June 3, 2025 • 33 mins
What if the only thing standing between you and massive author visibility was the belief that you're not ready yet?
Allison Lane is joined by Ashley Stahl, TED and TEDx speaker coach, bestselling author, and founder of Wise Whisper Agency to dismantle the myths about readiness, career pivots, and what it takes to get your message seen. If you’ve ever felt stuck wondering when to launch your book, start your podcast, or finally pitch that stage, you’ll find your fire here.
Tune in to reverse engineer your author marketing and step into the visibility you've been craving.
What You’ll Learn:
- Why clarity and storytelling, not hustle, build real author visibility.
- The biggest mindset shift to make when launching your book or speaking career.
- How to find and package your message for TEDx, keynotes, and beyond.
Resources Mentioned:
- Ashley Stahl’s Agency: https://wisewhisperagency.com/
- Ashley Stahl’s Book: You Turn: Get Unstuck, Discover Your Direction, and Design Your Dream Career: https://bookshop.org/a/55773/9781950665693
- Ashley’s Podcast, You Turn Podcast: https://wisewhisperagency.com/podcast-page/
- Book Reco: The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: A Pocketbook Guide to Fulfilling Your Dreams by Deepak Chopra: https://bookshop.org/a/55773/9781878424716
Timestamps:
- [3:15] The truth about not needing permission to shift careers.
- [15:42] How to identify your most original idea for a TEDx talk.
- [24:18] The secret to turning one idea into a movement.
- [37:05] Why speaking for free can jumpstart your author visibility.
- [45:50] What happens when you believe it’s possible, real client results.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Ashley (00:00):
There is always room on top for you to make the biggest
(00:03):
impact as long as you know whereyour gift is and you're
cultivating it.
Allison (00:40):
Welcome back to the Author's Edge.
I am your literary Sherpa,Alison Lane here, and I gotta
say, I am hearing from a lot ofyou of how do I make this shift?
Or I've reached the top of mycareer and now I'm doing things
that keep me from doing what Iliked about my career.
(01:01):
You don't have to wait forpermission to do what you wanna
do next.
And shocker, you don't have toearn your right to do what you
do next.
You don't yet even have tojustify it.
And I want to explain that in away that one opens the door.
(01:23):
Because you don't needpermission and the door was
never there.
Also, if you think well, Ishould have done this 10 years
ago, there's no timeline forchange.
You're not behind the eightball.
There is no eight ball.
And if you're waiting for thatperfect moment to start sharing
your message or getting onstages, if you have always
(01:43):
thought I should be doing a TEDTalk, like there is no should,
there's just, what are you gonnado now?
All of this is possible.
You don't need to justify yourchange or how you are expanding
because we don't have to do thatanymore.
Isn't it great?
Oh, it's so freeing.
(02:04):
Today, I'm so happy that we'rejoined by Ashley Stahl, who is,
aside from being a spectacularbadass, she is a
counter-terrorism professional.
Turned career coach andbestselling author and keynote
speaker.
(02:24):
And if anyone can shake youvirtually and show you that
there is a way, it's Ashley.
So, Ashley, thank you so muchfor coming.
I am so glad that we met andthat I took that picture of you
in the hallway at the summitbecause I think people, they
(02:44):
don't realize that you don'tneed to earn your way to expand
your ripple effect.
Ashley (02:54):
Yeah.
A lot of us have gifts and Ifeel like knowing what our gift
is really a super highway tohaving a career that we want,
and so many people are focussometimes on asking themselves,
what am I passionate about orinterested in.
Versus what am I really good atand how do I get better at that
thing?
And how do I offer something tothe world that is tied to that
(03:15):
thing that I'm so good at?
And how do I pour my time intojust being magical?
And for me, agency helped craftmore than a hundred signature
talks, a lot of them for theTEDx stage.
We've helped book a lot ofclients, help them secure their
spots on many stages, includingthe TEDx stage.
And what I've found over andover again is that when we hire
(03:39):
people, we hire writers, andit's some of the best writers of
our time having written showslike Grey's Anatomy or White
Lotus, or shows like that, someshows that I grew up watching.
These writers that we have arenot struggling and they're some
of the highest paid talent inthe world for writing.
And you know, one of'em wastelling me the other day, she
(03:59):
gets paid 50,000 for one episodeof television and it's 48
minutes, which is 16 pagestyped.
I just think in word counts.
But I'm like, okay.
There is always room on top foryou to make the biggest impact
as long as you know where yourgift is and you're cultivating
it.
Allison (04:20):
People don't know what their gift is.
They need to justify it.
But want people to understandthe old way of making a career
shift was that you were toldmake a list of your transferable
skills, which still sounds likeyou have to justify.
I have the skill, and that's notsomething that we're taught to
(04:41):
think bigger than your jobdescription.
And it's okay to make the leapof what do you do naturally?
That's good.
People don't, they often don'tsee what's so special about
them.
But you've made this incrediblepivot from national security to
(05:01):
helping people develop theirplatform, stepping into their
voice, stepping on stage.
Understanding that there is anaudience of people who are eager
for what they can share andhelping them strengthen their
(05:22):
credibility.
Ashley (05:23):
Mm-hmm.
Allison (05:24):
Just for themselves.
Like how many times have youheard, I wouldn't really call
myself an expert like you don'tget to decide what people call
you.
If we think you're an expert,you are, and who are you to tell
me, no.
I mean, it's kind of rude,right?
So, you've made this incrediblepivot.
What did that journey show youas possible when it comes to
(05:49):
personal power?
Ashley (05:51):
I mean, A lot of people don't know what their gift is to
answer that piece of it.
Because they spend a lot of timebeing somebody they're not, and
they make a lot of commitments.
Doing things that they don'tactually wanna do because they
have limiting beliefs that tellthem that this is the way to
succeed or get by in the worldthat we live in.
And so, I think anybody whowants to get closer and more
(06:13):
connected to their gift needs toask themself, am I believing
about myself, about the world,about life that is getting me to
choose the thing I'm choosingthat doesn't feel good for me,
that doesn't feel like me, thatdoesn't feel like it's my gift?
And do I wanna keep believing itor am I willing to see things
differently?
Because there's a wholepopulation of people out there
(06:34):
that would say that they're veryin line with their purpose.
And what they really wanna bedoing.
And work isn't always yourpurpose, by the way.
Like for the new mother, havinga baby is the purpose or
whatever it is.
But there's a whole slew of thepopulation, section of it that
is totally in its purpose andthat is not struggling with
(06:56):
their gift.
And at any given moment we havethe opportunity to become owners
of our life even more.
So, I think asking yourself thisquestion is really what they
mean when they say do the work,right?
Like the work of what are thethoughts, what are the beliefs?
Do I wanna keep them anymore?
Do these work for me?
So, I say that's the start.
You asked me something else andI completely just went on a
(07:18):
whole rampage here.
Allison (07:20):
I think non sequiturs are good.
Especially if, because thingsneed to be said.
I think I asked you.
What can we learn about personalpower?
What's possible?
What did you learn?
Ashley (07:35):
I think the biggest thing that I've learned over and
over again is that you canchange your life at any time.
You can change it all the way.
