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Your Complete Roadmap From Zero  To Hero With Podcasts

Let's face it, there's one thing that most coaches suck at and it's marketing. Most don't want to do it, don't know how to do it well and they just wanna coach. Thing is, you've gotta do it or settle for a limited hourly rate with a coaching company or a job. Many coaches end up on the content creation hamster wheel or find themselves engaging in sleazy impersonal strategies that leave them feeling uncomfortable. Podcasts offer coaches a long-term, non-sleazy strategy to build relationships, turn up lead flow, grow list and become known for your expertise as a guest and maybe even as a host too. If you're in coaching for the long-term, it's time you had a long-term strategy.

PODFLUENCE

I help business coaches build professional status, generate evergreen lead flow and become established as a credible, confident and charismatic expert in your area of coaching. Book a quick and FREE 15-minute, no obligation, no sales call with me to discover what podcasts could be doing to help grow your coaching business. If you can't wait to launch right away, book my one time 90-minute ROCKET FUEL session and let's get started right now!

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Present Influence

Weekly blog with thoughts and news on podcasting, professional development and authority building.

I don’t think I’m a natural entrepreneur. I don’t. I’ve been many things in my professional life, from flight attendant to training leader and more besides. None of those things prepared me for having my own business. School didn’t do much to prepare me either, even though I did business studies. I can vaguely remember how to do a profit and loss chart, a skill I have never used since.I’ll freely admit that I’ve been very lucky in many ways as an entrepreneur. When you look at what average survival rates are for new business, the fact that I’m still operating over 10 years after leaving regular employment is something of an achievement. So, am I successful? Well, in the regard that I’m still here and I’ve been able to keep picking up new clients and regular coaching and training work for all this time, yes. Do I feel successful? Umm… not so much.I’ve had ups and downs, successes and failures and a hell of a lot of time spinning my wheels. I am only too aware of how getting in the way of certain opportunities has enabled me to get to where I am and I’m really not that high up the food chain and nowhere near where I want to be. So… why is that?One of the things that have made the biggest difference for me professionally over the last 2 and a half years has been starting a podcast. What began as a project for my Toastmasters club slowly turned into something that I started to see a lot of professional potential in. So… I carried on making shows. Some good, some not good, some great and some so bad I couldn’t publish them.Building an audience has been, and continues to be challenging. I’ve nearly quit several times, wondering why the hell I keep doing it. I’ve had big names on my show that I had thought I would never get to connect with in real life. I had also thought they might be the thing that gets the show to take off. They were not but they were still amazing experiences. I’ve even been in tears at times with my show. The learning curve to becoming a podcaster of any quality is high and I did not seek out any help.Back when I was cabin crew at Gatwick Airport I would often go out in Brighton with airline buddies and nearly every weekend there would be young guys with their pimped up cars burning rubber in the car park by the beach. Maybe that’s still a thing? There would be lots of noise, lots of smoke and an overwhelming smell of burning rubber but nothing much would actually happen and ultimately, even though it seemed there was a lot going on, it was all rather pointless and I’d imagine quite costly too. That’s how my entrepreneurial life has often seemed to me and I know I am not alone in this.Much like the lads with their rubber burning antics, it passes some time, they feel like they’re doing something impressive but afterwards, all they really have to show for their efforts are skid marks and bald tyres. If that’s what your business life feels like then I would suggest that the chances are very high that you are too focused on the impressive and fun parts of entrepreneurship and not nearly enough focused on the strategic, foundational and unsexy parts.I hold my hands up to having been guilty of this for the longest time and somehow hoping someone would recognise my talent and ability and then do all the unsexy stuff for me. That hasn’t happened and isn’t going to happen. Welcome to the world of unrealistic expectations.The fastest and best way out of wheel spinning is to get some quality expert coaching and a clear roadmap that includes the foundational and less fun elements of being an entrepreneur and that might mean putting a hold or limit on those fun activities you love to do whilst you build the foundation you missed because no one told you that you needed it and because you believed the people selling quick fixes and magic pills, just like I did.Unfortunately, entrepreneurs are all too