0:00

I want to have a real

0:02

conversation about podcasting business and why I'm why

0:04

I'm not sure how long I'm

0:06

going to do this podcast. podcast for. So

0:08

yeah, sit back, let's talk about it.

0:10

back, let's talk about it. authentic,

0:12

a life that is authentic, bold,

0:14

and purposeful, takes audacity and

0:16

truth takes disruption. That is what

0:19

it means to be a

0:21

professional troublemaker. Professional troublemaker is

0:23

a best-selling book, this podcast,

0:25

and frankly, a life habit.

0:27

And I'm your host, Lovey Ajay

0:29

Jones. I'm here I'm here to

0:32

bring you perspectives, deep dives

0:34

and conversations about culture, business,

0:36

life and leadership And welcome to

0:38

season five, which I'm really excited about. This season

0:40

is season is dedicated to

0:42

the glory and grit entrepreneurship.

0:45

2023 was my my toughest a

0:47

as a business owner, there and a a point

0:49

where I was three months away from

0:51

being away from so So talk about

0:53

it. about it. Let's get really real

0:55

about running your own business, the good,

0:58

the the bad, the and the ugly, while

1:00

because while people love to glorify

1:02

entrepreneurship, they they often leave out the lessons,

1:04

the failures, and the pivots that have

1:06

had to happen. My hope My hope

1:08

after this series of episodes is that you feel

1:10

more informed about what it truly takes to

1:12

run a purpose -driven a purpose-driven business. You

1:14

feel less alone about all the times

1:17

you messed up and you walk away

1:19

knowing what to avoid so you don't

1:21

make some of the same mistakes I

1:24

made. Let's get into it. In 2018,

1:26

I started a professional troublemaker 2018

1:28

it was called I started

1:30

the professional troublemaker podcast. point. And I it

1:33

was called Rants on guests, though, that point. about

1:35

as And I was bringing on guests

1:37

though who I thought about as

1:39

professional troublemakers. the But

1:41

when my book, Emanuel, was coming out in coming

1:43

out in 2021, this I rebranded

1:45

this podcast to the real name

1:47

that it should have been all

1:49

along, is is Professional Troublemaker. And

1:52

And here's the thing, throughout all

1:54

the seasons that I've done, throughout

1:56

all these years of professional troublemaker, I've

1:58

been so clear so clear how impactful this. this

2:00

has been to a lot of people. to a lot

2:02

of But the truth But the truth is,

2:04

this podcast has has cost me

2:06

a lot of money and it's

2:08

always been a heavy lift. lift. So let's

2:11

talk about why. why. I've I've always

2:13

internally produced this podcast

2:15

all these years. years. barely

2:17

ever had ads. ads. So while I'm

2:19

while I'm running my company. doing the

2:21

other things that generate revenue, the other

2:23

things that are part of my purpose

2:25

of the speaking, work, the writing books, using

2:27

my voice out loud, the content creation,

2:30

all these different things. different I've kept

2:32

this podcast going in different ways, and

2:34

last year, as my company

2:36

was crumbling. I did do a short did

2:38

do a short season because Little was

2:40

was coming out. I'm clear about The

2:42

thing I'm clear about this whole time and why

2:44

I've actually kept on doing I've loved doing this

2:47

podcast and hearing the notes and

2:49

the thoughts from y 'all as you

2:51

are talking back to me as

2:53

you sending messages online about it has

2:55

been really meaningful to me. to

2:57

me. podcast has taken a lot out of

3:00

me. a lot out of me. since

3:02

I I started six years years

3:04

ago, almost seven years ago. ago,

3:06

this podcast is a heavy lift.

3:08

is a heavy lift. And I've I've

3:10

usually had somebody else on the

3:12

team the team it internally And

3:14

to create every episode we actually did

3:16

the math. At one point it was taking

3:18

us at hours every week taking us every episode

3:20

has to be recorded. episode We have to

3:23

book the we have to book then we create

3:25

a lot of digital assets to promote it

3:27

because the thing about the thing you don't

3:29

promote it if lot. promote it a lot, Nobody gets

3:31

to understand that it's out. Nobody

3:33

gets to listen to it. to

3:35

every episode, we will create we will create

3:37

three which are snippets of our of

3:39

voice voice something really dope. And

3:41

then we will create three quotes

3:43

from them. We'll post it on

3:45

social. on post it across all my

3:47

platforms. all I would pick and

3:49

finalize what pieces of content. of would

3:52

be the ones that are chosen for

3:54

each episode to make sure it's hard

3:56

to make sure it's hard hitting. So we did

3:58

the math at one point one point. highest point.

