Episode 17

full
Published on:

10th Aug 2023

The Secret Power of Mindful Marketing with Simona Ondrejkova

Spoiler Alert!

Here's the secret:

Marketing is a beautiful way to serve all those people who don't know about you yet. - Simona Ondrejkova

Simona's message is that when you view marketing as a key part of your mission, to serve, then it becomes a lot less of a "task" and more of an ally.

My special guest is Simona Ondrejkova

We are excited to introduce Simona Ondrejkova, an innovative Mindful Marketing Strategist and Copywriter who is making waves in the mindfulness community. Bringing together her business roots as a financial advisor and her innate interest in personal development and mindfulness, Simona creates marketing strategies grounded in authenticity. Her unique approach assists coaches and heart-centered entrepreneurs in overcoming their marketing challenges and aligning their business practices with their mission and values.

Marketing is a beautiful way to serve all those people who don't know about you yet. - Simona Ondrejkova

In this episode, you will be able to:

  • Dive into the dynamic world of mindful marketing designed to amplify the reach of coaches.
  • Overcome hurdles related to lack of marketing knowledge and pre-existing resistance.
  • Realize the importance and potential of sharing your unique story in progressing your marketing schemes.
  • Unveil techniques to understand and connect with the exact audience your marketing efforts should focus on.
  • Get introduced to the triple thread— connect, cultivate, create for a mindful marketing approach.

Learn the critical role of intention in marketing

When marketing feels aligned with your values, it becomes a mission rather than a chore. Simona emphasizes the importance of grounding marketing efforts in the initial motive of coaching – the deep desire to serve. Intention in marketing is about matchmaking your service with those who need it most, not just about making a sale. By integrating intention into marketing, coaches can create powerful connections and serve their prospects authent

Discover how to break down resistance.

Resistance can arise due to unfamiliarity or discomfort with marketing. Simona explains two primary challenges mindfulness coaches often face: internal resistance and lack of marketing knowledge. But rather than viewing resistance as a barrier, it can be seen as a stepping stone. Mindfulness strategies can help coaches learn to overcome resistance, display their value and build strong relationships with potential clients. Breaking down resistance isn't about force; it's about understanding, reframing, and moving forward consciously.

Connect with your audience through empathy and let your intention to serve guide your marketing. - Simona Ondrejkova\

Connect with Simona at The Mindful Copy Agency or on Linked In

She is a founding member of The Mindful Coach Association

Mentioned in this episode:

The Mindful Coach Podcast

The Mindful Coach Association produces this podcast. An association for coaches and other helping professionals who value mindfulness in life and work. The association was created to help create community, and provide resources and ongoing learning for those aligned with its published principles and practices. If you're aligned with this work, join us at https://mindfulcoachassociation.com or contribute to our work with link provided. All funds go directly to cover costs and growth.

Transcript
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So. Welcome to this edition of the Mindful The Mindful Coach Association. I'm your host, Brettt Hill. I'm a mindful. Somatic coach and the founder of The Mindful Coach Association.

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And in the association we have an incredible member in Simona andrakova a mindful marketing strategist and copywriter who's going to be sharing insights and tips on how you can attract more coaching clients through the power of mindful marketing. This is a topic I know that's of interest to a lot of our members and listeners. And she's going to show you how you can actually look forward to serving people through marketing without having to resort to the sleazy or salesy marketing hype that you hear so much of. And she's like completely about how to help you to get people to sign up for your coaching services without using those tactics. So she's going to introduce you to a simple marketing framework that's going to help you build authentic connections, cultivate deeper relationships, and ultimately create meaningful transformations through your marketing.

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Transformations through your marketing. That in and of itself is a whole podcast episode. Bringing her years of marketing experience for the mindfulness community and other heart centered entrepreneurs. Simona will share her best tips to help you align with your mission and your purpose with effective digital marketing strategies. Embracing the mindful marketing principles will help you not only attract more clients, but also allow you to serve them in a way that aligns with your values and creates a lasting impact.

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So whether you're a coach that's looking to expand your client base or an entrepreneur to make a difference in people's lives, this is the episode that you want to listen to, to take with actionable marketing tips to grow your revenue and have a positive impact. So welcome to the mindful The Mindful Coach Association. Simone. Thank you, Brett. Great to be here.

