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The Bold Life Movement with Kimberly Rich

The Bold Life Movement is all about empowering people to be their best, boldest, and happiest self. Each week we'll bring you true stories from inspiring people who prove that it's possible to live a passion-filled, rich life. Whether your goal is to build a business and travel the world, or cultivate better relationships, and a healthier lifestyle, The Bold Life Movement has you covered. Hear from successful entrepreneurs, bestselling authors, and other inspiring individuals, and learn how you can harness your own inner boldness to create your best life.
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Now displaying: 2016
Dec 28, 2016

I hope you’re sitting down! Today’s episode is as interesting as it is powerful.

 

Mansal Denton is an entrepreneur, published author, and in his early 20s was sentenced to 4 years in the Texas State penitentiary for stealing and selling historical documents from the Mazal Holocaust Library.

 

“It really is the best thing that ever happened to me and it’s really a completely different lens I see life through now.”

 

In our conversation, Mansal shares how between the ages of 17 and 25, he manages to publish a book about one of his favorite topics, commit a felony to fund his dreams and move to europe, later serve time for this crime, and eventually emerge far happier and wiser than if he’d never been caught.

 

Now based in Austin Texas, Mansal has run a variety of businesses, and credits much of his fulfillment to the time he spent behind bars. The perspective he gained was priceless.

 

“There are certain trials in life that people go through and I think oftentimes, especially with middle class and upper-middle class people, people who have a relatively comfortable life don’t ever experience that suffering. They don’t go through that rite of passage of suffering, and that’s really what prison felt like for me.”

 

Mansal looks at this experience as a rite of passage, and he is a different person now because of it. He has more gratitude and takes greater responsibility for his past and future actions.

 

“Pushing the boundaries of potential is my why.”


I really appreciate Mansal sharing his story so openly with us. We all have dark and light sides to our stories; but when we can use them to fuel a better future and inspire others to do the same, that’s when we transcend our transgressions and create a truly bold life.

 

SOME QUESTIONS I ASK:

  • How did Mansal know how to write a book at the age of 18?
  • What happened? Give us more detail about what happened with stealing the historical documents, how that played out afterwards and how it has impacted where Mansal is now.
  • Was Mansal in court?
  • Mansal had a business launch happen right as he was going to prison?
  • How did Mansal’s two businesses play out?
  • Obviously going to prison wasn’t on Mansal’s life plan. What came out of that experience that he wouldn’t trade?
  • When Mansal exits prison, what does life look like?

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:

  • The breadth of opportunities for creating an online business
  • Mansal’s powerful story
  • The importance of undergoing trials
  • How prison made Mansal a better person and entrepreneur
  • Plus much more…

DON’T STOP HERE…

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

 

Production & Development for The Bold Life Movement Podcast by Podcast Masters

Dec 14, 2016

Today we’re learning from Bridgette Mayer, an artist, entrepreneur and author of The Art Cure: A Memoir of Abuse and Fortune. For the past 16 years she has been running a top contemporary art gallery in Philadelphia helping her clients and the artists she serves improve the quality of their life through art.

Bridgette transitioned her gallery from a public model to a private model because many of the artists she has worked with were doing larger, more global projects. This business model better accommodates the needs of artists working on a global scale.

“I started to grow rapidly, and part of that growth was always looking beyond the gallery walls.”

Bridgette looks for opportunities to exercise her creativity and grow her business outside of her gallery. She attends art fairs; offers consulting opportunities for individuals and corporations; and signs on to larger consulting projects, in which she might sell 2-300 paintings. Larger consultations evolved into consulting on public art installations and municipal art programming. 

The next step in Bridgette’s evolution was writing The Art Cure to share her powerful story and unique business model. She started running workshops for artists on how to create a vision, build their careers and actually make money. Bridgette is called to work with artists because the most important lessons that she has learned aren’t taught in books or in art school – they’re taught through years of experience.

“You don’t find the stuff that I’ve learned through running my business and working with artists in books.” 

When Bridgette talks to artists, she imparts the fundamental habits and beliefs that seven-figure artists have:

  • It starts with establishing a vision about what you’re making. What impact do you want your art to make on the world?
  • Completely reconsider your preconceptions about money. Bridgette grew up in poverty and she had to reprogram what she thought was possible for her financially.
  • Effective communication skills are necessary to attract the right audience, and then you need the confidence and language to sell and connect with people.

My goal is to get more artists making a living, thriving and enjoying what they’re doing professionally.”

I really appreciate Bridgette for her ability to be a beacon not just for artists, but also for people from difficult backgrounds. She empowers her audience to understand that their past does not dictate the future. You can get empowered by picking up a copy of The Art Cure or heading to BridgetteMayer.com.

 

SOME QUESTIONS I ASK:

  • When did Bridgette first realize art was pulling her, not just personally but also professionally?
  • Give us insight on moving from a public model to a private model.
  • Where did Bridgette learn the business skills she needed to run a business, if she didn’t have anyone to teach her?
  • Does Bridgette feel that anyone, with any medium, can become financially successful with their art?
  • Does Bridgette believe that it is people’s sense of imposter syndrome and limiting beliefs that’s actually holding them back?
  • What habits and beliefs do seven-figure artists have?
  • Does Bridgette have examples of some of her clients to show the process of going from an artist to an artist & entrepreneur?

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:

  • A history of poverty does not dictate a future of poverty
  • How Bridgette developed a unique business model for artists
  • The habits and beliefs of seven-figure artists
  • How Bridgette grew her business by transitioning from a public to private business model
  • Plus much more…

DON’T STOP HERE…

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

 

Production & Development for The Bold Life Movement Podcast by Podcast Masters

Dec 7, 2016

I first heard today’s guest, Michelle Poler, speak at the World Domination Summit about her 100 Days Without Fear Challenge and I found it SO inspiring. She faced 100 fears, documenting the entire thing on YouTube. After going viral, she quit her job and now travels around speaking about the life changing benefits of facing our fears, and recording YouTube videos every Wednesday to answer one question: WTF Are We So Afraid Of?!

She has an awesome story, and I’m excited to share it with all of you.

100 Days Without Fear was a project in which Michelle faced 100 fears in 100 days – all while attending graduate school and holding down an advertising job. She used her mornings, lunch breaks and late nights to complete the challenge between classes, work and homework. On top of all that, Michelle also created regular videos to share her journey.

Michelle challenged her fears by doing things like:

Michelle’s challenge was a huge success, in large part because she had the foresight to create a defined brand that resonated with people before launching the project. The tone, visuals and audio all added up to an empowering and exciting experience for the audience to follow.

Since finishing the project, she has been approached with a number of amazing opportunities. She’s focusing on speaking and expanding the YouTube channel – because she loves it.

“I feel I have a strong message I want to communicate to younger girls, and they are on YouTube.” 

Moving forward, Michelle is trying to direct her message at a younger generation of women. She is creating a new YouTube series, in which she will be speaking to her younger self: a really scared kid who was too comfortable. The new series is expected to launch in January.

“I’m never going to be that relevant to anyone if I keep trying to appeal to absolutely everyone.”

Michelle leveraged her mastery of branding to monetize what she loves – speaking to inspire people, especially younger women. If you haven’t seen it, check out Michelle’s journey facing 100 Days Without Fear and subscribe to her YouTube channel, Hello Fear, to see what she does next. If you have one of your own experiences that you would like to share to inspire people, send it to Michelle at HelloFear.com, where she is sharing other people's’ stories about facing their fears.

 

SOME QUESTIONS I ASK:

  • Michelle was doing the 100 Days Without Fear challenge while in graduate school and working a job. How did she do it?
  • How did Michelle fund her challenge?
  • Was it a particular video or fear that helped the channel go viral?
  • Did Michelle face any fears that she does not want to face again?
  • Did Michelle have to get used to approaching people about the project while she was recording?
  • What are other amazing opportunist that have come up because Michelle underwent The 100 Days Without Fear challenge?
  • What new fears have come up since the challenge wrapped up?
  • How is Michelle monetizing the project since it wrapped up?
  • Did Michelle have speaking experience before she started the challenge?

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:

  • Why Michelle started the 100 Days Without Fear challenge
  • Why you should define your brand before you launch a project to make a more powerful impact
  • How Michelle funded and monetized her journey
  • How Michelle is leveraging the success of her project to take advantage of even more opportunities
  • Plus much more…

DON’T STOP HERE…

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

 

Production & Development for The Bold Life Movement Podcast by Podcast Masters

Nov 23, 2016

Get ready for an extremely powerful and emotional episode of The Bold Life Movement. Today’s guest is Geoff Woods, host of The Mentee podcast, General Manager of the Publishing Division at Keller Williams Realty, Inc., and currently building a business with Jay Papasan at The1Thing.com.

Geoff worked in medical device sales for five years. He made a good living selling a device that actually saved lives, but he knew he was meant for more. He knew he wanted to own a business that made a massive impact and provided financial security for his family, but he didn’t have a compelling reason to make a change.

“I didn’t have a compelling reason to make change. There wasn’t enough pain in my life that forced me to make change.”

In one week, things changed dramatically. One of his colleagues suffered a stroke at 35, and then his income was slashed by 40 percent. Geoff was compelled to move forward, and that’s when he heard the Jim Rohn quote, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”

None of Geoff’s five closest people were doing what he wanted to do – owning a business that made an impact in the world and provided financial security – and he realized that he could either take the easy road or the hard road to level up his five.

  • The Hard Road – Setting a goal, settling a plan and figuring out how to get it done. You’re waking up every day and guessing.
  • The Easy Road – Establish what you want, meet the people who already do it and let them tell you what to do.

“I can take the easy road or the hard road. Most people are offered this choice everyday, and they don’t realize they’re choosing the hard road.”

How did Geoff connect with the mentors that inspired him along the way? He started by gaining clarity on what it was that he wanted and identifying the people who inspired him. Then, when given the opportunity to speak with his ideal mentors, he dropped his ego and made himself vulnerable. There’s two ways to make the initial connection with your ideal mentors:

  • The Six Degrees of Separation – The idea that you can be connected to anyone in the world through six connections.
  • Be a Connector – Go out of your way to add value to the people around you. “If you become a person who goes out of their way to add value, people will go out of their way to be in a relationship with you.”

“Extraordinary results are not hard.”

Every time I talk to Geoff he blows my mind. I really wanted to share his powerful story because it demonstrates that we can choose to make our lives more Bold, and we can all have a massive impact on the world. Learn more about Geoff and his businesses by listening to The Mentee podcast or heading over to The1Thing.com.

 

SOME QUESTIONS I ASK:

  • Did Geoff know at the time that being a business owner was something he aspired to, or necessary for the life he aspired to have?
  • When Geoff first launched The Mentee, what did the podcast look like?
  • How did Geoff connect with his mentors?
  • For people who don’t know what it is they’re looking for, what types of mentors should they be surrounding themselves with?
  • How do people get that mentor-mentee relationship kicked off?
  • What is one thing that has surprised Geoff during his journey?

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:

  • How Geoff went from employee to entrepreneur in just 10 months
  • How to surround yourself with five people who inspire you
  • How to be a connector
  • How to start a mentor-mentee relationship
  • Plus much more…

DON’T STOP HERE…

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

 

Production & Development for The Bold Life Movement Podcast by Podcast Masters

Nov 16, 2016

I’m excited to have Lori Darley back on the show today. She is a leadership coach, trainer and CEO Founder of Conscious Leaders, LLC, which aims to train and develop leaders to practice conscious capitalism. Lori published her first book, Dancing Naked: Claiming Your Power as a Conscious Leader, in September.

If you didn’t hear my first interview with Lori, she’s great and I highly recommend listening to it. We discussed the concept of a Conscious Leader, which is being clear in the way we think, creating a space for ourselves where we give ourselves permission to wake up to our own biases and assumptions, and how that actually impacts the decisions that we make so that we’re actually freer and more intentional about the way in which we lead.

“We don’t necessarily have a choice about how our brains are thinking, so we have to understand that there is an automatic nature to the brain.”

