tight is either you are trying to control every aspect of it; you have unrealistic expectations that you're not able to meet, so you’re just trying to hold on and, like, “I’m going to make it work. I’m so frustrated. This has got to work,” and you’re just wound really tight around this one specific project or campaign or product or whatever it is that you’re working on. And at the end of the day, when you think about how tight you’re holding onto this, white knuckling it, it is not serving you at all.
And so you might be thinking, “Oh, I don’t have anything like that in my business.” But let me give you an example of mine, and then maybe it might spark something that you didn't even realize. So let me take you into my own world.
So, you might be surprised to hear that the thing that I have been white knuckling, and I think for a long time I just didn't realize it, was this podcast. So we recently had this amazing opportunity to get into a relationship with HubSpot, a company I have loved for many, many years, and they have become a sponsor of the show. And because they have become a sponsor, we were diving into metrics and details and new goals and really looking at the podcast in all these new, different ways to get ready for this great partnership. And I realized that I was obsessing about the numbers and the downloads and the metrics and the topics. And we recently went to two episodes a week. So you know today is a Tuesday Shorty, and then every Thursday, we still have our longer episodes, tend to be step by step, marketing strategies, and all that good stuff. But I just was holding onto it so tight as we were entering into this new sponsorship relationship.
And every time I thought about the podcast, I kind of got a pit in my stomach, and I kept thinking we're not doing enough, and we need to be better, and we need to try new things. And I was on my team members, like, “Did you see this? Are you looking at that?” Like, I was kind of ridiculous. And I think I've probably been this way—so sorry to my team—for probably a long time around this podcast because I love it so much, and I want it to be so successful because I know that if this podcast finds its way into somebody's life who doesn't even know about online marketing or doesn't realize there's another way, that they could quit their nine to five and build an online business and have more freedom, like, I know that it could change lives.
So I became, like, really controlling over it, and so I held it really tight, to the point that then I wasn't even enjoying it. And I didn't realize this was happening until recently. And as I'm like, “Oh, my gosh. I need to just to slow my role around this whole situation,” I read a post that Gabby Bernstein put on social media, and it said these exact words: “Do nothing and let the universe show you what to do.” Now, when I read that—I'm going to read it one more time. “Do nothing and let the universe show you what to do”—when I first read that, I was like, What? No, no, no. I'm all about action. There's a quote from Walt Disney around stop talking about it and start doing. It's not the exact quote, but it's something like that. And I subscribed to that quote, like, yes, yes, and yes. I'm all about action. Action creates clarity. I believe that. So, when I read this, “Do nothing and let the universe show you what to do,” I thought, “No, way. That's not how you get it done.”
But then I started to think about my podcast, and I thought, “This isn't fun anymore. I am literally obsessing about the numbers, the metrics, the details, the specifics, the strategies, and wound so tight that I've lost the joy in it. And also, I can't even be creative when I'm holding on and trying to control everything.” And really, the numbers weren't improving like I wanted them to, and I wasn't seeing the growth and the new audience that I had hoped over the last few months. And so I said to myself, “Well, I'm just going to let go.” And mentally—I didn't even tell anyone on my team about this—I mentally, or energetically, let go. I just let go. And I thought, “Whatever is supposed to happen is going to happen.” I'm still going to show up. I'm going to enjoy the podcast. I'm going to create these episodes that I love. But the outcome, I'm going to let go of my expectations, and I'm going to let myself enjoy it without obsessing about it. I'm not going to white knuckle this anymore.
And I am going to tell you right now, over the next two weeks to follow that, we saw a rise in downloads; opportunities came our way, that we were like, that's really cool; we saw growth; we saw new comments and a renewed energy around my new Tuesday episodes. Like, it was just so cool. We've had a really good two weeks around the podcast that just feels light and fun and exciting, and we're seeing growth. And I swear to you, it's because I let go.
And I wanted to share this with you in a Tuesday Shorty because I know, I just know, that for most of you, there is something in your business that you are white knuckling. You are forcing it to work. Your expectations are wildly unrealistic, probably. Or you just are putting so much control into something that the creativity isn't even flowing anymore, or it's not even fun anymore, or the air has been sucked out of it. Where do you need to just let go and let be? Because, I promise you, you will find more joy in the work you do if you give up some of those expectations and control. And I literally experienced this firsthand, and I wanted to share it with you.