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I love the work you're doing and all the ways that you're helping to bring mindfulness and great practices into our world. Well, thank you for that. It's a pleasure because as I say to people in our meetings, it's like sometimes they go, oh, Brett, thanks for creating this. I'm going, well, why wouldn't create I get to work with people like you and others who are so inspired and so creative and so courageous. I mean, here you are creating The Mindful Coach Association.

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This mission in life is to help people like me and all the other coaches in the world and entrepreneurs who want to take things from kind of the old school hey today, if only you can yield by six. Not six, but twelve. Not twelve, but 24. Widgets if you just press the button, getting to something that's actually meaningful and powerful, authentic and real, that's a big leap. So how did you get inspired to create The Mindful Coach Association?

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Like, what is it that turned you on to this mission? And I'm going to ask part two of the question. Got you to say yes to stepping into that. Thank you. That's actually quite a bit of a long story, but I will shorten it to the main highlights and that's that.

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I've always been interested in personal growth, personal development, and mindfulness and meditation has personally helped me overcome a lot of challenges in my life. And in my previous career I was a financial advisor and when I went to Europe to travel, I was thinking, okay, what can I do that allows me to bring my business and marketing experience and combine it with my passion for wanting to help people on a deeper level? So I always thought, oh, I would love to make meditation and mindfulness more of a normal thing so that everyone could do it more accessible. And I was thinking, okay, I could do this myself or I could help all those people that are already out there, that are already serving the world with mindfulness and with meditation and with other healing modalities and conscious businesses. And I could help leverage my experience to get the word out there about what they're doing.

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Because what I saw was that so many of them are so great at what they do. They're absolutely amazing at guiding people and at serving on that one on one or group level. But when it comes to marketing themselves and business, it can be very challenging for them. So I'm like, oh, perfect. This is a great way for me to help the people that I really resonate with because all of these modalities have helped me in my life.

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And to be able to bring those two aspects together, to bring together marketing and mindfulness, because it can feel like they're opposite. But I have found that actually, they're not. They're not mutually exclusive. That you can use marketing itself as a mindfulness practice and that you can also use mindfulness to help you be a better marketer, to help you promote your work and to grow on a personal and professional level. So I loved how those two could blend together.

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And so I decided to start a copywriting agency focused on helping people in the mindfulness space. And that's what I've been doing for over three years now and expanding that to other conscious businesses that are doing good not just to help people, but also to help our planet. Wow, that's so amazing. That's a great story, and I just really appreciate you stepping into that, because the founder of The Mindful Coach Association I talked to a lot of coaches, and there's no doubt that one of the key common problems that these coaches have is how do they give voice to the passion that they have in a way that is in alignment with being authentic and not using these kind of old school tactics. And then also there's almost aversion to it.

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It's almost like, oh, I just don't really know anything to do with marketing. So what are some of the main things you found that stop people in the mindfulness community from being able to use marketing effectively, what's in their way that you could potentially help them with. So there are two main things that I see coming up, and one is more on the internal level. So there is this inner feeling of resistance, which I think is absolutely normal. It's something that I definitely felt when I started my business and something that is an ongoing practice to work with.

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So it's this feeling of aversion feeling of not wanting to put yourself out there or boast about yourself or not wanting to be hypey and salesy. And so I think the way to overcome that is to look at the other thing that often holds a lot of mindfulness coaches and other heart centers entrepreneurs back is that lack of knowledge of how exactly marketing works. Because it can be easy to see what other people out there are doing and to think, oh, this person is posting seven times a week on a social media platform and they're saying these things and these things, maybe I should do that. But that's a very narrow minded view of marketing. And so when someone invests the time to actually learn the entire process of how marketing works, then it makes it so much easier and more enjoyable to actually do it.

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Because you see the long term picture, you see that it is about building relationships. As cliche as it sounds, it's not about just putting together a program and then being like, hey, I have this program coming up next month. That's great. But when you enter this as a business, it's about putting on the long term business owner hat and seeing how one thing leads to another and how it really is in a way, like dating. Like you don't just come right up to someone and say, hey, you're cute, let's get married.

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It's about taking those little baby steps. And marketing itself is the way of just showing up as who you are and providing value, knowing what they want and marrying what you know, that they need with what you offer, and slowly, consistently talking about that and not being afraid to show up and knowing that that will result in that business. And so along the way to work with those inner feelings of ickiness about marketing, one of the things that I suggest is always coming back to the intention. So anyone that is listening to this right now probably started their business or their coaching practice because they want to help people. And this is the most important thing that I recommend always coming back to when there's an inner sense of I don't really feel like publishing this social media post or sending out that email.