4:00

Each episode would take about

4:02

20 hours about 20 hours between the

4:05

actual the actual episode

4:07

recording coming up with

4:09

content, putting the content up, and

4:11

then posting it across all the

4:13

social platforms. Yeah, we were around

4:15

15 to 20 hours while we

4:17

were doing other things. 20 hours while we were

4:19

other things we first started,

4:21

we had a huge a huge

4:23

listenership episode would get get 30

4:26

to to 40 ,000 downloads. heavy

4:28

So the heavy lift

4:30

was making sense like, we're having reach,

4:32

we're having reach. And even from the

4:35

from the beginning I've wanted to be a part of

4:37

a podcast network. I've wanted to just be a

4:39

part of a network where for example, I would just

4:41

need to show up I would record

4:43

to show up and internally the network would handle

4:45

everything else would I post across my

4:47

platforms. else And over the years, we just

4:49

couldn't get one. We just

4:52

couldn't get a podcast network. a

4:54

But I kept on doing this

4:56

podcast because it was energizing

4:59

because I love connecting with you

5:01

all you all creating in this

5:03

way. personal love how personal a podcast feels. It

5:05

feels like you're having a conversation, like you're

5:07

sitting in my living room. room. And as an

5:09

introvert, I don't know if I 'all know that, I'm

5:11

an introvert in my core, I'm an it feels

5:13

good to be able to touch and talk to

5:15

y 'all in this way. Cause I really do

5:17

feel like I'm talking to you. feel You

5:20

know what I'm talking to you. You know loved how

5:22

I can come on, tell you my

5:24

thoughts about the world, about my business, being

5:26

able to tell the truth without a tell

5:28

the truth without a y 'all. But y'all,

5:30

was costing money. was one point

5:32

where I was recording this podcast.

5:34

Actually from 2018 Actually, 2020, to I

5:36

was recording this podcast in the

5:39

studio. I had a sound engineer a

5:41

everything. Shout out to the

5:43

Chicago Shout out to They held me down. And

5:45

then during the pandemic, I moved it

5:47

to my home. pandemic, I moved it to my

5:49

had a whole a in my house. my

5:51

house. But again, if you If you

5:53

don't promote a podcast, you can't see. see

5:56

it. So as we're creating all

5:58

we're creating all these graphics, using... all

6:00

this company time, mind you, you, wasn't

6:02

bringing in money. So I'm

6:04

spending money on it. on I'm

6:06

spending team time on it. it. And

6:08

this last season that we last season that

6:10

we just did, I've been talking where I've been

6:12

talking about the glory and great of

6:15

entrepreneurship, one of the great pieces of

6:17

entrepreneurship is of you were doing something. is

6:19

when you were that is not bringing

6:21

you money. That's actually money, money.

6:23

So this last season, money. So this

6:25

I said, I said, try to do this

6:27

in a way that's right. We're gonna

6:30

try to bring in some ad revenue. in

6:32

some ad I actually got an ad network,

6:34

not a podcast network, an ad network.

6:36

network, an ad and no ads

6:39

came in. in. I think think maybe

6:41

one came in all season. right? And

6:43

I also I also had a producer

6:45

for the first time this season and

6:47

one thing happened that actually also

6:49

like actually also like even harder this

6:51

year. harder year

6:53

ago or so, or Apple

6:55

did something with the

6:57

way that they way that

6:59

they analytics. podcast analytics. analytics

7:01

per episode went from

7:03

being per episode went from being like

7:05

downloads downloads to ,000. why is this

7:08

relevant? is this relevant? I've been looking

7:10

for I've been looking for podcast networks

7:12

for years, Years right? years. And Years and

7:14

years, and a lot of podcast

7:16

networks want want to own my name

7:18

in the past. So I turned down,

7:20

would would want to. of of

7:22

my intellectual property. And

7:24

I'd be like nah, straight So then this

7:27

last last season, I was like, go

7:29

going to go out. podcast a podcast for

7:31

real. as I'm know, as I'm producing I

7:33

as I brought a producer on

7:35

board, we were looking for podcast networks.

7:37

They'll basically take on the heavy lift

7:39

of producing, help help it grow. Because

7:41

the other thing is, my podcast

7:44

has never had advertising partners to even

7:46

help it grow. So So the only

7:48

people who even know it it are

7:50

people who see me, but again, but again.