Dancing Naked contains empowering messages that people can use to take back control of their lives and realize that we have the ability to reprogram ourselves, and reprogram our reality, whether or not you are in a leadership or management role.

The first half of the book is titled, “Claiming My Power,” and it’s made up of stories that illustrate the automatic nature of how we are programmed as a child, as well as some of Lori’s experiences as a dancer.

“I know there are not that many dancers in the world, and yet the way in which I experience life is much like everybody else’s. I call it the human condition.”

Lori believes the term “dancing naked” encapsulates the experience of tapping into our own wisdom and expressing it in the world in a way that gives our gifts to the people we impact. People often approach self-improvement through a series of prescribed steps, but Dancing Naked suggests that the human condition is not linear.

“Dancing Naked is a metaphor that really points to a willingness to be fully self-expressed and vulnerable to giving the world your gift.”

Dancing Naked approaches self-improvement through The Clearing Process, which includes the Four C’s of Clearing. These aren’t steps, they’re conversational spaces.

  • Clarity – The clearing for self-acceptance.
  • Completion – The clearing for your relationship to the past.
  • Creation – “Every moment is the opportunity to create one’s life.”
  • Capacity – Once we have a clarity around where it is that we are going and we are free from the past, then we get to consider the level of impact we want from our life.

Lori is afraid of the consequences of people not working to create a sense of self-awareness and intentional action, because then we aren’t living our purpose in life – we’re living our life based on what other people’s expectations are. Never learning to “dance naked” is like living a life with your ego on autopilot.

“Achievement is an extraordinary thing to experience, but sometimes we lose ourselves as we step onto that path.”

Thanks for coming back on the show, Lori. I was really excited to talk about Dancing Naked, and I’m proud that you made it through this incredible journey. Head to consciousleaders.us and sign up for their email list to receive a bunch of free resources, including a series of worksheets that will help people expereice The Clearing on their own, and to pick up your own copy of Dancing Naked: Claiming Your Power as a Conscious Leader.

 
 

SOME QUESTIONS I ASK:

  • For people who might not be in a leadership or management role, what takeaways can they extract from the book (Dancing Naked) and apply in their day-to-day life?
  • Why did Lori choose the title Dancing Naked?
  • What are the consequences for people or leaders that don’t implement what Lori is teaching in the book?
  • Can Lori speak to any of the results she’s seen in people’s lives after performing what she calls The Clearing Process?
  • The Four C’s of the Clearing are described as conversational spaces as opposed to steps. Can Lori tell us what the Four C’s are and why it’s significant to use that terminology?
  • What was the hardest part of the book-writing process?

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:

  • How Dancing Naked can empower anyone to take back control over their lives
  • What “dancing naked” means
  • The consequences of not becoming more fully self-expressed
  • The Four C’s of Clearing
  • Plus much more…

DON’T STOP HERE…

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

 

Production & Development for The Bold Life Movement Podcast by Podcast Masters

Nov 9, 2016

Today’s guest, Mark Manson, is a bestselling author, blogger, and internet entrepreneur who writes about “personal development that doesn’t suck.” He recently published his second book, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life, and he regularly writes articles on a blog with over two million monthly readers.

“The first book was actually extremely easy … this one was a total bitch.”

When Mark started writing his first book, Models: Attract Women Through Honesty, he had already been blogging about relationships for years. It was just a matter of sitting down and getting it all out. When he started writing his second book the pages didn’t pour out of him. He started and threw away two drafts.

“When you talk about failures in past-tense it never really feels like a failure, because everybody knows you turned out alright.”

When Mark started his third attempt at a second book, he only had a vague idea of the concepts he wanted to cover and he didn’t have an overall vision or theme. Mark thought he was going to self-publish his second book, but he started losing confidence. It took months and months of writing – tens of thousands of words – just to get to the point where Mark had nailed down the theme he wanted to work with.

“I realized that maybe I need some help with this.”

Mark hit a turning point with his book when he published an article, also titled The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck, that received over seven million page views. He signed on with book publisher HarperOne and they helped him pick the title and focus his writing. They told him some of what he wrote was good and some of it sucked.

“It hurt to hear that, but it’s what I needed to hear.”

Mark writes about self-improvement and advice, but he does it in a very contrarian manner. For example, Mark touches on the subject of affirmation in the book, which is a popular autosuggestion technique intended to guide one’s own thoughts, feelings and behavior. He sees benefits to the technique, but he believes the benefits are blown out of proportion. His philosophy doesn’t prescribe specific techniques, because different processes work for different people. His self-help philosophy is to provide principles that can be applied to anyone’s life, in nearly any situation.

“The book is principle-driven, it’s about discovering new ways of looking at things in life. The way to implement that into your life isn’t doing specific things, it’s simply applying these principles to things you’re already doing.”

It was awesome talking to Mark and exploring his unique perspective on the self-improvement and advice industry. He’s hilarious and insightful, and you owe it to yourself to check out some of his writing if you haven’t already. Mark’s new book The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck is available now – even in the Barnes & Noble on 5th Avenue!

 

SOME QUESTIONS I ASK:

  • What are some challenges you face when writing a book (compared to other forms of writing)?
  • Did Mark approach a book agent once he had figured out the theme for his book, or did they come to him?
  • Mark’s book is in the self-improvement / advice category, but it’s very contrarian. Who does he look up to in that space?
  • What are Mark’s thoughts on autosuggestion and the science behind things like affirmations?
  • When did Mark first consider himself a writer?
  • In the book Mark writes about picking your problems. What are some of the problems and some of the pains that Mark has actively chosen to come with being a NYTimes bestseller?

SOME OF YOUR QUESTIONS:

  • Dan Morris - Does Mark have any tips for embedding some of these habits or values into your life? How can he make them actionable so he doesn’t forget?
  • What is one of the biggest decisions that Mark’s made that he was really uncertain of the outcome?

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:

  • Why Mark ran into more challenges writing his second book than he did writing his first book
  • Why Mark is a contrarian in the self-help and advice industry
  • Why Mark implemented a subscription service on his website
  • How to take the principles in The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck and apply them to your own life
  • Plus much more…

DON’T STOP HERE…

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

 

Production & Development for The Bold Life Movement Podcast by Podcast Masters

Nov 2, 2016

“Being bold is having the courage to listen to your inner voice and live in a way that makes you light up despite what other people think.”

 

Jake Heilbrunn is an author, blogger and speaker who, at the age of 20, is already living a pretty bold life. He dropped out of college after his first semester, backpacked around South America alone (without a phone!) and then wrote a memoir about what he learned. Off the Beaten Trail is a coming-of-age pilgrimage that led Jake to realize there are unlimited ways to live and that people can create their own destinies when they trust their intuition and take action.

 

“When we take a leap of faith based on our gut, based on our intuition, things tend to work out and we find the happiness in the pursuit of what we’re doing.”

 

By the end of his first semester of college, Jake was unhappy and unhealthy. He had a passion for traveling, but he was afraid of the unknown. Then a career counselor asked Jake two questions that changed his life:

  1. What is the worst thing that can happen?
  2. What is the best thing that can happen?
 

“I realized that I was living a life based on the expectations of others. The life I was living and the life I wanted to be living were not in alignment.”

 

Two months later, Jake was on a plane to Guatemala with a backpack, no cellphone and very little Spanish. He spent four months backpacking through Guatemala, Nicaragua and Costa Rica so he could explore other ways of life and disconnect from a society dominated by social media.

As Jake learned to find happiness in the journey, he became a more process-oriented person. He adopted an intense morning routine, inspired by Tony Robbins, that helped him write 100,000 words in three months:

  • Wake up at 5:30 AM.
  • Take a cold shower.
    • “It’s the analogy of doing something uncomfortable to start your day because you get in the mindset of doing other uncomfortable things and just do it.”
  • 10-minute guided mindfulness meditation.
  • Make tea or coffee.
  • Put on Hans Zimmer and write.
  • Take a break to work out or do yoga.
  • Go back to writing.
  • At the end of the day, Jake would visualize jumping out of bed to start writing the next morning.
 

“With or without writing a book, writing is a very powerful way to process what you experience.”

 

Jake demonstrates the power of visualization to manifest a better (and bolder) life. By visualizing the future he wanted and taking bold action to achieve it, he manifested book endorsements from two awesome influencers that he really looks up to – Jack Canfield, author of Chicken Soup for the Soul and The Success Principles, and Chris Guillebeau, NYT Bestselling Author of The $100 Startup and The Happiness of Pursuit. Like a GPS system, visualization can keep you in route when you are heading towards a goal.

 

“Because I’ve been visualizing it, it’s like I set this GPS in my head … If you take conscious action that’s guided by vision there’s less re-routing.”

 

You can pick up a FREE Kindle version of Jake’s book on Nov. 2nd & Nov. 3rd by going to Amazon and searching for “Off the Beaten Trail: A Young Man's Soul-Searching Journey Through Central America

It’s really awesome to see someone as young as Jake setting such a good example for people of all ages. He shows that life experience isn’t necessarily tied to how many years you’ve been here, but how intentional you’ve been with the time you have had. Pick up a copy of Off the Beaten Trail (Kindle version is free Nov. 2-3, 2016) and get inspired.

 
 

SOME QUESTIONS I ASK:

  • What are some of the fears Jake had to overcome to get on the plane, and why didn’t he bring a cellphone?
  • How did Jake become exposed to the mindfulness practices and people like Tony Robbins that helped him become confident enough to write a book at 18-years-old?
  • How has Jake’s life changed since coming home? What does he do differently on a social level?
  • What strategies can listeners employ to connect with influencers or mentors that they look up to?
  • How can Jake advise people to start trusting their gut or their intuition, if they don’t know how it feels?
  • What is feedback Jake has gotten from people who have read his book or heard him speak, and what actions have they taken that he inspired them to make?

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:

  • A powerful story about self-reflection, self-growth and bold action
  • How mindfulness practices helped Jake structure an effective morning routine
  • How to listen to your intuition
  • Strategies for connecting with influencers and mentors that you look up to
  • Plus much more…

DON’T STOP HERE…

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

 

Production & Development for The Bold Life Movement Podcast by Podcast Masters

Oct 26, 2016

I met today’s guest, Emily Nolan, back in High School, and feel both proud and privileged to feature her as today's guest. Emily is the voice of MyKindOfLife.com, a professional model and the founder of #BePrettyBrave (formerly TOPLESS Yoga). It is a bras on, bellies out self-confidence event used as a tool for self-love, and it is about exposing vulnerabilities by practicing radical self-acceptance. 

My Kind of Life started four years ago as a vegan lifestyle blog – very different from what it is now. Slowly, she started sharing more stories about modeling, and eventually eating disorders. Things started to take off. Emily started to connect with her audience, and she started to share more broadly about issues relating to body image.

 

“I’ve been a size 0, I’ve been a size 16. You talk about happiness, and I realized that happiness never came, ever, from a size. Happiness was always a permission that I gave myself, and I could have that at any size.”

 

One of the more talked about moments from Emily's career, was a photoshoot she did for Curves. Curves is an art magazine featuring a number of celebrities that write and speak about self-love. The shoot involved Emily shedding her clothes, and taking photos in a variety of different yoga poses (this was right after finishing her yoga teacher training), and Emily went on to write about the experience in a popular mindbodygreen post. From there it was picked up by more than 25 online publications, including Cosmopolitan magazine.
 

“I want to show people that my body is a vehicle. My suit is just a vehicle for physical experience.”

 

Now she's spending her time leading women's retreats to empower women to #BePrettyBrave. She takes small groups of women all over the world to participate in events that transform the way we think about our relationships with our own bodies. In the past she has hosted one-day immersion events sponsored by Lululemon, and the success of these events led her to create extended experiences in the jungles of Costa Rica and the mountains of Idaho.

 

“#BePrettyBrave is the permission to believe that bravery is the token to what you’ve been searching for.”

