Have you been endlessly tweaking your website, signing up for every marketing webinar, or telling yourself you just need the right words before you can share your work? If so, you might be marketing from a place of fear—and you’re definitely not alone.

In this episode, I introduce you to three familiar therapist archetypes I often see in this pattern: Paralyzed Paige, Tweaking Taylor, and Researching Riley. Each of them is trying hard—but spinning their wheels. We’ll unpack how fear can quietly shape your marketing habits and, most importantly, how to shift toward grounded, intentional action that builds confidence and momentum.

You’ll walk away feeling seen, supported, and equipped with a new way forward that doesn’t require perfection—just a single, self-trusting step.

Here’s what you’ll learn in this episode:

1️⃣ How perfectionism, hesitation, and over-researching are sneaky signs that fear is steering your marketing

2️⃣ The difference between motion and momentum—and why one keeps you stuck while the other moves you forward

3️⃣ A powerful mindset shift to help you market like the thriving, full-fee therapist you’re becoming (not the unsure one you feel like today)

Resources & Links Mentioned:

• Magnetic Niche Method: walkerstrategyco.com/mnm
• Squarespace Templates: walkerstrategyco.com/templates
• Confident Copy: walkerstrategyco.com/cc
• The Walker Strategy Co website: walkerstrategyco.com

Connect + Subscribe

Enjoying the podcast? Subscribe so you never miss an episode—and feel free to share it with a fellow therapist who’s building their private practice.

Explore more marketing support for therapists: The Walker Strategy Co website: walkerstrategyco.com

About Marketing Therapy

Marketing Therapy is the podcast where therapists learn how to market their private practices without burnout, self-doubt, or sleazy tactics. Hosted by Anna Walker—marketing coach, strategist, and founder of Walker Strategy Co—each episode brings you clear, grounded advice to help you attract the right-fit, full-fee clients and grow a practice you feel proud of.

Hey there.

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Welcome back to Marketing

Therapy, episode eight.

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I'm so happy you're here.

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In this episode, you're gonna meet three

different therapists, and I wonder if

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one of them feels a little like you.

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Today's episode is all about the

therapists who are working really

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hard behind the scenes, but aren't

necessarily seeing the results

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that they're looking for yet.

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So if you've been staring at your website.

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Rewriting the same paragraph

over and over and over.

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Signed up for three different

marketing webinars in the past month.

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Anyone, anyone, or maybe you've been

telling yourself, you just need to find

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the right strategy, the right words before

you can start putting yourself out there.

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If you're any of these, please know

you're not lazy, you're not disorganized,

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and this is the right episode for you.

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Because the fact is, if you're

doing one or all of those things,

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you're actually trying really hard.

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But here's the thing

I wanna explore today.

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What if all of that effort isn't

coming from a truly grounded place?

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What if it's coming from fear?

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Now, I know that word

might feel a little strong.

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Most therapists don't think of

themselves as quote unquote fearful

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marketers, but fear can be really sneaky.

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It can sound like perfectionism or

hesitation or I just need to be ready.

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Thoughts like that.

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So in this episode, I'm gonna introduce

you, like I said, to three different

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therapists who I often meet in

some shape or fashion all the time.

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The one who freezes, who stuck in

analysis paralysis, the one who tweaks.

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Endlessly, but never really moves

forward, or the one who researches

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everything, hoping to find the perfect

formula before they can do anything else.

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We're gonna look at the fear that

shows up in each of these patterns,

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and more importantly, how to step

back into your power and to take the

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steering wheel back from fear when

it comes to growing your practice.

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All right, let's dive in.

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Let me introduce you to the

first fear-based marketer.

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Welcome, paralyzed Paige.

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Paige is the therapist who is

stuck in analysis paralysis.

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Paige isn't taking action and not

because she doesn't care, but because

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she cares so much that she is frozen.

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She's not out there winging it.

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She's actually thinking

really, really, really hard.

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About what to say and how to say

it and when to share it, but the

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result is the same for Paige.

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No real movement.

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Maybe you have spent hours researching

how to write your about page, but

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haven't written a single sentence yet.

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Or maybe you've been quote unquote,

thinking about blogging for six

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months and you have all these ideas

bouncing around in your mind, but

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haven't published a single post.

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Maybe you've had a half finished website

sitting in the unpublished section of

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your Squarespace account, but you keep

telling yourself that it's not ready.

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This is what fear can look like.

