Jan. 21, 2025

Simplifying Goal Setting for Busy Professionals with Debra Eckerling | RR294

Simplifying Goal Setting for Busy Professionals with Debra Eckerling | RR294

Setting the right goals starts with knowing what you truly want, and Debra Eckerling is here to make it easier than ever to figure that out.

Deb Eckerling, the creator of the DEB Method, joins me to talk about how anyone can achieve their goals by first setting a strong foundation. Deb simplifies the process with her three-step system: Determine your mission, Explore your options, and Brainstorm your path (DEB for short). She shares how her new book, 52 Secrets for Goal Setting and Goal Getting, is packed with insights from experts across industries to inspire and guide readers. Deb also explains why goals don’t have to be overwhelming—they just have to work for you.

Her passion for helping people turn their dreams into action shines through, and she offers practical tips to help busy professionals create plans that lead to success, fulfillment, and even joy.

Highlights:

  • Learn how to set the foundation for your goals by clarifying your mission and defining what success means to you.
  • Explore why traditional methods like SMART goals may not work for everyone and how to adapt your approach.
  • Discover how directed journaling can help you identify patterns, refine your priorities, and plan your next steps.
  • Understand the importance of breaking down big goals into manageable benchmarks and action items.
  • Find out how joy and personal passions can fuel your progress and positively influence other areas of your life.

Connect with Debra:

Website: https://thedebmethod.com/


Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDEBMethod


LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coastbunny/


Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/TheDEBMethod


In appreciation for being here, I have some gifts for you:

A LinkedIn Checklist for setting up your fully optimized Profile:

An opportunity to test drive the Follow Up system I recommend by taking the

3 Card Sampler – you won’t regret it.


AND … Don’t forget to connect with me on LinkedIn and be eligible for my

complimentary LinkedIn profile audit – I do one each month for a lucky

listener!


Connect with me:

http://JanicePorter.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/janiceporter/

https://www.facebook.com/janiceporter1

https://www.instagram.com/socjanice/


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Transcript
Janice Porter:

Okay, hello, hello, and welcome to this



Janice Porter:

week's episode of relationships rule. I'm very excited to talk



Janice Porter:

to my guest today, Deborah eckerling. I call her Deb



Janice Porter:

because she is the creator of the DEB method of goal setting,



Janice Porter:

and we'll get into that in a minute, I do love a quote that I



Janice Porter:

saw on your website, Deb, that says it's probably your motto to



Janice Porter:

get what you want. You need to know what you want. And I love



Janice Porter:

that because I'm not sure I'm always that person, but it makes



Janice Porter:

sense when I read it on your on your website. So welcome to the



Janice Porter:

show.



Debra Eckerling:

Thank you so much for having me. I love



Debra Eckerling:

talking goals, which you know, and this is something I say



Debra Eckerling:

probably every single day. It gets woven into conversation



Debra Eckerling:

because it's true. It sounds like the simplest thing. But if



Debra Eckerling:

you don't know where your passions lie, or what your big



Debra Eckerling:

picture goal is, what's going



Janice Porter:

to get there? Yeah, how are you going to get



Janice Porter:

there if you don't know what it is? Well, the other thing that



Janice Porter:

I, that I saw, that I thought was kind of interesting, was



Janice Porter:

because, because true confessions here, I'm not a big



Janice Porter:

goal setter and and so you'd probably have a field day with



Janice Porter:

me trying to, you know, turn me into one at this late stage in



Janice Porter:

life. But maybe you've done that with other people. I don't know.



Janice Porter:

Can you change someone to become a goal setter?



Debra Eckerling:

This is the thing about the word goal people



Debra Eckerling:

think of it as a four letter word, and it is, but I think of



Debra Eckerling:

it as the good kind, and I had a friends five client the other



Debra Eckerling:

day said I never thought that I would set goals, but you're



Debra Eckerling:

rubbing off on me. So I think the answer is yes, okay, but you



Debra Eckerling:

don't even need to use the G word, you know. Maybe you like



Debra Eckerling:

intentions. Maybe that is your your go to Word. Maybe it's



Debra Eckerling:

just, you know, purpose education. So whatever word you



Debra Eckerling:

like, use that one. Okay. It's kind



Janice Porter:

of making me think of like, you know, the



Janice Porter:

universe will, will God, will universe, will your higher



Janice Porter:

power? Will people use whatever word they want to use? It's kind



Janice Porter:

of the same thing, making me think, as long as it works for



Janice Porter:

you exactly.