 

Emily is a goddess when it comes to walking her walk. She is a champion of radical self-acceptance, and shares her story vulnerably and openly on My Kind of Life. I thrilled to be participating in one of Emily’s upcoming #BePrettyBrave retreats. Be sure to follow Emily's story below and share this episode with your friends!

 

SOME QUESTIONS I ASK:

  • When did My Kind of Life transition from a blog to something more?
  • How does Emily discern between the things that are worth bearing for her readers and the things that are best kept between her and her family?
  • Tell me about the nude photos that were picked up by Cosmo. What was the motivation for that shoot, and why does Emily think it received the coverage that it did?
  • What does #BePrettyBrave look like for people who want to get more involved with that?

DON’T STOP HERE…

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

 

Production & Development for The Bold Life Movement Podcast by Podcast Masters

Oct 19, 2016

Today we’re going to Awaken With JP. That’s right, I’m talking to YouTube star, comedian and real-life emotional healing coach JP Sears. He is also currently working on a book titled How to Be Ultra Spiritual, which is coming out March 7th and currently available for pre-order on Amazon.

 

“The way I coach is really all about vulnerability. It’s helping people help themselves connect to emotions, feelings, memories and experiences that are essentially stuck in their emotional digestive system.”

 

For the past 15 years, JP has run an emotional healingand coaching practice where he works with people all over the world via Skype. In the past he has also led retreats around the world on different healing and personal empowerment themes for like-minded and like-hearted people to come together to learn, grow, and heal.

On the AwakenWithJP YouTube channel, JP creates videos that help people help themselves.  This includes the ultra hilarious, Ultra Spiritual Life video series, which uses humor to share messages about health, wellness, and spirituality. One of JP’s favorite videos to make, How to Take Yoga Photos for Instagram - Ultra Spiritual Life 34, features JP posing precariously in Australia to teach us… well, probably not how to take yoga photos for Instagram. “How do you create a successful yoga photoshoot? I’ve got two words for you: man-bulge and man-bun.”

His willingness to teach, knows no bounds...

 

“True art gives people what they need, not necessarily what they want, and I think what we need is a deeper connection with yourself.”

 

JP also uses the comedy of Ultra Spiritual Life to tackle very serious concerns. In his fifth video, Using Ayahuasca, JP uses comedy to shine a light on the questionable use of a spiritual and sacred psychedelic by party goers.

 

“I was just really called to break the spell of the secret, voice what was not being voiced, shine the light on a shadow that a lot of people can see but nobody is talking about.”

 

I had SO MUCH fun talking to JP about his journey from life coach, to youtube star, , how he uses comedy in his videos to help others on their spiritual journey, and how he manages to stay grounded through it all..

If you’re not already subscribed, go to YouTube NOW and check out AwakenWithJP then head over to Amazon to pre-order How to Be Ultra Spiritual. Your spiritual fate depends on it.

 

 

Subscribe in iTunes or Youtube, Listen on Stitcher Radio, or Click Here to download

 

SOME QUESTIONS I ASK:

  • What did JP do before his YouTube channel?
  • What can people expect with JP’s 1-on-1 coaching or retreats?
  • What is the most fun video that JP has filmed?
  • Are there any videos that JP was a little nervous to publish?
  • What process does JP use to come up with his videos?
  • How can pet owners help their pets become more ultra spiritual?

SOME OF YOUR QUESTIONS:

  • Andy: What are you like when you’re not in character?
  • Jan: What would you like to hear read in your eulogy?
  • Courtney: What is the most spiritual way to keep your favorite yoga classes boyfriend-free?
  • Jackie: What do you do for your hot bod?

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:

  • Why vulnerability is key for JP’s approach to spiritual and emotional coaching
  • Why true art often challenges people
  • How comedy can be used as a tool to share important messages
  • What JP Sears is like when he’s not on YouTube
  • Plus much more…

DON’T STOP HERE…

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

 

Production & Development for The Bold Life Movement Podcast by Podcast Masters

Oct 12, 2016

Amy Jo Martin is the author of New York Times bestseller Renegades Write the Rules, a keynote speaker, an angel investor, a podcast host and an innovation advocate. She has worked closely with world-renowned brands such as Hilton Worldwide, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Shaquille O’Neal to successfully humanize their presence.

 

“Innovation is being redefined by one primary force today: social media. It is irrational, even irresponsible, to start a business, launch a podcast, raise awareness, or build a brand today without including a social media strategy.”

– Amy Jo Martin, Renegades Write the Rules

 

The above quote from Amy Jo’s book was true when it was published in 2012, and it’s just as true now. However, with so many different options on social media, it can be difficult for people to decide which social media strategy is right for them.

 

“It really comes down to humanizing the brand, in my opinion. Whether it’s a big, huge company or a small company, it’s about exposing who the people are behind the logo and why they’re doing what they’re doing. People connect with people, not logos.”

 

If you are an individual or small group who has just started a company, Amy Jo has a few simple systems and processes that will help you engage with followers while maintaining a life and time to work.

  • Start by evaluating whether or not it makes sense for your company to have multiple touch points and profiles. If you are the company, there may not be a need for create a second profile that doubles your content development and engagement reciprocation.
  • Establish your value – not just as a company but as an individual – and how you are going to deliver that.
  • Maintain diverse “Value Balance Buckets” – keep balanced and diversified values to resonate with more people.

 

“Listen more than you talk, and when you do that you start to see where you can blend in and where you can add value versus trying to create a new island of value from scratch. It’s leveraging what already exists and that momentum around a certain topic, a certain conversation, in a certain community.”

 

Amy Jo continues to pursue her passion and learn more about social communication. She is taking a new course and, over the past year, Amy Jo has researched the relationship between the virtual world and the physical world, and how our behavior online affects our behavior offline. Specifically how acts of kindness shared via social media can have a ripple effect and generate more kindness in the real world.

 

These days Amy Jo is inspiring people all over the world to take action on things that they’ve otherwise been too scared to pursue. Her new podcast “Why Not Now?” features professional “Why notters” (as she calls them) who have mastered the art of starting before their ready. They provide examples for what is possible when you eliminate excuses and follow your interests in spite of fear, and in spite of insecurity. Some of her latest interviews include Mark Cuban, Troy Aikman, Sophia Amorusa, and Lewis Howes.

I’m so grateful to have connected with  Amy Jo at the World Domination Summit this past August. She is an incredibly accomplished person who has managed to remain so down to earth and continues to inspire me all the time.. Be sure to check out her awesome new show, Why Not Now? with Amy Jo Martin, and pick up your own copy of Renegades Write the Rules.

 

 

SOME QUESTIONS I ASK:

  • With all of the different options available now, how can people decide which social media strategy is right for them?
  • What systems and processes does Amy use to engage with followers, but still maintain a life and get work done?
  • How do solo-preneurs or new entrepreneurs get in front of people, stand out or engage people on social media?
  • How do people elegantly draw the line between authenticity and being overly transparent? Is there a line?

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:

  • How to decide what social media strategy is right for you
  • How to engage people with authenticity on social media
  • Why it’s important to maintain diverse values on social media
  • How our online behavior impacts our offline behavior
  • Plus much more…

DON’T STOP HERE…

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:


Production & Development for The Bold Life Movement Podcast by Podcast Masters

Oct 5, 2016

Srinivas Rao (or “Srini” as he’s often called) is the founder of Unmistakable Media, host of The Unmistakable Creative podcast and author of multiple books, including the Wall Street Journal bestseller The Art of Being Unmistakable. Srini’s most recent book is Unmistakable: Why Only is Better Than Best.

So when it comes to being not just recognizable, but undeniable, memorable and ultimately unmistakable...well, he literally wrote the book on it.

In his podcast, Srini has conducted over 600 interviews (!) with thought leaders and people from all walks of life. This has cultivated an incredibly distinctive view on branding, storytelling, and marketing with so many great sources to draw from.

Since so much of the creative process includes elements that are outside our control, Srini believes we have to fall in love with the process of what we do, and be less concerned with external feedback. While it’s important for your business to track sales, and measure engagement, you have to decide, will you base your joy off of these numbers? One tip? Pick things that you’d choose to create even if you weren’t getting paid, even if there was no way for people to “like” it or upvote it in some way.

 

“When you’re no longer concerned with all of these things you can’t control, that really is a place of freedom.”

 

When you let go of this need to manufacture some sort of result, when you can let go of those outcomes and focus on the process, all of the anxiety and energy that were put into outcomes are now translated into the process.

Srini believes, the enemy of process is distraction. It’s ally is a concept called Deep Work, introduced by Cal Newport, which is the ability to go into a cognitively demanding task for a long period of time. The more you do that, the more that you build what Srini calls Creative Momentum, the more you start to get into a state of Flow.

 

“If you can actually resist the temptation for distraction, you will build your ability to go into deeper states of Flow, and not only that but you will sustain the ability to go into deeper states of flow for longer periods of time, and as a result things will actually get better.”

 

Srini’s book, Unmistakable: Why Only is Better Than Best, illustrates that anyone is capable of standing out from the crowd, being authentic, and avoiding the alluring trap of mimicking those that have come before them.

 

How do you avoid succumbing to the tempting mimicry epidemic?

  • Curiosity – “What are you naturally curious about? Not what you think will lead to some sort of result or outcome, but what is it that you are curious about?”
  • Experimentation – “Experiments don’t have to be expensive, don’t have to be time-consuming, but they give you a tremendous amount of feedback.”

 

“We’re trying to boil down something that has no formula into a formula.”

 

Srini is a passionate surfer, and his experience with the ocean has shifted not only the way he shows up in business, but also the way he shows up in relationships. For example

  • He’s cultivated resilience in the face of difficult situations.
  • He also practices letting go of any expectations from these situations.

 

“What you learn by being in the ocean is that the conditions are always changing. It’s always dynamic, it’s always interesting, and your job is to keep adjusting to what the conditions are. There are days where the conditions are perfect, but if you’re just standing around waiting for the conditions to be perfect you’ll never do anything, you’ll never take any risks.”

 

Srini is a wonderful guest and, indeed, unmistakable guest. He shares a lot of great tools and tips to improve our productivity, break free of distractions and become unmistakable. I greatly appreciate him stopping by, and you should go check out The Unmistakable Creative to hear more from Srini.

 

 

 

SOME QUESTIONS I ASK:

  • How does Srini cultivate more creativity in his life?
  • What tips would Srini give people who are just starting out and haven’t honed what makes them unmistakable yet?
  • Where does Srini see the business going and what does the future of the Unmistakable brand looks like?
  • Can Srini think of a habit or tool from his 600+ interviews that stands out that he has implemented in your own life?

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:

  • How you can be Unmistakable.
  • How to cultivate creativity in your life.
  • How to break free of the distractions of technology.
  • How to attain a Creative Momentum and achieve a state of Flow.
  • Plus much more…

DON’T STOP HERE…

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:


Production & Development for The Bold Life Movement Podcast by Podcast Masters

Sep 28, 2016

Darius Nabors is unlike any guest I've had on the show before, but his story is something I knew my audience needed to hear. Over the past year, Darius has been on a trip he’s dubbed #59in59, with the goal to visit 59 national parks in 59 weeks, alongside his friend Trevor. The end of their trip brought them to Acadia National Park in Maine on August 25, 2016, for the National Parks Service 100th Anniversary; something they'd planned from the start.

Growing up in Colorado, Darius has felt at home in nature nearly his entire life. Since childhood, one of his dreams has been to see every U.S. National Park, which culminated recently with his idea for #59in59. The deadline of the NPS Centennial created a “now or never” feeling in Darius, which pushed him into motion.

One interesting lesson that Darius took from the trip, is the concept of a condensed timeline. This means that when you're filling your life with new and different experiences, it actually feels like MUCH more time has passed. This notion became obvious when he linked up with friends at the end of his travels, who he'd seen earlier in the trip. For them, not much had changed, and it felt like no time had lapsed since their last visit. For Darius though, SO much had happened. He'd lived lifetimes of adventures, and created so many new memories because he was proactively seeing new things each day. 

