Unconventional Life – Podcast, Blog, Live Events

Author: Jules Schroeder

The Art Of Instagram: 5 Tips To Build A Powerful Brand And Following

A picture was once worth a thousand words, but now it may be worth a thousand followers, thanks to the photo-sharing app Instagram, which Facebook acquired for $1 billion.

The social media platform allows users to archive their photos to the effect of digital storyboards that others can engage with through likes, comments, and follows.

According to The Independent, “followers represent social capital, which has an influence on monetary capital.” In other words, having a popular Instagram account can translate into status and cash.

But with over 500 million monthly active users on Instagram, how are you supposed to stand out?

If you’re like most and have been trying to gain followers with no success (the average account has 150 followers), here to help is Instagram consultant Crystal Schreiner, a brand mentor with and founder of the company Beauty Everywhere, which teaches people “how to become a walking media company.”

Schreiner shares her recipe for impact on Instagram on this week’s episode of Unconventional Life, “Instagram 101: How To Build A Profitable Profile.”

Schreiner’s expertise stems from her work with Hollywood music video directors and New York runway photographers.

She landed her first internship shooting for a former Vogue editor while studying advertising in college. “I knew I wanted to go to New York, so I emailed hundreds of fashion editors. Vogue’s former editor replied, and I asked to shoot at fashion week… She said yes,” Schreiner recalls.

In Hollywood, Schreiner learned how stars were created on camera by “creating a storyline through visual elements in the videos.” The experience would prove invaluable for her Instagram career later on, where imagery and video are the building blocks of a personal brand.

“Every brand needs a personality — a brand is human, is a person,” Schreiner says. “I teach people how to break down their story into pictures like a visual story board. Every single picture tells part of a story and the story creates a personality that’s entertaining.”

It’s through the tactful weaving of aesthetics, design, vision, and story, that Schreiner is able to create profiles that stand out… and cash in.

When an Instagram account has a significant amount of followers, it can become a powerful source of revenue. Some of the most common ways to monetize an account include obtaining sponsorships with advertising companies, selling top-liked photos, and referring traffic to your personal brand.

Below, Schreiner shares her best tips for building a successful Instagram account, whether you’re starting from scratch or are improving on an existing profile.

1. Showcase your signature style.Having a unique look that allows others to recognize you is essential. Your visual appearance is the first aspect of your profile that others notice, so what do you want your outfit, your stance, and your attitude to say about you? It’s important to construct a style that reflects your personality and develop it through each of your photos. If you’re feeling stuck, finding inspiration from others you admire is a great place to start.

2. Tell your story. Your story is the personal element of your profile that tells your followers who you are and what you stand for. You’ll want to be real and relatable, because that’s what people connect to most. Plus-sized model Iskra Lawrence is a particularly great example of this: she shares her story candidly and openly to her 2.3 million followers. Schreiner says, “you can think of Instagram like a narrative as if you’re writing the story of your life… think about how each picture adds to the last.

3. Engage with your followers. Connect to your followers by responding to their comments, thanking them, and leaving notes on their photos. If someone is particularly active on your page, you might consider following them back. It can be difficult to keep up with so many notifications, but making an effort to engage with at least a few people each day makes a massive difference and makes your followers feel like they know you and you care.

4. Market yourself. Identify who your target audience is and find out how you can connect with them. Searching hashtags related to your niche is a great way to find users who might be interested in your content. Find out who these users follow, and consider reaching out to them if they’re on the same mission as you — collaboration can help you cross-promote and get more exposure. Finally, caption your photos with popular hashtags to help people in your community find you.

5. Be consistent. “If you want momentum, you have to post every single day. You need to be seen and be putting yourself out there,” Schreiner advises. You should be posting to Instagram at least once daily, and posting three times a day can help you grow even faster.

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March 1, 2018
How To Leverage And Embrace Your Story, From One Author Who Did It

Most of the developed world is downright addicted to technology. Studies reveal we spend an average 11 hours per day consuming electronic media and check our smartphones up to 85 times daily.

With the majority Americans depending so heavily on technology, it’s difficult to imagine turning off all modern conveniences for even a day. But for over 300,000 people in the US, it’s a way of life.

You’ve probably heard of the Amish community. To the modern ear, it sounds unbelievable — a community that often lives without electricity, internet, cell phones, cars, or running hot water?

According to one woman, that was her experience for over a decade. Meet Torah Bontrager, a modern-day Manhattanite who grew up in an Amish settlement in Michigan and escaped at the age of 15.

