Hey everybody and welcome back. Oh my gosh. Can you even believe that this is our second to last episode of season one? I know. Where has the time gone? So this episode, it's just me and what I wanna do today is take a look back, everything over season one and also give a little sneak peek for season two I have gone back and forth many times of how do I wanna break it down? What do I wanna talk about? And as I was writing down questions, that's kind of how it got me thinking of how I really want to. Structure the episode. I don't know if I've mentioned it before or not, but growing up I really wanted to be a writer. I was gonna go into journalism, which good thing I didn't'cause print journalism is kind of dead, a good reporter knows that you need to be able to answer the five Ws well and the H. Who, what, where, why, when, and how. When I started thinking about the podcast in those terms, I wrote down questions that I thought would be good to answer. Like where we started, what we learned, who was impacted, how far we've come, and why this podcast, why now? Whether this is your first time tuning in or you've been here for every episode, let's reflect on how far we've come. So I first wanna start like where we started. So, I came up with the overall plan last November and then over, my Christmas break, I started working on some behind the scenes things. The intro, the outro, figuring out what I was gonna do, staging some episodes, planning episode list, like just all the stuff that goes into making it work, because I really wanted something that was going to work. I had tried podcasting in the past and I don't think I really had learned enough of what to do or how to do it, so it kind of fizzled out. And then I took some time off and did more research into what went into it, and then came up with my plan. So when I launched the podcast finally on 2 5 25, which I thought was just the cutest time to start because how fun, like launching soon 2, 5 25. It seemed catchy to me and I thought it would be fun. I had a few episodes recorded before then and kind of knew what I was doing. But I didn't really know where it was going to go. Like, was anybody gonna listen? Did people care what I have to say? Did it even matter? At that time, I don't think I gave a whole lot of thought I wanted to put something out there and thought that if there were topics that I thought were important or things that I talked about with my close friends, then maybe there were other people that also thought those things were important and also would want somebody to talk about. But I also thought, you know, as I've mentioned so many times before. There's not a whole lot of real life connection because we're so connected on social media because we're so busy with all our lives. And then I thought, well, maybe there's some people out there that. Do wanna talk about these topics or have someone else to talk about these topics but don't have anybody. So I was like, maybe I can be that somebody. I don't know how many of you grew up listening to radio and the nighttime there was Delilah, you know, Delilah, and you could call in and tell her what was going on in your life and she'd picked the perfect song for you. And I think part of it was that there was a part of me that wanted to connect to people. And hear their stories and give them a space to talk and have them have somebody to share that with. And I really think that's what I tried to create and I think for the most part So that's where my mind was in the beginning of, where we started and what my outlook was for it. Looking back now, the next question I was gonna talk about is what we learned or what I learned because I feel like it's been a learning process for all of us. So when I started, I had the tagline with it, because it's cheaper than therapy. And I've said, was it therapy for me? Was it therapy for the guests? Was it therapy for the listeners? And I think it was a little bit of all of that. I do think that a lot of it was therapy for me. And when I look at the question of what I learned. It's more than what I learned. It's how I grew and how I changed. And there's just so many different intricacies to it. Like when I started, it was a really scary thing. I have mentioned my people pleasing tendencies and how I tried to portray having my life together and being perfect, which, okay, I'm not perfect, but it was. Having people think that I was. And so I was really nervous about putting so much out there talking about my personal life and opening things up. It was really kind of scary because there were all these insecurities I had and I kept thinking like the people were going to take my insecurities and turn around and use it on me and destroy me and all these things, which I guess is still possible. I feel like I have gained so much confidence from this podcast because at the beginning I was really defined by my work. I felt that was my identity. If things were going well at work, things were good, and if things weren't going well, I felt really bad about myself. I looked for validation in so many different ways and trying to get people to like me. And it was exhausting, and I have found that over the past several months of doing the podcast, my confidence has grown. I don't see myself defined as much by my work now. Like that's my job and I do love my job and I go there and I do a great job when I'm there and I take care of my employees and do the mission and do everything I can. I still believe I'm a really high performer there, but that's not who I am anymore. It's just a part of me because I'm also a podcaster and a mom, and a wife and a friend, and all the other labels I have. But I feel like having this as an outlet to work through different things that I'm thinking about or struggling with, or like I said, insecurities I have, it's just kind of gave me something else and helped me grow in my confidence. And then I also think by talking to different guests and having their story the book club that we went through and breaking free from those lies. And even the friendship series of talking about how to make friends, how to be a friend, and things that seem obvious, but when you're talking to different people and getting different per people's perspective, it just really kind of grows. And when you build on that, you become more connected with the people you're talking with also. So I think that's a lot of what I learned. And overall, it's just looking at the person that I was six months ago, to where I am now. It's just like. Wow. It's crazy and I love it, and I am so proud of the person I'm becoming and being able to let go of that need for validation, that need to please, and I'm not saying it's completely gone, like there's always still room for growth, but building the confidence that I have now to know that I can do hard things and that this isn't even that hard or scary like I thought it was. And just seeing that growth