We can incorporate this lesson into our own life by consciously choosing novel activities. By filling our weeks with 'newness' we can ensure that at the end of our life, it doesn't all blur together. 

When Darius shared his #59in59 plans with friends and family, he naturally was mat with some skepticism. Surprisingly, the naysayers were all from the younger crowd. Older generations supported Darius in his journey, but most people in his own age range met the idea with pessimism and doubt, most likely brought about by limiting beliefs, or possibly jealousy.

To support the cost of his journey, a large part of the funding came from a crowdfunding campaign they hosted through Rocket Hub. Contributors were offered a variety of rewards for their donations, such as allowing fans to join Darius & Trevor in-park for a “B&B” experience, or the sillier gift of having a stick named after you. Rocket Hub was an easy choice for their preferred crowdfunding platform after Darius chatted with the CEO Brian Meece. Meece's dedication showed how much the company cares about the projects that they help fund.

Obviously this sort of adventure requires some intense planning and preparation. Here are some of the steps Darius took to ensure the trip would be a success. 

 

Before the Trip Began:

  1. Brainstorming - while watching through the Ken Burns documentary The National Parks: America’s Best Idea, Darius jotted down notes on the parks and requested materials for the parks service to help plan his trip.

  2. Finances - in addition to  money in preparation for the trip, Darius relied on Rocket Hub to help supplement the funding for the trip.

  3. Transportation - originally, Darius considered flipping an old bus or van as a travel vehicle, but in the end his parents offered for him to use their Dodge Ram 2500, providing for a similar size vehicle at zero cost. (score!)

  4. Sleeping - at the beginning of the trip, a tent was an easy choice. As the trip went on, Darius decided to save time by sleeping in the bed of the Dodge or in a hammock. Set up and tear down time was taking away from precious experiences. 

 

Notable Memories:

  • Glacier National Park - while going up a trail ridge, a high-pitched wailing sound signaled a marmit (descrip), running down a nearby cliff heading straight for Darius and his group.... And then proceeded to simply run away.
  • In Transit To Alaska - a bull moose appeared on the freeway, crossed the road, and walked right near their car.
  • Kindness Of Strangers - Darius was constantly offered to join others for meals, received leftover food, invited in to other’s lodgings, and oen couple even purchased a huckleberry pie for them from a local restaurant.

 

The trip was not difficult to accomplish physically, but Darius struggled trying to stay aware and updated with all of his ongoing plans, social media, and the blog for the #59in59 website. However, one notable struggle was an evening in a car in the Florida Everglades, where temperatures refused to drop below 80 degrees. (Note to self: don’t visit the Everglades in July). In general, the expectations for a lower standard of living throughout the trip kept Darius & Trevor extremely content.

The reason Darius spent so much time with content creation and social media for 59in59 was fueled by his drive to get readers out of the house and into the parks. Not everyone grows up with a love and respect for nature, and he hopes that he can change that for the readers of his blog.

Next up for Darius is updating his followers of the rest of the trip, uploading the last batch of photos, and sending off the final rewards from his contributors. At home, Darius has been caring for his four younger siblings, but plans to get back into the working world this November.

“As long as you keep working hard and trying, if it’s something that you really care about, stuff just happens… it’s like the universe is conspiring to help you.”

Darius continues to live his life as though he’s preparing for his older self; not for retirement, but for memories. There is no vision of his future that contains regret, as he’s working consciously to prevent future resentment. According to him, it’s too easy for people to wish they had done something, and then later on regret that lack of action.

I’m glad to share this unique story with you all, and I hope Darius’ journey resonates with you. And for all of you glued to your laptops and phones, use this episode as inspiration to get out into the natural world!

 

SOME QUESTIONS I ASK:

  • What did you prepare for before embarking on the trip?
  • What are some notable stories from the trip?
  • Did you experience extra kindness or generosity from the people you met on the trip?
  • What was a particular aspect of the trip that was difficult?
  • Why did you decide to blog and stay active on social during the trip?

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:

  • The importance of living a life without regret
  • Why constant action can turn the universe in your favor
  • Plus much more…

DON’T STOP HERE…

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

 

Production & Development for The Bold Life Movement Podcast by Podcast Masters

Sep 21, 2016

I connected with Mike Vardy at the World Domination Summit in August, a worldwide gathering of remarkable people, and he is no exception.. Mike is a writer, speaker, podcaster and founder of Productivityist. He also manages to add a lot of humor and entertainment into the productivity space.

Mike is a productivityist, or a productivity enthusiast. He enjoys studying the tools and habits of productivity, and he looks at the world differently because of it. Through the Productivityist blog and podcast, Mike is helping people stop “doing” productive and start “being” productive, by giving them the tools to start paying attention and setting the right intentions.

We start our conversation about productivity discussing non-alcoholic beer and decaffeinated coffee. Seemingly tangential, body and energy are directly tied to productivity so I was interested to hear about his recent experiments in cutting both of these from his life. “I really enjoy finding ways to keep the rituals I have, but also do it in a way that’s responsible and allows me to be the night owl that I am ... but not have those productivity spikes.”

Mike sees most people getting stuck in a trap of doing just for the sake of doing, and that’s not productive. “They’ll basically go through the motions, they don’t really segment out their to-do list, and as a result they end up with a fragmented to-do list.” They work haphazardly, trying to get as many things done as possible, until the day is done. Then they get home, wiped out, and do nothing.

 

“The problem is, when we do that, we aren’t moving forward with any kind of purpose.”

 

At World Domination Summit, Mike talked about the idea of theming your work days, and the idea resonates with a lot of people. “Your calendar should be your overarching guide, but the details are in the to-do list.” What people tend to do is look at a given day, without giving it any meaning or purpose, then go through a checklist without intention.

Mike doesn’t like the idea of letting your schedule be your guide, or hyper scheduling, because it leaves no room for flexibility. If you theme your day and something unexpected comes up, like a last-minute coaching session, then you aren’t lost when you get back to work.

“I think there’s some merit to giving themes to each day so you have an overarching focus, but when you hyper schedule yourself you run the risk of just completely falling off track, feeling overwhelmed and feeling that you haven’t accomplished what you set out to do over the day.” It doesn’t matter if you’re a startup founder, working on your side hustle or a stay-at-home parent, theming your days can help you be productive.

For someone who can’t completely untether him or herself from their email, at least make it more manageable. Mike talks about the idea of Inbox Today. While many people try to get to Inbox 0, Mike tries to clear the backlog so that you only see email from today. Additionally, your inbox shouldn’t be where you go to look for things. “It’s a loading bay, not a warehouse”

 

Mike has a system called Three Mail, where each email goes into one of three folders. It’s a simple process:

  1. Set up folders for every day of the week that you want to deal with e-mails (if that’s every day, that’s fine).
  2. When you get an e-mail, decide what day you want to deal with it, and then move it to the appropriate folder.
  3. When you first sit down with your email on a given day, deal with the folder for that day first. Then, organize your backlogged emails again.

 

Mike uses a number of physical and digital tools to improve his productivity:

  • He believes that a digital task manager is a must in this day and age. “Your mind really is meant to be a factory and not a warehouse, so if you keep trying to store things in here you’re just going to slow things down.” It’s important to have a digital task manager for long term things, even if you’re a paper person.
    • Mike uses todoist, and Wunderlist is also simple and collaborative. He also uses Asana for team-based tasks.
  • To maximize productivity, you may also want to track how long you spend on different tasks. To track how long you are spending on different websites, so you can see what is taking most of your time, RescueTime is a great tool. If you want to track where team members are spending their time, Time Doctor is a great tool.
  • Mike also uses a device called Saent to track his time. It’s a small button that you click to track how long it takes you to perform certain tasks, and it allows you to label websites as good or evil.
  • Mike is beta testing a new product, called a ZIE. It is like an 8-sided die with blank sides, which you label. When you turn it to any given side, it starts tracking that time. It then integrates with a tool called Toggl.

 

“I like both the Saent and the Zie, because it’s physical. It sits on your desk. You can’t help but see it. I think physical tools, like having those visuals in front of you, are really important, because, frankly, digital tools can hide in the background. This can’t.”

Mike isn’t actually a diehard tracker, but he believes the tools can be helpful for putting yourself in a good, productive mindset. Your brain sees the day or time, sees what it should be doing, and everything outside of that can fall away. “Again, paying attention and setting the right intentions. These tracking tools, unless you have the right intentions for them and then you find a way to pay attention to them, they’re not going to be as much help to you as you’d like them to be.”

“I’m a big believer in human automation, the automation that you set up … I’m not as huge a believer in setting up a bunch of digital automations because they can break, and they’re not as connected to you.”

Productivityist recently self-published The Productivityist Playbook. It includes video interviews, audio and a number of productivity plays. When you buy the guide, you receive 15 plays, and you can assemble your own productivity playbook out of them. If listeners of the show go to Productivityist.com/TheBoldLife, they will get one play for free! (Thanks Mike!)

“I’m a big believer that even when business isn’t personal, productivity always is. I don’t think there’s enough talk about the personal component of productivity, and I really want to put the personal back into it. That’s what this whole guide is designed to do.”

Mike is probably the most entertaining person in the productivity space, and I appreciate him coming on the podcast to talk. He gave us a lot of great tips and tools for living a bold life with more attention and the right intentions.

 

SOME QUESTIONS I ASK:

  • Where are the biggest areas that Mike sees people struggling with their productivity?
  • What are easy wins that people can implement into their life to get time back?
  • Favorite tools to become more productive and track their productivity?
  • What are Mike’s favorite books for newbie Productivityists?

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:

  • How to avoid just going through the motions with your daily schedule.
  • How to start each work day by paying attention and with the right intention.
  • A better system for organizing your emails.
  • A number of must-have tools for managing and tracking productivity.
  • Plus much more…

DON’T STOP HERE…

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

 

 

Sep 14, 2016

Today’s episode is a little different, because we’re talking about the legal matters entrepreneurs might not be aware of in their businesses. We're getting down and dirty on all things legal, with my guest Sarah Kornblet.  Sarah is an online attorney, business owner and passionate traveler.

Sarah is super passionate about keeping your passion protected. She does so, by helping business owners better protect themselves at every stage of business growth. Her Let’s Get Legal! packages provide a strong legal foundation to build your business upon – for startups, growing businesses and pros. She also offers a la carte services for businesses looking for specific legal protections, and more affordable templates for the DIY entrepreneur who still wants comprehensive legal protection.Sarah frequently sees entrepreneurs making two major legal mistakes:

  1. They don’t have any legal protections in place at all – “The result of that is people often end up having to learn their lessons the hard way.” This includes not having contracts ready when you meet clients, and not having the right policies to protect the products on your website.
    1. A template is one way to get yourself protected, without making a larger investment.
  2. The other big mistake is repurposing contracts and legal agreements from other businesses. Do not re-purpose other contracts for your own business. It may be copyright infringement, because contracts are licensed for individual use, and the protections aren’t guaranteed to be what your business needs.

“Copyright law is such that, whenever you create something in a fixed form – so the moment you publish this podcast or hit publish on a blog post or put out a video – you are the legal owner of that content.” The difference with copyright is that, if you want to actually bring a legal action in the court of law, you have to register the copyright with the government.

If anyone steals your content after the copyright is registered, you have the rights to statutory damages and money. If you don’t register your copyright you still have rights, such as sending a cease and desist order and asking violators to remove the content, but until you register the copyright you don’t have the right to bring legal action.

“The best you can do is have things in place, register stuff. That gives you a little more protection. Be aware. Periodically do searches if you suspect someone. Chances are it’s going to happen, but you do have options when it does.”

Hiring a lawyer to draw up the standard policies and contracts that any online business needs will vary in price. A lawyer at a law firm will likely be much higher than if you work with a small business online – a single contract can be thousands of dollars compared to Sarah’s $600 contract. “What’s great is that online business lawyers are really popping up, and making things much more accessible and cheaper than the traditional route, which is something really exciting because it enables more people to be protected.”

