Welcome to the Elevated Edit Podcast.

I'm your host, Blakely Ramsey, and the goal of this podcast is to discuss all things personal development, wellness, and the art of editing your life in an elevated way.

From mastering morning routines to mastering your mindset, we're going to sift through the noise and empower you to take elevated action.

Make sure you catch the show notes for all the details.

Enjoy the show.

Hello and welcome back to the Elevated Edit podcast.

So if you follow me on Instagram, you have probably seen that I am at my end of year retreat at the time of this recording.

I talk on the podcast a lot about my 2023 end of year retreat and how pivotal it was for me.

I learned a lot, I processed a lot of things at that retreat and the same thing has happened at this retreat.

So I booked a little tree house in Little Rock.

It's in the middle of town, but the way that the treehouse is positioned and the way the trees are lined up in the back, you really feel like you're in the middle of the woods.

It is very private.

The Airbnb host is, I mean, her eye for design is spectacular and she's got plants everywhere and the aesthetic is beautiful and there's a ton of natural light and there's huge windows and the whole thing has just been so calming and so relaxing.

I have been able to journal and brainstorm and read and listen to podcasts and go on super long walks and.

And I went to dinner with a friend last night.

Like, it's just been a good couple of days.

Working on content for next year, working on ideas for next year, working on my intentions for next year, reflecting back on 2023, things that I learned, things that I thought went really well, things I thought didn't go well at all.

If you want to, if you want to humble yourself a little bit and, and also get a dose of reality and you use Google Calendar or a paper planner, whatever it is that you use.

For me, I think it was even more like, take your breath away because I do use Google Calendar and I time plot my days pretty, pretty much every single day.

So every hour essentially since January 1st was accounted for.

And so I could really go back and look like, okay, this is what I was doing at 2:30 on February 17th.

And it was very eye opening to see some of the things that I wasted my time on, see some of the areas where I lacked boundaries.

Like I could kind of see a pattern in my year.

And it, my end of the year was so much different than my Beginning of the year.

And so, yeah, if you are up for it, that is definitely a, an eye opening experience.

But I have had, like I said, a lot of time to reflect and think back on my year and what it's been like.

And for me, this has been such a season of rebranding.

And I feel like when people hear the term rebranding, they immediately go to marketing, they immediately go to business.

But this can apply for your personal, apply to your personal life as well.

I feel that that is my situation.

I have rebranded not just professionally, but I've also rebranded personally.

And it's, it's been hard.

There have been a lot of really big changes.

And starting over can feel like one of the hardest, most vulnerable things that you will ever do.

But at the same time that it's super terrifying, it can also be super liberating.

As multi, passionate, high achieving women stepping into a new version of ourselves can be really, really uncomfortable in ways that we aren't even super prepared for yet or ways that we're even thinking about yet.

And I think it's really uncomfortable, especially, especially when others have expectations about who we're supposed to be.

So that's what we're going to talk about today.

I'm going to share what I've learned about navigating a rebrand and embracing the vulnerability of being a beginner again.

And I do feel like this is a really important topic because for me particularly, I am really into personal development.

I read a lot of books and listen to a lot of podcasts and attend a lot of webinars and they always talk about the beginning is so hard.

You just got to get started, you've got to take action, you got to build momentum.

And so, you know, I did all the things and I took the action and I got started.

And then, you know, momentum happened and then.

And not enough people talk about this, the rebrand, and not only dealing with your kind of like identity crisis that you go through a little bit, but also dealing with other people and their resistance.

It's really difficult.

And so I'm going to break down three reasons why rebranding is so tough.

Really quick, just so we can put things into words and kind of develop that awareness.

And this might help you if you are in this season and you're struggling with this to go, oh, maybe that is why I'm feeling this particular feeling.

So the first one is the weight of expectations when you have been successful and y'all can't see me, but I'm using air quotes because everyone's idea of successful is so different.

But when you have been successful in your mind, it is so hard to go back and be seen trying.

It is one of the scariest things.

It is so vulnerable.

It makes you feel at least.

I'm gonna.

I'm gonna say the word because it's how I felt.

A lot of this year felt really dumb, like I'm starting completely over.

I don't know what I'm doing.

I'm having to ask a thousand questions.

