Anne and Me

This past weekend, I attended the Tribe Conference for the second time. I loved it so much last year that I signed up on the spot for 2018. And, wow, this year was even better!

It’s mostly a writer’s conference, but there are lots of creative and artsy people there, which makes it even more fun. Plus, my friend Anne of TrueNorth Freedom Project came along this year! I love attending conferences regardless, but it’s always better with friends.

There are a few reasons why I think #TribeConf is a great event, and stands out from many others. First of all, the speakers are very generous. It’s quite common for them to bring freebies for the audience like books and online courses. Second, many of the speakers hang out at the event before and after their talk. They don’t all swoop in and out just for their portion. Third, other “professionals” attend this event. I saw several well-known speakers posting on social media as attendees. Fourth, it’s usually pretty evident that at lot of the speakers are friends of Jeff Goins, the host, and that just makes for a fun and relaxed atmosphere. And, finally, it’s only about 500 people, so you get to meet a lot of people, as well as the speakers.

Since you guys didn’t get to attend with me, I took lots of notes, and wanted to share them with you. I hope you learn something or feel inspired like I did!

• You cannot avoid rejection and do your greatest work.
• You cannot make work for everyone and someone. Focus on the one.
  • Who is my work for? How will I think about my work?
• A brand is a promise.
• You get more opportunities by saying yes to everything.
• The secret to being a master is to always keep the mindset of an apprentice.
• Fall in love with the idea of eventually. Don’t give your success live and die deadlines.
• It’s about time I _______________. (What goal do you need to start working toward?)

• “We artificially escalate the consequences of failure.”
• If you’re doing work that matters, you’ll have rough edges.
• If you do work that is different, you’re doing something dangerous and worthwhile.
• People will question your differences now, and celebrate them when you succeed.
• Once we become good at something, it’s easy to embrace COMFORT and stop growing.
  • You can succeed your way into failure.
  • You can accomplish a task and fail anyway.
  • Adopt new ways to challenge yourself.
  • The creative path is one of growth and resistance.
  • Building a body of work: discovery, emulation, divergence, and crisis
    • At crisis, you can either go back and start over, or stay there and let your work die.
  • Where are my comfort traps?
• Fear holds us back from creating.
  • Where is fear paralyzing you?
  • Fear is often disguised as wisdom, but it also looks like opportunity.
• Identify your productive passion.
  • Passion has to do with the outcome, not the task.
  • Passion doesn’t mean easy. If fact, it means pain.
  • “Here I stand” is what it represents.
    • What angers you?
    • What makes you cry?
    • What gives you hope?
• Define your battles.
  • You can’t fulfill them all.
• Make something you love everyday for someone who will love it. <— THIS!
• Are you creating a body of work that reflects who you are rather than your compromises?

• People will always follow your physical cues, and that’s what they’ll believe.
• Watch the “power stance” TED Talk
  • Fake it till you become it.
• What’s the problem you solve?
  • What would your audience say? What keeps them awake? What’s their internal monologue?
  • Think several layers deep.
  • What happens if that problem isn’t solved?
  • It has to be their perspective, not yours!
  • Why is this a problem? Keep dialing down.
  • Use their words.

• Creative Sandbox Way Guideposts:
  • There is no wrong.
  • Think process, not product.
  • Think quantity, not quality.
  • Think tiny and daily.
  • If you are stuck, just start (anywhere).
  • When in doubt, ask WHAT IF?
  • Take the riskier path.
  • Dismiss all gremlins.
  • Spring the comparison trap.
  • Practice self-awareness and self-compassion.
• Other people see your work for what it is. You see your work for what it isn’t.

• Avoiding video is like avoiding a handshake in 2018.
  • Handshakes are proven to increase positive feelings about someone, while simultaneously diminishing negative feelings.
  • Silly examples: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exUlCjqQsDA
• Don’t keep the best stuff to yourself.
  • Give it away, and people will still pay you for it later.
• Be relevant, authentic, and advocate for your brand.
• Choose your channel:
  • Context is important. Every channel doesn’t work the same way.
  • Example…YouTube: You seek out content (video image and title are important to grabbing initial intention)
  • Example…FB: You just show up (it’s auto-play and there is no audio)
• Sustain Your Strategy
  • Consistency is key.
  • Average lifespan: Twitter (18 minutes), Facebook (5 hours), Instagram (21 hours), LinkedIn (24 hours), YouTube (20 days)
  • YouTube should be done once per week.
• Content: Think Hub, Hero, and Help
  • Hub satisfies the content you promised, and will be at least 60% of the content.
  • Hero is for mainstream and subscribers, which is the wildly popular stuff that will be about 10% of the time.
  • Help is for subscribers and and a searching audience, and will about 30% of the time. Here is where you’re trying to get shown in search results.
  • Check out Lowe’s as an example, though they don’t follow the percentages precisely.
    • Behind The Design vs The Weekender vs How To
• One perfect viewer
  • Make someone feel like you made the content just for them.

