The Goal Getter Guide with Jen Laffin | Air Date: 4.29.26

When I left teaching after nine years, I held a rummage sale in my classroom and sold everything I'd built -- laminated anchor charts, handmade manipulatives, carefully organized binders -- for fifty cents and a dollar apiece.

A janitor stopped and asked if I'd regret it someday when I wanted to come back.

I looked him in the eye and said, "I'm not coming back."

But his question stayed with me.

I didn't doubt my decision, but I realized those boxes weren't just full of supplies.

They were full of proof that I was good at something. Proof that I'd earned my place. Proof of an identity I'd spent nearly a decade building.

And selling it all for fifty cents felt like more than a transaction.

In this week's episode, I talk about what that rummage sale taught me about identity, the primal brain's grip on who we used to be, and why you can't fully step into who you're becoming while you're still holding onto who you were.

If you've ever caught yourself measuring your worth by old metrics, clinging to a title or career that no longer fits, or keeping a "just in case" plan in your back pocket -- this one is for you.

Ready to build momentum? The Momentum Room is where it's done. Learn more at https://www.jenlaffin.com/tmr

Jen Laffin is the Chief Momentum Officer for women entrepreneurs and the creator of Accountability Without the Angst™. She helps women business owners build consistent follow-through and self-trust through The Momentum Room and private coaching. Learn more about Jen at https://www.jenlaffin.com.

Thank you for listening!


Follow the Show ~ If you enjoyed today's episode, please follow The Goal Getter Guide Podcast so that new episodes are delivered automatically to your favorite podcast feed.


Want more?

• Join The Momentum Room, Jen's small group program for service-based small business owners who want to turn their avoidance into action. Learn more here.
• Looking for 1-to-1 support? Jen works with a few high-level entrepreneurs at a time. Schedule a time to chat with her here.
• Visit Jen's website by clicking here.

Before the Momentum Room existed, Jen struggled with accountability programs because, for many high achievers like her, the fear and shame of showing up without a commitment finished was worse than the money she lost from abandoning a program.

These accountability systems that the programs ran on did not take into account the person behind the goals and how self-doubt affects momentum.

So Jen decided to build a program that did. It's called The Momentum Room.

In this episode, she traces the real origin story of the Momentum Room: from a classroom full of kids who needed to be seen as people, not checkboxes, to the moment she learned about the primal brain and understood why follow-through is really a self-trust problem -- and what happened when her own brain tried to talk her out of building something different.

• Shame-based accountability doesn't push high achievers forward -- it pushes them out the door entirely
• Nine years teaching elementary school was the first draft of Accountability Without the Angst™ -- high expectations and human curiosity are not opposites
• The primal brain isn't trying to sabotage you; it's trying to keep you safe -- understanding that changes everything about how you approach follow-through
• Accountability is not a nice-to-have. It's infrastructure -- and treating it that way is what helped Jen move past her own doubt and build the Momentum Room
• Building The Momentum Room meant living the methodology before it was finished -- testing, iterating, and taking action before feeling ready
• The entrepreneurs who struggle most aren't the ones who don't know what to do. They're the ones who know exactly what to do and still can't seem to do it.

If last week's episode made you recognize yourself in the gap between knowing and doing, this one explains why that gap exists -- and why the Momentum Room is built the way it is.

Visit www.jenlaffin.com/tmr to learn more and schedule a conversation with Jen.

Thank you for listening!


Follow the Show ~ If you enjoyed today's episode, please follow The Goal Getter Guide Podcast so that new episodes are delivered automatically to your favorite podcast feed.


Want more?

• Join The Momentum Room, Jen's small group program for service-based small business owners who want to turn their avoidance into action. Learn more here.
• Looking for 1-to-1 support? Jen works with a few high-level entrepreneurs at a time. Schedule a time to chat with her here.
• Visit Jen's website by clicking here.

Most entrepreneurs don't have a strategy problem that's keeping them stuck.

They have a follow-through problem.

