Episode-1 [transcript]
I have danced it out. My water is ready. My friend, there is nothing like a deadline to spur you into action.
Welcome to the Pivot with Passion podcast. Hi, I'm Penny Casselman. I believe everyone is deserving of a phenomenal life. And that life starts when you grab a red marker and claim what you truly desire. Regardless of where you came from, where you're at, or where you think you're headed, life is what you make of it.
And when you learn to pivot with passion, your world explodes with opportunities. Go grab your favorite beverage and let's shake things up as we explore how to Pivot with Passion.
Hello, my friend. And welcome to the first episode of Pivot with Passion.
As I mentioned at the top of the episode —there is nothing like a deadline to spur you into action.
I am days away from launching this podcast. And I am just now sitting down. I forget, scratch that. I am standing up to record the episode.
Now, before we dive into the meat of the episode, I just want to start upfront by sharing what you can expect from Pivot with Passion. First, I'll drop new episodes every Wednesday. Why Wednesday? I figured we're halfway through the week and who doesn't need some inspiration or a new perspective. When you've arrived on Wednesday and realized you're not as far along as you had expected. But the weekend seems too far away to start any form of relaxation yet. Next I'll take a break for something called the Clarity Cocktail. It won't be hard to miss. And you'll see what I mean later on in the episode, but inside these short little breaks, I want to leave you with one quick sip of inspiration. And lastly, I hope that what I share resonates with you and that you'll come back week after week to join me in exploring what it takes and how you can pivot with passion. Let's go.
As a professional speaker. To me a podcast is a natural extension to what I do.
But here's the thing. When I'm speaking, even if I am speaking virtually on Zoom, there are still people for me to see. I have a quote audience and although, yes. I am gracing your ears right now. I can't see you, my friend. And so I think the issue I was having—or that first hour and a half of attempting to record this—was that I was getting way too much in my head about what I was doing.
So, I danced it out with some Taylor Swift. The song I chose was "You need to calm down." Because I felt that was exactly what I needed to do before jumping in to record this episode is—girl, calm yourself down. I'm also standing up. in front of my computer. Alone. In my office. Coming at you now. So first and foremost, thank you so much for choosing to have me with you today. I do not take that choice lightly. I know there are so many things these days that pull at us. That need our attention. So, thank you. For coming along on this, what I'm guessing is going to be a wild adventure for both of us.
I wanted this first episode to be my worst ever—like the shittiest rough draft of a podcast. Why, you might ask? Well, I wanted something. That I could look back on and say, holy crap. Have I come far.
And I was thinking about—so just hang with me here—I was thinking about when I first started playing volleyball. So, my entire youth and all the way up through college. I played volleyball. Competitive volleyball. I am a horrible backyard picnic. player— because I am way too competitive for that pace of a game. So if you ever have me over, just hand me a beverage and tell me to sit in the lawn chair. But. As I got further away from the beginning of my volleyball career.
I just don't remember being bad at volleyball. But I know I was because I started playing in fifth grade. There is no chance.
No chance that I was good when I first started. So I really wanted a record of. Where my first podcast. Was. Because in a month. In six months in a year. People that come to. The show. Might think it sounds really polished and professional and funny and encouraging and engaging, and I'll. tell them. Go listen to my first episode
Here we are.
This is the long way to get around to the purpose of this podcast, other than being my shitty rough draft, out for the world. Pivot with Passion started from another concept.
At the end of my corporate career. I was being treated for an ulcer. And I know, In my heart of hearts. In my heart of hearts that I was dealing with the ulcer because I was allowing too much stress from the job. To affect me mentally, yes. But, then it was manifesting physically.
So the day that I drove into work. I remember pulling into my parking spot and feeling this massive wave of dread. Come over me. But just like every other day that I arrived, I got out of the car, grabbed my stuff, walked in the door.
But somehow I knew that day was going to be different.
So I made my way to my cube. I sat in front of my monitor. And found myself staring at the calendar I had hanging above. It was a mini calendar that showcased beaches of the world. You see, I worked in the.com side of the business. And the building that we were located in had zero and I'm talking no evidence of outside.
In fact. It was like Vegas. Because unless you got up. And went through the cafeteria to the next door. You would not know if the sun was out. Or it was dark. Or, It just was, vegas in a corporate setting.