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I don't want to bother people. If any of those things come up, ask yourself, why did I start this? And could this message help just one person? Have a brighter day, regardless of whether it results in business. Can I detach myself from the outcome enough to where I know that what I'm sharing is valuable and that somebody will see it, and that over time, if I keep sharing enough value that people will benefit from it.

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And it will build the trust and the likability that they will probably want to work with me if they actually need help in this area of their life. And then another thing is to actually use mindfulness to notice these things that come up. So to notice that resistance, to notice the judgment. And if there are any stories that you might notice arising about business, about money, about marketing, to be with them, to inquire into them, to see what does it feel like in my body to feel this discomfort or this resistance, and what do I choose to do in response to that? So it's being with it, noticing it, and then making a conscious decision, am I going to allow this fear or doubt or fear of judgment to stop me from serving people by letting them know about the ways that I can help them?

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Or am I going to do the thing anyway and let them know, like, hey, this is how I can help you. Knowing that, yes, there might be people who aren't going to respond or people who might not like it, but that's okay, because there's going to be the people who will love what you're sharing, and those are the people that really need your help. So marketing is a beautiful way to serve all those people who don't know about you yet. I love what you're saying there. And it's necessary often for coaches to go through this kind of reframing of this resistance to guess what I hear you kind of lobbying for or asking for is kind of, okay, well, let's take your mission to help people.

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And the fact that this is your voice that you're getting out there, this is your impact that you're trying to own. And whenever you do that, it almost becomes like marketing becomes a part of your mission. And when you can own it in that way, it becomes not only something rather than something that you're resistant to, it's something that is crucial to you living a life that realizes the vision that you have for your life, which is to be helpful and to be impactful with people. I love that. Yeah.

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Marketing as a mission, and you're right, it's an essential part of achieving your mission. And when you think of any business or even nonprofits, right, like a nonprofit can't be successful if they don't market themselves. Any organization that wants to help people has to be out there constantly letting people know what they do, how they serve, what they offer, and to ask to have that call to action and say, hey, if you want to be part of this, come on board. If you want to be part of this, donate if you want to be part of this, if you want us to help with this, buy this thing. And it can feel intimidating to ask for that, but that is part of taking that mission to the next level.

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Because it's one thing having the dream of wanting to help people, but in order to make that happen, you have to express and show up in the world, whether it's you personally or your team. If you have a team, that is an essential part of being visible so that people can actually find you. Because how else can people work with you if they don't know that you or your brand exists? Exactly. So I remember the moment, if you will, when I realized that I have to own letting people know who I am.

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And it was a group experience. I was doing some group training and it was very intense group training. And the way I would show up in groups before this training is I would come in, let's say it's a three day event and was doing a lot of them because I was doing somatic psychotherapy training at the time. And so I'd sit in the group and I wouldn't share much about who I was or my thoughts about things until about two thirds or three quarters of the way through like a three day event because I wanted to know the lay of the land. I was kind of in my head, I'm going like oh, am I safe here?

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Oh yeah, these people are this way. Then I feel good about. I'd really get it all mapped out. And then I would come in at the end really strong and it was kind of like out of alignment with the natural movement of the group, which kind of we're trying to organize around ending. And here comes this guy who hadn't said anything for two days, and now he's coming in.

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It was kind of disruptive and it wasn't working very well because what I discovered is that by the time we got that far along without letting people know about me and who I was, they all had stories in their heads about who I was. So they were making up things to fill in the blanks. And so if people don't know who you are but they know of you, they'll make up a story about what you're about, which may not be what you actually are about. And thou I'm working against false impressions rather than giving them an authentic first opportunity to have a good first impression. So by not speaking up early and often, I was not giving people the best opportunity to get to know who I was in a way that served me better.

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And when I had that AHA moment of like oh God, this is just I just need to speak up more, it actually took me into the digital world as well because I realized I've got to let people know what I'm doing. I've got to tell people what I'm about and I kind of need to shout it out there a little bit because they just don't know in a digital world. Otherwise it's not like we have brick and mortar offices these days with a sign know, somatic mindful coach walk in the front door here anymore. And so the work that you're doing is so crucial to that. That's a great story.

