Ep 221 | Why Mindset is 90% of Your Success as an Etsy Seller with @Jennyfromtheshopp

Summary

Podcast Summary:

How to Sell Your Stuff on Etsy, Ep 221
“Why Mindset is 90% of Your Success as an Etsy Seller”
With Lizzie Smiley & Jenny (@Jennyfromtheshopp)
Feb 19, 2026

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Overview

This episode dives deep into the critical role mindset plays in Etsy success. Host Lizzie Smiley welcomes Jenny (@Jennyfromtheshopp) for a candid, practical, and hope-filled conversation about manifestation, vision, consistency, and the real challenges of running an Etsy business. Listeners are treated to personal stories, actionable mindset tips, and a healthy dose of tough love for anyone navigating the notorious “messy middle” of entrepreneurship.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Reunited: Growth, Friendship, and Entrepreneurial Seasons

• Lizzie and Jenny reconnect after nine months, noting personal and professional growth.
• Both weathered demanding seasons in 2025 but emerged “leveled up,” bringing fresh perspective to mindset work.
• They highlight the importance of entrepreneurial friendships and support networks.

Jenny (05:25): “I feel like when I come on your podcast, it’s like I’m going on vacation with my favorite cousins.”

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2. Manifestation Stories & The Power of Vision

• The episode revisits Jenny’s famous “index card in Greece” story, where she wrote a present-tense vision of her dream life, forgot about it, and later realized she was living everything she’d written.
• Jenny shares guidelines for writing vision/manifestation affirmations:
  • Write in the present tense.
  • Avoid negative language.
  • Don’t tie outcomes to specific timelines, amounts, or sources—allow for more/better possibilities.
  • Focus on feelings and experiences rather than fixed numbers.

Jenny (08:04): “You have to write it in present tense as if you already have it... It feels weird. Until one day it isn’t—until one day it’s your life.”

Lizzie (12:05): “The higher achievement is to leave the numbers and things off and focus on the feelings, the lifestyle, the experience.”

• Both hosts talk about vision boards, energetic alignment, and how specificity can be limiting or empowering depending on context.

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3. Letting Go of Timelines and Trusting the Process

• Both discuss the anxiety that comes from attaching timelines to goals.
• Jenny models non-attachment: she’s manifesting a major goal right now but resists announcing it until it’s fully realized.
• Every “no” or delay is reframed as a blessing or redirection.

Jenny (17:16): “If you’ve been trying to achieve something and you feel like you keep getting knocked down, a lot of times, that’s just a redirection towards what you’re really meant for.”

• Lizzie underscores the “time delay” of manifestation—her dream of living on a farm took 15 years but was ultimately fulfilled within miles of her original vision.

Lizzie (20:47): “That picture we took that hung on the wall of our house for over 10 years was six miles from our current farm.”

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4. Early Manifestation & Subconscious Visioning

• Jenny reflects on childhood vision-boarding (circling pictures in magazines of Greek islands and celebrities like John Stamos, years before marrying a Greek man and moving to Greece!)
• The key: Our repeated focus (conscious or unconscious) shapes reality.

Jenny (25:48): “I was vision boarding when I was little… Everything we do is, in a way, manifesting our future.”

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5. The Science of Mindset: Neuroscience & Joe Dispenza

• Both hosts are fans of Joe Dispenza’s Becoming Supernatural. They appreciate how it grounds manifestation in brain science and quantum physics.
• Jenny realized she’d intuitively practiced a key Dispenza exercise: pairing music with visualization to embody her future success.

Jenny (32:05): “One of the exercises says to listen to a song that makes you feel good and to envision what you want. I had a flashback—I was doing that… just not really knowing it.”

• Emphasis on feeling the desired state and leveraging neuroscience.

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6. Dealing With Hard Seasons & the “Messy Middle”

• Both are open about struggling with tough seasons (mental health, hormonal changes, life crises).
• Key advice for low-mindset times includes:
  • Self-talk and inner compassion (“follow the plan, not the mood”)
  • Understanding hormonal phases or external triggers (PMS, moon cycles)
  • Therapy and support from “energizing” people
  • Movement (walking, exercising)
  • Gratitude practices
  • Using media (podcasts, audiobooks) to shift energy

Jenny (38:09): “My inner voice doesn’t stop talking… I have a conversation with myself: ‘You’ve got this. It’s all going to be okay. Let’s think of things we’re grateful for…’"

Lizzie (44:32): “Listening to things can really help… it gets me out of my roiling thoughts and into hope-filled, practical action.”

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7. Strict Joy: Discipline, Consistency, and the Importance of Mindset

• Discussion turns to the crucial period after the “dopamine hit” of starting fades—the “messy middle.”
• Success depends on showing up consistently, even when bored or discouraged.

Jenny (52:57): “Follow the plan, not the mood. If you want to be successful, you gotta follow the plan… I was relentless. Always following the plan, not the mood.”

• The mindset must carry you through times when results are slow or ambiguous.
• Comparison: online business is “the school of hard knocks”—requiring patience, daily effort, and resilience.
• Print-on-demand and digital goods are celebrated for their low risk (compared to brick-and-mortar) but still require showing up.

Jenny (64:03): “Put up a listing a day. When you look at it that way, you feel so grateful for this opportunity… You can easily take advantage of this.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Visioning and Manifestation
  • “It feels weird. Until one day it isn’t—until one day it’s your life.” — Jenny (08:04)
  • “Manifesting your life has more to do with how you train yourself to think and feel than tangible results.” — Lizzie (11:39)
  • “Rules to it: never put a time limit on it…” — Jenny (08:50)
• Dealing With Setbacks
  • “Every no has been a blessing, and this will all make sense when I can share it with you. Every time I’ve gotten a no, a couple months later I realized that wasn’t meant for me and it only brought me closer to what was meant for me.” — Jenny (15:22)
• Science-Backed Mindset
  • “Positive thoughts are much stronger than negative thoughts… Positive thoughts have a much stronger charge.” — Lizzie (27:59)
• The “Messy Middle”
  • “Follow the plan, not the mood… do it right, don’t be lazy. If you half-ass it, you get half-assed results.” — Jenny (52:56)
  • “You literally can’t fail if you keep listing. I don’t know how long it’s going to take you… but it’s all learnable because I wasn’t naturally inclined at all.” — Lizzie (58:43)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [05:25] – Jenny on the comfort and support of returning to the podcast
• [08:01] – Jenny’s index card manifestation rules
• [11:39] – Lizzie and Jenny discuss specifics (“feeling” results vs. “measuring” them)
• [17:16] – Jenny reframes setbacks and waiting as blessings/redirects
• [20:47] – Lizzie’s 15-year manifestation story (moving to a farm)
• [25:48] – Jenny’s “childhood vision-board” magazine story
• [29:36] – The power of science-backed mindset habits (Joe Dispenza discussion)
• [32:05] – Music, visualization, and embodying the desired state
• [37:08] – Jenny’s mother-wisdom for hard seasons (“nothing is permanent”)
• [44:32] – Lizzie’s mental health tools (therapy, meditation, media, gratitude)
• [52:57] – The key mantra for Etsy success: “follow the plan, not the mood”
• [57:17] – Understanding the “messy middle”
• [64:03] – The privilege of digital entrepreneurship

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Actionable Takeaways

• Manifestation: Write and visualize your goals as if they already exist. Focus on experiences and feelings, not just numbers or deadlines.
• Mindset First: Recognize that mindset is the majority of entrepreneurial success. Discipline, self-talk, and vision carry you through “the messy middle.”
• Consistency Over Perfection: Show up and do the boring work. Sustain efforts even when excitement fades.
• Leverage Science: Learn about the neuroscience of visioning and manifestation to ground your mindset work.
• Get Support: Use community, mentors, and resources (like the Scaling Society) for accountability and inspiration.
• Grace Through Tough Times: Give yourself empathy and seek out routines, information, or people who help you reset and move forward.

