Starting (Is The Hardest Part)

Thank you SO much. I’ll be back with two new projects in 2020 which I’ll premiere on this feed so don’t unsubscribe just yet! And if you want to be the first to know what they are and when they’re going to premiere the best place to find me is on Instagram or Twitter at @rufarofaithh . Thank you for everything! Rufaro

Mentioned in this episode: Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Big-Magic-Creative-Living-Beyond/dp/1408866730 Before Breakfast Podcast: https://lauravanderkam.com/before-breakfast-podcast/ The Gathering: https://www.justjaz.co/events Jaz and Rufaro Jaz Website: justjaz.co Instagram: justjaz.co Twitter: justjaz.co Rufaro Email: startingpod@gmail.com Website: rufarofaith.com Twitter: rufarofaithh Instagram: @startingpod and @rufarofaithh

In this episode I spoke to Jaz Broughton, a life coach and customer success manager about burnout, working in tech, building a community and being your most authentic self in every area of your life. Jaz Website: justjaz.co Instagram: justjaz.co Twitter: justjaz.co Rufaro Email: startingpod@gmail.com Website: rufarofaith.com Twitter: rufarofaithh Instagram: @startingpod and @rufarofaithh

Introducing 'The Hard Parts', bonus episodes in which I speak to my previous guest about the hard parts of starting something new. In this episode I spoke to Jess Wreford, the founder of Moana Maroke about self-doubt, being overwhelmed and finding balance as well as our love-hate relationship with Instagram and speaking to our mom's. Next Episode out November 4th 2019.

In this episode I spoke to Jess Wreford, a travel and lifestyle startup founder about life after graduation, exploring New Zealand, being real on social media and starting a business! Jess Website: https://www.moanamaroke.com Instagram: @moanamaroke and @jessicadoeslife The Start-Up Diaries Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/jesswreford95 Rufaro Email: startingpod@gmail.com Website: rufarofaith.com Twitter: rufarofaithh Instagram: @startingpod and @rufarofaithh

10 things I learnt in the first year of making Starting Is The Hardest Part Year 2 begins on Monday, October 7th 2019. Instagram: @startingpod Email: startingpod@gmail.com Website: rufarofaith.com Twitter: rufarofaithh

“You have to allow the beginning to be the beginning” In this episode, I spoke to Mayfair Ngondonga, a life coach, author and speaker about actualising your goals, shifting your mindset and life coaching. Mentioned in this episode The Becoming: https://www.mayfairn.com/book Maslow's Hierarchy of needs https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html 7 Mindset Shifts to actualise any goal https://www.mayfairn.com/ Mayfair Website: www.mayfairn.com/ Instagram: @_mayfairn Twitter: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj7pxTZGWxfdoZep6A4_1pA Rufaro Email: startingpod@gmail.com Website: rufarofaith.com Twitter: rufarofaithh Instagram: startingpod and rufarofaithh

This episode I spoke to Kobe, a photographer, student and storyteller about finding inspiration, speaking to strangers, unexpected ideas and his most recent project Humans. Mentioned in this episode: Kobe Humans on Instagram: @creativiste Humans on Subcultured: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP70ptF9JgP-iRkAL3JWvdw/videos Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP70ptF9JgP-iRkAL3JWvdw/videos Rufaro Email: startingpod@gmail.com Website: rufarofaith.com Twitter: rufarofaithh Instagram: rufarofaithh

“People don't buy what you do; they buy why you do it. And what you do simply proves what you believe” In this episode, I spoke to Canisha Tutsirai, the founder of Phoenix subscriptions about making a change in your local community, finding your purpose and starting a social enterprise. Mentioned in this episode Start With Why TED Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4ZoJKF_VuA Lush Film Fund: https://uk.lush.com/article/what-lush-film-fund Phoenix Subscriptions Website: https://www.phoenixsubscriptions.com/ Instagram: @phoenixsubscriptions Twitter: @Phoenix_subs Rufaro Email: startingpod@gmail.com Website: rufarofaith.com Twitter: rufarofaithh Instagram: rufarofaithh

There’s this great quote I found written in a notebook once: “A dream written down with a date becomes a goal. A goal broken down into steps becomes a plan. A plan backed by action makes your dreams come true.” A lot of people have dreams, but without a plan, it’s hard to make those dreams into a reality. But this month I spoke to somebody who did, Rebecca Cofie a fashion magazine editor and liberal arts student who founded the magazine Subcultured in her first year of university. We talked about how she got into the world of fashion, what it was like to launch a magazine from scratch and the challenges and lessons she learnt through starting. In this episode we mentioned Subcultured Magazine: https://issuu.com/subculturedmag Online: http://www.subculturedmag.com/ Twitter: @SubculturedMag Jenn Im: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgWfS_47YPVbKx5EK4FLm4A Shameless Maya: https://www.youtube.com/user/shamelessmaya/videos Rufaro Email: startingpod@gmail.com Website: rufarofaith.com Twitter: rufarofaithh Instagram: rufarofaithh

When I was 17, slightly miserable and participating in NaNoWriMo for the first time I began to write a story about a girl called Olivia. Little did I know that 3 years later that story would set into motion a series of events that led me to make this podcast. This is the origin story. Get Involved: https://www.rufarofaith.com/get-involved Mentioned in This Episode This American Life: https://www.thisamericanlife.org/ Call Your Girlfriend: https://www.callyourgirlfriend.com/ Longform: https://longform.org/podcast Ira Glass Quote in full: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/309485-nobody-tells-this-to-people-who-are-beginners-i-wish Oscars Diary (the story that just clicked): https://soundcloud.com/rufarofaith/oscars-diary-the-table All Talk: https://soundcloud.com/all-talk-312806488 Rufaro Email: startingpod@gmail.com Website: rufarofaith.com Twitter: rufarofaithh Instagram: rufarofaithh SITHP Newsletter coming soon!