Since then, she’s appeared on major media entities like ABC 20/20, MTV True Life, and The Blog of Tim Ferriss, and has gone on to write a memoir.

This week, Bontrager shares her compelling story on Unconventional Life: “From Amish-Escapee To Author: How To Powerfully Leverage Your Personal Story.”

Born and raised Amish, a simpler life was all Bontrager knew for years. In a typical day, she “would get up at 6 o’clock in the morning, eat breakfast, do the chores, milk the goats by hand, head off to the 1-room Amish schoolhouse in a horse and buggy for 1st through 8th grade, come home, work until sunset, eat dinner, go to sleep and do the whole thing again.”

Although Amish life may sound quaint or peaceful, Bontrager says it was anything but. She recalls feeling isolated from the outside world, disappointed her education would only carry her to 8th grade, and frustrated she was forbidden from expressing emotions like anger and sadness.

“The day that I graduated 8th grade, that was a sad day for me,” Bontrager says. “That fall, when school started again and I saw my younger brothers and sisters taking off in the horse and buggy down the road I cried… but of course I couldn’t show my mother my tears or that would be considered a sign of rebellion.”

Bontrager always knew she was destined for more. She loved learning and would read any book she could get her hands on. It was through her reading of titles like “Pippy Longstocking,” “The Secret Garden,” and “The Boxcar Children,” where she gradually found the confidence to overcome her circumstances and create a better life for herself.

“These stories all showed children who didn’t have loving adults to care for them, and they struck out on their own, and they survived, and that’s how I knew that I would be ok, that I could leave as a child,” Bontrager says.

Bontrager began planning her escape at age 11, contacting her non-Amish uncle through the community’s phone shed late at night. It took four years for her to finally secure a way out, when her uncle picked her up late one night and the two returned to his home in Montana.

For Bontrager, telling her story has been the greatest force for personal healing. Her message seeks to inspire others to be vocal about their own life experiences and create a culture of empowerment.

Since speaking out, her story has inspired thousands and is about to be published in her upcoming book, “An Amish Girl In Manhattan,” this Fall 2016.

If you’re on the fence about telling your own story, Bontrager recommends you first find others who have shared their stories — read their testimonies, follow their blogs, and learn from them.

“It’s hard to speak the truth when you’re the only one,” Bontrager says, but surrounding yourself with others can help you to find your own voice.

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March 1, 2018
How To Become A Better Risk-Taker, From ‘Fail Better’ TEDx Speaker Lindy Norris

I recently read that 96% of businesses will fail within the first 10 years. But for such a universal occurrence, it’s surprising to me that failure has such a bad rap.

We’re often made to feel ashamed, embarrassed, or regretful of our mistakes and believe we must do everything in our power to ensure they don’t happen again.

The truth is, most of us aren’t willing to fail because the stakes are just too high. Failing could mean we get fired, lose thousands on an investment, jeopardize a relationship, or let others down.

By avoiding failure, you are missing out on the powerful teachings it has to offer. There’s a goldmine of bravery, resilience, and growth beneath failure, but only for those daring enough to dig.

But what if there was a way to fail that allowed us to access its riches with none of the risk?

One woman says there is. Meet Lindy Norris, a speaker and growth catalyst most-known for her Ted Talk “Fail Better,” where she exposes the hidden treasures of failure. She’s also a Marketing Magazine 30 Under 30 honoree and the founder of the nonprofit Athena Leadership.

Norris shares how to become a student in failure’s classroom on the latest episode of Unconventional Life, “How To Heal Your Relationship To Failure Forever.”

Norris’ first major run-in with failure took place when she moved across the continent from Canada to San Francisco to pursue an MBA program. After spending just a few days in the program, she realized it wasn’t right for her and decided to head home empty-handed.

Back in Canada, she found herself confused, disappointed, and unclear what to do next. All of the effort she put into applying for her MBA had seemingly been a complete waste.

To add insult to injury, she did the same thing a second time by trying to go back for a different MBA with no success. But rather than pity herself, Norris did something unexpected: she looked deeper into the failure and opened herself up to its teachings.

What she learned was that she was destined for something different. The deeper she inquired, the more clear became her calling to spread awareness about failure to the world — beginning with her Ted Talk about failing better.

“Look at [failure] from a development perspective, figure out how you can develop resilience through it and come closer to what you really want to do,” she says.

Norris’ willingness to confront her setbacks has molded her into a fearless risk-taker with an appetite for failure. Now, she’s dedicated her life’s work to creating the same results for others.

