The Self-Employed Life

Everyone knows I'm always looking for new ways of leveraging my expertise. Creatives often believe that the way to becoming well known in an industry is to start with creativity and then strategize around that. But what if we have it backwards? What if first we start with the science behind success and then apply the craft? Personally, I'm great at creating content but terrible at sharing it. I've been open about my resistance to things like SEO and social media. But now is a great time to break those mindset blocks. Let's begin to reframe our limiting beliefs as liberating truths. I truly want every single one of you heart-centered Creative Warriors to have the tools to step into the light and become well known in all the wonderful things you do. So that's what I'm hoping my guest today will help with. Michael Stelzner is the founder of Social Media Examiner, author of the books Launch and Writing White Papers, and the man behind Social Media Marketing World–the industry's largest conference. He's also host of the Social Media Marketing podcast and founder of the Social Media Marketing Society. To learn why becoming well known should not be a destination but a strategy, download this episode now. THE WARRIOR OF COMPASSION "Whenever there is a disruption there is always an opportunity." - Michael Stelzner Highlights - Anybody can become well known. Always start with the science- understand what makes people tick. Then add the creativity. There will always be someone out there who will resonate with your voice. Once you know what your audience needs, act on it without thinking. People love hearing methods and processes. Figure out how to be selected in order to accelerate. You can become well known without being vain. The six steps to becoming well known: Depict: Storyboard what you want to happen. Research: Understand intimately who you want to reach and their struggles. Experiment: Discern quickly whether the message matches the audience. Augment: Take the successful data and develop them into your talking points, stories, and strategy. Make: Take everything you've developed and turn into a name for yourself. Sync: Build mutually beneficial relationships. Guest Contact - Michael's Website Michael's Twitter Michael's Instagram Michael's Podcast Michael's Course Contact Jeffrey - Website Coaching support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer's Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible is now available! Watch my TEDx LincolnSquare video and please share! Resources - Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is your website and are all your marketing materials speaking the right LINGO of your ideal customers? Often it's not which is why you're not converting traffic and leads to clients and attracting your most profitable customers. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look at your website. If I have suggestions for you to improve your brand message (I almost always do), we'll set up a complimentary 30-minute call to discuss. A select number of websites are also chosen for my LINGO Review Video Series. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Music by Jawn

What could be better than sitting down with a fellow Warrior who is exceptionally grounded in wisdom who also harbors the unique ability to be an amazing business strategist? It's exactly what we need at this time. To stay present and prepare for a whole new world. Thrilled to share the Talking Stick with Pamela Slim. The Talking Stick is in your hands now. Let us hear from you. Be part of the conversation - Join our community Facebook group, Creative Warriors Unite, at www.joinwarriors.com and share your feelings and continue the conversation. Contact Pamela - Website Contact Jeffrey - Website Services and Support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer's Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible is now available! Watch my TEDX LincolnSquare video and please share! Resources - Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is your website speaking the right LINGO of your ideal customers? Having reviewed hundreds of websites, I can tell you 98% of websites are not. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look at your website. I'll email you a few suggestions to improve your brand message to attract more of your ideal customers. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Music by Jawn Sponsor- RSM Marketing Guide- 7 Tips to Get 10X More Leads From Your Website

