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I used to be a massive audio book snob."
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"I DEVOUR books, I'm not some floater that can't READ."
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"I'm sure glad I let go of that silly."
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"Here's 3 audiobooks I've enjoyed the absolute living bah-jeezus of, with the last one being my all-time most read:"
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"📕 The Storyteller - David Grohl"
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"You didn't see that one coming with my erudite posturing did you?"
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"Well shame on you."
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"I'm not a huge fan of normie music, but as I learned more and more about Dave Grohl and his values, I realised I wanted the full story."
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"During the release of his book, Dave mentions that he got approached to have his story ghost written many times. He refused all of these as it didn't feel right, and he knew he would share his story one day."
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"So it's straight from the horse's mouth. Going into his childhood, what early touring as a struggling musician was like, his perspective on Nirvana, and what it's like being a father."
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"It hits you in all of the feels and hearing his laugh and self-deprecating humility on audio makes the tale all the more richer."
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"📗 Thinking in Systems, Donella Meadows narrated by Tia Rider Sorensen"
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"I love thinking about systems."
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"Leverage, stock, the parts, how the sum of the parts is different, and the interconnectedness of all things. "
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"I originally read Donella's prescient primer and both loved and struggled with its density."
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"The book does an amazing job of breaking down complex ideas into simple anecdotes, but it was still hard going."
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"Hearing the book in audio both broadened my understanding of the subject matter, and helped things settle in more deeply from a different angle."
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"Highly recommended and just so kick-butt from a female science writer in the 90s."
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"📘 The War of Art, by Steven Pressfield"
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"This book was already in the annals of all-time."
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"I remember aching when Seth Godin (smugly I thought) mentioned getting a copy of audio recordings originally read by Pressfield on the Tim Ferriss podcast."
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""I must have this!""
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"But at the time they were nowhere to be found."
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"One day the book appeared on Audible and I re-listen to it at least once a year - it's that good."
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"Steven talks about the Resistance. And it's a malevolent force that will eat you up and spit you out."
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"It's sole purpose is to completely and utterly destroy your creative calling and you can't do anything about it other than fight back."
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"It's the proverbial kick up the posterior you didn't know you needed."
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"📸 from this morning as I wait for my 9am"
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"--"
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"I'm Marshy 👋"
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"I nerd out on writing but also do stuff that earns money. "
"Such as helping startups make sense of their marketing. "
"Or selling copies of my book for startups trying to start marketing."
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"Catch you on the flip side 🧢

Want to read about a bigger FAIL than this picture?"
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"I heard some failure stories this morning and wanted to share one of mine."
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"I was leading a team that was really, really good with social ads."
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"The local Facebook team loved us because we'd start working with a client and they would grow."
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"This growth would be delivered with smart strategy, fast-learning and hungry talent, and world-class social creative skills that would produce stuff that was born for the feed."
" "
"We onboarded a consumer-tech startup that was beginning to scale, and we were confident we could blow it up even more."
" "
"✅ We applied best practice."
"✅ Set up campaigns and ad sets to test and optimise towards."
"✅ Our creative looked amazing."
" "
"The work tanked."
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"We gave it more "learning" time and it tanked even more."
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"Extra client meetings were set up to allay fears, and we sat there while a co-founder tearfully shouted at us "you're destroying our business"."
" "
"Adding to this was my own home troubles and my own place in the business starting to make less and less sense."
" "
"Here's what I learned from that situation:"
" "
"💫 Take the emotion out of it and apply a long-term view. "
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"One of the other co-founders understood that they couldn't keep doing what they were doing (managing the ads themselves) as it was unsustainable and the team was stretched. He was committed to finding an alternative solution and was prepare to bide time investigating our solution or alternatives. He kept the rest of the team calm while we tried to solve things for them."
" "
"🔨 A specialist never knows more than a business owner. "
""
"We were convinced we knew best as they'd had success with social ads and we knew social ads better than most of the market. But things were obviously tanking and while we couldn't see it right away, the business owner's intuition was right in this situation and they were right to raise the alarm."
" "
"👓 We all have blind spots. "
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"The client had built up their social and paid social following through authentic, home-made ads with low production value. Our ads were polished, sizzly motion video that didn't resonate with their audience at all. Most of our clients were big brands - where a high level of production is expected. Their audience didn't expect that and it clashed."
" "
"If we were able to decouple our expertise (and egos) the data would have showed this too."
""
"Lesson learned."
" "
"Funny post-script - that company is still going strong and powers our boy's bedroom come nap and bedtime ❤️"
" "
"I'm glad it worked out 🙏"
" "
"📸 by Dad trying to inexpertly snap a shot of Glow Dreaming device without waking kids up from nap time"
" "
"--"
" "
"I'm Marshy 👋"
" "
"I've made 20 years of mistakes so you don't have to do the same."
"I work with nonprofits and startups who need an expert in marketing and tech."
""
"I also run this "try and never buy" initiative called big fast value calls where you get to book a call, get advice, walk away, and never pay."
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"Have a happy hump day ⛰️

“But I can’t write…”"
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"I hear this from just about every business owner and freelancer who ever pops a meeting in to pick my brain 🧠 "
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"Do you remember English class at school? "
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"I was one of those nerds that relished every second of it."
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"What’s that got to do with posting on LinkedIn?"
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"Well - here’s a little formula you can steal from those days that can help you if you get stuck."
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"It’s TEEL."
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"Topic sentence: what’s the idea you want to share? Put it in a bold sentence. It should stand on its own and invite the reader in."
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"Explanation: if you’re going to build on that idea what’s it going to be? You worked hard for that readers attention so be sure to goddamn reward them for it."
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"Example: are you shooting from the hip or backing it up with substance boy? Inject an anecdote, data, or colouring in with personal experience."
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"Link: remember that idea you shared so long ago? Deftly sweep your words back to the idea or pirouette into a set up for the next one."
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"You can write - just plug in some TEEL and fill in the gaps."
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"You will be better off than before, and more importantly better than ChatGPT 👏"
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"You’re welcome."
""
"—"
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"I’m Marshy 👋"
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"When I’m not proselytising with prose, I’m helping startups make sense of their marketing and helping nonprofits communicate more impactfully."
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"I also advise anyone in my network for free. No strings attached.

Do you know of any social enterprise founders or small NFPs wanting to learn how to pitch to corporates?"
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"I've built a short course with 12+ videos, how-to instructions, concepts and principles to make the whole process easier to begin and get traction in."
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"The content is suited either to a early-stage founder wanting to learn this skill further, and could also work with a hungry team member who wants to help their cause as well."
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"It teaches:"
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"💥 How to bring value to corporate stakeholders and provide them with what they're looking for upfront"
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"⚡️ A crash course on the tools and what not to waste time on"
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"💥 The rules of the game and how things work over time"
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"⚡️ How to start a cold relationship and what with"
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"💥 What roles within corporations are most likely to be able to help you"
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"I believe the world gets better when we persuade more corporates to partner with more change makers."
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"This course is designed to help grease the wheels in that direction."
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"I'm still in testing, but the initial pilot went well. "
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"I'm looking for 5 more orgs I can share the course with no strings other than the desire to get feedback."
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"Let me know or tag someone!"
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"Muchos appreciatos 🙏

I read a LOT of startup growth stories and they tend to sound Silicon Valley-esque."
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"Let me tell you what that reads like:"
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"“Yo so we had this wellness-flavoured post-crypto fintech that was burning through runway. I had a hook-up with this VC type near Palo Alto who had a yoga studio so we did this mad yoga party and gave them signup codes after corpse posing.”"
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"If you’re a startup in ANZ - that’s nowhere near what your growth trajectory looks like."
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"The market is smaller."
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"There’s less funding."
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"And (fortunately) there’s much less tech bro."
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"That’s why I’ve teamed up with 🚀Gemma Clancy and Bridget Cull at Stella Startups to research what it takes to grow your startup with marketing in ANZ."
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"We’ve designed a survey, will follow it up with deep dive interviews, and release the knowledge into the ecosystem for the betterment of all."
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"We’re looking for partners who can:"
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"1. Advise on the survey design "
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"2. Assist with distribution channels to collate enough respondents "
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"3. Collaborate and sponsor to help us raise the level of production we can put into this work"
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"If you fit the bill and want to know more slide into my DMs."
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"Also - if you’re a startup who wants to participate and receive this knowledge when it’s ready then hit me up and we’ll put you on the list."
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"📸 snap from earlier in the week of me doing a different kind of work with the two best personal trainers in the world "
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" —"
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"I’m Marshy 👋"
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"Outside of startup surveys I am a co-founder of a new startup (🤫), coach founders and business owners, write a newsletter on AI, and advise startups and NFPs on growth."
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"I’m good at what I do and don’t come cheap - so I also offer free advice to anyone who needs it via my big fast value calls 📞

