Podcast

Episode 377: The Power Planning Course Is Officially Here!

I’m so excited to share the details of what I’ve been working on behind the scenes for you – because it’s FINALLY AVAILABLE! Until now the full Power Planning Method has been exclusively taught to PGSDers only but… 

As of today, you can learn everything you need to know about Power Planning by signing up for The Power Planning Course. Tune into the episode to hear more about why so many people have asked me to create this course and the reason I’m finally doing it.

When you’re Power Planning, every hour you put into your business is worth double!

Imagine if the effort you put into your *40 hour* work week had the same return as an *80 hour* work week, all because your Power Planning got your perfectionist mindset on your side and has given you the clarity and confidence that was needed to stay focused on what matters most.

Now imagine that this was your normal week, every week, and you never burned out. Your $10k month would become a $20k+ month and your revenue wouldn’t stop growing – all because you started using Power Planning to get out of your own way.

The best thing about Power Planning is that it will get your perfectionist mindset on your side and have you doing everything you need to do, consistently and sustainably, for the entire year. With Power Planning, the hard work you put into your business is guaranteed to pay off. 

I’m 100% certain that if I had Power Planning from the beginning of my business it wouldn’t have taken me so long (6 years!) to make my first $100,000! I’ve made over $1.5 million in my business since I started doing what I now call Power Planning – and I want that for you too…

(This is why I’ve included two special workshops on “Power Planning Your Way To Your First 100k Year” and “Power Planning Your Way To 100k Months & Beyond” when you sign up.

And you don’t have to wait to get started with Power Planning. The Power Planning Course is designed so that you can sit down with your favourite drink and, in just one afternoon, learn everything you need to learn to start Power Planning right away!

In case you didn’t know, perfectionists can’t follow the same planning advice as everyone else.  When we do, we get in our own way!

I used to think that the reason I worked in stops and starts and left the most important things until the last minute was because I had a motivation problem. But then I realised that my motivation problem was just a planning problem in disguise!

The long to-do lists, paper planners and time blocking (to name just a few) that worked so well for non-perfectionists were actually MAKING me get in my own way. Once I learned how to plan in a way that got my perfectionist mindset working for me (instead of against me), I was able to get everything done consistently and sustainably – even when I wasn’t feeling motivated.

Thanks to Power Planning, the hard work I was putting into my business finally started paying off. And now this is possible for you too!

Power Planning is all you need to make 2023 the year you get out of your own way and do all the things you need to do, consistently and sustainably, week after week after week.

Sign up for The Power Planning Course by visiting: samlaurabrown.com/powerplanning.

PLUS… If you sign up for The Power Planning course before 11:59pm New York Time on 5 January, you’ll also secure the “New Year Bonus Bundle”.

Find the full episode transcript and show notes at samlaurabrown.com/episode377.

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FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Introduction

Hi, and welcome to another episode of The Perfectionism Project. A podcast full of perfectionism advice for entrepreneurs. My name is Sam Laura Brown, I help entrepreneurs release their perfectionism handbrake, so they can get out of their own way and build a fulfilling and profitable business. I’m the founder of the perfectionist getting shit done group coaching program, which is otherwise known as PGSD. And for even more perfectionism advice to help you with your business, you can follow me on Instagram @perfectionismproject.

Sam Laura Brown

00:28  Introduction of the episode

I am so excited to be recording this episode today because it means the power planning course is officially here. So in this episode, I’m gonna be be sharing a bit more about how power planning really took my business to the place that it is today and also why it took me so long to even make my first dollar to make my first six figures, like if I had had power planning in my early days of my business, it would have been such a different journey for me. And that’s why I’m so passionate about power planning about helping you get out of your own way and release your perfectionism handbrake. So I’m gonna be sharing a bit about that experience that I had, and also how it does help specifically with your perfectionist mindset. Because in case you didn’t already know, perfectionists can’t follow the same planning advice as everyone else. And when we do we get in our own way, so if right now, you feel like you’re having motivation problems, follow through problems, burnout problems, it’s all really just a planning problem and anyone can learn how to plan properly as a perfectionist with power planning. So in this episode, I’m really going to be sharing a bit more about what that actually looks like, as well as what you get when you sign up for the Power Planning Course, which as I mentioned, is now available for you to sign up for. 

01:57  What it’s like when Sa, Laura Brown was starting her business? (…Why did she dream of going full time in her business?)

So when it comes to my own story and my business, that I do have a successful business now, but it definitely wasn’t an overnight success by any stretch of the imagination. And because we hear so many stories about these overnight successes, I think it’s really helpful to hear about a business that wasn’t that way, that didn’t have things happen overnight. And why that was the case and what could be done differently, to speed that journey up so that it’s not as painful, it’s not as frustrating. And you’re really able to achieve the goals that you have for your business so much more quickly. So when I started my business in 2013, it was a blog and I was so in my own way. And I didn’t even know as a perfectionist at this time. I had so many misconceptions about perfectionism, I thought perfectionists are perfect people and so I was on a perfectionist in my mind, but once I started my blog, my business, which felt like the truest expression of myself that I had ever presented to the world.  That, like at that time, I was a law student, so I have a law degree and a commerce degree,  that I was studying and that did feel like it did bring on my perfectionism for sure, but at the same time, it didn’t feel like me. And when I started my business, I felt like I was truly beginning to express myself. And so it felt so vulnerable. And it really just brought up all the perfectionist tendencies that were making me get in my own way. So for example, I would work in spurts of motivation, like I really just felt like I had this big motivation problem. I was always googling how to stay motivated, trying to do up, a content calendar and things like that to try and keep myself on track. I was so scared to tell anyone in my life about my blog, like my now husband, Steve. I didn’t even tell him about it for like a year, because I felt so embarrassed and ashamed that I even thought that I could do something like that. And I was also posting and then editing after it had already been posted to try and perfect it. So there were all of these different things going on. That again, I just really thought was a big motivation problem for me. And I really wanted to be able to get that business even though it was such an infant at that stage. I really did have dreams of being able to go full time in my business, of really being able to do something that was super fulfilling for me and really felt like me. I also wanted the lifestyle that would come with that, like being my own boss and being able to set my own hours, having that flexibility, being able to when I did eventually become a mom, which I am now.  Being able to spend as much time with my kids as I wanted and work as much as I wanted and really just be able to live the life.  I wanted to live rather than this idea of like, going through the motions and ticking the boxes and all of that, that I could really see around me. So that was such a huge motivator for me. And once I realized, I think it was about 2014 that I really started to begin piecing things together.  I realized I was a perfectionist, and that my perfectionism was making me get in my own way, that there wasn’t anything wrong with me. It wasn’t because I wasn’t smart enough or intelligent enough. It was really just that my perfectionist mindset was making me get in my own way. 

