Creating a stronger, more profitable online presence takes skill. We discuss how to do that in this episode with my guest Michael Buzinski. Michael is a decorated US Air Force veteran, he has built several small businesses (two multi-million dollar ventures) and marketed for over 1200 companies, best-selling author, and host of the top 1% podcast “the Buzzworthy Marketing Show”.     Reluctance to be in the food industry as a teenager pushed Michael into sales and, eventually, marketing. Many people start in sales to get into marketing because that’s where you can start without any experience. If you have the gift of gab, you can pretty much sell anything, especially if you have empathy and you can be taught. Michael was a very teachable person at a young age. As he got higher into the sales world, he ended up moving into marketing. Michael loves marketing because it is a continual learning adventure. After his tour in the Air Force Michael became a small business owner. Because of this, he has a huge respect for small business owners and entrepreneurs because he knows how hard it is to get started and there’s nothing out there helping us. Small business owners are on their own. They never say no, they never give up, they fight for what they believe in and those are the people that he likes to be around. The Biggest Marketing Mistake that Entrepreneurs Make Online The biggest thing, especially now with AI, is that people overcomplicate things. Everybody is looking for the next big thing in marketing, so they end up with a lot of random tactics. Michael believes that “Sound strategy aways beats blind tactics”. When Michael started his marketing firm back in 2005, what we have today with social media tools for marketing was nonexistent. Now we have all these shiny things. Unfortunately, people don’t have a good strategy and so marketers and agencies for years have overcomplicated the process. It comes from the enterprise level of looking at marketing where there’s so many moving parts. At that level there are too many complexities in tracking Key performance Indicators (KPIs) for marketing initiatives. Small business owners don’t need all those KPIs. They can get more traffic and even double their traffic and profits with the right strategies. All the traffic in the world means nothing if it doesn't convert. We discuss how to do that. We cover topics such as: Where a sound marketing strategy begins and how to get started. How to define a clear target market. What you should be tracking online to learn what’s working and what’s not working. What vanity metrics are and why they’re misleading. The three KPIs that have the most impact on your business and marketing initiatives. How to double your revenue using three key strategies. How to know what marketing tactics to stop How to recognize your target market’s buying cycle and map out your clients’ value journey. …and other golden nuggets of advice! You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”         About the Guest             Michael Buzinski is a decorated US Air Force veteran, serial entrepreneur, digital marketing thought leader, international speaker, best-selling author, and host of the top 1% podcast the Buzzworthy Marketing Show. He has built several small businesses (two multi-million dollar ventures), and marketed for over 1200 companies. Dubbed a “marketing visionary” by the American Marketing Association, Michael is on a mission to eradicate entrepreneurial poverty by simplifying the digital marketing strategy process with the Rule of 26. His revolutionary approach helps business owners avoid the time drain and frustration of managing profitable digital marketing campaigns. Connect with Michael! LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelbuzinski/ Rule of 26 (book): https://www.rulof26.com

There’s a LOT more to improv than entertaining shows. It has many implications to create networking and communication experiences in the business world. That’s what I discuss in this episode with my guest, Mike Weaver. Mike’s been an actor in improv theater since 2003 and a member of the Applied Improvisation Network since 2007.  He leverages his coaching certifications, membership in the Applied Improvisation Network, and over 20 years of pastoral leadership to powerfully serve his clients.     A couple decades ago Mike out getting ice cream with his son and saw a flier on the wall for an improv workshop for professionals. It promised to improve your public speaking skills, enhance communication skills, make you a better leader, and so on. Mike thought “That all applies to me, I don’t know about improv, I think I’ll take a class.” It was in a studio below some theaters in Columbus, Ohio, taught by an actress from New York City. After that first improv class Mike was hooked. He realized at that moment he had been “doing improv” all his life, but he didn’t have a name for it until then. Improv gave Mike permission now to be himself, co-create experiences, have fun, and make something meaningful in a creative way with other people that are all in the process together. Immediately after his first class he signed up for the second level class and from there kept taking classes. To this day he still takes classes because there’s always something to learn. What You Might Not Know about Improv A lot of times people immediately associate comedy with improv. While improv can be funny, it doesn’t have to be. Mike’s seen comedy improv, dramatic improv, and everything in between. It’s all about having an honest conversation in the moment and that honesty is what got him. The biggest misconception is that improv is just about being funny, or its about standup comedy and being clever on stage and that’s not it at all. Another misconception is people thinking “I can’t take improv because I’m not in theater, or I haven’t taken acting classes, etc.” That’s not it. It’s about showing up and being present. That’s a human skill, it’s not necessarily a skill that professionals have. What happens is you start sharpening that skill as you learn.  Everyone can have those skills to listen, be present, to focus, and more. We also discuss: Everyday human skills you can learn through improv. How improv teaches you to be present and live in the moment. How improv can teach entrepreneurs listening skills for client meetings. The difference between traditional improv and applied improv for business. What improv can teach you about creating successful collaborative experiences. How to use improv in everyday conversations. How improv applies to networking in the business world. The power of responding to people instead of reacting to them. …and more golden nuggets of advice! You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”         About the Guest             Mike Weaver is the author of "Unstuck: Amazing Momentum for Christian Leaders through Improv" and has been a certified coach since 2015, specializing in empowering leaders to maximize their potential, amplify their influence, and leave a lasting legacy. He’s been an actor in improv theater since 2003 and a member of the Applied Improvisation Network since 2007. He leverages his coaching certifications, membership in the Applied Improvisation Network, and over 20 years of pastoral leadership to powerfully serve his clients. Learn more about Mike! www.unstuckcoaching.co Want to learn more about improv in the business world? Check out "How to Use Improv to Improve Business Communications with Bill Prinzivalli"

