Resources in this Episode:

Christine Schlonski [0:02]
Hi Gorgeous, this is episode number 055 and today we are having back on the show the wonderful Liana Chaouli.

Liana Chaouli [0:11]
Hi everyone! My name is Liana Chaouli, the president and founder of Image Therapists International and today you are listening to Heart Sells! Podcast with Christine Schlonski, enjoy our time together!

Christine Schlonski [0:25]
I am so thrilled that Liana is back today and that we will be diving in more on your wardrobe and how to improve your sales game by making tiny tweaks. So hop on over to christineschlonski.com, go to the menu and find the podcast tab. You have all the episodes on Heart Sells! Podcast right there. And from there, you can listen to the episode number 054 with Liana and obviously all the other amazing episodes that are already out. One thing you for sure do not want to miss is the Sales Mentality Makeover Masterclass starting on May 15th. You can register today to make sure to you, to reserve your seat because Liana is going to go in deep on a teaching segment showing you exactly what to do to make more sales by making tweaks in your wardrobe and we’re going to talk about wearing black. So Liana Chaouli is a president and founder of Image Therapists International. She is a globally recognized thought leader, style expert, and mentor. She is fluent in five languages, and she’s a respected international keynote speaker and trainer. Liana creates transformation for her clients through the power of wardrobe. She has done that for over two decades and she has consulted top CEOs, celebrities, media personalities and political figures on the matters of self-image and style. She is the creator of Image Therapy, this is the process which guides clients to understand and see themselves in every aspect of their body, personality, and appearance. So, some of her clients include Bob Mackie, the Canfield Training Group, IBM, Canyon Ranch, Nostrum, Choice Hotel Group, just to give you a clue, and to dive in deeper you can also read her best selling book YOU Are a Masterpiece: How to Dress a More Powerful & Authentic You. I’m so super excited to have her back on Heart Sells! Podcast, so let’s dive right in. I am so happy and pumped you are back Liana, and I can’t wait to have more of this wonderful conversation that we already had on the first episode. Because it’s so valuable like when people take what you what what we talked about what you taught, and they put that into action like I’m a living example, it comes easier because you don’t need to stress that much with like certain things. And people actually come to you and tell you well you have a great energy. Right? You look, you’re like centered, and like you have inner peace going on like things people desire for themselves.

Liana Chaouli [3:55]
Yeah, you’re grounded.

Christine Schlonski [3:56]
Yeah, which makes a conversation, easy.

Liana Chaouli [3:59]
Yeah, and look, if your, you know how they say, how we say in German, Lügen haben kurze Beine?

Christine Schlonski [4:06]
Yeah!

Liana Chaouli [4:06]
But in English, translated in English it’s lies have short legs, which means they can’t run very far. So authenticity is always more effortless than trying to hold up an armor. Holding up an armor is so much effort and it’s exhausting to us. So, I believe that most of the women in the world are exhausted because they’re trying to portray, and men these days too, they’re trying to portray something that they’re not. Because they have to look good, they have do this, they have to look like that, they have to be that way, they have to be more this, they have to be less that, instead of just letting all those beach balls go and be yourself. Black, you know, this conversation that we started in the, in the earlier podcast, in portion one is is a big part of that, we, we want to wear black because people think unknowingly oh, black makes me look skinny, I’m too fat. My butt is too big, my baba blah, blah, and I have to hide this and it’s not true! First of all, it’s not true. Okay? Second of all, if you come to your closet, which could be your sacred sanctuary, because it houses your second skin, if you come to your closet, with a feeling of less than, you’re always going to want to armor up. There’s no shining brilliantly. So you’re come from when you come to your toolbox, which is your closet is not how can I be more brilliant, it’s how can I hide? Lügen haben kurze Beine, you’re gonna, people are going to notice that you’re not being authentic. And it’s so interesting to see this. Because once you have a little bit of an understanding of this, and you look out into the world, or you’re in an audience and you look around, and you really listen to people’s hearts, you know you say Heart Sells!, you’re going to be able to see that people are not wanting to show up, they don’t want to be seen, they they just want to hide, they you know, every once in a while you’ll get a glimpse of their magnificence. And then we wonder, well, why can’t you be like that? Like, why can’t you just like show up like that all the time?