often taken advantage of by those who would sell you the promise of quick success. It’s an attractive offer and far more appealing than putting in hours, weeks, months and years of work, slowly building a personal brand business and having to go through the often painful journey of finding out who you really are and who you need to become in order to achieve your goals.I’ve been very fortunate to get my professional and podcasting life back on track. I was able to find a great mentor, several wonderful coaches and a terrific mastermind group. My mentor has shown me that I needed to have the right foundations for a successful business, my coach has helped me implement those foundations and my mastermind group also keeps me accountable as they are on similar journeys too. We learn from each other what works and what doesn’t and we inspire each other to greater heights.I used to hope that I’d become more successful but when you have a good strategy and strong support network you don’t really need to hope, it just starts to happen. I’m not saying you can’t get there without those things but I am saying that I couldn’t and I know of many others who can’t. That feeling of the stars aligning that you end up feeling is the foundational work you’ve put into your business paying off.If you’re spinning your wheels and you want to stop, find someone who can help you create a realistic road map for your business, who will show you how to build the foundation you need and focus on the right things. It will feel like the slower path but really, nothing wastes more time than trying to take quick-fix solutions that when you put the pedal to the metal you find yourself just burning rubber as your wheels spin, your tyres melt and your bills keep piling up.I don’t have all the answers, I really don’t but if anything I’ve said here resonates with you and you want to talk to someone about it, you’re welcome to connect with me. If I can’t help you myself, I’ll point you in the direction of someone who I think can. Whilst I wish I had found better help at the start of my own entrepreneurial journey, I’m glad I’ve done that now and those who know me can tell you how much positive change there has been even just in the last 6 months for me. If I can help you stop your own wheels from spinning, I will.I've got some podcast treats for you today. I had a chat with an absolute master of storytelling who has been studying the topic for many years. My conversation with Leon Conrad is a masterclass and I&nbsp;hope you will get as much value from it as I did. It was an absolute joy to be schooled by Leon&nbsp;and you may never think of storytelling the same way again afterwards.<iframe class="ql-video" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" src="https://player.captivate.fm/episode/d18afb23-9325-4145-8c6d-51e14d54fd1f"></iframe> Since I&nbsp;managed to get organised with my editing schedule this week, you have another show to choose from, or hopefully, listen to both. This time with Dr Stevie Dawn Carter where we talk about overcoming that feeling of invisibility, what EQ is and how we can use it to improve our communications and why we should all aim to be a bit more like sharks. It was a really fun chat with many valuable takeaways.<iframe class="ql-video" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" src="https://player.captivate.fm/episode/63256cc9-df4c-4e20-89b1-2b7f87bbc875"></iframe> If you'd like to find out how podcasting could help your business, you can take this short quiz&nbsp;<a href="https://mrqz.to/podcastpossibilities" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(139, 139, 139); background-color: transparent;">https://mrqz.to/podcastpossibilities</a>Sometimes I&nbsp;like to share what I've been reading and listening to. It may be interesting or useful to know. This week I have been listening to the Audiobook of Derral Eves YouTube Formula. Derral is a YouTube savant who just seems to know how everything works. I bought the hardback when it came out and the audiobook as a companion. Very useful if you're trying to grow on YouTube and want to understand it all better. Some great extras too.One of my favourite podcasts is The Jordan Harbinger Show and this week he put out an older show with Vanessa Van Edwards, author of Captivate and Cues, 2 books I highly recommend. The episode is called The Science of Succeeding with People and here's the link to the show on Apple Podcasts&nbsp;<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-jordan-harbinger-show/id1344999619?i=1000562471402" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(139, 139, 139); background-color: transparent;">https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/...</a>As always, I like to wrap things up with a song to help lift your mood and get that weekend feeling going. This week, the princess of pop&nbsp;Kylie Minogue's song Spinning Around seemed like the ideal choice. Have a great day because you decided to and I'll be back next week.<iframe class="ql-video" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/t1DWBKk5xHQ" height="315" width="560"></iframe>

How is it that some people just seem to know what they’re doing in business and most of us are scrambling about hoping that we can figure things out?

