Hi Gorgeous. This is episode number 228. And the wonderful Jamie Greenberg is back on the show today.

Hi, this is Jamie Greenberg, you are listening to Heart Sells! Podcast with Christine Schlonski. Enjoy.

Have you ever asked yourself how you can become a trailblazing thought leader and if you qualify? Well, I for sure have. And I’m going deep into this topic today with Jamie Greenberg. He’s back on the show today. And Jamie helps experts to increase their reach and income dramatically by helping them to capitalize on their calling. He does that by transforming them from just another coach, speaker, or author into a one of a kind, trailblazing thought leader, maximizing their money-making potential. And Jamie is also known as “The Imaginologist”, and he is igniting the sparks of imagination and inspiration in others. So I’m very excited that Jamie is back on the show today.

So before we dive in, in case we have not met yet, I’m Christine Schlonski host of Heart Sells! Podcast, where I talk with inspirational successful heart-centered entrepreneurs and business leaders about how they have built a wildly successful business and the path they have taken to overcome their own challenges when selling. Some of the amazing past guests include Bob Burg, Ian Altman, Ann Wilson, Anthony Iannarino, Susie Carder, and many, many more. This wonderful episode is brought to you by Heart Sells! Academy, where we support heart-centered ambitious entrepreneurs to sell with ease, grace, confidence, while being authentic in the process, and to overcome their fear of selling, so they can double or triple their revenue in 12 months or less. So if you feel that this would be for you, hop on over to christineschlonski.com, or let’s chat and write us an email to info@christineschlonski.com.

So let’s dive into this episode “How To Become A Trailblazing Thought-Leader” or maybe you already are a trailblazing-thought leader and I’m not really aware of it. And we will combine this with capitalizing on your uniqueness so that you have a full picture of what you can do to really make the best out of your unique gift. Enjoy. Well, I am so excited. You are back on the show today, Jamie, welcome.

Well, thank you for having me, Christine. It’s always a pleasure to be in your presence and to hear your beautiful thought leadership, especially, they always cut through your questions so beautifully. So thank you.

Thank you so much. Yeah, let’s talk about the thought leader because I have the feeling that a lot of entrepreneurs might think that they are not a thought leader, even though they are perceived as one, what is a thought leader, and how can keep people become a thought leader.

A thought leader is a human to begin with. Some animals have attempted to try to become thought leaders, but they’ve never really been able to do it. So it’s really reserved for the human species. And when we’ve spent a certain amount of time in a profession and industry, a practice, we’ve acquired a certain amount of information, and knowledge and expertise, and most importantly, our own insights into how we do what we do. So there comes a point in somebody’s profession where they say, God, I really want to share this. I really want to go out in the world and tell people my little revelations and epiphanies that I’ve had that are unique come to me. And usually what’s accompanied with this is a need to change something also maybe to disrupt some existing paradigms. And they start to go out and speak. They do TED Talks, they do webinars, they do industry conferences. So now they’re at a place where they can start expressing their thoughts, their new thoughts, their methodologies, and share them with the world. So essentially, that creates authority, decision because they’re putting themselves out there with their own thoughts in front of an audience, and they’re influencing people on their ideas.

They’re also called influencers, especially in our industry. So what I like to do for people, and this is happening in my own personal evolution, is I see many coaches who are, they can be emerging, or they could have, you know, 6, 7, 8 figure businesses, I noticed that many have, they find a method that works for them, that’s successful for them financially, and they just have it down, they just understand. But there’s a place in them that’s beginning to ache. It’s a place that’s starting to become infuriated a little bit because they want to evolve, but they’re scared to take the risk that wouldn’t, they would need to get to that next level, to really own those revelations and thoughts and go out on a limb that if the platform becomes bigger than business, bigger than selling your product, it’s the concepts behind that, that need to be expressed and codified.

So I love working with people who want to take that risk and move themselves into that thought leadership platform that influences, who really can become an extraordinary lightworker for the world. And because of their information in the way they say it is so profound. It just attracts people. Like, Simon Sinek is the perfect example. He created that video, a TEDx video in Rhode Island, in Rhode Island, nobody knew about that, that 18 minutes, the material was so interesting, profound and the concepts inside that whole thing you just wanted to share. You know, I remember the first time I tasted Haagen Das ice cream. My tongue actually had an orgasm. It was like a struggler. I said, God, this is like beyond ice cream. This is like, you know, I just got on the phone, I told people, I’d tasted this incredible ice creams for like 30 years, whatever. And I have the same reaction to Simon Sinek. When I heard him, I said, God, this wasn’t trying to sell anything. But I couldn’t stop listening to him, there were so many cool things he was framing for me. And I just wanted to listen to him more, you know. So I think when you can evolve to that place, you move into a whole different way of relating to your audience, it’s become more interesting.

