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Balancing the Future Ep. 10 - Stand Up and Stand Out: Creating an Authentic Personal Brand with Kaplan Mobray
212 Plays1 month ago
Kaplan Mobray, motivational speaker, consultant, and award-winning author of The 10 K’s of Personal Branding, joins Christopher Mitchell to talk about how and why you need to build a personal brand to stand out in your career. In this conversation, they discuss the importance of showing up as your whole self, how to be intentional when building your personal brand, the unwitting or unintentional factors that can become a part of your brand, and how to change the narrative.
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Transcript
Introduction and Kaplan's Journey
00:00:09
Speaker
Name's Chris Mitchell back again, and today we're gonna have an awesome conversation. I can already feel it. I can just tell. We've got Kaplan Mowbray with us, and you know what? My intro for you is gonna be, this guy has done a little bit of everything, but I know he's a sound human being, which is what I care about the most. But when we talk about an entrepreneur, when we talk about success, when we talk about moving here at Shaker, when we talk about you going out and making it happen, I think of you. And I've been in a room when you presented,
00:00:38
Speaker
And it's been, oh my goodness, is it entertaining? So this is a treat, is the way I look at it, and I look forward to today's conversation. So I know I've probably added a few things, but I didn't i didn't share enough. So by all means, share as much as you want to share with the audience.
Living by Decision and Creating Opportunities
00:00:52
Speaker
ah great Great to be with you. My name is Kaplan Mowbray. I'm an award-winning author, ah motivational speaker, career consultant. I speak all around the world, helping people to build their brand, elevate their excellence, become better leaders.
00:01:06
Speaker
um I've been and doing this work on as an entrepreneur for the last twelve years. Prior to my speaking career, I was in the accounting industry. um I worked at Deloitte. um Prior to that, I worked at a city group and you had a business background. I always had that orientation to help drive growth. um And that focus has really helped me throughout all parts of my career.
00:01:31
Speaker
ah For me, the biggest sort of life lesson I've learned is take a little, make it a lot. and like Live life by decision, not by default. And what that means is when you're intentional, um you can create opportunity. And also when you see opportunity, you can create opportunity. A lot of people don't see, they don't see opportunity so they don't take the effort to create it. So at every juncture of my career,
00:01:55
Speaker
um I took a little and made it a lot. And I think that's really helped me now as an entrepreneur ah in helping others around the world to lead their own levels of change and and excellence and growth.
00:02:07
Speaker
So I'm really passionate about ah career growth.
Passion for Career Growth and Leadership
00:02:10
Speaker
I'm passionate about helping people to exceed their own potential. And I'm really passionate about helping leaders to become better leaders. and But it all starts with that fire that we have within us. So I'm extremely proud and happy to be here with you today and to the viewers that are watching. I'm really excited for this conversation and to share something that's going to help make you better after you listen and view this particular segment.
00:02:33
Speaker
You know, one thing I think about, because I've heard about you, I've been in a room when you've presented, and I think about entrepreneur. Okay, and it's a word that you put out there. But something that I understand that everybody's an entrepreneur. yes Okay, it's not easy. it takes it's an ah It's an extreme amount of work and effort and drive on your part. Help the audience understand when you think about entrepreneur, what
Entrepreneurial Mindset
00:02:56
Speaker
does that mean to you? Because I think today, as I'm in school and I'm talking to students and they say, well, I'm gonna be an entrepreneur. i'm like That's a lot of work, you know, what that entails. So could you just share with that, what that means for you? Yeah. And I appreciate that perspective. A lot of people think, hey I'm going to be an entrepreneur. I'm just going to run my own business, you know, not knowing that, you know, most businesses fail after within less than five years. um Being an entrepreneur is both not just a job as it relates to what you do occupationally. It's also a mindset. You know, and what that mindset means is
00:03:31
Speaker
In a 24 hour day, our number 23 has to be just as important as our number five. like You know, most people work in nine to five. and they They have a steady cadence as to when they're going to get compensated for their work and their time and their effort, which then they can run their life with a level of predictability, a level of comfort in some cases, and um and kind of grow in that perspective. When you're an entrepreneur, you have to work and create everything that comes that then creates the growth of your business, your life, your future, and it's all on you.
00:04:07
Speaker
so um so So the mindset means that I have to, I will, I'm committed to the effort that it takes. I'm passionate about the business that I'm running. I'm i'm i'm accepting of the risk that i'm you know that i've that I've inherited, you know or that I've accepted, that I've committed to. I'm accepted of the growth that could also come if this goes well.
