When you turn your book into an audiobook, you do so in the hopes that it will bring in more income. Have you heard about the audible bounty program?
When you set off to turn your book into an audiobook, you do so in the hopes that it will bring in more income from the book you spent so much time and energy writing and publishing. Many authors assume that the only way to make money from publishing an audiobook is through sales, but there’s also another, lesser known way to make money with your audiobook.
ACX is a marketplace for professional narrators, agents, publishers, and rights holders to create audiobooks and distribute them to Audible, Amazon, and iTunes. Just recently, they have announced a new version of their Bounty Referral Program, which will increase payout to its members and provides many member benefits.
What is the Bounty Referral Program, you might ask? It allows those who are selling audiobooks another option for making money off all their hard work. Through the Bounty Referral Program, members can earn up to $75 each time a new Audible listener becomes a member using your referral link, plus any royalties earned from the sale of the audiobook itself.
When an audiobook has been produced on ACX, the rights holder will receive trackable referral links that is unique to each of the audiobooks published. For those who entered into a Royalty Share agreement with a narrator, (as opposed to paying the narrator up front for their services) $50 will go to the creator of the audiobook, and $25 will go to the narrator for each bounty.
When marketing your audiobook, you’ll want to make sure you use your unique ACX tracking URL to bring any listeners straight to the book without any delay. If that user isn’t currently registered on Audible, that $75 bounty will be added right to the audiobook creator’s account. This means it’s important to share with your email list, social media followers, and friends and family. As an audiobook creator, you’ll want to make sure you let everyone know how very magical it can be to listen to a book rather than read it when listening to a story.
Particularly when listening to non-fiction, it can be helpful for listeners to do something at the same time as listening, such as taking notes or even multi-tasking (we all know people who prefer it!). When including your book URL in marketing efforts, you can also include clips of your audio, your retail sample, a book trailer, or a good, old-fashioned book synopsis. Even those who have read your book may be interested in listening to the book to hear it differently.
The ACX Bounty Referral Program not only gives you a chance to bring even more listeners to Audible to listen to each audiobook you publish, but it also will bring you additional income with each new Audible member who comes in with your unique link.
Considering publishing an audiobook on ACX? The Bounty Referral Program might encourage you further. Need help? Our team at StartSomething Creative Business Solutions can take care of the whole production and publishing process for you or help you along the way!
Need help producing and publishing your audiobook?
When Tina Dietz was handed a tape recorded at 2 years old, that was that, she developed a life long love affair with speaking. Today she is a speaker, audio-book publisher, podcast producer, and an internationally acclaimed business coach who has been featured on ABC, Inc.com, Forbes and Huffington Post. Her company, Start Something Creative Business Solutions works with authors, experts and entrepreneurs who want more than just a business and more than a routine life. They want a business oasis.
Summary
Tina discusses being a podcast guest, and the difference between being an average guest, and a good guest. She also talks about showing up to have a real conversation, instead of just to promote something.
She shares the single easiest way to get onto a podcast, and how simple it really is. She also stresses the importance of making sure the shows you appear on are the right fit for you.
Dana and Tina talk about evergreen content, and how it's very beneficial when it comes to sharing and promoting podcast episodes. They also discuss strategic hiring and how it can help immensely, even early on.
Tina gets into the key pieces and takeaways for someone who is looking into being a podcast guest. She gives practical tips, as well as insights to keep in mind as you move into being a guest.
Quotes
“There's being a guest, and then there's being a good guest.”
“People come for the topic, but they stay for the host.”
“It's not all about you, it's about you getting involved with that hosts' community.”
“Every interview you do is a marketing asset.”
“Show up prepared.”
“Having a podcast means that you have a platform to share influence with other people.”
Ah…procrastination…the “P” word that everyone thinks is bad. Let's take a look at some favorite ways to procrastinate, while trying to understand why we do it.
Ah…procrastination…the “P” word that everyone thinks is bad, but let’s be honest with ourselves…we all do it. I’m doing it right now by writing this when I could be doing a list of a million other things. It’s a really strange phenomenon that people tend to put off the things that are most important to them. But WHY do we always seem to do it during our most life-changing moments, when there’s something we REALLY want to be doing that could be a path-to-greatness, amazing thing to do? And why do we procrastinate with things we don’t even really want to be doing (like laundry) in place of the awesome ones?
