[00:00:00] Katy Ripp: Hey guys. Welcome back. If you’ve been here since season one, thank you so much for returning, and if you’re new here, I’m so glad you found your way in. Think of this podcast like pulling up a chair in my kitchen. We’re gonna have some coffee in hand, certainly we’ll have some dogs making noise in the background and a lot of hair, and a real conversation about what it means to actually build something on your own terms and living a life.

[00:00:32] Katy Ripp: That you actually love because what’s the point otherwise? Last season was really about opening the door to conversation at all. It was my first season. I learned so much. And if you are a guest of mine, I cannot tell you how much I appreciate you taking the time and energy out. We touched on a little bit of everything.

[00:00:51] Katy Ripp: Money, time, energy, community. Body image, diet, death, burnout, inspiration. Little bit of everything really. This season. I wanna take it well, I wanna take all of that and go just a little bit deeper, more focused, a little bit more intentional, and we’re gonna go rule by rule through the woman’s playbook.

[00:01:15] Katy Ripp: One by one, we’re gonna dismantle some old limiting beliefs or outdated business law and we’re gonna write a new one together. And why a playbook you ask? Because the one we were handed really doesn’t fit us. It wasn’t made for us. It’s like putting on a suit that was tailored for somebody else, you know, like fat guy in a little coat kind of thing.

[00:01:37] Katy Ripp: It’s stiff and uncomfortable and made for a body that just was not made. And made for a body that isn’t yours and then being told, well, if you can’t fit into this, then you are the problem. Let’s mold yourself to get into this thing and fit into this box. Well, I say, fuck no, let’s not. The suit actually just does not fit.

[00:02:01] Katy Ripp: The rules do not work for us, so it’s time to write a new playbook that actually feels like it belongs to us. It was written for us and by us. By the end of this 12 week season, you’re gonna have your own set of rules, not the ones you inherited, not the ones you feel pressured to follow, but the ones you’ve chosen for yourself, and that is super powerful.

[00:02:31] Katy Ripp: Let me tell you a little bit about how I realized that this old playbook. Doesn’t work. I honestly was following all the rules. I was grinding as hard as I could. I was working longer hours. I didn’t talk about money, and whatever you do, keep it professional, keep it shiny, keep it neutral. Don’t rock the boat.

[00:02:53] Katy Ripp: And from the outside it actually did look like it was working. I had a couple of businesses. I was working actually full-time for someone else. I had success on paper. I had the dogs and the kids and the husband and the house and the, and all the things, the cars, all the things. But the inside told a totally different story.

[00:03:14] Katy Ripp: I was exhausted. I was second guessing. Myself at every single turn, and I was really disconnected from my own joy there. There actually wasn’t any joy. What I thought was joy was actually just emptiness at the bottom of a wine bottle. And there was one day that really sticks out to me. I had just finished back to back meetings.

[00:03:37] Katy Ripp: I was hustling between the coffee shop and home and the wine bar. I was saying yes to every opportunity because that’s what the rule book said to do, say, yes, work harder, push through. I came home and sat in the driveway and thought. Why does this feel so empty? I had everything the old playbook told me I should want.

[00:04:00] Katy Ripp: I had checked all the boxes, but I really did not feel fulfilled. I felt completely trapped and alone and super lonely and quite miserable actually. And then I realized I’m actually not for everyone. There are 8 billion people in the world. I am never going to please them all. And the one and the, and actually, the more I tried, the more I actually dulled myself down.

[00:04:28] Katy Ripp: I was literally,

[00:04:34] Katy Ripp: I wasn’t building a life that reflected me at all. I was building one that reflected the rules, and that’s when it really hit me. I didn’t need to keep playing by the rules that were never written for me in the first place. So what does that exactly mean? What is this old rule book I speak of and where did these rules come from?

[00:04:56] Katy Ripp: So the truth is these rules were written in boardrooms decades ago by men in suits had. The truth is these rules, the truth is. They were written in boardrooms decades ago by men in gray suits who had wives at home and secretaries running interference and systems built to support them and only them.

[00:05:22] Katy Ripp: And they were able to grind harder. I,

[00:05:30] Katy Ripp: they were able to keep their emotions out of the room. They were able to compete with the person next to you. They were able to compete with the person next to them. They never showed any weakness, any of this sound familiar? These rules were not designed for women in mind. We, these rules were not. These rules were not designed with women in mind.