You can wake up tomorrow andsay, who I've been this whole
time, I'm not gonna be thisperson anymore.
You can actually literally havea completely different reality
in a very quick amount of time.
I worked in national securityduring the Obama administration
(07:56):
and I had this moment on amilitary base where I just
realized like, this isn't whereI wanna be and this isn't the
path for me.
The next week I was in LosAngeles, no longer in that
career.
And all my box were shipped.
A lot of people resist changewhen really that change requires
a very inconvenient weekend.
And if you just suck it up forthat 48 hours, it kinda reminds
(08:16):
me of my mom.
She's amazing and she's beenbugging me to clean out my
closet at her house from mybedroom from elementary school.
And I've avoided it like theplague.
I'm like, I'm not even openingthat closet.
There's not that much in there.
I just didn't wanna do it.
I felt so bad this past weekend.
I did it.
thought, wow, that really justtook an hour of my focus and my
mom has been asking me this foryears.
(08:38):
And it was so like, it put somuch pep in her step oh, you
cleaned out the closet, she wasso happy about it.
And I just thought, wow, this isliterally how changes with life
like you know it, cleaning outthe closet usually takes an
hour, but we'll spend two yearsthinking about cleaning out the
closet.
And so, yeah, like anybody who'sthinking right now, oh my gosh,
(08:58):
how do I make this change?
Whether it's relationship changeor, I love how you can see my
wolf dog behind me, by the way.
I think that a lot of peoplelistening right now where is
that change that you would needto make that big?
And I think what also stops alot of people is but what if it
doesn't work?
And what we don't realize isthat you need to dive into the
messiness in order to figure outwhat works.
Allison (09:22):
I think you've hit on something is people are nervous.
They think I'm not ready yet, orI need to think about it more.
Like, do you need to think aboutit more?
They think their story isn't bigenough.
Ashley (09:36):
Right.
Allison (09:36):
Compared to what?
If you don't know how to tellyour story, maybe you're telling
it wrong, or maybe that's notthe part of your story that's
gonna be as universal, or you'regoing, I call it going for the
jugular.
You're like, you're trying toteach your method.
Nobody wants to be sold to.
They want a story.
(09:57):
And you know, a TED stage or akeynote is not the place to give
your sales pitch for your bookor your program.
It's a place to tell a storythat invites someone along.
You are so good at that.
Ashley (10:11):
Mm.
Allison (10:12):
What would you say to someone who's been holding back
from stepping forward for somereason?
Ashley (10:21):
Yeah, would say everybody has a story.
We've helped get more than ahundred people, their TED Talks
or other speaking engagements,south by or whatever have you.
Everybody who comes in, theyhave a story.
And obviously if you have one ofthe best writers in the world,
we can make going to the grocerystore sound like a real ball.
We can make the most basic storymagical.
(10:43):
But if you go back in time andyou look at the power of story,
it's how many collectivesprocess the human experience and
made sense of their lives or youlook at art like hieroglyphics
it's really storytelling, right?
Like old art.
It's telling stories, it'scommunicating.
And I would say, you don't knowwhat your story is, think more
(11:08):
about moments in your life thatmeant something to you that
changed the way you think'causeusually in those moments,
there's a whole story to betold, there's a big distinction
between bringing people into astory and talking about a story.
Talking about a story is sayingthat you went to the mall
yesterday at two o'clock.
Bringing people into the storyis helping them smell them all.
(11:29):
Feel them mall.
Touch them all.
Know how you were feeling inthem all.
Big difference if you said at2:12 PM, I walked into the mall
and there was this scent ofcinnabons and this really cold
air.
And I grabbed my jacket.
I looked around at all thelights in the stores and I
realized it was about to be agreat day.
Right?
Just made that up, but like it'sthe
Allison (11:47):
I do a freaking and now.
Ashley (11:49):
I know.
Do malls always smell like afreaking Cinnabon?
It's so good.
I know I had kind of a shamefulmoment the other day.
I landed at the airport I gothome to Los Angeles.
And you know, when you're at theairport you give yourself a
little snack before your flight,but when you like land and
you're about to go home, youjust go home.
No, I went to the cinon andplace and sat down in the
airport.
Allison (12:10):
Sometimes you just need like that frosting that.
It's like a warm embrace fromyour OMA or your grandma.
Like myoma used to make thingslike that.
We call them whole par bread.
But it does feel like soothing.
Ashley (12:28):
Mm-hmm.
Allison (12:29):
Especially when you've traveling.
I've been surviving on likewilted salads.
Ashley (12:34):
I know.
Allison (12:35):
Yeah.
Now, when people often think Iwanna tell my story, but really,
they also wanna sell their bookor they wanna, leave their role
job and start a coachingbusiness.
Or they're always thinking aboutlike the following the money and
(12:56):
instead of inviting peoplealong.
And whether it's what I do,helping people shape their
message into a book.
And then launching the book likea Badass
Ashley (13:10):
Mm-hmm.
Allison (13:11):
What you do, helping people shape their signature
message and actually figure outwhat that message is and then
deliver it beautifully.
I think what always shocks themis that they don't realize that
their one sort of loose idea isthe big idea.
Ashley (13:30):
Well, That's the
Allison (13:30):
Is powerful.
Ashley (13:32):
Yeah.
I mean, One thing that I find alot of people struggle with,
especially with the TED Channel,'cause we're not affiliated with
Ted, we're just great at writingsignature talks and booking them
for people regardless of thestage.
But I would say is they talkabout what's your one big idea?
And I think that really tripspeople up and it really makes
people have a very myopic focus.
(13:53):
If you wanna do a TED talk like,or a TEDx talk.
What is my one big idea?
I think it's really an awfulquestion to ask a very talented
person.
Instead ask, where is your mostoriginal thinking?
Where do you have something tosay?
'cause at the end of the day, ifyou look at people's lives,
usually they only deeply believetwo, three or four things.
(14:15):
If I asked you, Allison what doyou deeply believe to be true
from your life that you've hadso far?
You're gonna come back to mewith two, three or four
thoughts.
And so, we often think, oh mygosh, what is my one big idea?
There's so many ideas, we onlydeeply believe a few things to
be true when we tune into lifeand our experience.
And then, also if we look at ourmost original thinking, I could
(14:39):
talk about success.
I probably could find someoriginal thoughts about it.
I could talk about leadership.
My most original thinking isabout clarity and storytelling.
And so, those are my two topicsand I probably have three to six
things to say about each one of'em.
That's it.
And I think that's importantbecause a lot of us think, oh my
gosh, we have to have so much tosay.
(15:01):
And my answer to that would bewell, not really.
You know, that's not the case.
Allison (15:07):
Right.
We don't want you to keep onrephrasing your mic drop moment.
We want you to shut the hell up.
Let it hang.
Ashley (15:16):
Yep.
Allison (15:17):
People, when they hear a silence, they think, oh, I
need to explain what I justsaid.
No, zip it, let it be this powerquote that is meaningful.
And then all the other ways youused to say that, delete.
Don't keep them around.
We don't keep JV around.
(15:39):
We just want varsity.
Whatever the message is that youdeliver, that made varsity.
Yeah.
We don't keep the second string.
Stick with that.