Overcoming adversity and creating peak performance states often go hand in hand. That’s what I discuss in this episode with my guest, Jennifer Watson. Jennifer, founder of Watson Worldwide, overcame years of debilitating depression to become an integrative physical therapist, entrepreneur of 6+ figure businesses, a TEDx speaker and now an international speaker & coach.     Jennifer has been a high performer for most of her life. She went to the University of Wisconsin, Madison on a full ride scholarship for track and field and became a two-time All American in middle distance. That became the beginning of her journey in being a high performer as an adult. She had achieved the traditional form of high performance. Unfortunately, what this often looked like was burn yourself to the ground, push through the emotions, push through the pain physically, mentally, and emotionally. Rinse and repeat. That worked for a while and what happened when she went into other areas of her life as a high performer, she started breaking down mentally, emotionally, and physically in the personal and business world. She stepped back and asked, “Is there a way to sustainably high perform during growth and adversity and get more acceleration in her performance by doing it a different way?” The answer was absolutely “Yes!”. That led to her career as a successful entrepreneur and coach to other high performers. Climbing Out of the Hole and Repairing the Breakdown At first, the more Jennifer pushed the more she felt anxiety and depression. She often felt alone, mental health was more taboo then than it is now. Now there are more resources available to you. She picked herself up by the bootstraps, did her research and stepped out and spoke with people about it. She found modalities to help people accelerate getting out of the proverbial hole and, before she started to sink again, she remedied the problem, so it didn’t become a big problem. That lead her to new strategies that she now teaches to other high performers. In this episode we discuss: How to first pick yourself up by the mental health bootstraps. How to combine traditional and wholistic approaches to mental and physical health. The art and science of “neuro-rewiring” and how to apply it in your life. How to grow during times of adversity. How to shift from just “feeling good” to a mental and physical state of peak performance. How to change your relationship with yourself by changing how you talk about yourself. How to stay higher and longer in a peak performance state. Why doing less on stressful days can lead to a healthier environment. How to create a calm state of mind that leads to higher productivity. …and other golden nuggets of advice! You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”         About the Guest             Jennifer Watson, MPT, I.M.T.,C., speaker, healer, and visionary on a mission to help leaders heal and accelerate their deeper purpose of impact through shifting their mental-emotional state and optimizing healthy high-performance leadership. As a former D1 athlete and 2x All-American, Jennifer, founder of Watson Worldwide, overcame years of debilitating depression to become an integrative physical therapist, entrepreneur of 6+ figure businesses, a TEDx speaker and now an international speaker & coach. Jennifer’s ultimate goal in life is to be known for the healing she gave, the love she showed and the hope she gave to all that they can truly live their highest potential life. In her spare time, she loves to dance, run, play tennis, read and hang-out with her amazing friends and beautiful nieces and nephews. Jennifer's Social Media Links: https://www.instagram.com/thejenniferwatson https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-watson-6b08b9121 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmyNWqvZHr0B1Gxe8t5PW0g

Even small businesses can become trusted brands with the right strategies. I discuss how to do that in this episode with my guest, Bryan Kramer. Called the “Zen Master to Digital Marketers” by Forbes, Bryan is a renowned business strategist, global keynote speaker, executive trainer and coach, investor, two-time bestselling author including a TOP 150 USA best-selling book, and Forbes contributor.     Bryan came up with the topic of the brand connection to business owners because every level of branding (including the US government, go figure) is at the lowest level it’s ever been. Bryan saw an opportunity to reshape what trust means to us. Why Trust is at an All Time Low and What Can Be Done About it The idea around Bryan’s research about why trust is really low stems from the fact that, today, we have so many options. We’re the “fickle customer era”. We don’t have to go to the product anymore, the product comes to us. If you’re a service provider that makes a mistake or takes trust for granted, it’s easy for us to highlight that so much more with social media. When someone has a bad experience and they go to social media, it makes us as viewers to think “I had a similar experience. Maybe I should think about switching services.” The brand loyalty that we once knew has dissipated. Social media is a magnifying glass on the fickle customer. Brand relationships now go beyond the traditional “raving fan” because of accessibility. We want deeper relationships with brands these days, almost like a best friend. When we have that best friend relationship that’s when we’re going to be brand loyal. In this episode we also discuss: The starting point for even smaller entrepreneurs to become trusted brands. The three pillars that all trusted brands share. Why simplicity rules when building your brand. How to bake the “best friend effect” into your brand experience. Mistakes entrepreneurs make while building their brands and how to avoid them. Strategies entrepreneurs can leverage to pass the “Trust Barometer Test”. Why there is no way to fake trust into your marketing. …and other golden nuggets of advice! You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”         About the Guest               Called the “Zen Master to Digital Marketers” by Forbes, Bryan Kramer is a renowned business strategist, global keynote speaker, executive trainer and coach, investor, two-time bestselling author including a TOP 150 USA best-selling book, and Forbes contributor. Bryan also created a global movement and is known for his keynotes, book, and talks on “There Is No BtoB or B2C: It’s Human-to-Human, H2H. He is the CEO of H2H Companies, an executive coaching company, and co-owner of PureMatter, a Silicon Valley marketing agency founded in 2001, which earned a spot as one of the “Fastest Growing Companies” three years in a row by the Silicon Valley Business Journal. Learn more about Bryan here

Public speaking is a great way to grow your business if you have the right strategies. That’s what I discuss in this episode with my guest, Mike Domitrz. Mike is a Hall of Fame Speaker, author and Founder of the Center for Respect and conducts keynotes and workshops for tens of thousands of people each year. Now through his unique weekend retreats for leaders, CEOs, and entrepreneurs, Mike is helping passionate trailblazers become more impactful speakers.     Mike believes that what you were taught in public schools about speaking is the worst advice to follow. You learn things like, “Tell them what you want them to do, then tell them which way to do it”. It’s so robotic, audiences do not connect to that. Mike believes you must authentically connect with your audiences. How to Engage with Your Audience the Right Way Start with a question. Most speakers start with a story. By asking a question and letting the audience answer it, you can set the stage for your whole speech. You’ll know what they want to talk about. The people in your audience have a struggle. They’ve been using a belief system that has led them continually back to the same struggle and they have falsely believed their old system will get them past that struggle. You must break them from those beliefs and help them realize those are false myths. When you have a conversation that starts with a question your audience is making a discovery instead of you proving something to them. When you’re a speaker trying to be the smartest person in the room, nobody likes that. When you are simply helping them realize something themselves, and they’re the brilliant ones, your message hits home with them and they remember it. In this episode we also discuss: How to align your mission with your speech before getting in front of an audience. How to share your mission without coming across as “salesy”. How to craft a mission that is worthy of being shared. How to define and find your target audience(s). The components of a successful speech. Ways to get speaking engagements as an unknown speaker. As an entrepreneur, how to build a speaking career that builds your business. Common mistakes that speakers make and how to avoid them. …and other golden nuggets of advice! You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”         About the Guest             Decades before mainstream America was discussing "Asking First" or sexual harassment cases were on the cover of every major media publication, Domitrz was being brought in by leading educational institutions and the U.S. military to help them pursue a new standard of consent and respect. With Mike being the author of 3 books and an award-winning DVD, he is considered one of the leading influencers and thought-leaders on the topic of Respect. You may have seen Mike on NBC Dateline as a featured subject matter expert or being quoted in international news publications such as Forbes and The Wall Street Journal. He is continuously being sought out for his proven track record of helping shift the paradigm for people. In 2003, Mike founded what is now The Center for Respect which conducts keynotes and workshops for tens of thousands each year. Mike's extensive experience enables him to connect with audiences of all ages in honest, unique conversations that are always built on creating positive behavioral change for each individual and the organization as a whole. Imagine teaching 15-year-olds about “Asking First” and then later that same day talking with CEOs about creating mutually amazing relationships in the workplace. And now in his unique weekend retreats for leaders, CEOs, and entrepreneurs, Mike is helping passionate trailblazers to be more impactful speakers. Link to Website: www.CenterForRespect.com Links to Social Media: www.Instagram.com/MikeRespects www.