Debra Eckerling:

And the only rules with goal setting is there



Debra Eckerling:

are no rules. But the idea is to figure out what works for you



Debra Eckerling:

and do more of that.



Janice Porter:

Got it okay. So I want to dive in a little bit to



Janice Porter:

your method, because I saw something on your website that



Janice Porter:

said, SMART goals are dumb and Dev goals are smart. And I know



Janice Porter:

for years, you know, people tried to say SMART goals were



Janice Porter:

the way to go, and smart was an acronym for the different



Janice Porter:

definitions in the goal setting process. And I remember you



Janice Porter:

doing those in many workshops over the years. So you have



Janice Porter:

created your own system, and it is based on another acronym, the



Janice Porter:

acronym for your name. Deb, can you explain that to us and and



Janice Porter:

tell us a little bit about why those are smarter than the than



Janice Porter:

the SMART goals? I know it's a joke, but it's a it's all good.



Janice Porter:

Well,



Debra Eckerling:

let me answer backwards here. The SMART goals



Debra Eckerling:

are a tool. Okay, there's something that you can use to



Debra Eckerling:

achieve your goals, but it's not. The thing that bugs me



Debra Eckerling:

about smart goals is that no one who teaches it created it. Okay?



Debra Eckerling:

Was it was from like a thesis, so someone created it, yes,



Debra Eckerling:

someone created it, but the people who teach it don't Okay,



Debra Eckerling:

so that that's my little pet VB thing on them, and if they work



Debra Eckerling:

for you, excellent. I'm happy for you. Yeah, the thing that my



Debra Eckerling:

big differentiator is setting the foundation for your goals.



Debra Eckerling:

Because most goal setting experts, I know it's audio, but



Debra Eckerling:

I am using air quotes. Most of them talk about, you know,



Debra Eckerling:

getting to the end result, which is important, but going back to



Debra Eckerling:

you can't get what you want unless you know what that is. If



Debra Eckerling:

you do not send the foundation for your goals, where are you



Debra Eckerling:

going? Okay, so Deb stands for determine your mission, explore



Debra Eckerling:

your options, brainstorm your path. So we'll I'll do like Deb



Debra Eckerling:

101, real quick. So D determine your mission is you can't get



Debra Eckerling:

what you want unless you know what that is. And it starts.



Debra Eckerling:

With thinking about, what is the life that you want? So it is big



Debra Eckerling:

picture. It is big picture because it starts with, you



Debra Eckerling:

know, I want you be an expert in this area, or I am I want to be



Debra Eckerling:

a thought leader in this particular system, or what have



Debra Eckerling:

you. Or I want to build a business, or I want to be an



Debra Eckerling:

entrepreneur, or even I want to just be the best employee ever,



Debra Eckerling:

okay, and work my way up the corporate ladder, whatever it



Debra Eckerling:

is, or it could just be, I want balance. You know, maybe your



Debra Eckerling:

professional life is really successful, but you don't really



Debra Eckerling:

have a handle on balance. So whatever it is, when you think



Debra Eckerling:

about that life you want, it starts with that visual, okay?



Debra Eckerling:

And then I say, write your current bio and write it like



Debra Eckerling:

aspirational, really leaning into the thing that you do that



Debra Eckerling:

you love, because that's the persona you want to share with



Debra Eckerling:

the world. And then you write a future bio, so you've got where



Debra Eckerling:

you are and then where you want to go, and future bio could be



Debra Eckerling:

for the end of the year, or your next birthday, or three years,



Debra Eckerling:

or whatever. Okay, future yes, that word means to you, so



Debra Eckerling:

you've got your starting point and where you're going, and then



Debra Eckerling:

write a mission statement. You know, we all have worked for



Debra Eckerling:

people or companies that have a mission. So why wouldn't you



Debra Eckerling:

have one where yourself in or your business and or any



Debra Eckerling:

project, really, it starts with what is, what is that thing? Um,



Debra Eckerling:

what do you want? What makes you unique? And then the all



Debra Eckerling:

important now, how you help? Because when you're doing what



Debra Eckerling:

you do to help others, that's like bonus fuel. So my mission



Debra Eckerling:

statement would be, and these are usually long and clunky,



Debra Eckerling:

which is why we do a motto from it, but I'll get to that in a



Debra Eckerling:

second. So mine is like, use my background, experience books



Debra Eckerling:

workshops to help people figure out what they want and how to



Debra Eckerling:

get it so they can lead more fulfilled lives and, in turn,



Debra Eckerling:

help others. Okay, right? Yeah, my motto is goal setting



Debra Eckerling:

simplified. So everything that I create, whether I'm doing a



Debra Eckerling:

workshop or through my books, it's all designed to be user



Debra Eckerling:

friendly, because changing your life is challenging enough, so



Debra Eckerling:

it made the instructions really easy.



