On Your Terms®

An inside look at an author mastermind with James Clear, Mark Manson, Gretchen Rubin, and Nathan Barry. Discover a two-slide Instagram Stories tactic, quiz lead magnets that convert, and a clever way to turn kind messages into testimonials. Plus, reflections on imposter syndrome, finding your own path, and what it takes to belong in bigger rooms.

After more than $9 million in sales, Sam reconsiders the business advice she once followed. She explores why audience-first beats social-first, how to focus on fewer platforms, and where AI fits into content repurposing. The conversation also covers charging for expertise, building owned revenue streams, letting a human voice stand out, and redefining business pace as timely participation rather than constant posting.

A planned year of blank space turns into 19 flights and a surprisingly restful, busy life. The conversation contrasts being chronically online with offline busyness and why one feels healthier. It explores how online time warped gratitude and relationships. The host confronts self-judgment and reframes activity as meaningful, nonperformative living.

A dramatic tennis fall turns into a reflection on being forced to slow down. The host explores how sudden stillness exposes unresolved grief and the urge to fix everything. Personal storytelling mixes embarrassment, stubbornness, and the messy work of sitting with feelings.

A storyteller describes a persistent bird that upended a grueling Andean hike and a childhood blackbird surprise that lingered for months. Travel reflections show how vast landscapes reset perspective. Returning home sparks an obsession with local birdwatching and learning birdcalls. Small, ordinary encounters become a practice for being present and unplugging from screens.

A candid read-aloud about how relentless productivity systems and batching drained original ideas. The conversation digs into a gap year that backfired and how team pressures reshaped creativity. It critiques AI and optimization for fueling a content arms race. The piece highlights how real life, books, and travel refill the creative well.

A writer declares a year off but finds rest slipping into work as teaching, newsletters, and interviews creep back in. She explores how grief drives constant distraction and why her phone is so hard to resist. The line between true rest and restless busy-ness gets blurry. She shares small moments of grief and practicing more self-compassion.

I recently stood in a long line for pancakes I wasn't even sure I wanted. And it made me realize how much of what I consume, eat, buy, watch, isn't actually chosen by me anymore. It's chosen by whoever posted about it first.This summer, I'm taking a little break from our regular episodes so I can rest, recharge, and come back to you on September 14th with a full slate of new content. In the meantime, I'm sharing a few of my favorite essays from my Substack, Sam Vander Wielen, right here on the podcast. Today's essay is all about a day I spent in New York City trying to unlearn the habit of letting algorithms and influencers decide what I like, and how I'm working to reclaim my own taste instead.In this episode, you'll hear…The pancake line that made me question everything about how I make decisionsWhy I think over 80% of Instagram-hyped restaurants aren't even worth the hypeWhat my no-buy Amazon year has taught me about slowing down and shopping with intentionThe conversations with local shop owners that ended up meaning more than any five-star reviewHow I'm working to reclaim my own preferences, both in New York City and in my everyday lifeClick here to find the full show notes and transcript for this episode.EPISODE RESOURCES:Get Sam's weekly newsletter, Sam's Sidebar👩🏻‍💻 REGISTER FOR MY FREE LIVE LEGAL CLASS --> https://www.samvanderwielen.com/live-legal-workshop Subscribe to Sam's SubstackRead today's essay Field notes from NYC: reclaiming my own tasteIf you have a question you’d like Sam to answer on a future podcast episode, you can submit it here.Click here to be notified when new episodes of On Your Terms® come outCONNECT:Get Sam's weekly newsletter, Sam's SidebarFollow Sam on InstagramFollow Sam on YouTubeSubscribe to Sam's SubstackTake Sam's free legal workshop "5 Steps to Legally Protect & Grow Your Online Business"DISCLAIMER

One of the strange gifts of your life completely burning to the ground is the fertile soil it leaves behind for you to begin again. That's where I found myself after losing both of my parents in the same year, recovering from brain surgery, and realizing that being "extremely online" wasn't actually serving me or my business.This week I'm continuing my summer series, where I'm reading you essays straight from my Substack while I take a little break before we're back with full-force episodes on September 14th. This one's about the health, digital wellness, and business habits that helped me rebuild after burnout and loss, some I learned the hard way, some I'd skip again, but all of them helped me feel better inside and out.In this episode, you'll hear…Why grief changed what actually felt worth my time and energy, in business and in lifeThe health habits (starting with what I eat first thing in the morning) that have made the biggest difference in how I feelMy digital wellness rules, including why I brick my phone every single nightThe business habits that protect my creative energy and keep me from chasing everyone else's version of successWhy I still believe in "them" focused content, but why "you" content matters tooClick here to find the full show notes and transcript for this episode.EPISODE RESOURCES:Get Sam's weekly newsletter, Sam's Sidebar👩🏻‍💻 REGISTER FOR MY FREE LIVE LEGAL CLASS --> https://www.samvanderwielen.com/live-legal-workshop Subscribe to Sam's SubstackRead today's essay Healthy Habits that rebuilt me after burnout & lossThe Brick, the phone-blocking device Sam uses to disable apps (affiliate link)Cometeer, the half-caff coffee Sam switched to (affiliate link)Grab Sam's Book When I Start My Business, I'll Be HappyIf you have a question you’d like Sam to answer on a future podcast episode, you can submit it here.Click here to be notified when new episodes of On Your Terms® come outCONNECT:Get Sam's weekly newsletter, Sam's SidebarFollow Sam on InstagramFollow Sam on YouTubeSubscribe to Sam's SubstackTake Sam's free legal workshop "5 Steps to Legally Protect & Grow Your Online Business"DISCLAIMER

Everyone's obsessed with the getting off social media part — deleting the apps, doing the digital detox, bragging about their screen time going down. But almost no one talks about what's supposed to happen once you actually log off. Because here's the thing: stepping away from Instagram only to fall into a Substack doom scroll isn't really progress. It's just a softer-feeling version of the same problem.In this episode, I'm doing something a little different to celebrate summer — I'm reading you one of my recent essays straight from my free Substack, where I get real about what it's actually like to run a seven-figure business while also trying to build a life off the very apps I used to build it. This particular essay gets into something I don't talk about all that often: how losing both of my parents within a year of each other completely cracked open the way I think about time, attention, and what I actually want my life to look like — phone down or not.In this episode, you'll hear… Why getting offline isn't just about swapping one app for a "better" oneThe unsettling stat about our generation and other people's memories that I can't stop thinking aboutHow losing both of my parents within a year of each other changed my relationship with my phone, and with my lifeWhat it actually looked like for me to start rebuilding an offline life on purpose, not by accidentWhy the more offline I get, the better my online business actually doesClick here to find the full show notes and transcript for this episode.EPISODE RESOURCES:Get Sam's weekly newsletter, Sam's Sidebar👩🏻‍💻 REGISTER FOR MY FREE LIVE LEGAL CLASS --> https://www.samvanderwielen.com/live-legal-workshop Subscribe to Sam's SubstackRead today's essay How I Got (More) OfflineGrab Sam's Book When I Start My Business, I'll Be HappyIf you have a question you’d like Sam to answer on a future podcast episode, you can submit it here.Click here to be notified when new episodes of On Your Terms® come outCONNECT:Get Sam's weekly newsletter, Sam's SidebarFollow Sam on InstagramFollow Sam on YouTubeSubscribe to Sam's SubstackTake Sam's free legal workshop "5 Steps to Legally Protect & Grow Your Online Business"DISCLAIMER