Latest / The 3Bz Podcast - Building Better Business / EP118 - The Anxious Introvert: Overthinking, Overpreparing and Still Not Feeling Ready

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EP118 - The Anxious Introvert: Overthinking, Overpreparing and Still Not Feeling Ready · The 3Bz Podcast - Building Better Business

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  Hi there business owner, and welcome to the Three BS Podcast,
• 0:04
  the place where we go beyond the numbers and dive into the
• 0:07
  strategies to help you build a Better Business one step at a
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  time. I'm your host, Stephanie, a
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  multi awarding entrepreneur with over a decade of experience in
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  the bookkeeping and currency world.
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  If you're a business owner looking to streamline, grow, and
• 0:19
  get back the time that you deserve, you're in the right
• 0:21
  place tackling real world problems, answering tough
• 0:24
  questions, and digging deep into business building secrets in
• 0:27
  just 15 minutes each week. So, Are you ready to build a
• 0:31
  Better Business with confidence and clarity?
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  Then let's go. Hello and welcome back to
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  another episode of a 3B's podcast.
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  You'll go to 15 minutes of CPD certified motivation,
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  inspiration, and education to help you build a Better Business
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  each week. As always, I'm your host,
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  Stephanie High. And just like the last couple of
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  episodes, if you haven't listened to episode 115 about
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  the four different types of introvert, go back and listen to
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  that because otherwise this won't make such sense.
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  If you do not type of introvert you are and you are a social
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  introvert, then go back and listen to episode 116.
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  And if you came out as a thinking introvert, then go and
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  listen up to 117 last weeks episode for strategies to help
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  you use your introvert type to build a Better Business.
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  This week we're talking of talking about anxious
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  introverts. And here at the Three VS
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  Podcast, we talk about business without pretending that it's
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  always easy. And this is Part 3 in our
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  introvert series. So if you've ever replayed a
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  conversation from three days ago when you're at home alone, over
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  prepared for something super simple, or worried about what
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  people think before you've even hit post, you might be joining
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  me in this category. Yes, I am.
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  Of the four introvert types most associated with the anxious
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  introvert, which you may find surprising as somebody who comes
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  in this podcast each week, posts on social media, talks on stage,
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  wins influencer of the year at the Luca Awards.
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  That overthinking though? It can get really loud.
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  So let's talk about how to quieten the noise and build
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  something really solid as a business owner without second
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  guessing yourself every step of the way.
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  And as I say, I am with you on this one.
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  I do see parts of myself in other introvert types.
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  And that's the thing. If you come out as one in the
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  quiz, you may recognize yourself in in 2-3 or even all four of
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  them. But the one that you feel most
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  associated to is definitely the strategies I recommend you try
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  first. And as I am an anxious introvert
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  by nature, I feel like that's the most closely linked one to
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  me. A lot of this is coming from
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  experience. So these are strategies that
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  help me and I'm hoping they will help you too if you are an
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  anxious introvert. So First things first, what is
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  an anxious introvert? Anxious introverts don't just
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  prefer quiet time. Their minds won't switch off.
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  And the difference between like a thinking introvert and an
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  anxious introvert is that when they're alone, you're still
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  replaying that conversation. You're still worrying and
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  anxious about what was said and people think about you.
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  You're probably constantly thinking, did I come across OK?
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  Did that come out OK? What if that post sounds stupid?
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  Maybe I'm annoying people by talking about my offer yet
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  again, when actually the truth of the matter is you could have
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  talked about it 6 times that day and 90% of your followers
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  wouldn't have seen any of them. So you might spend hours
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  preparing something and still not feel ready.
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  As I said in last week's episode, I think it was, I went
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  and spoke on Sage account text back in May and it's my first
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  sort of speaking engagement. And the talk was what we're
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  talking about now from introvert influencer, The Honest truth
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  behind Success. Because transparency is really
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  important to me. And when you listen back to the
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  recording, you can hear the wobble in my voice.