Janice Porter:

That's good. That's good. I like it.



Debra Eckerling:

So, excuse me. So in in the demo sphere, as we



Debra Eckerling:

were calling it. So the D that that is, that's set in the



Debra Eckerling:

table, okay?



Debra Eckerling:

The E stands for explore your options and so determine your



Debra Eckerling:

mission. This is the life I want explore my options is okay. How



Debra Eckerling:

do I get there if I want to be a thought leader? What does that



Debra Eckerling:

mean? Am I writing a book? Am I starting a podcast? Am I



Debra Eckerling:

building a business in service of the things that I know? So



Debra Eckerling:

you want to look around and see what what you can create to get



Debra Eckerling:

you where you want to go. And I've got this exercise. And for



Debra Eckerling:

me, this is, like the all purpose of everything. I call it



Debra Eckerling:

directed journaling. It is your solution to figuring almost.



Debra Eckerling:

Gotta put the almost in, almost anything out. And I say set



Debra Eckerling:

three to 515, minute appointments with yourself, and



Debra Eckerling:

during which time you are just answering a question or a very



Debra Eckerling:

specific series of questions, what's next, or what do I want



Debra Eckerling:

to create, or what do I want out of life? And just brain dumping,



Debra Eckerling:

and you do this for like, 15 minutes, a few times, and the



Debra Eckerling:

the trick is, don't read any of your babblings until after



Debra Eckerling:

you've done it 345, times, and then you can go back and read it



Debra Eckerling:

and find the common themes. Because something that you may



Debra Eckerling:

have thought that you wanted you mentioned, like twice, and



Debra Eckerling:

something else that you thought was just this really cool thing



Debra Eckerling:

you're like writing about all the time, so when you get things



Debra Eckerling:

out of your head, you can look at them objectively and use that



Debra Eckerling:

to figure out next steps.



Janice Porter:

Nice. Okay, do you work mostly with



Janice Porter:

entrepreneurs, business owners. I



Debra Eckerling:

do, I like to say my demographic is busy



Debra Eckerling:

professionals, because we're the ones that always want more,



Debra Eckerling:

right? Yeah, and we're



Janice Porter:

lifelong learners as well, and we're always



Janice Porter:

looking to do new things. Yeah? Deb, so, Deb, I know that you



Janice Porter:

have just recently launched your newest book, and I'm pretty



Janice Porter:

excited for you this book, which is called 52 secrets for goal



Janice Porter:

get setting and goal getting. Is that correct? Yes, okay, 52



Janice Porter:

secrets for goal setting and goal getting so first of all,



Janice Porter:

I'm curious what was the the germ of this book? How did it



Janice Porter:

come to be?



Debra Eckerling:

Before we go into the book, I realized that I



Debra Eckerling:

talked about what the D is and the E is, but not the B



Janice Porter:

not finish. Oh, my God, it's all good. That's



Janice Porter:

what conversations are about, right? So feel free Go ahead. So



Janice Porter:

let's



Debra Eckerling:

back. Let's back up before we run forward.



Debra Eckerling:

Absolutely. So explore your options. Once you figure out



Debra Eckerling:

what it is you want to move forward with, do a little bit of



Debra Eckerling:

research. See who in your network does what it is that you



Debra Eckerling:

want to explore. Have some conversations. That way you can



Debra Eckerling:

make an informed decision about what your next steps are, and



Debra Eckerling:

then brainstorm your behalf is all about getting all of the



Debra Eckerling:

things out of your head onto the page, and then divide it into



Debra Eckerling:

rehearsal and professional goals, long term and short term



Debra Eckerling:

benchmarks, action items, so all the different things that you



Debra Eckerling:

need to do to accomplish it. And then you divide and conquer. So



Debra Eckerling:

you put everything together, and then you make a plan to turn



Debra Eckerling:

those goals into reality. So like I said, it's simple. Figure



Debra Eckerling:

out what you want, explore what that means, and then make a plan



Debra Eckerling:

to put it into action. Awesome.



Janice Porter:

Brainstorm it and make and make that plan,



Janice Porter:

alright? And this is all documented in your website as



Janice Porter:

well, actually, in in some of the copy there, right? So it's



Janice Porter:

easy to review it there. And I encourage people to do that,



Janice Porter:

because it's it. When you say it like that, it is simple. It's



Janice Porter:

just sitting down and doing it.