It went something like this:"
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""Hey folks, I've started 5 or so businesses and now run an investment group. "
""
"A lot of it manages itself now and I'm bored and got some spare time, so I'm offering chats to any founders and business owners in this group to see if I can help.""
""
"This was how I met Dale in a local startups Facebook group."
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"He started a waste management company and focused on doing better than anyone in that category. "
""
"The business outperformed the market but Dale burned out."
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"He then turned things around with a strict systems focus and grew his business, then businesses, then group with this same level of focus."
""
"We chatted and Dale called BS on what I thought was my problem, and then I applied what he said. "
""
"A couple of months later he said he is going to start helping out on Messenger regularly with a weekly check-in and voice notes and here was the price."
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"That was a complete no-brainer to me and I've been working with him ever since."
""
"Here's some things he's shared along the way:"
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"🏎️"
"Once you start putting in the work with this sort of focus, it starts coming back to you in spades. It might not be what you expected - but things start clicking more easily and the momentum builds."
""
"⊬"
"If you think something is too hard or impossible - prove it. I still remember him saying "prove it" with a smile. I'd just fed him a sob story about my unique experience and it's very hard to replicate what I do because it's a mix of strategic experience and hands-on. So I audited my time and invoices to demonstrate as such. My time divided up into 5 neat buckets where at 70% of it could be delegated. I shared it with him at the end of the week. He laughed "this always happens"."
""
"💯"
"Find your limit, then find a way to consistently set it to 80-90%. Redlining is unsustainable and over-glorified. When people are relying on you its also irresponsible and unnecessary risk."
""
"I had so many misgivings at the start:"
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""This guy is rough!""
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""He doesn't work in tech so it's different""
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""He is oversimplifying things""
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"Yet this was all my own crap."
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"Dale's been nothing but helpful at every step of the way. "
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"He's reminded me to have fun. "
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"He's helped me hyperfocus on what I can control and also hyper stay away from what I can't."
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"I admire how he goes about it. He's terrible at sitting still and "did the mai tais on the beach" and hated retiring. We've been swapping notes my whole Summer while he's been travelling around Europe skiing with his partner."
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"It's his story to share, but there's also far more depth to his character than my first impressions and judgment allowed for."
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"Anyway he's expanding what he does so if you want me to put you in touch just DM me."
""
"--"
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"I'm Marshy 👋 "
""
"I'm building a startup, advise startups and nonprofits, provide marketing coaching, and write a newsletter about AI."
""
"I offer free advice to anyone in my network with a technology challenge, and you can visit my links to find out more.

A long desk. A tall bookshelf with lots of gold embossed books. An older man sitting behind his desk smiling and patiently listening to all of my woes."
" "
"This is how I used to fantasise about mentoring."
" "
"It doesn't work like that at all."
" "
"And if you find yourself in such a room - good luck, because it sounds like you're visiting a suburban lawyer's office."
" "
"Here's how I go about mentoring:"
"➡️ Find leaders and peers I enjoy swapping notes with"
"➡️ Catch-up with them every now and again"
"➡️ Continue this process to infinity"
" "
"What it does for me:"
"📈 Helps me clarify my thinking by sharing it with someone I respect"
"📈 Helps me check in with my feelings as I talk about opportunities, challenges, and what I'm working on"
"📈 Keeps the lines of communication open with someone that I can keep an eye out for and continue helping"
" "
"I've also mentored old staff, people I've met at conferences, and people who have taken an interest in something I've put out there and continued to keep in touch with."
" "
"The value of such relationships is intangible and compounds over time."
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"📸 is a still from a pilot course I built teaching non-profit/social enterprise leaders how to pitch to corporates more to come soon"
" "
"--"
"I'm Marshy and write regularly on here 👋"
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"I advise clients on marketing and tech, coach startup founders, write a newsletter on AI, and am working on a new venture with a small team."
""
"I have a book recommendation for everything - if you're after a reco let me know :) 📗

Today I'm going to give you a method for figuring out whether a marketing supplier is selling you a steaming pudding 💩."
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"This technique works as a back of the envelope calculation to give you confidence its worth investing in."
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"A first-time founder can apply it through to a seasoned business owner. "
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"It also works for agencies, departments, and consultants."
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"Put two questions against their offer."
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"1) How much does it cost to get this customer?"
"and"
"2) How much is this customer worth to me?"
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"A good supplier knows the range of answers to the above two questions. "
""
"They don't know the ins and outs of your business like you do, but they know how much it costs to create and produce assets that attract interest and help convert customers."
""
"Example"
"Let's say it costs $100 of Google Ads to get bookings for your Chiropractor practice. That's the cost per booking. "
""
"As you play with other methods - Facebook, TikTok, flyer drops, joint ventures - you've got a reference point for how much it costs to get a booking. You know most customers will book again, but if a supplier can't perform around that number - or is promising a much lower number - give them the flick. "
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"It's a highly commoditised marketplace with finite audiences in each area - your marketing costs are fixed within a range and to perform better you're going to need to innovate/deliver better service and find other ways to beat the market."
""
"That's when the numbers become important - you need to know them so you compare that against what a supplier is offering."
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"Here's the way to check"
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"➡️ If supplier offer is FAR LOWER than the cost it takes to get a customer, they're offering you steamed pudding 💩 don't waste your time"
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"➡️ If a supplier offer is 5-30% of the value your customers are you're playing in the right mix"
""
"There's other things to look for and happy to advise if you're in the thick of. it."
""
"But this should stop stupid things like spending $500 on a video expecting 100s of customers or paying $4,000 for a "corporate partnerships funnel" if each deal is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars."
""
""
"--"
""
"I have this wild theory that if I keep giving things away for free it's going to help in the long run."
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"One of the ways I give things away for free is big fast value calls."
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"15 mins of coaching on my areas of expertise - marketing, sales, technology, AI, career development, and personal growth - with a no pitch policy. "
""
"🤳🏼 from last week - I work in the city 1-2x a week in StartSpace and showing off my pearly whites on LinkedIn tends to do well

Work with what you've got."
""
""
"During my time at Google - we were always encouraged to "be scrappy". "
""
"This meant working within your means and doing things in a way that demonstrated hustle and resourcefulness instead of spending first."
""
"Later on the entire global sales organisation was flown to Las Vegas for a conference that still boggles my mind to this day (think Bruno Mars private concert in a stadium)."
""
"But you don't need an eye-watering travel and entertainment budget to do good work."
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"Reframing is the act of taking your experience, playing it back, and recognising how it helped you get to where you are."
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"It applies to everything - good and bad."
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"If I didn't have such a bad experience leaving Google I wouldn't have met my ex-wife."
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"If I didn't go back into a media agency after Facebook I wouldn't have made some wonderful friends and people I still mentor."
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"If one client didn't chew me up and ask me for a $100,000 refund when our technology broke I would never have gained the depth of experience I have dealing with clients today."
""
"You also don't need a cavalcade of war stories from working with blue-chip clients, marketing egos, and tech bros."
""
"This is a slide from a pitch I made in 2006 trying to get into the AFA's graduate program."
""
"What does being a paper boy at 12 tell you about someone who wants to work in advertising?"
""
"It turns out a lot."
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"Learn to work with what you've got - it's a very rewarding path that only becomes evident once you've looked back."
""
"And yes young Luke managed to weave Western Bulldogs colours into his pitch ❤️⚪️💙"
""
"--"
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"I write regularly on LinkedIn and you can follow or send a connection request."
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"If you'd like to read more I also have a newsletter with insights on AI and what's coming."
""
"And if my post resonated with you let me know - I love hearing from people both old and new.

