Package Your Genius Personal Branding Podcast

PYG 68: 3 Reasons You Need Maximum Exposure, ESPECIALLY IF you're Uncomfortable Being Seen

I'm passionate about visibility, and not because I'm an attention-whore.
I'm passionate about visibility because I know how POWERFUL it can be, and what it can do for your life.
Sharing and becoming visible POSITIONS YOU AS THE EXPERT in other peoples' minds. It makes you visible to your industry and your network. You're already doing the work. Visibility enhances the perception of how valuable you are.
Sharing and becoming visible STRETCHES YOU AND DEMOLISHES YOUR OWN MENTAL WALLS. It disputes the false stories you're telling yourself about yourself. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said: "The mind once stretched by a new idea will never regain its original dimensions." Once you see yourself and are seen for who you truly are by others, you can never go back. 
Sharing your message and becoming visible BRINGS YOU CLOSER TO YOURSELF because you're staying true to yourself. You're being "more loyal to your dreams than to your fears" as author Tara Mohr puts it. It seems counterintuitive to think that you grow closer to yourself by connecting with many others, but it's true. 
I am dogged about visibility because it helps combat erasure. We have to tell our stories, lest history be revised.
 
I'm dogged about visibility because I know how painful it is to never be seen for who you really are, and what you have to offer. 
 
I am dogged about visibility because traditionally only certain people have been allowed to be seen. Visibility is about justice, equality and parity.
 
I was given a gift of storytelling, promotion, packaging and translating people's messages so they can be understood. One of the most powerful ways I know of to turn the volume up on your message and help you be seen, heard, and understood more widely is MEDIA.
That's why I'm hosting a free one day virtual conference on Wednesday, March 6, 2019.
Maximum Exposure - Land Media for Your Personal Brand 
It’s a virtual (read: online) conference – and it’s all about how to land valuable media for your personal brand.
I’ve invited friends of the academy – working journalists, a top podcaster, and a communications exec – to be your thought partners for the day.
Together, we’ll be pulling back the curtain on what it takes to get the MAXIMUM EXPOSURE your mission and message deserve.
Check out the schedule, review the speaker lineup, and REGISTER here >> Maximum Exposure: A Virtual Conference
And do me a huge favor – please invite your friends who are doing big, world-changing things, too!
This event is free, but space is limited.
So if getting your mission out there in a bigger way – even if it’s a little scary – is something you know you need to work on, I invite you to join us. 
Register here: https://www.crowdcast.io/e/PYGAMaximumExposure/register

