Season 2 Kickoff: What Season One Taught Me + Becoming on Purpose

Season two of Success in Doses starts with a real, honest reset.

In this solo episode, I reflect on the journey of season one, what it took to build this podcast from the ground up, and the lessons that completely shifted how I think about success, growth, and impact. 

From hitting early milestones to navigating self-doubt and consistency, this episode is about what happens when you decide to bet on yourself before you feel ready.

I also share what you can expect from season two and why this next chapter is centered around one powerful idea: Becoming on Purpose.

This season is about intentional growth, identity, and making decisions that align with who you are becoming, not just who you’ve been.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re doing everything right but still questioning if it’s enough, this episode will meet you there.

Thank you for supporting the show. Follow @successindosespod

career advancement, negotiation skills, pharmacists, personal development, confidence, asking for what you want, mindset shifts, professional growth, self-advocacy, boldness

Transcript

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Welcome to Success in Doses. I'm your host, Saleh. This podcast is about the real journeys behind meaningful careers, the pivots, the risks, the moments of doubt, and the lessons that shape who we become. Each episode, I sit down with people who are building impactful lives and careers, and we break down the experiences that help them get there. Because success rarely happens overnight, it happens in doses. Let's dive in on becoming on purpose. Welcome back to season two of Success in Doses. If you've been here since season one, I just want to say thank you. And if this is your first time listening, you're coming in at a really special moment because this season feels very, very different. Before we jump into all of the conversations I've been working on for season two, I wanted to pause and have a real conversation with you. No guest, just me as a reset. And to start, I really wanted to reflect on season one because it started, this podcast, this platform, really started as just an idea. I didn't know exactly what direction I wanted to take just yet, but I knew that I had something to say, number one. And number two, I knew that there were conversations that I wanted to have. And so, what better way for me to kind of have both of those two things meet than to create an opportunity and a platform for myself to be able to execute that? And what that meant for me at that moment was that I needed to take charge of my own narrative and my own direction and where I wanted things to go instead of looking externally for either the validation or the right support and the right backing to do this. Number two, it also meant that I needed to become comfortable with the idea of taking a risk. And wanting to do this by myself and on my own really, really was scary because I was going to do everything from beginning to end. The production component, the recording, the editing, the publishing, and then the marketing and the branding that I wanted this podcast to have. It meant that I needed to take all that on on my own. And I sit here today as recording the first episode of season two, incredibly glad that I decided to bet on myself in that way and take that risk. And what I didn't expect was how many of you would also connect with Success and Doses, and how many of you would make this a regular and routine part of your weekly goings and comings. Allowing me to force consistency with a dream and a project that I was going along as I was going with it, but also I didn't necessarily feel very confident in my skill set and being able to execute this on my own. And so that's why I really wanted to take a moment to reflect on season one to thank you because you listened and you shared it and you sent me messages and feedback and gave me direction. You told me which episodes resonated with you. You told me which episodes you didn't necessarily connect with fully. And that part, that part changed everything for me. Okay, so real quick, if you're enjoying this conversation, go ahead and rate and review the podcast. It helps more people find the show and keeps the conversation going. Okay, so let's get back to the conversation. Hearing from you all about what you were getting from the episodes that were published and what you weren't getting from the episodes that were published, that's where really the encouragement piece of this whole project really came in and wanting me to keep going and realizing that I'm working on something really unique here, and I'm working on something incredibly special here, and that I don't need to feel like it needs to take off overnight to see the results. And I wanted to really take some special time out on this really special season that I am working on and working to deliver for you this upcoming season. And so, as part of that, I want to share some successes that I was able to have and that I completely credit and attribute to you as a member of this community. The first thing is I had a goal that in season one, I wanted at least one episode to have 250 downloads on Monday. I was able to successfully have three episodes that had 250 downloads on Monday. And that was insane to me because I feel like when I look at these numbers and these statistics, my mind immediately goes to when was the last time I was in a room where I reached 200? When was the last time I was in a room that I reached 50 people? And so these downloads, it doesn't matter if I have 10 downloads