Christine Schlonski [6:26]
Yeah.

Liana Chaouli [6:27]
Because people are afraid to be rejected, they’re afraid to not be enough. And they’re afraid to not look good. And so, it’s not they’re not living their lives from faith and courage, they’re living their lives from fear, and lack of connection, lack of integrity. And so I want to flip this whole conversation on on the on its head and say, just be who you are, because everybody else is taken.

Christine Schlonski [6:55]
That’s such a good point. And yeah, especially for sales, like we, you know, because it’s heart-centered, right? We want to serve, we want to support the clients, and we want to do our best that they can be their best. So I think showing up authentically is so important. But everything you just mentioned, for a lot of people it’s subconscious, right? It’s not that you walk to your closet and you think, well, there’s black and the media tells us black, you know, black clothes are great like Chanel, righ? You go to a nice dinner party, what do you put on? Well, your little black Chanel. And that’s not that’s not great for you. But we know it, because that’s what we’re taught.

Liana Chaouli [7:46]
Well, let’s let’s speak to that a little bit because in the masterclass, you know, in the Sales Mentality Makeover Masterclass that’s what I’m going to be talking about. So for those of you who are listening right now, know that something extremely valuable is coming your way, something that you can immediately put into action. And what I’m going to share with you is, well, if you’re not going to wear a block, then what are you going to wear, you know? So people say to me, well, black is so easy, no, actually black is not easy to match, let me tell you. You want to try to match a black jacket, with a black skirt and black boots? You’re going to look like, the most people look like clowns because black is the hardest color to match. But nobody, nobody believes it when I say that. And the reason why it’s the hardest, quote-unquote color to match just because it’s not a color. I want to show you what you can do to wear your personal black and I, and I want to teach you how you can find it because it’s so powerful. And I’m so excited about it.

Christine Schlonski [8:51]
Yeah, and that’s why we have this piece, and we’re going to teach it in the Sales Mentality Makeover Masterclass which is already happening for the third time. And we have so many amazing speakers are one of them, you teach teaching this special, special piece. So I will definitely make sure to drop the link in the show notes. And also the invitation to the masterclass will be at christineschlonski.com.

Liana Chaouli [9:20]
So yeah, because, yeah, the title for this portion that I’m going to be sharing with you guys, is the myth of the little black dress. So it’s a myth. And we want to debunk the myth. And then I want to give you action, actions you can take immediately. And you can just go and, and you can do a big makeover on yourself. And then if you want to learn more, you can come and learn more. I’m so excited.

Christine Schlonski [9:46]
Yeah, because you did bring a free gift as well, that is already linked in the in the show notes.

Liana Chaouli [9:55]
So I’m going to share it?

Christine Schlonski [9:56]
Yeah, sure.

Liana Chaouli [9:57]
Yeah. Go to lianasgifts.com, L I A N A S G I F T S.COM, lianasgifts.com, and look into your inbox, make sure that you go into your spam folder just in case it comes from liana@imagetherapists.com, you’ll get videos and it’ll be a fantastic foundation for you. Hopefully, you’ll do this before you come to the masterclass, and you’ll have a great, you have a huge, more understanding. So that when you come to the masterclass you’ll be even more ready to ask questions and learn. Yeah, that’s great.

Christine Schlonski [10:37]
So when you step to your, into your like authentic self, right? I’m quite sure. for everybody, it’s like, it’s it’s a process.

Liana Chaouli [10:50]
It is.

Christine Schlonski [10:51]
So do you, do you remember? Because you, you probably didn’t start where you are today. Obviously nobody, nobody does that. But do you remember like the very first thing you ever sold?