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It's not loud and obvious, but

quiet and oh, so consuming.

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If you're resonating here a bit

with Paralyzed Page, here are a

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few questions you can ask yourself.

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One, do I tell myself I need to

feel more ready before I can begin?

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Two, do I keep researching or

planning instead of taking action?

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Three, do I wait until something feels

perfect before putting it out there for.

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Do I assume that once I know what

to do, I'll suddenly feel motivated.

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And five, do I feel overwhelmed every

time I try to start something new?

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Do those questions resonate with you?

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Are you nodding along?

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If so, you're not alone.

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This is something I see all the time.

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And again, it doesn't mean you're doing

anything wrong, it just means that

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fear is in the driver's seat right now.

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But the good news is that

you can take the wheel back.

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And it also doesn't have to take

a full rebrand or a marketing

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overhaul to do that, but it will

take one small likely imperfect step.

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We'll talk more about how to reconnect

with that intention later in the episode.

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But for now, notice if paralyzed Paige

and her pattern feels familiar and

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give yourself a little bit of grace

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because so often the clarity you are

waiting for comes after you move.

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Not before,

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all right, let's meet the

second fear-based marketer.

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Say hello to tweaking Taylor.

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Tweaking.

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Taylor is the therapist who

is technically taking action.

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The girlfriend is doing stuff, but

she's never really doing stuff.

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She's never really moving forward.

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She's writing, she's editing,

she's updating her website, her

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profile, but it's always in a loop.

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Maybe you are familiar with

changing a sentence on your

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homepage and then changing it back.

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Updating your site today, profile

every week, just in case rewriting

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Instagram captions 10 times and still

not posting it, writing and rewriting

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the intro email to reach out to a new

referral source and then deleting it.

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You're in motion, absolutely,

but you are not in momentum.

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And that is a big difference.

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Now, tweaking isn't bad

in and of itself, right?

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Refining is a normal and natural and

important part of marketing, but when

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tweaking becomes the main thing you do,

it's usually not about strategy anymore.

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It's about fear.

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Fear of getting it wrong, fear

of missing the perfect phrasing,

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or the fact that one slightly off

sentence is gonna cost you a client.

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It convinces you to stay

in editing mode forever.

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Because editing feels productive.

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It feels safe because you are doing

something, but you're not really being

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seen if you're resonating with tweaking.

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Taylor here.

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Here are a few questions to ask yourself.

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One, am I making updates because I have

a specific goal in mind, or because

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I feel uncomfortable sitting still?

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Two.

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Do I constantly seek feedback, but

struggle to actually implement it?

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Three.

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Am I stuck in a cycle of

almost ready, nearly there?

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Four.

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Do I worry that what I've written doesn't

sound smart or professional enough, or

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that I don't appear legitimate enough?

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Five.

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Do I hesitate to share anything

unless it feels completely dialed in?

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You might not be frozen.

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You might not be para paralyzed page

here, but fear is still leading.

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And again, this often happens when you

do know what you're doing clinically.

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You are good at your job.

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You're used to being very

precise and very thoughtful.

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You're used to being right about

things, but marketing isn't

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about that kind of perfection.

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It's about connection.

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It's about momentum.

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And those things don't come from the

47th revision of your about page.

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Those things come from letting

people see you, even when it's

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not flawless, even when you might

still be a work in progress.

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So if you're tweaking Taylor, if you

are resonating with her, take a breath.

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You don't need to rewrite everything.

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You probably just need to hit publish.

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And we'll talk more about

that as we end the episode.

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But before we do that, let's may

meet our third fear-based marketer.

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Please welcome researching RI to the show.

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Researching Riley is not frozen

and not necessarily tweaking.

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Researching, Riley is learning

and absorbing and getting their

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ducks in a row over and over.

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Lots and lots of ducks.

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Taking the courses, watching the webinars,

listening to the podcast, downloading

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the opt-ins, reading the blog posts.

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You've probably heard some version of

this advice before, maybe even from me.

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But still, something's not quite clicking.

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You're seeking out hearing

something new in a different way.

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So you go searching for the next

strategy, the next fill in the blank

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template, the next formula that's going

to finally make this all feel doable.

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Here's what I want to gently offer to you.

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At a certain point, research

becomes a hiding place.

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And this is coming from someone

who loves when people join.

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You know my courses because they

absolutely can help, but at some

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point, learning feels like progress.

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But is actually a hidden delay

tactic, and for a lot of therapists,

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it's not just a strategy problem.