05:35  The misconceptions on perfectionism. (…What are the five signs of perfectionism?)

And when it comes to perfectionism, I just want to quickly speak about some of the main sides of it, because there are so many misconceptions around it. Like I had, like, I thought that perfection is the perfect people. But really, perfectionism is a strategy to avoid shame. And oftentimes, this manifests as avoiding doing anything imperfect, rather than perfecting everything, though, of course, we love being organized, being productive, having everything be perfect, but that is really hard to actually achieve in reality. So a lot of times it looks like us, not putting in a full effort for fear that if we put in a full effort, we might find out that we’re not actually good enough. And so when it comes to the five signs of perfectionism, they are overthinking, procrastination, burnout, all or nothing mindset and fear of judgment, that I was ticking all of those boxes. And once I really started to understand that, that’s what perfectionism was. And also, there’s nothing wrong with being a perfectionist. Like, just because I had this perfectionist mindset, it didn’t mean it was toxic.  It also wasn’t something to strive for, coz I could see it was really making me not show up in the way that I wanted to, not showing up consistently, I was burning out all the time, like all of that kind of thing. 

06:58  How did Sam’s realization about her mindset affect how she approached her business? (…What happened after five years since she started her business?) 

That when I really started to understand that it was just my mindset, and the way that I was thinking and that mindset could be changed, it really made such a difference to how I began approaching my business and eventually developing power planning, using that as a tool to get out of my own way. But that epiphany, that realization, that moment when I really started to understand myself, and that there was nothing wrong with me. Like if there was a word for it, it meant I wasn’t the only one who was going through that. It really created so much relief, and also gave me language to actually begin solving what was really going on, rather than constantly trying to solve for this motivation problem and  particularly, since it is a new year, this is something that comes up for all of us perfectionists.  Like I know, we love that clean slate, we really love that feeling of that fresh start and I was always chasing that feeling of having the fresh start. I always wanted the beginnings, I was so resistant to following through with things consistently, like once things started to get messy and once it started to look like I might not get all the way to my goal, I didn’t like that. But when I was in that fresh start, that beginning, everything felt so amazing. But the problem with that is it’s so fleeting, it doesn’t actually last. And so it meant that I was just in this cycle of working in spurts of motivation, burning out, and I might have one productive week, and then three weeks where I wasn’t really getting anything done at all. And it was just no fun. And also my business really suffered because of it. And so it took me three years to make my first dollar in my business from when I started it. And this was not because I wasn’t trying, it was because of my perfectionism handbrake. My perfectionism was making me get in my own way. And by five years in, so in 2018, I’d only made $33,000 in total in my business, after five years of really trying to build it to a point where it could support me full time.  It was still absolutely nowhere near close to doing that. By that point, I had left my full time accounting job and I was working part time as a receptionist at a local hospital here in Brisbane. So because I had been making some money and I had recognized that I really needed to give my business more attention, I also wanted more time to be able to spend on my business, because I really felt like if I just had more time I would be able to actually be successful as all of these other entrepreneurs that I had seen. But it really wasn’t working out for me the way that I had hoped once I went full time in my business. If you’re familiar with my story, you will know that once I went full time, I basically just went full time into busy work. And while I was always doing things for my business, because of my perfectionism, handbrake, I was actually spending a lot of time. So for me personally, it was editing and creating Pinterest graphics, learning about different marketing strategies like I was, I knew what to do to grow my business, but it felt so scary and vulnerable to do that. And now that I didn’t have lack of time as an excuse, it really felt so much more vulnerable to be in that position where I could actually give my business a full effort. I was working part time at the hospital, but that was in the evenings. And I really had the full day to work on my business. And so it just felt so scary to think like, what if I really try and build this business, and it doesn’t actually work out. And so I just did all of these other things that yeah, maybe they were important to some degree, but they weren’t the needle movers, they weren’t the most important thing. And all of this time as well, I was burning out constantly, like I was really working from this place of fear and inadequacy and just feeling like I wasn’t good enough and feeling like I had to prove myself. And there was a lot of pressure that I was putting on myself. And particularly as it relates to this, that I had promised myself, that I would be full time in my business properly. After a year of quitting that accounting job that I had, that I would only be in that part time job for a short amount of time. Because once I was away from that full time job, that I would be able to do the things I needed to do. And so fast forward, a year later, a year after I had quit my full time accounting job, I was still nowhere close to being able to build my business and have it fully support me even though I was squeezing every hour I could to work on the business and I was really trying all the things I was learning all the marketing strategies. I was listening to all the podcasts, like I was really trying my hardest. And yet nothing seemed to be working for me. 

12:07  Recognizing that perfectionism is a planning problem.

