Our stories are only as good as how we tell them. Debbi ‘D2’ Dachinger knows this to be true. As a visibility media expert, Debbi has been helping people get the media coverage they need to be able to tell their stories effectively. In this episode, she imparts her expertise on how to tell stories more effectively, most especially if you are writing your own book. Going beyond that, Debbi then shares how she has been helping people find their voice, focusing on the skills that they excel at, and having the best branding with what is called good gossip. She shares more of her insights to help entrepreneurs promote their own brand.
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Listen to the podcast here:
Getting The Media Exposure You Need With Debbi Dachinger
We’re going to have Debbi Dachinger. Debbi is amazing. She is based out of LA and is an amazing radio personality. She helps people understand their value and how to communicate when they want to get noticed, when they want to get onto radio programs. When they want to get on to podcasts, she’s the one who helps you do it. She’s the one that helps you build the resume to make sure you get on to the right shows to tell your story in an effective way. Debbi and I met through a mutual friend, Charmaine. She said, “You have to talk to Debbi.”
Debbi and I got into a conversation and we had a good time. That’s what I want to talk to you about. I want to talk to you about personal relationships. We all forget about our relationships. We all have been so busy, “I can’t make up the time. I can’t pick up the phone. I can’t go and see somebody. I’m too busy.” Our lives have gotten out of control. Our lives have gotten to the point, where we’re sitting there in front of our computer, going back and forth on social media clicking, liking, and commenting on things. We don’t take the time to have real relationships with people.
I’ve got 4,000 connections on LinkedIn and another 4,500 or 5,000 people that follow me. Most of them are not my friends. Most of them are people that think that what I do is interesting. They might like the comments and the posts that I create but I know little about them and they know little about me. There are about 100 or 150 people on my social media feed that I talk to on a regular basis. We pick up a phone. We have Zoom chats. We sit there and engage each other and say, “What’s going on with your life?” I got off the phone with a friend of mine in Australia.
We were having a great conversation and it makes the miles disappear. When you can sit there on a Zoom chat and be able to look face-to-face, even if you’re 8,000 miles away and have a real conversation, understand each other and actively listen to each other and find out what’s important to them. What’s going on? What is interesting to them? We all need to get there. We all need to sit back and sit there and say, “Who are the important people in our life and why am I not making time for them?” Whether it’s your clients, spouse, kids, or friends. Who are the people in your life that if they weren’t there you would truly miss them?
If you would truly miss these people, why are you not taking the time to engage them? Why are you not taking the time to pick up a phone, to send an email, to visit people, to have coffee, to have lunch? The best relationships I have with my customers are the ones that I talked to and go see. They are the ones that I take out for lunch or coffee and sit there and say, “What are we doing for business? What’s going on in your life? What’s going on with your family? What’s going on with your friends? What’s going on with your dog? What are the challenges that you’re having?” When you can have those real conversations with people, when you can care about what’s going on with them and you can find out what are the challenges that they’re having.
Meaningful conversations have insight. You can help them and they can help you, and they’re there for you when there’s a real problem. They know that you care. You’re not one of these fly-by-night people that sit there and says, “Can you buy for me? Can you spend money with me?” There’s a relationship. That goes not only with spouses and kids and boyfriends, girlfriends but clients as well and staff. When was the last time that people talked in an office? Everybody’s got their headphones on. I go into this beautiful office with great big long desks and everybody’s plugged in, everybody’s got their headsets in. They sit there for eight hours a day and they don’t talk to one another.
If they want to know what’s going on, they have internal Slack conversations or they send each other internal memos. They don’t get up and talk. They don’t take the headphones off. They don’t go sit in the corner and have a conversation and say, “I’m having a problem with this, and I don’t get this. I don’t understand this. Can you help me?” The only way that you’re going to do that is to get up and unplug and talk. It seems to be a lost art. People flap their gums all the time but people don’t talk. People don’t sit there and say, “Let me take the time to understand what this other person is all about. What are their hopes? What are their wants? What are their fears? What are their needs? What are their desires? What are the things that are keeping them up at night? What are the things that are important to them? What are the things that they’re passionate about?” If you can take the time to find that out, if you talk to your employees and you ask them these things, they’re going to be more engaged. They think that you care, because hopefully, you do care.