00:04:30
Speaker
i'm I'm accepted of the uncertainty. Most people want to live in levels of comfort and convenience, but you have to thrive on risk, uncertainty, inconvenience, inconsistency. So so the minds of an entrepreneur says, I love not knowing.
00:04:47
Speaker
I love it. I love not knowing what tomorrow holds, next week holds, the next month holds, but I am confident and passionate and committed to create what's going to come. And that's the difference. And I think, you know, the education for even students and professors coming out to want to be an entrepreneur or even making the shift or even looking at, you know, how do I become entrepreneurial even in their own careers? You have to be comfortable with the unknown and passionate about what you can create in the future.
Transition from Accounting to Speaking
00:05:15
Speaker
So you, you mentioned you started out within the accounting profession. And when I think about folks that started an accounting profession, it takes a certain person to be in the profession. yes I won't go into detail, you know what I'm talking about. so But how do you get to where you are today as as an entrepreneur? And I know you've had all those roles. yeah I mean, how did you navigate and then end up where you are? I mean, I know there were probably influences in your life, but yeah how did that, how did that work for you? yeah I mean, I love the industry, one, because it it gives immediate credibility. So when you're working in the accounting industry...
00:05:50
Speaker
And Des Moines, too. And Des Moines. Yeah, yeah. And Des Moines, you know, a big, big firm, big four. You know, there's a level of learning and credibility that comes. Even to this day, the learning that, just looking at how we analyze companies and help companies with strategic decisions and operations. Now, when I go to speak to an industry that I'm not familiar with, manufacturing or, you know, I spoke to NASA Space Agency the other day. You know, I've spoken to, you know, all different types of industries.
00:06:19
Speaker
I'm able to still provide that love of thinking, the analytical thinking that came from the deep roots roots in the accounting industry, the consulting industry, um and and that's really helped me. you know there word So i'm just I'm not just a motivator.
00:06:35
Speaker
I actually really can bring some solid tools to help you in your business. And that came from that that but that background. So I'm going to ask another question, and it wasn't on my list, but I'm going to put it out there anyway. Because I've been a chief diversity officer. okay And i I think about yeah folks that look like us that are at a certain level in the profession. And I think about diversity, equity, and inclusion and the move to wellness. Yes.
00:06:59
Speaker
what What's your take on that when I mention that
Wellness, Mental Health, and DEI
00:07:02
Speaker
to you? I mean, what what comes to mind? That's a real conversation because um you know wellness and mental health, ah specifically even pre-COVID, but even accelerated through past COVID, it was a real continued concern. It used to be we didn't talk about mental health or even wellness you know in the context of business and performance.
00:07:22
Speaker
um And then we talked about DEI and the context of bring your whole self uniqueness, um you know, live and work in a culture that you can thrive. um My perspective is that they are they are two separate ah perspectives um that also come together, but also need its own separate level of attention. So for example, if you are working where you don't feel your best self or your whole self, you can't fully bring your uniqueness, you are feel like you're working with a technical skill,
00:07:59
Speaker
but you don't have the support because no one understands you or celebrates you or values perspective or your background. So it's a concept I call you start shrinking. So you're in the room, you're maybe the only one of your you know ah you're particular background and you start shrinking. So you don't feel that you're bringing your full self. And then that creates stress.
00:08:23
Speaker
you know, in terms of your career, it creates anxiety in terms of am I getting ahead or you're not getting ahead and you really feel like you should be. And then that stems over into affecting your mental health and it potentially your wellness.
00:08:35
Speaker
um But the the point is that the the conversation on inclusion is how people feel at work that supports their ability to perform better at work, which then creates ability for them to advance in their work. The concept of of wellness is how do I proactively take care of myself as an individual so that I can continue to perform, advance, and grow. So they're perspectives that have tangential connection, but I also believe they're perspectives that have also their own unique ah perspective that needs and wants its own individual attention. Great, great. I know you're an expert when it comes to brand.
00:09:21
Speaker
because I know you've written a book, a very nice book as
Principles of Personal Branding
00:09:24
Speaker
it relates to brand. yeah How important is your brand? What does that look like? When I say brand, and no matter where I am in my career, when I step out the door, I'm representing Chris, and I'm socializing my brand with whatever organization that I'm a part of. absolutely How important is that to get it right? To get it right, yeah. It's everything. you know i One of the greatest things in my career, so I wrote the book, The 10Ks of Personal Branding, and I didn't know back in 2009, when the book came out during the height of the financial crisis, that I was a pioneer on this topic. I just wrote it because someone asked me to speak, coming to come in and speak at at a university. They saw me in my corporate career. I was doing very well and growing, and as was a professor. um And he said, hey, can you speak to my,
00:10:11
Speaker
Students, because whatever you're doing in your career, I've been watching you, you're doing something right and they could benefit from your advice. So he gave me 60 minutes. He said, share whatever is helping in your career. And and ah well you can be a guest lecturer. And i'll never I remember it February 15th, 2006, 6.30 PM at night.
