Package Your Genius Personal Branding Podcast

Spring is almost here, and in my opinion, this is the perfect time to be thinking like a planter. If you owned a farm and were preparing for the spring planting season, what would you be doing? Likely assessing last year's harvest to determine what worked and what didn't. You may talk to your customers to find out which crops were most in demand, and which ones you could plant less of. You'd be spending time making the decisions that would impact your season of growth. The same can be true for your brand. At this point in the year, you likely know about the major speaking engagements that are on the calendar. You know about most of your major travel. If you're an entrepreneur, you have an idea of the major service or program launches happening soon or later in the fall.  How are you preparing? Better yet, how are you planning to make a record of the success you're going to create in the upcoming growth months of the year? I spoke with a current Package Your Genius Academy student who has a number of big speak

Allissa Richardson, PhD is the assistant professor of Journalism at Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California. A 2016 graduate of Package Your Genius Academy, Dr. Richardson is also a pioneer in mobile journalism, and was one of the first professional journalists to teach storytelling and reporting using smartphones and mobile cameras.  Allissa trains youth to use only smartphones, MP3 players and tablets to report news. She calls her students mobile journalists, or MOJOs. At age 25, she joined the faculty of Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland. She served as coordinator of its journalism program, and launched and directed the Morgan MOJO Lab in 2010. Under her leadership, Morgan State became the first and only historically black college in the country to offer mobile journalism courses.  The National Association of Black Journalists said Richardson empowered her students around the globe “to speak truth to power using new media.” In spring 2012, NAB

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 y

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 ev

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

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

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 taugh

  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 pu

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

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 th

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

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 healt

As mentioned in the episode: Download the free PR Planning Worksheet https://app.convertkit.com/landing_pages/12929 Apply for Package Your Genius Academy's Upcoming Cohort http://www.packageyourgeniusacademy.com Order Package Your Genius 5 Steps to Build Your Most Powerful Personal Brand on Amazon http://bit.ly/pygbook Order Package Your Genius Companion Personal Branding Workbook on Amazon http://bit.ly/pygworkbook  

Do you understand the opportunity of your personal brand? Whatever you want more of, you can create through your personal brand. As human beings, we are born to CREATE, so especially if you're in a position where you want to create more revenue in your business or income from your skills outside of your day job, you have everything you need to make that happen. As mentioned on the episode: Package Your Genius: 5 Steps to Build Your Most Powerful Personal Brand is available on Amazon here http://bit.ly/pygbook Learn more and submit your application for Package Your Genius Academy http://www.packageyourgeniusacademy.com  

Have you ever considered that perhaps your perceived weaknesses or flaws are actually what make you special and unique? What if those very traits are not things to destroy, but are the keys to our success? Instead of muting the aspects of ourselves that make others uncomfortable, why not lean in and dial them all the way up? Get the book - Package Your Genius: 5 Steps to Build Your Most Powerful Personal Brand http://bit.ly/pygbook  

[Ep. 55] Are You Carrying Your Own Torch? Have You Done Your Part? by Amanda Miller Littlejohn : Personal Branding Coach and PR Strategist

http://wp.me/p3AFdW-Xt   As mentioned in the episode: Package Your Genius: 5 Steps to Build Your Most Powerful Personal Brand - Now Available on Amazon http://bit.ly/pygbook Atlantic Interview with Ta-Nehisi Coates https://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/280025/advice-on-writing-from-i-the-atlantic-i-s-ta-nehisi-coates/  

If you're a high achiever who struggles with impostor syndrome, it's costing you more than you think. It's also costing the people whose lives could be changed by what you have to share. It's time to get over yourself so you can get your big ideas into the world. Get the book Package Your Genius: 5 Steps to Build Your Most Powerful Personal Brand - http://bit.ly/pygbook  

Mentioned in this episode: Quincy documentary on Netflix - https://www.netflix.com/title/80102952 Package Your Genius: 5 Steps to Build Your Most Powerful Personal Brand - now available http://bit.ly/pygbook Package Your Genius Academy Application - https://bit.ly/2DFDKZl  

What happens when pride and ego threaten to sabotage your contribution? When you overthink it or tell yourself you're not ready? It wastes a lot of time - and I know because it happened to me. Mentioned on the episode - Package Your Genius: 5 Steps to Build Your Most Powerful Personal Brand - available now http://bit.ly/pygbook Package Your Genius Academy - Now Accepting Applications for the next cohort - Visit http://www.packageyourgeniusacademy.com/program to apply