The Wisdom We Share Podcast

The Courage to Be Seen: Redefining Personal Branding with Carlii Lyon

• Anjani • Season 1 • Episode 6

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Message us with your thoughts, burning questions, or reflections, we’d love to hear from you.

In this episode of The Wisdom We Share, we hear from Carlii Lyon. A powerhouse in personal branding and media with over 20 years of experience shaping the stories of global icons and influential leaders. But beyond the headlines, Carlii shared the deeper truths she’s learned about visibility, courage, and what it really means to be seen.

We explored the often-misunderstood world of personal branding. How it’s not about ego or self-promotion, but about getting out of your own way and becoming a vehicle for your message. Carlii opened up about her journey from building others’ brands to rediscovering her own voice, and how embracing her spiritual side, intuition, and courage transformed the way she shows up in life and work.

This heartfelt and insightful conversation invites you to reflect on your own visibility. Not as a pursuit of fame, but as a commitment to authenticity and purpose.

In this episode, we discuss:

  • The difference between positional influence and personal influence
  • Why visibility isn’t about ego, it’s about service
  • How courage precedes confidence
  • The power of choosing your purpose (and allowing it to evolve)
  • Redefining social media as a tool for impact, not comparison
  • Integrating spirituality and intuition into leadership and branding
  • Why courage isn’t built, it’s remembered


Connect with Carlii Lyon:
Website: www.carliilyon.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/carliilyon
Instagram: @carlii_lyon

Special Offer for Listeners:
Download Carlii’s Future Self Meditation at https://www.carliilyon.com.au/futureselfmeditation
A beautiful guided practice to help you reconnect with your purpose and courage.

Thanks for listening to The Wisdom We Share.
If this episode sparked something in you, follow, leave a review + share it with someone who’s walking a similar path.