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That's a great example, Brett, thank you so much for sharing that. Because that's such an important illustration of how by not sharing, not only are you missing out on potentially expressing yourself, but the other people are also missing out on hearing what you are about and on hearing your story. And sometimes it can feel uncomfortable to talk about ourselves and we want to let others speak up, but it's in sharing about ourselves that we can cultivate these connections and to help people see the commonalities, especially as coaches. I see the biggest thing that I think motivates someone to work with a coach is that they see a shared sense of some sort of common history, some sort of common background or common pain point or common challenge. And if you're not out there talking about your story as a person then people aren't going to make that connection.

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Then you're missing out on the ability for them to see that you are actually the person that will help them. Yeah, thank you for that because I think that's spot on. So I wanted to ask you also, like, okay, so let's say a coach, they actually start to embrace digital marketing. What kinds of things do they miss in terms when they get started in order to are there mistakes that coaches make when they get started with this that they could avoid by listening to somebody with your background or your experience? So I think the biggest thing is that people often try to just focus on one way of marketing and it's always based on what they see others doing rather than really understanding their target audience.

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And so this is actually the biggest thing. It's not using marketing that resonates with the right target audience and often not even knowing who that audience is. Because I see this so much in the world of mindfulness and just in general the community of conscious business because a lot of us want to help others and we're like, I want to help everyone, right? Anyone that comes to me, I can help them. But the problem with that from a marketing standpoint is then your message doesn't.

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There's a saying that says if you're not talking to someone specific then you're talking to no one. And basically that means that your message is not landing as strongly with the people that you could be helping because you don't know exactly what they are struggling with and how what you're offering helps solve that. And I know sometimes there is a resistance against the concept of addressing challenges and pain points, but I actually want to address that right up front because without those, we don't typically have a reason to take any action to change our lives. For example, if I think back to the times in my life when I've made the biggest changes, it wasn't because I had this rainbow dream idea of what I wanted, but it was because I was really struggling with something and I felt like I really had to overcome this. And if I knew if I don't change something, things aren't going to be going well.

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And unfortunately, that's what causes us to take action. So when we know what we can help people with, then we can describe that to a point where they can understand it. And so once you have identified that audience and it can be based on often it's much more than just demographics. Often it's values or things that they've gone through that you have also gone through, then you can start thinking about what are they doing in their daily life and how is what I offer the connection that's going to bridge that gap between where they are and where they want to be. Okay, that's really great.

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I'm all about the connection, for sure. And helping people make that connection is really what coaching and in some ways is so much about helping people connect from here to there, getting to a better place. And I hear you exactly when you say it was the pain point, it was the need to get to a better place that actually gets people to take an action. Now, I wanted to ask you another question here in the lead in, we talked about a framework or what would you call it? Yeah, a marketing framework that could potentially help people as they begin to think about this.

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Can you tell us more about your approach to that? Yes, and this actually connects to what I was exactly just talking about with connecting to their challenges. So the framework is the three C's of mindful marketing. It's connect, cultivate, and create. So that first part is connect.

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And again, that means understanding who your people are. Who are the people that you most want to serve? Who do you feel called to serve based on your personal experience, based on your wisdom, based on your knowledge, and then figuring out what can you best help them with? And this is where I invite people to take a look at this through the eyes of empathy. So by using empathy and by empathizing with them, you can connect with them so that whenever you're writing something for them, whether you're writing a social media post or a blog or something for your website, you almost visualize them in front of you as you're writing for them.

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And you can really connect to their hearts and use your intention to serve them to guide you in creating your marketing assets. So that's step number one. Step number two is to cultivate relationships. So once you know who you're trying to serve, and once you figure out where they hang out online, if you're wanting to connect with them online, of course if you're offering services in person, then there's other ways to connect with people, putting out flyers and maybe physical ads and so forth. But once you know who they are, then you can start thinking about where are they actually hanging out online?

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Are they hanging out on LinkedIn? Are they professionals? Are they hanging out on Instagram? Are they hanging out on Pinterest? All of that is going to depend on who specifically you're helping and where they're most likely to look for the answer, including Google.