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Final Words

• Mindset is the make-or-break factor for Etsy sellers—strategy matters, but belief, consistency, and resilience matter more.
• You’re “one listing away” from a breakthrough—don’t quit too soon.
• The opportunity to create online is unparalleled; approach it with gratitude, discipline, and vision.

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For more:

• Catch the exclusive after-show inside Lizzie’s Scaling Society for a deep dive on mindset practices and “becoming the person” who succeeds.
• Connect with @Jennyfromtheshopp on IG and TikTok for daily motivation.

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“Go make something awesome!” — Lizzie (66:14)

Transcript

[Lizzie Smiley]

Hey, my name is Lizzie Smiley and

[Lizzie Smiley (Podcast Host Outro)]

I absolutely love helping people connect with

[Lizzie Smiley]

their calling and all the tools they need to kick roadblocks and excuses right

[Lizzie Smiley (Podcast Host Outro)]

out the door so they can cultivate

[Lizzie Smiley]

the life they dream about.

[Lizzie Smiley (Podcast Host Outro)]

If you want to launch, grow, pivot or scale your Etsy shop, or you've always wanted to develop the mindset and skills to run your own business, then I'm your girl. I've had that entrepreneurial spirit going strong since my very first lemonade stand. And now I'm a work at home mama with multiple online companies and a full time Etsy shop. All while being present with my kids for the everyday chaos and most important milestones. On this podcast, we'll talk about all things business, mindset, Etsy creativity, dazzling our customers, and so much more. There's plenty of room at this table for you, so scooch on in and let's go.

[Jenny]

I'm holding nothing back.

[Lizzie Smiley (Podcast Host Outro)]

Welcome to how to sell your stuff on Etsy. I'm so glad you're here.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Hey guys. I am so excited to have Jenny back for another mindset episode. It has been way too long. We have both been little worker bees, which I can't tell you how good it is to be to be back together today and to get to talk about all the things and to share with you and inspire you. Like we are just gonna get right into it. The two things that I want you to know about today is I want to make sure, especially if you are new to around here, there is an incredible tool. It's one of the only things that I ever recommend that you pay for in building your Etsy business. And that is it's called Profit Tree. Profit Tree is an app that integrates with your Etsy shop and then you use it in Chrome and it actually lets you spy on your competition. So when you go and do a search on Etsy and let's say you're like looking at listings that that are competitive to yours, you can see how old they are, you can see exactly how many sales they've made, how much money they're making. You can see all of this incredible data that's going to help you build stronger products. You're be able to compete even better and make more money on Etsy. I think it's like one of the few things they have a special offer right now for a lifetime Access for just one time fee. So you're paying $67 just once you get lifetime access to this incredible tool. One of the things that they've just recently Added that I think makes it even better is now you can actually see the tags that someone has used on their listing. So not just how the listing is performing on Etsy, but actually what tags they're using to rank for their SEO. And that is a huge deal. And it has some other features that I have not seen any of the other tools show. Like it'll actually tell you when a product is in demand. So you typically can't see in the search results. Like if it's sitting in people's carts and things like that, you usually have to click over to the listing. Profit tree will tell you on their like summary what like whether or not it's in demand, if it's in carts. And that's like a really good indicator because you can predict something is going to become a bestseller that way. If it doesn't have a bestseller badge but it's in 20 plus carts, it's on its way there and you have an advantage of being able to see its performance before other people do. There's lots more to it. Profitree is amazing. I will go ahead and link the special discount below where you can get it for the one time fee. And also my tutorial video that shows you how I use it. It's literally just, it's like a tool that I use every single day, would not live without. I highly recommend. It's one of the few investments I recommend that you make. The other thing I want to let you know about is my all inclusive membership Scaling Society. So. So if you're new to Etsy and you're trying to figure things out or you've been here for a while but things aren't clicking, you might need some extra help and you might have questions. And this is what I have created for people who want to go deeper with me. Scaling Society has everything you need to succeed on Etsy. We have all kinds of courses and workshops to teach you everything from SEO and how to use AI and how to understand the Etsy algorithm and how to create listing photos. Literally all of the details. I have a ton of done for you things. So if you still need to polish up your shop and get some better branding in there, I have templates for you. I have done for you SEO templates. I have two coaching calls a month that you can join me on and ask questions, get a shop audit, a membership on school where you can get feedback at any time, you can get peer reviews, you can ask questions to coaches, you can get that daily encouragement. This is where you want to be. If you are really serious about Etsy and you need some extra help. I have just tailored it for everything, like everything you could need to be able to learn scale. And the most important thing, here's what people the email that I get most often or the DM people are overwhelmed. I really want to do this Etsy thing. I think it's real. I want to do this. I just don't know what to do next. I don't know where to focus. And I have in there an exclusive tool that I've created just for Scaling Society called my Etsy Success Roadmap. And it's going to help you decide, determine where you are on your course as an Etsy seller and what you need to focus on at that particular time, what you should be refining, what you should be studying, where you should focus. It gives you that clarity so you can get rid of the overwhelm and then it'll actually point you to within the membership, what resources should you be digging into to sharpen that thing? So I really hope to see you over there. It's a really great fit. We have hundreds of people who are learning right now and you'll be able to benefit from their growth as well. So you won't be in this alone anymore. You don't have to do it alone. And this month Jenny is going to be guest speaking in there. So we're going to be going from recording today and finishing the conversation over in the Scaling Society on a special behind the scenes podcast. Enough about that. Let's welcome Jenny to the podcast and dig into all things mindset. I know you guys have been waiting for this. Jenny, you guys, we couldn't stop talking so I literally had to just hit record without warning her. Welcome back to the podcast.

[Jenny]

Thank you. I'm so happy to be here as always. I feel like when I come on your podcast, it's like I'm going on vacation with my favorite cousins type of feel. Does that make sense? It's just like a exciting, homey, safe feeling.

[Lizzie Smiley]

It's. I'll tell you what, I feel like it's like healing for me every time and I don't even. So yes.

[Jenny]

Also, I love our vibe because it's always late here and I just feel like I'm having like a pajama party.

[Lizzie Smiley]

We're cousins. I love that. I had never thought of that word, but that's perfect.

[Jenny]

Yeah.

[Lizzie Smiley]

I was looking last night and we haven't done this for nine months because we've both been in such growth places. Yeah. Wow.

[Jenny]

That's crazy.

[Lizzie Smiley]

It doesn't feel that long, does it?

[Jenny]

No, no, no. I. I think yes and no. It doesn't feel that long that we've last done this, but the last year felt really long. If that makes.

[Lizzie Smiley]

That's why, like, oh, this timing is perfect. Because what's so funny is we've both. Jenny and I, like, we talk on Marco Polo. I don't know if you guys know about that app. I feel like the biggest, I don't know, almost boomer saying that. For sure. Millennial. For sure. Millennial. So we're on Marco Polo, which is where you can video chat, but it's not real time because, you know, she's in Greece, right? So we keep up there. But we're the kinds of friends where we get, like, wrapped up in stuff and we don't talk for months, and then. And then we reconnect, like, absolutely nothing has happened. But what's really cool is this time we found out we were both kind of going through it last, like in 2025, the second half, 2025 especially. We were both going through it, but we're also, like, very. We're both very leveled up now. So this is like, I. I honestly can't wait to have nine months later because of the strides in mindset we made.

[Jenny]

I agree a thousand percent.

[Lizzie Smiley]

I'm gonna switch the order of what I want to talk to you about. I think we need to start with. You would not believe how many DMS and emails I've gotten about people talking about. You guys have to go back and listen to the past episodes, which are so worth the binge if you don't know what I'm talking about. About your Greece, like, index cards. Your, like, what do you call it? Like, a vision card or. Yes, yes. So you'll have to go back and hear the story if you have no idea what we're talking about. But she basically wrote down her. What she wanted her life to look like, which is mindset 101, visualization, affirmation stuff. And she forgot about it and then found it in a pocket of a coat when she was living the life. And she pulled it out on the beach and read it. You've got to hear it. But, like, that has really. That echoes off of the walls of people's hearts to this day, Jenny. And so many people have gone and done the same thing, and they have even seen. In this time, they've actually seen the manifest.

