The Proffitt Podcast
Are you thinking about starting a podcast? Launching a YouTube channel? Repurposing your old blog content into something fresh? Hi, I'm Krystal - host of "The Proffitt Podcast." And I'm happy to say you've come to the right place!
Business owners and content creators dream of building a platform where they can connect deeply with their audience, and marketing feels easy. But I also know what it's like to feel confused and overwhelmed.
Join us weekly as we strip down those processes and remove all the overwhelm with new tips, simple strategies, and great conversations with creators like you. Tune in to hear how I help creators start, launch, and market their content confidently. The motto here is, "We all have to start somewhere."
The Proffitt Podcast
Proven Strategies to Grow Your Business with a Podcast (Even If You’re Starting Small)
What if securing professional opportunities is less about networking and more about being a decent person? In a conversation with Lisa Cooper Ellison, a trauma-informed writing coach and host of the "Writing Your Resilience" podcast, we explore how authentic connections can open unexpected doors in content creation.
Lisa shares how her first major speaking opportunity on NPR arose from connecting with fellow writers rather than a strategic pitch. "These industries are small," she notes, emphasizing the importance of relationships in her work.
She discusses her journey from agency therapist to writing coach and podcaster, highlighting the benefits of consistent content creation in enhancing her skills and shaping her coaching programs. Lisa also candidly addresses the challenges of maintaining a podcast amid personal and professional obstacles, offering practical advice for dealing with self-doubt and disruptions.
Her metaphor of hill-running encourages creators to focus on the immediate path rather than the overwhelming larger picture. "Let progress, not perfection, be your North Star," she says.
Lisa’s insights provide a valuable framework for anyone looking to grow their content creation journey. Subscribe to the podcast for more conversations on developing your voice and building genuine connections.
If you've wondered why nothing is working in your business in 2025, you need a clear strategy. Download our free guide, Build Your Business's Strategic Foundation, where I'm walking you through a business model canvas and a customer journey map. You'll see how we use this at Proffitt Media, plus find templates for you to create your own. Go to krystalproffitt.com/strategy to download today.
Click the "Send Krystal a Text Message" link above to send us your questions, comments, and feedback on the show! (Pssst...we'll do giveaways in upcoming episodes so make sure you leave your name & podcast title.)
And this is the thing that I have learned time and time again whatever industry you're in because you know if you're listening to this podcast, you could be in any industry and it certainly may not be mine but these industries are small and you never know what that person who's sitting in front of you is going to do in their life and how, what role they're going to play in your life.
Speaker 1:You just have no idea. And it may just be that you've had a lovely interaction, right, it doesn't have to be that. Oh my gosh, I'm going to think about everybody Like what are they going to do? It could just be you've had a lovely interaction and that interaction energizes you and gives you confidence to have the next lovely interaction with someone else. Or maybe they're having a rough day and you've made their day, and who knows what that's going to open up for them. I mean, it's just that simple and clear. And I think if everyone could just approach things that way and I don't want to say everyone, because we all have our own journeys, but I would say, imagine what the world would be like if more of us approached everything that way.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Profit Podcast, where we teach you how to start, launch and market your content with confidence. I'm your host, crystal Profit, and I'm so excited that you're here. Thanks for hanging out with me today, because if you've been trying to figure out the world of content creation, this is the show that will help be your time-saving shortcut. So let's get right to it, shall we All? Right, profit Podcast listeners, we have an extra special guest on the show today. Welcome, lisa. How?
Speaker 1:are you? I am doing wonderful today. Thank you so much for having me on your show, Crystal. It is just such a pleasure to see you today.
Speaker 2:Yes, I'm so happy to chat with you. So, lisa and I I feel like we go way back I mean, in reality it hasn't been that long but also it feels like I am very familiar with your content and the things that you're creating because we work together in a few different ways. But can you please tell everybody what type of content creator you are and the different ways that you create content today and a little bit about yourself?
Speaker 1:Yeah, so my name is Lisa Cooper Ellison and I'm a trauma-informed writing coach.
Speaker 1:I'm going to say what that is very quickly, because people always ask like what the what?
Speaker 1:Okay, so a trauma-informed writing coach is someone who understands what trauma is, how it impacts the nervous system, and the biggest thing that I do for people, regardless of the types of projects they're working on, is I help them regulate their nervous system so they can maximize their creativity.