Say it to more people.
Write it down.
It's interesting to yourbeliefs, your skills,
storytelling and clarity.
(16:00):
Something I say often is,there's always a way
Ashley (16:05):
Yeah.
Allison (16:06):
Most people, and I think we do kind of like, you
know, sides of a coin, likewriting and speaking.
Most people when they meet me,they say, I have this idea for a
book.
Do you think this is a book?
There is always a way.
There's always a path to marketyourself, your message, to reach
(16:29):
the audience who is clamoringfor you.
You just aren't there yetbecause they are lamenting about
something that they're lacking.
Ashley (16:40):
Right.
Allison (16:40):
Of course, you're not there'cause you don't like it.
You have the solution.
You just don't know that youraudience, they're always
together and they're always in adrum hoping you will answer the
call.
Ashley (16:52):
Yeah.
Allison (16:54):
So that is my belief, that there is always a way and
that now's the time.
Ashley (17:01):
Such a good set of beliefs.
I wonder what would happen forsomebody if they moved into
believing that.
Allison (17:06):
Well, what happens is they think, I can't believe this
is my life now.
I started a podcast, which isI'm just thinking about a client
who two years ago her book cameout.
And she left her 20 some yearcareer in the corporation.
(17:28):
Now, she has a podcast that's inthe top 3% in the world.
I had no idea this was possible.
Like, why would you?
Because you grew up in acorporation where every 18
months they gave you like moreto do and like a make believe
title.
Now you are assistant directingmanager.
(17:50):
Now you're, That was my lifetoo, of hierarchical,
meaningless job titles.
Ashley (17:56):
Hmm.
Allison (17:56):
And you don't have to be defined by any of that.
You can certainly startbelieving it when you see other
people and you go, Hey, how didthey get that?
It's not because they'respecial, it's because they
followed the path that's alreadyexists.
And Ashley, you are alreadyshowing people.
Ashley (18:15):
Mm.
Allison (18:16):
This is the path people you talk about on your podcast.
You're really offering peopleaccess to awareness.
This isn't a special path.
It's not for only the peoplethat Ashley picks out of a crowd
like, Courtney Cox out of theyou know, Bruce Springsteen
picks her up and she's the onlyone PS that was planned.
(18:37):
And you are saying this ispossible.
And you don't have to work withAshley.
You certainly can.
There are so many actions thatsomeone can take to really see
what's possible.
And it starts by looking atsomeone else's success and
instead of envy.
Think, oh, thank God they didthe hard stuff.
(18:58):
Now I can see the path.
Ashley (19:00):
Mm.
Yeah, I think that.
It does seem like in the worldwe live in, we meet some people
and success looks really easyfor them.
And we meet other people.
It looks really hard and they'realways struggling.
Obviously we're all made at thesame stuff.
So the only difference is thethoughts we're having maybe
where we come from that causesome of those thoughts or not.
(19:20):
But there are so many stories ofpeople that come from hardship
and create even better resultsthan the people who didn't.
And so if we really look at theworld we live in, there is
infinite supply of opportunitiesand resources to become who you
wanna be.
And I would just say, anybodylistening right now, speaking
and getting on a stage isprobably one of the most
(19:41):
powerful ways to quantum leapthat.
Especially if you look atsomething like the TEDx stage,
there's 43 million subscribers.
It's the biggest stage in theactual world.
YouTube is the second biggestsearch engine to Google.
So, you're getting on thebiggest stage in the world on
the second biggest search engineof the world.
And if you have the right title,everybody's gonna find you.
It's a party.
And you know, people will say,oh, it's crowded.
(20:01):
There's so many people on there.
It's like, well, cream rises tothe top.
Like more than half of ourclients are going incredibly
viral right now.
Why?
Well, Because they poured theirheart into it and they were in
alignment with what they reallyare meant to do or meant to say.
And I think that is life isreally about when it comes to
making an impact.
Allison (20:22):
Ashley, like if I had an extra microphone right.
And there that is it.
When something you were sayingmade me think, I just wanna
flick a lot of people in theforehead to make sure that they
realize that by listing thereasons why not, you're creating
(20:43):
self-imposed barriers.
Ashley (20:44):
Yep.
Allison (20:45):
Oh, it's crowded.
Or oh, it's too late to start apod.
Podcasting is crowded.
I mean, Wow, that's a lot ofenergy and a lot of creativity
that you're using.
Creating boundaries that aremake-believe.
Nobody else sees them.
But do I have to be the one toconvince you that those are
(21:09):
smoke and mirrors?
They are.
So hopefully people can let thatgo.
There are so many opportunitiesto boost your visibility and get
out of your micro silo.
Lots of people are big fish inwhat used to look like a big
(21:31):
pond, but then when you're atthe top you're like, oh,
actually this is a very narrow.
And then, they get their pantiesin a bunch.
When they see somebody they havementored, pop out.
How did that happen for them?
I was their mentor like yeah,but they made a decision to take
action.
And write it and say yes to theopportunities that came.
(21:55):
Whether it's pitching media ordoing reels or starting a
podcast or deciding that theyare a keynote speaker.
There is a difference betweenI'm gonna try and be a speaker
versus I am a keynote speaker.
Declare it and make it happen.
(22:15):
So, what's one thing that peopletend to overrate that they could
be doing now?
Ashley (22:22):
I think speaking for free is like one of the most
powerful ways to get practice.
There's too many speakers thatcome in and especially if we
help them craft and land theirTED Talk, where they suddenly
are getting a crazy amount ofleads for their business.
And they come to me all the timeand they wanna charge these
really high prices out of thegate if they're not a seasoned
speaker.
And I always tell them, like Igave my first TED Talk when I
(22:44):
was like 24, 23 years old, neverspoken on a stage in my life and
I felt anxious charging moneyout of the gate'cause I didn't
even really know who I was as aspeaker and I didn't have any
knack or gift for it.
So, the first five or six talksI got,'cause being on the TEDx
channel just skyrocketed thatturned me into a speaker
basically.
But I didn't charge anything.
And then, the next five or sixof them, I charged five KA talk.
(23:07):
And then the next batch Icharged 10 KA talk.
then the next batch I charged15, then 20.
And then I left my speakingcareer.
I still speak sometimes, butlargely I'm managing my company
wise Whisper.
But yeah, and I ended upattracting an agent and getting
licensing deals and getting abook deal and becoming a
spokesperson for five years andso many different things.
(23:27):
But it all started with merespecting my pricing.
And it doesn't mean you playsmall and you have imposter
syndrome.
But I do think that, if you're anew speaker and you're trying to
charge 25 KA talk, but you'renot really sure if you can bring
that value to the room, thendon't do it yet.
I think it's that simple.
Allison (23:45):
Yeah, you've gotta start somewhere and don't start
by yourself.
Ashley (23:49):
Yeah.
Allison (23:50):
even if you start, if you don't already, follow Ashley
and Wise Whisper Agency and seewhat she's putting out there.
Ashley (24:01):
Yeah.
Allison (24:02):
Try out your messages or in a community, if you're in
a community of writers or justget out of your, whatever your
little silo is,'cause Ashley,you made a million dollars from
your talk.
