You are listening to The Life Coach School Podcast with Brooke Castillo, episode... Ready?
What? Welcome to The Life Coach School Podcast, where it's all about real clients, real problems, and real coaching. And now, your host, Master Coach Instructor, Brooke Castillo.
Well, hello, my friends. This is my 200th episode. That is insane, you guys.
That is so freaking awesome. I'm so excited. I cannot believe I've made it to 200 episodes.
And of course, every 10 episodes, I talk about one of my teachers, one of my influencers. And today we're gonna talk about Amy Porterfield. But before we jump into that, I just want to let you know that something I did that was super funny was I went back and pressed play on episode number one.
And I was afraid I was going to sound terrible. And I really didn't. I don't sound terrible.
I sound just fine. So I am just so proud of myself. It's so fascinating to me to think about.
I can picture myself where I was sitting at my table in my other house with my microphone, recording my first podcast and thinking about the possibilities. And now, 200 episodes later, my first podcast was completed April 14th. That's when we posted it on the site, April 14th, 2014.
And then we posted it on iTunes, April 24th, 2014. So, I have to count on my hands, 2015, 2016, 2017. Oh my gosh, it's like we're gonna be going on four full years, every week, recording this podcast.
And I know that so many of you are like me, and you just love to listen to podcasts, and you love that you know I'm gonna talk your language, we're gonna talk about things together. And I've received so many emails from so many of you saying that you feel like we're friends, because I'm in your ear all day, every day. And I tell the story sometimes about my friend Angela saying, hey, remember when we were in Iowa?
And I'm like, no. It's just like, oh, I was just listening to your podcast. So you were there with me.
And I know that I feel that way about a lot of the podcasts that I listen to. So I just wanna let you know that even though you feel like I don't know you, I do know what it's like to have the experience of a podcast that you love listening to. So let me tell you why I picked Amy Porterfield for my 200th episode, because it's kind of an interesting story.
And I'm gonna back it up, because I noticed that in the first episode, most people's first episode in their podcast really talks about why they're starting the podcast and their history and all that. And I don't. My first podcast is about why you aren't taking action.
I start right in with a lesson. And I promise you that you're gonna learn a lot in this podcast, but I wanna kind of back up just a minute and say that there came a time. I had gone on a year long trip with my family, and we came back and I was trying to work while we were traveling the whole time, training coaches on the road.
And I felt a little bit burnt out when we came back from our trip, and I told my husband that he should get a job. And then he started interviewing for jobs and they were gonna give him like two weeks vacation and he actually had to go into the office from like eight to five, which I thought was incredibly rude of them to even request. So I started talking to Chris, I'm like, that is not gonna work.
So what if we become business partners? I had been running the business basically by myself. He had been supporting some of the stuff, but he hadn't really been all in.
We hadn't really both been equal partners on paper or really working. And so I said, what if we went all in on this business and took it where we could take it? Like, what if we really rocked that out?
And we had many conversations about it, and we decided that's what we were gonna do. We were gonna put more money into the business, and we were gonna really build it up and really focus on seeing where we could take it. And so about that same time, I decided that the answer to that was to be more involved on social media.
If you guys know me, I'm not really on social media very much. I don't have a personal Facebook account. I don't have friends on Facebook.
I don't spend any time on my phone taking selfies. So I decided that that's what I was gonna need to do to take my business to the next level. So I took a class from laura Roeder.
This was in 2013, and it was called Twitter, I think was the name of the class. And I was like studying how do you do Twitter? And I was like so nervous about it.
I was like, whoa, Twitter's so scary. Like you put something out there and people read it. And it was funny.
And I totally studied that class and took it very seriously and was building up my Twitter and making posts on Twitter and interacting with people on Twitter and all of that. And in that Twitter group, there was like a Facebook group where people could talk about Twitter. Sounds so funny now, right?
So I was in the Facebook group, which I didn't even know what I was doing in there. I had to like make a friend with someone in order to get in the group, and then I had to unfriend them in order not to have like all these notices about all these other people that wanted to be my friend. It was like very disconcerting.
But anyway, while I was in that Facebook group of laura Reuters, somebody recommended Amy Porterfield's webinar class. And I immediately clicked on the link, was taken to her site, and purchased. She happened to be in the middle of a launch.
So I purchased her, I shouldn't say it was a webinar. That's not true. It was her Facebook ads course.
And so I was really deciding that I was going to do a lot more social media. I didn't know what a Facebook ad, but it sounded like something. I didn't know what it was, but it sounded like something I should learn about.
So I signed up for a course and started taking it, and really applied every single thing that Amy Porterfield taught me in that class. I think it might have been, I can't remember what the name of it was called at that time. It's very different now.
This was in 2013, beginning of 2014. But what I did is I studied everything. She's an amazing teacher and puts on an exceptional online class and takes you step by step.
So she literally taught me how to do Facebook ads from the ground up. And I will always be thankful that I took the time to learn how to do Facebook ads. I don't run my own ads anymore, but I understand them really well because of that course that I took from Amy Porterfield.
