Sometimes I’m certain that Ralph Waldo Emerson is alive and well in my body.

From the moment I lopped the “E” off my name in fourth grade and fell in love with the spelling word “antiestablishmentarianism” in fifth grade, my life--like his--has been guided by nonconformity, and so have my businesses. I teach ideas and programs unlike others and teach my clients how to have businesses unlike all others.

I believe that we are here to contribute profoundly to the world—to leave a trail--but we can only do that by leaving the pack. Thinking for ourselves. Doing what others are too afraid to do. “Insisting on ourselves,” as Emerson said. “Never imitating.” No matter how uncomfortable or unpopular it may be.

Off the Trodden Path

In December 1996, I was given perhaps the hardest opportunity of my life to “insist on myself.” My husband had given me a book for Christmas, which I finished six days later on New Year’s Day. When I closed it, everything had changed. I knew two things with certainty--neither of which was comfortable and both of which would take me where there was no path.

The first thing I knew was that I couldn’t be married to my good, salt-of-the-earth husband any more. Many women get divorced, but a rare few leave “good enough” in search of “extraordinary.” I can tell you, this was UN-popular! Everywhere I turned, I was told I couldn’t and shouldn’t leave a perfectly good life that others would kill for. My own mind-chatter told me not to leave because life would always be so safe and secure if I stayed.

But I was compelled…because of the 2nd thing I knew when I closed that book: I had to change the world. For the longest time, it felt uncomfortable saying that out loud. But the truth is, there have never been any other words to describe the feeling and the vision that was born in me in those six days.

And so, a year later, I ventured out on my own—all dressed up with grand visions of change…but with no path at all appearing before me. The next few years were the darkest of my life. Loved ones urged me to take secure, well-traveled roads. But I hung back in the shadows, determined to “never imitate.”

A Path Appears

Finally, two long years later, a new path was illuminated for me. Told at a personal growth seminar that I would make a “great coach,” I stepped onto uncharted ground in 2001 by earning a certification in coaching through the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching.

Building a practice in a field most people knew nothing about wasn’t easy. But I knew the power of coaching and knew it was a stepping stone to “changing the world,” so I persevered and grew a consistent client base for over five years, specializing in interpersonal communication skills.

The Perfect Path Appears

I was at a seminar that was using adult learning strategies with us, and I lost my heart and soul to them.

I like to say that I felt my father—who had died when I was 23—pushing at me from the inside. A passionate minister, he had been an advocate for civil rights when it was not popular to be one, and I suddenly felt the same calling to stir up the status quo and inspire audiences that had defined his life.

I knew these empowering, untraditional strategies would both inspire and stir up the status quo!

So, I decided right then to leave coaching—and, once again, the pack—to teach them. I left behind years of course material and a book with a promising future because I believed so profoundly in the potential of these techniques to change the world.

And so I named my future business “Inspired Leadership Training,” and wrote the tag line that still captures my mission: “Revolutionizing the Way We Succeed.”

Inspired Leadership Training Is Born

I was certified in those adult learning strategies, then quickly expanded my education to include educational science and neuroscience. I synthesized a massive collection of data from both areas to create a proprietary system for leading audiences that “talks to the brain.”

Secrets of Impact & Influence was Inspired Leadership Training’s first program, and from the moment it was launched in 2007, has been a successful, popular training, drawing coaches, speakers, authors and other solo professionals from around the country.

But I soon discovered a problem.
The solo entrepreneurs from my public speaking training
 were hopelessly unclear about their business messages.

Nothing distinguished them; they faded into the woodwork. They couldn’t articulate the value of their service, and tripped over themselves describing the tangible results they delivered. And it was having devastating consequences on their businesses.

So, I returned to mymarketing roots--having earned my Bachelors of Science in Marketing and Advertising and then working in the industry for some years—and began helping them deliver their business messages as compellingly as they delivered their on-stage messages.

All of my lifetime talents, skills and education coalesced into the work I did with them. My:

• life-long writing acumen;
• years of coaching expertise;
• training and speaking expertise;
• knowledge of neuroscience and learning strategies;
• instructional design expertise;
• decade-long small business experience;
• comprehensive knowledge of personal and spiritual growth practices relevant to the clients I work with;
• and my lifelong journey away from the “pack” and into fearless originality
  

….are integrated into trainings that transform “invisible, bland” coaches, chiropractors, wellness practitioners and other solopreneurs into original, memorable and compelling businesses that prospects want and buy.

Brain-Sticky Institute is Launched

They focus on the development of Brain-Sticky Communications, which begins with original, memorable and compelling businesses, then move into Brain-Sticky:

1. Marketing materials
2. Information Products
3. Sales pitches
4. Presentations/Seminars

The new monthly membership program, Inspired Leaders’ Club, offers a home for “inspired entrepreneurs”--and a monthly teaching platform for sharpening the critical Brain-Sticky Communications skills they need to succeed in changing the world. Portions of all proceeds from this program will go to KIVA.org to accelerate the development of self-reliance in the world through greater numbers of entrepreneurs.

My blog, Escaping the Wannabees, takes the most critical aspect of Brain-Sticky Communications—fearless originality--and showcases businesses and individuals changing the world because they’ve dared to leave the hive.

And the Trail I’m Leaving…?

It has been a long road since I closed that book so many years ago, almost burdened with the need to change the world. If anyone had told me how long it would take to know how I’d do it—well, I’m glad no one did! But I’ve finally got it now.

I’m going to change the world by ensuring that you do.

My mission is to spawn a movement of bold, original, inspired entrepreneurs who revolutionize the world with their compelling, unforgettable, one-of-a-kind messages.

By going where others fear to tread, thinking as others fear to think, and saying what others fear to say--­we will change the world…together.