Package Your Genius Personal Branding Podcast

The Rest Revolution #3: Octavia Raheem on Why Rest is Sacred

It's publication day for Rest is Sacred: Reclaiming Our Brilliance Through the Practice of Stillness by Octavia Raheem! The new book is available today everywhere books are sold! Get your copy here.
 
Thank you so much for tuning in to this special series of the podcast focused on my new book, The Rest Revolution: How to Reclaim Your Rhythm and Conquer Burnout When Overworking Has Become the Norm, which comes out on November 13th.
The Rest Revolution isn’t just about rest; it’s about the great realignment that is happening in this country. People are slowly waking up to the idea that good lives require more than work and achievement. Good lives require you getting in alignment with the purposeful work, key relationships, and energizing activities that are most important to you. 
About Today's Episode
In this episode, I sit down with the rest queen Octavia Raheem to discuss the transformative power of rest and the journey from burnout to healing. Octavia shares her personal experiences with burnout, the importance of stillness, and how she became a rest practitioner. We explore the significance of community in healing and the impact of communal rest through retreats and the need to prioritize rest and self-care in a fast-paced world. 
Octavia Faith Ann Raheem and I explore the transformative power of gathering, the importance of co-regulation in nervous systems, and the embodied experiences of rest. We discuss how leaders can benefit from rest, the role of imagination in problem-solving, and the significance of creating safe communal spaces for healing and rejuvenation. The dialogue emphasizes practical tools for integrating rest into daily life and the collective responsibility to foster environments that support well-being.
 
Rest is Sacred: Reclaiming Our Brilliance Through the Practice of Stillness is available today everywhere books are sold! Get your copy here.
Learn More About Octavia and her new book Rest is Sacred at OctaviaRaheem.com
 
Learn About The Rest Revolution 
Visit HTTP://www.therestrevolutionbook.com
Order The Rest Revolution on Amazon
Order The Rest Revolution on Barnes and Noble
Order The Rest Revolution at Books-a-Million
Order The Rest Revolution at Bookshop

The Rest Revolution #2: Natalie MacNeil on the Future Of Work and Harnessing AI to Create Space to Rest

Thank you so much for tuning in to this special series of the podcast focused on my new book, The Rest Revolution: How to Reclaim Your Rhythm and Conquer Burnout When Overworking Has Become the Norm, which comes out on November 13th.
 
I’m thrilled to share this book with you because it’s my most important work yet. In The Rest Revolution, I explore how we’ve been conditioned to treat ourselves like machines and how this mindset leads to burnout, exhaustion, and a disconnection from our true selves.
 
The Rest Revolution isn’t just about rest; it’s about the great realignment that is happening in this country. People are slowly waking up to the idea that good lives require more than work and achievement. Good lives require you getting in alignment with the purposeful work, key relationships, and energizing activities that are most important to you. 
 
I interview high achieving professionals, psychologists, sociologists, and medical experts on how we can you can reclaim your humanity, find more balance, and choose to live and work in a way that truly aligns with your purpose. It’s about breaking free from the toxic cycle of overwork and finding a new, sustainable way forward. If you’ve ever felt like you’re running on fumes or just going through the motions, this book is for you.
If you love this podcast, I know you’ll love the book. The Rest Revolution will be available on November 12th from all major booksellers, and you can visit www.therestrevolutionbook.com to preorder your copy now. I can’t wait for you to read it.
About Today's Episode
In this episode, I interview Natalie MacNeil, discussing her journey as a futurist and the importance of overcoming burnout through rest and deep listening. We explore the intersection of futurism and embodiment practices, the significance of trusting intuition, and how AI can empower entrepreneurs to achieve their goals while maintaining balance in their lives. The conversation emphasizes the need for transformation in the face of rapid technological changes and the potential for diverse voices to emerge in storytelling.
In this juicy episode, Natalie and I explore the transformative impact of AI on productivity and service-based businesses, the evolution of ambition and authenticity, and the importance of rest and healing from burnout. Natalie shares her journey of building an AI dream team, the challenges and benefits of integrating AI into business workflows, and how her relationship with ambition has shifted from seeking external validation to focusing on authentic contributions. We even discuss the societal implications of AI on job roles and the necessity of embedding rest into daily life to combat burnout.
 
