Author: Jules Schroeder

Ep77: Millennials, This Is What Your Anxiety Is Telling You

As Millennials, anxiety is no stranger to us. We’ve been dubbed “the most anxious generation,” surpassing our parents, bosses, and grandparents. With so much pressure to live up to our greatest potential or to have “made it” before turning 30 it’s no surprise that so many of us feel anxious.

I remember being twenty-three and running operations in a publishing company I co-owned. At the time our company was doing over 7-figures, we had a huge team, and a waiting list to work with us. From the outside it seemed as if I had made it. Most days however behind the scenes I would go to bed feeling unsettled. My mind would race, my palms would get hot, and I couldn’t stop feeling worried. One time during a client meeting my heart raced so much I thought I was dying and went to the hospital to find out I was having a panic attack.

With 86% of millennials going through their own version of a quarter-life crisis, my story is all too common.

What most of us don’t realize, however, is that these signs are manifestations of something much deeper. According to an expert, “anxiety is an indicator that your life is out of alignment. It’s your intuition, your inner voice, letting you know that something is not right.”

Meet Tim JP Collins, an expert in anxiety and stress on a mission to demystify anxiety and the place it has in our world. He’s the host of The Anxiety Podcast, a keynote speaker, and a retreat leader based in Vancouver, Canada. Having suffered from anxiety himself for many years, JP Collins speaks from personal experience that infuses his advice with credibility, relatability, and real-world practicality.

“Some people have a better ability of covering up that reminder of alignment but the more we get in tune with ourselves, our bodies and our minds, the more we can’t ignore it,” JP Collins says.

This week on the Unconventional Life Podcast, JP Collins shares how you can learn from your anxiety to come back into alignment with yourself.

Below, read JP Collins’ advice to make peace with your anxiety in 5 powerful steps.

1. Silence And Space. The way most people try to treat anxiety, JP Collins says, is with an external solution. “We’re often looking for the solution in the next book or the next podcast,” he says. “But it’s not an external thing that comes to you. The tools to change are inside you.” In order to heal your anxiety, JP Collins recommends you turn off and take space from the outside noise you’re used to. These are merely distractions that prevent you from hearing your own voice, which has the answers. Instead of buying another book, consulting another expert, or searching for information online, turn inward.

2. Listen. In a quiet setting, take out a pen and piece of paper and begin to write. “Leave your phone behind, go for a walk in nature,” JP Collins advises. The goal of the writing is to uncover what in your life is out of alignment and is manifesting as anxiety. Remember, anxiety is the symptom, not the root. The root is misalignment with yourself. Ask yourself core questions like, Am I feeling fulfilled in my job and in my relationships? Am I feeling expressed? Do people know the real me? Do I have community? Do I feel healthy and alive in my body?

3. Practice The 3 C’s. Once you have answered these questions, JP Collins says to approach where you are with 3 C’s: Curiosity, Courage, and Compassion. If you wrote down that you aren’t feeling fulfilled in your job, bring Curiosity by asking why. Go deeper. Bring Courage by being willing to embrace what comes up. For example, if you find you’re not being authentic in your relationships, embrace the inauthentic part of you. Underneath your inauthenticity may be fear. “Don’t reject it, because it’s part of you,” JP Collins says. Bring Compassion by being gentle with the parts of yourself that feel unfulfilled, lost, stuck, unseen, hurt, or afraid. Take responsibility for your role in creating situations for yourself to feel that way, such as agreeing to work a job you didn’t care about, or staying in a relationship you didn’t love. And finally, recognize your power to make a different choice right now.

April 7, 2017
Ep76: Intrapreneurship: How Millennials Can Innovate And Influence Within Their Job

From an outsider’s perspective, entrepreneurship can look glamorous. Especially while you’re sitting at your desk inside your 9-5 scrolling through your entrepreneurial friends’ Facebook posts about ‘working’ in tropical locations on cafe wifi, setting their own schedules, and being their own bosses.

But the truth is, entrepreneurship isn’t as glamorous as it seems. Having started multiple companies myself, I know that entrepreneurship is risky. One year you can be up seven figures, and the next you can be in debt. You have to be willing to lead, to take radical responsibility, and to weather constant uncertainty.

To be blunt, it isn’t for everyone, and that’s why most entrepreneurs don’t stay in the game very long.

