“Remember, before you can be great, you’ve got to be good. Before
you can be good, you’ve got to be bad. But before you can even be
bad, you’ve got to try.”
― Art Williams, All You Can Do is All You Can Do
Rachel's friend Lydia Wu, recently shared this in her newsletter and it perfectly captures what this past year has been as a podcaster and solopreneur. Today's episode is a little different.
No frameworks. No expert guests. Just Rachel, talking to you—the people who showed up, who subscribed, who sent DMs at midnight saying "thank you" or "I needed this" or "you helped me land the job."
This episode is for you. It's a reflection on what Rachel learned from building this thing out loud, in public, imperfectly. And it's a preview of where we're headed in 2026.
If you've ever wondered whether it's worth it to put yourself out there when you might fail publicly—Rachel has some thoughts.
How do you start something new when you're afraid of failing?
How do successful people deal with criticism?
What does it take to build something from scratch while working full-time?
How do you know when to pivot vs. persist?
What skills matter most for career success in 2026?
Why This Matters Now:
January 2026 is the season of resolutions and restarts. You might be
sitting there with a blank page, wondering if this is the year you finally start the thing, make the move, raise your hand. By thinking about your own career—wins AND stumbles—you need to give yourself permission to begin imperfectly.
Rachel shares her learnings and viewpoints on:
On Public Learning & Vulnerability
On Adaptability & Unlearning
On Action Over Perfection
On Community & Creator Success
Building on Daring Greatly by Brene Brown: When you step into the arena—when you try to build something, create something, lead something—you will get dusty. You will stumble. You will have people in the stands with opinions about your performance.
But you're in the arena. They're not.
Key Takeaways:
You don’t become confident before you start. Confidence is built by starting.
Public practice accelerates growth faster than private perfection.
Action beats perfection every time.
Most of the stories we tell ourselves about rejection are wrong.
Being in the arena matters more than being admired from the sidelines.
Growth is not linear. It’s a spiral.
Adaptability now requires learning, unlearning, and relearning.
Energy management is more important than time management.
Support systems accelerate clarity and accountability.
The future of work requires psychological agility, not just technical skill.
Chapters
00:00 – Opening Reflection: Before You Can Be Great, You Have to Try
01:15 – Gratitude & Community: Why This Show Exists, Who It’s Really For
03:57 – Lesson 1: Building in Public Is Uncomfortable, and That’s the Point
06:34 – Lesson 2: Action Beats Perfection
08:16 – Managing Self-Doubt: Your Brain Is a Biased Storyteller
09:26 – Lesson 3: Critics, Courage, and the Arena
12:40 – Lesson 4: Growth Is a Spiral, Not a Straight Line
14:38 – Support Systems: Why Coaches and Accountability Matter
15:39 – What’s Changing in 2026: What’s Next for The Shift Show
17:30 – Skills That Matter Next: Psychological & Strategic Skills for the AI Era
18:11 – Personal Update: Balancing a Full-Time Role and the Show
19:17 – Closing: Daring Greatly and Continuing to Try
Episode Keywords: future of work, AI, careers, career resilience, career adaptability, navigating career change, growth mindset, building in public, overcoming imposter syndrome, leadership in the AI era, human skills, career agility, personal branding, managing uncertainty, sustainable career growth, learning, unlearning, relearning