I don’t know the scientific answers to these questions, but I do know my own experiences. I always find myself about to sit down to do something life-changing, and then I think to myself, “Oh, maybe I should just get the dishes done first” or “I should really do my makeup for the webinar I’m doing this afternoon. It’ll just take a minute” or even worse, “I think there’s some laundry that needs to be put away” (the problem here is that there’s ALWAYS laundry that needs to be put away).
Sometimes we WANT to procrastinate, because when you plan everything out and take it slow and calmly, there’s no rush at the end that gives you adrenaline as you race your way to the finish line. Some of us work best in that state of mind, so we actually procrastinate just to get there because it can be kind of a let-down without the excitement at the end.
Some of my absolute favorite ways to procrastinate are folding laundry, email (which can be productive or a big time-waster), and writing blogs like this one. I also always find myself saying, “Well, I was going to make a Facebook Live video later, but maybe I’ll just do one right now,” which isn’t always a bad thing for me because I’m an extrovert, and I thrive off of interacting with my viewers. I’m motivated by it. So, even though I’m procrastinating, it’s productive procrastination.
Productive Procrastination
When I was in grad school, I got into trouble (as I so often did when I was working for someone else) for having individual tutoring sessions with students where I taught them how to procrastinate effectively. Resisting the urge to procrastinate actually does you no good because it causes more stress, which in turn causes the brain to shut down, so you’re just not as effective. The trick is to make sure your calendar is blocked off a full day ahead of time. Acknowledge that you’re probably going to wait until the last second to get it done, but maybe you don’t have to lose sleep to accomplish that. Instead, maybe you can strategically plan your calendar by building in twice as much time as you think you’re going to need so you’re not rushing up against other deadlines (like sleep).
Another trick is to understand that sometimes you just won’t get as much sleep as you really should. Although sleep and self-care are absolutely the best things you can do to help yourself be MORE productive, sometimes you have to get creative with how you’ll get your brain to be fully functioning. One of these ways is to set a number of hours you are going to sleep, sleep that number of hours (no more, no less) during the same hours every night. Then, ideally, during the day, block off 20-30 minutes at the same time every single day for a meditation session or power nap. Keeping your body on a strict schedule like this allows your brain to adjust to routine and operate at full capacity.
If you are a big procrastinator or have “Happy Puppy Syndrome” like me, you tend to wag yourself out and get exhausted because you’ve put TOO much energy into something too quickly. Give yourself 2-3 big priorities each day, and focus on those 2-3 things as your rock for the day. Those are your main points of focus, and everything else just falls in around them.
So, what are your favorite ways to procrastinate? And what are you up to this week? Give yourself 2-3 main priorities each day, and even if it takes you the whole day to do it, that’s okay! Procrastinate away, but do it effectively so you’re not hurting yourself (or your work) in the process.
Want some help figuring out how you can set up some ways to Productive Procrastinate?
EMOTIONAL SAVVY: The Relationship Help Showwith Rhoberta Shaler, PhD, The Relationship Help DoctorHow to Speak Up Powerfully When You Want Things to Change – Episode 44GUEST: Tina Dietz, Speaker, Audiobook Publisher, Podcast Producer, Content Marketing ExpertDR. RHOBERTA SHALER:In today's episode, Dr. Shaler shares compelling ideas about how you can be keeping yourself from having the life and relationships you most want.What's getting in your way? What's stopping you? Do you know? Stop and think about it…seriously.How are you with reasons, rationalizations, justifications, and plain ol' excuses? Maybe, it's time to think them through and see how they are serving you. Listen in for insights and inspiration for moving forward more powerfully.You deserve to take up space and draw breath, so, why not take stock and see if you're making the most of it? There is norightway to be, and you are at your best when you are examining, and re-examining your focus, your goals, and your desired results. Rhoberta will help you think that through today. Listen in and be inspired to move in the direction of the life and love you want.GUEST: Tina Dietz, Speaker, Audiobook Publisher, Podcast Producer, Content Marketing ExpertTina Dietz is an award-winning and internationally acclaimed speaker, audiobook publisher, podcast producer, and content marketing expert who has been featured on media outlets including ABC. Inc.com, Huffington Post, and Forbes. Tina's podcast, The Start Something Show, was named by INC magazine as one of the top 35 podcasts for entrepreneurs. Tina's company, StartSomething Creative Business Solutions, connects leaders, entrepreneurs and experts with larger audiences, resulting in expanded influence and income. Tina divides her time between the US and Cost Rica, where she is part of a leadership team building a conscious community called Vista Mundo.Tina knows some big things about speaking up! In fact, you could say she's outspoken…lol! With her support, so many people have found their voice and created their businesses, including podcasts. She helps them to become outspoken, too, to give the world the power of their insights, learning, and strategies for growth.How does someone's voice affect you? Are you aware of its effect on you? You actually are calibrating another person's voice without even realizing…and so is everyone else!How does your voice affect others? Your voice speaks volume–even before the impact of your words!