Spinning your wheels

It was the end of their first date and after a nice dinner of unusually expensive&nbsp;Italian food,&nbsp;she couldn't help but think that&nbsp;there was a certain intensity to his stare and his questioning had felt a little&nbsp;more like an interrogation than a getting to know you session. Being the epitome of English politeness as she had been raised to be, she kept smiling and tried to keep the tone light and casual.&nbsp;He walked her back to her hotel in New York trying several times to hold her hand and getting brushed away each time. They got to the corner of&nbsp;East 55 and Lexington&nbsp;which is&nbsp;where it happened, the thing that would make her want to run as fast as her small and elegantly shod&nbsp;feet would allow her, the moment that turned a mostly enjoyable&nbsp;evening of getting to know each other into the kind of awkward horror we all hope never to experience. He stopped her in the street, turned her around to look at him and that's when he did it. He said, "I love you!"It's the kind of statement that stops you in your tracks. The only times she'd ever said that in a relationship, she had waited until they'd at least been dating pretty steadily and even then had always worried&nbsp;that she was moving too fast. All sorts of thoughts rushed through her head. How could he know that after one evening meal together? Had someone drugged his cannelloni? How did she feel? She&nbsp;liked him but this was a lot and she was still recovering from her last break-up. She did the only sensible thing she could do, told him she'd call and then ghosted him.We've all had situations where we have encountered people and behaviours that we have wanted to get away from as fast as possible. I know I have been on the receiving end of this and probably on the doing end at some points in my life, although propriety and ego prevent me from detailing my own experiences and so I&nbsp;shared a story from a friend who is now happily married to someone much less intense and more willing to take his time.My experience in life has always been one of seeming paradoxes when it comes to getting what I&nbsp;want. The things I wanted always seemed to be out of reach and the more I&nbsp;wanted or needed them, the further away they seemed to get. It's like when going for jobs, if you really need a job&nbsp;because you're either out of work and need to earn or in a job you badly want to leave, then that comes across in your applications and your interviews in ways that are often unconscious.Anyone who knows me knows that I&nbsp;am not into woo-woo stuff, I'm not religious, not really spiritual in the sense most might interpret it and I&nbsp;don't believe in the supernatural at all. You can class me as being highly&nbsp;sceptical. However, I&nbsp;do believe that there are energetic states and ways of being which are magnetic and conversely there are energies and ways of being which are repulsive (as in they repel).One of the things I often end up working with clients on, especially when it comes to podcasting and creating any kind of media content is personal state management. I'll probably return to this topic many times in the future in different ways but personal state management, or PSM if you will allow me to abbreviate it, is one of the most critical parts of the charisma formula and if you ain't got charisma, you're gonna struggle.&nbsp;There's a line RuPaul says at the end of every episode of Drag Race (and yes, I'm a fan) which is "If you can't love yourself, how in the hell are you going to love anybody else?" We could put this in a more generic way, which is that you can't give to others what you don't possess for yourself. To really drive this home, we can't use other people to&nbsp;plug the holes in our own emotional needs but we often try and inevitably fail in the long run.One of the hardest lessons for me to learn in relationships was that I was the real reason my relationships were not working out. Prior to my now very happy marriage, my average relationship length was around 3 weeks&nbsp;to 3 years and nothing longer. The gift of hindsight allows me to see that whilst I was not the only issue in those relationships, it was&nbsp;my own lack of self-love and my poor self-worth that was always leading me to try and get other people to fill the void I felt inside.