Also, I've been subscribing to this, just, way of living. It's a motto I use, and I've been saying it a lot, and it relates to the podcast as well, and that is: I don’t chase; I attract. I don’t chase; I attract. And for the podcast, holding on so tight; obsessing about all the numbers; wanting the growth to be a certain way even though I’m pulling these numbers sometimes out of thin air, like, “I want it to be this.” Like, I don't really know why. I just want it to be at this number or these downloads or whatever; and when I let it go, and I wasn't chasing, chasing, chasing, the good things started coming in even just over the last two weeks.
And I feel like that's what attraction looks like. I feel like the difference between chasing and attracting is energetically letting it be and just showing up, showing up as yourself, enjoying what you're doing, enjoying the process, being creative, trying new things, while letting go of the expectations that these new things have to work out this way or that way.
I remember in high school—I'm embarrassed to say this—but there was this guy that I really liked. His name was John. John Doyle, if you're listening. He would never be listening. But I was so, so into him. And I feel like I chased him there. It was like, okay, so we know what happens when you chase, right? There's this desperation, and I feel like there's this desperation that I had with him. And we were really good friends. I bet he felt it all the time. And there's nothing really good about that feeling, right? But if I were—so, in dating and in podcasting and anything else that you do in your business, when you turn that to, “I'm going to enjoy it. I'm going to show up as my authentic self. I'm going to let go of my expectations and be present with this project I'm working on,” that's when you shine, and that's when those attraction strategies start to just organically happen. I believe that.
So, two things: do nothing and let the universe show you what to do. I use that energetically. To me, “do nothing” means letting go. Stop white knuckling. Stop making this something that you have to control. I energetically let go. And then, every day, I use the motto: I do not chase; I attract. And that feels right for me, and maybe it would feel right for you, too, and that's why I wanted to share it in this episode.
How do you know if you're white knuckling? Well, if you're always like, “Oh, why isn't this working? This needs to happen faster. I'm frustrated. I can't make it work. What's wrong with me?” if you have a pit in your stomach or if it's no fun anymore, or if there's this phonetic energy or desperate energy to anything that you're doing, whether it be networking, trying to get people on your podcast, selling your courses, launching webinars, podcasting, making videos, obsessing about your social-media numbers, obsessing about your email numbers, whatever it is, it might be something totally different than that, you know that feeling of chasing versus attracting. Attracting feels really grounded, for the record. And energetically letting go makes you feel really light. And when I started seeing all the rewards come in on my podcast, even just in the last two weeks, I was like, “Ah, I want more of that. Bring it on.”
So, I wanted to share this with you, and I hope that it finds you at a time that you’re like, “Okay. Yes, I can use this. I can apply this to what I’m doing,” because at the end of the day, I want you to love your business. I want you to make a lot of money, make a really big impact, but most importantly, really find joy in what you’re doing. And letting go can get you there a whole lot faster, my friend.
So, thanks so much for tuning in. It is always a pleasure to check in with you and take you behind the scenes of things I’m working on, things I’ve struggled with, things that I’ve learned, and that’s what the Tuesday episodes are all about. I hope you’re enjoying them. And I can’t wait to see you on Thursday for some more entrepreneurial goodness.
Until then, take care. Bye for now.
I wanted to jump in here really quick and talk about the customer-relationship platform, HubSpot. HubSpot is here to help you take a human-centered approach to your marketing, with an easy-to-use CRM that aligns with your team and delivers a better experience for your customers. Other CRMs can be cobbled together, but HubSpot is carefully crafted in-house for businesses like yours. Its suite of tools work together seamlessly so you and your team can focus on what really matters: your students and customers. So you can save and reuse your best-performing emails; you can share them with your team for a faster and more consistent way to communicate with your prospects; and you can also use their social-media tools to schedule and publish updates, monitor and analyze performance. So learn how to grow better by connecting with your people, your students, and your business at hubspot.com.
