How to Find Pathways to Belonging - Bryan Wish

Bryan Wish is the founder of BW missions, an organization that helps entrepreneurs, CEOs and authors build their communities and amplify their voices. He is also a Host of The One Away Show, a podcast that connects thought leaders to young professionals and explores the stories of people who made the one call sent the one email or had the one experience that made the difference to them and set them on a better path forward.

In this episode, Bryan and I talked about the coolest topics about belonging, standing on your own, finding your path and building your brand online.

From Bryan:

“I don't have this crystal ball to say, hey, here's your purpose. But I do think starting with getting a really strong grip of who you are and why you do the things you do, I lead you to the steps that you want to take in your life down the path that makes sense for you is what I am constantly doing.”

➡️How should your path look like and how should you build your life's plan and purpose around that? 

➡️The path to self-discovery. We're always continuing to discover ourselves and rollover new rocks and shed new layers.

➡️ The idea of reverse engineering your tombstone. Yes, you heard that right. 

Such an awesome time to create this podcast episode! I hope you enjoy it too! 

Bryan Wish

Through self discovery, Bryan has been able to help build multiple start-ups at the centre of helping others find their pathways by building tribes of their own and sharing their voices. Today that represents BW Missions, an organization that helps transform experts into thought leaders such as Allen Gannett (Author of The Creative Curve), Rick Smith (CEO Axon formerly TASER), Denise Gosnell (Head of Data at DataStax) and many more.

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Thinking Inside the Box

Constraints drive innovation. Each week we tackle the most complex issues related to work & culture.

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Matt Burns

Matt Burns is an award-winning executive, social entrepreneur and speaker. He believes in the power of community, simplicity & technology.

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Transcript

[00:00:00] Guest: Whereas I think if cogs kids or people right out [00:00:10] of college and Sona figuring it out phase, or maybe the loss phase, or they kind of take a hard look in the mirror and they ask themselves. What [00:00:20] do I want and why what's important to me in a career. And they ask themselves the hard questions up front, because I think I'll well, a lot of people do.

And I'm good. Come back to your question in a [00:00:30] second, but what I think a lot of people do. Is they look two or three years, they go into a job two or three years down the road, they look back and they say this, this shop sucks. I'm [00:00:40] quitting, but they weren't intentional in the first place to actually lay down the right bricks and thinking about the hard questions earlier and like do the hard discovery work upfront to align themselves, I think in a [00:00:50] way where they could put that path forward.

And so I think if you're trying to adapt from a college to a professional social footprint, The [00:01:00] part of the answer, isn't asking yourself what you want and getting so clear on that. So then you can match and articulate your story and who you are that is completely [00:01:10] unique to you, to the world in a way that.

Well, connect to them. I think what so many people do is they don't relate [00:01:20] to people around

[00:01:30] Matt: Hey everyone, it's Matt here for another episode inside the box show where each week we tackle the most complex issues went [00:01:40] to work and culture. If you're interested in checking out our other contents, You can find us at bento, hr.com or wherever you find your favorite podcasts by searching, thinking [00:01:50] inside the box.

In today's episode, I chat with Brian.  the founder of BW missions, an organization that helps entrepreneurs, CEOs, and [00:02:00] authors build their communities and amplify their voices. Brian is also the host of the one away podcast, uh, which connects thought leaders to young professionals [00:02:10] and explores the stories of people who made the one call sent the one email or had the one experience that made the difference to them and set them on a better path forward.

[00:02:20] Brian. And I have been connected now on LinkedIn for probably close to three years. And he was one of the first people that I spoke to as I began my own self [00:02:30] exploration journey, if you will, and was seeking to find a greater amount of purpose of my work. And this has been a long time coming, Brian and I have been talking about doing a podcast, but schedules have an [00:02:40] aligned, so I'm glad we could finally make this work.

And over the course of the 30 to 45 minutes that we chatted, we went through a number of really cool, cool topics specifically [00:02:50] how to find your path and build your brand online. Um, what does it mean to belong, but also stand on your own? And if you [00:03:00] want to reverse engineer. What you want to say on your tombstone?

How should that look and how should you build your life's plan and purpose around that? As always, it was a very [00:03:10] enlightening and inspiring Congress, and I hope you enjoy it. So without further ado, Brian wish.