00:10:32
Speaker
That's the day my life changed. And um so I thought about what helped me most. It was how I managed my brand. You know, sometimes I was the um youngest in a room. Sometimes I was the only African American in the room. Sometimes I was the only one from my particular discipline marketing in the room. Sometimes I i was in rooms where I was the only.
00:10:55
Speaker
in many cases, and and many professionals will face that at different junctures of their career, and they have a choice. It's to either shrink because of that and find you know confidence in comfort whenever that comes, or you're in the room, you're supposed to be there, add value to it.
00:11:13
Speaker
So I thought about managing my brand. I thought about the principles that guided me most. And it was, you know, first you got to know yourself. You know, I was, you know, I was confident as a, you know, I was at a rant track and in in college. I was, I gave me confidence. I'm a musician, so some people don't be playing the saxophone. So, you know, dancing. Yeah. So, so that, you know, so I, so that this concept came with that. and And I also wanted to play to win. you know i will say you know my My background, i was my parents were from Jamaica and they moved to the United States and they had much. And you know that story put you around opportunity. We can't necessarily provide it for everybody, but we can put you near it. And then it's up to you to go get it. you know And I was a go get it type of person.
00:11:53
Speaker
um so So knowing yourself meant for me meant you played to win, you know, and you'll do you're committed to the effort to drive excellence. um But I also said you got to know what you want to be known for. Because sometimes if you don't know what you want to be known for, you will have the off moments where you show up less than you could have been. And that becomes your brand. That becomes what you're known for.
00:12:15
Speaker
You know, sometimes when you're silent in a meeting and people invited you to a meeting because they thought you had something to value, to to to provide and everyone's looking around and they say, why did you not provide any input? Now you don't get invited back to the next meeting and your brand value decreases, not knowing that there was a narrative that had built you up to be in that room. So you got to know what you want to be known for to then direct how you show up. You know, so, so I thought about that. I thought about consistency.
00:12:42
Speaker
you know and the power of consistency. If you think about great brands, they're consistent. You know, you know great brands, you buy great brands, you invest in great brands, you wear great brands because of their consistent appeal to you, you know, the consistent value to you. So for me, it was about being consistent. You know, in any room, I'm going to add something to it. And I'm going to do it in a way where it's clear and I'm confident and I want to add value, make something better. So consistency matter. I talk about failure. You know, the fourth K is know how to accept failure. ah Realize that when people fail, they either the failure defines them,
00:13:16
Speaker
or the learning from failure defines them. And if you are defined by what you learn from the failure, you now become this agent of continuous improvement. So all of a sudden, failure becomes a nutrient. So if you think about rising in your career, if you can provide more experience from learning, and even that comes from the foundation of failure, you're now a valued asset to your organization.
00:13:40
Speaker
as opposed to being tagged with the failure, which now everyone now sees you as someone who failed at something and you can't get promoted, you failed at that, you can't go for that role, you failed at that, and all of a sudden it becomes your brand. So I learned that the narrative of failure, what I call vitamin F, nutrient, it can help you to grow if you change the narrative on here's what I learned.
Inspiration Behind the Book
00:13:59
Speaker
And then I talked about your elevator speech. How you talk about yourself definitely gives someone confidence and credibility in who you are or not.
00:14:08
Speaker
A lot of people know what they do technically, but to talk about themselves, they shrink. And if you can't have confidence in talking about yourself, why should someone have confidence talking about you? So I learned that the perspective of how you show up really matters. you know If you are learning something, be proud of what you learn, proud of what you know, proud of the value that you add, or proud of what you are looking to learn.
00:14:31
Speaker
And that gives a level of credibility in your presence, and it shapes your brand. And I talked about connections. you know When people say your name, something goes off in their mind about you. When they see you, when they show up in the door, or something goes off in their mind about you. So your presence and that immediate connection, first impression, lasting impression, creates a ah powerful brand.
00:14:50
Speaker
And then just not being silent. When you're in a room, if you're silent, you could be undiscovered, and not even know it, and not even know it. You're not getting invited to other meetings that surround you, you're not getting put on lists that that involve getting promoted. You're silent, you're undiscovered. So I talked about the value of if you are sitting at a table and bringing nothing to it, you're just taking up space and someone wants your seat. So not to be silent, to be present.