It takes a lot more than a traditional business plan to design a business. It involves surrounding yourself with the right people, community building, marketing outreach and more. It’s possible to do it with the right strategies. That’s what I discuss in this episode with Colleen Biggs. Colleen is a 22-year Business Strategist who empowers Business Leaders to expand their influence through Peak Performance Habits to attract the right clients and drive more profits.  She has launched over 340 businesses, is a Keynote Speaker, Author to 7 #1 International Best-Sellers. Colleen grew up in a very chaotic, unstable household. She believes that when you feel like that as a child you take control of the things you can control. From the time she was a child she felt that she really needed to create that stability for herself because she craved it. Her mom said you grow up, you get a job, you have babies and you’re a homemaker like her mom was. Colleen decided she needed to design a life that looks different than that. She’s been designing her life from that point forward and become a victor instead of a victim. In this episode we discuss: How colleen built multiple companies and balanced her personal and professional lives. Why entrepreneurs can’t be “lone wolves” and how to create your support system. What it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. What you need to decide before starting a business. The one ingredient that all successful businesses have in common. Examples of how to create your ideal client profile and then find them. How to build your own community of influencers, clients, and referral sources. What opportunities to say “no” to as you grow. How to choose what professional organizations to become a part of. …and more golden nuggets of advice! You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”         About the Guest             Colleen Biggs is a 22-year Business Strategist who empowers Business Leaders to expand their influence through Peak Performance Habits to attract the right clients and drive more profits. She has launched over 340 businesses, is a Keynote Speaker, Author to 7 #1 International Best-Sellers with the latest being Step Into the Spotlight to Expand Your Influence, the CEO and founder of the Leap Community, and was awarded the Most Inspirational Leaders in Business and Entrepreneur of the year in 2023. Colleen serves as the CEO of three businesses including Lead Up for Women, a community that boasts tens of thousands of female entrepreneurs that are driven by their passions, support and promote others with purpose to fuel female voices with power that are leading the way for all women world-wide to dominate the entrepreneurial market. Colleen provides women with a community of entrepreneurs who take the leap daily and realize that their network is their Net Worth. A special download for those solopreneurs to get started with a 30-day business plan on me for free! https://qj979.infusionsoft.app/app/form/business-action-plan https://colleenbiggs.net/ https://linktr.ee/ColleenJaneBiggs Checkout the Leap Community: https://colleenbiggs.net/Community Connect with Colleen here: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/colleen.s.biggs LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colleen-biggs/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colleenbiggs/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/LeapwithColleen TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@colleenjanebiggs Connect with the Leap Community on FB: https://www.facebook.com/groups/310881170189409 Subscribe to our Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/ColleenBiggs

Happiness is something most people yearn for, and gratitude helps you create it. How to find and create happiness is important. But most people don’t think about the effect their happiness has on the people around them. You can create a “happiness and gratitude ripple effect” if you have the right strategies. That’s what I discuss in this episode with my guest, Phil Gerbyshak.     Phil is the Chief Happiness Officer of Happy AF Now, dedicated to helping organizations and their people work and live a more engaged, more productive and more happy life. His upcoming book 7 Habits of Happy AF People will be out in Q2 of 2024. When deciding on the next phase of his journey Phil considered a lot of topics that he could share with the world. He chose happiness in part because he believes that happiness is an inside job that you control your happiness or lack of happiness. It’s your choice. Over the years he encountered a lot of people that were really unhappy. Maybe unhappy with the right now, unhappy with tomorrow, unhappy with the future and more similar situations. About two years ago Phil decided that, personally, he was going to do something different.  It’s not enough to just be positive, he realized that he had to choose happiness. Which he did and now he’s sharing his journey. In this episode we discuss: Why the starting point of happiness is gratitude. The ripple effect of happiness and gratitude to those around you. How to practice gratitude every day. How to move through and beyond tough times in your life. How to recharge your gratitude and happiness batteries. Why cheering other people on helps you have a better day. Ways to charge other people up intentionally. More of the story behind Phil’s gratitude and happiness journey. …and more golden nuggets of advice! You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”         About the Guest             After studying sales for the past 20 years, Phil Gerbyshak realized the reason people aren't as engaged and productive as they could be is simple: it's because they don't know how to be Happy AF. So Phil saw a need and dove headfirst into studying happiness experts like Dr. Martin Seligman, Mister Rogers and Ted Lasso. Now Phil speaks about how organizations and their people can be Happy AF to be more resilient, more productive and more engaged. Sign up for the Happy AF Blog at https://HappyAFnow.com and listen to the Happy AF Show podcast at https://HappyAFShow.com

There's an artform to marketing yourself at virtual events. They should be treated with the same professionalism as live events if you want to market yourself successfully. That’s what I discuss in this episode with serial entrepreneur Daniel Ruke, better known as Ruke. Ruke has been doing 100% virtual networking for six years now. He believes that it’s the quickest and easiest way to build your brand. Unfortunately, most people don’t understand the power of virtual networking and how to successfully engage with people at virtual events.   Consider advertising; brands need repetition to get in front of their audiences. Statistics say you need to see a brand eight times before you buy whatever they’re selling. TV commercials, radio commercials and print ads are all doing the same thing. Eventually you investigate the product or service that you’ve seen eight or more times. When you’re networking virtually you get to show up to the same groups multiple times. When you do show up multiple times, you’re getting that repetition that leads to branding and marketing results. Here's another thing that most people don’t understand: At virtual events people are watching you like a television show. The power of that is you get to control what you people are seeing. That means you have control over your brand image at events. It’s important to understand that because people get curious. What books is he reading? What’s that in his background? You can show off your brand every time. That’s the greatest branding opportunity that you can do for your business at virtual events. Most people don’t take advantage of that. Personally, I’ve realized that having my book (Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea) behind me is product placement while I’m networking. Yet many people don’t think about creating opportunities like that. In this episode we also discuss: The most common (and damaging) mistakes people make at virtual networking events and how to avoid them. Why you have to value yourself before anyone else will value you or your services. How to create a professional online environment. How to present yourself and create marketing conversations in breakout rooms. What a successful "30-second commercial" looks like and how to create yours. The balance between marketing and sales. How to create Superfans that will refer you business again and again. ...and more golden nuggets of advice! You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”         About the Guest             RUKE is the founder of multiple companies that brings your intellectual property to life. They take Brands through the flow of create, monetize, and scale... handling their branding, marketing, and sales. 🎉 PROUD MOMENTS RUKE’s companies have worked with Intellectual Properties of: Disney, Marvel, Lionsgate Entertainment, Epic Games, and Chico’s He and his team have Successfully Launched: 200+ Products, Services, and Brands Over the Last 24+ Years Has 10 Inventions and Received a Patent for: “A System and Method for Providing a Multi-Players game Experience” in a physical space, bringing video games to life. …………… 🤘FUN FACTS Has Every Star Wars Toy Since Childhood Privately Trained as an Artist Since the Third Grade Married my Wife 3 Months After 1st Date...It’s been 27+ Years with 4 Daughters - One being Gender-Fluid :) Learn more about Ruke! www.GameChangersAssemble.com www.RUKE.com