I've calculated it to be about 1 time every 5 weeks."
" "
" "
"This is the frequency of requests per year I get for mid-to-senior professionals who are looking to start out with consulting and are curious about how to get started."
" "
"I always take a meeting and try to pay it forward."
" "
"My reason for this is that when I started over 10 years ago I could have used some kind words and pointers."
" "
"Over 10 years ago I remember getting my first verbal agreement to work with the startup pozible and then calling my business owner friend with:"
" "
""Okay, now how do I raise an invoice?""
" "
"I trust that those I help will do the same for others in the future."
" "
"There's a LOT to learn and I wouldn't have it any other way. "
""
"It's more engaging, flexible, and my pipeline of interesting projects is massive."
" "
"It's also draining, scary, and you have to continually hunt and deliver value because if you don't you won't eat."
" "
"Here's some quick points I've shared that come up very frequently:"
" "
"☕️"
"You need to network. If you hate that word you're in the wrong business. This can be a conversation every week, or 10 conversations every week, but it needs to be consistent."
""
"These aren't sales calls."
""
"You're taking an interest in people you've worked with or are interested in, learning about what they're focused on, and trying to identify ways to help them."
""
"These will lead to sales calls over a period of time if you do enough of them - but your job is to have consistent conversations."
""
"🧾"
"Figure out your billing and what you charge. Hourly jobs are going to eat you alive. I have a minimum term of engagement and you need the same - the time it takes to kick-off, do something, answer questions, and seek business is expensive - hourly jobs will kill you."
""
"🐻‍❄️"
"Your job in the first year is to SURVIVE. That's it. It's the hardest year. You're going to flub what you say, burn new client relationships, and freak out about bills being paid. The good news is once you get a handle on it, the second year is easier, and the years after become more fun. It's still hard but so is working for the man while he cashes in on you being chained to a desk."
" "
"I'll keep taking meetings of course and happy to help where I can."
""
"But it felt like a good time to make some PSAs because it's evident a lot more people need to hear this."
" "
"Thanks for coming to my TED talk."
" "
" "
"📸 taken after Mum went out for a well-deserved friend's dinner - if you think consulting is hard just wait until you have twin boys 😘"
" "
"--"
" "
"I'm not looking for projects but often get requests outside my scope."
""
"If you're looking for work it's worth connecting for this reason, and if you're looking for vetted specialists in tech, marketing, social media, sales, or operations to hire - I have a formidable network and am happy to point you in the right direction.

Today I'm going to argue what your career can learn from the world of kink."
" "
"In the kink world: "
"Boundaries are explicitly and frequently communicated."
" "
"I like this. "
"I won't do this. "
"There is a hard-limit and no-go zone on this. "
"I'm open to this, but only if you're upfront and check this thing first."
" "
"Friends I've met from this world are confident, clear about what they want, and seem to have a lot of fun in the process."
" "
"Now: "
"Let's flip this back to your career."
" "
"Ask someone what they're looking for next and you'll get vague answers."
" "
"I'm interested in something along the lines of... "
"I guess I could work at something that size. "
"I'm just looking for something that aligns with my passions."
" "
"I've got a truth bomb for you darling - if you're wishy washy with what your passions are - HOW ON EARTH is your future employer going to align that with you?"
" "
"The world rewards clear communication."
" "
"Work out your career kinks."
" "
"What do you ache for?"
"What are your no-go zones?"
"What pain are you willing to tolerate in order to get the rewards?"
" "
"Answer those questions yourself - and be ruthlessly honest."
" "
"Satisfaction on the other side awaits."
" "
"The world isn't going to gift you anything."
"But when you're clear on what you want it finds ways to make it happen."
" "
"p.s. I wanted to take an amusing photo to support this metaphor but all I could come up with this gag."
""
"--"
" "
"I've got plenty of projects on my plate and not looking for more."
""
"But I LOVE coaching."
""
"I'm offering free big fast value calls to anyone in my network."
""
"My intention is to keep offering these until I can't meet demand any more."
""
"There's no pitch."
""
"Details on my profile.

Persistence is criminally underrated."
""
"I hear people point to spam and say - I don't want to be like that!"
""
"But that's a very different thing."
""
"Taking a determined and continuous interest in working with someone carries its own energy and its own rewards."
""
"The value of it goes up when everyone is scurrying around freaking about the latest thing."
""
"You can get anywhere you want to go with persistence."
""
"So go get that thing that's scaring you."
""
"Keep showing up."
"Keep being interested."
"Keep that focus."
""
"It opens doors you didn't even know existed.

I used to find meditation a frustrating practice."
""
"I would focus on streaks and apps and tracking."
""
"Then something would go wrong - I'd miss a day or I couldn't find the right spot."
""
"The streak would end and the idea of meditating would fade away again."
""
"Until I felt I was in a good spot and start the dance again."
""
"This dance continued for years."
""
"Then I found a practice that "stuck" and I haven't looked back."
""
"I've witnessed my appreciation, patience, and depth of understanding increase for everything."
""
"A simple example is with books."
""
"I re-read passages, quotes, articles, and whole texts and get more out of them than I did before."
""
"The words haven't changed."
""
"But I feel like I have."
""
"This quote came up this morning and explains what I mean."
""
"I'm not meditating for any other reason than it improves everything."
""
"The funny part is I didn't really know what it meant the first time I came across the quote - so I just keep letting things unravel at the time they need to."
""
"#reflections #meditation

During my time at Google, an engineer was kind enough to run an introductory session on meditation."
" "
"I went along, buying into the science of its benefits."
"It was mentioned enough by people I admire that I was willing to give it a go."
" "
"I would focus on getting it right."
""
"I wanted to do it the best I could."
""
"I attacked workshops, enacted streaks, and even took a date out to a session in Sydney."
" "
"Here's a complete sidebar: "
"The date finished with some ice cream from Cow & and the Moon in Newtown and the lovely woman said to me -"
""
""You finished that quick""
""
"And I never saw her again 🤣"
" "
"Today - I meditate twice daily and my practice looks and feels very different to what I was striving for back then."
" "
"I've learned:"
"→ There's no such thing as doing meditation "well" - you just do it"
""
"→Attaching judgments like "this is bad" or "I nailed that one" are problematic at best"
""
"→To find what works for me and discard the rest"
" "
"I no longer meditate for benefits. "
"It's a devoted practice that's as important to me as breathing."
" "
"I'm also grateful for the introduction I received, and wouldn't be on the path I'm walking without it."
" "
"It's a new year and a new you - so if you're curious about meditating I recommend sitting quietly for two minutes a day, for 30 days, and seeing if you notice anything after that."
" "
"Then whatever is the thing you notice - keep following that."
" "
"You've got this 🙏"
" "
" *snapped by my partner a couple of years ago - I told her Bonti is like a higher meower looking over me 😻

oi!"
""
"Vote for my talented friend Alicia Nagle in the Spark Business awards please."
""
"She's founded Zonely and has already done so much with her startup in a short amount of time!"
""
"More information about what she's up to (including an application video) here - https://lnkd.in/g9EQZ_F8"
""
"⛳️

I ran some BIG FAST VALUE calls over the week with a mix of people and one stood out above the rest (not that it was any form of competition)."
""
"Sherin Breuer is co-founding UPitch.Me and came prepared with a list of questions around where to focus, how to get early traction, platform-specific advice and whether I could share her survey on the perception of internships for employers."
""
"I was more than happy to - she's aiming for at least 100 submissions and is on her way."
""
"If you've worked with, hired, or considered hiring interns then please complete this AI survey (it's like a conversational Q&A process that's pretty quick) - https://lnkd.in/eQvNNsaH"
""
"Sherin followed up with the link and made helping her super-easy."
""
"The next time you're seeking about engagement with someone you want help from - what's some things you can do to maximise the results you're getting?"
""
"Food for thought 💭