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when we talk about visibility and being intentional about your brand it doesn't matter if you're reaching one person or 1 million people being intentional about who you are how you're showing up what you're communicating is just as important just as valid because how you land in that one person's life and what you say to that one person could change your complete career could change your complete trajectory so I'm not out in the world talking about personal branding because I'm under any illusion that everyone wants worldwide fame and influence there are so many people that would resonate with what you're saying and Johnny that you know I just wanna do my work and and I don't wanna be out in the spotlight and and it's really important that we talk to those people and say we're not saying you have to do that by thinking about your personal brand it's just as relevant if you're reaching a small audience what I would say though is where most people get caught up or get stuck is that they automatically associate personal branding with self promotion and that they're doing it to somehow stroke their ego or they're doing it because it makes them look good and I would say to those people really the magic lies in you getting out of your own way starting to see yourself as a vehicle for your work for your message and that that visibility it's actually not about you welcome to the Wisdom We Share podcast where ancient truths and modern intelligence weave together to inspire ground and shape us for a wiser awakened life I'm Angie Amrit and I'm Robin Wald and together we bring you fascinating conversations from the worlds of spirituality science and human behavior so you can connect to your own inner wisdom joy and clarity elevating the way you actually live your life Holly Lyon is a powerhouse in personal branding and media with over 20 years shaping stories of global icons and high profile talent but what's captivating about her is not simply her resume it's what she's Learned along the way how she's weathered the industry shifts rejected the easy slogans and found real value in the messy human moments behind the brand today we're not talking step 1 step 2 formulas we're talking wisdom earned in the trenches of storytelling visibility and leadership Carly welcome oh thank you so much thank you for having me here super excited to um to be hosting you on our show today so you've built your career helping others to be seen I've known you for a long time I've been watching in the wings and I know that to be true of you and now I'm curious when did you feel invisible and how did that moment kind of shape how you're showing up now because how you're showing up now is very differently and it's really exciting thank you the moment for me was on extended maternity leave so that was the moment where I did intentionally step out of my career and you know to focus on my two beautiful baby boys and where I was really confronted with the the feeling of being invisible was actually coming to the end of that when I had decided OK it's time now the boys are a bit older it's time to to head back into the world of work and that's when it really dawned on me that yes I had spent so many years building the personal brands of all of these amazing people but I had never applied any of the thinking or the methodologies to myself so even when I started to look at you know where was the proof of all of the things that I had done where had I documented it what had I done to build my own personal influence rather than just having enjoyed so much positional influence at the time so that what that was really the moment it was quite a harsh harsh moment of realization hmm yeah so it's so oh sorry go ahead on it's kind of like the voice you know that show The Voice where the backing singers decide to be the front singers and they come they do their auditions and I I just I'm picturing this for you as well um and for everyone who's sitting in the back and Robin might have a juicy question about that hmm well my question it was so interesting just to hear your language around and I might even get it wrong because it was new language for me to hear the terminology you were talking about positional can you repeat what you said yeah instead of being out in the front in the limelight with the visibility yeah what was the term you used about being in the background so I had positional influence which was OK OK I had influence because of who I was representing and I felt like when I was in my role in my career I felt like I did have a lot of influence and that I had built that visibility and I was being seen and I was known but actually it was only when I stepped out of that position which most people see themselves in the job that they're in as opposed to seeing themselves as a brand that I realized I hadn't done anything to build my own personal influence being just who I am what I'm good at you know what I've got to offer I I hadn't built that I hadn't intentionally showcased that so that was the the realization for me ah okay interesting thank you for clarifying that because as you were speaking I was thinking about we all influence people in many ways mm hmm right and sometimes we're not even aware of the influence we have right even a kind word or some way that we show up with someone influences how they then behave and pass that along but you it sounds like in the world you were in you knew that you had influence with with kind of big heavy hitter celebrities corporate giants and you knew that you had their ear and that you were influencing the decisions they made yeah um was there something about that that was dissatisfying in some on some level that you felt like I want or need more no never dissatisfying I loved the work that I was doing I I saw it as such an incredible privilege to be that gatekeeper for my clients and I was so incredibly protective you know their brand felt like it was my brand and and I was really intentional for them about what they were doing and how they were showing up I think really upon reflection it was recognizing that yes their brands were important and and it was it was my role to do what I was doing but there was something maybe disappointing or upsetting about the fact that I didn't think my brand was worth thinking about or working on or intentionally making an effort to showcase what I was doing and I think that's really Robin where a lot of people find themselves is that they don't believe that they've passed some sort of invisible threshold where their