Writing great marketing copy is an art form. Many copywriters struggle with brevity; short form copy that packs a marketing punch isn’t the easiest thing in the world to create. If you have the right copywriting and marketing strategies you will get the attention of potential clients, keep it, and convert them into clients. I discuss how to do that in this episode with my guest, Joe Martin. Joe is a Chicago-based business growth consultant who helps companies align their messaging. He has built and exited two companies, while his innovative ideas around work-life balance have been featured on WGN, FOX, and the TEDx stage. Brevity is Your Best Friend in Marketing Joe went to school for design. Part of his responsibility in his professional life after college was marrying the design part of website and marketing material projects with the copywriting part of those projects. He noticed that raising the bar with the copywriting piece often created a bottleneck. Joe would design a beautiful site and then take it to copywriters and ask them to put two sentences on the first page. They would come back with two paragraphs. Ouch. Joe’s goal with the websites he designed was to make them profitable, not just pretty. But how? You need to start by answering these questions: Who is the person you want to get the attention of and what action do you want them to take? Then it comes down to: What do you need to say to get them to take that action? How can you get that point across in one sentence? By focusing on one person. One person? Yes, one person and Joe believes one properly crafted sentence, speaking to your ideal target client, can accomplish that. A question that he gets asked more than anything else is: “How do you decide on who the person you want to talk to is?” Yes, ultimately, you’re going to have more than one client profile. It’s important to pick just one to get started and craft that sentence for them. The one you want to pick is the one you can get to. It’s the one with the best referral network, the one that is going to spend the most money with you, the one that is going to tell all their friends about you. Most importantly, it’s the one that you actually want to work with! Ask and answer: Who do you best help? Design your messaging for them, start there with one person first. Speak to Your Idea Client’s Avatar How do you focus on that one person? By developing your one marketing sentence. You need to start a conversation with that one person. Figure out what you need to say to them. This is important: When you want to create a conversation with one person, you’re listening more than you’re talking. You start by discovering the big problem they have which is why they need your help. That’s the way a great sales conversation goes: “This is the problem you have; we solve that problem, and this is how we do it.” Let’s look at that again: Number one: “If I understand correctly, this is the problem you have.” Number two: “Hey! We solve that specific problem!” Number three: “This is how we do it…” You Have Their Attention. Now What? The purpose of websites has changed in recent years. Websites were originally digital storefronts. The change is now that the highest converting websites act more like a digital salesperson than they do a digital storefront. Now it’s figuring out what we need to say to that person to get them to take the next action. Often the action is they need to get on the phone and talk to somebody. In that case you need to make that first call to action to get them to make that call. If that’s the case the first button shouldn’t say, “our services” and lead to a page of long copy most people won’t read. Let’s not have that first button say, "learn more”. Tell them exactly what you want them to do, which is schedule a call. This is why you should work with us, and this is the action I want you to take. Get them on the phone with a link to schedule a call ...

The wrong name for your product or service can be the difference between success and failure. So, how do you choose the right name? That’s what I discuss in this episode with Alexandra Watkins. Alexandra is a leading and outspoken authority on brand names with buzz. If you have ever eaten a Wendy’s Baconator, you have literally eaten the words. For nearly 20 years, she and her naming firm, Eat My Words, have created love-at-first sight brand names for countless companies including Amazon, Coca-Cola, Disney, Twitter, and Google. Alexandra has always been good with words. When she was younger, she had a role as an advertising copywriter and loved her job. Occasionally, her boss would throw her a bone and she would get to name a product or service. While she enjoyed the work Alexandra had no idea that “naming” was a profession that paid well. When she discovered that it is a lucrative profession around 20 years ago, she decided to take a leap of faith and go all in to the profession. Alexandra has a few acronyms in the book, my favorite two are the SMILE test and the SCRATCH test. Her philosophy is that a name should make you smile instead of scratch your head. People like to “get it” and feel clued in, not clueless. SMILE outlines the qualities of a super sticky name. It’s the five qualities that make a name great. The SMILE Test Suggestive: If it’s suggestive you want your name to suggest a positive brand experience and clue people into what you do. Memorable: Meaning that it’s based on something familiar that people already know as opposed to something unfamiliar and foreign. Imagery: This aids in memory, just like something based on the familiar. Legs: Meaning it lends itself to a theme, it has legs to walk on and carry itself throughout your branding and marketing messaging. Emotional: It’s important that your name makes an emotional connection with your target audience or else it will just go right over their head. What is imagery? Alexandra uses the example of a bike lock company named “Kryptonite”. When you hear the name Kryptonite you can picture something in your head because you’re familiar with kryptonite from Superman. Compare that to a similar U-shaped bike lock named “ABUS”. Your brain has no imagery when it hears that name, so there’s nothing to latch onto. Think about it, you hear that name and then you’re in the bike shop a month later and you’re trying to remember the name, maybe by picturing it. You’re going through your brain’s dusty filing cabinet to retrieve that piece of information. If it’s based on something that’s already in your knowledge base, like Kryptonite, it will be easier to remember if there’s a picture associated with it. Here are two more examples of imagery: The Church of Cupcakes. There are all kinds of things you can imagine for the Church of Cupcakes. It creates a picture in your head. A frozen yogurt franchise that she named “Spoon Me”. It’s funny and memorable and hints at the spoon you get with frozen yogurt. If the name of your product or service fails the SCRATCH test it’s time to scratch it off your list because it makes people scratch their head with confusion. Here’s what the acronym means: The SCRATCH Test Spelling Challenged: If your name looks like a typo scratch it off the list, it will forever frustrate people. Copycat: You don’t want to copy somebody else. Nobody likes copycats; we learned that early on in school. Why be somebody else when you can be yourself? In the bigger picture of things, you don’t want to open yourself up to trademark infringement. Restrictive: This is where you have a name that limits your future growth. You don’t want to get trapped with a name that pigeonholes you into one business if you’re eventually going to be doing something else. Examples include 24-hour fitness. What if eventually they don’t want to be open 24 hours? Another example is 1-800-FLOWERS which sells more than flowers...

