Unleashing Inner Authority with Lisa Apolinski

 Meet Lisa Apolinski, author, entrepreneur, and thought leader who helps people unleash their inner authority power. In this inspiring conversation, Lisa shares her journey from corporate marketing to entrepreneurship, showing how authentic leadership and imperfect action create real influence. Her mantras — “Think big and act bigger” and “Imperfect execution beats perfect hesitation” — challenge us to move beyond fear and self-doubt. Through stories of courage, service, and self-trust, Lisa reminds us that true authority isn’t built — it’s revealed when we lead to serve. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hi Vin and Vivin with Dr. Bibi. How are you all doing today? We have with us today Lisa Apolinsky. She is known as an America's digital content futurist. What an amazing title to have. We have lots of questions to ask on that now. And she is an international author, a speaker who helps professionals become industry authorities through strategic content and brand development. With over 30 years of marketing experience, including Fortune 500 experience, she has helped clients generate over 1.5 billion in new revenue through her guidance. Lisa has authored five books, including the globally recognized Pursuade with a Digital Content Story and her latest work, The Greatest Personal Brand Story Ever Told. Her expertise in digital storytelling and small business marketing growth has been featured in Forbes and the New York Times. Lovely, I have a star here. Lisa, welcome to Hive In and Vibin with Dr. Bibi. Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited for our conversation. Oh am I, so am I, so am I. Lisa, first of all, tell me about how did you get this title, America's Digital Content Futurist?

SPEAKER_01 1:39

Oh, so um the year was 2017, and I got a book for Christmas called How to Grow Your Consulting Practice. And I thought, wow, that's amazing. That's a good book to have because I had a consulting practice. And the authors um are Henry DeVries and Mark LeBlanc. And Henry DeVries had his information in the back, and he at that time was a Forbes writer. And I was able to connect with him, and I actually met him in person. I actually was in Oceanside, met him in person. Should have been a 30-minute coffee chat that turned into a three-hour discussion. And he that was my first Forbes write-up where he wrote about me and he dubbed me America's Digital Content Futurist, just from the conversation that we had. And I didn't realize at the time I was actually practicing my authority power, didn't have a name to it, just showed up, and you know, I have a big mouth and I'm not afraid to use it. So I just did that.

SPEAKER_00 3:02

Lovely. That must have been a moment for you when you realized that the coin dropped and that you had this invisible power in you. So that leads to my next question. How did you develop the this power? You know, how did how what was the journey in developing this power?

SPEAKER_01 3:23

So, you know, we were talking earlier about how there are things within us that are just an eight that we just have to allow to let go and let out. I believe authority power is the same way. My newest book that I'm working on now, book number six, is Unleash Your Authority Power. And I'm very intentional with my language. It's not build your authority power, it's not create your authority power, it's unleash. And I say that purposefully. Everyone has an area of genius that is waiting to get out if you get out of the way. So it's not about developing it, it's about really letting it go and having it shine. I I love doing movie references now and like you know, having people picture a movie reference. So if you think about the superhero who a young superhero who doesn't know the powers that they have, and we all know because you know, like Superman or whatever, and they're in an impossible situation, and the odds are stacked against them, right? And all of a sudden, their superpower is just out, and it is fabulous, and everything changes in that moment. I help my clients get there because everyone has that authority power that if you just instead of trying to fit into a box, try to figure out the latest trend, um mute it because you're not quite sure who will show up. If you if you stop doing those things and simply stand for your authority power, it comes out naturally. And like we were talking about, a lot of times we're told, oh, you need someone to develop it or you need someone to teach you how to know. If it's a natural power within you, all you have to do is let it go.

SPEAKER_00 5:44

Fantastic. Okay, so then one I understand is letting it go is one of your mantras already, which I've caught on. Correct me if I'm wrong. But what would be your other mantras? What are your mantras?

