PURPOSESCAPING with Amanda Miller Littlejohn

PYG 94: They may not say it, but they see you

So much work we do goes unnoticed and uncelebrated. It's easy to keep our heads down doing what needs to be done.
Sometimes it can feel demoralizing when others don't seem to take notice of all you do at work or at home.
I recently realized how much of my hard work is getting noticed - even when I don't feel think it is. It made me think of how much of what we do is likely more noticed than we realize...
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If you're looking for more media exposure for your personal brand, check out Maximum Exposure my PR mastermind for established personal brands, and apply to join us in July.

PYG 93: Strike while the iron is hot

While it's nice to think it's never too late to follow your dream, in reality, some dreams have a shelf life. 
Whether they depend on you being youthful, a relevant technology, or your own level of personal freedom, there are periods in all of our lives when it's easier to do certain things than others. 
That's why you should strike while the iron is hot. Don't wait to feel ready, don't wait to leap; if you wait too long, you may miss your moment.
As a good friend and PR expert shared with me when discussing one of my brand ideas, "the window for this opportunity will close soon...so if you want to make a mark on this issue, do it soon..."
I share the same idea with you. None of us are getting any younger. Technology changes at rapid speed. The pace of business is dizzying.
If you have an idea that is marketable now, launch it.
If you have always dreamed of living abroad and a job opportunity opens up overseas, take it.
If you have a book idea and the topic is hot right now, write it.
Strike while the iron is hot. Nothing stays hot forever. 
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If you're looking for more media exposure for your personal brand, check out Maximum Exposure my PR mastermind for established personal brands, and apply to join us in July.

PYG 92: How building a brand library can help people find you and your ideas

I'm a collector - and have always been. You could call me a digital packrat, and I couldn't argue with you.
By that I mean, I don't let content go to waste - as much as possible, I create shareable nuggets from whatever I have to say.
No one does this better than Gary V - his entire life is content, and he approaches it as such. 
But for you or me, how can we start building a brand library, and how can it help us?
For me, making sure to create content that creates a hyperlink has been key to growing my searchability over the years. If you google my name, there's a lot to find, and that's by design.
I may not have one million followers, but I have million dollar SEO. 
Being searchable online helps clients find me, and has helped corporations begin the process to bring me into speak.
But it's because I don't "throw away" my best ideas on Instagram stories or Snapchat. I create a record and a library by putting them here, on the podcast or on the blog. Whenever I can, I'm looking for ways to create a hyperlink so my best ideas are instantly sharable.
What about you?
Are you giving your best content away on platforms that don't serve your searchability?
Brand food for thought.
 
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If you're looking for more media exposure for your personal brand, check out Maximum Exposure my PR mastermind for established personal brands, and apply to join us in July.
My childhood friend Koya has a new book and it's now available wherever books are sold. Let Your Fears Make You Fierce by Koya Webb

PYG 91: Staying present to witness what's unfolding

While attending a women's leadership conference in California, I heard one of the presenters drop a nugget that I don't think I'll soon forget.
When addressing a room full of junior leaders, many of whom were concerned about "work-life balance" (or more fashionably, "work-life integration") she mentioned that she didn't think she or any of her fellow panelists believed they 'had it all'.
"I don't think any of us up here believes that we have it all," she said before pausing. "But then again, maybe we do..."
Have you ever considered that you already 'have it all' in this very moment - or at least all that you dreamed of one year ago, or ten years ago? Are you present to the absolute miracles that are unfolding in your personal life, at work, in your business, in your relationships?
We tend to tune out the everyday evolutions, the incremental signs of growth -while making sure not to miss that important email, or phone call or text. And in doing so, we're blind to the many miracles we're ironically setting ourselves up to miss,
I pondered this leading up to a trip to California and shared my musings from the beach. 
 
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I was recently quoted as a personal branding expert in the Washington Post article  - How defining and honing a personal brand can help you stand out. Thank you to Beth Luberecki and the Washington Post for the opportunity to share.

PYG 90: How to Identify Your Process

Your brand needs a process - that is if you want to monetize. 
But are you aware of what your process is? Most people aren't aware of it, but we typically have a way we go about getting results for others. 
If you can outline step-by-step how you make the magic so to speak, your genius will be much easier to communicate and to sell.

