Break Out of the Sea of Sameness with the Power of Storytelling
How to tell a captivating story that differentiates you from the competition and takes your business to the next level
As you look across the industry landscape, all you see is how the once extraordinary has become trite. Here's the worst part: try as you might, all your innovative ideas have also been assimilated into the common lexicon, and you find yourself languishing in a sea of sameness. All you want is to stand out, but the more you try, the more you get frustrated because your brilliant efforts are short-lived. It has become exhausting to stay ahead of the pack with game-changing creativity only to watch the masses steal it.
There is a better way to transform from a leader and claim your rightful spot as a legend.
In this interactive session, Aleya will teach you how to use storytelling elements to stand out by standing in the power of your unique journey. She'll leverage her expert knowledge of the StoryBrand SB7 Framework, the hero's journey, and energy-recalibration techniques to help you develop a theft-proof narrative that will articulate your uniqueness, connect with your ideal client, and leave an enduring legacy.
Takeaways Include:
How to tell a captivating story that differentiates you from the competition and takes your business to the next level
How to combine your story with that of your ideal client to create the magic "Meeting the Mentor" moment that catalyzes connection, transformation, and abundance
Tangible storytelling, introspection, and copywriting techniques to craft your narrative and immediately improve your marketing messages
This episode is part of the "Stage to Stream Series" where Aleya covers content excerpts from her popular speaking topics so you can learn and experience growth wherever you are. Why should live audiences get to have all the fun?
To book Aleya to edutain your audience at your next event, please visit www.aleyaharris.com/speaking to check out her speaking topics, reels, and why. Click "Schedule a Call" to secure the speaker with "that something new" you've been looking for.
If you are a Corporate Event Planner, Head of Marketing, Learning & Development Professional, Executive Assistant, Destination Management Company, or Destination Management Organization who is looking for a top-quality, energetic speaker, you should definitely hop on a call with Aleya.
About Aleya Harris
Aleya Harris, CPCE is the spark for your spark (TM). She is a powerhouse StoryBrand Certified Guide, BioEnergetic Business Consultant, empire-building CEO of The Evolution Collective Inc., host of the Radical Rebirth Retreat, LLC, host of the award-winning Flourishing Entrepreneur Podcast, and international award-winning speaker. She’s committed to helping entrepreneurs, executives, leadership teams, and thought leaders differentiate themselves through radically authentic strategy, coaching, and training.
Get Your Recalibration Guide
There is a lot of information in this episode that will help you get into greater energetic alignment to boost your glow and cash flow... but it doesn't even scratch the surface.
To dive in, download the 25+ page Recalibration Guide at www.aleyaharris.com/recalibrate
Connect with Aleya Harris
Speaking & Media: www.aleyaharris.com
The Evolution Collective Inc.: www.evolutioncollective.com
Radical Rebirth Retreat, LLC: www.radicalrebirthretreat.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aleyaharris/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aleyaharris/
Links Mentioned on this Podcast
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Aleya Harris [00:00:00]:
You what comes to mind when I say that you are a budding legend. Legend. Legend. Does that word make you feel comfortable or uncomfortable? Legends almost are so big, they take on a mythical, larger than life quality. A legend is someone who doesn't have to explain to someone what they are worth or why they should buy from them. They are so great and grand, their story is so ubiquitous within the culture of that industry or that society that it is a no brainer to buy from them. The goal of good marketing, good brand building, good personal brand building is to develop legends, to develop your story as a legend. But you have a problem, don't you? You aren't quite there yet because you are stuck in a sea of sameness. You deal with people who look similar, talk similarly and act similarly because you all are listening to the same podcast except for this one. This one is unique and you are following the same gurus. So you are struggling to get yourself to legend status because you just can't seem to differentiate yourself from the competition. Well, you're in luck, because this episode is entitled break out of the Sea of Sameness with the power of storytelling. And in it, I'm going to tell you how to tell a captivating story that does, in fact, differentiate you from the competition so that you can take your business and career to the next level. All right, let's go.
