In this episode, Heather talks about something almost no one warns you about: what happens after you start doing well. If you've ever felt your confidence drop after a streak of successful sessions or found yourself bracing for something to go wrong even when everything is going right, this conversation will resonate deeply.

• Success can raise the stakes instead of building confidence.
  Each win can make your brain think, "Now there's more to lose."

• Confidence sourced externally will always feel unstable.
  If your confidence depends on client reactions, anxiety will follow.

• Anxiety is often a protection strategy.
  Your brain believes staying worried will prevent future disappointment.

• This isn't a competence issue — it's an emotional safety issue.
  The work isn't about improving your skill; it's about trusting yourself to handle outcomes.

• True confidence equals self-trust under uncertainty.
  "I can handle whatever happens" is more powerful than "They will love it."

• Progress doesn't look like zero anxiety.
  It looks like less avoidance, faster recovery, and more willingness to feel exposed.

• At some point, someone will be disappointed.
  And surviving that moment is what builds real, durable confidence.

This is about the confidence paradox — and why success can sometimes make you feel more vulnerable, not less.

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In this episode, Michelle shares her honest experience after spending a full year in a networking group — including the time commitment, the revenue results, and what she learned along the way. We break down the real numbers, the expectations versus reality, and why what seems like a great visibility strategy isn't always the right fit.

• Visibility is not the same as being in the right room.
  Just because you're showing up doesn't mean the environment is aligned.

• Networking groups often favor transactional businesses.
  Industries like real estate, finance, and roofing naturally pass referrals — photography is a more emotional, less frequent purchase.

• Track your data, not just your feelings.
  When Michelle broke down the numbers, she could make a clear, objective decision.

• Everything you say yes to means saying no to something else.
  A four-hour weekly commitment carries real opportunity cost.

• Experiments aren't failures — they're clarity.
  The year wasn't wasted; it sharpened her messaging and helped her evaluate where her time is best spent.

• Environment matters.
  Effort alone cannot overcome a misaligned room.

This is an honest look at what happens when effort meets a misaligned room — and how to evaluate business experiments without making it mean something about you. If you've ever wondered whether networking groups are worth your time as a photographer, this conversation will give you clarity.

How to Support the Podcast:

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In this episode, I'm joined by my friend and longtime Elevate member, Marty Pearson of Critter Pics, for a powerful conversation about staying committed to your journey—even when it's unclear, nonlinear, and full of pivots. Marty shares her honest path through identity confusion, competing passions, and years of experimentation, and how staying in the room long enough ultimately led to clarity, alignment, and success. If you've ever felt torn between different versions of yourself or unsure what you really want, this episode will remind you that clarity is earned, not instant.

• Clarity is not instant—it's earned.
  It often comes after years of experimentation, questioning, and staying committed through uncertainty.

• You don't have to choose just one version of yourself.
  It's not either/or—you're allowed to integrate multiple passions and identities.

• Figuring out what you don't want can be just as powerful.
  Subtraction often leads to clarity faster than trying to add more.

• Staying the course matters, even when growth feels invisible.
  Just because progress isn't obvious doesn't mean it isn't happening.

• Alignment creates ease and focus.
  When your identity clicks into place, marketing, messaging, and decisions become simpler.

• You don't need permission to decide who you are.
  Sometimes clarity comes in the moment you finally choose yourself.

This episode is especially for you if you feel multi-passionate, unsure how all the pieces fit together, or worried that you're "behind." Sometimes growth doesn't look like momentum. Sometimes it looks like staying committed long enough for the answer to reveal itself.

How to Support the Podcast:

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Heather Lahtinen: Website, Facebook, Instagram

In this episode, I talk about what it really looks like to grow through the hard things in business—especially when money, emotions, and uncomfortable circumstances are involved. Using a real coaching conversation as an example, I share a powerful framework for navigating pain without letting it turn into unnecessary suffering. If you're facing a situation you don't want, don't like, or wish were different, this episode will help you understand how acceptance—not resistance—is the key to growth, wisdom, and peace.

• Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional.
  Pain combined with resistance creates suffering; pain combined with acceptance creates peace or wisdom.

• Resisting reality multiplies emotional stress.
  Arguing with what's happening adds friction and keeps you stuck.

• Acceptance doesn't mean approval.
  You don't have to like a situation to accept that it's happening.