I know how it is being an entrepreneur [00:03:20] in this world. Brian, you need every second of your schedule. 

Guest: Hey Matt, how's it going? Great to chat and be here with you been on a while [00:03:30] of a relationship in the making. Yeah, 

Matt: we had a really good chat. I think it was spent over a year now, Brian and I, you know, had you circled on my calendar or somebody I was looking to forward to reconnect with.

Why don't [00:03:40] you first catch us up, but for the audience who doesn't know, you tell us a bit about who Brian wishes. 

Guest: Yeah, thanks, Matt. Uh, I run a company called BW [00:03:50] missions. We work with a lot of these experts in given spaces. We really have to turn them into thought leaders in their spaces. And as I like to say, we help them belong in the world and [00:04:00] craft a pathway for them to do that.

My, my journey to running this company started back in college. You know, I started getting fascinated with building [00:04:10] grassroots communities for pro sports teams. And then that led into me building a digital community for a startup. I was working on called wish dish and number events. [00:04:20] After from launching a book from running a global community for investment fund, I started to think about.

I was doing all these things that were different than the average person might. I started [00:04:30] to ask the deeper questions around why, what I was interested in and because of that, you know, how could I package all these things together? I cared so deeply [00:04:40] about, you know, that we're centered in people and allowing them to really kind of stand out on their own.

And so, uh, He wants to company two years ago. [00:04:50] And we've been out of it ever since. And it's really aligned with who I am as a person, which I'm sure you, you appreciate it. Yeah, 

Matt: because it takes a long amount of [00:05:00] time in my case at least, and takes effort to figure out what your purpose is. So maybe we start there, Brian.

Um, how do you start that [00:05:10] conversation? If you're the person right now, listening to this podcast? I don't know what your purpose is, where do we start? 

Guest: Yeah, I wouldn't say I'm this person to tell you exactly how to find your purpose, but I [00:05:20] do think that there are ways to kind of get aligned on kind of who you are and where you want to go, uh, in a consistent way, a consistent [00:05:30] process, uh, throughout your whole life.

Uh, I think something that. I'm constantly seeking and consistently doing that is looking inward. I'm thinking about, [00:05:40] uh, this idea of self discovery, right? I think people will think they discover themselves one time, but the fact is, is we're always continuing to discover ourselves and [00:05:50] roll over new rocks and shed new layers.

Uh, and when you kind of can look. Back and reflect. It can usually give you data points somewhere to go forward and [00:06:00] who to connect with because the reflection that you've done to build a community around you, that really embraces your values, uh, around who you are as [00:06:10] a person, but also where you want to go and where you want to trajectory towards, uh, in your, in your life.

And so. I don't have this crystal ball to say, Hey, [00:06:20] here's your purpose. But I do think starting with getting a really strong grip of who you are and why you do the things you do, I to lead you to the steps that you want to take in [00:06:30] your life down the path that makes sense for you is what I am constantly doing.

And people come to me. I usually ask them questions and have [00:06:40] them think about these things and write, write, write out for them. So that's what I would, that's what I would suggest as a good starting point. And 

Matt: off air. [00:06:50] You mentioned this idea of reverse engineering, your tombstone. I love that because I think a lot of us can identify with the idea of what do you want your legacy to be?

[00:07:00] You know, what do you want those words to be on the proverbial tombstone? That is your life. Tell me a bit about that. Where did that idea come from and how are you deconstructing it? 

Guest: Yeah, so, [00:07:10] you know, I've really been thinking about this idea of pathfinding as a, you know, as we're building a brand, a PW missions around this idea of path, finding of, of helping our clients, [00:07:20] helping our other clients.

You know, finding their way in the world and how we do that is done different. Now, to me, this idea, the pathfinding has a lot of deeper [00:07:30] constructs because the path for UMAT might be different than the path for me. But it's important for you and me to know where we want to end up, because if we know [00:07:40] where we want to end up, we can work backwards.

To get there. Some of those paths might be short term. They might be different paths, but at the end of the day, all of those paths, if you, I think you do [00:07:50] it right, they all lead up to the tombstone question. Right. And so I've been giving all the thoughts in my life and okay. What, what if I [00:08:00] struggled to do my whole life and that's, that's the fit in.