And that’s really when I started to turn my attention more so to my perfectionism. And really recognizing that, yes, I can do like money mindset work and all of that. And that’s great. And yes, I can learn strategies for social media platforms and things like that. And that’s important, too, but this perfectionism piece that needed my full attention, or my business wasn’t going to grow. And I would still be able to make some money from it, but I wouldn’t be able to actually create the lifestyle that I wanted to live, if I didn’t actually do the work I needed to do on my perfectionism. And part of this as well was recognizing that my perfectionism and having me get in my own way and do busy work. And as I said, I was spending a lot of time on my business, but I was spending time on the wrong things. Did that really relate it back to planning? So I really started to get into figuring out and piecing together like all of these different planning methods I learned,  whether it was time blocking in my calendar, whether it was using a paper planner, to do lists, I mean, we perfectionists, we love a to-do-list. So I was figuring out how to really plan in a way that worked for my perfectionist mindset, I really started to realize around this time that I couldn’t plan the same way that everyone else was. Because that was part of what was making me get in my own way it was putting me in the all or nothing mindset. So like I was doing that thing, you can probably relate where you are starting this perfect plan. So for example, if I was time blocking in my calendar, that I was putting everything in,  basically only a robot could follow this plan. But anyway, looks great, color coded, all of that and I would have one to two days where I was following that plan perfectly. I felt incredible, I felt so productive. But then something would happen and I would just fall off with it. And sometimes that was for the rest of the week and then try again the next week. Other times that was for multiple weeks at a time.   And once I really started to get that, that behavior, that pattern wasn’t a problem with me, it was just a problem with the way that I was planning. That was when I was really able to start piecing together things so that actually helped me get my perfectionist mindset on my side. It stopped triggering my all or nothing thinking and putting me into that spurts of motivation style of working. It stopped me from procrastinating, scrolling, all of that kind of thing, like really recognizing that was all just a planning problem. Because I was trying to plan the same way that non perfectionist plan, that works so well for them. Like all that planning advice we hear,  it’s good advice, but if you have a perfectionist mindset,  like if you can relate to those five signs I talked about when it comes to overthinking, procrastination, burnout, all or nothing thinking, fear of judgment, if you can relate to that, then just knowing like it is a planning problem. And the best thing about it is anyone can learn how to plan properly as a perfectionist. And that’s really what I started to begin piecing together slowly but surely. And it’s why I’m so excited about this Power Planning Course, because it is going to teach you, like what I wish I had had during this early stage of my business. And I wish like, even at any point, someone had told me about this because it has truly made all the difference. 

15:38  What happened when Laura started to work on her perfectionism directly rather than indirectly?

So basically, as I started to really focus on getting out of my own way, working on my perfectionism directly, rather than indirectly, I have my first 10k month in September 2018 and then I went full time in my business in July 2019. So a year later, and it’s crazy. Like, it’s literally crazy to be even thinking about this, because things are so different now. And that was only a few years ago. But since that point in time, I’ve made over $1.5 million dollars in my business. And I’m working way less than before, like I was the queen of being able to sit at my laptop all day long. I hated resting. I always felt so guilty when I rested, and like I love my business, why wouldn’t I just work on it all the time. But I’m now able to work three days a week. I’m a mom, so I’m able to really be present in my personal life, not just in my business. And I haven’t burned out in five years. And that was like such a problem for me the burnouts, that it was hard to let go of because it really felt like it was working, it was just the cost of things going well, that I would have these weeks where I was just a complete zombie. And I needed to take a step back from everything and just recover. But I haven’t burned out in five years, thanks to being able to plan properly as a perfectionist and planning in a way that gets my perfectionist mindset on my side. I love what I do. I love being my own boss. 

17:12  Being your own boss won’t work when your perfectionist mindset is working against you. (…What should you do otherwise?)

And I think this is so important to talk about as well. Because when it comes to being your own boss, that people talk about it like, if you work for yourself, you’re naturally going to be the best boss that you’ve ever had. But if you are planning in a way that gets your perfectionist mindset working against you, instead of having an actual work for you, you are going to be a bitch to yourself, when it comes to building your business.  You are going to be overworked, underappreciated, nothing’s ever going to be good enough. There’s never actually time off like, all of these things that if it was someone else been our boss, it would be like, they suck, I do not wanna work for them. If we don’t figure out the perfectionism side of things and get into that growth mindset, which I’ll talk about in a second. If we’re not able to do that, then even though everyone’s talking about like, how amazing it is to work for yourself, your boss, etc. That maybe you might be finding that you’re not the best boss to yourself, that you put so much pressure on yourself. It’s really stressful and as I said, you feel overworked, you feel underappreciated. And you feel like you’re working for this boss that you can never actually please. Like even when things go well, they could have always gone better. It’s just not fun to build a business like that. And when I know like, we all have big goals, but when you think about the long term of your business, like if this is something, whether it’s this business, or you start another business, like if you’re going to be an entrepreneur, working for yourself for the rest of your working life, you want to figure this stuff out now, not in 30 years time.  You want to be able to learn how to work for yourself, so that it’s actually enjoyable, and you’re making more money, and you’re producing your highest quality work you’ve ever produced. And you’re able to get things done calmly and confidently and just have that like that, execution just happened without there being the stress and the pressure not like.  This is what power planning helps with this, again, is why I’m so passionate about it because I see so many entrepreneurs who talk about like, Okay, well, if you know if you work for yourself, of course, especially if you work from home like I do, that, of course there’s going to be, it’s going to be super hard to separate your business from your personal life. It’s going to be blurry, you’re going to be working all the time, like of course it’s going to happen, but that doesn’t have to happen. And when it does, it costs us so much. It costs us revenue. It costs us being able to enjoy the business and actually do our best work and get it done ahead of time early and easily. And it costs us as well in our personal life. Like, I know it feels productive to be working, and then you’re doing loads of laundry at the same time. But it’s costing you being present fully in your personal life and really being able to build an identity for yourself that goes beyond your business, so that the ups and downs of your business don’t feel so personal anymore. Like if you feel like, if you had a great revenue month, that you are a good person. And if you had a bad revenue month that you were a bad person, that’s a sign that right now your self worth is really tangled up in the success or otherwise of your business. And that’s going to have you wanting to work all the time burning out, like all of those things that I mentioned, we want to separate that. So that you’re able to show up fully and courageously in your business, you’re able to put yourself forward for things like opportunities that you wouldn’t have put yourself forward for in the past. Because you’re like, Well, if I screw that up, then that means I’m a bad person, like, you’ll have so much more courage in your business, when you actually have a full and rich personal life, as well. I know it can be a little scary, if you aren’t taking much time off at the moment, or when you do feel super guilty and like, I don’t even know what I like to do for fun. You will be able to figure that out. and it will only make your business more successful. It will only help your clients and customers get better results and have the best experience that they can with you like it’s a win win. And it’s possible like it’s my life, my clients have been able to create that for themselves as well, like hundreds of them. So I know it’s not just me. And it’s not just this thing that will you know, if you work for yourself, of course, you’re going to be working all the time like, no, that doesn’t have to be a thing. And even if you do want to work a lot, it’s like what energy are you working from right now? Is it a prerequisite that you have stress and pressure to be able to get anything done? Like if you’re doing things at the last minute, and before the last minute, you’re spending a lot of time doing things that aren’t the most important, like there’s still things that matter, you’re still working. But you’re leaving those really important things, are scarier things, until the last minute. It’s just, it’s such a different experience when you’re able to get your best work done ahead of time. And you’re really able to see yourself do things you’ve never seen before. This is what I found, at least because I used to always do things at the last minute.