Liana Chaouli [11:05]
The very first thing I ever sold? That’s a really good question, Christine, because I think that, and I’m actually writing my memoirs right now. And it’s like, a lot of stuff is going parallel. So I’m creating, I’m in the songwriting workshop, and I’m singing and writing, and I’m doing my work. And so at these three levels, this conversation keeps coming up. What was the first thing? What was this? Go back into your history. Isn’t it interesting? So, it’s interesting that you’re asking me that because it was in Germany, and I was a kid. And people say, well, how long have you been an entrepreneur? Or how long have you been an image therapist? And I say, well, my whole life, I don’t, I can’t remember not being an entrepreneur, and that my first entrepreneurial endeavor, and so when I talk about courage, you know, curiosity, courage and commitment, my first entrepreneurial endeavor happened on a very hot day in Berlin, I was sitting in a tree with a bunch of kids, I was, I think, eight or nine years old. And I knew that, you know, this conversation that we have about getting bigger, you have to get bigger, and you have to take chances, you have to take a risk. And what was so powerful about that moment, is that I knew since I was a child, maybe because I grew up in a big family, that you can’t just have one person win, you got to have everybody win together, and that, that was my come from when I was doing the story that I’m about to tell you. So we’re sitting in a tree at a band of kids and like, like, I was always like, let’s do this, let’s do that. And, you know, I’m an eight on the end your gram, so I’m always leading, it was very, cool. And they all said, we want ice cream, and nobody had money. So I said, I thought about it a little bit, I said, listen, this is what you guys are going to do, you’re going to go to your mothers and fathers houses, or wherever in the basement, and you’re going to get other fun flushing, you’re going to get all the bottles that we can then take to the kiosk, turn them in for cash, and then we’re going to buy everybody ice cream. And that’s exactly what we did. And there were kids who didn’t have any bottles to go get redemption value. And some kids had more bottles. And what we did is we, everybody came together about 12 kids, we put all the money in a pot, and everybody got two ice creams.

Liana Chaouli [11:32]
Well, that sounds like a great deal.

Liana Chaouli [13:38]
And that was my first business endeavor. And I realized, you know, what I realized in that moment is that when you, when you are, when you are authentic, meaning when you come from your heart, and you want the best for everyone involved, that always that things turn out great. And I think I’ve done most of my life that way, you know, that when I, when I go back inside and I go, no this, I have to do this because this has to be good for my business. Nothing good has ever come from that. So the, the authentic open-hearted and creative part of me that wants to go out and make the world a better place, you know? I had this conversation with Jack Canfield, we were sitting on a, on a boat in Croatia, and we were looking at the stars with all had way too much to drink. And I was looking at the stars, and there was a cloud in front of those stars. And Jack Canfield is sitting next to me, and I said, Jack, wouldn’t it be cool if we could just go up there and move the cloud away? So that we would uncover the stars? And he said to me, but Liana, that’s what you do. You help people show up authentically and brilliantly, you take that cloud away. That’s what your process does. And I realized, oh my god, it’s so true. Because when you, like you doing what you’re doing, Christine, you know, you want to bring out people’s hearts, and you want to open their hearts so that they can share their gifts with the world from an authentic place.

Christine Schlonski [15:15]
Yeah.

Liana Chaouli [15:15]
And those of us who are thought leaders and transformational leaders, that’s what we do, is we give people an opportunity to walk down a holistic and authentic path, so that they can create from a place of wonder and willingness, and not from a place of harsh, you know, I have to do this. And, you know?

Christine Schlonski [15:37]
Let’s dive into that piece because it’s a really interesting one. So especially, you know, when you entrepreneurship, it’s like, you know, it’s, it has its ups and downs on some weird spins. If somebody is like feeling down a little bit, because you know, they haven’t figured out their sales piece, they do not make enough revenue, they might be struggling a little bit. So making the decision just from the heart, not taking on this client, who already shows like five red flags. What advice do you have when you look back on all your business endeavors for people who might be struggling at the moment? What to do to A turn it around, and B protect themselves from that energy that’s not going to help them only because their mind says you have to? But they already know it’s not a good idea?

Liana Chaouli [16:38]
Yeah Christine, well, first of all, I love that you’re even asking that question. You know, and, and I want to, I want to pinpoint one of the words that you use, protect themselves. Okay? So if there’s anything that I can share and any wisdom than I’ve gained over the years, it’s not even, I believe that knowledge lives in the head, and wisdom is knowledge that lives in the muscle. So, the part that you’re asking me about is that there’s, I want to go back a little bit, I want to start with the come from, so come from for me is are you creating your life? Or are you surviving your life? Okay, so when most people, and when they start a business, they’re doing it from a push, from a, I have to make money, and if I don’t make money, I won’t have a paid campaign. So the energy of that, right, the energy that they’re putting out into the world, and that they’re living their lives from, the come from, is an energy of lack. So it starts with lack, it doesn’t start with abundance, because they’re looking at what’s right in front of them. And there’s an empty bank account, and there’s no money and the rent has to get paid. Can you hear, even in my conversation, how the energy starts becoming very frantic?

