Early Accountability

On this episode of the Early Accountability Podcast, Kimi focuses on another good way to do some spring cleaning – by being intentional about a digital declutter. These days, it seems like everything that needs to be done can be done online or through an app, especially since COVID-19 pushed so many things to go virtual. This can lead to digital clutter and unnecessary overwhelm, so take this as your sign that you need to follow this list and bring back some clarity to your life. 1.Unhoard – You know that iPhone 4 and your laptop from 10 years ago that you keep in that closet in the hall? You aren’t going to need them, but perhaps someone else can. Do some research in your area about technology donation and recycling programs to take that weight off of your mind. 2.Unsubscribe – Check out your latest bank statement or account summary to see what subscriptions you are paying for every month or every year – chances are, you will find a few things that you aren’t using and you can stop paying for. The same goes

Our topic on this episode of the Early Accountability Podcast is the positive changes you can make this spring, as you spring forward into more daylight and towards your goals. Spring is a natural time of reflection and refreshment because we can visually see new life springing up around us and it calls new life to spring up within us as well. Kimi provides 3 suggestions for entering this new season: 1.Recalibrate – Prioritize sleep and rest by starting to wind down earlier in the evenings and setting the environment to facilitate rest. Schedule breaks for yourself during the day, during the week, during the month, and beyond to reduce the likelihood of burnout. Track a positive habit that you are doing and you want to keep doing. 2.Spring clean – Look for things you can let go of – material things, emotional things, relationships, responsibilities, and anything else that might be holding you back. This will give you the space to be open to the next level. 3.Plant and grow – Look for what you can nurture – wi

On this International Women’s Day (Monday, March 8, 2021), Kimi reflects on the meaning and purpose of the day as well as ways listeners can participate in promoting change. The theme of this year’s celebration is “choose to challenge” which aligns well with the Early Accountability mindset of promoting inclusivity, calling out inequalities, and celebrating the achievements of those around you – in particular, women. Here are 5 ways that you can be involved in promoting change, today and every day: 1.Dialogue with others – Have open lines of communication with your family, friends, coworkers, children, and members of groups you are involved with about ways that women are being marginalized. 2.Share information – Encourage yourself and others to learn more about inequality. 3.Highlight the accomplishments of others – Be intentional about lifting up people from marginalized groups and underrepresented fields – Black women in STEM, for instance. 4.Support businesses – Promote positive behavior by patronizing

On this episode of the Early Accountability Podcast, Kimi finishes up her 3-part 3-year anniversary series by sharing the third lesson that she has learned in the past year of podcasting. As you may remember, the first lesson was “do what works for you” and the second lesson was “find your squad.” This third lesson is “know when it is time to level up.” After 3 years of podcasting, Kimi has gotten pretty comfortable behind the mic, interviewing guests and bringing relevant content to you, the listeners. So now she is feeling the pull to expand Early Accountability into more than just a podcast, mainly through the new community and through YouTube content. It isn’t easy to step outside of your comfort zone, but that is the only way you will grow in knowledge, understanding, and experience. Hopefully you will find Kimi’s expansions into the online community and more video content to be helpful to you in connecting with others who are on similar journeys and collaborating to bring about more of the results and

This episode of the Early Accountability Podcast focuses on privilege, the different ways that it manifests, and Kimi’s suggestions for moving past it to practice more empathy. With February being Black History Month and all of the conversations about privilege that have taken place over the past year or so, this seemed like a good time to talk about privilege when it comes to race, culture, preferences, and beliefs. While recording this episode, Kimi is in Colombia. She likes to prioritize immersing herself in other cultures, particularly to help her become fluent in Spanish, and her current trip is making her very aware of the privilege that she has in being a foreigner and particularly an American. It is human nature to feel privilege when you are faced with people or circumstances that are different than you are used to, but it doesn’t have to be your default setting. 1.Have an honest dialogue with yourself – Consider any conscious and unconscious biases you may have and try to see things from the other

We are letting the good times roll over here at Early Accountability Podcast as we continue to celebrate the 3rd anniversary of the show! On the last episode, Kimi talked about her first key takeaway from the show so far: do what works for you and be consistent. Going along with the overall purpose of the podcast, helping others set, achieve, and sustain their goals, the takeaway on this episode is finding your squad. As Kimi mentioned last week, she doesn’t ever relisten to her episodes after recording them, so she knew from day one that she was not going to edit or write show notes for the Early Accountability Podcast. She found Emmy to edit the episodes and he has been consistently editing the podcast for 160 episodes and counting! For show notes, Kimi started out using a service to do show notes and transcription, but she changed gears and found Kelsey to just do show notes a few episodes after launch. At this point, the editing and writing is basically a seamless and automatic process because the team h