7:52

When a when a lot of

7:54

my stuff is being throttled on social

7:56

media. media, promoting it on it on social media

7:58

doesn't have reach. You know what I'm

8:01

saying? So yeah, this season, I went

8:03

out looking for, you know, podcast networks.

8:05

And one had terms that were not

8:07

favorable to me. And, you know, one

8:10

that was my ideal network. I got

8:12

in front of them and they loved

8:14

my content. They're like, your content is

8:16

fired. Like, we actually listened to it.

8:18

But they were like, your numbers aren't

8:21

high enough. So right. It's like chicken

8:23

before the egg syndrome, like knowing that

8:25

I was creating A1 content, but knowing

8:27

that this numbers thing is happening, knowing

8:29

that I'm still losing money on this

8:32

podcast, knowing that I don't have ads

8:34

to support the actual episodes, plus I'm

8:36

not being discovered by other podcasts, plus

8:38

I'm still promoting it on social media,

8:40

even though social media is throttling my

8:43

reach. And the numbers are still what

8:45

the numbers are. And this is a

8:47

year where I'm reassessing so much of

8:49

what I do, how much I have

8:51

spent so much time giving away a

8:54

lot of valuable content. I have a

8:56

library, a massive library of content that

8:58

I've built over the last 15, 20

9:00

years of being on these internet. Like,

9:02

it's naturally in me to teach and

9:05

amplify what I know. But when certain

9:07

pieces of my business and I bring

9:09

in money and they're costing me money,

9:11

I have to start thinking about okay.

9:13

So why are you doing it? If

9:16

it's costing you money, and if you

9:18

can't see a big return, why? Right?

9:20

The love notes are a great return,

9:22

yes. But they're not a tangible return

9:25

that can pay company bills. So I'm

9:27

recording this episode to basically be like,

9:29

I'm sitting with my chief strategy officer

9:31

to be like, can I even continue

9:33

producing and spending money and time and

9:36

energy on this podcast and just giving

9:38

away intellectual property all the time. Right?

9:40

Stories for free, everything, right? You know,

9:42

it's a real conversation that as business

9:44

people, we need to be able to

9:47

have and understand that as an artist,

9:49

we're also very precious about our work,

9:51

but something is you've got to start

9:53

thinking about. The practicality,

9:55

does it make sense?

9:58

Can Can it feed

10:00

you? Are you

10:02

getting more from it

10:04

than you're giving? And

10:06

in this And in this moment.

10:08

especially end think the year, of the year, things

10:11

auditing the things that we do,

10:13

the ways we spend our time, the

10:15

things that take from us is

10:17

necessary. on what I'm gonna do decided

10:19

on what I'm going to do with

10:21

this podcast, I'm but one thing that I'm

10:23

clear about is that it, I'm to continue

10:25

it, it's going to have to support itself

10:27

because otherwise it is a red line

10:30

on our company budget. budget. It is It is

10:32

something that looking at that has never has

10:34

money, but we spent tens of thousands of

10:36

dollars on it. of And as a CEO,

10:38

as a leader, even if it's something

10:40

that I love to do, even I still

10:42

have to ask the question of do, I do

10:44

you get from it? the And is

10:46

this to the detriment of your business?

10:48

And is this to this the detriment of the work

10:50

that you do? that you do? understanding

10:52

that as a servant servant leader... I want to

10:55

give, give, give, give, give, it up to

10:57

me, I'd be giving away all my

10:59

money every day to everything, I'd be giving away

11:01

all And this year I hired a chief strategy

11:03

officer. Okay? And sitting

11:05

in the seat I looking at

11:07

company finances, and is objectively

11:10

sitting in the seat and look at

11:12

everything that we do. What brings you money?

11:14

and is What brings you energy? like,

11:16

is bringing you both money and energy?