And so something I've made a focus is to find my own way and to belong in the world. So if my tombstone says. You [00:08:10] know, how do I belong in the world? Right. Like created ways to belong for myself and others people. Right. So to do that is to [00:08:20] have the verse on my tombstone, actual people say, how do you get there?

And I look at that as cementing, a number of different paths that all add up [00:08:30] to the verses on the tombstone. And so for me in people listening, how I like to think about it is what are those. Areas of [00:08:40] importance to you in your life. We could call them pillars, buckets, bricks, water bottles, right. For me, let's just call this.

We'll just call them, um, water bottles. Right? And [00:08:50] so each foundational water bottle represents a different structure. That's important to you. So for me, those might be physical health and health in [00:09:00] general, because if I'm not healthy, I can't achieve. Anything, it might be my personal relationships and, you know, friendships and family, that would be another, a [00:09:10] water bottle.

Then it might be my work and my professional life. And then it might be my kind of financial independence. Right? So you have [00:09:20] all these kinds of means central areas. I'd like to say these are, these are the positives of the areas. You continue to make these investments into now. I think it's really important to think about what's the [00:09:30] outcome that you want when it's all said and done.

When people are at the tombstone, how do you those add up to kind of get you to where you want to go for that kind of central purpose on [00:09:40] that tombstone to, to come together. Right. So then, you know, you have the outcomes that you have for each area of focus, and then you create a system structures [00:09:50] goals within that, that you measure over a time and see how you're going to get there.

So in a sense, those aren't one dimensional they're [00:10:00] multi-dimensional because you don't just focus on one thing at a time. You have these different things that you're trying to call us and bring together under one common goal and picking those areas, focus for your life, allow you to [00:10:10] get there. And if you.

Put in okay. Ours for your life around these different areas or systemic ways to measure. You can build a process. That's repeatable to make [00:10:20] continual progress with direction and intention. And the thing is, most people don't know how to really do this. And they kind of came through life without a lot of intention.

[00:10:30] Matt: And I will count myself among those people at stages of my life. It is so easy to over romanticize what's happening around you. And to believe that [00:10:40] what you're experiencing is uniquely yours and. The more that you do research into personal development or [00:10:50] behavioral economics or the psychology of business, you realize that we in a lot of cases are falling into repeatable patterns that are very predictable and [00:11:00] in some cases are very complimentary and help accelerate our progression through life.

Um, and then there are some attributes and behaviors that. [00:11:10] I serve a different purpose and are counterproductive to achieving your goals. And I think that to your point, the keyword there is intentionality is if you know where you're going, at least directionally, if you know where you're [00:11:20] going, then you can assess what's happening in front of you in the context of that goal.

And you can build. Systems, you can build support networks, you can build tools around you [00:11:30] to achieve that. And I just wanted to add one more thing around that, Brian, which is so first off, I agree with it completely. And I believe what you talked about in terms of deep deconstructing it and break it into [00:11:40] smaller pieces and putting measures around it is absolutely the path to success because it's worked in a number of different facets of, of life, not least of which is business [00:11:50] and people at the same time, we need to understand that.

Resilience is a key part of this, because if you're going to go down through a path [00:12:00] of finding your purpose or a path of personal discovery or a path of trying to find belonging, you're going to butt up against a whole bunch of [00:12:10] friction points along that path, whether it's your own resistance, the people around you.

Um, legacy behaviors or habits or behaviors that you've just picked [00:12:20] up over the course of your life that may not be in service to where you want to be going forward and being really intentional about identifying where you want to go. And the barriers that are. [00:12:30] Presenting themselves along the way, and being able to quickly re resource yourself so that you're able to be resilient enough to get through those channels and work through some of those uncomfortable periods [00:12:40] is essential to being able to see progression a lot of people, Brian, unfortunately, They know the path forward, but the path forward is either too in their minds too [00:12:50] difficult, or they've tried before and not had success, or they don't feel that they have this and they get stuck there.

And then when they get stuck there, then they start to reset their expectations around [00:13:00] what's possible. And then over time, They start to limit their impact. And we're at a time right now where we can't afford passengers. We need [00:13:10] people to have impact the deficit between what is needed and what we can provide is too great.