Ashley (24:15):
Yeah, more.
I made about two to 3 millionfrom the ted, just from giving
my TED talks.
Just the amount of leads thatcame in, like my coaching
practice was just booked for along time.
Allison (24:25):
And to give those people access to a path that
they didn't know.
And sometimes it's just becausemaybe you're running a community
center or you are chief of staffat a hospital.
Like you have no perspective forwhat's possible or what the path
might be unless someone showsyou.
(24:45):
Why would you expect toautomatically know that?
It's too much, It's unrealistic,but then people get in that
system of like procrast tolearning like, maybe I should
take a class on it.
Maybe I should, let me followthis person with no milestones
or time back.
You're just gonna continuallylearn and procrastinate while
(25:08):
you're learning.
You gotta get out and do.
Try that out like Ashley said.
Now, Ashley, as a bestsellingauthor yourself, I know you are
a fabulous reader.
What is one book everybodyshould go out and read right
now?
Ashley (25:26):
I think Deepak Chopra's seven spiritual laws of success
has become like a little bit ofa daily Bible for me.
Like I don't read the whole bookin one sitting.
I just read like one spirituallaw every morning.
It's five to seven pages.
And it really, it seems like nomatter how many times I read
them, it takes a long time forthem to really get etched into
your brain and to see the worldthrough them.
(25:46):
But those have really quantumleaped my business, my career,
my frequency, my relationships.
So, I read that book every day.
Allison (25:54):
Awesome.
And we'll have that in the shownotes and yours as well.
Which PS y'all is called U-Turn.
Ashley (26:02):
Mm-hmm.
Allison (26:03):
Yeah.
As is your podcast, which is sodelish and I find myself like,
wait, I missed something.
Like back.
Like 10 seconds at a time.
Like back, back, back, back.
Wait, I need to get to a trafficlight so I can scribble
something down.
So, I remember it.
'cause it's not enough just tolisten.
It's, that's an action.
Like I'm gonna go and get thatbook.
Ashley (26:24):
Yeah.
Allison (26:25):
And if you're like me, you listen to podcasts on like
one and a half speed.
I can't listen to your oldspeed.
I'm like, no, I gotta take itall in and then I'm still back.
Lemme listen again becausesometimes the phrasing is like,
Ooh, that is a kick in the tookus.
Ashley (26:41):
Yeah.
Thank you for seeing that.
I love when people see what I'mwriting and like the intention
and all that behind it means alot to me.
Allison (26:48):
I'm happy that feels good, but I think it's doing a
service.
We can't possibly know what'spossible all by ourselves.
Ashley (26:58):
Yeah.
Allison (26:59):
So that's why I'm called to do what I'm doing
because all of this should beeasier, but it's not because
we're all freaking busy.
You can't be an expert inmarketing and also be an expert
in neuroscience.
Ashley (27:13):
Mm-hmm.
Allison (27:13):
I work a lot with medical providers and experts in
our field.
And they're busy doing the thingthat they're an expert in.
Ashley (27:22):
Mm-hmm.
Allison (27:22):
Why would they think that they know how to work
inside the Google Suite.
They have a thriving medicalpractice.
They're not using Google.
They're using their like lockedinfrastructure, like why?
Ashley (27:37):
Yeah.
Allison (27:37):
You're not behind.
You just are like totallynailing something that I
couldn't do.
Ashley (27:46):
Right.
Allison (27:47):
You gotta be around people who can say, oh yeah, of
course you don't know that.
Why would you let me show you?
And I love that.
I feel called to do it and Ifeel really happy that two weeks
before COVID I quit my big timecorporate job'cause I led PR for
Unilever and Bert's Bees andBody Shop and others.
(28:07):
Without a business plan, I waslike, I cannot take one more new
boss or sitting through one moreabout the meetings.
Two years of meetings for aglobal company, two years and
still hadn't launched a website.
Ashley (28:22):
Wow.
Allison (28:23):
What?
I couldn't do it, so I quit andI've been doing this ever since.
Ashley (28:28):
Wow.
Allison (28:30):
and I had to rely on others, see what other people
are doing, that I knew, oh, Ithink I can make this easier.
And I love that you do the samething.
Ashley (28:41):
I've been an entrepreneur for so many years.
I almost don't even know whatit's like to not be one.
Allison (28:46):
Being an entrepreneur is I was not prepared for that.
I was like, oh crap.
I'm gonna need a website.
Okay.
Well, what I am used to havinglike a staff to turn to.
Like can you build me a website.
Ashley (28:58):
Yeah.
Allison (28:59):
Sure, sure.
Allison, here you go.
Those were some shocking days.
Yes.
My website, oh, was an eyesore.
And then, my second one Ideleted by accident twice
because.
I don't even, I still don't knowhow.
I must have touched somethinginside of WordPress.
I don't know.
Now all my poo is on Kajabibecause it is Garanimals for
(29:21):
Entrepreneurs, and I like it.
It is nice.
And everything's under oneumbrella, like the big circus
tent.
Like it's I don't need to knowhow to connect everything.
It's all there.
Ashley (29:35):
Hmm.
Allison (29:35):
That's how we like to party.
It's all
Ashley (29:37):
Hmm.
Allison (29:37):
One big house party.
Okay, Ashley, bring us home.
Tell us what's possible ifsomeone starts acting today
because you said don't try andfigure out your one thing.
Say it again so that people knowthat we leave just with what's
your action and what's possible.
Ashley (29:57):
Yeah, I would say explore what beliefs you have
about who you are, the worldaround you and what's possible
for you.
Ask yourself, what am Ibelieving about all that's
making me choose this path I'mon now.
And is this path I'm on nowreally honoring my gift?
Allison (30:13):
Awesome.
And when you do that, you who'slistening while you're in
carpool picking up your daughterfrom dance practice or
basketball practice.
Let me know.
Send me a note, because there isa big difference between what
you know you should be doing andwhat you think you should be
doing.
(30:33):
And that sometimes you just needthat invitation.
Ashley, I'm so glad that you'rereminding people that they can
stop at any time.
And the way to not just thinkabout it is get a pencil and
write it down.
Just here's what's getting in myway.
Here's what I truly believe.
Write it out that way you don'thave to mull it, you actually do
(30:56):
it,'cause what you think aboutyou might bring about, but when
you say it out loud, it actuallyfreaking happens.
Put it into the world.
And find your voice.
So glad that you do what you do.
Ashley (31:07):
Thank you.
Allison (31:09):
I don't know how to do it, but I'm glad I have you to
follow.
Ashley (31:14):
I'm here.
Allison (31:14):
Yeah.
You guys, if I know that youappreciate, because I get notes
every week saying I listened toyou while I walk the dog, or do
you think I have this story?
First of all, please stopsending your manuscripts to me.
You should not be sending yourmanuscripts to anyone except the
literary agent that you want torepresent you.
(31:37):
But do send, let me what youknow, what you need to know.
And what you'd like to shoutout.
I also, ps need some readingmaterial for summer.
So, tell me what you're readingso that I know what books I
should be reading.
And I wanna ask, please sharethis with someone who needs it.
(31:59):
Even if they haven't said toyou, I really think I should be
speaking.