11:18

we do. What is part of your

11:20

larger strategic plan you where you want

11:23

to take the company and

11:25

will allow you to do it in a way

11:27

that will be fulfilling will be - you out. and

11:29

not burn you out. One of the

11:31

things that we're seriously discussing. discussing is

11:33

possibly in my my

11:35

behind my my patron. Like... If

11:37

If you're listening to this and you

11:40

just don't know, just I have a

11:42

I have a that I started a few

11:44

months ago because I really realized

11:46

that I wanna deepen my community and

11:48

my reach to my audience reach to my

11:50

of social media, social media, right? media is

11:53

increasingly throttling our content, our content. our

11:55

content away from the people who

11:57

wanna hear from us. to hear And with

11:59

my library of... it's hard and harder to

12:01

reach people who actually want to hear

12:03

from me. So I started my patron

12:05

a few months ago, and in that

12:08

patron I've built, like I started building

12:10

out my library. We have SOPs in

12:12

there, you know, including a business operations

12:14

checklist that I use to run my

12:16

company. And I started thinking, well, what

12:19

if I put the podcast behind the

12:21

patron? Right? In the patron, we also

12:23

have the video episodes of every podcast

12:25

interview from this season, especially Fon Weavers

12:27

that's in there. Like, that episode was

12:29

gangbusters, okay? Dr. Joy Harden Bradford's in

12:32

there, Tiffany Aliches, Sally Thornton, Morgan Debonne.

12:34

Like, we have those... episodes behind that

12:36

paywall, those videos, right? Because I actually

12:38

subscribe to a patron called The Cutting

12:40

Floor, that is this podcast that's hosted

12:43

by a fashion expert, and it is

12:45

only available if you're a subscriber to

12:47

that patron. And I happily pay it

12:49

because it's incredible content. I'm bringing y'all

12:51

into this real decision right now because

12:53

in a season where I've been super

12:56

vulnerable about the ways I saw my

12:58

company crumble, the ways I've been rebuilding

13:00

it back up and I really did

13:02

this year in a way that makes

13:04

me so proud, I think this is

13:07

an important conversation to have that I

13:09

can leave out that we don't often

13:11

have out loud on the platform that

13:13

I'm questioning whether I should continue. It's

13:15

important to know how decisions like this

13:18

have to be put into your business

13:20

practice. The things that you love to

13:22

do. Are they to the benefit of

13:24

your business or are they to the

13:26

detriment? Now detriment is a heavy word,

13:28

but it might just mean, is it

13:31

losing you money or energy? And if

13:33

it is, you have to justify why

13:35

you continue to do it. If you

13:37

have stakeholders, one of the great things

13:39

that I did this year was bringing

13:42

my chief strategy officer on. Shout out,

13:44

Susie. And that objective look at what

13:46

I'm doing has been helpful because leave

13:48

it to me. Everything feels important. Everything

13:50

feels earth. And I'm like, I'm

13:52

like, want I want

13:55

to serve. want Yes.

13:57

I want to

13:59

do more of that.

14:01

And she's like, like,

14:03

but at but at

14:06

what cost? want you to want

14:08

you to start thinking about all the things that you

14:10

do. you do start thinking about what is

14:12

the cost of everything that you do. of

14:14

everything that you do. So we're putting

14:16

our revenue streams on the table. the

14:19

table and and saying, what are

14:21

the profit What are the profit

14:23

margins of everything? the things that are for the

14:25

things that are costing more money than

14:27

they're bringing in, in? I have to be

14:29

able to identify the the win. I have to

14:31

have to be able to identify and

14:33

defend. why it's still on it's still on the table.

14:35

tell you, this and I'll tell you this podcast

14:37

is for me as a creative to be able to tell

14:39

my be able to tell my able to be able

14:41

to share my lessons. I love

14:43

getting the responses from y 'all. even

14:46

but I ain't even gonna hold you when she sat there

14:48

and asked me, but what is it doing for you? for you? Is

14:50

Is it getting you speaking speaking to Is it

14:52

selling more copies of your books? Is it

14:54

building your your books? Is it allowing you to

14:56

rest because it is making money and building

14:59

your brand equity in a tangible way? and building

15:01

is it just something nice that you like

15:03

to do? way? Or is it

15:05

just something nice that you like I Yeah. I

15:07

me me. So this holiday season one of

15:09

the things that I'm gonna do gonna

15:11

do, I'm back and I'm gonna think.

15:13

I'm gonna think. I'm gonna journal.

15:16

I'm gonna pray. journal, I'm I'm gonna really

15:18

audit. really audit. What am I am I

15:20

doing? am I Why am I doing it? it

15:22

And how is it serving me? it gone past

15:24

the expiration it gone

15:26

past the expiration date? life, Like in the next

15:28

season of my life, what are the things

15:30

I want to be doing? Okay?

15:32

that It's interesting that this has

15:34

been a year where I

15:36

have traveled the least, probably in

15:39

This years. a year where been a

15:41

year where I have employed the

15:43

least amount of people in at least

15:45

six years. years. Shoo. It's the year that I've

15:47

spoken the least. least. in like years.