My professional network usually doesn't cover science/teaching/equine fields..."
""
"But YOU might know some in yours 🫶🏻"
""
"My partner Georgia is slowly thinking about work next year - so if you do have any leads to test, learn, or canter around then please hit us up."
""
"And if you don't know of any, at least enjoy this snappy nature pic of our bush babies."
""
"A step up from my Bluey snap earlier in the week 📸🦎"
""
"Thanks in advance 🙏

"Do you remember when you were a gunna?""
""
""
""
"I'm going to do this."
""
"I'll get to that."
""
"I'm planning a new thing next time."
""
""
""
"I smiled."
""
""
""
"It was my friend of 15+ years asking me this question on the weekend."
""
""
""
"We were reflecting on the year that's been, and what's coming up next year."
""
""
""
"The beauty of this friend is that we've had similar trajectories - moving from the country, goofing around in Sydney while climbing the ladder, relocating to Melbourne, creating a base and absorbing new responsibilities..."
""
""
""
""Yes! It seems so counter to what I'm about now.""
""
""
""
"The gunnas can apply to anything."
""
""
""
"But my friend shared something that also applies to anything."
""
""
""
"1. Do the thing."
"2. Do it well."
"3. Do it efficiently."
""
""
""
"We can spin our wheels obsessing about what well is and how to do it the most efficiently and never do the thing."
""
""
""
"But if you start with #1 you'd be surprised by how much you can actually get done, do it well, and become really effective."
""
""
""
"Then you move on to the next thing."
""
""
""
"#career #coaching #personaldevelopment"
""
"p.s. the picture is of Bluey - who has absolutely nothing to do with the above other than they exist in my backyard in Summer and I absolutely adore that

I'm finishing for the year next week. "
""
"And lots of change is in the air 🍃"
""
"So what better way to finish the year than with a high-grade explosive whiteboard animation? 💥"
""
"I've opened up spots in my calendar for next week for a big fast value call."
""
"I give you as much coaching, tech, marketing, sales, and advice as I can in 15 minutes."
""
"There is no pitch."
""
"I won't add you to an email list."
""
"And this isn't an invitation to work with or some sort of exotic tech tripwire."
""
"So here's 15 ways I could help over 15 minutes:"
""
"1. Provide a book recommendation on subject X"
"2. Be a kind ear as you vent about the year that wasn't what you expected"
"3. Get a referral to an SEO, SEM, social media ads, website developer, graphic designer etc. etc. my BOOK IS LARGE and it is VETTED"
"4. Share where to focus marketing hiring energy"
"5. Help you promote your side hustle"
"6. Answer questions about how to go about it on LinkedIn"
"7. Ask a technology question - I KNOW STACKS"
"8. Ask where the best banh mi place is in Diamond Creek - TRICK QUESTION - because there's only one and they are legitimate"
"9. Put a face to the name because we've connected on LinkedIn and haven't chatted yet"
"10. Run a problem you think can be solved with AI past me and get a start on where to focus"
"11. Ask for a professional reference"
"12. Get some feedback on your landing page, copy, or marketing asset"
"13. Get some advice on how to get into the doors of a tech company you want to work at"
"14. Ask for an introduction to... "
"15. Do a reference check on..."
""
"or just receive a warm smile and kind words because you want to finish the year on a HIGH  📈"
""
"And so on..."
""
"You get the drift. "
""
"And if you want to get the link just let me know via engagement, DM, pigeon, or in the comments."
""
"🫶🏻"
""
"#freecoaching #EOYspecial #bigfastvalue

Mum and Dad got to go into town on Saturday night and unwind with dinner and The Teskey Brothers concert at Sydney Myer Music Bowl."
""
"These moments are rare with twin boys. "
"I'm so grateful for the time together (and babysitting)."
""
"As the year comes near close, I'm curious how other people plan and reflect for next year."
""
"I've played with many styles of planning, journalling, off-siting, and brainstorming."
""
"Today, I feel like the simpler the better for me works."
""
"More of the same:"
"- Interesting work"
"- Healthy habits"
"- Writing and curiosity"
"- Helping others and being of service, and"
"- Savouring moments like Saturday night"
""
"Have a great week! 💪

Sharing posts about your business is easy."
" "
"Getting distracted by less important things is even easier."
" "
"That's why I created "the priority ladder"."
" "
"Things higher up the ladder are better than lower down the ladder."
" "
"Think about that post."
" "
"It gets views, reach, and even some comments."
" "
"You could repeat this 100 times and get the same result."
" "
"It's frustrating because you're "marketing" and not going anywhere."
" "
"You've also got websites that encourage you to keep posting because you're told that is what marketing is."
" "
"Are you getting sales from this activity? No."
" "
"But you notice some people asked about buying from you and clicked on your landing page."
" "
"It's higher up the ladder so do more of that."
" "
"--"
" "
"I shared this in a workshop last week."
" "
"I want to share more nuggets like this each week in a weekly format to help founders and business owners up-skill on their marketing knowledge."
" "
"I want to keep sharing nuggets, ask them what they need to know more of, and continue to create content that will help them with their up-skilling."
" "
"My goal is to reduce their confusion, pain, and frustration that comes with seeking out marketing services."
" "
"This is because nobody knows their business better than an owner owner."
" "
"Knowing what marketing is useful and isn't useful for them will:"
""
"⏱️ Save time from mucking around with bad services,"
""
"📉 Save money by investing in the right activity, and"
""
"🧠 Provide peace of mind because they know what to look for and how it's working for them"
" "
"If you'd like to be notified when more marketing nuggets are available then let me know by sharing your favourite snack."
" "
"My current favourite snack is Cracker Barrel cheese, a slice of tomato, salt + pepper, on a rice cake. I like it because it's easy to smash out from home and tastes better than junkier snacks. "
" "
"#marketingtips

Here's what I've been doing to learn more about AI."
""
"📗 Reading about it from a number of newsletters and communities."
"I keep my newsletters in a folder and skim a few times a week. Keyboard shortcuts (K) in Gmail is a godsend for this. The really good reads get punted into Readwise"
""
"✍🏻 Writing about it. "
"By committing to a cadence of once a week in my AI versus Marshy newsletter I'm forced to think about openly on paper and make decisions about what my audience might find interesting"
""
"👨🏼‍🏫 Teaching about it. "
"There's no better way to challenge yourself on a topic than to share what you know with others."
""
"That's what I did last week with the Australian Marketing Institute."
""
"I covered off:"
"- what a simple partnership building system looks like"
"- how you can use AI to bolster your discovery, outreach, and processes"
"- how you can do this with prompts and software - shoutout to Copy.ai"
""
"The space keeps changing (hello dramas this week) but by writing and teaching in public I see a way to continue getting my head around a technology that will permeate everything."
""
"p.s. I offer free lunch + learns to any member organisation, accelerator, or community with an audience interested in technology, sales, and digital marketing - DM me to secure a spot for 2024"
""
"#marketing #partnerships #newsletter

They call me The Marketing Mountain Goat."
""
""
"...because I'm pro at navigating rocky situations with a calm gait and staying balanced."
""
"This is your post for today."
""
"Now go forth and bleat one the last weeks of the year 💪"
""
"#standup #yougoatthis

None other than Jack Dorsey found the time to hear about the original Australian alcohol-free beverages company in Sobah Beverages."
""
"If you're an impact investor in this country and haven't spoken with Dr Clinton Schultz you are missing awesome things in your own backyard."
""
"Adopt some humility, get curious, and learn like those who are on the international stage are doing."
""
"💪

