PYG 65: Starting Over From the Top: Using Your Personal Brand to Change the Way You Work

If you’ve done amazing work in your field and you’ve successfully ‘climbed the ladder” so to speak, eventually you may get near the top or at the top of the ladder, look around and realize that A) there’s nowhere else to climb or B) you’re not interested in limbing any further. At this point, you may decide to pivot and use your talents to do something else.

I work with a lot of burned-out corporate high achievers who have been successful in that space for years, but have finally decided to do something new – sometimes personal development centered, since we often want to heal our own wounds by helping others who were in the place we used to be.

But a common theme I’m noticing is a tendency for high achievers to adopt a mindset from the bottom of the ladder. They decide that since they’re essentially starting over and are new to coaching or running their own business or online marketing or being independent – they mentally put themselves at the bottom of this new ladder.

Sound familiar? If so, stay with me.

I want you to imagine two ladders side by side. How will you get from ladder one (your old path) to ladder two (your new path)?

Your first thought, especially if you’re a high achiever, may be to step your way back down all the steps, retracing your steps on all the previous rungs of ladder one, to get to the ground so that you can then climb up the second ladder.

But instead of stepping your way down, I want you to imagine yourself  at the top of ladder one,  reaching your hand out to grab ahold and step over to the top of ladder two. From the top of one ladder, the top of another ladder.

Because you’re not starting from zero.

Your credibility transfers.

We are all a constellation of our career and life experiences, our relationships, our networks, our access and our opportunities.

Instead of thinking of yourself as a newbie, as a beginner, or as an ingenue, I want you to ask yourself how can you put all that you’ve done in the past – all of the past work, all of your relationships, all of your political capital – how can you put all of that to work in service of your new dream?

As Mentioned in the Episode

Thank you to LaQuentin Cathey for Your Rave Review of Package Your Genius:

From Amazon:

LaQuintin Cathey  | 5.0 out of 5 stars  |  “Great book, definitely recommend.”

February 3, 2019

“I am so glad I read Package Your Genius! This book not only gave me the skills to take control of my brand but also the confidence to leave my comfort zone and put myself out there for others to see! Implementing the strategies outlined in Package Your Genius have proven successful in a very short period of time. So much so that I gifted the book to my family members who are all entrepreneurs. I’m so glad I had the opportunity to read such a powerful tool to improve my brand!”

As always, Package Your Genius: 5 Steps to Build Your Most Powerful Personal Brand is available on Amazon – Order Your Personal Branding Bible Package Your Genius Personal Branding Companion Workbook is also available for order – Order Your Personal Branding Workbook.