Your early life set you up for how you listen, what you pick up, and what you ignore or deny. What did you take on, and how is it serving me now?Tina Dietz help people express themselves in the world through audio publishing. In Part Two of today's episode, Tina shared her entrepreneurial journey, and how she came to her current work. She is an international expert at helping her clients turn their books and ideas, into audio books and products.How to ask good questions is imperative to interviewing others. Big talking points about this today!
So many turns and twists in this episode through life stories, Hijackals, and creating a wonderful business. You'll enjoy this, I think!
Here's some interview highlights:
Do you realize how you use your listening to navigate your life and relationships?
Are you in tune with it?
Why is it that you can hear your name spoken, even in a crowded room?
What did you learn early in life about who you are, and how intuitive you are?
Tina gives you insights into why this is and what the impact of it is on how you create your life, relationships, and business.
In this week’s powerful podcast episode “How to Create a Great Audiobook” you will discover …
How necessary it is for you to have an audiobook
What are some audiobook basics you need to understand
What audiobook trends you need to know about
Who is the best person to read your book
The importance of using an oral edit
Top mistakes to avoid when creating a great audiobook
And much, much more…
This episode features practical tools and techniques to help listeners who want to market a book. It provides invaluable and powerful information listeners will want to know to supercharge a book marketing strategy.
HER FREE GIFT: Tina's ebook, Launch Your Audio Book. Get it HERE.
Are you ready to grow your business? Are you ready to focus on and leverage your Zone of Genius?
If you said yes to either of the two questions above, if you’re hanging out in Overwhelm City or Burnout Alley and there aren’t enough hours in the day and you always feel like you’re scrambling, you need systems.
Even if you’re not a “systems person,” I guarantee you have systems… even if your system is something like:
Step 1. Get ready to do a task
Step 2. Try to remember how you did it the last time (whenever that was)
Step 3. Stop trying to remember and invent a new way to get it done
Step 4. Rinse and repeat.
I call this the “Non-Systems-System.”
Systems are simply consistent ways of getting things done that are made up of a mix of people, technology, and processes that create an intended outcome. It’s a structure that’s created to hold all the parts of your business together so work can flow. Ideally, this is set up to be like a wide-flowing river – not a creek with lots of beaver dams on it.
Better and more effective systems are the train tickets out of overwhelm city. You’ll find that you know what’s going on, what needs to happen, get to do more of the stuff you love in your business AND you work less while making more money.
You might have a blogging system that you follow to create high quality content on a consistent basis. Or a client on-boarding system that sets up your clients to have an amazing experience EVERY TIME they work with your business.
In systems are embedded culture, values, creativity, your essence… The systems of your business create a microcosm, an ecosystem that can reflect your unique way of being and working.
Building systems is simply about bringing consciousness to the process of how you (and your team) get things done in your business. In this process of bringing greater consciousness, what’s not working, what could be working better, and what could be simplified comes to light. You also find out ways to work more joyfully and more in alignment, which makes the process of running and growing a business all the more enjoyable.
Why Systems Rock!
Unless you’re building systems, it’s easy to stay in a place where you feel like you’re always racing against the clock. Talk about hanging out on the burnout path.
By getting clear about where you are, you can let go of any need to be polished and perfect and simply be clear about where you’re going and keep building without all the mental runaround.
With systems, it’s easier to add on and change the business without it being a huge hassle – that’s what systems are for.