PYG 67: Expect Success When You've Done the Work

I wouldn't call myself a 'workaholic', but I admit, I love my work.
I love the actual process of what I do - not just outcome. It makes me happy.
So even when results aren't immediately evident, (you mean I didn't make the NYTimes Bestseller list on the first day??? *flips over a table*) it's okay, because I honestly love the work.
The work energizes me, gives me a sense of purpose, and fills my days with meaning in a way that few other things do.
It's easy to plant seeds day after day, week after week, and month after month because - to extend the planting metaphor - I love the feeling of the earth between my fingers.
I love the process of showing up every day to nurture an idea and help it grow.
I love waking up with the sun, running to the window and surveying the land to see what small changes may have taken place overnight, while the rest of the world was sleeping.
But the downside of loving the work this way is this: it can become easy to get so used to planting, that you forget the harvest is coming eventually.
And reaping that harvest feels almost...unfamiliar.
You get so in the weeds of doing the work, making tiny tweaks, and fighting off threats that you tend to forget what all your maneuvering is adding up to.
But I got a clear reminder last week. Last week was all about harvesting:
I found out that after two arduous years of pep talks, practice tests, applications, wait lists, and interviews, my children were accepted into our family's dream educational institution - an independent school that will allow them to continue studying Mandarin and even possibly study abroad at sister campuses as middle and high school students.
A subsidiary company of Johnson & Johnson placed a bulk order of my book for an upcoming event.
Two other corporations invited me to deliver paid talks based on the content of Package Your Genius - a book I wrote and self-published only a few short months ago.
After pouring into my Package Your Genius Academy students since 2016, last week I invited one of my former students to deliver a guest lecture on the topic of his expertise to our academy's newly enrolled cohort. He nailed it! I was so proud.
I spoke with three separate PYGA alum who are all doing inspiring things - from doubling their salaries, to landing prestigious book deals, to signing their first 12 paid coaching clients in 30 days - all because of the work we did together.
At first, I was almost in disbelief at the abundance that kept showing up in my inbox. It was overwhelming.
Because quite honestly, I had gotten used to the grind. The pep talks and practice tests and applications had become my fall routine (whoever thought they'd actually get in, lol).
I'd told myself that sitting down and writing the book had been the real work (you mean people want to buy why what I wrote???)
And I'd so fully poured myself into teaching my students that I hadn't given much thought to how those lessons would continue to pay dividends for them.
But it finally dawned on me that *this* is the glorious morning I'd been dreaming about.
This is the ample harvest I had tilled and watered and worked my fingers to the bone for.
So while I may find joy in doing the work, I need to also learn to find joy in the harvest - to expect it, to rejoice in it, to be present to the magic of it.
Firstly because with all the seeds I've planted, it's inevitable, right?
But also because what else, if not this, have I been working towards?
If you've put years into becoming great at what you do, you may have also adopted the identity of 'diligent workhorse' and given little thought to where all of your hard work is taking you.
You may have shown up consistently every day and done your best.
You engrossed yourself in the work.
You hit a major milestone, and then moved on to the next big project.
You told yourself that you weren't doing it for the applause, but still..the applause may be in order.
And when the applause comes, if you're uncomfortable or even caught off guard like I was, ask yourself why.
Standing ovations shouldn't freak you out - you should expect them at this point.
A bountiful harvest shouldn't be a shock when you've been planting, watering and nurturing the seeds day in and day out.
Success shouldn't catch you by surprise when you've put in the work.
I'm still learning that lesson, with each new level.
 
 
Elsewhere in PYG-Land...
I'm excited about bring A NEW PR SERVICE to experts who want to get more visibility through getting featured consistently in the media. If you have an established expertise and want to see your ideas featured in media outlets like Forbes, The NYTimes and Sirius Radiothis year, book a consult call to discuss our new program.
 
 
 
Thank you JAI L. for your rave review of Package Your Genius:
 
5.0 out of 5 stars 
THIS is gold. Only for those who are ready.
 
From Amazon:
"This book, and the workbook, are life-changing for those who are ready for more. Amanda Miller Littlejohn does not hold back. Read it, study it, believe in what you discover about yourself and go with it, without apology. I was happy to meet her a few years ago at a conference. I had no idea then she would change my life. This is gold."
 
Get the Books
Order your copy of Package Your Genius: 5 Steps to Build Your Most Powerful Personal Brand and/or the Companion Personal Branding Workbook

PYG 66: How to Make New Goals Stick with Psychologist and Early Accountability Coach Kimi Walker

Kimi Walker is a School Psychologist who teaches how we can use tools of behavior change to make our goals stick. She is the host of the Early Accountability Podcast, and a 2017 graduate of Package Your Genius Academy.
An expert on early accountability, an educator, and a psychologist who personally changed her life by losing over 100 pounds, Kimi has learned what it takes to take new, scary actions and create an environment that encourages our new habits to stick.
With a background in school psychology Kimi regularly conducts psychological evaluations, and is the go-to person when dealing with cases that require behavior change.
The parallels between working in schools and working with adults who are trying to spark a new behavior are many. As Kimi shares during our interview, everyone responds differently to stimuli, so she works hard to assess each client and figure out what each person needs to succeed. She customizes solutions for students and coaching clients alike using her philosophy of "Results, Not Resolutions."
 
Kimi’s Steps for Sticking to New Goals
1. Know what you're working toward. Set a big goal. Remind yourself of your goal often.
2. Know your achievement style and what works best for you to achieve. What do you need in order to be able to execute?
3. Find something fun you like to do, or a milestone you can work towards that supports that new goal (i.e. Goal - weight loss, Milestone - train for a marathon).
4. Be intentional about getting support and accountability. Find a coach or other expert who can cut your learning curve.
 
