This Is Woman's Work with Nicole Kalil - 100 / ONE HUNDRED “Flawsome” Episodes

Episode Date: August 3, 2022

Today, we celebrate ONE HUNDRED episodes of This Is Woman’s Work! Please imagine confetti dropping, cheese plates passing and air horns blowing…because we are that excited! Back in 2020 (right before that year’s biggest plot twist aka Covid), I launched my podcast with the goal of redefining what it looks and feels like to be doing “woman’s work” in life, at work, and even within ourselves. But I never thought it would have a much bigger impact on me. On today’s episode I reflect on this flawsome (embracing the flaws AND knowing it’s awesome regardless) experience, as I share with you some of the important lessons (some funny and some painful), some behind the scenes stories, and some truths I’ve experienced after 100 episodes of podcasting. And a huge thank you to the MOST important person to this podcast…YOU! Thank you for hearing me out, for your feedback, for your support, for telling your friends, for sharing on social media, and for listening. You have no idea how much this means. So cheers to you, the listener! This is Woman’s Work. To learn more about what we are up to outside of this podcast, visit us at NicoleKalil.com

Hey you, have you reviewed the This Is Woman's Work podcast on Apple Podcasts yet? Your reviews help us get bigger and better guests, so I need your support. You can write a quick review or just tap the five stars. It's super easy. Please and thank you. I am Nicole Khalil, and you are listening to the 100th episode of the This Is Woman's Work podcast. Please imagine confetti dropping, cheese plates passing, and air horns blowing because we are that excited. And I've been racking my brain, which is an expression that basically means I've been overthinking about what the topic should be for our 100th episode and how to commemorate this event.

Should I go modest and unassuming and say that it's like no big deal and 100 is just a number and it doesn't really mean anything? Should I go with an amazing guest or do a topic about what cool things the number 100 represents? Or should I stop thinking so damn much and just share what I've learned and some funny things along the way? Yes, I'm going to go with that because that's how I roll. So let's dive in with some important lessons, some behind the scenes stories, and some truths I've experienced after 100 episodes of podcasting. Let me start with the first episode.

Did you know that it took me over 12 takes to get that episode done, not including the one I did where I absolutely crushed it, but forgot to hit record? Yeah, not off to a stellar start there. And it had me questioning my decision to start podcasting. It's a good thing I'd already told so many people I was doing it, or I might've backed out, which leads me to a big lesson. Keep showing up no matter what. Show up imperfect, messy, unsure, and not ready, but keep showing up for yourself, for what matters. Because you can't play a game if you're not on the field. And I hate sports analogies, but I can't think of a better one. You can't enjoy nachos if you can't play a game if you're not on the field. And I hate sports analogies, but I can't think of a better one. You can't enjoy nachos if you haven't brought the cheese. Well, that's not exactly right,

even though it's true and very important information. I'll also point out that in that first episode, I dropped an F-bomb and my team and I spent a good deal of time deciding whether or not to keep it or edit it out. We ultimately decided to keep it, but we bleeped it out, which is hysterical if you consider that by episode 91, I did an entire episode about the word fuck. Over time, I got clearer about showing up as myself, showing up authentically. I began to notice that the more I said what I meant, the more I shared my actual beliefs,

my quirks, and what makes me me, the more I enjoyed myself and the easier I made it for my people to find me. Did I lose some listeners in the process? Absolutely. But I lost people who are never going to really appreciate or get me in the first place. And I've gained more of the people who are a much better really appreciate or get me in the first place. And I've gained more of the people who are much better fit for me and my work. I learned that how I show up is entirely up to me. And it's also how I'm going to find my people. I'm becoming more myself in this

process. I'm getting clearer on my purpose and I am loving every single second of it. I know that action builds confidence. And this is one of those examples where I could see it playing out in real time in my life. And it's not because the podcast has experienced only an upward trajectory or because everything has gone according to plan. It hasn't. If I could plot and show you the success of this podcast on a graph, you'd see a really steady climb until around June of 2021. At that time, you'd see a huge drop to our lowest point of downloads in July, like literally lower than the day we launched. And we had absolutely no idea why. Was it because it was summer? Was it because COVID restrictions had lifted so people were listening to podcasts less

and getting out more? Did we do something wrong? I still don't really know. I don't actually have the answer. And I'll share that it happened to coincide with some other tough times that I was going through. I felt like I was still recovering from the mess that was 2020. And I had just started writing my book, which was