&nbsp;I started working on loving and accepting myself, which is still a work in progress but I did reach&nbsp;a point where I no longer needed to be in a relationship. I happily resigned myself to probably always remaining single and I was going to make the most of it. This is, as you have probably predicted, around the time that I&nbsp;met the man who is now my husband.&nbsp;It's not so different in business. When you need clients or work it can be hard to come by but when you don't and you just get on with being out there serving and helping others, stuff seems to naturally happen. It feels like the stars have aligned and things are in more of a flow when you stop focusing on what you don't have, appreciate what you do have and be content knowing that you would also like to have&nbsp;more.So much of success in life is state-dependent. When we feel good life feels easier. When we feel down, life feels harder. We are often either in the virtuous circle of good feelings or the vicious circle of bad feelings but anyone who has ever read Richard Wiseman's book 'The Luck Factor' will know that when he and his teams researched luck, they found that good luck or bad luck was nearly always determined by the belief of the person. This is good news, it means we do have some control and that the locus of control is internal.Do you want to be luckier? Then you need to work on changing your belief from being unlucky to being lucky. Do you want to be happier? You have to choose and support happiness within yourself. Do you want to be magnetic? You need to work on being charismatic which also requires believing in your good luck and deciding to feel&nbsp;happy even if there's no apparent reason to.I'm not saying this is at all easy. It takes practice and some days it will be easier than others and sometimes you just won't manage it at all, but the more you practice showing up in your life in with the kind of energy and emotional state you know to be more attractive (in the magnetic sense), the easier it gets for this become your normal behaviour.&nbsp;We are wired to respond to each other's emotions, you can read up on mirror neurons if you don't believe me. Energy is infectious. Your energy is infectious.&nbsp;This means that it matters how you show up in the world, not just for you but for those you come into contact with. Your smile can make someone's day. A kind word or act of kindness can transform someone's life. Your good energy can transform a team or motivate a corporation. This stuff matters.Having a charismatic state is critical in mastering influence and persuasion for leadership and success, and that mastery&nbsp;is also the goal of my podcast which is currently preparing to transition from Speaking Influence to Podfluence, where I will be discussing, learning and mastering influence and persuasion (including charisma) in the world of podcasting along with expert guests.&nbsp;One tool that will help you to become instantly more magnetic and charismatic is to start telling more stories, both in your personal and professional life. My recent guest Sophie Wadsworth is an executive coach who is helping executives and C-suite people to learn and master storytelling to help them be more effective and charismatic in their communication and leadership. I invite you to take a listen and check out the show's catalogue of almost 150 episodes.<iframe class="ql-video" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" src="https://player.captivate.fm/episode/0cce081d-afea-44d7-8193-05bd76f544a7"></iframe> I&nbsp;love to leave you with a song each week. Music is one of the most powerful tools we have in affecting our personal state management. Want to feel happy? Put some happy music on. Feeling a bit blue? Put some blue music on. Want to feel calmer? You get the idea. I've been talking&nbsp;about positive energy and charisma, so this song is from someone who always exuded charisma in bucket loads, the great&nbsp;Freddie Mercury. There was only one song for me to choose since this is indeed a kind of magic.<iframe class="ql-video" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0p_1QSUsbsM" height="315" width="560"></iframe>

