988 | This Is Your Sign to Stop Playing Small: Keynote Speech

Summary

Podcast Summary:

The Rachel Hollis Podcast
Episode 988 | This Is Your Sign to Stop Playing Small: Keynote Speech
Date: July 22, 2026
Host: Rachel Hollis ("Three Percent Chance")

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Overview

This special episode of The Rachel Hollis Podcast features the audio from Rachel’s recent, high-energy keynote speech to a room full of entrepreneurs and business owners. Designed to embolden and inspire, Rachel shares hard-earned wisdom about overcoming self-doubt, focusing your efforts, owning your role in your results, and breaking free from playing small. Drawing from personal stories, interactive audience exercises, and candid humor, Rachel invites listeners to challenge limiting beliefs, build authentic connections, and fully step into their potential.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Stage: Be Present & Trust the Process

(03:00 – 05:30)

• Rachel invites the audience to set aside distractions and fully engage.
  • Quote [03:50]: “Will you commit for the next 45 minutes just trusting the process? ... For 44 minutes, will you just trust the process? If you are willing, let me hear you say yeah.”
• She emphasizes the importance of taking ownership of your experience and energy—both at a conference and in life.

2. Energy & State Change: Get Out of Your Head

(05:40 – 14:00)

• Rachel leads the audience in a physical state-change exercise: everyone stands and dances to Beyoncé for 30 seconds to boost their energy.
  • Memorable Moment [13:30]: Humor about “letting the dogs free” by kicking off heels and jokes about “perimenopausal rage” to get everyone moving.
  • Quote [14:00]: “Do you have more energy in your body than you had 15 minutes ago? Did it change your mood? Is this something you could absolutely do anytime that you need to re-energize yourself throughout the day?”

3. Take Control of Your Focus

(14:05 – 16:30)

• A focus exercise: Audience members scan the room for red objects, then are asked about blue ones—illustrating selective attention.
  • Quote [16:10]: “You are bombarded by information... You get to choose what you focus on. You are in control of your energy. You are in control of your focus. Never let anybody convince you otherwise.”

4. Two Truths and a Lie Exercise

(19:36 – 30:50)

Rachel structures her speech around “two truths and a lie” to break down personal development myths:

• Truth #1: You Can Do Anything, But You Can’t Do Everything

(19:36 – 30:54)

• Rachel tells her own story about becoming an author: she wrote six books before achieving bestseller status.
  • Quote [25:58]: “Six books it took to become a New York Times best selling author... Are you willing to keep showing up and doing the thing that nobody else can see?”
• Emphasizes the power of obsessive focus on a single goal rather than scattering your energy.
  • Metaphor [28:00]: “Imagine that you’re on a soccer field and there are eight soccer balls in front of you ... Imagine if you kicked one ball eight times. Get focused on what you want to do, and the most incredible things will happen to you.”

• Truth #2: You Are the Problem (and the Solution)

(31:03 – 38:40)

• Encourages radical ownership and self-accountability.
  • Quote [31:18]: “You are the problem. But here's the beauty of that: if you are the problem, you are also the solution.”
• Shares the idea that editing your life—removing what doesn’t serve you—is more powerful than endlessly adding more.
  • Quote [36:30]: “I am going to tell you that the answer to your life ... is actually about editing, not about adding.”

• The Lie: “No One Is Coming to Save You”

(38:45 – 42:00)

• Challenges the viral “no one is coming to save you” message.
  • Quote [39:05]: “BS. You're coming to save you. You're already here. You’re already doing the work. ... Take stock for a minute. Who’s sitting in this room?”
• Encourages listeners to honor the struggles and sacrifices of previous generations—their “ancestors”—and use that as inspiration to play bigger.

5. Overcoming Insecurity and Building Community

(41:58 – 48:50)

• Rachel spotlights typical insecurities: feeling invalid as a new entrepreneur, fearing you’re not good enough, worrying that clients won’t return.
• She challenges the idea that we must have it all together to belong—encouraging vulnerability and genuine connection.
  • Exercise [47:00]: Introduces “blueberry” as a community code word for breaking the ice with fellow attendees.
  • Quote [47:45]: “Let’s give each other this gift right now. ... For the rest of this conference, anybody is allowed to walk up to anybody and say, hi. ... Blueberry is your word.”

6. Embracing Rejection and Failure as Growth

(48:50 – 56:00)

• Rachel reframes fear of rejection: aim for “100 no’s” as a success metric, not something to avoid.
  • Quote [50:20]: “Can I challenge you? Instead of being afraid that you’re gonna get no’s, what if you shifted your perspective completely and said, for the rest of this year, I want to get turned down 100 times? ... The most amazing things happen when you actually start aiming at the no.”
• Shares Oprah’s insight:
  • Quote [52:30]: “Nerves are a selfish emotion. Because if you’re nervous to talk to someone, you’re making it entirely about you.”
• Encourages owning your story, understanding you have everything you need within, and the importance of taking small, cumulative steps toward your goal.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (With Timestamps)

