Advertise on podcast: Brand You Personal Branding

While I was in Dallas for work a few weeks ago, my mother's husband of 15 years, Chick, passed away at 90. My flight home took me, by coincidence, over his final resting place in Virginia.  Being in the sky grounds me. From 30,000 feet, everything that felt urgent an hour ago shrinks. The traffic, the buildings, the deadlines. The plane descends, and buildings enlarge. Cars speed up. Our minds shift to what we have to do on the ground. We clutch our phones, ready to switch off Airplane Mode.   I've spent several thousand hours in the air and window seat views help me hold two things at once: the big picture and boots on the ground.   Big pic: Chick made the most of life. He was a priest until 55, then made up for lost time with three marriages, haha. He never told a joke he didn't like!   Boots on turf: there is a memorial this week, family to be with, and later this year, a Christmas Day that would also have been his birthday.   If you feel buried in the day-to-day, find a window seat. If you feel a bit too up in the clouds, appreciate the boots on the ground impact of the people in your life. Take the free Idea to IP Assessment: A short diagnostic that scores your expertise across 8 areas and shows you exactly where it's ready to become intellectual property you can package, sell, and scale. Find your single biggest next move in about 3 minutes: https://quiz.mikekim.com 1:1: Private Advisory for those who want a strategic partner for their brand, message, and IP, with direct access to me. Application here: https://mikekim.com/advisory Get my books: You Are the Brand (Wall Street Journal bestseller): my book on personal branding and building a business around your name, your message, and your expertise: https://amzn.to/4gjyZFN Own Your Brand, Own Your Career (with Andy Storch): personal branding for career professionals who want to take ownership of their career from the inside out: https://amzn.to/4eDQXQN Subscribe to my newsletter: The Mike Kim Letter, a weekly letter on personal branding, messaging, and building a meaningful business in a post-AI world. Less about what you know, more about how you think. Subscribe here: https://mikekim.com/newsletter Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikekim LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikekimtv/

This is a look back at a year of writing the Mike Kim Letter every Tuesday, for one straight year. I talk about my inner creative, buried for a decade under writing for conversions, the daydream that pushed me to commit to being a writer, and 12 things I learned along the way that may help you in your own creative pursuits. Mentioned in this episode: The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron: https://amzn.to/4rkHJ1L Blackwing pencils: https://blackwing602.com/ Ryan Levesque: https://ryanlevesque.net/ Jeff Goins: https://goinswriter.com/ Dan Lievens: https://www.instagram.com/danlievens/ My Idea to IP Assessment (free): Take the free Idea to IP Assessment: A short diagnostic that scores your expertise across 8 areas and shows you exactly where it's ready to become intellectual property you can package, sell, and scale. Find your single biggest next move in about 3 minutes: https://quiz.mikekim.com 1:1 Private Advisory: Work with me 1:1: Private Advisory for experts and operators who want a strategic partner for their brand, message, and IP, with direct access to me. Application here: https://mikekim.com/advisory Get my books: You Are the Brand (Wall Street Journal bestseller): my book on personal branding and building a business around your name, your message, and your expertise: https://amzn.to/4gjyZFN Own Your Brand, Own Your Career (with Andy Storch): personal branding for career professionals who want to take ownership of their career from the inside out: https://amzn.to/4eDQXQN Subscribe to my newsletter: The Mike Kim Letter, a weekly letter on personal branding, messaging, and building a meaningful business in a post-AI world. Less about what you know, more about how you think. Subscribe here: https://mikekim.com/newsletter Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikekim LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikekimtv/

I don't remember a single bowl of the rice my mom made me growing up. That's exactly what's wrong with how most personal brands write and speak right now. Take the free Idea to IP Assessment: A short diagnostic that scores your expertise across 8 areas and shows you exactly where it's ready to become intellectual property you can package, sell, and scale. Find your single biggest next move in about 3 minutes: https://quiz.mikekim.com Work with me 1:1: Private Advisory for experts and operators who want a strategic partner for their brand, message, and IP — with direct access to me. Three ways in: The Intensive (7-day accelerator), The Sprint (90-day strategy sprint), and The Advisory (6-month partnership). Application here: https://mikekim.com/advisory Get my books: You Are the Brand (Wall Street Journal bestseller) — my book on personal branding and building a business around your name, your message, and your expertise: https://amzn.to/4gjyZFN Own Your Brand, Own Your Career (with Andy Storch) — personal branding for career professionals who want to take ownership of their career from the inside out: https://amzn.to/4uQjit6 Subscribe to my newsletter: The Mike Kim Letter, a weekly letter on personal branding, messaging, and building a meaningful business in a post-AI world. Less about what you know, more about how you think. Subscribe here: https://mikekim.com/newsletter Social Media Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikekim LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikekimtv/