The advancement of technology and AI can be a touchy subject for some. However, I love digging into it because I feel it is important - especially now- to find peace with technology and get on the right side of the AI movement. I always want to encourage all the Creative Warriors out there to take advantage of the incredible technology we have at our fingertips. Understanding the realities, benefits, and direction of the tech movement could make the difference between scaling a business and being left in the dirt. How might technology make your time scalable? What does it mean for small businesses and how can they stay ahead of the curve? To break down why we shouldn't fear technology I've brought on speaker, consultant, and author specializing in tech-driven people power, Rhonda Scharf. For over 25 years, Rhonda has helped companies and individuals get on the right track and improve their productivity, effectiveness, and efficiency. She's conducted more than 2,500 training workshops and seminars for Fortune 100 companies and tens of thousands of people worldwide. Her new book is Alexa Is Stealing Your Job: The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Your Future provides an invaluable guided tour of where the world has been with artificial intelligence, and how it will impact our lives and careers. To learn how to maximize your tech potential, download this episode now. THE WONDER WOMAN WARRIOR "It's not that we have to get on the train. The train has already gone through town." - Rhonda Scharf Highlights - Technology is a clearing house; it exposes those who have the quality and substance to rise. AI is a cultural, mindset, and organizational shift. Everyone gave up their privacy 20 years ago when they got a cellphone Get on the right side of technology. Technology can give you the gift of time. Technology is a human assist not a take over. AI is going to open up three job types: trainers, explainers, and sustainers. Advancement in AI will call on all of us to be more human than ever. Guest Contact - Rhonda's Website Rhonda's Twitter Rhonda's Book- Alexa is Stealing Your Job: The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Your Future Contact Jeffrey - Website Coaching support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer's Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible is now available! Watch my TEDx LincolnSquare video and please share! Mentions - Clockwork by Mike The Alter Ego Effect by Todd Herman Resources - Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is your website and are all your marketing materials speaking the right LINGO of your ideal customers? Often it's not which is why you're not converting traffic and leads to clients and attracting your most profitable customers. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look at your website. If I have suggestions for you to improve your brand message (I almost always do), we'll set up a complimentary 30-minute call to discuss. A select number of websites are also chosen for my LINGO Review Video Series. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Music by Jawn Sponsor- RSM Marketing Guide- 7 Tips to Get 10X More Leads From Your Website

Could there be a less obvious opportunity for you in this crisis? An opportunity to stand out, show up, be in service and be remembered? I think there may be and I explore this opportunity in this episode. It's just a gut feeling and observation and only time will tell. But whether my theory is right or not, the worst-case scenario is it will give you hope. The Talking Stick is in your hands now. Let us hear from you. Be part of the conversation - Join our community Facebook group, Creative Warriors Unite, at www.joinwarriors.com and share your feelings and continue the conversation. Contact Jeffrey - Website Services and Support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer's Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible is now available! Watch my TEDX LincolnSquare video and please share! Resources - Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is your website speaking the right LINGO of your ideal customers? Having reviewed hundreds of websites, I can tell you 98% of websites are not. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look at your website. I'll email you a few suggestions to improve your brand message to attract more of your ideal customers. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Music by Jawn Sponsor- RSM Marketing Guide- 7 Tips to Get 10X More Leads From Your Website

The greatest gift we've been given during this pandemic is the gift of time. Why not use this time then to hone in on developing specific skills, update our materials, and set ourselves up for coming out of this as prepared as ever? For those of us who provide services, this is the perfect time to reframe how we think about selling. How do you want to be perceived as a seller? So often sellers think it's better to provide our customers with a lot of choices. The truth is that most of our customers would prefer we ease their decision-making by applying our expertise and curating their options for them. If we are able to apply empathy to how we sell- without letting it make us lazy- we will be revered as someone helpful and customers will be grateful for the experience. To dive into the essentials of modern selling, I've brought David Priemer onto the podcast. David is widely recognized as a thought leader in the area of sales and sales leadership, and has been published in the Harvard Business Review and MIT Sloan Management Review as well as Forbes, Entrepreneur, and Inc. magazines. He has led top-performing sales teams at high-growth startups and is a former VP of Salesforce, where he created the Sales Leadership Academy program. His new book, Sell the Way You Buy, gets to the root of what truly drives people to buy, and arms salespeople with the insights and knowledge they need to respond to customers' needs. To learn how to genuinely put yourself in your buyers shoes, download this episode now. THE BLUE SKY WARRIOR "We are often not conscious of the pathways by which we make purchasing decisions."" - David Priemer Highlights - Always remember the humanity of what you do. 90% of high performers have a high degree of empathy. Empathy is not an excuse to be lazy. Being politely persistent is a great formula. It is important to understand the status quo bias of customers. Having a prescriptive approach to selling makes decision-making easier for the buyer and increases satisfaction. Forget everything you know about the value of what you are buying. We buy feelings. Crises tend to bring forth a spike in human evolution. Guest Contact - David's Website David's Instagram David's Twitter David's Book- Sell the Way You Buy: A Modern Approach To Sales That Actually Works Contact Jeffrey - Website Coaching support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer's Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible is now available! Watch my TEDx LincolnSquare video and please share! Mentions - To Sell is Human Thinking Fast and Slow William Ury's Tedx Talk: The Power of Listening Resources - Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is your website and are all your marketing materials speaking the right LINGO of your ideal customers? Often it's not which is why you're not converting traffic and leads to clients and attracting your most profitable customers. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look at your website. If I have suggestions for you to improve your brand message (I almost always do), we'll set up a complimentary 30-minute call to discuss. A select number of websites are also chosen for my LINGO Review Video Series. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Music by Jawn Sponsor- RSM Marketing Guide- 7 Tips to Get 10X More Leads From Your Website

