How to Create a Personal Brand That’s Impossible to Ignore with Nick Cavuoto: An EOFire Classic from 2020

0:01Light that spark fire nation JLD here and welcome to entrepreneurs on fire brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals with great shows like Success Story Podcast. Today, we're pulling a classic episode from the archives and we'll be breaking down how to create a personal brand that's impossible to ignore. To drop these vibe bombs, I brought to Nick C and to EO Fire Studios. Nick is a speaker, entrepreneurial mentor, and personal brand expert who believes the future of business centers on relationships and authentic connection. And today we'll be talking about understanding that people are not buying products and services that are buying you, and how to build an authentic personal brand by being real and raw.

0:41And a big thank you for sponsoring today's episode goes to Nick and our sponsors. The Next Wave, your chief AI officer, hosted by Matt Wolf and Nathan Lands, is brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals. Matt and Nathan are leading AI creators in your guiding light in the AI and technology frontier. AI technology is transforming the way we do business and the media landscape is fragmented. The Next Wave strives to be the leading podcast on AI technology and how you can apply it to growing your business. Listen to The Next Wave wherever you get your podcasts.

1:15Ever thought about giving a TEDx talk? It's one of the most powerful ways to share your message with the world. And four-time TEDx speaker, Taylor Conroy from Thought Leader can help you get there. Visit thought-leader.com slash fire to join Taylor's free training where he teaches you how to land a TEDx talk and spread your message to millions. Nick, say what's up to Fire Nation and share something interesting about yourself that most people don't know. Hey, what's up, Fire Nation? Good to see you guys and to be with you today. Yeah, so let me tell you a fun fact about me. When I was actually 22 years old, I decided to be a pastor.

1:55So I spent the first about six years of my career and really of searching and digging into what I wanted to do, what difference I wanted to make into the world. And most people don't know I was a spiritual leader before I ever entered into entrepreneurship, which I believe has given me quite an unfair advantage. Well, we're going to talk about that unfair advantage quite a bit today because you have figured out how to create a personal brand that's impossible to ignore. And in this day and age, there is something so powerful, so important in that, that Fire Nation, get out your notepads, get out however you take notes, because there's a lot of value bombs being dropped.

2:34So you help, Nick, personal brands, you help businesses, you help leaders find their unfair advantage. What is your secret? To be honest with you, it's really what I led with. And it is that incorporating spirituality into your business and allowing yourself to really dig deeper on that personal level of what you experience both in business, but also in life, in your family. There's this missing component of spirituality that I believe a lot of people kind of are starting to talk a lot more about. But here's the big idea. I believe that every entrepreneur has a mandate. They have a really strong calling.

3:15And I think that when we can step into our calling, what happens is the skill required goes up because we now see the bigger picture as the challenge gets higher as well. And now all of a sudden when there's high challenge, yet we have the skills that are necessary and we're also bringing this greater power and whatever it is that you believe, but you're bringing this greater power, this greater mandate, this bigger why. It's really the intersection in business that I believe for myself has been the most beneficial step that I've ever made in my life. When I actually left ministry, I left that life behind me.

3:52The sad part about that story after growing it from 1 ,000 to 10 ,000 people every single weekend, the sad part about the story was that people became a commodity. And where I showed up to give the greatest gift ended up becoming a place of where, to me was the greatest injustice. And so I said, I don't ever want to do that again. And really, I think the heartbeat of knowing that being with others and really pastoring entrepreneurs in a way, it sounds crazy, but mentoring them and being there for their personal life and also their business, that's the unfair advantage. I developed so much strength in my early 20s when it came to perspective and spirituality and understanding the bigger picture.

4:34And then on the other side, the business acumen of working with some of the world's biggest companies and personal brands has awarded me just phenomenal mixture. That's a unique concoction that I would absolutely call mine for advantage, 100%. What is your calling, Fire Nation? Do you have clarity around that area in your life? I mean, as Nick's talking about right now, this is your unfair advantage, knowing what your calling is with your heart, with your soul, with your core, and driving forward towards that. So what are the first things, Nick, that we should be doing when we're looking to build that personal brand identity?