I look like a complete beginner.

I try something, and I put my heart into it, and it looks like a kindergartner did it, you know, like.

And you have to go through those phases, and you have to keep trying because that's how you get better.

But when you've already kind of hit a pinnacle, when you've already hit big goals and had success in your personal life or in your career, whatever it is, and then you shift and you're brand new at something again, it can be really hard to personally go through that.

It's very difficult.

The second thing, and this has been one of my hardest difficulties, is the resistance to change from others.

So people around you might love the version of you that they already know, and that's not because they don't want to see you grow, but because change is uncomfortable, not just for you, but for them as well.

So I've had to remember this year that as much discomfort as I'm setting in with my change, the people around me are also setting in that discomfort.

And that was definitely something that I was not expecting.

And so that one has kind of taken me aback a little bit.

It's taken me a bit to get used to.

I've really kind of had to navigate how I handle that, because I think for a little while, I was very like, oh, you don't want to see me change because I will no longer serve you?

Or you don't want to see me change because me not having boundaries is convenient for you or whatever it was.

And I've had to just tell myself, like, Blakely, you had so much time to process your change and think about it and sit with it and get really comfortable before you kind of put it out into the world.

And so if I give myself six months to get comfortable with something, I can't expect people in my life to get comfortable with it in a week.

And that was a really hard lesson for me this year, and it's one that I'm definitely glad that I went through.

But I do wish I would have done a little more pre work on that so that I could have navigated some of the personal situations better than I did.

And the last one is the internal struggle.

So you wanted this change, but the people around you didn't necessarily ask for it.

And balancing your vision with their reactions can feel super overwhelming.

I have talked about this on the podcast before, but this is why I think it's so important to set with your big dreams and set with your big vision before you start telling everyone about it, because you are going to internalize some of their doubt and some of their negativity and some of their fear.

And if you are doing that at the very beginning, when you haven't even put pen to paper, you don't have a plan.

You don't have confidence in yourself or in your vision or in the situation or whatever it is.

And you just start telling all these people and then you hear like, 20 reasons why it's a terrible idea.

And, oh, well, in this economy or that market's so saturated or whatever it is, like, it will stunt your growth.

It will stop you from even starting.

And I think that even when you do feel confident putting yourself out there and like, telling people like, yeah, this is my plan.

This is my next step.

And then you get that just deer in headlights look where people are like, oh, that's good for you.

Like, that's great.

That's really hard to go through.

And it's so funny.

I'm gonna.

I'm gonna tell a little side story.

When I was switching from wine sales to real estate, I will never forget this as long as I live.

If I ever see this guy again, I'm gonna run up to him and give him the biggest hug, because he lit a fire under me that I did not even know was possible.

So this would have been back in 2019.

Beginning of 2019, I was a wine sales rep.

I was at the Brookshires in Camden, and I was getting their wine order.

And I'm not going to tell you what company he works for in case he still works for them, but he was also a sales rep for another product in the grocery store.

And he was in there getting his order, and he was, you know, talking to me, and he was like, oh, yeah, you know, whatever.

How's your year going?

And I'm like, oh, well, yeah, I'm actually.

My two weeks are in, so I'm getting ready to go into real estate.

And he looked at me and he said, oh, I guess that means you'll be waiting tables again soon.

Essentially saying, like, you can't make it in real estate so you're just gonna go back to waiting tables.

And I just looked at him like I couldn't even now I don't even know what I'd say to him.

But back then I didn't have the backbone that I do now.

And I just looked at him and I was like, oh no, I'm gonna have to prove him wrong.

Like, I don't even really know him that well.

I can't even remember his name honestly.

But so many nights I would set up studying and working on things and like, his comment will just play back in my head over and over again.

And so like I said, I want to give him the biggest hug when I see him again because he lit a fire.

And remembering the negative thing that he said to me, like, pushed me so hard.

But that is such a good example of like, don't tell every random person your dream, your vision.

First off, it's really none of their business.

People just love to be nosy and they love to know what's going on.

And second, you can't let their small mindedness rub off on you just because they can't see the vision, just because they're not creative, just because they can't think big enough.

You can't internalize that.