22:33  When you are working under pressure, you will not be able to experience your best work.

And I just had this story of I do my best work under pressure, I do my best work at the last minute. And the truth was that I hadn’t yet experienced my best work, I only knew how to work under pressure and stress. And now that I have the skill set of being able to get my work done ahead of time, without there having to be that stress. And without overthinking it. It has just opened up so many opportunities to me. My day to day experience in my business is dramatically different to before like it, it’s just, it is possible. I know it’s possible. If I hadn’t been able to do it myself and seen so many my clients do it, I probably would have thought like yeah, if you do your best work under pressure, sure, that’s a thing. And just keep at it and try not burn out too hard. But like, you don’t have to keep living that way. And you haven’t yet experienced your best work. I really want to get that message across. 

23:31  Why Power Planning works and why this planning method is only for perfectionists?

So I just want to share a little bit more about, with power planning, like what it is, why it works. And I’ve already mentioned it a bit but like, how does it fit into your week? What does that look like? And then I’m going to be sharing what you get in the power planning course. As I mentioned, it is now available for you to sign up for.  We have had so many people asking us over the years as I’ve been talking about power planning on the podcast, like could you please release a self study course on power planning to really teach the process for it and it’s here, it’s finally available. So I really want to make sure you know about it and what’s included in it so that you can go and sign up. So when it comes to why power planning works and specifically as I mentioned like this is for perfectionists. This is a planning method for perfectionists. It is for someone who tends to overthink, procrastinate,  burn out,  isn’t that all or nothing mindset and is scared of judgment. Someone who is smart and intelligent and loves feeling productive loves feeling organized,  loves feel it on top of things, but you’re not able to really get yourself to do the most important things that you need to do and when you are, you do them at the last minute or you do them in a frenzy or you completely overthink them and over prepare and it takes you so long to do them. So this is specifically for perfectionist, perfectionist entrepreneurs and I’m going to be sharing a bit about why that is, and what it really looks like to get out of your own way as a perfectionist, because this really is the tool to do the work on your perfectionism. As I mentioned, in my journey, it was when I shifted from doing, like really focusing on business strategy and like general mindset things to doing that work on my perfectionism. That’s where my business really began to take off. It would not have taken me so long to get to my first six figures in business, if I had had power planning. And if I had had this awareness around perfectionism, and really understanding how it was making me get in my own way, I would have been able to breeze through that so much more quickly. Instead, it was very painful and slow and frustrating, and disappointing. I was in the pit of despair a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot, throughout that period, and I just don’t want that for you. So knowing if you are a perfectionist, there’s not a problem with that. It’s not toxic. It’s not something you have to rid yourself or overcome. It’s just that you have what I like to call, your perfectionism handbrake turned on. As I mentioned, the way you’ve been planning has been a huge part in turning that handbrake on. So when you’re planning properly as a perfectionist, it’s going to release so much of that and you’ll be able to accelerate and go full speed and do all the things you need to do without overthinking, without second guessing and all of that.  

26:32  How does the growth mindset relate to perfectionists or those having a fixed mindset?