If you care and you want to find out the whereabouts of your employees, if you want to find out what their desires, needs, goals and aspirations are, you can help them achieve them. They’re going to be more apt to stay. They’re going to become better champions in your brand. They’re going to be more productive employees and they’re going to stay longer. If you talk to your management team, forget about the board meetings. If you have the quite conversations in the hallways, if you have the one-on-ones and you sit there and you understand what challenges people are having in their departments, get departments together. Sit there and say, “Get rid of the silos.” Get different teams together and get them to understand, “We’re all on the same page.”
Our job as a company is to help our customers. It’s not this competing siloed between marketing and sales and operation, finance and technology. We’re all one company and our job is to work together to be more effective for the customer. To be able to create a consolidated customer experience. It doesn’t matter who the customer talks to within the company. They know that they’re getting the same thing from everybody and that they have this wonderful experience. The only way that can happen is when we talk to each other and say, “What does the customer need?”
Everybody in the office understands what the customer needs and you all work together to sit there and say, “I don’t know the problem I need to talk to operation. I don’t know the problem I need to talk to finance. I don’t know the issue. I need to talk to somebody else.” The more we talk to each other, the better understanding we have. The more we’re able to be effective and valuable and valued when we sit there and look at each other and say, “I’m not sure. What do you mean by that?” Listen and let them talk. Let people talk, don’t interrupt and sit there and say, “Let me figure out what they’re having problem with.”
If it’s a problem with you, then find out something and say, “Why are you having a problem with me? What have I done wrong? How can we fix it together?” Don’t take things personally. Don’t put a chip on your shoulder, sit there and say, “I’m not a perfect individual everybody, trust me.” If we can sit there and take that onus off our self and say, “I might have done something to offend you. I might have done something wrong. I might have done something that was against company policy, explain to me what I did wrong so I don’t do it ever again.” If you don’t understand what you’ve done wrong, how can you ever fix it? If you don’t understand that you’ve made somebody angry, how can you say you’re sorry? How can you fix it?
How can you go up to that person and make their lives better and try to make amends if you don’t know that that person is mad at you, if the person doesn’t say anything? If they don’t tell you that they’re upset or what they’re upset about or why they’re upset, how can you fix it? If operations and sales and marketing are not on the same team, if they don’t understand the nuances of each other, what the objectives are the different departments, how can they work together to make things better? We all need to talk. We all need to have better relationships. We all need to get outside of our comfort zone and talk to people.
Physically talk to people and get away from technology. Stop hiding behind email and social media. Sending out an email and say, “I’ve sent the email. It’s somebody else’s problem.” Our lives are worse off because we have that mentality. Our lives are never richer because we’ve sat there and said, “I’ve sent the social media post, I’ve posted this message, I’ve sent this memo out. It’s not my problem anymore.” It is your problem because unless people understand what you’re trying to say, it doesn’t matter what you’ve said if it’s not understood. If people don’t understand what you’ve said, it’s like you’ve talked in the air, you’ve talked to a brick wall. None of us want that.
People who are exceptionally creative have things that fire them up that they express out in the world. Share on XNone of us want the frustration where we sit there going, “I don’t understand how the staff don’t understand me.” They don’t understand you because you’re probably talking at them instead of with them. If we sit there and talk with people, there are ways to have two-way conversations. Those two-way conversations are the ways that we get better. Isn’t that the goal for companies? That’s how we get bigger. That’s how companies grow and get more effective and get bigger jobs and bigger contracts. Larger jobs and more clients and companies become more profitable because everybody within the company understands what the goals are. They talk to each other and they help each other and they work with each other to be able to be effective.
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Debbi Dachinger is coming in from LA and she is a powerhouse. She is helping people communicate more effectively. She has done everything within her power to be able to help people tell their stories more effectively. She does everything to help people write bestseller books. She’s read bestseller books herself. What she does is help people get the media coverage that they need. Help people understand how to get on podcast, how to get on radio shows and to be able to tell their story effectively. Debbi, thank you for joining me. How are you?
I’m great. I love that your name is B2, Ben Baker and I’m D2, Debbi Dachinger. We’re in the right house and right people. Thanks for having me.
I have a friend of mine who keeps telling me, “Ben Baker, I love that name.” I’d say, “You could have it, but it comes with debt.”
That somebody else has to pay off. It stops right there.
It’s amazing how it stops people short of their tracks when you sit there and say, “You can have my name. You have to have the debt that comes along with it.” Fair is fair. If you want to take over my name, have it. It comes with liability.
