Episode 22: Benny Blanco’s Fck Failure: The Messy Middle — Lay Low Pod

What if you’re not failing—you’re just in the messy middle?

This week, Erin is talking about the space between where you started and where you’re going. The part where things don’t always look like you thought they would, the wins aren’t obvious, and you have to keep showing up without knowing exactly how the story ends.

Inspired by Benny Blanco’s book Fck Failure*, Erin shares some of her favorite lessons from his career and connects them to her own season of change—especially the way she’s redefining success after years of tying it to money, achievement, and security.

Maybe success isn’t just what’s in the bank account. Maybe it’s being happy, healthy, and excited for the future.

In this episode:

Why the messy middle can feel like failure—even when you’re growing
Redefining success beyond money and achievement
Why failure, rejection, and bad seasons are part of winning
What Benny Blanco’s career teaches us about staying in the game
The surprising story behind Rihanna’s “Diamonds”
The heartbreak behind Justin Bieber’s “Love Yourself”
Why a detour can take you somewhere better than the original plan
Learning when to pause, pivot, and keep going
Why relationships and the people you build with matter
How to stop moving the goalpost and recognize the life you’ve already built
The simple “one inch forward” exercise for going after what you really want

You don’t have to have the whole thing figured out. You don’t even have to know exactly where you’re going. Sometimes you just have to keep moving one inch forward.

Because the messy middle isn’t where the story falls apart. It might be where everything starts coming together.

Submit listener questions or share your story as a possible pod guest at www.laylowpod.com

Thanks for laying low with me. ❤️