But specifically as it relates to perfectionism, let’s just chat about the growth mindset and the fixed mindset because this is a key piece. I get so frustrated when it comes to advice on perfectionism, just hearing so many other people talk about those little mantras saying them like, you know, “Done is better than perfect.”,  “Just get it done.” Like, yeah, if you, if you are a perfectionist, and you hear that kind of advice, like just do it and you’re like, “Yeah, but how/” like, this is the “Yeah, but how?”  Like, this is the answer to that, the practical way to actually have yourself do the things that you need to do. Because when I really started to understand that my mindset was in that perfectionist mindset, and I started to look for advice on perfectionism, it was just so frustrating to be told all of this surface level advice that I intellectually understood, but couldn’t practically apply because of my perfectionism handbrake, and not being able to find any practical tools that could help me build my business while I was also at the same time working on my perfectionism. So when it comes to your perfections, when, when I say like walking on your perfectionism, what I’m talking about here is going from the perfectionist or fixed mindset, getting yourself into a growth mindset. So you might hear those times, maybe you’ve already heard them before. They’re from Dr. Carol Dweck. She’s incredible. So these times of fixing growth mindset, like when I first heard about the growth mindset, I thought, for sure, a 100% I have a growth mindset because I love personal development. Like from the beginning of my business, I’ve always been into personal development, like that’s what I’ve been talking about, especially like when I first started my blog, it was all just about pure personal development, the mindset side of things.  I was like, I definitely have a growth mindset, like I love learning. I love growing. And yet, when I really started to understand what that mindset is, I started to recognize like, okay, as much as I love personal development, that’s not what this is about. So when it comes to the growth mindset, this is the mindset that will have you releasing your perfectionism. So if we think about the fixed or perfectionist mindset, and the growth mindset has been on a spectrum, and you’re somewhere between those two, it’s not all or nothing, that you’re either all in the perfectionist mindset or all in the growth mindset. But you’re somewhere on that spectrum. And when we are closer towards the perfectionist mindset end of the spectrum, we are going to be essentially living by the mantra that it’s better not to try than it is to fail. And we see like, putting in a full effort or any effort as a sign of inadequacy, because being in that mindset, it’s all about believing, in that we have this natural talent and intelligence and ability. So if you are someone who is praised for being smart growing up, this is gonna be extremely relatable for you. But it’s really about like, trying to be a natural at things and not have to put a lot of effort into things because if you’re putting effort into things that means you’re not smart enough or that means that you aren’t talented enough. And in that mindset, we are really holding ourselves back and not showing up as fully as we could be, even though we intellectually understand what we need to do.  Then when it comes to the growth mindset, that’s when we truly live by that mantra that it’s better to have tried and failed than to have never tried at all. We perfectionists, we know, we like, we’ve heard people say that of like, success is built on a pile of failures and all of that kind of thing. But when you are in that growth mindset or more towards that end of the spectrum, then you are going to actually, like not feel so much fear and doubt when it comes to putting yourself out there. When it comes to doing new things, when it comes to obstacles and setbacks, which are of course inevitable in business.  There’s going to be things that we all try that don’t work out and we need to try and try and try again, in order to get the result we want. And in that growth mindset, we’re able to do that, without making it mean that we’re a bad person, that we’re not good enough. When we’re in the fixed mindset, the perfectionist mindset, what we do is when we come up against a failure, or a setback, or something not going right, or maybe it’s a refund request, or an unhappy customer that we made, that means something about ourselves, and that is a sign that we are inadequate, that we are unworthy. In the growth mindset. There’s a healthy separation between those two things. So it means that we’re able to really do our best work and show up fully. So I get this question a lot about like, you know, but isn’t perfection is a good thing because you’re gonna, you’re gonna have a lot of attention to detail, you’re going to produce high quality work. The truth is that you are going to produce your best work when you were in a growth mindset. And you aren’t feeling like every customer review. Everything that you create is a reflection of whether you’re good enough as a person. So we really need to really make sure we separate out those two.  When we’re talking about releasing your perfectionism handbrake and getting into a growth mindset, we’re not talking about that requiring some kind of sacrifice when it comes to the work you produce, or the money you’re making.  You’re going to be making so much more money when you are in the growth mindset.  You’re going to be having such a better time, it’s going to be so much easier to bounce back from failure and setbacks.  You’re going to be so much more resilient, so much more resourceful and you’re actually going to be kind to yourself. And power planning is really a tool for kindness for yourself, like using your calendar as that tool. And we perfectionists kind of hear that I’m like, Oh, no bit like beating myself up and talking down to myself. Like, that’s how I’ve been so successful. It can feel really scary to let go of that kind of relationship we have with ourselves, but it’s knowing that you’re able to actually do your best work and make more money, have so much more of an impact, live the life you want to live when you are in a growth mindset. It’s just so much more easy and enjoyable. And so as I said, like I was so frustrated that no one was giving me really the practical steps. Or even when I did hear things, say for example from Dr. Carol Dweck, about process, praise and these different things you can do to get yourself into a growth mindset. It was like, but how do I remember to do those things, like what does that actually look like day to day, week to week, so that I am, as I’m building my business, I am also working to release my perfectionism handbrake and get into a growth mindset. 

33:30  What can Power Planning do to have a growth mindset? (…What are the three steps of Power Planning?)