It's natural in a time of crisis for your emotions and mindsets to be all over the place. Ranging from conviction to make best use of the time on hand to wanting to curl up in a ball somewhere. From pushing yourself to keep going to knowing when it's time for some self-care. The truth is, there's no right way to do this. What you can expect though is to experience a full range of emotions. That is the crisis paradox. The Talking Stick is in your hands now. Let us hear from you. Be part of the conversation - Join our community Facebook group, Creative Warriors Unite, at www.joinwarriors.com and share your feelings and continue the conversation. Contact Jeffrey - Website Services and Support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer's Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible is now available! Watch my TEDX LincolnSquare video and please share! Resources - Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is your website speaking the right LINGO of your ideal customers? Having reviewed hundreds of websites, I can tell you 98% of websites are not. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look at your website. I'll email you a few suggestions to improve your brand message to attract more of your ideal customers. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Music by Jawn

I'll admit, as someone who is constantly creating content, I'm often overwhelmed by it. But it is a topic that frequently comes up in my client sessions and one that is especially relevant right now. At a time when many of us are home and working on sharing more content with the world, it is important to make sure that what we create still has a purpose. With all the formats available to us now, how can we get our message out, support our business, and still keep ideas fresh, new, and interesting? Most people gravitate to formats they're most comfortable in. I, for one, much prefer audio over writing. So how can we Creative Warriors stretch ourselves and not just benefit from unfamiliar formats, but feel confident in them, too? To help us dig into how to tap into unlimited content ideas, I've brought on author, speaker, and online educator, Melanie Deziel. Melanie Deziel is the founder of StoryFuel, the author of "The Content Fuel Framework: How to Generate Unlimited Story ideas," and an international keynote speaker recognized as one of the world's leading experts in native advertising and branded content. As a speaker, she's taught marketers around the globe to brainstorm better, think like journalists and tell better brand stories. She is a member of the National Speakers Association, and has graced the stages of industry-leading events like Content Marketing World, Native Ad Days, Social Media Marketing World, Inbound, SXSW, and more. Melanie believes that with the right framework, everyone is capable of creating unlimited content. To learn how to ignite your story fuel, download this episode now. THE WARRIOR OF SYSTEMS "Do the work, before the work." - Melanie Deziel Highlights - With the right framework, everyone can strengthen their content creating muscles. Don't create content just to create content. It needs to drive your purpose. Every piece of content is made up of focus and format. A lot of online search is people looking for process-based, or how-to, content. The best way to tell a story is to find one example that makes the case for your point and tell that smaller story in great detail. Adding a personal opinion can be a helpful tool for differentiating content. Repurposing and reformatting existing content is a good place to start in unfamiliar formats. Guest Contact - Melanie's Website Melanie's Instagram Melanie's Twitter Melanie's Book: The Content Fuel Framework: How to Generate Unlimited Story Ideas Contact Jeffrey - Website Coaching support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer's Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible is now available! Watch my TEDx LincolnSquare video and please share! Mentions - Everybody Writes by Anne Handley Start with Why by Simon Sinek Resources - Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is your website and are all your marketing materials speaking the right LINGO of your ideal customers? Often it's not which is why you're not converting traffic and leads to clients and attracting your most profitable customers. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look at your website. If I have suggestions for you to improve your brand message (I almost always do), we'll set up a complimentary 30-minute call to discuss. A select number of websites are also chosen for my LINGO Review Video Series. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Music by Jawn Sponsor- RSM Marketing Guide- 7 Tips to Get 10X More Leads From Your Website

