Package Your Genius Personal Branding Podcast

I’ve done some fun daily challenges on my podcast this year - in June and October I podcasted every day of the month.   As we approach a new year and decade, I wanted to do another daily challenge, but I wanted to do it with you.  For this podcast challenge, I’ve carved out time for us to work together over 5 days to accomplish one big goal: map out our plan for 2020. Welcome to the 5 day Brand With Purpose Challenge! Eek!  I’m so excited! The mission of Brand with Purpose is simple: it’s a chance to be intentional about how we approach our platform, visibility and revenue in 2020.  No more winging it and hoping for the best.   Here’s a little preview of what’s in store over the next five days: Day One: We're kicking off the challenge by looking back. Where have you been winning in 2019? Where can you build on that momentum in the coming year? Day Two: Next, we’ll put a heightened focus on what you are going to do to add to or evolve your brand platform. Is it time to launch a program or write your

There is a simple mistake I see often with my personal branding clients, and those who are setting out to package their genius. I've even made this mistake myself. When it's time to finally get paid from our genius, we often start with the question "what can I sell?" instead of thinking in terms of what our potential customers need from us. While so many people start the brainstorming process here, there's a far more customer-centric way to begin brainstorming products and services that will sell easily. This simple shift is an easy fix, let me know if you're asking this question when you begin to brainstorm your next program.

During a series of enrollment calls with potential students for my most recent cohort of Package Your Genius Academy, I heard a refrain I hear so often when speaking with people who are considering making the investment of time and financial resources.  "Maybe this can wait..." For reasons that differ for everyone, putting ourselves first is often the last thing we think to do. Putting our own needs and pursuit of our own personal fulfillment comes in dead last after immediate work obligations, the needs of our family members, and for some, the demands of church and community.  But time waits for no man. And while I think most of us grasp the fact that no one has "all the time in the world..." we often forget that our prime won't last forever. We won't always have the energy, the network, the health, the free time, the money....the list goes on and on, to do what we want to do now. So how are you taking advantage of your current season? If there's something you've been meaning to do, and you have the ti

This is a replay of my personal branding MasterClass Becoming KNOWN - The 5 Essential Shifts to Unlock Your Personal Brand Authority. When it comes to building your personal brand, at a certain point it becomes less about your skills and talents, and more about your comfort with putting them out there. If you've worked in your industry for a decade or more, you're likely skilled beyond question.  You need a new set of skills to shift how others perceive you. You need a new strategy to step into your worth, and communicate that confidently to others.  You need to step into your BRAND AUTHORITY. And this doesn't come naturally to everyone. If you... have been perpetually on the fence about starting a side hustle or otherwise earning extra income from your skills know you aren't earning all you could at your current level of experience and expertise have spent your career in the background and struggle stepping into the spotlight have had several brilliant ideas for businesses, books, non-profits or cr

When it comes to building your personal brand, at a certain point it becomes less about your skills and talents, and more about your comfort with putting them out there. If you've worked in your industry for a decade or more, you're likely skilled beyond question.  You need a new set of skills to shift how others perceive you. You need a new strategy to step into your worth, and communicate that confidently to others.  You need to step into your BRAND AUTHORITY. And this doesn't come naturally to everyone. If you... have been perpetually on the fence about starting a side hustle or otherwise earning extra income from your skills know you aren't earning all you could at your current level of experience and expertise have spent your career in the background and struggle stepping into the spotlight have had several brilliant ideas for businesses, books, non-profits or creative projects in the past but haven't brought yourself to pull the trigger would like to step into your power and to rise to the sta

Today marks the official end of my September podcast every day during the month challenge.  And can I tell you a secret? I failed...spectacularly! I missed six full days of the challenge, and since this is my second daily challenge for the year, I technically failed in comparison to the challenge I completed in June.  But even though I missed six days of the challenge, I still came out ahead in terms of listener engagement, downloads and growth as a podcast host. Score! Which made me think about the way we sometimes label our efforts a failure if we aren't able to meet a very specific goal. But if we set a big goal that we plan to reach over time, if we move toward that goal but don't reach the goal we set, we still likely made significant process, and there's no reason to give up the goal all together. Progress is winning. If you have big goals for this year, the final quarter of the year is upon us! It's the final week to submit your application for the fall cohort of Package Your Genius Academy. Ou