• “If you shift your perception, you can literally change your life.” (02:57)
• “You can do whatever you want to do and prove to yourself that you are whoever you choose to be.” (03:00)
• “I am standing here today because I was willing to suck for as long as it took to become better.” (03:05)
• “If you are not willing to fail in pursuit of an exceptional life, then you will spend the rest of your life wondering what if.” (04:10)
• On focus: “Obsessive focus on one goal at a time ... is how I did what I did.” (22:45)
• “You have got to stay focused on the thing that you can see.” (27:40)
• “All of the problems in a company are the result of the psychology at the very top.” (31:20)
• On editing your life: “He [Michelangelo] said, I just removed everything that wasn’t David.” (35:20)
• “You are capable of more than you realize. But don’t let the world convince you that you can’t do it just because someone else did it first.” (42:05)
• On vulnerability: “You so want everyone to think that you have it totally together ... that you come into these spaces and you lie.” (45:50)
• On rejection: “Here’s my other gift: you will absolutely suck.” (49:30)
• “You have everything that you need. ... You just have to believe.” (55:40)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Introduction & Context: 02:54 – 05:00
• State Change Exercise (Beyoncé Dance): 05:40 – 14:00
• Focus Exercise (Red vs. Blue): 14:05 – 16:34
• Two Truths and a Lie Framework: 19:36 – 30:54
• Truth 1 (“You can do anything, but not everything”): 22:25 – 30:54
• Truth 2 (“You are the problem and the solution”): 31:03 – 38:40
• Lie (“No one is coming to save you”): 38:45 – 42:00
• Overcoming Insecurity & Building Community: 41:58 – 48:50
• Embracing Rejection & Failure: 48:50 – 56:41
• Closing & Final Message: 56:42 – 57:59

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Tone and Language

Rachel’s tone is warm, energetic, candid, and humorous, blending practical advice and self-effacing stories with motivational calls to action. She keeps it real and relatable—sharing her own struggles with people-pleasing, rejection, and learning by doing. Her “call-outs” and playful audience engagement make the keynote as interactive as it is inspirational.

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Takeaways for Listeners

• Energy and focus are within your control—renew them deliberately.
• Narrow in on one goal and persist, even if no one else believes in you yet.
• Radical ownership of your life empowers you to change it.
• Let go of what doesn’t serve the person you want to become.
• Seek community by daring to be vulnerable.
• Don’t fear rejection—seek it as proof you’re trying.
• Remember your own story, leverage your unique background, and honor those who came before you.
• You have everything you need inside you—believe and start moving, one step at a time.

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This is your sign to stop playing small, trust yourself, step up, and go after what you truly want.

Transcript

[A]

This episode is brought to you by Peacock and the new original series the Five Star Weekend. Jennifer Garner stars as Hollis Shaw, a famed cook who invites her best friends to Nantucket after a devastating loss changes her life. Based on the best selling novel by Ellen Hildebrand, this a list ensemble also stars Darcy Cardin, Gemma Chan, Regina hall and chloe Sevigny. The five star weekend is streaming July 9th only on Peacock, the teacher's pet that will forever live inside my heart. Always loves Back to School and while my own children might not feel the same way about it that I do, I love this time of year. I love getting new school supplies. What backpacks are we going to take? And getting your back to school shoes. When I was a kid you got one pair of shoes a year. So the Back to School shoes. Huge deal. And if you are in the market for your own pair of Back to School shoes, Famous Footwear makes it easy to get ready for the school year with great shoes at great prices. You can find brands like Jordan, Nike, Adidas, Birkenstocks for the hippies like me, New Balance Sketchers, I mean, you name it. Famous Footwear Hats has got it right. Now it's bogo. Buy one pair, get one half off at Famous Footwear. Shop in store to get $10 to spend this fall. Some exclusions apply plus join Famous Rewards to get Famous Footwear's best benefits, including free shipping. As I'm sure you can tell by the title, today's episode is a little bit different and feels like a super fun bonus that we don't normally get to have here on the show and I'm really excited to share it with you. Part of my job in doing this work is the chance to go on stages all around the world and speak to different groups of people and I'm most well known. This will be unsurprising to many of you as the person who can motivate a crowd. And in a recent keynote that I gave, my intention was to hype up a group of entrepreneurs to make them feel really strong and emboldened and basically have them leave the room fired up about the work that they're doing and where they're going in the world. Then I asked the organization if they would be willing to let me share that keynote speech I gave with you here on the show and they graciously gave me the audio file. So in today's episode I guess pretend you are a member of a conference audience and I hope that you find this inspiring and helpful and it pumps you up and maybe Makes you think about your work in a bit of a different way.

[B]

Before we officially welcome her to the stage, can we please turn our attention to the screens to get hyped up to hear from Rachel Hollis. And I had zero idea what I was doing. Like, less than zero. We're gonna pretend I'm standing on holy ground. My legs are starting to hurt. I wrote this last night about 9 o', clock, so there's no telling what's about to happen. This could be the worst thing that we all go through together. Perception is reality. And if you shift your perception, you can literally change your life. Set goals for yourself and dreams for yourself that you are gonna have to become something new in order for them to be yours. You can do whatever you want to do and prove to yourself that you are whoever you choose to be. I am standing here today because I was willing to suck for as long as it took to become better. I am saying that you be being the healthiest leader you can possibly be. Constantly growing, constantly evolving is what will make your business successful. Look at someone around you and say you're worth it. Look at someone else and say I'm

[C]

worth

[B]

is so hard to fight back against that voice in your mind. And you actually totally can. The most part powerful thing you can do is something you didn't believe you were capable of doing. One thing I know for sure is if you are not willing to fail in pursuit of an exceptional life, then you will spend the rest of your life wondering what if. Hi, guys. Oh, man. Oh, wow. We're already. We already have work to do. Okay.

[C]

Wow.