As mentioned in the episode
Get Kimi’s Level Up and Launch Checklist by texting HELPMELAUNCH to 44222
As always, grab Package Your Genius: 5 Steps to Build Your Most Powerful Personal Brand on Amazon
Package Your Genius Personal Branding Companion Workbook is available on Amazon
 

PYG 65: Starting Over From the Top: Using Your Personal Brand to Change the Way You Work

If you’ve done amazing work in your field and you’ve successfully ‘climbed the ladder” so to speak, eventually you may get near the top or at the top of the ladder, look around and realize that A) there’s nowhere else to climb or B) you’re not interested in limbing any further. At this point, you may decide to pivot and use your talents to do something else.
I work with a lot of burned-out corporate high achievers who have been successful in that space for years, but have finally decided to do something new - sometimes personal development centered, since we often want to heal our own wounds by helping others who were in the place we used to be.
But a common theme I’m noticing is a tendency for high achievers to adopt a mindset from the bottom of the ladder. They decide that since they’re essentially starting over and are new to coaching or running their own business or online marketing or being independent - they mentally put themselves at the bottom of this new ladder.
Sound familiar? If so, stay with me.
I want you to imagine two ladders side by side. How will you get from ladder one (your old path) to ladder two (your new path)?
Your first thought, especially if you're a high achiever, may be to step your way back down all the steps, retracing your steps on all the previous rungs of ladder one, to get to the ground so that you can then climb up the second ladder.
But instead of stepping your way down, I want you to imagine yourself  at the top of ladder one,  reaching your hand out to grab ahold and step over to the top of ladder two. From the top of one ladder, the top of another ladder.
Because you’re not starting from zero.
Your credibility transfers.
We are all a constellation of our career and life experiences, our relationships, our networks, our access and our opportunities.
Instead of thinking of yourself as a newbie, as a beginner, or as an ingenue, I want you to ask yourself how can you put all that you’ve done in the past - all of the past work, all of your relationships, all of your political capital - how can you put all of that to work in service of your new dream?
 
As Mentioned in the Episode
Thank you to LaQuentin Cathey for Your Rave Review of Package Your Genius:
From Amazon:
LaQuintin Cathey  | 5.0 out of 5 stars  |  "Great book, definitely recommend."
February 3, 2019
"I am so glad I read Package Your Genius! This book not only gave me the skills to take control of my brand but also the confidence to leave my comfort zone and put myself out there for others to see! Implementing the strategies outlined in Package Your Genius have proven successful in a very short period of time. So much so that I gifted the book to my family members who are all entrepreneurs. I’m so glad I had the opportunity to read such a powerful tool to improve my brand!"
 
As always, Package Your Genius: 5 Steps to Build Your Most Powerful Personal Brand is available on Amazon - Order Your Personal Branding Bible Package Your Genius Personal Branding Companion Workbook is also available for order - Order Your Personal Branding Workbook
 

PYG 64: Being Open and Leveraging Your Magic to Create Your Dream Job After Corporate with Amber Cabral

Amber Cabral founded Cabral Co where she helps organizations identify the ways they can shift their behaviors, tactics and mindsets to diversify the culture of the organization. As Amber says, culture is not just about counting heads, it’s about how it feels to work there. Her work helps move the needle on actually having an inclusive, as well as diverse company culture.
It was only when Amber was asked to sit on a diversity council at her job that she uncovered her passion for diversity and inclusion work. Later, when she switched jobs and the diversity council was no longer present, Amber had an aha moment that the diversity work was what actually lit her up about her job.
How does someone end up working in diversity and inclusion? Timing is everything. Before D & I became the career field du jour, Amber knew she wanted to do something, but the opportunities weren’t readily available. Moving to the Fortune 1 Company - Walmart Stores - she took on a major mentoring initiative for the company, which taught her many professional lessons before she exited the company and ultimately, the corporate world completely from an employee standpoint.
In the interview Amber shares how a “voluntold” opportunity put her on the path to a full-fledged consulting company, and how being open to new assignments can open up your career path.
Hear:
how she built relationships while working remotely
how she landed a role at the Fortune 1 and how she came to the ultimate decision to pivot from corporate to start her consulting business 
how we’re all constellations of our personal networks, how we’re not alone, how there’s a net that many of us aren’t accessing to get our side hustles or consulting gigs going
how she turned the trait she was criticized for during her corporate tenure  into the superpower that powers her training business
 