The good news is, you don’t actually have to be an entrepreneur to still get the benefits.

Enter the “intrapreneur,” an employee who operates like an entrepreneur inside of a company by applying entrepreneurial skills—like leadership, innovation, and action-taking—to their role. It’s an easy way to apply your entrepreneurial skill set without ever having to quit your job.

So how do you master intrapreneurship?

Meet Clinton Senkow, a serial entrepreneur, startup advisor, and public speaker. He’s the COO of Influencive, a media platform for entrepreneurs that has amassed 1M+ readers since it launched last year. Senkow is also a member of the G20 Awards for young entrepreneurs, and was selected as one of thirty entrepreneurs to represent Canada at G20’s 2016 gathering in China.

Here’s the catch—Senkow started out at employee at Influencive. With independent drive and exceptional contribution, Senkow was eventually granted equity in the company. He’s a living example of just how far intrapreneurship can take you.

This week on the Unconventional Life Podcast, I spoke with Senkow about what it takes to be an intrapreneur inside of your current company.

Below, see three of Clinton’s strategies for excelling at intrapreneurship.

Focus On What You’re Good At

So many of us waste our time and energy trying to become better at things we’re not very good at to begin with. While it’s tempting to want to improve upon our weaknesses, if we’re being honest with ourselves, at the end of the day all the effort we put into improving them only brings us to a level of satisfactory. In doing this, we limit how effective we can be.

Instead of trying to be an all-star, focus on what you naturally excel at. Hone your inborn strengths and gifts to a level of exceptionality and you will make the most impact in your organization. Ask yourself, what are my unique strengths, and how can I leverage them to contribute to the maximum advancement of my company?

Senkow says he was able to use his natural strength of connecting people to grow Influencive’s contributing writer base from 10 to 100+ in a matter of months, which drastically increased its output and spotlighted Senkow as an invaluable player.

Empower Your Team

A high-functioning team is the horsepower behind any successful company. “Bill Gates didn’t build Microsoft by himself,” Senkow says. “He surrounded himself with tons of intelligent people who were able to do things that he couldn’t have done by himself.”

In the same way you focus on what you do best, encourage your teammates to do the same. Be a leader and set an example. The best leaders create cohesion and synchronicity and thrust others into their own greatness. With each individual operating in their strengths, your team becomes more effective, and you become a source of influence and shaping power. Don’t be afraid to direct and coordinate—you can create waves that alter the course of your entire company.

March 27, 2017
Ep75: 3 Tips To Land High-Paying Gigs As A Freelancer

Freelancing is on the rise, with freelancers accounting for 35% of the US workforce.

That’s because millions of Millennials today are seeking location-independent and time-flexible work, and want to become their own boss.

With modern technology, freelance work is becoming increasingly accessible and profitable. The starving freelancer who struggles to find work is a thing of the past; today’s digital freelancer has access to millions of job opportunities around the world with the click of a button.

But it’s a two-way street—with more individuals onboarding to part- and full-time freelance work, businesses have more options in choosing a freelancer to fulfill a given task.

If you’re a freelancer or are considering freelancing, you may be experiencing frustration with the amount of competition. Losing prospective clients to competitors, having trouble retaining clients, and difficulty getting referrals are all consequences of a saturated market.

Still, top freelancers today earn as much as $112/hour, and work fewer hours per week than the average American. With the right strategy, becoming a top-performing freelancer can be extremely rewarding.

So how do you stand out as a freelancer and consistently land high-paying gigs?

This week on the Unconventional Life Podcast, I interviewed an expert digital strategist about successful freelance strategy.

Meet Franceso Gatti, the leader of global digital strategy at ReadWrite, an Internet of Things and connected world publication with over 6M users. Gatti is also the co-founder of Unbits, a curated marketplace allowing users to discover, review, and buy luxury tech products, which was acquired by ReadWrite. Gatti has extensive experience as an entrepreneur, marketer, and online strategist, enabling him to speak to the techniques and skillsets essential for any successful freelancer.

Below, Gatti’s shares three tips that will help you advance your career as a freelancer.

Refine Your Service

What sets apart the best freelancers is an unmatched commitment to improving their craft. Those who are consistently contracting high-paying clients know that in order to have an edge in the market, you must be providing services that exceed expectations and surpass what others can do.