For most service-based entrepreneurs, the most important documents you’ll need include:

  • One-on-one services agreement
  • Policies on your website – A privacy policy is legally required if you are collecting email addresses or other personal information
  • Terms of Service / Terms of Use – Explains to visitors what they can and can’t do with your information
  • Disclaimers – Often included in the terms of service, disclaimers are very important. “You want to make sure to protect yourself from claims of liability, and disclaimers are what does that for your business.”

That’s the bare minimum. Once you get into hiring virtual assistants, running group programs or building a membership site, all of those things will need their own legal agreement. As your business grows, you will need to build on the above protections.

“We all enter into legal agreements all the time that we don’t sign, and probably don’t even know about.” For one-on-one services, it’s always a smart practice to have your clients sign a contract. For any sort of group program or membership site, you can have a legal agreement or contract called Terms of Purchase.

Basically, the Terms of Purchase outlines the terms of the program or membership site: how your refund policy works, disclaimers, jurisdiction and more. Whoever is buying agrees to it at the point of purchase. “At that point, you are entering into a legal agreement whether you know it or not.”

People who are drop shipping or selling products on Amazon need additional legal protections. “One of the most important things they need to have is a solid contract in place with their manufacturer or supplier.” They really need to know what the payment terms are, what happens with damaged goods, what happens with late shipments, what are they entitled to and what they are they on the line for. People selling online also need to include a similar Terms of Sale and Terms of Use to a service-based business. “If you are not the manufacturer, you do not want to be held liable for issues with the actual product.”

Sarah believes that entrepreneurs should wait to trademark their product or brand until they are positive the name and logo will not change. “If you are investing legal dollars in a lawyer, you’re better off, at the very beginning, thinking about making sure you have the proper policies and contracts in place, and then thinking about trademarking down the road when you’ve really built a solid brand.”

“Once you start saying you’re in business, you’re in business.”

As soon as you start selling a service or product, you are a sole proprietor. You may have to register a sole proprietor and name with your state, but that won’t offer any legal protections. “Limited Liability Company (LLC) is what I usually suggest small business owners start with.” There’s no need to start a huge corporation if it’s just you selling a product online.

A registered LLC can provide a number of benefits to small business owners:

  • If there is a claim against you and you lose, your personal assets are protected
  • It makes your business appear more legitimate if you are trying to get investors, partners or even customers
  • You can get a Federal Tax ID number, which is great for a business bank account
  • You can choose to be taxed as an S Corp
  • It’s not a huge investment

“Just starting out, LLC is definitely the way to go.”

Your business name does not need to be the same as your LLC. However, in the copyright statement at the bottom of your web page (or any other legal documents), you need to use the name of the LLC.

Sarah has done an amazing job following the success steps necessary to create a business that thrives, and she’s helping other entrepreneurs protect their passion along the way. This episode is packed full of useful, necessary information that entrepreneurs need to ensure adequate legal protections for themselves and their businesses.

 

 

SOME QUESTIONS I ASK:

  • What are the biggest mistakes that business owners are making time and time again, when it comes to having their legal matters in order?
  • Does the copyright text at the bottom of a webpage protect your content?
  • How much does it usually cost to have a lawyer draw up the standard policies that should be on your site?
  • What legal protections do people need if they are drop shipping or selling products on Amazon?

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:

  • The most common legal mistakes made by online business owners
  • The legal documents every online business needs to ensure legal protection
  • The basics of Copyright Law as it relates to content creators and online businesses
  • How to legally protect yourself if you are drop shipping or selling products through Amazon
  • Why Sarah suggests establishing a LLC when you are first starting an online business
  • Plus much more…

DON’T STOP HERE…

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

Sep 7, 2016

Amy smith is a highly experienced life coach dripping with authenticity and style. At The Joy Junkie, she endeavors to help her clients gain self-confidence, stand up for themselves and live a more joyful life.

“The nucleus of everything that I do is helping people stand up for themselves without being assholes.” It’s two-fold really: it’s the internal component of believing in your own self-worth, believing you’re valuable enough to speak up for your thoughts, opinions, stances and beliefs, and the external component of what that looks like. How does it sound to establish a boundary?

Without a doubt, Amy has found that the most common reason that people struggle to stand up for themselves is because they are afraid of what other people are going to think. People's’ fears are shrouded in a number of topics: they’re not going to accept me, love me, they’re going to think I’m stupid, etc.

“It’s all about what someone else might put a brand on you as. ‘If they think something about me, then that must be true,’ and somehow that that will equate, or negate, your own self-worth.”

“What I see people do most of the time is people-please, and silence who they really are, what they really think, and what they really feel.” Amy believes there is a huge fallacy around what it means to stand up for you and stand up for your convictions. In many situations we silence ourselves, because we have convinced ourselves that speaking up is rude or aggressive.

As a basic jumping off point, one of the things that you can start doing as a sort of check-and-balance in the different relationships in your life, is to always ask yourself: is my silence making me a liar? Is my silence giving me a false sense of compliance? Amy helps her clients realize:

“I don’t have to be a dick. I can decline that sort of conversation with the utmost kindness and grace.”

Amy has another tool, which she calls, “If this, then that,” and it’s where we take a circumstance and we create a truth from it. The idea is to take the negative stories we tell ourselves, such as, “If I don’t get this job, then I’m a failure,” and remove their charge: “If I don’t get this job, then I didn’t get the job.”

She also has a quick and dirty tip for building confidence: “One of the fastest avenues to confidence is to start really doing things that you’re proud of.” Start looking at what you need to do today, or how you can conduct yourself today, that you will actually be proud. We need little wins that create a compound effect.

One of the biggest shifts that Amy believes we can make to alter our relationship to confidence is unpacking our concept around self-worth. The idea is conceptual. Currently, most of us evaluate our self-worth based on accomplishment, adoration or accolades from other people. It’s not just something that we have. Amy advocates that that worth is inherent. It is something that we already have.

“What if you were already worthy, you were already valuable and enough as is, and everything else in life were simply experiences?”

Through her own experiences, Amy has developed a new management system: the way in which she manages self-talk and hardship. One major piece is her allies, what she likes to call her soul tribe. She knows that, when something happens in her life, she will need to tell that story to a few people in her soul tribe to process it.

There’s another element: core value system. Amy teaches that your core values are elements that you need in your world in order for it to be fulfilled. “Am I honoring the things that I know bring me joy?”

If you head over to Amy’s website, TheJoyJunkie.com, you’ll see a free e-workbook and audiobook called Stand Up For Yourself Without Being a Dick. It’s nine different, very actionable challenges that are designed to help you catapult your self-love and self-confidence.

Amy and The Joy Junkie stand for everything that I stand for here at The Bold Life Movement, so I’m really excited to share her message with everyone. Listen, enjoy and check out The Joy Junkie!

 

SOME QUESTIONS I ASK:

  • What are some of the top reasons that Amy hears people struggling to stand up for themselves?
  • How to be more assertive if you’ve created this pattern of people-pleasing in your life?
  • Does Amy have tools she gives her clients to help them cultivate more confidence?
  • How is Amy implementing some of the stuff she learned through her own personal development path to get back to her baseline joy, when it seems like stuff is going wrong? What are tools that she uses?
  • What did the process of becoming a coach look like for Amy?

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:

  • How to stand up for yourself without being a dick
  • A better way to evaluate your own self-worth
  • Tools for building confidence
  • Amy’s new ways in which Amy manages self-talk and hardship
  • Plus much more…

DON’T STOP HERE…

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

Aug 31, 2016

Laura Hanly, a writer specializing in content marketing for online businesses joins me today to drop some incredible value for business owners struggling to nail down their content strategy. Through her business, Laura Hanly Content Marketing Agency, she helps online businesses hone their competitive edge with powerful content marketing processes. Great news for us all, Laura is also writing a book entitled, Content That Converts: A Profitable and Predictable B2B Content Marketing Strategy. You can follow Laura’s progress, get early chapters, and loads of free advice on writing in her private Facebook Group.

Laura has been in the industry of content promotion for a long time. She worked in the major Australian publishing houses for several years, promoting and reviewing books, before starting her own online business. When she moved online and started working with e-commerce and B2B companies, she found that most of those businesses had a really incomplete approach to their content marketing.

“Once I had been in the online space for a while and honed that part of the expertise, it seemed like a really unique opportunity to me to combine those two types of experiences to help businesses actually see a return on all of the effort they are putting into their content.”

When Laura is onboarding a new client and getting familiar with their needs, she has three key questions that get at the basis of any sound marketing strategy:

  1. Who are your customers?
  2. What are you offering them?
  3. How are you delivering that?

It’s all about understanding who your audience is, getting really clear about who you’re actually communicating with, what your offer is, and, finally, figuring out your messaging. Her introductory  questions ensure that her clients are really clear about those three elements, and then helps to determine a guiding principle, a north star, for their content marketing strategy. This is how Laura is able to hone in on someone’s voice, whether to assist her in ghost writing the content for them, or to help them be more consistent in their messaging.

“You have to start with a really broad view and get to know the business and the people running the business, before you can get down to those nitty-gritty bits.”

There are a couple areas that many entrepreneurs are struggling with:

Many entrepreneurs don’t have a complete strategy around their content.

“It’s really not enough to just pump out blog posts or podcasts. They really have to be part of the ecosystem.”

  • You want to make sure you have an opt-in offer, or a lead magnet, that’s going to capture all of the traffic that comes to your site
  • You want to have email funnels that educate people and move them towards taking action with you
  • Regular sales offers and goodwill campaigns that make money and keep the list healthy

People struggle to produce content regularly.

“A lot of entrepreneurs have these amazing skills and really are experts in really interesting fields, but it’s a struggle for them to communicate their expertise. My big focus is helping them put systems in place that are really going to enable them to communicate their expertise in a way that’s not overly-draining or time-consuming for them.”

The most important high-leverage system that Laura has implemented for her clients is a quarterly content plan filled out with content themes. Pick three or four things that you really want to be known for in your industry, and put those into a quarterly content plan that maps out exactly what each piece of content will be each week, along with three or four key points you want to touch on for those posts. If you fill out this plan, you will know what to do whenever you sit down to produce content.

How and when you deliver your content will vary based on industry. High-end consulting and coaching businesses will want to create a luxury or catered experience. B2B will want to be consistent and less frequent thanB2C, where you have more flexibility. However, every business in every industry is different, so you will need to test any content distribution methods to find what is most effective for you and your industry.

Deciding the right email-marketing client to use can be daunting. Laura uses ActiveCampaign because of their segmenting capabilities, and because their workflows create effective funnels. Drip has similar capabilities, and is a little more visually appealing. If you are looking for something enterprise-level, InfusionSoft and ONTRAPORT are amazing tools if you have a complex offering, a business with a lot of moving parts, or your business is already established. It’s important to be aware of your company’s needs, your current budget, and not to sign on with a platform that is so overwhelmingly techy that it prevents you from getting started.

Laura often encounters resistance to delegating content production responsibilities, when she is working with entrepreneurs who have a defined personal brand. “Everyone who is the face of their brand, or whose reputation is connected to their business, is just terrified of outsourcing their content.” It’s totally understandable, but it also puts hard limits on what an entrepreneur can achieve with their content.

“This is where the quarterly planning spreadsheet comes into play, because it’s an opportunity for you to map out exactly what you want to be communicated to your audience, the language you want used, the positioning and everything. Planning all of that out with a writer you really trust gives you the opportunity to communicate all of that, while only spending a very small amount of your own time.”

If you aren’t working with a content marketing team or specialist, then the quarterly planning spreadsheet can still help. After you have your content schedule, plan days to write and finish batches of content. Batching can be a more approachable way of getting that work done, and it can help you make sure each piece of content relate to each other.

If your business is a little bit newer and you are looking to grow your list, web summits are performing really well for list growth. A web summit is a collection of people within an industry who, usually over the course of a couple days, will talk about a variety of topics within an industry.