Speaker 1:And so the podcast which is one of the biggest content creation projects that I have is Writing your Resilience, and this is a podcast that is geared towards anyone who wants to use the writing process to understand their life, and so the tagline is the more you work on your story, you will change lives, especially your own, and that's because, as we understand more about ourselves, that ripples out into everything, and to me, that is more important than actually publishing a book, which I know will sound really odd to people who are writing, because part of my role is I do help people, as a writing coach, publish their books. But if you don't understand your story that you're telling yourself, you can have all kinds of outward success and feel miserable inside, so that inner work that we do is so important, and that's one of the things I really love to explore on the podcast.
Speaker 2:Okay, I'm so grateful that you explained all of that, because it is, I think, that by definition. We could go a bunch of different ways on what trauma writing is, and I'm so curious. So I know a little bit about your background, but can you share? Before the podcast came about, was this something that you were doing in your professional life, how did you actually get into this and what did that look like?
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I have to go back to 2012. I am one of those people that I say I got 2012 because I had this goal of becoming a therapist and working for an agency. And all of my friends who were in graduate school with me they were like, oh, I can't wait to get in private practice and have my own business. And I was like, you know, I think I really want to work at an agency and get a paycheck. And then I ended up, you know, doing that work and getting Lyme disease and I got so sick that I had to stop working. And when I stopped working, I got really clear about what was important to me, and writing was a huge piece of it. So I loved everything I'd learned about mental health and I knew I wanted that to be a piece of what I did. But writing, which had been this long-term goal, was also important to me, and so, over a period of time and with the help of many people who supported me on my journey, I ended up learning so much about writing that I started teaching writing classes and I did some speaking, and then I built a business, and so I started my business, I would say, in a baby way in 2015,. I just kind of said I think I'm going to be an editor. I just put it out there. I didn't know anything about business. I do not come from the business world Like you come from the business world. I've been like, hey, we're going to do this thing and we're going to figure it out, and that's why I love working with you, because you helped me figure it out. But I, I did that work and and I slowly built my business over time. I went full time in 2019. And then, during the pandemic, when everything went online, it actually allowed my business to skyrocket, because initially I was working locally and then suddenly I had access to this national and international audience.
Speaker 1:And so I'm a person who is an introvert.
Speaker 1:I need a lot of time alone and I've been on social media. An introvert, I need a lot of time alone and I've been on social media and I think you were talking in a recent episode of your podcast about how you were on Facebook before Facebook was used for business, and I was on Facebook and I've been on some of the other platforms, but it just doesn't speak to me and it didn't speak to the kinds of relationships I wanted to build, and so people kept saying to me you should run a podcast, you should start a podcast, lisa, and there was a part of me that's like no, that's too scary, I don't want to do it. But then I had this moment where I was like, yeah, I need to start a podcast, and so I did, with the help of one of your classes and some other supports that I had, and so what I've loved about this process is that it allows me to engage authentically with people. I get to know them, I'm building new relationships and it's a lot of fun.
Speaker 2:Yeah, oh, my gosh. Well, I thank you so much for sharing your journey and, like I said earlier, like I'm so grateful that you're you've made it into our universe here, you know, for all the content creating that we're doing, and I think that and I don't know if anyone's ever given you this compliment, so I'm going to take this opportunity to do it. You have an incredible podcast voice, and so I don't know if that comes from your training as a therapist, but it is very because, again, lisa and I've worked together.
Speaker 2:I've listened to several episodes of her podcast, and more than just a casual listener. Right, lisa went through this process where she had asked me to audit her podcast, so I was listening to what she was talking about and I was just like gosh, it feels like I'm sitting in a therapy session as far as, like, this is a very soothing conversation that you're having with your guests, or sometimes it's that kick in the pants that's like, hey, you know, this is what we need to hear, whether it's, you know, encouraging someone in a more loving way, and I don't know. So, if you've never heard that, I wanted to give you this compliment because you do have such an incredible podcast voice.
Speaker 1:Oh well, thank you so much. That makes my day and my heart is full hearing it. So thank you.