If you ever find yourself feeling too busy, too overwhelmed, or too burdened with to dos and it's standing in the way of you packaging your genius and making the impact you're meant to make on this world, you need to generate a surplus. And while it seems counterintuitive, much of that surplus can be connected to making more time (I know, I know -  you're already stretched thin) for yourself. But this is a personal experiment I've been conducting in my life, and the results have been priceless. Since implementing a more intentional and daily self balancing routine I have experienced: more clarity on my business challenges clarity on what is standing in my way personally motivation to push through on hard things patience and grace with myself perspective - understanding when I'm assigning too much or too little significance to something a higher tolerance for stress resilience If you're too busy to package your genius, putting yourself back on the calendar is a practice I encourage you to try. Get

We hear a lot about self care - how to get it, why we need more of it, and what does or doesn't constitute it. But lately I've been made aware of the residual effects and payoff of self care - how it benefits me long after I'm in the practice of doing or getting what I need.  And it makes everything related to my ideas, my planning, my long-term thinking crystal clear. If you struggle with overwhelm, anxiety, irritability and lack of focus, I highly recommend you thinking through the self care practice that makes the most sense for you. And check out Dr. Thema Bryant- Davis's episode on the Homecoming Podcast about self care. Very powerful stuff.   *** As our enrollment season comes to a close, I welcome you to apply for the opportunity to work together in Package Your Genius Academy this fall!   Enrollment is closing soon for the personal brand visibility academy and our PR mastermind. Visit www.packageyourgeniusacademy.com to learn more and apply.

I recently discovered a truth about myself I had been unable to see for years. I realized that I had been telling myself a story that simply wasn't true. While the story was rooted in my personal experience. I fail to take into account the fact that my situation has changed.I was holding on to a truth that matched a past version of me. Can you say the same? How many times have you decided who you are and what you can do based on who you've always been and what you've always done?  You can change. You can change your vehicle. You can choose a new, true, story.

Even when we fail the first time, our dreams are worth fighting for. Package Your Genius Academy was a dream of mine that almost didn't happen. I failed launching the program the first time, but have since gone on to work with 7 cohorts - now enrolling my eighth. One of the things I often reflect on is what might have been lost if I hadn't gotten back up and tried again. When I think of the lives that have been impacted directly by the academy, and even more importantly, the people I'll never know but who have been impacted by the students who've gone to the academy. It's a humbling thing to see the ripple effect your work can start! LaShonda Walker is one of our PYGA ripples. She joined in May of 2019 on a quest to find deeper meaning for her work. She used her time in the academy to gain clarity on her purpose, and essentially remember who she'd always been and what she's always loved. It's an honor to see LaShonda ignited and on a new path all her own.   *** I welcome you to apply for the opportunity

Believe it or not, I'm a hardcore introvert.  Networking events are my least favorite thing right after small talk. But I realized at some point that if I wanted my business to grow, I'd have to get in front of new people.  I needed a way to show strangers what I knew and what problems I solve if I ever wanted new clients to hire me. Enter the media. What other way can you get in front of thousands while only interacting with a handful of people to make the interview happen? But most introverts see media as a big overwhelming proposition when in reality, there are a number of ways you can approach it. I came up with a few media exposure personality types. Which one are you? The Thinker - The thinker has ideas to share and recommendations to make. They would rather share those ideas in a long form way by writing. Their dream media placement would be a New York Times op ed or an essay in the Atlantic The Talker - The talker loves to engage. And short snippets just won't do, they prefer to get into it and

From The Spruce.com: Not all plant seeds are ready to sprout as soon as you put them in the soil. Some hard-shelled seeds need a bit more coaxing and some need a temperature change to trigger the end of dormancy. Scarification (cracking the hard outer shell) and stratification (fooling seeds into thinking they've been through winter) are two simple techniques that will save you a lot of frustration when starting seeds. Stratification and scarification occur naturally when seeds stay outdoors through the cold winter. Some seeds have outer shells that are extremely hard and don’t allow water through. This is one way a seed stays dormant in the fall and winter until growing conditions improve.   You may be upset when you look for your efforts to bear fruit and you can't see the evidence above ground. Sometimes the action is not visible, you may be in a dormant phase in preparation for your growing season. Not all seeds are ready to sprout as soon as you put them into the soil. You may look at what other

When it comes to working the land - especially in the Southern region of the United States, this time of year is an exciting time because it marks the season of harvest. But it can be a potentially dangerous time for the farmers who aren't quick enough to get their year's work out of the ground. It's essentially a race against time to harvest before the winter rains when anything you've left out in the field will be rendered useless. Unpicked fruit will be left to rot. A fortuitous conversation with my grandmother revealed this wisdom that's native to Southerners, and I had to share it with you. The similarity between our gifts and a farmer's crops were too stark to miss. So many people have allowed their gifts - their expertise, skills, and wisdom - to ripen for years, but have yet pick their own fruit. Let this comparison to nature be your own cautionary tale: there comes a point when you're not growing anymore. But it may not be because you've simply reached a plateau, instead you're fully ripe and i

