Everyone is a thought leader

Reader

I've been lying to my clients for a really long time.

Whenever they'd get on a call with me, I'd hide something about myself. Something HUGE. Something that makes me who I am.

And I'd hide it because I thought if they knew about it, they wouldn't take me seriously as a business owner and a digital marketer.

Then I had a conversation with Carol Cox when I was part of her Thought Leadership Academy - and I told her my dirty secret.

And her whole face lit up. I respect Carol. She is a CEO of note in my mind. So, her reaction surprised me. And lifted me up.

But I still couldn't tell people what I was - what I did in a major way in my life. Daily. I was too scared.

Then I had another conversation with Carol earlier this year, about content creation and authenticity in showing up online. And again she told me to let my secret out. To be braver. And bolder. 'Because,' she told me, 'It will show the right people who you are. And those people will want to work with you.'

So, I started telling people what I do when I'm not writing.

My Favourite Finds

📈

Growth

Grow your newsletter at the inaugural newsletter summit (Newsletter Marketing Summit!)

📨

Engagement

What is your thought leadership? (https://www.thestoryteam.org/post/what-is-your-thought-leadership)

💰

Learning

How to prioritise well-being, champion the careers of women, set boundaries, ask for help (https://livingwhileleading.com/podcast/)

Right.

What's my dirty secret?

Here it is:

I'm a performer. In the theatre.

I sing and act. And I'm very, very good at it.

That's me in the middle playing Donna in Mamma Mia

I moved to the UK in 2019 so that I could make my dream come true: performing in London's West End.

Eight months later, thanks to Covid, all theatres were shut down and I had to train up as a care worker so that I could pay my exorbitant London rent and keep the heating on. That's when I started my business, The Story Team, from the back of my car.

Slowly. Gradually. And thanks to that, I met Carol.

Since Covid ended, I've not stopped performing.
In Mamma Mia.
Heathers.
Come From Away.

I started posting about being a performer earlier this year - and it has allowed me to show up more as MYSELF. People love it about me - it helps me stand out. It gives me a unique voice in many ways.

And I don't feel like I'm hiding anymore - so I can bring so much more of myself to my copywriting clients. And to the world.

This is Carol's superpower - helping you find your most authentic voice. And tell your story. And be the full, incredible, bold YOU that you're meant to be.

So, next year, in London, we're hosting a three-and-a-half-day retreat...

The BOLD Intensive - where Carol (and I) will work with you and guide you towards your most bold, vocal, powerful, I-give-no-f@$ks version of yourself. The one that's inside of you waiting to come out.

Everyone who works with Carol and I has written down their goals at some point...

'Become a speaker'

'Become a better speaker'

'Get better at content creation'

'Improve my writing'

'Stand out with my brand voice'

And the reason they want to do all these things is because ever since Covid the online space has become noisy and crowded, and we all have to do more to stand out.

Every marketing strategy, speaker proposal, LinkedIn post, every launch, every presentation you have planned in your professional life...

It all depends on standing out.

And standing out is 95% your VOICE.

That's why so many different kinds of people work with me and Carol...

It's a Lean leadership coach who runs her own business.

It's a medical professional who wants to sound less robotic and bring her talks to life.

It's an engineer who wants more gender parity in the STEM space.

It's a woman in corporate who wants to deliver more value to her audience. It's a coach and consultant who specialises in communications. It's a corporate trainer who helps women boost their visibility. It's a sales coach who teaches people how to sell with humanity. It's a brand messaging specialist who hosts a weekly podcast.

It's anyone who's tried creating content or speaking in public without first going deep into their boldest voice.

It's anyone who's had their eyes opened by how useless guessing is when it comes to standing out online and in conference halls, roundtables, workshops, podcasts and on panels - especially in this hyper-competitive noisy AF digital world - and decided to swap frustration for fascination.

(Because this deeper exploratory work on yourself and your businesses is actually pretty fascinating. And you can't do it in your everyday life - it requires dedicated thinking time, dedicated growth time.)

If you measure your brand voice performance…

Or if YOUR voice's performance is measured, and if the idea of seeing how many - or 😳 few 😳 - leads your content and speaking engagements are bringing in twists up a big ol’ knot in your stomach, I invite you to make good on the very act of opening an email like this in the midst of Black Friday madness, and go ahead - set a 2025 goal to push yourself in a big BOLD way. Uncover your unique gifts. Stand out.… and then follow through on it with the BOLD Intensive: An In-Person Transformative Retreat.

When you join, you get access to...

👏 A three-and-a-half-day retreat in LONDON (one of the greatest cities in the world)

👏 The chance to go bigger and bolder than before

👏 Exercises, in-the-moment training, confidence-building, networking with other women from around the world, and a supportive community

👏 Breathwork, speaking training, and writing exercises that will make your content lick the screen

👏 Authenticity exercises and storytelling techniques as new ways of finding your voice

Each day will be focused on how you can become more of a thought leader, grow your following, attract business and speaking opportunities, launch, pivot or refresh your brand, boost confidence and push yourself, inspire more people and reach bigger audiences, and build relationships.

It's time to stand out online and in the rooms you operate in - we all know that the internet is noisier than ever before, so how can you stop the scroll? How can you get out there in a bigger and better way? How can you speak and write in a way that makes people listen?

How can you be stronger and more distinctive?

How can you prevent things from becoming stale and predictable?

How do you get unstuck and reinforce your voice with life and personality?

How do you identify your best ideas?

This retreat will help you.

We’ll be diving deep into your brand with one-on-one hot seat coaching, developing your signature story, mapping your vision for your brand and your business (and then building it out), and creating a tangible brand asset.

Mostly the aim is to increase your confidence - so you can land more speaking gigs, and create content that gets eyeballs on you and your business.

Putting out a bold message can be exhilarating - and sometimes daunting. By attending our retreat, you’ll increase your confidence in your message and yourself. We’ll help you amplify your natural communication and speaking style and you’ll learn to take up space and lead with authenticity and conviction.

You will be challenged on this retreat - and you will be held and supported every single step of the way.

I cannot wait to see who joins us. This group of 12 women is going to be incredibly special. I can feel it in my waters.

AND...

...we have a Black Friday offer running alongside it - when you buy your ticket, you also get a 60-minute one-on-one session with me, where I teach you some ChatGPT prompting GOLD and help you create more strategic, focused and scroll-stopping content. For FREE.

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