00:15:15
Speaker
And then just finally, the the ninth and tenth K was just know your expectations, not your limitations. If you tell people what to expect from you, they will look for that expectation. But if there's no expectation around your existence, you may be devalued. So in life, people, you know you look, you see what you look for. So you got to tell people what to look for, you know, so they can look to see it.
00:15:38
Speaker
And then finally, the 10th K was just your why, the why in us. the the There's a why that we all have, you know whether it's what we're looking to overcome in our life, what we're looking to celebrate in our life, the people we want to take care of in our life, the passion, the purpose, the perspective, there's something that drives you to show up and and and and take that extra effort. And that why has to guide you, has to be that barometer.
00:16:00
Speaker
that literally guides your your effort, it guides your commitment, it guides your passion, and it will guide how you show up. And that is is a part of your brand, because it's wrapped in the currency of your excellence. So all those perspectives, I put together organically, it was supposed to be ah a one-time talk, and I was supposed to go back to work. So I give the talk.
00:16:21
Speaker
At the end of the talk, a student waits till everyone leaves and stands there. I'll never forget it. He said to me, it's Mr. Moober, I just want to let you know, four words, you've changed my life. Awesome. And when I heard those words, it it literally went right through me. like and And I i literally, that's what I say, February 15th, 2006, 6.30 PM. It literally went right through me. And I felt like I had to do something with that. I didn't know what. And I was i had a great, you know I was doing well in my corporate career. I was the you know head of diversity programs for the US. Big role, you know two levels down from the CEO. Theo was, we talked about mentor. He was he was my mentor, the CEO, you know our CEO of Delight at the time. am
00:17:01
Speaker
And I was on this trajectory for continued corporate growth. But I heard these words, you changed my life. And I had to do something with it. I had to. And I felt like if I didn't and I was in my at the time, early 30s, I felt like if I didn't do that, if I didn't do something with it, twenty five, six years later, you know, I'm going to look back on life.
00:17:24
Speaker
And I'm going to have some question that says, what if what could you have been? What should have happened? But what did you what could have happened if you did something with those words that you received? I changed my you changed my life. So here I am, you know, years later. And, you know, I help people to build their brand.
00:17:42
Speaker
um I decided to write the book and just to tell the story of commitment and effort. and I appreciate the time. and For our viewers, most people want the goal. I want to be successful in my career. i want to like In my case, it's it's like I wanted to do something with this, um give people maybe a leave behind. They want the goal, but they don't sign up for the commitment.
Commitment and Discipline in Goal Pursuit
00:18:02
Speaker
that that's ah and it's it's ah It's a theme that challenges people in their career. I want to get promoted, but what does that really mean?
00:18:09
Speaker
You know, what does it really mean in terms of time, effort, sacrifice? So I said, you know, after the professor said, every student showed up differently the next day after your talk. You left, they showed up differently. And I got new roles to at the time of my career where it put me out there to speak and attend conferences and meet people. I started giving this talk, the same talk, on building a personal brand. And I kept hearing that same buzz, that same, you know, this was life changing. This was dynamic. You gave me something. So I decided, well, I want to write a book.
00:18:39
Speaker
You know, and that was the goal, but, you know, you're working, you know, 60, 70 hour weeks. You know, you've got all other things going on, personally, and and time, and there's one thing we always say to ourself, there is no time. It's it's a common theme, we always say, there is no time. and But I said, but I want to write a book, that's the goal. So for me, I said, well, it's a lesson and less I learned in life. Like I said, it is our number 23, that's important as our number five. And I didn't know at the time that MindTail was preparing me for Entrepreneurism.
00:19:07
Speaker
So I said, well, the one thing we all have in common is 24 hours. So I literally went home and said, well, you wanna write this book? I took out a ruler. So eight to six, you're gonna work. Six to seven, you're gonna commute. Seven to nine, you're gonna have dinner and spend time ah with loved ones. and And nine to two, you're gonna write. So I said, if you wanna write a book, what you're really saying is you're gonna live on four hours of sleep for a year.
00:19:37
Speaker
And that's the perspective. so So what I challenge people today is to talk in the language of commitment, not just the language of goal. So the language of commitment says, hey, someone asked you, um i'm I'm looking at you if you're watching this right now. So if theres someone asked you, you know ah you would you will would you live on four hours of sleep for a year? Someone just said that to you. Most people are gonna say, I don't know if I can do that, like consistently for a year. you know ah So for me, that's what it that's what it took.
00:20:04
Speaker
and that level of commitment and discipline and effort. So I wrote from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. every night for a year, because of those four words I received, you changed my life to to write this book, The 10Ks of Personal Branding. Not knowing that when the book comes out, it's the height of through the financial you no know crisis in the U.S., so not too long after that, CNN does a story.