[Jenny]

So cool.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Well, first of all, how does that feel?

[Jenny]

So cool. I love. I love that people are trying it out and it's working for them too, because it, it's like, it feels a little, I don't know, like, the first time I ever did it, I was like, this is crazy. As I was like writing it out, I'm like, this feels crazy because you have to write it in present tense as if you already have it. And that feels weird. And like you read it over and over again and it feels weird. Until one day it isn't until one day it's your life. Like, it's just so. It's crazy. I don't know.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Like, I. I wrote those like 15 years ago and expected things to happen really fast because I put like a time on it and it didn't happen. And so it was. You can't do that. That does not go well.

[Jenny]

Rules to it. I should, I should say the rules. Okay, do it so you never want to put a time limit on it. Like, you never want to be disappointed. I'm going to. Or not. Okay, you. It needs to be in present tense. So you're. Instead of saying like, I'm going to quit my job and move to Greece, it's, I quit my job. I'm financially free. I live in Greece now. Like, I wrote it in present tense as if it already happened. So that's like, the main thing is to write it in present tense. Don't write any negative words on it. Like, let's say if you want to get. Be debt free. Don't write, I am debt free. Like, debt is like a negative word. So be very, like choosy with the words that you choose. And another example is like. So I remember the first time I did it was back in like 2021. And I wrote, I made $10,000 on Etsy this month. And I remember my mentor at the time was like, don't put. He said, don't put how much? And don't put where it's from. So he told me to erase the 10k and also really Etsy. And this was crazy. Pretty life changing because I forget exactly what I worded it to. But then like the following. Within the next year is when I started teaching about Etsy and print on demand and starting to make money that way as well. So I was like, whoa, he was so right. Because I didn't just, like, limit my. The money. He's like, you don't, like, leave it up to the universe where that money's gonna come from and how much money you're gonna get. You're limiting yourself by writing $10,000 and where it's from. Let the universe decide those things for you. So, like, I don't know. But I feel like I'm messing this up though, because you do want to be pretty specific.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Yeah. No. That's why I want to. I want to understand that better. Like, I totally get the where it's from part. That still bothers me because I'm a control freak. I. So. But I get it. Yes.

[Jenny]

Is limiting you though, because what if you made $50,000, 000. You know, so.

[Lizzie Smiley]

But how do you know you've. How do you know you've made it? How do you know you've accomplished or manifested the thing if you don't know specifically what the thing is?

[Jenny]

So for me, I started writing like I am financially free. I dreamed as big as possible. Like I am financially free. I have time, freedom. And then those things happened. I didn't put. I didn't tie a number to it. I thought about, like, what. I don't. I don't know.

[Lizzie Smiley]

You know what? Actually, no. What you're saying is making a lot of sense. And when we get into our next topic, which is like, the work we've been doing in some of the Joe Dispenza meditations, I'm gonna expose to you my weak link and why this is hard for me having. Manifesting the life that you want has so much more to do with how you train yourself to think and feel than it does about tangible results.

[Jenny]

Yes. For sure.

[Lizzie Smiley]

So the higher achievement is to leave the numbers and the things off and focus on the feelings, the lifestyle, the experience, as opposed to. So I think I. I have on here. This is kind of fun. I don't do cards, but I have a vision board right next to me and it has pictures of the things that I'm believing for that I'm manifesting. And so I do have a check written out to myself in a dollar amount for, like, my monthly income.

[Jenny]

Mm.

[Lizzie Smiley]

And I'm. I have come tantalizingly close to it.

[Jenny]

Love it.

[Lizzie Smiley]

I do think, though, that it energetically has pulled me down and I probably would have hit it faster if I didn't have that up there. Now that we're talking about this, Rip

[Jenny]

it up right now. No, I'm kidding.

[Lizzie Smiley]

What did you say? It cut out.

[Jenny]

Rip it up. Rip it up.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Okay.

[Jenny]

No, no. Oh, no. I don't know.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Oh, no.

[Jenny]

She's ripping it up.

[Lizzie Smiley]

This. Or something better now manifests itself to me. Yes.

[Jenny]

Thank you, Jesus.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Yes. Or something better.

[Jenny]

More than that number.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Yep. I Am, however, going to leave the thing up there that has the amount I want in my bank account, because that only makes me feel energetically aligned. Yeah.

[Jenny]

And you know what? Okay. You know what? I'm okay with writing an amount. I will say, because you can achieve that amount and then you redo it next time.

[Lizzie Smiley]

So that's what I was gonna do.

[Jenny]

I think that's okay. I mean, who is that person to say, like, they don't know for sure, you know, I mean, these are things that we can test. I was just guided that way. And I appreciated that advice to change those things, because by just feeling like Etsy was. I just thought Etsy was going to be the only way. And that's okay, too. And it could have been. I matched my teaching salary. I was living fine off of Etsy income for two years. Completely fine. But when he said that to me, it made the wheels turn in my head. Like, what does he mean? Like, I already quit my job. Like, this is it. I made it. I did it, you know, but it made me say, whoa, like, money can come from other places. What does he mean by that? And then I was just kind of open. Like, just open, I would say, is the word. And I just truly wanted to share about Etsy and Print on demand with people. And that's kind of how I started making Money on, like, TikTok and Instagram was just from, like, sharing with people. And I was like, whoa, another income stream. That's pretty crazy. He was right. Like, I shouldn't have just limited it to Etsy, you know, it just. It just opened the door to so many other things.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Have you. Okay, so this is where I really wanted to get to. Have you done any since then? Like, are you working on, like, have you manifested. Do you have any new stories?

[Jenny]

Do I. I have one on my fridge right now, and I'm not ready to share it, and we can talk about why in a minute. But I have it on my refrigerator because it's in a spot where I remember to read it every day. Actually. I, like, I have it memorized now. You get to the point where you have it memorized and you can think about your affirmation at any point in the day and try to just say it in your head. When you have a moment, when you're brushing your teeth or taking a sip of your coffee, I like to match it with something that makes me feel good. So when I'm sipping my coffee, I'll say it. Actually, I read it and stir my coffee in the morning. And sip on my coffee because it's you. When you attach some. Your vision with a good feeling, that's when it. When the magic, like really happens, you know? But anyways, I do have one. I constantly have one. And then when I achieve it, I make a new one. I constantly have them. This one I've been. Lizzie doesn't even fully know, but she could probably guess what it's about just from like what we've talked about. But I've been calling this in, could say praying on it for a couple years now, what it. It's been. You know, I just can't wait to share it with you guys next podcast because I know it's already mine. I'm gonna. Okay, here's the thing. I know it's mine in spirit form, making its way to me in physical form. We have these visions and these dreams. Our thoughts are so much faster and they're in this spiritual realm. It takes time for them to become three day, if that makes sense. So what you're praying for isn't just gonna poof, appear right in front of you. We live in this realm where there's time and, you know, so I know that it's mine. It's just making its way to me in the physical, in the 3D realm, if that makes sense. But this has been something that has been a lot of ups and downs for a couple years now. I've gotten a lot of no's with it, and I will say every no has been a blessing, and this will all make sense when I can share it with you. But every time I've gotten a no, a couple months later, I realized that wasn't meant for me and it only brought me closer to what was meant for me. And at the time, when you're going through something like this, you don't see it at the time, but when you progress a little bit more and you find like, exactly what it is, you know, like all those no's were a blessing. So I hope that helps someone on here. If you're thinking, like, if you've been trying to achieve something and you feel like you keep getting knocked down, a lot of times, like, that's just a redirection towards what you're really meant for. So, yes. I have my refrigerator right now, and I'm so close. I'm so close. You know why I know I'm so close? Because I am there. If I close my eyes, I can visualize it to a T. It's mine, I know it is.

[Lizzie Smiley]

So that this is Just gonna be a two week continued, and we're gonna hear all about it later this year. And I cannot freaking wait.