15:49

But what's what's been

15:52

different about this year? is I

15:54

have have been sitting in more peace. peace

15:56

than I in a long time, if

15:58

not ever. ever. And what

16:00

what has allowed my company to be

16:02

rebuilt, like I told y 'all, I

16:04

the Book Academy, it's the really supported. it has

16:06

really in a real way And

16:09

that is what I'm way. planning around. what

16:11

And I have been in a personal

16:13

and professional auditing already. been in a But

16:15

when I tell you everything is

16:17

up for audit, I mean it,

16:19

everything is up for audit. Everything,

16:21

is up for the what's, the the the

16:23

what's, the house, the for audit. for audit. So

16:25

before this this year is over, I hope

16:27

hope you start auditing a bunch of

16:29

stuff. of stuff. It's is necessary. I

16:31

am I am about to step 40.

16:34

I will turn 40 on will turn

16:36

40 on 2025. A new 2025, it

16:38

a new decade, and it

16:40

feels like a whole new

16:42

segment of my life. time, on

16:44

this is all also on

16:46

time, on point, and however

16:48

way I decide to move

16:50

forward, deciding what to do

16:52

with this podcast. monetize I'm gonna monetize

16:54

it in a different way, if I'm

16:56

gonna let it go, it go. if I'm

16:58

gonna continue to do what it to do which

17:00

I don't think that's the decision, that's the

17:02

just know it's after a bunch of

17:04

auditing bunch around and asking questions of myself.

17:07

What has this podcast? of done

17:09

for me. podcast done don't think

17:11

we allow ourselves, especially those

17:13

of us who pride ourselves

17:15

on being generous people. I

17:17

don't think don't think we ever allow

17:19

ourselves to ask the question. What is this

17:21

thing is this thing that I am doing, doing for

17:24

me? I know what it's doing for everybody else. else.

17:26

I mean, mean, it's allowing me to to, like, my

17:28

story. Yes, But I I can also share my

17:30

story in other ways for other people. A lot

17:32

of people have messaged me this year and

17:34

said, of people have has changed my life. And I'm

17:37

like, said, you buy my book after that? Did

17:39

you my my book, but. I'm like, did you buy

17:41

no shade. that? Did you buy my book?

17:43

But, I think it's okay

17:45

to ask the it's okay to ask the

17:47

What is this thing? is this thing, this

17:49

this friendship, this

17:51

project, this this this. Thing whatever

17:54

the thing is doing for me.

17:56

We're so We're so used

17:58

to giving, giving, giving. giving But

18:00

part of being a good recipient

18:02

of gifts is also asking, right?

18:04

So right now I'm asking myself

18:06

a bunch of these questions. Regardless,

18:08

I'm thankful for the people that

18:10

come across our paths in seasons

18:12

of our lives who allow us

18:14

to see things different, who ask

18:16

us questions that we might not

18:18

have asked ourselves. Like you all

18:20

know, my favorite prayers, let my

18:23

helpers find me. That has been

18:25

consistently a prayer this year especially.

18:27

And this has been a critical

18:29

year where I'm like, I need

18:31

my helpers to find me. And

18:33

they have. I need the right

18:35

people to find me. I need

18:37

the right clients to find me.

18:39

And God has been answering that

18:41

question. So this moment of reflection

18:43

is with that. I'm really proud

18:45

of this podcast. And let me

18:47

tell you, I know this season,

18:49

by the way, this season of

18:51

this podcast. I feel like it's

18:53

the best season of this podcast

18:55

ever. I feel like what I've

18:58

created in season five is award

19:00

winning, is game changing, is possibly

19:02

life changing for some. And I'm

19:04

proud of that. So maybe I'm

19:06

supposed to go out on top

19:08

with that pride of saying like,

19:10

man, I left when it was

19:12

great, right? So I'm proud of

19:14

this podcast. I don't regret. a

19:16

dollar that I've spent on this

19:18

podcast, and I'm thankful that I

19:20

had the means to even do

19:22

it. I'm grateful for the privilege

19:24

to spend money on something that

19:26

has been fulfilling to me for

19:28

five, six years, almost seven, actually.

19:31

Yes, because 2018, it's about to

19:33

be 2025, yes, seven years, mmm,

19:35

seven, okay, seven. So, yeah, all

19:37

the work that I've been able

19:39

to do has made me really

19:41

proud that much I know, and

19:43

I will continue to do. work

19:45

that makes me proud. For me

19:47

right now, there's two things that

19:49

I'm really gonna pour my energy.