And that’s why I’m very interested in helping people communicate through video, in that passionate way, where they’re actually able to get out of the car and walk into their venue. And they just had this incredible revelation, and they can speak on it and become interesting. Because we’re always at the precipice of channeling something new. And we always want to be able to invite that in and be relaxed enough and confident enough to be able to express that and take our time to let the thought come in. And be able to express, you can take time between thoughts. This is like, part of being a thought leader because we’re dealing with thoughts, right, Christine, we’re dealing with the thoughts coming in. But people will be patient, to let that thought come in and give you time for it to get embodied. So we can come out, you can walk across the stage and take your time and speak about something. So the dynamic in which you deliver has to be organically present. So you don’t feel like you have the brush. But if you feel passionate, it might come up and it might come out on the floor.

So basically, you’re saying that everybody can become a thought leader. And so just when, you know maybe the person already is a coach or consultant and they’ve stepped out into the entrepreneurial world. They want to make it happen. They want to give their gifts to the world. But now what? Like how can people see them? How can people relate to them? How can they show up maybe on social media, like how can they become a personality or personality on social media, if they have never ever experienced being on a stage? Or if they did not take any training? Where can they even start?

Oh, what a great question, what a great question. When I’m working with a coach, a consultant, or an expert, or within one on one, who wants to get out of the chair, and move into a more expensive place, I tell them, you’re gonna have to become a publisher of your own mind, you’re gonna have to start your own media company. And you’re gonna have to be alert, vigilant, like we talked about, and start being able to capture what’s important in all those revelations and epiphanies, insights, your unique perspective and examine those things that we’re gonna have to look at what kind of platforms that you feel comfortable, that will work to your talents and abilities. When you can start expressing these things, you know, some people are great writers, and some people are great speakers.

And there are ways to begin to qualify yourself on all these different platforms and what works best for you. But I do think it’s important to develop your social personality in a way where you can become the inspirational face in your business. Because the inspiration is what’s going to help you sell. Again, inspiration, really, is born in the heart, it’s ignited from the heart. And this is the place that we have to begin to talk about things. And this is where we’re going to be selling, selling, selling our products. So let’s just talk about the video for a second. Essentially, in the video, you’re talking to one person in the camera. But we again, that inner critic of how we’re going to look and how we’re going to sound. What it’s all gonna look like, is one of the hardest things for people to begin to overcome, because that little critic starts coming in. And you will find every imperfection about you that you can.

Do you remember the first time when you heard your voice recorded?

That’s right.

I hated it. How about you?

Oh, yeah, I mean, I was a performer, I could even look at my own videos. But really, I had issues with it and problems with it. And it really wasn’t until I started stepping into the space, and learned, you know how to become conversational with the camera and realize that I can be downstairs speaking to my kids and my wife, and I started, I’m just going to do that and sit in the camera, I just tried to do that, because it was a completely different thing than performing basically, I had a script ahead of things, there were some places you improvise. But it’s a whole different nature. So one of the things that we do in the video performance makeover segment, is that I have to do 30 seconds to one-minute videos every day, about anything that they want, I want them to pull out their phone, and start becoming conversational with the phone. And then I want you to watch it back. So you get what you have to get used to looking at yourself. You have to get over yourself. Get over yourselves, everybody.

Totally agree. Yeah, that’s a process.

I’m just telling you if you do it for two weeks, you know, do it for five days a week, take the weekend off, do it for two weeks, you will have a complete transformation and a completely different relationship with the camera. Now the other aspect is, is just some more tactical things. You know like when we do our, our emails or any or blog posts or any piece of content. You know, usually, there are bullets in there that we want to speak to, we can speak to, so I have a little exercise where we’re going into a piece of content and extracting a four bullet video script where people can learn to speak conversationally to those bullets. Now you have this piece of you have a video that you can now begin to repurpose, you can post it. You take that video and you can put it on your blog. You can put it on YouTube, you can put it on LinkedIn, you can put it on Instagram TV, you can edit it down to a story, you know into your feed or Tik Tok video. Then you can just take a frame and put a caption meme on it, and now you have nine platforms on which you can distribute it.

So this is an albatross, you know, for a lot of experts, consultants, solopreneurs, who don’t have the staff. But there are cool little apps. And there’s even a company that I partner with that I will give them the video, I get it back in the morning, it’s on nine different platforms, and it gives you all the thumbnails and all the art and everything. And then you just have to stick it in your social media calendar, bank it for a month. So you have a lead time to create the next bulk material. And this is a very important part if you want to have a thought leadership business. Because the documentation of who you are and what you’re thinking, what you’re, what you’re channeling is paramount. So I encourage everybody to become publishers of their own creative intelligence, learn how to be your own R&D department by again, capturing what’s coming down, you know, archive it, you know, so when it’s time to do something, you can go back and say, Oh, that’s a great concept. That’s this. That’s that. So you’re not like, you know, freaked out just trying to think of something at the moment, because you have to come back to, you know, be smart. And start to capture things that are going to be part of your media rollout.

Don’t work harder, work smarter?

Yes, thank you.

So do you remember the very, very first thing that you ever sold in your life?