Yuliya Patsay [00:02:09]:
Welcome to the flourishing Entrepreneur podcast with Aleya Harris. If you're looking for actionable ways to stand out from the crowd by standing in your power, you've come to the right place. Each week, we help you and your fellow empire building entrepreneurs become radically authentic and tap into your unique story to attract your ideal clients, listen in and learn how to use energy alignment techniques and tried and true marketing strategies to transform from a leader to a legend. And now, your host, powerhouse story brand certified guide, award winning marketer bioenergetic business coach and Japanese whiskey lover, Aleya Harris.
Aleya Harris [00:03:05]:
This is yet another episode in my Stage to stream series where I am taking you, dear listener, into the audience as if you were part of one of my live sessions. Like I said in my previous episodes, of course I can't contain everything, all of the juicy goodness that would normally be here when you see me live, but I don't see any reason why you can't benefit from the content. More importantly, at least for me, if you would like to book me as a speaker so I can tell these stories that I tell here or other ones that are part of my repertoire to a live audience near you, make sure you go to Alayaharris.com speaking, aleyaharris.com speaking to schedule a call. I love educating audiences, so if you are here and like man, not only do I love the melodic sound of Alaya's voice, but her content is really good. And I think that my event attendees would really benefit from did one day that I was not going to compartmentalize who I was. I didn't want to have to choose between being a spiritual coach and a guide and someone who gets her jollies from going on ayahuasca trips and someone who's been in marketing and strategy for about 15 years. I wanted to combine them together. And the thing is, when I did that and I found the intersection of the two of those concepts, all of a sudden I went from a place where I was trying to really just I'm a marketer, I'm a consultant. I'm at this hear me, hear me to a place where I was in a league of my own. I own a bioenergetic business consultancy, the first of its kind. I can, with authority, lead audiences and clients through experiences that connect who they are on the inside with how they want to show up on the outside. I created a differentiator for myself by just in fact tapping into my own identity and radically authentic story more deeply. And that my friend, is exactly what this session is about. Break out of the sea of famous with the power of storytelling is about teaching you how to tell your own story. Because right now the problem is that you know that something is amiss and so you are trying to problem solve, which is what we all do, right? But you're problem solving externally rather than internally. You're looking externally for internal solutions. It's all about what is that next novel design or technique or technology or some fancy element. But unfortunately, what happens is you jump on a bandwagon, then so does everybody else. They jump on that same bandwagon and then all of a sudden you're back in the same sea of sameness. And in fact, what that is truly doing is propagating not a sea of sameness, but a cycle of sameness. Get a new trend, a new hot thing. This is going to be my thing. Then you start doing it and then other people do it and they assimilate to it and then now you're in sameness and they have to find that new next thing. And truthfully, that is really, really exhausting. So instead of being in this rat race cycle of sameness, I encourage you to break the cycle with a well crafted and compelling story. You need to look inside of yourself to uncover the theft proof elements that really will set you apart. Like how I did. I looked inside myself and I said, well, who am I? What is my purpose on this planet and how do I bring it out? There are lots of ways to do this. And this is a short podcast episode, right? This is not like us working one on one or something like that. Or you going on my radical rebirth retreat and we're doing plant medicine in Colombia together, right? So I'm going to give you some tools, but it's up to you to be able to put them into place. For me, the tools that work the best are things like knowing who I am, getting the signs of who I am, who I was supposed to be. That might be Akashic record reading. That might be getting an actual astrologer to sit with me and read my birth chart. If you need some astrologer recommendations, send me an email. I have several lovely ones, but I want to make sure that I fit you right with the right astrologer friends. So send me an email. Aleya@alayaharris.com. Aleya@aleyaharrif.com. I loved working with my birth chart because when I was working with an astrologer, I worked with Katie Sweding. For me personally, she was like, I'm looking at your chart. You're supposed to be like a business pastor. I'm like, yeah, that sounds about right. Like, what is it that I'm doing here? I'm broadcasting a message. I have a voice. I use that voice. I really have a passion for helping people make money grow in their careers, and I'm incorporating spirituality business paths. That sounds about right, right? But it was that check in to be like, okay, this truly is my path that helped me when I was using astrology. It could also be you just using your own tuition and journaling. Whatever it is, you need to figure