“Always be evolving and be willing to do the work of change.” - Amber Cabral
Amber’s Lessons Learned:
1. You do not have to live the life you've been told to. You get to decide the kind of life and career you want.
2. Always be evolving. Doing something is better than thinking about everything, be open and eager for change.
3. Bring authenticity to every part of your life: relationships, work, family and everything in between. When someone connects to the authenticity in you, it opens up doors you would otherwise have never known existed.
Find Amber online:
Amber’s Website Cabral Co - Cabral Co
Amber on Instagram @BamCabral
Amber on Twitter @BamCabral
Amber on LinkedIn - Amber Cabral
 
What I’m reading and listening to this week
Golf Home Owners Find Themselves in a Hole  on the WSJ
Three Brothers Launch Eco-Friendly Candle Company - on BlackNews.com
 
As mentioned in the episode
Last call for Package Your Genius Academy
It’s the last week to apply for this round of Package Your Genius Academy. I’m so excited about the amazing group that’s already coming together for our February 5 start date! Such brilliant minds. Among the current roster, we have a scientific research funding consultant, a therapist in private practice, and a life coach who is pioneering a new coaching style based on her stage time as an actor.
I still have some room for a few more high achievers who have a track record of professional success and need help framing their story, articulating their value to the clients who need them, and becoming more visible through media and speaking.
If you:
have had some success in one area, but want to make a shift and do something you’ve never done before,
don’t know how to clearly describe what you do, package who you are, or sell yourself to others, or
have had on the job successes and are often praised for your work but now want to translate that into more consulting opportunities, apply here.
As always, Package Your Genius: 5 Steps to Build Your Most Powerful Personal Brand is available on Amazon
Package Your Genius Personal Branding Companion Workbook is available on Amazon
 

PYG 63: How to Create a Mission and Vision for Your Life with Meico Whitlock

 
What is your life mission? What is your life vision? Why is mission and vision so important? As our guest says, it’s the key to why we should be showing up.
Meico Whitlock specializes in helping purpose driven high achieving professionals find work life balance and carve out a life of meaning. He works with clients on finding balance, eliminating technology distraction and developing personal mission and vision. In his experience, so many professionals are clear on the mission of the organization or clients they’re serving, but they are unclear on their own life personal missions.
Why is that?
For one, Meico says, most of us are suffering from a case of IDD - Intention Deficit Disorder: we’re on autopilot going through life without clear intention of why we’re showing up in the world.
When you lack intention, it’s easy to accept whatever “falls into your lap” - both personally and professionally. So the price is high.
Meico shares a list powerful questions that help get closer to our personal mission and purpose. I found his questions to be thought-provoking and powerful.
1. How can I be of service
2. If you knew that you couldn’t fail, what would you be doing with your life?
Take Advantage of Meico’s Resources:
Meico’s website - Mindful Techie
Download the Free Life Planning Guide
Life Visioning Program Reboot Your Life Course
Meico's Planner - The Intention Planner
 
What I’m reading and listening to this week
Employers Need to Address Caregiving Crisis Study Finds - WSJ
19 Books to Help You Live Your Best Life - Kailei Carr
Clean up your social media profile and use it to your advantage - WUSA
4 Smart Strategies to Survive a Market Cool-Off - Inc
If Your Friends Don’t Talk About Money , You Need New Friends - Business Insider
 
As mentioned in the episode
Learn more and apply for Package Your Genius Academy - Apply Here
Package Your Genius: 5 Steps to Build Your Most Powerful Personal Brand is available on Amazon - My Personal Branding Book
Package Your Genius Personal Branding Companion Workbook is available on Amazon - My Personal Branding Workbook
 