[B]

Hi. I'm so glad to be with you. We show that video so you understand how much jumping around I do on stage. And I can tell you're not ready yet. Okay, So I see so many phones up. I'm gonna give you a moment. Ready? Here we go. And it's this. And it's this. And it's. Yes. Okay. You got it. Okay. Put your phones down. Be present in this space with me. I promise it'll be worth your time and attention. I get a little bit of time with you this morning, and this is my favorite kind of conversation to have because I have been an entrepreneur for 20 plus years. I know how hard it is to have clients. I know how hard it is to find new clients. I know how hard it is to work from home and try and figure out how you're gonna pay your bills when you look like a troll that lives under a bridge and you're trying to convince people that they should work with you. I know all of these things. I know how to do that while raising four children. I know all the things. Entrepreneurs are my absolute favorite people. So I'm pumped to hang out with you, but in order to get the most out of this time, I need you to go on a little journey with me. And I can tell some of you you're, like, questioning, it's okay. Will you commit to for the next 45 minutes just trusting the process? Yeah. Okay. You get out in the lobby after this, you'll be like, that girl was crazy. I hated her jacket. Her hair needed to be brushed. You say whenever, want. But for 44 minutes, will you just trust the process? If you are willing, let me hear you say yeah. Fantastic. Okay. I would love to tell you how to get the most out of this time together today. But also, I think all of these rules really apply for life. The first thing that I'm going to ask you to do right now in this space is to take ownership of your experience here. Take ownership of your experience, meaning whatever you get out of this experience when you leave this conference is up to you. You decide what energy you show up into a space with. You decide who you're willing to shake hands with. You decide that you're going to do something different than you've done in the past, and everything changes in the future. Yeah. So the first thing that we're going to do is take control of our state, meaning our energy in our bodies, the way we're showing up in this room. And you are gonna hate it. I can tell already. There's like 12 guys in the audience. I don't normally have guys in the audience. Like, you wore the. Some of you are in heels. Bless your ever loving hearts. Yeah. Some of you sat in the back. You knew what was coming. Okay. But you said you'd trust the process. So we're gonna take control of our state. I want you real quick. Just check in with yourself. How we feeling in our bodies? How we feeling in this room? Say in your head, like, I'm feeling like this. I'm feeling like. You got an idea? Okay, now we're gonna put on a little music. Our lord and savior, Beyonce Knowles. Carter. And you're gonna stand up, and for literally 30 seconds, you're gonna move your body. That's all I'm asking you to do. But you can't none of this. You're not. I'm looking at you, sir, in the Hawaiian shirt. Okay? We're not doing this. We're going for 30 seconds. Yeah, I know. I told you, if you got heels, this is the moment. You're gonna kick those off. Let the dogs free. Okay? This is your moment. All right, now here's the thing that's gonna happen, because there are a lot of women in this room. And give me some love. If there's a woman in this room, here's what I know is gonna happen, because I've been hanging out with women and talking on stages like this for over a decade. When we get around a bunch of other women, all of a sudden, it's eighth grade again. Do not lie to me right now. Cause I will know if you are lying. Who has come into this conference and already you saw another woman and you judged yourself based on how she looked? 100%. Raise your hand. Don't show up in this space. Yeah, okay. Anyone see someone else's hair? And you were like, well, that's why she's successful. She's got that hair right. You saw. Look at how many people just raised their hand. You saw another woman, her hair was so shiny. And you were like, I should have got a blowout. Who did that? You saw someone else who is at this conference for the very first time. Yes. Oh, my gosh. First of all, guys, it's huge. It takes a ton of courage to show up in a space where you are not used to the people. You don't know what you're doing. So acknowledge yourself for that. But who is here for the first time? And you came in and you were like, oh, I didn't wear the right clothes. Yeah, okay. So we do all of these things. Our brain is trying to keep us safe. Our brain is designed to keep us stuck, to keep us here. So it's going to revert to middle school right now when Beyonce comes on, your heart says yes, but your head's going to say, they're all looking at me. They're all looking at me. They can tell that I never lost the baby weight. They can tell that I feel uncomfortable. They can tell I'm not wearing my good bra. All these things, sir. There's a difference. We have a good bra and then a sports bra from Target. There is no in between. I don't know. Okay? Your brain's gonna tell you all that stuff. Let me give you a gift right now. She is not looking at you. She is worried that you're looking at her. I promise you, nobody cares. I promise you. Half the room's trying to survive because they're gonna pee their pants a little bit when they jump up and down. Raise your hand if you ever pushed it, baby out. Okay, it's gonna happen. Some of you dudes, too, but for a totally different reason. Okay, so my audio friends are gonna put on Beyonce. And when you hear her. Not yet. When you hear her, you are going to launch yourself out of your chair like a rocket. I know. That voice is already there. Just tell it to shut it for a minute. Okay, you're gonna launch yourself out of your chair like a rocket, and you are just gonna. For 30 seconds. Can you do anything for 30 seconds? Yes. Okay, we're gonna try. And I'm tell you right now, I can sense it. I can sense it in the back of the room. Some of you are like, I'm gonna take all 30 seconds to stand up. So by the time I get there, this chick will just move on with whatever she's here to do. If you don't think that I will use all of my time today making you dance to Beyonce, you do not know me. Okay, all right, so we're launching everyone just like this, and then we're just. Right. Okay. If you give it 10%, we'll do it again. If you would like to move on with your day, just put some energy in your body, listen to the queen speak, and move around. Yeah. All right, audio friends, will you play Beyonce louder than you think?

[C]

Loud.

[B]

Whenever you're ready. I'm ready.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