When you have insight into what IS working, you won’t have to dedicate extra energy or resources into what’s already solid.
You’ll gain back extra brain space because you’re no longer trying to hold all the details. Since you have places for all that knowledge and insight to go to be actioned, you can trust you won’t lose momentum when you step away.
You might even find that you can take weekends and lunch breaks! Not in front of the computer, but away from it and you might not even think about work for hours or days at a time.
Imagine being able to work the same amount of hours (or less!), but do MORE of what you love doing in the business while being able to serve more people that need your particular sauce of brilliance.
You will be able to slow down and enjoy the ride, rather than the process feeling like a drag.
When you expand what you’re able to do without YOU having to work more, you enable yourself to be able to make more money, expand your impact, increase your creativity in business, while kicking that annoying overwhelm gremlin out.
That is why systems are awesome and worth making work for you.
Business Systems Are Like an Ecosystem
Your business is like an ecosystem. There are lots of different parts that interact to create something bigger than just each one of the parts individually. There's a symbiotic relationship that happens when these pieces work well together.
When you think about your business as an ecosystem, how you create systems is informed by the way you do things and why you make certain decisions.
Think about a river. There’s a lot of potential energy in a river. But if the river didn’t have banks, it would be diffused everywhere. The water wouldn’t be channeled.
You are the river. Your systems are the river banks, the roots of the trees that prevent erosion on the banks, and the rocks and bends that slow the water at certain locations along your trajectory. All of these parts support your journey and help you flow. Without a container for the river, the fish and other aquatic critters wouldn't have a home.
Systems operate in a continuum. There's no wrong place to be, you are where you are. Just like ecosystems. They are where they are in their development. There are no “have to’s” and there are no “shoulds.” There are no places that you're supposed to come out at on the other end. It's just about you having the opportunity to explore and decide what kind of journey you want to have and where you want to go. With systems, there's no done and there's no perfect.
When you align your systems you support your creativity and amplify your impact. You can improve the way you're working so you're more effective with your time and the way that you showing up on a day to day basis. You can have the impact that you want and do meaningful work without going to a place of overwhelm or burnout or spreading yourself too thin.
This process of building systems is about consciously choosing what needs your attention, effort and investment of resources. Ultimately that starts within, that starts with you making those choices.
Ready to level up your business systems? My brilliant colleague Justine Sparks is offering a free online workshop called Level Up Your Business Systems. During the event, you'll work through a framework to pinpoint the current level of your systems in personal organization and planning, financial management, sales, and marketing.
It's an opportunity to reduce your overwhelm and increase your business results in real time: 20% Theory, 80% Action. It's going to be a lot of fun and super practical and actionable.
With a background in business management, corporate social responsibility and marketing, Justine is your soulfoul systems designer. Her mission is to give you the tools that will allow you to support yourself on the journey. Justine brings high level strategic and systems thinking to the work she does with business owners. She received her BS in Business Management from an all women’s college, Simmons, in Boston, with a concentration in Leadership. Learn more about her.
Have you ever wondered how to have a launch that reaches tens of thousands of people or more? Here are 5 very friendly and quite un-technical ways nonfiction authors can use to boost your online presence by making simple, authentic ‘asks.’
No matter how technical and digital our world becomes, many of the best book and audiobook marketing comes down to simply asking. Have you ever wondered how to have a launch that reaches tens of thousands of people or more? I participate in those book launches all the time, and the key isn’t the technology used or some magic email formula.
Asking is what makes the difference, and in particular, having the relationships where asking is even possible. Your friends, colleagues, and fans want to put their words where more people can see them. It’s up to you to lead them and let them know what actions they can take that will make the biggest difference.
Here are 5 very friendly and quite un-technical ways you can use to boost your online presence by making simple, authentic ‘asks.’
1. Ask friends, colleagues and fans to post their reviews on Amazon and Goodreads
Here’s an important tip when asking for reviews – pre-write samples of reviews to give your tribe an idea of what to write. Many people (including myself) often want to help but deal with a shortage of time and attention. If you help shortcut the process, you’ll get better results and you’re also showing that you respect people’s time and energy in helping you.