SPEAKER_01 6:04

Yeah, my other mantra, and it's funny, I call them uh magic words and phrases. So they're they're quips of things that you can say that tie back to your authority power. So one of my other ones is think big and act bigger. Think big, act bigger. Because when you are an authority, you don't have to go after small clients or play it safe. You go after where you know you can have the most impact and most influence, and when you're playing that type of a game, you automatically are having those types of clients attracted to you. So that's one of my other mantras. Another one that I say is I live in the world of multiple right answers because I do. There is no one way to do something. And you and I were talking about authorship. There's a million of ways to become an author. One way is not necessarily the right way or a wrong way, it's whatever works for you in the moment to showcase and let people experience your authority power. If you're always thinking about it through that lens, you really can't go wrong.

SPEAKER_00 7:31

Fantastic. So think big and envision bigger. That is amazing. Unleash yourself, that's another one. That's amazing. So, how did that happen in you? How did you become the leader that you are today?

SPEAKER_01 7:54

So when I first started in the Fortune 500 world in corporate America, um I assumed everyone simply showed up in one area and and claimed it. I honestly didn't know another way of being.

SPEAKER_00 10:55

Right. So now that you're stepping into a new role, what are those leadership attributes which you're going to carry with you?

SPEAKER_01 11:11

First and foremost, the the leadership attribute that I will always carry, whether I have my own agency or I'm a partner in another, is a leading with service. So it's not me telling people what to do and being in charge, it's me bringing my authority power and helping others to get to their success point. Um, this has been something I have always practiced, I always will practice. And whether I'm working with an author or a client or a speaker, I want to make sure that my focus is always on their success. That is paramount to me. Um, it's it's not about me. Your authority powers actually has nothing to do with you, it has everything to do with who you serve and the outcomes they get from the engagement. And that will always be my number one focus.

SPEAKER_00 12:16

Amazing. Right. And so let's talk about when you first realize that you can lead people other than you know what you just described, and when you said that, you know, you would get calls from the secretaries and from the board members and CXOs, etc. How did you how what was your journey within you, the journey inside you when you realized that this that is the external world telling you that, hey, Lisa, you know, you are now in a position where we can seek guidance from you, or we can ask you questions to help us. But what was that journey that was happening inside you?

SPEAKER_01 13:01

So when I was working in uh the Fortune 500s, I always had in the back of my mind, and I wish I could go back in time and tell myself to not do that. But something I always had in the back of my mind was, well, you're only a fill in the blank. You're only a marketing specialist, you're only a marketing manager, you're only a marketing director. And so I certainly showed up with authority, but I also had that. I don't know if you want to call it baggage or just a consideration that sometimes made me a little afraid to show up with full authority. When I went out on my own, and it's funny, the way you said it, I actually could envision the moment that it happened for me. When I went out on my own for my agency um in 2012, I was also asked to join um an Olympic consideration committee. So they were, it was in San Diego and they were planning on trying to apply for the Olympics, the Summer Olympics. And I was asked, I was invited to join this team of like amazing individuals, all authorities in their own right. And I was asked to join this. And and for a second, I was like, wait, do I belong at this table? And then I was like, Yeah, I do, because I do have an area of genius and I do have something of value to bring. And it was in essence me stepping outside of a ceiling and seeing the sky and going, that's your potential, that's your impact. And it took me stepping out on my own to almost feel empowered to step outside of the ceiling that I put there. No one put that there but me. I'm the one that put that ceiling there, and I was acting as if it was tied to a structure and it was immovable. And by stepping outside of it, I was like, oh, there is a different way of being. And having that moment really brought clarity to my leadership and to knowing that I could impact my clients without having to, you know, be aggressive or be rude or you know, act like I knew everything. Because I'll tell you right now, we were talking earlier, there are stuff that I'm sure I'm not gonna know. You're gonna ask me questions about certain things, and I'm gonna go, I have no idea. And that is okay. It is okay to not have all the answers. What is important is you continue to learn, you continue to explore, and you continue to really move that needle forward. One of my other mantras is digital marketing, learning, relationships, engagement. They're all like a climb with no summit. Wherever you are, you still have a hundred percent to go. So just keep going.