Speaker 2:Yes, absolutely Well, I wanted to and I kind of prefaced before we started recording that, lisa, and you already mentioned this that you've done a lot of speaking, and this is something that many people in this audience specifically aspire to do. Eventually, maybe they started their podcast and they think, oh, one day, maybe this industry event will recognize what I'm doing, they'll do a search on who should we have to speak at our event. My podcast will pop up and then I'll just you know, but like the, the note from you know, the Gmail gods will come to my inbox and it will say please come speak at our event. Um, but I think that it's something that it's very mysterious how do you go from creating content online to actually speaking at events? And I would just love to hear some of your experience that you've had.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I think that is a dream of everyone. Right, I'm going to be discovered by the powers that be because I have done something magnificent and what I would say, and a colleague of mine who does so much in the field of writing, Jane Friedman, we have this conversation once that that doesn't happen for anyone really. I mean, maybe there's someone I know that now that I've said this someone is going to email and say but it happened to me, and so if it did, kudos to you. But for the rest of us, a lot of it has to do with networking and that can sound like this super fancy pants, scary, oh my gosh, I have to like put on a business suit and do this like special thing kind of experience, but it's not.
Speaker 1:And so, you know, one of my first big speaking engagements, which I'm really proud of and also scared me to death, was being on NPR. So I was on an NPR show and this is how it ended up I was at a writing conference and I was workshopping my work with other people and I was just a decent human being. Right, that's how I was a decent human being who paid attention, who listened, who gave them good feedback, who was interested in what they had to say and I didn't know that one of the people in this class happened to be an assistant producer at NPR and then I had this lucky publication. That happened. I happened to say to my group because I had told them before hey, if you have something, I will support you. Please send me an email with whatever you've done and I will share it with the people that I know.
Speaker 1:So I was just following suit with everyone else and said, hey, I have this publication. And she ended up taking it to her producer and her producer was like I think I want this person on the show and there are so many times where just being a good friend not that idea that, oh, you're that person who has access to something, or if I speak to you and I smile real bright or I pitch you, you're going to give me some opportunity. That's not what I did. I was just like, oh, let's try to be friends, let's see what we have in common and that gets you so far.
Speaker 2:Yes, oh my gosh, and I think that there's something to be said because, like you said, it's so simple, but it's also, I think, the thing that and I don't really know how to label it, but I do find that there's a lot of people that will be opportunistic. Whenever someone enters a room or say you go to an industry event and, all of a sudden, the founder of the company is there, or that one person that you've always wanted to meet, how can I add value to that person's day or give them something that would hopefully be?
Speaker 1:memorable instead of trying to take for myself.
Speaker 2:I think that that's what people default to, whether it's like our upbringing or whether it's how we were, you know like, brought up in this world. I have no idea what it is, but I feel I have the same reaction as you, kind of like how can I just add value to this person's day and treat them like a human being?
Speaker 2:And hopefully they'll walk away feeling like, huh, that was a good interaction. Or I wouldn't mind standing in line at you know the coffee line with them for the next 10 minutes while we're waiting in between sessions or something if you're at an event, while we're waiting in between sessions or something if you're at an event. So I think that all that to say being just a decent human and showing up to offer value to someone else's day can get you so far, would you agree?
Speaker 1:Oh, my gosh. It gets you so much farther than you can ever imagine. And this is the thing that I have learned time and time again, Whatever industry you're in, because, if you're listening to this podcast, you could be in any industry ever imagined. And this is the thing that I have learned time and time again whatever industry you're in, because you know, if you're listening to this podcast, you could be in any industry, and it certainly may not be mine, but these industries are small and you never know who, what that person who's sitting in front of you is going to do in their life and how, what role they're going to play in your life. You just have no idea.
Speaker 1:And it may just be that you've had a lovely interaction, right? It doesn't have to be that. Oh my gosh, I'm going to think about everybody, Like what are they going to do? It could just be you've had a lovely interaction and that interaction energizes you and gives you confidence to have the next lovely interaction with someone else. Or maybe they're having a rough day and you've made their day, and who knows what that's going to open up for them. I mean, it's just that simple and clear and I think if everyone could just approach things that way and I don't want to say everyone, because we all have our own journeys, but I would say, imagine what the world would be like if more of us approached everything that way.