It is a great name and especially because you teach branding and marketing. Ben Baker has a real ring to it and people won’t forget it.
It does and it’s great. Debbi, yours is the same thing. It’s that alliteration thing. It gets people to sit there and go, “I remember that name. I don’t remember where I met him from but I remember the name.” There are people that have known me for twenty years or haven’t seen me for ten years that still remember my name because of the alliteration that goes along with it, hopefully, the impression that I made along with it.
The alliteration goes far as people who play with it and say, “Dashing Debbi or Darling Dachinger.” They said all sorts of stuff on there. I’m like, “Keep pressing that into your brain over and over again, so you remember me. I love it. They’re doing my advertising for me.
It’s one thing to tell people how wonderful you are. It’s another thing to have other people, their friends and people that they like how wonderful you are. That’s what we all want. We all want somebody else that’s singing our praises. That tells people how great we are and the wonderful things we do because that’s pure dollars that we have to spend in marketing.
I know a woman who did a dissertation on this. She calls it, “Good gossip.” When people stand around and share about you and your virtues and what you’ve done for them in their life and all the accolades, it’s good gossip. She got her PhD in this.
That would be a fun thing to do a PhD on.
She went through heck in front of the board. They gave her quite a hard time. She’s a brilliant woman and she made quite a case for what is possible exactly what you’re saying. When you do such a good job that people become your fans and they start raving about you. There’s a lot less work you have to do when people love you up like that.
We’ve got a client who builds high-end homes. These are the $2 million, $5 million, and $10 million homes. One thing we did is we got all their clients on board and got testimonials from other clients on video about the process of dealing with them. What was the whole experience like from the initial consultation to handing the keys over? The stuff we got was gold because these people were raving fans of this company. The experience that my customer gives them is good that they went on and on about how wonderful this company was and what a great job they did. The beautiful thing about that is we put all that on websites. We’re using it on social media. We’re using it at trade shows. Having somebody else tell the world how great you are is an amazing thing.
Interestingly enough, that’s how you and I met. You had a guest on your show by the name of Charmaine Hammond, who’s a dear friend of mine for many years and a colleague. I know she did an amazing job on your show. She is an excellent interviewer and she is full of amazing knowledge that’s important. When you guys were done somehow you got talking about me and my name came up, here you and I are. We’ve had a lovely conversation that we’re doing the show. We’ve had some emails. That’s the way it works. This is an interesting conversation because this is what I teach my students. I have the most wonderful entrepreneurs who come to me and say, “I want to be interviewed on radio and podcast and I don’t know how or it’s hit and miss. I don’t know what to take control of that piece without hiring $5,000 or more a month publicist. I want to do this on my own or have my team do it.”
It’s doable what they don’t often have is the skills. That is the exact reason why I give them the skills. They’re exceptional and pro when they get interviewed. I want them to leave the station, the host and have them rave about the guests. If they come back and tell my client, “Come back again. I want to interview you again. I know another show you’d be amazing on. I have a panel. I would love to have you featured.” On and on ad infinitum, what is possible when someone delivers an amazing interview about their subject and their niche? This viral raving and good gossip it’s important in general in business. It’s the best branding and marketing imaginable.
When you look at it where you can put yourself in a position where other people see you as being the dependable option or somebody that’s interesting and dynamic, someone that is easy to have on camera, on the radio or on a podcast, they’ll call you back. They’ll recommend you to others. I get phone calls all the time saying, “I saw you on this show or I heard you on this podcast. Would you be on my podcast?” We have a conversation. As long as it fits and it’s right for my brand, I am more than happy to be on anybody’s podcast. I love doing it. First of all, it gets my story out. It promotes them and it allows them to have a guest on that’s used to being in front of a microphone. Let’s tell your story, talk about somebody who’s used to being in front of a microphone. This show is all about the value that you add. What do you do? Who do you do it for? Why do you do it? Why do people care? Let’s start with where were you? Where are you and where are you going?
I’m a visibility media expert. I strategize and I assist entrepreneurs who want to write that book and take it to bestseller. They want to be interviewed successfully on radio, podcast and media outlets to do so. These are people who are held back by inner and outer visibility issues and don’t know how to supersede it. Their hearts are broken. They know this is the space. They need to be playing in. That’s where the exposure is going to be and yet they don’t know how to bridge that gap. They don’t know how to get there. That’s where I come in and I teach people in six weeks or less how to get booked. They start getting booked on shows and completing their books.
