Hey Reader,
Happy vacation, if youβre taking a 5 day Memorial Day weekend!
Otherwise I wish you the best of luck being productive between now and the long weekend π
Messy Musings
Do you steal like an artist?
This week we did.
In 2012 Austin Kleon published a book called Steal Like An Artist, that had a pretty big impact on a lot of the thought leaders I look up to. While I haven't read it myself, I feel like I've seen/heard enough people talk about it to get the gist of it.
This week I've been thinking about it because we're in the process of doing exactly that.
As a life long learner I'm always looking for ways to learn or improve. And something we've been leaning into a lot is experiencing the "other side" of what we're doing for our clients & audience.
This includes signing up for (non-competing) memberships to learn what excites us about showing up in rooms so that we can build in those things to The Breakroom, having other service providers do things in our business to iterate our customer experience, or going on other peoples podcasts...
On Monday we were interviewed for Amanda's podcast Brand & Banter about pivoting. And the thing that I found really interesting was her process.
Up until this point we've been inviting people on to our podcast based on topics we're hearing questions about, and we do the research to put together the list of questions.
Amanda turned this on it's head - we had a 30 min strategy call where she asked us (the experts) what should be included in the interview.
Then turned it into an outline where we're able to give her audience even more value since we'd be speaking to our strengths (and frameworks).
Yea I know, not that ground breaking, and I conceptually knew that many of the big podcasts already do this... but I'd never personally experienced it.
As of writing this email we've already had our first podcast strategy call (with Alyssa about generating leads) and I can honestly say this makes me more excited about recording this episode - because it takes all the guessing out of interview prep - it's collaborating with an expert to provide tangible value to both our audiences.
Does the way we're doing it look exactly like how Amanda does it? Nope. We've definitely put our own spin on it, but we "stole like an artist" by getting inspiration, then making it our own.
My question for you: where are you "stealing" inspiration right now to improve?
This Week's Needle Mover
Claim the Title Instantly: Wake up and instantly claim your new title (e.g., "I am a community leader"), entirely bypassing the need to wait for years of experience to feel authorized.
People used to tell both of us we'd be teachers one day. We'd roll our eyes every time. Teachers? No thanks. And yet here we are, running an education company, coaching business owners, leading a membership.
It wasn't until we gave ourselves full permission to own the title of "Educators", "Business Coaches", and "Community Leaders" that we started to see things fall into place.
Turns out when you give yourself permission to go after your strengths (and do it your own way), a lot can happen.
Chances are, you're not owning your authority as much as you could be.
We see this all the time in entrepreneurs. You have a brilliant idea, but you see someone else doing something similar so you discard it. You have the nudge to pursue a skillset you've cultivated for years, but it's different from what people know of you so you keep it to yourself, always wondering "what if". You're on a call with a client who wants to do X, when you can clearly see they actually need Y, but you don't want to offend them so you say nothing.
Owning your authority means you're able to make an even deeper impact. It's one of the most selfless things you can do. Not only will you be more fulfilled, everyone around you will be better for it, too.
What title do you need to give yourself permission to claim?
Hit reply and tell me, I want to know.
This Week on the Podcast
Have you ever wanted to work with local brands?
This week we sat down with Belle Grubb to talk about partnering with local brands.
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Belle has a unique advantage because not only does she herself work with brands, she also holds a position with a certain company that connects brands with creators β which means she understands both sides of the table.
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We talk all about how to craft your pitch, her content creation process, turning UGC content into ongoing partnerships, and more.
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This oneβs packed with value, including a special workbook we created for you to craft your pitch. β
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βListen on Apple Podcasts / Listen on Spotify / Watch on YouTubeβ
Before you go, reply and tell me: how are you stealing like an artist?
Lyndon
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