Podcasting is about more than just download numbers, which is what most people focus on. Podcasting can be a powerful tool to grow your business if you have the right strategies. That’s what I discuss in this episode with my guest, Steve Ramona. Steve discovered his calling at a young age and is now on a mission to share his secret sauce for success. He thrives on forging meaningful connections, sharing referrals, and watching people flourish. His contagious passion for the “Law of Increase” makes his podcast "Doing Business with a Servant's Heart" so successful. This show is chock-full of inspiring stories about overcoming challenges and serving others. Getting Started in Podcasting A few years Steve got involved with a company named Pantheon in a podcasting capacity. Steve asked for advice about how to get started. The owner told Steve “Just start recording, I don’t care how you get started, what you look like or what happens on each episode. Just hit record and have fun with it.” Steve found his first guests through his network. He went to his them and simply said, “I’m launching a podcast, who wants to be a guest?” Steve had 5-10 quick email responses from people, and he was off and running. Steve believes you can use podcasting as a networking tool, even though a lot of people don’t look at it like that. They look at it as getting the guests, getting the downloads, plays, partial plays and other metrics. Networking is a much more powerful reason to have a podcast. Podcasting as a Networking Tool Regarding podcasting as a networking tool Steve pointed out a few things. When you’re on a podcast you laugh, joke, and get to know your guests. You’re also adding value to their lives because you’re promoting them. They’re excited when you get done recording. Then you both start promoting the episode to share both of your messages. It’s a win-win situation. That’s where the “Law of Increase” comes into play. This happens because of the value you’re offering them from being a guest on your podcast. As a guest, you’ve got their attention.  You’ve got them excited about the show that you’re going to be promoting so their energy level is up. Leverage that in a good way by giving them even more value by helping with their business endeavors and their energy goes up even more. That’s networking at its finest. Steve says that giving them business referrals is the gold trophy, but it doesn't have to be referrals. If they have a podcast, you can offer them resources, guests, or marketing ideas. Don’t immediately try to sell them something. Offer free resources, don’t say “Come to my coaching program, it’s only $199 a month.” People are going to want you, love you and need you down the road one way or the other when you provide value to them first. What’s going to happen at the end of the recording and marketing? Most of the time they’re going to ask you “How can I help you?” They might be able to help you find more guests, support your events if you’re in the event space, support a professional community that you’re involved with or any myriad of other things. Let’s look at that in more detail. Have an “Ask” Ready Early on Steve realized that if he wanted to build his business through his podcast, he had to have an “ask” ready when he and his guests were having discussions about helping each other. In the early days of his podcasting career, he felt he was “selling” them if he brought anything up. He soon realized that you’re never selling if you bring value to the relationship. Bringing value is a natural human interaction in successful relationships. Sometimes that value will be your product or service if it can help them solve a problem or advance their business initiatives. It could be asking them with help growing a professional community that you’re involved with, and so on. In another example, your ask could be for help with an event you’re having by asking them to invite their friends.

There’s more to success than “hard work”. If you have the right strategies and mindset, you can manifest amazing things in your personal and professional lives. That’s what I discuss with Melinda Van Fleet in this episode of the Idea Climbing podcast. Melinda is a Intuitive Energetic Business and Leadership Mentor that helps busy leaders and businesspeople achieve next level results (i.e. make more money, feel good) faster while spending less time, frustration, and money on other services/courses/programs that don’t produce the results you desire.   Hard Times Can Turn into Great Times When she was single Melinda listed all the qualities she wanted in a husband, with the important criteria of someone with a hobby. When she met her soon to be husband, he told her he loved fishing more than anything else. That checked a big box. They were soon married and, unfortunately, they were both laid off from their jobs at the same time. They sold off the stuff they didn’t need, packed up and moved to the Florida Keys. They started over completely from scratch with no money, no jobs and no family or friends in the area. Fast forward a couple years, they built a very successful sports fishing business called “Good Karma Sports Fishing”. Melinda built a very successful coaching company and her husband soon followed with his own successful coaching company. It was a journey that started with having a vision. Melinda says that everything wasn’t sunshine and rainbows, there were definitely hard times along the way. How to Start Manifesting Melinda believes that, when done the right way, everything is connected to manifesting. Unfortunately, that’s where the internet can be very misleading. There are a lot of programs out there that make manifesting sound easy. One example is the “just think positive thoughts and you can be rich overnight” effect. Manifestation done the right way starts with having a vision and putting it out there. Then comes clearing through any of the emotional health in terms of overcoming limiting beliefs, clearing blocks and recognizing triggers. Then you focus on what you want to manifest and follow the breadcrumbs that appear for you, which is your intuition. When all those things come together with divine timing that’s when everything manifests. Limiting beliefs are something that will always pop up for people, especially entrepreneurs at different stages of life. They can be dealt with by building extreme awareness where you can look in the mirror and say, “This is a limiting belief” and then work on it. That comes with practice over time. The more you can present and stay away from distractions and noise the better off you will be. You need to stay focused and be aware of your thoughts. It takes a lot of personal drive. Personal drive needs to be developed. Nowadays that is an even bigger challenge because people are getting very comfortable, especially after COVID. People realized they can live within their means and don’t want to face their fears. People don’t want to do the hard work and the hard work is the mental work. How to Ask Yourself the Right Questions You need to ask the hard questions such as “What’s my life going to look like in 10 years if I don’t step up my game?” Having some type of vision and really seeing the future helps. You need to realize that time goes by really fast. Think about the future. Ask questions about the future such as: “Do I want my life to look like this? Do I want to be in debt? Do I not want to be known as a thought leader in my field?” and so on. You need to be aware of your goals and stay grounded in them. That’s the work. In this episode we also discuss: How to know when to run away from something and when to run towards something. Your life is all about the choices you make. We discuss how to make better choices. How to tap into your intuition and develop it. How to eliminate distractions in your life.

