IAM2881 - Use Your Story to Build Visibility and Help Others Grow

A lot of builders have a story they would rather leave behind. Maybe it was painful, embarrassing, complicated, or something they spent years trying not to actually talk about. But sometimes that story that you're trying to escape is the same story that helps someone move forward. If you're building something meaningful, you're in the right place.

This is the IMCO podcast. I'm Gresh and for over a decade I've had the honor and the privilege of learning directly from CEOs, entrepreneurs, and business owners just like you on How to Build. After recording more than 1,600 episodes, one thing has become clear, success isn't about following someone else's blueprint. And as I like to say on the show, if you run your own race, you can't lose.

Even when you feel the journey should be a straight and linear path, what I've come to find out is success is a lot more like a plate of spaghetti. So in this special segment and episode, I'm starting to curate and share some CEO hacks and CEO nuggets that I've been dying to share, drawn from thousands of episodes with phenomenal guests that have provided awesome value on the show, but also my 10 years of business experience as well too. These lessons are designed to strengthen the foundational principles that every business is built on and guided by a simple equation that we always go back to with our content Visibility plus resources times connections equals success This is practical wisdom you can apply almost immediately.

So be sure to check out the show notes for more resources and next steps on how to level up. And of course, enjoy this special episode of the I Am CEO podcast. A lot of builders have a story they would rather leave behind. Maybe it was painful, embarrassing, complicated, something they spent years trying not to actually talk about.

But sometimes that story that you're trying to escape is the same story that helps someone move forward. It's a powerful lesson and a reminder that came up through episode number 76 of the I'm CEO podcast with Vicky. She's a law of attraction business and book coach and bestselling author, speaker who helps entrepreneurs write and publish books that grow their impact following and their clientele as well. Now, Vicky shared that there was a point when she was literally trying to run away from her story.

She left home during a difficult season, believing that getting away from the environment would also get her away from the worlds and beliefs she had carried. Here's the interesting thing. The baggage went with her. And that's the interesting thing about baggage.

It usually will follow you everywhere. And here's the idea that I would run with and what she learned later on Sometimes we go through things so we can help other people move through their own version of their own story Think about it You go through whatever challenge there is you overcome that challenge by sharing your story It allows you that opportunity to help that person that's listening, watching, or frankly, that you're even talking to be able to get through their own challenge.

Now, that doesn't necessarily mean that everything painful happened only so it could become content. It means the experience itself may have created insight, empathy, language, and an understanding that someone else actually needs. One of the really powerful things that Vicky said during the conversation was that one of the most transformational books you may ever read is the one that you are actually writing. What really stood out to me is that she wasn't only talking about credibility or becoming a bestseller.

She talked about how authors heal themselves and heal part of themselves by going back through the story and sharing it from a place of vulnerability. For builders, keep this in mind because your story can become part of your visibility, but it has to connect to people that you're actually called to serve. Vicky obviously helps out entrepreneurs and business owners be able to align with that and understand exactly like how to position that. But the book isn't supposed to sit on the shelf as an expensive business card.

It actually becomes a starting point for conversations, media, videos, offers, deeper connection, websites. It can become so many more things that it can be repurposed into. But first and foremost of course you have to be able to create that And this comes up through the visibility pillar Visibility becomes more powerful when people understand not only what you do but why you understand the problem so deeply And a lot of times that happens while you sharing your story. During the conversation, she also brought up her nugget, which was patience.

It will probably take longer than you expect, but that doesn't mean it's not working. It's part of the journey, part of everything, really, that it usually takes longer than you expect it to. And then when you don't see the fruits of your labor immediately doesn't necessarily mean that it's not working. And here's what I really carry most during this conversation is that you don't have to stay trapped inside your own story, but you also don't have to waste what it taught you either.

So you don't have to stay there and replay over and over again what happened. You take the lessons, you don't waste it, you implement that so that you can go to that next level. And here's something worth considering and thinking about a little bit more.