And I could have easily listened to him and listened to a hundred people because back then I told everybody, I was like, oh, I'm getting my real estate license, I'm getting my real estate license.

I hadn't even got my license yet and I'm sitting there, oh, I'm gonna be a real estate agent.

All the stuff I'm telling everybody and their mama and everybody was like, oh, are you sure?

There's so many agents already, it's such a saturated market and it made me really doubt myself.

And I think it did stop my growth here in the beginning.

So like with the podcast, I didn't tell anybody about it, I didn't tell anybody about the podcast until I had recorded the first episode and I was like two weeks out from launch.

So.

And not that I'm saying you don't need help, you don't need other people's encouragement, but just figure out what works for you and figure out what feels good for you.

Okay.

I got super off track, but I wanted to get that out because I think that's really important to just keep things to yourself until they feel good for you and you have some confidence in them.

Now I'm going to give a few lessons that I've learned from my rebrand this year.

And then we're going to get into some action steps because, you know, I'm all about taking intentional, elevated action.

First lesson I learned was, keep your vision in mind.

The thing you want is often on the other side of the work that you're scared to do.

And for me, staying clear, my vision kept me moving forward even when it felt like I was failing.

I don't know about you, but sometimes I will make the biggest mountain out of a molehill.

I can't say molehill very well.

Well, I can't spell at all today.

Clearly, that word gets my tongue tied.

But I will be looking at something on my action list.

And in reality, it's something that will probably take me all of three minutes to do.

But I will look at it and get so worked up and procrastinate and make it this big, dramatic, over the top ordeal.

And then I finally get it done and I'm like, oh, wait, that was actually really easy.

That wasn't.

And it's something dumb like, call and make a dentist appointment.

Like, that is one of the things that will stay on my to do list for weeks at a time.

Because I'm like, what if they ask me a question, I don't know it?

Or what if they.

I like, it's so dumb.

It's so stupid.

Or like, go to the post office and get stamps?

Like, okay, when I walk in the post office, where do I go?

What do I ask?

Like, what if I don't know what a.

You know, like, it's the dumbest thing.

But for me, if I keep my vision in mind, it helps because I will look at a list or look at a task that seems very daunting, and I'll be like, oh, I don't think I can do that today.

Or, oh, I don't think that, you know, whatever.

The thousand things I'll make up in my head.

But if I.

If I keep my vision in mind and I go, okay, if I want to accomplish X, Y and Z, this is something that I just have to do.

It helps me move forward so fast.

And it's the same with the rebrand and going through the difficult things, going through your internal struggles, going through struggles with other people, having hard conversations, setting boundaries, changing relationships, all of those things you're going to want to avoid.

And trust me, I avoided a lot of them for way too long, and I made it way more painful than it needed to be.

I procrastinated a lot of things this year.

That I should not.

And if I would have just kept my vision in mind sooner, I would have gotten some of these things accomplished a lot faster, a lot smoother.

There would have been less hurt feelings, There would have been less confusion.

There would have been better communication.

So just try to keep your vision in mind.

Try to remember where you're going, why you have this rebrand, why you wanted to change in the first place, whatever it is that you are shooting for, why you started.

Keep that in mind as you're moving forward, because that'll kind of help you get over those humps, through those hard spots, through those areas where you're super stuck.

If you, like, have that vision in mind, it'll help keep you moving forward.

Second lesson is be okay with being seen trying.

Rebranding is extremely humbling.

It is very messy.

But being seen trying and even more importantly, being seen failing is where you'll grow the most.

So I my ego completely, like, I'm like, oh, I don't want to post a reel and only five people like it, or I don't want to, you know, send out an email newsletter and only have 12, 12 people on my list.

Like being seen, seen trying.

And especially when you're trying at the very beginning and there's zero momentum.

There's no, like, there's not a lot of support yet because you haven't built the action, you haven't given it enough time, the wheel just hasn't turned enough is so difficult.

And when, like I said, when you have been successful or even if you haven't, you know, in your mind been successful, if you're completely starting at something brand new, like from this is like your first thing that you're going all in on, being seen trying can be really hard.

It can feel very embarrassing.

And one thing I've learned, and in studying other people and being in the rooms with other people and meeting other people that are very successful and that have rebranded multiple times is they are not afraid to be seen trying.