2. Create a testimonial page on your website
Any testimonials or reviews that you get on LinkedIn, Amazon, Goodreads, or other places you can collect into one space, and then sprinkle generously around your website as little eye-catching quotes.
3. Get friendlier with Goodreads
Even I sometimes forget what a cool resource Goodreads is. Spend a little time each week connecting on Goodreads, and make sure your profile is fully fleshed out in detail, and that you also add your own list of books that you love. Goodreads is for people who LOVE books, who hunger for books, and you can connect with bloggers and reviewers through this platform as well.
4. Offer bloggers in your niche that you respect advanced reading copies of your book
Let the blogger know why you chose to reach out to them, and ask if they’d like to offer feedback and/or a review of your book. And, for goodness sake, share some of their blog posts with YOUR tribe via social media or email as an act of goodwill and relationship building.
5. Go on an online book tour via podcast interviews
One in every 3 people in North America listens to podcasts. That’s over 65 million people! Seek out shows and hosts that resonate with your message and topic, and, in the immortal words of Bill and Ted, “BE EXCELLENT.” Also make sure the host gets a copy of your Audiobook’s 5 minute retail sample to share when you do get an interview on a podcast. You can listen to some of our author’s 5 minute retail samples here to get an idea of what they sound like. Click here and scroll down the page.
Marketing your book isn’t a “one time and done” proposition. You can always use your book to continually build your audience, your brand, and your platform as an expert. One of the biggest mistakes that authors make is getting bored with their book and thinking that they need to move on to the next big thing, when what’s really needed is persistence, creativity, and small steps every day rather than grand gestures.
What has worked well for you in getting the word out about your work, or, if you’re already an author, your book? Which of these strategies would you like to add next? Make sure to leave your comments below!
Ready to explore audiobooks, podcasting, and creative content marketing for your book?
Podcast interview from The Entrepreneur Way where we talked about how you can expand your audience, influence and increase your income(Podcast on The Entrepreneur Way, Mar 28, 2018)
Tina Dietz is an internationally acclaimed speaker, podcast producer, audiobook publisher, and creative business expert who has been featured on ABC, Inc.com, Huffington Post and Forbes. Her podcast, The StartSomething Show, was named by Inc magazine as one of the top 35 podcasts for entrepreneurs, and her company, StartSomething Creative Business Solutions, connects experts, authors, and entrepreneurs all around the world with their ideal audiences through podcasting, audiobooks, and thought leadership marketing. Tina splits her time between the US and Costa Rica where she’s part of a team building a community of entrepreneurs and conscious leaders.
Entrepreneurial Role Models:
Pitchmen
When business started difficulties overcame:
“Surrendering to the fact that I was an entrepreneur. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen the godfather movies but it was in the godfather 3, the least interesting of all the movies, Al Pacino has this moment where he goes they keep bringing me back, and that is what it felt like to me becoming an entrepreneur, I really resisted it for a long time” …[Listen for More]
“I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul”
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Best Advice to Other Entrepreneurs:
“Engage your curiosity. Curiosity will get you through a lot. We get so fixed sometimes on how something looks or how something should be or we worry about if something is going to turn out a certain way, what other people are going to think about us it goes on and on and on. Whatever circumstance that you’re in if you can shift from whatever state of being you’re in that has you feeling diminished or concerned or angry or upset or any of those states of being, if you can shift yourself into curiosity then that is a bridge to be much more positive and making decisions from a place that’s not based in fear or anger”…[Listen for More]
“Adult life is dealing with an enormous amount of questions that don’t have answers. So I let the mystery settle into my music. I don’t deny anything, I don’t advocate anything, I just live with it.” Bruce Springsteen
Other Quotes From the Chat with Tina Dietz:
“I don’t know if there are secrets, there’s just stuff you haven’t learned yet”
“Setting ideas aside, I don’t have to act on all the ideas”
“It’s a little bit like the matrix, are you going to take the blue pill or the red pill because if you take that blue pill you’re going to go down a road that you’re going to follow for some time”
Did you like what you heard?
If you liked this podcast, please leave a review on iTunes! Visit to discover the iTunes page. If you found value in this episode why don't you help a friend out and share this episode on Social Media
Learn how how you can expand your audience, influence andincrease your income
Rant Warning – This common ‘advice' hurts more than it helps…
Sigh…
I’m listening along in a really good, NY Times bestselling audiobook about success and reaching your goals and all pumped up, doing my thing on the elliptical machine when suddenly IT happens.
