Stuck To Started: The Podcast with Jess Ratcliffe

There are so many things I wish I knew before I created my online course. You know the kind of things you kick yourself for not thinking of before? 

That's why I'm sharing my top 3 tips in this episode, so you don't have to make the same mistakes I did when you start your online course or workshop.

Get my online course and go from stuck to started with your idea

When you’re on the cusp of making a choice, how can you decide which direction to go in – and feel confident in the choice that you make? That’s what we’re going to explore in this episode.

I’ll be sharing a simple framework to help you make decisions with confidence and bring it to life, by sharing how I used this framework to make a decision recently.

Want more?

Do you ever question whether you're ready to take action on the idea you want to start or goal you get giddy thinking about?

In this episode, I'm sharing 3 quick and easy signs to look for, so you can tell that you're ready...or should I say SET...to get started?

As I mentioned at the end of this episode, I'm taking a short break from the podcast for a couple of weeks and will be back on 15th June 2021.

Do you ever find aha moments in the most unexpected of places? In this episode, I'm sharing 3 surprising lessons I've recently learned (and been reminded of) about starting your idea...that just might have come from my new hobby, golf.

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Have you got an idea you want to start but feel stuck when it comes to taking action? My online course, Unleash Your Extraordinary, is for you. It's your step-by-step guide to starting your idea with confidence, so you can spend less time procrastinating and more time making progress you're proud of.

Do you ever feel like you’re right on the brink of taking action but then something stops you? Just as you’ve built up the courage to start, your self-doubt creeps in. I've been there! 

In this episode, I'm sharing two stories of when I was on the cusp of taking action and how I moved through the self-doubt that was trying to stop me from trying.

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Do you have an idea you want to start but feel stuck when it comes to taking action? My online course, Unleash Your Extraordinary, is for you. It's your step-by-step guide to starting your idea with confidence – and staying motivated as you make your idea a reality.

Do you ever feel like you're spending all this time doing but you're barely making a dent in your to-do list?

In this episode, I'm guiding you through 5 quick steps that will help you have your most productive day, so that you can feel proud of your progress and delighted with how much you've got done.

Do you always assume your ideas are bad, so you never take action on them because you've already decided they're not going to work? This episode is for you. You're about to learn a simple fix that you can use to stop assuming your ideas are bad and start testing them instead.

Do you ever feel like you're on the cusp of going after or getting what you want but then...you self-sabotage?

In this episode, we're exploring why we self-sabotage and what it looks like in action, so you can spot when you're self-sabotaging and have a way to move through it.

Doors to my online course are closing on 31st March 2021

If you're ready to go from stuck to started with the business idea or personal project you want to get out into the world – and work with me through the month of April, then my online course is for you.

Do you feel like it takes you ages to just sit and focus at the moment, especially since working from home? You're about to discover a game-changing way that I get the most out of my day – the most focus, the most fun and the most done.

As promised, in this week's episode I'm answering your question: "Do you have any advice for connecting with people? Because small talk is hard."

You'll learn my go-to technique – that I call shifting the spotlight – for feeling comfortable connecting with people and making small talk, which as you'll quickly discover in my story at the start of this episode wasn't always the way!

A couple of weeks ago, I asked if you had any questions you'd love to know the answer to and you delivered! In this episode, I'm answering 3 of your questions:

• What are your cheeky plans for 2021?
• Would you have created Unleash Your Extraordinary (my course) if there wasn't a pandemic?
• What are your favourite books to read or things to listen to?

And I'm saving your question "Do you have any advice for connecting with people because small talk is hard?" for a dedicated episode.

Here are the books I mention:

Do you ever wonder why you just can't seem to take action on the thing you know you want to do?

In this episode, I'm sharing my hypothesis for why you're really procrastinating...I think it might surprise you. And I'm introducing you to the Testing Mindset – a simple mindset shift and set of practical steps you can take to break free from procrastination-station.

Sign up for my online course, Unleash Your Extraordinary is open this week – until Saturday 27th February 2021.

Does it feel like the pandemic has pulled the rug from under you? Maybe it's left you questioning what you want and who you want to be on the other side of this.

In this episode, I'm sharing 3 pieces of advice I wish I knew when my diagnosis pulled the rug from under me – and threw me into "What the heck do I want?" land. I hope they help you find a way forward if you're feeling a bit lost at the moment.

Well, hello Q & A episode

Do you have a question you'd love me to answer on a future episode? Maybe it's something general, like "How can I stop procrastinating?" or something specific to what you're working on at the moment. Either way, I would love to answer your question, quick-fire style, on a future episode.

You know those days when you're having a wobble...when your head feels full of doubt and you feel like giving up?

In this episode, you'll learn a simple idea to boost your self-confidence when you're having a wobble. It's called the Boost Bank.

As always, if you've got a question from this week's episode or simply want to say hello, you can reach me on:

Do you ever find that your goals feel more overwhelming than inspiring? Maybe your goals feel based on what you think you should do rather than what you want to do. Or maybe you set so many goals that you find yourself spinning in circles...never quite starting.

