Tracy's Tiny Reboots

Greetings from Music City, USA! In Franklin, Tennessee this week on business and stopped at a restaurant I hadn't stepped foot in since my senior trip in 1982. To me, the place looked EXACTLY as I remembered it. When I told one of the employees I hadn't been here in more than three decades, he said, "It's changed a lot, hasn't it?" I'm like... Nope - and that's GOOD! On the way home, I'll be stopping there for a meal. Also, check out a quick "lessons learned" entry on life, business, and helping others. Subscribe HERE RIGHT NOW to get an email invitation for a LIVE event with my friend Steve Austin.

Read Sarah's work at BeautifulBetween.com. See the show notes from this episode at RebootsPodcast.com/Sarah-Robinson-Journal.

A whole bunch of you have been asking when we might start releasing episodes every week, and most of you asking that question have suggested that it would be *great* if a couple of episodes a month were shorter and maybe even somewhat actionable. We’re in the process of making that happen by booking some new guests and leaning into specific expertises of some former guests. The new episodes will drop right into our Reboots feed - and we’ll call these shorter pieces *The Change Journals.* Our target release is for sometime in July. But I honestly don’t want to wait that long. A few weeks ago, my business coach - Bryan Harris of Growth University - launched a super informal podcast, called Lessons and Ideas. Sooooo, inspired by Bryan. I thought it would be fun to do a soft launch of *The Change Journals.* And this is our first episode. If you want some change navigation tools in your inbox like RIGHT THE HECK NOW! Check out RebootsPodcast.com/change. Send me your best email address at that link and I’ll send you 3 excellent change navigation tools, plus twice monthly-ish emails on the topic, plus links to our latest podcast episodes.

Lee Lucas survived carbon monoxide poisoning, burns inside his lungs, and life-threatening burns to 35 percent of his body. He survived to share his story of hope. Hear the full story at http://rebootspodcast.com/episode25

Question. Do you ever say something like, “I’m not happy with but I shouldn’t feel this way because ” Yeah, I’ve been there.

How often do you fidget and fiddle the first 30 minutes or so of a big block of time you’ve set aside to work on a huge project? Like, do you sharpen 30 pencils before you sit down to write? Knowing full well you’re going to write on your Mac? Yeah, sometimes I fight so hard to settle in that my energy levels are depleted before I even get started.

The headline * How to know when to start creating and when to stop learning *is a bit misleading. We don’t ever stop learning. And it’s never too soon to start creating. But I didn’t understand that until recently. Here’s what I learned...

One of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned from producing two podcasts every month for a year is that walking does more than help with the kinks in my body. It helps me clear my brain and opens me up for a new round of gratitude and wonder for the world around me.

“Why Ask Why” was a popular hook line in the early 90s thanks to a beer commercial. One of the questions was, “Why does the Mona Lisa have no eyebrows?” If you find yourself asking unanswerable why questions, episode 9 of Tracy’s Tiny Reboots, Series 2 is for you!

Because I am much tougher on myself than anyone else would ever be - including God - I’ve figured out that without a safe place for people to love me and show grace even as they speak truth I’m going to destroy myself from the inside out. And I’ve asked most of the two dozen people who have shared their stories on the Reboots Podcast about how important their support team has been as they’ve navigated tragedy and heartache.

When we lose everything or even one thing - marriage, career, home, whatever - we often realize how much of our identity was wrapped up in stuff, or money, or other people. So in order to navigate the loss of that thing or lots of things, it takes time to reshape our identity.

What I’ve learned about asking others about some of the most painful moments in their lives is that they finally figured out their relationship to the universe. And for some guests, they decided that - after years of wrestling with or denying the existence of God - they were looking at a Creator through the lens of some pretty jacked up people who didn’t much understand God either.

Reboots are part of life. Unexpected changes. The consequences of poor decisions. We never see it coming, do we? How can we prepare ourselves so we’re ready for the unexpected? It’s a scary thought, right? I’m Tracy Winchell, co-creator and host of the Reboots Podcast  at Reboots Podcast.com. This is lesson 05 in Series 2 of Tracy’s Tiny Reboots. We’re celebrating 12 months of podcasting and interviewing more than two dozen people about their life and business reboots. During May, every day, we’re sharing a lesson learned from our experience.

If you’ve studied writing or any sort of creative endeavor, you know the importance of studying the works of the artists you want to emulate, right? I don’t know about you but sometimes in the process of immersing myself in the techniques of my favorite interviewers - Buster Olney of the Baseball Tonight Podcast and Krista Tippett of On Being - I forget that I’m supposed to be learning from them and I get frustrated because I’m not like them.

Do you ever stop to wonder what’s fun for you? Are you surprised when the thing that was fun last week is nerve-wracking today? That happened to me in March of this year - sitting down for three different interviews. Turns out, the answer was right under my nose, provided by Andy Traub, the interview that made me so uncomfortable.

Does the idea of launching a podcast intrigue you? Do you *have* a podcast but can’t seem to “find time” to publish regularly? Are you searching for the “secret” to podcast success? Stick around for the next 6 minutes and I’ll tell you what I’ve learned about shipping long form episodes twice a month for a year.