That moment where I want to throw large, heavy objects through windows.
Christ/Krishna on a cracker, did she HAVE to go there?
We were all good until she insisted that the difference between success and failure, between reaching your goals and a life of mediocrity and disappointment, was one simple thing.
“Your limiting beliefs.”
AAAAUUUUUGHHHHHH!! Do you know what this statement is?
Yes. It’s a trap. This is the single most widely accepted piece of success advice that causes the most damage – both emotionally as well as pragmatically.
This entire conversation that “you’ll never be successful if you have limiting beliefs,” has GOT to go.
Of COURSE it’s important to work on yourself. But if you believe you can’t be successful because you haven’t worked out your limiting beliefs…THAT’S A LIMITING BELIEF!!
By the way, the video will clarify this issue loud and clear, but NSFW 🙂
Human beings are works in progress. Is being a good person a prerequisite for success? Um..no. I mean seriously, have you seen the number of ‘successful’ megalomaniac jackasses out there?
I can’t tell you the number of times that I’ve felt like a complete freaking moron, worried that I had NO idea what I was doing and that I get embarrassed, laughed at or called out. Fearful that I’d lose money or waste all my time.
What’s most powerful to create success (YOUR definition of success) is to take consistent actions, however small, to shift yourself BOTH from the inside out and from the outside in.
Babies learn to walk by walking, pianists learn to play from practicing, successful people learn to be successful by taking actions consistent with their vision of success.
Did you know that you can reduce your stress immediately with simple vocal techniques? Here are two quick techniques you can try out today.
You’re in a state of tension, stress, fear, worry, or anxiety-and what happens? Your shoulders naturally raise to protect the vulnerable throat and neck.
In many cultural traditions, the throat represents the center of creativity, self-expression, and communication. It’s also the conduit between your body and your head/mind, representing the link between your thoughts and feelings, or the “Mind-Body Connection.”
When you create more freedom in your throat and neck, you open your ability to express yourself more effectively and generate a greater sense of confidence and well being.
The musculature of the throat is incredibly complex, and I think very beautiful with all its fine, interwoven connections that allow us such flexibility of movement. We often take for granted that freedom of movement until we spend too many hours at the computer, or experience high stress levels – then we sure do notice that tension in our throats, necks, and shoulders.
Since there’s no machine at the gym to exercise your neck and throat (I think I’m grateful for that), you can use your voice to release the tension in your throat and really, your entire body.
Here are couple of techniques you can try out today and feel free to let us know what you notice.
1. Sigh like my Italian Grandmother
My great-grandmother was a 4’5” marvel of efficiency and energy. In the afternoons when she allowed herself to rest in her chair for a while (usually while crocheting something), she would repeatedly release a deep sigh. At the time I wondered why, but now I know that she was releasing tension in her body.
Take a deep belly breath in through your nose and allow yourself to sigh it out. (Bonus points for allowing any sound to come out with the sigh.) The long exhale combined with the vibration of the “ah” sound triggers your parasympathetic nervous system and your body’s relaxation response.
If you’re trying to feel more relaxed before you work with a client, enter a meeting or wind down at the end of the day, this is one of my favorite exercises.
2. Try the “One Word Rant”
If you’ve read my e-book called “Solve Any Problem in 10 Minutes,” you’ve learned about the creative problem-solving technique I developed based on our very human tendency to worry and complain. Often, what is beneath our concern is something we are deeply committed to. Otherwise, we wouldn't get upset!
This technique allows you to quickly take solution-focused action, using what you're upset about as the access point. The result is feeling relieved, clear and more at peace due to the fact that you've given a voice to your concerns and addressed them in a powerful manner.
A shortcut version of this technique to simply release tension and clear your mind is called the One Word Rant. The word used in this technique is, “why.” Why? Because that's the question we're really asking ourselves at the heart of our stress and upset.
“Why is this happening?”
“Why are they doing/saying that?”
“Why can't I feel better?
When we allow ourselves to express our frustration in a safe, quick and healthy way, the brain and body respond with a cascade of hormones and neurotransmitters that feel good, such as epinephrine and testosterone (yep, even for women) and we feel clearer and more focused.