People often talk about being more magnetic but magnets both attract and repel. Are you pushing success away from you?

Success Repellent

Imagine this… you get invited to be a guest on one of the most successful podcasts out there in your niche. They’re in the top 10 podcasts globally, not just the top 10%. They even sometimes sit at the number one spot. SWEET right? It’s a big deal and you’d be right to be flying high. For most of us that would be pretty scary, right? But, exciting too.Here’s my question for you then: how are you going to prepare for that appearance? This is something that will put you in front of an audience of millions, maybe even tens of millions of people.Are you going to wing it and hope for the best? Are you going to be interesting enough? Are you worried they’ll regret inviting you? I think it’s worth thinking about. How much prep do you do for the shows you go on now? If you’re anything like most people it probably ranges from not much to zero. There’s a bit of a mentality in most podcast guests, and this is a&nbsp;HUGE&nbsp;generalisation I know (before I get complaints that “I’m not like that”), there is a mentality that they are there to talk about themselves.It doesn’t seem like a bad assumption to make though but I wonder how much you like it when other people just talk about themselves in conversation? I often chat with other podcast hosts and this isn’t often explicitly said, since we all like to have some big names on our guest lists (if we have that kind of show), but we often get bored speaking to industry celebrities and we don’t always have our best conversations with them precisely because they quite reasonably assume they are there to talk about themselves and their schtick rather than have a peer to peer conversation.There may even be a reality of just not being high enough up the food chain as a host to be treated as an equal industry peer or that the value of the interaction is weighted much more in your favour than theirs. These are not unreasonable things but they are realities, especially to guests who will only go on shows with specifically high audience metrics. How much prep do you think Robert Cialdini would do if he were to come on my podcast? Probably little to none, and why would he? He’s already a world-renowned expert in influence and persuasion. (He’s also my #1 dream guest if anyone knows him?)I was going to use Gary Vaynerchuck as my example but I’m not sure I could, he seems like the kind of guy who wants to be prepared for any appearance he makes and would likely have something up his sleeve to drop that would be unique to each conversation he has. I can’t be sure, but that’s the impression I get. I’m not necessarily saying be more like Gary Vee but I kind of am. It’s great to be well prepared, even as a podcast guest, for every show you do. Preparedness shows and it really pays off in the long term.Sometimes I get asked about my own podcast style and I say that what I aim for, as a guest and host, is to have an interesting conversation like we’re grabbing a coffee or a cocktail and talking about work, our experiences and maybe some stories. The kind of conversation that if you were sitting nearby on your own would be interesting enough to make you want to tune into or maybe even join in. That’s what I aim for but sadly, I don’t always achieve it.Some guests show up and go into presentation mode, ready to give their full TED talk. In those cases, it’s barely a conversation and the host isn’t really needed. You struggle to get a word in edgeways and spend most of the time waiting for the guest to give&nbsp;you&nbsp;an opportunity to speak. Those are not good shows.Podcasts are not the same as public speaking presentations or webinars and should not be treated as such unless you never want to get invited back on a show. I tend not to publish those kinds of episodes and it ends up being time wasted on all sides. I just don’t feel I can put that kind of content out to my audience. If it bores me, I assume it will boor you too.I got to have a very interesting conversation yesterday as a guest on a podcast about marketing and personal branding for podcasters. We were discussing one of the things that I see as being a danger zone in the world of podcasting right now, which is boring interviews. It’s bad for guests, bad for hosts and bad for audiences. This also means it’s bad for building a following, especially if it’s your show.I’ve often told people that there is a huge opportunity to build a following​ and become known with podcasts and I still think that’s true but I have come to the conclusion that it doesn’t matter how many podcasts you guest on if you’re boring or lacking clarity and it doesn’t matter how many podcasts you make if you’re not a good host or at least ready to put ​​the work into improving and developing. Putting out consistently substandard content is likely to do more harm than good.I recently recorded a chat with a former US political staffer and spox who I asked about media training and what communications advice he received whilst working for a senator and it was clear from his answers that media training was a requirement and if you weren’t able to think on your feet and speak well, you would quickly be pulled away from public comms. His name is Paul Ruppert and I’ll have that chat coming up on Speaking Influence very soon.For many podcast hosts, especially those who haven’t really ‘made it’ in podcasting yet, it would be a dream to get hired by a big name in the industry as a presenter or in pretty much any capacity but if you listen to your own performances on your shows, how likely is that to happen? Try listening with objective ears, they look a little like Mr Spock’s from Star Trek, in case you were wondering. Seriously though, try to take an objective stance on this as best you can.Work your podcasting, as a guest and/or as a host as though you were looking to get noticed and even hired by the biggest and brightest names in podcasting. Treat your guests like they are the guests you most want (they already should be) and treat your hosts like you’re appearing on a big, big show. One day they just might be. If you want serious results in podcasting or in anything, take it seriously and be ready to put the work in. You can still have fun but you can’t get away with being half-arsed. Do that and you will get half-arsed results.This week I invite you to listen to a voice that was seemingly made for podcasts and a coach, trainer and podcaster who, like myself, used to be airline cabin crew. We spoke a little about that and I can tell you it was a thoroughly enjoyable and enlightening conversation I got to have with Daniel Tolson. I hope you will enjoy it too.<iframe class="ql-video" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" src="https://player.captivate.fm/episode/5d3922a6-6d0e-43f5-ab6a-a4a5f47730d7"></iframe> Next week I am bringing you a big name interview! You will get to hear my conversation with my mentor and friend Chris Ducker. Yes, Mr Youpreneur himself will be on the show to talk about influence and persuasion and the things that he believes have made the biggest difference to his own influence as well as what he sees most entrepreneurs struggling with and what he recommends to get out of the weeds and into success. It’s a dynamite episode not to be missed.I like to share a song with you each week and you can take them or leave them but music has power over our emotions like few other things do. When it comes to being you, doing things your way, with your style and your unique knowledge and experience, baby, you’re the best. So, honour yourself with this wonderful performance from the magnificent Carly Simon of her song and one of my favourite Bond themes, Nobody Does it Better. Enjoy it and feel free to share your favourite Bond theme in the comments and any other feedback too. Have an amazing week.<iframe class="ql-video" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SaV-6qerkqI" height="315" width="560"></iframe>