In this episode, I challenge you to think about the after effect of the global pandemic. It WILL have an effect on your business. For better or worse remains to be seen. But make no mistake. With such a global shift, it will affect your business. Not just now, but perhaps years from now. People's values will change. What's important to them will change. The time is now to consider how your business fits into the new "norm." The Talking Stick is in your hands now. Let us hear from you. Be part of the conversation - Join our community Facebook group, Creative Warriors Unite, at www.joinwarriors.com and share your feelings and continue the conversation. Contact Jeffrey - Website Services and Support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer's Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible is now available! Watch my TEDX LincolnSquare video and please share! Resources - Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is your website speaking the right LINGO of your ideal customers? Having reviewed hundreds of websites, I can tell you 98% of websites are not. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look at your website. I'll email you a few suggestions to improve your brand message to attract more of your ideal customers. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Music by Jawn Sponsor- RSM Marketing Guide- 7 Tips to Get 10X More Leads From Your Website

It's fair to say, times are pretty scary right now. Now, I believe that we can and will get through it. But when things feel chaotic, it can be hard to keep a clear head and heart. It is time to collectively muster as much courage as we can to push through uncertainty and find ways to adapt. Finding the courage to change even small things in our lives can feel like a huge task. All of us have it within us to make change, and there are ways we can develop our intuition and tune into our deepest wells of courage. But I often see people begin this process and then stop just before a breakthrough. Why is that? How does one find the motivation to move through discomfort? Can we be sure there is something on the other side? To break down the power of tuning into courage, I've brought on philosopher, visionary, author, and radio show host, Ken Foster. For twenty-three years, Ken has coached and mentored CEO's, entrepreneurs, executives and senior professionals to take the courageous path, expand their limitations, and bring in harmony, happiness and bottom-line results to their businesses and lives. He has empowered leaders across the country including the State Senate of Idaho, Coldwell Banker, Bank of America, Cisco, Anthony Robbins Co., Goodwill Industries, Nordstrom, Remax, Century 21, Amazon Herb Company, and The House of Blues, to name a few. Learn how to develop your intuition and awaken your Wisdom Self, by downloading this episode now. THE WARRIOR OF COURAGE "Courage is essential. Like a muscle, it is strengthened by use." - Ken Foster Highlights - We are all born with courage but it must be developed. Success is a result of how receptive we are to our Wisdom Self. Most people try to out-think their greatest problems. When they should be sitting still and letting go of what they "think." Intent, trust, allow, and acknowledgement are the key parts of the new model of living that we are culturally shifting towards. It is courageous to acknowledge how far you've come. Thought is not individual, it is universal. Courage is the bridge from fear to empowerment; from failure to success. Asking yourself the right questions can awaken your intuition. We are the creators of our perception. We have to feel our emotions if we're going to make a change. Guest Contact - Ken's Website Ken's Voices of Courage Ken's Twitter Ken's Book: The Courage to Change Everything Contact Jeffrey - Website Coaching support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer's Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible is now available! Watch my TEDx LincolnSquare video and please share! Resources - Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is your website and are all your marketing materials speaking the right LINGO of your ideal customers? Often it's not which is why you're not converting traffic and leads to clients and attracting your most profitable customers. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look at your website. If I have suggestions for you to improve your brand message (I almost always do), we'll set up a complimentary 30-minute call to discuss. A select number of websites are also chosen for my LINGO Review Video Series. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Music by Jawn Sponsor- RSM Marketing Guide- 7 Tips to Get 10X More Leads From Your Website

What's possible? We are all living under constraints of some kind during this global pandemic. Entire countries under lockdown. Some states in the US under stay at home orders. Almost everyone forced to work at home. Financial constraints frightening and becoming a problem for many. Making do with whatever supplies and groceries we have in our house. In this episode, I explore what's possible. We look at how constraints can inspire creative solutions. The Talking Stick is in your hands now. Let us hear from you. Be part of the conversation - Join our community Facebook group, Creative Warriors Unite, at www.joinwarriors.com and share your feelings and continue the conversation. Contact Jeffrey - Website Services and Support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer's Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible is now available! Watch my TEDX LincolnSquare video and please share! Resources - Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is your website speaking the right LINGO of your ideal customers? Having reviewed hundreds of websites, I can tell you 98% of websites are not. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look at your website. I'll email you a few suggestions to improve your brand message to attract more of your ideal customers. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Music by Jawn Sponsor- RSM Marketing Guide- 7 Tips to Get 10X More Leads From Your Website