on a Monday or 50, not to mention 250 on a Monday, on release Monday, they all have such a special, special, special feeling that they deliver to me that is always, always filled with a lot of courage and strength to keep going. So that was one goal that I was able to accomplish. The second goal that I was able to accomplish was brand partnerships. And I have to really shout out Sparks Analytics and Adam and his whole team for believing that Success in Doses as a podcast was a podcast that they wanted to tie their brand to. Then, you know, I really was grateful to have that partnership with Adam that I'm incredibly grateful for and look forward to growing. So I was able to have that partnership with Adam. And now in season two, that's gonna continue to grow. And I had a goal that at the end of season two, that I would have a cumulative download of like a thousand. Like I wanted to know that a thousand downloads occurred in season one. And if you're a person that consumes content or consumes podcasts, you'll know that these goals are very conservative. Like these aren't lofty in the podcast world. But for me as a creator and a person that was new and a person that was learning, I had to really immerse myself and build a lot of the skill sets necessary on my own to figure out how to make this a reality. And to know that I was able to accomplish to get more than a thousand downloads with 30 episodes really, really is something that nobody is going to rob me of celebrating. Yeah, there are podcasts out there on release that are getting half a million downloads and half a million views and a hundred thousand views. Yes, those podcasts exist, but I also exist in the space of podcasts that is getting consistent listenership, right? And I think that's the other thing I wanted to share with you as a success. Those of you that listen to the podcast really listen to this podcast. You don't come and listen one time and bounce. Like I have honest and I have loyal listenership, and the data reflects that. I am listened to and now over 90 different places. So that includes 42 states in the United States, and all of the others are outside of the country. And I think that to be listened to internationally is a big deal for me because right now I'm exclusively publishing the podcast in English only, but I received some feedback from some listeners that thought that it would be a great idea if I had subtitles to the podcast that were in French. And this is wild to me because I I think that I'm just having conversations about professional development for young professionals in the US. But what I'm learning is like young professionals are struggling for community and guidance all over. People are reaching out and giving me feedback and that they think that it would be absolutely beneficial if there were subtitles, there were subtitles to some of these podcast episodes that would make uh sharing the podcast more broadly easy. But honestly, I'm just I'm a data person, so I look at the number, but the numbers matter less than the impact. With each of you that reach out to me in a DM to tell me that you learned something new from an episode or you'd like me to dive deeper into any particular topic, it gives me a lot of hope in that the listenership has a vested interest in what I'm talking about, and that there are people out there that I am reaching. So again, thank you. Season one really taught me that it's time that I get a team. Everything you see me surface as and show up as is me and my husband who helps me with the paperwork and the tech side of certain things and making sure I have the tools that I need to be able to work and come and work comfortably and work well. But that's it. That's as far as the team goes for season one. And so this season, I really did go out and kind of try to rectify some of those things. And I also learned that like some of the stories that I shared with you guys that resonated were not about the places that I was super successful, the stories about my journey through this process that have resonated are really around the imperfections, the times that I have failed, and sharing with you all how I've overcome all those things. You all found those stories very profound. Which brings me to season two. There's a lot of clear intentionality that went into preparing for season two, and the reason why, after just 30 episodes of season one, I decided to pause for a few months to work on season two. But the season two is really about a shift. I think that I'm feeling a shift in myself, in the person that I'm becoming, the mom that I'm becoming, the wife that I'm becoming, the sister that I'm becoming, but also the entrepreneur that I'm becoming and the professional that I'm becoming. And so as I started brainstorming about what I wanted season two to be about and the things that I wanted to talk about in this second season, the idea of becoming and becoming and transformation, these things were really the big themes that kept re that kept kind of coming back to the surface over on over and over. But also, in addition to the becoming part, it was really, really important that I discuss the fact that none of the ways in which that I'm transforming and I'm changing and I'm growing or happening in a passive way. It's all happening with a lot of intentionality, investing emotionally into the changes I want to see. Okay, so real quick, if you're enjoying this conversation, go ahead and rate and review the podcast. It helps more people find the show and keeps the conversation going. Okay, so let's get back to the conversation. And so purposeful moves really started to bubble to