personal brand matters so they look at people out in the spotlight and out doing amazing things in the world and they think well it makes sense that they're working on their brand and they're communicating you know who they are and what they do but that's not me I don't need to worry about any of that cause I'm just little old me and that's it doesn't matter it's I I want to jump into this because it there is a push and pull I think with business owners with leaders with with women with people in the communities around there's a tension between me putting myself out there and you know say getting assistance from a PR person or working on my brand polishing and sparkling my brand and putting myself out there versus I don't need to or want to put myself out there so much because I don't want to be seen in the spotlight I don't that's not what I that's not what I want to do I wanna do my work quietly mm hmm but there's a real tension there and mm hmm I I sit with it and I've been sitting with that for the last few months honestly if I'm being honest mm hmm it's like there's a part of me wants to be seen you know on the big stage and then there's a there's a much more private part of me that's saying I just wanna do my work I don't wanna have to do all that stuff I don't wanna have to yeah myself out there because then I have to become something that I'm not so what would you what your opinion on that so the first thing I would say to that is when we talk about visibility and being intentional about your brand it doesn't matter if you're reaching one person or 1 million people being intentional about who you are how you're showing up what you're communicating is just as important just as valid because how you land in that one person's life and what you say to that one person could change your complete career could change your complete trajectory so I'm not out in the world talking about personal branding because I'm under any illusion that everyone wants worldwide fame and influence there are so many people that would resonate with what you're saying and Johnny that you know I just wanna do my work and and I don't wanna be out in the spotlight and and it's really important that we talk to those people and say we're not saying you have to do that by thinking about your personal brand it's just as relevant if you're reaching a small audience what I would say though is where most people get caught up or get stuck is that they automatically associate personal branding with self promotion and that they doing it to somehow stroke their ego or they doing it because it makes them look good and I would say to those people really the magic lies in you getting out of your own way starting to see yourself as a vehicle for your work for your message and that that visibility it's actually not about you it's not about you and I would imagine a lot of your listeners they're they're avid readers or they love information they love wisdom which just implies that they love seeking they're seekers in the world so I would imagine that they love to read and or or listen if you look at the authors that you follow that you engage with that you love that have touched your life imagine if they had have said oh you know what I just I don't wanna be seen I just wanna be out here I you know I don't want people to I don't wanna have to do all of that well the downside of that is people won't be touched they won't be moved they won't be influenced in the ways that you can influence them that resonates so strongly I love how you just said that because Angie and I have a similar feeling about we just want to do work that has integrity that's of service in the world that in you know expands consciousness and wisdom for for people to connect with and it's not about self promotion so to hear you say that really branding is exactly that it's not the self promotion egoic piece it is about just getting your message out so people can receive it um I'm wondering if you could tell us about how courage fits into that because I know the title of your book yeah is about courage so where does courage come into putting yourself out there for a wider audience to receive your message yeah so so I am and I talk about this in the book it's it's one of the fundamentals of what the book is all about or or really the essence of what I represent out in the world and I really genuinely believe that we are not humans having a spiritual I'm sure you've heard this not humans having a spiritual experience we're spiritual beings having a human experience and we've come into this world with this identity with this body with this image with this likeness and we have a mission we have a purpose we have a calling and it feels very personal to us because we are the soul in this vehicle but ultimately it's about how do we use this vehicle this beautiful vehicle this unique package of all that you are to have that purpose to have that impact to reach the people that you're meant to and it again doesn't have to be a million people it could be a beautiful little corner of the world where you're in the world to light up just that small handful of people where the courage factor comes in is really where you need to have courage to let that happen to be brave enough to be that channel to be brave enough to take action on those intuitive nudges that says reach out to that person that you don't know pitch your business to that person or that group of people or that company that you wanna collaborate with that does take courage'cause often the things that we want to do reside outside of our comfort zone and as we grow and certainly and I this really does speak to those who are wanting to really expand their reach it's scary it's scary because there's greater accountability there's more risk of being rejected there's more risk of being criticized and if ever there's a reason you need courage it's when you stand in the face of all of those things which totally go against really what we're conditioned to think we need to do which is fit in and and play to the status quo yeah I've had a whole year honestly of of having the knock backs and the rejections and and the putdowns and the and the Runaways and you know a whole year of it mm hmm and it's been really interesting to to observe myself going through that and and looking at how yes it's very uncomfortable but it also it in itself builds courage so yeah what what would you say would be the thing that builds courage like where do we get courage from you you know your book is about the courage to be where do we buy it on the shelf do we