‘REINVENTION AND RELAUNCHING – FINDING YOURSELF WHEN YOU DIDN’T KNOW YOU WERE LOST!’
I’ve been MIA for the past little while, (my last podcast was almost 18 months ago!) and I mainly think that was because I have gone on a really deep personal development journey in myself, and I really needed to step back for a while.
I have been very committed to my personal growth over the years, but it really escalated 5 and a half years ago when my husband suddenly died, and in particular when I got into some very unproductive relationships after that! There’s nothing like losing friends, going through emotional hardship and being challenged by unhealthy relationships to teach you a few things about yourself!
And then add in I was turning 50, and that every aspect of my life was coming to a crossroads... I was really challenged for quite some time there! My three sons had grown up and needed me less and less, and I was feeling a little stale in my business. I had been working hard in it for 25 years and moving into doing more marketing coaching and strategy work, (which I really enjoy), but I knew something was really missing for me when speaking to my audience.
For a few years now, I have developed a process that I call Connection Marketing, where you tell your story, share your knowledge, and create a great audience around you who relate to you and literally ‘fall in love’ with what you have to say and how you can help them. It’s all about building a truly magnetic personal brand. But it’s easy to say and much harder to execute!
Most business owners agree this is good for their business, but they don’t want to do it. They don’t want to get that personal and they certainly don’t want to put themselves out there to be criticised by their peers. And I realised that I too didn’t want that kind of deep exposure either! I felt like a fraud because my personal life was not good, I was telling people not to worry about what people thought of them when they marketing, and yet when I’d dip a toe in the water and get some negative response, I’d pull back too and smooth things over so I was far more ‘likeable’! The problem is, this makes you really generic, and that doesn’t create a compelling personal brand!
So I took a bit of a break from marketing my business and I went really deep into what was holding me back, because I figured when I got to know who I truly am, how I can honestly help my audience, and how I can sincerely transform lives – that it would be much easier for me to show up and market myself without giving a flying fuck about what others thought of me!
So I joined a covers band and started singing again! Something I’m wildly passionate about and loved doing when I first came to Sydney as a late teenager. I got back into my health and fitness. I started body building and taking great care of my physique and gut health. I learned how to meditate from the monks at the Buddhist Temple in Wollongong. And I journaled, practised mindfulness, walked in nature daily, visualised, worked on my self-talk and became a qualified Tantra practitioner!!
I also learned the Spiral technique of Kinesiology, and NLP (Neuro Linguistics Programming). I now feel I am more than equipped to help my clients unblock their energetic, unconscious programming on many levels with these skills. And I used them on myself to build up my own self-awareness and knowledge.
I really committed to my growth in every aspect of my life, so I could help me and help my family, my friends and my clients. And I learned a lot of incredible things about what holds us back and what it takes to reacquaint yourself with you!
So in no particular order, here is what I learned about growing individually and breaking through the personal barriers to fearing connecting with an audience through personal branding and standing out from the crowed:
1. Never, ever think that wha