Have you ever thought that one opportunity or a flash of chance could shift the direction of your life, your career, or your business?
- What if you won the lottery or the Publisher’s Clearing House Giveaway tomorrow? In an instant, you could pay off your debts, give money to your family, and step into a life free of wondering how much month is left at the end of the money.
- What if you were standing in the checkout line at your local Safeway or pouring coffee for yourself at the professional development conference – only to lock eyes with the dreamy guy or gal to your left, and discovered the soul mate you’d been searching for all your life?
- Maybe you want to be a famous actor or actress, and you get discovered in a random way that turns you into a breakout star who walks the red carpet and enjoys all the benefits that go with that, now and forever …
Have you ever had any of these dreams?
This brings me to a story I’d like to share about one of my favorite Hollywood movies.
La La Land.
It’s the story of a young actress with big dreams.
Frustrated with the standard Hollywood parties and icky ways of networking among the movers and shakers she needs to know to get anywhere in that business, she decides to create, produce, and perform in a one woman show.
It’s a lot of work. It’s a big risk. And it requires plenty of sacrifice.
In her dreams, she imagines a sold-out theater, appreciative DEAFENING applause, and a standing ovation that rocks that house and inspires and rewards her soul for her magnificent and epic effort.
In reality, the show goes on with a handful of people in the room.
Despite her disappointment and holding back tears before she speaks her first word, she stands and delivers like it really counts.
Because it does.
Then, when the curtain drops, she bursts into tears and decides to abandon her dream.
She drives to her parents’ home in a small town near a library to lick her wounds and consider what might be next.
This movie brings to life a very big idea.
You never know who is paying attention to you or your work from near or far and what can happen as a result.
In July of 2020 – in the early months of the global pandemic – I got serious about growing and serving my Raise Your Voice – Make Your Impact Facebook Group as a way to demonstrate skills I’ve spent decades refining as a marketer, publicist, and communicator.
My aim was to keep my business growing during an unprecedented and very challenging time.
Every day, rain or shine, I show up there to train, connect, serve, encourage, and inspire my members.
On Mondays, I deliver a LIVE Learn More Earn More Show.
Sometimes, only 2-5 people join me live.
When I am speaking and see that little icon that lets me know who is there – or perhaps more to the point – who is NOT tuning in, sometimes I feel a sick feeling in my stomach and a flash of disappointment.
Nevertheless, I show up in service with heart and smarts to deliver content that will support my members in learning more to earn more.
And that’s where this story gets interesting.
In January of this year, much to my delight and surprise, two members of my group nominated me to deliver a training for the Accredited Speakers Group for District 2 Toastmasters.
The topic?
Podcast Guesting for Good and Profit.
I decided to go the extra mile to make this a talk I could hang my hat on.
- Professionally designed PowerPoint slides
- Powerful examples
- Compelling stories
- Generous resources
- It was an all of the help and none of the hype effort.
I decided to go the extra mile to shape and also promote the talk.
- Invested time to get to know the event organizers and make sure I was catering my talk to the real needs of their members
- Created a video to promote the talk
- Wrote and issued a press release about it
- Posted to social media about it
When it came time to deliver the talk, I delivered with heart and smarts and earned 5-Star raves for the value I delivered.
That’s when I revved up to a find a whole new gear.
- I captured “screen shots” of those raves.
- I welcomed written comments from the event organizers that spoke to the WOW that unfolded.
- I repurposed the Mp4 video from the Zoom meeting as an UNLISTED YouTube link to serve as a showcase that could invite other opportunities to share this content with other groups.
So, what has happened since?
- I’ve been invited to give this same talk to no less than 8 groups since January.
- One of them is to present for the District 2 pre-contest workshop series leading up to the International TM competition.
- Three of them are PAID GIGS, and several more are in negotiations.
- As a result, I’ve welcomed new clients in my Broadcast Your Brilliance Boot Camp.
- I’ve been invited to guest on podcasts, present to a panel of women business owners about pitching.
- Just last week, I saw a post in a FB group from a business owner looking for high value bonuses to make her own program even stronger and more compelling to her ideal clients.
- I made a post, we got on the phone, and we’ve struck up an amazing collaboration that has already resulted in a four-figure payment with the promise for five more this year.
- Just yesterday, I was invited by a colleague to join her in a Clubhouse room to learn more about this new audio social media platform.
- As a result of how I showed up there, I got invited to speak again!
- Just this morning, I received an email with a very bright idea to take this talk to a whole new level from a client and a colleague, and this hold the potential for me to touch and transform more lives and monetize every step of the way.
It’s all so very validating, exciting, and intoxicating.
Getting back to La La Land …
Remember that gal who ran home to her parents to cry in her beer because she thought she had failed?
It turned out that there was a big wig Hollywood producer in that meager audience who loved her one-woman-show and thought she was something special.
She changed that young actresses career trajectory in a very big and exciting way!
The big dreams she envisioned for herself unfolded even more brilliantly than she ever imagined.
All this is to say that it doesn’t matter how many people are in the audience to see your show, hear your podcast interview, or engage in your LIVE Facebook training.
When you put heart, smarts, passion and service into what you do, the right people will take notice.
It just takes one person in the audience to make an introduction, nominate you for a wonderful opportunity, or swing wide open a really big door that you had no idea was waiting to unfurl.
One good thing always leads to another. That’s the stuff that dreams are made of.
If you’d like me to share the Podcast Guesting for Good and Profit training with YOUR mastermind, Facebook community, upcoming conference, or have me deliver a closed door session just for your most highly invested clients as an invest-in-full bonus for making the wise choice to join your premium program, let’s talk about it. Reach out at nancy@getknowngetpaid.com or call 425 641 5214.