5:11Yeah, absolutely. So the first thing that we want to focus on is understanding the simple fact that people are not buying products and services. And I know that's going to rattle a lot of people right now, but in the context of a personal brand, they're not buying products and services. They're buying you. They're buying your story, number one. They're buying your energy, number two. And they're buying your magic, which is number three. So the first thing that I really want people to focus on is what is your story? And there's a really easy way to frame this story for yourself. And so I'll just prompt you with a couple of questions.

5:49Number one is what was one inciting event in your life? for, what was an explosion that happened in your life? If you were to look back at your personal story, it's not your life story, but it is these moments as a founder of a business and as an entrepreneur, what was one big explosion? And I know for many of you right now, it's already come to mind. So the second question behind that is what was normal before that happened? And then what's the new normal now that you've learned your lesson? It's the best way that you can start framing your story so that when you are speaking on a stage or when you are hosting a podcast or you're on a podcast with a friend, you can tell consistent stories because what is brand?

6:33It's what someone says about you when you're not in the room. Now, I'm willing to make a bet that anybody who's listening right now who has heard Gary Vaynerchuk talk on a stage, you know that He's an American immigrant from Belarus, the former USSR, who came to America and was able to build his parents' business from$3 to$60 million. See, the story doesn't need to be complicated. It just needs to be clear. And he tells that story on every single stage. Every stage. Every single stage, right? So everybody knows that story about him. And when he's not in the room, people have context. So that's the first thing.

7:09Now, the second thing is your energy. And this is really straightforward. forward. I'm just going to empower a lot of the entrepreneurs out there right now who have those star personalities. And the big idea is that people buy your energy. People buying your energy. So let me just frame it this way. Are you filling someone's bucket when you're working with them, or are you taking from it? And if I can give you permission to show up in your power by just being who you are, by embodying who you are, a lot of people will tell me you're like lightning in a bottle. And I'm like, yeah, I just want it directed in the right direction.

7:44And so your energy is your superpower. There is something underneath the surface there that people go like, I just like being around them. And people are willing to pay for it. Now, the last thing and the final thing in this is your magic. And this is really like, what is the unfair advantage that you bring to the world? Like we talked about earlier, this has to do with your calling. This has to do with your mandate as an entrepreneur. And I think that's the epidemic is so many entrepreneurs are willing to do the hard work to win. So there's willingness, but there's a lack of intuition because we're told so often to follow the process and follow the structure and follow the intuitive, or excuse me, the intellectual process that we miss the opportunity to use our intuition.

8:28And intuition is that which is spiritual. So it's like just trusting ourselves in a deeper way. So much power here, Fire Nation. So many value bombs to kind of riff through this real quick. People, they're not buying your products and services. They are buying you. So go down this three-step process. What the heck is your story? What's your old normal, which is before that explosion that Nick talked about? What's your new normal, the after the explosion? And always remember your energy is your superpower. And then, of course, what is your magic? What is your magic? Now, Nick, there's so much noise out there in the world and everybody tends to sound pretty darn similar.

9:07I mean, they just seem like they're a watered down, pale imitation of like a Gary Vaynerchuk. You know, it's like, okay, like we get it. You're just not there. And they could really shift and have so much success if they learned how to build a personal brand that was to them authentic, genuine, and unique. Like, how can a person start going down that path? Yeah, if someone wants to build a personal brand and really step into being authentic with themselves and the gift that they have to give to the world, the first step in the process is understanding that being real and raw is better than being authentic.

9:48And that's got to start with you. And so many people find themselves in that space of, there's a lot of accidental entrepreneurs. They may have never really even signed up for it. It just kind of happened. And then there's a lot of people who spend time doing things that they don't like doing for people who don't care. And now when you measure that against the word mandate that we talked about earlier, like a deep sense of calling, it's an absolute injustice. So I think that you just, number one, have to give yourself permission. You have to give yourself permission to really search your heart and ask the deeper question of, what am I here to accomplish and what am I here to do?