• Clean pain leads to growth and wisdom.
  When you accept what is, pain becomes a teacher instead of a burden.

• Every challenge is shaping your capacity.
  Difficult moments build the emotional strength and wisdom required for higher levels of success.

• You can feel pain without letting it own you.
  Acceptance allows you to experience hard things without being consumed by them.

This episode is an invitation to stop arguing with reality and start growing through whatever is in front of you.

How to Support the Podcast:

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Heather Lahtinen: Website, Facebook, Instagram

In this episode, Heather explores why you might be hesitating to take action in your business—and it's probably not for the reason you think. Using a real coaching conversation as an example, Heather explains how fear of success, self-trust, and identity often create invisible resistance. If you've been avoiding tasks you know matter, this episode will help you understand what's really going on and how to move forward with clarity and confidence.

Key takeaways from this episode:

• Hesitation is rarely about the task itself.
  Avoidance often points to fear of what comes after success, not fear of failure.

• You can't out-strategy your identity.
  If success doesn't match your current self-concept, your brain will unconsciously resist it.

• Fear of disappointing others creates self-sabotage.
  Worrying about delivery, performance, or making mistakes can stop action before it starts.

• Success intolerance is real—and common.
  When success feels unsafe to your nervous system, it will steer you back to your comfort zone.

• The worst-case scenario is usually just a feeling.
  If you trust yourself to manage embarrassment, disappointment, or discomfort, you unlock action.

• Self-trust expands capacity.
  Taking action builds evidence that you can figure things out, which becomes your new identity.

This episode came directly from a one-on-one coaching call with a photographer who had already done the work—her email was written, her list was started—but she couldn't bring herself to hit send.

How to Support the Podcast:

• Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or wherever you listen to podcasts. Please like, share, and leave a review.

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Heather Lahtinen: Website, Facebook, Instagram

In this episode, Heather breaks down the real difference between feeling motivated and unmotivated—and why it's almost never about laziness, discipline, or willpower. She shares a personal experience of feeling stuck and low-energy, what actually caused it, and the simple but powerful shift that brought my motivation back.

Key takeaways from this episode:

• Lack of motivation is almost never about laziness.
  It's usually a sign that belief has eroded, not that something is wrong with you.

• When you don't believe something will work, your brain won't take action.
  Motivation disappears when your dominant thought becomes "what's the point?"

• Hopelessness kills momentum faster than anything else.
  When belief drops, procrastination and avoidance naturally follow.

• Motivation is a feeling created by your thoughts.
  Change the thought, and the energy comes back.

• Hope leads to clarity, clarity leads to action, and action creates momentum.
  You don't need a new strategy—you need a new belief.

• You can manufacture motivation on purpose.
  It starts by questioning the thought that's keeping you stuck and choosing one that creates curiosity and possibility instead.

This episode explains why hopelessness shuts it down so quickly, and how one simple thought shift can restore clarity, momentum, and excitement—without changing your strategy, schedule, or to-do list.

How to Support the Podcast:

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Heather Lahtinen: Website, Facebook, Instagram

In this episode, Heather breaks down one of the biggest causes of stress and burnout for photographers: measuring success solely by clients and revenue. She explains why this mindset keeps you stuck in anxiety and dissatisfaction—and how to break free from it.

Key takeaways from this episode:

• Revenue is not the only measure of success. When you tie your confidence and happiness to numbers alone, your emotions rise and fall with every booking, inquiry, or slow season.

• Happiness becomes conditional when you chase milestones. Many photographers believe they'll feel better once they hit the next goal, but that mindset only postpones satisfaction.

• Growth doesn't require dissatisfaction. Just like an oak tree grows without criticizing itself for not being fully grown, you can appreciate where you are and still desire to grow.

• Comparison is helpful only when applied narrowly. Comparing tactics and skills can help you improve—but comparing big outcomes like revenue or success steals joy.

• The process matters more than the milestone. Falling in love with the process allows you to feel fulfilled along the way while still moving forward toward your goals.

This episode is a reminder that you're not behind—you're in the middle of becoming, and that's exactly where growth happens.

How to Support the Podcast:

• Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or wherever you listen to podcasts. Please like, share, and leave a review.

• If you like the content, please share with your friends by posting on social media so that we can reach and impact more people.

Join our next free coaching workshop: www.getcoachedbyheather.com

Connect:

Heather Lahtinen: Website, Facebook, Instagram

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