If you want to share and clearly communicate your big idea you need to do it in small chunks of information, not a long presentation. Your big idea has to be shared in a small package. You can’t dump a ton of information on people all at once, they’re not ready to process all of that information. You understand your big idea because it sprang to life in your mind. You’ve probably researched it, mulled it over and worked on it for a while. The temptation is to try to share everything you know at once. When people listen to you, they’re tuning in to find out whether your big idea is valuable to them. Because of that you need to compress your big idea into short sound bites that are very relevant and very compelling because the attention span you get from other people is limited. If you try to say too much, you lose the opportunity to fully share your big idea. You start to compress your big idea by asking yourself “Why does this matter to the audience I’m talking to?” You must frame it in a “What’s in it for them?” package, why should THEY care? Strip out 95% of the things you’d like to say and only share the things that are relevant to them, so they’ll do what you want them to do, become a client, support your big idea, etc. It still needs to be a small message even if the solution you’re offering is a complex solution. How to Know What to Cut Out and What to Leave in Consider writing and marketing a book. The title and the subtitle are the hook. The table of contents is the next level of detail; it’s the scannable outline. The rest of the book is the details. The three strata are the main point, overview then the rest of it. This is true for your service offerings, pitches to investors or any other big idea that you’re trying to get across. Consultants are trained to do this all the time, clinical papers are written this way, and so on. This is what Steve calls a “brain friendly approach”. Your listener wants to know what matters right away then, if you’re successful with your communication, they’re prepared to listen to a little bit more. If that works, they’re ready to listen to the details. Most of the time they don’t want a lot of detail, especially right up front. Start With the Bottom Line When people get a chance to present to their target audience, often they try to say too much. What their audience wants often is the “BLUF”, or Bottom-Line Up Front. They don’t have time to wait 30 minutes for you to get to the conclusion. Give them the conclusion immediately and if they’re interested you can dig deeper if you have time. This is why you need a “brain friendly format” so that you get an opportunity to talk about the details when your target audience is receptive to listening to more. “Begin with the end in mind” ~Steven Covey In this episode we also discuss: The four rules of successful communication. The definition of a “Memory Dart” and how to create one. How to create communication agreements. The components of a “Lead Point” and how to create one. …and other golden nuggets of advice! You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”         About the Guest             Steve Woodruff is known as the King of Clarity. Thirty-seven years in the front lines of sales, marketing, consulting, and entrepreneurship has uniquely equipped Steve to guide others in the principles and practices of clear and effective communication. He has deep experience in corporate training and workshop facilitation for a wide variety of companies, from startups to Top Five pharma. Steve is the author of the business book Clarity Wins (2018), and the ground-breaking new book The Point (October 2023). He is the father of 5 grown men and lives in Franklin TN with his wife of 42 years. Connecting with Steve Email: steve@stevewoodruff.com Website: https://www.stevewoodruff.com

When you enter the mentoring space, you begin an amazing, life changing journey. How to navigate that journey is what I discuss with Machen MacDonald in this episode. On your journey you’ll be de-storying who you’ve been while storying who you really are. We show up differently in different situations. When you’re trying to change you have a mindset, or a story, of something like “my services aren’t valuable” or “I’m not worthy”. That’s not necessarily true, it’s just a story that you tell yourself. You need to realize that things aren’t happening to you from external sources to your detriment rather than happening for your betterment. That’s the starting point to rewrite your story and change your mindset. “Nothing is good or bad except what we make of it” When events happen, you need to be mindful of the meaning that you associate with those events, good or bad. You can do this by practicing “ADLIB” or “Advance Devine Love In Business”. Love can be found in any situation if you keep an open mind and look for it. Navigating Your Mentoring Journey for Yourself and Others When you begin to work on yourself it’s often because circumstances in your life become so frustrating that you decide to change. That is when mentors will show up if you look for them and welcome them into your life. You can find them by asking for help from people who have already faced your situation and come out on the other side. Approach each person with a compliment that shows you’ve done your research about them; “I read about how you built your business” “I heard you say _______ on a podcast and found it insightful”, etc. They help you go through your trials and tribulations. You eventually achieve the success you were looking for. After you work on yourself and get into a better place it’s time to help others along their journeys. It’s time to share the story of your journey and your new insights and awareness with those in your community that need help. Imagine that you’re a lighthouse. You come back and try to shine your light as bright as you can. That light is going to catch people’s attention that need your specific kind of help. When you are approached by potential mentees the first thing you need to do is set clear expectations. This includes things such as expected time frames to meet, what specific topics you will discuss and why you’ll be discussing them and so on. We also discuss: How to make it easy for potential mentors to say yes to creating mentoring experiences with you. How to guide your mind and create a powerful, positive mindset. How to break out of depressing and downward spiraling situations. …and other golden nuggets of advice! You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”         About the Guest               For over 20 years, small business owners and leaders seeking heightened clarity, confidence, and certainty have turned to Machen as their trusted guide. With a remarkable track record, Machen has empowered countless elite individuals to optimize their potential and that of their teams, enabling them to accomplish more and reach unprecedented levels of success. Machen's extensive experience as a serial entrepreneur, having successfully launched and sold five businesses, coupled with his 15-year tenure as a highly accomplished financial advisor, forms the foundation of his expertise. In 2004, he founded The ProBrilliance Leadership Institute, where he continues to make a significant impact. Learn more about Machen and get some free resources! https://probrilliance.com/goodness

Everybody faces fear at one time or another, it’s how you deal with it that makes the difference. That’s what Kyle Dean Houston and I discuss in this episode. Fear Happens to all of Us Most people that have ever achieved anything realized that they have to move outside of comfort in order to have a transformation. To achieve something, you’re going to have to give something else up. If you want to become exponentially successful, whatever that means to you, you’re going to have to face extreme discomfort. Kyle believes that success is complete transformation, understanding what you’re made of, understanding what life’s all about, and the only way to get there is to face fear. The primary competitive advantage he’s seen in the business world is risk because risk is the one thing that people try to mitigate. As human beings we’re programmed to run away from fear. We need to face fear and move towards success. Why People Stay in Their Comfort Zone Primarily because it feels good. As humans we have internal systems that let us know when something feels good or bad. We get rewarded with bursts of serotonin from some things and because that feels good that’s what we want to run towards. Unfortunately, all of those are short term rewards. When we become conscious of this process, we realize that there are also long-term rewards that intuitively we don’t go towards until we start to see success on the horizon. We need to discover that there is pleasure on the other side of fear. The hardest way Kyle realized this is while serving what should have been a 30-year prison sentence; he shares his story in this episode along with how he reintegrated into society without ever doing email before he got out to becoming a Vice President in a two billion dollar publicly traded company. How to Get Through Fear Kyle says that he knew to become successful he had to be willing to do what everyone around him wasn’t willing to do. He realized that there was no shortage of excuses for him to quit. He decided he was going to continue to face fear and he was not going to do well for a guy who faced a long prison sentence. He decided that he was going to live up to the standards that he set to himself as a kid, to be happy and successful. Fear became the breadcrumbs leading him to discover what it was that he really wanted. In this episode we also discuss: What fears Kyle is currently facing and how he’s overcoming them. How to build your risk muscle, or risk tolerance. The one thing to do to get started facing your fears. …and other golden nuggets of advice! You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”         About the Guest               Kyle Dean Houston, author of Patchwork Junkie, is a speaker, author, and coach who is committed to bringing hope into the world. After walking out of prison at thirty-five with no college degree, no network, and having never sent an email, he built a highly successful career as a sales executive in San Francisco. In less than a decade, he went from earning $10 an hour to Vice President in a $2B publicly traded company. He also put multiple companies onto the list of Inc. Magazine’s fastest 500 list. Kyle’s life story is shocking, riveting, and inspiring. He currently lives in Tampa, FL with his wife and two daughters. Learn more about Kyle! www.kyledeanhouston.com  FaceBook - @kyledeanhouston, Instagram - @kyledeanhouston