Okay, hold on, hold on, hold on. We're gonna. We're stopping. We're back down. It was an eight. It was an eight. This is a 12, audience. Okay, I know that it is. I want you to put a little. You know what you need? You need to think about the worst client that you've had in the last five years. Who comes to mind? Is it Becky? Okay, think of Becky. Becky, all the problems, calling you all. Whatever. Get some of that. Get some anger. Who's in perimenopause? Pull some perimenopausal rage. Okay? And then we're launching, and we're going. More energy. Yeah. And then, audio team, a skoach louder on that volume because we need a little inspo. Like, it's cousin Crystal's wedding. We had three glasses of chardonnay. Our mom's going to keep the babies. That's the energy I need. Okay, ready? Whenever you're ready, audio team. Let's do it. Yeah. Yes. Okay, everyone stand here for a second. Stand where you are. Put your hands on your hips. Do you have more energy in your body than you had 15 minutes ago? Did it change your mood? Is this something you could absolutely do anytime that you need to re energize yourself throughout the day? How long did it take you? Exactly Right. Sit down. Let's get to work. So we just took control of our state. We took ownership of the way that we felt and the energy that we had in our body. Here's a powerful lesson to learn. Are you guys. Do we have journals? Do we have notebooks? Ish. Thank you. You are five times more likely to retain any information that you pick up at this conference if you write it down. I am a conference nerd. Don't be a cool kid. Be a kid that wants to learn and absorb information. So you took control of your energy. You took control of your state. The next thing that you can always take control of is your focus. You are bombarded by information. You are bombarded by what you should do next. Respectfully to this conference. They want to give you so many ideas, right? They want you to leave inspired and know what you could do for your clients. But who has gotten to the end of a day at a conference like this one and you took on so much information that you actually felt kind of overwhelmed. Has anyone ever done that same? So you get to choose what you focus on. You can take control of your focus right now, and I can prove it. I want everyone to look around the room, and if you're in the front, you can kind of turn yourself look around the room. And for 10 seconds, I want you to count as many red things as you possibly can. The winner gets as many red things. Ready, set, go. 10 seconds. See how many red things you can get. We're counting. Counting. Three more seconds. Get all your red things. Fabulous. Sit down. Who got more than 10 red things? Who got more than 15? Who got more than 20? Right there. How many blue things were there? Right.

[A]

This episode is brought to you by Peacock and the new original series the five star Weekend. Jennifer Garner stars as Hollis Shaw, a famed cook who invites her best friends to Nantucket after a devastating loss changes her life. Based on the best selling novel by Ellen Hildebrand, this a list ensemble also stars Darcy Cardin, Gemma Chan, Regina hall and chloe sevigny. The five star weekend is streaming July 9th only on peacock. This show is sponsored by betterhelp. I am a recovering people pleaser. I spent most of my childhood learning that in order to be loved, I needed to make sure everybody liked me. And for some of us who have childhoods rooted in trauma, it goes way deeper than just being nice. Nice or just being kind or just being a good girl. And it becomes about this feeling of safety that is something I really had to learn to unlearn. And I can't imagine navigating my adult life, especially in the last 15 years, without the help of a therapist to guide me through that process. I remember going to therapy probably 10 or 15 years ago and thinking I was there to talk about stress or anxiety. But when we really uncovered the root cause of the stress and anxiety, it was about feeling like my in laws didn't like me. Sounds sort of frivolous and ridiculous, but for a lot of people that kind of thing can destroy our days. So I had to learn. And I really am so grateful for my therapist for guiding me through that process. If you have never considered all of the different ways that a therapist can help you navigate these sort of stigmas in your life, these things that you struggle with and don't really know a resolution for, you should check out BetterHelp. There is a reason that I have been partnered with them here on the show for years. Better Help is the number one online therapy. It's the world's largest therapy platform and you can find space to slow down and talk to someone who is just there for you. They have no idea or context about all the other people in your life. They're just helping you work through your stuff. You take a short questionnaire and it helps you to identify a therapist at BetterHelp that would work really well for you. And the great thing is if for some reason you try that therapist out and you don't totally dig them, that's cool. You can find another one really easily. Don't let stigma stand in the way of support. Start therapy with Better help. Sign up and get 10% [e-mail] Rach that's better.hp.com Rach.

[B]

Have you ever heard that phrase? Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right. You are in an industry where you will continuously have to reinvent how you do what you do. I'm sure you've already lived through that, right? You will continuously have to look out onto the horizon and figure out where the next client is coming from. You will have to figure out how to do these things while you manage your very real life. Who has real life and real responsibilities waiting at home that have nothing to do with this job? Yeah, everybody. So not only will you have to do these things, but you will have to do them while taking kids to school, drop off, while managing Hormones. Some of us, while taking care of aging parents, while trying to show up and be a good person while the robots take over the world. What's happening? I don't know. I'm out here trying to survive. How much protein are we supposed to get? How much sleep are we supposed to get? Are we taking this? Are we taking that? Every single day, I am bombarded by information about what I should be doing. And. And so are you. You get to choose your focus every single day. You are in control of your energy. You are in control of your focus. Never let anybody convince you otherwise. So for today, I want to play a game that I used to play in high school with my friends called Two truths and a Lie. So today's chat is through the lens of two. Two truths and a lie. I would love to use this time to tell you two truths that I believe you should care about and one lie that we all fall for. So does that sound interesting? Does that sound like you're gonna take control of your energy as I give this talk? Yeah. Do this. Shake your booty in your chair. Did you just feel a little bit more energy? You shook it like a Polaroid picture. Little bit more energy came in. So throughout this conversation, you get to take control and you get to practice energizing your state. Our first truth. You can do anything, but you can't do everything. You can do anything. I believe this from the depths of my being. It is why I have devoted my life to doing this work. I believe that you can do anything. I am living proof that you can achieve all the things you saw in that fancy video without a college degree, without any connections, without any idea what you are doing. You can do anything, but you can't do everything. The problem is that anytime that we feel insecure or uncertain, we tend to look outside of ourselves for information. Who knows what I'm talking about? Just those three people. Who knows what I'm talking about? You're in control of your energy.

[A]

Right.