Christine Schlonski [18:06]
Yeah!

Liana Chaouli [18:07]
I learned very early on that, looking at what is, is a result of looking at what’s coming from the past. If you want your future to be different than your past, then you cannot create it on what you used to do. So the come from of less than contraction, let me give you an example. So if you say to someone, for example, I don’t need anything, and I have everything that I need. Those are the same thing. So I don’t need anything is a contraction. And I have everything that I need is an expansion. There is a possibility there. But most people when it comes to language in their lives, they go, no, I have to do this because I don’t have enough money. There’s not a playing field that says, I can do this. I’m so excited about doing this. I love the way my life is unfolding. I have a great idea. So that’sn that’s a fertile ground to be experiencing life from. But when you look, when people look inside of their life, or inside of their bank account, and the money’s not there, they just go back to fear. Does that make sense? It’s like you…

Christine Schlonski [19:35]
Totally, yeah!

Liana Chaouli [19:37]
So, so when you’re living from this place of less than, I’m not good enough, my life isn’t good enough, I don’t have enough money. Money equals, whether I’m a good person, money equals whether I’m successful. Because if you really seek your success, you can go back into your history, and you can see the steps that are related to where you have come to. And a lot of them don’t have to do with money, they have to do with you being courageous, you going and knocking on someone’s door, asking a question or getting support, or asking for help, or creating, or coming to you as a as a sales mentor, to say, I’m courageous enough to step into the unknown, so that I can learn more. So money is not always the piece where we should, I think, and I, should is not really a right word. But it doesn’t always equal to success. Success can be that in so many different ways. The authenticity of you showing up as a real human being, and connecting with someone on the street or on the plane, and for that person to really, like for you to see that person, not to look at the person, but to see them. That is invaluable. You know, and you never know. But I, I’ll tell you this, the truth is, I’ve been speaking for, I don’t know, 30 years on big stages. I have clients who come to me now and they say, I heard you speak at this big conference 15 years ago, and your business card has been on my desk for 15 years. And it took them that long. And it’s not about that person. It’s about how are you as the person who’s offering a service, a gift into the world, how strong can you stand for what so, you know, what your mission is in the world, so that you can be the light into the world. And when people are ready, they come. So, you don’t have the luxury to collapse into what was mirror, and I’m not God, oh my God, no money! Continue creating from a place of abundance rather than going into a place of lack.

Christine Schlonski [21:56]
Yeah. And the more we do that, the more we are aware of our thoughts, which will create our emotions and our emotions will create our actions, right, the more we do that, the more beautiful things come together. Because you’re in it, you might talk to somebody on the plane that then becomes your client a couple of weeks later.

Liana Chaouli [22:17]
Yes! Look, no one wants to be with someone who’s in the dumps.

Christine Schlonski [22:22]
Yeah.

Liana Chaouli [22:23]
And I’m not saying you should fake it. I’m not saying that. What I am saying is okay, well, you know what, my refrigerator may be empty now. And I don’t know what can happen tomorrow. I don’t know what can happen in the next 10 minutes.

Christine Schlonski [22:38]
Yeah! It’s about picking up your energy, your frequency so that you can be in that abundance, and just, you know, being great for what you already have, for what’s there.

Liana Chaouli [22:51]
Yeah, and it’s a lot.

Christine Schlonski [22:52]
I created how it is right now, my truth of what I want to live might be totally different but I’m connecting to it over and over and over again. And opening that space for possibilities.

Liana Chaouli [23:07]
Absolutely. And you know, for a lot of people, this the conversation of energy is a little too and the conversation of transformation is a little too. And it’s just very simple. If you can make this very simple. You can say, I’m, if I’m happy if I consider myself a person who is outgoing, and I connect to the positive part of who I am. Can I be more attractive? Absolutely.

Christine Schlonski [23:39]
100%!

