5 Ways You Might Be Sabotaging Your Personal Brand in 2025 | Ep. 7

This week we're discussing 5 Personal Branding Mistakes to avoid in 2025. Danielle J. Martin discusses the importance of developing a personal brand that is true to who you are both online and offline.

She emphasizes the significance of maintaining an up-to-date digital persona, understanding your why, and the common pitfalls people face when building their personal brand. Danielle outlines five key mistakes to avoid in 2025: thinking it's too late to start, not asking for help, being unwilling to pivot, neglecting your visual identity, and spreading yourself too thin. Tune in to gain insights on how to enhance your brand and make a lasting impression.

Interested in building your Personal Brand in 2025? Click here.

CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction to The Authentic Media Podcast
00:53 The Importance of Personal Branding
04:12 Start with Your Why
05:08 Five Biggest Mistakes in Personal Branding
13:32 The Power of Asking for Help
19:27 Embracing Change and Pivoting
23:51 Investing in Your Visual Identity
32:00 Doing Less to Achieve More
35:40 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to The Authentic Media Podcast
• 0:53 The Importance of Personal Branding
• 4:12 Start with Your Why
• 5:08 Five Biggest Mistakes in Personal Branding
• 13:32 The Power of Asking for Help
• 19:27 Embracing Change and Pivoting
• 23:51 Investing in Your Visual Identity
• 32:00 Doing Less to Achieve More
• 35:40 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Transcript

This week on the authentic media podcast, when people are trying to connect with you and collaborate with you, they want to trust you and they can't trust you. If you're not online or if what you are displaying online has nothing to do with who you are today, stop thinking that the people that you don't like is going to keep you from the blessing that already has your name on it.

You were called to be where you are because God has placed you there. Get out of there. Out of your surroundings, go network with people that you've never seen before. Okay, Danielle, how do I do that? You just do it.

Have you ever wondered why you're still in the same space that you were last year? Well, maybe it's possibly because you're making the five biggest mistakes that you actually should be avoiding when it comes to building your personal brand. That's That's right. We're going to talk about the five biggest mistakes to avoid when it comes to building your personal brand from scratch.

Okay, let's get into it. So first of all, welcome to the authentic media podcast. If it's your first time joining, my name is Danielle J. Martin, and I am so excited that you're here because you are now. Really tuning in and being a part of the movement that is going to be Really just blessing you in all of the many different ways But more importantly you're simply blessing me by just simply tuning in.

So first of all, thank you but i'm really excited to get into today's episode because it's not going to be Exactly what you may have in mind when it comes to building a personal brand first of all When we're talking about personal branding, the first thing that may come into your mind is you're thinking maybe about a website, your logo, a symbol, something that you're probably sharing on social media.

While all those things are true when it comes to marketing, your personal brand is truly personal. Who you are and basically sharing your values in your mission and putting that on stage and on display For everyone to see okay So the beautiful thing about personal branding is that you have the opportunity to change it anytime you want But we are now in the time where it's super important to make sure that you are tapping into Making sure your personal brand is aligning with who you are Online and off of line.

Okay, because right now this is the time where a lot of employers and business owners and people who really want to connect with you, they're going on social media to see if basically who you say you are is aligning with who you say you are online. It's basically the digital resume. Okay, so look at it as a very important tool to To take seriously.

And so I want to really help you on how to make sure you're avoiding these five biggest mistakes that people are currently making, which is why they're not seeing maybe any improvement when it comes to their career, their business, or even their personal life, right? So your personal brand is everything who you say you are and basically just putting it on display.

So when I think about the type of person that I was last year versus even coming into 2025. Now, you may say we're only a couple of weeks in. Yes, I understand that, but how are you evolving on a daily basis, right? How is your digital resume online? Is it up to date with who you are off of line? Some people may say, Or argue that, you know what Danielle, I don't care about social media.

I don't want to take it seriously. Now I understand that to a certain extent, but you kind of have to take it seriously just in the time that we are in, when people are trying to connect with you and collaborate with you or even do projects with you, they want to trust you and they can't trust you if you're not online or if what you are displaying online has nothing to do with who you are.

Today. Okay. So a couple of things before we even dive into, um, the five biggest mistakes. I first want to give you my ongoing saying that I say all the time, which is start with your why. Do you know why you are showing up the way that you are? Do you know why you are at that job? Do you know why you're starting that business?

Do you know why you're serving those people? Do you know why you're serving in the community? Do you know why you're on that board? Ask yourself why. Does this align with who I want to be? Does this align with my values? Does this align with anything of where I'm trying to go? Okay? And so, also, disclaimer, if you're just now joining and you're tuning in for the first time, you will see that my dog is everywhere, so just, like, Ignore him and just welcome him into the moment that we're having right now.

