Archive for personal development

“You Are The Brand”, Is NOT About YOU!

By Emma on September 14, 2010 5 Comments

"It's Not About YOU"

It is so refreshing to somewhat be back from my brief hiatus. Well, I guess what seems brief to others seems like eternity to me! Honestly, I felt rather detached when I couldn’t get online and couldn’t connect with and support my subscribers and friends. It’s rather frustrating to see what’s going on, via my iPhone screen but not be able to respond to anyone due to time constraints.

During my self imposed break, I made a decision to utilize this time wisely and immersed myself in reading and listening to my favorite mentors on my iPod while I was packing our old home and unpacking into our new home – Dani Johnson, Joyce Meyer, Joel Bauer, Richard Greene, Mike Dillard, Tom Bell and re-read “Think And Grow Rich”, The Magic of Thinking Big”, 100 Secrets To Happiness, Never Give Up, Trust Agents.

As I listened to these wonderful mentors, there was a commonality in what they talk about which was:

“Increase your worth in the marketplace and the marketplace will pay for what you’re worth.”

How does one increase his/her worth? Well, I know for a fact that after spending tens of thousands of dollars and countless hours, increasing ones value in the marketplace means investing in these 2 key things: Personal, Mindset and Spiritual Development and SKILLS.

My good friend Jerry Chen just came up with an interview with Jairek Robbins and he gave me a distinct privilege to be able to ask Jairek a personal question and that was:

“With the limited time and resources beginner and somewhat advance entrepreneurs have these days, where would you say they should invest their available funds in – Personal Development or acquisition of SKILLS?”

My heart goes out to entrepreneurs who desperately want to learn and win in the online marketing game, yet found themselves very limited with time and money. Ironically, whatever little money they have to invest is spent in products that they don’t necessarily need at the stage in their businesses they’re in – resulting in overwhelm and overload and not getting anywhere.

How do I know this? Because I’ve been there… done that…

Everyone talks about “You Are The Brand”… what does that really mean? Does this mean you’re now free to talk about you and brag about your achievements? Does this mean you’re going to only share things about you? Does this mean it’s time to fluff your feathers and be the alpha bird you called yourself to be? Does this mean you’re just going to dominate the online world and make it all about YOU?

Absolutely NOT!

Here are 5 Ways On How To Effectively Use You As The Brand To Create Long Term And Loyal Advocates:

1) “You Are The Brand” is far from just talking about and putting the focus on you. Your focus has to be to help and empower others, whether is through empowerment, encouragement or inspiration.

2) “You Are The Brand” – is about stories about other people that you share with others because it ties with the message you want to convey to them.

3) “You Are The Brand” – is the community you create of like minded people sharing the same value and together you are able to lift each other up and come up with ideas that will benefit the community as a whole.

4) “You Are The Brand” – is NOT about being known or known about something but positioning those connection and relationships to engage others and create a viable business. With no business generation, it is not a real personal brand.

5) Last but not least, “You Are The Brand” is just a small piece of your marketing efforts. You need to be able to back that up with your own product or service that will benefit even just a small group. Having a “Marketing Funnel” which starts with your niche, your offering and your marketing flow is key.

If you need help with identifying your niche, I highly recommend Cindy Schulson’s “Dominate Your Niche” - this has helped me tremendously get clearer on my problem solution statement which has further helped me expand my brand to add value to a more targeted group of individuals.

Mike Klingler’s “Marketing Funnel Mastery” has helped me really understand that all my social media and marketing efforts were futile if I didn’t have a funnel that effectively ties together my brand, my product and my relationships with my subscribers and clients.

BTW, while I am thinking about it, many of you have been asking me where I am speaking LIVE next…I am proud to share that I will be one of the guest speakers at the Empowered Business Entrepreneurs Summit in Newport Beach on October 29/30, 2010 at the Ayers Hotel. This even is hosted by Alicia Bausley and Lisa Hanfileti – two of the most incredibly talented and generous leaders I have ever met! I would love to meet you in person and assist you in gaining more clarity in your marketing efforts at the stage you’re in… (if you’re serious and money – or the lack of it – is an issue, contact me and I will offer you my exclusive discount)

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE EMPOWERED BUSINESS ENTREPRENEURS LIVE EVENT.

Please leave your comments and share with me how this post has made you think about the meaning of “You Are The Brand” and what you believe your brand is and if you haven’t identified your brand just yet, I would like to find out what you’re doing to take the necessary steps to identify your brand…

As always, I am here…

Cheering You On To Your Success!