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  You can hear the anxiety sitting there in the back of my throat
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  as I'm wondering what people are thinking of me whilst I'm trying
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  to do it and still not really feeling ready but pushing
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  through the fear and doing it anyway.
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  Now I don't recommend that everyone needs to go and talk on
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  stage if you're an anxious introvert, but I am living proof
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  that it is possible if it's something you want to do to
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  build your business forward. This is less about fear of
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  people and more about the fear of perception, how you're
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  viewed, what people think and when it comes to being a
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  business owner, it causes a serious confidence block.
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  But The thing is, your attention to detail is a gift and what you
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  have to learn to do is just to build it in safety.
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  That feeling of safety, the systems and processes and giving
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  yourself permission to move before everything feels perfect.
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  One of my favorite sayings is done is better than perfect.
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  And it's something that I try to live by.
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  And it's, it's not always easy, but sometimes just trying to
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  live that way really, really helped.
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  So if you are an anxious introvert or feel like you are
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  most closely resonating with an anxious introvert type, then
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  here are some of the strategies that I've used to help me in
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  business and I'm hoping will help you to build a Better
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  Business whilst playing to your introvert type as a strength, as
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  a superpower and not letting it hold yourself back.
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  First strategy is to pre decide your decision.
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  So if there are things that usually 'cause you stress pre
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  decide these things, decision making can feel like an absolute
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  minefield when your anxiety is at a peak, when you're feeling
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  very anxious. So the more you can preset rules
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  for yourself, the easier it gets.
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  Now when we go to eat anywhere, whether I go out to eat with
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  friends, family, colleagues, my network, whatever it may be,
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  when I go out with clients, I will always get the menu and
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  download the menu and check and give myself one or two options
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  of what I'm going to have to eat.
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  It used to be just one. I used to decide what I was
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  going to eat before I got to the restaurant because it helped
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  calm my anxiety. And then a couple of times we've
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  gone out somewhere and I'm the person that will always have a
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  sea bass. If a sea bass on the menu, 9
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  times out of 10, I'm going to choose it first because I can't
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  cook it well. And when it comes from a
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  restaurant, it's always absolutely so delicious.
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  So a couple of times we've been to a particular restaurant and
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  I, I knew I was having a pre, decided I've got myself ready to
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  go out and I'd said, OK, I'm going to have the sea bath.
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  And they say, oh, we haven't got any of that left, I'm afraid.
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  And then the anxiety kicks in because you're like, I don't
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  have a Plan B. Like I sort of pre empted this.
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  I hadn't really thought about what if they didn't have any of
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  that. So now I always have two.
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  I always have a backup, which sometimes causes decision
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  paralysis when you sat there and not knowing which one you want.
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  But I tend to always have a backup now to reduce the
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  anxiety. And it works the same in
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  business. Have a default pricing
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  structure, so you're not adjusting on the fly so that you
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  can stick to the rules that are written down.
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  You can stick to the pricing that you've set.
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  You're not having to try and move things around.
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  You're not trying to do anything that causes you more stress.
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  And if pricing is something that you struggle with, have a
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  default pricing structure, have a default package, have a
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  default price. That is what it is.
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  If you want this, it's going to cost you this.
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  I think that really helps. Another one that's really good
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  is to just choose 2 core marketing platforms and ignore
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  the rest. Now when I say ignore the rest,
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  I mean don't put your energy and time into it, but do repurpose
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  your content onto other platforms just to give you a
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  social presence across the various different platforms.
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  So for me, it's LinkedIn first and foremost, and then it's
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  Instagram. But when I post Instagram, it's
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  automatically posted to Facebook, for example.
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  So the two core marketing platforms, the two platforms
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  where I do my research, where my clients are, where I do the
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  research into what's a hot, a hot topic, what's being
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  discussed, the content that I curate is based on those two
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  marketing platforms. Everything else I don't think
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  about because it causes too much anxiety.
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  I don't have TikTok even though I keep promising to go on there.
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  I don't use Facebook very often. I don't use X or Twitter very
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  often either. My 2 main places, my 2 core
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  marketing platforms are LinkedIn and Instagram.
