High-Income Business Writing Podcast Ed Gandia

Life can often feel like a never-ending hustle — especially when you feel like you’re working harder than ever but getting poorer results.   Deadlines loom. Responsibilities pile up. And the bills keep coming.   It’s so easy to get swept up in the daily grind and feel like you’re constantly in the middle of a storm that just won’t let up.   Before you know it, the love you once had for your work starts to dim. And frustration and burnout take hold ... leaving you with a persistent feeling that you're merely going through the motions.   Sound familiar?   If so, I think you’ll really appreciate this episode. My guest today is my mentor, teacher, and good friend Peleg Top.   I’ve known Peleg for 14 years. He’s had a huge influence on my life and my business. And he’s the person who encouraged me many years ago to become a coach. I’ve learned a ton from him over the years, and much of that inevitably seeps into the work I do with my own clients.   I wanted to bring Peleg on because what I’ve been seeing in our business over the past year troubles me.   I’m seeing a level of frustration, burnout, doubt, fear, and uncertainty among creative professionals that I haven’t seen in a very long time. So many solo creative professionals are feeling rudderless and uninspired.   They’re tired and deeply in burnout territory. They want to change. And they’re trying their best to improve their situation, reinvent themselves, and create something new. But they feel plagued with a lack of clarity, fear, and self-doubt.    Peleg believes that these symptoms are a clear sign that your inner muse is inaccessible. It’s locked up in a prison cell made of routine, stress, and self-doubt. And in order to break through and create the change we want, we must unleash this inner muse so we can tap into our core creative potential.   I couldn’t agree more.   In this conversation, we get right into this. We explain what this inner muse is all about. And how we can start embracing it to open up pathways to new ideas, emotional healing, and a profound sense of fulfillment—both in our professional and personal lives.   An Invitation   One more thing. A few months ago, Peleg and I felt called to do something about the challenges we’re seeing among creative professionals. We wanted to do something more profound and life-changing than a podcast episode.   Don’t get me wrong. You’ll get a lot out of listening to this conversation. But we’ve also decided to co-lead a retreat this September in Santa Fe, New Mexico. And it’s something I’m super-excited about.   We’re calling it the Unleash Your Inner Muse retreat.   This is a 5-day event where we'll work together to help you rediscover and nurture your creative spirit, unlock your full creative potential and craft a compelling vision for your personal and professional life.   You'll reconnect with a profound joy and exhilarating freedom that will make you wonder how you ever lost touch with this divine spark within.   And by the end of our journey together, you'll walk away with:   Practical tools to reignite your creativity A renewed sense of motivation and direction A process that nourishes your authentic self and reconnects you to a creative energy you haven't felt in years   If what we share in this episode resonates with you, I invite you to listen to the end, where we talk a bit about that event. I’m also including a link with all the details on the show notes page for this episode. Or you can go straight there by visiting .

In this transformative episode, I discuss the importance of setting boundaries and being selective with opportunities through practical tools and methodologies. Borrowing from Greg McKeown's book, *Essentialism*, I introduce two powerful concepts: the 90% Rule and the Extreme Criteria Exercise. These tools are designed to help you master the art of saying no, enabling you to focus on what truly matters in both your personal and professional life.