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What are they searching for in Google? So that piece allows you to connect once you've found them, then you cultivate the relationship by staying in front of them and by giving them something that shows your perspective and your value. So often in the world of marketing, I talk about this as the lead magnet or freebie. You might have heard it called different terms. But when someone comes to your website so first, let's say they found you through a social media post and they're like, this is interesting.

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I wonder what else this person does. So they click on your website and now they browse around, but they're like, okay, I'm busy. I got to go take the dog for a walk or something. And then they never come back to your website. How can you stay in touch with them if they were so excited to find you, but then they didn't really take the time to stay in touch with you?

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And that's where it's so helpful to have some sort of incentive for them to provide their email address. And this is again where you can provide value. Instead of seeing this as another thing that you have to do in your marketing, look at this as an opportunity to serve. So for example, if you're helping moms who are stressed through the tools of mindfulness, then you can provide seven tips for how to reduce stress as a stay at home mom or something along those lines. And then they can download that in an ebook where you genuinely provide your best ideas and value that is going to serve them right now.

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You could even do a free meditation or a free video, a free minute course. So anytime you see these things online now, you can be mindful of what's happening behind the scenes. It's someone who's trying to cultivate that connection with you. So you get on their email list so then they can stay in touch with you and update you on what's going on. Not really what's going on with the business, but more with insights and other ways that they can help you.

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So once they get on your email list. Now you can keep cultivating that relationship through the inbox because social media is way too full of things and algorithms, and the chances that someone's going to see all your posts are very low. But with email, you're much closer to them. They're much more likely to open those emails, to read those emails, and you have a chance to really be your authentic self and to speak how you want to speak. And then the last part of the framework is to create.

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So that means showing up on a consistent basis with value that you create through tools like blogs and freebies and social media posts. So it's this feedback loop of connecting, cultivating the connection and then consistently creating more value so that they see why you are the right person to help them. So then once you have that email sequence set up, for example, once they start getting emails from you, you keep creating value. And let's say on a bi weekly basis, you write blogs for moms who want to reduce stress. And you keep providing helpful tips.

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You send that out in your email and that's how you're creating that sense of trust. So that way, when you do ask them to actually sign up for your program, they're no longer going to think, oh, who is this person? This is some stranger just asking me to buy something. Now it's like, oh yeah, this is Simona. She's been talking about this for six months.

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I've been on her newsletter and she's always provided these helpful tips. Or I see her on social media every now and then, and I see pictures of her traveling and pictures of her with pets and dogs and things like that. And so you feel this connection. So then when you ask them to sign up for something, when you say, hey, I have an offer that could help you, and when you make sure that you word it in a way that actually allows them to see how it will help them, then they're much more likely to click, yeah, and buy. And that they're going to be excited to actually sign up for working with you.

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Because now they know who you are, they feel a deeper sense of connection with you. And even if they don't buy right there and then, they might at least book a call with you. They might send you a message, they might take whatever next step is logical for them to start working with you. And it's not always going to be the step of them seeing your website and clicking and buying. Sometimes it takes a while.

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And this is a great invitation to think about your own experience of buying things online, especially buying services like coaching, where it is much more of a one to one connection. How do you know whether someone's the right one? And that's okay. Cultivate patience. Yeah, that's a lot of wisdom in there.

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And I think I've seen too many coaches who and I had this idea, too, to begin with, whether they have something they want to produce. And they say, you know, I can do a class, I can do a webinar, I can do a training, I can do a group, and I'm just going to just create this thing, and I'm going to create a little bit of social. I'm going to step out, I'm going to do some social media. And they put it out there, and the first thing they do is they say, now sign up for my thing. And they haven't done any of the groundwork that you're talking about.

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And even though their heart is in it and they really want to be helpful, it can be so devastating when all you hear is like crickets from this heartfelt risk that you've taken. I've seen that happen a lot where coaches, they just get disappointed and they go, well, nobody wants what I'm doing. But what I hear you saying, and very elegantly, is to structure a way for people to get to know you so that whenever you are coming in with an ask, there's a relationship there that's already been formed over. A period of time. But that takes some effort and some planning and even some technology to kind of sort all out so that you can get the word out and create these relationships.

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And I'm going to put that in quote, because in the digital world, it's a really different scenario. I think in my particular work, I have really come to appreciate The Mindful Coach Association because we get together like every week and we talk and we get to know each other. And so I have found that because of the fact that I get to talk to so many people one on one or one on many, I should say, those relationships get kind of hydrated with actual connection. So that whenever I am offering something, people go, oh yeah, Brad, I know who he is. I've been in his meetings.