When it comes to networking, the line between general networking meetings and prospecting meetings can be vague. You shouldn’t pitch someone the first time you meet them (that’s called pitch slapping); yet you need to grow your business. How to do that is what I discuss with serial entrepreneur Clay Hicks in this episode. If you focus on earning trust with the person across from you then the like and know will follow. Mutually beneficial relationships, clients and referrals can follow. You Need to Earn Trust How do you earn trust when you’re getting to know someone? The keyway to focus on earning trust is to be of service to the person across from you. Once you connect with them try to help that person in any way possible. Ask exploratory questions such as “How can I help you?” and “Who would you like to meet?”. That second question is particularly important if you have a big network of people that could help the other person. Questions for people that don’t have that big of a network include “How’s business?” “How can I be helpful with your business?" Asking questions like that is how you start to earn trust. A Unique Way to Set Up a Second Meeting Try not to have “one and done” meetings. Many networkers brag about the number of meetings they have each week. Numbers mean nothing if you’re not building your business and advancing your career. YOU need to ask for help and connections. By asking how you can help the other person first it means they are much more likely to reciprocate and help you. When you both can help each other that’s a signal that you should meet with that person again. If there’s no help either way there’s no reason for a second meeting. The litmus test is whether they tried to help you back after you helped them. Sometimes people don’t know what they’re doing so you have to help them. They might just be having an “off day”. If their target market is like yours and you believe that, with time, they might be able to help you and vice-versa then that’s another reason to have a second meeting. You can tee up the follow up meeting by asking to meet again so you can deepen your relationship. Tell them you want to know what it’s like to be their prospect. Tell them you want to know what it would be like for someone you refer to them to discuss their business. Most referrals come from past clients and deeper relationships, not first-time conversations. That’s because past clients know what it’s like to work with you. By asking them to learn about their prospecting techniques you can better refer them and vice versa. This strategy sets you both up to know what it’s like to work with the other person. We also discuss: How to ask prospecting questions without being overbearing. Guidelines for successful prospecting How to sell yourself and not just your product or service. The crossover between general networking meetings and prospecting meetings. …and other golden nuggets of advice! You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”         About the Guest               Clay Hicks is an entrepreneur with a portfolio of 5 different companies, an author, a speaker, and trainer on professional relationships. Clay Hicks founded his first company, H7 Network (in 2008), in the hopes of positively impacting the many under-served entrepreneurs and all sales professionals. His vision is to globally revolutionize the way business professionals “Connect” first, “Serve” with purpose, and “Ask” of their peers. H7 Network, a Franchisor, is a national B2B networking platform, In person and Virtual, for professionals to create their own network and develop champions for their business. His responsibility as the CEO is to innovate new programs, develop new markets internationally, training and development, implementing new processes for retention,

Mentoring relationships without structure can fail fast. With the right structure they can thrive. That’s what I discuss in this episode with Lisa Fain. What do you think most mentoring programs do wrong? Most mentoring programs have a “pair and pray” structure. They pair people and pray that the program succeeds. People think because they’re in an “official” mentoring program and are having mentoring conversations that they don’t need guidance on how to do it. Unfortunately for them the structure is critical to success. It’s not about prescribing structure, it’s about co-creating structure. Mentors and mentees need to discuss the terms of their mentoring relationships so they can create structure and hold themselves accountable. Terms of the mentoring relationship can be a bunch of things. It can be as simple as deciding when and where they’re going to meet, what they’re going to talk about and who is going to schedule it. It could be boundaries on what they will discuss. It could be checking in and how they’re going to provide feedback. There just needs to be structure. How to Create Trust and Give Effective Feedback Trust is a precondition for getting effective feedback. Where a lot of people go wrong is that they assume because they’re in a mentoring relationship they can freely give feedback that will be warmly received. First you need to take the time to build trust and a meaningful relationship. That means connecting; that means getting to know one another. This means that the mentors are sharing their own challenges and vulnerabilities. Lisa has received a lot of feedback about her programs that the mentees were more involved in mentoring relationships because they found out that their mentors aren’t perfect and have had challenges along the way. Mentees are sharing what their own fears and doubts are. It means connecting on a human level and knowing what’s going on in one another’s’ lives. All of those build a foundation of trust so that when you get to giving and receiving feedback you will have an ongoing conversation instead of just one session of feedback. The conversation needs to be a balance of positive and critical feedback. Feedback in a mentoring relationship is a two-way street. When you have healthy mentoring relationships, mentees can give feedback to the mentors about what’s working and what’s not working; what they want to see more of and what they want to see less of in the mentoring relationship. How to Co-Own Your Mentoring Relationships Mentoring has three primary components: A learning component A reciprocity component A co-creation component Without those three things you can’t have an effective mentoring relationship. We’ll look at co-creation first. Lisa says that there is “funny math” in successful mentoring relationships, one+one=three. There’s the mentor, the mentee and then the relationship that they co-create together and co-own. This is where trust and reciprocal feedback come into play. Reciprocity. We know intuitively that mentees gain a lot from mentoring relationships. The data also shows that because of mentoring relationships mentors become better leaders and they feel more invested in their careers. The more mentoring experiences that mentors have makes them more competent leaders. This means that mentees also give and mentors also get. Many mentees don’t initially see that. Some even think that asking for time to have conversations is a burden to their mentors. That’s not the case, that time spent is a gift to both people. Learning. Just having random conversations isn’t enough. Mentoring doesn’t happen unless there’s learning. Learning is the purpose, it’s the product and it’s the process of mentoring. Learning needs to happen to both the mentee and mentor based on the goals that they set together. Examples of learning include many things. An entrepreneurial example of a goal and learning experience is learning how to grow and scale t...