Debra Eckerling:

The least simple part of creating a life



Debra Eckerling:

is actually creating that life. But I am a firm believer that



Debra Eckerling:

when, when you take the time upfront, yeah, when you really



Debra Eckerling:

think about what it is you want to create, you have the answers.



Debra Eckerling:

You just need to take the time and ask yourself the questions.



Janice Porter:

Yeah, great point. Great point, which



Janice Porter:

actually comes nicely back to the book, because I know that



Janice Porter:

the book is about questions and answers. So talk to me a little



Janice Porter:

bit about how that this book came to be, and then a little



Janice Porter:

bit about the book, because it's pretty it's pretty interesting,



Janice Porter:

from what I've heard.



Debra Eckerling:

Oh, it is. I've done a lot of Deb things, but I



Debra Eckerling:

feel like 52 secrets for goal setting and goal getting is



Debra Eckerling:

really the most dev thing that I've done. And in even though



Debra Eckerling:

it's 52 secrets, I interviewed 60 experts in the areas of



Debra Eckerling:

business, tech, food, entertainment, creative, and I



Debra Eckerling:

asked them, What is your secret for goal setting or goal



Debra Eckerling:

getting? And that's what the book is. Is these 60 tips from



Debra Eckerling:

people that you normally probably would not put together.



Debra Eckerling:

I would



Janice Porter:

Yes, and well, these are people that you have



Janice Porter:

assimilated into this book that meant something to you for each



Janice Porter:

piece, right?



Debra Eckerling:

Yes, absolutely. So I my first



Debra Eckerling:

traditionally published book, your goal guide, a roadmap for



Debra Eckerling:

setting, planning and achieving your goals that was out in



Debra Eckerling:

January 2020, so six weeks before the world got changed by



Debra Eckerling:

circumstance, out came my book to help people embrace change by



Debra Eckerling:

choice or by circumstance. And at the time, I was leading a



Debra Eckerling:

Twitter chat, and shortly after, we all got land locked or home



Debra Eckerling:

locked or whatever, my publisher said, why don't you start a live



Debra Eckerling:

show with gold chat? And I have been thinking about it, and I'm



Debra Eckerling:

like, okay, yeah, it was a very easy yes. And it started out, I



Debra Eckerling:

think the first two episodes, I talked to myself, and then I



Debra Eckerling:

started doing it as interviewing guests. And then the end of 2020



Debra Eckerling:

I brought up a panel together, and that's the format I do now,



Debra Eckerling:

but this was the end of the year. And how do you have a



Debra Eckerling:

holiday party when no one can leave the house? Well, you bring



Debra Eckerling:

people together who don't know each other. So that was the



Debra Eckerling:

start of gold chat, as it is now, bringing different people



Debra Eckerling:

who, unless it's on purpose, have never met before the



Debra Eckerling:

conversation, and that's pretty much what the book is, is



Debra Eckerling:

bringing together. Different people, and they are all either



Debra Eckerling:

first degree connections, friends or people I've



Debra Eckerling:

interviewed or people who I've interviewed who said you need to



Debra Eckerling:

put this person in your book, because I want to know what they



Debra Eckerling:

have to say, what their trick is. So it was the most awesome



Debra Eckerling:

evolution into a project and again, really the most me,



Debra Eckerling:

because the secret to success is there is no one's secret, but



Debra Eckerling:

when you see what works for other people, you have this



Debra Eckerling:

wonderful menu of inspiration and tactical advice that you can



Debra Eckerling:

put into action.



Janice Porter:

Well, I thought, first of all, pretty impressive



Janice Porter:

to me that Brian Tracy did your forward, I think in your book,



Janice Porter:

wasn't it? He did the Yeah. And I think guy kiwaki Did the



Janice Porter:

afterwards, the afterwards even, and also had a chapter in the



Janice Porter:

book, I think, as well. Didn't Yes, well,



Debra Eckerling:

Brian Tracy was an intro through my publisher,



Debra Eckerling:

so very excited and blessed to have that. And Guy hawasaki, he



Debra Eckerling:

is the afterward, but his afterward is actually a tip.