As an observer, we often knowwhat the opportunities for
people are around us are beforethey allow themselves to believe
it.
Send this to them and say, HeyI've been thinking of you and I
want you to know that this ispossible.
(32:20):
This is how I see you.
You are such an effing badass.
You should be doing this becauseAshley just laid it out.
Thank you so much Ashley, andthank you for showing up for
yourself and sharing this withother people because first of
all, it helps the algorithm whenyou share it, leave a review.
(32:42):
If you leave a five star review,I'm not asking for a three star
review.
I literally just if you havethree stars, I'd rather you just
email me and say, here's what Ialso wish you did.
That's fine.
I'm open to feedback.
Feedback is a gift.
But you share it and let us knowwhat you need next, because
(33:02):
that's what I'm here for.
Until next week, keep writingand finding your edge as an
author.
There is always room on top for you to make the biggest
(00:03):
impact as long as you know whereyour gift is and you're
cultivating it.
Allison (00:40):
Welcome back to the Author's Edge.
I am your literary Sherpa,Alison Lane here, and I gotta
say, I am hearing from a lot ofyou of how do I make this shift?
Or I've reached the top of mycareer and now I'm doing things
that keep me from doing what Iliked about my career.
(01:01):
You don't have to wait forpermission to do what you wanna
do next.
And shocker, you don't have toearn your right to do what you
do next.
You don't yet even have tojustify it.
And I want to explain that in away that one opens the door.
(01:23):
Because you don't needpermission and the door was
never there.
Also, if you think well, Ishould have done this 10 years
ago, there's no timeline forchange.
You're not behind the eightball.
There is no eight ball.
And if you're waiting for thatperfect moment to start sharing
your message or getting onstages, if you have always
(01:43):
thought I should be doing a TEDTalk, like there is no should,
there's just, what are you gonnado now?
All of this is possible.
You don't need to justify yourchange or how you are expanding
because we don't have to do thatanymore.
Isn't it great?
Oh, it's so freeing.
(02:04):
Today, I'm so happy that we'rejoined by Ashley Stahl, who is,
aside from being a spectacularbadass, she is a
counter-terrorism professional.
Turned career coach andbestselling author and keynote
speaker.
(02:24):
And if anyone can shake youvirtually and show you that
there is a way, it's Ashley.
So, Ashley, thank you so muchfor coming.
I am so glad that we met andthat I took that picture of you
in the hallway at the summitbecause I think people, they
(02:44):
don't realize that you don'tneed to earn your way to expand
your ripple effect.
Ashley (02:54):
Yeah.
A lot of us have gifts and Ifeel like knowing what our gift
is really a super highway tohaving a career that we want,
and so many people are focussometimes on asking themselves,
what am I passionate about orinterested in.
Versus what am I really good atand how do I get better at that
thing?
And how do I offer something tothe world that is tied to that
(03:15):
thing that I'm so good at?
And how do I pour my time intojust being magical?
And for me, agency helped craftmore than a hundred signature
talks, a lot of them for theTEDx stage.
We've helped book a lot ofclients, help them secure their
spots on many stages, includingthe TEDx stage.
And what I've found over andover again is that when we hire
(03:39):
people, we hire writers, andit's some of the best writers of
our time having written showslike Grey's Anatomy or White
Lotus, or shows like that, someshows that I grew up watching.
These writers that we have arenot struggling and they're some
of the highest paid talent inthe world for writing.
And you know, one of'em wastelling me the other day, she
(03:59):
gets paid 50,000 for one episodeof television and it's 48
minutes, which is 16 pagestyped.
I just think in word counts.
But I'm like, okay.
There is always room on top foryou to make the biggest impact
as long as you know where yourgift is and you're cultivating
it.
Allison (04:20):
People don't know what their gift is.
They need to justify it.
But want people to understandthe old way of making a career
shift was that you were toldmake a list of your transferable
skills, which still sounds likeyou have to justify.
I have the skill, and that's notsomething that we're taught to
(04:41):
think bigger than your jobdescription.
And it's okay to make the leapof what do you do naturally?
That's good.
People don't, they often don'tsee what's so special about
them.
But you've made this incrediblepivot from national security to
(05:01):
helping people develop theirplatform, stepping into their
voice, stepping on stage.
Understanding that there is anaudience of people who are eager
for what they can share andhelping them strengthen their
(05:22):
credibility.
Ashley (05:23):
Mm-hmm.
Allison (05:24):
Just for themselves.
Like how many times have youheard, I wouldn't really call
myself an expert like you don'tget to decide what people call
you.
If we think you're an expert,you are, and who are you to tell
me, no.
I mean, it's kind of rude,right?
So, you've made this incrediblepivot.
What did that journey show youas possible when it comes to
(05:49):
personal power?
Ashley (05:51):
I mean, A lot of people don't know what their gift is to
answer that piece of it.
Because they spend a lot of timebeing somebody they're not, and
they make a lot of commitments.
Doing things that they don'tactually wanna do because they
have limiting beliefs that tellthem that this is the way to
succeed or get by in the worldthat we live in.
And so, I think anybody whowants to get closer and more
(06:13):
connected to their gift needs toask themself, am I believing
about myself, about the world,about life that is getting me to
choose the thing I'm choosingthat doesn't feel good for me,
that doesn't feel like me, thatdoesn't feel like it's my gift?
And do I wanna keep believing itor am I willing to see things
differently?
Because there's a wholepopulation of people out there
(06:34):
that would say that they're veryin line with their purpose.
And what they really wanna bedoing.
And work isn't always yourpurpose, by the way.
Like for the new mother, havinga baby is the purpose or
whatever it is.
But there's a whole slew of thepopulation, section of it that
is totally in its purpose andthat is not struggling with
(06:56):
their gift.
And at any given moment we havethe opportunity to become owners
of our life even more.
So, I think asking yourself thisquestion is really what they
mean when they say do the work,right?
Like the work of what are thethoughts, what are the beliefs?
Do I wanna keep them anymore?
Do these work for me?
So, I say that's the start.
You asked me something else andI completely just went on a
(07:18):
whole rampage here.
Allison (07:20):
I think non sequiturs are good.
Especially if, because thingsneed to be said.
I think I asked you.
What can we learn about personalpower?
What's possible?
What did you learn?
Ashley (07:35):
I think the biggest thing that I've learned over and
over again is that you canchange your life at any time.
You can change it all the way.
You can wake up tomorrow andsay, who I've been this whole
time, I'm not gonna be thisperson anymore.
You can actually literally havea completely different reality
in a very quick amount of time.
I worked in national securityduring the Obama administration
(07:56):
and I had this moment on amilitary base where I just
realized like, this isn't whereI wanna be and this isn't the
path for me.
The next week I was in LosAngeles, no longer in that
career.
And all my box were shipped.
A lot of people resist changewhen really that change requires
a very inconvenient weekend.
And if you just suck it up forthat 48 hours, it kinda reminds
(08:16):
me of my mom.
She's amazing and she's beenbugging me to clean out my
closet at her house from mybedroom from elementary school.
And I've avoided it like theplague.
I'm like, I'm not even openingthat closet.
There's not that much in there.
I just didn't wanna do it.