in me and feeling that I'm different has been so huge. So who is impacted? Aside from myself, I have gotten so many comments from listeners who've reached out and said, you know, Hey, I really appreciate you talking about this. Hey, this resonated with me. I listened to your body image one. I go through the same thing. I'm so glad that you talked about that. I've heard a lot about Taylor's story, people love Taylor's story, if you haven't listened to that one, you have to go back and listen to Taylor's story. People really appreciated that we talked about that. I've had some people talk about the purity episode and how, it's something that they're struggling with even at their age. And I've had other people reach out and just talk about how, something I said really struck them about having that belonging and not feeling like you fit in, being grateful that I opened up and started talking about it. It's little things like that where. I feel. I don't know what the word is, it sounds kind of silly to say that I'm proud of that. I mean, I am, but I'm also thankful that I have this space where I can share things like that and give people an opportunity, either a way to share their stories or to hear other people's stories. Or to just feel like they're not alone, that there is somebody else that has thought that, felt that or is going through that. Because I think sometimes that's all we need is like when you're going through something or struggling and you're like, is it just me? Am I crazy? And to hear somebody else, talk about how they have a hard time making friends or that they're scared to reach out to someone, or that they're struggling with substance abuse or they're struggling. With being able to, you know, connect with their spouse. Like there's just, so many different topics and sometimes just knowing that you are not the only one going through that can give you enough kind of peace of mind that you can deal with it more. The next question I wanna cover is how far we've come. So. This one's kind of crazy. Season one will end with I think 30 episodes, and I'm not sure if that counts all the bonus episodes or not. So it's gonna be about 30, which is crazy for me. I don't know how much a podcast season is supposed to have. It depends on where you look. And what kind of podcast you are. At the beginning of every year, I write goals I wanna accomplish this year, one of the things I wrote down was that I wanted to publish at least 25 episodes of my podcast. And it's so cool because like I said, we will be at 30 when season one ends, and I'm still planning on season two starting in a few months. So there will be even more than that by the end of the year. Which is super exciting. And even just the. Followers I've gained, it's hard to measure the success of a podcast. You can look at followers, listeners, subscribers. But I'm not sure the numbers tell the full story because just because I have, X amount of followers on Instagram doesn't mean all those people are listening to the podcast. Because they're probably not. There's some on Facebook, and then on platforms like Apple, Spotify, Amazon, there's different followers not every follower is listening to every episode. I don't listen to every episode of every podcast I follow either not a big deal. So it's kind of hard to really identify that, the fact that anybody is following me or subscribed. Is kind of a big deal because when you're recording these, you don't know if anybody's listening or if they're going to listen. Maybe in some aspects you're like, well, I hope nobody does listen to this one. But you put it out there and you just believe that the universe is going to get it where it needs to go, and the person who does need to hear the message is going to find it. And so that's what you do it for. I've said I don't care about the numbers and I don't, I mean, it's hard when, buzz Sprout sends you a weekly report of how many downloads you have. It's hard to not see the numbers, but it's not about the numbers. It's really about who I'm impacting or how I'm impacting. And even if it's just for me, that's amazing. I'm building this legacy for when I'm gone, my son will have all the stuff to listen to, and maybe he won't. Maybe it'll be totally cringe, I don't know. But he'll still be able to hear what my voice sounded like. And maybe he'll get to an age where he does wanna learn more about me. These are just things I think about, I feel like I'm leaving some kind of legacy for someone out there, and that's pretty cool. The last question here is why this podcast platform, it wasn't just about me talking because I do love talking, but it was about giving that platform for other people to tell their stories. Taylor came on and was really vulnerable to share her getting over addiction story, which was phenomenal. Paige and Amber shared their friendship story and the different things they'd been through, and just such a beautiful story of friendship through the years and the next generation now with their boys being friends. Tiffany shared her vulnerabilities and how to get through. You know, more of a millionaire mama mindset and being aligned and thriving and getting away from just surviving and shared so much good advice of how to get out of our heads and into living and loving ourselves. And then all the times, conversations I've had with Alexis and Kelly. Those girls were phenomenal. But you know, when we talked about some of the different things we grew up with, like purity culture and struggling with knowing how to slow down. And even the beginning episodes with Laura and we talked about burnout boundaries and how to deal with those things and strengthen our mental health. There is just so much we went through this season and I feel like having the podcast platform was really the best way for it because it was a conversation, not just with my guests, but also with you, the listeners, so that you could feel like you are a part of it the stories we're sharing. None of us are experts. We don't have all the answers. It's just a way of, conversating thinking out loud and sharing perspectives. And of course the conversations, Emily and I had not just about the friendship piece, but about growing up as girls to women finding still the femininity, but also being able to be out there and not feeling like we have to stay small. There's so much goodness from season one that as we go into our pause and playback era, I hope that you'll go back and maybe some of the episodes you didn't listen to yet, you'll go back and maybe some of the ones you listened to before, you wanna go back and listen again.'cause maybe there's other tidbits you can take. For the first season it was really kind of understanding us personally, a little introspective who we are, what we're about. I know that's how it was for me, kind of looking at who am I? What am I about? What's going on? And finding our people and building connection. That's