Package Your Genius Personal Branding Podcast

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... *** 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.

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

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 hype

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

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.

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 i

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!

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.

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.

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

How many times have you formed an opinion based on one person's comment? How many times have you made up your mind about a restaurant, a company, or a city after only having experienced it one time, or reading one bad review? Do you tell yourself a story based on only 1-2 pieces of evidence? And when it comes to going after clients, pitching yourself for media opportunities, or leveling up in your career - have you ever decided to give up after hearing one no? We're all guilty of having done this at least once or twice. But my message for you today? Cast a wider net before you call it quits. This is a wide and vast planet, with over  7 billion people at my last check. While you may not have been able to sell the last person you pitched on your idea, your business or yourself - you have likely not exhausted all of your options. It's impossible to exhaust the option in most things, especially when there are new ones popping up that you may not even be aware of. Here's your reminder of that - before you

I'm not sure if it's a high achiever thing or what, but overthinking has cost me so much as a professional. And it's directly tied to feelings of imposter syndrome. In the past, when feelings of imposter syndrome made me anxious, I would find myself waking up in the middle of the night. If it hit me during waking hours, my stomach would turn somersaults whenever my stress point was triggered. In recent years, I've learned a powerful reframe that I use whenever I start to veer toward anxiety. And that simple mantra? "I've already done the work." Shout out to my friend Dr. Reisha Moxley who gave me that excellent mantra. It's come in handy more times than I can count. If you struggle with imposter syndrome - face it, we all feel like imposters at one point or another - try that mantra on and see how it helps you. Then think if you're letting one failure cripple you indefinitely as I discussed in episode 80. If you find that you are, make a list of every single reason you're ready for this opportunity. An

When I was a little girl, I remember thinking I was always doing too much. In fact, the message was reinforced by the well-meaning adults in my life who I felt wanted to put me in a box. But they probably wanted me to fit in more than anything else. And as a parent now who is in charge of shaping young people, I can relate to the instinct to want your child to fit in at all costs. But some of us were just born to be different. Some of us were born to stand out. Some of us have to do the most - it's just our natural speed. Leaning into this daily podcast challenge has helped me see that doing a little extra is my normal. And while I may not keep the daily episodes going forever, it's certainly easier to pull off than I thought it would be. In part because, I thrive when I'm given a big challenge. I like to be stretched a little more than usual. I'm in my bag when I've got something absurd to achieve.  "Regular" doesn't keep my attention. Reflection questions for you - what were you doing as a young per

I've noticed a funny thing on calls with friends, clients and prospects over the last few days. And that is the idea that because you're giving your skills away to friends and family, they're not worth anything in the marketplace. And it's an easy assumption to make. Think about it - if you routinely offer up your life-changing, career-catapulting, business-building skills to friends and family for free, you'll subconsciously get the message that your skills aren't worth anything. So be mindful when you offer up freebies to those you love. Help friends and family out with your gifts. But don't make the mistake of assuming that just because people don't pay they're not getting massive value from what you're serving up. You're not fulfilling a passion or hobby - you're operating a pro bono business that is already generating value for the world. You just haven't figured out how to extract compensation for the value you provide yet. More on that in a future episode :)

Traumatic events of the past have a way of shaping how we approach our present, and how we plan for the future. I was reminded of that on a coaching call earlier when a client recalled a painful memory about a business venture she abandoned years ago after receiving a single negative review. And the negative review ended up being fake news! The client recanted shortly thereafter, but the damage had been done. The sting of "you're not good enough" forced my client to shut down any dreams she had of pursuing the business, even after hearing that the client was actually happy with her work! It's the subconscious mind that grabs an idea and holds on to it for dear life. It's why so many people allow a failure - real or perceived - to cripple them indefinitely. But these are stories you're unknowingly telling yourself about why you can't do what has been put on your heart to do. And stories are just that - stories. They're not always true. What stories are you telling yourself about why you can't do, go, or