Debra Eckerling:

Okay, this is what happened, and why 52 secrets has 60 secrets in



Debra Eckerling:

it is because I just got some wonderful responses, and I



Debra Eckerling:

didn't want to turn anybody away. So I ended up putting a



Debra Eckerling:

bonus tip in each chapter, in the nice and then put guy as the



Debra Eckerling:

afterward. And when I started working, working on the book I



Debra Eckerling:

started with, you know, proof of concept. So I emailed a handful



Debra Eckerling:

or so of people who I trusted, who I knew had awesome things to



Debra Eckerling:

say. So the first batch of the interviews that I got for the



Debra Eckerling:

book were through email, and then most of them, though, were



Debra Eckerling:

people that I interviewed via zoom and put their words into



Debra Eckerling:

each chapter. So it's a different way. It's the dead



Debra Eckerling:

way, really, of bringing people together. But I love it and



Debra Eckerling:

guide Kawasaki came because one of the people in my book, I



Debra Eckerling:

mentioned that I really wanted to get guy for the book. And she



Debra Eckerling:

said, Well, Larry just interviewed him, and Larry needs



Debra Eckerling:

to be in the book as well. So after you interview Larry, ask



Debra Eckerling:

him maybe he can do an intro for you. And I did, and he said,



Debra Eckerling:

This is the email address you need to write to they responded



Debra Eckerling:

within the day, and that sometimes all you really have to



Debra Eckerling:

do is ask,



Janice Porter:

exactly, yeah, if you don't ask, the answer is



Janice Porter:

always no, right? And so it's That's brilliant, and I think



Janice Porter:

you divided the book into different segments, right?



Debra Eckerling:

Yes, there are seven chapters. So we start with



Debra Eckerling:

focus, and then we go into well being, and from there it is



Debra Eckerling:

action, networking, communication, productivity,



Debra Eckerling:

teamwork. So did is that seven? I



Janice Porter:

think so, yeah, so is that? Is that, did you



Janice Porter:

divide the people based on the answers they gave? Or did you



Janice Porter:

just take part of some answers to be in the different sections?



Janice Porter:

Like, how did you do that?



Debra Eckerling:

I and I have to correct myself. I said teamwork



Debra Eckerling:

it's actually leadership and teamwork. That's the seventh



Debra Eckerling:

chapter. I didn't put them together until after I did the



Debra Eckerling:

interviews. Got it okay, and it was really interesting. There



Debra Eckerling:

was one topic, and this is why it was great to do it as



Debra Eckerling:

interviews, because there was one tip that I got from like,



Debra Eckerling:

three or four different people. And so for two of them, I asked



Debra Eckerling:

them to adjust it okay for the other two, I for one of them, I



Debra Eckerling:

said, Can we just jump on a new zoom? Because I know you have



Debra Eckerling:

other tips. And he gave me another one, which was perfect,



Debra Eckerling:

which I think I did with the other, with the other duplicate.



Debra Eckerling:

And that in doing the interviews as I got further along of the



Debra Eckerling:

process, if I saw someone giving a tip that I already had, I



Debra Eckerling:

would say, This is awesome, but can we get like another one,



Debra Eckerling:

just for like safety purposes, so there was not repetitive. The



Debra Eckerling:

other thing that I found was really interesting was that a



Debra Eckerling:

lot of the tips could be in more than one category. So, yeah, go



Debra Eckerling:

ahead. Sorry, yeah. So I ended up with networking and



Debra Eckerling:

communication as two separate chapters, but most of them could



Debra Eckerling:

be in one. Or the other



Janice Porter:

well, I just find it interesting that so many



Janice Porter:

there were duplicates in your experience, because it obviously



Janice Porter:

shows that that you know, some things are definitely more



Janice Porter:

prevalent with people that more common, right? That as their



Janice Porter:

secrets for goal setting, right? They're more common ones than



Janice Porter:

others. No, yes,



Debra Eckerling:

and no, I mean, and I let There are 60 original



Debra Eckerling:

secrets, and they also come with an example to support what



Debra Eckerling:

they're doing. So I think one of them is Be kind and be prepared.



Debra Eckerling:

Another is be able to look at yourself in the mirror. So



Debra Eckerling:

similar, yeah, yeah, but not the same, yeah. And they really



Debra Eckerling:

build on one another.



Janice Porter:

That's very good. That's really fun. And I mean,



Janice Porter:

you're like me, you're a huge networker too, over the years,



Janice Porter:

so you probably didn't have a shortage of people to ask, and



Janice Porter:

yet you wanted to make your your contributions diverse. And I



Janice Porter:

think you got a couple of people that have some star quality that



Janice Porter:

you weren't expecting to get, but you, through your



Janice Porter:

networking, you were able to to put into the book. Am I right?