But anyways, um, Sometimes he could just be so distracting and i'm just like, okay, dude, like just relax But he likes to be the star of the show. So if you see him like in the background just just don't mind him Anyways, okay. So point number one is start with your why okay And so I heard something um the other day that someone said that reasons come before results So if you're asking yourself why you're not I'm going to talk to you about why you're not seeing any results or why maybe your life is not moving in the direction that you thought it was going to because you are not clear on your why your why is going to drive you every single day.

It's going to drive you when you don't feel like doing it, honey, let me tell you, I'm the first witness in really example to give you because earlier today I was like, I really don't want to record this podcast, but there's something about as I'm talking right now that it's just funny. And I'm like, okay, because I am thinking about you and I'm thinking about the content that needs to go out and why and where it really I'm trying to go.

And at the end of the day, it has nothing to do with me and how I'm feeling. It has everything to do with who I'm serving and why I want to serve you. And I honestly want to share that with you right now. I want to serve you because I truly believe in the calling that is over your life. I truly believe that you were put on this earth to do something that nobody else can do, which is why you and your story is so important.

It's so important to figure out like, what is my mission? What is my why? What is my purpose here on this earth? And once you figure out that purpose. I encourage you every single day to pour into that and use it to your advantage because I think that there's so many of us who may believe, and we're actually going to get into that later, but you may believe that your time is up.

You may believe that there's no purpose for you. Honey, let me tell you, that is the lie from the enemy, okay? Every single person has a purpose. Okay? I'm getting ahead of myself 'cause I'm getting so excited to talk about this. But just know that my why is so much bigger than how I'm feeling. My why has everything to do with encouraging you and reminding you that you were put on this earth to tell your story to be a light in the darkness.

And to be everything that God has called you to be and only you know who that is, right? But i'm just here to remind you to like keep doing that and do it authentically So that's my little soap opera for a little bit in the moment But seriously, like if you go back to the first episode and maybe even a couple episodes We talk about my journey and where I was last year and how it brought me to This moment of creating authentic media and why I think it's so important It's super important to remind you to even like show up in the world in your career, in your relationships, in your marriage, in your friendships, authentically, and do not show up as anything else or anyone else than who you are.

Because as soon as you do that, as soon as you put on the mask or the representative of something you are not, you will immediately start deflating. You'll start like, that's probably not the most Sexiest word, but you will just start depleting yourself. All of your energy will start decreasing. You will start losing yourself.

You will start feeling like less than, and all of these little insecurities will start popping up. And so I think that you have to really just be secure and understanding that you are here for a reason. And you must, must put in the work to figure out why. So every single day you are showing up authentically and you're not.

Coming up against this energy or this space where you feel like I have to be something I'm not in order to Like prove myself. Okay, so we're gonna dive into the five biggest mistakes. So go ahead get your notepad Get your pen and your paper because one thing I like to do is take notes Okay, and i'm a firm believer that what does not get written down does not get done Or you honestly probably won't fully believe it unless you get it written down.

Okay, so mistake Number one is believing is too late to start your passion. It's too late to start your career. You may feel like you're too old. You're too young. You don't have enough knowledge. You don't belong here. All of these little things. You believe the lie that it's too late. It's too late to start.

You possibly believe that the market is oversaturated in the social media field or whatever career field you're trying to go in or whatever business you're trying to start. You may feel like it's too late. You believe that it's too late. And it's interesting because going back to what I said earlier, which is everyone has a purpose and honey, I'm a firm believer that.

I don't care what age, what race, what, whatever you look like, you are called to tell your story. Okay. Every single one of us has a story, whether you're a garbage man, whether you're a homeless person off of the street. First of all, there's a reason why they got there, right? So you have to continue to remind yourself that my story, whether you believe it or not, it is meant to be told because many of us.

Many of us feel so alone on this earth because we feel like nobody can relate to us. We feel that nobody's going to understand us. If I were to speak up and tell my story, let me share a story right now. Um, I used to be one of those people that used to believe this mistake. I think it's the biggest mistake because it will hinder you from pursuing your purpose.

It will keep you in a space. It will keep you in a merry go round of believing that you are not called to be here, and it will keep you really in this space of defeat, of feeling that, you know what, your story, it's too, you know, simple, and you don't really have any raw, graphic, dramatic, you know, desperate, um, over the top story happening to you, and so for that reason, Your story doesn't matter.