the top. And so that's where the theme of becoming on purpose kind of came from because all of what you are going to learn either about me or what the guests that I have carefully curated for this second season are going to share with you. They are going to be sharing with you things that we hope translate into actionable items and a lot with a lot of intentionality and purpose and meaning and placing really placing things in the shadow of what is our ultimate goal in the way we want to be experienced by others and the way that we express ourselves and the goals that we are setting. So that's what this season is really, really about. We are gathing into things like identity. We're talking about redefining success and how you do that. We're talking about choosing hard paths, making decisions to work on yourself and choosing yourself and letting go of a lot of the guilt that comes from making that decision of saying I'm going to put myself first for a change. We're talking about building careers that actually align with who we are and the things that are important to us and the things that matter to us. So I think that for me, my goal for this season, it's going to be about how the conversations that I'm having this season and the people I'm talking to, what are some words of wisdom that those people are able to impart on all of us? And we can begin collectively as a community implementing some of those changes and seeing how that transformation happens for us. But it's not going to be passive, right? I want to touch on why this season matters. I think that if you've ever felt like you're just doing everything you're supposed to do, but you're still asking, is this it? Is this it? Is it supposed to feel this way? This season is for you because the people that are coming on and that I'm talking to are going to touch on uncertainty and how to navigate that uncertainty in an authentic way that gives you a lot of confidence about the moves and the decisions you're making. If you're transitioning or you're transitioning from being a student to a resident, you're going from residency to your first big boy or big girl job. Some of the conversations and wisdoms that are going to be shared on this season will absolutely be useful to you. If you're becoming but you don't fully recognize the version of yourself yet, right? What is what are some things that you can learn from other people that have experienced these things that could really empower and embolden you? I think that's what you can expect from season two and what I am working diligently and really, really hard to bring to the surface and to bring to you as a core group of people that are here to support me, but also I want to do something to give back for that loyalty and that trust and listenership in the form of giving you information in a way that you can be inspired by that could be radical to the change that you're going through and push you into action from a place of indecisiveness. Because I think that transformation only happens in a conscious and purposeful way. If you just are waiting for change to occur, you will wait for a really long time. You have to make certain decisions and take certain steps forward for some of the changes you want to see to happen. And so that's what I'm going for for this season. If this podcast has supported you in any way and you feel like you want other people to benefit from that, I need your help and spreading the word about the podcast. I need you to tell your friends and your colleagues that you find this podcast and the things that you learned here very useful to helping you start your week on a high note. And so I really hope that it is something that I can get all of you to help me get more people to become aware of so that we can see the type of growth, reach, and impact that I set out for when I created this podcast. We're just getting started. The vision I have for this platform and this podcast and all of the places and all of the ways in which it is going to help all of us show up more confidently, pursue more purposefully, and become on purpose. This is just the beginning. But I cannot get from here to where I see this going without your support and without your help. This is Success in Doses Season 2, and I cannot tell you how excited I am to get started. Join us next week for a very interesting conversation about identity, identity forming, and the importance of alignment in our careers. And my guest for that episode is none other than my extraordinary sister who brings her expertise as an executive and leadership coach to help all of us understand how we can become on purpose and how identity and identity forming is a huge component of that. As always, I'm grateful for your presence here, for being here. Like, share, and subscribe. I cannot overstate that. That is how this podcast becomes discoverable to other people. So if you are here, take a brief moment to like, subscribe, and rate and review the podcast. It goes a long way in helping me grow this community. Thank you for starting with me, and I hope you have a wonderful rest of your week. Join us next week for a conversation on identity and alignment. I can't wait to see you then. Have a wonderful day. Okay, bye. If this episode gave you something to think about, something to hold on to, or even something to act on, I want to ask you for one more thing. Take a moment to write and review the podcast. It feels really small, but it's actually one of the biggest ways you can support this show. It helps more people find these conversations and become part of this community we're building right here on Success and Dosing.