Like my friends that are super successful on social media, in their email newsletter, whatever venture they're in, they're rebranding all the time.

They're starting new businesses, they're starting new brands, whatever it is, and they are not afraid to be seen as a beginner at all.

They will straight up post like a hundred reels that get 0 likes and 0 interaction, and they'll just, they don't even think about it.

They'll just keep going.

And then after the hundredth, they'll start to get five likes and they're still just rocking and rolling, talking to social media.

Like, they've got 10,000 people showing up, and then three years later, they've got a million followers.

And it's like, oh, wow, they had to go through that really rough and really sticky area of growth, and they didn't let that stop them, and they just kept going.

And that.

That's it.

Like, that's the key to momentum and moving towards your goals and making progress is just like not being afraid to be seen and being okay, being a beginner, being okay failing sometimes publicly and just showing up consistently anyway.

And then the third lesson is stay aligned with your passion.

If this changes something that you're truly passionate about, you owe it to yourself to go for it.

And you don't want to let fear hold you back.

For the majority of my life, fear has held me back.

Like I said, I don't want to look like a failure.

I don't want people to judge me.

And I've kind of had to release that this year and just tell myself, if they judge me, then that's on them.

Like, I can't hold space for their judgment.

I can't hold space for what they think about me.

Because if I do that my whole entire life, I will.

I'll live my whole life for other people, and I'll never live for myself.

And I don't want to live like that anymore.

I don't want to be on my deathbed one day and look back and think, wow, all of the cool things I could have done if I didn't care about what other people thought about me.

Like, life is just too short for me to continue caring all the time.

You know, obviously, to a certain extent, I do think that we need to care about others and we need to be respectful and aspire to be respected.

But I think being liked and chasing everyone else's approval all the time will just leave us so empty and so burdened and just so crushed at the end of the day.

So let's talk about some action steps.

Feel like we've been a little.

Gotten a little dark, gotten a little sad.

This has been kind of an emotional episode, at least for me.

So let's talk about action steps.

My favorite things.

I've got five action steps for this one.

So number one, you're going to clarify your why.

So why are you rebranding?

Get crystal clear on your vision so that you can come back to it when things get tough.

I'd already mentioned that, but, like, there's going to be so many bumps in the road.

There's going to be bumps in the road that you're not even expecting.

That kind of hit you out of nowhere.

And you're going to have to have something to hold on to.

You're going to have to have a reason to keep moving forward.

And it's so important to clarify your why.

Number two, expect discomfort.

Change is hard.

It's hard for you and it's hard for those around you.

So give yourself and them grace as you navigate this shift.

Number three, embrace humility.

Without knowing your backstory and knowing your mission and knowing your vision, I can sit here and tell you right now, you are 100% going to mess up at some point.

You are 1,000% going to feel like a beginner, and that is perfectly okay.

I want you to remember that every expert was once a beginner.

Everybody started at zero.

Everybody started with feeling like an amateur, feeling like a beginner, and they just consistently showed up every single day.

You're going to be embarrassed.

You're going to fail in public.

People are going to see you fail, and it's okay.

Embrace the humility.

Know that this is part of growth.

It means you're growing.

It means you're changing.

It means you're getting closer.

Even if it's a teeny tiny bit closer, you're moving towards the right direction.

Number four, surround yourself with support.

Find people who believe in your vision and cheer you on, even when it feels messy or unclear.

So I have found, like, my core people, and it's three or four, depending on the day and the situation, that I know I can go to them and they are going to support me no matter what.

Now I've got my friends that push me.

I've got my friends that help me grow.

I've got all of that.

But sometimes I just need somebody to listen.

And I have very carefully curated, like, a very small group of just listeners.

All of my friends are not included in this group.

Not all of my friends are just listeners.

I am not a good listener for my other friends.

Like, I don't show up well in that space.

I am the motivator.

I'm like, okay, what's next?

What can we do next?

How can I help?

You do whatever it is you need to do.

And.

And I'm aware of that.

And my friends that aren't great at listening are also aware of that.

And so it's been really challenging to kind of curate that group, but it's been very important because I know that I can call them and Cry for two or three minutes and they don't judge, they don't try to help, they just listen.