[Jenny]

Yeah.

[Lizzie Smiley]

But here's the thing. The timeline doesn't matter. I. I have one of these that I want to share because as I alluded to, I really can struggle with the timepiece. Yeah. I am a doer. I am a. Right.

[Jenny]

You never know what could, like, happen. Like, that's something I'm struggling with. I'll be honest. Like, I keep think saying to my husband, like, it's gonna happen by March, by April. April. March is when I feel. But it's like, why am I putting a time on it? It could happen.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Yeah. You've got to stop that. Because if you. If you're doing that, you don't already have it, and you have to energetically already have it for it to come.

[Jenny]

It's really. Yeah, yeah.

[Lizzie Smiley]

No, it's a bit of a mind meld. And this is part of the growth. This is part of the process that you have to. This is. I love it also. It makes me feel a lot, a lot more normal that I'm not the only one who struggles with this. But I think it's very normal. I think I slow myself down by obsessing so much on the timeline. I think things could happen for me a lot faster if I could just be in the moment and feel and be grateful right where I am. Not that I'm. Not that I'm settling. It's just that I'm all I am. Trusting. Trusting is a really big word for me. Trusting. Yes. So about. This is crazy. So I have one of these again. I've never used cards or. I have. And I didn't like the experience, so I switched how I do it about 15 years ago. It used to be. My husband and I have wanted to move to a farm for almost as long as I've known him. And we started about a little more than 15 years ago. We started on the weekends. We didn't have kids yet. We would go and we would just drive out in the country. And I always wanted to feel where do we want to be? Because energetically, I care so much about what it's like around me and you. Almost. That almost doesn't make sense until you've felt somewhere that was wrong.

[Jenny]

Yeah.

[Lizzie Smiley]

So we would go and we would drive around all of the outskirts of San Antonio to figure out where, when we get to move to a farm, are we going to be. And you all know that we moved to a farm last. No, May of 20, 24. But here's what's really crazy that my husband just told me yesterday. I couldn't believe this. Fifteen years ago when we would drive around. There was one time when the. We. We crossed. We drove past this field that was so beautiful. It was exactly kind of where I wanted to live. And there were ruled bales of hay and the trees had changed color just a little bit. It was really picturesque. And we took out his phone was better at the time. We took out his phone and we took a panoramic picture and we actually developed it and hung it on the wall of our old house. Beautiful. Just this is where we want to live. And we took some others, too, of like this barn that we liked some other places. But anyway, he told me yesterday that that picture we took that hung on the wall of our house for over 10 years was six miles from our current farm.

[Jenny]

Oh, my gosh.

[Lizzie Smiley]

You need to know that we. We covered at least 152 or 200 miles around San Antonio of where we were going to be. Tell me that wasn't manifested.

[Jenny]

That's wild. I'm not surprised, though. That's amazing.

[Lizzie Smiley]

It's just. But 15 years, guys, and I'm. I know some of you are like, well, that kills it for me. I'm like, well, you know, and I was just. I. I just saw a social media post a couple days ago that really got me. This girl's got hundreds of thousands of followers. She actually. You. I don't remember her name, but you probably would love her.

[Jenny]

And I have a story next, too, that you just.

[Lizzie Smiley]

You're up. You're up. Let me just. I have to tell you this because you're going to totally know what I'm talking about. She. She says on the reel, it says, like, someone said to her, you're so lucky because she, like, makes all this money, has all these followers, and she goes, thanks. I've posted three times a day for 13 years.

[Jenny]

Yeah.

[Lizzie Smiley]

And I'm just like, right? Yeah, yeah.

[Jenny]

But yes, some people do have to put, like, they say an overnight success is never an overnight success. We just. You people just don't see, like, all the work that has been put into, like, people will say, oh, she just got lucky. It's like, no, you have no idea. But like, at the same time, I do feel lucky and blessed. But you know what it was. It was having a vision or it was having a. Why so strong and having a vision and then taking action towards it. You have to take action towards it. But let me which we can talk about more, too. This is almost embarrassing. And I've never told anybody this, aside from my husband. Okay.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Because I'm. Tell the world, Jenny.

[Jenny]

Thousands of our closest friends, because I'm embarrassed. But, like, I really did manifest this life without knowing it, like, prior to knowing about manifestation and working towards this life. So think back, Jenny. Little Jenny. She is. Okay, let's start. Really little Jenny. Probably like, less than 10. Like, younger than 10. When. I don't know. When did we start watching Full House? I don't know. I had a crush. I had a crush on. On Uncle Jesse, which is so creepy because I was like, this little. I thought he was so handsome, right?

[Lizzie Smiley]

John Stamos. We all did.

[Jenny]

I had a little crush on him. Then I get a little bit older and I'm gonna age myself here probably. But there was this magazine called J14 Magazine, and it's for, like 14 year olds, I'm guessing, or teenagers. And I wasn't even, like, quite 14 yet. I was like 12, 13, whatever. Me and my best friend would get these J14 magazines and we would circle everything in it that we liked, not knowing that we're kind of like, wow, right? So. And I vividly remember this, which is strange. I don't have that many childhood memories. And for some reason, I remember this. So we would always circle the things that we liked, right? So I circled Freddie Prinze Jr. Okay. I had a huge crush on him, too. Turns out that Jesse, Uncle Jesse and Freddie Prinz Jr are both Greek. Okay, Then I specifically remember circling Santorini, Greece, in the J14 magazine. But I didn't know it was Santorini because I don't know. I was not a reader back then, guys. I just kind of was like a picture looker. So I. I circled the picture of these beautiful white buildings with the blue tops. Didn't read, like, what it was. I was like, oh, that's beautiful. I'm going there someday. Circled it, okay? Then a couple years later, I'm really aging myself here. But, like, the Internet's more, like, happening. And Pinterest came about, and for some reason I searched, for some reason the white buildings and blue tops popped in my head. And I was like, oh, I want to know where that was. So I typed in the Pinterest in the search. White buildings, blue roofs or whatever. And I found out that it was Santorini, Greece. And I was like, oh, I'm definitely going there someday. That's beautiful. And then forget about all that and fast forward decades. I'm married to A Greek man.

[Lizzie Smiley]

And he was just like John Stamos and Freddie Prince Jr. He nos is like their doppelganger.

[Jenny]

Like, if they had a baby Junior a little bit. Like, a little tiny bit. But so. And we went to Santorini for our honeymoon, and then, like, now we live in Greece, and we just. We were, like, having some wine like, a month ago, and this all came back to me, and we were laughing so hard. We're like, oh, my God, that's just so crazy. Like, I was like, vision boarding when I was a little. Isn't that insane?

[Lizzie Smiley]

I think it's amazing. And I think, you know, what I love about that is that it just simplifies the whole concept for people who feel like it's, oh, how do I manifest? Like, circle things in a magazine? You, like,

[Jenny]

go buy a J14 magazine? No, but I think it's kind of like everything we do is, in a way, manifesting our future.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Like, we are, whether we know it or not.

[Jenny]

Yes. Know it or not. Negative or positive. And. Okay, pause right there. Because there are some unfortunate things that happen to people. And I would never say that you thought that into existence or you manifested that, but let's say, like, certain things. I truly feel like people like, may unconsciously have manifested their lives whether we

[Lizzie Smiley]

know it or not. And I do think here's the key. Two things I want to say.

[Jenny]

First of all, I heard here's the key in my head, when you said here's the key, it's crazy.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Gosh. See, this is us. It's not just circling it once and then forgetting about it. It's the things that you feed your mind on. So this is why it's so important to get on top of things like anxiety or obsessive thinking and things. And there's great tools for that. Whatever you think about, you create. So it's not just having a. It's what you. I would say it's what you meditate on. And I don't just mean that like you're sitting in meditation. It's literally. There's Bible verses all about this about meditate on the word of God day and night for, you know, what will bring you good success is basically how it. Without saying the whole whole deal. What you think about is what you create. This is some of the most ancient wisdom. So. So it's not just because she circled it in the magazine. It's because she probably had, like, John Stamos poster on her wall, and she kept thinking about the grease buildings to the point where years later, she's Pinteresting it. It's something that just sat in her, in her awareness. And I think that's really. That's really important. And then the other thing I wanted to say is that strong thoughts are much strong are much. Positive thoughts are much stronger than negative thoughts.

