Are You Holding Yourself Back??

Carol Palmatier writes about marketing and personal branding, and is a frequent contributor to a number of industry blogs.  

What beliefs are limiting your own life, your success, your relationships, your career? This Tony Robbins interview with Frank Kern and John Reese is an eye-opener.

Last December, I had the awesome opportunity to attend Date With Destiny in Orlando. What I learned there did change my life...when I allow it to! See, the funny thing is, as much as I learned and brought home from that event, I limited the power it could have in my life. The limits are insidious...often hidden, sometimes blatant and still surprising. A limiting belief can rob you of your success before you even begin. And we all have them.

This video interview with two Internet Marketing giants is a good reminder of how powerful these limiting beliefs can be. Everybody needs a wake up call now and again, and I got mine this morning.

If you're not a fan of Tony (yet), this is a good intro to what he's all about.

And it just might change your life before lunch. Enjoy!

The Zen of Personal Branding

Carol Palmatier writes about marketing and personal branding, and is a frequent contributor to a number of industry blogs.

I hear voices in my head. Constantly. A never-ending stream of ideas, thoughts, words, writings, conversations. On every topic under the sun.

The voices criticize, cajole, inspire, chuckle, encourage, annoy…a melange of discordant ideas, like the episode in which Bugs Bunny conducted the symphony. You remember that one, right? Only Bugs Bunny is my brain, and seems intent on amping up the volume and making its own form of questionably joyful noise.

The funny thing is, I don’t think I am crazy. In fact, I think I’m a pretty normal gal. I believe that most smart, ambitious, goal-oriented people have these voices in their own heads, urging them on, criticizing their mistakes and pushing them forward.

(A little affirmation would be good here. You do have those voices, right?)

Blessedly, I’ve recently begun to learn how to quiet those voices for a time, and simply BE. Be quiet, be still, and observe those voices as an impartial party. It takes practice and effort to recognize the voices for what they are. And it takes no small amount of courage to turn off the noise too. What if this is my million-dollar idea waiting to be heard? What if I really need to learn what this voice is screaming to tell me?

Ssshhhh. Be still already.

What I’ve found in the stillness is precious. It’s the relief you get when that noisy punk kid neighbor finally turns off the Slayer. There’s a new found ability to focus and concentrate on the task. A new creative process takes over, in which the words flow and the thoughts are clear. Suddenly I’m speaking from a new place of truth and IS-ness.

The voice that says “there are other people who know more about this than I do” is replaced by the recognition that we are all learning on our journey. The voice that screams “don’t try that; you might fail” is nudged aside by the realization that success and failure are arbitrary self-imposed concepts.

Now the idea of “going out and marketing myself” becomes simple and conversational. Learning, sharing, growing…not blustering about how wildly amazing I am, or how my years of experience in the field have helped me leverage the….blah blah blah.

Engaging in the conversation is the essence of personal branding and marketing. No one’s asking you to know it all. In fact, who wants to be THAT guy? No one’s deciding you’re a failure or a success..well, no one except you and that Bugs Bunny in your head.

Relax. Be Still. Absorb the quiet. Then come out and introduce yourself to the world. Happy to meet you.