[B]

So we look outside of ourselves for information. Where are the places that we go to look for ideas for how to do our business better? Shout them out at me. Mentors, college, Internet, social media, books, what else? Right. In the same way. In the same way that we just looked for the color red. Have you ever set out to find information for how to do it better and actually overwhelmed yourself with what the heck you were doing in the first place? I see a lot of you nodding. Yeah, a million percent. If I had to give you one thing, literally one thing, to walk out of this room and go, how did Rachel go from here to there? How did I do what I did? It is this obsessive focus on one goal at a time. Obsessive focus on one goal at a time. So when I was a little girl, I was a massive book nerd. I was not cool. I know. It's shocking. I went to the library. I would get books. I'd read forever. And one of my greatest dreams in life was to be an author. And anyone in here dream of writing a book or have written a book. Cool. I love that for you. I dreamed of this my whole life. And I always thought that if you just wrote a book, that then all of the magic would happen and you would get readers, and then suddenly you would be an author and you'd be like, murder, she Wrote. And it would be. I love that you guys got that joke. There is no way that a younger crowd would know what I'm talking about. I love this for us. So this was my dream forever. And I finally got the chance to have my very first book come out and. And five people read it. And I was so excited and then equally disappointed because I was like, well, I'm never gonna make a living as an Author if only 5 people read my book. So I need something I can focus on. For the longest time, the goal was just finish the book. And I decided a new goal. There was only one thing that I was working toward. I was gonna keep my kids alive. That was goal number one. Goal number two was, I am a New York Times best selling author. I am a New York Times best selling author. I am a New York Times best selling author. I got a journal. I went to a conference just like this one a long time ago. And this guy said that he wrote down his goals. And I thought that was crazy. So I was such a baby. And I'd never heard that before. Y' all write down your goals. It takes courage to write down your goals. It takes courage to call your shot, Especially those of you who have the courage to actually put those goals up around your house where other people can see the audacity. Right? I was not that cool. I was not that courageous. I just wrote it in a journal. Every single morning I woke up, I got my coffee, I would write my gratitude, and I would write down, I'm a New York Times best selling author. I would write it as if it had already happened every single day, over and over and over. And it meant that at the start of my day, I was laser focused on what it was I wanted to do. So I had that first book come out. Second book comes out, I'm like, this is it. I've been working hard. My readership has grown. That book sold 12 copies. I was like, oh, God, okay, next time. I'm a New York Times best selling author. Book 3. Book 4. Book 4 I really thought had a shot. I'm not gonna lie. I really thought that was the one. And I'm not exaggerating at all. When that book comes out, when you're an author, you find out a week later if you're book makes the list. So a week later I'm like, this is my moment. I wake up, nobody's calling me, y'.

[C]

All.

[B]

I cried so hard. I was so upset. I was. Do you know how hard it is to write five books that nobody cares about? Nobody cares. My family, my partner, everyone's like, oh, Rach, this is so cute. Every single morning coffee, I'm a New York Times best selling author. Six books it took to become a New York Times best selling author. Thank you. That book sold 6 million copies. Six books. And so what I'm wondering for us today is do you have the capacity to focus when nobody else thinks you can do it? When you should have given up a long time ago? When nobody believes why you're working this hard? When nobody believes, why you keep trying when nobody believes, Are you willing to keep showing up and doing the thing that nobody else can see? Are you willing to stay focused on the vision that you have for your life even when nobody else can see the vision? Does anyone have a goal for their life that they feel like they're the only one who can see? Will you raise your hand? Okay. Does anyone have a vision for their life that they think people in their life are quietly judging them for having? Yes. And so then if you're anything like I used to be, and you're a little bit or a lot of a people pleaser, you will waste all of your precious energy trying to convince other people to believe in your dream. So you can believe in your dream. Who knows what I'm talking about?

[A]

Yes.

[B]

So you're like, no, but it would be like this. You will waste your precious energy trying to convince Steve that this is a good idea. Steve can't see it. Like, I believe in something bigger than us. I believe in God or the universe or whatever you want to call this thing, something greater than we are. And I believe that that thing gave you this vision for a reason, because you are the one that can make it manifest. And if you spend all of your time trying to convince everybody else that your dream has validity, babe, you have no energy to actually pull it off. You have got to stay focused on the thing that you can see. And if you can't see a vision, does anyone here. Will you be honest? Are you like, I don't really know what I'm doing. I just came in from the lobby. I heard they had free cookies. That's okay. There are way more people in this room who feel confused about what the future is and are willing to raise their hand. So if you have the courage to do that again, honor yourself in that. The first step to figuring out where you want to go is admitting that you're lost. But you have got to have some kind of vision that pulls you forward. That is the truth. You can do anything. Anything. Whatever it is you want to do. Who wants to run a marathon? Just you. Let's go. Me and you. Who has dreamed, fantasized, looked at other people and felt vaguely jealous and thought, I'd like to run a race. Thank you. No, guys, we gotta hang out more. I will get you going, right? We get these ideas. Who looks at other people's life and thinks, like, I'd like to go. I'd like to have a home like that. I'd like to pay off my parents home. I'd like to send my kids to private school. I'd like to be able to do something. I'd like to get healthy. Who has goals like this for their life? Amazing. You need to have something. And I'm convinced that having just one thing that you aim at will give you so much more power. Imagine it like this. Imagine that you're on a soccer field and there are eight soccer balls in front of you. And every day you only get to kick eight times. That's all the energy you have. That's all the capacity. You have eight kicks. So right now you're like, okay, morning, protein bink. Okay. And they said, strength training after 50. Okay, awesome. And I gotta call Mama, right? And then I'm gonna go and I'm gonna volunteer for the church bake sale, and I'm gonna do this thing. And you've got all of this stuff going on. Imagine if you kicked one ball eight times. Imagine if you kicked two balls four times. Get focused in on what you want to do, and the most incredible things will happen to you. That's truth number one. There's a fire inside you you can't ignore. Stand still. Not a chance. You're a lifelong Learner who's come to this far. Now we are here to help you keep going further. Capella University. What can't you do? Visit Capella Edu to learn more.

[C]

Queen Carvania stood haloed by the morning sun. An army hung on her every word.

