In this episode of Books to Better Your Life, Anne Brinkman sits down with author and career coach Sandy Johnson to discuss her inspiring new book Experience Not Required. Part memoir, part self-help, and part adventure story, Sandy’s book encourages readers to embrace the freedom of being a “rookie” and step into new experiences—even when they don’t know how to begin.
Sandy shares the sparks that led her to writing, from childhood inspiration with Harriet the Spy to publishing her first articles, and ultimately to embarking on adventures like climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and running a race in the Sahara Desert. She opens up about the discomfort of learning something new, the power of recommitting when doubt sets in, and how confidence grows not before action, but because of it.
Together, Anne and Sandy explore themes of adventure, belonging, confidence, and possibility—reminding us that trying something new doesn’t require expertise, only a willingness to begin.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
Why embracing the role of “rookie” can be freeing rather than embarrassing
The connection between discomfort, persistence, and growing confidence
How sharing your dreams out loud invites support, resources, and new opportunities
Noteworthy quotes from this episode:
“Confidence isn't something that you just decide you're going to feel. I need to feel more confident. It's a result of actually doing.”
“When we're little kids, we just say out loud, oh, “I want to be an astronaut,” “I want to be the president.” We say things because we have no idea about what's required to get there. And as adults we know what's required. So we just shut things down as that's not possible. That's the problem.”
“Everybody that ever tried something new or invented something didn't know anything, we are figuring it out as we go along.”
“I find that a lot of us, when we get to a certain stage of life we are afraid to admit that we haven't done something before. We want to appear capable and experienced and even experts. And it can be embarrassing to say “I don't know how” or “I haven't done this before” “
Resources & Links Mentioned in This Episode:
Experience Not Required by Sandy Johnson — Available on Amazon (Kindle & paperback)
Visit Sandy’s website: experiencenotrequired.ca
Connect with Anne Brinkman
Website: www.betteryour.life
LinkedIn: @coachannebrinkman
Free confidence recordings: www.betteryour.life/audio
Newsletter: get notified of new podcast episodes or blog posts
Free discovery session: get support on your own personal growth journey
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In this episode of Books to Better Your Life, Anne Brinkman sits down with author and career coach Sandy Johnson to discuss her inspiring new book Experience Not Required. Part memoir, part self-help, and part adventure story, Sandy’s book encourages readers to embrace the freedom of being a “rookie” and step into new experiences—even when they don’t know how to begin.
Sandy shares the sparks that led her to writing, from childhood inspiration with Harriet the Spy to publishing her first articles, and ultimately to embarking on adventures like climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and running a race in the Sahara Desert. She opens up about the discomfort of learning something new, the power of recommitting when doubt sets in, and how confidence grows not before action, but because of it.
Together, Anne and Sandy explore themes of adventure, belonging, confidence, and possibility—reminding us that trying something new doesn’t require expertise, only a willingness to begin.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
Why embracing the role of “rookie” can be freeing rather than embarrassing
The connection between discomfort, persistence, and growing confidence
How sharing your dreams out loud invites support, resources, and new opportunities
Noteworthy quotes from this episode:
“Confidence isn't something that you just decide you're going to feel. I need to feel more confident. It's a result of actually doing.”
“When we're little kids, we just say out loud, oh, “I want to be an astronaut,” “I want to be the president.” We say things because we have no idea about what's required to get there. And as adults we know what's required. So we just shut things down as that's not possible. That's the problem.”
“Everybody that ever tried something new or invented something didn't know anything, we are figuring it out as we go along.”
“I find that a lot of us, when we get to a certain stage of life we are afraid to admit that we haven't done something before. We want to appear capable and experienced and even experts. And it can be embarrassing to say “I don't know how” or “I haven't done this before” “
Resources & Links Mentioned in This Episode:
Experience Not Required by Sandy Johnson — Available on Amazon (Kindle & paperback)
Visit Sandy’s website: experiencenotrequired.ca
Connect with Anne Brinkman
Website: www.betteryour.life
LinkedIn: @coachannebrinkman
Free confidence recordings: www.betteryour.life/audio
Newsletter: get notified of new podcast episodes or blog posts
Free discovery session: get support on your own personal growth journey
What if I told you that real change is not only possible but also simpler than you think?