Those were the thoughts that I used to believe about myself. I used to believe that, you know what, I have both of my parents and I'm very fortunate to, you know, always be secured and protected and have enough going where I'm going. And anytime I need something, it's more than likely provided. I'm so fortunate of that, but it's interesting because though that is put on display, there are other things that go on.

Thank you. Behind the scenes that many people don't know. And it's interesting because it's like, Oh, that's the story I'm supposed to tell. I'm not supposed to really maybe feel like I need to tell the story that many of us probably connect to, which is like maybe a person that grew up in a single, you know, parent home or someone that grew up on the streets or anything like that.

Like, I feel like we're drawn to those stories more than anything, which of course there are powerful stories, but it's like, What about the people who have stories that, you know, my life wasn't that rough, but actually there's some other parts of my life that were rough that I actually think can really help and save someone.

And so I share that with you. One, not to disregard the other life stories of that people have had and saying that like, Oh, just because you don't have those type of rough lifestyles, like you're not good enough or they're not good enough. No. What I'm, what I'm saying is it doesn't matter. Simple that you think that your story is there is a part of you that is meant to connect with a certain type of person or certain type of people and so I think if you focus more on that rather than trying to Dumb yourself down or raise yourself up on the level of like hey, look my life was rough, too We can connect too.

So what i'm saying is that You don't have to believe that you think it's too late, because wherever you are, you are just on time. Wherever you are, honey, there is purpose in that season. It is up to you to figure out, why am I here? What is God speaking to me right now? That is what you should be asking.

You shouldn't be asking, why is this not happening for me physically? That's the wrong question. It's all about just looking at your life in a whole different way. And as soon as you change your perspective, you change your way of life. Seriously, it's beautiful. Okay, mistake number two. Not asking for help.

Honey, closed mouths don't get fed. So how do you expect people to help you if you have the fear and the pride to not ask for help? That is the number, I would honestly put that as number one, but it's another mistake when it comes to building your personal brand because if you are trying to collaborate with certain people, if you're trying to get to a certain spot, If you're trying to get in a certain room or environment, honey, you have to speak up.

You have to literally put yourself out there. Another story I have for you is I was out with one of my girlfriends and it was interesting because I am probably the most sociable person that you'll ever meet. Like I talk to anybody, I don't care who you are, if you're You know, Bob Schmell in the street.

I'm like, Hey, what's up? How are you? Right? And so it was so funny because there was a time when this guy was trying to get to know what I was doing. He was like, yeah, I see you have a podcast. Tell me more about it. And I don't know if it was because I was just really tired at the time. And he was trying to hold a whole conversation And you could tell I was just really turned off and was not trying to have a conversation Not the fact that he was hitting on me But just the fact that I was just really not trying to have a conversation And it was interesting because my girlfriend after said Why were you talking to him like that?

Why are you talking like, you know, he was not interested. Do you not know like this person is X, Y, and Z and they could help you get, you know, to the space. And I'm like, Oh, really? And so it's funny because I usually have that mindset going into any conversation that I'm having, but lately I've just been so kind of like protective of like who I talk to and why I talk to them.

And so it's just funny because it was just another reminder that you do not know who you're talking to. Like, you have no idea who you're talking to, and so you should treat everyone, first of all, you should treat everyone with the same image as if this is God's child. This is like literally God's children, like this is like the son of God, this is the daughter of God, and if we were to all have that character of like, hey, you know what, like, hi, nice to meet you.

I know, I know I don't know you, but like, I want to get to know you. Right? Like, genuinely. And like, looking at them in their eyes and saying, you know what? I want to know more about you. Tell me about your story. That's really interesting. And so it was funny because it really checked me because after the fact, I was like, Ooh, this person is someone I really do need to connect with.

Right? And so over time, you know, I said, wow, how many of us are doing that? Because we are expecting people to look a certain way. We're expecting them to, you know, look like they have money or we're expecting them to look like, you know, that they are so groomed. Up enough and put together that, like, that's the type of person I want to connect with.

It's like, honey, no, like, first of all, the people that have the most money don't look like they have money at all. So, that's just another, like, free tip for you. So, literally, like, stop acting like you are too good enough to communicate with anyone. That's number one. So going back to mistake number two, not asking for help is if you have a question about how to get into, let's say a certain event or environment, or you're trying to really get into the room of a lot of people that, you know, could help you really like open doors and give you access to other opportunities, you would literally have to decrease your pride and.

Not be afraid to go ask the person that maybe you don't even like that has access to that room. And so it's interesting because it's another reminder that the Bible says to love your enemies as God loves you. And so you literally have to Take away your pride. Take away your ego to think that first of all, why would we leave it up to this person to think that they would keep us from the opportunity when really it's God that at the end of the day advances us to where we're supposed to be.