PYG 62: Are You Prioritizing the Source of Your Magic? Basic Requirements for Your Best Self

What is your personal success profile?
Whatever actions, people, places or activities that always make you feel your best shouldn't be optional; they should be non-negotiable aspects of your routine.
Are you prioritizing the source of your magic?
Whatever you’re doing that helps you show up in your very best form, are you intentional about doing that on a daily, weekly  or monthly basis?
I’ve learned over the past few years that we have to prioritize the activities that bring us focus, joy and energy in order to show up as our best selves and therefore reach our most important goals.
I learned the hard way that we have to hold ourselves accountable and meet our own basic requirements if we want to feel fulfilled.
Here's a breakdown of how to do that:
Step 1 - Think about a key activity that brings you joy, energy, and helps you to focus. This is one of your basic requirements for optimal performance.
Note - typically when you’re not able to experience a basic requirement regularly enough, you may feel cranky, overwhelmed, irritated, frustrated, confused or indecisive.
Step 2 - Assess how often you’re experiencing your basic requirement for optimal performance. How often are you doing it or getting it? Are you making it a priority, or are you being like I was and leaving it to chance because you take your ability to access this basic requirement for granted. Be honest.
Step 3 - Make your basic requirement a priority, and put it on your calendar. I’ve started with a daily window for thinking and writing in the morning. My goal is to spend 30 minutes, but as long as I’m doing it regularly, I’m excited to see how the re-introduction of daily writing improved the quality of my life.
 
Questions to Consider:
What are the key ingredients for your very best day, and for your very best week? For you to show up as your very best self?
What actions evoke the feelings that are priceless to you?
What situations and people evoke the feelings that are priceless to you?
What work would you do for free because the sensation of doing the work is priceless to you and core to your life purpose?
 
What I’m reading and listening to
Myleik Teele’s MyTaught You Podcast - Marathon Mindset
Burned Out Millennials Need Careers Not Jobs on Bloomberg
Dark Horse - Achieving Success by the Pursuit of Fulfillment - Dark Horse by Todd Rose
Boyhood at 11 and 12: Navigating a social system that prizes alpha males over quirky kids - Washington Post
PYG Episode 39 -  Package Your Childhood Genius - Discovering Passions Early with DJ Connor B
 
As mentioned in the episode
Learn more and apply for Package Your Genius Academy
Package Your Genius: 5 Steps to Build Your Most Powerful Personal Brand is available on Amazon
Package Your Genius Personal Branding Companion Workbook is available on Amazon
 

PYG 61: How to Declutter Your Space and Mind to Make Room for Your Genius with Kimberly Boyd Lewis

Throughout time, geniuses have been known for eliminating unnecessary decisions.
Albert Einstein and more recently, Apple Computer founder Steve Jobs adopted a "uniform" to eliminate the daily choice of what to wear.
In doing so, they preserved their mental energy for the projects and breakthrough innovations that mattered most to them.
You don't have to be an Einstein or Jobs to adopt this idea. This is a great time of year to assess what decisions you can eliminate in order to preserve your precious mental energy.
Are too many decisions, clutter or a lack of organization keeping you from full potential? What can you remove in 2019 in order to be more effective?
To help us answer that question, and to give us some New Year strategies to make better decisions, I sat down with Kimberly Boyd Lewis - an executive coach at Evre Little Detail, and a 2018 student of Package Your Genius Academy.
Kimberly started her career as an emergency room social worker, where her ability to quickly make decisions could make the difference between life and death. 
Now as an executive coach, she uses that same decisive authority from her time in social work to help busy executive women cut through the noise, quickly make decisions, and move their lives forward. Women seek out Kimberly when they feel overwhelmed by their choices and stuck in their current situations.  She helps them remove the clutter, organize their thoughts and things, and connect with key information or people in order to take the next best step.
 
