Finding Brave

"You know when you go to a dinner party and you end up chatting to that one person that you didn't expect to, and you have that really rich conversation that takes you into all sorts of interesting spaces? That's the voice that I want to have for our authors." - Lou Johnson Have you ever thought about writing a book, but you weren't sure of how to approach a publisher after it was written? In today's episode of Finding Brave, you'll not only hear how to do this, but you'll learn powerful tips and strategies from a top publishing expert on how you can entice great publishers to say "YES!" to your book project. Lou Johnson is an experienced, dynamic and highly effective business leader with a deep passion for supporting creators, developing people, workplace culture and business performance. She is a well-known publishing industry figure with over twenty-five years of industry experience including senior roles at Random House, Allen & Unwin and Simon & Schuster, where she was Managing Director between 2010 – 2014, launching her own startup, The Author People and now Publishing Director at Murdoch Books. In addition, her industry representation includes Vice-Presidency of the Australian Publisher's Association (2012–2014), Chair of the Book Industry Collaborative Council (BICC) Distribution Expert Reference Group and board membership of The Stella Prize and founding committee member for The Indigenous Literacy Foundation She has worked on a vast range of books including authors like Rhonda Byrnes, Kate Morton, Elizabeth Gilbert, Khaled Hosseini, Al Gore, Philippa Gregory, Hillary Clinton and JK Rowling. Lou's insight on how her company considers submissions by authors, along with the clarity she provides about how best to approach publishers, is invaluable. If you're an author or an aspiring one, and are confused about the publishing process or losing hope, don't despair because your message is needed. Listen in here to get the best advice and direction on how to spread your book messages with the world. To learn more about today's guest, visit: https://www.murdochbooks.com.au/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnsonlou/

"You are like a thumbprint. You are absolutely unique. Now you have to understand how and leverage it and be strong enough to be powerful." - Kathy Caprino In this episode, I share key findings from my in-depth research with thousands of professional women around the world about the 7 most damaging power gaps that keep people from thriving and succeeding in both life and work. Here, I outline how these 7 gaps steal away our power, confidence, energy, vision, connection and influence, and I explain how these gaps derail us from achieving our highest and best goals and visions. You'll hear some specific, actionable tips and new approaches to help you recognize the gaps that are impacting your life today, and support you to move forward to close them once and for all.

"Look at your individual industry and role and see where you are in danger of being automated, and how you can upscale or rescale so that you are adding unique human value to that position." - Alexandra Levit You've undoubtedly noticed that technological change and advancements in the workforce are happening faster than ever before. Are you concerned about how to lead and thrive in the organization of the future? Today's expert guest on Finding Brave answers this question brilliantly, and shows us why the future world won't be doomsday, but instead, will be exciting, rewarding and full of opportunity for so many. Alexandra Levit's goal is to prepare organizations and their employees to be competitive and marketable in the future business world. A former nationally syndicated columnist for the Wall Street Journal and writer for the New York Times, Fast Company, and Forbes, Alexandra has authored several books, including the international bestseller They Don't Teach Corporate in College and Humanity Works: Merging People and Technologies for the Workforce of the Future. Alexandra recently became a partner with organizational development firm PeopleResults. She consults and writes on leadership development, human resources, technology adoption, entrepreneurship, innovation, career and workplace trends on behalf of numerous Fortune 500 companies including American Express, Canon, Deloitte, DeVry University, Intuit, SilkRoad, and Staples, and has spoken on these topics at hundreds of organizations around the world. In the last several years, Alexandra has conducted proprietary research on the future of work, technology adoption, the millennial generation, gender differences and bias, and the skills gap. She also served as a member of Business Roundtable's Springboard Project, which advised the Obama administration, the U.S. Department of Labor, and the U.S. Department of Defense on current employment issues. After listening to Alexandra on the future of work and where humanity fits in, you'll know why it's now a time to take brave action, and not sit back and let things happen to us. Change is here -- let's embrace it. To learn more about today's guest, visit: http://www.alexandralevit.com/