10:30I often tell people it's every 14 seconds is your purpose. You're living inside of it right now. What do you mean by that? Every 14 seconds is your purpose. Kind of expound upon that concept. The big idea is that a lot of people kind of have this conversation of like, I'm looking for the deeper sense in why. I'm trying to find, how do I, Nick, how do I find my purpose? How do I find it? And it's the whole acres of diamonds idea that everything that you need is already around you. Your purpose is actually just living and showing up and being in a powerful state of who you are. It's not something that you can find.

11:07It's something that finds you. And so every 14 seconds is an opportunity. I guess I just use that analogy of like, you know, you have the opportunity every 14 seconds to look around you and go like, I'm actually in my purpose right now. I'm exactly where I need to be. And when we can release that, that sense of scarcity of like, we got to find it. And where is it? It's like chasing a cat. It's so elusive. And it's because the cat will come to you. You call it over. You don't have to go searching for it. You just embody yourself in a position of where it's of acceptance and it's of truth for you, for the difference you want to make in the world, and really just understanding that you're exactly where you need to be.

11:49Just stop judging yourself in the process. Give yourself permission, Fire Nation. Like what the heck are you waiting for? And then that acres of diamonds, I love that. Everything you need is already around you. Fire Nation, more value bombs coming up as soon as we get back from thinking our sponsors. We all know that starting a business is hard, but there are tools out there that help make it easier. HubSpot is one of those tools. and just one way HubSpot makes starting a business easier with their all new entrepreneurship kits. This all-inclusive kit gives you step-by-step guidance and frameworks to help you crush every stage of starting a business.

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13:50Find out how much at airbnb.com slash host. Do you have a message inside that you know is meant to be shared with the world? Giving a TEDx talk is one of the most powerful ways to share your message with the world and Thought Leader can help you get there. Thought Leader is a speaker coaching company that has helped over 550 and counting coaches, speakers, entrepreneurs, authors, and experts land TEDx Talks. Thought Leader is not affiliated with TED or TEDx, but they're able to get these results because their founder, Taylor Conroy, is a four-time TEDx speaker himself and past EO Fire guest. You might be thinking a TEDx Talk sounds great, but where do you start?

14:26Taylor has put together a free training that's going to teach you how to land a TEDx Talk in as little as 90 days. Join Taylor to learn exactly what TEDx organizers are looking for in their speakers, how to write a talk that goes viral once it goes online and more. Visit thought-leader.com slash fire. Join Taylor for this free training and get your message out of your head, out of your heart, and out into the world where it belongs. That's thought-leader.com slash fire. Nick, we're back. And let's be honest, content production, it's a tricky beast. I mean, people really do struggle when they look to create content.

15:06What do I create? How do I create it? what's the best way to improve our listeners' content production? The number one way for you to improve content production as an entrepreneur is by telling vulnerable stories first. And you're going to probably hear this go around a lot more. I think as people start leaning into personal brand, they understand that authenticity and transparency is really important. And there's actually 13 different types of content that every entrepreneur needs to be creating right now. And it starts with a personal story. And so when we lead with personal stories, I often will make the comparison of like, you know, relationships that you have with new friends or, you know, maybe someone that you're interested in.

15:49You know, if you go into a bar and you see somebody who's attractive and you just kind of like go in for the kill, right? It's not going to necessarily be the best experience. Maybe one out of a hundred, one out of a thousand. How many times is that going to work by just trying to cut the process of relationship building and get to a point that's really it doesn't feel good for the other person to just try to, you know, hey, let's go on a date. Let's get married today. You know, it's like, wait, wait, hold on. There's a process to this. But it's so funny because that analogy is so easy to understand.

16:21Yet at the same time, that's how we treat business a lot. You know, we're not focused on transformation. We're focused on transactions. And that's just not the way that personal brands work. So the first thing if you're an entrepreneur and you're creating content online, the first thing that you need to do is be very honest about your journey because it's going to create transparency and authenticity with your community and with your audience. That's the first thing. One of the next steps that you need to talk about is your personal philosophies and beliefs. So you need to actually be expressive about the way that you see the world.