And this is when things all really started to come together for me. And recognizing not just was I now so much more productive than before. But I was actually with power planning, doing that work to get myself into a growth mindset, and the three steps of power planning. So that is your power hour, your little tweaks and your weekly review, that, those steps encompass everything you need to do to get yourself into a growth mindset. So if you are power planning, you don’t even need to be thinking about getting to a growth mindset explicitly. Because that process itself that you were using to get out of your own way and do the things you need to do, that process covers everything that needs to happen in order for you to get into this growth mindset. So that is really why power planning has become my secret weapon, my favorite tool to use when it comes to coaching perfectionist entrepreneurs and having them get out of their own way as well. That it really, it just, it encompasses everything in a very simple, easy to learn process that you will learn in the power planning course. That is going to have you doing your best work, getting it done ahead of time without having to have this prerequisite of stress and pressure in order to get things done. You’re going to be able to rest without feeling guilty, you’re going to wake up knowing exactly what you need to work on each day, going to bed feeling accomplished and organized. And not just in January, all year round, like January is such an important time, I know that. As I said, we perfectionists, we love January, we love the fresh start and what we often do is when we’re in that all-or-nothing mindset, we just try to revamp our entire life at once. And we have a great January, and it’s shift from February to December. And that whole February to December period, we’re just waiting till the next January to come so we can repeat the whole thing. And I know about you, but for me when I was in that cycle, it got so frustrating to have a great January and then just feel like the rest of the year I felt behind. I felt like nothing was working. I just felt like I was the same old me as before. So if you actually use January, to set a solid foundation for yourself, it means instead of having a few productive weeks, and then like 48 weeks of not being productive, or not really doing your best work and marking your highest level getting things done, without overthinking, being decisive, making courageous decisions, resting without guilt, all of that kind of thing. It just means you, isn’t going to be as good as it could be nowhere near close. And if you think about like, really in terms of revenue, for example, if you right now, say for example, you’re making 10k a month, and you’re having like one productive week, per month, where you really feel like you’re on top of it and like you’re in flow, you’re in alignment, like everything’s working. And then you have three weeks, where you might be doing stuff, like you’re still gonna be working, but you’re like pushing off the most important tasks for later. And anything that’s non urgent, like, if you don’t have a deadline, or like a client or customer that needs something from you, you just keep like moving it from one to do list to the next to the next to the next. If you find when it comes to marketing, you’re overthinking things, and it’s taking you so much longer to write a social media post or marketing email for a campaign or anything like that, like you’re not actually putting yourself forward for opportunities, like yes, you take opportunities that come to you. But you’re not actively putting yourself out there because that feels super scary. Like, if you thought about right now, if you have one great week, and then three not so great ones, if you were able to have four productive weeks, every month. And that would mean also, you were getting more clean rest, as I call it resting without guilt. You weren’t burning out, you didn’t have to sacrifice the quality of your work. And you were having a bigger, more positive impact on your customers and clients like basically, that you were having that one productive week actually just be your entire year like you do that again and again and again and again. And it’s super sustainable, you’re able to show up in that way without having to sacrifice, you know, time spent with your family or things like that, like you were able to actually have, I don’t love the word balance. But you’re able to have that work-life integration, so to speak, so that when you’re working, you’re focused, you know exactly what to do, you get it done, you do scary things, if you need to, you’re so proud of yourself for doing that. And you’re making more money than ever before. And then you’re able to actually switch off even if you work from home, you’re able to be present with your friends and your family. You’re not resenting them for taking time away from your business. And you’re just able to actually figure out like, “What do I like doing for fun, like, what do I enjoy doing in my spare time? You’re able to do like hobbies that you’ve been thinking about doing for ages, we’ve never had enough time to do them, you’re able to connect with yourself so much more, to if you want to have like a morning routine that’s full of different personal development things, you’re able to do that without feeling like you just have to rush into work like,  this is what’s possible when you have power planning. And so we’re so excited for the Power Planning Course to be available to you, so that you can plan properly as a perfectionist, get your perfectionist mindset on your side, and get out of your own way in your business so that you can experience all those benefits that I’ve been talking about. And as I said, it’s not just me that has experienced the benefit of this, but hundreds of clients that I’ve worked with, who have been able to experience these changes for themselves as well. Even if they were someone who felt like no, I really am, to someone who does my best work for the last minute and I have to have stress and pressure in order to get anything done. Or like I just, I can’t switch off from work all of those things, like they, they have been able to create that change. 

39:40  What can you get from the Power Planning Course? 

And if you can relate to anything that I’ve shared in this, then you can, too and so I want to invite you into the power planning course and let’s just go through what you get because there’s so many things here to really help you but also most importantly, I want to highlight, underline, emphasize that you’re going to be able to start power planning right away.  This isn’t like you sign up and then like in three months, then you’ll finally know everything you need to in order to start. You will be able, especially with the new year bonus bundle that I mentioned, but you’ll be able to just hit the ground running and begin power planning right away. And so it’s not going to take you extra time, like the course is designed so that you can just, you know, get a tea or coffee or wine, whatever works for you. Sit down in an afternoon, learn what you need to learn and get started right away. Because I know for me, at least when it comes to January, I want to be getting shit done. I don’t want to be waiting to start something. And so with the power planning course, you’re able to sign up, get instant access to everything that you need to be able to start power planning. And you’re able to start using it right away to get out of your own way and really set yourself up with such a solid foundation for the year and following years and you’ll be able to do all the things you need to do without burning out without overthinking and all of that. So what’s included in the power planning course let’s go through it. So first of all, there are the power planning modules. So this is going to teach you how to power plan. And as I mentioned, they’re not like dripped out over weeks or anything like that, like, you get instant access to everything. It is quick and easy and straightforward because I know you’re busy, I know you’ve got other areas of your life you’re working on.  I know that you’ve got shit to do, so it’s really designed for someone who is busy, who’s got a lot on their plate as we perfectionists, like we love to have a lot of things on our plate. So it is designed for you so that you can sit down, go through it pretty damn quickly and you’ll know exactly how to do your power planning. You’ll be able to get started right away. 

41:51  Why do you need to set up a growth goal before you start power planning?

And I just want to highlight within that as well, that one of those modules is a growth goal workshop. So I haven’t even talked about the growth goal in this episode yet, but this is what you need to do before you start power planning. You need to have that Northstar, that destination, your GPS. So that like if you think about driving analogies, which I personally love, if you want to have a productive day and say for example, you’re driving, like you can drive around the neighborhood and like spend all day in your car driving and then you have only made it like a kilometer further away from your home or maybe you’re even right back home, because you didn’t actually have a destination that you had in mind. So you’ve been busy this whole time, but you haven’t actually been productive. And this is what happens with so many of us when our perfectionism handbrake is on, that we spend so much time working and burning out and all those things. And yet, if you feel like I’m not actually making real progress, you need to have a goal that’s really set in a way again, that gets your perfectionist mindset on your side. For goal setting advice that’s out there as great as it is, it doesn’t work for perfectionists,  you need to actually plan and goal set in a way that gets your perfectionist mindset working for you. So in that growth goal workshop, I will guide you through the process for setting your growth goal. So you’ve got that goal. And you can really use your power planning each week.  It’s a 12 month revenue goal, you’re going to use your power planning each week to get you to that goal. It’s not just working for work’s sake, it’s really working with that intention in mind. And also really knowing that, it’s like, this isn’t just about ticking things off, but you will be planning from your calendar when you’re planning, you will be adding a little check mark emoji. So if you love the feeling of taking things off, you will be getting that. But we’re not just power planning to try and just like, fill our days with stuff to do and feel productive doing that. It’s really about producing a result. That’s what true productivity is. And so if you are able to plan in a way that you’re actually able to easily prioritize what’s important, what’s not like.  If you right now have so many ideas for your business, especially because you’re probably like, looking at what everyone else is doing, getting ideas from that as well, that if you have so many ideas like you don’t even know where to start with them. And you’ll find yourself jumping from one idea to the next. And like you don’t really trust yourself to know what’s important, what isn’t.  Having that growth goal is going to make that so much easier.  