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  Even if you're watching this podcast on YouTube, that's not
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  one of my core marketing platforms.
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  It's where the podcast gets put. But the podcast is primarily
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  made and then it goes to YouTube.
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  I don't make it with YouTube in mind and pre schedule your
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  content once a week so you're not agonizing over it daily.
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  Have you ever had that feeling where you're like, I know I need
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  to post today and I haven't posted today.
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  I haven't posted on LinkedIn today and I know I need to.
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  It gets like 6:00 PM. You're like, oh, what am I going
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  to post? I need to post something because
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  I haven't posted yet and that girl on the Internet said I need
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  to post every single day? Give yourself less chances to
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  spiral. Give yourself less moments to
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  get overwhelmed and, and add to your anxiety and stress and
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  you'll be surprised how freeing that really feels.
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  I said a couple of weeks ago that I'm starting to sort of
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  batch content. So all of these podcast
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  recordings will have been done in a batch in one go and then
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  it'll be scheduled across the next 5 weeks.
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  So, so the next three Monday mornings, I won't have that
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  stress if I've got to get in and record the podcast because it's
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  already done. I can then start planning the
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  next batch of content and again, just reducing that stress and
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  pre deciding your decisions can really help.
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  If you're an anxious introvert, strategy #2 use micro actions to
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  build confidence. Anxious introverts often wait
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  until something feels fully ready to act.
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  And the done is better than perfect is a phrase I say
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  regularly on the podcast and it applies here because done is
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  better than perfect. Anxious introverts wait until
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  something feels ready and then they never really act on it.
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  So instead of going big, just go small and consistent.
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  Don't commit to posting every single day if that's going to
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  cause too much anxiety. Commit to posting once a week.
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  Commit to posting twice a week. Commit to posting one blog post
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  a month, whatever it is to reduce some of that chance to
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  spiral. But whilst you're being
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  consistent, you're going to build an audience that grows to
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  wait for or grows to expect that blog post every month that goes
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  to expect that Friday post that you always put out on LinkedIn.
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  For example, launch to five warm leads instead of building a full
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  funnel is another one that's great for service based
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  businesses, for high ticket businesses, for anxious
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  introverts who like to overthink everything and get anxious about
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  it. So building a big audience is
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  not something that comes naturally to them and adds a lot
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  of stress. So have a smaller but quality
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  over quantity leads and start converting them rather than
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  building that full sales funnel before you start actually
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  putting out your offer book. Deciding your content for a
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  month feels utterly terrifying to you.
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  Just record 162nd reel because you can repurpose that anyway.
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  Make sure it's Evergreen. Doesn't have to be, but you
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  could be Evergreen. 62nd reel that you change the sound
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  wording. I like to I like to think of it
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  as B roll. So it's just pressing record
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  162nd reel rather than planning that whole content calendar.
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  And those small actions build confidence.
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  So you do the one small thing and yeah, OK, I can do this now.
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  Then you do the next small thing or the slightly bigger thing
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  than the first thing and it snowballs and it grows and that
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  confidence grows. And as it grows, the anxiety
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  reduces over time. That's how I can be on here on
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  video every week. When the podcast started it was
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  pre recorded. I took more takes than I care to
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  even imagine. I was sat on my sofa in my
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  pyjamas with a landmike clipped to my dressing gown because that
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  small step was all I could manage.
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  If you'd have said to me I need to launch a podcast and if I'd
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  have not made that decision and was trying to create a whole
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  series of content and have all the videos and all the captions
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  and all the fancy transitions and all the music sorted, this
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  podcast would never have existed.
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  So small actions build your confidence, just like me
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  standing on stage. I mean, I am great for a
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  challenge. I am somebody who does not like
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  to back down from a challenge. And that's not to do my
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  introvert type, that's just me. If somebody challenges me or I
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  challenge myself to something, I am there.
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  I've got a tattoo on my leg of a of a race number because we're
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  there. When I was in Motorsports, our
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  little genetic juniors were 1417 year old, all in the same car.
