The Cliff Ravenscraft Show

For most of the past 20 years, I have thought of myself first and foremost as a podcaster when it comes to content creation. Recently, I was working on a project that caused me to go back through hundreds of blog posts I wrote between 2004 and 2014. I converted the entire archive into HTML, Markdown and even an EPUB that I can now read on my Kindle. As I started looking through all of that old writing, I realized something I had almost forgotten. Before I was a podcaster, I was a writer. In fact, before I recorded my first podcast episode in December 2005, I had already spent years writing online. At one point, I was even working toward becoming a published author. Podcasting changed everything for me because it allowed me to communicate ideas in a fraction of the time it took me to write and polish a long-form article. Eventually, audio became my primary creative medium and I mostly left long-form writing behind. Today, the economics of writing have changed for me. With the tools I now have available, especially the way I use ChatGPT as part of my creative process, I can take an idea that might once have required six or eight hours of writing and editing and turn it into something I'm proud to publish in one or two hours. At the same time, I recognize that my written content currently has the potential to reach significantly more people through my email list, LinkedIn, Facebook and Substack than I'm reaching through my audio podcasts alone. All of this contributed to my recent decision to step away from my commitment to producing The Cliff Ravenscraft Show and Podcast Answer Man every single week. I'm returning to what I call "inspired content only." My commitment is simple. There will be at least one new episode of each show every calendar month. Beyond that, I may publish two episodes, five episodes or considerably more whenever there is something I genuinely feel inspired to share. In this episode, I talk through that decision, my rediscovery of myself as a writer, my thoughts about written, audio and video content, and why I'm becoming much more intentional about where I invest my creative energy. I also share a few things happening in my world right now, including my upcoming trip to VidSummit, some of what I've been doing with ChatGPT automations, and a story about how a cracked PLAUD Note Pro turned into three brand new devices. That final story became an example of something I think about constantly in my own life and in my coaching. When I encounter an undesirable circumstance, eventually I want to get beyond my reaction to the problem and ask a different question. What is my desired outcome? Once I know that, I can start looking for the options that might move me toward it. Relevant Links Next Level Mastermind: Momentum: https://www.cliffravenscraft.com/momentum Substack: https://cliffravenscraft.substack.com LinkedIn Newsletter: The Entrepreneur’s Journey :  https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/the-entrepreneur’s-journey-7275950143143604225 PLAUD Note Pro Affiliate Link: http://plaudus.sjv.io/en2jd6 Affiliate disclosure: If you purchase a PLAUD product through my affiliate link, I may receive a commission.  

Stephanie and I are celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary. Thirty years. As we thought about how we wanted to mark this milestone, I had the idea of sitting down together with 30 questions designed to help us reflect on the life we have built, the challenges we have navigated, the ways we have changed, and what we have learned about love and partnership along the way. Neither of us reviewed the questions ahead of time. That turned out to be part of what made this conversation so meaningful. Some questions immediately opened the door to stories we had not talked about in years. Some caused us to see our past differently. A few contained assumptions we completely rejected, which led to conversations that were probably more revealing than the questions themselves. We talked about the two young people who got married 30 years ago and what they understood, and misunderstood, about love. We reflected on the financial struggles of our early years, including digging through our change jar to buy gasoline with pennies. We talked about becoming parents, the mistakes we made, the parenting philosophies we eventually rejected, and our realization that we were not simply raising children. We were raising adults. We revisited the season when I left the insurance business and we went all in on building our own business, including the enormous financial and emotional pressure that decision created. We talked about how our beliefs have changed, how our understanding of marriage has changed, and how we have learned to give each other the freedom to continue becoming who we are. One of the themes that emerged throughout the conversation is that neither of us needs the other to remain the person we used to be. Stephanie is not simply my wife. I am not simply her husband. Neither of us completes the other because neither of us is incomplete. Instead, we have created a relationship where we can continue growing, changing, exploring, and becoming while choosing to walk through life together. There is one phrase from this conversation that may stay with me more than anything else. Recently, while Stephanie and I were navigating a particularly difficult and emotionally charged situation, I asked her, “Are we good?” Her response was: “We’re never not good.” That phrase captures something about our marriage that I had never been able to articulate quite that way before. Circumstances change. Money changes. Health changes. Children grow up. Beliefs evolve. Careers shift. Life brings things we could never predict. But our relationship is not built on those surface-level circumstances. As we approached the final question, we were asked to imagine sitting together on our 60th wedding anniversary and looking back on the next 30 years. What would need to happen for us to consider that second half of our life extraordinary? My answer ultimately became very simple. I have no idea what the next 30 years will bring. But if I have the opportunity to partner with Stephanie through all of it, that will be extraordinary. This episode is a special crossover episode of Building a Life and Business Together, The Cliff Ravenscraft Show, and Thriving Mosaic. I hope our conversation encourages you to think about the relationships, choices, changes, and experiences that are shaping your own life. And perhaps it will even inspire you to sit down with someone you love and ask a few questions of your own.

