Updated AF Collective
Welcome to the "Updated AF Collective," podcast where we celebrate the power and resilience of women.
Join me as we dive into inspiring stories, engage in meaningful conversations, and explore topics that empower women from all walks of life.
We believe that every woman has a unique strength within her, waiting to be unleashed.
Whether you're an entrepreneur, a leader, a creative, a caregiver, or simply on your own personal journey, this podcast is for you.
Updated AF Collective
Your Dreams Won't Work Unless You Do
What does it truly mean to go "all in" on the dream that's been tapping you on the shoulder? It's not the Instagram-worthy, quit-your-job-tomorrow recklessness that we often imagine, but rather a profound commitment to choosing alignment over approval, consistency over comfort, and your vision over your fears.
Drawing from my own transformative journey leaving law enforcement to pursue entrepreneurship, I explore why so many of us live at just 60% of our potential—surviving but not thriving, paying bills but not feeling fulfilled. That nagging voice saying "this can't be it" isn't just discontent; it's wisdom. Your soul recognizes when you're settling for "fine" instead of pursuing fire.
The fear of failing keeps so many dreams on permanent hold, but failure only happens when you completely give up. What's truly terrifying isn't taking the risk—it's looking back after decades of identical days and wondering what might have been. Building small, consistent habits (like writing for just 25 minutes daily instead of occasional marathon sessions) creates sustainable progress and builds the resilience you need for the journey.
Remember, if your calling isn't understood by everyone around you, that's actually confirmation you're on the right track. They weren't on the call. The universe gave you that intuition for a reason. So start where you are—messy, scared, unsure—and take one small action today. Because half-living will never satisfy a whole soul, and the life you want isn't going to magically appear. You have to go all in to create it.
What dream have you been keeping on the back burner? Share it with me on Instagram and let me be your cheerleader as you take those first brave steps. You were born for more than average—now get up and do the thing you've always wanted to do.
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Meg
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Hey friends, welcome back to Updated AF Collective. I am your host, Megan Wirth, and today we're diving into a topic that has changed the trajectory of my life more than once Going all in on your dreams, not sort it in not when the timing feels perfect because, let's be real, it's never freaking perfect and not when everyone is supporting you. There's going to be a lot of people in your life right now that are not going to support you, believe it or not, like I've always had more strangers supporting me than I did my friends and I have a theory on that, but I think that's for another episode. But yeah, I'm talking about the full body, heart forward, soul on fire, kind of commitment. Because here's the truth that no one tells you loud enough your dream will not work unless you do. Now listen, like I get it going all in is uncomfortable, it can feel reckless, it can feel selfish and, honestly, it can feel really, really lonely at times. That's literally like a lot of my life, especially when you're like in the messy middle of it all. It does feel very isolating.
Speaker 1:You're going to hear voices in your head Like what if I fail? What if I'm not ready? What will people think? But let me pause you right there and offer you something I had to learn the hard way. The fear of failing is a liar. It doesn't exist. It might exist. I shouldn't say it doesn't exist because, like I still to this day feel like I am constantly questioning myself Like, what if I fail? But you got to remember you don't fail unless you absolutely give up. But the need for permission is just a distraction and waiting until you feel ready is a form of self sabotage in disguise. It is your ego trying to keep you small, it's trying to keep you safe and you're going to get, you're going to. You're going to get questions like that in your head.
Speaker 1:Okay, so let me take you back for a second. There was a moment in my life, not that long ago, when I realized like I was living at about 60% of who I could be From the outside. I was doing fine, career check, bills, paid check, surviving absolutely. But I wasn't lit up, I wasn't in love with my life and the scary part I had started convincing myself that maybe fine was like, good enough, like living in your comfort zone, it feels good, right, it feels good, but like obviously nothing grows there. Nothing grows there. But one day I sat with myself and got really honest and I heard that voice, quiet but undeniable this can't be it. I can't be the only one that feels that way and from the moment forward I decided I'm not doing average, I'm not doing halfway, I'm not putting my dreams in the drawer because they scare me, I'm going all in For the first time in my life. For a long time I feel like that's my only option. I have to go all in. It was crazy Cause, like last night, I was like thinking about, you know, when I was younger.
Speaker 1:You know how bad I wanted to do certain things or what I wanted to do with my life, but I was way too scared to go all in and nothing really came of certain things that I've always wanted. Like, as you know, when I was in law enforcement, I really did want to write a book. I did, and it just sat in the back of my mind for years and years and years until, you know, two years ago, and, if you know, if you know me, you know the story. But I didn't. I wasn't going all in on on things because I was letting fear kind of distract me from starting that thing right. So Again.
Speaker 1:If you guys know my story, you know I left my career in law enforcement. It's been about three years. I sold my house, I moved to Texas and I started completely over and I went all in on becoming an entrepreneur. I to this day tell myself up and down I will never work for somebody, ever again. Because once you get that taste of freedom from working for somebody, it feels so good. And yes, oh my gosh, there's times where I'm absolutely terrified. I don't think that ever goes away. But what I've learned to do is learn to calm myself down. I've learned the tools to calm myself down to where I'm not giving myself a panic attack.
Speaker 1:Now, all in doesn't mean reckless. I know some people look at what I did as very, very reckless. I was a single mom and I left everything behind and I went all in because eventually I got fed up with the life that I had and it. You know the. The fear of staying the same and living the same day for 90 years and then I just die scared me more than just going after what I want to do. You know, it gets a little less scary when you know you finally realize like you're living the same day over and over and over again, and then one day you're going to die. And over and over again, and then one day you're going to die. Why not make this a very interesting life and just do the damn thing that you've always wanted to do?