Janice Porter:

Yes,



Debra Eckerling:

and I think you're talking about the Patrick



Debra Eckerling:

J Adams example. That's



Janice Porter:

one example, yes,



Debra Eckerling:

but that's a really good story. And for the



Debra Eckerling:

people in the book, and I'm really glad that that you



Debra Eckerling:

brought that up, I wanted them to be people I would be friends



Debra Eckerling:

with. You know, people who've got that helpful Spirit, who



Debra Eckerling:

want not only to succeed, but to help others succeed. So as I did



Debra Eckerling:

these interviews, I would ask people, Who else do you know who



Debra Eckerling:

needs to be in the book? They need to be someone I would be



Debra Eckerling:

friends with and within the spirit of the book. And this



Debra Eckerling:

actor, friend of mine said, I'm on it, and I get a text from



Debra Eckerling:

him, watch for your email. And it was an introduction to



Debra Eckerling:

Patrick J Adams, and I was supposed to talk to Patrick for



Debra Eckerling:

like, five or 10 minutes, and we were on the phone for a half an



Debra Eckerling:

hour. Fantastic.



Janice Porter:

So for those who don't know who he is, because



Janice Porter:

there still are people out there who don't watch TV, believe it



Janice Porter:

or not, please share. Oh,



Debra Eckerling:

so Patrick J Adams, he was the lead in suits,



Debra Eckerling:

and he's also got some projects ongoing now. He's got this new



Debra Eckerling:

suits re watch podcast, and he's on the new Yellowstone spin off.



Janice Porter:

Oh, okay, I haven't seen that yet. So he



Janice Porter:

wasn't just the lead, though, in he was also a producer, I think



Janice Porter:

of the show. I think he and Gabrielle Mott were both



Janice Porter:

producers of the show. So, no,



Debra Eckerling:

that makes sense,



Janice Porter:

yeah, yeah. So, I mean, he was, yeah, anyway, I



Janice Porter:

mean, in suits, from my perspective, was it was filmed



Janice Porter:

in Toronto, and it was a hit in Canada, way before it was a hit



Janice Porter:

in the US. In fact, it was through through COVID that it



Janice Porter:

got put onto Netflix, and that's when it soared, because everyone



Janice Porter:

was home looking for something to watch. So, yeah, but, and



Janice Porter:

didn't hurt that Megan Markle was in it as well. So yeah, yes,



Debra Eckerling:

it's one of those things, because I watched



Debra Eckerling:

it when it was on USA Network with commercials, you know,



Debra Eckerling:

yeah, me too. And the person who introduced us, Dylan can again,



Debra Eckerling:

is an actor, nicest guy in the world. He is very tall, yeah,



Debra Eckerling:

and bald, and he always plays the bad guy, yeah. And he is



Debra Eckerling:

like the exact opposite, like the nicest, most warm person in



Debra Eckerling:

the world, and just so and he gave me a couple other of the



Debra Eckerling:

interest to people in the book, but and then his tip, the one



Debra Eckerling:

that Dylan gave, was about the power of collaboration. So it's



Debra Eckerling:

not just people saying things. They're discussing the through



Debra Eckerling:

their lens, the things that have worked for them that are so



Debra Eckerling:

important in creating any sort of endeavor. And it's whether



Debra Eckerling:

you're part of a team, whether you're a leader, whether you're



Debra Eckerling:

a thought leader, whether you're an actor, whether I've got a lot



Debra Eckerling:

of food people in there too, because I also



Debra Eckerling:

host, yeah, but it's some



Debra Eckerling:

so many of these things are relevant, and it doesn't matter



Debra Eckerling:

what it is that you're doing, yeah, and I got this wonderful



Debra Eckerling:

review of it. That said, I know it's meant to be a book that you



Debra Eckerling:

could pick up and put down, but I couldn't put it down so you



Debra Eckerling:

can read it straight through if you need a giant dose, or if you



Debra Eckerling:

need advice in one of the categories, you can just go to



Debra Eckerling:

that chapter or go to that person.



Janice Porter:

Excellent. That's that makes sense, and that's



Janice Porter:

great. That's a good non fiction, business type book,



Janice Porter:

right? Or self development type book, okay, so that book is



Janice Porter:

available on your website, where? Okay,



Debra Eckerling:

anywhere. So now you can go to 52 secrets



Debra Eckerling:

book.com and it's got all the links to all the places, or just



Debra Eckerling:

go to your favorite bookstore,



Janice Porter:

perfect. So we'll make sure that's in the show



Janice Porter:

notes as well. I do have to ask you, though about your food



Janice Porter:

podcast as well, because I have so many questions about that.