I felt so bad this past weekend.
I did it.
thought, wow, that really justtook an hour of my focus and my
mom has been asking me this foryears.
(08:38):
And it was so like, it put somuch pep in her step oh, you
cleaned out the closet, she wasso happy about it.
And I just thought, wow, this isliterally how changes with life
like you know it, cleaning outthe closet usually takes an
hour, but we'll spend two yearsthinking about cleaning out the
closet.
And so, yeah, like anybody who'sthinking right now, oh my gosh,
(08:58):
how do I make this change?
Whether it's relationship changeor, I love how you can see my
wolf dog behind me, by the way.
I think that a lot of peoplelistening right now where is
that change that you would needto make that big?
And I think what also stops alot of people is but what if it
doesn't work?
And what we don't realize isthat you need to dive into the
messiness in order to figure outwhat works.
Allison (09:22):
I think you've hit on something is people are nervous.
They think I'm not ready yet, orI need to think about it more.
Like, do you need to think aboutit more?
They think their story isn't bigenough.
Ashley (09:36):
Right.
Allison (09:36):
Compared to what?
If you don't know how to tellyour story, maybe you're telling
it wrong, or maybe that's notthe part of your story that's
gonna be as universal, or you'regoing, I call it going for the
jugular.
You're like, you're trying toteach your method.
Nobody wants to be sold to.
They want a story.
(09:57):
And you know, a TED stage or akeynote is not the place to give
your sales pitch for your bookor your program.
It's a place to tell a storythat invites someone along.
You are so good at that.
Ashley (10:11):
Mm.
Allison (10:12):
What would you say to someone who's been holding back
from stepping forward for somereason?
Ashley (10:21):
Yeah, would say everybody has a story.
We've helped get more than ahundred people, their TED Talks
or other speaking engagements,south by or whatever have you.
Everybody who comes in, theyhave a story.
And obviously if you have one ofthe best writers in the world,
we can make going to the grocerystore sound like a real ball.
We can make the most basic storymagical.
(10:43):
But if you go back in time andyou look at the power of story,
it's how many collectivesprocess the human experience and
made sense of their lives or youlook at art like hieroglyphics
it's really storytelling, right?
Like old art.
It's telling stories, it'scommunicating.
And I would say, you don't knowwhat your story is, think more
(11:08):
about moments in your life thatmeant something to you that
changed the way you think'causeusually in those moments,
there's a whole story to betold, there's a big distinction
between bringing people into astory and talking about a story.
Talking about a story is sayingthat you went to the mall
yesterday at two o'clock.
Bringing people into the storyis helping them smell them all.
(11:29):
Feel them mall.
Touch them all.
Know how you were feeling inthem all.
Big difference if you said at2:12 PM, I walked into the mall
and there was this scent ofcinnabons and this really cold
air.
And I grabbed my jacket.
I looked around at all thelights in the stores and I
realized it was about to be agreat day.
Right?
Just made that up, but like it'sthe
Allison (11:47):
I do a freaking and now.
Ashley (11:49):
I know.
Do malls always smell like afreaking Cinnabon?
It's so good.
I know I had kind of a shamefulmoment the other day.
I landed at the airport I gothome to Los Angeles.
And you know, when you're at theairport you give yourself a
little snack before your flight,but when you like land and
you're about to go home, youjust go home.
No, I went to the cinon andplace and sat down in the
airport.
Allison (12:10):
Sometimes you just need like that frosting that.
It's like a warm embrace fromyour OMA or your grandma.
Like myoma used to make thingslike that.
We call them whole par bread.
But it does feel like soothing.
Ashley (12:28):
Mm-hmm.
Allison (12:29):
Especially when you've traveling.
I've been surviving on likewilted salads.
Ashley (12:34):
I know.
Allison (12:35):
Yeah.
Now, when people often think Iwanna tell my story, but really,
they also wanna sell their bookor they wanna, leave their role
job and start a coachingbusiness.
Or they're always thinking aboutlike the following the money and
(12:56):
instead of inviting peoplealong.
And whether it's what I do,helping people shape their
message into a book.
And then launching the book likea Badass
Ashley (13:10):
Mm-hmm.
Allison (13:11):
What you do, helping people shape their signature
message and actually figure outwhat that message is and then
deliver it beautifully.
I think what always shocks themis that they don't realize that
their one sort of loose idea isthe big idea.
Ashley (13:30):
Well, That's the
Allison (13:30):
Is powerful.
Ashley (13:32):
Yeah.
I mean, One thing that I find alot of people struggle with,
especially with the TED Channel,'cause we're not affiliated with
Ted, we're just great at writingsignature talks and booking them
for people regardless of thestage.
But I would say is they talkabout what's your one big idea?
And I think that really tripspeople up and it really makes
people have a very myopic focus.
(13:53):
If you wanna do a TED talk like,or a TEDx talk.
What is my one big idea?
I think it's really an awfulquestion to ask a very talented
person.
Instead ask, where is your mostoriginal thinking?
Where do you have something tosay?
'cause at the end of the day, ifyou look at people's lives,
usually they only deeply believetwo, three or four things.
(14:15):
If I asked you, Allison what doyou deeply believe to be true
from your life that you've hadso far?
You're gonna come back to mewith two, three or four
thoughts.
And so, we often think, oh mygosh, what is my one big idea?
There's so many ideas, we onlydeeply believe a few things to
be true when we tune into lifeand our experience.
And then, also if we look at ourmost original thinking, I could
(14:39):
talk about success.
I probably could find someoriginal thoughts about it.
I could talk about leadership.
My most original thinking isabout clarity and storytelling.
And so, those are my two topicsand I probably have three to six
things to say about each one of'em.
That's it.
And I think that's importantbecause a lot of us think, oh my
gosh, we have to have so much tosay.
(15:01):
And my answer to that would bewell, not really.
You know, that's not the case.
Allison (15:07):
Right.
We don't want you to keep onrephrasing your mic drop moment.
We want you to shut the hell up.
Let it hang.
Ashley (15:16):
Yep.
Allison (15:17):
People, when they hear a silence, they think, oh, I
need to explain what I justsaid.
No, zip it, let it be this powerquote that is meaningful.
And then all the other ways youused to say that, delete.
Don't keep them around.
We don't keep JV around.
(15:39):
We just want varsity.
Whatever the message is that youdeliver, that made varsity.
Yeah.
We don't keep the second string.
Stick with that.
Say it to more people.
Write it down.
It's interesting to yourbeliefs, your skills,
storytelling and clarity.
(16:00):
Something I say often is,there's always a way
Ashley (16:05):
Yeah.
Allison (16:06):
Most people, and I think we do kind of like, you
know, sides of a coin, likewriting and speaking.
Most people when they meet me,they say, I have this idea for a
book.
Do you think this is a book?
There is always a way.
There's always a path to marketyourself, your message, to reach
(16:29):
the audience who is clamoringfor you.
You just aren't there yetbecause they are lamenting about
something that they're lacking.
Ashley (16:40):
Right.
Allison (16:40):
Of course, you're not there'cause you don't like it.
You have the solution.
You just don't know that youraudience, they're always
together and they're always in adrum hoping you will answer the
call.