[Jenny]

Mm.

[Lizzie Smiley]

So it takes a lot longer focusing on something negative to draw it to you. A lot more repetition, thank goodness. You know, and the time delay. But positive thoughts have a much stronger charge.

[Jenny]

Yeah, for sure.

[Lizzie Smiley]

That's a fun science.

[Jenny]

Yeah. Because there's a higher frequency attached to them. Positive thoughts are going to give you positive feelings, feelings of love and joy. And those feelings are what gives you a higher frequency when you're feeling lack and shame and sadness because of the thoughts that gave you those feelings of lack and shame and sadness, you're vibrating at a lower frequency. And this is all back through neuroscience. It's not just like a woo woo thing. And

[Lizzie Smiley]

yeah, they can prove it in brain. Our brain waves now, which. Which leads to probably how this whole conversation ended up happening. Jenny posted on. I think it was TikTok and she was reading Joe Dispenza's book Becoming Supernatural. And I literally screamed because I've been in Joe Dispenses work for three years now. She's got it. Yeah. His. I like how he breaks things down scientifically. There's structure and there's someone like me who's very. I like to understand the. Why it's hard for me to just do. I really like seeing the, the. I don't know, like the brain scans and the science and understanding the neurology and understanding the quantum field and quantum physics and all of that.

[Jenny]

Yeah.

[Lizzie Smiley]

How did that book end up in your hands? I mean, I know I've mentioned him to you before and you'd heard of him before. How did this happen?

[Jenny]

Okay, so I, you guys know I live in Greece and it's very hard to find books that are in English here. So whenever I go back to the States to visit my parents, I go to Barnes and Nobles and buy a few books. And I was just there for the holidays and I didn't have a book in mind to get this time. Normally, I know, like, oh, I'm definitely going to go get that book. But I just didn't have a book in mind and this was just staring at me on the shelf and I was like, oh, I, I like Joe. Joe Dispenza didn't know he had a book. This is awesome. And I, I picked it up and I love it. And it's. It's kind of a tough read because at least for me. Yeah, like, you have to. I'll probably have to read it again. And I'll love to read it again. Like, Nas was like, this is one that's gonna stay on our bookshelf because he's into. I've, like, told him. I've summarized it for him. He really likes it too. He's gonna read it too. But it's definitely one of those books that I think I need to read a few times to really soak it all in. But what I love about it is it. It makes all of this feel less magical, if that makes sense. Like, because I feel like when people hear about manifestation, they're like, oh, that sounds magical. Can that really work? You know, I'm gonna try it, but, like, does that really work? You know, and this is all about neuroscience and how it backs up how it really does work. It really can.

[Lizzie Smiley]

What happens in your brain that makes it work? Yeah.

[Jenny]

So I think it will give anybody who's a little bit skeptic about manifestation and they think like, oh, I don't know if that really would really work. Seems kind of woo, woo. It makes anybody who's skeptic become a believer, I feel, because there's, like, graphs in here and just pictures of people's brain waves during meditation. And there's a lot. There's a lot that backs up the things that Lizzie and I are talking about in this podcast. And there's exercises in it, too.

[Lizzie Smiley]

You know what I always listen to? I have the physical book, but I listen to it a couple times a year on audiobook, which, by the way, it's not Joe talking, which really bothers me. I wish he would record his own books, but the man has a very wonderful British accent, and so I do enjoy it.

[Jenny]

What's so crazy is one of the exercises that are in here, I. I was doing without even knowing. It's a manifestation thing. I'll. I'll share the example really quick. So this was back when I was building my Etsy shop and we were still in New Jersey. I still had my teaching position. And we knew that we wanted to quit our jobs and move to Greece. And we had that vision. It was so strong that we knew it was only a matter of time, basically, you know, and I worked so hard on my Etsy shop then, like, you know, hours, you know, I'd go to teaching all day and then come home, we would have dinner, put Lexi to sleep, and then I would stay up to, like, three in the morning working on my shop, but not because I ever felt like I have to do this. It wasn't, like, desperate energy. I had an exciting feeling about what I was working towards and that the work that I was putting into my shop would eventually help me reach our vision and the life that we dreamed of. So I always had this crazy, like, fluttering feeling in my chest because I was just excited about it. And it's three in the morning one night. I have to get up in a couple hours for teaching, and I have the music blaring downstairs. I'm at my dining room. We're at my old dining room table and working on my Etsy shop. And I have. I found this song that I loved, and it was a remix of the song that I loved. And I was just blaring it really loud, and I was, like, dancing and, like, designing and working. And Nas comes down the steps, like, all sleepy eyes, just starts laughing. Like, what are you doing? It's three in the morning. Like, you were playing, like, beaches club music right now. And I was like, I'm just. I'm working on my Etsy shop and I'm imagining us just so excited, living in Greece and, like, just partying on the beach. Like, we did it, you know? Like, I was envisioning that as I was designing and listening to that music. And one of the exercises in here says to listen to a song that makes you feel feel really good and to envision what it is that you want. I'm like. I had a flashback to that moment. I'm like, whoa, I was doing that. Just not really knowing that I was doing it.

[Lizzie Smiley]

That is crazy. Also. I feel like music is such a powerful translator, right? Like, it really can help change energy. I love that for you it was beach ballgy dance music.

[Jenny]

It was like a beach club, like, song. And we.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Oh. And.

[Jenny]

But the crazy thing is we blare that song on the beach in Greece now, and we dance to it and we're. And we always think back to that night. But, like, it's crazy. Like, once again now I'm literally living my vision that I had. Is that crazy?

[Lizzie Smiley]

I. You know, I think it gives me so much, like, hope. Well, me too. It gives me so much hope.

[Jenny]

I have to still remind myself when I'm calling in more to be patient and to just know that if it's meant for you, it will be yours.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Can I go off, you know, off the path here as I always do, Please? Especially since you and I Both had such a hard year last year. And for me, it was more. I had, like. I had, like, mental health challenges. I felt really. I think it couldn't. It wasn't really related to my, like, results because I actually had the biggest year. I made more money last year than I used to make in, like, four years, three years. So it wasn't about that. I think. I think part of it is, like, entering perimenopause. I think, like, just. I'm almost. I was almost like a little midlife crisis, if I'm. If I'm going to be honest. But also a lot of things happened in, like, our church environment where people I really trusted, leaders I really respected, people that I had learned from and helped build the foundation of my faith on. Obviously, for me, it starts with the word of God. But you do end up with teachers, right? We're supposed to write well, ended up. A lot of them ended up being really crooked and had lied and there was, like, sexual harassment, really upsetting things that shook the foundation at a very, like, I think, vulnerable time for me, just, you know, going through life. But I'm curious, and I'm not. I'm definitely not asking what you struggled with, but I'm asking maybe, like, what tools you use. Like, how did you address your time of bad mindset? We've never talked about this before, and in a minute, I want to. I want to, like, flip description. We'll go back. But how did you pull yourself through that? Like, what practices did you use? Or what did you. What? I don't know. Like, what can we tell people who are, like, in a. In a bad spot?

[Jenny]

Yeah, no, that's so important because I feel like we share a lot of, like, our good, positive, successful stories.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Yeah.

[Jenny]

So I'm really happy that you brought this up, because before those really positive, successful stories is a really challenging time for most people. Before anything, like I said, I'm calling in something pretty big right now, and it's been a challenge. And literally I have days, you know, a couple of days ago where I had to pull myself out. You don't want to ignore how you're feeling. If you're having, you know, a low mindset day, you're having negative thoughts, it's important to kind of lean into them for a little bit and try to figure out where they're coming from. But what I do is I try to. I have an inner voice. Some people don't have an inner voice. So. So I'm not sure how to explain this to somebody who doesn't have an inner voice. But I have an inner voice and it doesn't stop talking. I don't know about you. My inner voice doesn't stop talking.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Implied. Yes.