19:51

into one, the book academy, and

19:53

two, my patron, which is at

19:55

patron.com/Lovey, because I'm gonna double down

19:57

on my energy. Like Sally Thornton

19:59

said earlier this season, follow your

20:01

energy. That has become my business

20:04

strategy, right? Follow my energy. And

20:06

the work that I'm doing with

20:08

the book academy is especially energizing

20:10

to me, because I realize that

20:12

when I stand in my purpose.

20:14

I can really help other people

20:16

embody theirs. And that really feels

20:18

like what I am doing with

20:20

the Book Academy. And in my

20:22

patron, my tagline is doing life

20:24

and work better. So I'm dropping

20:26

resources in there, you know, dropping

20:28

reflections. I send them voice notes,

20:30

because I send them voice notes

20:32

on a regular basis of things

20:34

I'm thinking about, reflecting about. But

20:36

yeah. And if you're listening to

20:39

this and you're somebody who's... interested

20:41

in writing a book, you know,

20:43

because you know there's a story

20:45

on your heart, I can help

20:47

you. So I invite you to

20:49

come into the Book Academy, that's

20:51

the Book Academy.org, and if you

20:53

listen to this before December 20th,

20:55

we're actually launching this week, so

20:57

the cart is open. So if

20:59

you come into Book Academy.org, you

21:01

can find out more information about

21:03

that, okay? But yeah, if you're

21:05

a long time listener of this

21:07

podcast... where I really really invite

21:09

you to join is my patron.

21:12

That is where I am spending

21:14

some of my energy. I'm actually

21:16

basically making it into my own

21:18

mini social network. You know, it's

21:20

almost like a paid blog, a

21:22

podcast, and a master class on

21:24

life and work. You know what

21:26

I'm saying? It's like my version

21:28

of virtual mentorship. It's my way

21:30

of deepening community because I think

21:32

with this election, the way that

21:34

it went. One thing we will

21:36

need more than anything now is

21:38

safe spaces and community. So that's

21:40

what my patron is. And remember

21:42

when I talked to y'all about

21:44

the book club that I wanted

21:47

to create, I'm gonna create that

21:49

book club in my patron. I

21:51

am. So listen. and were

21:53

like, were we

21:55

want the yes, we

21:57

to the the book

21:59

All right, it's

22:01

patreon .com all right, it's patron.com/lovey.

22:03

show notes. I'll put

22:05

all these links and show

22:07

be dependent on

22:09

social media be my

22:12

podcast that I can't

22:14

control the reach. control the if

22:16

that was it, nobody would ever

22:18

see my work. my So So come

22:20

inside the patron. I also do I also do

22:22

monthly Q and A's in there to

22:24

answer your questions about life, about business, about

22:26

mindset, whatever you need, you need. you you know,

22:28

I'm dropping templates and and SOPs and business documents

22:30

that I used to run my business. and

22:32

I you know you know, I'm bringing in sessions.

22:34

I actually actually, in the next month, I'm

22:36

going to be bringing in my hypnotherapist into a session

22:38

in a session in my and she's gonna do

22:40

a and she's gonna do a meditation for

22:42

us around abundance mindset. Cause the other thing

22:44

I didn't even talk to y 'all about this

22:46

year, year and maybe I I it in an episode,

22:48

I don't know, I but know but I started hypnotherapy

22:51

this year and that changed my life. life. Like, how grounded

22:53

I've been since I started hypnotherapy,

22:55

how peaceful I've been, I've the way the

22:57

way I've been able to hear hear God clearer, the

23:00

way the way I've been able to

23:02

be more still. telling y'all telling y

23:04

'all, hypnotherapy changed my life. life. Yeah, like,

23:06

it's wild. So I'm like it's wild. So

23:08

I'm actually gonna have my hypnotherapist come and

23:10

do a session a session. for members of my Patreon.