Speaker 2:Yes, I totally agree. And now that I'm thinking about you know you getting approached to speak and having your podcast and doing your business, you know all of it kind of goes hand in hand together. Is there something really specific with your podcast that has helped you in speaking on stage or going to these bigger events? Like I'm so curious, like what the synergy is between, like, creating regular content and then leveraging that into a speaking topic or a discussion. Has it helped in that way?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I would say that having this podcast number one, I would say it improves my speaking skills. So if you are a beginner podcaster, you're like, oh, I really want to do these things. How can I learn how to be a better speaker? Well, start a podcast and start speaking, and that's going to help. But the more I do this, the more I become a subject matter expert.
Speaker 1:Just by the fact that I'm continuing to talk about this topic, I am, you know, learning so much about this topic. I am inviting people in who are experts, and so that has led to a few people pitching me that said, hey, we heard your podcast. I love what you're doing. Would you like to be on my podcast or would you like to do this thing? And so I think it takes a little bit of time and you have to have some patience. You know, hold the dream out there, but show up and do the work and and then these opportunities will come about. And and I think that's really one of the things is just having doing that and having high quality guests and, you know, continuing to put out content, like I'm going to celebrate this with you on air, if we can. I just launched my 70th episode of my podcast. Oh my gosh, how does that feel? That feels amazing. When I realized I was like oh my gosh, number 70.
Speaker 2:I mean, I just, I'm just thinking about like what, like hearing you say that, because I know there's somebody listening and what year did you, when did you launch your podcast?
Speaker 1:I launched it in January of 2024.
Speaker 2:Okay, so someone is listening who maybe launched in January 2025, right, and maybe they're only. They haven't been super consistent. Maybe they've been trying, but maybe they're on like episode 10 and they're like gosh episode 70. That sounds impossible. That's like 30 away from a hundred. Like Lisa's going to hit a hundred episodes pretty soon, Like that's pretty significant.
Speaker 2:But if you were that person you know let's go back to, let's say, april or May of 2024, do you have any advice that you would give to someone that's in those earlier months and stages of launching their podcast?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think that's a great question and, as you were talking, what was coming to mind is running. So I used to be a runner and I used to run races and we would do hill training. And hill training is such a bear. And I used to live in Louisville, kentucky, and I lived near Iroquois Park, which was one of the main training areas that people would go to, especially for the mini marathon that was related to the Derby, and there was this hill they called the bear. They called it the bear because it was a mile straight up and I ran the bear five days a week at one point because that was just like I would come home from work and that was how I dealt with stress.
Speaker 1:And here's what I learned about running up a hill you want to look down right. If you look up at the hill, you're going to feel really tired because you're going to be thinking about how far you have to go. But if you just look straight down, or you know just a little ahead of you, all you see is the ground and you don't see the incline, even though you may feel it right. You're not going to be able to get away from not feeling it, but you're just going to see that ground ahead of you, and to me, that's really how I've gotten to 70 episodes is by looking just straight ahead rather than thinking about this number.
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh, so call me crazy. So I'm a runner. Right now. I live in Houston, texas. Folks, we're at, or below sea level. It is so flat here and I keep thinking about I want to run that hill. Now people are like there's no way I'm going to get to the end of this thing, like this feels impossible, and I think that that's where people feel when they think about downloads, or they are like yes.
Speaker 2:I'm going to get to my first 10,000 downloads, or my first 1 million downloads, and it's just like, oh my gosh, let's please reframe it, rethink it and focus on something that is more tangible. And the thing for me that I love that really goes along with what you're saying is the consistency piece is like just focus on consistency and maybe speaking a little bit better, not stumbling over your words so much or to your point getting those right guests on.
Speaker 2:I'm so curious in that vein, like from interviewing different people on your show, is there something really specific about interviewing that has helped you in other parts of your business or in your content, or maybe even speaking on stage? I can't remember how often you interview folks on your show.
Speaker 1:Actually, to this point, a majority of my episodes are interviews. So I have probably interviewed I'm going to try to do math now which creatives we try to get away from it. I would say I've done 65, I think 65 interviews Wow yeah. So lots and lots of interviews, and I think what's been really helpful about interviewing that has helped me with the rest of my business is that when I'm listening to my guests and all of my guests are part of my audience, right, I, it's, it's audience research always right. So I'm, I'm paying attention in the moment to that person, to what they have to say, to how I can, you know, let that conversation we're having move forward. But then when I listen to it again, I start listening to how does this relate to the other people that are also my listeners, who happen to be my customers? Because there is that great synergy, and so then I'll pay attention to also who comments on the podcast, like who has something to say and what hit them, because, again, that's market research and that helps me understand what are the pain points and how can I build something in another part of my business that might address that pain point.