[Jenny]

So I kind of have like a conversation with myself. You know what? Maybe it's like sometimes I like to think of it as my. My higher self for me, kind of guiding me. And I kind of have a conversation with myself. Like, you've got this. It's all going to be okay. Let's think of things that we're grateful for and that we do have. Why are we feeling like this? I'm kind of like talking to myself in my head and it's not going to. You're not going to get pulled right out of it. You know, like sometimes there'll be a whole.

[Lizzie Smiley]

That's important, right? It's important to say that might months like it was for me, you know?

[Jenny]

Yeah. And some days will be good and then the next day it might not be good. And us as women, and I'm sure there's some men on here too, we can talk about men too, but women specifically. Like, our hormones are crazy. So, like the time of the month, like certain times of the month, certain phases of the month, you know, when the. Is it called the luteal phase or the luteal phase?

[Lizzie Smiley]

Luteal, right. When you're PMSing.

[Jenny]

Yeah. Like sometimes it's. It's worth it to keep track of that. I learned about that probably like last year and that was kind of life changing for me because there will be some weeks where I'm like on cloud nine and accomplishing so much and just in such a feel good mood. And then during that phase, I'm like, ah, nothing's working out, blah, blah, blah.

[Lizzie Smiley]

And.

[Jenny]

And then I'll be like, oh, what time of the month is it? And then I realize that I'm in that phase. So that helps too. Like when you say, like, why am I feeling like this? Like a lot? I love when I find out that that's this phase that I'm in because I'm like, oh, I'm not broken. I'm okay. I'm gonna, I'm gonna feel better in a couple days.

[Lizzie Smiley]

A couple of days we'll be back

[Jenny]

on like, oh, God, okay, just go eat some chocolate and chill like you're good. The other thing too is the moon. I think the moon is big. Like, I'm like, why am I feeling this? Why are the kids crazy? Then I look at the sky. I'm like, full moon. Okay, a couple days will be good. But when there's. When, when it's not because of the moon and it's not because of your hormones. You just gotta, you have to know that it will, how you're feeling will pass. Nothing is permanent. Yes, and it goes for good feelings too. Unfortunately, good feelings aren't permanent. Bad feelings aren't permanent. So you just have to know that you're not stuck. You're not going to be in that position forever. There is a way out and to try your best to not have like victim mentality, you know, I don't know. What do you do? I feel like I'm not, I, it's more self talk. My self talk is strong. I pull myself out of it by being positive. What do I have to look forward to? What do I have going on now? What am I grateful for? Now let's get up and move. Maybe to go for a walk or, you know, like I, I, you kind of nurse yourself, you take care of yourself and you give yourself grace in those moments and just know that you're not stuck. But I don't have any like exercises or specific.

[Lizzie Smiley]

No, but those were, that was like, so I feel like that was mother earth wisdom. Do you know what I mean? Like, I feel like that was ancestral wisdom, what you just said. So like we need to discount it because it wasn't like, oh, here's the process. I think it's beautiful. And one thing I love that you said that I think we don't hear necessarily enough of is acknowledging it, you know, having some empathy for yourself. Because I think if we go and I, as an achiever, I am the kind of person who's just like, snap out of it, Lizzie. Get your, oh, I'm so sorry guys. Get your act together. Get, you know, let's get back on track. And I'm trying to rush it and I do so much better when I take a moment and just like, oh, where is this coming from? Like, what am I really feeling? Because it's usually what you're feeling on the surface is not what you're actually working through. There's something beneath that's broiling. And then it probably needs some acknowledgment. You know, there's usually inner child stuff at play. You know, really old wounds, old pains, old, old, just tender spots that your inner child responds really well to just being acknowledged. I don't think we need to stay there. Like, I know some people will just stay there for decades and it'll hold you back. But having A moment of affirmation, of acknowledgment, of empathy, of allowing yourself to feel it and going deeper. What I'm really feeling. I love that you said that. Beyond that, I, I. A couple of things. I talk to a therapist every three weeks. You guys have heard Dr. Nagib on the podcast. She's actually coming back on soon because I want to do a whole anxiety episode because I can, I can struggle. It's very, I think, hormonal for me. I can struggle with very intense anxiety. And I want her to share because I know other. There's a lot of other women either who struggle with anxiety because of the times we're living in or who do for hormonal reasons, like I do or whatever it is. She's got great tools, I think so. So talking to a therapist really helps because it reminds me a lot of times these things that we're feeling are stored in our body. And so just like acknowledging it emotionally can help. Acknowledging it physically can help physiologically feeling where it is in your body and allowing it to move and move out, move through as opposed to just clenching down and, and freezing up. You know what I'm saying? I absolutely talk more when she comes on the podcast. When you. Yeah, the Body Keeps the Score, by the way, is a. Is a great book, but the more that you can kind of do these things and then so therapist talking to people who energetically bring me up and remind me who I am. I will use meditation a lot because what it does is at least while I'm meditating, I can remind myself of how I want to feel. I love when the world around me is crumbling. I love going into meditation because it's like my safe place. I'm like, here is where I get to feel good no matter what's happening. Here is where I envision everything being perfect as opposed to how it really is. And that really can help reset me for me for whatever the reason, listening to things can really help. I guess when I was little, they tested me and I'm an auditory learner, so I do like visual, but I'm also very auditory. So if I listen to Dr. Joe, like doing an interview with somebody, oh my gosh, that will pull me out so fast because it gets me out of my, like roiling thoughts and into like practical, real, hope filled, you know what I mean? It gets me out of my mess.

[Jenny]

1,000.

[Lizzie Smiley]

So, yeah, those are things that I like to do. And again, they're not feel safe. It's not like I'm better in 30 minutes, necessarily. Sometimes. Yeah. I just want to encourage people. Like, there's just going to be seasons that suck, and you need to just know that there's. You can. You can do some things to help yourself feel better as you go through it, and nothing is permanent. I love that you said that.

[Jenny]

Yeah.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Yeah.

[Jenny]

And I like that you said listening to people, like, that's what really got me through before I quit teaching was going through that challenging season of, like, not wanting to be a teacher anymore and wanting a different life, living in Greece and blah, blah. I remember if I didn't listen to a podcast or something on my way to work, I would just be bawling my eyes out, like. So I redirected that time to listening to podcasts and every day because my drive was like a half hour to work. And I fell in love with podcasts. I really. I used to love Kathy Heller. I still do, but I don't really. I feel like I kind of out grew her a tiny bit, but she really crazy.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Yeah, that's an update. Wow.

[Jenny]

Yeah. There's a couple things that are allowing me to know that I am, like, on the other side of a timeline shift.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Gosh. Yeah. You, like, jumped there. You jumped. Wow.

[Jenny]

Yeah. So that's one. I know. I don't know. I don't know, but I don't. I mean, nothing against her. She might really help somebody, but I feel like for me, I've moved on to other things. But I would listen to her podcast. It was like, don't quit. It was don't quit your daydream or something. She changed the name of it since then. But that would help. You would spare.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Yeah.

[Jenny]

She would share so many inspiring stories and she would interview, like, really inspiring people who changed their lives and everything, and that really helped inspire me. And just recently, I was feeling in a funk. You know, I really think seasonal depression has something to do with it. I. I don't know. I. This time of year, I'm. I'm not my best self. I will admit I am my best self. In the summertime, I am, like, amazing, and I'm working on becoming my best self all the time. But I was in a funk last week and I went to the gym and I just started walking on the treadmill and listening to a podcast. There's this new girl that I love, like, really love listening to. Her name is Tiffany Carter and her podcast name is Project Me. She's a little bit straightforward. She's going to tell you how it is. I feel like she's from like Jersey or something. I like, resonate with her a little bit. She, you know, some people will love her and some people may not because she's very like, I don't know, she curses and stuff like that. I personally like that she like, so real. But some people, if you have little ones, you might not want to listen to it. But she does a lot of mindset, timeline, quantum shifting, stuff like that. And I love her content and she's just very powerful the way she's confident in the way she shares her knowledge. And so I listened to her on the treadmill the other night and when I tell you like her episode Low Key changed my life. Like, I walked out of that gym as a different person and I which one?