The best thing about consulting is flexibility."
" "
"The next best thing is having the space to connect on unique and interesting projects."
" "
"Projects over the last 6 months like:"
" "
"🌠 I met an AI developer in Poland who was running discovery interviews about media buying and content creation"
""
"🚙 A developer created a price-saving mechanic for specialist car parts and was looking for a co-founder"
" "
"🧠 I met a potential co-founder working on an ADHD startup"
" "
"♻️ I connected with an agtech accelerator to be a business coach for their Indigenous Accelerator Program (Food Futures Company)"
" "
"💜 I reconnected with an old colleague building a micro-learning startup (keep kicking goals Lisa Lie w/ Learna)"
" "
"🪧 Quoted on a growth strategy for a cyber-security startup out of Slovenia"
" "
"📈 Met the founder of a peak-performance coaching app and swapped notes (Brian Park of SuperiorMindApp)"
" "
"+ more."
" "
"I love being able to connect with and help these sorts of people regardless of whether it becomes work or not."
" "
"All of these came via back channels, random meetings, or referrals."
" "
"This is simply not possible as an employee."
" "
"If you're a senior resource that works in tech, marketing, or sales and thinking about jumping into consulting - there's great things to work on out there. Do it!"
" "
"It's not without its challenges, but I'm happy to share them with you and help if I can :)"
""
"(pic via DALL-E Open Ai)"
" "
"#projects #tech #freelance

I got asked if I was going to do anything more ambitious the other day."
" "
"I recoiled."
""
"The 'A' word and I have a love/hate relationship."
" "
"I think:"
"rigidity, "
"burnout, "
"perfectionism, "
"unhealthy hours, "
"and lots of sacrifices."
"And not necessarily the right ones."
" "
"This is because I'd climb and climb and kept feeling hollow no matter where I progressed."
" "
"Yet I'm thinking about next year, and what's REALLY going to get the blood flowing."
" "
"Here's an old snap from 2020."
"I took it of my whiteboard on the 2nd day of the year."
" "
"Before lockdowns."
"Before my divorce."
"Before (but not too far from) full-time sobriety."
" "
"I remember writing these down and thinking:"
"This would be amazing to nail all of this. "
"Some of them seemed like pipe dreams."
" "
"I only rediscovered this pic recently - and despite everything I'm living that life + more right now."
" "
"I'm at a point where I want to support my family and direct the formidable energy and capability into serving something bigger than me."
" "
"I've got hunches and I'm looking forward to committing to writing them down again at the end of the year."
" "
"But I don't want them to be goals I achieve over the next few years."
" "
"I want them to be ambitions that help make the world a better place."
" "
"I still don't love the word, but directing ambition towards things bigger than me is something I can get "on board" with."
""
"p.s. How good is my handwriting? I don't even think DALL-E could translate some of that scribble 📝"
" "
"#personaldevelopment #coaching #goalsetting"
"

I travelled up to Sydney a couple of weeks ago to be in a studio."
""
"I was representing Lived Experience with mental illness for the release of SANE's results from the first 12 months of their pilot Guided Service program."
""
"It's an Australian-first digital-first program to provide psychosocial support with mental health."
""
"People check they're in an eligible service area, fill out some details (or get referred), and choose whether they want access to a counsellor or a peer support worker."
""
"It's details like that last one that make this program so exciting."
""
"SANE have co-designed the program from the ground up. Consulting with people who have been there on what would work best for them."
""
"This is important because navigating the system is an alienating experience."
""
"Here's some of the things you need to do to get medical help in Australia (off the top of my head):"
""
"- Admitting you need help"
""
"- Finding a GP you're comfortable with"
""
"- Know you need to book a DOUBLE-appointment to get a mental health care plan"
""
"- Find suitable practitioner that can help you"
""
"- Survive a long waitlist process"
""
"- Actually get comfortable with a person you're sharing some of your deepest and darkest fears with that you likely haven't met in a room before"
""
"This is a nightmare for people new to the system."
""
"So having access to support that can "answer the dumb questions" and normalise a challenging experience is game-changing."
""
"It helps someone already feeling isolated know that they're not alone - which is SO important."
""
"My Mum worked in hospitals, so I benefited from having "insider knowledge" on how the systems work."
""
"I also benefited from a loving family that was ready to drop everything to help me in crisis - not everyone is lucky enough to have that."
""
"Links to the program and the webinar in the comments."
""
"This stuff matters. "
""
"It goes past a corporate wellness day or surface-level pointing to a helpline."
""
"I was happy to spend a little bit of time to help the cause and I'm grateful to my partner for holding the fort at home that day while Dad got to share about something that's important to him. "
""
"Thanks 🙏

The best personalised connection request I've ever received?"
""
"Thanks Viraj!"
""
"✅ Specific"
"✅ Impossible to ignore"
"✅ Referenced something I wrote"
""
"Authors love hearing from people who loved their work. "
""
"You'd think that they're inundated with fan mail but it's not really how it works. "
""
"I'm sure that's the case if you invented Hogwarts, but for us mere muggles it happens rarely."
""
"I've sense-checked this with more far more prolific authors and they still love it."
""
"I'll regularly reach out to people who write AWESOME s&*t and let them know about it - in fact I did that this morning."
""
"So send some good vibes to someone who you enjoyed reading - it costs you nothing but a few moments, but can categorically make an author's week 💫"
""
"#writing #reading #bookclub

I get semi-regular questions about ADHD so thought I'd give you a quick crash course."
""
"I navigated the diagnosis process as an adult and it's not easy (even with familiarity with the mental health system)."
""
"Here's some things that helped me:"
""
"1. The term is misleading. I have mountains of attention - there's just no filter for it. The best description I've read is from the book ADHD 2.0 - a ferrari brain with bicycle brakes. My friend Harry put it even better: you're like a puppy dog Luke 😂"
""
"2. Time blindness is a thing. It's usually now, and not now. I've offset this with lots of reminders with Siri, planning my day and week, and being kind to myself when there are slippages."
""
"3. Hyperfocus is a double-edged sword. When it's on - and I'm really into something - I can turbo through work, writing, chores, tasks, anything at a rate that's bonkers. This becomes its own exercise in frustration though. It can't be turned on at will, and I've had to manage my own expectations about rate of output and what's reasonable."
""
"4. In Australia, getting the diagnosis required a referral from a GP. A reference from my existing psychiatrist, and visiting a specialist psychiatrist. It took 6-8 months and that's actually a good run. The waiting lists are massive and as far as I know there's not an easy process to get a diagnosis with the public system. That's right. You need to be able to afford private psychiatry fees, which aren't cheap."
""
"5. The local FB groups for learning more were super-useful. Less so the day-to-day ranting, much more so the search function and reading up on how people navigated different areas of their life."
""
"6. I know reading isn't everyone's thing, but there's a tonne of great books out there. I really enjoyed The Drummer and The Mountain, ADHD 2.0, Thriving with Adult ADHD, The ADHD Effect on Marriage (this was mind-blowing), and Taking Charge of Adult ADHD. There's a new one released a couple of months ago called Extra Focus: The Quick Start Guide to Adult ADHD - which is easy to pick-up and go."
""
"7. Treatment is different for everyone and there's a lot of medications out there. My main tools have been copious exercise, healthy diet, sobriety, and lots of coping strategies that I now understand why I do them - and have designed more."
""
"For me - the battle was not knowing why I would go a certain way against a society built for another way. I don't beat myself up any more and don't try and fit into square holes that aren't a fit. "
""
"Project-based consulting has been a boon for me as it drives variety, is engaging and challenging, and doesn't lock me into something where the novelty/stimulation will subside."
""
"I've been looking at whether there's a role for me in helping others with this stuff with tech but for now I'll keep doing what I'm doing :)"
""
"#adhd #careerdevelopment #mentalhealth

This was the flavour of the month during COVID lockdowns:"
""
""What about our mental health?""
""People are falling apart.""
""Why isn't the gubberment caring about this?""
""
"It's near the end of 2023 and I haven't heard many complaints about people's mental health since."
""
"The complaints seemed to come from a place of entitlement - instead of actually caring about the problem."
""
"The numbers around mental health supports haven't changed much. "
"The system is heaving with demand and something needs to change."
""
"Fortunately there is a dedicated organisation that does care about the problem."
""
"They're working with limited resourcing, trying new things, and advocating on behalf of people struggling to enable better support."
""
"SANE has been delivering a pilot of a guided service program over 12 months and the results are staggering."
""
"People don't just need medicine and therapy when their mental health is challenged. They need help with the process. A kind ear. Someone in their corner that knows how to navigate the system and also get better."
""
"The results of this Australian-first are being presented by Rachel Green and the team this Thursday 23rd October at 12pm."
""
"If you'd like a link to see the results please visit this link - https://lnkd.in/gepSDHF8"
""
"#mentalhealth #impact #australia