00:20:29
Speaker
They say, well, hey, you know there's 10,000 people going for every one job, at least 10,000, 20,000, 30,000, 100,000 applicants. how How are you going to be the one that gets that job? You need a personal brand. brand and and not know And like I said, organically, I just wanted to give a talk and go back to work.
00:20:49
Speaker
So I write the book after, you know, for that full year of living on four hours of sleep, book comes out in the height of February 2009. And that's when CNN invites me to, as the author of this new book on this new topic, personal branding, to come and give a seven minute interview ah to help job seekers stand out in a recession.
00:21:08
Speaker
So I give the seven-minute interview ah and and on these principles. You got to really be consistent. You got to know yourself. At the end of the interview, maybe a couple months later, I got a call from the Army to come speak to the corporate engineered the corporate of engineers. um Then the NFL had some ah players with some you know off-the-field issues.
00:21:25
Speaker
um And they invited me to the 2010 Super Bowl to speak to players and others connected to about their off-the-field personal brand. And now I have a connection to the Super Bowl every year. I speak there every year. um And things were just happening. I still had my day job. I still had my day job. So what I realized when I look at the whole story is your the commitment and the discipline created the opportunity.
00:21:56
Speaker
because had I not been committed to the discipline of that, I may have missed the window of timing, I may have missed the opportunity that that came and ensued from that, or I wouldn't have been so connected to just taking the effort further. So part of my story is commitment and discipline. A commitment to excellence creates opportunity.
00:22:18
Speaker
So I'm really, so awesome I'm so honored and proud of that. and but But the lessons I learned, that's when you talk about entrepreneurs, the lessons I learned helped me for the life I have now. So when I think about personal brand and my grandmother back in the day, so you don't know who watching, sit up straight, show up right. Make sure your socks match. I mean, basic so basic stuff. yeah But when you think about um all of the, how we can differentiate ourselves and how we can be unique yeah and how we show up yeah and
00:22:51
Speaker
My question for you, and yeah maybe you've heard this before, how do you balance that?
Balancing Authenticity and Branding
00:22:55
Speaker
Because when I show up as my authentic self and I've got all these folks watching me, I won't impress yeah everyone. yeah How do I go about that balance showing up the right way? So your brand is what you know for, um but it's something that you create. Or it can be created for you if you're not intentional.
00:23:16
Speaker
So when you think about you know your uniqueness and bringing your whole unique self, which is who you are, and think about the brand that you sometimes have to be known for it to get ahead in your career as an example, the common thing is to find consistency. you know Especially now in this day and age of social media, the lines are blurred. You know you go on vacation, there's something you do on vacation, it has nothing to do with your job, but it has everything to do with your job.
00:23:43
Speaker
The lines are blurred. So who you are you know in person and who you are in your profession still connects the brand. So the key is to find the connective tissue and then connect it to your uniqueness.
00:23:58
Speaker
So for example, I would talk to people say, well, I'm a mom as an example, I'm a nurturer. That's my brand, I'm a nurturer, that's who I am, take care of things. And then in their profession, they're the people who are looking out for their colleagues, taking care, anticipating, but they bring the skill of safeguarding, nurturing, multitasking, anticipation, things like that. Risk management, compliance, they bring all that. At the end of the day, the core personal brand was, I'm a nurturer.
00:24:28
Speaker
So the key is to find the connective tissue, you know, that allows your personal brand to be connected to your your uniqueness with authenticity. You know, people always ask the question, it's a great question, you know, can you be genuine when you think about your, because but most people, some people think about branding as I have to sell myself, you know, and it's it's not, doesn't feel like me, but I gotta to do this, I gotta play this game, I've gotta, you know, and it's not who I am when I go back home.
00:24:55
Speaker
and And they have this dissonance. You know, when they go to work and they gotta be someone and then they go home, they're not someone. and But the reality is someone is always watching. You know, I always have this thing in my talks. I say, look at someone and say, I see you. Someone is always watching, whether you know it or not. So the the key is, what do they see when they see you? What do they say when they see you? and So so that so that the key in building that connective tissue is to really understand what you want to be known for.
00:25:24
Speaker
both in your personal life and your professional life and what outcomes that you want that to create for you and then be intentional about it. So your brand, your persona and have to connect to your uniqueness. And today we have to be, especially with the advent of, with social media, we have to be intentional.