So I get really excited about people talking about personal development, Brian, [00:13:20] cause I know in, for you in particular, it's also a mechanism of being able to give that you view resourcing yourself and you, you resourcing your business as a, as a [00:13:30] method of being able to have greater impact. 

Guest: No doubt. I agree with, uh, so much of what you just said.

I [00:13:40] think there's a couple of things I want to build on and then maybe turn the tables. Well, let me, let me do this now. It sounds like you, you deeply resonated with that. After I shared that. [00:13:50] What were for you in your own life? Do you look at. The things that you're doing and maybe say I'm a driver and these areas of my life by the passenger and these areas of my [00:14:00] life.

Matt: Yeah. It's, that's the question. I'm asking myself a lot. So I've been asking the same question repeatedly, Brian, since the pandemic became more reality and less [00:14:10] conceptual, which is if not now than when. Um, and I've been asking that question for a bunch of different reasons. I have a bad habit of taking on too much.

So I [00:14:20] have a lot of ambition or drive or curiosity, color what you want. But I happen to, I happen to find myself in a lot of conversations and in a [00:14:30] lot of meetings and in a lot of calls and answering a lot of emails and I love it. It's what I enjoy doing. It brings, it gives me energy and I enjoy. Um, having that life and [00:14:40] it doesn't allow a lot of Slack time for things that come up that are unexpected and it doesn't factor in things.

It didn't traditionally factor in things like myself [00:14:50] care, and that was a recipe for burnout. So what I've had to do is ask myself what things are really priority [00:15:00] in my life. And that includes things like self care and includes things like relationships in my life. And. Asking the question, if not now, then when, [00:15:10] um, it was interesting during the, during the pandemic.

Um, I think I wasn't unique in that. I found myself with a lot more time than I had before. So before I've adjusted to [00:15:20] this new normal, the first few weeks, I found myself on the phone with people, a lot, reconnecting with friends, having conversations. I'm very fortunate, Brian. And that I had the privilege of having extra time [00:15:30] when the, when the kind of the economy shutdown and.

I found myself faced with more time and therefore faced with a lot of excuses that I had made [00:15:40] for not doing things in the past. So I had this romantic view that I would one day be a CrossFitter Brian. I'm never going to be a CrossFitter. It's just, it's just, and [00:15:50] that's okay. That's just not me. But I had this narrative in my head that when I have more time, I'll, I'll do CrossFit.

And every time I didn't have more time and didn't do CrossFit, I would feel bad about not having done that. So when [00:16:00] faced with the reality of having time, I said, am I actually gonna be doing CrossFit or do I want to do something different? And I realized I wanted to do something different. So I got back into my daily yoga practice and I'm happy.

I've forgotten all about CrossFit [00:16:10] and I'm doing daily yoga. And I've given myself permission to be okay with that. And in some cases, it's the permission to say that you're not going to do something is as liberating [00:16:20] as the permission. You're going to say you are going to do something and ask them. That question for me has been super demonstrated, just illuminating what is important.

What's not, and I still haven't by the [00:16:30] way, figured it out entirely. I'm now into month three, asking that question repeatedly. And I've, I think I've gotten some things figured out and I think I've got some things that I've. Need to still fix. Um, I still [00:16:40] find too many meetings in my week. Um, I still don't find enough time for thinking and reflection and I have to get better going forward about creating that space because I know that it's, it's what helps [00:16:50] me have success and it's, what's gonna allow me to endure the pace that I expect to keep over the next months and years.

Guest: Yeah, I think what's really interesting. The question you're [00:17:00] saying, if not now, when I think that's a very, it's an interesting question that you ask yourself because it's reflective because it forces you to think in the past because of what. [00:17:10] You want to achieve and maybe pursue in the future. Yeah. And honestly, I think that's in once you decide that, right?

Like if not, if not now, when, [00:17:20] you know, when you pick a objective or you pick a date and time where you say, okay, well, when you're, you're kind of in the center, uh, picking a path,  [00:17:30] just the word I like to use of, of, of when you're gonna go after that. And I think if you can set. You know, you said I'm [00:17:40] not going to be a CrossFitter, but okay.