In this episode of Books to Better Your Life, host Anne Brinkman explores James Clear’s best-seller, Atomic Habits. Clear teaches us that real, lasting change doesn’t require massive effort. It’s about making small, consistent tweaks that compound over time. Coach Anne also discusses the role of identity in habit formation and the Four Laws of Behavior Change before sharing her personal experiences with habit formation and challenging listeners to adopt small habits to improve their lives.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
-The power of tiny, incremental habits to create significant results.
-The importance of aligning habits with one's identity and beliefs.
-The Four Laws of Behavior Change: Making habits obvious, attractive, easy, and satisfying.
-An easy way to begin putting Clear’s key strategies to work in your own life over the next seven days.
Noteworthy quotes
“What I see in my clients is often they are beating themselves up for a lot of things – for not having motivation, for being lazy, not being able to do these things they want to. Yet sometimes all it really comes down to is them not being aware of how to develop habits.”
“A little thing done time after time starts to create big results.”
“Each time you do a habit, it's a vote for an identity.”
“Imagine a smoker being offered a cigarette replying, 'No thanks, I'm trying to quit,' versus a smoker who says, 'No thanks, I don't smoke.' One has adopted and accepted that [new] identity and one still believes in that old identity.”
Resources and links mentioned in this episode:
-James Clear’s Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones. Buy it from Amazon https://amzn.to/3TCzVbZ or Bookshop https://bookshop.org/a/106951/9780735211292. *
-Clear’s website: jamesclear.com
-Clear’s inspiring 3-2-1 newsletter https://jamesclear.com/3-2-1
Connect with Anne Brinkman
Website: www.betteryour.life
LinkedIn: @coachannebrinkman
Free confidence recordings: www.betteryour.life/audio
Newsletter: get notified of new podcast episodes or blog posts https://better-your-life-coaching.ck.page/
Free discovery session: get support on your own personal growth journey http://www.betteryour.life/schedule
* As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.
As a Bookshop affiliate, I receive a commission and every book you buy on Bookshop.org also supports local, independent bookstores.
Books to Better Your Life
In this episode of Books to Better Your Life, Anne Brinkman sits down with author and career coach Sandy Johnson to discuss her inspiring new book Experience Not Required. Part memoir, part self-help, and part adventure story, Sandy’s book encourages readers to embrace the freedom of being a “rookie” and step into new experiences—even when they don’t know how to begin.
Sandy shares the sparks that led her to writing, from childhood inspiration with Harriet the Spy to publishing her first articles, and ultimately to embarking on adventures like climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and running a race in the Sahara Desert. She opens up about the discomfort of learning something new, the power of recommitting when doubt sets in, and how confidence grows not before action, but because of it.
Together, Anne and Sandy explore themes of adventure, belonging, confidence, and possibility—reminding us that trying something new doesn’t require expertise, only a willingness to begin.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
Why embracing the role of “rookie” can be freeing rather than embarrassing
The connection between discomfort, persistence, and growing confidence
How sharing your dreams out loud invites support, resources, and new opportunities
Noteworthy quotes from this episode:
“Confidence isn't something that you just decide you're going to feel. I need to feel more confident. It's a result of actually doing.”
“When we're little kids, we just say out loud, oh, “I want to be an astronaut,” “I want to be the president.” We say things because we have no idea about what's required to get there. And as adults we know what's required. So we just shut things down as that's not possible. That's the problem.”
“Everybody that ever tried something new or invented something didn't know anything, we are figuring it out as we go along.”
“I find that a lot of us, when we get to a certain stage of life we are afraid to admit that we haven't done something before. We want to appear capable and experienced and even experts. And it can be embarrassing to say “I don't know how” or “I haven't done this before” “
Resources & Links Mentioned in This Episode:
Experience Not Required by Sandy Johnson — Available on Amazon (Kindle & paperback)
Visit Sandy’s website: experiencenotrequired.ca
Connect with Anne Brinkman
Website: www.betteryour.life
LinkedIn: @coachannebrinkman
Free confidence recordings: www.betteryour.life/audio
Newsletter: get notified of new podcast episodes or blog posts
Free discovery session: get support on your own personal growth journey