[00:05:55] Katy Ripp: It certainly not women balancing creativity and leadership and motherhood and partnership and health and the cycles of energy that come with all of that, and yet these are the standards we’ve been measured against for decades. No wonder so many of us feel like we’re failing. We aren’t failing at business.

[00:06:12] Katy Ripp: The old playbook is failing us. Just like that suit. If you don’t fit into the suit, change the suit, not yourself. And I really do see this everywhere in my coaching clients inside the grove, in conversations with friends, women saying, I just need to hustle harder, or I feel guilty charging that much, or I should be able to figure this out on my own.

[00:06:35] Katy Ripp: Those aren’t truths. Those are old rules, whispering in our ears.

[00:06:43] Katy Ripp: So what do we do instead? That’s where I come in. That’s where the women’s playbook comes in. This isn’t a one size fits all strategy. I promise you that. This is about rewriting the rules around what actually matters, your values, something you can actually sustain through the rest of your life, community, and who you authentically are in your soul.

[00:07:06] Katy Ripp: Over the next 12 weeks, we’re gonna talk about what it looks like to throw out the grind culture and build businesses that don’t burn us out. We’re gonna unpack why we’ve been taught to play small and how to step fully into our worth. We’re also gonna talk openly about money. I know it’s not the most comfortable thing, but that’s because we’ve been told it’s not comfortable.

[00:07:29] Katy Ripp: We’re gonna use our humanity as a superpower, not something that we have to shove down. And we’re gonna talk about the myth of competition and why vulnerability is actually leadership. Let me give you a little bit of a sneak peek. Next week we’re tackling the grinder died Next week, on the next episode, we’re going to tackle the grind or die rule.

[00:07:55] Katy Ripp: That’s the voice that says, if you’re not hustling, you’re falling behind. Spoiler, that is a fucking lie. Later this season, we are going to talk about the don’t talk about money rule and also the competition rule, and then we’re gonna end the season pulling it all together in a new vision for what business might look like when women rewrite the rules.

[00:08:17] Katy Ripp: This isn’t about me handing you a manual. This is about you walking away with your own playbook, written by you for you.

[00:08:31] Katy Ripp: At the end of every, at the end of every, at the end of every episode, I wanna give you a at the end of every, oh my God.

[00:08:43] Katy Ripp: At the end of every episode, I wanna give you a practical takeaway. So here’s what I want you to sit with this week. What old rule of business have I been carrying that doesn’t actually work for me? Now this can be if you own your own business or you are just a professional woman. These rules of business are made for all types of industries, not just entrepreneurship.

[00:09:07] Katy Ripp: So again, what old rule of business have I been carrying around that doesn’t actually work for me anymore? Write it down. Say it out loud. Maybe journal. Maybe journal on it. Or text a friend and say, you know what rule, I’m really done with this one. For me, the first rule I ditched was, don’t talk about money.

[00:09:29] Katy Ripp: I started saying my prices out loud. I started talking about my worth and my value, and every time I did it got a little bit easier.

[00:09:42] Katy Ripp: Maybe for you it’s grind harder or keep it professional at all costs. Whatever it is, name it. Because once you see it, you can start rewriting it. And if you’re thinking, except I don’t know what the rules are, just wait. I’m gonna help you with that.

[00:10:07] Katy Ripp: Don’t worry. I’m gonna put all of this in the show notes and there are a couple of blog posts that are going to list the rules out for you so you can see what’s coming.

[00:10:19] Katy Ripp: All right, friends, that’s our kickoff to season two. Today was really about setting the stage, why the old playbook does not work for us, and why it’s time to start writing a new one together. You do not have to do this alone, I promise you that. This podcast is just the beginning

[00:10:37] Katy Ripp: and the grove is where we take these conversations and put them into practice in real time along. Alongside other women who are building boldly too. If you’re craving that kind of support, if you’re craving that kind of support, come join us. The links in the show notes, and there’s a seven day free trial, so you can just check it out and poke around.

[00:10:56] Katy Ripp: And if today’s episode sparks something for you, share it with a friend who’s ready writing her own rules too. Make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss what’s next. Until next time, keep rewriting the rules. Keep celebrating your wins, and keep reminding yourself. Actually, you can.