out what your story is. And that's what we're going to talk about today. We're going to talk about how to tell that story so that you can stand out from the competition. And then where the key part is here is it's not really about you when you're telling your story. It's actually about the person that you're trying to talk to, that ideal client and creating this meeting of the mentor moment, that catalyzes connection, transformation, abundance. It's magic. I mean, it's magic. So we're going to talk about that for a second. We're going to talk about some tangible techniques. We're going to talk about one liners. It's awesome. But first I want to introduce you, or probably reintroduce you, if you've been listening to my proprietary framework, which is called the Flourishing Empire Framework. And we're going to use these three stages to help you figure out how to unearth your own story. The three stages are get real, get clear, and get connected. First we're going to get real about who you are. Then we're going to get clear about who you are and how you intersect with your ideal client. And then we're going to get connected. How do you then tell that story that is so magnetic that people cannot resist it? Differentiation comes from authenticity. Let me say this again just in case your ear pod fell out of one of your ears or whatever. Differentiation comes from authenticity. Differentiation does not come from you looking out on the Internet, really for anything. Unless it's, how do I do this? Breathing technique so then I can go back inside and unearth my own story. Think about it this way. I don't know if you've ever seen the movie Soul. It's a Disney Pixar movie. I'm a big child, and my favorite movies are animated. In the movie spoiler alert, we're going to go see it. There are these little souls up in heaven or in another dimension before they cross over into ours. And they all have a purpose, and they go through, and they're developing kind of in this circuit, their purpose. And they go and they find their spark. And the spark is what really makes them unique. And then once they've found it, they're ready to embody. So they jump out of that dimension and into a body on the planet, and they are born. Although it is a Disney Pixar movie, that is actually pretty darn close to my perception of the way that embodiment works for us as souls. We have within us, deeply ingrained in the fabric of our soul, the purpose that we are supposed to walk out in this Earth, a purpose that is unique to us, that makes us us. And when we find it and we step into it, that's when we are really achieving our highest potential. The problem is we get derailed often and very quickly because we look around and we get distracted. Well, this person's doing it this way, or this person is doing it that way, or I got in trouble when I did it this way, right? And then we don't end up really following what deep down inside of us we know is our direction to go into. So I encourage you to look inward. And one of the best ways to do that is by chanting. It's almost counterintuitive for some. It's like, well, but I need to find the answer, so I need to go and search for them out somewhere where I can see. And actually you need to search for them using your spiritual sight, your spiritual senses, right? That's where branding happens from the inside out. That's where revenue generation happens. That's where storytelling begins, is from the inside out. My favorite chant is called Anai. Hue a hue is a Sanskrit name and an ancient name for God or universe or spirit. And Anai in anahu brings in the feeling of empathy. So it is literally like you saying, hey, God, it's me. And so your name here. I really need some help, right? I really need to connect with you. Chanting Hue or Anahue will help clear, blockages, and open you up for greater awareness and trust. Awareness of yourself, awareness of that internal spark, awareness of what you're supposed to be doing and trust in the universe, in all of the experiences that you've had up until this point, that they were exactly how they needed to be for you to be exactly who you need to be in this world. So Anahue sounds like Ana. That was nice. That was huh. That was huh. What I want you to do is not focus on oh, Aleya has a vibrato in her voice. I'm supposed to sound like that. I don't care if it's the same pitch or the same whatever. The point is that you're chanting and you're connecting. So the first thing that you're going to do is you're going to close your eyes, you're going to welcome in the light of the spirit and of God. So what I do is I say, father, mother, God, I ask for the light. I ask for the highest purest form of light to surround, fill and protect me now for the highest good of all concerned. So that way I know that I'm safe, I'm protected. And anything that happens with me internally or anything that I see, I know comes from the light and is for my highest good to help me. Then I begin chanting with my eyes closed, I'm looking. My focus is on my third eye and the screen behind my closed eyes. And I'm just open my mind, wanders, I bring it back. Sometimes I chant out loud, sometimes I chant inwardly and I'm open to the experience. You can chant for two minutes, you can chant for 2 hours. Just do not do it while you're driving a car operating heavy machinery, because you might start to feel a little lightheaded, a little buzzy, right? That is, you loosening up enough to