[B]

My champions, I have sold my chariot on Carvana. Twas a lovely suv, an inexplicably queenly offer. They're even coming to the castle to collect it. Tonight we feast. An offer you can feast on. Sell your car today on Carvana. Pickup fees may apply. Truth number two. I saved it for number two. Cuz it's hard this. I know right now you feel like you love me and we're best friends. This might be where that shifts. Truth number two. You are the problem. You are the problem. But here's the beauty of that. If you are the problem, what are you also the solution? Every single thing that you are frustrated with in your life. Not the world, not the political climate, not anything outside of yourself, your life. Every single thing you have allowed to be there. Oh, it's brutal. I know. I went to a business conference a million years ago and I heard this line that has stayed with me ever since. And even though it's about business, I feel like it also applies to families and relationships and all the things. All of the problems in a company are the result of the psychology at the very top. I'm going to say it one more time. All of the problems in a business are because of the psychology at the very top. Meaning whatever your mindset is, as the head of your business, as the head of your family, whatever your mindset is, is what is giving you the results you do or do not have. You are the problem. Which means you are also the solution. And the first time I heard this, I was like, oh, I know, I know. I'm the problem. That's why I'm here. This isn't about shaming yourself. This isn't about doing something that makes you feel worse. This is about being willing to look in a mirror and go, you know what? Yeah. I keep complaining about this thing, and also I do nothing to fix it. I keep being annoyed at this friend of mine who is draining energy from my life, but I don't cut her off. Right? I keep trying to find love, but the only people that I attract into my life are absolute garbage. But hello, the only variable that does not change is me. So what is it about me that thinks that that's what I deserve? You are the problem. And that means you can take Ownership of the experience and change the way that you approach things. And here's the deal. Remember I said you could do anything? Give yourself just like a tiny bit of credit for what you already have done. And I know that you don't. Who here has ever raised a child? Raise your hand. Thank you. Who's gone through school, Any kind of school? Did you graduate kindergarten? Great. Everyone in this room. Amazing. Who used to not know how to drive, and now they know how to drive. Who has children? And now you could drive with your knees while passing someone goldfish crackers and swerving around orange cones in a construction zone. Yeah, of course you can. There's so many things that you currently know how to do that you didn't used to know how to do. Hypothetically, let's say I'm planning a trip to Florida and I want to go to Disney. I have four kids from the ages of 9 to 19. Who knows where I could stay? Shout it out at me louder. Great. Actually, I changed my mind. I hate kids. I hate them. I have them. I don't want them on my Disney vacay. I want to be a Disney adult. Where would I stay then if I don't want to be around kids? But I'm going to Disneyland. Yeah. Why do you know that information? Did any of you, like, your mother was giving birth and the baby came out, you came out into the world and the doctor was like, oh, she knows. The concierge at the Grand Floridian. You know that information because you've learned it. You've learned it because you've had to. Which means that you can do anything. Which means that whatever you are facing in your life right now is something that you can absolutely change. So you get a choice. When you leave here, if you decide that you're gonna get laser focused, if you remember me awkwardly kicking invisible balls across the stage, you get home, you're like, I'm gonna do what that chick said and I'm gonna focus in. You get a choice. Do you wanna focus on a goal in the future? Do you want to focus on something that's going to pull you forward, which is amazing and really inspiring and really exciting? Or do you need to get super real with yourself right now and ask what you need to let go of? We think that the answer to our life is adding more things. I am going to tell you that the answer to your life, to a calmer life, to a better life, to doing work that you feel like matters, that you feel good in things side of, is actually about Editing, not about adding. In Italy, where I'm going this summer, I know who knows where I can stay? There's this amazing statue of David, right? And it's famous. I'm sure many of you have seen it in your travels. It's so beautiful. And it's amazing because it literally looks like. If you've ever seen any of those Italian. Like, the cool marble, it's so amazing. It looks like a real human skin. It's incredible. And when they asked the artist, how in the world did you make the statue of David look like this? He said, oh, obviously he doesn't sound like this. You know, I don't know how Michelangelo sounded the artist, not the Ninja Turtle. But I imagine that he was like, oh, yeah. He said, I just removed everything that wasn't David. And so I'm curious, in your life right now, what are the things that you actively do? What are the things that you currently take on? What is the guilt? What is the shame? What is the BS that you hold onto? What do you get on social media and see that is not yours to carry? This weekend is a full moon, and I'm a little bit of a witchy girl, and I love a full moon. I am. And the full moon is a beautiful opportunity. Every single month on the full moon, I let something go. I ask myself this question. In order to have the life that I want to have, in order to be the person that you say that you want to be, what must you let go of? To be him, to be her, to be them, what must you let go of? You can do anything, but you can't do everything. You are the problem. You are also the solution. And now for the lie. Two truths and one lie. And this is based on everything that I see on social media right now. There's a really popular trend right now with people sort of angry on my side of the algorithm. Angry and saying. It's really popular in personal development. No one is coming to save you. Have you seen that? Have you seen any of those videos? No one is coming to save you. Have you ever heard a quote, no one is coming to save you. Bs. You're coming to save you. You're already here. You're already doing the work. You have already believed in something bigger for yourself that you didn't think was possible a decade ago. Take stock for a minute. Who's sitting in this room? I want you to think back to Grandma and Grandpa if you knew your grandparents on either side, okay? And then think of who they were. Does anyone have grandparents who were poor. Same my grandparents, who I was very, very close to. My paternal grandparents were migrant farm workers. They picked cotton. My family migrated during the Dust bowl to a little town called Bakersfield. I know. Don't be jealous. Those of you who laughed, you understand. So my family migrated during the Dust bowl and my grandparents supported six children their entire lives. Picking cotton, picking potatoes, picking whatever was in season. I stand on the shoulder of giants and you do too. If grandma and grandpa didn't struggle financially, go back one more generation or go back again. I want you to think of your ancestors. I want you to think of what they went through so we could all be together at this beautiful conference in this air conditioned room, wearing these great outfits. Some of us with a blowout and a good bra. My grandma and grandpa have gone on to heaven. They couldn't even imagine what you're doing right now. They couldn't even imagine that someone would have a job where they would help families, where they would help individuals see a world that they didn't even know existed. You have this job where you help families to make memories they will never forget. You have this job in a world that is so freaking divided right now. You have this opportunity to let other people see humanity, to see nature, to be inspired to understand how small it actually is. How we are more alike than we are different. That's what you do. And not only do you do it, you get to do it here. And yes, in a lot of ways, this country is trash. I'm sorry I said it. But in so many ways, other people literally die trying to come here to have the opportunity that you have right now. And you're gonna play small. You're gonna be scared of what some stranger thinks about you for posting on your social media. You're gonna be scared to show up because of what the other girls from high school might think of you. Now you're not showing up or playing full out because of Marissa from high school.