The most effective way to refine your craft is to ask for customer feedback. Create surveys for your customers asking what you did well, what they liked or didn’t like, and how you can improve. The more specific your questions are, the more precise you can be at attuning your offer to your clients’ needs and desires. “Don’t be afraid to ask for feedback from your clients because without asking, it’s impossible you’ll know how to serve them better,” says Gatti.

Increase your survey response rate by personalizing your requests—address each client by name and reference the specific service you provided for them. The shorter your survey, the better. Only ask questions for which feedback will be useful for you. Offer an incentive for completing the survey, and make sure to send a reminder email.

Build A Relationship

One of the biggest concerns for freelancers is the unpredictability of income. Sometimes, finding work is easy and opportunities are abundant, and sometimes it’s scarce and nearly impossible. So how do you buffer against the uncertainty and secure a more stable source of income?

You create relationships with your clients by building trust and staying top of mind so you become their go-to contractor. Gatti recommends adding your customers to an email list as well as sending them personalized messages. Keep them in the loop about how you’re upgrading your services and any special discounts you’re offering. Follow up with them individually about their experience and let them know you care.

Research shows customer experience is more important than price and product selection. 62% of customers leave their service provider because of poor service. Ensure quality service by being cordial and polite with your customers, responding promptly, and completing your work on time. Offer to make improvements free of charge until they are satisfied. “The key to create longstanding relationships is to make people feel important and listened to,” Gatti says.

March 23, 2017
Ep74: How This Millennial Started A Million-Dollar Business In 15 Months With No Experience

Just a few years ago, Caitlin Pyle was your average desk zombie working a 9-5 inside of a dreary office cubicle. Now, she’s a multi-millionaire teaching thousands how to create a prosperous income working from home.

What happened?

Pyle decided to start her own online business, Proofread Anywhere, which turns beginner proofreaders into professionals who can earn extra income from anywhere in the world. In just 15 months, Pyle grew Proofread Anywhere to $1M+ in annual revenue, which she expects to double this year. She’s also the co-founder of The Work Anywhere Life.

Pyle’s success story is the dream of countless office-goers today, especially Millennials, of which 85% want to telecommute 100% of the time, and 54% want flexible or alternative schedules. But starting a business can be risky, with most new businesses crashing before they ever really take off the ground.

Pyle’s secret? She says she couldn’t have done it without Pinterest, an invaluable marketing tool that drives more traffic than Google+, YouTube, and LinkedIn combined. Pinterest boasts 150M monthly active users, and 93% of them have shopped online at least once in the last 6 months—in other words, Pinterest is an exceptional platform for business.

“People go to Pinterest because they’re looking for great ideas or ways to change their life. If the content you’re offering is relevant to that then you should be on Pinterest,” Pyle says.

This week on the Unconventional Life Podcast, Pyle shares her tips and recommendations to use Pinterest to build and scale your brand. Below, read on to see Pyle’s top three tips that helped her scale her business to 7 figures in record time.

Aesthetics Are King

It’s important to consider aesthetics when posting photos, because attractive photos will get you more clicks and engagement on Pinterest. One of the easiest ways to do this is to use a design tool like Canva, which gives you plug-and-play, professional-looking design templates, and is great for beginners who have no design experience.

Some basic design principles: make sure to use bright, colorful, and high-res images. Pinterest users are often scrolling quickly through their feeds so you want to create an image that stands out. You can use contrast and pops of color to draw attention to what’s most relevant in your photo. Less says more, so try to keep to a minimum amount of words and design elements. Text that poses a question, starts a conversation, or leaves more to be desired is engaging and will help generate clicks and drive traffic back to your site.

Post Often

Research shows brands on Pinterest can experience rapid growth by posting multiple times a day. Consider posting up to five times a day for maximum success. The best times to post are when Pinterest users are most active—between 2pm to 4pm, or 8pm to 1am daily.

Pyle recommends using an automated software that will post to Pinterest on your behalf at scheduled times throughout the day. Her favorite software is BoardBooster. With BoardBooster, you can program your Pinterest account to recycle and repost photos every month or so, so you’re not constantly creating new content and are ensuring that your posts stay visible at the top of users’ feeds.

If this is your first time using Pinterest, you can still successfully build a following by repinning others’ well-performing posts. In fact, 80% of posts on Pinterest are repins, meaning if you’re struggling to create original content, repinning is a great way to get a sense for what content your niche responds positively to, while making posting consistently more manageable.