Liana Chaouli [23:40]
Right, absolutely. So, so I always say there’s a, there’s a portion that I teach in my year-long program, that’s called living in the tension of the paradox of life. And living in the potential of the paradox, like, as you see the yin and the yang, in the middle between the yin and the yang, the dark and the light, that’s where we live. But when we go too much over into the dark, or too much over into the light, then we’re not in the balanced middle. And so when can you be with life exactly the way it is and the way it isn’t, and be grounded in, yes, there’s darkness over there, meaning it’s difficult, or there’s challenges going on. And yes, there’s complete joy and bliss over on this side, and can I be with, my father just died, my second dad just died, can I be with the sadness of that? And then can I be with the joy of my granddaughter becoming? Can I be with all of it in the same moment? And so when I say to my clients, in order for you to get bigger, in a room, he said, don’t live in the world, gets so big that the world lives inside you, you know? So get bigger, to be able to harness all of these things. Because there’s no shadow without light, and there’s no light without shadow. So we need the distinctions of the things that are difficult for us to see where we really want to go. And no, I really don’t want any more of that. So I’m going to focus on the joy. I don’t need the drama. So you know, you said to me earlier, what about the clients? And how do, how can we ground ourselves, and not dealing with the people that are not good for us? I say that I’m more defined by the things I say no to, than the things I say yes to. I turned away a $60,000 client last year, because I knew that, that wasn’t going to be a positive experience. And people say to me, oh my god Liana, how can you do that? That’s so much money. The truth is, there is no money valuable enough for me to get upset and sad and coach into a non-request. I don’t want to do that anymore. You know, in the beginning, I did, I learned I, learned very, very big lessons. When I was a couture designer, I would take in, you know, $20,000 gowns, and a lot of these clients were very difficult. And I knew it from the beginning. And I didn’t listen to my inner voice. You know, the money was more important. You know, this come from oh my God, I have to pay my bills and I was a single mom. No more. No more.

Christine Schlonski [26:25]
Beautiful, what a beautiful finish for the second episode, and so much wisdom. More like get clear on what you desire. And really, really go for that even if it seems to be painful in that moment. It is painful to send a client, or potential client a way that is willing to pay a very good amount. But it makes you happier.

Liana Chaouli [26:51]
It’s actually, it come, you come to a place where it’s freeing and not painful and more.

Christine Schlonski [26:56]
Yeah, well thank you so so much, I so enjoyed the interview with you. And I can’t wait to get you back for the Sales Mentality Makeover Masterclass!

Liana Chaouli [27:06]
I’m so excited.

Christine Schlonski [27:07]
Yes, I will put all the links on the show notes page. And again, little reminder for the free gift?

Liana Chaouli [27:17]
lianasgifts.com, lianasgifts.com, L I A N A S G I F T S.COM, and I look forward to learning more. I’m so excited for all of you guys.

Christine Schlonski [27:30]
Wonderful!

Liana Chaouli [27:31]
Thank you, sweetheart! Thank you for including me in this. I love talking to you.

Christine Schlonski [27:34]
Thank you so much. Have a wonderful, wonderful day. Bye,

Liana Chaouli [27:39]
Bye!

Christine Schlonski [27:40]
I just loved loved loved these interviews with Liana. And as I have mentioned, I have experienced her work. So basically, I do not wear black anymore. I just have one black coat left that I couldn’t give away yet, working on that. But I’ve seen the transformation and the difference. So I hope you really have gotten something out of these episodes. And for going into a deeper, deeper dive in May, you need to join the Sales Mentality Makeover Masterclass, and you find the sign up for the class. It’s a free online class, you find that at christineschlonski.com, when you go to the tap masterclass, you sign in, you get your registration, and then you will get free classes starting on May 15th, and Liana is one of the amazing teachers. So make sure you sign up at christineschlonski.com, by going to the masterclass tab and putting in your name and email to get registered. Also, if you want to know more about the podcast, it’s at the same page christineschlonski.com, you just find the word podcast, Heart Sells! Podcast , and you’ll find all the interviews, especially for Liana with the links to her social media to connect, and also her wonderful free gift that she is sharing with you. So I hope you enjoyed these episodes. Have a wonderful day wherever you are in this beautiful world. Tune in for the next one and I’m saying bye for now.