Ep. 5 - The 3 Hidden Blocks That Almost Stopped My Podcast - The Breakthrough Collective

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 00 (00:00):
The words don't fit.
My brain is screaming, changethe lyrics.
But nope, I refuse.
So now, mid-recording, I'mstuck.
No plan, no backup.
Just me, the mic, and thepressure to make it work.
And that's when I realized.
This is the same three hiddenblocks that stops so many of us
from starting anything new.
It's me, Traci.

(00:22):
And when I get on the mic, youknow we about to have a good
time tonight.
Real talk, real growth, that'sa fact.
So go ahead now, sit back andrelax.
Hang ing with us, you'll seethat nothing is impossible.
Because together we becomeunstoppable.
You know that taking action isthe objective.
So get ready for theBreakthrough Collective.
This is The BreakthroughCollective, where your story

(00:46):
matters, your courage counts,and your next chapter starts
now.
This is where we get thingsdone and real stories lead to
real change.
I'm Traci Swain, and today I'msharing what happened when I
stepped into the studio torecord my podcast intro song and
found myself face to face withthe same blocks that keep most

(01:09):
people from launching their bigideas.
Let me take you back to PlushNYC, this amazing recording
studio here in New York.
I'm there to record the introsong that you hear at the the
beginning of every episode.
And yes, I wrote that myself.
Now, why did I decide to writemy own intro song?

(01:30):
So, this is what happened.
Back when I was producingcontent for Scholastic Book
Clubs, I used to write songs forchildren's books.
It was so much fun.
I loved helping teachers gettheir students excited about
reading.
So, I thought to myself, let medo a little something for my

(01:51):
own project.
I wanted the song to be fun andengaging, a way to share info
about the podcast that feltauthentic to me.
I wrote the lyrics and Aaroncreated this incredible track
and I was excited.
However, the night before therecording, I figured, hey, you

(02:15):
know, I should practice thelyrics and just get the flow of
it all to make sure everythingwent smoothly during the
recording.
So, I don't think I should havedone that because that was a
big mistake.
There was this one line thatwas giving me trouble with the
timing.
And at first I started laughingabout it, but then I was like,

(02:35):
oh, crap.
I realized that I couldn't nailthis line.
It just was not happening.
And I literally kept saying outloud that I couldn't do it.
Yes, I was talking to myself.
And you know what they sayabout being careful with what
you speak out into the world.
Well, I started stressingmyself out, thinking negative

(02:59):
thoughts about my own ability.
And I know I'm not the onlyone.
I know we all do that.
So, fast forward to studio day.
The mic is on.
The clock is running and timeis money, right?
I take a deep breath.
I start my intro song andhalfway through, I stumble.
The words don't fit in the timeframe within that one bar.

(03:24):
I mean, they fit, but not forme.
So my brain is screaming, youshould have changed the lyrics.
But I'm stubborn.
I'm like, nope.
These are the lyrics that Iwrote.
These are my words.
And I'm not changing them.
I'm sure the sound engineer,Felipe, was looking at me like,

(03:45):
you so dumb, girl.
Plus, you know, Aaron is tuningin through Zoom and, you know,
you put that pressure onyourself.
I'm like, I've got to figureout how to make this work.
And in that moment, I realizedthis wasn't just about music.
I was running into the samesneaky blocks that, you know,

(04:09):
stop most of us from startinganything new.
That day in thestudio taught me something important. The road blocks that pop up
when you're about to launch,post, or release something,
those aren't random.
They have patterns.
And if you've been waiting tostart something, there is a good

(04:33):
chance that you've met themtoo.
So, the sooner you can spotthem, the sooner you can move
through them.
Today, I want to share thethree hidden blocks that almost
stopped me before I even beganand how you can recognize them
in your own life so you canstart before you feel ready.
Okay, so before we dive intoeach block, if you're thinking,

(04:56):
well, wait, which one of theseis my biggest block?
I've created a quick freeassessment to help you figure
that out.
I'll leave the link in thedescription below for you to
take the three hidden blocksassessment and get your
personalized breakthrough actionplan.
It's completely free, takesonly two minutes, and you'll

(05:17):
know exactly Exactly where tofocus first.
Okay, you ready?
So these are the three hiddenblocks.
Block number one, PerfectionParalysis.
This is that sneaky voice thatsays, it's not ready yet, or
I'll do it once everything isperfect.
I'll do it once the kids goaway to college.

(05:39):
You know that story that wetell ourselves.
In the studio, my brain wasscreaming at me to change the
lyrics, to make it easier.
That's the trap of PerfectionParalysis.
It convinces you that changing the planwill somehow make it better
when really it just delays youfrom getting it done.

(06:01):
It convinces you that you can'tmove forward until it's
flawless, it's perfect.
So, I could have taken the timeto change the lyrics, which
would have delayed it, or Icould have postponed the shoot
until I had it down perfectly,which also would have delayed
it, but I decided against that.

(06:22):
So listen, it wasn't exactlyhow I pictured it in my head.
And it wasn't perfect, but itwas finished.
It sounded great.
Well, or good enough.
And it made it out into theworld.
I got it out there.
So here's the shift I want youto try instead of asking, is

(06:43):
this perfect?
Ask, is this good enough toshare?
And would this help someonetoday?
Because good enough and donewill beat perfect, but
unfinished every single time.
So block number two, UnclearNext Steps.
Sometimes we're not actuallystuck.