"To awaken your Joy of Genius, start with a commitment that's just giving yourself permission to discover more of what your genius is. Out of that commitment comes a whole new wealth of ideas that will come forth." - Gay Hendricks Today's Finding Brave episode is all about how to address negative thinking once and for all, and also claim your true creativity and work and live from within your zone of genius. This is a special conversation, and I'm honored to speak directly with the inspiring Gay Hendricks whom I've admired for years, especially since reading his amazing book The Big Leap. Gay joins the podcast to share the essence of his new book The Joy of Genius, a powerful new sequel to The Big Leap. Gay Hendricks has been a leader in the fields of relationship transformation and bodymind transformation for more than 45 years. After earning his Ph.D. from Stanford in 1974, Gay served as Professor of Counseling Psychology at the University of Colorado for 21 years. He has written more than 40 books, including bestsellers such as Five Wishes, The Big Leap, Conscious Loving and Conscious Loving Ever After, (the last two co-authored with his co-author and mate for more than 35 years, Dr. Kathlyn Hendricks). A true embodiment of living in our zone of genius and creativity, Gay is also a mystery novelist, with a series of five books featuring the Tibetan-Buddhist private detective, Tenzing Norbu, as well as a new mystery series featuring a Victorian-era London detective, Sir Errol Hyde. His latest book, The Joy of Genius, shows how to eliminate negative thinking and bring forth true creativity. Gay has appeared on more than 500 radio and television shows, including Oprah, CNN, CNBC, 48 HOURS and others. Gay shares his concept of The Genius Spiral, which is a big part of his latest book, and he reveals how to take life's difficult moments and turn them into springboards to genius. The best part is that what Gay talks about won't take you hours a day to master. You'll find that a commitment to giving just a few minutes a day will help lead you to discover your true genius and creativity. To learn more about today's guest, visit: https://hendricks.com/

"I can't teach you any trick, any layer, or any tip about "Start questions with these words", et cetera, unless I share the fact that the outcome of your questions -- the responses to your questions -- are laid in the foundation of intention." - Chad Littlefield What if the key to building stronger connections with the people we work with started with asking powerful questions? Today's inspiring expert guest on Finding Brave has made it his life mission to "gently eradicate small talk" in the hopes that it will bring us all closer to what really matters to us all. Chad Littlefield is the co-founder of We!™ and creator of We! Connect Cards, a tool to spark conversations that matter in 50+ countries around the world. He has spoken at TED, and most recently he and his partner Will Wise launched their new book, Ask Powerful Questions: Create Conversations that Matter, now a #1 Amazon Bestseller. As you'll hear, it all starts with gaining a deeper awareness of our intentions, as well as a genuine curiosity and touch of bravery to get to truly know the people around us. It just takes ones step on our part, but even a tiny act can have profound effects. And you'll explore with us the idea that small talk can keep us from forging the true bonds we're longing for, but our efforts at making connection can backfire if we're not more careful and conscious. To learn more about today's guest, visit: http://www.weand.me/

"Why should somebody invest their money and their time in working with you, as opposed to someone else? There always has to be your own personal brand and your own personal strategy behind everything that you do, and it has to be consistent." - Sean Patrick Today's Finding Brave guest pulls back the curtain on what's keeping coaches, consultants and practitioners from generating greater financial rewards, and as a result, the impact they really want to create. Sean Patrick is a High-Ticket Sales Closer and LinkedIn Lead Gen Expert, and a coach at heart. He is the Founder of Founder of Truth™, a private partnership designed to accelerate the sales results of a select group of online coaches. On an application only basis, Sean personally closes qualified, inbound leads for high ticket services, on a 100% performance basis. His closing methodology blends applications of advanced psychology, luxury selling, coaching, and peak performance to arrive at one thing – the truth that's hidden deep in the subconscious minds of your coaching prospects. He works to uncover the concepts and principles that influence potential clients' decisions to invest in themselves and to show up consistently in a coaching or consulting program, with unwavering commitment to excellence. His goal is to elevate his clients' coaching practices to unprecedented levels, while giving them the time and clarity to focus exclusively on delivering transformational value to their clients. Sean shares the common limiting beliefs that hold coaches and consultants back financially, and provides practical strategies that you can implement starting today to enhance your closing results immediately. To learn more about today's guest, visit: https://bit.ly/2AZMXdT