I strive to keep my newsletter consumption to manageable levels, but Matt Lerner's weekly advice is something I read every week without fail."
""
"He presents a dose of growth wisdom each week and this one was straight up 🔥"
""
"I've worked with a lot of companies and the request for budgets only comes AFTER we prove it works."
""
"We're also making sure we're clear on the outcomes we're after and being upfront about what the business does and doesn't have."
""
"Hiring a startup CMO is the opposite of that."
""
"-- An expensive upfront hire that your'e committing to (no thanks!)"
"-- Very unlikely that they know how to roll up their sleeves and do things (oh no!)"
"-- They're going to recommend an expensive martech stack and hires upon hitting the ground (goodness gracious!)"
""
"A senior marketing hire makes sense post-revenue when you know you need to do more to fuel growth."
""
"Or better yet - de-risk it further by getting a hands-on consultant who can set things up, get it going, and hire and scale a team for you with all of the expertise and none of the long-term commitment (oh YES!)"
""
"I've got room for 1-2 more projects to EOY and that's it."
""
"If you've been hovering on collaborating or reaching out this is your sign 🪧"
""
"--"
""
"You're reading this and know software and scale-up founders. "
"I love helping them build for growth. "
"You want to help."
"DM me and I'll send my PDF creds without any pressure that explains what I do 🤘🏼

I'm disappointed by Australia's Referendum results."
""
"I'm also not going to hyper-fixate on it."
""
"Reconciliation is an ongoing process that's complex, filled with misunderstanding, and underpinned by centuries of inter-generational trauma."
""
"The things worth fighting for are hard. "
"Driving change is hard. "
"Getting a collective to own and amend their behaviours, opinions, and world view is also hard."
""
"True reconciliation is the desired outcome. Australia got some new information about the reality of what that takes over the weekend."
""
"We can do a better job at communicating why this is important and take solace in the fact there's a good portion of people in the country that want better too."
""
"I'm sorry. I see you. ♥️

I love networking."
""
"I'm not a huge fan of the term, but I am wildly curious about people. "
"Keeping in touch, learning what they're focused on, and looking out for them on their own career journeys."
""
"A common ask I get is: yeah but how do you do it?"
""
"So the session at Melbourne Innovation Centre is going to answer that IN DETAIL."
""
"Picture this:"
"🥗 A delicious lunch that's provided for you"
"📚 Some upskilling in an area that can NEVER be perfect"
"🤝 A chance to meet some likeminded small business owners and founders to share what you've picked up"
""
"On top of that, the centre is offering complementary hotdesking on-site for the rest of the day."
""
"See you there?"
""
"And this time I promise not to pretend my clicker is a microphone."
""
"Link: https://lnkd.in/gKNPAWWZ"
""
"#networking #nilumbik #lunch

It's not often I quote McKinsey & Company..."
""
"But when I do I make damned sure it's cherry picked to line up the point I'm trying to make."
""
"The vast majority of wealth is owned by people and companies."
""
"Environmentally - the world has seen better days."
""
"There's LOTS of initiatives designed to mitigate this."
""
"Political groups, social enterprises, NFPs, activists, deep tech startups... I even came across an organisation trying to decode how whales talk with machine learning."
""
"But let me lay down some logic:"
""
"IF resources are required to drive significant environmental change,"
"THEN convincing those that own most of it how to do this becomes the biggest and most urgent imperative for enabling this change."
""
"There are people trying to do this."
""
"An intrapreneur is someone who strives to redirect a company's resources towards the greater good."
""
"It's an inside job."
""
"There's a global network of them called The League of Intrapreneurs."
""
"And guess what?"
""
"Global Intrapreneur Week is next week and there's a local meetup for this here in Melbourne on the 18th October at Accenture."
""
"Details are here:"
"https://lnkd.in/gxQ3Ku_u"
""
"And I'm more than happy to answer questions as desired."
""
"If you're interested in learning more about this stuff - come!"
"If you identify as an intrapreneur - please come!"
"If you're curious about this career path and want to learn more about driving change from within - then you should definitely attend."
""
"#intrapreneur #socialimpact #csr

I'm off to Hexpo 2023 tomorrow."
""
"Looking forward to soaking up some vibes and seeing an amazing education outfit do their thing."
""
"Say if you're there too 👋"
""
"#hexpo

I love reading. "
""
"It floats my boat, keeps me honest, and helps me understand different POVs."
""
"I got my first Kindle over 10 years ago, and here's some habits I've picked up in the last couple of years to make reading even better:"
""
"📕"
"Read from a more diverse range of authors."
""
"When Kerry Boys got me thinking about DEI in earnest - I realised how skewed my world view was. "
""
"My book collection was 90% male. It wasn't intentional. It's simply the recommendation bread crumb trail I followed."
""
"There's some great books in that collection. But I challenged myself to do better. In doing so I came across wonderful reads by Melody Beattie, Marie Forleo, Byron Katie, and Rosanne Cash. "
""
"There's still more I can do but I'm glad I can continue to even the ledger before it's too late."
""
"--"
""
"📗"
"Read fiction at night time."
""
"I've pounded personal development, psychology, spiritual, business, and memoir circuit 100s of times."
""
"Switching to fiction at night time helps by:"
"- letting my brain wander"
"- filling my imagination with wonder"
"- recharging"
""
"Its enabled me to reacquaint myself with my love of sci-fi and fantasy and there's a bevy of new tales I immerse Little Luke in each night."
""
"Just like the days of yore."
""
"--"
""
"📘"
"I purchased Readwise."
""
"I've got over 1,000 book highlights and the same in saved articles on Pocket. "
""
"They were just sitting there. "
""
"I rarely revisited these relics."
""
"Now it surfaces up a mix of old/recent highlights each morning and I reconnect to interesting snippets."
""
"Even better - I now add notes to myself and it helps me think and write better."
""
"My ideas, voice, thinking - all sharper."
""
"Is that completely attributable to this app?"
""
"No - but it's helped and then some."
""
"--"
""
"I'm currently onto the 3rd book in Robin Hobb's Tawny Man Trilogy and don't recommend me any more non-fiction as I've got plenty 😃"
""
"#writing #reading #basb"
""
"p.s. image description: an AI-generated image to the prompt - "a shining a mobile phone light into a dark cave to uncover an interesting piece of treasure"

It really stinks when you commit good money to going to a conference and get wiped by the lurgy."
""
"Fall seven times, get up eight 💪"
""
"Hope your week has fared better!

Here's 3 things I've shared recently for people consulting/freelancing as a senior practitioner:"
""
""
"1️⃣ Hit your network for 1 coffee/zoom a week. "
""
"You've worked in at least 3-5+ jobs and have connections with departments and people that you've worked across all of them. If you add suppliers, clients, and competitors you've got an array of people you can catch-up with."
""
"Your goal isn't to pitch. Your goal is to catch-up. Learn what they're up to, be curious about what is making them tick, what changes have you noticed in this person you used to work with?"
""
"The magic happens not from 1-2x of these - it happens from consistently taking an interest in the people around you that have touched your career."
""
"2️⃣ Post on LinkedIn once a week."
""
"I hear so many BS excuses as to why that's not possible."
""
"That's a fixed mindset and you need to stamp it out. There's so much dross on here and nobody cares. "
""
"Don't look at engagement. Don't look at what other people are doing. Just find your voice by putting something out there each week and seeing what happens."
""
""But I hate putting myself out there" - do you know what you should hate more? Not finding clients and creating invoices."
""
"3️⃣ Give things time."
""
"I read something in a local small business group that has stuck with me."
""
"In your first year - your goal is to survive. It's not easy. You're going to have quiet days and weeks and you'll question whether its worth it."
""
"Slowly you find things that work for what you do. You find partners who understand what you do and can find work for you. Your confidence and mindset grows."
""
"If you can continue to polish your craft and add value in each interaction you have - regardless of outcomes - the rest follows."
""
"But give it time and be ready with some Plans B, C, and D."
""
"--"
""
"Good luck!"
""
"p.s. I snapped this shot of Farrago magazine just before one such meeting last week. I did my Media & Communications degree at University of Melbourne and I was so pleased to see the magazine is still going. Getting published in there (back in '02-'03) was great encouragement at the time and while the medium has changed I still love penning things."
""
"#freelancing #consulting #careeradvice