Why being a podcast guest might do your brand more harm than good

Be Our Guest

Is your message reaching your desired audience?Do you want the world to be a better place?Do you want people to lead happier and more fulfilled lives?Do you have thoughts, perspectives, stories and even products and services that could help people improve their lives in some way?I’m betting that you do, which is great because that makes you exactly the kind of growth-minded person I love hanging out with.I’m the same and because I have some miles on my odometer as a coach, speaker and trainer I know how hard it can be to share the things you’ve invested time, energy and money into but not see much responsiveness and not have your material connect with or reach your desired audience. It can feel like you’re shouting into the void and that all your effort is being swallowed up by the black hole of the internet.I don’t know how it is for you but it’s pretty much daily for me that I get friend requests and unsolicited direct messages from people trying to sell me stuff. I can usually spot it right away, the unspecific message about wanting to connect after visiting my LinkedIn profile, the intrusion into my email or direct messages to let me know why I need their product or service.&nbsp;It’s usually marketers but not always. Oh great, another program to help coaches hit 10k a month, another marketer who will get me to page one on google search and another service that will create unmissable content for me. I’m not saying they’re charlatans, they may well be able to do exactly what they promise.&nbsp;What I am saying is that their invitations are generally unwelcome because they have not built any relationship with me. I would no more trust them to get me to high income and client flow than I would trust the daily spam emails I get that promise me a bigger manhood or the wealth of a long lost relative. I’m not going to be fooled by those…well, not again.You don’t ask someone to marry you on the first date. It’s too much, too soon. You don’t know each other yet. You may be able to envision what life could look like together, maybe even choose the names of your future children or pets. You would be building your life on a fantasy. More likely is that you would be looking for the nearest exit or sneaking off when they go to the toilet.It can’t feel good to do these tactics. I tried it a while back as a part of a marketing program I was in and it just didn’t fit for me. Mostly, I got ignored. A few times I received some very abusive replies and on a number of occasions, people were trying to sell me their services when I had reached out to them. It also somehow left me with a Facebook newsfeed full of anti-vax propaganda and pro-Trump, pro-guns people who I would really prefer not to be connected with. Yuk.Lesson learned. It felt sleazy to me and I couldn’t find a way to make it feel not sleazy. I know you’ve gotta market your stuff, gotta hustle, but I’m convinced there’s a better way. In fact, there is, there are, as in there are many better ways. Thing is, they’re a little less direct and require a bit more effort than activating a connection bot.We are in an age where relationship matters, connection matters and trust matters. If you want the odd quick sale and you don’t care about relationships, then carry on with the bots and impersonal outreach. I don’t think you’re like that though, any more than I am either. My dream, my goal is to help good people with powerful messages and services to be able to build influence and authority in their industry and stay in their integrity whilst doing it, reaching the audiences who need to hear them.I believe that getting yourself on podcasts is one of the best ways for you to do that right now. It’s also important to be doing it in the right way and not just going for numbers. Strategy matters. On the 27th of January I will be launching (well kinda relaunching, as the first 2 attempts hit technical problems) my free Podcast Client Attraction System for coaches, speakers and consultants and I’d love to see you there.It’s going to be a live event but no replay, so if you can’t join me live, let me know and I’ll make sure you get notified of the next event. I’ll be talking about how to get your content connecting with new audiences, how to leverage the power of OPAs (other people’s audiences) and how to be the kind of guest who really stands out in the right way. Use this link to join the event:&nbsp;<a href="https://bit.ly/3G9jf32?fbclid=IwAR0OVOqDebl93Co-fbpZCK4MxlmUELQxsp5rCpgedl7282Hl5SWzmX8BczQ" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(139, 139, 139); background-color: transparent;">https://bit.ly/3G9jf32</a>I invite you to check out my podcast Speaking Influence, which is all about building a platform of ethical influence and persuasion to help us become better communicators and step up as a powerfully persuasive positive influence to the people we most want to serve. This short introduction tells you all you need to know:<iframe class="ql-video" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" src="https://player.captivate.fm/episode/d24c1ae9-07dc-40d7-9eb6-8eee4fb54c05"></iframe> You may also enjoy the latest episode with the amazing speaker and trainer Robert Raymond Riopel and find out the unexpected connection we share, as well as how Robert bounced back from burnout and how energy is one of the key factors in being an amazing trainer.&nbsp;<iframe class="ql-video" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" src="https://player.captivate.fm/episode/33910c7f-d3a5-43ec-bc39-544ec68a6be9"></iframe> Have an amazing week and go make great things happen.