In this episode, Jen introduces her new group program, The Momentum Room -- an accountability and support group built specifically for the business owners who know exactly what they need to do, but keep not doing it.

She talks about the gap between knowing and doing, why shame-based accountability backfires, and what it actually takes to close that gap for good.

• Knowing what to do and doing it are two very different things -- the gap between them is where self-doubt, perfectionism, and confusion set up camp
• The primal brain is behind your best arguments for staying exactly where you are
• Busy work fills the day while revenue-driving work sits on the perpetual to-do list -- and that's not a motivation problem
• Pressure and fear of looking bad in front of a group is not a sustainable accountability model
• Accountability Without the Angst™ means a calm, direct conversation about what's actually getting in your way -- not judgment, not shame
• Discomfort is always part of growth. Nothing has gone wrong when you feel it.
• Doing the hard things with someone present -- even on a Zoom coworking call -- changes how your brain responds to them
• The client who said no to the Friday afternoon walk didn't do it through willpower. She did it through awareness of how her own momentum works.

The doors to The Momentum Room are now open for new members until May 4, 2026.

If you recognize yourself in the gap between knowing and doing, visit www.jenlaffin.com/tmr to learn more and schedule a conversation with Jen.

Thank you for listening!


Follow the Show ~ If you enjoyed today's episode, please follow The Goal Getter Guide Podcast so that new episodes are delivered automatically to your favorite podcast feed.


Want more?

• Join The Momentum Room, Jen's small group program for service-based small business owners who want to turn their avoidance into action. Learn more here.
• Looking for 1-to-1 support? Jen works with a few high-level entrepreneurs at a time. Schedule a time to chat with her here.
• Visit Jen's website by clicking here.

Struggle is not a sign that something is wrong with you. It's human, it's biological, and yes — even I get caught in it sometimes too.

In this episode, I get honest about the moment I realized I'd been making choices that were keeping me in a state of "almost there," and what it took to decide it was finally time to get off the struggle bus.

• The primal brain is wired to keep you stuck — not to be difficult, but to keep you safe and comfortable
• Staying stuck in the struggle is a choice, even when it doesn't feel like one
• Good planning without follow-through is still stagnation — and recognizing that gap is part of the work
• The moment of clarity doesn't arrive with all the answers. It arrives with a decision: is the discomfort of staying stuck now greater than the discomfort of moving forward?
• You don't need to know exactly what's next to start making different choices
• Releasing what's comfortable and known is uncomfortable — and also kind of fun

The struggle bus does not have a lock on the door. You can get off it any time you decide to.

Thank you for listening!


Follow the Show ~ If you enjoyed today's episode, please follow The Goal Getter Guide Podcast so that new episodes are delivered automatically to your favorite podcast feed.


Want more?

• Join The Momentum Room, Jen's small group program for service-based small business owners who want to turn their avoidance into action. Learn more here.
• Looking for 1-to-1 support? Jen works with a few high-level entrepreneurs at a time. Schedule a time to chat with her here.
• Visit Jen's website by clicking here.

Your goals require a version of you that doesn't fully exist yet — and that gap between who you are today and who you need to become is exactly where good goals quietly fall apart.

In this episode, Jen breaks down why identity has to shift before results show up, not after.

• Your brain defaults to familiar habits, thought patterns, and time usage — all calibrated to where you are now
• The primal brain keeps you in your Comfort Cave: safe, comfortable, and doing what you've always done
• Signs your current identity is running the show: saying yes to draining clients, scrolling instead of posting, over-preparing on low-impact tasks, making decisions based on fear of loss
• Your future self makes different decisions — not because they're more talented, but because they've built self-trust through consistent follow-through
• The identity shift has to come first; results follow

Join Jen's FREE Q2 Momentum Reset 5-Day Challenge, April 6–10! Sign up at www.jenlaffin.com/mrc

Thank you for listening!


Follow the Show ~ If you enjoyed today's episode, please follow The Goal Getter Guide Podcast so that new episodes are delivered automatically to your favorite podcast feed.


Want more?