I'm challenging myself to publish a podcast each day this month. Here goes the first episode - what to do when the opportunity seems to big, and you don't feel ready yet. I recently had what felt like life ministering to me when I bought a new bicycle for my son. He had aged out of his kiddie big box store bike, and I wanted to get him a new set of wheels from the bike shop. When I ended up purchasing said new wheels, I immediately had buyer's remorse. Because of his long legs, the salesperson had advised me to go with an adult-sized bike instead of the older youth bikes. But when the new bike came in and we went to pick it up, I immediately felt it was too big. Knowing my child - and his reckless, careless tendencies - it felt like a recipe for disaster. But disaster wasn't exactly what was on the menu for him. His ability to grow quickly taught me a lesson about how poised for growth we all are. Listen in and chime in. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

May is Mental Health Month and I've been meaning to do an episode on mental health for some time. I mainly wanted to talk about what I've experienced personally, and what I've witnessed with other high achievers.   As you know, my personal branding and coaching practice is geared towards high achievers and with that comes a unique brand of personality - typically I work with hard-driving, ambitious, super smart people who have been working hard to achieve since childhood.   While many of us are simply wired this way, I've increasingly been pondering how achievement can sometimes be more harmful than helpful, and how easily we can straddle the line between performing at the highest levels and burning ourselves out.   I have personally struggled for decades with anxiety, depression, and perfectionism; on the one hand, I believe that the unique way my brain is wired makes me a more sensitive thinker, a more eloquent writer and a more connected coach. I am able to relate with a range of emotional and life experie

Today I'm here to shake you up, to wake you up, and remind you of how POWERFUL you inherently are.   And I'm only sharing with you because I've had to get myself together a time or two in recent days, so I wanted to share a practice that has been helpful to me.   Most people understand the power of gratitude - how simply making a list of ten things you're thankful for can take you from "in a funk" to "on cloud nine" in less than the time it takes you to make out the list.   Ask me how I know.   But another side effect of gratitude for me is getting a clear picture of my own power.   I was making out a gratitude list recently and was expressing my gratitude for two concurrent group programs through Package Your Genius Academy, as well as a team to support my students. Just one year ago, I checked out because I was BURNT OUT - I had run two live cohorts each year in 2016 and 2017 while still managing my one on one client work. I was getting my kids prepped to apply for new schools and fundraising for my 10 yea

  Do the joyful thing and don't take your gift for granted.   I've been reflecting a lot on joy, life, our time on earth and the like - for a number of deeply personal reasons.   For one, it's been exactly one year since the sudden passing of my dear friend who was like a big sister. And as I've shared on the podcast before, hers was one of those rare friendships that comes along once in a very long while.   I pride myself on pouring into others and encouraging them to see themselves - well she poured into me, and encouraged me to see myself. She was a huge cheerleader for my writing and the work I'm doing here, so it was an unfathomable personal loss for me, and so unexpected.    I've been spending the last week or so reflecting on our friendship, thinking about her, and the gift she was to this world. Which always serves as a pressing reminder that none of us knows how long we have here on Earth.   Secondly, I've been in and out of sickness for the better part of the last two months. It started out as a res

You may be great at what you do - you have a phenomenal message, you do life-changing work, you're seriously a game-changer.   But the reason you have yet to blow up and your business has yet to take off?   No one has heard of you.   You may be thinking, 'Duh, Amanda. Tell me something I don't know...'   I get it. If you're here because you're interested in building your personal brand, you probably already know that you want more people to know about you.   But what you may not know is this: you have more power over the fact that no one knows about you than you think.   And that's because the main reason no one has heard of you is YOU WON'T TELL PEOPLE WHAT YOU DO.   And if you do tell them, YOU REFUSE TO REPEAT YOURSELF.   You don't have more opportunities on the table because you're not telling people you're open to working with them.   You're not telling people how they can take advantage of what you have to offer. Or once you've told them one time, you're not following up by reminding them.    You can't