Janice Porter:

Because, number one, I think I read that you really weren't



Janice Porter:

into food or cooking in, I don't know how long ago, but you



Janice Porter:

weren't into cooking, and here you are now doing, are you



Janice Porter:

cooking? Are you just doing a food podcast? Oh,



Debra Eckerling:

no, I'm cooking. Okay? I am a, I am a



Debra Eckerling:

former non Cook, okay? And about, I think it's seven and a



Debra Eckerling:

half years ago now, I got my mom an instant pot for Mother's Day,



Debra Eckerling:

and she looked at it and said, is you learning how to work? It



Debra Eckerling:

part of my gift, and we're hired to that, you know, I was the



Debra Eckerling:

prep chef, you know, I love gutting things, yeah, the the



Debra Eckerling:

joke was, if it's round, I could cook it, you know, like



Debra Eckerling:

tortillas or pizza or pancakes or whatever. And so we watched



Debra Eckerling:

some videos together, and it was easy. We both really got



Debra Eckerling:

involved and excited about the Instant Pot. But for me, it was



Debra Eckerling:

like gateway, because I am gold person. I love that you can put



Debra Eckerling:

in ingredients and go do things and be rewarded with a meal,



Debra Eckerling:

yeah. So I went from that, and then I got an air fryer top that



Debra Eckerling:

was, you know, like, I didn't know that I would love the air



Debra Eckerling:

fryer, but I wanted to go step by step, and then an air fryer.



Debra Eckerling:

And honestly, I use one or the other almost every day for



Debra Eckerling:

cooking, because they're easy. But the other thing that I



Debra Eckerling:

discovered is, boy, is there joy from that. You know, it is like



Debra Eckerling:

the best way to walk away from everything that's going on,



Debra Eckerling:

because you cannot be jacking email or texting and cooking.



Debra Eckerling:

You



Janice Porter:

can't I know I get sometimes I'll be doing



Janice Porter:

something and get sidetracked because my phone dings or



Janice Porter:

something pings, and then I forget, oh, my God, you know,



Janice Porter:

because you get carried away. So I totally get that. So did you



Janice Porter:

grow up? Like, was your mom a cook?



Debra Eckerling:

Oh yeah, she loved to cook. I love going to



Debra Eckerling:

the grocery or I liked making the little platters. And then



Debra Eckerling:

the summer before my senior year of college, I worked short



Debra Eckerling:

order, which is when I learned to cut vegetables, yeah, okay,



Debra Eckerling:

um, and when we moved, when my mom and I moved to California,



Debra Eckerling:

we became roommates, and we just, we ended up staying



Debra Eckerling:

roommates, and at some point, you know, I be probably during



Debra Eckerling:

COVID, because We got so bored with cooking is and I got, I



Debra Eckerling:

just really started to love this process. We we had a little bit



Debra Eckerling:

of a role reversal. And I had written for the Jewish Journal a



Debra Eckerling:

few years ago before your goal guide came out. And I got a call



Debra Eckerling:

a few years ago from the editor saying, Do you want to write for



Debra Eckerling:

us again? And I said, if I can write about food. And he said,



Debra Eckerling:

Okay. And about a little over a year later, they said, Do you



Debra Eckerling:

want to do a food podcast? Because they had seen my other



Debra Eckerling:

one. Okay, so every Wednesday, I release a new episode of



Debra Eckerling:

teaspoons with Deb is bite sized conversations about food,



Debra Eckerling:

cooking and community, and it's just it's fun. Every I'm not



Debra Eckerling:

gonna say everybody loves food. Most people do not gonna say



Debra Eckerling:

everybody loves cooking, because I don't understand the people.



Debra Eckerling:

But as a former non cook, I get it, but it's almost like, just



Debra Eckerling:

take, take some time, you know, like, like gifting yourself time



Debra Eckerling:

to work towards your goals. Gift yourself the time to explore.



Debra Eckerling:

And it doesn't have to be cooking, but if you have some



Debra Eckerling:

sort of a hobby or joy that takes you away from electronics,



Debra Eckerling:

go with it, because it is so revitalizing and refreshing. And



Debra Eckerling:

I like cooking because you're rewarded, you know, with food.