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And that has been really helpful for me in terms of my other offerings as well. It's not like I'm trying to pitch the people in my organization about my services, but this happens with me and also happens with others in the organization where they go, oh yeah, we know about Simona. She just does this great work and we've talked to her, we've seen her, we've heard from her work, and you just feel good about the people. You want what they have. So I really appreciate you naming that as a conscious way that coaches can build a marketing effort, a marketing platform.

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And you are a great example, I think, to everyone out there with everything you're doing with The Mindful Coach Association, for example, I know that's been something that you've built over time, maybe. I know you've gotten a lot of members in a relatively short amount of time. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. Right underneath that was you showing up. You're doing so many other things.

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Like the Future Is Mindful Summit, right where I first came across you and the work you're doing. And then you kept showing up. You kept showing up in my feed with helpful tips and insights. And that's eventually how I learned about The Mindful Coach Association. And I'm sure a lot of people are probably in a similar boat.

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And so that's a great example of how sometimes you never know that one thing that you do to show provide value is going to lead to something else, but it might be in months or even years down the road, but you're staying consistent with it and helping people. Yeah, it's a long game is a story here. Unless you can bring like a boatload of advertising cash to the table, it's a long game. And a lot of coaches are in the framework or in the position where they need to play the long game for this to work effectively. One last question and boy, this is a big this is like saying and about the Pacific Ocean, what about AI?

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Like, AI is coming in so strong into our world. And I know you and Mark Montelbaum, who I had the pleasure of working with, he's a colleague of mine, we did the The Mindful Coach Association. It was almost two years ago, I think it was so fun. And you did something with him, a little event where you invited a bunch of people to talk about AI. So I know this is top of mind for you.

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What are your thoughts? What are you thinking about the impact of AI in the coaching and marketing and mindfulness world? That is indeed a very big question, but I think an important one to address. Yes. The event that you're talking about that Mark and I hosted was called Mindful GPT.

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So it's know how can we combine chat GPT with being mindful? And I believe that AI isn't going anywhere. So if we're going to be around in the business world, then we have to understand how it works and we can actually leverage it to our benefit and for the benefit of the people we want to serve. So if we're using it consciously, then I think it can be a great tool to serve the world. So I like to compare it to any other thing that sometimes people are afraid could hurt people.

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So, for example, money or business, right? It depends on who is using the money or who is running a business and how is it going to be used. If it's used by a person with good intentions who truly wants to serve people, then that person will find ways to make sure that they use it in a conscious and loving way. If it's used by someone who doesn't have good intentions, then the outcome might not be as good. But the great thing, the hope that I see that I'm excited about in this world is that there are people like us, and I think like a lot of the people listening to this podcast who have truly good intentions.

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And so when you give them a tool, whether it's AI business or money, they will use it to do good. And so with AI, it's just once we teach enough people how to use it in ways that make their life easier, then if they can use that in alignment with their values, then things will be okay, and AI will actually open the doors to them. Being able to do so much more in so much less time than they ever thought was possible. So I think it's cool and we just have to keep aligning with ourselves, with our heart as we use it. Yes, that's great advice because I think that's crucial to really be mindful about how this emerging technology is showing up in our world and what's the impact on me and my there's.

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Right now we're in this I could go on for an hour about this, but I'll resist the impulse. But I will say that right now we're in this phase of where AI is being viewed as a productivity tool and with good reason because there is a lot of value in the services that are out there. For example, in this podcast I have a service that I use where I take and I take the whole show, I throw it into an AI and it generates a LinkedIn post, a blog post, it generates the show notes, it gives me a timestamp thing of all the topics summaries about, you summaries about, it's incredible. And I just really enjoy using tools like that to facilitate because now I take them and I fine tune them. But it does all the hard work of finding good quotes to work with and all that kind of stuff that I can use for the podcast show.

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So those are the kinds of productivity tools, they're very valuable. And I also have one other story about using Chat GPT. One of the things I discovered is it's really good for this kind of productivity work, but it's not very good at all for research. And I asked it one time, I said, so is there research to support that? Mindfulness helps coaches.