PYG 89: Why your genius needs a process

If you're planning to monetize your personal brand - and by that I mean, you're ready to cash in on the expertise you've been unwittingly accumulating over the years, one of the very first things you'll need is a process.
And by that I don't just mean a process to sign people up for your service, or a process to accept payments while those are also important processes to have. 
What I mean by a process is the actual process you take yourself through whenever you're doing what you do best.
It's easy to not even notice your personal process for results when you work within a larger organization - you may confuse your personal process with the organization's process, and the two may be very similar.
But more often than not, you bring a degree of personalization and specialization to everything you tackle, due to the fact that you are you.
Some of the benefits of having a process for your genius?
1. Your current and future clients will know what to expect
2. Having a process makes you feel more confident in what you have to offer - you know there are specific steps to take, so you'll be able to see when things are "off".
3. A process is easier to sell, both for you and to your potential customers. It's easier for you to sell because you can create additional systems - to market, deliver, process payments - and then outsource parts of those systems to other people/technology. It's easier to sell to customers because having a process is just plain sexy. It screams "I've done this before."
4. A process positions you as an expert. When you're able to communicate that you have a specific way of doing things, you step into trusted advisor status - and trusted advisors are more revered, more respected, and better paid. When you can show you have a process to deliver results, you put your clients at ease; they can rest easy knowing you know what you're doing and you aren't just 'winging it'.
What process do you have for your genius? In the next episode I'll share how to identify your process. And trust me, if you're getting consistent results for people, you have one. So let's nail it down.
 
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Package Your Genius - 5 Steps to Build Your Most Powerful Personal Brand is available on Amazon. Check out the new personal branding book today. 

PYG 88: Your humility is a liability

Too many of us err on the side of humility when it comes to crafting our personal brand messages.
But humility won't sell you.
Think about the opportunities you're up for - you're likely competing with others. And while you shouldn't view your life as a competition, to a degree it is. When you have to make the case for why you over someone else, your humility can be a liability.
Many people fear that they come off as "obnoxious" when they describe why they're the best fit. But if you're telling the truth, there's nothing obnoxious about your truth.
It is what it is.
 
Check out the June 10, 2019 issue of Washington Post Express for a quote by yours truly!

PYG 87: Keep things in perspective - you can start again

The past 48 hours have been far from ideal.
But in retrospect, they could have been far worse.
I'm holding onto that nugget as I process the past and attempt to move forward, but quite honestly, earlier today I hit an emotional wall. It is taking some serious self-coaching to get myself back into a good headspace, and I'm not even completely there yet.
Thankfully, life has a funny way of giving you perspective when you're too wrapped up in yourself to see how inconsequential the small things really are.
What do you do when you hit an emotional or mental wall?
How do you bring yourself back?
How do you refocus yourself?
I'd love to hear how you process.

PYG 86: You have a body of work

If you’ve been building your brand for any length of time, you likely have a body of work.
But are you leveraging all the work you’ve done and ideas you’ve shared up to this point?
I was reviewing one of my websites and realized I have accumulated 6 years of regular content.
Yet when people encounter me TODAY, they may only be aware of a small snapshot of what I’ve done.
I will be the first to say I could do a better job of sharing stuff from my archives to those who may have missed it the first time.
What about you?
Remember - good ideas are worth repeating.

PYG 85: Stay on message when it comes to what you care about

When it comes to personal branding, most people will remember the message not the photos or logo.
When you eat, breathe ,and live what you care about the most, people take notice. They'll think of your topic and then think of you.
 
When you stay on message,  you stay top of mind.
 
You don’t have to be featured in a major publication for people to understand what you’re passionate about. Your passion for what you do should ooze through you at home and at work whether you're delivering a talk on stage or making small talk with colleagues.
3 Ways to stay on message when it comes to what you care about?
Rant about what bothers you in the industry
Tell personal stories about what has happened to you in relation to your topic of expertise
Let your wider network know whenever you get the chance to speak or do formal media on your topic
 
If people don’t understand what you do, that’s a messaging problem you can fix. My program and others are designed to tackle that.
But if people don’t know what you’re passionate about, that’s on you.
Stay on message and they'll know what you're about - and they'll think of you when that topic comes up.