Takeaways
Deep listening is essential for personal and professional growth.
Trusting intuition can lead to fulfilling career paths.
AI is a powerful tool for reducing workload and preventing burnout.
Futurism blends data analysis with imaginative visioning.
Making space for rest allows deeper truths to emerge.
Intuition can guide decisions that defy logical reasoning.
The future will see a democratization of resources through AI.
Diverse stories and voices will flourish in the coming years.
Embodying practices can prepare us for radical changes ahead. AI can significantly reduce workload and increase efficiency.
Building an AI team requires initial effort and experimentation.
AI tools have evolved, making workflows easier and more integrated.
Custom GPTs can be trained to take on specific business roles, and every job will need to incorporate AI to remain relevant.
Ambition should be aligned with authenticity and personal values.
Rest is essential for sustainable productivity and creativity. Burnout cannot be healed by vacations alone; daily rest is crucial.
Defining success on one's own terms is vital for fulfillment.
The rapid advancement of technology necessitates new ways of working.
Quotes by Natalie MacNeil 
"I think it's such an incredible book." - Natalie MacNeil on The Rest Revolution"Everything is about to change because of AI.""We need to be well rested to hear deeper truths.""AI has reduced your workload by 50%.""I had to hack a lot of things.""We've had a quantum leap in the power of that technology."
 
Learn More About Natalie MacNeil
Visit HTTP://www.nataliemacneil.com
Learn about Natalie's New Course - AI Dream Team
Learn about Natalie's Coaching Certification - Coaching Evolved
Follow Natalie on Instagram - @NatalieMacNeil
 
Learn About The Rest Revolution 
Visit HTTP://www.therestrevolutionbook.com
Order The Rest Revolution on Amazon
Order The Rest Revolution on Barnes and Noble
Order The Rest Revolution at Books-a-Million
Order The Rest Revolution at Bookshop
 
 
 

The Rest Revolution #1: How to Observe Your Seasons to Pivot to Purpose in Midlife

Hello, this is Amanda Miller Littlejohn, and thank you so much for tuning in to this special series of the podcast focused on my new book, The Rest Revolution: How to Reclaim Your Rhythm and Conquer Burnout When Overworking Has Become the Norm, which comes out on November 13th.
I’m thrilled to share this book with you because I believe it’s my most important work yet. In The Rest Revolution, I explore how we’ve been conditioned to treat ourselves like machines and how this mindset leads to burnout, exhaustion, and a disconnection from our true selves.
 
The Rest Revolution isn’t just about rest; it’s about the great realignment that is happening in this country. People are slowly waking up to the idea that good lives require more than work and achievement. Good lives require you getting in alignment with the purposeful work, key relationships, and energizing activities that are most important to you.
 
I interview high achieving professionals, psychologists, sociologists, and medical experts on how we can you can reclaim your humanity, find more balance, and choose to live and work in a way that truly aligns with your purpose. It’s about breaking free from the toxic cycle of overwork and finding a new, sustainable way forward. If you’ve ever felt like you’re running on fumes or just going through the motions, this book is for you.
 
If you love this podcast, I know you’ll love the book. The Rest Revolution will be available on November 12th from all major booksellers, and you can visit www.therestrevolutionbook.com to preorder your copy now. I can’t wait for you to read it.

PYG 164 - Branding yourself when you RESENT what you USED TO LOVE about your brand

Join me for Resonance & Relevance - my brand new storytelling workshop. Learn more and register here.
 
Let me be honest for a second.
 