• A book is the key that opens the door to Narnia.
• Books legitimize you in your industry.
• 70% of books are bought on Amazon.
• How to find and refine your book idea for maximum impact:
  • No ideas:
    • What is your expertise
    • What are your most popular topics on your blog?
    • What makes you different?
    • What convos do you have over and over?
    • What are the misconceptions in your industry?
  • Too many ideas:
    • What can I finish the fastest?
    • Most likely to finish?
    • Which idea will make me happy?
      • Prioritize the first two questions.
• How to write a draft in as little as a weekend:
  • Learn to mind map.
  • Write out everything you know on the topic. (words and phrases)
  • Organize ideas in 4-7 groups, and then into 10-12 chapters.
  • Use the sections to organize into an order/sequence.
  • Mind map, outline, write….repeat per chapter.
• Marketing your book
  • Get a good cover that grabs attention. (Good art and easy-to-read title. Can people tell after looking at it quickly what it’s about?)
  • Build a launch team
  • Get reviews
• Use the “look inside” feature on Amazon to get subscribers. He does audiobook version for free. Video series is a good idea, too.
  • He likes to say Amazon is for buyers. Google is for browsers.
• The truth:
  • You don’t need a ton of marketing for your product.
  • You don’t need a traditional publisher.
  • You need to learn marketing.

• Put yourself into communities, virtual and real life, where you can use your craft.
• Community will help you succeed.
• You can’t stand out and fit in at the same time.
• Show up around your work with energy. People can feel it.
• Mindset is everything.
• Celebrate your weirdness.
• You build something one brick at a time.
• Craft first, but not craft only.
• A mindfulness practice is what all high-performers have in common. Learn to fill your mind with good things.

• Build remarkable – something people will remark on
  • Brand is the gut feeling people have about you and your organization. It’s not what you say it is, it’s what they say it is.
• Brand design is the intersection of business context, objectives, and story.
• Make sure your business has a plan.
• Brand Value Proposition
  • My/our ______ helps ______ who want to ______ by _____ and _____.
    • My/our (products or services) hep (target customer) who want to (relieve pain) by (selling points) and (creating gains).
• Stay humble.
  • Learn often from outside your circle.
• Focus on your uniqueness. Be yourself.
• Don’t argue with your words.
• Dream big. Start small. Keep moving.

• The Master Communicator’s Secret Weapon: Improv
• 3 Improve Concepts
  • Lead with acceptance (Yes, and…)
  • Become a better listener (listen is an anagram for silent)
  • Don’t fear failure
• L.I.S.T.E.N.
  • Look interested
  • Involve yourself by responding
  • Stay on target (the person you’re talking to)
  • Test your understanding
  • Evaluate the message
  • Neutralize the feelings (ex: heated argument)
• “Yes, and….” so you can
  • Open doors to new opportunities
  • Empower your team and improve the culture
  • Become open-minded and innovate
• Listen better, so you can
  • Become a master communicator
  • Make everyone who talks feel special
  • Increase revenue
• Don’t fear failure, so you can
  • Become a non-conformist and original thinker
  • Become an admired leader
  • Take risks

• “With God and Google, you are unstoppable!”
• How to Get What You Want
  • What holds us back isn’t a lack of knowledge, it’s our thoughts.
  • How to overcome procrastination:
    • 10/10/10 analysis
      • Think about something big you want or want to do.
      • Ask yourself, “How will I feel about this in 10 minutes?”
      • …in 10 weeks?
      • …in 10 months?
    • Once you see the benefits increase and obstacles decrease, you can move forward.
  • How to move forward with confidence:
    • Show up.
    • Be real.
    • Love others.
    • Don’t quit.
  • If you keep waiting for your dream to feel easy, you’ll never stop waiting.

• “Eat This Poem” – blog and cookbook
• Writing in the margins – finding the spare time to make things happen over time
• “Follow your curiosity.” – Elizabeth Gilbert
• Figure out where to prioritize, and be okay with holding off on other stuff, at least for now.
• Don’t wait for permission to create your work.

• Most creators don’t have a marketing plan
• Marketing isn’t about closing a sale, it’s about opening a relationship
• 3 identities to every brand
  • Visual
  • Verbal
  • Value
  • Does your brand send a mixed message? Think about if you saw a Walmart slogan on a Louis Vuitton ad.
• “Success is sequential, not simultaneous.” – Gary W. Keller
  • 7 Steps to Build a Powerful Personal Brand
    • Personal story
      • The messenger is more important than the message.
      • Movement —> Marketing —> Money
      • When you work on your movement, marketing is easy.
    • Platform
      • Most people try to start here.
    • Positioning
      • Your relationship to your competitors
    • Product
      • This is determine by the previous steps.
    • Price
      • Also determined by everything above.
    • Pitch
      • Verbal identity
    • Partners
      • People who want to share and recommend you
• Think about your products or services. Then add a zero to your most expensive one. Market your product at that level, and also know what you could give someone if they wanted to pay you that much money.
• Live your message. Love your work. Leave your mark.

