“In a world that eats with its eyes first, we have to ask ourselves, ‘What does success look like to me?’”

Those are the words of Jenna Kutcher (she/her), a photographer turned host of The Goal Digger podcast and now, author of How Are You, Really? In her debut book, Jenna encourages you to get honest and live your truth in a bigger, bolder way by asking yourself how you are (really). Because we all know “fine” and “good” aren’t always the real answers.

Below, the Minnesotan explains the meanings behind our fav quotes from her book, and we hope she inspires you as much as she did us.

“We can’t move forward if we don’t pause long enough to see where we are.”
There have been times when I’ve reached certain goals and been like, “This doesn’t feel the way I thought it would.” And that’s because I didn’t start with: What are my values? Sure, shooting a wedding in Paris looks cool, but if I value being home with my family, maybe the other side of the world isn’t the right destination. So this is a call to do a full, investigative life inventory. To be honest about where point A is before you get to point B. If we don’t pause long enough to pick the starting place of our route, the directions will never work.

“Creativity is inherent, ready to be unearthed at any given moment.”
My 3-year-old has taught me so much about this, because in our digital world, we’ve forgotten to play for the sake of it. We’ve lost the art of writing letters and using playdough and making block towers. We work hard to have more time, but then we spend that time working harder. So this is a reminder to use your hands, to create something without selling it, to remember how good it feels to sit with a blank page and literally just fill it. And doing this can make us creative in other areas of life, too.

“We work on the idea itself, rather than doing the work that turns the idea into the thing.”
So often we focus on doing everything but the actual thing that will move us forward. When I started the Goal Digger podcast, I spent so much time thinking about the logo, the format, the intro song, and everything except for hitting “record.” Our pausing for perfection leads to procrastination. So how do we change that? How do we start releasing things into the world before we feel ready? It’s hard, but it’s crucial.

“What’s your life currency? What do you want more of (and be honest), time, energy or money?”
When I first started my business, I traded my time to earn money—I couldn’t believe I could get paid to do what I loved. That was one season of my life. Then, once I started making money, I said, “I will pay any amount of money to save time, whether it’s getting groceries delivered, hiring a virtual assistant, or whatever that is.” So I think each season in life calls for a different priority. In this season, it’s energy. I just need to be able to jump out of bed and be present throughout the day.

“It’s not about conquering the world, curing a disease, or building a mass of wealth. Legacy, plain and simple, is what you leave behind.”
When I think about legacy, I imagine my teeny tiny daughters someday reading this book, and not thinking, “How can I be more like my mom?” but, “How can I be more myself?” This book is me saying, “Here’s what I’ve learned so far, and here’s how it might ring true to you, too.” That message is going to span generations. When we picture legacy, it doesn’t have to be this big old room with a grandfather and his son. We are actively living our legacy at this very moment.