I have encouraged clients to make themselves visible for YEARS. But some time ago, I began to question the point of it all.
 
Yes. I had to sit with the truth of how tiresome visibility actually was - even for me.
 
With all of the other issues in the world competing for my mental space and emotional energy, constantly courting the spotlight became exhausting. 
 
(You can see how problematic this could be for a visibility strategist’s business model…)
 
At a certain point I concluded that if incessantly sharing was the key to me having a profitable business, I would have to shut my business down.
 
I was going to have to learn how to make my brand discoverable and compelling without creating a ton of extra work.
 
I was going to have to learn how to connect with those who needed my work WITHOUT creating yet another ferris wheel on which to exhaust myself.
 
Or else, my business as I knew it was a wrap.
 
Fortunately, I didn’t have to shut things down.
But I did come up with some parameters around how I show up.
And it changed how I began to advise my busy, high-achieving, often introverted clients to show up when the world around them is so uncertain.
I'm calling these parameters my "New Rules of Visibility."
In short, they are:
RULE #1: Honor your season and your current capacity. Don't contribute to your own burnout by making yourself a slave to a social media posting schedule. You are not a machine.
RULE #2: Quality over quantity. Seek to share in order to connect and resonate with your audience instead of sharing for sharing's sake. Share your newsworthy news.
RULE #3: Leave long-lasting breadcrumbs. A durable trail of high-quality content can help newcomers get up to speed quickly on who you are. Social media trends like reels are fun, but long-lasting stories placed strategically will get you sooooo much more mileage as a thought leader and won't wear you out in the long run.
 
As you may imagine, solid storytelling is a key component of the new rules.
Instead of sharing gratuitously, we are popping up to the surface to share memorable insights that actually help others make sense of our current world.
We’re stepping into the spotlight to share the moments that create connection instead of add to the noise.
And we’re able to do it without wearing ourselves out.
🚨 Last call to join me for tomorrow at noon for my latest workshop: Resonance & Relevance - I’m so excited for it!
Whatever has changed for you during the upheaval of the last two years, it’s probably time to reintroduce yourself.
And it's time to do that in a way that takes into account the way your life, responsibilities, and perspective on your purpose has changed.
Because nothing is the same.

PYG 163 - What happens when you have to disappear, regroup, and communicate your COMEBACK?

Sometimes, you have to disappear for a while...
It can feel oddly vulnerable to disappear from public view - whether your version of public view is social media, a public speaking circuit, or the networking rooms for your industry. But EVERYONE disappears at some point - whether they leave a job, lose a job, have a baby, bury a parent, shutter their business, lose their motivation, or like me, succumb to burnout. In the past two years, so many of us have had to step out of the spotlight. We’ve had to leave and return and sometimes, turn around and leave again.
A client disappeared online because he left the job industry and professional identity he’d held for nearly a decade and started a new entrepreneurial venture. He didn’t know how to share that news.
I’ve disappeared personally and candidly due to burnout, depression, and being just plain exhausted.  After having a baby and tending to my older kids and trying to evade COVID, it’s been a lot.  I had to take care of myself and sadly that meant I had to deprioritize coming here and sharing with you.
While circumstances among us may vary, a lot of the mental chatter we experience when going through that revolving door is universal. On the occasion of your return, you wonder: Will people still care or be curious about what I’m up to? Are they still there? Do they even remember who I am? And...how will I let people know that I’m BACK?
I'm hosting a new workshop called  Resonance & Relevance on June 03, 2022 at 12pm EST and I hope you can join me live. This workshop is for you if you’ve been struggling to reintroduce yourself to your network after stepping away from the spotlight for whatever reason, and you want to learn a simple way to put yourself back on people's minds.
Register for Resonance & Relevance at http://www.amandamillerlittlejohn.com/classes
or on Crowdcast here.
 
 
But whether you join me or not, remember this:It’s NEVER too late for you to make a comeback.
It's good to BE BACK. Thanks for listening.