16:55And that allows people to understand you on a deeper level. Now think about it again. The same example. You meet somebody. you're trying to find commonality when you do it the right way. They could tell you a really challenging story. Maybe they lost a loved one the week previous. That creates empathy. Empathy creates connection. And so it's important for us to share our worldviews and our beliefs and our personal stories. And then the last thing, this is just three of the 13, but I want to lead with this, is sharing about your lifestyle and allowing people to see how you practice what you preach, how you show up in the world.

17:31And so there's actually, like I said, there's 13 different steps. And so often we just lead with the call to action. We lead with, here's exactly what you need to do. You need to book a call with me and you do this thing. And that's just not the way the world works. The market is getting so savvy that you need to start focusing and doubling down on creating content that attracts like a magnet instead of using a megaphone. Tell vulnerable stories first Like lead with that fire nation be vulnerable be transparent be authentic and tell your personal Values your personal beliefs. I mean you want to be attracting the right people to your brand not just everybody to your brand the right people and You know as far as like being vulnerable The thing that really came to mind when nick was going through that is You know There's a story of this woman and she was in the fitness field and she was struggling because she was just like everybody else doing these fitness things.

18:24Then one day she's doing this live training video and guess what? She peed her pants. And you know what she could have done? She could have stopped the video and she could have erased it and she would have never talked about it again and disappeared. But instead she was vulnerable. She's like, you know what? This happens to me. Does this ever happen to you? Because if it does, I'm actually working on ways right now to stop this from happening because it's not that uncommon. And because of that vulnerability, she started an entire movement and an entire personal brand because she was vulnerable, because she was honest and transparent.

18:56And she went from getting zero traction, having zero success to becoming the acknowledged leader in a space. And that's Fire Nation, the goal to become an acknowledged leader. So Nicholas, talk predictions. Give us your predictions for how the personal branding space is going to play out this year and of course, beyond. Yeah, it's really rooted in this core thesis as far as where the market's going 2020 and beyond. You know, the first thing really is centered on the fact that content marketing is going to continue getting more and more important. You know, it's we're moving into this tribal space of, you know, groups being very important, you know, like Facebook launching Facebook group commercials during the Super Bowl.

19:37I mean, my goodness, that happened in February. And what a great indicator of where the market's going if you follow the money. So tribal communities are huge. And this is why my core thesis on this is really important. content builds relationships relationships build trust and then trust drives revenue so without you know having a massive facebook group or without spending thousands of dollars in ads you know you really can build that first you know a thousand raving fans the people who really trust you willing to buy from you willing to uh really be open to the transformation that you can provide in their life um they're right out there waiting for you right now just waiting for you to catch up so that's the cool thing is we have something to look forward to that we're running towards.

20:18But as far as predictions go in the next 18 to 24 months, personal brands will be the central conversation for marketing without a question. You can literally write it down, tattoo it somewhere because I know for a fact that it's true. It's already started, but we're still a little bit ahead of it. So Fire Nation, this is huge for you because you can get ahead of the market by really diving into this big idea. Everything online is becoming a commodity. right so if you look at agency world you look at products or services like it's kind of the quickest race to the bottom because there's repetition right and when something can be done over and over and it becomes very systematized the cost goes down and so this this kind of supply and demand curve of now there's a lot of people doing things with an internet marketing yet at the same time there's this opportunity this golden opportunity for you to invest in your personal brand because it will be the conversation it will be the central theme in the next 18 to 24 months in addition to the fact that the future of personal branding is literally right here, right now.

21:20Your opportunity to pull the future to get ahead of the game is here right now. And as everything becomes a commodity, the only thing that you're saving grace will be your personal brand. It's your reputation. It's what people say about you. It's your unique factor. It's your energy, right? Everything that we really started talking about, the prediction is, you know if you're in the entrepreneurial space coach consultant whatever it may be if you run an agency wherever you find yourself if you do not invest in your personal brand it is going to be the most vulnerable point within your business in the next 24 months and so i do beg you and i urge you and i want to encourage you because i sat in the place where you were at in 2015 and i sat and listened and followed the steps of awesome entrepreneurs and this is the reality of what happens when you can follow the process, when you can dig deep, when you can really find your mandate, find your calling and give your best gift to the world.