In today’s episode, we’re diving into a topic that’s especially relevant given the current global climate: finding stability in your business amidst chaos. Are you feeling more stressed, burnt out, or anxious? Are you questioning your path as a solo professional more frequently?   If so, you’re not alone.   The Ever-Present Chaos   Life is full of uncertainties. Whether it’s the economy, AI advancements, elections, or geopolitical tensions, there’s always something that can induce fear and anxiety. However, history shows that this is a recurring pattern, and often, things are better than they seem when viewed through a historical lens.   Reasons for Optimism   Despite the chaos, there are many reasons to be optimistic:   -          Technological Advancements: We live in an era of unprecedented technological growth, from healthcare advancements increasing life expectancy to technologies that connect us globally in an instant.   -          Improved Standards of Living: Global poverty rates have significantly declined, and more people have access to education and essential services than ever before.   -          Greater Awareness and Action on Social Issues: There’s increased awareness and robust discussions around social, environmental, and political issues, driving actions towards equality and sustainability.   -          Resilience and Adaptability: Humans have consistently overcome challenges, often emerging stronger and more united.   -          Access to Information: The vast availability of information today allows us to make more informed decisions and educate ourselves better.   -          Scientific Understanding and Rationality: Our improved understanding of the world through science helps us address problems more effectively.   The Hedonic Treadmill   We’re all subject to "hedonic adaptation," where we quickly normalize our experiences. This can make it easy to lose perspective during setbacks. Recognizing this can help us maintain a more balanced outlook.   Personal Reflections   I’ve been self-employed for 18 years, experiencing many difficult periods that made me question my career path. Recently, my business revenue has trended down, partly by design and partly due to uncontrollable factors. These challenges led to a period of grumpiness, fear, and anxiety.   However, through coaching, self-reflection, and a shift in perspective over the past 18 months, I’ve managed to address and manage these feelings much more effectively. My journey included soul searching, which has intensified and brought about positive changes this year.   Questions to Guide Your Reflection   If you’re in a funk or questioning your path, revisiting your core principles can help. Here are key questions to ponder:   ·       Why do I do this work?   ·       What do I do better than most people?   ·       As I look back at my career, what activities or parts of my work tend to put me into a state of flow? What have clients and colleagues commented very positively about before (i.e., When have they said, “Wow, you’re really good at this!”)   ·       Why does my business exist beyond making money?   ·       What are my top-3 core values? How well is my freelance business enabling me to live those values? And if I’m not happy with the answer, what do I need to change about my business so it’s better aligned with those values?    ·       What are my biggest financial fears as a freelancer?   ·       Reflect on a time in your business when you were really fearful? Did that fear materialize? And if it did, how did you deal with the situation? What did you learn about yourself in the process?   ·       What am I fearful about right now? How is fear and anxiety guiding my actions?   ·       If you find yourself in a really bad situation right now, ask yourself..

Think back to when you first went out on your own.   Remember those first few projects? Getting paid for your writing felt like magic, didn’t it?   You put in, say, 10 hours of work, and the client paid you $750.   Wow!   What made it magical was that the $750 was all for me. And I loved the idea that a few units of effort in would translate to a few units of compensation on the other end.   Eventually, we all get used to this kind of reward ratio. And we (rightfully) start expecting more. We may even get to a point where one hour of our time is often worth $300, $400, or more. Especially when a project goes real smoothly.   And for some solo professionals, this can start feeling odd. We feel a bit guilty that we’re earning that much on some or all of our client work.   Impostor syndrome kicks in. And that inner critic starts taking over our internal chatter.   In this week’s (short) podcast episode I get into these feelings of guilt and how to address them.   This is important stuff. Because if left ignored, these feelings will create a cascading effect of guilt and negativity that inevitably leads to self-sabotage.   I hope you find it useful.

Freelancing is amazing. Until it isn’t.   You wake up one morning and you realize that you’ve created a very demanding job for yourself.   And chances are, you take LESS time off than you ever did in any previous job you held.   Sometimes it even feels like you’re working for a tyrannical boss who makes you feel terrible any time you ask for a small break.   That boss, by the way, is YOU.   Sound familiar?   Not to Wendy Helfenbaum, my guest in this week’s episode. Wendy is an established freelance writer out of Montreal. And for the past 18+ years, she has taken 4 months off every year.   And when I say “time off,” I mean real, non-working time off. No client work. No working on the business. No marketing. No nothing.   Just time to be with her family. To decompress. To enjoy life. And to savor the freedom freelancing is supposed to afford us.   Just as impressive, Wendy has consistently maintained a 6-figure income for years—even while taking a full third of the year off.   I was super-excited to bring Wendy on the show to tell us how she does this. It was a very lively and insightful conversation. I learned so much, and I can’t wait for you to hear it.   This is a great follow-up to the where she discussed how she was able to take a 4-month maternity leave recently. If you haven’t listened to that episode, I urge you to give it a listen, because it complements this week’s episode really well.

I’ve heard this argument hundreds of times:   “I don’t have a specific target market, Ed. I’m a generalist who works with all kinds of businesses. So I’m having a really hard time narrowing things down, and I’m not convinced I should.”   When I ask them about their motivation for continuing to do things this way, I typically get a response along the lines of, “I want variety in my work. I don’t want to be writing for just one industry.”   And that right there is the crux of the problem. Most people who view themselves as generalists use the “work and client variety” justification.   I don’t blame them. I want variety too! But that’s a logical fallacy.   There’s a way to have your cake and eat it, too. But you have to look at this challenge differently.   In this week’s (short) podcast episode, I explain how to do that. And how to arrive at a well-defined target market that works for you AND keeps things open and flexible for unexpected opportunities.