Yoga and health and self care like that, that to me is a integral part of life because Mount with, [00:17:50] as I'm sure, you know, without self care, without sleep eating, right. You know, I've just picked up a yoga and meditation practice myself that, you know, when this pandemic started and it's been [00:18:00] integral to, I build into my other kind of health systems and I think.

It comes down to this idea of sustainability. You know, if we, we pick the [00:18:10] right focus points or pals with intention that can all lead to, I think a destination that when it's all said, and Don like will be pretty [00:18:20] proud of because cause we, we actually thought about the things that were important to us, acted upon them and measure them over a period of time.

And so I think it's great that you realize a fundamental [00:18:30] aspect of your life is your own self care.

Matt: Hey everyone. It's [00:18:40] Matt here. I hope you're enjoying the show before we continue. I wanted to give a quick shout out to one of our sponsors. Benji. The future of work is today. [00:18:50] And Matt Parsons and the team at Benji has figure it out a really cool hands on learning solution that you need to be considering as you transition [00:19:00] your organizational learning and team building and engagement online.

Now I spend several hours a day myself on video platforms. So whether it's [00:19:10] zoom or Skype or go to meeting, they're great. They allow me to interact with people and see them in all parts of the world, though. If you're like me, [00:19:20] once those calls go on a bit too long, I start to get a little bit. Distracted.

And it's not too long before I'm reaching for my smartphone or opening up another tab on my laptop [00:19:30] that doesn't happen with Benji. They have a catalog of interactive team exercises that makes it really easy for organizations and individual [00:19:40] consultants to develop engaging solutions at any scale. And.

I'll be honest, I've been so impressed with the tool myself that we're actually looking at using Benji to power [00:19:50] our virtual workshops with client facing products. So I'm actually working right now with Matt one-on-one to develop a journey mapping exercise, so we can take clients through the [00:20:00] employee experience and aluminate thousands of dollars and hours of inefficiencies that organizations tend to have in their onboarding and hiring processes.

[00:20:10] It's a great tool. And because you are a listener of the thinking of that inside the box podcast, you're going to get a special benefit as well. I've talked to Matt. He wants to [00:20:20] give as many people as possible access to this tool so they can make online learning more engaging and you can do so as well by using the discount code bento 20.

So if you log on [00:20:30] to the. Benji website, which is my benji.com and you're as impressed with the solution. As I am, then enter the code in Benji 20 and you'll receive [00:20:40] 20% off your purchase. And with that being said, we'll return back to regular programming.

[00:20:50] Yeah. And let me be clear. It is, it's been illuminated by experiential practices. I've, I've, I've burned myself out on multiple occasions. [00:21:00] So I come by this knowledge the honest way, and I hope not to repeat it. And, um, for me it's as much about accountability [00:21:10] as anything else. I am just somebody that, um, I I too readily suspend self care in service to helping other people.

And I think [00:21:20] a lot of people can, can relate to that. Especially individuals who are in more service oriented roles. And, uh, I've had to come to learn more over my career and over my personal life that yeah, doing [00:21:30] that doesn't have sustainable and it fits that it can work in the short term and it can happen every so often.

But over the longterm, um, it's, it's back to that old airline analogy. You have to put your oxygen mask on [00:21:40] first before helping other people. Um, it, yeah, it's good advice for a reason. 

Guest: Yeah, I love it. I tend to agree. I really like the quote be [00:21:50] selfish so you can be selfless and it's essentially your oxygen mask quote.

So, uh, I think it's a hard thing to learn. It's a hard thing to learn too. Especially for someone who's a nice person. Like you, [00:22:00] who's someone who likes to help people like you and your work is in the HR, you know, your prior work and things you're still doing, but you're an HR exec and you know, it's very service people [00:22:10] oriented and, you know, Everything you were, you did, in my opinion, it's like, it's the, not the expense of yourself, but it's, it's about putting other people first to help them with [00:22:20] their needs.

And, and you gotta, you gotta take care of yourself. So thrilled to hear that, um, you know, it's a, it's a front and center for you, whether you're perfect or not. I don't [00:22:30] think we ever will be. It's it's just a constant, uh, Thing that we, we, we need to work on, especially as busy professionals, 

Matt: Brian, you work [00:22:40] with people of all ages.