Last weekend, I did something I had never done before. I drove a 15-foot U-Haul more than 1,000 miles from Northern Kentucky to Fort Worth, Texas, while pulling my daughter’s 2015 Toyota Corolla on a tow dolly. For weeks leading up to the trip, my mind was rehearsing everything that could possibly go wrong. What if I had to back up? Would I be able to navigate gas stations? Where would I park overnight? Could I make it through narrow construction lanes? What would it feel like driving with 18-wheelers on either side of me? I did what I could to prepare. I watched videos, asked questions, learned how to secure the car, and got advice from someone who had done it before. But there were some things I simply could not learn ahead of time. I had to get behind the wheel. At my first fuel stop, my nervous system was in overdrive. I asked my wife and daughter not to talk while I figured out how to maneuver this entire setup through the gas station. And then I did it. Nothing terrible happened. The second fuel stop was easier. By the fourth or fifth stop, my attitude had completely changed. What had felt overwhelming only hours earlier was becoming normal. Eventually, I was driving at highway speeds with an 18-wheeler on my left and another on my right, and it felt like no big deal. The U-Haul had not gotten smaller. The tow dolly had not gotten narrower. The Corolla was still hanging off the back. The roads had not changed. I had changed. I now had experience. My mind had wanted confidence before I had the experience, but it was the experience itself that created the confidence. Every mile gave me evidence. Every fuel stop gave me evidence. Every narrow lane and every turn gave me evidence. And even when something actually did go wrong and we had to replace the tow dolly along the way, I discovered that I could handle that too. This experience reminded me of something that applies to so many areas of life and business. Sometimes we are mentally rehearsing something over and over, waiting until we feel confident enough to begin. But maybe confidence is not what we need first. Maybe we need to get behind the wheel, pull out of the driveway, and allow experience to give us the evidence that thinking never can. What are you mentally rehearsing right now? What are you waiting to feel confident about before you begin? I’d love to hear what it is for you. Email me at [email protected].