“It’s okay to change your mind, it’s okay to follow what really fulfills you, what your passions are… there’s points when we realize that what we originally envisioned for ourselves isn’t what we want to do anymore. That’s totally okay — changing your business, changing your mind, deciding to take a different direction is totally okay,” Norris says.

Below, check out the different ways you can make failure your friend without having to risk it all. By flexing your failure muscle, you’ll become more adept at learning from mistakes and more confident to take risks that can benefit you.

1. Ask for a 10% discount one day where you usually buy your morning coffee. It seems like a simple thing to ask, but it’s bound to make you (and the cashier) feel a bit uncomfortable. By asking, there’s a lot more to gain than just a few cents — you’ll reach a higher threshold of confidence and overcome a significant social barrier. Remember, the worst they can say is no.

2. Sit next to someone on a non-crowded bus, train, or subway. We tend to leave plenty of extra room between ourselves and strangers, especially when there’s no shortage of space. Are you bold enough to do it anyways and reclaim friendliness for creepiness? (Bonus points for striking up a conversation).

3. Publicly state your biggest goal. Tell as many friends and family members about it as you can, and be 100% honest. By sharing your biggest goal, you risk a very painful and very public failure. You’ll be challenged to be accountable for your goals and to make peace with the possibility of missing the mark.

4. Share something personal to your social network. Facebook is a great outlet — but what if you don’t get any likes? The benefit is you’ll learn to share openly without attachment to how people receive it. Sharing for the sake of sharing, because it’s important to you, is a huge win.

5. Speak up to your boss about something you don’t like. Many of us try to suck up to our bosses and pretend things are fine because they have power over us. This time, dare to speak up about something that’s bothering you to reclaim your voice. If you are the boss, try giving totally honest feedback to an employee.

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March 1, 2018
Back To Basics: The Keep-It-Simple-Strategy For Starting A Winning Business

It seems today that just about everyone’s got a different approach to business. Some say you should focus on one-upping your competition, while others say it’s best to be original, while still others recommend reinventing the wheel and forgetting about competition altogether.

Trying to navigate all these different tactics can be extremely overwhelming, especially because of the intense pressure to get it right… or else suffer a hit in your business.

“In a business environment that is changing faster and becoming more uncertain and complex almost by the day, it’s never been more important to choose the right approach to strategy,” says the Harvard Business Review.

So how exactly are you supposed to sort through all the information and decide which strategy is best for you?

One successful businessman says his winning strategy is sticking to the basics — the simple principles that have stood the test of time.

Meet Brent Underwood, founding partner of Brass Check, a creative advisory firm that has produced and marketed content for major clients likeGoogle GOOGL -1.19%, American Apparel, and Tony Robbins. He’s also the founder of the #1 rated hostel in America, HK Austin.

Underwood shares how he’s made it happen using classic techniques on this week’s episode of Unconventional Life, “Why The Business Basics Are Your Best Bet.”

Underwood graduated from Columbia University at the age of 23, the youngest graduate student in his class. During a college study abroad trip, he says he discovered a passion for traveling that would serve as the inspiration for him to later create his own hostel.

“I love traveling, I love interacting with people, and the hostel’s a way to travel—it was a way for me to backpack all around the world. I was exposed to so many different perspectives and the excitement of traveling,” Underwood says.

By 2014, he had stayed in over 150 hostels in 30 countries. A seasoned expert, he decided it was time to open up his own hostel.

Underwood recalls having little startup capital to fund the project — but that didn’t stop him. Instead, he stuck to the timeless principle of making due with what he had and pouring money into what mattered most.

He says he forewent serving breakfast to guests in exchange for purchasing high-end mattresses—which guests have been raving about ever since. “Everything else—the atmosphere, the common room, the location, the book collection, the guests, the reviews—was secondary, and, to some extent, outside our control. But if we could make at least the beds an unforgettable experience, we knew we would be putting money on a sure bet,” Underwood says.

Today, HK Austin is the highest-rated hostel in America, which Underwood credits to his application of simple, sound business advice. Below, he shares three tips you can use in your own practice to replicate his success.

1. Hire faster than you think you need to. As a business owner, it can be difficult to let go of things getting done “your way” and delegating responsibility to others. After all, things might not be completed to your standards, and quality could suffer. But trying to do everything yourself is a sure path to destruction, Underwood says. Your skills are needed to run the business, and you can’t do that while you’re focused on all the nitty-gritty details. Hire employees to take care of the small stuff, train them to do their jobs well, and commit yourself to what really matters.