So I know you're working with executives and large organizations, and you're also working with young leaders that are starting their first businesses. Does your advice around [00:22:50] finding your purpose, finding your brand, finding your path? Does it change based on where you are in your career, where you are in your life stage or does the feedback is a consistent, regardless of [00:23:00] wherever your backgrounds come from?

Guest: Yeah, I think that's a good question, Matt. Uh, I would say this idea of power finding building kind of. [00:23:10] Sharing your purpose and standing out in the world and kind of fully belonging. I, I want to say that it's, it's different for different people. I would [00:23:20] say that the types of people that we're, we work with the clients that we work with, how we help them find their path might be differently.

But the fundamental frameworks in the. [00:23:30] Kind of procedures. I think we all take them through pretty much everyone through the same process, the X's and O's might change a little bit. Right. But the  [00:23:40] Hey, it's done. And kind of the way we think about. That process for our clients. So things change we've, we've started to work with young professionals and a couple of pilot [00:23:50] programs right now.

Uh, so they can find their path as we're trying to build this brand to help people, uh, at a higher level, do this. Um, the processes haven't changed at all, [00:24:00] or the ways that we've, we've worked with them. It's, we've just changed the way in which they do it to make it for them a little more soft guided, but it's all right.

Under the same constructs with, [00:24:10] I would say the same content involved to kind of. Get them going on the right trajectory. So, um, I don't think that it's different for everyone. [00:24:20] I think the process of coming into your own and belonging, it takes a very similar journey for everyone. And I think what you said earlier is.

It's not always going to go as [00:24:30] planned. And so it's taking these setbacks, reflecting, figuring out the next step, figuring out the people you need to get in touch with. And you know, over time doing this over and over and over [00:24:40] again. Yeah. Day in and day out. You're going to start finding your people.

You're going to start being able to show up a hundred percent authentically, which in my opinion, Opinion allows you to fully stand [00:24:50] out, be yourself like you, like, you know Mt. When we talk, I feel like I'm getting the full mat. It's not mountain. There are guys. It's just, it's always you. And I think that's really respectable.

[00:25:00] Um, cause it's so hard to do in this day and age. 

Matt: Well, you've made a really good point, Brian. Um, And that is that if you don't signal your intentions, if you don't fly your flag, [00:25:10] if you will, then it's impossible for people to understand where you stand on issues and we're at an age and an era that unfortunately people want to know really want to know where you stand on [00:25:20] issues.

So I was having this discussion actually earlier in the week with a friend of mine and. I'm 38. So I grew up in the business world coming out of high [00:25:30] school and went right into the business world. Brian. So, you know, late nineties, early two thousands, it was kind of my entry point into the workforce. And at that time, the [00:25:40] predominant generation, uh, in leadership positions was still baby boomers.

So it was people that were, you know, much more mature in their careers and their experiences around how business [00:25:50] was quote unquote done. Um, it was very different than this young, you know, quasi millennial, you know, person coming into the workforce with very different opinions about how things should [00:26:00] be done.

And when I think about brand in the context of kind of old versus new in this particular paradigm, I think [00:26:10] about. Information and previously information was currency and it had a lot more value now with the internet, of course it's been democratized and it's [00:26:20] relatively inexpensive to, to collect and just share information and.

Personal brand was very similar. People weren't necessarily [00:26:30] desiring to be fully transparent. They would prefer to instead engage in relationships that were, um, where you would be able to put up the select [00:26:40] people or isolated people in the room. You would control access. To exert influence over groups of people.

And now we're at a stage where that's just unacceptable anymore and you have [00:26:50] to, as part of your relationship building exercise, be seen as somebody who's willing to extend their arm. Right. And talk to all different types of people and engage in the marketplace [00:27:00] and, and be in service to others and not be somebody who is simply focused on self-interest.

Do you have to signal what you stand for, you have to signal your experiences and what you [00:27:10] do, I believe is the right or, and or wrong ways of doing things. And I empathize is with people that have public brands like yourself, Brian, or, you know, [00:27:20] people that are business executives or media folks, or, you know, newspaper reporters, people that have, I have to continually put their opinions out in this space because.