Is your message connecting?

Can you hear me now?

When it's not the cold weather that's stopping you from moving

The Big Freeze

Why is it that so many talented coaches, speakers and expert brand based business owners fail? How can you make sure you don't meet the same fate?I’ve always considered it one of the great ironies of life that talented people can often be passed over and ignored. Growing up I was told not to blow my own trumpet. I was told that good work always gets rewarded. I was told many well-intentioned lies. I’m even sure that they were believed or at least hoped to be true by those who repeated them.When I entered the coaching world back in 2003 I knew many good coaches and many really great coaches. I also knew many not so great coaches who were absolutely killing it in their businesses because they knew something the other coaches didn’t. They knew how to market themselves but more importantly, they knew they had to market themselves.&nbsp;Businesses the world over are full of talented people whose gifts are being squandered and remain unknown. Opportunities are being missed all day every day because people’s talents stay hidden and few have the desire or presence of mind to delve deeper into people’s capabilities. Keeping your head down and your nose to the grindstone is supposed to get you results but what does it really get you? Usually, a lifetime of being taken for granted.It’s true everywhere: In the office where Debbie do nothing has the ear of the senior managers and seems to progress whilst Cassie works her butt off and gets ignored. For Phil Tharum, who despite being a phenomenal speaker just doesn’t get bookings but sees many less gifted speakers in the spotlight. For Sally super coach who only a handful of clients paying £75 an hour who sees Chris Contrapreneur with his all style and no substance coaching raking in the money.&nbsp;It just doesn’t seem fair, does it?What can be done? Do we all have to become masters of marketing and public braggarts? Thankfully we do not but we do have to, first of all, own our gifts and be willing to promote them. Your neighbours won’t know you own a Lamborghini if it never leaves the garage. Sometimes, you just have to put your assets on show for the world. Well, not the whole world but for the right audiences.Think about it this way, it’s not just about you. If you have talents your company could be benefiting from and you are just secretly hoping that one day you get to show them or get asked about them, then you are doing a disservice to yourself and to the company.&nbsp;If you have gifts that can improve someone’s life, mindset, health, business or relationship but you don’t promote them, you are also doing a disservice to yourself and to all of them.&nbsp;We have to wake up to the fact that it’s not about us. It’s hard to do that because we’re so deeply involved in our own lives and we can’t escape our own minds. However, difficult is not the same as impossible. It’s not&nbsp;not&nbsp;about you though… it’s just about something bigger.&nbsp;I’m going to guess that you have a dream and desire to help make a difference in this world in whatever way you can. Am I right? Maybe you’re not sure you can really do it? Maybe you have already had a few tries and it didn’t go so well? Perhaps you are already on the journey but still struggling with impostor syndrome?&nbsp;How can you get going and keep going with so many doubts and so many challenges?&nbsp;Commit. Cut yourself off from any other option than to fulfil your chosen purpose and serve whoever you are best able to with the gifts and talents you have worked on and developed.Be willing to give up your obscurity and some degree of privacy as you step into becoming a more public figure. No more hiding for you. It’s scary, I know, but you’re not doing it just for yourself.&nbsp;It’s time to get off the fence and stop allowing yourself to justify not being more visible. You don’t need to become the next Tony Robbins or Brené Brown but you do need to be willing to be seen and heard by the people you can help. Not just willing, hungry for it, an evangelist for your own mission.As Mando, the Mandalorian says, ‘This is the way.’Does this help? Because, frankly, if you’re not willing to be seen and heard, you’re wasting your time and you will be better off exploring options where you can remain anonymous.&nbsp;If you’re ready and willing to be seen and heard as an expert in your area, I want to help you step up. Not by selling you anything but by inviting you to my free Podcast Client Attraction Formula event.&nbsp;It’s going to be on the 20th of January at 4pm CET/3PM GMT/10am EST. It will be live on LinkedIn and I will be sharing how you can leverage the power of other people’s audiences to build your professional authority, your professional network and become well known for what you do. You’ll also learn how to use these opportunities to generate leads, get booked on top stages and create a flood of opportunities for yourself.If that sounds like your kind of thing, register for the event and join me live.&nbsp;It will be live only with no replay, so it will be a be there or be somewhere not there situation. I’ll pack as much value as I can into 1 hour and stay some extra time for questions at the end.If it’s not for you, no problem. You can check out the latest episode of Speaking Influence below instead. If it is for you but you can’t make this one, drop me a message and I’ll let you know when the next one will be.I’d love to know what you think about the message of this newsletter, the Speaking Influence Podcast and if you’ll be joining me for the live event, so please feel free to drop me a direct message.&nbsp;Here’s to an amazing 2022.&nbsp;Go and make great things happen.