PYG 162 - How to overcome the Imposter Syndrome that's holding your brand back

Imposter syndrome is real, but there’s a fix: radical self-discovery.
Radical self-discovery isn’t just a nice to do, it’s a must-do. And it’s a must-do on a REGULAR basis if you want to step into the highest level of your purpose and live the most empowered version of your personal brand.
 
 

PYG 161 - Prayer and meditation as a personal brand strategy

On today's episode, I take you behind the scenes of the morning routine that changed everything and helped me OUTGROW my goals.This new morning routine changed EVERYTHING - the consistency mixed with  intention helped me outgrow my prayers in 30 days.Many thanks 🙏🏾 to Kailei Carr @kaileicarr Ash Johns @ashinspires Monique Ruffin @moniqueruffin and Jereshia Hawk @jereshiahawk
***
Welcome to December!
How are you feeling about 2020?
If you're like most of my clients, you may be thinking about what you set out to do this year, how the pandemic threw a wrench in your plans, what you managed to get done, and what you didn't accomplish.
But as I've said before - 2020 ain't over.
There's still time to squeeze some juice out of this year, and I for one have big plans to do just that.
High achievers like us don't take enough opportunities to pause, reflect, and put a plan in place for our own growth and development. It's one of the very first things we tend to deprioritize when life gets busy.
That's why taking the time to reflect, set intentions, and plan during the month of December is so essential.
Life comes at you fast, and once things pick back up in January, it will be almost impossible to find the time and mental space to make the BIG DECISIONS that will drive your progress for the year.
So if you've been on the fence, consider this your LAST CALL to 1) join the December PURPOSESCAPING Group Intensive that starts Sunday December 6, and 2) Apply for the 6-month visibility mastermind and get the December Intensive on me.
Over those fertile four weeks leading up to the new year, I’ll be coaching you using elements of the PURPOSESCAPING framework. I'll also help you to set your intentions for 2021 and strategize with you to map out a tactical/spiritual/malleable plan for your platform, visibility, and revenue for next year. And if you end up joining us for the visibility academy, you'll already have some serious momentum as we kick off sessions in January.
>> Click here to apply for the 6-Month Visibility Mastermind Click here to apply for the December Intensive Only

PYG 160 - 5 Ways You're Not Monetizing Your Personal Brand (And How to Fix It In the Next 30 Days)

The end of the year is the perfect time to manifest money quickly. Many people are thinking about how they want to make changes in their lives, or may be reflecting on what they didn't accomplish this year that they need to bring back into focus.
This is where you come in.
How can you position your skillset as the solution to someone's end of year problem? How can you make yourself top of mind for those who may be ready to work with you at the top of the year?
In this episode, I share five specific ways you can monetize your personal brand fast. 
Once you learn how to do this, you'll never be the same.
 
***
If you’ve been eyeing one of my programs, and supporting yourself feels like working closely with me, I invite you to explore the two ways we can engage.
I’m running the December PURPOSESCAPING Brand with Purpose Coaching Intensive starting December 6.
Over those fertile four weeks leading up to the new year, I’ll be sharing elements of my new PURPOSESCAPING framework as well as coaching you to set your intentions for 2021 and map out a tactical/spiritual/malleable plan for your platform, visibility, and revenue. Click here to apply for the December coaching intensive.​
Here's the thing: getting clear on your intention works.
Writing your goals down works.
Sharing your goals in community with others who can hold space for you works.
Because the domino effect we set off at the end of 2019 during our last December intensive...🤯🤯🤯
Secondly, I’m wrapping up enrollment conversations for our Package Your Genius Academy Visibility Mastermind.
Behind the scenes this year, our students and clients have achieved some extraordinary wins:
• Ash unlocked her business potential, got unblocked and exceeded her 6-figure corporate advertising salary. And she did this by selling spiritual coaching services she was unsure she could sell at premium prices just one year ago. She now has a waitlist. 
• Tiffany hosted her first sold-out virtual event and launched her first membership program. 
• Allissa leveraged her journalism and storytelling skills to write a book on the history of mobile journalism. She landed a mainstream publishing deal and released her book to critical acclaim. 
• Tamika sold over $100k in sponsorships for her first virtual event during the pandemic. 
• Amber landed a mainstream book deal, 10xed her corporate client list, grew her team, and blew past her ambitious revenue goal for the year. 
• Tisa buckled down and wrote the first book in a 3-book series on personal finance, and has since landed a grant that has allowed her to GIVE BACK and get the book in the hands of hundreds of first-generation college students. 
While the mastermind kicks off in January, those who enroll now can join the December PURPOSESCAPING intention setting planning intensive at no additional cost. Click here to apply for the mastermind.
 