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I said oh yeah, here's like these seven studies which support and it had this great argument and it was like wow, these are really good. And Joan and Brown did at the University of Kentucky this researcher, okay, go look. And I'm making up that as an example, but he gave me these seven research articles and I went and said, okay, let me go read these articles. And it turned out that not a single one of those articles actually existed. And I'm going well wait, what?

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And I noticed that. Somatically I really wanted this to be true. I was just invested in the authority of this presentation. It's like, wow, this is really and I'm organized around, wow, this is really something. And then I come to find out it's a good argument that has no backing.

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And so I realized right then a big huge limitation and I noticed that I really wanted to make it true and so finding out it wasn't so was a disappointment and I thought, oh my gosh, well that's true for me. How true is that for so many others? And then, lo and behold, a week later, I read about an attorney who had filed a brief with the court based on chat GPT output. And it had cited these things. And the judge said, these don't exist, this isn't actually and so that attorney had done what I had done, which said, wow, this is awesome, and had all this backing citations and stuff, which were legit.

::

So it was a big lesson and I hope readers can take, or listeners can take away, that there's a framework here for AI that we have to be thoughtful and mindful about. There's great ways it excels and there's ways that it doesn't and it's an evolving technology that's going to be with us forever in ways that we can't even imagine right now. Yeah, that's great. Thank you Brettt, for mentioning that. That's really for especially anyone that's starting out with Chat GPT or AI is don't take it at surface value.

::

Question everything and make sure that you do research, especially if it's something that's related to actual research and statistics to back things up. One of the things I love about Chat CPT is that I can use it for things that to help I create a lot of content and I know you do too. So for example, before we started talking, I was updating your bio on the podcast thing and it's about 200 characters too long for the form and I'm going, so take that whole bio, throw it in a Chat GPT and say, make this 200 characters shorter. And it just does and I don't have to do the work and it keeps the same tone of ten. That's the kind of thing that it's really good at and it saves me 15 minutes of having to read through every line and make sure everything's fine and the outcome is actually really very good.

::

So those are the kinds of things that when we start to get more into the world of needing to produce content, that it can really be helpful with, well, I could talk to you for days because it's so we just have the best time. And I'm so grateful for the work that you're doing and helping entrepreneurs and coaches become who they can be in the public eye and facilitate their mission. And I'm so proud to have you as a member of The Mindful Coach Association and we're going to speak to the group. I'll be having a special event at some point, put that on the calendar and have you come and talk to people in a meeting that we're for members. So if you want to come to that meeting whenever we get it on the calendar and you want to find out about it, then go to The Mindful Coach Association and sign up.

::

Account is free and you'll be in the loop on all the goodness that we have coming from Simona and other experts in the world and we hope we can see you there. So what do you have coming up? How can people find you? Do you have any special offers that you can put out there? Events that you're working on that people need to find out about?

::

Thank you. Yeah, there is actually one event coming up in September and it's called The Mindful Coach Association. It'll be on September 22 and there is more information about it both on my LinkedIn page and on my website. And I also have an online Marketing for The Mindful Coach Association course that actually walks The Mindful Coach Association and mindful coaches through marketing using that framework that I touched on earlier, the Connect, Cultivate, create and how to actually execute each of those points. So if you would like to check that out, you can visit my website that's WW mindfulcoppyagency.com or connect with me on LinkedIn.

::

Just type in my name. Simona. S-I-M-O-N-A. My last name is kind of hard to remember, but I'll spell it out here or you can probably paste the link in the show notes. That might be easier.

::

Yeah, we'd love to connect with all of you and so look forward to being in touch with everyone in The Mindful Coach Association. And yes, would absolutely love to share some more wisdom there with the members as it relates to marketing. Thank you so much for the work that you're doing, the vision that you have and the way that you're bringing it to the world so consciously and powerfully. So it's great having you on the show and we're looking forward to doing this again sometime, I hope, in the near future. Sounds good.

::

Thank you so much, Brett. I appreciate it. Thank you for having me.

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About the Podcast

The Mindful Coach Podcast
Supporting Community & Success For Coaches Who Value Mindfulness in Life and Work
Mindful Coaching is not just a skill; it's a movement.

In a world obsessed with "getting more done," many feel the urgent need to help people in a more profound way.

And many of us have found that the more mindful we are in our life and work, the better or experience of life and the quality of our work. We make better decisions and inspire deeper connections in ourselves and others because we are committed to being more deeply connected with ourselves and the world.

