The Spreadsheet Wasn't the Problem (Jo Moment)

Doors are now open for the July 6 intake of Balance & Beyond!
If you've recognised yourself in the patterns we've explored in this episode and you're ready to move beyond awareness into real change, we'd love to support you. Find out more and book a conversation with our team here: https://www.balanceinstitute.com/balance-and-beyond

We talk about the hidden reason smart, capable women stay stuck even when they know exactly what to do. We share a personal story about the moment “research” turned into fear avoidance and the decision that changed everything. 
• noticing the pattern of waiting for the right time 
• separating real due diligence from bargaining with fear 
• the “spreadsheet from hell” as a sign of avoidance 
• the question that exposes what we’re truly afraid of 
• why certainty comes after the decision, not before it 
• simple everyday examples of decisions we delay 
• choosing action over endless research 

Book the call.

The Balance & Beyond Podcast Hosted by Jo Stone, founder of The Balance Institute

For women who are already succeeding, but beginning to wonder if they're willing to keep losing themselves in the process.

We know high achievers, because we are one. This podcast draws on Jo's 20 years in global leadership and thousands of hours coaching executives and ambitious women: the patterns she sees, how to untangle them, and what it actually takes to keep your success without paying for it with yourself.

If something landed today, there's more where that came from.

And if you know a woman this would resonate with, send it her way.

🎙️https://www.balanceinstitute.com/podcast
🔗 www.balanceinstitute.com
💼https://au.linkedin.com/in/stonejoanne
📷 @therealjostone

Transcript

Welcome And A Quick Reset

Jo Stone (Host) 0:04

Welcome to Balance and Beyond Moments, your weekly dose of insight, wisdom, and mindset shifts, all in 10 minutes or less. Whether it's a powerful truth, a fresh perspective, or a spark of inspiration, this is your space to pause, reflect, and reset. Let's dive in.

The Pattern Of Waiting

Jo Stone (Host) 0:22

I just finished the overdrive reset, and along with hundreds of women uncovering all kinds of patterns, one kept showing up over and over again. Women who know exactly what they need to do, they're intelligent, they're capable, but they still aren't doing it. Not because they don't know, because they're waiting. That's right, they're waiting, telling themselves that they're waiting for the right time, whether it's more money, less chaos, more confidence, more certainty. But I don't think that's what we're waiting for at all.

2018 Leap Into Business

Jo Stone (Host) 1:04

I want to take you back to 2018. I had left corporate and was the I'm gonna start my own business dream. I had no idea what I was doing. I had no clients, no list, nothing to sell, no brand, no nothing. I spent 12 months trying all kinds of different things, doing some consulting, doing some networking. But eventually I had this realization: okay, I am going to need to get in a room that I didn't currently have access to. I had to do something different because yes, I was bringing in some money, but I was the only breadwinner at this point.

The Spreadsheet From Hell

Jo Stone (Host) 1:43

Now, what did I do? I Googled the crap out of coaches, programs, options. I went down YouTube rabbit holes. I had a spreadsheet from hell. Every coach, hours of videos, I was watching testimonials. Now, note this was pre-AI. So I was making up the criteria. I was filling in the spreadsheet. I had prices, I had options, I had what the ROI might have been. The one that I had my heart set on was a $25,000 investment. Bear in mind, very, very little income. I had every excuse under the sun. The timing wasn't right. Mick and multiple children had health issues. Let's not forget, I had no money coming in. Really? Mick wasn't working. So no business. I was looking at cheaper options because maybe, you know, that one doesn't make any sense and that's a real leap of

Mick Calls Out The Real Fear

Jo Stone (Host) 2:43

faith. But turns out, despite the spreadsheet, I wasn't actually researching the coach. I was researching my way around fear. I remember clear as day when Mick said to me, I've already said go ahead and do it when I sat there and was like, so I found this other one. He's like, what's stopping you? And of course, I came back with, yeah, but the money and the kids and the na na na and it's time zones, and it's at 2 a.m. And how am I gonna? And da da da da. And he goes, You've been trying to do this by yourself for 12 months. What are you actually afraid of? Wait, oh, knife to the heart.

unknown 3:27

Oh my god.

Due Diligence Versus Bargaining

Jo Stone (Host) 3:29

Now, before you say to me, Yeah, Joe, but I do due diligence. I have spreadsheets too. Yeah, yeah, I know. So did I. You should have seen my spreadsheet. It was even color-coded. Now, I'm not saying I make reckless decisions. I'm not saying don't do your homework. However, there comes a point where you're not gathering information anymore. You already have enough. You are bargaining with fear. You're trying to find the article, the testimonial, the sign, the proof, the thing that finally makes the fear disappear. And it never does.

The Nauseous Yes And The Result

Jo Stone (Host) 4:12

I felt sick as I handed over my credit card details. Literally nauseous. But do you happen? That first year, after I handed over that money, after I signed up to a 12-week program that had two AM calls while I was consulting full-time and I had a very sick child. So all the excuses. The first year, I went from minus $55,000 to $450,000. Not because the coach magically fixed everything. It was because I stopped spending energy avoiding the decision and could actually move forward. This is

Certainty Comes After Decision

Jo Stone (Host) 4:58

what I've been watching all week happen. Women waiting until the list is done, until things settle down, until they feel ready, until they have more certainty. But those conditions never ever arrive. Because certainty isn't what comes before the decision, it's what comes after. If you have been circling something, you already know what it is. If you have a spreadsheet of something and it's

The Question That Breaks The Loop

Jo Stone (Host) 5:28

color-coded, you have been called out. Maybe it's a big investment, maybe it's a hard conversation, but maybe it's as simple as sitting down to eat breakfast or reading your book or booking that call you need to book. The question isn't what else do I need to know? It's what am I hoping more information will save me from? Because the feeling you're waiting for isn't coming. Ready is not a feeling. You will never feel ready. It's a decision. And at some point, you have to decide whether you're going to keep researching the life you want or start actually living it.

Book The Call And Claim Permission

Jo Stone (Host) 6:20

And if you're sitting there wondering whether Balance and Beyond is the thing for you because doors are now open, stop looking for more information. Book the call. Because I suspect you're not looking for certainty anymore. You're looking for permission. And you already have it.