Several months ago, I published an episode called “The Most Powerful Journaling Practice I’ve Ever Experienced.” Since then, I have continued using this practice every day, seven days a week. Over time, it has evolved into something much more structured, valuable, and revealing than I originally understood. PLAUD Note Pro Affiliate Link: http://plaudus.sjv.io/en2jd6 Affiliate disclosure: If you purchase a PLAUD product through my affiliate link, I may receive a commission. In this episode, I share my complete daily logging and reflection process. This practice begins with short audio recordings throughout the day. I normally start when I wake up. Sometimes I simply record the time, where I am, and how I feel. Other mornings, I use the recording as a spoken version of morning pages, allowing my stream of consciousness to come out without editing or organizing it. Throughout the rest of the day, I record short check-ins about things such as: my emotional state my priorities for the day the focused block of work I am entering distractions that pull me away from what I intended to do meaningful events and decisions business and relationship developments insights from coaching conversations unexpected disruptions positive feedback and moments worth remembering the stories being told by what I call my inner narrator These recordings may last ten seconds or several minutes. The point is not to create a perfect record of the day. The purpose is to capture meaningful experiences before they disappear from my conscious awareness. The Problem This Practice Solves Before developing this consistent practice, my evaluation of a day was often disproportionately shaped by what remained unfinished. At the end of the day, my inner narrator would frequently focus on: the newest problem the strongest emotional reaction an unresolved decision an open loop something that did not go according to plan something that still needed to be fixed A day could contain hours of meaningful work, valuable conversations, good decisions, relational connection, and personal growth. Yet one emotionally charged problem late in the afternoon could cause me to conclude that the entire day had gone poorly. Daily logging gives me a more complete set of evidence. Turning the Daily Log Into a Daily Reflection At the end of the day, I select all of the audio recordings and merge them into one file. There may be fifteen to thirty-five individual recordings. I then create a transcript and bring it into ChatGPT. I call my ChatGPT Mira, because I use it as a mirror. Throughout the day, I may already have used the same conversation thread to process emails, decisions, relationship dynamics, business questions, coaching insights, and transcripts from other conversations. At the end of the day, I ask Mira to treat the entire thread as context. I specifically instruct it not to give me a simple chronological summary. I want it to identify: the real headline of the day the major themes what shifted what became clearer what remains unresolved patterns in my thinking and behavior places where my actions aligned with my stated values places where they did not blind spots I may be missing strategic feedback potential action items what deserves to be carried into tomorrow I ask for compassion, but I also ask for directness and meaningful pushback. What I Do With the Reflection Once the reflection is complete, I copy it into my journal inside Notion. I also paste the entire reflection into Speechify and listen to it read aloud. Hearing the day reflected back to me is a powerful experience. It allows me to receive the day as a complete experience rather than judging it according to whatever happened most recently. The following morning, I may return to the reflection and carry certain insights into: my meditation my morning pages my planning upcoming coaching conversations my personal development my next committed action What This Practice Has Produced This daily reflection practice has helped me: identify systems producing both desired and undesired results reduce commitments that are not aligned with my priorities recognize recurring patterns in my inner narration protect focused blocks of time more effectively catch distractions more quickly refine my Momentum Methodology strengthen boundaries with my calendar and communication challenge the belief that I am not doing enough recognize how much meaningful work I actually accomplish recover the larger meaning of days that might otherwise feel disappointing There have been many days when I reached the evening feeling as though the day had gone badly. But after receiving the complete reflection, I could see that the narrator’s version of the day was incomplete. In more than three months of this practice, there has never been a day when the full reflection supported the conclusion that nothing meaningful had happened. An Important Caution I am not asking AI to tell me who I am. I do not allow AI to make my decisions. I am asking it to reflect a fuller record of my own words and lived experiences back to me. It may offer interpretations, but I remain responsible for evaluating them. I can challenge the interpretation, correct missing context, or reject something that feels untrue or unaligned. The value is not that AI becomes an authority over my life. The value is improved visibility. My narrator will always offer a version of the day. But that version often emphasizes what is unfinished, uncertain, emotionally charged, or potentially threatening. This reflection practice helps me see the whole day. Get My Complete Daily Reflection Prompt I have made my complete daily reflection prompt available to anyone who would like to use or adapt it. Email me at: [email protected] Put the words: Reflection Prompt in the subject line. In the email, tell me one area of your life or business where you would like to create more momentum, and ask me for the prompt. I will personally read your email and send you the complete prompt I currently use for my own daily reflections.  

A few weeks ago, in Episode 827, I talked about attention, distraction, and intentionally subtracting the things that pull me away from what matters most. But removing external distractions doesn’t solve everything. I’ve discovered that some of my strongest distractions come from inside my own mind. A new idea appears. I remember something I need to do. I suddenly want to build something in Notion. And before I know it, I’ve abandoned the very thing I intentionally blocked time to accomplish. In this episode, I share two simple practices that have dramatically changed how I protect my focused work: Capture and Return When an important idea or reminder comes to mind, I capture it quickly without acting on it. This matters—but not now. I don’t have to dishonor a good idea in order to honor my current commitment. Release and Return Sometimes I realize the thought doesn’t deserve any further attention at all. Or sometimes I discover that I’ve already wandered down a rabbit trail. Instead of judging myself or turning the distraction into failure: No shame. No drama. Notice it. Release it. Return. That led me to a deeper realization: The goal is not to never get distracted. The practice is learning to return. I also explore how this connects with more than 1,600 consecutive days of meditation and one of the central statements from my personal manifesto: Discipline is the loving protection of what I am devoted to. Protected focus starts with knowing your desired outcome, understanding why it matters, identifying the next aligned action, and putting that action on your calendar. Then, when the time comes: Protect what you said you were devoted to. Capture and return. Release and return. And keep returning. Ready to Create More Momentum? If you have a desired outcome but need greater clarity, honest reflection, strategic feedback, aligned next actions, calendared commitment, protected focus, and relational accountability to help you move forward, I invite you to explore Next Level Mastermind: Momentum. Learn more at: https://cliffravenscraft.com/momentum