[00:27:30] We're in this cancel culture, where if you say the wrong thing, even if it's intended to not be disrespectful, you all of a sudden get de platformed and then it gets really scary around things [00:27:40] like free speech. So I want to ask this question two different ways. Brian, the first one is, is that I share that because the people coming up now through the corporate world, people [00:27:50] that started were born after me.

Who've old, who's only had experiences in a digital world. Where, when they were born and how they've been raised, the internet has always [00:28:00] been part of life. And so their native, digital individuals, they're native professionals in terms of their digital adoption. And they're obviously going to have an [00:28:10] expectation around the use of technology, which is very different than their, the generations that came before them.

And they're going to share [00:28:20] more of themselves on social media and they have been doing so since they were. A child and a teenager, and now an adult, and they built an electronic digital record on social media and [00:28:30] on other platforms of themselves and are now entering into the workforce and having to develop a professional brand.

There's obviously when you are younger and you were just [00:28:40] starting out or you're maybe in college at your first job or two you're clearly have a different view of the world and you, we really are looking at, um, Your career [00:28:50] in a different way than when you're perhaps five years from retirement. How do you propose people today who have that longer term?

[00:29:00] If you will digital record from, you know, have their information on social media platforms, how should they evolve their brand? Into more of a professional brand. [00:29:10] Um, and then what advice would you give to people who are concerned about saying the wrong thing about, you know, perhaps potentially poking the wrong nest and then finding themselves on [00:29:20] the business end of, um, you know, people who are either disappointed them or angry at them or upset at 

Guest: them?

Yeah, that's a good question. A really good question, Matt. [00:29:30] I think, I think about my 11 year old half sister, when I grow up, I just call her a full sister when you're talking, but then also the people in college that I know [00:29:40] just through some of the networks I've been a part of. Um, no, I think the first step is, is I think what college [00:29:50] kids are so immediate to do is.

Apply for a job. And stick their name in the [00:30:00] hat and hope they hope they get accepted through an application. Whereas I think if cogs kids or people right out of college [00:30:10] and Sona figuring it out phase, or maybe the loss phase, or they kind of, I took a hard look in the mirror and they ask themselves, what do I want and [00:30:20] why what's important to me in a career.

And they ask themselves the hard questions upfront. Because I think, although a lot of people do and I'm going to come back to your question in a second, but what I think a [00:30:30] lot of people do is they look two or three years, they go into a job two or three years down the road, they look back and they say, ah, this, this shop sucks.

I'm quitting, [00:30:40] but they weren't intentional in the first place to actually lay down the right bricks and think about the hard questions earlier and like do the hard discovery work upfront to align themselves. I think in a way where they [00:30:50] could put that path forward. And so. Back to your question. I think if you're trying to build the brand and kind of adapt from [00:31:00] a college to a professional social footprint, I think the, the, the.

The part of the answer, isn't asking yourself what [00:31:10] you want and getting so clear on that. So then you can match your story and who you are that is completely unique to you, to the [00:31:20] world in a way that. Well, connect to them. I think what so many people do is they don't, uh, authentically relate to the [00:31:30] people around them and they, and they don't show up one mentor reminds him, Steven should less should Leschi told me three or four years ago.

He goes, you know, [00:31:40] You need to always be thinking about what's the value you're providing when you share online for the people who are receiving it. And so if you're not [00:31:50] asking yourself what you want to do and figuring out way to kind of embed your story within that narrative and then share in a way that not only helps you, but [00:32:00] helps the people receiving.

Then I think that it's going to be hard to stand out and like, when I think. To build a brand and kind of make [00:32:10] that transition from a college student into our young professional. It's really comes down to just being fully yourself and aligning it to the things that you want to [00:32:20] do and getting really clear on your intent for why you want to do those things.

And as I segue into your next question about, you know, being maybe a little bit older in your [00:32:30] career and getting deep platformed or the term that you used, I mean, We have these platforms, we have the freewill to build [00:32:40] them. How we please? Um, I think it's, it's on us to kind of pick our lanes in which we share with within.

And if we want to go after topics like black [00:32:50] lives matter in these social injustices that we're seeing in race, racial inequality, that might be a bit outside our lane. We need to do so with such care because the world is [00:33:00] watching and we don't want, we need to be very careful about what we say and how we say it when it's outside our lane.