The technique is simple, but you'll want to be in a private or quiet place since this involves some vocalization. I've been known to do this in the car.
Ideally, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart or wider, and semi-squat like a sumo wrestler. Throw your hands in the air above your head, take a deep breath and loudly exclaim “Whyyy!” You don't want to say it so loud as to strain your voice or throat, but you definitely want to express your “why” loud and proud.
Yes, I’m serious. I’ve facilitated this in a group of 50 or so leaders and the results were amazing. The simplicity of the “why” allowed the group to bond without having to explain or share a lot of personal feelings that may have caused them to feel vulnerable. At the same time, that shared experience of making a loud noise together in unison elevated the energy in the entire room. The group collectively felt heard and acknowledged.
The chemical cascade of hormones and endorphins the One Word Rant releases is simply wonderful. Generally, this technique is more energizing than the Italian Grandma Sigh, so I tend to use it if I’m having a frustrating day or if I need to boost my energy before speaking or a meeting.
This is also a fabulous tool to show your kids to help them learn to shift their stress and state of mind quickly, without a lot of “talking about it” that may be difficult for them to articulate or stressful to share with a parent.
We lead busy lives and we need solutions quickly. Try one or both of these techniques this week to reduce your stress and keep yourself going and growing.
What opportunities and possibilities do you find yourself diminishing or killing off because you're afraid to say the wrong thing?
Have you ever been asked this question?
“If you were a super villain, who would you be and what would be your power?”
This was not a question that my chiropractor was used to being asked, but I had just come from a conference call with some colleagues where we were discussing how to bring more of our personalities into our businesses and brands, and the topic of heroes and villains had come up.
You know,” my chiropractor pondered, “I think the worst feeling in the world is shame. It just stops people in their tracks. So my supervillain would be Shame Spiral, and he would freeze people from the power of shame.”
Wow.
Do you have conversations like this with your health providers? Because seriously, you should.
Author and shame researcher Brené Brown says, “Shame is the most powerful, master emotion. It’s the fear that we’re not good enough….it corrodes the very part of us that believes we are capable of change.”
Shame and the avoidance of shame shows up as embarrassment or fear of embarrassment, anxiety, depression, worry, resentment – what’s your flavor?
And shame definitely shows up as your fear of “saying the wrong thing.”
What opportunities and possibilities do you find yourself diminishing or killing off because you’re afraid of saying the wrong thing and looking foolish, or being wrong, or not looking good? How do you make yourself smaller and less bright because of how you think what you have to say might or might not come across to others?
Shame, in our bodies, can feel like we are dying – so we try and avoid it at all costs.
However, the solution to what to do when you’re afraid of shame, embarrassment, “looking bad” and saying the wrong thing is counterintuitive. I echo what Brené says…
“As a shame researcher, I know that the very best thing to do in the midst of a shame attack is totally counterintuitive: Practice courage and reach out!”
Courage is the antidote to shame. So then, how to create courage? My favorite activation point for courage is one simple and easy to conjure feeling.
Curiosity.
The courageous lion is still a cat, our avatar for curiosity. When you are feeling concerns about saying the wrong thing, being embarrassed, or risking shame, engaging your curiosity triggers your creativity, your inner wonder-er, and your sense of play.
Here are some questions you can ask yourself to engage your curiosity and replace your own personal “Shame Spiral” with your inner “Courageous Curious Crusader.”
Shame Trigger 1: “I don’t know if I can do this.”
Curiosity Trigger 1: “I wonder how I’ll grow from this experience.”
Shame Trigger 2: “What if they don’t like it/me/this?”
Curiosity Trigger 2: “This is going to be interesting-I wonder where this will lead me?”
Shame Trigger 3: “I’m not qualified to do this.”
Curiosity Trigger 3: “I wonder what I can add in to my knowledge or expertise to make this even better?”
Notice the pattern of the phrase, “I wonder…” This simple phrase is a deep and effective trigger to shift you from a shame reaction to a courageous and curious one.
We are always in the process of evolving into our greatness, try on replacing your automatic responses of shame, worry, and concern this week with those of curiosity, and see where it leads you – and let us know what you discover, we read and respond to every email.