SPEAKER_00 16:29

Amazing. I love that. Just keep going. That is such a because that is one of my mantras too. But you but you picked up something which is something that I work on and I work with my clients on, is the inborn leadership, you know, something that you're born with, which you have been speaking about. And I want to ask when you were a child, let's go back to the child, when Lisa was a child, did you do or, you know, were there experiences in your life where you knew that, okay, here I can lead?

SPEAKER_01 17:03

I I would say I was a very um, I don't want to say I was a mature child, but I definitely looked at things through a different lens. Um I am I am someone who looks at rules and says, well, why are they there? I have always been that person. Not that let's just break a ball, because some rules absolutely have to be in place, but some rules we self-impose for no reason other than, but that's how it's always been. And I have always been the person who has pushed against that. And I think that is one of one of my strengths as a leader, that status quo, the way we've always done it, okay, but why? And if you can't answer the why, then you have the ability to change what you are doing. You have the ability to create possibility so that something that you think, well, that's just that will never move or never change, is not quite true anymore. And I am I am so thankful that my parents encouraged that. They didn't say, no, no, you have to fit the norm and you have to stay in your lane, and yeah, no. Um, and because we ran a drugstore and it was all hands on deck, I had to learn customer service, relationships, how to talk to adults, um, how to um deal with an upset customer. I got to learn that at the age of 10. And being able to be okay with it and you know, work with the customer and listen to them, but also know, well, why did you feel that that should have happened that way? Well, what was behind this belief that the experience should be should have been X when it was actually Y? And, you know, um being able to really get into that, and also, you know, when you're young, you you kind of just do things, right? And you don't have a lot of fear. And because my parents definitely encouraged us to explore and to do these things and to work outside the triangle, as it were. You know, it wasn't, well, you're only 10, or you're only in grade school, or you're only a girl, or you're again self-imposed limitations. Those were never our conversation. Um, and I think that really helped me to understand what I could do and to allow endless possibility within that.

SPEAKER_00 20:10

Lovely. Yeah, I do get that. I get that uh I get your, you know, what you're saying that you know, it just because you had a drugstore, you did things that you were doing. And before this, you mentioned that, you know, you just saw your father doing stuff, and you felt that that's how it's done. That is one of the the advantages of having an upbringing that you know gives us the security and also the pathway to shape and shape us in the way that we become today. Fantastic. I find that there are so many learnings to take from here. And at the same time, I would like to know how do you sustain yourself now that you know you've been working, uh you worked in corporate, then you came and did your own stuff for 14 years and you did that for for some time now. And now again, you're going back and where you have a partnership and you're now going to lead something. And how do you find yourself sustaining your energy?

SPEAKER_01 21:17

So, one of the things that I now practice, and I will say I practice it imperfectly, although I do try to do it. One of the first things that I do is I am part of the 5 a.m. club. I've always been a morning person, and I find when I am up at 5 or 5:30, again, I imperfectly practice it. I have time to invest in myself. So that is walking. I walk my dog every morning. Um, I listen to um audibles. Um, and not just not just business books. You can listen to other things. It is okay. My best friend, her daughter, is in AP English, and she has several books that she has to read. And so I've been listening to them. There's a free app, you know, um, The Awakening, you know, books like that. So classics, and listening to them as an audible as I'm walking. You know, it's about a 30-minute listen, and the walk is about 30 minutes. And then we actually have a conversation around it. So I'm actually exploring literature that I haven't touched in quite some time. So I definitely do that. I make sure that I get enough sleep. I make sure that I eat healthy. Um, you know, I make sure that I'm taking mental breaks throughout the day. Um, that to me, that will never change. And making sure that I focus on myself first, it's kind of the whole put your mask on yourself before you help others on the plane is the same thing. If you don't take care of yourself, it's very hard to take care of anything else, let alone lead. So that's first and foremost. Um, the other thing that I'm thinking about, and I'm not quite sure how to do it. And again, I will probably imperfectly execute on it, and I'm okay with that. Um, I am a huge believer in having conversations and building relationships. Anyone who connects with me on LinkedIn, I try my darndest to have a coffee chat, a virtual chat with them if I can. Just because their stories are so compelling and unique and interesting. And it's like getting a new friend every day, and it's super enjoyable. And I'm probably gonna have to watch how much time I'm doing on that because I will have lots of other responsibilities that I will have to do. But I want to make sure that stays part of my practice because connecting with people, talking with people, learning about them, learning how I can support them. Um, I just I love doing it. It it sustains me, it lifts me up, it adds to um my energy for sure. Um, so those and again, a little bit about me, which is which is okay. The other thing that I definitely want to do on top of writing books, so I will always do that because I feel that getting my authority out to the masses and letting people experience me in a different way, whether it's in a book or listening to my voice on Audible is amazing. And I also want to make sure in that that I am also speaking. Um, again, probably will imperfectly execute, and I might not be able to do as much speaking as I've done, you know, in years prior, but I want to make sure that I'm out there and it's all about sharing that authority and helping others move the needle towards their success point.