Speaker 1:Another thing that I do and this is me trying to work smart rather than hard, and so, yeah, I have someone I'm going to do this to, so I'm not going to name names, but if I'm going to be on a panel and I have to read all of these people's books because I'm a moderator, you better bet I'm probably going to be asking these people for interviews. Like, would you like to be on my podcast? Because, again, saves me time. Also, what I found is that the best interviews end up being content that I can teach, and so we're recording this in May and I'm getting ready to do a webinar for Jane Friedman and this is going to be coming out after that. But what I can say is that I thought about what are the four or five episodes that had great content that relate to this subject and how can I do two things Take these authors' words and use their wisdom to teach these concepts right, which elevates those authors' work.
Speaker 1:It also helps me spread the word of the podcast and it gives people something to listen to that goes alongside it. So we have this adjunct material that they can listen to. So it's like, okay, I'm going to teach you something for an hour and 15 minutes If you want to go deeper or you want to understand this from a different angle. Here are different podcasts that you can listen to that are going to help you understand what I'm doing, and so these are some of the ways that I use it synergistically within my business.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, and it makes the calls to action so easy, right, Like if you're speaking on stage and you're like I don't really have an offer right now or I'm not really working one-on-one, but I have this big opportunity to get in front of this audience, what is my call to action? And it's really simple. You can just say go listen to my podcast. Even better if you have a very specific episode.
Speaker 2:That that audience can benefit from, and so I think that that's a lovely way to tie everything together, because I feel like, after a while and this is for those of you that are just getting started with your content things really start to blend together in a beautiful way where maybe you heard something from one of your clients and with the work that you do, lisa, I imagine it would probably be anonymous, right?
Speaker 2:So you would say I was working with someone the other day and maybe you could share a little bit about that interaction, of working together on your podcast. You can mention that in your newsletter, but the idea is to again work smarter, not harder, and have all of those lines kind of blurred together, because at the end of the day, you're showing up and you're serving that audience in such a lovely way. And while you were talking about your interviews, I thought you know one thing that you probably haven't even.
Speaker 2:Maybe you're aware of this, maybe you're not, but I think that listening is also a lovely skill that you learn from doing so many interviews that I bet when you're interacting with people, you're going to networking events, you're meeting people at industry events that you are likely listening to them in a much deeper way than you were prior to starting your podcast. I don't know. I say that out loud and I'm like, well, maybe not because she has, you know, a background in, you know the training that you do, but I don't know, Does that resonate with you at all? Because I think that podcasting has made me a profoundly better speaker and listener. But I don't know, has that been your experience?
Speaker 1:I will say yes and no. So I will say I have an advantage and that I have a graduate degree in clinical mental health counseling and so when I was doing that work we were videotaped. So the program I had was really intense and in the beginning we would counsel each other and these were all videotaped, and then the videotapes would be analyzed with our professor. And I had this really hard professor and he would get you for anything and one of the things was like are you moving your hands? And he would tell you fidget slowly, and he would actually time how long you allowed the silence to go. So I learned some different skills. I learned, you know, a skill that every podcaster can use is that when someone speaks, or when you actually, when you ask a question, or if they're speaking, count in your head to three, it's probably going to feel like hours have gone by, but it will actually not be that long. So that was a strategy that I learned.
Speaker 1:But, to your point, crystal, I actually did become better at it when I started podcasting because once again, I was being videotaped and I would watch those videotapes and I would listen back to myself and I would start to think have I given that person enough time to answer or did I just start speaking when they were still processing?
Speaker 1:And so, as I did that and I did it non-judgmentally, because I think, especially with video, we can start looking at ourselves and going like, oh, that face I made or my voice sounded, oh, like, oh, that face I made or my voice sounded. And so if you can just pause and say, can I be curious about what's happening so that I can improve, then you can take in this data and say, okay, yeah, this part went really well. Or oh, here's a growth edge, right, this is something that I can work on. And then choose one skill Like, don't try to make everything better, choose one skill and maybe that skill is pausing so that you are giving yourself time to think about it, or you're giving your guests time to process what you have just shared with them.