download the app like how do we get courage cause I know a lot of people talk about confidence yep and I say confidence is a result of courageous acts and so what what would you say to people who are saying well I don't have that courage what would you say to them I would say that they they do have that courage they're perhaps just not taking action and this is where it's so frustrating and it's not what anyone wants to hear by the way I do call courage the introverted sidekick to confidence because the idea is with confidence and this comes from the work of a gentleman by the name of Doctor Russ Harris he has a a perfect quote he says that the feelings of confidence can only come after taking confident action so you can't feel confident until you've taken the action so then we need something to propel us to actually take the action what the what is that it's the courage and you said it beautifully and Johnny it is built on courageous acts how do you get that it really is a case of just acting like making it a thing you do rather than a thing you feel so what would courage or a courageous act look like it would be sending the pitch it would be speaking up in that meeting it would be putting yourself out there in a way perhaps you've never put yourself out there it's take it's it's more an action than a feeling if you like and when you make it more of an action then you can really start to rely more on your rational logic mind rather than waiting for something a feeling that actually is a lucery it it doesn't exist there's it's not like you have one moment where you go ooh I'm ready to be courageous it's this is what a courageous act is going to be and to do that that's what courage is all about yeah it's a it's a choice point for me for me mmm hmm you you have to make a choice and do it regardless of the outcome and I think that that builds the courage you know like you say taking the action cause every action you take and every failure that you experience then that builds something else to the foundations of our courage um it's a topic we could talk about forever but Robin well I'm actually curious I wanna go back to what you said about that we're spiritual beings having a human experience and that we come here with a mission and a purpose and as an astrologer I know that people are always many people who come see me are really seeking to align to their purpose and sometimes they're confused about what that is because they've followed someone else's script and the expectations their parents had or something they started with that they're no longer passionate about and don't feel is really their true mission but they're too afraid again the courage too afraid to take action to change that and they're seeking some kind of guidance or validation to be able to find the courage to align yeah I'm curious for yourself in your own journey when would you say that you really understood what your purpose and mission was was it really after becoming a mom and needing to get back in the workforce or was it something earlier on but you just didn't put it into action until that moment I think it's a combination of both one of the things that I talk about a lot with clients is I think language plays such a big part in the confusion that we may feel around this idea of purpose because a lot of the time the term is to find your purpose right to to to look for your purpose and I change it up in saying that purpose is something that we can choose and that by using the word choose it also liberates us to know that the purpose that I choose today might be different to the purpose that I choose in 5 years time so I do believe that there's always been a part of me that has felt called to use the power of the media to use communication to help light up the world I've always felt like there was a there was something that I wanted to do and wanted to represent as an individual but where I really chose OK this is what I wanna be out in the world speaking about this is what I wanna be out in the world representing yes it was that moment of in my in maternity leave but yeah I would I would say to people just choose your purpose what do you want what do you want to represent and then go out in the world and play with that experiment with that for a year nothing's nothing is in concrete you know like you can play with something experiment with something and it can be almost a bit of a self fulfilling cycle when you do that because you can go out and say okay this is what I I represent and that feeling of purpose actually grows and develops and feels more real the more we show up and consistently represent that yeah I love that it's kind of like when we say I'm looking for the one you know and then they get all tied up in the one when there are so many to choose from yeah exactly and I think it it honors the fact that we will change and and research really I mean you don't even need to lean into science to know this if you look at your own journey and you look back 10 years you'll see how much you've changed five years you and what research does show is that when we look forward we underestimate how much we're going to change even more we often get to points in our life where we think this is who I am these are my values this is what I believe in forever more and to you know this is it and there's a gentleman by the name of uh Doctor Daniel Gilbert who's a psychologist at Harvard and he talks he has a term called the end of history illusion which is he basically says no you'll always be a work in progress right till the day you die so embrace that yeah I actually love this so much because it really speaks to us as dynamic evolving consciousness that we're always growing learning expanding correcting adjusting and the idea that at any moment along the path we're now choosing from this moment and from past experience what comes next that we put our energy into um I met a man yesterday I teach um I teach teenagers it's one of the things I do and I lead an intergenerational program where teens and elder adults in their 70s 80s 90s come together and talk about things and have conversations and there was an 86 year old man at the program yesterday and he said that in the last four years he started writing novels wow and I was like wow so that wasn't his purpose when he was younger he had a completely different career and a family and different education and then at some point in his older age his new purpose was I want to write novels and he's published so I love that we're it's never too late it's we're always shifting changing becoming absolutely