SPEAKER_00 25:19

Fantastic. Yes, I am uh so very, you know, like I got into my own reflection while I was, you know, thinking of you know while you were saying, and I was thinking, okay, so this is how Lisa Lisa is going to you know sustain herself and she's planning to know what I really liked about what you said is that that I'll do it imperfectly if possible, but I will do it. That is one of the best sentences that I've heard, you know, because we are all trying to achieve, we are striving, we are perfectionists, we are not people who are you know doing stuff to the hundred percent best, but let's start working on it, let's just start doing it. That's the best part of what you've just said, Lisa, which I took, which I take, you know, with 100% uh acceptance that this is what we need to do. We really, really need to just start acting on it rather than trying to be perfect and trying to do something which is hundred percent best and all that stuff. You know, be imperfect, but do it. That's the most important part. How would you like your how would you like my audience and my listeners to connect with you?

SPEAKER_01 26:36

Fastest way to do it, because I'm still trying to remember my email address. I have a new email address, is to connect. Yeah, again, imperfectly executing. It's all good. Um, connect with me on LinkedIn. Please, please, please, please, please connect with me on LinkedIn and subscribe to my newsletter. I give away so much free stuff, it's almost criminal. And, you know, I I do want to say, you know, the whole imperfectly execute, I had to let go of that as well. But I will say this if you are getting ready to get ready, if you are in love with your potential, you're missing the opportunity to have impact and influence. And it is okay to fail in a catastrophic way. It's actually okay. And we are our own worst critics. So I've heard, you know, I had someone, a client, uh, say to me, Oh, well, I need to have my website completely ready to go and done in order to launch for my new services and my speaking career. And I'm like, okay, so you think that if your warps your website isn't perfect, a meeting planner will go, well, I'm not hiring this person. I got booked for my first dozen with no website. I had nothing. I didn't have a one sheet, I didn't have a speaker reel, I didn't have anything. And yet I got booked. We put we put things in our own way to block us from moving forward. And then we say, Oh, well, no, no, no, I have to have this done. That seems reasonable. I gotta have that done. So yeah, imperfectly executing. It's better to move than to try to go for perfection. Absolutely. Lovely, um, lovely, yeah, yeah. But um, but yes, please connect with me on LinkedIn. Please subscribe to my newsletter. Um, and yeah, I mean, let's have a and if you are up for it, let's have a 20-minute coffee conversation, um, and just see how I can support you because that's really what my mission is to support, support, support others in their quest for success.

SPEAKER_00 29:10

Lovely. I am so amazed with you know, with the little nuggets of wisdom that you have strewn all through the interview, all through this conversation that we have had. And it is so amazing because I hope that this will empower our my my audience and my my listeners. And it's been amazing. Thank you so much, Lisa, for being a part of Highway and Vibin with Dr. Bibi. You've given us so much information, so much knowledge, so much wisdom that I hope it this is uh this will enrich the my audiences' lives. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 29:46

Yes, thank you.