really connect with spirit. When you're done, you say thank you, you wash your hands, you drink some water, you go about your day with that inner sense of peace that you maybe were not getting before when you were just running around doing all the things, run around like a juggling head. Good off, right? So I recommend that as a place to start when you're trying to tap into who you are at your core, who you are as your most radically authentic self. If you would love to see those directions that I just gave you printed out, along with a whole bunch of other techniques that you can use to get real, I encourage you to go to Alayaharris.com Recalibrate to download my recalibration guide. So the point here is that when you are real, you create something that is authentic, something that people can feel. If you have been on my email list and if you're not, I don't know what is holding you back. You should do that, download the recalibration guide. You'll be on my email list. A while ago, I don't know, maybe a couple of months ago or so, once I came back from eternity, leave something that a writer couldn't write for me because they're not inside my life. I became more authentic in my emails before I had good open rates, so I'm really blessed with that. My open rates were 40%, which is above the general standard of 20 as a mark of being good, right? Email open rates when I started getting authentic, not only are my current email open rates about 50%, so up about 10%, but people started responding. People replied, people booked calls, people sent me resources, right? People shared their stories, people engaged with me. They got perpendicular to my life instead of just running parallel to my story. Because authenticity builds connection, it builds relationship. And what are we really trying to do here, right? When we're trying to break out of the sea of sameness, we're trying to build relationships. When you notice something and it stands out to you in the world, it's because you have a relationship with that thing or what that thing represents. Like, think about it this way. Let's say you really love a car, a certain type of car, and then you start focusing on it and you see it everywhere. Why? Is it because all of a sudden everyone bought that car and they're driving it around? No, it's because one, you're focusing and manifesting that energy of that car and two, because that is what you have a relationship to, your relationship to the desire to own that car. So if someone begins to have a relationship with you, it doesn't matter how many other emails they're getting, they're going to notice your email because they actually want to hear from you because you are building yourself an authentic story that people are connecting to. Inauthenticity does not build connection. Authentic copy, authentic messaging, authentic stories captures attention and builds relationships. Because if you don't get real, unfortunately, you will continue to sound like everyone else and you will stay stuck in that sea of sameness. There's a couple of other tools that you can get inside the Recalibration Guide that are really great for getting real. I'm going to list them off here and then you can go and download the Recalibration Guide to get them in depth. The first is free form writing, really great at excavating what is no longer serving you, so that you can replace it with supportive inspiration, supportive paradigms, forgiveness and light. If you don't think you need to forgive, you need to forgive. Let me just tell you that you need to forgive yourself. You need to forgive other people. You need to forgive, forgive, forgive, forgive. And then there's also in there a brag list. So again, to get your Recalibration Guide, go to alayaharris.com recalibrate. Now that you've gotten real, or you know how to get real, it's time to get clear. You have to turn that authenticity into a clear story that is uniquely yours. Because it's actually not the person that is the best that gets the client. It's not the person that has the most accolades that gets the client. It's the person that is clearest that gets the client. The person that is requiring the prospective client the lead to spend as few brain cells as possible to understand how to work with them. So when you first get your story. It might be a little jumbled. You might be like, oh, I need to get this a little bit tighter. You need to tighten it up so that other people understand what you do. Legends. Legends, like I was talking about in the very beginning, you becoming a legend. Your story just being infused into the hearts and minds of people that you work with or that you want to work with. Legends are born from clarity. I want you to be more clear. And the best way to do that is to create a one liner. A one liner. I don't really like the name one liner. It's because it's often not one line and people feel like super boxed in by that. But it really does help to create something that you can use that clearly describes what you do. A one liner has three parts problem, solution, result. One more time. A one liner has three parts problem, solution, and result. And you combine the three of those together to clearly articulate not only your story, but how you intersect with the story of your ideal client. Because if you can't tell them why they should care, then they are not going to pay attention. That's what the problem part helps to identify. It's a problem of your ideal