00:25:45
Speaker
We have to be, and and so and it's not, you have to be forced, it's just you have to be intentional. It's like when you, if you're gonna eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner, yeah that's an intentional act. You know, managing your brand, what you're known for, when people Google your name, you know, what you're known for based on the digital footprint you have, it has to be an intentional act.
00:26:04
Speaker
So that is the, you know, long other days where you can kind of just shut off work and whoever you are in your personal life. And you can, and at the end of the day, there's something that you should find that connects you because you want to control the narrative. You don't want someone else to control it for you because sometimes you may not get it back.
00:26:24
Speaker
So what if I mess up? How do I go about cleaning that, fixing that? I know there's a lot of ways that celebrities do it, because I've seen them do it. yeah the the Stuff that's out there all of a sudden disappears, you know, the PR is a little different, so forth. So how do you fix that? How do you, someone like myself or yeah any and of our yeah viewers, I mean, how do you fix that? I mean, a common, you know, it is common and and oftentimes when people aren't intentional about their personal brand, it's common to make a brand you know mistake or a brand challenge, something that you know didn't go so right, but now it's either there on social media or it's in the narrative of the chatter of what happens when people talk about you. And you believe you have a a brand that you have to repair. Sometimes it happens for people early on in their career. They just didn't know the politics of their organization.
Repairing a Damaged Brand
00:27:13
Speaker
They didn't know that they had to, they were overstepping their boss as an example, or that they were being a little too vocal, too passionate, you know, and there's a way to do things. And sometimes that happens in people's career, and all of a sudden they get tagged as someone who is less mature for leadership. And that becomes their narrative, less mature for leadership. I don't like, they're erratic, I don't like the way that they respond. So when you have to repair your brand, there's what I call a natural process of brand transformation.
00:27:43
Speaker
um The first is you have to break a routine. um When people see you one way, they will always see you that one way because that's what they're looking for unless you show them a way to see you differently. so so So we have to break a routine. That means if you come to a meeting and you've always been silent, you gotta start speaking up, prepare yourself three insightful questions, thank leaders in the room, and all of a sudden they're looking like, wow, you said something.
00:28:14
Speaker
new eyeballs on you. You got to create new eyeballs on you because if there's not, if the the old eyeballs on you, the old view on you will continue to to have your brand stay where you want it to, where you don't want it to be. So so break a routine.
00:28:29
Speaker
and whatever that is, and you can apply it to your personal life and your professional life. The second is demonstrate capability. Add real, tangible value. I made a difference here. I brought in new revenue here. you know I helped learn something here, but deliver something where someone has something very tangible to say about you that is connected to excellence, positivity, growth, or something that you want to be known for.
00:28:57
Speaker
And the third, which is most important in terms of transformation, is you have to share learning. The act of sharing learning is an ambassadorship of, um' and now I'm helping, I'm taking my whole experience, I'm helping something and someone else. Now your brand is attached to helping, advancing, caring, sharing, mentoring, developing.
00:29:16
Speaker
But that that's the process. And then the electronic process online is if there are things online that you're tagged to, you can also create positive things that you are also tagged to. So when it pushes it down on the algorithms, but also there's enough to neutralize.
00:29:32
Speaker
Yeah, this happened earlier in my career, but look what I'm doing now. But you have to be intentional about that. Awesome. Yeah. You're not going to know the question. I'm shift gears here. Yeah. And I'm going to talk a little bit about sponsor.
Role of Mentors and Coaches
00:29:44
Speaker
Yeah. And a mentor. Yeah. And even a coach. Yeah. And at your level.
00:29:49
Speaker
And you were running your own business yeah and you're an entrepreneur. Why do you need a mentor? Why do you need a sponsor at your level and you're successful and you're traveling the world and you're doing all these great things? Why is it still necessary for you to seek out others to make you better at what you do? And I think at at at every juncture of your career,
00:30:12
Speaker
um Having another voice to encourage, to enhance, to guide, to offer perspective um helps you to continue to not get complacent. I think that's the biggest thing with a coach. but You look at a lot of coaches. Some coaches are extremely much much older than the players, but they're the coach. right And the players have the capability. The coach is offering extra guidance.
00:30:39
Speaker
And the coach is really just helping you to not come you tonight be complacent. You want to achieve a new level of personal best in your effort, you know on the field, off the field, in your career, you know in your life. So even for me at my level, I travel all around the world. I coach a lot of leaders. I coach many CEOs. I've coached CEOs through major um crisis, many of the companies that you've seen in the news. ah I coach professional athletes. I coach a lot of elite level leaders and people in society who have achieved a certain level. and and that So the question is are why would they need a coach? It's to put another perspective in the air so they don't get complacent.