[Lizzie Smiley]

I want to go listen to it. You know which one it was.

[Jenny]

Let me find which one. I'm. Guys, when I tell you like, she this and I'm going to reach out to her and tell her I follow her on TikTok. It's Tiffany Carter.

[Lizzie Smiley]

I love a coach. I love someone who's like really blunt and tells it how it is. But I do know that people don't like that. I actually used to be a lot more like that. I became more of a teddy bear because people responded better to. I still say the stuff, but I say it with like a really big

[Jenny]

smile, you know, like, yeah, you, you, yeah, you. You share it with love. Okay, so which one was it? Project Me. But when I tell you I came home and I took a shower, a lot of my, like, I like to call them downloads or insights come to me when I'm like either in the shower or walking or driving. And I had like a life changing moment after I listened to this podcast. And it's what I told you, Lizzie, earlier, how I'm shifting more into like, I'll always be Etsy, I'll always be print on demand. That's always gonna be a part of me. But I feel like I have such a bigger calling to help people with mindset and I, I just want to kind of lean into that more. And this podcast helped me realize that, like it was, I don't know, it was life changing. Let me find the name of it.

[Lizzie Smiley]

But it's, I'm really excited about that for you because I feel like that's been something you've been birthing for a long time and I feel like it's so who you really are. You know what I mean? Like, I feel like it's so.

[Jenny]

Yes. And that's what this podcast Was was about like she or this episode was about. Let me see, which one was it? Okay. Was it this one? I can find out for sure, but I think it was this one. 2026 glow up protocol. The Be the being how to feel like yourself Again. I'm who you're meant to be in 2026. Because like I said, I walked into the gym not feeling myself, and I was feeling kind of down and okay, my thoughts, like we talked earlier, I was like, girl, get yourself to the gym. You need some movement. You need to clear your mind. Because walking always helps clear my mind. And I put on her podcast and I walked out a different person. I kid you not. It can link it. Yeah, it was really good. So it helped me realize I'm not growing out of Etsy and Print on Demand. It's just I want to expand a little bit further and help people, you know, with the Etsy Print on Demand side and the strategy and all that. But I really believe. I've always said that 90% of my success was due to my mindset, and I really want to help people with that because a lot of people are lacking that part of it, and it's so important. A lot of people overlook that and they want to just go to strategy and data, and it's not the case. It starts with the mindset and the belief. And it's not just about getting yourself excited about starting an Etsy shop. It's about getting through the messy middle when things aren't working out. It's about getting through the times where, like, the sales aren't where you think they should be and you're having the thoughts, what. What am I doing? Should I still be doing that? It's like, to help people to keep going, in a sense, and have the mindset to believe that it's possible for them too.

[Lizzie Smiley]

This is so important, and I want to. I actually want to wrap up on this point. It's really funny, guys, because I have, like, so many data points to talk about and Jenny's like, I think this is too many. Can you shorten them? And I did. And we still only sent me an

[Jenny]

email of all these bullet points. I'm like, lizzy, I love you, but, you know, we get off on tangents.

[Lizzie Smiley]

I feel like we broke records today in the best way possible. But I want. I have. I have several hundred students right now in the messy middle that I'm working with inside my. Love it. My scaling society. No, because that's not what we want to be. It's Called Scaling Society.

[Jenny]

Okay. I like it.

[Lizzie Smiley]

It's where people scale their Etsy shops from start to whatever they want to. And so it's all everything they need, literally everything they need to scale. But a lot of people are in this messy middle. And we talked earlier about, you know, thoughts become things, but not magically. You have to put in the reps, you have to do the work. There's no such thing as an overnight success. There's just an overnight discovery. But the person has been putting in the work for years. But the messy middle is, is it's part putting in the reps, but it's also the part of disciplining yourself to do that. It's, you know, it's the part of you that, that makes you keep showing up when it's hard and it doesn't feel good. It's the part of you that realizes that has to become the person who can create the results. I really wanted you to talk about this a little bit because some of the thoughts that you sent me were like, they gave me chills.

[Jenny]

So I kind of.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Do you remember?

[Jenny]

But I have the email right here. I could pull it up with my notes that I told you. But what I first want to say is follow the plan, not the mood. Okay? Because things being an Etsy seller can get really boring. Putting the reps in, doing the research listing is so boring, guys, I hate it. I hate it. Days that I really don't want to do it, I hear my inner voice say, follow the plan, not the mood. Same thing with getting to the gym, which I did not follow the plan today. I've had a lot going on. But anyways, I. You follow the plan, not the mood. If you don't feel like it, like, too bad. If you want to be successful, you got to follow the plan. That's how I was when I was first starting Etsy. I was relentless. I was always following the plan, not the mood. So that's a key thing there. But yeah, like things aren't just going to magically happen for you. It's all about having a vision and taking the action steps to get there. And more than that, consistently showing up even when it's boring. You got to do the boring things. You know, it's a part of any business. There's boring tasks that we don't feel like doing and do it right. Don't be lazy if you want, you know, if you want good results and you have to, you have to be the best that you can be with this, you know, like, don't don't half ass it when you half ass it because I don't know if there's little ears around. You're going to get half ass results. So you know. And that's going to make you feel better too. When you know that you're trying your best and you're giving something your all and you're consistently showing up, it's only a matter of time before it works. But if you half ass it, then you know in your head that you're not giving it your all. Do you really deserve it then? Probably not. Can you still be successful? Some people, some people will still be successful doing it like here and there, but it's rare. Like, you have to consistently show up for yourself. If you want to be a successful Etsy seller, then you need to be that identity of a successful Etsy seller. That's someone who still goes into their shop every day. I still go into my shop every day. I don't feel like it, but I still do. I still consistently list. You wouldn't. So many comments I get, they're like, so do you have. You don't have to list anymore because you're successful? It's like, no, I still. If you want to be a successful Etsy seller, you're still showing up and listing new products. Do I do it as much as I did in the beginning? No, I don't have to. But I'm still consistent weekly. Daily in my shop. But weekly listing, because I'm like, if I'm not listing, I'm leaving money on the table. You're leaving money on the table. If you're not consistently showing up in your shop, you might be one listing away from a best seller, from thousands of dollars because you were too lazy to listen. I'm just saying, you know, like, has

[Lizzie Smiley]

she been listening to Tiffany Carter for too long?

[Jenny]

Tiffany Carter's coming out now. But like, for real, like, if you truly want to be successful with this, give it your all.

[Lizzie Smiley]

I want to define the messy middle for people who are listening that maybe have. I mean, you guys hear me talk about it all the time, but I want to define it in a different way. It sounds like, okay, you're in the middle of growing an Etsy shop and it's hard. Yeah, it is. But. But I think what's really important to bring out of that is the messy middle is the part when the excitement and the dopamine of starting wears off. So in the beginning we come with this burst of energy. Especially, like, I mean, I just like love that dopamine of getting to start something new, and it really fuels me for a long time. And then there's a point at which it either fades gently or drops off out of nowhere.

[Jenny]

Yeah.

[Lizzie Smiley]

And this is. This is where you're still not getting the results that you want, but you're. The energy that came from that dopamine hit has gone.

[Jenny]

Yeah.