How I got here is exactly what you’re saying. I have been doing this since I was little. It’s all I ever wanted to do and it took many different forms and fashions. When I was small and quite into my adulthood, I was an actress I was a singer. I did everything from the stage to film to television to cartoon voice-over work. It was my greatest joy. It was the place I was the happiest in the world. At some point in my adulthood, in a year when I was cast in more shows than anything else, something started to wane inside of me. I started to have doubts or questions and discomfort about continuing in the profession that I was in as an actress.
That was unthinkable because it was my entire identity. I had no concept of what I would be and who I would be without doing that out to the world. It got to the point where it would not go away the questions of the crossroad that I was at. I did the only thing I knew how to do, which was surrender, “Here. I’m letting go of this career. I have no idea what’s going to happen, but I have to let go.” I don’t know what else to do with all these questions coming up. Thankfully, as an uber creative human, things kept coming in my space and I was invited to do different things.
How I got here is by saying yes a lot to things that felt like opportunities and they felt exciting. As it turned out, none of them are “The thing” until I got here but they were the things that got me here. If I hadn’t said yes to being at Toastmasters, if I hadn’t said yes to developing an actual course and speaking around Los Angeles, if I hadn’t said yes to voice-over cartoon, if I hadn’t said yes to making jewelry and selling in stores or singing in front of a big band and a jazz band, I learned about business through doing this and that was important. I learned about how to engage with an audience in different ways that I had known as an actress. I had learned about being motivational. When I was frustrated about getting my voice out there many years ago, there was an ad in a paper for a host for a radio show at a station.
It was in Hollywood and I said, “That sounds interesting.” I applied for the job and I got it. I did a small music show for a while and then they offered me my show. It was like a download of my life being funneled into one show. I called it Dare to Dream because dreaming and creating dreams was the most important thing to me. I wanted to share it with people. What I had learned about the recipe to create dreams as well as feature people, myself included and others, would create massive things. Superseded things that seem to be obstacles and yet created massive success.
That was my journey and from that show, I started writing books. Those books became international bestsellers. I started becoming known as an expert being interviewed myself. People came to me and said, “I love to learn how to do what you’re doing.” I started teaching it in classes and in private. This industry around me was built and it was the greatest surprise. I would never have thought I was headed there. It’s also been the greatest joy for me to do things out in the world and at the same time be able to teach those same things to people who are hungry to learn them. That’s how I got here.
It’s amazing to me when people sit there and say, “Yes.” When people say yes, it’s amazing what happens because you may not know which direction you’re going to go to. You may not know what’s going to come out of it. The more you can sit there and say, “Let’s try. Let’s look at this. Let’s see what happens from this.” It’s amazing the things and the opportunities that come out of it. You’re right. The more we sit there and say, “I’m not sure the direction I’m going but this sounds interesting. Let’s try it.” It may not be the perfect thing but it may lead to something that is. The more we can as human beings be able to sit there and say, “Let’s take calculated risks.” Let’s sit there and say, “I’m not sure, but let’s try that.” That tends to be something that a lot of people fear is that letting go and trusting that you may not know where you’re going to land. Having faith in yourself to sit there and say, “One way or the other I’m going to make this work.” Good for you for that because it’s lead you to an amazing journey.
For people who are exceptionally creative, we have one thing in common. There are things that fire us up. We love to express ourselves out in the world and it manifests in a lot of different forms. Saying yes to something that excites us is important. It’s a different modality and expression. It has its life force. Often with creatives, what happens is we go on this journey and it could be a few months or a few years and then the fire burns out. I think it’s okay. It’s part of the journey and then something else pops and then we take that. Sometimes concurrently things pop, but eventually, it falls away like snakeskin. The one thing that’s meant for us and still the one thing like what I’m doing. It looks like different forms, but it’s all about media and it’s all about visibility, the interviews, being seen on stage, having a microphone, having a camera, having a pen, it is that expression. It’s okay to allow it to be distilled homeopathically. By saying yes a lot, it becomes apparent almost with the nos are but the nos and the yeses got us where we are now.