My best friend's fiancée said yes last month. Nobody at the engagement party called it a conversion. Holding an audience is a relationship. Like a real human one, it takes three completely different skills. Take the free Idea to IP Assessment: A short diagnostic that scores your expertise across 8 areas and shows you exactly where it's ready to become intellectual property you can package, sell, and scale. Find your single biggest next move in about 3 minutes: https://quiz.mikekim.com Work with me 1:1: Private Advisory for experts and operators who want a strategic partner for their brand, message, and IP — with direct access to me. Three ways in: The Intensive (7-day accelerator), The Sprint (90-day strategy sprint), and The Advisory (6-month partnership). Application here: https://mikekim.com/advisory Get my books: You Are the Brand (Wall Street Journal bestseller) — my book on personal branding and building a business around your name, your message, and your expertise: https://amzn.to/4gjyZFN Own Your Brand, Own Your Career (with Andy Storch) — personal branding for career professionals who want to take ownership of their career from the inside out: https://amzn.to/4uQjit6 Subscribe to my newsletter: The Mike Kim Letter, a weekly letter on personal branding, messaging, and building a meaningful business in a post-AI world. Less about what you know, more about how you think. Subscribe here: https://mikekim.com/newsletter Social Media Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikekim LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikekimtv/

I was scrolling old photos of my masterminds and events on my phone when a question surfaced. Did I actually do right by the people who crossed my path? Here are three words for anyone in the business of helping people navigate these feelings: Wasted, spent, and offered. The third is the one very few of us ever name. Take the free Idea to IP Assessment: A short diagnostic that scores your expertise across 8 areas and shows you exactly where it's ready to become intellectual property you can package, sell, and scale. Find your single biggest next move in about 3 minutes: https://quiz.mikekim.com Work with me 1:1: Private Advisory for experts and operators who want a strategic partner for their brand, message, and IP — with direct access to me. Three ways in: The Intensive (7-day accelerator), The Sprint (90-day strategy sprint), and The Advisory (6-month partnership). Application here: https://mikekim.com/advisory Get my books: You Are the Brand (Wall Street Journal bestseller) — my book on personal branding and building a business around your name, your message, and your expertise: https://amzn.to/4gjyZFN Own Your Brand, Own Your Career (with Andy Storch) — personal branding for career professionals who want to take ownership of their career from the inside out: https://amzn.to/4uQjit6 Subscribe to my newsletter: The Mike Kim Letter, a weekly letter on personal branding, messaging, and building a meaningful business in a post-AI world. Less about what you know, more about how you think. Subscribe here: https://mikekim.com/newsletter Social Media Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikekim LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikekimtv/

Join Mike Kim and Sean Osborn as they discuss the critical role of a mastermind group in fostering your personal and business growth. Sean shares his personal journey, illustrating how strategic mentorship within a mastermind setting can lead to remarkable business success. This conversation offers valuable insights for anyone looking to boost their entrepreneurship endeavors and achieve personal development. Get the Mike Kim Letter every Tuesday: https://mikekim.com/newsletter Take the Idea-to-IP Assessment (free): https://start.mikekim.com/assessment 📙 My WSJ bestselling book, You Are the Brand CONNECT WITH ME Instagram: https://instagram.com/mikekim LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/mikekimtv TikTok: https://tiktok.com/mikekimtv X: https://twitter.com/mikekimtv Facebook: https://facebook.com/mikekimtv

What most people call an identity crisis is often an identity evolution. These feelings are becoming more frequent due to social media and the accelerating impact of AI. This video touches on psychology and how to find yourself in times of social change. Here are some things I've learned about how to fix myself and embrace self discovery. Get the Mike Kim Letter every Tuesday: https://mikekim.com/newsletter Take the Idea-to-IP Assessment (free): https://start.mikekim.com/assessment 📙 My WSJ bestselling book, You Are the Brand CONNECT WITH ME Instagram: https://instagram.com/mikekim LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/mikekimtv TikTok: https://tiktok.com/mikekimtv X: https://twitter.com/mikekimtv Facebook: https://facebook.com/mikekimtv