client, a problem that you really, really want to solve. A problem that you want to solve is not the same as the problem that everybody else has. Right? There's lots of problems that people have. People like, I don't know, there's people right now in hospitals have like, broken legs and I don't want to solve that problem. Right? You do not want me trying to reset your bones, right? I do not want to go to medical school. Never did, never will. Right? That's a problem out there. But it's not a problem that I want to solve. A problem that gives me joy, a problem that I solve without being paid for it. A problem I have to remind myself to send the invoice to solve. Right? Those are the kind of problems that you want to talk about solving problem that is attached to your authenticity. The problem that I help people solve is they do not know how to tell a story that magnetizes people to them. They do not know how to infuse their energy and their truest self in everything that they do. So they are burned out. They're not getting the results they're looking for. They've been trying the traditional ways and it just are not working. I solve that problem for people all the time. As someone who has the new tagline of the spark, for your spark, people are constantly coming to me when they're like, I just am dim. I'm lost, I'm confused. I don't know which way to go. I don't know how to package myself. I don't know how to communicate myself. And they have this sense of exasperation and desperation to their voices, right? When I see someone like that, I don't care if we're on the grocery store. I don't care. I mean, I helped a lady in the nail shop the other day come up with her brand messaging while I was getting my gel extensions put on, right? It's what I do. Naturally. You need to figure out what that is for you because not every problem is a problem that you need or want to solve. And if you begin solving problems that you don't actually want to solve, you're going to be in a mess of trouble. That's when you're going to resent your business, resent your career journey. You won't be as successful and people will be able to tell that your heart's not really in it. So you need to make sure the problem is a problem that you can solve. Let me give you an example. I'm going to use a wedding planner as an example to show you an example of a one liner. We rebuke wedding design anxiety. That's the problem. There's no need to feel like your special moments will be cookie cutter or drab. That's more into the problem. Our expert design team uses IDEO's design thinking methodology, inspiration from your unique story, and pre trend techniques. Solution to help you create a nuptial experience that is uniquely yours. Result, problem, solution, result. A couple of things. When you're doing your one liner, don't let your ego get in the way. Remember, this one liner is about them, not you. You want to be clear, not cute. If you had to dip into a thesaurus, you're going in the wrong direction. You want to make sure that you're using words that your ideal customer would use. And three, you want to use this sucker everywhere. It is even a shorter, probably version of it is the response that you give when people ask you what you do, right? As opposed to saying, in this example, I'm a wedding planner, they could give a shortened version of their one liner and it's more improvocative, it's more interesting, right? So right about now, you're probably like, okay, cool. I got the whole got to be myself thing. I got to be clear about who I am thing and intersect the story. Let me go out and Google and see what other people do because it's like other people. I just want to see some examples of other people's one liners and other people's stories and I'm going to go Google one liner. This right here, my friend, is exactly where you are going to make a misstep. So I am going to stop you right there. We're just going to take a little pause. I'm going to take a little seat. Sit down a little bit because you already have everything you need in your power to know that your story is correct. I want you to use your body as your guide so you can know what a yes is and know what a no is. Imagine this. Imagine I tell you that it's midnight. Midnight. And you just got an urgent text from a client whose project is not due for another six months. Call me ASAP. It's urgent. You're like, oh, hell no. Hell no. What in the world? Unless you are someone who works with children or medical stuff or whatever, it's never that urgent. Never. Especially if their project is not due for another six months. That for me and for most people is a no. An absolute no. So when you hear that, where do you feel that? In your body? Is it in your chest? It is in your stomach, right? Where do you feel that? Or when you say, I look around and say, see that all my hard work is paying off. Where do you feel that? That's a yes, right? So then you take that yes and no feeling. You know what yes feels like. You know what no feels like. And you apply it to your one liner. Read your one liner. Does it feel like a yes, or does it feel like a no? There is no googling required. Okay, let's get into our third section. Our third section is about getting connected. So this is when you take your story that's super clear that you've already dabbled with solving the problem for your ideal client. And you create the magic meeting of the mentor moment. You add in the concept of