why, there was a whole month about the Friendship series and the book club really finding people, finding connection. For the second season, it's gonna be that and more. What I'm planning for season two is developing ourselves, helping people, and growth. I have a vision for it. So again, going through the same questions, where we're going, who's coming along, what we'll cover, why it's important, how will we do it, and when will it be. Where we're going. Season one was introspective and personal finding people, building connections. For season two, I see us being more focused on what we're talking about. And I don't wanna say it's necessarily going all business or corporate, but I want to. Take the boundaries and the burnout episode and take that farther. I'm going to be focusing more on leadership, both personal self-leadership and growth and topics like imposter syndrome and how we get over it. And I really wanna focus on. People who have followed their passions and talking about like taking risks and getting out there and doing what you love or just doing something different. And I'm really excited about that because I think when people find something they're passionate about and pursue the passion, they're more fulfilled when you're more fulfilled, you're more happy, your confidence is up. And I'm just excited to share those kind of stories and more growth stories, kind of like what we did a little bit this season, but really diving more into them. And then the leadership lessons, as I mentioned, and I will say it again in case some magic algorithm picks this up. I really, really, really want to interview Coach Mark Dall from the Oklahoma City Thunder because I think his coaching style and leadership style is something I would like to emulate. So I'd like to talk to him. I'm thinking about some other leadership lessons maybe we'll do some deep dives on lessons we can take from movie tv, public people, lessons learned. I'm excited about that. And also maybe some, career development, just focus on that personal growth aspect. Season one was personal finding ourselves, and season two I wanted to be personal, growing ourselves. That's where I see that going. So who's coming along? I already have several guests lined up for season two. Some of them who are going to be here multiple times, and I am so excited about those topics and showing how they all link together with following your passion, personal growth development, things like that. I am always open for new guests so if you are someone who's followed a passion or have a story to share or just wanna talk with me, you can reach out and we'll get you set up or if you don't think you're the right guest for, but there's a topic that you wanna talk about, definitely reach out to me also, because I'm open to adding more topics as we go along. So what we'll cover, it's going to be really things that fall into that growth mindset of how to develop ourselves, how to grow, how to follow our passions, how to believe in ourselves more. I think this season was kind of about finding our voice and season two is gonna be about, Hmm, what's another word for growing? Enhancing our voice, tuning it in, finding a way to put ourselves out there more, getting away from the introspective, building our connection and going out there and building more the community. That's where I see us going. Why is it important? It's important because we should all try to be lifelong learners and trying to better ourselves and trying to better those around us and create a community of people. And networks and just all the things like it's, it's hard to put it all in words because it's still ideas in my head, but I'm excited about the potential and how we can all learn and grow and do so much more. How will we do it? Just like we did season one. There'll probably be some episodes where I talk about things I am learning or researching or sharing, there's gonna be many guests the plan is still an episode a week, although if there are some that episodes that I feel like need a little bit more time to develop or research, it may be every other week sometimes, but you know. I will keep you posted on how often it will be. So you're probably wondering, well, Kristen, season one is wrapping up. You've been talking about that for a while, and you said there's gonna be this pause and playback time, but when can we expect season two? That's a great question. My plan right now is to take off the month of July completely. I've got some trips planned, and I just don't know that I'm going to have the time to really. Record post anything. So I've been saying that I plan on coming back mid-August, which is still my plan, although it may be closer to late August. I'm really thinking of kind of a back to school time, which is great because as we're talking about season two being about a time to learn and grow and develop, it makes sense that it would come back around, back to school time because, you know, school is now in session. I expect to be back probably mid to late August and keep up on my socials. I'll still be posting there and making sure that everybody knows when the day will be. I don't think there's a day in August that is exciting as 2 5 25, although August 26th is my birthday, so that's a possibility. I will keep you all posted and I promise, as soon as I have a date confirmed, you'll know. So until then. Stay tuned. It's been such a good season and it is more than I could have hoped for. You know, I say the numbers don't matter and I keep saying that. I keep saying it, maybe to reinforce it for you, me, whoever. But I do see the numbers and I can't tell you how much I appreciate all the people who are listening. There are times that I still look at it and I'm like, oh my gosh. All these people listen to that episode. That's crazy. When they talk about, even if you have, a hundred people like something, can you imagine having a hundred people in a room liking something you did? That's kind of what I think about when I see the numbers and I'm like, oh my gosh, that many people listen to me talk about this. And I picture all those people in a room and I'm like, that's pretty cool. Like, we would all be friends if we were in the room together so I don't know who you are, it's still very anonymous. But I know there are a lot of you out there. And from the bottom of my heart, I just wanna thank you for supporting me on this journey. Whether you are liking my post on Instagram or Facebook, or you're listening once in a while, or you're listening to every episode, or you're sharing my posts, or you're texting me or sending me dms, it means so much to me. And I really do appreciate it. And if you haven't reached out yet, please do let me know what you love. Let me know what you didn't love. Let me know what you wanna see in season two. Next week's episode will be our grand finale and I am looking forward to talking to you all then. All right. Till then.