In this episode, you'll learn 3 simple tips for setting goals that feel good to you so that they feel more exciting than stressful.

As always, if you've got a question from this week's episode or simply want to say hello, you can reach me on:

“Your mission is your life’s magnet, it’s the thing that pulls you forward”

In this episode, I'm sharing why your mission is like a magnet that pulls you forward and helping you choose what your mission is, so that you can start to feel that pull!

Here are the 3 questions I ask you in case you want to make notes:

1. When do you feel alive?
2. When do you feel the fire in your belly?
3. When you reach the end of your life (I know...), what do you want to look back and say?

"Feeling like an imposter doesn’t mean you are one."

It was January 2016 and little did I know how the phone call I was about to have would change my life. 

In this episode, I’m sharing with you 3 things my diagnosis has taught me about making your idea happen. 

I hope each one leaves you with a new perspective on time, fear and feeling like an imposter.

Sometimes the shittiest experiences can be the catalyst we didn’t know we needed to make the change we’ve been yearning for.

When it feels like so much is out of your control and you're craving something inspiring to focus on, this episode is for you. I'm sharing with you the two questions that I asked myself after being told I had a life-threatening and ultra-rare blood disease called PNH in 2016.

In a time when everything felt out of my control, these two questions helped me hone in on what I am in control of – how I spend my time. I hope they do the same for you.

Want to say hello? I'd love to hear from you:

I have a confession to make...when it gets to this time of year, I'm really good at beating myself up – focusing on what I didn't get done rather than what I did. But this year, f*ck it, I'm ready to do something different.

In this episode, I'm sharing an idea to help you focus on what you've achieved rather than what you "haven't" so that you can finish this year and start the next feeling proudly surprised rather stressed.

Do you ever worry that you're an overthinker and your overthinking is getting in the way of you moving forward?

In this episode, you'll discover what's really going on when you catch yourself overthinking and how you can shift from thinking to doing. I'm also sharing an experiment I'm challenging myself to run this week because I've caught myself overthinking lately...

Do you ever catch yourself waiting to start until you know how to?

In this episode, I'm sharing with you a perspective-shifting idea that landed with me after watching a magician in action (yep!) that I hope will help you move from searching for "how" to knowing exactly what step to take next.

Do you feel like a commitment-phobe when it comes to making or sticking to plans for your idea?

In this episode, we're busting through the blocker that is our fear of committing to a plan. I'm sharing 3 ideas that you can put into practice to find more fun, flexibility and focus in your plans so that you can create space for your creativity and move your idea in a way that feels aligned with who you are.

Do you put off sending the messages you know will move you forward because you're scared you might get a no?

Do you ever catch yourself saying "If I don't try, I can't fail?"

In this episode, we're busting through your fear of failure so that you can start taking action on the idea you know you want to bring to life. 

I share my personal experience with failure and the story that still makes me shiver with shame. And the 3 mistakes I made with my first business that "failed" and what I would do differently now.

Do you ever crave a break but feel guilty for taking or wanting one? In this episode, I'm sharing my intention to conduct an alignment audit and how you can too to start a new season with a strong foundation.

In alignment with my alignment audit (too much?), I'm taking a break from the podcast for the rest of September so I'll be back with you in October 2020.

Do you feel depleted and disengaged but you're not sure how to refill your tank? In this episode, we're exploring what burnout is, why we feel it and what we can do if we're feeling burned out.

There's one heck of an analogy to bring it to life too...we've got dolphins, sharks...the whole shebang.

Do you ever wonder why we fear starting our idea or making the change we want to make so much? Fear stops us in our tracks, convinces us we're not ready and kills our ideas before we even get started. 

Do you ever wonder what happens when we shift from circling around a decision to committing to one? In this episode, we're exploring moments of decision and how we can think differently about the decisions we know we want to make but feel like we're putting off. 

I unpack one of the biggest decisions in my life (so far), the domino effect it had and what we can learn from it.

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Do you know your values? In this episode, I'm guiding you through 2 quick ways to start working out your values and sharing a few ideas for how you can inject your values into your week, your work and your way of leading so you'll feel more fulfilled (than frustrated).

Do you ever wish you could make decisions faster and feel confident in your choice, knowing it's right for you?

In this episode, I’m going to teach you a simple framework to help you feel confident in your ideas and decisions and walk you through a personal case study to share how I’ve used this framework to make a big decision this month.

By the end, you’ll have a go-to strategy for evaluating your ideas so you can make decisions that feel true to you, faster. 

Hang on for the end to get the inside scoop on my transformative course launching in September and why now’s the time to do it.

Question for you: when you have an idea that feels out of reach, what do you do...

Do you get started right away OR find yourself sitting on the idea for longer than makes you happy, wondering where the heck do I start?

In this episode, I'm guiding you through the 3 steps that helped Celia (who you'll meet in this episode) start the idea she's set aside "too many times" and actually enjoy the process.

Have you ever started an idea or business that didn't work out as you hoped?

I started my first business when I was 19. It was a video game swapping platform called GaBoom and at the time, I really believed it would work out...but it didn't.