[C]

What?

[B]

It's so stupid. You are living a life that your ancestors, not only did they dream about, they fought for. They fought for you to be here. They survived for you to be here. To have this one moment, to have this one opportunity. What are you gonna do with this life that you have been given? You are capable of more than you realize. But don't let the world convince you that you can't do it just because someone else did it first. Someone else did it already. Look, I learned how to be an author and I learned how to be an entrepreneur because I came to Conferences like this one, and I love this, I love these people because I'm these people. I'm down front taking my notes. But what I'm more curious about is back there is why you picked that spot in the room. And what happens if you're like me is that you come to something like this and that little voice that's in your head that's been playing on repeat since middle school is telling you all of the reasons that the other people you see deserve it more or they're better connected or they're smarter than you, or they already had an existing client base or they got a leg up or they have some. They don't have your story. And that's the point. Who you are, who you are and the stories that you come from, that is what makes you special. That is what makes you you. What do you think the biggest insecurity is coming up in this industry? Not from here. I love you guys from back there. Will you shout it at me? First time attendee, Someone who's a first time attendee, have some courage and tell me. Shout out some of the insecurities that show up for you. Validity. Meaning you're worried that people will not think you are qualified to plan their trip. Is that what it is? Yeah. Is that a concern for other people? Yeah. More than one. Okay, great. Meaning that you don't think you can plan a beautiful vacation for someone. Out of curiosity, for those of you who have this fear, have you ever planned a vacation for someone before? Raise your hand. Now if you've never done this before, ever, and you've never left your home, it's weird because you're in this room. So if you live in this conference room full time and you've never gone anywhere and you've never planned a trip, I get that there's some fear behind that. And there's a really easy solution, which is just to team up with someone who's done it before. That's how I learned to do what I do is I started working with people who knew what they were about. And amazing. Look at the room that you're inside of. What a gift, right? So we just crossed that right off our list. We're not worried about that type of validity. So we're worried about what? That it won't be good enough. That it won't be pretty enough. That they won't return. Who said that they won't return? Who's worried that the client will never come back? Babe, if they don't and you never heard from them, Again, that has nothing to do with you. Why would you assume that that has anything to do with you? That has not. Look, it is 2026. If they are upset with how you planned their trip, you're gonna know. You're gonna know they already made a TikTok about it. It has 1 million views. If they never come back, you don't know why. Maybe they lost their job. Maybe they moved to Peru. That's it, dude, they moved to Peru. It has nothing to do with you, but you decide that it's something that you did that was wrong. Look, every single thing that you're afraid of right now, every single thing that keeps you here and keeps you stuck, you could actually talk through and find the lie inside of every single thing. The problem is that we come into these spaces and we so badly want to belong. I know you won't admit it, but you so badly want to belong. You so badly want to find your people that you pretend you come to this opportunity where you can meet other people and talk about things that are hard, talk about things that are good, talk about how to find more clients. But you so want everyone to think that you have it totally together and your life is perfect. And it looks exactly how it does on social media, that you come into these spaces and you lie. I know for a fact it happens, because I used to do it, too, because I was like, well, I'm gonna fake my confidence. I'm gonna fake it till you make it. Do you know what's real? Just walking up to someone, being like, hey, hey, I'm Rachel, and I've never come here before. And they're like, amazing. Here's a pot of gold and a million dollars. Let me teach you everything I know. That's what I heard happens. I don't know about your industry, but in mine, can we do. Let's just do this. Let's give each other this gift right now. Who hoped that they could come here, and more than anything, they hoped that they could find a community of people that they could reach out to when they were scared, when they were unsure. Will you just raise your hand and keep your hand up? The rest of you are jerks. I'm sorry you all have so much community. You don't want one more awesome friends?

[C]

What?

[B]