The talented team at Athyna turned my blog post into a fancy graphic."
""
"The message remains the same - there's never been a better time to build a marketing team with the new capabilities emerging."
""
"Understand your customers, embrace the learning curve, reap the rewards."
""
"#aitools #saas #marketing

"Where are the boys?""
""Napping""
""
""Where are they today?""
""Napping""
""
"So imagine my delight when we were finally able to time a call with Jim Antonopoulos to meet the twin boys!"
""
"I scooped them up before they headed off with Mum to baby-friendly yoga."
""
"I love being able to partner with warm and curious people on projects, but I think we'll wait a couple more years before letting the boys rip into competitor analysis, insights presentations, and nurture journeys."
""
"#flexibleworking

The office view today 🌞"
""
"Noise cancelling headphones only work so well when there's two growing boys at home."
""
"Very lucky to have the grandparents nearby and these hills."
""
"#wfh #flexibleworking

I've met a LOT of people since writing my book on mental illness and sexuality."
""
"It was 11 years ago."
""
"I don't hide from it, and feel more comfortable talking about it."
""
"The awkward thing when it comes up is the fact people don't read books - let alone a self-published memoir from someone they've recently met."
""
"Conversations go like this:"
""
""You wrote a book?!""
""Yeah!""
""What's it about?""
""My experiences with bipolar, psychosis, and bisexuality""
""Oh...""
""
"Mental illness is still taboo. "
""
"It's oversimplified in media, the medical system is over-relied on and broken, and for all of the proliferation of wonderful concepts like "self-care", "lived experience", and "trauma-informed" - people are still hurting, struggling, and dying."
""
"So I don't blame people for saying "oh"."
""
"What can you say? "
""
"Our world is built around us being well - and doesn't really know how to navigate these kinds of conversations."
""
"There's some great work being done out there."
""
"I'm on the Lived Experience Advisory Committee for SANE - their Guided Service is delivering game-changing supports and their forums provide a sanctuary for people to ask questions they might be afraid to ask."
""
"Another initiative is Kintsugi Heroes - a podcast built around the concept that once something is pieced back together it is more beautiful than it was before."
""
"When I met Ian Westmoreland and he mentioned building it - he shared that often people's problems can be traced back to childhood trauma."
""
"I said - "I know" and agreed to sharing the story on the podcast."
""
"The fascinating thing is this was recorded in January 2023 and my twin boys hadn't been born yet."
""
"You can hear the excitement in my voice and now that I'm on the other side - it was even more soul achingly gratifying than I was anticipating."
""
"It's also heavy content, so look after yourself if stuff comes up for you - and happy to chat/message/point to help if required."
""
"https://lnkd.in/gfMHGukz"
""
"#podcast #childhoodtrauma #mentalhealth

There's NEVER been a better time to build a marketing team."
" "
"That's my contention featured recently in Athyna's blog."
" "
"📝 Here's the TL;DR:"
" "
"Challenges of a scaling marketing team:"
""
"🐗"
"Talent wars and attrition, made worse by pushy sales team or inexperienced founders who fail to value strategy"
""
"💾"
"Martech debt - committing to expensive and comprehensive stacks like Hubspot and Salesforce without the ability to shift quickly"
""
"🔎"
"Because marketing is so visible - everyone has an opinion. This slows things down, creates unnecessary friction, and detracts from sound strategy"
" "
"But what if you're starting out?"
"Well I think you've got the upper hand because..."
" "
"✅ Smart junior talent can grab new tools and run with them - see emergence of AI"
"✅ They also tend to be fast learners - as the rate of change increases this becomes even more valuable"
"✅ They also have no pre-existing skill sets or hangups that makes them eminently coachable"
" "
"The existing marketing team has two options:"
""
"1) Continue with BAU and wait for market maturity with new AI tools"
""
"2) Brief a new hire to figure out how to optimise your existing processes and procedures with the goal of optimising - I spoke with Bridget Cleary at BRX recently and this how they're winning"
" "
"A new marketing team can:"
""
"✔ Define what their goals are"
"✔Run some mini-test campaigns to see what works"
"✔ Hire a senior marketer who can set a strategy"
"✔ Hire a new marketing team that embraces new world, and"
"✔ Lead with a culture of continuous improvement"
" "
"Tools like Loom, Notion, and ClickMinded make documentation and SOPs SUPER easy these days."
" "
"My focus over the next year is working with software founders and launching these processes and training teams out of my job."
" "
"I'm in discovery mode and talking to as many as I can - if you know one let me know 🙏🏻"
" "
"Sheesh - that was a meaty post for a Tuesday, I'll need to tone it down for the rest of the week ✌🏻"
" "
"#growthstrategy #aitools #saasstartups "
""
"Link to post:"
"https://lnkd.in/gKwePKaH"
""
"--"
""
"I'm on a mission to build 1,000 growth marketing teams by 2028."
""
"I do this by building teams for startups + scaleups, teaching what I know, and collaborating with the sector."
""
"DM for a capabilities doc, requesting a lunch and learn, or a collaboration idea.

5 things you can do after being ghosted after an interview: "
"👻💨"
" "
" "
"🗒️"
"Send a note thanking the interviewer and hiring manager for the opportunity. It was great to learn more about the business. You'll connect with them on LinkedIn and keep them posted on your movements."
""
"🖇️"
"Connect with these people on LinkedIn. A personalised connection request - thanks and would love to keep following how their careers progress."
""
"📅"
"Put a note in your calendar for 3-4 months time from now (regardless of response to you) with a commitment to update them on where things are at for you, where you've landed, and what you learned from the interview process and applied moving forward."
""
"📩"
"Subscribe to the company newsletter (if you haven't already) and follow their company page to keep tabs on what they do in the future and to see if anything else comes up that you can help them with."
""
"🤗"
"Don't take it personally. It's a crap experience. A lot of factors outside of what you did that can contribute to this. Handling it with grace and conscientious follow-up may help in ways you can't possibly foresee."
" "
"Good luck out there 💪"
" "
"#careerdevelopment #coaching

I'm lucky to know a few exceptional social media ghosts. 👻"
""
"One of these ghosts is Rachel Samuel."
""
"You're not going to find out a hell of a lot about Rachel online and that's by design."
""
"She's too busy running DonateDirect Australia."
""
"They put beds, couches, and other home essentials into new homes for people in crisis."
""
"They do this by receiving the goods online by people who want their home items to go to someone in need, and then connects these intentions to front-line workers in charities across Australia."
""
"When I met Rachel, she was doing all of this manually. "
""
"As in emails, back-and-forth phone coordination, training of the volunteers - everything."
""
"This was being managed from a spreadsheet! "
""
"There had been frustrating experiences with IT and my no-code brain went no-no-NO!!! "
""
"I spun out a prototype in Airtable that took all of a couple of hours and said: "See! It doesn't have to be this way"."
""
"We fell out of touch (yada, yada - I moved back to consulting, got divorced, met someone and had twin boys) and reconnected recently."
""
"Well - Thoughtworks got involved and pro-bono'd a system that works far better than a prototype, and makes managing DonateDirect smoother, more effective, and up-to-date with a person in 2023's expectations of how tech can work."
""
"All off the back of someone rolling up their sleeves and going "we can help with this" and a spreadsheet."
""
"Rachel will always be a social media ghost I think, but I've got a few asks please:"
""
"✌🏻"
"If you know someone looking to volunteer in a marketing capacity - please let me know and I can put them in touch (writing articles, managing social media, community building etc.)"
""
"♻️"
"If you know of any commercial/larger partners with an interest in circular economy - let me know"
""
"💰"
"If you have any philanthropic-style funding avenues that get behind things like helping power crisis support with tech - again, let me know and I'll put in touch or pass on the lead"
""
"Thanks in advance and onya Rachel! 💫"
""
"#nfp #techforgood #philanthropy