If you also know yourself, who you are, where you’re going, what you believe in and what are the things that are important to you and you use those as a guiding light. If we understand what we like to do, what we don’t like to do, what we’re passionate about, what we’re not passionate about, it points us in the right direction. That is what a lot of people don’t take the time to do, either as companies or individuals to take the time and sit there and say, “What am I passionate about and what am I good at?” We were talking about focusing on the things that you do well. It’s focusing on the things that you can excel at instead of being better at the things that you bad at. It’s being able to focus on the things that you’re great at and be able to use those skills, strengths and passions to drive you in the right direction.
Reciprocity in a relationship is everything. It's not a one and done. It's a complete circular experience. Share on XI was at a networking meeting and there was a moment that occurred that was moving to me. It illustrates this point. It also illustrates what happens around visibility and why I teach what to do about the inner world. For many people, there needs to be an adjustment in the inner world. We had that moment as everybody does in a networking meeting, where you go around the room and everybody gets to stand for 30 seconds and say, “This is who I am. This is what I do. This is who I do it for and why.” Thirty seconds is not a lot of time. We’re going around the room. It’s a big room with people.
We got to this one woman who sat there and had to take a breath and it was surprising. I haven’t seen this happen yet, and she was close to tears. What she started to express was, “I’m a singer. I know I’m a singer and I know what I’m supposed to be doing but I have a block going on right now and I’m not doing it.” You could feel the pain. I felt drawn to her because of the bravery of being her at that moment. We had to go on because 30 seconds is 30 seconds. We went around the room. The meeting went on and we had different pieces of the meeting. We had a panel. It was wonderful. One of the great things about this particular networking group is they invite in a singer-songwriter and it tends to be the same one incredibly talented. This woman who’s been singing at the beginning of our meetings and at the end got up to do her thing again.
She’s good and they’re all self-written songs. She got up to do the last number and she said, “I’m going to do a song that everybody knows and I’m wondering if you would sing with me.” She looked out at the audience right at this woman who had been in tears. The woman said, “Are you talking to me?” She said, “Yes, I’m talking to you.” Before the woman could even process what was happening. We were all moving chairs so she could get up to the front of the stage. She went up and I knew because I’ve been a singer and I don’t know how you know these things but I know she was going to have a voice. She started singing the song and the woman meekly was feeding back now and then. Echoing some of it then she got a little braver and did a little bit of harmony, which was spectacular. She got more brave and started finding her voice and singing more and more with the singer.
It was a total mic drop moment. It was such a healing moment that this singer-songwriter had the grace to invite her up at that moment for transformation. She’s didn’t have to bust through stuff. She didn’t have to do therapy. It’s like, “You’re a singer. Did you get an obstacle? Join me. Let’s do this.” What people said was, “I’m coming back to this meeting because of that moment.” To step into who you are, why you’re here, what you’re great at, what you love doing and to own it. If you are all that, you’re also great at that. It’s the gift you’re here to give out to the world. Stop putting that light under a bushel. I got to see that first class and I was full of hugs for both those women for being brave and real and it was a beautiful thing to watch.
That’s a great story because there are two things that I hear out of this. One is the absolute phenomenal leadership of the woman who brought her on stage. She sat there and said, “I’m going to make a safe space for you. I’m going to allow you to shine and it’s not about me. It’s not about my ego. I know I can sing. I know that I have the talent. I’m going to help you come out of your shell and I’m going to help you achieve your goals. I’m going to give you a safe space to do it.” That’s true leadership, being able to give somebody else the opportunity to shine and that’s incredible.
The other part is the woman herself was able to overcome her fears and her self-doubt and be able to rise to the occasion within that moment. That must have been an amazing thing to be able to watch that from both sides. To sit there and watch somebody succeed who had that self-doubt, but didn’t need to have that self-doubt. All they needed was the opportunity to prove themselves. They were given it in a way that it was safe and it was reassuring. She had the audience there that was on her side. What an amazing story.
We’re all rooting for her. Everybody has that in common. The other thing is the resonance. At some point in everyone’s life and probably multiple points, we all have that. There’s a point where we’re putting something out in the world and we have that doubt. We’re in the spotlight in a big way, creating something new, launching something new and whatever comes up that wants to pull us back and stop us from doing that out in the world. We can all relate to that pain she was in, the gift she had and the duality she was living in until she finally said, “I’m up, I’m doing this. I’m in.” It was cool.