23:12

And And the other thing is I is I

23:14

to, I will continue to share my journey

23:16

in a vulnerable way because it's important for

23:18

us to have that. It's more for me

23:20

to have that, for know, have that space because

23:23

I think that's very much tied to my

23:25

you know, know, people think about me as the

23:27

truth I think like, you know, says much things. purpose

23:29

work. You know, I think in this season

23:31

my truth is as the truth teller that, like, you

23:33

know, says bold things, but I think in

23:35

this season, my truth is looking

23:37

like excavating. lifelong traumas

23:40

and triggers and then using that to

23:42

build the life that I want, so

23:44

you know? the truth includes yeah, telling the

23:46

truth includes telling the truth about the

23:48

realizations we're making about ourselves. That is very

23:50

much an assignment. an assignment that I I know I

23:52

am being called to stand in. in and I'm gonna

23:54

gonna always tell y 'all the truth, even the

23:56

hard hard even the truths that show we don't

23:58

always have it together. have it together which we are

24:00

unsure. You know, I'm recognizing that it's all

24:02

of it. it is a part

24:04

of the journey, the mistakes, the

24:07

lessons, the ponderings, the reflections, the

24:09

questioning. It is all a divine

24:11

part of the journey. So. So

24:13

sharing with you has been an

24:15

honor of mine and no

24:17

matter what decision I make

24:20

around this podcast. The

24:22

fact that you have stuck with me

24:24

for the last almost seven years with this

24:26

podcast is so meaningful to me. The fact

24:29

that many of you have shared it with

24:31

your friends, the notes that you send me

24:33

are just, oh my gosh, they just make

24:35

my day. And it all matters to me.

24:37

know, truly I get emails sometimes from y

24:39

'all when you're like, oh my gosh, I

24:41

know you hear this all the time. Nah,

24:43

it always matters. Every single time matters. You

24:45

know I'm saying? Right? No matter how much

24:47

I hear something. knowing

24:50

and hearing your story. is

24:52

incredible. And I don't take it

24:54

for granted, ever, ever, ever. And

24:56

honestly, that impact. is

24:58

probably what has kept me

25:00

doing this. podcast. So

25:03

your notes have kept this podcast going

25:05

to be quite honest because when I was

25:07

like, yo, this is losing all the

25:09

money. I kept on coming

25:11

back to man, but somebody on

25:13

the other side needs to hear your

25:15

voice in this way. So understand that

25:17

your reflections to me are meaningful. the

25:20

ways you send comments in about the podcast

25:22

makes me feel like somebody cares. So yeah,

25:24

I know sometimes people look at me as

25:26

lovey who has all her shit together. I

25:28

do be having a lot of my shit

25:31

together, okay? But I do think a disservice

25:33

is done when people see me as having

25:35

all my shit together or not needing help.

25:37

Because I am powerful and confident and assured

25:39

and God's child and anchored. Yes,

25:42

in spite of that I still need certain

25:44

pieces of help. I

25:46

think it's important to still raise my hand

25:48

and say, yeah, no, This

25:50

thing. might not be going

25:52

as well as I wanted to be going,

25:55

you know? So yeah, I've loved this podcast.

25:57

Professional troublemaker for me is a life

25:59

habit. It's a best -selling book and

26:01

this podcast has been such a great

26:03

guide in the process. And like low

26:05

-key a part of me still like,

26:07

I hope a podcast network will be

26:09

like, yes, we want to invest in

26:11

you, Lovie. Come on, we want to

26:13

help her grow this incredible podcast because

26:15

let the record show this podcast is

26:17

one of the best out there in

26:19

terms of content. I firmly believe that.

26:21

But hey, if it doesn't happen, I'm okay

26:23

with it because however and whatever decision I

26:25

make is the one I'm supposed to

26:27

make that much I'm confident in so I'm

26:29

not even worried. Whatever decision I make

26:31

is the right one So

26:34

I'm not internalizing. what

26:36

happened with the analytics. I'm

26:38

not internalizing the fact that I

26:40

couldn't find a podcast network, and

26:42

that all these other podcasts are

26:44

getting signed. You know it's easy

26:46

to internalize it, it is very

26:48

easy to. But I said, you

26:50

know what? If it ain't for you,

26:52

it's not for you. So what you gonna do,

26:54

player? What you gonna do? But I'm just basically

26:56

like, if the dollars ain't making sense no more,

26:58

I might just have to make a pivot. Or

27:01

maybe I just make it available to patron

27:03

subscribers. I don't know, I think that's where

27:05

we're leaning right now or just ending it.

27:08

If I end this podcast, it doesn't mean

27:10

I'm done with podcasting, period. I'm still down

27:12

to host people's podcasts. I'm still down to

27:14

be a guest on folks' podcasts. I'm still

27:16

gonna do that, But You

27:18

know, I might create another podcast at some

27:20

point. All the possibilities are still open. This

27:24

is specifically about this

27:26

podcast and this. way with

27:29

this lens. Regardless, I am feeling

27:31

good about 2025, about what it's offering.