Ashley (16:52):
Yeah.
Allison (16:54):
So that is my belief, that there is always a way and
that now's the time.
Ashley (17:01):
Such a good set of beliefs.
I wonder what would happen forsomebody if they moved into
believing that.
Allison (17:06):
Well, what happens is they think, I can't believe this
is my life now.
I started a podcast, which isI'm just thinking about a client
who two years ago her book cameout.
And she left her 20 some yearcareer in the corporation.
(17:28):
Now, she has a podcast that's inthe top 3% in the world.
I had no idea this was possible.
Like, why would you?
Because you grew up in acorporation where every 18
months they gave you like moreto do and like a make believe
title.
Now you are assistant directingmanager.
(17:50):
Now you're, That was my lifetoo, of hierarchical,
meaningless job titles.
Ashley (17:56):
Hmm.
Allison (17:56):
And you don't have to be defined by any of that.
You can certainly startbelieving it when you see other
people and you go, Hey, how didthey get that?
It's not because they'respecial, it's because they
followed the path that's alreadyexists.
And Ashley, you are alreadyshowing people.
Ashley (18:15):
Mm.
Allison (18:16):
This is the path people you talk about on your podcast.
You're really offering peopleaccess to awareness.
This isn't a special path.
It's not for only the peoplethat Ashley picks out of a crowd
like, Courtney Cox out of theyou know, Bruce Springsteen
picks her up and she's the onlyone PS that was planned.
(18:37):
And you are saying this ispossible.
And you don't have to work withAshley.
You certainly can.
There are so many actions thatsomeone can take to really see
what's possible.
And it starts by looking atsomeone else's success and
instead of envy.
Think, oh, thank God they didthe hard stuff.
(18:58):
Now I can see the path.
Ashley (19:00):
Mm.
Yeah, I think that.
It does seem like in the worldwe live in, we meet some people
and success looks really easyfor them.
And we meet other people.
It looks really hard and they'realways struggling.
Obviously we're all made at thesame stuff.
So the only difference is thethoughts we're having maybe
where we come from that causesome of those thoughts or not.
(19:20):
But there are so many stories ofpeople that come from hardship
and create even better resultsthan the people who didn't.
And so if we really look at theworld we live in, there is
infinite supply of opportunitiesand resources to become who you
wanna be.
And I would just say, anybodylistening right now, speaking
and getting on a stage isprobably one of the most
(19:41):
powerful ways to quantum leapthat.
Especially if you look atsomething like the TEDx stage,
there's 43 million subscribers.
It's the biggest stage in theactual world.
YouTube is the second biggestsearch engine to Google.
So, you're getting on thebiggest stage in the world on
the second biggest search engineof the world.
And if you have the right title,everybody's gonna find you.
It's a party.
And you know, people will say,oh, it's crowded.
(20:01):
There's so many people on there.
It's like, well, cream rises tothe top.
Like more than half of ourclients are going incredibly
viral right now.
Why?
Well, Because they poured theirheart into it and they were in
alignment with what they reallyare meant to do or meant to say.
And I think that is life isreally about when it comes to
making an impact.
Allison (20:22):
Ashley, like if I had an extra microphone right.
And there that is it.
When something you were sayingmade me think, I just wanna
flick a lot of people in theforehead to make sure that they
realize that by listing thereasons why not, you're creating
(20:43):
self-imposed barriers.
Ashley (20:44):
Yep.
Allison (20:45):
Oh, it's crowded.
Or oh, it's too late to start apod.
Podcasting is crowded.
I mean, Wow, that's a lot ofenergy and a lot of creativity
that you're using.
Creating boundaries that aremake-believe.
Nobody else sees them.
But do I have to be the one toconvince you that those are
(21:09):
smoke and mirrors?
They are.
So hopefully people can let thatgo.
There are so many opportunitiesto boost your visibility and get
out of your micro silo.
Lots of people are big fish inwhat used to look like a big
(21:31):
pond, but then when you're atthe top you're like, oh,
actually this is a very narrow.
And then, they get their pantiesin a bunch.
When they see somebody they havementored, pop out.
How did that happen for them?
I was their mentor like yeah,but they made a decision to take
action.
And write it and say yes to theopportunities that came.
(21:55):
Whether it's pitching media ordoing reels or starting a
podcast or deciding that theyare a keynote speaker.
There is a difference betweenI'm gonna try and be a speaker
versus I am a keynote speaker.
Declare it and make it happen.
(22:15):
So, what's one thing that peopletend to overrate that they could
be doing now?
Ashley (22:22):
I think speaking for free is like one of the most
powerful ways to get practice.
There's too many speakers thatcome in and especially if we
help them craft and land theirTED Talk, where they suddenly
are getting a crazy amount ofleads for their business.
And they come to me all the timeand they wanna charge these
really high prices out of thegate if they're not a seasoned
speaker.
And I always tell them, like Igave my first TED Talk when I
(22:44):
was like 24, 23 years old, neverspoken on a stage in my life and
I felt anxious charging moneyout of the gate'cause I didn't
even really know who I was as aspeaker and I didn't have any
knack or gift for it.
So, the first five or six talksI got,'cause being on the TEDx
channel just skyrocketed thatturned me into a speaker
basically.
But I didn't charge anything.
And then, the next five or sixof them, I charged five KA talk.
(23:07):
And then the next batch Icharged 10 KA talk.
then the next batch I charged15, then 20.
And then I left my speakingcareer.
I still speak sometimes, butlargely I'm managing my company
wise Whisper.
But yeah, and I ended upattracting an agent and getting
licensing deals and getting abook deal and becoming a
spokesperson for five years andso many different things.
(23:27):
But it all started with merespecting my pricing.
And it doesn't mean you playsmall and you have imposter
syndrome.
But I do think that, if you're anew speaker and you're trying to
charge 25 KA talk, but you'renot really sure if you can bring
that value to the room, thendon't do it yet.
I think it's that simple.
Allison (23:45):
Yeah, you've gotta start somewhere and don't start
by yourself.
Ashley (23:49):
Yeah.
Allison (23:50):
even if you start, if you don't already, follow Ashley
and Wise Whisper Agency and seewhat she's putting out there.
Ashley (24:01):
Yeah.
Allison (24:02):
Try out your messages or in a community, if you're in
a community of writers or justget out of your, whatever your
little silo is,'cause Ashley,you made a million dollars from
your talk.
Ashley (24:15):
Yeah, more.
I made about two to 3 millionfrom the ted, just from giving
my TED talks.
Just the amount of leads thatcame in, like my coaching
practice was just booked for along time.
Allison (24:25):
And to give those people access to a path that
they didn't know.
And sometimes it's just becausemaybe you're running a community
center or you are chief of staffat a hospital.
Like you have no perspective forwhat's possible or what the path
might be unless someone showsyou.
(24:45):
Why would you expect toautomatically know that?
It's too much, It's unrealistic,but then people get in that
system of like procrast tolearning like, maybe I should
take a class on it.
Maybe I should, let me followthis person with no milestones
or time back.
You're just gonna continuallylearn and procrastinate while
(25:08):
you're learning.
You gotta get out and do.
Try that out like Ashley said.
