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Start before you are ready, they said.
It will all be OK, they said. You know what? They are right! I did a thing. Show #1 of the Monetize Your Midlife Brilliance on YouTube. Livestream baby. Well, no. I wanted to livestream but ran into technical difficulrties. Let's just say YouTube live was glitchy. So I did it again with Zoom. The resolution isn't great. My good mic is in Mexico, where I can't get it for months most likely. (I am in Houston now, more on that in a bit) Better done than perfect, especially at this time! In this video, I cover - Why the world needs to hear from you. Now. What we are learning about building our economic independence and resilience. How to work with the fear even when the uncertainty is relentless. I should know, I’m a COVID-19 refugee in an Airbnb in Houston at the moment, living out of a suitcase. I've also decided to stay, but more about that another time. Practical matters: What sectors are business as almost usual, if not booming? Why is midlife a perfect time for upleveling your life, particularly this generation. If you are a midlife achiever, now is the perfect time to consider building your personal brand and monetizing your expertise online. Finally, what matters in the models of monetizing your brilliance online if you are a consultant, trusted expert, coach, corporate leader or mentor. Start before you are ready. Because guess what - some part of you probably IS ready. Don't starve the inspiration waiting for the stars to align.  Last week I shared a video about why sharing your wisdom on video is crucial right now.
And now what a gift that we have this strong example of Queen Elizabeth doing exactly that. If you haven't seen it, I've linked to it at the bottom of the post. Now, I am not a celebrity royal watcher. I could care less about the clothes and the drama. I lived in London for a bit in college. Recently I watched the entire Netflix series The Crown, yet still didn’t really understand the point of a monarchy in this day. Now I do. Or at least I see what a leader that is above political and religious fray can do for a country. So, what can we learn from Queen Elizabeth’s video for our own videos? How can you connect with your audience in a way that inspires and makes them feel better? Her video is a marvel of leadership messaging. Perspective: If you are in midlife, you’ve survived some challenges. What helped you back then? Is there something in that you could share now? The Queen references her past, I’ll get back to that in a bit. Another example is this: My friend in Mexico survived the 1985 Earthquake in Mexico City. I asked him the other day, what helped you then? He mentioned how the families in his barrio self-organized to help each other. He had stories of how his Tias took turns cooking for multiple families, and people pitched in what they could for the meals. What helped you after the crash of 2008? Or 9/11? Is any of that helping you now? Share those stories. Empathize and inspire. This is very important. People are upset. No one wants to be fussed at when they are scared and hurt. And they also don't need to have their fears activated even further. The Queen acknowledges the difficulty people are feeling, and gently encourages them to not give into despair or negativity. She calls on the legendary resilience of the British people. “Remember who you are”, she’s saying. Here is another part that is a classic example of why video is so powerful: The short clip at 2:18, with the photo from 1940 of her first radio broadcast, as a young girl, from Windsor Castle is brilliant. That photo instantly reminds us that she, and the world, have weathered many crises. For younger people watching that, she is a living bridge to a time that seems very distant from today’s reality, yet there she is, a survivor in a lovely green dress and pearls. How comforting is that? All communicated in a few seconds. Dignity and Authority: The Queen’s presence is a major factor of the power of this video. She’s calm, speaks slowly and clearly. There is no schmaltzy emotional music. In fact, the editing is very simple. Contrast that with most messaging to the very distracted public in today’s world. To get attention, marketers and media channels push on our emotional buttons until they bleed. It is highly manipulative and a great reason to limit screen time. Her Majesty’s calm delivery stands out like a beacon through the noise. I would love to see this understated yet powerful technique become a trend. In fact, this style is an opportunity for women in midlife and beyond. If we choose to claim it, we can convey our power on video. That’s a topic for its own post, but the Queen points the way. You don't have to be as reserved as she is, if that's not who you are. The point is, she knows who she is and isn't trying to be someone else. She is compassionate, authoritative and empowering. She has taken the time to compose herself and her message, without overdoing it or trying to look years younger. She has shared in the past that public speaking was never her favorite activity. She is 93, and I doubt she loves being on camera, but I also would guess that she spent zero time worrying about it for this video. It is 100% apparent that her concern for the audience is at the heart of her message. London’s situation is personal for me. My daughter Jessie has lived there for 4 years, and was to graduate from University of Arts, London, early this summer. The ceremony has been cancelled, like thousands of others across the globe. In the weeks before the lockdown, she debated coming back to the US, but she chose to stay. Jessie would like to live in London after graduation. She has worked very hard to create a toehold there, and would have had to walk away from it to wait out the virus in the US. While of course, I miss her, our daily Zooms are helping both of us. I feel that London is one of the safest big cities to be in right now. The Old Town has seen it all in its 2000 year history, England has a strong rule of law, coming together in times of crisis is in the DNA of the British people. And everything about the Queen’s video reaffirmed my faith in that. None of us has the street cred of Queen Elizabeth, but we all do have the option to slow down, share our wisdom, and appeal to the best part of ourselves, our audience and followers. I'd love to hear your thoughts. All my best to you - Kala Link to Queen Elizabeth's Video and my video: Sharing Your Midlife / Midcareer Wisdom is More Important Than Ever video will be live at 9:00 am CDT on 2/11/20 Sign up for a 20 minute Zoom presentation Risky Business: Facebook 2020 on Thursday 2/13 at 12:00 Central time.
SIGN UP HERE Like many people, I watched Facebook and Twitter blow up during and after halftime at the Superbowl. One post in particular caught my eye. It was written by a woman I admire, she’s a successful entrepreneur who is building her following. Her post was impassioned, and it was defensive and judgmental of anyone who didn’t agree with her. As I read it, I thought, that’s interesting. She doesn't realize her power, yet. She has new people following her now because she has put herself out there as a leader in her space. They look up to her. Perhaps they don't all agree with her on this issue. I wonder how they might be feeling? And then I thought, where have I done the same? Where have I put my ego ahead of how my words may make someone else, who doesn't agree with me, feel? Where have I played small? If you are taking on the commitment - and the responsibility - of building a following for your personal brand, I created a new video may be of interest to you. It's also a good one to watch as we get into the election cycle. The truth is, the Super Bowl halftime drama is only the tip of the iceberg. As election year heats up, the commentary on Facebook is only going to get more heated. One woman posted "I just want to slap her" about a female politician she doesn't like. And lastly, Facebook is also under a lot of external pressures from governments as well. All of these factors pose some business risk to you. Join me for a 20 minute snapshot presentation of some of the risks in 2020 of relying too heavily on Facebook, if your business is closely linked to your personal brand. We’ll go over:
Finally, we’ll cover 3 action items you can implement to reduce your risk. All in 20 minutes, with time for questions after. Why am I doing this? Because I see a lot of you limiting your video activity to FB live. That is not a criticism, I applaud you for stepping up! I know its a lot of work to support different social channels. As I type this, its 12:40 am on a Friday night; I've been working on my content plan all day. However, I’m also constantly looking for the best ways for clients to use video to build their solo business or modern personal brand. And for 2020, overly depending on Facebook or Facebook live is not one of them. Sign up for a 20 minute Zoom presentation Risky Business: Facebook 2020 on Thursday 2/13 at 12:00 Central time. SIGN UP HERE |
You get immediate access to 3 short videos that explain why video content works for your business.
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Kala PhiloKala is the Founder of Mirror Your Brilliance on Video. |