Mentoring can be a crucially important part of your personal and professional lives. The challenge is finding the right people and creating successful mentoring relationships. That’s what I discussed with Gary Anzalone in this episode. When you have a mentor, you can have a very fulfilled life because you have someone to talk to about your hopes and dreams. You have someone in your corner to give you objective feedback that you won’t get from a close friend or family member. You need someone that’s not attached to a specific outcome for you. That’s a mentor. In successful mentoring relationships you should feel challenged and supported. You don’t grow as an individual by staying in your comfort zone. While compliments are nice to hear, they don’t help you grow. Real growth happens when you’re challenged. When a mentor challenges you and you respond, you’re going to make yourself better at whatever it is they’re challenging you to do differently. When you make yourself better at something you’re growing. How do you create a safe zone to be uncomfortable? By asking the right questions, which could include the direct question “What about that makes you uncomfortable?” Early on in mentoring relationships both people realize that the purpose of the relationship is to get help and give help. It’s built on the presumption of trust. That doesn’t happen instantly, you must let it grow organically. With any relationship, time is a big factor, you must build history into it. The sharing of problems and solutions happens over time, and it just builds. It depends on the personalities, and it depends on the people. How much time does it take to formulate a good mentoring relationship beyond just a one-time call? It depends on the people. Many younger people don’t know what to expect from a mentoring relationship. In some relationships the success of the mentoring relationship depends on the mentor asking the right questions and drawing solutions out of the mentee. In more advanced relationships the mentee has an agenda. Approaching Potential Mentors How to ask someone to be your mentor. Gary believes that one of the best compliments you can give someone is to ask them to be your mentor. That means that they think enough of you and view you in a favorable light. I want to understand your way of doing things because you carry yourself professionally and you’re happy. You can’t be truly happy unless you practice gratitude. If you don’t practice gratitude you will probably be negative frequently. You must take ownership of your life and realize the decisions you make are something you must live with. You can make a decision to change the course of your life at any age. You can decide to change your life in many ways. If you want to make a change it’s time to find a mentor or multiple mentors. You are the sum of the five people that you spend the most time with, if a mentor is one of them that’s a positive. If you don’t ask you will not get. People are not going to knock on your door. Even if they don’t have the time, they will be flattered that you asked. Creating an Agenda for Mentoring Meetings After you ask, what should that first meeting look like? From a mentee point of view it should be “these are the things that I really would like to understand; these are the things that I struggle with” it could be “I need more work/life balance” or “I need more time with my family” A self-assessment is in order so you can start communicating and opening up to that mentor. The mentee needs to act and can’t sit back and wait for the mentor to tell them what to do. That’s why it’s important for the mentors to ask the right questions to bring out the answers that the mentee needs to hear. Your best self can be realized by having a mentor, now it’s time to go find one! You can get my book “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea” here!

Episode 79! Everybody faces fear, it’s a matter of how you deal with it and move past it that matters. That’s what I discuss with Jacqueline Wales in this episode. What is Fear? Jacqueline believes that fear is imagination based. There are a lot of reasons why we can feel threatened in life, but fears are often just a story we tell ourselves to deal with discomfort. Fear is just an emotion, it’s not real. Unless you have tangible evidence, fear is just a story that you’re applying to a feeling that may or may not be true for you. What is the fear of failure and how does it come up? The fear of failure is really tied into reputation status. It’s how other people will perceive you if you fail at something. Failure is a choice, decision or expectation that did not go the way you had planned. People who are perfectionists do not want to fail; they do not want to make mistakes. The fear of failure is so profound for some people because it says something about me, I’m not good enough. That fundamentally is where fear shows up, that insecurity of self. Moving Past Fear How can you get over the fear of failure? What can you do to solve that big problem? First, take a hard look at “what’s the worst thing that could happen if this doesn’t go the way that I had planned?” “Will we recover?” is the biggest question on failure. Can you recover from it? Often the answer is a resounding yes. You make a mistake, you fix it, you move on. Failure is simply the acceptance of things that will go wrong. It’s all about what you do with it when it goes wrong, that’s the gift that you give yourself. People want to talk about something called imposter syndrome. Jacqueline believes that term is misused most of the time because fundamentally it’s about self-doubt. That can become the story that becomes the major driver of their life – “I’m not capable, I’m not good enough, I’m not deserving” and so on. Those stories are not true. If we care to analyze them and reflect on “Why am I carrying this story?” Nine times out of ten it’s a negative voice from a previous experience; someone somewhere told you that you weren’t good enough, i.e., you will fail. How can you fix that? Set a future ambition that says “I KNOW that I can reach my goals. I don’t know how I’m going to reach them, but I will reach them” Then tell yourself a new story and move past fear. We also discuss: How to get rid of the negative voices in your head. How to build confidence that will take you forward in a positive way. What the fear of success really is and how to overcome it. The brain chemistry that creates fear and how to deal with it. …and more golden nuggets of advice! You can get my book “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea” here!         About The Guest               At only sixteen years old, Jacqueline Wales fled from her childhood home in a desperate search for happiness. Looking in all the wrong places, she left a trail of abandoned children and a pattern of self abuse that threatened her life. But that’s just the beginning of her story. From Leith, Scotland, to London, England; from the California coast to Paris, Amsterdam, New York, and Bali, Jacqueline’s life has been a journey of self-discovery, awakening, and joy in the face of fear. Jacqueline believes that being fearless is not the absence of fear, but the courage to take the next step. Today, Jacqueline is an author, keynote speaker, and trusted advisor to successful, high-achieving women. And she is an unwavering champion for being fearless. Connect with Jacqueline on LinkedIn here! Learn more about Jacqueline here!

Episode 78! Know, like and trust is great. Taking it one step further is respect. It’s all about the connections that you make with people and the relationships you build after you connect.  That’s what I discuss with Michael Goldberg in this episode. Gaining Respect There are phases to building relationships the right way. When you’re getting to know each other, you’re asking a lot of questions, figuring out if your personalities match and so on. At this phase oftentimes you’re not going to open your rolodex or database and make introductions. When you find a common ground, you’ve hit the “like” phase. When you enter the trust phase you believe that the other person is credible and great at what they do. Respect is the phase when you believe they are going to take care of anybody that you introduce them to. In that case it’s going to be a win-win-win scenario. It needs to be collaborative. We need to be resources for one another, we must be helpful. That will help you establish a higher-level connection with the people that you want to develop relationships with. It’s about asking the right questions and being of service. This doesn’t mean that it will happen all the time. Michael believes that if he’s at an in-person networking event and he meets 10 people, he’ll hit it off with three or four of them. His suggestion is to focus on the “one-thirders”. To do this you need to create or become part of the right environments. Connecting to Shared Passion When you can find a common ground of shared passion you move along the know-like-trust-respect cycle faster. You both are interacting in similar environments or have an affinity towards similar marketplaces. If you can’t find an environment, you can create your own environment and bring people into it rather than going to them. You need to have criteria for the audiences you want to reach and stick to those criteria which means that you will end up turning some people away. At the end of the day, it must be valuable for the people involved. You can get my book “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea” here!         About The Guest               Michael Goldberg has helped thousands of financial advisors, brokers, and agents generate hundreds of thousands of dollars to their bottom line. His firm Knock Out Networking has been a speaking and training resource in the financial services industry for over 20 years. Michael is also the founder of THE Networking Group, a national networking organization focused on helping a “vetted” community of business owners and sales leaders grow their business through networking and referrals. Michael is a two-time TEDx speaker, an award-winning adjunct professor at Rutgers University, and frequently volunteers as a speaker at organizations focused on career search. His book Knockout Networking for Financial Advisors is available NOW! Connect with Michael www.KnockOutNetworking.com www.TheNetworkingGroup.org