00:31:21
Speaker
And when you're looking to win, you're looking to continue to win. But sometimes if you don't have or open yourself to another voice to help you guide you, you could get complacent. So a coach, even at my level, offer perspective. You know, oftentimes as a leader, and many leaders face this,
00:31:39
Speaker
ah They don't get to ask a lot of questions for themselves because they're expected to know all the answers because they're the leader. you know They've reached that level. They have a level of credibility and confidence where people say, you know it, you've got it, you know. But even leaders or you know elite level, um you know people in society, they need ah a way to stay competitive. So a coach is a guide, a coach offers perspective, but the most thing, it helps to you to not ah be complacent.
00:32:10
Speaker
So when folks are entering, I'm going to go back to the accounting profession. yeah And we've got folks that we would want to enter the profession because our numbers are shrinking. yes yes And we're trying to encourage them that this is still a good decision. It's the right choice.
00:32:26
Speaker
So when you think about that and you think about that audience, what's exciting? Because I know you're an excellent example of someone who has worked in the profession. yeah It's not debits and credits. It's not tax. It's not just consulting on stuff. It can be anything you want it to be. yeah So what what advice would you have for that person? thats thinking about accounting, yeah thinking it's debits and credits, or can be you know so much more than that. what What would you share with that? I think the the first is the instant credibility that you get from the learning in the
Value of Accounting Skills
00:33:01
Speaker
industry. Especially in accounting, you're serving clients, you're learning about their business.
00:33:06
Speaker
You're learning about their financial operations. You're learning how to detect risk. You're learning, you know in many cases, forensics. you know the And today with the you know more digital data analytics, you know the perspective of really helping a company with its true day-to-day operations comes from the discipline of accounting. um so so So you're at the forefront.
00:33:31
Speaker
of helping a company in its you know most critical area, understanding you know their financial operations. So I think that level of just transferable skill will help you at any juncture in your career and because it it gives you a a discipline. It gives you a focus. It gives you a way to look and analyze. And that's exciting. And you know whether you're working on an agricultural client or whether you're working on a big tech client,
00:33:59
Speaker
the The thinking is the is the is the transferable skill. The thinking is the learning, the competence. and And you get that from working in the industry. So I would just advocate that those looking at this profession understand that you're going to get tremendous learning. ah You're going to work with clients in real business situations. um It's going to give you instant credibility.
00:34:21
Speaker
for any part of your career, which I think is a really good foundation. So when you're building a house, you've got a good foundation. and This industry is a great foundation for any where you go in your career. And then the other part is I think it just gives you a level of discipline. you know Not everyone can work in this profession. you know It takes a certain type of person ah with commitment and discipline you know that backed by their their skill and and their their intellect. So there's a level of pride that should also come with with working in this industry.
00:34:51
Speaker
You know, one one thing I've noticed is that I'm at conferences that you're at. Yeah. Okay. And I know it's Alpha and I know it's Nava and I know it's others. Yeah. Why do you serve the way you serve? Because it seems like you step up and you're part of the conversation and you're in the mix and you volunteer. Why do you do it at your level?
00:35:10
Speaker
You know, I appreciate the the question. You know, I'm on the corporate advisory board, even here at Alpha, and I've been involved with Alpha and NABBA in sub-capacity for 20 years now. um And I, you know, people, they see me online, they see me traveling all over the world and say, you're here with us for four days. You know, it's you know i this so for me, I know that um I'm a product.
00:35:32
Speaker
of the support that mentors and sponsors, champions, connections, um have you know provided to to me. So, you know, my life now is, you know, 208 nights a year in a 365-day calendar year on the road somewhere in the world. Serving, giving, serving, giving, serving, giving. And and the opportunity to build and just, you know, a network of support, a network where I continue to share and develop future minds, ah be an inspiration to future minds.
00:36:08
Speaker
And also to be a colleague to you know others who've kind of grown up in the same time and space um is something that I'm committed to. So I know the power of i know the power of ah these associations, these conferences, the networks through the years, you know seeing each other through the years, every conference through years. you know I know the power of that, um the power where someone can pick up the phone and say, hey, can you be here to help me with do this? And boom, I'm there.
00:36:36
Speaker
So that has helped in my career, um but I also understand the power it is it can help in in others. So for me, it's that passion to show up, ah that commitment to show up.
Being Present and Creating Opportunities
00:36:47
Speaker
um But it also brings me to another lesson learned I want to to um to talk to you about, and in for our viewers, ah it's the power of being present. And, you know, you know presence is something you can decide on. You can decide to show up or not.