and that gave me goosebumps by the way and I I really wanna make this clear because it's so important because whenever I start talking about personal branding people start to think that you create a personal brand that it's permanent you grow it you develop it that's what your personal brand is and that will never be how it goes we're ever evolving we're ever changing we're multifaceted we're completely dynamic what matters it's more of a mindset more than anything else your personal brand today is your personal brand today and it will change in the future but what matters is you let the right people see it it's about being visible to the audiences that matter wherever you happen to be at whatever given time that's what is really the most important part here it's having the courage to let people know what you're doing so that you can attract the right people places and opportunities because if people don't know who you are they don't know what you do and they don't know why it matters how can you attract the right people places and opportunities into your life it's yeah it's unlikely it's yes it it makes it very hard doesn't it um I wanna turn left OK ask you do you look at social media culture today and think we've gone too far no I don't I look at social media culture and I see that you make it what it is we underestimate how much of an impact we have on our own algorithms and on what we are consuming do I agree with how everything that's out in the world and what some people are putting out there and do I am I sad or scared about how powerful propaganda can be through social media and radicalism uh through social media all of that yes but I think that the opportunities to reach the right people wherever they are and what that for what they're looking for I think it's really exciting and you just it's I I saw a quote on social media that I loved and it was it basically said don't use social media less because you disagree with what it's all about use it more so that you can shape it in a way that you feel you can really add value to the conversation and you can have impact in all of the right and most powerful ways and I think that that really is wise and I also am mindful of the fact that each generation connects expects and wants different things so you know we're sitting here I'm in my 40s I don't know what generation you're both in but you know what they're doing and how they're doing it is what they need at that point in time I think hmm yeah I well I I'm definitely in my 50s haha and and I and I agree with that I love how I love that take on social media because often people who have you know really good ethics and morals and values care about themselves about the people around them will shy away from something like social media because they see and they go oh I don't want to get involved in that and I love your take about well it's we all have a responsibility to speak up and to show up and this is the new way of doing it this is a new way this is our is our new family in a way isn't it social media it's how we it's how we communicate and connect with each other as humans and um I really love your take on that it kind of empowers people to to step up and be brave and have the courage to do that yeah I I look do I think that people still need to be intentional I do see coming from and looking at it all through the lens of a former publicist so you know it was always my role to be very clear and intentional about how my clients were putting themselves out there and any high profile individual will have a full team of people around them making sure that what they're doing is on brand that they've they've thought through all of the pitfalls and downsides and possible consequences of how they're showing up and what they're doing out in the world and and how they're building their public profile so we have to remember that those people who had public profiles were always doing it with a full team around them we've now given this ability to everyone and is there do I think that it's a new toy that people are still really understanding and getting used to yes do I think we still need to be careful about the level of disclosure and how much we share and what yes do I still hope and pray that our younger generations are thinking about the long term consequences of what they do online yes but with all of that said I still think there is so much magic in the fact that we can now connect in such a big way look at what you're doing with this podcast and being able to reach people that you would never have been able to reach in places you would never have been able to reach them and that's such a gift yeah I I think it is and um I I think that it is a contentious topic and um I I just want to thank you for your wisdom on that you you are clearly across it you clearly have a really healthy approach to it which is is kind of rare hmm thank you take that as a compliment thank you absolutely um I would love to shift topic slightly because one thing that you let us know about as a new interest in a way that you're having fun these days is that you've recently discovered the tarot yes and have been playing with your new Rider Waite Smith deck so I'm also I'm an intuitive tarot reader and I use that as part of as a tool for coaching and to help people evoke their own answers and wisdom and guidance and I'm curious how are you playing with the tarot and how did like what inspired you to take that up as a as a new hobby I've always you know I I think back to when I was in my early teens I loved crystals and I love you know I've always loved the world of wellness spirituality self help and if I look back through my journey this is a long answer to a short question but I always loved it but there was a period in my life where I I pushed it to the side and I no maybe I was not I was secretive about it I just wasn't I wasn't displaying or declaring that these were things that I was always listening to my intuition and I believed in all of that part a guides and all of that but I've recently feel like I've come full circle and the older I get hopefully the wiser I get I'm really starting to think oh my god we have got access to so much guidance and insight and just powerful direction by using these tools and so a girlfriend gave them to me for my birthday this year in March and I use them all the time for everything and I'm becoming really unapologetic about the fact that I am woo woo yeah I love that do you do you happen to have a favorite card in the you know like if you look at the major arcana as archetypes for you