But when we [00:33:10] have a clear focus area of where our lane is, and we can really speak to. I think speak to it in a way that is [00:33:20] 100% authentic to you and value driven for the audience. And if you, if people don't agree with you, great controversy creates good debate and conversation and, but do it in a way that's [00:33:30] tactful and intelligent.

Um, it doesn't make you sound like you can know it all or a scammer or somebody who's trying to sell you something. I think that's where you can [00:33:40] be a little bit older in your career. And you know, I'm only 27. I mean, it's not. Young is not old, but. I, I kinda stay in a lane, a few lanes and I, I [00:33:50] double down in those lanes and swim in them the best I can.

And so, um, that's where I found a way to, I feel like be myself fully without having to worry about what other people thinking and, and [00:34:00] feeling like I can just talk to the audience and people that I care about, you know, making an impact with them 

Matt: as you look forward. Brian, I'm just curious. Um, you're somebody who gets a [00:34:10] lot of thought to the world and your place in it.

How do you see the next 12 months playing out for you?

Guest: Yeah, good question, Matt. Uh, [00:34:20] I think it should be a really exciting 12 months. I think we have a really clear idea of where we're going, why we're going in that direction as a, as a company, uh, on an [00:34:30] individual level. And I'm think I'm more excited than ever. Been able to do more in the last four or five months, since in six months, you know, done improv have learned how [00:34:40] they hook.

I picked up yoga and meditation. I've been able to develop on a personal level, um, because I'll put that at the forefront of kind of my own development because. I've [00:34:50] realized I can't be tunnel visioned with work my whole life yet still accomplishing just as much if not more within work. Um, which makes me really proud.

It's hard work, [00:35:00] uh, nonetheless on, on both sides. But, um, you know, I, I see the company growing that we've built launching some, a new product line, which I'm very excited [00:35:10] about. Um, I, the team has been growing. We've been. We're about to have a new website come out in the fall. And I mean, there's just so many things professionally that we've been [00:35:20] working on.

And I feel like these bricks are all just about to line up and it's going to be so evident to people what's been going on. And then personally, I feel like I'm my own person outside of [00:35:30] work more than ever. I think I've always struggled with my identity being in fused into the workplace and yeah. Being able to kind of separate the two, but also realize that it can be one of the [00:35:40] same at different points is I think been very liberating for me and realizing that my, my business is not my identity.

Um, it was just a part of what I did do. [00:35:50] Um, and so, yeah, I, the next four months, I mean, at this rate, I look at all these paths I picked for myself like compound interest, right. And every [00:36:00] day I get dividends stay in and day out because of the consistency and inputs I put in. And if I keep putting in the right inputs, even if I go off path, I'm one of the [00:36:10] areas I've picked to kind of focus.

That's okay. Because I saw the, excuse me, I saw the other areas of my life. I thought, you know, I think are going on [00:36:20] a good trajectory. So, um, next 12 months, I think it's just a continuation of the last 12 and 24 months. It's just enjoying, enjoying where I'm at on the journey [00:36:30] and keep kind of trucking away and seeing what happens.

Matt: What I'm going to be curious to see what does happen, Brian, um, the amount of energy and intention that you put behind your business [00:36:40] and the good things that you're doing for broader society are something that I've always wanted to get behind. And I'm super excited to see how the next 12 months play out for you.

And hopefully we can, uh, talk again before them. 

[00:36:50] Guest: Well, thank you, Matt. Um, you know, it's, uh, I'm glad that you resonate with some, you know, how I, how I moved through the world. I think some people might [00:37:00] listen and be like, wow, that was way too regimented and enrage it and too much. But you know, to me, it's, it's my operating procedures and it doesn't mean I'm not [00:37:10] open-minded, but, um, I definitely like to, yeah.

I have clear thought behind the things I do and understand why. So thanks for, uh, really picking up on that. And, [00:37:20] um, it's been, it's been a fan of yours for a long time and I'm excited to be in touch and continue to build and grow our relationship. 

Matt: Let's make sure we do that. And we'll talk soon. 

[00:37:30] Guest: Thanks Matt.

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