(07:04):
We're just overwhelmed by thebig picture.
So when that line wouldn't fit,I had to troubleshoot on the
spot with Aaron and Felipe.
Felipe is, he was the engineer.
And after a few takes, I cameup with the idea of just using

(07:26):
sections from different takes.
I suggested we record the linein separate takes and move
forward from there, just becauseI knew that I was not going to
get it.
It just was not happening.
And otherwise, we just wouldhave been there all day, or I
might have given up completely.

(07:48):
I was lucky to have a talentedteam.
Aaron and Felipe were great andthey rolled with it and made it
work.
Was it easy?
No.
Was it flawless?
Definitely not.
But it was good, or at leastgood enough to share.
And it got the job done.

(08:09):
At first, Aaron was, he wasbeing great.
He was initially like, well,no, no, no, no.
Let's just do it again.
You got this.
And then after a while, he waslike, okay.
Yeah, let's do that.
Let's use different sectionsfrom different takes.

(08:29):
So, basically, Lil' Kim...
Megan, Missy, Nikki, Cardi B,they have nothing to worry
about.
My rap career was clearlyshort-lived.
My rap game was not on point.
But listen, we made it work.
Okay, so what's the lesson?

(08:51):
When the big picture feelsoverwhelming, just solve the
next 10% of the problem.
What's the smallest step youcan take right now to figure it
out and move forward and make itwork.
So it could just be a smallthing, just tiny.
Every little bit counts, right?

(09:12):
So block number three, theSilent Sabotage.
This one goes a little deep.
It's those quiet stories wetell ourselves, like, who am I
to do this?
Someone's already doing itbetter.
Maybe I'm not...
I'm not the kind of person whosucceeds at this.

(09:35):
So the night before recording,I was literally sabotaging
myself with negative thoughtsabout not being able to do this
line, not being able to hit thatline in that timeframe within
that one bar.
That voice telling me Icouldn't do it in the timeframe.

(09:58):
So that was Silent Sabotage atwork.
And here's how you beat it.
You name the voice.
I name mine, Boonifa Rocknesha.
You call out the lie.
You tell it, "no, this is notso." You look in the mirror and
you keep going.
When in doubt, keep it moving.

(10:19):
Start from service, not ego.
So, who will benefit if you dothis?
What might change for someonefor someone else if you share,
create, or launch your project.
So don't think about yourself.
Think about someone else.
So there you have it.

(10:39):
The three hidden blocks thatalmost stopped me from creating
the intro song that you hear inevery episode.
And I am so glad that I didn'tallow it to win.
But here we go.
We're going to recap.
So number one, PerfectionParalysis, chasing flawless
instead of finish.
Number two, Unclear Next Steps.

(11:01):
Feeling overwhelmed instead offocusing on the next small move.
What is a small thing that youcan do?
Number three, Silent Sabotage.
That inner voice telling youyou're not capable of doing
something.
But here's what I learned thatday.
Your dream doesn't need perfectconditions.

(11:23):
It just needs you to hitrecord.
and get it done, right?
So take that next step.
Here's my challenge for you.
Think of one thing you've beenputting off and take the
smallest possible next steptoday.

(11:43):
So don't wait for the perfectmoment.
Don't overthink the entireprocess.
Just make one move.
Take one step.
And if this episode resonatedwith you, I'd love to hear about
it.
DM me, tag me, or leave acomment.
Tell me me what you're finallyready to start.

(12:04):
I would love to hear about it.
Because here's the truth, thatlittle inner victory of not
compromising your vision, thatfeeling when you figure out a
way to make it happen instead oftaking the easy way out,
instead of delaying or changingyour work in pursuit of

(12:28):
flawlessness, of perfection,That's available to you too.
And before we wrap, let meleave you with this one quote.
You know, we always end eachepisode with a quote.
This quote is from Arthur Ashe.
"Start where you are.
Use what you have.
Do what you can." That'sexactly what I did in that

(12:52):
studio.
And that is exactly what youcan do today.
I have faith in you.
Thank you for being here andfor being part of the
collective.
Keep breaking through becausewe are just getting started.
Until next time.
Okay, hold up.
If you've been sitting on thatpodcast idea thinking someday

(13:13):
when I'm ready, then this one isfor you.
I am part ofan incredible community called "My 7 Figure Podcast"
and it's exactly what you need to stop overthinking and start recording. We're talking real podcasters sharing real strategies - not theory - actual results. Plus, you get a whole crew of people just like you who are figuring it out as they go along. Here's the thing, I'm learning right along side you in this community. We'reall growing together, sharing
wins, troubleshooting the messystuff and celebrating every

(13:50):
single breakthrough.
So, whether you want to launchyour first episode or level up
the show you've already gotrunning, this is where you stop
waiting for perfection and startbuilding something that
matters.
So, are you ready to turn theidea into income?
The link is in the description.

(14:11):
Let's make this happen togethernow!

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Ep. 5 - The 3 Hidden Blocks That Almost Stopped My Podcast

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Ep. 5 - The 3 Hidden Blocks That Almost Stopped My Podcast