And she still teaches it the way to do ads. She's updated, of course, and I think her course is now called Profit Lab. But amazing course, highly recommend it, changed my life.
I started running ads. I built my list from 800 to 10,000 using just that class where she taught me how to run Facebook ads. Amy, you're the best.
So then Amy sent me an email because now I'm on her list, right? because I joined her Facebook course, so now I'm on her list. So she sends me an email and says, hey, you might want to check out my podcast.
If you've never listened to podcasts, now might be the time to try. Just one sentence that she put in an email. I read it and I was like, oh, maybe she's right.
because otherwise I would have deleted it because I didn't listen to podcasts then. But she's like, if you've never listened to a podcast, now might be a good time to try. Like, well, maybe you're right, Amy Porterfield.
Maybe I should try to listen to your podcast. So I pressed play. Now, let's talk about this for just a minute.
Amy is just doing her job as an entrepreneur. She's sending out an email. She's sending out her podcast.
And she has a call to action. She didn't just send the podcast and leave it at that. She sent the podcast and said, hey, why didn't you listen to it?
And if you've never listened to a podcast, now might be the time to try. That sentence that she put in her email completely has changed my life because I did click on Amy Porterfield's podcast link and I did listen to her podcast. And on that podcast, she mentioned briefly Pat Flynn.
And she said, hey, if you don't know Pat Flynn, you gotta know Pat Flynn. I'm like, oh my God, I didn't know about podcasts and I didn't know about Pat Flynn. Who's Pat Flynn?
So then I went over to Pat Flynn's podcast because now I'd listen to podcasts, clearly, and I started listening to the Smart Pact of Income podcast with Pat Flynn. And Pat Flynn talked about on his podcast a survey that he had sent out where he had asked people how they had found him. And he was extremely surprised that most everybody that had found him, had found him through the podcast.
So I went, what? I thought it was Twitter. What are you telling me?
You're telling me it's not Twitter? You're telling me it's a podcast? Okay, Pat Flynn.
And then Pat said, hey, I have a free video series that teaches you how to set up a podcast. So of course, I'm very excited about this setting up a podcast thing, and I go and watch his video series. And then in his podcast, he talks about a guy named John Lee Dumas.
And John Lee Dumas has a podcast. And I go to John Lee Dumas' site, and he has a podcast course that I do not want to take. So I e-mailed John Lee Dumas and I say to him, hey, I don't want to take your course, but I want to hire someone who has to run mine.
And he said, you need to check out this company that does podcasts. And that's where I found Pavel. Oh my gosh, all because Amy Porterfield was doing her job.
So I thought a lot about who I should pick for the 200th episode. And I feel like Amy Porterfield is responsible for a significant portion of my success. And the crazy thing about it is she doesn't even know that because Amy just showing up and doing her job and being who she is has done that for me.
And one of my missions, most of you know, is to be an example of what is possible to my student. And that's what Amy Porterfield did to me as my teacher. Now, I didn't talk to Amy.
I didn't ask her a lot of questions. She didn't coach me. I didn't go in her Facebook group.
I was just her student. The only reason Amy might have remembered me is she does a bonus for B-School. So if you sign up for B-School through Amy Porterfield, she gives you this ridiculous bonus where you get to go see her live and you get to take all these great courses with her and she teaches you how to do all these amazing things based on B-School.
I had already purchased B-School. I had already gone through B-School. I bought B-School through Amy again, just so I could get Amy Porterfield's bonuses.
And I donated my B-School to one of her other students that hadn't already had it before. So we had a cool exchange about that, but that was the only real contact I had had with Amy and she'd already had this huge significant impact on my career and on my life. The other thing that Amy did was, first of all, she taught me how to do Facebook ads, which were a complete game changer.
Then she taught me how to do webinars, and that was a complete game changer. And the other thing she taught me is how important beautiful design is, because her design is so pretty and she hired such a good designer. And I learned so much by watching Amy grow her business.
And she used to talk very candidly on her podcast about how much her business was making, and she was saying, you know, that they were making a half a million dollars and then that they made a million dollars and she couldn't believe it. She was so excited. And then they went way beyond a million.
And I remember thinking how amazing it is that this woman is running her business out of her home, and she's making a million dollars as a woman entrepreneur in her business. And I couldn't even like wrap my mind around it. And what was so amazing is she kind of couldn't either when she was talking to me on her podcast, when she and I were having this conversation on her podcast about this.
Doesn't it feel like that sometimes, like we're chatting? I was like, what? Oh my God, that's so amazing that you've made a million dollars doing this.
That is the coolest thing ever. And not just a million dollars total, but a million dollars in a year selling this stuff through the Internet. What?
That's so awesome. And so I sense then I went to a live event with Amy, which was really fun. She was teaching a webinar event.