Even though I ran that business for two and a half years and achieved a few milestones that I'm proud of, it still feels like a failure to me. And with that feeling of failure comes a sense of shame. Of looking back and being disappointed with myself.

Inspired by a message I received on LinkedIn this week, I wanted to share why I believe we fear failure (not the obvious reason) and how I believe we can reframe our failures to be the experiences that shape who we are so that we feel inspired to risk "failing" rather than regret never trying.

When you have a decision to make do you follow your heart or your head? In this episode, I’m reflecting on a recent decision and sharing the times I regretted not trusting my gut.

Imagine starting the week with a rough idea and finishing it with a refined idea that you feel confident in. That’s what I did last week and I’m excited to share the exact steps I took so you can to the same.

Last week, I set myself the mission to define, test and iterate on the idea for Stuck to Started, the step-by-step course to help you bring your idea to life in 4 weeks that I’m running in September. I started the week with the rough intentions for the course – what I want it to help you do – but I didn't know the specifics and I hadn't yet tested it to make sure it would land.

In this episode, I’m guiding you through the 3 steps I took to define, test and iterate on the idea and how you can do exactly the same for your idea.

The 3 steps you’ll learn how to put into action in this episode are:

• Start with the dream destination
• Reverse engineer the steps
• Gather feedback from 5 people

What are the assumptions you're making that are keeping you stuck?

Our assumptions are the assassins of our ambitions.

They convince us we’re not ready, that no one will sign up, that we’re a fool for believing this (our idea) is even possible.

Who are you to do that?

That was the first time I caught a limiting assumption in action. Right after the idea for the mission I’m now on sparked to life, there it was: "Who am I to do this?"

Had I listened to that voice of doubt, would I have started building the business I’ve run for the last 3 years? Would I have created my workshop – where it all started – that has since created a methodology for building the people we dream of being and helped hundreds of people? I don't think so.

What did I do instead?

After that assumption rang around my mind, I did something different for the first time. Instead of listening to it without question, I asked myself "How can I test this?"

Because our assumptions are only the assassins of our ambitions if we let them be. There is another way – to test them.

So that's exactly what we're doing in this episode today.

When you're searching for an idea you want to build, this question – and more importantly, your answer to this question – is a game-changer. It's a direction-setter and purpose-igniter. So...

What's the change you seek to make for the people you seek to serve?

In this episode, we're shaking things up and going outside for a walk together. We're uncovering the change you seek to make by starting with the pain you seek to solve. We riff on the following questions...

• What pain have you experienced that you never want to feel again?
• What pain inspires you to act, to do something?
• What pain do you refuse to let others stay with?
• What was the opposite of that pain – the joy – for you?
• What's the opposite of that pain for the people you seek to serve?

A question for you

Imagine a seesaw, where one side is self-doubt and the other is self-belief, where are you spending most of your time at the moment?

In this episode, we're riffing on the one thing that creates self-doubt or self-belief – the stories we tell ourselves – and how you can tip the scales of the seesaw from self-doubt to self-belief.

The Ideas Coach Club

How aligned do you feel with your true ambitions? When you think of your true ambitions – the big one(s) – are you giving yourself the permission, time and space to do what you feel called to do?

Over the last week or so, it dawned on me that I was so in the "doing" that I wasn't making time for the dreaming. It felt like I was going through the motions or embarking on a journey that didn't have a clear destination. Something felt off. So I intentionally took a break to self-reflect and re-align myself with my true ambitions.

In this episode, I'm sharing more on what that looked like and asking you a few questions to spark your self-reflection.

When was the last time you felt truly seen and heard? We know it when it happens, don't we? When we walk away from a conversation feeling heard and understood. It can feel rare in a world where our attention is used to scrolling onto the next thing.

Imagine being that person for someone you're in a conversation with. Imagine being the person who leaves them feeling seen and heard.

As I reflect on the last few years, since becoming a coach in 2017, it feels like my listening skills (as you would hope!) have reached a new level.

So in this episode, I'm sharing 3 ways we can become the type of person who listens to someone so deeply they feel seen and heard.

Do you ever find yourself setting the intention to start something – a new idea or new habit – and then somehow, it slips your mind and you notice that days – even weeks – have passed without starting?

Building on last week's episode and mindset shift of consistency creates confidence, let's dig into 3 immediately actionable ways that you can start being consistent today.

Do you ever wait to start an idea or make a change until you feel more confident? And then find yourself sitting on that idea or change, instead of moving forward.

You're not alone. The thought of building confidence can send shivers down our spines. Does building confidence mean we have to take big leaps and do things that scare us? Not always...unless that's your jam.

In this episode, I'm excited to share with you a shift that will be a game-changer for your confidence. And walk you through how this shift helped me start this podcast, show up more online and start an online group coaching course.

Over the weekend, I asked you (on Instagram) what you'd love a podcast episode on – so this one is for you (👋 June) if you find yourself procrastinating on the idea you actually want to start.

We're digging into 3 reasons why we procrastinate and 3 quick and easy steps to go from procrastinating to progress.