“If you can get together with a few other people in your industry, and do a bunch of interviews and make it really valuable for people who are interested in your particular expertise, then that’s a great way to cross pollinate with other people in your area who have complementary businesses. It’s also a great way, down the line, to establish affiliate relationships.”

Lately, Laura has also been helping people produce books for their business by ghost writing. “I think books are one of the biggest opportunities for businesses online at the moment.” Producing a book is a great way to differentiate yourself from your market, particularly if you have a lot of aggressive competitors.

“It’s a really powerful calling card. I think there’s really no better way to establish yourself as an authority than by writing a book.”

Writing a book shows that you are a serious player in the industry, and you can use a book to create multiple revenue streams. There are the sales of the book, but you can also send the book to prospective clients. “When you have a really high price-point offering … it’s a great way to show that you’re really going to be worth it.”

Laura packed this interview full of value and helpful tips about content production, email marketing and writing books for The Bold Life Movement. I highly suggest heading over to the Content That Converts Facebook Group to check out updates on the book.

 

SOME QUESTIONS I ASK:

  • What was the transition like when Laura decided to double down on her writing skills and create a content marketing agency?
  • When Laura is onboarding someone, what are some of the typical questions that you will go over with them?
  • What is one thing that entrepreneurs seem to be struggling with the most?
  • What are content production systems that entrepreneurs should have in place?
  • How does someone know which email client they should use for content marketing?
  • What are some ways that people can repurpose old content, and not feel like they are starting anew every quarter?
  • Tips for growing and nurturing a baby list?

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:

  • How to plan a complete approach to content marketing
  • The three questions that can help any business draft a sound content marketing strategy
  • The areas that entrepreneurs struggle with most in content marketing
  • The importance of a quarterly content plan
  • How to decide the right email-marketing client
  • Plus much more…

 

DON’T STOP HERE…

 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

Aug 24, 2016

I’ve been pouring over my notes from last week’s World Domination Summit and I was originally going to share my “top 5 takeaways” from the event, but I realized that all of my favorite takeaways fell under one central theme. 

So instead I’m going to focus on that one theme and use examples from the conference to show you how integral this thing is to our lives, and how powerful it can be to take controlled of it. 

Can you already guess what it is? I'll help.

IT'S MINDSET. 

Now I hope that you didn’t just fall flat in your seat because you’re like KIM NOT ANOTHER EFFING SCHPEAL ABOUT MINDSET. But bare with me. 

WDS is a 6 day long event, and I noticed that EVERY day there was some talk, some session, or some meetup where the underlying theme (whether explicitly stated or not) was how to change your mindset to change your life. 

Some people snuck it in, so you didn’t even realize that’s what you were doing. Others used scientific research to back up their points. But whether it was a keynote speech, an Academy, or a meetup in the park, they were all speaking on the same underlying truth. And that is: your thoughts become words, your words become habits, your habits become your character, and your character becomes your destiny. 

So it sort of makes sense that we would want to affect our thoughts in a way that makes us happier, more intentional, more productive, and 

So let’s dive into some of the core lessons that I took from the conference, and how you all can start using these in your life now. (Be sure to listen to the episode for the full stories from each of these talks).

 

WHO TAUGHT IT: MARC AND ANGEL

Marc & Angel shared a story about one of their clients which illustrated how people can so often perceive a situation inaccurately, solely based on their expectation of how it's supposed to be. And when we interpret things different from how they actually are, we change our thoughts and our reaction about them. 

LESSON: Understand how you can impact your perception of a situation that isn't up to your standards. Instead of “WHY ME?” ask “What could I be happy about? grateful for? excited about?” 

It’s no secret that we see more of what we’re looking for, EVEN WHEN IT DOESNT EXIST. So be intentional about what you’re letting your mind look for. 

MarcandAngel.com - Practical Tips for Productive Living. 

 

WHO TAUGHT IT: MIKE VARDY

Mike's example shows how systems you create can affect your mindset, and ergo affect your productivity, which affects your life! 

He suggests setting up theme days for your work week. Ex: Monday is engagement/social media, Tuesday is Podcast, Wednesday is Online Marketing, etc. 

LESSON: Structure helps to relieve the overwhelm that can come with ALL the things we have to do in our business each day. 

It gives your mind something easy to focus one, and then helps us think “Oh, its just online writing day! So today that’s all I have to worry about” which puts us at ease, gives us small wins, and makes us happier on an ongoing basis because we’re less stressed. 

TheProductivityist.com

 

WHO TAUGHT IT: CHARLIE GILKEY

"When we don’t finish ideas, we become creatively constipated."

When you become backed up, you get toxic and start saying negative things about yourself. This is not conducive to producing quality content, serving your clients, or being HAPPY about your business! 

LESSON: Reframe your expectations around your work. Create goals that are palatable and achievable. Set yourself up for success so you can FINISH things. This boost in confidence is great for building integrity with yourself. 

Productiveflourishing.com

 

WHO TAUGHT IT: CAROLINE WEBB

Caroline shared a story about a workshop she was hosting once. The vibe was good, the class was enjoying themselves, and about halfway through, a woman comes blowing into the room like a tornado (energetically speaking). She was visibly late, and visibly frustrated by the fact. Within minutes the rapport of the room had been zapped. Caroline had lost her class. 

LESSON: Research shows that our emotions synch up with those around us within 5 minutes. CHOOSE to be the person who lifts people’s emotions, not brings them down. Be aware of this power you have and use it intentionally and kindly. 

Author of How to Have a Good Day

 

WHO TAUGHT IT: ZACH ANNER

"Failures, Faults and Major assists don’t need to be excluded from a narrative of success."

LESSON: It’s so easy for us to get caught up in compare and despair when we see these movie reel versions of other people’s lives, or other people’s businesses. But the reality is that reframing what success is, understanding that mistakes and falls are PART of the journey to your goal, and much of what makes a good story, we can then start to embrace those tough moments. We can be grateful for the challenges. 

If Zach was born without CP, he likely would not have met the people he’s met, traveled the places he’s traveled, or experienced half of the AMAZING things that he’s gotten to experience. 

Our struggles, and the things that make us different can and should be part of our story for success. 

Author of If at Birth you Don’t Succeed | Youtube

 

WHO TAUGHT IT: MICHELLE POLAR 

Our brain puts all the similar moments of our life into ONE box. Which means that every day we go to work, we drive home, we watch tv, we maybe have sex with our partner, then we wake up and do it again, it all blurs into one memory. Nothing stands out. 

LESSON: When you do things that are radically different, you’re creating new experiences in different boxes. Your life feels much more full and rich. Your not living any more hours in the day, but because you are having an increased range of experiences, it feels like you’re living MORE of a life. I think this is AMAZING.

When I was living abroad in different cities every couple months, I definitely had this condensed timeline. Relationships felt richer faster, and it just seemed like SO much happened to me in such a small amount of time. You can create this sensation in your life now. 

All you have to do is start injecting, NEW and DIFFERENT experiences into your life. Michelle chose to do things that made her uncomfortable; you can choose to experience things that are scary, taboo, or just new to you! Explore your city as if you were a tourist, take a new class, meet some new people. Just be sure to spice up your life, so you actually have memories to look back on at the end of it. 

100dayswithoutfear.com

Aug 17, 2016

Kyle Gray, author of The College Entrepreneur and founder of Conversion Cake is a tenacious young business owner with some great advice about creating your own career path, even if you've started on a somewhat traditional path.

The College Entrepreneur is the missing ingredient to a lot of the problems that students are having when they are graduating and can’t find a good job that they love doing. “There’s more opportunity than ever, so it’s a shame to see so many students struggling.” It’s not that everybody should be an entrepreneur, but when you’re able to embody the skills that entrepreneurs need, you can be more proactive in whatever position or job you do have. You might even be more fulfilled by it!

In The College Entrepreneur, each chapter opens with a story about a student creating his/her own business, and then breaks down the specific action steps taken; it serves as kind of a playbook.

Kyle couldn’t connect with a lot of the classes he took in college. They didn’t relate enough to getting out in life and being successful. “This book details the changing of that process, discovering how I could use my university to connect with the real world. Build up a business or build something that I really cared about and that I wanted to do and that I could direct, instead of simply always having a professor guide me or someone at a job tell me what to do.”

“I had this asset that I was building while as a student, and using my universities’ resources to grow it and to make connections with different entrepreneurs, different thought leaders, and building a brand around it.”

At one point, Kyle worked with Chandler Bolt from Self-Publishing School to develop his content marketing strategy. Learning from Chandler's 'launch-team' strategy--how to put together a team of people that will help you launch your book and make a big impact early--was particularly helpful. “What I think Chandler does really, really well is give people a perspective to do this if they don’t have a big brand, or a big business already … he gives you a strategy to put together friends and family, and anyone who is interested on social media.”

Even for somebody who doesn’t have a large brand yet, you can have an impact and a successful book launch with some of the things that Chandler gives you. When people feel like they have contributed to the end product, they are more willing to share it and they want to see you succeed.

Kyle had a unique way of reaching out to people and making them feel involved when his book launched: he offered to write a postcard to anyone who reviewed his book during launch week, thanking them for participating and helping out.

In 2013, Kyle founded Conversion Cake, a digital marketing consulting agency that helps small businesses with content marketing strategies, email marketing automation, and sales funnel implementation. His challenges have involved trying to find the company’s unique voice, and deciding which market to target and what their core offer is. 

“If you just have that one offer dialed in, and you can just create a great experience, I think that’s when things can really start to take off. You can scale, you can grow, and you can market yourself in a lot of better ways.”

 

 

SOME QUESTIONS I ASK:

Does the book document Kyle’s story or is more of a how-to (spoiler: it’s both)?

Is the book applicable for someone who has never thought of themself as an entrepreneur?

What did Kyle learn from Self Publishing School that helped him strategize the launch?

What are some of the experiences or opportunities that Ryan has been able to have by going against the grain?

What are some of the struggles in building up Conversion Cake?

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:

Why The College Entrepreneur is the missing ingredient for many students who graduate, but can’t find a good job that they love

How to leverage the resources at college to develop yourself as an asset

How to have a successful, self-published book launch

How Conversion Cake is helping small businesses with content marketing strategies, email marketing automation and sales funnels

Plus much more…

DON’T STOP HERE…

Connect with Kyle Gray: Website | Twitter | Instagram

The College Entrepreneur

Conversion Cake

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

Self-Publishing School

Aug 10, 2016

Welcome to part 2 of our Episode Series with Nat Eliason. Be sure to check out Episode #30 if you haven't already!

In Episode 30 we talked about developing his brand, setting goals and why he started writing about something as taboo as sex, on what had been a lifestyle and business blog up until that point. This week we’re digging into the writing process, his lifestyle business and he's offering up some SEO advice.

As we learned, Nat is in the process of writing a book for men who want to improve their sex lives. The idea is simple: “Guys don’t talk about sex, but here’s everything they should be talking about with each other.”

He describes the process of writing a book, after so much time writing short form blog posts, as an ongoing struggle with himself. He's open about his experience with ''Resistance, a concept introduced in The War of Art. Resistance is your emotional side fighting with your rational desires, which prevents you from doing anything good, creative and artistic.

Nat started working against the Resistance with a simple quantitative goal: 60,000 words. Over time, that has evolved into a pure Process Goal. He is influenced by an idea central to Cal Newport’s Deep Work: “Long, uninterrupted stretches of complete focus on your most important source of output.”

“Get your three or four hours of Deep Work a day, and you’ll be amazed by what you can get done.”

Often the biggest obstacles to Deep Work are the ways in which we use technology.

“Your technology is there for your advantage, not everybody else’s … When you start to think of your laptop or your phone as there to help you and make your life better, and not to make you more responsive to what everyone else wants from you, you start treating it differently.”

Nat embraces this relationship with technology when he uses Habit List to reinforce his daily Deep Work sessions. He also sets some pretty high stakes for himself. For example, he made a bet with a friend that he would either deliver an early rough draft of his book by end of day Friday, or he would pay $1,000. Talk about accountability!

Nat breaks down his writing process was, and how he would tweak it for the future.