• Join The Momentum Room, Jen's small group program for service-based small business owners who want to turn their avoidance into action. Learn more here.
• Looking for 1-to-1 support? Jen works with a few high-level entrepreneurs at a time. Schedule a time to chat with her here.
• Visit Jen's website by clicking here.

If you feel like you’re constantly overextended, saying yes too often, or becoming the bottleneck in your own business, this episode is a must-listen.

I’m joined by Lisa Danforth to talk about boundaries in a completely different way, not as a personal development concept, but as core business infrastructure.

We cover:

• Why boundaries are the bridge to sustainable success
• How lack of boundaries leads to burnout, resentment, and inconsistency
• The connection between boundaries and self-trust
• How to start identifying where you’re overstepping your own limits
• Why saying no is often the most strategic move you can make

This conversation will challenge the way you think about your time, your capacity, and how you show up in your business.

If you want a business that actually works for you, this is where it starts.

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Connection details for our guest, Lisa Danforth:

• Email: Lisa@LisaDanforth.com
• Website: LisaDanforth.com
• LinkedIn: @LisaDanforth | https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisadanforth/
• Substack: @LisaMDanforth | https://substack.com/@lisamdanforth?utm_source=menu
• Link to Boundaries Blueprint PDF

Thank you for listening!


Follow the Show ~ If you enjoyed today's episode, please follow The Goal Getter Guide Podcast so that new episodes are delivered automatically to your favorite podcast feed.


Want more?

• Join The Momentum Room, Jen's small group program for service-based small business owners who want to turn their avoidance into action. Learn more here.
• Looking for 1-to-1 support? Jen works with a few high-level entrepreneurs at a time. Schedule a time to chat with her here.
• Visit Jen's website by clicking here.

There’s a moment no one really prepares you for in business.

It’s the moment after you do something bold.

The moment when you hit publish, raise your prices, say the hard thing…and then suddenly wonder if you’ve completely lost your mind.

In this episode, Jen breaks down what’s actually happening in that post-bold panic and why it’s not a sign you made a mistake.

It’s a sign you’re growing.

More importantly, she walks you through how to move through that moment without undoing the very thing that could change your business.

Thank you for listening!


Follow the Show ~ If you enjoyed today's episode, please follow The Goal Getter Guide Podcast so that new episodes are delivered automatically to your favorite podcast feed.


Want more?

• Join The Momentum Room, Jen's small group program for service-based small business owners who want to turn their avoidance into action. Learn more here.
• Looking for 1-to-1 support? Jen works with a few high-level entrepreneurs at a time. Schedule a time to chat with her here.
• Visit Jen's website by clicking here.

Many solopreneurs pride themselves on being responsible, productive, and hardworking. But what if the very behaviors that make you feel productive are actually keeping your business from growing?

In this episode, Jen Laffin breaks down a pattern she sees constantly with entrepreneurs: filling their days with work that feels responsible while quietly avoiding the work that actually generates revenue.

If your days are full but your results are slow, this conversation will help you recognize the difference between real business work and productive avoidance.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• The difference between forward-facing work and backward-facing work
• Why responsible entrepreneurs often struggle to focus on revenue-generating tasks
• The four most common productivity traps solopreneurs fall into
• How the brain uses “responsible work” to avoid discomfort and risk
• Why busyness can quietly stall business growth

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Join Jen on Wednesday, 4/1 for her free "Your Avoidance Protocol" Workshop on Zoom where you'll discover the exact pattern you go through that's keeping you from taking action.

Sign up here: https://goal-getter-solutions.kit.com/apw

Thank you for listening!


Follow the Show ~ If you enjoyed today's episode, please follow The Goal Getter Guide Podcast so that new episodes are delivered automatically to your favorite podcast feed.


Want more?

• Join The Momentum Room, Jen's small group program for service-based small business owners who want to turn their avoidance into action. Learn more here.
• Looking for 1-to-1 support? Jen works with a few high-level entrepreneurs at a time. Schedule a time to chat with her here.
• Visit Jen's website by clicking here.