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This is fundamentally

a self-trust problem.

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Chances are you don't need a

whole lot more information.

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You need to start implementing

the information you already have.

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Now, I deeply personally

resonate with researching ri.

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This is what I do when

I'm marketing from fear.

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I go seek out information.

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I get comfortable in data.

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I look at numbers.

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I enroll in a course, because those

things do feel a lot safer than

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actually implementing, actually

pivoting, actually taking action.

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So if that's you, if you're

researching Riley, here's some

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questions to ask yourself.

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One, am I using research to avoid

the discomfort of taking action?

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Two.

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Am I hoping that if I just

learned the right way, I won't

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have to feel uncertain because

uncertainty is really uncomfortable.

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Do I tell myself I'm not ready yet?

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Even though I've been preparing

for weeks or months, I have.

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I signed up for how many courses

without actually finishing

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or applying what I learned.

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Sometimes therapists stay in research

mode because they want to be really

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good stewards of their practice, right?

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They want to be thoughtful

and ethical and authentic and

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strategic, and that's admirable.

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Those are all good things to be, but

a cer at a certain point, it becomes

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fear dressed up as responsibility.

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You don't need to be perfect to begin.

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You don't have to have

every single answer.

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You just need to start where you

are and commit to showing up.

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Commit to implementing because the

truth is the only thing that builds

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clarity and confidence is doing okay.

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So whether you are tweaking Taylor

paralyzed, Paige, researching

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Riley, here's the shift I

wanna leave you with today.

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At some point you have to

decide to run your practice.

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As the fully booked full fee

practice owner, you want to be not

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the not yet full, still questioning

one that you are right now.

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Let me say that again.

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At some point you have to decide to

run your practice as the fully booked

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full fee thriving practice owner.

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You want to be not the not yet

full, still questioning one you

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are right now, that version of you.

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The one with a full caseload.

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The marketing that actually

works, the confidence in your

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voice, the pep in your step.

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She's not waiting around

hoping she feels ready.

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She's making intentional strategic

decisions from a place of groundedness

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and from a place of belief, belief

that she can do this, that she is

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capable, that she will figure it out.

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The more you can act from that place.

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The faster everything can start

to shift in your marketing.

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This doesn't mean of course,

that you will never feel fear.

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You will probably feel those

uncomfortable feelings at some point.

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It doesn't mean you're

not gonna second guess.

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It doesn't need, you're not gonna stumble.

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It doesn't mean you don't need support,

but when you start making decisions

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from intention rather than insecurity,

you can start building a business

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that actually feels like yours.

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So if you've been frozen or you've

been tweaking endlessly or researching

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your way right back into paralysis, I

want you to come back to this question.

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What would the thriving full

fee version of you do next?

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What would she decide today that

is where your next step lives?

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So if any of this resonated with you.

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If you saw yourself in paralyzed Page

or tweaking Taylor or researching Riley,

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I want you to know you're not alone.

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This isn't about shame or blame, but

it is about noticing and naming and

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then gently choosing a different way

forward because fear-based marketing

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will absolutely keep you stuck, and I

see some incredible clinicians in this

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place and unable to get out until they

start making these kinds of shifts.

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Intention based marketing, self-trust

based marketing, that is where

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your momentum can start to build.

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It doesn't require that you are

perfect, but it does require that

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you are in motion and moving forward.

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If you want a small next step

here to ground you in that

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intention, ask yourself this.

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What is one decision I've been avoiding

because I'm afraid it won't be perfect.

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And then make it, make that

decision, make it with clarity,

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make it with belief in what's

possible and with belief in yourself

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now if you need a resource.

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To start moving forward, if that is

what's going to help you get out of

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one of these personas, please know

we have so many different resources

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to help, whether that's the Magnetic

Niche Method, to really clarify

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who you help and how you do it.

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One of our templates to finally launch

that website that you've been putting

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off Confident Copy to really get

clear on the words that you're using.

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Check out the show notes and

get all of that information.

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But maybe you don't need

any of those things.

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Maybe you just need to shift

how you're thinking about and

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showing up to your marketing.

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Maybe that's the biggest thing you can

do right now to keep yourself moving

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forward, decide what needs to happen, be

kind and gracious to yourself, but then.

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Start moving forward, start making

those decisions and keep going.

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You my friend.

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You have got this.

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You've got this.

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I'm cheering you on.

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Thanks for being here.