That was like the biggest wake up call for myself is like, stop thinking that the people that you don't like, or you think that they don't like you is going to keep you from the blessing that already has your name on it. You were called to be where you are because God has placed you there. And regardless if he uses your enemies or the people that don't like you, which is more than likely what he does, you have to literally like say to yourself, okay, God, like, I see you, I understand you.

Now, if he were to put you in that position and say, I want you to go out and do the same thing, I want you to go open that door for them, I want you to go connect and network with that person that you may not like and give them that exact same opportunity that I gave you. Now, that's a whole different level, but going back to not being afraid to ask for help is super important because I think that you don't know who people are connected to.

And I think it's really all about who you know and not what you know, right? So, remind yourself that you have to remove the egoistic part of yourself because we all have it. And you have to say, you know what? Hey, can you be my mentor? Or, hey, would you mind looking at this work that I put together and can you review it and can you give me some feedback?

Right? So the biggest mistake that I think many of us are making is that we are not wanting to ask for help. We're too prideful. We have too much ego. We believe that we're too good. We think that, you know what? They're never going to want to look at me. They're never going to want to work with me. And it's like that mindset has to be removed in order to launch forward, in order to literally, like, believe in yourself, you have to be willing to be humble and serve, no matter where you are.

Okay, number three, this is like my favorite one. Number three, the biggest mistake is unwilling to pivot. Okay, so what do I mean by that? You're unwilling, meaning that you are not willing to pivot at all. You're willing to stick to your old ways. Honey, we are in 2025, okay? So if you are not on the AI train, honey, you're about to be left behind.

And so it's interesting because there's so many even pastors that are saying that stop looking at AI as it's a dangerous tool. While it has its moments, you can see it as a opportunity to launch, an opportunity to get you to where you want to be. Right? And that's one, the number one thing I honestly believe that AI is helping on so much is time management.

Right? So the amount of time that I usually put into, let's say, creating a podcast episode or, you know, putting together my social media content for the whole month has saved me so much time that I'm like, wow, I have more time to pour into other things. Right? And so the biggest mistake you could ever make is being unwilling to pivot.

And sticking to your old ways and honey, let me just tell you right now, that's going to just keep you exactly where you are. If you're unwilling to try new things, if you're unwilling to have a new conversation with someone you've never met before, meaning not in your same environment, getting out of your environment and going to different places, different cities, like literally explore, get out of your surroundings.

Things. Get out of your friend group. Go communicate, go network with people that you've never seen before. You may ask me, Okay, Danielle, how do I do that? You just do it. But in all seriousness though, find something you're interested in and get involved into that. Okay, so whether you're interested in reading, if you love books, honey, go find a book club on Facebook somewhere That is not in the same city as you, right?

If you love running, go find another run club. Whatever you're interested in, go get interested in that somewhere else. Okay. Be willing to pivot, be willing to try something new, be willing to do something you've never done before. I'm only saying that because I think when we are called to pivot, we get so scared that it's like, you know, flight or freeze.

Like we're literally like, you know, I can't move. I have to stay here. And like, you freeze to death because you're like, I haven't been moving. out of my comfort zone for the last 10 years. And your actions and your results are showing it. And my thing is, one thing about being a believer and one thing about this walk, honey, is that you gotta be willing to pivot at any time.

Because when God says it's time to move, honey, it's time to go. Okay, like, no questions asked. It's time to go. So, I think the biggest mistake you can make is holding on so tight and gripping the thing that God is calling you to let go. Because it's interesting how, when you pivot, and when you say, Okay, you know what?

I'm gonna surrender to what you have for me. What's on the other side of that door, honey, is something you never imagined before. So be willing to pivot. Be willing to be like, Okay, here we go. I don't know where we're going, but I trust you. And that is the position that God wants us to be in at all times.

At all times. Your brand deserves more than just a selfie. It deserves a vision captured perfectly. Hi, I'm Danielle J. Martin, and I'm here to help you create a visual identity that creates a lasting impression. So whether you're launching a business or you're enhancing your presence or you're rebranding, your photos are your first step.

Impression. So our brand photo shoots aren't just for you to take pretty pictures, but they're for you to tell your story, build trust, and connect with your audience in a whole different way. So if you're ready to elevate your brand that creates a lasting impression, go ahead and click that link down below.

Okay, mistake number four. It is not investing in your visual identity. Honey, I am so ready to talk about this. Okay, so first of all, like I said Social media is important. Your digital profile is important. You have to stop trying to avoid it, okay, because it's important. Um, one thing I will say is that the biggest mistake a lot of people, a lot of creators, a lot of entrepreneurs, even business owners that have been in, you know, business for years, is they're not updating their visual identity.