definitely exciting, but also really scary. And I had also made some massive business investments, as well as some personal ones. So money felt scarce and full of pressure for me at that moment. But these times also helped me get clearer on my purpose and who I am and how I show up and what I really want to be doing. They required me to trust myself on a much higher level because trusting yourself is much easier to do when everything is going well, but infinitely harder and much more rewarding when it's not. And we did start seeing some uptick in about October, thank God, and have been growing fast since then. But I'd be lying if I said I'm happy with where we're at today. I sometimes get caught up in the comparison game

and wonder why so-and-so has so many more listeners on their podcast. And on occasion, I do get a little judgy, like when I recently listened to a top 0.1% rated podcast and thought the host was an absolute idiot. If he can have a top podcast, why the hell can't I? All of that to say this, there were a few lessons in the roller coaster that has been my podcasting journey. And here they are. First, be where your feet are. Be present in the present versus worrying about where you think you're supposed to be. Believe in what's possible. Every single journey begins there with the belief in the possibility of it. What's the best thing that could happen? Hope and dream like it's never going to hurt. And nobody's path is a straight line of upward trajectory direct to success, at least not

anybody I know. And I get that it can look like that from the outside looking in, but trust me, it's never that. My good friend Lynn Castellaro shared a podcast with me recently where the host said, find me a straight river. You can't. You can't find it in life either. Finally, don't fake it till you make it. Choose it until you become it and keep choosing it over and over. Those have been my biggest learnings from the roller coaster of the last two and a half years. And if you're a regular listener, you've noticed that we've had some pretty big guests recently. A lot of people have been reaching out to ask me how, like, how did you get these people? And the answer has been pretty simple. Good relationships,

good follow-through, and good timing. Getting Jenna Kutcher, Heather Monahan, Gina DeVee, and Nicole Moore on the show has been unbelievable. And we have so many other incredible guests in the works. But I'll also share that I am committed to continuing to have guests with big messages and small followings on the show as well. Because I know some of the most impactful messages come from women you haven't heard of yet. Did you know that when I had Dr. Shefali on, I didn't even have lights in my office yet? So I had to drag every lamp I own

onto my desk for my 7 p.m. interview. And then I amped myself up by dancing to Pink right before the interview, but then I couldn't stop sweating while I was talking to her. Ugh, serious lesson learned there, right? So here's what I've learned about getting some of the big names. The work is pretty much the same. No matter who the guest is, I spend some time in preparation. I show up. I ask the questions. I engage. I hit stop record. It goes into editing and it comes out. The size of the guest hasn't really mattered as much as it relates to the work. But the bigger lesson is that the support has often come from the most unexpected places. Like how I met these guests and how I got introduced to them. I met a few people within the last year that have been more supportive and more helpful than people I've known

forever, or even people that I've helped in big ways in the past. You might be thinking, well, some people just know more people or are better connected. And that's absolutely true. But every human can write a review. And I've asked some people multiple times to do me that favor and still no review. To be clear, I am not mad. And I know people have the best of intentions and have very busy lives. What I'm saying is when you do something professionally, you'll be surprised. Support will often come from unexpected places, and I'm eternally grateful and try to be a surprise supporter myself in other people's lives because I know what a gift it can be.

And indulge me a quick acknowledgement for one of the podcast's most important supporters, Nikki Burla, who handles all things podcast, from scheduling guests to prepping episodes, and who edits all of them so I don't sound like a complete lunatic, or at least not totally like a complete lunatic. Also one of my best friends, Nikki, makes it so that all I need to do is show up and remember to hit record. Which brings me to another interesting learning. Some of my favorite episodes have gone somewhat unnoticed, and some of the ones we almost didn't release have become our biggest episodes. I've put some real energy into some, and a couple I did as an afterthought, and those have even had people reaching out to say it was their favorite episode. Go figure, right? The point is that you never really know until you do it. So you got to do it.

I'm going to keep this brief and thank you, the most important person to this podcast, the listener. Thank you for hearing me out, for listening to a whole gamut of topics, for your feedback, for your support, for telling your friends, for sharing on social media. You have absolutely no idea how much this means. So what do I know for sure after 100 episodes of This Is Woman's Work? Well, the answer is pretty simple and very important. So here it is. I am here. I am here for such a time as this. I'm the feminist that people are warned about. And I invite you to be one too, regardless of your gender. Together we have power and you can either be with us or get the fuck out of the way. I am here and I'm not going anywhere. There has never been another me in history and there will never be another me in the future.

I am here. And so are you. This, being here, showing up, knowing that progress is still progress, even if you're the only person that's seeing it, trusting yourself. This is woman's work.