"I think that organizations have been waking up for some time now to the fact that leadership isn't just transactional. It's not just about getting people to do something; it's really relational. Yet a lot of people in relationship roles inside organizations don't really have the training or the support to establish those dynamic, productive and empowering relationships." - Karen Kimsey-House "Leadership" is a word that gets used often in the coaching and personal development industries, and today's guest on Finding Brave not only shares the new definition of leadership, but also the basic coaching skills that are essential in order to be a impactful and effective leader. One of the earliest recognized luminaries in the coaching profession, Karen Kimsey-House is the co-founder of CTI (The Coaches Training Institute) one of the largest coaching and leadership development companies in the world. Karen is also the co-author of Co-Active Coaching, the best-selling industry bible, now in its fourth edition and Co-Active Leadership: Five Ways to Lead. On a mission of global, transformative change, Karen continues to lead CTI workshops and is a dynamic keynote speaker on leadership around the world. In this episode, you'll hear from Karen on why everyone is a leader, and how leadership starts with each and every one of us. To learn more about today's guest, visit: https://coactive.com/

"I think what we do need is something that gives us a degree of comfort in our lives, however we define that financially, and a degree of comfort in our lives timewise. A business is meant to serve us, not the other way around." - Mike Michalowicz If you're an entrepreneur working long hours and exhausting yourself to achieve the goals you've set for you and your business, this week's episode is for you. Today, our Finding Brave guest shares his deep expertise on how you can design your business to run itself. My guest Mike Michalowicz is the author of Profit First, Surge, The Pumpkin Plan, and his newest release is Clockwork. By his 35th birthday, Mike had founded and sold two companies - one to private equity and another to a Fortune 500. Today he is running his third multi-million dollar venture, Profit First Professionals. Mike is a former small business columnist for The Wall Street Journal and the former business makeover specialist on MSNBC. Over the years, Mike has traveled the globe speaking with thousands of entrepreneurs, and is here today to share the best of what he has learned. In this episode you'll learn Mike's framework for being able to step back from your business, without losing your purpose, along with tips for empowering the people you work with and what you can start doing right now to build a more successful and rewarding personal and professional life. To learn more about today's guest, visit: http://www.mikemichalowicz.com/

"There has been a cycle of overuse of new information sources that we have to relearn in terms of how to interact in a healthy way, and positive psychology gives us some clues that say these are things that human beings have struggled with since the beginning of time. It's just that the medium has changed for us and we have to reapply what we already know to be our best selves and reach our potential." - Amy Blankson We hear every day about how the technology available to us today erodes our happiness and stresses us out, but is it possible that we can use it to actually do the opposite? Today's guest on Finding Brave has made it her life's work to study this issue, and the insights she shares on this episode will encourage you to view technology in a whole new light. The only person to receive a Point of Light from two US Presidents, my guest Amy Blankson graduated from Harvard College and Yale School of Management, and co-founded GoodThink to bring the science of happiness to life for others. Amy has since focused her work on understanding how to cultivate happiness in a digital era. She is a member of the UN Global Happiness Council, a Fellow of the World Innovation Organization, and is working with the IEEE to create standards for well-being in artificial intelligence. Amy is a regular contributor for Forbes and author of the bestselling book The Future of Happiness. The information that Amy shares today will inspire you to make important changes, even if they're just small ones, to become more intentional and start regaining control and balance in your life. Ultimately, the future of happiness starts with the choices we make in the present. To learn more about today's guest, visit: http://amyblankson.com/

"When you create an environment where you have a mixture of ages, just like a mixture of genders and a mixture of races, you create a better workplace and more effective teams." - Chip Conley In our increasingly accelerated world that venerates the young, many in mid-career sense that the ground is shifting beneath their feet, leaving them feeling invisible, undervalued, and threatened by the digital natives nipping at their heels. However, today's guest on Finding Brave argues that experience is on the brink of a comeback. Rebel hospitality entrepreneur and New York Times bestselling author, Chip Conley disrupted his favorite industry... twice. At age 26, he founded Joie de Vivre Hospitality (JdV), transforming an inner-city motel into the second largest boutique hotel brand in America. He sold JdV after running it as CEO for 24 years, and soon the young founders of Airbnb asked him to help transform their promising start-up into the world's leading hospitality brand. Chip served as Airbnb's Head of Global Hospitality and Strategy for four years and today acts as the company's Strategic Advisor for Hospitality and Leadership. His five books have made him a leading authority at the intersection of psychology and business. Chip was awarded "Most Innovative CEO" by the San Francisco Business Times, is the recipient of hospitality's highest honor, the Pioneer Award, and holds a BA and MBA from Stanford University. In this episode, he tackles the hard truth that ageism is as big an issue in the working world as any other bias. In the process, Conley liberates the term "elder" from the stigma of "elderly" and ignites a conversation for society to embrace age like any other diversity while also celebrating the value of wisdom and experience. To learn more about today's guest, visit: https://chipconley.com/