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh, like I feel like you just gave so many nuggets of really good tips Like these are so helpful. I remember back in the beginning and I will still find myself doing it from time to time. But if you haven't heard this tip before, I shared it a long time ago and I'll share it every once in a while. But I sit on my hands.
Speaker 1:I used to sit on my hands.
Speaker 2:I don't do it as much now, but when people are talking, I will sit on my hands and I'm like Crystal, that is your physical cue. You shut your mouth, you mouth. Do you do anything else? Let the other person speak. So I love all of these tips and I love the idea. You're like yeah, we're already, we're recording this, we have video, we have proof of what we can work on and what we can improve. But I feel like we've been talking about a lot of really kind of sunshiny, rainbow things with our, you know, speaking and content and businesses and podcasts. But I'm so curious and this could be for your writing journey or for creating content for your podcast but have there been any big mistakes or big lessons learned that you would love to share from your journey with the audience today?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm so glad you went there because I think it is important to be real. Right, we want to keep it real, because it's not rainbows and sunshine every day. You know, you are on the hill right, you're on the bear and you're putting one foot in front of the other, and some days that's really hard, and I think for me, one of the challenges that I faced is that I started this podcast. I was really enthusiastic about it.
Speaker 1:I did something that I think was really helpful is I recorded 10 episodes before I launched, so I had this in advance and as I was recording these episodes and I had this hard launch date and I had all of these things in place, my dad ended up having a major, major cardiac event, and that cardiac event wasn't just a one-off situation.
Speaker 1:He has congestive heart failure, which is chronic. So what? That means that, as his primary caregiver living in another state, I will sometimes encounter these unpredictable crises or events that require me to travel or that require my attention in a way that takes it away from the podcast, or it puts me in a situation where I'm trying to balance two things at the same time, you know, my dad and my podcast, oh, by the way and my business, and I'm a writer and so making time to write and, oh my, there have definitely been times where I've struggled to balance it all, to figure out how to make it work. And when that happens, and when I get tired right, especially when I get tired I get a little crunchy and then I'm like why am I doing this?
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Should I quit? Is it worth it? And then I'll think, okay, what are the download numbers? Give me some metric to make it better. And of course, you and I've talked about this. That does not make it better, it actually puts more pressure on you. So, yeah, that has certainly been a huge growth. Edge for me is how can I be gentle with myself and build great processes so that I can weather all of the unpredictable things that happen in life?
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I think that I mean kudos to you for for figuring it out, because I and I know I'm sure it's not like a beautiful thing behind the scenes to like. I mean, and you even said it yourself it's like I don't wanna say, don't we all Cause that's kind of, you know, gaslighting of like. Yeah, you know I'm not gonna validate your feelings, but at the same time, it truly does happen to everyone.
Speaker 2:So, instead of people just thinking like it's always gonna be, you know, no bumps, no bruises, like no hiccups along the way. It will absolutely happen. It just depends on that flavor of the day, Like you just never know. It could be electricity one day, like your electricity goes out, it could be the whole street decides to start mowing their lawn at the same time. It's like you just never know what that thing's going to be. So I think, finding that flexibility and, you know, understanding with maybe yourself or your guest or whatever going on is such a beautiful thing to just adapt and just say you know what?
Speaker 2:I'm here for the long game, and it sounds like you've already committed to that, and well, we'll just see, see how it goes. But do you have any like one specific um, I'm trying to think of like specifically for podcasting? Do you have like a story to share of like you, a guest didn't show up, or maybe like microphone tech issues, or something that you were able to, like, figure it out in the moment, or it was something that you just couldn't recover and you had to reschedule or just say we'll try again another day? Has any of that happened to you?
Speaker 1:Oh, there have definitely been tech snafus and what I found is that tech problems are going to happen and I'm blessed, in my case, that I have a computer that I use and a laptop. So there have been times where you know, I have this beautiful microphone, I have this setup that you see, that has the lighting that I like, and then there have been times where it just didn't work. My computer locked up and it's like, okay, what are we going to do as a backup and can we reschedule if needed? Can we give ourselves some grace that things are going to happen? And yeah, I think a lot of it comes down to self-talk, like, how are you talking to yourself about what's happening versus what is happening? Because if you start catastrophizing, which you know, right before we came on, my computer locked up and there was a part of me that's like laptop and there was a part of me that's like, ah, I'm supposed to do this thing and it just happened. And then I had to, like, take a deep breath and be like, yeah, that's overwhelming, we don't want this to happen, it's not what we intended. And then I said, okay, what are my options? So I got out my laptop and then, you know, told you what was happening and then my computer decided to come back online and we figured it out.