Debra Eckerling:

You know, there, aside from that, some. Of accomplishment



Debra Eckerling:

you get to eat. So yeah, but



Janice Porter:

there's but it's interesting because there I'm



Janice Porter:

curious, and I do have to wrap it up in a few minutes, but I am



Janice Porter:

curious that you weren't into cooking. Would you say when you



Janice Porter:

weren't into cooking? Were you then a foodie? Because there are



Janice Porter:

foodies and there are people who are not they could they just eat



Janice Porter:

because they have to get the fuel in them. And I don't get,



Janice Porter:

yeah,



Debra Eckerling:

I don't get those people either. I always



Debra Eckerling:

love food, okay? And like I said, I was very blessed. My



Debra Eckerling:

mother always loved to cook. She always had the pot of soup going



Debra Eckerling:

when I was growing up, too. And soup is my favorite, probably



Debra Eckerling:

because it's the easiest. It's also my favorite thing to make



Debra Eckerling:

because you make chicken soup, and you have chicken and you



Debra Eckerling:

have soup and you can feed and it makes the house smell



Debra Eckerling:

absolutely wonderful. But I think one of the great my mother



Debra Eckerling:

was amazing, but one of the greatest gifts that she gave me



Debra Eckerling:

was, you know, encouragement to follow my passion. Um,



Debra Eckerling:

encouragement to help other people follow their passion. I



Debra Eckerling:

was called to the cheerleader's cheerleader, but also that that



Debra Eckerling:

love of food, because there's nothing like that. Well, if



Janice Porter:

you like me, if you grew up, if your mom was



Janice Porter:

anything like my mom, there was Jewish food all the time, right?



Janice Porter:

And you can't beat it if you grew up and then we didn't get



Janice Porter:

that passed down, because when we were growing up, at least for



Janice Porter:

me, chopped liver was full of fat and and, you know, things



Janice Porter:

were rich and too fatty to eat, my kids wouldn't eat them. And



Janice Porter:

so I did learn how to make some of this stuff, and I can make a



Janice Porter:

mean chicken soup and matzo ball, but we don't do it that



Janice Porter:

often, you know what I mean. But food was part of our culture,



Janice Porter:

and I think that's where the love of it comes from for



Janice Porter:

people. And so I get, you know, if you didn't cook, but you were



Janice Porter:

around food, I get that, that, you know, you would love it. So



Janice Porter:

I love that.



Debra Eckerling:

Well, in my job growing up, is I would ride my



Debra Eckerling:

bicycle to the grocery, do the shopping, and then call home for



Debra Eckerling:

someone to pick up the groceries. Because for me, that



Debra Eckerling:

was, this is when I was in a high school that was fun because



Debra Eckerling:

my friends work there, and that was being social around food.



Debra Eckerling:

Then, yes, now being social around food is I get to talk to



Debra Eckerling:

people who've got these wonderful stories about how they



Debra Eckerling:

came to love food, and a few of them are also former non cooks



Debra Eckerling:

who discovered it later in life, and it's, it's just, it's joy,



Debra Eckerling:

it's Yeah, and I'll tie it back to goals. Okay, find something



Debra Eckerling:

that it is joy, because that's where you're going to put your



Debra Eckerling:

attention. And maybe it doesn't make money for you right away,



Debra Eckerling:

but it's going to leak over into the other parts of your life. So



Debra Eckerling:

you really want to tap in, do that happy factor and let that



Debra Eckerling:

govern everything else that you're doing. So if you don't



Debra Eckerling:

love your job, start a side hustle, but do something that



Debra Eckerling:

really gets you excited and let that permeate through



Debra Eckerling:

everything. That's



Janice Porter:

such a wonderful attitude to have too, because



Janice Porter:

you never know where it's going to lead, even though you might



Janice Porter:

be setting your goals towards it, you don't know where it's



Janice Porter:

going to go. I mean, you can gear yourself, guide yourself



Janice Porter:

one way or another, but and be open. I guess you have to be



Janice Porter:

open to the possibilities of what it will bring.



Debra Eckerling:

Yes in a circling back to the beginning



Debra Eckerling:

of the conversation, goal, intention, what do you want your



Debra Eckerling:

life to be? Think about that and then set the foundation for what



Debra Eckerling:

you want to create to get there.



Janice Porter:

Fantastic. This has been a joy to talk to you,



Janice Porter:

because I love talking to people, and especially when I



Janice Porter:

can see them light up with the things that make them tick and



Janice Porter:

and so I will put in the show notes everything about your book



Janice Porter:

and about your website. And I do encourage you my audience, to



Janice Porter:

check out Deb's work and see if you need some guidance around



Janice Porter:

your goal setting. And I encourage you to buy her book,



Janice Porter:

because I think it's going to be joyful to read it as well. I



Janice Porter:

can't wait. So thank you again. Thank you for being here, and



Janice Porter:

thank you to my audience as usual. Appreciate you if you



Janice Porter:

like what you heard. Let us know we always love five star



Janice Porter:

reviews, and remember to stay connected and be remembered. Do.