The Early Accountability Podcast is 3 years old and we are so excited! To mark this special milestone, Kimi is going to do a 3-part mini-series on the purpose of the podcast and her key takeaways from doing a weekly show for the past 159 weeks. Kimi is discussing the first takeaway on this episode: consistency is king. It has taken a lot of intentionality and planning to produce a podcast episode every single week. You can always come up with reasons not to do something, but you have to make sure that your reasons why you should are more important to you and will spur you on to action. For Kimi, it has been crucial to find what works for her and tune out the noise of what other people are saying that could put her off-course. When she first started podcasting, she reached out to a few experienced podcasters to see how they approached their podcasts, but she never took what they said as gospel and she realized the importance of blazing her own trail. Kimi outsources the editing of her podcast to someone who

The Early Accountability Podcast has finally launched a community! This is the (FREE) place to be for all things early accountability and goal activation! There will be exclusive content, special events, opportunities to connect with past guests, and best of all, so many ways for you to STAY ACCOUNTABLE, no matter what your goals are! Here is the link to sign up: https://kimiwalker.live/squad

This episode of the Early Accountability Podcast addresses a recent situation that happened to Kimi that turned out to be a good learning experience for listeners of the podcast. As you walk your own path, there will be times that you are confronted by people who don’t catch your vision and who take it upon themselves to give unsolicited advice that might feel abrupt and unnecessary. But rather than letting that push you off course or immediately respond with the wrong tone, Kimi recommends stepping back and considering a few things: 1.Everyone isn’t going to have your best interests at heart 2.People will give you unsolicited advice from time to time 3.The best immediate response is to pause and collect your thoughts – Once you have gotten grounded in who you are and the path you are walking, you can explain to them your motivations and why what they said was not helpful. 4.Remember that you don’t know their journey either – Empathy is often lacking in situations where feelings are hurt, so be careful no

While a lot of the methods and platforms for reaching goals in 2021 have been altered due to COVID-19, Kimi says that there are 3 non-negotiables that you need to keep in mind as you strive to activate your goals and achieve success. These are things you should put into your own personal “accountability toolkit” that will guide you through the year. 1.Right words – Be clear about your goals. Write them down in a format that works for you. Make sure your goals are realistic and then declare them in a way that will cultivate accountability. 2.Recharge – Especially during 2020 and 2021 when so much of our lives are still based at our homes, it is easy to overlook your own energy level. Make sure you take the time to relax, refresh, and refrain from the things that are draining you. Take care of yourself, providing time to rest, sleep, think, and just be. 3.Relationships – Connection is the cure – not for COVID-19 unfortunately, but for goals that fall flat or fail to launch. Be intentional about nurturing you

Perhaps you are already finding yourself struggling to work towards your goals this 2021. On this episode of the Early Accountability Podcast, Kimi talks about the main barrier that could be getting in your way and how to shift your mindset to overcome. Your mind is the one thing that can make or break your progress towards your goals because it can either help or hinder you from getting there. Here are some of the reasons that your mind could be holding you back: 1.Worrying too much about other people – Your mind could get caught up in worrying about what people think or say about you and keep you from moving forward. Instead, work to shelter yourself from their thoughts. Funneling out the noise will help you get back on track and make progress. 2.Thinking that COVID-19 is a barrier – While there may be some changes or restrictions, you can still choose to adapt and be cognitively flexible and work towards your goals despite the effects of the pandemic. There are also opportunities such as virtual networki

Happy 2021, everyone! While this new year may feel different than all the rest due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, new year’s resolutions may be more important now than ever. On this episode of the Early Accountability Podcast, Kimi discusses four tips for coming up with pandemic-proof resolutions that can help keep you moving, give you meaning, and provide some structure to the daily grind. Establishing new resolutions or goals for the new year is a great opportunity for evaluating what things you need to stop, start, or continue, so consider these recommendations as you think through yours: 1.Think long-term – With so many unknowns in the world right now, it could be difficult to set many short-term goals or resolutions. Find one or more things that you want to accomplish in the next 6+ months, recognizing that restrictions may ease up a bit by then, or perhaps not. 2.Find short-term motivators – While you are setting your ultimate sights on a bigger goal, you will likely find it easier to break up that