Here's a recipe for grads/juniors looking to break into an industry or make a sideways move 🧑‍🍳"
""
"🔎"
"1. Identify entry-level roles and set up alerts for particular roles. "
""
"Set up the alerts to go to your Gmail. The reason I say Gmail is because you can add a "+word" to your email alert. For example, "Luke+salesrep@" still sends the email to luke@gmail, but now enables you to filter all sends to a different folder easily."
""
"You now have a "flow" of PDs being sent into your inbox that will help you get familiar with jargon, what's being asked for regularly, and give you things you can ask about for the below."
""
"🪜"
"2. Look for people on LinkedIn who are one-rung higher and local. "
""
"By this I mean people that got your job 1-3 years ago and have since been promoted. "
""
"Here's your personalised connection request pitch:"
""Hey - I noticed you're at X company and progressed. I'm researching how to break into your industry - can I grab a 15min coffee/digital coffee to ask a few questions?""
""
"Do this at least 10 times. "
""
"☕️"
"3. Do the coffees. "
""
"Ask 3-4 thoughtful and specific questions (see point 1). "
""
"Example of a crap question:"
""OMG how did you get into Google?!""
""
"Example of a thoughtful question:"
""I noticed that a lot of the PDs I've seen ask for experience managing ad budgets, what did you do in order to navigate past that?""
""
"Then ask them if they can keep an eye out for you, promise to keep them updated, and then repeat the same process with the other 10 people you asked for help from."
""
"Now, for any interview you get, use everything you've learned and make sure one of your closing questions is for feedback - and what could have been done to present better."
""
"Listen hard for anything you've missed and do what they say to the letter (and follow up and thank them for the advice 3-6 months later). "
""
"--"
""
"Nobody does this."
""
"So when you do it stands out."
""
"Demand for junior talent that are doers is higher than ever. "
""
"Because the skills can be learned but the initiative is harder to come by."
""
"LinkedIn makes it easier than ever to find these people and research ideal companies."
""
"Do you know how companies find great talent?"
""
"They ask the person who got promoted if they know anyone good for X, and those new people you connected with are much more likely to remember your name."
""
"You've got this 💪"
""
"And if you're reading this, have applied it, and get stuck - DM me three months after this was posted and I'll help you."
""
"#career #grads #personaldevelopment

Great question from Dave yesterday."
""
"Some excellent answers in the thread too. "
""
"I understand the appeal of "Fractional" and can understand why it appeals to senior leaders who are looking for more variety, engaging in interesting projects that they're normally priced out of, and can get looks at exciting projects."
""
"But what about the startups that work with them? "
"Do they feel they're getting a good deal too?"
""
"It sounds like there's a mix of good/bad out there. With more bad."
""
"I've avoided the term - but I have added 1-2 day p.w. engagements in the past - these usually go for 3-5 months and are negotiated with the goal of leaving them better off than when they're started."
""
"I'm now focused on documenting the process, reaching out for more discovery chats with founders in similar situations, and building out some clear deliverables around what a marketing leader can deliver for a nascent company and handover to a trained team."
""
"Some of the problems I see (and are digging deeper into):"
"- Lack of clarity on what they're saying they are doing"
"- Running around trying lots of tactics and getting frustrated by lack of traction"
"- Committing to expensive martech solutions (CRM) without validated traction"
"- Paying for expensive service providers (SEM, Social Media, PR) without a broader strategy"
"- Unable to make sound hiring decisions and build a team to help"
""
"Would love to hear from others what they see or go chime in on Dave's thread."
""
"Thanks for coming to my LI talk! 🙏🏻"
""
"#fractionalcmo

How do you get started with consulting?"
" "
"I get this question regularly, so here's one of the ways it starts:"
" "
"Get curious about business problems."
" "
"These aren't handed to you on a silver platter. If you're delivering a service, you're being engaged to do the service. Not to help larger problems."
" "
"There's lots of value created in contributing to solving the larger problems, but you've got to demonstrate that you have that ability."
" "
"That starts by getting curious about them."
" "
"To do this, I'm working my business curiosity into every conversation I can. "
""
"I only work with a fraction of the business owners I know or meet. Yet I'm asking them how things are, what they're focused on at the moment, what they did to solve the challenge they mentioned last time, and listen to what they say."
" "
"I'm not listening with the goal of finding problems I can solve. "
""
"I'm developing my curiosity as "practice". The discipline grows over time and instantly adds value when the stars align and I am meeting a new potential client."
" "
"I know what to ask, how to ask, what questions I can lever through to in order to demonstrate I understand my client and their problem more deeply."
""
" Usually I can add value right away by pointing out what I'm observing, or pointing towards a solution they haven't considered."
" "
"I overlay this curiosity with my knowledge of tech, marketing, sales, and working on hundreds of clients."
" "
"I did this for a hardware startup a few months ago."
" "
"I just knew what to ask, where to look, and how to lever."
" "
"#consulting #growthstrategy #howto

Want to know what I Learna-ed while having coffee last week?"
""
"Lisa Lie is an old colleague. "
""
"She is doing amazing work with Learna app. "
""
"Let me break down what happens at a busy company:"
""
"😅 Staff are stretched and tell you there's not enough training and upskilling"
"⛪️ You put on training sessions with an expensive L&D professional and barely anyone shows up or follows through"
"💨 Staff get frustrated and disappear"
""
"Learna is different because it meets staff where they're at."
""
"They're working from home."
"They're on the tools in the office."
"They learn in short scrollable bursts."
""
"So it delivers soft-skills training in micro-lessons that staff can actually tuck into and develop from on their terms."
""
"Your organisation benefits because you see what teams are jumping into and design further L&D solutions that resonate and contribute to your culture."
""
"Win-win."
""
"I've watched Lisa's startup trajectory with interest from afar."
""
"Because of my own interest in the sector - we had a LOT to catch-up on."
""
"I think reconnecting with old colleagues is one of the best #careerhacks there is."
""
"What's stopping you?"
""
"📩 Here's a template:"
""
""Hey Giovanni - I've got no idea what you're up to these days but enjoyed our time at the Biscuit Company. Should we grab tea and a biscuit in the next few weeks? Just before 9am is good for me. -Marshy""
""
"Adapt and deploy at your leisure."
""
"And if you're a leader that's nodding at the L&D problem I described then reach out to Lisa Lie - she'd love to give you a demo 🫶🏻"
""
"#careertips #learning #startups"
""
"p.s. Urban Provedore is a great cafe for a South Yarra sitdown.

Do other people keep a Dream Team list?"
""
"After my morning routine with the boys, I put them back down and bring my partner tea + toast in bed."
""
"I have my own breakfast and we get a morning chat in before our days diverge."
""
"I have a lot of energy in the mornings and today was no different."
""
"We were talking about awesome people we've received services from. "
""
"G was talking about the new yoga teacher and how their method was exactly what resonated with her."
""
"That prompted me to share about my Dream Team list."
""
""You have a list?""
""
""Yep""
""
""What's it for?""
""
""Well - the list is of people I've worked with in the past that I'd work with again in a heartbeat. They're on my Dream Team.""
""
""It's written down somewhere?""
""
""Yep""
""
"It's an actual text file of people I'm like - yep - we're doing this. One day I'd love to start something and put some/all of those people on the team. "
""
"Or just as good, if one of them called me up and said:"
""
"Them: "We're getting a band togeth-""
"Me: "LET'S BOOGIE BABY!" 🤘🏾"
""
"So do you have such a list? "
"And if so - why not? "
"Are you afraid to DREAM and GO BIG?"
""
"Enjoy your humpday 💥"
""
"#mindset #coaching