Emma

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Categories : Branding and Marketing, Inspiration, Leadership, Mindset, Network Marketing, NEWS, Spirit Driven Principles, Training, WordPress Blog

Finding Freedom and Peace From Letting Go…

By Emma on September 8, 2010 7 Comments

I soooo missed writing on my blog and interacting with you! I haven’t been consistently online for almost 3 weeks and I feel awful about not being able to reciprocate “the love” but at this time, we as a family have made a decision to:

BUCKLE DOWN…

RE-GROUP…

RE-ANALYZE…

LEARN TO LET GO

It’s Garrett’s first day of school. I can’t believe he’s now in 3rd Grade! We had the most amazing summer, despite the move and the busy-ness of it all! He has been the most amazing, most understanding and most tolerant 8-year old these past 3 months. While us adults go through the motion of coping, Garrett has remained steadfast, strong and at times was the one who comforted Daddy and I when we had moments of fear and doubts. It’s as if God would actually speak through him!

Many times I would have tears from frustration, defeat, disappointment, overwhelm and when he sees me, he’s quick to offer his shoulder for me to cry on and he’ll always say: “Mom, we are learning a big lesson here and IT”S ALL GOING TO BE OKAY because God promised it will be okay”. He knows that always puts a smile on my face.

However, there would be times when it’s his turn to feel sad, afraid, unsure and it will be my turn to offer my shoulder and a great big hug to assure him that things are going to be alright. In fact, not just alright but behind this challenge is a more meaningful and happier life that will bring all of us closer not just to each other but to our God who makes everything possible!

I have completely forgotten how it was to move and how long it actually took to unpack and get settled. Sure I could have chosen to just function and made unpacking secondary from work but I wanted to make this new home a HOME to ease my family’s transition. What’s interesting is that because our new home is smaller than our previous home, we have been spending more time together, making dinners, playing board games and enjoying the community hot tub and pool at night as a family.

The more time we spend together, the lesser we became attached to “stuff”. Oh don’t get me started on “stuff”. We moved from a 3,100 sq ft home but because of the storage Gary custom built in our 3 car garage, it felt like we moved contents of a 5,000 sq ft home into a 2,100 sq ft home! Needless to say, we had to let go of a lot of stuff! An entire living room set – recliner couch, love seat and easy chair, dining tables, refrigerator, over 20 boxes of clothes, 15 boxes of books, 1,000 CDs, wrought iron bassinet, top of the line strollers among a few. We sold some, gave away a lot more and disposed of 4 dumpsters full of stuff!

What’s interesting is that we had to learn to let go of our stuff with our “eyes closed”, otherwise, we would have made justification on why we need to keep them and what purpose it may serve in the future. When we got to the new home, I had a major overwhelm from the amount of stuff we still had! I just might have a Phase 2 with my purging efforts!

Through this painstaking, tiring and ever so consuming experience of making decisions which things to let go and which things to hold on to, I came to a realization that STUFF just doesn’t mean tangible things. STUFF can mean so many things that if you allow to accumulate will start feeling heavy… obstructing… challenging. The more new stuff you accumulate, the more you will forget what could have worked for you in the first place.

As entrepreneurs and online marketers, we are faced with decisions about stuff every second:

1)Which stuff to read and which to delete;

2) Which stuff to purchase or stuff to put on our wish list;

3) Which stuff to learn now and stuff to learn later;

4) Articles to write

5) Videos to make

6) Emails to send

7) Replies to comments, posts and tweets

Phone calls to be returned

9) Webinars to be planned, promoted and executed

10) Seminars to attend

11) Relationships to nurture

12) Business to plan

13) Clients to serve

14) Bills to pay

15) Trips to plan

16) Social obligation to fill

17) Service of God and others

18) Managing a home

19) Taking care of oneself

20) And of course, finding time for this stuff called FAMILY.

So, I dare you to look at your stuff – both the tangible and intangible and really identify where you’re spending most of your time in. You’ll be amazed that wherever you spend your most time in, becomes the priority in your life and you will find all kinds of reasons why that needs to be the priority in your life.