Be Social

According to Pyle, the hardest part about growing your account is when you’re first getting started. “Getting from zero to a thousand is the hard part, but after that it’s easier because you look more legitimate. People take you seriously and can see you’re not a total newbie so it’s more likely they’ll follow you,” she says.

Interacting with other users is a great way to build your following and create supporters and fans for your brand. Follow other users and like their photos. Consider giving away free relevant content in contest giveaways, encouraging users to share your photos. Lastly, join group boards related to your niche to increase your exposure and visibility.

Enjoyed this post? Check out more of my tools to create a life by your own design.

This article originally appeared on Forbes.com

March 16, 2017
Ep73: One Trait Top Millennial Performers Have In Common

Let’s face it—taking risks can be scary, especially when the stakes are high.

I remember when I was presenting a business initiative at the UN a few years ago and the performer that was going to kick off the big announcement was unable to make it last minute. I decided to show the production organizer some of my songs and offered to sing as an alternative. I got the gig and was live in 12 hours.

I ended up doing a twenty-minute improv set the next day, making songs up on the fly. I was met by roaring applause and ovation. Today some of my best contacts come from that event, not because they remembered my business initiative but because they remembered my soul and my voice.

That’s because business thrives on relationships. One-third of employers rank personality as a worker’s most important quality, above skills and experience. When deciding which brands to buy from, consumers choose brands that have a personality they can identify with.

Today’s most successful Millennials all have one thing in common: they lead with their personalities. Whether you’re looking to get promoted, build an audience, or find the right business partner, leading with what makes you unique is a worthy risk that will help you advance your career.

YouTube sensation JP Sears says his online presence exploded after he decided to share his sense of humor with his audience.

If you don’t know who Sears is, he’s a YouTuber with a rapidly growing following of 1.5M across social platforms, and over 100M video views. He’s most known for his hilarious spoofs on New Age culture, and his book, “How To Be Ultra Spiritual, which launched March 7. Sears is also an emotional healing coach, a retreat leader, and an international teacher.

This week on the Unconventional Life Podcast, Sears shares how taking this key risk of leading with personality was the accelerator for his brand’s success.

According to Sears, it wasn’t until two years and 150 videos into his YouTube career that he decided to let his humor appear on camera. Before launching his ‘Ultra Spiritual’ comedy series, Sears’ channel was reserved for sincere life advice.

Though his channel was successful, Sears says he felt like something was missing. Humor had always been an integral part of his personality, but he worried it would damage his professional image. “I had told myself a story that it would be bad for business to let my sense of humor out on video,” he says.

In spite of his fear, Sears decided to film his first comedy video. “At the time I thought, this isn’t a good idea, but I’m going to do it anyways,” he recalls.

The video went viral and spawned demand for a comedy series, which is now the namesake of Sears’ brand. The ‘Ultra Spiritual’ series has over fifty videos and counting, and has done wonders for his business, enabling him to effortlessly sell out coaching sessions and international speaking commitments, as well as propelling him to social media stardom.

Sears’ message is that risking being 100% authentic is your greatest asset. “You always win when you’re yourself. You can’t lose,” he says.

Below, Sears shares tips to lead with your personality and showcase what makes you unique.

Get Connected To Your Why

Being authentic can be scary, and if you’re not connected to why it’s important, it’s much easier to just play it safe and hide.

Sears says what drove him to release his first comedy video was the pain of withholding a key part of himself from the world. If he never stepped up to the plate and shared his humor, he said he’d resent himself and feel empty inside.

Ask yourself, what would it cost me if I lived my whole life never letting this part of myself shine? Be honest, connect to the pain, and use this propel you towards courage.

Embrace Your Insecurities

One of the biggest roadblocks we encounter in the way of being authentic is insecurity. When we judge ourselves, we anticipate others will judge us too, which can keep us from sharing certain aspects of ourselves.

“It’s ok to feel insecure,” says Sears. “All people are insecure. We have to be willing to embrace the insecurity as part of our nature, and to become aware of it. The more we know what our insecurities are the more we can grow beyond them and live with them.”

Ask yourself, what are my insecurity-driven behaviors? What do I avoid doing? Once you gain awareness of your insecurities, you have the power to recognize them for what they are and show up powerfully by acting in opposition to them.

March 9, 2017