27:34

I am purging digitally and in real life,

27:36

like literally even purging my digital files,

27:38

like deleting stuff that I'm like, why

27:41

do I still have this file? Why is

27:43

it still here? This meeting, I'm never

27:45

going to watch it, so delete it. So

27:47

this is, you know, always a time

27:49

that's good. to reflect. What's

27:52

got to go? But for

27:54

real, this year even deeper than it used

27:56

to be. Last year I was in the middle

27:59

of crumbling and And I was in crisis

28:01

mode, so my audit was not. was

28:03

not in peace, and and it wasn't

28:05

with deep clarity. This year

28:07

it is, it so I'm moving different. So

28:09

I'm looking at all of it differently. all

28:11

of it If you're listening to this. you're

28:14

to message me. Don't be to this, feel free Go

28:16

ahead, message me. And the other thing

28:18

I was thinking was, you know, this is

28:20

the fifth season of this podcast. message me.

28:22

is my favorite number. I was thinking

28:24

been and I was born is the fifth

28:27

season was born in 1985 Five. And

28:29

my Delta number is is 25, okay? Five times

28:31

times five maybe know maybe needs to be

28:33

the just needs to be the

28:35

last season that's very much that's very much

28:37

completion is the though seven is the

28:40

number of completion I firmly believe that

28:42

TV believe that TV shows, for example,

28:44

is the perfect is the perfect amount. this

28:46

this is also another part of it.

28:48

Maybe know what? Maybe this is on

28:50

tapping me on the shoulder look, I want you

28:52

to release want you to release can you can have energy for

28:54

what I have. I have. for you for this

28:56

next season. These are the things I am

28:58

thinking about just so y 'all know. So

29:00

about, if you love this podcast, if you

29:02

love my work, if you love my

29:04

voice, even if I get rid of this

29:06

podcast, there's still a million ways to

29:08

find me, but there's three ways that I

29:10

invite you to engage in my work. still

29:12

a the minimum, to find

29:14

for my newsletter, three ways that

29:16

I invite you V V in

29:18

my work. At the -T -E -R dot com.

29:21

It is a newsletter that

29:23

I send out every week talking

29:25

about culture, business, leadership, growth, up

29:27

for up for that. if You

29:29

know, if you're not a part of my

29:31

of my patron or book sign up for sign up first.

29:33

newsletter first. And then, join my

29:35

my Patreon if you want to be want

29:37

have greater access to me. If you see

29:39

me as a mentor, to me. If you see is

29:41

where I can really mentor. is where I Come

29:43

on in there. The community is lit. in

29:45

there. The Come on lit. all right? Come

29:47

And then All if you wanna write a book, if

29:50

you're interested in writing a book, if you need

29:52

help, I got you. you. Come to

29:54

The Book Academy.

29:56

That's That's .org. So

29:58

my my patron .com/love. all right. then,

30:00

if you then write you want to

30:02

write books help you. The I can help

30:04

you. been The book that's been sitting on your mind,

30:07

on your spirit, I got you.

30:09

Let's get it out of your

30:11

chest, your out of your head paper.

30:13

paper. Let's turn you into a

30:15

successful published author. published author. Book Academy

30:17

help you. So go to help you. .org

30:19

Book more details on that, details on that,

30:21

How will you know what I

30:24

decide on? on? I'm I'm probably

30:26

gonna put it in my

30:28

newsletter first. my newsletter I hope you

30:30

all have an incredible holiday

30:32

season. And May holiday bring us

30:34

growth. may 2025 bring us growth,

30:36

peace, abundance, flow, ease, ease,

30:38

clarity, grounding, anchoring,

30:40

and let us embody

30:42

our purpose. in

30:45

anything that we do. us Let

30:47

us embody purpose and divine divine

30:49

alignment so that we know that

30:51

we are doing what God has

30:53

for us. Amen, has for us. I love

30:55

y 'all. I hope you're surrounded

30:58

by love love. in this holiday season

31:00

and I hope 2025 lights the

31:02

way for you. Happy 2025. what you just

31:04

heard If you dig what you just heard

31:06

you make sure you don't miss another episode of

31:08

professional. Troublemaker,

31:10

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31:15

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31:17

this is valuable content. is You

31:20

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31:22

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31:24

And if you love this

31:26

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31:28

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And it's my weekly note

31:36

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31:38

all over and talk to you

31:40

on the next episode.