44:24  What are the three steps or methods of Power Planning?

So as I said, you get the power planning modules, and you also get the power planning methods. So let’s just talk about that for a second. So you will learn that in this course, of course it’s called the power planning course. So there are three steps, that is your power hour, little tweaks and weekly reviews. So let’s cover off on what those three steps are so that you know what it will look like in your week. So you will be using your digital calendar, whether it’s Google Calendar or iCal.  This is not time blocking, it’s really important to mention that. If you are time blocking right now and you’re doing that thing I mentioned, where you will be basically just like, planning that with good intentions and hopes, and really wanting to be productive, but you are finding yourself falling off after a couple of days, this isn’t that. This is not time blocking. So with your three steps, your Power Hour first of all, that is where you are putting your clean rest, your commitment, your needle movers into your digital calendar. And you’ll be doing that in a way that considers the fact you’re actually a human with a life that’s going on. That there are contingency plans, that is a workable plan that you’re creating. We so often, when our perfectionism handbrake is on, we don’t create workable plans, because we just hope for the best. We just think like, hopefully this week, I’m perfect. And so I don’t need to actually build in any workability to this plan because I’m feeling really motivated right now because it’s Sunday or Monday, and I’m looking at the week ahead. And then we just set ourselves up for failure, we set ourselves up to be in that all or nothing mindset about it. So you’ll have your Power Hour, as the name suggests, it takes 60 minutes, and I will mention a bonus, it’s gonna really help with that as well and make it super easy for you in a second to doing that, then throughout the week, you’re making little tweaks to your calendar. So I want  you to think about this use, another driving analogy. As your Google Maps rerouting feature. So if you were driving somewhere and say there’s an accident, or there’s roadworks, or there’s something going on, or you just miss a turn, and you need to go in a different direction, that instead of like Google Maps telling you to, like pretending that you’re still on that same road that you should have been, it’s going to actually take into account the fact that you had to go a different way. And it’s going to adjust so that you can still get to your end destination. And that’s what we want to make sure we’re doing with our plans, that we are making those little tweaks and little adjustments throughout the week so that if something happens, because inevitably, it will, regardless of weather, maybe you have kids, maybe you have a health issue, like anything. It doesn’t even have to be any of that just like unexpected family things happening. Or maybe you’re just like, feeling like you’re in a slump or like not in flow or whatever, that you can actually just make little tweaks and adjustments to your plans, so that you’re able to stay on track. And your plans are always workable. You’re never like, well, now I don’t know what to do, because my calendar is telling me to do this certain task. And I haven’t even done the three that need to be done before that can be complete. So you’ll always have workable plans, you’re just going into your calendar, you’re making little tweaks throughout the day to keep things workable. They don’t have to be super exact or anything, but you’re always making sure like, you’re checking off when you’ve completed something. And you’re adjusting it. So it’s always workable. And then at the end of the week, you’re doing your weekly review, I want you to think about this like a NASA debrief. So basically, instead of saying NASA as in the astronauts, if they do a training exercise or mission or whatever, if it doesn’t go well, they aren’t just like, oh, well, let’s just try and be more motivated next time. Or let’s just do something completely different. They’re like, actually, let’s take a good look at this, like what really worked here, what didn’t work here, what adjustments do we need to make, then they try again. And this is how power planning gets easier and easier and easier with every week that you do it because you are increasing the workability of your plans every single week, you’re able to reflect on your planning throughout that week. And what really worked well for you, what didn’t work well for you. The lessons here, has all of those different things, it doesn’t even take long to do it. But you are able to then have that information, that self awareness so that next time when you are planning, you can take that into account. But when for example, with time blocking, we are doing things or to do lists.  We haven’t even talked about to-do lists, they do not work for perfectionists as much as we love them, it really makes us get in our own way when we are doing that. But often there’s no kind of like, review or looking at work ability or taking lessons. It’s really just like, we think, ‘Okay, I just need to be more motivated and then I’ll be able to get it all done’. And we just stay stuck in that cycle. So it’s really that those three steps, power hour, little tweaks and weekly review,  have your perfectionist mindset fully taken into account so that you can get it on your side and get out of your own way do all the things you need to do, switch off without feeling guilty, all that good stuff. 

49:41  What else will you get when you sign up for the Power Planning Course?