Do you have high expectations for yourself? Sometimes too high? Yeah, me too. And while this is one of our thirty lessons learned from a year in podcasting about life and business reboots, I have a confession. I’m still not very good at executing the principle of, “Do what you can.”

It’s our podcast birthday! Every day in May on Series 2 of Tracy’s Tiny Reboots we will share a lesson learned from a year of podcasting and asking people about their life or business reboot.

Previewing Reboots Episode R023

I read a lot in the winter months. In this episode I run down what I read in February, as shared at RebootsPodcast.com/Tracys-2018-reading-log - favorite this month was my friend Steve Austin’s From Pastor to a Psych Ward.

Over on the Big Reboots Podcast during the month of March, we're featuring interviews with young people. In this episode, we talk about being afraid of the change advocated by our next generation and how I combat the anxiety associated with the unknown. Plus, we preview Jacob's story.

After shipping a podcast log every day in February we’ve learned a lot. We share our lessons learned here. Enjoy!

On the “big” podcast - RebootsPodcast.com - we’ve focused February on love. As I prepare a post that puts a period on the love month, I found a Max Lucado essay that spells out the attributes of a loving community, according to scripture. See what you think.

I can’t write a check for a medical clinic in Haiti the way STL pitcher Adam Wainwright and his family can. I’m grateful that they’ve done so. But I CAN respond with empathy and kindness to jibes, challenges and attacks. How about you?

After 5 solid days of rain, we finally see sunshine! Fledgling doves in our yard. And not all brand name rolls of toilet paper are equal.

Do you know someone who is a teacher? Have you asked what life is like in the wake of the shooting in Parkland? Let’s hear them. Show them we care.

Casey at the Bat

Don’t break the chain, unless you’re a Zack Williams fan.

The Rev. Billy Graham died today at age 99. A grateful nation can learn from his work, including his mistakes. And followers of Christ can impact the kingdom of heaven.

Ran across a radio interview with the late Red Skelton. He talked about his approach to enemies.

The Reboots Podcast offers the opportunity to change. For people who seek it or are faced with it through no fault of their own. We discuss a recent Seth Godin post about sales and change.

Leaning into grace requires a thirst for grace and it’s hard to crave grace when life is sweet. So says Ed Saucier, founding pastor of Community Bible Church in Fort Smith, Arkansas.

I’m tired. It’s been a busy, high-energy, fun, fantastic day. When contemplating a topic for this episode, I kept asking, “Haven’t you done enough today? Don’t you deserve to knock it off and go easy on the 28-day challenge? Can’t you do two tomorrow?” The self-talk that won argued back, “Yes, I could throw up a quick quote or a joke. I could even do two tomorrow, but what I REALLY deserve is to give future Tracy the gift that past Tracy said she wanted - a ‘Dont break the chain’ project of

It’s Friday! In Lavaca, Arkansas that means catfish for supper. Plus, I’ve been mapping out topics and guests for the remainder of 2018 over in the big Reboots Podcast.

If we as a society could make 9 incremental changes to infrastructure, policy, procedures, mental health programs that would result in preventing the deaths of school students by 1% each, would you support that? If not, why? Until Americans are sicker of kids dying in pools of blood than they are afraid of change, we will continue to get what we are getting. When will what we are getting be unacceptable?

Valentines Day? Meh. Ok. Pitchers and catchers reported today!

As we reach the half way point of the 28-day plog challenge, the barriers to regular content creation seem to be crumbling.

Walk and talk

Day 12 of the 28-day Reboots / Anchor plog challenge falls on a Sunday. I talk briefly about how I use the 12-week year planning method and an hour-long Sunday session to prioritize big objectives throughout the week so that urgent tasks don’t get in the way of my dreams.

Today we throw it back to a Reboots Podcast Episode we did about addiction. My friend Mason survived a 20-year addiction to opiates. He shares his experiences as a means for his own continued recovery and to help others find hope.

We ventured out onto the dance floor, talked to more volunteers, and heard a goodnight message from Tim Tebow. That’s a wrap on #NightToShine2018!

Night to Shine is underway all over the world!

As the minutes count down, volunteers run through their final checklists and make necessary modifications and arrangements so kings and queens have a blast tonight!

Blake Shelton stunned my hometown tonight. He’s doing a pop-up FREE concert downtown. Tomorrow, Tim Tebow will delight hundreds of kings and queens at #Nighttoshine.

I’ve been out and about today after a week of monk work. Face to face meetings and planning from a fresh perspective energized me today. If you work from home, how often do you need a change of scenery?

I love baseball for many reasons. One reason is that failure is part of the game. I’m in a season of life that embraces failure as a means for moving on to the next possibility.

DO we judge ourselves more harshly than even God does??? Chris Benjamin thinks sometimes that’s true. Previewing Episode R020 of the Reboots Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play and at Rebootspodcast.com.

Watching the Puppy Bowl for the first time, Tracy admits she’s counting down the hours to baseball.

Who’s watching the Justin Timberlake concert tomorrow night? Which team are you cheering on? Are you boycotting? On behalf of which cause? Tracy explains her decision in this episode.

Preparing for The Tim Tebow Foundation Night to Shine event February 9, 2018 at WestArk Church of Christ in Fort Smith, Arkansas.

How does love influence a reboot? Let’s find out in February! Together.