So back to me sitting, staring at this calendar. And I kept thinking, I, I can't do this anymore. So I grabbed. the red marker that was sitting on my desk. And I flipped my calendar to the next month. Counted three weeks down and circled a Friday. Put the cap back on the marker. Set it down and told myself. When that day arrives. You will not be sitting in this chair. In this building. Working for this organization. You're done.
And amazingly a wave of relief. Came over me. And that, my friend, is the genesis of the Red Marker Moment.
And. Truly, we all have red marker moments in our lives. Mine just happened to actually have a red marker. as a character in this story. Weeks after leaving that job my ulcer went away. I didn't need medicine. I was doing great. But I started to reflect on other times throughout my life where. I could call them a red marker moment. Now. A red marker moment. Does not have to be something big, like quitting your job.
But a red marker moment. That moment that I circled the date on the calendar, I was committing to myself. That I was important. My health was important. My sanity. Was important and I knew that things would be better on the other side. Why?
Because I was sitting in that chair. That's why, because everything else I had faced up and to that point, If I had a bad moment. I got out of it and moved on to something else. And it just kept going.
So then the next. focus of this podcast. It's not only to explore Red Marker Moments. In our lives. But also what comes after. And that is when you Pivot with Passion. Because of that, my friend, is where the magic starts to happen.
It's time for a Clarity Cocktail.
Welcome to the Clarity Cocktail. Before I dive in, if by chance you need a refill on your beverage, this is a perfect time to hit pause and make that happen.
One of my mentors is Jen Sincero, and I had the pleasure of meeting her at one of her book signings. She is just as lovely and funny in person as she is on paper. One of my favorite sayings of hers. Feed fear, a suck it sandwich. And I don't know why, but it's just really fun to say. And I suppose I was leaning on that phrase a little bit today while I was working through getting my voice out and into a recording to make this episode—because, my friend, I certainly had moments where I thought, well, if I never release an episode, is anyone really going to notice?
Podcasting is not for the faint of heart. I digress. So I love. That saying. And maybe you can use it this week in your life. Feed fear a suck it sandwich. That's right.
Before I close out, I would love to hear from you.
Do you have a question for me? Do you have a question for yourself that you want a little bit more insight on? Do you want more quotes, little quips, sips of inspiration, hit me up. Let me know. Best way to do that is DM me on Instagram.
Okay. One additional thought I had for the clarity cocktail, maybe I'll also share a cocktail recipe in every. episodes show notes. I can tell you my favorite craft cocktail of all time is called the last word. So,
Just for you, I am going to include that recipe in the show notes.
The Last Word (Ingredients: 3/4 ounce gin <> 3/4 ounce fresh-squeezed lime juice <> 3/4 ounce maraschino liqueur <> 3/4 ounce green Chartreuse) Combined ingredients in cocktail shaker with ice, shake for 10 seconds, pour. Garnish with a Luxardo maraschino cherry. ENJOY!
After some reflection, and embracing this idea of a red marker moment. I realized that you cannot pivot with passion. Without first having a red marker moment.
When. You declare to yourself, commit to yourself. That what you. Dream of. What you want. What you need.
Are all important. And that with commitment—You can make anything happen. If you're wondering, What are some more examples of a red marker moment? Like, I get it Penny, that you literally picked up a red marker and circled the date on the calendar, but what does a theoretical Red marker moment look like?
As I started to think back through my life and things that have happened.
One. Which, Ooh, this is a little spoiler alert. The next episode. I'm going to share. My second red marker moment. And this one also. Really included a red marker. Not on purpose. Apparently, I like to use red on calendars to circle dates.
But next episode, I will dive into. Another story to share with you.
But today, some other examples of a red marker moment. Can look like. Setting boundaries. It could be. Carving out time in your calendar for self care activities. Because the whole premise of this red marker moment.
Is you are. Embracing declaring, that you are important. And what you want matters. I love the idea of a real red marker though. It is a touchstone—something you can grab, something you can look at that reminds you of that commitment that you made to yourself.
If you're like me. I love to make lists and check them off. And of course the color I choose to check all my things off is red.
