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Listen time ~14 mins This post is all about initiating new things.  Turning over new leafs.  All that jazz.  There comes a time in one's life where you'll find that a change needs to happen.  Maybe you're at a breaking point, or maybe you're just ready to do something different.   What does it take?  Why do we do this in the first place.  Ahh, why. Remember what I said about your Y Statement?  Well, the coveted Y statement strikes first again and always, in a matter of fact. Why are you ready to make this change.   Usually, you've suffered and hit your limit and that means it's time for a change.  Why must we suffer until we wake up and attempt to make a change?  I dunno. We're stubborn little bastards aren't we?   But let's not get hung up on the past.  The point is you want to make a change now, which is awesome! I'm totally giving you a hug right now.   I wanted to share with you guys the new leafs I'm turning and why I'm making them and perhaps we can both get inspired to make those positive changes we didn't even know we wanted to make.   New leaf #1: Wearing dresses.   I know, I know.  What the heck?  Well, I've been thinking about why I didn't wear dresses, and why wearing a dress has the impact that it does on me.  In the past wearing dresses were taboo for me and "my figure".  Getting a dress as a present always sent an automatic dread down my 9 year old spine.   As I got older the thought of dresses remained out of my reach.  I was always so awkward with expressing my femininity.  In fact, I had no idea how to even do it.  I was your textbook tomboy who played sports and had only guy friends.  Dresses looked slightly awkward, because I was awkward with the concept.   Thinking back now, I believe I wanted to do all that, I just didn't know how.  Why? Because inside I hadn't fully understood my own persona. My being.  My female-ness.  And not until recently and I mean really recently, with the drastic changes that have forced me to revaluate my purpose, my identity and my life, I have continued to maintain those positive changes with my self esteem and my self image.  How? Yes, by wearing dresses.   No, not just wearing the dress, but what the dress represents for me.  I credit my sister for initiating this move towards my newfound femininity.  It started with nail polish.  Nail polish drew attention to my hands, hands that I thought were too this or that.  So I never liked nail polish.  My

listen time: 7 mins   Meetings waste time. Let's face it. When someone books a consultation with you, you want to book each and every inquiry so you schedule it as soon as you can. You set up the time. You send a confirmation email, text, call. You get a response--cool. You don't get a response--bad. Perhaps no response until the last second. You shower and dress nice. You drive to the meet spot or your studio. Then you wait. You straighten out your materials and check your hair, then you pace around or surf the net. Then you wait. Traffic's an issue. Parking could be an issue. Finding you can be an issue. Then your client shows up and finally you concede to start the meeting. You get acquainted with each other and show your best work. Then you pull out the prices and the contract and say "take a look and if you have any questions, just send me an email." Hopefully through all the necessities, you've made an actual human connection (the best part of meetings). Then you drive home and wait for the email or call or text saying you're the one that they want or don't. Or no response…at all. We've even had some people be 30 to 40 mins late. We've had people cancel at the last second. Time wasted. Time is your most precious commodity. It's the most precious resource you can give of yourself. We're dying. Our time is limited. It's so important to really understand that that we shouldn't just give away our time to book clients who may or may not be the RIGHT clients. Meetings are useful. Clients are interviewing us, but we're also interviewing them. It isn't just a simple exchange of our time for your money. We're selective in the best sense. We want what's best for us and for them. I understand that starting out may force one to take on work that isn't necessarily suited for them. But I would say don't muddle that with the work you want to create. You attract more of what you do. So choose your gigs and the work you do carefully. An artist that hates to create copies, but does it for money slowly destroys their ability to receive the type of work they want to do. Remember your "why" see RAW DAILY ep. 8 and allow that to carry you through to your desired work. In our business it's unavoidable to have meetings. That's a bummer. I understand the importance of making that connection with a client for them and for us. But as I illustrated there is so much time wasted. And we're only getting older. So how do you begin to make this better? For 5 years we've

{listen time 5 mins}   lets talk about personal brand.   I have a bone to pick with the personal brand.  Gary Vaynerchuck (Vee) one of the leading voices in social media today is an incredible storyteller and really really owns his personal brand.  What is that exactly?  I've heard it a number of ways, I don't doubt that it's a very important aspect to build in your business, but it's confusing sometimes.  Chris Ducker says personal brand is what someone says about you when you're not around.  Gary Vee explains it's everything you do and don't do.   When I think about the big brands out there, Nike, Gucci, Oprah, they all started from ground zero which was…fill in the blank.  Now, big brands have the ability to expand outside themselves and still be understood as Nike, Gucci, Oprah, because of what they had originally started up in.  They built a face and a name right.   Somewhere in between they made it.  They were understood, They were established.  And that is powerful.  How can a person like me or like you begin to start to establish a name and a brand this way?  The Hodgetwins are great example to analyze and look at.  Average dudes personal branding like crazy.   They are twins that are in the fitness niche, and give their pure, outlandish, sometimes childish commentary on working out, intermittent fasting, reaction vids, relationship and life advice, all in their own way, so much so, that people have paid them to simply be themselves, in the way advertising, sponsorships, media spots, TV and radio shows, etc.  Amazing.  Simply amazing. They even have a routine about how they start their videos and this will change from time to time, but you expect to see a hilarious intro that show them being brotherly and rough and funny.  It's entertaining, it's like the shows you watch on TV.  The first season will have an opener, and the second will have a slightly different opener.   Though on the other hand, the reason why I have a bone to pick with personal brand, is because as the public or your audience begins to establish you in their mind as a brand as Gary Vaynerchuck, as Nike as Burberry as Megan Pangan, they begin to also put you in a corner there.  To remain that brand to remain unchanged.  And it's the power and the curse of personal branding of branding in general.  While it's important to establish brand and that's what I'm doing now, it's what we do every day.  I don't want to put myself in a corner in your