I think it was in eighth grade. I was selling patches, can you believe this? I was selling patches, I used to contact companies. And they would send you like a patch or decal from their company. And so I would get all these samples from these companies. And I put them in a book and I brought it to school. And I started to sell them to people who wanted them. Because I used to get them for free. And I was starting to sell. So that was my first little entrepreneurial, saying, you know, these corporate patches and decals for the cars and I don’t know, sports teams. That was …

You had to have the idea to contact those companies to get them?

Yes, because it was playing at that time. You just would write a letter and you send it, they would send it they send you something. So that was the absolute first thing I think I sold.

Wow. And do you remember the first time when actually money exchanged hands?

Oh, God, yeah. I don’t know what it is Christine. But when money comes in from a sale, and I do remember the first time you that’s your first entrepreneurial ignition, it’s it says, Oh my god, that felt so good. I hated that. I made that happen. I didn’t get a paycheck, I made money myself. And there’s something I don’t know, existential about it, something very profound. To know that you can have an idea, put it together, and receive money for something. It’s quite extraordinary.

Yeah, it is. It is. It’s just you know, people have different memories. So I’m happy that yours was positive. It really did ignite that spark? And obviously, you walk down that path very well?

Well, you know, it’s also, I don’t know, confidence builder is the right word, but you understand the method of creating, an idea coming in, creating it just coming up with the little business plan that you come up with for anything, and then the production of it. And then the sales of it. There’s a natural progression of events that have to take place. And that’s the knowledge that you never lose. And when you can connect the dots and make that happen. You learn how to be an entrepreneur essentially.

Awesome. Wonderful well to finish that off, do you have, or a book coming to mind that has changed or influenced your life in a big way? You already mentioned your first mentor in there, are one of your first mentors, and the first episode. And I’m quite sure you’ve read a ton of amazing books. What’s coming to mind right now?

Well, I have it on my desk right now. And I think I mentioned it to you. And I think this will be very helpful for everybody. Because I do believe that at the base of whole entrepreneurship, like, the question you just asked me was, you really have to develop the entrepreneurial mindset, you have to keep it healthy. And every morning, I read these morning messages from Peggy Black, and she has a book, you can see, this is already what’s called “Morning Messages, Invitations by Peggy Black”. And they’re very short. They don’t take a lot of time, but they’re profound. Sometimes I stay on one message, like the three days, because this, it’s so delicious, I want to embody it so I can express it, you know, to other people. So um, I would recommend any entrepreneur, anybody thinking about becoming an entrepreneur, anybody who has an eight-figure business and wants to elevate into thought leadership. To get that book, it’s, she’s got 2 it’s called “Morning Invitations’‘ by Peggy Black,

I would definitely add that to the resource section of this episode. And then also, I will be adding the amazing gift you brought to us. And do you want to let us know the name and what people are getting? It’s about a toolkit. So it sounds very practical, but I’m going to let you explain.

It’s called “The Branded Signature Program Toolkit” and this will help anybody who has a desire to become an entrepreneur. And they’re in the process of first ideating and capturing all those ideas. This is a place on how to organize all your ideas. So you can then begin to create offers and products for it. I call it a signature program, your branded signature program because we always want to be able to brand your signature program when you put your name on top of it. Create an online brand mission and a little tagline that describes exactly what that mission is. And this is going to help you do that. And you can get it on my website. And then once you fill that out and do that, if you have if you need some more input or more inspiration, or if you’re running into some problems, we can set up a strategy call and we can work together.

Awesome. Well, thank you so so much, Jamie, it was a pleasure talking to you. And great, great advice of you know, how you can not just be unique, but express it to the world and show up in a way that you might not have shown up before. So thank you so much for sharing your insights and for having been on Heart Sells! Podcast.

Well, thank you for having me, Christine, you are an incredible interviewer, and with great questions. And thank you for having me back.

I really love Jamie’s thoughts on thought leadership, how he sees it and that basically, we do influence all the time when we show up in the market space with our unique gifts. So hop on over to christineschlonski.com find the podcast tab and find this wonderful episode with Jamie Greenberg episode number 328. You will find the show notes the resources we talked about all the links that connect to Jamie as well as the transcript. And once you’re over there, I also invite you to get your Sales Assessment Session in case you are feeling that sales are in your way. And you’re kind of unsure how to sell without the sleaze, without being salesy, and without being pushy, then the sales assessment would be a really great place to start where I or my team will look at your strengths. And we have a look at your next best move that will help you to move forward in your business and have more impact and more thought leadership than you ever had before. Thank you so much for being here.

This is the last episode in 2020 and I am excited that you are a listener that you are joining. Thank you so so much In case you have not yet given Heart Sells! a rating and review, I would love to invite you to do that. And I just want to say a big thank you to you, to your uniqueness to your wonderful gifts you are giving to the world because of you, the world is a better place. Thank you so much for tuning in. I will be in your years next year. And for now. I’m just gonna say have a wonderful day wherever you are in this beautiful world and bye for now.