In my 2 weeks of introspection, I have finally found peace and freedom in letting go of a lot of my stuff… I was concerned at first that people will “un-love” me if they don’t see me actively participating online. I was concerned that once I detach myself online, I may never go back or that I might get so used to being a full time Mom and decide to not go back to doing what I love most…

Empowering entrepreneurs and helping them how to create a powerful online presence to:

Increase Influence

Attract Their Clients

Become Branded Experts In Their Niche

In getting rid of so much stuff, so much more blessings came my way by way of friends, supporters, JV offers and more opportunities! I want to take the time to give a special shout out to 3 people who took the time to write and blog about some of my recent posts, and one special lady who created a personal video for me on my birthday:

Don Fletcher’s “Struggling in this Economy? Time to return to Principles of Wealth and Happiness”

Kelly Baader’s Entrepreneurial Mindset | Inspired by Emma Tiebens | kellybaader.com

Richard Goutal’s “Internet Marketing Leadership Myths | #1 Leaders Have Wealth”

Susan Ordona’s “Happy Birthday Emma!”

To all of you who took the time to send me your birthday well wishing, I just want you to know that seeing your names and your greetings inspire me to this day. I look at each of your profile photos and your well-wishing and I send you gratitude and love constantly.

For you my friends who left voice mail messages, text messages, emails, Facebook posts and tweets and continue to understand and support the clarifying stage I am in at the moment, I just want to say my heartfelt THANK YOU…

I will be coming up for air sooner than later. Right around the corner is Joel Bauer’s 7-Day Profit Point Speaker Mastery and I will be one of the 50 who have been so blessed to be accepted by Joel this year.

I have learned to let go of so much and in doing so, I have made room for so much more. I implore you to:

Re-Analyze

Re-Prioritize

Re-Focus

I look forward to hearing of your progress…

As always, I am just here…

Cheering You On To Your Success!

Emma

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Categories : FAITH, HOPE, LOVE, Inspiration, Mindset, Spirit Driven Principles

Tags : encouragement, faith, Hope, Inspiration, Joel Bauer, personal development, Profit Point

The Price of Freedom… What Have You Paid?

By Emma on July 4, 2010 3 Comments

Happy Birthday, America! Happy July 4th! Every year, my family observes July 4th with a weekend “getting-to-know-more-of-America on the History Channel. Yesterday’s feature was Benjamin Franklin. I was so surprised that there was so much I didn’t know about him and the more I knew about him, I realized that he is the epitome of the most Creative, Brilliant and Influential Marketer ever! He was a Genius Inventor yet a Master Persuader who helped change the course of this country’s history! In the process though, he gave up so much all the way up to giving up his citizenship from his beloved England.

I myself was an immigrant from Manila, Philippines. Twenty one years ago, I my port of entry was San Francisco – I was a bright eyed, bushy tailed 20 something and with one suitcase in hand, I told myself: “Well Emma, you’re here now… what are you going to make of your life?” Sink or swim, was the answer! I remember this kind Immigration Officer asking me, “Young lady, are you here to go to school?” I just replied: “If I had the opportunity I will…”

The past 20 years weren’t all rosy – there were a lot of struggles, challenges, uncertainties, failures and tears. However through it all, my faith has always been strong. I have always believed that God created me for a greater purpose and gave me gifts that will enable me to help others and do well in the process… I believe in my heart that ALL OF US were called for a greater purpose and we need to figure out how to do good with it.

Benjamin Franklin called it: “Doing well by doing good…”

I meet many people online who share the common passion of helping others, and as attraction marketers, I see a lot of people who are natural at helping fellow entrepreneurs”. From speaking with a lot of entrepreneurs online, I also see that the most common challenge is monetizing their passion and the common thread is that they get into the mode of helping all the time that they forget that they do need to somewhat get paid for what they do! Sometimes, it’s just a matter of tweaking ones mindset and the money does follow!

As successful entrepreneurs, we always tell people – Do this, do that and you will experience financial, time, spiritual or whatever freedom a person is looking for. What we’re forgetting to tell them is that FREEDOM COMES WITH A PRICE. Just like Spiderman’s Uncle said “With great power comes great responsibility”.

The price of freedom equates to the sacrifices you make to get to the destination that will afford you your freedom. I would like to share with you the sacrifices I made to get to where I am now and let me tell you… these sacrifices have helped shaped who I am today and I look back with gratitude because I now understand what freedom means!

1) Leaving my family and friends in Manila, Philippines.

2) Working at Big Lots (used to be Pic N Save) to make $3.00/hr.

3) Learning to identify trustworthy friendships from complete strangers.

4) Having to declare bankruptcy in my early years in the US.

5) Spending hundreds of hours and dollars in Personal Development books.

6) Spending thousands of dollars trying different network marketing opportunities.

7) Spending thousands more in courses and traveling to attend seminars and meet industry leaders.

