What do Melinda Gates, Anna Kendrick, Jesse Eisenberg, and I all have in common?
We aren’t all billionaires.
We aren’t all famous.
We aren’t all global philanthropists.
Instead, we were all featured guests on Jessi Hempel’s Hello Monday podcast!
But what’s remarkable about this story isn’t the feature itself. Although, if I’m being honest, it means a whole lot to me.
It’s the way it came about and what you can learn from it.
It started with a single comment on this LinkedIn post about consulting.
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A lovely person who knew of me and The Upside tagged me in a comment. (Thank you, Victoria Foster!)
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That comment led me to see the post and add a comment of my own.
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That led to others in my network, including members of The Upside community, adding their own comments, all of which, one way or another, nudged Jessi to talk to me.
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Then I shared all of this with The Upside community and even more people commented on the post.
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And then…
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Nothing happened. Silence.
For three weeks, the post and the comments sat there, and so did I.
I intentionally didn’t reach out to Jessi or follow up because if she didn’t see those LinkedIn comments as a sign to reach out, then I figured she must have a good reason.
Maybe I wasn’t famous enough to be on her show.
Maybe she wanted to follow my content for a while first.
Perhaps she had already booked out the year with guests.
And then, almost a month later, the email from Jessi came.
A few weeks after that, I was Ubering into NYC, scanning my guest pass at the Empire State Building and taking my seat across from Jessi at the LinkedIn studio.
Opportunities like this don’t usually fall out of the sky.
I’ve worked hard to make a name for myself.
I post regularly on LinkedIn.
I speak on panels and podcasts.
I’ve written this newsletter for 4+ years.
I’ve built a loyal audience of people who appreciate what I have to say.
And I focus my efforts on relationships, not transactions.
That’s why, when the opportunity came my way and my name crossed Jessi’s screen for the first time, I was already positioned to be an expert guest on her show. I didn’t have to sell her on it.
If you’re reading this, then I know you have a point of view, expertise and thought leadership to share.
Don’t wait until everything feels just right or perfect.
Start getting it out there.
Be consistent and intentional.
Update and optimize your personal LinkedIn page. (Here’s mine if you want to see an example.)
Meanwhile, I can’t wait for you to watch the episode! Check it out below:
💻 LinkedIn
🎥 YouTube
🎧 Apple Podcasts
🎧 Spotify
