In my haste and hubris about finally doing this thing, I inadvertently omitted the success story that inspired the whole vibe of the email in the first place.

hit send, closed up laptop shop and jaunted off to the opening night of my kid’s play. Somewhere during
intermission I smugly scrolled through what I’d proudly put out into the world, and, uh…

Wait, what?

Where’s the part about my amazing Podcast Accelerator graduate not only going for it with her podcast, but already forging confidently ahead into her second season?

Nowhere in that newsletter, that’s for sure.

That was…as the kids say, a choice. A choice that was maybe a subconscious gesture meant to prove my point about how every day is a new opportunity to make a new mistake (and thus learn something new)?

An excuse to right my wrongs with another jaunty saunter into your inbox?

We’ll never know.

What I do know is that one of my proudest moments in recent memory was not my kid’s sassy debut as tree #1 in The Wizard of Oz (she was great, but…)

It was when Kathleen Wisemandle, star graduate of my Podcast Accelerator, shared on a recent episode of my podcast, Talking The Talk how she went from: "Podcasting isn’t for me" because it’s “out of my comfort zone,” to "I can do this."

I recalled witnessing Kathleen’s transformation from “I really want to elevate the stories of entrepreneurial women but I don't know how to start” to “I’m going to ease my way into podcasting by giving voice to the content I’ve already created.” (In this case, her newsletters.)

Kathleen is now 17 episodes into her show.

She’s still having to sit on her hands when she’s tempted to re-record an episode in which she hates how she sounds, but she’s also joyously interviewing fascinating people and experimenting with different episode approaches, lengths, and formats.

All of this happened because Kathleen found permission (from me, she says, but really from herself) that she could incrementally tiptoe into podcasting without going full-fledged, high-gloss studio maximus rightfrom the jump. She allowed herself to design her own version of podcasting that fit into her life (rather than the other way around).

Here’s Kathleen's tiptoe-path into podcastery:

1. Short, solo minisodes built on things she’d already written
2. Then she went down a less-scripted avenue
3. When she felt more confident, she eased into interview episodes
4. Then she experimented with new formats (which blew my mind in the best, most effusive way–as you’ll hear on her episode).

If you want to hear Kathleen’s full story (including her surprisingly compelling defense of podcast editing)...

PERFECTION IS A KILLER & A THIEF

​As I said on LinkedIn yesterday: perfectionism is a wily beast. It brazenly steals huge swaths of your time, and it silently kills your creativity, visibility, authority, momentum.

Perfectionism convinces us we should wait until we can execute something flawlessly before we’re allowed to begin publicly.

At least that’s what it looks like for me, but aspiring-now-novice podcasters like Kathleen have shown me I’m not the only one.

But you (and I) can’t wait for someone to come and tap you on the shoulder with their royal, content-creator-anointing sword. You (and I) become a creator by creating. You become a podcaster by podcasting. You become a better creator by acknowledging your mistakes, licking your embarrassment wounds, and getting up and doing it all again.

So, here I am in your inbox…

WAIT, WHERE DID THIS EVEN COME FROM?

ICYMI my inaugural email, I’m cashing in my newbie newsletterer chit by sending this to a curated group of people I think could get something out of it.

You're here because:

• We met through podcasting, entrepreneurship, media, community, or on the sidelines of one of my kid’s many extracurricular activities​
• You’re starting a podcast and I shared my How to Sound Great by Sounds Great podcast setup recs (which also evidently entitles you to an indefinite number of additional emails)
• I have a content crush on you and hope you feel the same way about me
• My Magic 8 Ball told me that signs point to yes when I asked if you have a podcast idea up your sleeve

...and/or the increasingly blurry Venn diagram of all the above.

If an unexpected inbox incursion isn’t the vibe, there’s a "none for me thanks" button below that will ensure this newsletter will never again darken your inbox doorway.

HOWEVER, if you do have a budding content crush on me (or JK just want more free podcast insights and guidance), pls cut and paste the following word into a reply I stay out of spam jail:

CRUSH

Next week: podcast tips delivered via cootie catcher.

WORKS IN PROGRESS

Here's what else I'm making progress on (please feel free to share your WIPs in a reply!)...

Making the most of my recently acquired membership to Jay Clouse’s Lab (holler if you’re a fellow Labmate). A brand new Panda Planner (nothing like a fresh planner to give you renewed hope for a better tomorrow). Time management solutions (currently trying out Littlebird on the recommendation of my pal Linda Secondari…anyone else?). Three books at once, as always: one hardback (Go Gentle by Maria Semple), one audiobook (Get Different by Mike Michalowicz), one Kindle book (The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami; next up: The Divorce Doula, second as-yet-unpublished novel by my not-ex-husband Dave Basner). Applications for the Sounds Great Podcast Accelerator (get yours in ASAP if you’re thinking about it). A mega closet cleanout for our upcoming yard sale (long live my Nuuly capsule wardrobes). My first studio-recorded episode of Talking the Talk (with the stellar Cate Sheehy at the Maplewood Cowork studio next week). My first video episode (no thanks to the hosting platform upgrade I made; what gives, Podbean?). Finding a place to stay in Boise for Craft + Commerce (recs welcome)!

TO ERR IS HUMAN; TO KEEP ON TRUCKIN', DIVINE

Thanks, as always, for reading, creating, experimenting, allowing mistakes, sometimes overthinking, and continuing onward despite it all.(Arguably the entire human experience.)Talk soon,
​Courtneyty of our

Talk soon,
​Courtney

P.S. If you want to follow in the footsteps of Kathleen and the other now-podcasters who've completed the Sounds Great Accelerator, the clock is ticking. The next cohort is filling up (we're capping seats at 12) and prices increase soon. Don't be like me and make the costly mistake of forgetting to do the thing. ​​