• Check out his latest book, “Running Down a Dream”
• We all have fears around putting our work out into the world, but how rational are those fears?
• Even people at the top of their game get scared.
  • We always think if we get good enough at something we won’t be afraid anymore, but that’s not true.
  • We can also get bored if we get really good at something.
• We need to say out loud what our souls are silently screaming, because it may give someone else the courage to do the same.
• We are supposed to put our work out in the world for those who came before us, as well as those who will come after us.

• In order to win in the game, you have to be in the game.
• Know who your audience is.
  • You can even have a less than perfect product depending on who your audience is and what they’ll pay for. They may just be waiting on you to create something.
• Research
  • What do people want?
• Validate
  • Will they pay for it?
• Secret Sauce
  • ex: How to _____ without _____ (people want pleasure without pain)
  • Three things to focus on: who, what, and how (audience, topic, sales)
  • 6 ingredients
    • A deep and specific topic (ex: spray marketed to keep black cars clean)
      • 4 deep technique (ex: writers – self-publishing – software – scrivener) This is how he got to his Scrivener how to product.
    • A real pain or problem
      • They need to really feel the pain!
      • What happens if they don’t ____. (This is the gap you fill.)
    • Urgent in nature
      • If there are seven categories that define problems, strive to hit in the top three.
    • Willing to pay
    • Ability to pay
    • Something you can be passionate about
• Affiliates
  • Who else will promote?
• Exponential growth
  • It comes once all of these things are in place.
• Find the audience, don’t build the audience.
  • Where do they hang out?
  • Listen to them!
  • What are people complaining about?
• Where you might get stuck
  • I’m not an expert. (ex: Frank Abagnale was asked how he was such a good teacher on a subject he knew little about, and he said he just read one chapter ahead)
  • I’m don’t have time.
    • Find it in bits. It adds up.
  • I don’t have the tools.
    • Start with what you have.
• Customer + Product = Awesome person who can do great stuff
• I help _____ so that _______.
• What’s the problem you solve?

• Hire a business coach.
• Mindset is vital.
• Get okay with being uncomfortable.
• She used FB ads to give a discount and get them on her list. Then they bought merch.

• They story isn’t how brilliant you are. It’s the hard and embarrassing stuff.
• Content
  • I know how that feels. (ex: empathy, what do you feel comfortable sharing)
  • I need to know this. (ex: how to)
  • I know about this. (ex: easy content like yes/no or multiple choice)
  • This is what I think. (ex: opinion)
• How can you make everything about your audience?
  • She wanted to promote speaking gigs, so she gave behind-the-scenes on how she puts together a talk.
    • Brad talks into 5-7 minute blocks around a point or story and then storyboard them.
  • When sharing new content, try to start a conversation. Then lead into the post, and share it with those who participate.
• Everything is a content opportunity!
• Show, don’t tell.
  • Where does your life intersect your business?
  • What are the stories you share repeatedly?
  • Where in your story do people lean in?
• Tell the stories people want to hear, not the stories you want to share.

• Works with Millennials and consults with others about them
• When it’s all too much…
  • Having a good agent wasn’t enough.
  • What would my work look like if I were okay just being me?
    • Sometimes the best strategy is just the one you will follow.
• Obsessive Comparison Disorder
  • It’s hard to create anything worth creating if you’re expecting to be affirmed and applauded in the process of creating it.
  • The world is desperately hungry for your signature sauce.
  • What are my failures and personal pain revealing to me about my purpose?
  • Failure doesn’t ruin your story. Failure helps you write it.
  • We don’t connect over present perfection. We connect over shared pain. Will you have the courage to go first?
  • Who will I not be able to help if I give up now?

• “You need to take responsibility for your own success.” – JB
  • I wanted to begin with people who campaigned me, but I needed to put myself first. People came alongside me later.
• Your book title and subtitle are extremely important in nonfiction. – CA

• It’s easy to think about the things you haven’t done or success you haven’t attainted. But remember that there was a time when where you are sitting now was out of reach.
• “Fully Alive” book turned documentary on Netflix
• Humility is different than denying the gifts God gave you.
• 1) The greatest characters of a communicator is having a purpose.
  • To communicate effectively, speak with a specific, singular purpose in every presentation you deliver.
  • Great communication is the intersection of your presentation and people’s wants/needs/benefits…and moves them to action.
  • If you don’t have a purpose in mind, one will subconsciously be assigned to you.
  • “A sermon should be a bullet and not buckshot.” – Haddon Robinson
  • Your speech can ONLY be enabling (how) or persuasive (why).
• 2) Great communicators have a plan.
  • Have a powerful opening and closing.
• 3) Great communicators communicate with passion.
  • Powerful illustrations
  • Establish eye contact.
  • Maximize the power of your voice.
  • Let your face match your words.
  • Be your own best critic.
  • Have a passion for excellence.
  • Have a passion for life.
• Think about:
  • What is my ultimate purpose?
  • What is my plan to get there?
  • What do I do next?