2. Look no further than your own community. It can be tempting to want to solve a problem or provide value on a massive scale—which is why so many businesses try to serve a worldwide market. The problem is, they find themselves disconnected from the world’s needs, only able to speculate or approximate because of the vast size and distance, and as a result end up serving no one. Underwood says he conquered this problem by serving his local community in Austin, TX, home of the HK Austin. This allowed him to oversee important matters such as adhering to city building codes and tailoring the guest experience. Hone into your own city because you know its needs best of all.

3. Cut the distractions and focus on the actual product. So many business owners believe they have to have every aspect of their business perfect—from their business cards, to their website, to their logo, to their social media accounts. What they don’t realize is that this is actually a massive distraction from their actualproduct. Focusing on how manyTwitter TWTR +1.72% followers your business has, who might never become actual customers, doesn’t produce profits at the end of the day. The best businesses are the ones that strive to make their products and customer experience the very best they can be. Focus on your product first and foremost, and the smaller details will take care of themselves.

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March 1, 2018
Coach Mark Lack On Why Finding Your Life Purpose Is Seriously Misunderstood

We’re highly complex, self-aware, emotionally attuned beings, and we desire more out of life than just living.

It’s not enough to simply go through the motions of getting a job, settling down, having kids, and retiring at a “reasonable” age anymore. We aren’t willing to be a cog in a machine — we want to contribute to something meaningful and significant that is larger than ourselves.

That’s where all the buzz about “finding your purpose” comes from. The term has a rating of 100 (out of 100) according to Google Trends, making it one of the most frequently and consistently searched queries.

However, despite the wealth of information available, finding one’s purpose somehow remains hopelessly misunderstood.

Mark Lack, speaker, peak-performance coach, and bestselling author of “Shorten The Gap: Shortcuts To Success And Happiness” claims that’s because we’ve lost sight of the foundation of purpose. He’s identified two fundamental components of purpose that the majority of the world appears to be blind to.

I caught up with Lack about the path to purpose on this week’s episode of Unconventional Life: “Why Self-Mastery Is The Quickest Route To Success.”

Lack is a pro in the world of self-development. He’s invested over $500k into courses, consultations, coachings, books, and seminars in the quest to become his greatest version.

His drive stems from his elite paintballing career during his teenage years. By age 18, he had earned over $300k in revenue from tournaments and traveled the world extensively, achieving celebrity status in the sport.

Thereafter, Lack shifted his focus inward for success. He used the money he earned from paintball to finance his thirst for personal development, and now considers it his best investment to date.

“Get back in touch with self-mastery because it’s the one thing that never goes away. You’re the one person you’re stuck with forever,” Lack says.

Lack’s intensive internal work has resulted in a deep understanding of himself and his true purpose. He believes that purpose “should be built on the pillars of growth and contribution.”

Below, Lack shares how you can build your life upon these two foundational pillars to realize your own life purpose.

Focus on bettering you. “The reason you don’t have any passion right now and don’t know what your purpose is is because you’ve lost track of the one thing you should always be passionate about… which is bettering you,” Lack says. Commit to your own growth and the growth you want to see in the world will follow, because you will finally be empowered to create it.

Cut out the distractions. Figure out what you need most in your life to put yourself on the path to getting what you really want. Maybe it’s improved health, relationships, time management, or emotional mindset. Once you’ve identified your greatest need, stick to it and stop trying to focus on solving several needs at once. “Stop trying to create a new product and focus on what you really need,” Lack jokes. Do just one thing at a time exceptionally well and you’ll find laser-beam productivity and growth.

Take one action each day. It can be overwhelming trying to tackle something as lofty and abstract as feeling purposeful. So instead, take concrete steps each day that will accumulate to that result over time. Lack recommends to take one action in the area of health, happiness and wealth daily. It doesn’t need to be big, but it needs to be meaningful to you. Consider prioritizing nutrition and exercise, recreation, personal affirmation, and adding value to others.

Serve something bigger than yourself. Contribution is essential to feeling like your life has purpose. Identify a cause that you care about and pour yourself into it. Often the most meaningful causes are the ones with personal significance. You might volunteer for this cause in your local community or leverage a movement online to begin making an impact. “As long as I’m serving someone or something bigger than myself, I know I’ll be happy, and I know I’ll be moving down the path to ultimate success,” Lack says.

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March 1, 2018