...and what you can do about it

Why talented people often fail

If you feel like you're spinning your wheels and your message just isn't getting out there, how are you going to make 202 different to this year?I’m writing this on the penultimate day of 2021 and if you’re anything like me, you’re wondering where the hell the year went? We’ve been tentatively resuming some of our pre-pandemic activities but for many of us, life has changed irrevocably.My strategy for dealing with lockdowns in 2020 was extreme productivity. I don’t think I had ever created so much content, events and more but I was doing the old throw spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks strategy.&nbsp;When we started being allowed to socialise and do regular things again, I had filled up so much of my time with activity that it was hard to start clawing some of it back to having a life again.The problem for me is that being busy does not necessarily equal productivity. It didn’t take too long before I found myself feeling burnt out and frustrated that results were just not showing in the way I wanted.&nbsp;Busy also became a form of procrastination for me. I could put off doing some important work that scared me because I was just so busy with everything else. Trouble was, not enough of everything else was making me money.It’s hard to know what are the right things to do when you’re in business by yourself. It’s so easy to work your arse off and still feel like you’re spinning your wheels. As someone who has been in the coaching business a long time, I have always sought out the right people to coach me and I am happy to say I found those people in 2021.When you have the right guidance and a roadmap to success, then it just becomes about doing the stuff you need to do. When you stop spending time on stuff that won’t move you or your business forward, you have more time and energy for the things that will.&nbsp;If you’re always reaching for the next new thing, the shiniest new strategy, the weird social media trick or whatever else, you end up never finding traction and your message is being shouted out into the void with little if any results.I am willing to bet that you are someone who has unique knowledge, insights and a desire to make a positive difference. Am I right? Thought so. Are you doing that or just wish you were?&nbsp;Gaining influence and authority is hard. Building a list is hard. Most of the classes and seminars on this are circular and seem to be aimed at people who already have a list and already have many clients but no one starts off that way and there are very few people out there filling in the gap.Building your list and building your authority are hard things to do but not impossible. Yes, you need to have a message and you need to be solving a problem for people. Yes, you need to be able to speak with knowledge and insight on those things. Most importantly, you need to be out in the world being heard by as many people as possible. I believe that is what podcasting can do for you, as a guest, as a host or both.&nbsp;I’m finishing up my new book all about how to build influence and authority through podcasts and it will be out pretty soon. In the meantime, I invite you to download my mini ebook on&nbsp;<a href="https://present-influence.ck.page/money-from-podcasts" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(139, 139, 139); background-color: transparent;">How to make money from podcasting without needing to start your own show</a>&nbsp;and take a listen to the&nbsp;<a href="https://speakinginfluence.buzzsprout.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(139, 139, 139); background-color: transparent;">Speaking Influence podcast</a>&nbsp;where I regularly speak to experts and professionals in influence and persuasion about how to build your influence and persuasively put your message out into the world.Start your year off with some spectacular episodes: Make 2022 the year you build your influence and step up to the mic.Happy new year to you, Johnny.

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