Speaker 1:But honestly, it doesn't mean quitting your job without a plan or draining your savings just to post about chasing dreams on Instagram. It means choosing alignment over approval, consistency over comfort, vision over fear. And it means asking yourself every single day are my actions matching the life I say that I want Because if they're not, it's time to adjust. Let's be real. People are going to question you. Some will support you, some will fall away. You, some will support you, some will fall away.
Speaker 1:But going all in means stop needing everyone to understand you because you finally understand yourself. You don't need people to understand your calling. You don't need people to give you that permission to go after your calling. The universe or God, however you want to put it gave you that calling for a reason, and if somebody else doesn't understand it, that's probably because they weren't on the fucking call. You were given that call for a reason. You were given that intuition, that sense of what you need to be doing to get back on alignment and get back into position. You were meant for more. A lot of us were. We weren't meant to do the same thing day in and day out and be absolutely freaking miserable.
Speaker 1:So going all in means betting on you. It means deciding that you are worth the risk. It means doing the thing that scares you the most. It means showing up for your future self over and over, even when it's hard, especially when it's hard and when it gets hard. That's a sign. It's not a sign to stop. It's a sign that you're stretching. It's confirmation that you're on the edge of growth. Because, let's be honest, if your dream doesn't scare you at least a little bit, it's probably not big enough. If your dream doesn't scare you and everybody else around you, I honestly think you need to go back to the drawing board, go all in on something that you've always wanted to do and do that thing. That absolutely freaking scares you.
Speaker 1:So I want to ask you, what dream have you been keeping on the back burner? What idea keeps tapping on your shoulder, whispering choose me. But you keep saying not yet. Oh, my God, I hear that from my friends that want to become entrepreneurs. All the fucking time Not yet, it's not right. Is it ever right? You're going to blink and wake up five to 10 years down the road and and wonder what the hell happened right? Oh my God, I have so many friends that are just like not yet, it just doesn't feel right. I don't know. But what would your life look like if you actually said yes to it, not just in your mind, but you put it on the fucking schedule, you put it in your planner, you create those small tiny habits and you start actually chipping away. It needs to get done. For me it's been my book.
Speaker 1:I had to get a writing coach. Shout out to my mom for paying for some coaching from Kara Allwell. She's the author of Girl on Fire and, oh my gosh, like I realized after having a professional author as my one-on-one coach that like I did not create a habit for writing. I want to be an author at the end of the day, like that's exactly what I want to do. I just want to write. I just want to sit in my desk all day and just write.
Speaker 1:And what I learned having Kara as a writing coach is I wasn't doing enough to build those habits of writing, just a little bit every single day. I was, you know, sitting down after maybe you know, one week or two weeks. That goes by and I was sitting down for like five to six hours and just writing and it was burning me out doing that. So what I'm learning is like writing 25 minutes a day and it all adds up so that I don't have to like binge right in one freaking day and stress myself out. So start building those little habits. If you don't know what those little habits are like, I made them up for a while until I found a coach to be honest, like and that's okay, you can make something up, and then somebody eventually will come into your life and help tweak those habits a little bit. Hopefully that makes sense.
Speaker 1:But I know what it feels like to doubt yourself and I know what it feels like to look at the mountain ahead of you and think like who am I to climb this? But I also know what it feels like to reach that first peak out of breath, heart racing, and realize, damn, I'm stronger than I thought. That's how you know you've grown, grown. That you're, you're, you're better than you were last year is when you look back and you see the progress it actually it's like you know, when, every time you build that confidence, you know you're building those neuro connections in your brain and it does help you like build resilience. That's how you build resilience is when you get through those like hurdles and you get to look back and see how far you've come. You are better, you know you're better, I felt better.
Speaker 1:But you don't need to have it all figured out. You just need to start. Start messy, start scared, start small, but start and don't stop. If you're hearing this right now, it's not a coincidence. It's your sign, it's your permission slip. It's your gentle but fierce reminder that the life you want isn't going to fall into your lap. You have to go all in to create it, because half living will never satisfy a whole soul.
Speaker 1:All right, guys, I don't normally give homework, but I've been on a journaling just journaling binge, I guess. Oh my gosh, I've gone through a couple of notebooks, but I want to give you some journal prompts that I was given and I want to share them with you. Okay, so write down one dream you've been hesitating on and list three actions you can take this week to move closer to it. Not someday, not next month, but this week, even maybe today, I don't know start small, then post it, speak it out loud, share it with someone you trust and if you're feeling bold, share it with me. Tag me in it. Let me be your cheerleader, and I would. I would love to be your cheerleader. If you're looking for somebody that's going to push you or is going to inspire you, you need to follow me on Instagram, and my link to my Instagram is in the show notes.
Speaker 1:Also, the podcast. Honestly, because this is a community, and if you're new to the podcast, I'm just letting you know here on my podcast. It's like a loving kick in the ass. We don't just dream, we do, we rise, we go all in and we do it together. So thank you for being here, for showing up for yourself today and choosing a life that's anything but average. If this episode lit you on fire, please leave a review, share it with a friend or drop a comment. I love hearing how this show speaks to you. So, until next time, keep choosing yourself, keep choosing your dreams and don't forget you are more than capable. You were born to do this. Now get your ass up because I know you're scared and go do the freaking thing you've always wanted to do. Love you guys.