High achievers typically do such great work that they're often recruited for opportunities, courted by associates, even pursued by friends.  Instead of being the aggressor, it's not uncommon for them - despite all of their success - to find themselves in the passive role of waiting to be chosen. It's what they're used to after all. If this resonates with you, and you're not in the field you want to be in, on the career track you want to be in, or in a relationship that serves you because you were chosen but did not choose, let me be the first to tell you things can be different. You can choose to choose. Don't settle for what falls into your lap. Decide what you want in every area of your life, and go after it.

Every living thing has its own set of base level requirements for survival.  Every living thing also has its own set of factors that would make it hard to grow. Last but not least, every living thing has certain factors that would take it to the next level and cause it to thrive, regenerate, multiply. The same is true for us. Each of us has our own set of must-haves, deal breakers and multipliers. A part of radical self discovery is paying attention to all three in order to get the clearest picture of ourselves and our personal recipe for success.   *** Package Your Genius: 5 Steps to Build Your Most Powerful Personal Brand has officially been in the world for a full year! Thank you to all of you who purchased the book (or the companion workbook), left a thoughtful review, bought the book for a friend and shared this life-changing content.  I am so grateful!

I was reflecting back on a few of my incredible clients and the reflection reminded me what it is I do that matters, and more importantly, WHY I do this work.   As I was thinking about the simplest way to describe what I do, I realized that at the core of my work I help people remember who they are -- even if you've never truly been able to articulate your understanding of yourself, or if you knew it very clearly at another point in your life but somehow drifted away from yourself and forgot, I help you put a framework around yourself so you understand who you are, what makes you tick, what energizes you and what drains you.   In some ways there is nothing more important than this.   Once you get a clear understanding of who you are, you can not only make better decisions, but you can make the BEST decisions for you because you will immediately understand why something doesn't feel right.   Once you get a clear understanding of who you are, you will know immediately what you have to do in order to get yoursel

As you are on the road to package your genius, and you're a high achiever who is used to always being the best, I want you to remember: No matter where you place sometimes just finishing the race is a form of winning when you're doing something new.   *** If you know you have valuable gifts inside you, but you are unclear which race you're running and where's the lane for your gifts and talents, I welcome you to apply for the opportunity to get that clarity during our visibility academy where we can work on it together.   If you've been doing great work and getting results in your industry, but you want to expand your exposure, learn more about our PR mastermind and apply.   Enrollment is open now for the academy and our PR mastermind. Visit www.packageyourgeniusacademy.com to learn more and apply.

Sometimes limits are in our heads, telling us we can't go any further when we have just a little bit of gas left in the take. Other times limits are deeper, and our exhaustion is our body/mind/spirit's way of telling us we need to rest. But the beautiful thing about life is, for most things, we get another day to try again. If you had to put down a work project, take a day off from cooking dinner for the family, or skipped a workout - you can get back on track.  Don't beat yourself up if you drop the ball. Just pick it back up tomorrow.   *** Here are all the ways you can work with me:   Join our free Facebook community where you can meet other podcast listeners and engage directly with me. Join here.   Check out the book Package Your Genius: 5 Steps to Build Your Most Powerful Personal Brand if you haven't read it yet. Pick up the companion workbook - a tool I made to help you think through the questions that can help you get closer.   If you need help remembering how to answer the call, I'd be honored

My mom retired a few years ago, and in the time since, she's been living her best life. She had a goal to see all the states in the lower 48 of USA and as of today, she's officially done it.   She left for a road trip for her birthday early last week, headed with her bestie from Tennessee to New England.   When she initially told me about the trip, I remember catching myself getting wistful. "I sure wish I could take off for ten days at my own pace to see the sights," I thought to myself. "And I sure wish I could spend that kind of quality time with my mom..."   I can't do that because of the kids, I immediately told myself. For the last decade plus, that has been my default reason whenever I get too excited about doing something or going somewhere that will take me away from the DC area. Because the kids have to get to and from school, my husband travels a lot for work so I need to make sure my calendar is clear.   But is that true, really?   At this point, my kids know how to catch public transportation, ma

We've been talking a lot about purpose, but I want to change the conversation and switch gears back to visibility because it's one of the reasons you're here. In this two-part episode on op-ed writing, I share 5 questions to ask yourself to get closer to the op-ed you want to write. In part two, we'll talk to a journalist who will share how we can reach millions of people with our words.