As Mentioned in the Episode
 
Learn More and Contact Kimberly Boyd Lewis at Kimberly Boyd Lewis and on LinkedIn
 
Learn More about Package Your Genius Academy and Apply
 
What I'm Consuming
 
The Unbearable Heaviness of Clutter - From the New York Times
Tidying Up with Marie Kondo - on Netflix
If You Want to Get Better at Something, Ask Yourself These Two Questions - From HBR

PYG 60: Let Go Of Who You Used to Be

Is it time to let go of your old personal brand identity?
I ask because so often we become attached to an outdated narrative that has dominated a definitive period in our lives. 
For example, 
"We never have enough resources to go around, so I need to sacrifice personal comforts to ensure my family's needs are met..."
or 
"I'm not a true leader in my organization yet, so I can't ask for  face time with senior leaders..."
or even 
"Landing clients has historically been difficult for me, so it will probably take months to build up a solid client base..."
But the problem arises when we unknowingly outgrow our prevailing story, and the narrative no longer serves us.
Have you outgrown your old idea of who you are? 
In the months and years since you first devised your current idea of yourself, you've likely evolved.
You may have gotten stronger, more accomplished, more connected, and more respected in your field - yet you're only giving yourself credit for the person you USED to be.
It didn't work then, so what if it doesn’t work now?
I wasn't qualified for the role and was rejected five years ago. What if I’m not as good as I think I am now?
My relationships always seem to fall apart after six months. We're five months in, what if it all falls apart?
These are some of the potential questions that plague us when we’re on the cusp of something new.
But sometimes in the interim, while we’ve been waiting on things to fall apart, they've actually been working out in our favor, and we've been blind to our good fortune.
Sound familiar?
Have you been so tied to your past identity, your past failures and who you used to be that you’ve been asleep to your new reality?
Are you actually ALREADY living the dream you always held for yourself, but instead of celebrating it, you’re living in the past?
It may be time to let go of your old ideas about who you used to be.
Think about the different things on your dream list.
Is what you say you want showing up already for you, but perhaps in a format you didn’t expect?What does success need to look like for you to be able to see it?
To be sure, first make a list of what you’ve always said you wanted.
Is that a loving relationship?
A new roster of clients for your own business?
Financial independence?
Next, examine your current reality and be honest with yourself.
Do you already have some of those things on some level? Is there any evidence to support that you already have what you want?
Last, intentionally think through the narrative you can change internally.
As we know, what you focus on will grow.
The new year is the perfect time to explore these ideas.
Join me for episode 60 of Package Your Genius - my first episode of 2019!
https://packageyourgenius.podbean.com/e/ep-60-let-go-of-who-you-used-to-be/
Mentioned in this episode:
Package Your Genius Academy - Apply for January 2019 Cohort http://www.packageyourgeniusacademy.com
Package Your Genius - 5 Steps to Build Your Most Powerful Personal Brand - http://bit.ly/pygbook
Package Your Genius Companion Personal Branding Workbook - http://bit.ly/pygworkbook
 

PYG 59: 5 Questions To to Help You Reflect On the Year

Question 1: What are you willing to let go of? This past year, I removed a ton of clothes and books to make space for more creative projects. Purging helped me to see that I was getting in my own way of reaching my goals.
Question 2: What is one thing that could make everything else work? For me this year, the big thing that made everything else work was writing Package Your Genius
The books I mentioned
Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0804137382/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0
The One Thing by Gary Keller https://www.the1thing.com
The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0026772QU/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i0
Question 3: What do you want more of?
Me? I want more travel, adventure, and income - hello 7 figures! I want more support in my home!
Question 4: What do you want less of? Me? I want less administration in my life!
Question 5: What are you grateful for? I am grateful for my family, my relationship, my health and creativity.
As Mentioned in the Episode
Are You in a Money Making Space https://redefiningwealth.podbean.com/e/are-you-in-a-money-making-space/
Tag, You’re It Series on Amazon http://www.connorlittlejohn.com
Package Your Genius - the book http://bit.ly/pygbook and the Companion workbook http://bit.ly/pygworkbook
Package Your Genius Academy http://www.packageyourgeniusacademy.com