A red marker can also symbolize accomplishment and reaching a goal. A red marker symbolizes a commitment that you're making to yourself. When you circle a date on the calendar. That is a commitment. That is a visual reminder.
Heck even scheduling a vacation. Is a red marker moment.
You're committing to yourself. I am here to support my wellbeing to spark fun to spark joy; and that is such a gift to yourself.
The color red. It stands out. It is hard to miss. Things that are red.
Women that wear a red dress. At a party. Well, who's that person. People who wear red shoes. Stoplight. A stop sign.
You get it. Red is visible. It catches your attention. That's why I love a red marker moment. Let's circle back to this pivot with passion.
Pivot with passion. It's a choice.
And let me tell you, I have absolutely pivoted in my past without passion. Do you remember? Those games, I think it's called Plinko. And it's this, big board with these wooden pegs inside of it. Clear top and you get these big bingo chips. And at the very bottom there's outcomes that you're crossing your fingers that you get, at the carnival, it was like, stuffed animal or win a free try. You would position your chip at the top of the board. And then you would let it go. And it would just drop down and bounce to the right and bounce to the left and go to the left again. And then you're standing there screaming at this board going, oh, no, go. Right. I really, really want the stuffed animal, get over there. And.
Sadly it lands in. Thanks for playing.
I was the disc in Plinko. When I think back through my corporate career, there was not a whole lot of strategic passion in the path that I took.
I got out of college, got a job. Got downsized, happened to get into another job because I knew someone. And that just kind of kept happening through my whole career. And when the Plinko game ended for me, the disc landed on ulcer. And I was like, you know what? I am done pivoting. I need to layer in some passion. With my next move. Because I needed to take back control. With my red marker. Declaring what I want. Going after what I deserve.
And taking a new direction—in choosing new direction for my life. And that is so exciting.
Here's how I know. That I kept pivoting. Without the passion. Because every time those moments of change came up in my career, I just sat back and waited for the next thing to come.
I was not grabbing a red marker declaring what I want and going for it. I was kind of sitting back. Thinking, all right, I hit that peg—and wait to see which one I hit next.
So when I got to the bottom of that Plinko board and I landed on ulcer—Boy, did it feel good to pull out that red marker.
Now my first pivot after that; I thought I started with passion. And I think I did for a short bit. But, after a year of trying to move the ball forward, sorry about changing metaphors, nothing looked different than the 12 months before. I was sitting there at the end of a year. Looking back—nothing changed. How is that even possible? I was so busy. I was doing all this work.
So I slightly retooled what I was doing. And started again.
And then, halfway through the year. I realized I was till in the same spot. So I sat myself down and really reflected. Why wasn't this working? What is going on in my head? All this effort I'm putting out is yielding nothing. And when I got real honest with myself, It was because I didn't really want to do. What I had gone down the path with, I wanted to be a speaker and I was doing everything. Except that.
Which brings me here today with you. You see, I had a red marker moment. At the start of 2022. When I made the choice to go after my dream of being a speaker. I'll get into that story more in future episodes.
But 2022 was really a pivotal year for me. It's when I got the designation of an award winning speaker. It's also when I invested in myself to up level my speaking. And then bringing me through to 2023.
That's when I realized my dream of having a podcast one day didn't have to wait. I could do it right now. Because a podcast is just another stage that I'm putting myself on. And it will allow me to reach more people. Share my message. And connect with new friends.
I hope during our time today. You walked away with a few things. One that you can go feed fear, a suck it sandwich. Next, I hope you got a little glimpse into what my path has looked like to bring me to where I am today. And third. That within my sharing, what a red marker moment is that you'll reflect over the next week and think about where has that shown up in your life?
'cause I know you will find numerous times where that red marker showed up—and you showed up for yourself. So I'm excited to share another red marker moment story with you. next week. Thanks for inviting me into your world today. I can't wait. To chat with you again.
Friend, thanks for listening to this episode of Pivot with Passion. If you've been feeling stuck, exhausted, or frustrated, this is your permission slip to go grab a red marker and claim the life you desire and deserve. If you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend, and then hop over to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts.
Because my goal is to put a red marker in everyone's hand and I need your help to spread the word and make that happen. Until the next episode, go grab a red marker, get excited for your future, and make your first move to Pivot with Passion.