  • Actual process: Wrote the outline, started writing individual sections on the outline, and then realized his original outline was broken. He put everything on index cards and reorganized them until he had a new outline that was better. Then, after he filled in that outline he realized there were still a lot of holes. “I basically didn’t do enough research up front, because I kept falling into holes.”
  • What Nat wishes he did: Take a whole month or two just to do initial research and draft an outline that is as detailed as possible. Make sure you have read everything you will need to read, and keep it organized. Then, you can just start writing.

*****

One of the articles Nat is most known for is: How to Travel for Six Months and Come Back Richer. In it, he offers a Runway Calculator and goes over the calculations you'd need to make before making big life transitions like moving overseas to travel. The calculater helps you see how much passive income you'd need to afford this lifestyle.

One way Nat created passive income for himself was through an information product. “If you know something that not everybody knows, there’s most likely a way you can sell that information.”

Books are the original information product. Courses are a popular choice now. Nat developed a product called Programming for Marketers. He wrote a great article detailing the process of launching and marketing this course: $58,150 in 5 Months: How to Build a Lifestyle Business Step-by-Step (Emails, Tools, Everything).

To get the initial traffic to Programming for Marketers, they started with a landing page detailing what courses would be offered in the future. They marketed it on Internet Marketing-related sites like Growth Hackers and Inbound. This generated a lot of interest. When someone signed up, they were sent an email (using Zapier) that encouraged them to refer a friend, and they received bonus material for referring a friend. This referral process added about 30% to their total sign-ups.

Nat doesn’t do anything do anything fancy to drive traffic to his site, and yet he averages 10,000 people every day. 70% of that is organic! He doesn’t use an SEO plug-in, and he doesn’t do extensive key word optimization.

So how does he do it?

Nat relates good SEO to being healthy. What someone needs to do to be healthy is extremely simple, but there is a lot of money invested in convincing people that being healthy is complicated. The same is true for SEO.

“SEO is actually extremely easy.”

The simple approach to SEO:

  1. Write an article on a topic being searched for
  2. Answer that question in a way that is enjoyable to read and takes care of their problem.
  3. Drive some initial traffic – just a couple hundred visits – to signal to Google that it is a valuable article

I had a blast talking with Nat, and I hope you did too. These conversations are absolutely packed full of Nat’s personality, the processes he has developed and a lot of really great resources!

 

SOME QUESTIONS I ASK:

  • What is Nat’s process for writing his book?
  • What advice does Nat have for handling resistance and distraction?
  • What did the different versions of the writing process look like?
  • What are examples of passive income streams that people might create?
  • How did Nat initially get traffic to his online course?
  • What are tips for SEO beginners?

 

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:

  • How to use technology for your advantage, not everybody else’s.
  • Strategies for developing a passive income stream.
  • The simple approach to SEO.
  • Plus much more…

 

DON’T STOP HERE…

 

 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

Aug 10, 2016

This is part 1 of our first ever two-part episode series! Nat Eliason is a content marketing expert, an amazing writer with an extremely diverse range of topics, and has built himself a nice little lifestyle business that allows him to travel the world.

When Nat was preparing to leave the corporate world and make his transition into business-owner, he overloaded on books about entrepreneurship. He's come to the conclusion that people should invest more of their time consuming books after they start a project, not before. Reason being: you don't know what's important yet, because you haven't made any of your own mistakes.

“What I didn’t realize when I was reading [so many business books] was what was important, and what wasn’t … if you haven’t had those problems, it’s hard to see what’s useful from it.”

To understand when you should be consuming, Nat identifies two ways to learn:

  1. Pull knowledge – You need to learn something, so you seek out the information. Like when you run into an issue in your business, so you seek out the answer from people with more experience.
  2. Push knowledge – A school, book or other authority gives you a large amount of knowledge, hoping some day it is useful. This is the case when you pre-load yourself with a ton of information, but don't have anywhere useful to apply it yet.

One of the biggest challenges new business owners face, is understanding how to properly plan and set goals. First, it's important to set specific quantitative goals that you can track.

But it's equally important to set what is called Process Goals – an idea developed by Bill Walsh in The Score Takes Care of Itself. You don’t set goals based on a certain outcome; instead you commit yourself to regularly performing a particular process (such as making the best podcast you possibly can by Friday, or writing the best sex advice article available). The idea is that, if you commit yourself entirely to the process, success will follow eventually.

Originally Nat was hung up on getting a lot of email subscribers for his website (quantitative), but now his goal is to establish himself as an authority in content marketing, and creating consistently good blog posts (process) can establish that authority just as well as a large audience.

One thing that attracted me to Nat was his ability to develop a distinct brand with a diverse range of topics: content marketing, sex, brewing kombucha, psychology and more. Nat credits this success to a combination of SEO and ensuring each article is as valuable as the last.

These articles are a great outlet for Nat to practice his writing – he now averages 10k daily visitors and they serve as a great testing ground for Nat’s new ideas. “It’s almost a great way to do minimal viable products in the form of articles.” He tracks the most popular articles, and he realized the only consistent variable in what did well was content that he spent a long time writing and put a lot of thought into.

“There was no marketing technique or whatever that made the difference … if the article said something interesting, or solved a problem for someone in a very effective way, it did well.

One of the more taboo topics that Nat has stumbled into is Men's sexual health. His research revealed there were very few sources offering authentic sex advice for men, and, perhaps unsurprisingly, most men he asked couldn't refer him to any.

So he decided to write the book himself.

Often when something doesn't already exist, it's because there isn't a market for it. When it comes to sex advice for men though, he has a theory:

  1. No man wants to write it – “This is by far the hardest thing I’ve ever written. The amount of imposter syndrome you have to deal with writing about this topic is really painful.”
  2. A traditional publisher probably won’t want to publish it.

I really appreciate Nat being so transparent and authentic during our conversation. Be sure to check out Episode #31 as we dive deeper into the lifestyle business that Nat has built, how he is helping other people do the same, and we talk more in depth about his book writing process.

 

SOME QUESTIONS I ASK:

  • Are people born entrepreneurs, or is it something you can learn to be?
  • What are strategies entrepreneurs can apply to business planning?
  • How did Nat create such a strong brand on so many different topics?
  • What feedback did Nat receive from readers when he first launched the sex section?

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:

  • How to use a Quantitative Goal to drive your business growth.
  • Why Process Goals will help you create great content.
  • How Nat grew his brand organically.
  • Why he started writing about sex tips for men.
  • Plus much more…

 

DON’T STOP HERE…

 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

Aug 3, 2016

I am delighted to share a conversation with Jill Stanton today. Jill and her husband Josh are exceptionally authentic throughout the branding on their businesses ScrewU and Screw The Nine To Five, and she really brings that authenticity to this conversation.

Jill and Josh Stanton started their first online business in 2012. They wanted to start a movement, but they didn’t have a lot of direction. They have done everything – blogs, podcasts, a Facebook group, videos, online courses – but they found it was important to trim the fat. It isn’t necessary for Jill and Josh to do all the things. They learned to focus on what they love doing, and go all in.

“We’ve been on this three year journey of figuring out what we do like, and cutting what we don’t, and creating a business that not only serves, but feels good to us.”

If you are interested in screwing the nine-to-five lifestyle, but you don’t know where to start, Jill has some tips. Start by doing a brain dump: figure out what you’re good at, what you’re skilled at, and what you enjoy doing. Identify the things that you are most drawn to and research them. Develop related skills, and try to identify a problem that you can solve.

“When you are first starting out, you don’t know what you don’t know.”

If you are having trouble coming up with something, ask your friends and pay attention to the things that people ask for your advice on. This might shine a light on the skills and knowledge you have that other people don’t.

One thing that Jill and Josh have learned about entrepreneurs is that many of the people building their business in the personal brand space go through a particular progression, and they created a model called Momentum Marketing. The model has five steps:

  1. The Grind – Coming up with an idea, validating the idea, doing research, putting a plan in place, building a website, setting up social media, and creating any other assets that need to be prepared.
  2. The Hustle – Build visibility by creating consistent content each week, emailing your list regularly, joining communities, developing an offer, and forming relationships. It’s hard work, but you can’t skip it.
  3. The Engine – Creating sales funnels, running webinars, and other things that create consistent, sustainable monthly income.
  4. The Traffic – After you’re making a certain amount of revenue, start playing around with paid ads, hiring a team, and focusing on big picture growth.
  5. The Profit – You’re supervising launches, taking yourself out of the day-to-day aspects of your business, and focusing on the managerial aspects.

Jill and Josh are currently overhauling their ScrewU course program to reflect the five stages of Momentum Marketing. The goal is to cut down on things that are overwhelming and give entrepreneurs only the things they need to focus on at each stage.

A huge aspect of Screw the Nine to Five is its community, which Jill and Josh put a lot of time into building. A lot of entrepreneurs want to create an active community, particularly on Facebook, but it’s not for everyone. Entrepreneurs first need to consider if their business needs an online community. Then they need to put in the work.

“If you’re not willing to show up every day, and really put that time and effort in to building that up, then I don’t even think you should start a community. In fact, I think if you’re not 100% devoted to giving those people your time, especially in the beginning, then you could have even more success showing up in other people’s communities.”

If you show up in a big way, and give more than you get, then you will provide value to the community and people will come to you. Jill manages and automates the posts she makes on social media with Meet Edgar.

If you do have a strong community, then you might be interested in hosting a retreat or live event in the future. Jill believes that, if you’re going to do a live event, you have to be very clear on the purpose of it. “When we had a clear purpose, everything flowed much easier.” Jill urges that you enlist some help, but she also warns that it’s still probably going to exhaust you.

Jill was a lot of fun to talk to. I’m really excited that she shared her tested strategies for starting an online business, building communities and digital marketing with the Bold Life Movement audience.

 

SOME QUESTIONS I ASK:

  • If someone is interested in “screwing the nine-to-five” lifestyle, what are first steps that they can take?
  • Inside the Screw community, what are some things that people can expect?
  • What advice would Jill like to give people who want to start a community on Facebook?
  • What are awesome tools that are integral to Screw The Nine To Five?
  • If an entrepreneur is interesting in hosting a retreat or live event, does Jill have any lessons she has learned?
  • Are there steps that Jill and Josh took to get so good at marketing their business?

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:

  • Strategies for screwing the nine-to-five lifestyle
  • How to start an online business using the Momentum Marketing model
  • When it is appropriate to build an online community, and how to start building it
  • Why authenticity is an important aspect of a brand
  • Plus much more… 

DON’T STOP HERE…

Jul 20, 2016

Daniel Gefen is all about working on his business, not in his business. Hard work and dedication has built a life where he can do what he wants with his time, and this is , to him, is real freedom. In this episode he shares many nuggets of wisdom that can get you on the path to passive income as well.

Daniel had a rough go of things back in 2008 when he lost his 6-figure job (which he had negotiated up from $60K) due to the economy. This left him homeless with his wife and child, until he moved back to London to work at his dad’s grocery store. He was grateful to his father for taking them in, but he couldn’t stand working at the store. Being fed up with his job led him to pursue entrepreneurship.

He decided to start a virtual office and telephone answering company (Jet Virtual). It was a lot of work at first as he was filling all roles within this new company. Daniel hired people as the company grew, but this too came with its own set of headaches.

When his lead receptionist quit, he learned that you should “Never, ever rely on one person to do everything.” Her leaving really hurt as she knew all the protocols and handled all client issues and needs. On top of this, that same day he received a notice that he had to vacate his office within the next two weeks.

This was too much for him and he was about to close the business when he decided to make a rather bold and unconventional move. He decided to outsource all his clients to a competitor. This turned out to be the best decision he’d ever made. Over the next year he was a one-man crew building his company with a laptop and free internet access from a local hotel. He’d turned a disastrous situation into a passive income generating machine that didn’t require much work from him to continue running.

According to Daniel, the biggest area that people struggle with in business is second guessing themselves. The only way to overcome this is through action. “Once you start taking action, the action starts to get results and the results start to boost your ego and self-esteem.” This leads you to realize that you really can do this and can find success.