[Lizzie Smiley]

And you're putting in a lot of effort. You're not getting more dopamine from the results yet. And you have to discipline yourself to keep going and putting in the reps and trusting that it's gonna. That it. You know, that you can. And this is where some of you. It's got. It's like. And don't get me wrong, I can be. I can fall victim to this, too. I just. I've learned to course correct myself. It's the. It's the squirrel syndrome. It's the. Okay, well, I'm just gonna. You know, I've already. I've already sold 100 PNGs, but I'm just. I'm. I need a dopamine hit, so I'm gonna just do 100 coloring pages. And I'm like, I'm not saying that's wrong if you feel aligned to it, but if you're doing it just because you're looking for the next dopamine hit, you're missing the opportunity where you could actually get a thousand PNG listings up and be like, my. My student Shannon, who actually, she's done this in only a couple hundred listings. She's had an amazing story, is making $2,000 a month, just like six months into her Etsy journey. And that's passive. That's. That's PNGs. That's passive.

[Jenny]

Yeah.

[Lizzie Smiley]

So she could have veered off and said, okay, well, I'm making sales on this, but I need another dopamine hit, so I'm going to try something different. And instead, she stayed true to the course, and it's gotten her those results. So I just want you to know, this is what I. What I've been realizing lately, and I know you guys have heard me say it, but maybe now it'll hit different. You literally can't fail if you keep listing. I don't know how long it's going to take you. I don't know what background you're coming from. I don't know what limitations you have. I don't know what skills you have. I know that it's all learnable because I wasn't naturally inclined at all.

[Jenny]

Me neither.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Right. We've had to, we've had to learn as we go and grow. But just like that girl who posted three times a day for 13 years and now she makes millions. It's because she posted three times a day for 13 years and I promise you, some of her reels got 10 views, some of her reels got a million views, some of her reel the next day after getting a million views got maybe a thousand views. And she could have sat there and been like, well, this doesn't work. Yeah, I just said that. Jenny, you don't know this, but my daughter and I started a pet influencer account. I tell you this. Oh well, just last in November because she really is really interested in online business. She's got the entrepreneurial bug and she's 10 now, Lorelei. And so we did this. We got, we bought a hedgehog. Not that we needed to because we already have seven cats in five dogs and a farm, but I was like, we need a hook. So we got a hedgehog. I'm an absolute lunatic. We on our TikTok, we had a post get to 2.3 million people. Oh my gosh, within the first 60 days. But not, but and actually don't know. I think it's going to take me to my Etsy one. I just need you to know that like my post the next day was to like a hundred people, but we're going to have a six figure business by the time my daughter is 15. Because I'm still going to post even though some posts are going to hit a million and some posts are going to hit 100. Because I've disciplined myself. I've done the mindset work. This is why, this is why I, you know, you and I talked about this. Everyone will jump at an SEO course because they want to learn the strategy of the mega sellers, but they don't understand that you can learn the SEO, but you're still going to go through the messy middle. And where is your mindset going to show up to have your back to push you through it when this happens and your dopamine gets so high from that 2.3 million, whatever. We could even say you're at your best seller. That literally makes you 10,000 in one month on Etsy and then the next, literally a hundred listings you do only maybe make you, you know, five dollars to a hundred dollars. What's going to keep you going? It's the, it's the mindset work. The discipline of trusting. Trusting that if you keep putting in the reps, you cannot Fail.

[Jenny]

Yeah.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Okay, so that's my little.

[Jenny]

And something that I always heard was just keep swinging the bat.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Ooh, I've been writing down your quote. I need to keep write that one down.

[Jenny]

My husband and I were talking today because if you guys don't know, he has a NY shop as well. And I forget what sparked this conversation. What did we say it was something about? Because we were driving through town and we're. We were saying how people that have their own, like, boutique shops, right? We're like, that's appealing. In the beginning. Like, I could see being excited, like, oh, I'm gonna open up this cute little shirt shop in town. And you're excited in your shirt shop for like the first month. But NASA's like, but then you realize you're stuck to your shirt. Like, you can open a business, but then you're like, stuck in your business. And he's like, that's not the life you want to live. And we were saying how grateful we are for Print on Demand because we're like, yeah, first. So you, One, you're stuck there. Two, you have to pay rent for the building. Three, you're buying a bunch of things that may or may not sell and you're putting them in your shop. And most of the time, half of those things aren't going to sell. Maybe even more than half isn't going to sell. Then you're stuck with all this inventory and you wasted money on products that aren't going to sell. Were just saying we're so grateful for Print on Demand because I've put up thousands of listings in my time on Etsy. And not I would. I probably not even half of them. Half of the 3,000 listings I put up on Etsy have sold. You know, imagine if I put all those shirts in a shop. Like I bought all those shirts. Small, medium, large, extra legends, multiple smalls, multiple mediums. How much money I would waste. So we were just saying how grateful we are that we don't have to pay the printing company until we make the sale, that the fee is only 20 cents per listing. So. And this might seem like off track, but coming back to, we have to remember the time that we're living in being able to have this online business on Etsy for so long, so little amount of money, and we can test products. We are so lucky to be in this position, especially guys. Etsy is my world. Etsy's Lizzie's world. If you're listening to this, Etsy's probably your world. You kind of feel like, everybody knows about it, but not everybody knows about it. We are so blessed to even know about this opportunity and to not have to pay to have a brick and mortar shop, to not have to pay for the inventory, like I said, to not have to stand by a door all day and hope that somebody comes in and buys something. The least you can do is put up a listing a day. When you look at it that way, you feel so grateful for this opportunity and how. How easy it is. You can. You can easily take advantage of this. But when you think back to people that are spending all day hoping that one person comes in to buy something, it makes it so much easier to sit down on your comfy couch with a blanket and a cup of coffee, open up your laptop, design something cute and list it on Etsy. How cool is that? And it's things like this that make you feel grateful in times when it's boring and you don't feel like doing it. It's little things like that that help you feel appreciative for it and to help you keep going.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Yeah, I'm really glad I went through the school of hard knocks. That was handmade products first, because it makes me super grateful to have print on demand and then even better with the PNGs, where I don't even have to deal with the print of. Do you know what I mean? Like, it's.

[Jenny]

And it's all profit. Yeah.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Okay, guys, we're not remotely done. We're going to finish the conversation over. In Scaling Society. We're going to. We have got a bunch of really. We're gonna go deeper. We're gonna talk about becoming the person. How do you become the person that can make this happen? We're gonna talk about some of the hardest parts and just dig, dig into, dig into, like, the practices that we use to really develop the mindset. So this is a great month to join. Even just for one month. Scaling Society, you are gonna get access to literally everything you need to build and scale an Etsy shop. You will learn everything from design to AI tools to how. Everything about how Etsy works, to mindset. You're going to have access the trendspotting reports, the coaching group. Two coaching calls a month with me. I'm not going to keep you railing on about it, but that is where I am, helping hundreds of students build. And that's why you're hearing a lot of their success stories this year on the podcast, is because they're just making amazing things happen. And I love having you hear them. So Come here. Jenny's behind the scenes episode there. We're going to dig into that next. But, Jenny, it's like just. It means the world to me to be with you again. I feel like. I feel like a little girl I know. At Christmas. Yeah. So just thank you so much for. For who you are and for coming on to share with us. And we love you so much. I'm so grateful for you.

[Jenny]

Thank you. I love you and I love your community so much. I always get the nicest emails and DMS on Instagram and I love when they tell me that they came from your podcast because I know if they're your people, they're my people.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Okay, guys, we'll see you in a few minutes over on the other side. I love you so much. Go make something awesome. Bye, all.

[Lizzie Smiley (Podcast Host Outro)]

And that's a wrap on this episode of how to sell your stuff on Etsy. Thanks so much for hanging out with me today. If you're looking for more resources, head on over to howtosellyourstuff.com where you'll find podcast show notes, all the links from today's episode, the blog courses, coaching, and more. If this episode was helpful to you, awesome. The greatest compliment I can receive from you is a rate, review and subscribe on this podcast. Not only will it allow us to connect again on a future episode, it lets me know I'm providing you with value and helps other people find this content more easily. From the bottom of my heart, thank

[Lizzie Smiley]

you for your support.

[Lizzie Smiley (Podcast Host Outro)]

Have a great day and see you next time.