Let's do it one more time. I don't think you are awake. Who is hoping to find more community? Connect with radio people, trade ideas. Look around the room. Look. Turn around. Look. Okay, so everyone in the room. Maybe there were like four jerks. Whatever you don't want them anyway. Except those of you who, like, you know, the bad boy. And then you're like, I can fix you. I can make you love me. That's a whole other speech. So if everybody here is interested in more friends and awesome community, let's play this card. Have you ever come to something like this and you were hoping to be able to make connection and then you left and you didn't meet one single person? Or maybe you, like. I don't know if people. Do you guys still, like, print business cards? Is that a thing or. No. Okay. Do you ever have stuff printed? Cards, postcards? If you came here with stuff printed, will you raise your hand? Yes. Look at this honesty. Have you ever come and then you got back home and. And you'd given out, like, one card, and it was like, for a free coffee in Phoenix. You're never going back there. Let's not be those people. Let's be the people who aren't afraid. So can we give each other this gift right now? Can we commit as a friendship community that for the rest of this conference, anybody is allowed to walk up to anybody and say, hi. Is that cool? Anybody? You walk up to someone and you say, hi. Hi, I'm Rachel. I'm new here. Hi, I'm Rachel. I do $30 trillion as a travel advisor. Whatever your story is, right? You're just gonna walk up and you're gonna say hi, and I'm gonna give you a code word. I'm gonna give you a safe word. That's also another speech. My husband and I have this word that we use when neither of us wants to make a decision. I'm just gonna give it to you so, you know you can pass it out at the conference if you're feeling nervous, you want to walk up to someone and you want to say hi, but you like, oh, gosh, I don't know what to say. I'm going to be just awkward, and I'm going to be like a T. Rex, and my arms are going. It's going to be weird when neither of us wants to make a decision. Whoever says the word blueberry first just remove themselves from decision making. It's awesome. The other person is required to figure out where we're going for dinner. Okay, so if you want to meet someone while you're here but you feel nervous about it, you're going to walk up and be like, blueberry. I am Sam and I follow boy bands around full time, but this is my side gig. Like, whatever your story is Icebreaker guy. So blueberry is your word. We've talked about. If you're feeling nervous about how to feel valid in what you're doing. What are the other things that you're afraid of? What's the insecurity? We solved all the problems. Amazing. What? They'll say no. They'll say no. That's so good. Who is worried that if they pitch a client, they'll say no? I got a gift. They'll totally say no. They'll totally say no. Who's worried that if they try something, they might suck at it? Yeah. Here's my other gift. You will absolutely suck. There's a very specific reason that the video that plays before I come on stage shows my very first speeches. And that hair. That was before I knew about extensions. Guys. Okay? I used to stand on stage like this. I wrote my entire speech on 3 by 5 index cards. And the whole time I just stood there and my hands shook. Have you ever been on stage and your hands are shaking and you know that they know that you're scared and you're like, yeah, you're gonna have to suck at it when you're trying to do anything new. I don't care if you've been in this industry for 10 years. The rate at which media is changing, the rate at being able to use AI now and how that levels the playing field, like, you are constantly gonna have to suck at new things. And if you are willing to suck at it for a minute, you can get better. And so can I just say, when I get to give speeches like this, one of the most common refrains is, I'm afraid of failure. I'm afraid of failing. Does anyone have a fear of failing? Yeah. Can I challenge you? You're not afraid of failing. You're afraid of them watching you fail. And that's your ego. That's not your reality. That's not your capabilities. That's not what you can or can't do. That is your ego telling you that if she thinks you're not any good, then you must not be any good. So can I challenge you? Instead of being afraid that you're gonna get no's, what if you shifted your perspective completely and said, for the rest of this year, I want to get turned down 100 times? 100 clients are going to turn me down until I'm done with my mission. The most amazing things happen when you actually start aiming at the no, you stop being afraid of it. When you stop being afraid that you'll be rejected, you start receiving the opposite. Because by the way, when you go up to someone and you're like, hey, you wouldn't want to let me be your travel advisor, would you? They're like, absolutely not. Please step away. Versus when you're like, oh, my gosh, I just got back from the most amazing vacation. I absolutely peed my pants. I got into the hotel room, champagne was waiting, strawberries were there. Can I tell you everything about it? You are literally going to die. How different is that energy when you're not afraid of getting rejected, when you're just excited about telling someone something new? Really cool stuff happens. Years ago, when I was learning to talk on stages, I was watching an old clip of Oprah, who is my favorite human on the planet, and she said this line that I think is really potentially helpful for you guys. She said, nerves are a selfish emotion. Nerves are a selfish emotion because if you're nervous to talk to someone, you're making it entirely about you. You're making it about what they think of you. You have the potential, because I believe this about travel. You have the potential to change someone's entire worldview. You have the potential to let a family go on a trip with a member of the family who won't be here next time year. Yeah. You have a potential to build something for someone that they couldn't dream for themselves. You can do that. But you have to be willing to make the experience about them and not what you're worried they're going to think about you. The life that you want, the business that you want, the person you want to be. It is on the other side of your willingness to care about what Marissa thinks. You are better than that. You have fought. I know you. You have fought so hard to be here. I get to stand on stages like this all the time, so I understand. There are people in this room who didn't think they would still be here. There are people who have had to battle back from depression. There are people who have survived a divorce they thought was going to kill them. They have survived grief. They have overcome the most incredible things. You have overcome the most incredible things. Give yourself some freaking credit. You think this is gonna be too hard for you? Babe, think of where we were a decade ago. Think of the worst years. Think of you are still here. You are still here. And where you go from here, that is so up to you. But can I tell you something? You have everything that you need. You don't have to look outside yourself. You don't have to do that. 22 year old girl's morning routine. You don't have to do the cold plunge. You don't have to read another book. You have everything that you need right now inside of you. You just have to believe. And then you're gonna take one little step in the direction of where you wanna go. And then one more little step. And yes, it's scary. And yes, they might say no. But remember that random chick? She told me that I'm aiming at a hundred rejections, so I'm just gonna keep going. And maybe you start a club. Oh, my God. Maybe you all start, like, a 100 rejections club. Yes. With all the new friends that you're gonna meet. Oh, my God. The club's called Blueberry.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

Yes. We did it. This life can be whimsical and fun and exciting and something more than it is right now. But you have to believe that for yourself. And then you have to take action that gets you there. I'm so grateful for the time, guys. I'm so grateful, truly. It was. It was someone years ago who helped me plan a trip. Rachel isn't in this room, is she? Because I'd be so rad. I only work with people who have my same name. An incredible travel advisor named Rachel Dicker is the first person who taught me how to travel in style. And in teaching me how to travel in style, she changed the way that I saw myself. I was a little girl who came from farm hands, guys. And all of a sudden, I found myself in these experiences that were bigger than I could dream for myself. Because someone else had seen a bigger dream and helped me dream it too. That's what you do. Keep on going.

[A]

The rachel hollis podcast is produced by me, rachel hollis. It's edited by andrew weller and jack noble.

[B]

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[C]

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