Making decisions whether to buy the latest purses, shoes and outfits in fashion or invest more in seminars and courses.

9) Investing over $100,000 in my jewelry business only to see it fail.

10) Many sleepless nights studying, learning, implementing and re-inventing myself.

11) Not having enough time for friends and eventually losing touch with them.

12) Sacrificing family time while away on seminars, conferences, private masterminds.

13) Being misunderstood by family members who don’t understand what I do.

14) Shedding lots of tears and having felt fearful that I was never meant to succeed.

15) Painfully overcoming the fear of rejection, judgment when I started my first video and I spoke in a group for the very first time.

While these are my personal sacrifices and the price I paid for the freedom I have now, these are nothing compared to the sacrifices our Men and Women in Uniform have endured so that we can all enjoy the ultimate FREEDOM of being in a nation where we are all given the opportunity to succeed.

My question to you is… WHAT ARE YOU DOING RIGHT NOW TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE FREEDOM YOU HAVE, TO MAKE IT WORTH OTHER PEOPLE’S SACRIFICE? Will you do something with your life? Will you get out of your desperation and realize that others already made sacrifices for you because you’re worth something?

To pursue the freedom true entrepreneurship brings requires a lot of sacrifices. Some of us have already paid our dues and maybe you have yet to pay yours. Just make a decision to start somewhere and start NOW… pay those dues, get it over with… invest in yourself… invest in knowledge and skills… become the leader you want to follow.

If it takes a year or two years to get to a level of freedom that you feel is comfortable, so what? Two years will be here whether you make a decision to choose freedom or not… Why not put it on a “lay-away” plan? Start paying your dues for freedom NOW! You’ll be sooo happy you did and yes, you can just thank me later…

Cheering You On To Your Success!

Emma Tiebens

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Categories : Branding and Marketing, Inspiration, Mindset, Network Marketing, Spirit Driven Principles, WordPress Blog

Tags : home business, July 4th, Mompreneur, network marketing, personal development, work from home

Why Worry Is USELESS and UNNECESSARY…

By Emma on August 31, 2009 No Comments

Here in beautiful Westin Mission Hills Villas in Rancho Mirage, CA for our family’s annual desert vacation. My family understands that while we’re here, I need to divide my time between focused and inspired creativity as well as quality family time just relaxing poolside, couch time, watching movies in bed, dining out and some shopping.

Having been here for 2 days now, I really haven’t had the time to sit down for that “inspiration” to create my video curriculum to kick-in. I just wanted to spend time with my family. Although I know that’s the right thing to do, I still worry about my commitment to myself and to the people waiting for my video coaching to be completed. So naturally, I started to worry that I won’t have a finished product by week’s end…

Well, at 5:30 a.m. today, in my Inbox is this Purpose Driven Daily Devotional by Rick Warren… I thought I’d share it with you as it has truly enlightened me and it is my hope and prayer that it does the same for you!

Worry is something you learn to do.

There is no such thing as a “born worrier.” It is a learned response to life. You learned to worry from two sources:

1. You learned to worry from experience. After years of mistakes, failures, and unfulfilled expectations, you’ve discovered that things don’t always turn out right. Out of these experiences you formed the habit of worrying.

2. You learned to worry from examples. There are many models around you. Studies show that children usually pick up their parent’s worries. Anxious parents raise anxious kids.

Since worry is a learned response to life, it can be unlearned!

The starting point for overcoming worry is to realize it is useless. It does you no good to worry. It is “stewing without doing.” Worry has never changed anything. Worry cannot change the past. Worry cannot control the future. Worry only makes you miserable today.

Worry has never solved a problem, never paid a bill, and never cured an illness. It only paralyzes you so you can’t work on the solution. Worry is like racing a car when its engine is in neutral; it doesn’t get you anywhere, it just uses up gas.

The Bible teaches, “An anxious heart weighs a man down” (Proverbs 12:25 NIV).

On top of that, worry exaggerates the problem. It plays on your imagination. Have you ever noticed that when you worry about a problem it gets bigger? Every time you repeat if over and over in your mind you tend to add details, amplifying it so you feel worse.

What’s the solution? Instead of worrying, talk to God about what’s worrying you. He is someone who can do something about it.

“Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life” (Philippians 4:6–7 MSG).

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Categories : Inspiration, Meaningful Relationships, Proverbial Success, Tiebens Family Updates, YouTube/Video Mktg

Tags : Emma Tiebens, Mindset, personal development, positive thinking, Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren, Westin