And yeah, so you’re gonna be in the power planning method, obviously inside the power planning course. Then you’re gonna get a behind the scenes look at my calendar. So I know if you’re like me, I’m very nosy. I want to see like, everyone’s setup on the back end and like how they do what they do and what works for them. I love looking at that kind of stuff, so you will get a look into my calendar, and what my calendar actually looks like, the color coding that I use like all of that, so you can really see personally how I do it. There are so many different ways to do it. But it’s always just so helpful to see how someone else does it as well. So that’s what you’ll get. With that bonus, there is also a power hour with me. So this is where you can just show up and you will be able to do your first Power Hour and be guided through the full process by me. And if you do sign up for the New Year bonus bundle, you will be able to get to do that live. If you sign up after that, there’ll be a replay. But you will have the, basically just the guidance. So even if you’ve never power planned before, you haven’t even set your growth goal yet, you’ll be able to get started within that hour with your power planning. Like you will go from feeling overwhelmed about your week and all the amazing ideas that you have. And all the things you want to get done, to feeling clear and calm and knowing exactly what you need to do. And being able to trust yourself to get it done, because your plan is workable, because you’ve got your perfectionist mindset on your side. And I’ll help you avoid common mistakes that often come up as well. So it really have you sorted, when it comes to your Power Hour and just been able to hit the ground running really quickly.  Then there’s gonna be growth goal check ins, because like, as I mentioned, like this is all about getting to your growth goal like this is part of building your business. It’s not just being productive for the sake of being productive, it’s really with a goal in mind. And so these Growth Goal check-ins are going to be emails that you receive, that are going to help you stay on track and help you really make the most of your power planning to get you to your revenue goals. And to do that as quickly and easily as possible. And then there are two more things. So Power Plan your way to your first 100k year, this is a workshop that you’re gonna get and it is, I’m just so excited about it. Because, as I mentioned, it wouldn’t have taken me so long to make my first six figures in my business if I had power planning and specifically like when you’re in that, say zero to 100k range, or say like you’re making 5k a month or whatever it is, and you want to get to 100k in a year, there are certain things specifically that you can focus on in your power planning that are really going to help make that happen. And then the other workshop, you’ll get access to both of these, like to everything I mentioned, is power planning to your first 100k month. So for me the 100k months, making $100,000 in a one month period, like collecting that in cash, that always felt like such a big milestone for me, particularly if you remember, like where I started. At that, it took me three years to make my first dollar in business. And after five years, I’d only made 33,000 In total. That, obviously making 100,000 in a month, that felt like, such a big leap for me. And now that I’ve been able to have multiple $100,000 months, I am going in this workshop to be talking specifically about once you’ve already had that 100k year, maybe you’re having multiple, six figure years, getting to having those 100k months, what you can be looking at specifically in your power planning to help you get there. So that is going to be in there as well when you sign up for the power planning course. So everything that I mentioned, you will be able to get for 499 US dollars. So I’m so excited. I mean, I’m just so excited about all of it, so passionate about all of it. And that you were able to get this as a self study course with everything that I’ve mentioned is just the best deal ever, in my biased opinion. But I really do believe in it. I believe in power planning. I live by it, my team lives by it, like it’s just, it’s so, it’s so crucial. It really is like no matter how much you know about marketing strategy, and how much mindset work you’re doing, as I mentioned, like I was doing heaps of mindset work. But it was only when I really started to work on my perfectionism and releasing that. And I had a practical tool, power planning to help me do that, that I was able to experience so much more, notice success in my business, but actual satisfaction, enjoyment, fulfillment, and all of that. And I really want that for you. 

54:33  Invitation to sign up for the Power Planning Course.

And I really want to invite you into the power planning course. And if you sign up before 11:59 pm, New York time on the fifth of January, you’ll also get the New Year bonus bundle as well. So first of all, it has two components. The first is a fresh start kit to help you get your life organized. I know that in January, especially, we love doing that kind of stuff, myself included. And so what you’re going to get is a behind the scenes look at how I keep my office organized so that I never have to do these like, big clean outs of it or anything like it’s always just organized. And I’m able to just sit down and get to work. If procrasti-cleaning is a thing for you especially, it’s going to be so helpful. I also have a video for you on 10 essential habits for organization that are really going to just help you create simple little habits. That means that like if you feel like you’re constantly having to clean up shit that your past self has left for you,  and you’re having to constantly declutter things, or spending all this time like, say, for example, like me have a big kitchen island bench and it can just accumulate things, and you’re just feeling like you’re spending all this time like taking things back to where they belong, or things just sit there for months or weeks or whatever, because you don’t even really know where it belongs. Or maybe you have like piles of paper around your office or whatever it is, this is really going to help with that because I know it’s like when it comes to, that say like tidy, what is it tidy mind, tidy house, tidy mind, I am a believer in that, that it is just so great to be in a, an environment that really supports you. And so I want to help you do that with this. So this is in that new year bonus bundle. And you also get my one hour email inbox cleanse challenge. So if you are someone who has an inbox with like, all these emails that are unread in it, or maybe they’re all rabid, it takes us forever to even find anything you need to find. And it’s just stressful and you’re feeling like you’re always behind and like overwhelmed with your emails, this in one hour is going to take you from feeling completely overwhelmed by what literally in one hour, no matter where you’re starting out with your inbox, you are going to go from feeling completely overwhelmed about it, to being able to actually achieve Inbox Zero.  I share my process, my system that I use to make that a reality, how to set it up, all of that good stuff. So that is that for you, as well as being able to do the live power hour with me.  As I mentioned, if you sign up after the fifth, so that power planning course will continue to be open for enrollment after this date. But if you sign up before 11:59 pm, New York time on the fifth of January, then you will get to come to live power hour with me, where we will be going through the Power Hour, which if you remember is your first step in your power planning. When you’re planning out your week, you’ll do that alongside me, it’ll be so easy. It’s kind of like,  think about it like a group fitness class. All you have to do is get yourself to the class. And then, you actually like, you don’t need to use any of your own motivation. Like if you have any questions and someone that will answer them for you like that’s what this is. And so you will be able to be there live with me, if you do sign up before that date. 

57:50  Closing

So that is everything I wanted to share with you in this episode. I hope you found it incredibly helpful. And I’m so excited to welcome those of you who sign up into the power planning course. And to just know that you’re actually setting up your entire year, not just the first few weeks and having a few productive weeks, but that January motivation, it doesn’t last. And so setting yourself up with something to support you and your perfectionist mindset, so that you can do all the things you need to do consistently and sustainably for the entire year. And take time off. If you want to take time off. It’s not just about how, it’s not at all about hustling. This is going to be so helpful for you. So I invite you to sign up,  again samlaurabrown.com/power planning,  is where you can go to sign up today. Get instant access to everything you need to get started with power planning, and begin using it to release your perfectionism handbrake and get out of your own way. If you are someone who is smart and intelligent, and you know what to do to build your business, but you haven’t been doing it or you have been doing it, but you’ve been overthinking and burning out and second guessing and not showing up in the way that you know you could be. This is the answer and I’m so excited to be sharing it with you in this course. So with that said, I hope you’re having a beautiful day and I will talk to you in the next episode.

Author: Sam Brown