PYG 159 - Write it down (REWIND)

Another rewind episode finds us here. This one is a bit personal, I've noticed a pattern with myself lately. I've been getting these confirmations about the things I'm doing that correspond to practices and worlds I'm not well-versed in. I heard the same message from two different people in as many days so I thought - hmm - maybe that's a podcast!
The message was - we are often affected by forces we're not even aware of.
It all goes back to clarifying what you want and putting that out there while remaining unattached to how you'll get there. That's why I chose today's episode as a fitting rewind as we move into the end of year planning or visioning season.
So many curveballs this year. And next year will likely be interesting, too. But one thing is for certain, we still need to get clear on what we want if we expect it to find its way to us. And honestly how often do you allow yourself to really immerse yourself in your big dream?
I'd like to invite you to immerse yourself in your intention for next year. If you need to get focused on what you want for your personal brand and business - join me over 4 weeks in December for the Purposescaping Brand With Purpose Intensive. We'll be getting clear on what we want to see show up in our lives but divorcing ourselves from the GPS.
Remember - the vision and roadmap rarely pop up at the same time. But what I'm learning more and more - and I'm by no means an expert in intention-setting - is the more you can embody what it is that you want from the inside out, the more inevitable will be its return to you.
So that's what December is about - embodying what we want for our personal brands - what do we want to create, what do we want to promote, what do we want to earn in the next year. Seeing it is the first step to claiming it, and once we claim it, it's ours. Enjoy this rewind.
Apply for the Brand with Purpose Intensive - Apply Now

PYG 158 - From seeking to SOUGHT AFTER - How to become KNOWN (Rewind)

I’ve never done a rewind episode, before but I was reminded by how many episodes I’ve recorded (157 and counting, yay!) AND how everyone listening hasn’t necessarily been here since the beginning. And even for those of you who HAVE been here since the beginning, some episodes bear repeating, so here we are.
I’ve been thinking a lot about the intentions we set and how even when we make plans, our intentions tend to make the real difference because we never know exactly how we’ll reach our biggest goals.
If one of your intentions for the next season of your career and business is to become known in your industry so you can become sought after instead of always seeking, you need to listen to Becoming Known, a master class I taught last fall.
In it, I break down the 9 elements to becoming known in your industry so you can grow your audience, command higher fees, and reach your goals faster. Visibility is not the end goal, but it is definitely an accelerant if you want to reach your goals faster. Think about it - it’s really hard to become sought after if no one knows who you are and what you do.
If you’re seriously ready to become sought after in your next season, I invite you to apply for PYG Academy’s winter cohort. If you’re accepted and join before December, you’ll get to join our December intention setting and brand planning intensive at no additional cost!
If you're looking to go from seeking to sought after, I invite you to apply to Package Your Genius Academy.  Apply Here >> Application
If you're ready to move from doing the work you CAN do to the work you were BORN to do without losing revenue or credibility, submit your application this week and we'll be in touch!
Apply to Package Your Genius Academy >> Apply Here
Apply to PURPOSESCAPING Brand with Purpose Intensive Only >> Apply Here