At my first women's circle, my inner child came running through a meadow in a little blue dress, arms wide like a plane, with a dandelion puff in her hand. She wasn't asking me for anything. She was handing something back.

In this episode, I'm getting into why I think I've had inner child work backwards this whole time, how the little girl who learned to carry the weight of the world carried it right into my business, and what it looks like to finally let her lead.

Because stepping out of the way for her, and stepping out of the center of my business, are the exact same thing.

WHAT WE GET INTO

• Meeting my little me in the meadow, and the gift she came running into my arms with
• Why I think I've had inner child work backwards this whole time, and what changes when she's the one leading
• What over-responsibility, hyper-independence, and hyper-vigilance actually look like inside my business, and why I keep adding myself back into the things I built to run without me
• The voice I've trusted since I was eleven, and the one question it asked that turned the weight I carry into a gift
• What happened when the woman who learned she couldn't rely on anyone sat in the center of a circle and let three women hold something for her
• What I really want to be known for, and why stepping out of the center of your business is where feeling good in it starts

SHOUTOUTS
Jennifer, founder of The Healing Roe @thehealingroe, for holding such a beautiful circle and guiding me back to my little me.
Natalie Ellis, for her phenomenal new book, The Freedom-Based Business Method. @iamnatalie and @bossbabeinc

COME FIND ME
Instagram: @stephnemchik
Website: www.stephnemchik.com

DISCLAIMER: A NOTE ON THE HEAVIER STUFF
We talk about mental health, grief, addiction, SA, and suicide here, and I share tools and resources that have helped me over the years. None of it is professional advice or guidance.

If you or someone you know is struggling, please reach out for support. In the US, you can call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, call SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357 for mental health and substance use support, or find a therapist through the Psychology Today directory at psychologytoday.com. Outside the US, contact your local crisis services.

For most of my life, I ran straight toward the scary thing. Bring it on was my whole attitude. And somewhere along the way, I lost her.

This is the final episode of my 30-day Surprise Yourself Challenge, and I'm sitting right in the middle of what Lindsey Marie calls the gap. In this episode, I talk about the belief I picked up watching my dad work himself into the ground, how it followed me into every job and right into my own business, and the next evolution my business is going through right now.

WHAT WE GET INTO

• How this podcast started as my Surprise Yourself Challenge, and what four episodes of hitting record has done for me
• The gap, the friction, and why I'm trying to get excited about it instead of backing away
• What my dad taught me about sales, and the belief I picked up watching him work himself into the ground
• Why I'm being pulled back toward teaching, and my map approach
• Finding my way back to the go-get-it woman I used to be
• Why I want this to be a space for the raw, in-the-middle parts of building a business

SHOUTOUTS

• Lindsey Marie @lindseymarieofficial
• Powerhouse Women @powerhouse_women
• Jessa Lin Rose @theonlyjessalinrose

COME FIND ME
Instagram: @stephnemchik
Website: www.stephnemchik.com

DISCLAIMER: A NOTE ON THE HEAVIER STUFF
We talk about mental health, grief, addiction, SA, and suicide here, and I share tools and resources that have helped me over the years. None of it is professional advice or guidance.

If you or someone you know is struggling, please reach out for support. In the US, you can call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, call SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357 for mental health and substance use support, or find a therapist through the Psychology Today directory at psychologytoday.com. Outside the US, contact your local crisis services.

For most of my life, I didn't trust anybody but me. Relying on me, and only me, was how I stayed safe. And without realizing it, I built my first business the exact same way.

In this episode, I'm getting into how I baked myself into every part of a business that was built to run on its own, why I kept doing it even when I knew better, and what a study about IKEA boxes and Lego sets taught me about why we can't let go of what we build.

Because the systems in your business are your people. They're what hold you up when you can't. But only if you let them do their job.

WHAT WE GET INTO

• Why relying on me, and only me, became my version of safety
• The people who carried me through losing my dad, and what they taught me about letting people in
• How one VA mistake became my "proof" that I couldn't trust anyone
• Baking myself into a business that was built to run without me
• Why I believed the value was me, and why so many of us measure worth by how much of ourselves we pour in
• The IKEA effect, and what happens when we keep taking apart what we built
• Why this podcast is the system I'm learning to trust right now

COME FIND ME

Instagram: @stephnemchik
Website: www.stephnemchik.com

DISCLAIMER: A NOTE ON THE HEAVIER STUFF

We talk about mental health, grief, addiction, SA, and suicide here, and I share tools and resources that have helped me over the years. None of it is professional advice or guidance.

If you or someone you know is struggling, please reach out for support. In the US, you can call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, call SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357 for mental health and substance use support, or find a therapist through the Psychology Today directory at psychologytoday.com. Outside the US, contact your local crisis services.