Starting over rarely feels like joy. Usually it feels like failure... Failure to stick with something, failure to pivot, failure to rise to the challenge. This week, Katie walks through her own three-day arc from defeat to regret to excitement over a decision to start over, and traces it back to something that happened this summer: 12 days spent searching for her missing dog, Priscilla, in the middle of a family Disney trip.

And through all of it, nothing fell apart, the kids were taken care of, clients were taken care of, life looked normal from the outside. But it cracked open something Katie had been avoiding: Sustainable Systems was built for the wrong person.

In this episode, Katie shares:

• The full story of Priscilla going missing for 12 days and how she found her

• Why "the program is awesome, the audience was wrong" was the real problem all along

• The repositioning of Sustainable Systems away from "high-achieving women reclaiming 10 hours a week" and toward the audience it was always meant for

• What it actually feels like when starting over comes from clarity instead of pressure

Little is changing about the podcast. Big changes are coming to Sustainable Systems and to Katie's content this episode is where it starts.

If this episode speaks to you, DM Katie on Instagram @thenickelcollective

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A quick and honest note before the break.

Twenty episodes in, Katie is taking two intentional weeks away from the podcast — not because something went wrong, but because something is going right. She's pausing to look at what's worked, do research she's genuinely excited about, and work on something bigger that she can't wait to announce.

This is not burnout. This is the thing she keeps telling you to do.

Back in two weeks. Stronger. With something worth coming back for.

Stay connected with Katie on Instagram here

Visit the website for more information here

In the meantime — leave a review if this show has been worth your time. Five stars if you mean it. It keeps the show visible while Katie is heads down.

Topics: podcast break, Performance Under Pressure update, The Nickel Collective, Katie Nickel

Tuesday named the fear. Today we do something about it.

Pause. Process. Proceed. You've heard these words before. You haven't heard them like this.

Pause is not a deep breath. It's one second and three words. Process is not resolution — it's one sentence with a blank to fill. Proceed is not going all in — it's the smallest possible action that gets you past the moment where fear makes the decision.

And then there's the thing nobody says out loud: sometimes fear is right. Sometimes the move is don't proceed. Today Katie names the difference between fear that's protecting your ego and fear that's protecting something that actually matters — and why getting that distinction wrong is just as costly as letting fear stop you entirely.

One move. The P3 Move. Under two minutes. This week.

Builds directly on Episode 19 — Getting Over Fear: Why High Performers Stay Stuck. Listen to that one first.

Full show notes ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Get one the Performance Index waitlist ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Follow on instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thenickelcollective

Topics: overcoming fear women entrepreneurs, fear and high performers, imposter syndrome burnout, scarcity mindset women, high performer mindset, ACT therapy fear, burnout and fear, Performance Under Pressure, The Nickel Collective