One other simple yet profound piece of advice is to “Stop consuming and produce”:

  • For every book you read, write an ebook
  • For every 10 videos you watch, make a Facebook Live video
  • For every 10 Snapchat stories you consume, produce one

“You can’t earn money by consuming, the only way you’re going to earn money is by producing; putting stuff out there.”

To get entrepreneurs producing more, Daniel wrote an article entitled, ‘Focusing on ONE thing.’ He says that by nature we want everything and we’re distracted by all the shiny things out there. But we only have so much time in the day so we need to focus on ONE; product, platform, niche, etc. “People who try to be everything to everyone end up being nobody to no one.” Start small, conquer that area, then expand.

This was a great interview with Daniel, a flexible, honest and creative person who has built a business that allows him to live the life he wants. Now that you’ve heard some of his wisdom and great advice, get out there and start producing more for your business.

 

SOME QUESTIONS I ASK:

  • What was the motivation behind Daniel’s first company?
  • What made him want to start his podcast?
  • What’s the biggest area that people struggle with in business?
  • How can people put the idea of focusing on the one thing that will grow their business?

 

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:

  • Why Daniel thinks it's important to under-promise and over-deliver
  • Why you shouldn’t wait for the results of your work but just continue to produce.
  • Why it’s important to view taking risks as simply experiments and not potential failures.
  • That the reality is it takes years to build a successful business and it won’t happen overnight.
  • Plus much more…

 

DON’T STOP HERE…

 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

Jul 13, 2016

Chris Reynolds has always had incredible community building skills and puts them to good use with his latest business, The Entrepreneur House. For over a year now, Chris has been bringing together experienced entrepreneurs from all over the world, to live in a shared home (or homes) in a variety of countries. During their stay, lasting anywhere from 1-3 months, they mastermind, attend local events, and help each other to grow their businesses to the next level.

Chris knows intimately what it’s like to go from rock bottom to thriving business owner. He started his entrepreneurial journey selling real estate educational packages. This was a fun learning process and ended up being very financially rewarding. But, the crash of 2008 put a stop to this and in the process he lost his home, his car, everything. Determined to make it as an entrepreneur, Chris started over.

It was an arduous process but Chris was committed to reaching his goals of financial and location independence. He started off selling products on Amazon and eventually got into niche websites; this is where he started to gain traction selling real-estate info products. After two years of this work he was able to achieve his dream of being a location independent digital nomad; supporting himself as he traveled the world.

Leaving his home brought him many adventures and ample growth, but it came at the price of leaving a great community of like-minded entrepreneurs that he was a part of. His first major destination was Costa Rica. While living there he was surrounded by people wanting to only hang out and surf. Fun, if that’s all you’re into, but it didn’t offer the entrepreneurial minded growth that he was looking for. Chris turned his need for like-minded community in a profitable business, and this was the catalyst for the Entrepreneur House.

The first House he created was in Barcelona and he had 12 great entrepreneurs join him there. This incredible group of people helped him develop what the House has become today. Together they shaped and molded the masterminding and goal setting processes, and today the features and perks of living in the house are much more evolved. Since the first iteration he’s created four other Entrepreneur Houses, and has many more planned for the future.

Having an international business such as this presents its fair share of problems. But Chris works through those by trying to understand the cultural differences of the countries he’s trying to work with. The logistics of finding short-term housing that suits the needs of the participants would be a struggle for many people, but Chris has honed this process. Many countries outside of the US actually make it easy to lease a large fully-furnished house for any time frame.

When traveling abroad to a new city, it can be hard to source accommodations, good internet, a great community all on your own. This takes time away from the work you want to do. The goal of the Entrepreneur House is to take care of these things for people so they can be more productive.

Some of the amenities that the House offers:

  • Weekly Masterminds where you can pose challenges and the group helps you through them.
  • Workshops with advisors on topics ranging from Facebook to funnels to SEO to content marketing and more.
  • Sunday dinners where everyone eats together and bonds like a family.
  • Weekend events for team building or just fun activities.
  • Private rooms for all with great internet and in the center of the city.
  • Plug-ins to local festivals and events.

Chris was a great guest for the podcast. He’s created amazing memories for the communities he’s created as well as opportunities for people to grow personally and professionally in a way they wouldn’t have otherwise.

SOME QUESTIONS I ASK:

  • What was the transition like from rock-bottom to now?
  • How did Chris become drawn to the nomadic lifestyle?
  • What was the catalyst for creating the Entrepreneur House?
  • What are some struggles faced when setting up international endeavors such as this?

 

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:

  • What famous person gave Chris (and myself) the motivation to become a world traveler
  • The simple piece of advice he would give to anyone wanting to travel the world
  • How he chooses the city for the next Entrepreneur House
  • How fear can propel you to work hard and succeed
  • Plus much more…

 

DON’T STOP HERE…

  • Connect with Chris and the Entrepreneur House: Website

 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

  • ‘Lone Survivor’ by Marcus Luttrell: Book
  • Airbnb: website
Jul 6, 2016

Thrilled to be joined today by Emma and Carla Pappas, of The Merrymaker Sisters. These two are super energetic, fun and refreshing and I know that hearing their story will absolutely inspire others to take action, make changes in their lives and do the things they’re passionate about.

When The Merrymaker Sisters created their online business, I learned that they never really thought about the perfect avatar that they were trying to attract. (Something we're often told to do as business owners). Instead, they just created the brand and business that they knew people would find value in, and learned and made changes along the way. Their inspiring and health conscious brand, attracts mostly women of all ages, and these women have realized that there’s a different way of living that fits each individual. Emma and Carla have honed in on how to help each woman discover exactly what is right for them.

Born DOERS, Emma and Carla know that the best way to make changes in your life is just to take action. Their best advice for new entrepreneurs: Get started now and put yourself out there.

Just do the best you can do right now and make tweaks and improvement as you go. Equally important is to not get so tied up in what other people are posting – compare and despair gets you nowhere. Everyone’s content (from Marie Forleo to Gary Vaynerchuck) had room for improvement when they were first starting out. “Compare to yourself, don’t compare to others because that’s paralyzing.” You may just end up hating what you’re doing and sucking all the joy out of it.

An integral lesson they learned along the way is the idea that “what you focus on grows.” At the time they worked horrible jobs with toxic people and constant negative thoughts swirling in their heads. Realizing that spending 8 hours per day in this situation was getting them nowhere, this gave them the courage to leave their jobs as soon as possible to devote more time to their brand. Making the business their priority, spending extra time on it and jumping into action led to incredible growth and success. Momentum is everything.

It’s obvious from this interview that Emma and Carla are full of energy and are super positive people. But, like all of us there can be times when they fall back into a negative space in moments of sadness, sensitivity or being overwhelmed.

“It’s okay that we do fall back, it’s just how fast we come back to where want to be in our mindset that matters.”

Yoga, meditation, walks outside or expressing gratitude are some of the ways that the sisters get out of this type of funk. The girls are big fans of practicing gratitude and say, “It’s such a simple thing, but it’s magical.”

To grow their business from a simple idea to a strong brand, Emma and Carla have had to do many scary things; quitting their jobs, putting themselves out there, public speaking and writing their first cook book just to name a few. They know first-hand that as you do more, things become more normal to you and you don’t realize how big and bold you’re actually being.

Speaking of putting yourself out there, One of the things I ask Emma about is her public relationship with fellow entrepreneur, Dan Norris. She shared that deciding to this was all part of putting forth her real, authentic self on social media. Some people put up a front and pretend to be somebody else on social media, but that’s pretty hard to keep up.

“Being you is so easy and way more fun.”

Emma and Carla were so much fun to talk to and I’m thrilled that they’ve shared their brand and incredible relationship with the Bold Life Movement audience.

SOME QUESTIONS I ASK:

  • What did the evolution of their brand look like?
  • How do the sisters bounce back when they're not feeling exceptionally positive or energetic?
  • How do they decide what to share on social media? Is there such a thing as being too authentic?
  • What were some of the big takeaways they’ve gotten from the guests on their podcast, MerryBiz?

 

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:

  • Why taking action trumps all.
  • How the name of your brand might not be as important as some claim it is.
  • How our thoughts attract and decide what we’re going to do in the future.
  • How training your brain through meditation and yoga can get you back to a positive mindset more quickly.
  • Plus much more…

 

DON’T STOP HERE…

Jun 29, 2016

I’m thrilled to connect with James Kyson and to be able to bring you his story in today’s podcast. You might know James from his starring role in the NBC hit show, ‘Heroes,’ and since then he’s made many other appearances on the big and small screens.

According to James, there's actually a lot of overlap between the life of an entrepreneur and an actor. He’s learned a lot from his time in Hollywood, and one thing in particular is how to deal with the rejection and struggle that actors often face. Some actors dread the necessary but ultimately painful act of auditions, but not James. He’s learned to reframe and relanguage the experience: Instead of an "audition" it's simply "an appointment to share." He’s not going out there to try and win some thing, but instead he’s sharing himself with others and any job that comes from that is a byproduct or “icing on the cake.”

Entrepreneurs can use this mindset when thinking about their products or content, and therefore can take the pressure of. Share value (do your research to know it's valueable) and avoid concerning yourself with haters or rejection for what you're putting out there.

James also embodies an intentional entrepreneurial mindset in that he finds freedom within the structure of the morning ritual he's created with his wife Jamee. Their mornings are blocked off for time spent with each other doing things that enrich their lives like exercise, breakfast, reading and meditation. By the time he hits the computer and email at 11am he’s already had a very productive and enriching day. These morning rituals ensure that his personal life is fed first and that spills over to his professional life as well.

In addition to his morning routine, James habitually keeps his phone on airplane mode and then batches reactive tasks throughout the day. He'll also combine these mandatory to-dos with other activities he enjoys to further create the type of life he wants to be leading. For example he’ll make all his calls at once, but do so while he’s out for an hour long walk. This practice of avoiding the distractions of email, texts and instant messenger requests has led him to being much more productive.

“When things are focused and allocated to a specific structure, you allow yourself to be more honed in and more productive within that time frame.”

One of the great things about batching and doing things on your own schedule is that people just get used to it, they adjust to your pattern. What you do and how you respond will become their expectations of you.

A great practice that James has is taking stock of a typical week and seeing how his time is spent because what is measured can be controlled. This comes in two steps:

  1. Awareness & Measurement – what activities and how long do you spend doing them?
  2. Change if necessary – look at what will serve you in the long-term and make changes to achieve balance and your ideal use of time.

If he knows he’ll have a computer-heavy week, he’ll make adjustments for balance. “Human beings weren’t meant to live in a series of boxes.” Many of us are stuck in a terrible cycle: waking up in a box, driving to work in one, sitting all day in one, heading back home and spending the next 12 hours in one. Look for ways to break this pattern and do the things that humans were meant to do like move around, get sunlight, enjoy nature and communicate with others.

In addition to his acting, these days James keeps busy working on a handful of projects with his wife, Jamee. One example is a series of videos they are developing focused on finding your soul mate. He says that the first step for those looking for love is to first come to a place of love within yourself. With online dating and social media nowadays, it’s very stressful looking for the perfect mate. Why not instead ask yourself, “What is the best partner that I can become for somebody else?” When you focus your energy and time into that journey, dating and romance takes care of itself.

SOME QUESTIONS I ASK:

  • What are some of the ways James has helped himself persevere through rejection and struggle in Hollywood?
  • How can somebody avoid the constant distractions that come with living in today's age?
  • How has his experience with acting changed his relationship with fear and uncertainty?
  • What steps did James take when attracting Jamee, and how can our listeners utilize these?

 

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:

  • A simple way to cut down your Facebook distractions.
  • How to gain more control over your time.
  • How improvisation and acting can lead to valuable life lessons.
  • How James and Jamee intentionally create experiences for themselves and others, and why this is integral to creating a life you want to live.
  • Plus much more…

 

DON’T STOP HERE…

 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

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