Speaker 1:But I think it was about me pausing and saying, yeah, it's okay and I'll tell a little funny story. That's not actually a tech glitch, but I think, for people who are starting on YouTube, this is something that happened to me early on and it's something I still have to think about. Is that when I started, you know, at first doing the podcast, and it's funny because I've been on video for many years in different ways. But now I'm listening, right, and you're when you're listening, you're still, and and when I was first doing this, I was working on Zoom, just because that was the easiest way and so you can see yourself. And I remember trying to listen to my guests and also going what is happening to my face? Does my face know what to do? Like, my face has forgotten how to be a face. Like, why do I have that strange look? What is happening here?
Speaker 2:you just made someone's day, you just made my day, saying that. But I'm like, oh my gosh, I'm so glad Lisa said it, because I feel like everyone has done that and it's not only that, it's what people will come to me, because I've had people say how do you do that on video?
Speaker 2:And I'm like, yeah, do what. And they're like, no, how do you do that? And I'm like, what? Like what is the that that you're talking about? They're like how are you looking into the camera? Yet maybe someone is like offset to the side.
Speaker 2:Like, how do you do that and not look at the screen and how do you do this? And I'm like guys, this is since 2018. Like I've just like there's things that you learn and you adapt and you go and you flow with all the different pieces of it. And I think that being willing to show up, even if it's just you, even if it's just you on Zoom no one else is even there, it's just you Like be willing to learn and fail and look a little silly or make some mistakes and say you know what, it's okay, cause I'm in it for the long haul. I think we'll make all the difference in the world and so thank you so much for sharing that, because I know exactly what you're talking about.
Speaker 2:Like, I remember somebody told me a long time ago I don't remember if it was like a Pat Flynn or Amy Porterfield, marie Forleo, like someone really big in the online business space, and they said oh yeah, you're supposed to blink when you're in an interview, and I just it never left my mind. I can't remember who said it, but it just I always remember. If I'm on a call, I'm like oh yeah, blink, blink. So you don't look like you are being interrogated and you're shocked like what's happening. So, oh my gosh, that's such a good tip. But okay, as we're looking ahead to the rest of 2025 and all the things that you have coming up for your business and your content, is there something that you're really excited? Are you trying something new? Are you looking at your content in a different way? Like, tell us all the things that you have coming up, lisa.
Speaker 1:Well, I'll tell you the thing that I am most excited about, and that is that I am taking a break and I think this is really important for people to hear is that breaks are important. I am going to because I have so many podcast episodes. We're going to have a best of series and you know I've already got the dates. I'm going to redo the intros and the outros so that it all makes sense and it's not just me hosting the same content Again. There's a context within all of it. But you know, this is something I learned from Marie Forleo is that you have to have these down times, right. If you're constantly going and going and going, you cannot improve your business because you cannot reflect on where you've been or imagine where you want to be. And so in July, I am taking off, and I've done this as a third year in a row and sometimes that means I'm working really, really hard in other parts of the year. So it's not like, oh, this is just easy, but I'm going to have that time to reflect and I will have a master class in the fall. That I am very excited about. This is going to be a new program and it's something people have been asking for. People have been saying we need this now, and they've been asking for the book version. Right, and I am working on the book version, but books take time, and I was like you know, why do I not have this packaged in a certain way for people now? Because this is something people need now. And then I'm also working on the book right, it doesn't have to be an either, or it can be a both, and so I'm really excited about that and having time to plan and do that work, because I'm not going to see clients in August. That's another choice that I'm making so that I have the time to really get that together, so that people can get on the waiting list now, and so being on my sub stack is going to be the best way.
Speaker 1:And as I'm doing this, the other thing I'm really thinking about and this is where that that summer downtime is going to come into play is that you know, when people hear that I'm a trauma informed writing coach and they hear the word trauma, what they think is like oh, you want me to write about the horrors of my life, or I only qualify to work with you if I have a horrific life, so then what happens is that people are thinking about this in this, what I will say, the way of pain right, and not the way of possibility. And so when I think about the energy that I want to put into this program, where do I want people to be Right? So, when we think about our audience and we think about customer offerings, we want to think about the pain points like what do people want? We also want to think about where do we want them to be, and I want them to free their voice.