And I went there to talk about doing a webinar for Stop Over Drinking when I was doing Stop Over Drinking. And she and Melanie Duncan, who is another person that Amy Porterfield introduced me to, were teaching this course. And I just was like, I just want to hang out with Amy Porterfield and see her in person and talk to her.
And it was super fun. And they taught an amazing class. And afterwards, Amy's like, Kate, before you leave, I just want to say something to you.
And so I waited and then she's like, hey, I just want to let you know that I love your podcast. I was like, what just happened? Like that was a crazy full circle moment.
And I think I said to her, you're the reason why I even have a podcast. She's like, yeah, well, I don't like the way that sometimes you beat me in the rankings though, or she was just kidding around. It was totally funny.
But I was like, that was so crazy. I remember getting in the car and leaving there and just being like, what a trip the world is. Like what a trip it is to be in the world.
And her coach had recommended my podcast to her, right? And so something that Amy kind of, I don't know, started in some ways just because she showed up and is being who she is in the world, that the implication of that on my life has been profound. And so I love Amy Porterfield and I will send every one of my students and friends and anyone to her because her stuff is amazing.
But this is less a podcast about how amazing she is. If you have to go, just listen to her podcast to see how amazing she is, because she is. But it's more of a tribute to all of you who are out there doing your work in the world.
because I think sometimes you think, and I'm sure Amy thinks, that she's just doing her job, showing up and recording podcasts and sharing her knowledge so her students can learn. And that is true. But it's also having implications you can't even plan on having.
It's changing people's lives in ways you can't even anticipate how much your influence will affect someone. So I want you guys to think about this. Amy Porterfield did her job and sent out an email and asked me to listen to her podcast.
I listened to her podcast and then she referenced a resource, Pat Flynn, and then I listened to his podcast. Then I started a podcast. Amazing influence she's had in my life.
I make millions of dollars more than I would have had I not listened to Amy Porterfield and read her email. Huge, right? But that isn't where it ends.
Amy showed up and did her job, and I started a podcast. Now I'm doing my job. And because I'm doing my job, all of my employees have jobs.
What? Isn't that crazy? And they're able to provide for their families in that way.
And it doesn't end there. because all of you who listen to me and are affected by me and are changed by me started because one of us, one of us humans, one of us women entrepreneurs, did her job. So now I'm doing my job.
Now there's so many of you who've listened to my podcast that have become coaches and done your job as a coach and influenced all those people. And some of you have just improved your family life, and some of you have just improved your home life and your work life and your health and all of that. The compounding interest, the ripple effect in the world, because Amy Porterfield woke up one day and said, I should send an email and suggest that people listen to my podcast, isn't optional, my friends.
How many of you woke up and said, I don't need to send that email. That won't matter. Not that many people are listening to it.
Not that many people are reading it. Not that many people care. If one person hears it, who is your Brooke that will read that and change their life and therefore the life of so many more people?
That's what you have to remember. When you show up and you do your best and you do your job, you literally can change the world. The world is different now than it would have been had Amy Porterfield decided not to become an entrepreneur.
All of her students, right? Totally and all of her students and all of their students totally affected. So I want you guys to remember that you are Amy Porterfield to someone.
Someone's listening to your podcast, even if it's one person, and what you tell them and what you do may seem pretty benign. I'm sure Amy wasn't like, whoa, this is the sentence that's going to change everything for Brooke Castillo and all of the people that listen to her podcast. I have 100,000 people listening, right?
because of that. Like I think about a letter that I just got from a woman who stopped drinking and saved her marriage because of a podcast that I did. Amy's a huge piece of that.
Amy Porterfield is like one of my best friends. She doesn't know that, that we're best friends. But I'm totally cool with that because she calls me once a week when I'm on my walk and we have an amazing conversation.
It's like the best, she's totally reliable. I know she's always gonna deliver. We're always gonna have an amazing, great conversation.
That's what matters, right? That she's always showing up and doing her job. And what you're doing matters.
And you may have no idea in what way it's impacting the world and that ripple effect. So just get up and do your job. That's what I have done for the past 200 episodes.
And that is what I'm asking you to do. I'm not going anywhere. I will be calling you every Thursday, and we'll be having this chat every single Thursday.
But what I'm going to ask you to do is the same. Let me be your Amy Porterfield. Listen to what I say and actually take some action on it, and see how many lives you can impact, not by going after them and trying to impact their lives.
Please don't do that, it's really weird and creepy. Just show up and be you. Utilize the information that you learn and apply it to your life.
And let the impact be none of your business. Just know that it's there. Thank you Amy Porterfield for being you.
You being you has made all of this possible. And thank all of you listeners for hearing me every single Thursday for downloading, for listening, for writing, for joining scholars for Becoming Coaches. It is my honor to be here on this podcast with you.
Have an amazing week. See you next week. Bye.
Hey, if you enjoy listening to this podcast, you have to come check out Self-Coaching Scholars. It's my monthly coaching program where we take all this material and we apply it. We take it to the next level and we study it.