time. Time. So it's one thing to solve a problem for a client, but it's one thing to solve the highest, most painful problem. And that's where you want to intersect. Because so far on their journey, they're like, okay, I need to do a thing. Okay, I'm going to get moving. Wait, something's wrong. Something is wrong, and it's right. Then when they start to feel like something is wrong that you can slide on in as their guide and be like, hey, don't worry about it. I'm going to help you, and you help motivate the rest of their story. You are the guide in their story. You're not the hero. They're the hero. You are the guide in their story, right? So if you can be of service in their point of highest and greatest pain and articulate those words on your website, social media, email, copy, that is when you begin to really work into your highest good. That is when they understand where to put you in their story and how you become a legend. If you think about it, when do you need Tylenol? Tylenol is not trying to sell you Tylenol when life is good or when you're already asleep or when you're not in pain. All their stuff is focused on, oh my gosh, I have this excruciating headache. Or if it's Tylenol PM. Oh, my God. I can't sleep right that's when they're like, hey, I can help. Right? You need to make sure to do the same thing. You're not just going back to the wedding planner example. You're not just like, oh yeah, here, this is a beautiful experience that you can have. No, you're saying the problem is you're sitting on your couch, it's midnight, you're surrounded by newspaper clippings. You just fought with your fellow soonly wed because you guys can't agree over if it's cerulean blue or midnight blue. And you don't know if this wedding is even going to happen because you guys can't get along over the details and oh my gosh, wouldn't it be great if someone else could come in and manage this stuff for you so that you could enjoy your engagement. That's what I'm talking about here, right? Coming right at that moment of pain rather than just being descriptive. In the end, your job is not just to stand out. It's to stand in. To stand in the power of you and your unique story so that you can attract those who are interested in exactly the solution you provide. I have told this, I think before, but stop me if you've heard this one. The way I think about people and human beings and souls is this. Imagine every soul had a light, but there's classifications of light. There's pink lights, blue lights, yellow lights, green lights, right? And all the colors of lights are scattered all around. But we're all trying to find our own little colors, right? If you're a little dim pink light, you can be just barely a little flicker. None of the other pink lights are going to be able to find you. Or if you're a light that sometimes flickers blue and sometimes flickers green and sometimes flickers yellow and maybe a little smattering of pink, you will never truly attract those who are meant for you, those who are going to be karmically tied to your path of financial, relational and spiritual abundance. What you need to do if you're a little pink light is shine and be the brightest pink light you can be. Know exactly who you are. Amplify that message. Tell it so clearly that every pink light around for miles and miles will be able to see you and will start gravitating towards you. You will magnetize the people, opportunities, finances that you need to ride out and to walk out your purpose in this earth. So again, I say don't stand out trying to be all these flickering little lights, all the colors. Don't try to be a disco ball. Stand in. Stand in your power. Be the brightest pink light you can be. Because in the end, you need to be authentic to become a legend. And your actions today will create the story people will tell about you when you're gone. So make sure to craft your immortal legacy that is aligned with your true self. Again, if you need help trying to figure out what the heck that is, go to harris.com recalibrate to download the recalibration guide. Okay. Now that you know how to get real, get clear and get connected to break out of the sea of sameness I invite you to invite me to tell some other people about it that you know if you are a corporate event planner. Maybe you're a destination management organization or from a destination management company. Or you are a learning and development professional or a marketing executive and you're trying to plan your company's leadership. Retreat or association, event or conference. And you need an energetic speaker who can help your audience get more in touch with who they are so that they can write better stories for themselves and the organization, while we add in a little bit of humor and some fun and some sparkle and pizzazz, then I invite you to contact me. I would love to be the speaker for your next event. Go to Alayaharris.com speaking. Alayaharris.com Speaking to schedule a call and to book me. All right, that's it for this episode. My name is Aleya Harris. This is the flourishing Entrepreneur podcast. And until next time, I'm sending you lots of love, light, and abundance. Bye for now.
Yuliya Patsay [00:33:59]:
Thank you for listening to this episode of the Flourishing Entrepreneur podcast with Aleya Harris. Vibing with what you hear. Leave a five star review to spread the love and sure to click subscribe. We wish you love, light, and abundance. See you next time.