What an amazing opportunity and what a gift to be able to watch that happen. Let’s go back to you and how you help your clients. Helping people find their voice is an amazing thing. That’s what I’m hearing you say you do is being able to help people understand how to communicate their value. Not only to a larger audience through a microphone, but also to convince the people that run the podcast and the radio stations that they have a story worth telling. How do you go about helping people get to that next level? You probably have people that walk in and go, “I know I have a book in me. I know I have a story to tell. I know I have value but I don’t know where to start.” How do you help them start?
They’re different animals. The book is quite different than being interviewed. The book interestingly enough is a place I find most people have the most obstacles around getting started. People don’t know what they don’t know. Especially for books, the first thing I work on is their environment. Where are you writing? When are you writing? What is the commitment there? What’s realistic? How are you turning off all distractions? What do you have around you that is soothing? When you hit a wall, do you know what to do, where to go, how to get up and shake it? Go out in nature, take a cold shower, make a cup of tea, but you always come back and you finish up the commitment. There’s laid back accountability and knowing how much to write and how often. You start seeing and it’s starting to get done. There are pieces like that around a book. Around being interviewed, it’s much the same. I’m someone who firmly believes in architecture that I like to create a firm foundation. Once that’s there, we can work on the walls, the next floor, the windows, the wainscot, the roof and so forth.
For me, the foundation I have found with people is what your message is. It is amazing how many people get lost. I don’t know how to articulate who I am. I don’t know how to say it. I got to start right there. They feel confident and clear. After we do the message, the next thing that I work on is technical skills. What do you need to get a yes from a podcaster? You need particular skills around that. You need a pitch letter. You need a press media kit. You need to know what their show is about. Once we’ve got that piece set aside, it’s who you are being when you’re being interviewed. It’s super important. How do you show up to serve the host? Ben, you have a particular audience. They want to hear a particular conversation. I need to come to your show having heard other shows of yours, which I have, understanding who you are as a host and what you’re looking for and the people you attract. I stepped into that niche along with you and I serve you and your people, that I’m giving away content and value.
Once I understand that then there’s a lot of intricacies. How can I volley back and forth? How can I be succinct and then tell a longer story? How can I offer a statistic? I’d love to give you one right here. There are 57 million Americans who tune in to podcasts. Every year that number doubles how many podcasts are out there. That means there are five times more Americans who listen to podcasts than watch TV. Podcasts are huge and they’re not going away. If that’s true, then there are many shows with many spots for people who got expertise. They understand their market to be interviewed and to start speaking to their tribe and community. That’s why knowing how to be interviewed and doing a terrific job is everything.
I do firmly believe that when it’s done, it’s not done. Cross-promoting is important. You’re doing me a solid by having me on, right back at you buddy. I’m going to do you one too. I’m going to introduce my audience to you. I’m going to keep in relationship with you. I like you. I love what you’re doing out in the world, you’re terrific. If I see opportunities for you, I’m probably going to send them your way. That’s how I roll and that’s what I believe in. Reciprocity, relationship is everything. For me, it’s not a one and done. I teach my students it’s a complete circular experience. When you show up like that, it doesn’t always mean you’re going to get back from the source you’re giving to but you will get back, it always comes back.
It’s amazing to me where the reciprocity comes from. I got one last question that I want to ask you but before that, what’s the best way for people to get in touch with you?
My website is my name Debbi Dachinger, Twitter, Debbi Dachinger. Instagram Debbi Dachinger. My Facebook fan page Debbi Dachinger. I love to interact with anybody.
One last thing before you go. As you’re walking out the door and you get in your car and you drive away, what’s the one thing you want people to think about you when you’re not in the room?
I want them to know that I shined brightly and I also saw their shine and magnificence.
That’s beautiful. Let’s leave it there. Debbi, thank you for being part of the show.
Thanks, Ben.
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Debbi was a phenomenal guest. I love her energy. I love her passion. She’s great to talk with. There’s one thing that she talked about that I want to delve into and that’s opportunity. Too few of us take advantage of the opportunities that are in front of us. We sit there and take the safe route. We always sit there and say, “There could be risk doing this. There could be something unknown or something that’s around the corner that may turn out poorly.” People don’t take risk and I understand why. People are scared of risk. It’s natural. People are scared of change and the unknown. I don’t like the dark.
There are some things that I don’t like about, those scary movies, horror movies and things that pop out of the dark. That’s not my favorite thing, but I like taking calculated risks. I like sitting there going, “I know what we’re going to do. I’m not sure but this is a risk.” Moving to a foreign country, starting a radio program, starting a company, taking a job that you didn’t think you’re qualified for. Somebody else believes in you, why not? Life is about taking those little risks. Life is about stepping out of your comfort zone and doing things that are a little bit out of the normal, living a life that scares you a little bit. We should all be scared a little bit every single day.