Now, Ashley, as a bestsellingauthor yourself, I know you are
a fabulous reader.
What is one book everybodyshould go out and read right
now?
Ashley (25:26):
I think Deepak Chopra's seven spiritual laws of success
has become like a little bit ofa daily Bible for me.
Like I don't read the whole bookin one sitting.
I just read like one spirituallaw every morning.
It's five to seven pages.
And it really, it seems like nomatter how many times I read
them, it takes a long time forthem to really get etched into
your brain and to see the worldthrough them.
(25:46):
But those have really quantumleaped my business, my career,
my frequency, my relationships.
So, I read that book every day.
Allison (25:54):
Awesome.
And we'll have that in the shownotes and yours as well.
Which PS y'all is called U-Turn.
Ashley (26:02):
Mm-hmm.
Allison (26:03):
Yeah.
As is your podcast, which is sodelish and I find myself like,
wait, I missed something.
Like back.
Like 10 seconds at a time.
Like back, back, back, back.
Wait, I need to get to a trafficlight so I can scribble
something down.
So, I remember it.
'cause it's not enough just tolisten.
It's, that's an action.
Like I'm gonna go and get thatbook.
Ashley (26:24):
Yeah.
Allison (26:25):
And if you're like me, you listen to podcasts on like
one and a half speed.
I can't listen to your oldspeed.
I'm like, no, I gotta take itall in and then I'm still back.
Lemme listen again becausesometimes the phrasing is like,
Ooh, that is a kick in the tookus.
Ashley (26:41):
Yeah.
Thank you for seeing that.
I love when people see what I'mwriting and like the intention
and all that behind it means alot to me.
Allison (26:48):
I'm happy that feels good, but I think it's doing a
service.
We can't possibly know what'spossible all by ourselves.
Ashley (26:58):
Yeah.
Allison (26:59):
So that's why I'm called to do what I'm doing
because all of this should beeasier, but it's not because
we're all freaking busy.
You can't be an expert inmarketing and also be an expert
in neuroscience.
Ashley (27:13):
Mm-hmm.
Allison (27:13):
I work a lot with medical providers and experts in
our field.
And they're busy doing the thingthat they're an expert in.
Ashley (27:22):
Mm-hmm.
Allison (27:22):
Why would they think that they know how to work
inside the Google Suite.
They have a thriving medicalpractice.
They're not using Google.
They're using their like lockedinfrastructure, like why?
Ashley (27:37):
Yeah.
Allison (27:37):
You're not behind.
You just are like totallynailing something that I
couldn't do.
Ashley (27:46):
Right.
Allison (27:47):
You gotta be around people who can say, oh yeah, of
course you don't know that.
Why would you let me show you?
And I love that.
I feel called to do it and Ifeel really happy that two weeks
before COVID I quit my big timecorporate job'cause I led PR for
Unilever and Bert's Bees andBody Shop and others.
(28:07):
Without a business plan, I waslike, I cannot take one more new
boss or sitting through one moreabout the meetings.
Two years of meetings for aglobal company, two years and
still hadn't launched a website.
Ashley (28:22):
Wow.
Allison (28:23):
What?
I couldn't do it, so I quit andI've been doing this ever since.
Ashley (28:28):
Wow.
Allison (28:30):
and I had to rely on others, see what other people
are doing, that I knew, oh, Ithink I can make this easier.
And I love that you do the samething.
Ashley (28:41):
I've been an entrepreneur for so many years.
I almost don't even know whatit's like to not be one.
Allison (28:46):
Being an entrepreneur is I was not prepared for that.
I was like, oh crap.
I'm gonna need a website.
Okay.
Well, what I am used to havinglike a staff to turn to.
Like can you build me a website.
Ashley (28:58):
Yeah.
Allison (28:59):
Sure, sure.
Allison, here you go.
Those were some shocking days.
Yes.
My website, oh, was an eyesore.
And then, my second one Ideleted by accident twice
because.
I don't even, I still don't knowhow.
I must have touched somethinginside of WordPress.
I don't know.
Now all my poo is on Kajabibecause it is Garanimals for
(29:21):
Entrepreneurs, and I like it.
It is nice.
And everything's under oneumbrella, like the big circus
tent.
Like it's I don't need to knowhow to connect everything.
It's all there.
Ashley (29:35):
Hmm.
Allison (29:35):
That's how we like to party.
It's all
Ashley (29:37):
Hmm.
Allison (29:37):
One big house party.
Okay, Ashley, bring us home.
Tell us what's possible ifsomeone starts acting today
because you said don't try andfigure out your one thing.
Say it again so that people knowthat we leave just with what's
your action and what's possible.
Ashley (29:57):
Yeah, I would say explore what beliefs you have
about who you are, the worldaround you and what's possible
for you.
Ask yourself, what am Ibelieving about all that's
making me choose this path I'mon now.
And is this path I'm on nowreally honoring my gift?
Allison (30:13):
Awesome.
And when you do that, you who'slistening while you're in
carpool picking up your daughterfrom dance practice or
basketball practice.
Let me know.
Send me a note, because there isa big difference between what
you know you should be doing andwhat you think you should be
doing.
(30:33):
And that sometimes you just needthat invitation.
Ashley, I'm so glad that you'rereminding people that they can
stop at any time.
And the way to not just thinkabout it is get a pencil and
write it down.
Just here's what's getting in myway.
Here's what I truly believe.
Write it out that way you don'thave to mull it, you actually do
(30:56):
it,'cause what you think aboutyou might bring about, but when
you say it out loud, it actuallyfreaking happens.
Put it into the world.
And find your voice.
So glad that you do what you do.
Ashley (31:07):
Thank you.
Allison (31:09):
I don't know how to do it, but I'm glad I have you to
follow.
Ashley (31:14):
I'm here.
Allison (31:14):
Yeah.
You guys, if I know that youappreciate, because I get notes
every week saying I listened toyou while I walk the dog, or do
you think I have this story?
First of all, please stopsending your manuscripts to me.
You should not be sending yourmanuscripts to anyone except the
literary agent that you want torepresent you.
(31:37):
But do send, let me what youknow, what you need to know.
And what you'd like to shoutout.
I also, ps need some readingmaterial for summer.
So, tell me what you're readingso that I know what books I
should be reading.
And I wanna ask, please sharethis with someone who needs it.
(31:59):
Even if they haven't said toyou, I really think I should be
speaking.
As an observer, we often knowwhat the opportunities for
people are around us are beforethey allow themselves to believe
it.
Send this to them and say, HeyI've been thinking of you and I
want you to know that this ispossible.
(32:20):
This is how I see you.
You are such an effing badass.
You should be doing this becauseAshley just laid it out.
Thank you so much Ashley, andthank you for showing up for
yourself and sharing this withother people because first of
all, it helps the algorithm whenyou share it, leave a review.
(32:42):
If you leave a five star review,I'm not asking for a three star
review.
I literally just if you havethree stars, I'd rather you just
email me and say, here's what Ialso wish you did.
That's fine.
I'm open to feedback.
Feedback is a gift.
But you share it and let us knowwhat you need next, because
(33:02):
that's what I'm here for.
Until next week, keep writingand finding your edge as an
author.
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