22:13Fire Nation, this is why you listen to this podcast. So you can stay ahead of the curve. So you can see over the horizon. Nick is laying this out for you. So Nick, bring it home, brother. Give us your biggest takeaway that you want to make sure Fire Nation really gets from everything that we talked about here today. Give us a call to action, how we can find out more about you, connect with you, then we'll say goodbye. Well, I think really the big idea here, guys, and gals as well, is that we only have two options in front of us. Option number one is you can stay really comfortable where you're at right now.

22:47And that's okay because most people stay comfortable. Most people stay in the position of where they're at, what they know. Sometimes it feels better to trust in the predictable, even if it's discomfort, than really lean into the next level. So that's option number one. You can just stay where you're at and be comfortable. Option number two is that you go all in and that you make the decision today. You don't wait till tomorrow. You don't even wait until this podcast is over. You make the decision right now that you're going to go all in on yourself, that you're going to go all in on your calling, that you're going to go all in on your personal brand, and you make a conscious decision to take a very bold step forward so that you can achieve the highest version of who you are.

23:31I will tell you that entrepreneurship, and specifically in the space of personal branding, it is not for the faint of heart. It is for those who know that they have something so much deeper that they can't even fathom the thought of not reaching their highest potential. This is the way to go about it and to accomplish it. And I'm absolutely, absolutely confident in that. So I'd love to talk with you. I'd love to chat with you. I'm very relational in my approach to business and life. I got a big heart if you guys weren't able to tell that about me so far. So you can find me on Instagram at Nick Cavuto.

24:05You can also find me on any major platform on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn. And you can also check out my website. It's nickcavuto.com. That's N-I-C-K-C-A-V-U-O-T-O.com. And I got a couple of freebies there for you guys Tuesday. So I hope you enjoy those. Loving all of this stuff. and Fire Nation, you know, you're the average of the five people you spend the most time with and you've been hanging out with NC and JLD today. So keep up that heat and head over to eofire.com. Type Nick, N-I-C-K in the search bar. His show notes page will pop up with everything we've talked about today. Links to his website, social media, everything that he said, but also the direct call to action.

24:45Go check him out on Instagram at Nick Cavuto. That's C-A-V-U-O-T-O. That's how you spell the last name. nickcavuto.com as well. And Nick, I just want to say thank you, brother, for sharing your truth, your knowledge, your value with Fire Nation today. For that, we salute you and we'll catch you on the flip side. Appreciate it, man. Thanks so much. Hey, Fire Nation, today's value bomb content was brought to you by Nick. And one thing that I've identified over the years, successful entrepreneurs, they are productive, they are disciplined, they are focused. That's why I created my best work yet, The Mastery Journal.

25:24It's a gorgeous faux leather journal that will ensure that you master productivity, discipline, and focus in 100 days, Fire Nation. Visit themasteryjournal.com and use promo code podcast for a$15 discount. And thank you for listening to my podcast. And I'll catch you there or I'll catch you on the flip side. The Next Wave, your chief AI officer, hosted by Matt Wolf and Nathan Lanz, is brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals. Matt and Nathan are leading AI creators in your guiding light in the AI and technology frontier. AI technology is transforming the way we do business and the media landscape is fragmented.

26:02The Next Wave strives to be the leading podcast on AI technology and how you can apply it to growing your business. Listen to The Next Wave wherever you get your podcasts. Ever thought about giving a TEDx talk? It's one of the most powerful ways to share your message with the world. And four-time TEDx speaker, Taylor Conroy from Thought Leader can help you get there. Visit thought-leader.com slash fire to join Taylor's free training where he teaches you how to land a TEDx talk and spread your message to millions.