Doing something that’s not exactly safe but it’s not terrifying either. I’m not asking people to jump off buildings. I’m not looking for people to go bungee jumping. I’m asking people to sit there and say, “What if I tried? What if I took the risk? What if I went down the right path instead of the left path and see where it took me? See what opportunities are there. It’s an amazing thing that happens when we go a little bit out of our comfort zone, the people that we meet, the things that we do and the opportunities that are in front of us when we do this.
When I took this from being a podcast to a radio show, now 100% live. If something goes wrong, that’s dead air. That’s embarrassing, but you work through it and you enjoy it. I like the fact that it’s the unpredictability of radio and that’s half the fun and be like, “That didn’t go well. How do I fix it next time? How do I make myself better next time and the lessons that I learned from it?” By taking those little risks, by moving a little bit outside of our comfort zone and sit there going, “What if?” We get opportunities that would never present ourselves otherwise and because of that our life is a little bit richer, sometimes we’re going to fail. Sometimes we’re going to go backward. Sometimes it may even cost us a little bit of money, but the experience is worth it.
The things that you learned, the people that you meet, the things that you do, the opportunities that you come across are worth it in the end. Now, you have stories. You have opportunities. You have experience. As long as we learn from our mistakes that if we sit there and say, “I didn’t like that because.” Instead of saying, “I’m not going to do that. That could be scary.” At least we tried. At least we went to a life sitting there going, “What if we tried? What if we took that little risk? What if we went that other direction? What if we invested in this and saw what happened and tested the market?”
I’m not asking you to bet the farm. I’m not asking you to change your entire way of life. I’m sitting there saying, “If there’s an opportunity to try something that you haven’t tried before, look at it.” See what it is. See if it’s better for you. The worst thing that could happen is you sit there and say, “I didn’t like that. That didn’t work out well. I learned this from it. Now I can move forward.” It’s an interesting way of looking at life. Sometimes the opportunity only presents itself when we take ourselves and give ourselves those little bits of risks. That’s what I ask of you is to take those risks.
Find something that makes you a little uncomfortable and do it. Try it and see what happens. It’s not going to kill you, trust me. This has been the Your Living Brand Live show. What I want to ask you is who do you know that has employees that are leaving them for whatever reason? Who do you know that have people that have this headache where their employees are walking out the door and they don’t know why? Who wants to retain and grow their rockstar Millennial employees? Those are the people I want to talk to. I want to help them.
I want to show them a way that we can work together and build communication channels. I want to make sure that their greatest employees, their greatest assets stay with them and become productive assets and great champions of their company. If you know anyone or you that has this problem, where people are leaving you and you don’t know why, you don’t understand why your best employees are leaving, talk to me. Let’s have that conversation because there are answers I’m willing to work with you to fix it out. Find me at YourBrandMarketing.com. I would love to have the conversation and we’ll fix it together.
Important Links:
- Debbi Dachinger
- Twitter – Debbi Dachinger’s Twitter page
- Instagram – Debbi Dachinger’s Instagram page
- Facebook – Debbi Dachinger’s Facebook page
- Charmaine Hammond
- Toastmasters
About Debbi Dachinger
Debbi Dachinger is a media visibility expert who works with professionals and entrepreneurs who are ready for the next big step. These are leaders who want to write a page-turner book, take their book to the guaranteed international bestsellers, and get scheduled on media interviews. Debbi has been featured as an ‘Icon of Influence,’ is a certified coach and a three-time international bestselling author.
Debbi gets her clients to turn their visibility into customers and become the go-to authority in their field. She is a speaker, has been featured on the cover of Spirit, My Authentic Life, and Published magazines. A popular media guest, Debbi has been interviewed on more than 800 media outlets and hosts the syndicated “Dare to Dream,” radio show, now in its eleventh year.
She was the keynote at the Women’s Calgary Red Carpet event; Global Influence Summit, the Business Success Summit, the Los Angeles Conscious Life Expo, and San Francisco’s New Living Expo.
Awards include: Editor’s Pick Featured Intriguing Creator, Successful Achievements from
Voices of Women Worldwide, and recipient of Heart and Spirit Award from the Evolutionary Business Council.
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