Speaker 1:I want them to find their power. I want them to feel like they can do anything right. I want them to have these feelings, and this work that I do, which I've been doing for about 12 years now, actually helps people do that. Now it's just going to be in this structured program, so I don't have the title yet, but that's going to be part of the subtitle. I already know that. So find your voice and find your power.
Speaker 2:I love that so much. Yeah, and I know we're going to have links to your sub stack and if you have that waitlist page, we're going to get that in there, because I think that all of this is so good. I know that there's a lot of aspiring writers in the audience, and so I want y'all to go check this out and go learn from Lisa. Go listen to her podcast. Like at a minimum, you need to go listen to her podcast Writing your Resiliency and I just. This has been such a fantastic conversation today, lisa, and I thank you so much for coming on. Are you up for our rapid fire questions before we let you go? Why, yes, I am Okay. Well, let's just jump right in. So the first one is what's a piece of advice that you would give to a brand new podcaster or content creator?
Speaker 1:I would say let progress, not perfection, be your North Star and allow yourself to just do the work. There's this whole study around how you know, they had people try to make one perfect pot and then they had other people try to make one perfect pot and then they had other people try to make all the pots they could and the people who actually made the best pots were the ones who made lots of them. So you know, just go and do the work, and what you're hoping to create will happen through the process.
Speaker 2:I love that one foot in front of the other on the bear right.
Speaker 1:Yeah exactly.
Speaker 2:Go and head down and go climb the bear. Okay, what is? Uh? My next question is what is the dream podcast you would love to be on and who is your dream podcast guest you'd love to interview?
Speaker 1:I would love to be on. We can do hard things. I would love to be on that podcast and I actually believe it or not. No two people who have been on that podcast Amazing.
Speaker 2:What about? Who would you love to interview?
Speaker 1:Oh, there are so many people. But when I was thinking about this, two people came to mind Elizabeth Gilbert, because she's so wise and she's such a fantastic writer, and Dan Harris, because he's hilarious.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, oh my gosh, these are so good. And now I'm thinking about I think that you may be the third or fourth person who said we can do hard things. So I mean, it's happened like. We've had people like this is this is your place to put it out into the universe. It's happened before, so okay. Last question Do you consider yourself a perfectionist?
Speaker 1:I would say I am a perfectionist in recovery, so can that come out now? Yes, it can Case in point what was I thinking about my face, but I also have learned over time to give myself a lot more grace.
Speaker 2:Oh, I love that so much, Lisa. Lisa, this has been so much fun today. Where can everyone connect with you and learn more about all the things that you're doing?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I would say, go to my website, lisacooperellisoncom, and if you want to sign up for my sub stack, which will give you my podcast episodes in your inbox every week, you can go to lisacooperellisonsubstackcom. You can also go to writing your resilience podcastcom If you just want to get access to the podcast. And I would say I'm also on YouTube at Lisa Cooper Ellison and that is a great place to just leave a comment. And one thing that I have started doing, which I know you're doing to crystal, is that I give shout outs on my podcast when people give me comments, and it has been so much fun because I'm getting more comments right, more people are writing to me and then they write to me personally when they hear their name about how much it means to them, so you could hear your name on my show.
Speaker 2:Yes, I love this so much. I love that you're doing this because I think it is so fun and it's such a great way just to give a little something back to your audience. So I love that you're doing that. But, lisa, this has been so good. Thank you so much for coming on the show today.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much for having me, Crystal. It's been an absolute pleasure, Well.
Speaker 2:I hope that you enjoyed this chat with Lisa as much as I did, because it was so fun getting to hear her story, how she helps people, but also just the journey of being a creator, showing up consistently and all of that hard work really paying off. So make sure you go listen to her podcast. If you are a writer in any sort of capacity, please go listen and learn from the powerful stories that Lisa shares on her show and just go check it out, because it is so worth listening to. But that's all I have for you today. So make sure you follow and subscribe to learn more about digital marketing strategies, content strategies and everything else in between. And, as always, remember, keep it up. We all have to start somewhere.