It is almost 2021, which means it is time to pick your word for the year. On this episode of The Early Accountability Podcast, Kimi explains the purpose behind choosing a word and gives listeners some simple and helpful tips for determining which word will be best for them. You want to choose a word that will inspire you, give you power, guide you, and give you a reference point throughout 2021’s ups and downs, so consider following these steps to figure out your word: 1.Reflect on 2020 – Think about what you were able to accomplish, what did not go as planned, the uncertainties you had to navigate, and the ways you had to be flexible. 2.Visualize 2021 – Think of what you need right now – what you need more of or less of. Ask yourself: Who do I want to be in a year? Where do I want to be in a year? Write your answers down and make your goals specific and realistic. 3.Brainstorm – Come up with a list of words that might work for you in 2021. 4.Pause, then pick – Take a few days to think over your list bef

In conclusion of our conversation from last week, Kimi talks during this episode about what accountability partners and groups are NOT: •They are not a substitute for therapy – Be clear about what you need from your accountability circle and draw the line at things that belong in another environment. This can be difficult if you are working one-on-one with someone on accountability for a certain aspect of your life and you start opening up about other things that are going on. Don’t be afraid to reach out for professional counseling or help. •They are not a dumping ground for all of your problems – Remember that you are not the only one with problems in the group, so don’t monopolize the group’s time complaining or making excuses. Rising above your circumstances and choosing to put in the work to make yourself better is half the battle. •They are not supposed to involve dragging, pleading, or begging others to show up – If you or someone else in the group is not showing up or not putting in the work, this

On this episode of the Early Accountability Podcast, Kimi expounds on her recent push to be more visible and encourage more of a community atmosphere through Early Accountability. A part of this is an accountability circle that she has been leading, and this episode of the podcast is about what accountability is and what it can look like. An accountability partner or group is: •Formed by people working on a common goal or task – You are likely in a similar stage of life, either personal or professional, and the group provides a place for them to share, discuss, and bounce ideas off of each other. •A way for people to remain committed and connected – You tend to experience similar hiccups and hangups as well as triumphs and wins. •A safe place for reflection – This could be on the good, the bad, or the ugly. •A safe place to brainstorm – Since you are all in similar situations, you can collaborate and give each other new perspectives. •A place for encouragement and affirmation – Sometimes all you need to

Our topic on this episode of the Early Accountability Podcast is visibility: why it is difficult to do and why it is so important. Whether you are thinking of starting a podcast, writing a book, starting a blog, teaching a course, or just talking about an important subject, there could be many reasons why you are hesitant to put yourself out there: •Fear – Fear often holds us back. This could be fear of public speaking, fear of ridicule, imposter syndrome, or other obstacles that tell us we are not good enough to put ourselves out there. •Self-consciousness – This ties into fear, but it goes a step beyond to make us feel like there is something wrong with us. During the pandemic, this can manifest in not feeling “presentable enough” to record videos because of the lack of professional help for hair, makeup, photography, etc. and because you might feel like you don’t have a good space in your house to record video content. •You think people already know – Just because you know something doesn’t mean everyon

Join my FREE 10-Day Video Visibility Challenge for Entrepreneurs. #WATCHMEWork2020 The kick-off meeting is on December 6th, 2020 at 7pm ET. https://kimiwalker.live/watchmework

Our topic on this episode of the Early Accountability Podcast is being aware of the impacts that the holidays can have on mental health. This time of year can be characterized by stress, fatigue, expectations, travel exhaustion, financial strains, isolation, grief, and difficult relationships and interactions with loved ones, and the impacts of COVID-19 on our plans this season only escalate these feelings. Now – more than ever – it is important to be self-aware and take proactive steps to keep yourself happy, reduce stress, and take care of your mental health. Kimi outlines 5 things to try this season to make the most of this “different” holiday season: 1.Allow yourself to feel – Give yourself permission to be where you are right now. 2.Resist the temptation to give into social pressures – For the health of yourself and others, say “no” to events and gatherings that you don’t feel comfortable attending. 3.Enjoy the outdoors – Being outside is a great way to spend time with others in a socially distanced

This episode of the Early Accountability Podcast contains the conclusion of Kimi and Tyran’s conversation in which they are going through the Resolutions to Results framework with Tyran’s goals for the next 90 days. We have reached the final stage of the framework: activation and creating a plan. Considering that Tyran’s achievement style is the Juggler, it is even more important that he think through and plan out his next steps towards achieving each of these goals. Regarding his goal of launching a new product for Life Behind the Beard, Kimi and Tyran determined that he can establish which product they are going to launch as well as make some decisions about marketing and potential pre-sales within the next 2 weeks. Within the next 4 weeks, Tyran can have labelling the products taken care of and he will have put some more thought into whether it is worth it to continue to use the marketing agency they have hired. Kimi recommended that Tyran and Gary leverage their social media to increase awareness and bu

EAP 146: Know Your Weaknesses, Play to Your Strengths by Kimi Walker