Episode 21 (and 39)- The Victory Dance
“No One Noticed… Good. Celebrate Anyway”
Episode Overview
You hit publish. You finish the project. You finally complete that thing you’ve been working on for weeks — and then… silence. No confetti. No applause. Just you, your laptop, and the quiet that follows doing something brave.
In this episode, Maria Wronski-Ellis and Karina Kampe unpack the art and science of small wins — why they matter, how to celebrate them, and how to turn those tiny victories into real creative momentum.
Topics Covered
- Why small wins matter more than you think
- The surprising science behind celebration (hello, dopamine!)
- How Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s writing rituals show the power of micro-moments
- Real-world ways to build momentum and quiet your inner critic
- A simple Tiny Experiment to help you actually feel your progress this week
Time Stamps
Timestamps (original episode dec-25)
- 00:00 Intro: a quiet solo celebration after publishing an episode
- 01:05 Welcome and episode theme: small, uncelebrated wins
- 02:09 Personal check-ins: Karina’s “reload,” Maria’s school submission
- 03:39 Announcement: podcast, community, and platform all now named Big Dreams & Little Things
- 06:24 Feature story: Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s private rituals while writing Fleabag
- 08:11 Karina’s “golden stars” coaching story, and why self-celebration matters
- 10:11 Celebration styles: small luxuries, free ways to celebrate, artist dates
- 11:40 The science of celebrating: dopamine, visual momentum, stress reduction, growth, feedback loops
- 15:16 Tiny Experiments: Maria’s hum reset, Karina’s one-win-a-day practice
- 20:12 Sponsor break: Ignite waitlist
- 21:37 Closing thoughts and what’s coming next week
- 22:57 Outro song
Timestamps (Rewind air Sept 11-26)
Includes clips from reflection session
- 00:00 Intro: a quiet solo celebration after publishing an episode
- 01:02 Welcome and episode theme: small wins nobody claps for
- 02:07 Check-ins, plus our new name: podcast, community, and platform are all Big Dreams and Little Things
- 05:22 Feature story: Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s private rituals while writing Fleabag
- 08:09 Karina’s “golden stars” coaching story
- 09:47 Celebrating a birthday, and why not to wait for big milestones
- 11:37 Building your own list of small, medium, and large celebrations
- 15:00 Personal and free ways to celebrate
- 16:44 The science of celebrating: dopamine, momentum, and stress reduction
- 19:52 Tiny Experiments: a hum reset and a one-win-a-day practice
- 25:53 Closing thoughts, sign-off, and outro
References & further reading
Ignite waitlist: ectahub.net/ecta-ignite Instagram: instagram.com/bigdreamsandlittlethings Newsletter: ectahub.net/weekletter Referenced, Episode 9, “How to Stay Creative, Clear, and Connected” (Charlotte’s celebration ritual): Spotify episode
Backstage newsletter: ectahub.net/weekletter 📲 Instagram: @bigdreamsandlittlethings 👥 Facebook: @bigdreamsandlittlethings YouTube: @bigdreamsandlittlethings