And then I feel like a thousand percent better, like, oh, wow, this is great.

This is so nice.

And then I call the friend that is the next step girl.

I'm like, okay, I just had a meltdown.

She's like, okay, thanks for not calling me with the meltdown.

So what are your next steps?

And curating those groups and knowing who you can go to for what is so powerful.

It's something I've never really been intentional about before.

But curating those groups and being in those spaces has been really pivotal for me.

And it might be people already in your life or you might have to go actively look for them.

Like, I have met a lot of people.

You know, social media is a great place to meet friends and those relationships can come offline.

I've met people like in person that I've met on social media this year and we're great friends and I would have never met them if I hadn't just put myself out there, if I hadn't intentionally been looking for a really solid support group.

And it's been a game changer for me.

And then number five, take small steps daily.

You don't have to have it all figured out.

Focus on one step at a time and trust that consistency will pay off.

I think that technology and social media have so many beautiful benefits, but I think one of the really big negatives is the instant gratification that has come with this fast pace.

So many people expect instant.

They want to see a result today or they want to be able to say, okay, by the end of two weeks, I'm going to be completely different.

And a lot of this stuff takes months, years, decades.

And in that time, like I said, you might not see big growth.

It might be zero, zero something.

It might be really, really slow.

But taking those tiny, small steps will build a better foundation than if you try to do it all at once and get completely burned out and get frazzled and you can't keep up the pace and then you just forget about it.

And I think that is why it's so important to pull back and regulate your nervous system and stay off of social media.

You know, occasionally I obviously still love the scroll, but I try to just not spend like an hour at a time scrolling aimlessly because that's what I used to do.

Like, seriously, two years ago, that was my bedtime routine.

I would lay in bed and scroll on TikTok for like an hour.

And a half.

And then I would wonder why I was so stressed out all the time.

It's like, hello, sis, what you doing over there?

But no, like, being in a quieter, calmer space has really helped me be like, okay, I'm taking these small daily steps.

I am growing, even though I can't see it all the time.

Change is coming, change is happening.

Even though it's slow, everything's calm, everything feels good, everything's aligned.

I don't need to take these huge, immediate actions.

I don't have to look at somebody else's day 456 and compare it to my day one.

I just need to put one step, one foot in front of the other, take the next step, do the next right thing.

That's all you need to do.

And that's technically, at the end of the day, all you can do if you're giving it 100%.

And I say all of this to say, I have.

I have tried at least to be very open, very honest with y'all on this podcast about my difficulties and rebranding and starting over is really tough, but it is also one of the most courageous and joyful things that you can do.

So I want you to stay clear on your vision, embrace the discomfort, and keep showing up for yourself, because the.

The life you want might be right on the other side of the work that you're scared to do.

I know it was for me.

And you owe it to yourself to take that leap.

If you are rebranding, if you're starting something new, or if you have a friend that is starting something new, if they're in the season, share this episode with them.

Have a conversation with them about it.

Sit down and grab a cup of coffee and talk about your rebrand.

Talk about some difficulties that you're going through.

If you have, like I said, you might have to reach outside of your immediate and current friend group to find that support.

But find people who are going through the same thing that you're going through and can empathize and be whatever you need, if you need them to just listen.

If you need someone to offer actionable support, find whatever it is, both of y'all listen to this episode and then y'all sit down and talk about some things that you can do.

And take a picture.

If y'all are out having coffee or tea or whatever it is, take a picture and tag me.

Tag my personal Instagram and the elevated edits Instagram.

And I would also love it if y'all would leave a review.

It helps this podcast reach more incredible women just like you.

I have gotten so many amazing reviews and sweet messages lately and I want to thank y'all because the podcast is growing, the community is growing, and it's really fun.

I'm really excited to see where it's headed.

I kind of feel like I'm just now getting the momentum going and things are starting to move, albeit very slow, that they are moving.

And yeah, thank you always for showing up.

There will be no episode this Wednesday because it is Christmas and I want everyone to be present and intentional with their family.

So I will see y'all on Friday.

Thank you for tuning in to the Elevated Edit podcast.

I hope you found today's episode inspiring and full of actionable tips.

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Until next time.

Keep growing, glowing and elevating your life.

See you soon.