In the fourth episode of Starting is The Hardest Part, I interviewed Konstantin Chterev a playwright and psychology student. We talked about adapting movies, creative communities and space. I absolutely loved recording this and putting it all together and I hope you do too! Episode Survey: startingisthehardestpart.typeform.com/to/mIJQ0o  Rufaro  Email: startingpod@gmail.com  Website: rufarofaith.com  Twitter: rufarofaithh  Instagram: rufarofaithh

One of the biggest obstacles to starting this podcast was overcoming the fear that what I made wouldn't live up to the final product that I had envisioned. There's this Ira Glass quote that articulates it well: “Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.” Often when I go into a project knowing that it will take time to develop my skills and learn how to make my vision a reality, I feel a strong sense of resistance. A feeling that leads me to postpone, delay or try to convince myself that I don't really care. But more often than not, I really care. I've found that the more resistance I feel, the more important it truly is to me. But why? And how do we navigate this? That is just one of the few things that I talk about this month on Starting is The Hardest Part. In the second episode of Starting is The Hardest Part, I interview Charli West, a literature student, writer and the deputy editor of The Stag (The University of Surrey’s Student Magazine). We talk about resistance brain, writing poetry, university and Wattpad. I absolutely loved recording this and putting it all together and I hope you do too! Episode Survey: startingisthehardestpart.typeform.com/to/m IJQ0o Mentioned in this episode Your Resistance Brain Stops You From Being Awesome: https://medium.com/personal-growth/your-resistance-brain-stops-you-from-being-awesome-and-how-to-fight-back-3a5ec87b9a5d Savannah Brown: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsnJS6dmF5I&list=PLG2zhPao4bhjXd0AZ9Co8nRLmZy91Na42 Wattpad (BE WARNED, this site has SUCH a variety of content, not all of it great or SFW sooo use your own discretion): https://wattpad.com Charli’s Poetry: https://inkdries.wordpress.com/category/writing/poetry/ Charli Twitter: https://twitter.com/shuutupcharli Poetry: https://inkdr

A few months ago I was walking to work and found myself surrounded by dogs. I live in a town relatively close to the countryside so I've come across more than a couple of dog walkers in my time but that day was different. Everywhere I looked there were Pugs. And so I followed the puppy parade until I reached Esquires Cafe, I didn't realise it at the time but I had just accidentally stumbled upon the first ever Pug Cafe. Since that first Saturday afternoon, Anushka Fernando, the founder of the pug cafe has gone on to host multiple Pug, Dachshund and Frenchie pop up cafe events across the UK, events featured and praised by Time Out, The Evening Standard and Teen Vogue. But where did it all start? How did she turn her passion for pugs into a business? What can we learn from her journey? In this first episode of Starting is The Hardest Part Anushka and I talk entrepreneurship, finding your niche and pursuing your passion into a full-time job. I absolutely loved listening to Anushka's story and I think you will too! Episode Survey: https://startingisthehardestpart.typeform.com/to/mIJQ0o The Pug Cafe Website: https://pugcafe.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/POPUPPUGCAFE/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PugCafeUK/ Rufaro Email: startingpod@gmail.com Website: http://rufarofaith.com Twitter: rufarofaithh Instagram: rufarofaithh

I came of age (am coming of age?) in the social media generation, and I love it. I love being able to share photos, speak to people around the world and follow so many inspiring people who are doing great things. But sometimes it feels like everyone I follow online is miles ahead of me when it comes to creating the life they want to live. If I go on Instagram on the right day I’ll be greeted with a feed full of people publishing books, starting up million dollar companies and showcasing feature films. And it’s great, inspiring in fact, but we don’t always see the hard work that went into it, know of the nights spent wondering if their dream would ever become a reality or fully understand that what feels like overnight success is in fact years of hard work, disappointment, failing and finding the courage to start again. We glorify (at least I glorify) the frame-able moment but we rarely see what must come before. The start. In my life, I’ve found that starting is often the hardest part. Once I’m in the process of doing something my goal becomes more achievable, but I keep finding myself getting stuck before I even begin. So fearful that it won’t work out that I’m too scared to try, so comfortable in dreaming that I never live those dreams out. Starting is the hardest part, it requires courage and a willingness to persevere. Seeking discomfort and putting yourself in situations where there’s a chance that you might fail. But you’ve got to start somewhere. Today I’m launching a podcast ‘Starting (Is The Hardest Part)’. I love listening to interviews with people whose work I love, young people who are #goals and mature people who’ve created for themselves the kind of lives I want to live. But when you only see other peoples frame-able moments, trying something new can feel daunting. So every few weeks I’m going to be releasing a new episode about Starting. I’m going to speaking to people I know and people I wish I knew who are still at the start of creating the lives they want to live. Those at the beginning of their journeys who are yet to have their big moment but are succeeding in the very act of starting. We’ll be talking about anticipation and excitement, doubt and insecurity, honestly exploring what it is to be starting out without sugar coating or only showing our highlights reel. Starting is the hardest part, but you’ve got to start somewhere and that’s what I’m doing today. I’m not sure where I’m going yet, but now that I’ve started at least I know there’s a journey in store here’s Episode 0. Starting is the hardest part. But you've got to start somewhere. Music: Sad Marimba Planet by Lee Rosevere Contact me: startingpod@gmail.com Tweet me: @rufarofaithh