00:37:05
Speaker
You can decide to invest the money to attend a conference or not. You can decide to go to an event or not. And I want to tell a story um that has really resonated in all parts of my life. um Today, I speak at the Super Bowl every year, play a player networking event, sign books for players, and you know just talk to them about their brand and and also other executives and meetings that happen around that week. And then I do some fan videos at at the stadium. um And people always ask me, oh, that's pretty cool.
00:37:33
Speaker
I said, that almost didn't happen. And I'll never forget, I was invited to speak early on in my speaking career, I was invited to speak for a dinner meeting. It wasn't like a big event, it wasn't a paid event, it wasn't, it was just a dinner meeting, maybe 20 people. Hey, can you speak for like eight minutes? Just share some perspectives. You just came up with this new book, the 10Ks of Person, just share some perspectives with our audience.
00:37:53
Speaker
And I'd just come off a really long, busy, arduous week of travel. Just like this week is good you know for many people. you know just you know just And it was not convenient. It would not have been comfortable. It was not necessarily something that I i you know maybe should have done from a how tired I was. But on the strength of the relationship, the connection, who invited me to speak, I said, I'm going to go.
00:38:17
Speaker
So I go, I talk about the power for of your brand. I do this exercise. I say, when I say running secrets, give me a brand. When I say coffee, give me a brand. And I talked about the power of instant connection and recall. If people can recall you, they may also think you're good. But if you're not in a considered set, maybe devalue. And I talked about you know the power of of your legacy. What does it mean? know Your time, your commitment, your effort?
00:38:40
Speaker
So I give this perspective on building your brand and being intentional. At the end of this eight minute, literally just got up out of the dinner table and sat back down. Someone says to me, you have a great message, some more people need to hear it. I want to work on something for you. It was at that same time when um the NFL was going through that a particular issue with with a couple of their players. And um I was invited to then speak at the 2010 Super Bowl player network event, which then put me and gave me a connection to the Super Bowl.
00:39:09
Speaker
So I almost didn't do that one event because it was not convenient, comfortable, but I was committed to being present. And that presence created tremendous opportunity. So now as an entrepreneur, and the one thing we obviously control is our effort. You can control your effort. You can control your presence. One of the lessons I learned is your presence creates possibilities. Your absence um may take those possibilities away.
00:39:38
Speaker
so So it's just a powerful lesson on being present. So when you said that about just kind of showing up, it just it triggered that. Because for me, it's in my life when I have decisions to make, I think about the present opportunity and possibilities create that I can create by being present. So I'm here. I love it. and I love the conferences. I love the commitment to you know the associations that I'm involved with, the boards I serve, and but also committed to just being present.
00:40:03
Speaker
yeah You know, when I go back and um i' I'm wrapping this up and I'm wrapping it up in the sense of what I heard, because I think it's really important in this particular case, what I heard is that you're you're vested in the community. You're present when you show up, you're serious about your business. and Okay. You know, you need good people around you. Yes. Okay. You understand that when you show up, you want to be the best version of yourself. Yeah. Because you you don't know who's watching. Absolutely. I mean, all of these things are incredible. You're an entrepreneur, but you know what being an entrepreneur takes. If you got to set aside time from nine to two because you need to accomplish something else and go on four hours with the sleep, you'll do that. I'll do it.
00:40:42
Speaker
That's what it takes. And that's what I want the audience to understand about you. And that's why you hear it. I thank you for the conversation. I thank you for all of the value that you've added. And as I look into the cameras, there's one thing, because I know you like the camera too, just like I do. Is there one thing you want to share in the camera before we close out that you want this audience to to remember about you?
Living Intentionally with High Standards
00:41:02
Speaker
Yeah, I think... um yeah In life, you have a decision to make as to what your standard is. And as you think about your standard and think about your goals in life, what's your standard? And what that means is you will rise to the level of your standards. Your effort will be connected to your standard. Your wins in life will be connected to your standard. and So the quote that I have is live life by decision, not by default. What that means is
00:41:33
Speaker
Be intentional about everything. Hold yourself to a high standard so that your effort will follow it. And then understand that you're leaving a footprint every single day that will change the lives of others because of what you do.
00:41:51
Speaker
So your significance matters, not your existence, you're just your significance. So find a way to be significant and celebrate your effort for it, and it will create what I call a wave of excellence.
00:42:07
Speaker
that drives amazing results. You know, and that said, there's nothing else I need to say. I'm just so thankful that you were able to join us. And these are words of wisdom and you are very insightful and you are truly excellent. And I appreciate you. Stay tuned for the next conversation. It is coming your way. We're going to get more technical in our talks and we want you to be successful. We want you to be intentional about what you do. So thank you for tuning in today.