Last week, my friend Lauren texted me about a book online that looked exactly like mine. Same orange cover. Same font. Same little black sticker. Different name on the spine. Turns out "Dave Stone" has been pumping out AI-generated knockoffs by the dozen. I should have been furious. I wasn't. I was tired. In this issue of the Mike Kim Letter, I unpack what I'm calling visibility fatigue — the exhaustion of trying to be everywhere, all the time, all at once, while AI bots run circles around you on the same treadmill. We'll get into: Why the volume game is unwinnable (and why even YouTube and Amazon are losing it)  What the rise of AI knockoffs is actually telling us about trust, substance, and personal brand  The Shohei Ohtani question: are you trying to be a five-tool player when the lineup needs you in one specific spot? Why I wrote this issue with pencil and paper — and why it turned out infinitely better The one question to ask yourself this week: Where does your voice actually come alive? This is part 2 of a 3-part series on the forces reshaping what it means to build trust, credibility, and a body of work in the AI era. Read part 1, The Tabloidization of the Internet. Part 3, The Great Letting Go, drops next week. Get the Mike Kim Letter every Tuesday: https://mikekim.com/newsletter Take the Idea-to-IP Assessment (free): https://start.mikekim.com/assessment 📙 My WSJ bestseller, You Are the Brand CONNECT WITH ME Instagram: https://instagram.com/mikekim LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/mikekimtv TikTok: https://tiktok.com/mikekimtv X: https://twitter.com/mikekimtv Facebook: https://facebook.com/mikekimtv

Watch on YouTube » In this episode, I discuss "The Tabloidification of the Internet"... my observations on mass media and how click-bait headlines influence public perception. This discussion encourages critical thinking and media literacy in a digital media landscape. 1:46 - Social media is the new supermarket tabloid 2:58 - How Buzzfeed and Upworthy created click-bait 5:18 - Not all views should count the same 7:15 - Click vs. Relationship 8:49 - A small action item to try this week Subscribe to the Mike Kim Letter: http://mikekim.com/newsletter 📙 My WSJ bestseller, You Are the Brand: https://amzn.to/40Ntc2O CONNECT WITH ME Instagram: https://instagram.com/mikekim LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/mikekimtv TikTok: https://tiktok.com/mikekimtv X: https://twitter.com/mikekimtv Facebook: https://facebook.com/mikekimtv

(Watch on YouTube or read on my site ») I've been going on something called an "Artist Date": a solo outing, once a week with your "Inner Artist," to something that feeds you creatively. The idea comes from Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way, a book that's been sitting on my shelf for a year. I finally decided to go through with it. A few links I mentioned, all in one place: The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron (get the hard copy) » Blackwing video by The Wall St. Journal (great storytelling) » Blackwing's site (you can't get these on Amazon) » Doug's Comic, Wait it Gets Worse » Lauren's site, laurendaviscreative.com » Rich Relationships: Create a Million-Dollar Network for Your Business by Selena Soo »

Recently, I presented at SXSW called You Are Still the Brand: What AI Can't Do For You alongside author, Ryan Levesque. Preparing together gave me a rare look at how someone I respect does their work, and it made me rethink a few things about my own process.  Here's what I learned about preparation, deep work, and why there's a huge jump between $1,500 Hamilton tickets vs. $15 improv tickets. If you're interested in hearing about an upcoming training I'm planning to offer around writing and marketing your book, get on my waitlist below.  mikekim.com/writeyourbook CONNECT WITH ME Newsletter Instagram TikTok X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook

AI isn't killing books. The numbers say otherwise, and the opportunity for authors has never been bigger. In this conversation, Mike Kim (Wall St. Journal and USA Today bestselling author) and JJ Virgin (4x NYT bestselling author) talk about what actually happens to books in an AI world: who survives, who doesn't, and why your personal brand matters more now than ever. They also get into AI clones, institutional knowledge, and why JJ literally has a digital version of herself running 24/7. If you're an author, aspiring author, or thought leader trying to figure out where books fit in your business, this one's for you. CONNECT WITH ME Newsletter Instagram TikTok X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook

Ryan Levesque built a SaaS company, had a life-changing exit offer fall apart at the 11th hour, and then realized something that shook him:  he'd started hating his business, and as a result, he'd started hating himself. What followed was a radical reorientation: making a public confession to his audience that none of his emails over the past seven years had actually been written by him, moving to a Vermont farm, and writing every word of his newsletter without AI.  This is a conversation about what it costs to take your voice back and why the unscalable things are the only real moat left in a post AI world. RESOURCES: Ryan's newsletter » CONNECT WITH ME Newsletter Instagram TikTok X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook

Your emails, posts, and captions sound generic because you shut off your real voice the moment you think you're supposed to sound impressive. You don't have a writing problem. You have a voice problem. I've spent over a decade as a brand strategist working with NYT bestselling authors and thought leaders, and I've found that nearly everyone falls into one of five voice types. This post may help you figure out which one is yours, and show you how to adapt it to any platform or situation. CONNECT WITH ME Newsletter Instagram TikTok X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook

Take the Idea-to-IP assessment here » No business strategy will solve a nervous system problem. In this episode, I break down Charlie Munger's inversion principle, a powerful identity framework from mental performance coach Lauren Johnson, and why the most successful people I've worked with are always the most teachable. This is the inner game, and it matters more than any tactic. CONNECT WITH ME Newsletter Instagram TikTok X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook