“Pivoting” might seem like a dirty word in business, but Jenny Blake has learned to embrace it. Not only that, but she’s built her career around it, becoming a business strategist, keynote speaker, and author who teaches others the positive value of pivoting.

Blake is the author of Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One, and the creator of the Pivot Method, which distills all the wisdom she’s gained throughout her career to teach you how to change your business direction without falling on your face.

Blake learned the virtues of pivoting by doing it many times throughout her career. After spending two years at a technology startup in Palo Alto, she landed a job at Google as a product trainer for AdWords. She stayed there for five years, training more than 1,000 employees and building her public speaking and career coaching skills, before she pivoted once more and set out to become a solopreneur.

She now speaks and holds workshops on the Pivot Method around the world, at companies like Intuit and Pimco, universities like Yale and MIT, and conferences like TEDxCMU and the World Domination Summit. She also runs the Pivot Podcast, which started as a passion project while she was writing Pivot and has grown into a forum for world-renowned authors and businesspeople to share their advice on how to seize opportunities and pivot like pros.

Jenny has so many great stories and insights to share in our interview, from the health benefits of practicing yoga to why reading will make you a better person. She also talks about how to get over your fears of public speaking, how meditation will make you a better entrepreneur, and how you can use the Pivot Method to succeed in business and improve your personal life.

To learn more or connect with Jenny, visit the Pivot Method website or her personal website. You can also check out Momentum, her private community for solopreneurs and side-hustlers, or consider signing up for Pivot Coaching if you’re looking for some help to make your own pivot a success.

In this episode with Jenny Blake, you’ll learn:

• How to use your job as training for entrepreneurship (12:45)
• How to conquer a fear of public speaking (15:34)
• Why meditation will make you a better entrepreneur  (23:30)
• How to use the Pivot Method to improve your personal life (36:18)
• How to make successful pivots in business and life (39:56)
• How to succeed in your career by embracing pivots (44:06)

These show notes were originally posted on Powderkeg

Please enjoy this interview with Jenny Blake.

• Listen to it on iTunes.
• Stream by clicking here.
• Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”

This episode of Powderkeg is brought to you by DeveloperTown. If you’re a business leader trying to turn a great idea into a product with traction, this is for you.

DeveloperTown works with clients ranging from entrepreneurs to Fortune 100 companies who want to build and launch an app or digital product. They’re able to take the process they use with early stage companies to help big companies move like a startup.

So if you have an idea for a web or mobile app, or need help identifying the great ideas within your company, go to developertown.com/powderkeg.

If you like this episode, please subscribe and leave us a review on iTunes. You can also follow us on Soundcloud or Stitcher. We have an incredible lineup of interviews we’ll be releasing every Tuesday here on the Powderkeg Podcast.

Jenny Blake Quotes from This Episode of Powderkeg:

“Success, to me, is enjoying every day. If I’m running my own business and I’m miserable…what’s the point? It’s very important to me to, on a day-to-day basis, take care of my mind, my body, my spirit, my business. They’re all equally important.” — Jenny Blake

“When it comes to our careers…pivoting is often a product of success—that you’ve outgrown some previous direction or previous idea, or career incarnation, and you’re ready for something new.” —Jenny Blake

Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

Companies and Organizations:

Google

The School of Life

Universities:

University of California, Berkeley

Websites:

The Pivot Method

Books and Magazines:

Pivot

Wired

Life After College

Confessions of a Public Speaker

How to Be Bored

Seat of the Soul

Conferences:

World Domination Summit

TEDxCMU

TEDxBushwick

Software and Apps:

Google AdWords

Universal Breathing — Pranayama

Podcasts:

Pivot Podcast

People:

Kevin Kelly

Martha Beck

Chris Ducker

Joseph Campbell

Byron Katie

Gary Zukav

Oprah Winfrey

Did you enjoy this conversation? Thank Jenny on Twitter!

If you enjoyed this session and have 3 seconds to spare, let Jenny Blake know via Twitter by clicking on the link below:

Click here to say hi and thank Jenny on twitter!

COMMENTS?

What stood out most to you about what Jenny shares in this podcast?

For me, it’s how to successfully pivot in business and life.

You? Leave a comment below.

WANT MORE?

To subscribe to the podcast, please use the links below:

Click Here to Subscribe via iTunes
Click Here to Subscribe via RSS (non-iTunes feed)

To download the PDF file for the full transcript of this podcast, please use the link below:

Click Here to Download PDF file

If you have a chance, please leave me an honest rating and review on iTunes by clicking here. It will help the show and its ranking in iTunes incredibly! Thank you so much!

These show notes were originally posted on Powderkeg. For more episodes and show notes, check out the Powderkeg Podcast official website.