know what era you're living into right now as part of yourself that's expressing do you have a favorite card that you're playing with or inspires you I get excited every time the magician emerges because I think that that is very much aligned with where I feel I'm at right now in my journey and creating new opportunities and that idea of just letting things start to emerge and but and just trusting trusting in how things will unfold and I don't know what your take on the magician is but that's my my take on what the magician represents yeah yeah I mean I think I think your take is what matters the most I think everybody's individual connection with a card is what matters but I would the only maybe language I would add to that is that the magician to me is very much about co creating with the universe so it does feel like that is us what you've been doing with this book and putting your own brands out there that you're you had all the tools always but now you're stepping into co creation with those tools yes I love that I will really be taking that on board and that's what and I really made a commitment this year my at the beginning of the year so the beginning of 2025 my word was infinite cause every year I choose a word and that's the the theme of the year and my word was infinite and for me it was about really tapping in to that infinite intelligence and I've just found by being intentional about listening to my intuition some of the things that have come through and some of the opportunities that have come out of it have just been phenomenal I love that we can have this conversation I I think many people particularly women are closeted spiritualists and mm hmm I don't know about other countries but I definitely in Australia that we use that word voodoo on ourselves we recognize that against ourselves sure and and it's interesting to hear the dialogue around that and that we have to if we're talking about the non physical which is as as real as the physical is basic physics gases liquids and solids yeah that we that we have to label it you know woo woo and and I think the more conversations we can have about this and the more we can all come out of the spiritual closets and yeah and be open and honest with our intuition and our higher consciousness and awareness and you know all of those things then it helps normalize it for everyone else who's in the closet who fear and it helps others have the courage to step out and share this wisdom with others what do you think I completely agree and I actually think from now on we should actually make a commitment not to use the word woo woo we should wipe wipe woo woo out of our vernacular because it is so true and I find a lot of my clientele are executives in the work that I'm doing today and I'm working with some of the biggest brands in the world and my head tells me that well this sort of dialogue and these sorts of stories aren't going to be relevant they're not going to connect and they're not really it's not the right arena for them but yet my actual experience tells me that it is and it's more I just finished a coaching series with a an executive and she specifically said I loved that there was an element of spirituality in the work that we were doing that it wasn't just about the black and white the rational it was about connecting into that voice or into that energy and so you're absolutely right yeah I I have the same experience with my mentoring clients as well mmm high level leaders in large multinational organizations and the one thing that always always always surprises me is that they love the spiritual aspect they love that aspect of you know bringing in intuition and a guidance looking at energetics that that's the thing that they really love and yet still we're hesitant to put it out there we can be hesitant to put it out there and say hey this is this is part of what I offer as well so well I'll just say my personal brand is all about offering that yeah yeah so that's exactly why people come to me because they know that I'm gonna coach with that integrated awareness of the astrology and the tarot and the intuition and the spiritual wisdom um as we wrap up I'm curious if you have kind of a regular daily or weekly spiritual practice what do you do to reconnect with your inner wisdom and consciousness for me it's walking I don't know where I heard it but I heard someone say that when you walk that's when angels talk to you and so every time I go for a walk which I love I love to go and walk out in nature I really feel like I get lots of messages and insights and ideas and I sometimes find myself hopefully nobody or maybe hopefully people do look at me as I'm doing this now that we're talking about you know getting out in the world and representing this more I openly but I'll be walking and I'll go oh yeah that is such a good idea like to myself out loud um so walking for me is my practice and it it's it's yeah it's a beautiful sacred time for me yeah I have the same practice I it it's just the best and it does so many levels um Carly thank you so much for joining us on on our show today what I love about conversations like this is that they peel back all that polish you know you've reminded us that being seen really isn't about chasing the spotlight it's about standing still in your own skin and letting your truth speak for itself so I think in a world that really continually asks us to perform there's this real quiet power and just being real and yeah and thank you for showing us that courage really isn't built it's remembered yeah thank you beautifully said thank you so much for having me of course Carly if people want to reach out to you if they want to find your book I know on your website I visited and there was like a free download and there was some future meditation future Self meditation that is soon to be released how could people find you yeah the best place would be my website which is Carly lion.com it's great really and we'll include that in the notes for the show so people have that thank you thank you so much thank you so much thank you thank you so much for tuning in to the wisdom We share podcast we hope today's episode sparks some new insight imagination and practical tools you can integrate into your daily life continue this journey with us by subscribing sharing and dropping us a review until next time stay wise

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Anjani Amriit

Host
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Robin Wald

Host
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Carlii Lyon

Guest