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  They're on the token package with the British Touring Car
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  Championship. I loved going and helping the
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  boys and girls down in the awnings and down in the paddock.
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  And Greg Johnson was a Genesis junior driver, in fact, doesn't
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  even race anymore, which is even funnier.
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  So he didn't even go through the ranks, but somebody's made a
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  dare or somebody made a bet that if he could get a podium, they'd
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  get a tattoo of his race number. And I was like, Oh yeah, I'm
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  well, look for that. I said, yeah, me too, count me
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  in. I was like, I'll absolutely get
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  a tattoo of your race number. And yeah, he got a podium.
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  So I have the number 7 hashtag 7 tattooed on the on my leg.
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  And then he gave up bracing, which is even funnier.
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  So compared to little Ando Norris and Louis Foster, who's
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  now in the IndyCar, I'm not one to back down from a challenge.
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  And I have a #7 tattooed on my leg, so that's how I work.
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  So doing things like going and talking on stage, account text,
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  I wanted to win a Luca. I'd set myself at goal, I'd set
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  myself at challenge, and I would take little steps to get to
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  that. So to talk on stage, I started
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  off with the podcast being recorded on audio.
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  Then I moved to a couple of webinars for the ICBA recorded
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  webinar. Then it was a live webinar, then
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  I went to video on the podcast and then I applied to speak on
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  stage and didn't get it. And then I applied to speak on
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  stage and did get it. And I did a panel stage on the
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  Wednesday and then a solo stage on the Thursday.
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  So again, it's those little tiny steps.
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  Because if you'd have said to me two years ago, yeah, you're
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  going to go and stand on stage and there'll be about 16,000
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  foot fall over the two days I would have, I wouldn't have
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  slept for weeks. And I still get anxious and I
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  still have massive anxiety attacks at times and it takes me
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  a lot of time to recover from those big things.
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  But it all steps me forward. Those little micro steps are
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  what got me there in the 1st place.
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  If you're if you're an anxious introvert like me, you don't
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  need to be louder, bolder, or more fearless.
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  You just need systems that reduce overthinking.
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  You just need tiny actions that grow and build and scale and
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  help you to build trust in yourself and your own ability
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  and a little bit of kindness when your brains being really
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  noisy and you can't close it off.
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  Remember, you are not a bad business owner just because
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  you're anxious. You are probably one of the most
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  thoughtful people your clients will ever have pleasure to work
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  with because you overthink. And overthinking is sometimes a
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  good thing, as long as it doesn't stop you from moving
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  forward in your business. If you haven't taken the
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  Introvert quiz yet, now is a really great time.
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  Even if you think you know what type you are, it will confirm it
• 14:54
  for you and give you practical tips and strategies to help you
• 14:57
  play to your strengths that work really well alongside these
• 15:00
  podcasts. The quiz link is in the show
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  notes as always, or you'll find it on social media.
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  And next week will be our last in the series with the
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  restrained introvert, the calm, methodical my fiance who needs
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  time to arm up but build serious momentum once they do.
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  If you find this episode useful, please do like, rate and review
• 15:19
  wherever you're listening to it in a podcast app.
• 15:22
  Share it on social media, send it to a business owner who you
• 15:25
  think is an anxious introvert and tell them it's okay and they
• 15:28
  can play to their strengths and still build a successful
• 15:31
  business. I'll see you next week for the
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  next episode. Bye.
• 15:36
  And that brings us to the end of another episode of The Three B's
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  podcast. I hope you found it useful and
• 15:41
  that you're walking away with some motivation, inspiration, or
• 15:44
  education to help you build a Better Business.
• 15:47
  Don't forget to subscribe, leave a review, and of course, connect
• 15:50
  with us on social media for more insights, tips, and behind the
• 15:52
  scenes content. Your next step in building a
• 15:55
  Better Business is just a click away.
• 15:56
  I can't wait to connect with you and I'll see you on the next
• 15:59
  episode. Bye.