In becoming a professional coach and coach trainer, I experienced (and still do!) a great deal of hype and predatory marketing targeting coaches. So, I created The Mindful Coach Association. A safe haven and community of mindful professionals where we can connect, collaborate, and support each other in our learning, lives, and success. Free from the constant drone of mastermind pitches and promises of instant wealth.

As the founder of the association, I talk to a lot of coaches.

One day, after listening to a particularly inspired coach doing great work with the LGBTQ+ community and also hearing from another working with immigrant populations to help them adapt to a new culture, I felt like wow - "People really need to hear about this work."

But there is no venue for coaches who are doing amazing, important work but aren't publishing books, doing podcasts, TV shows, selling out masterminds, and "crushing 7 figures."

And if you take the many thousands of inspired, courageous coaches doing great work with challenged populations - this is a mighty force indeed - but one that has no voice.

The Mindful Coach Podcast was created to give a voice to those incredible coaches whose work is unheard and unheralded.

Now you can hear their stories of great work that is going on in the world, work that you may not otherwise encounter -and be inspired as I have by the collective goodness that's blossoming in the world.

And you are a part of this work!

Beyond these stories, the podcast is a gateway to a vibrant community - The Mindful Coach Association (https://mindfulcoachassociation.com) Here, you'll have the opportunity to engage in enriching conversations with our guests and fellow mindful professionals during our weekly meetings. It's a safe, collaborative space where individual actions culminate into a powerful, unified force. No upsells or pitches.

Moreover, this podcast is designed to aid in the growth of your practice. We introduce you to exceptional services and cutting-edge technologies, including AI, to enhance your productivity and success. Additionally, a coach is always growing their skills so you'll gain invaluable insights and practical tips from experts in new and powerful coaching modalities.

If you're a coach or helping professional and interested in mindful-somatic work, check out my website at The Mindful Coach website at https://themindfulcoach.com

Tune in, leave a review, and become part of the Mindful Coach Association. Together, we amplify our impacts, elevating not only each other but also our clients and the world at large.

Together, we are a mighty force.
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About your host

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Brett Hill

I'm a mindful somatic coach and coach trainer. I'm on a mission to help coaches be the best they can be, and the best way I know to do that, is to promote and encourage coach mindfulness. I created the Mindful Coach Method to help coaches learn the many great techniques and practices I've had the good fortune to learn and employ over the years.

But my interests go beyond training coaches and private practice.

I founded the Mindful Coach Association so coaches and other helping professionals who value mindfulness in their work can connect and collaborate. To help members be successful and tell their stories to the world. I launched the Mindful Coach Podcast.

Strangely enough, my interests in mindful communication align with my passion for technology.

After graduating with a degree in interpersonal communication, I became a technology expert and enjoyed a distinguished technical career. I frequently presented at technical conferences worldwide for companies like Microsoft, authored books, and was awarded Microsoft’s distinguished “Most Valuable Professional” award for nine years.

All my life I've been fascinated with how things actually work. That means looking deeply and seriously inside as well as at the world. How do our minds work? What are the limits of the human capacity to learn and understand? What creates unhappiness or joy?

I studied many inner practices, from common forms to very esoteric. I taught mindfulness and meditation in many forms. One of my most immersive studies was in Hakomi, a mindfulness-based somatic psychology, with founder Ron Kurtz. Also group dynamics under the guidance of Amina Knowlan, creator of Matrix Leadership. In addition, I taught beginning and advanced meditation for several years at the Lotus Center in Okla. City and established the Quest Institute meditation center in Dallas.

After obtaining several coach certifications, I created and teache The Mindful Coach Method to help “bridge the gap” so coaches can experience and use coaching presence, coach-centered mindfulness, and the somatic techniques he has found so essential in his work, yet are often missing in coach training.

I'm on a mission in my work as a coach, teacher, speaker, and author to help people be more present and connected to their authentic voice, and the world itself. I specialize in mindful communications and coach training so we can connect authentically, speak truly, and listen deeply. What does the world need more than this?

Certifications include International Coaching Federation, Somatic-Wellness & Mindfulness Coach, and Mindful Facilitator by the Institute for Organizational Mindfulness. He’s also an alumnus of the Inner MBA by Sounds True, and has hundreds of hours of training in Hakomi, Matrix Group Leadership, Martial Art, Contact Improvisation, and others.