So what does that mean? multiple things. Okay. So this is where you kind of get out your notes and your paper is your profile picture is number one. Okay. Is your profile picture the most updated version of you today? Okay. Is it the most updated version? And if it's not, honey, it's time for an upgrade. Okay.

So go get a professional headshot. And I encourage you to update it on all of your platforms. And I say that because, again, it goes back to when people are trying to, you know, research you, locate you, and they have a photo of you back in 2008. Honey, what? Like, you're not getting hired. Okay? Not even that, but it's very difficult to believe the person that is online versus the person that may be in person, okay?

Now, some people might be like, that's not really a big deal. I promise you, it is. Your profile picture Is very important. Okay. Now you might say Danielle. I don't have access to a professional headshot I knew you were going to say that I understand I see a lot of selfies right now going on social media That is okay.

But as long as it is showing your pro your full profile face right now, what does that mean? From your head to your chin and maybe even a little bit of headroom and a little bit of like under chin area, right? Like give people a full profile of you, right? Cause I feel like sometimes you guys try to bring out the whole my space, like headshots a little bit where you're like cutting off your head and you're using that as your.

Profile picture or okay. Sometimes people use family photos now There are reasons why people do that for I would say like for undercover reasons Like there are some people who do have to hide their identity on social media They have to be you know, perceived a little bit differently based on what they do for their career That's a little bit different But I just encourage you that if you don't have a professional headshot Or professional photo, let's say Update that.

Okay. Now you may say, well, I change my hair all the time. Honey, you see, I change my hair like almost every week. No, but, um, I try to make sure it's more up to date. Right. So if I, you know, my natural hair or even when I have like, um, when I have like my extensions in, I was going to say weave. Okay. We're all familiar with weave, but I was gonna say my extensions in, it's funny how I just got so professional just now.

But, um, yeah. So when I. Want to wear my extensions or my weave or whatever. Um, I typically like post on my story, right. To let people know like, Hey, like this is how I'm looking right now. My profile picture is showing my natural hair, but this is how your girl is looking today. So if you were to see me, you're not like.

Throne off a little bit. I think that's just important, right? Because I think that when you are, especially when you're dating, um, and that's not even the topic right now, but I'm just saying that like it's super important to make sure that that is matching who you are today. But updating your visual identity starts with your profile picture and then it starts with your overall, um, appearance, right?

So how are you dressing? Um, throughout the day. Okay. So if you're at work, if you own a business, some people might be like, well, I have, you know, an online business. That's completely different. I understand you're not really like presenting yourself in public all the time, but more so speaking to people who are public facing and you think that it's okay to wear sweats all the time or to dress, you know, casual all the time, depending on your field.

I just think that you are communicating a message. At all times. And even on your down days, even on my off days, people could tell you like, they're like, wow, you're still dressed up. And I'm like, yeah, I'm in public. Like, it's just, I want to make sure even on my down days, even when I'm looking, you know, I'm running errands or something, I'm looking presentable to where really I'm trying to communicate a message where you will always catch me in my most authentic self at all times.

Right. Now, every person is different, every scenario is different, um, what you do in a day to day is different, but I just believe that your visual identity has a lot to do with your profile picture, how you dress, your wardrobe, updating that, right, if you're really trying to go somewhere, let's say, Be honest with ourselves.

If you're like, I like who I am. Okay. Disregard this whole conversation, right? Keep watching, but disregard. Um, but just like taking control and being more intentional when it comes to your wardrobe, I think is honestly my number one thing for 2025 is I'm trying to upgrade my style. Okay. Your girl, honestly, like I shop, you know, at Target.

And all of like, you know, very common places, but it's just where I want to go. I want to be a little bit more style, stylish, but I feel like I need help. So what am I going to do? Ask for help and we can snaps for that. Um, but yeah, so updating your wardrobe is so important, updating your profile picture, and I would add on to updating.

If you have a website. Updating your pictures on your website. If you were to ask me how often would you do that? Depending on, again it goes back to what you do, I would update them at least once a year. That may be a lot to you. Um, you may say, well Danielle, you're very photogenic. Yes, I enjoy taking photos.

You're right. However, I just think within a year, a lot can happen, right? A lot can happen within one year. And I think during that time, like people want to be on the journey with you. So if you're updating your photos, whether it's on social media or whether it's on your website. Professionally, professional photos, um, people connect with you.

They're, they're looking up to you and they're like, Oh my gosh. Like I remember, you know, last year she had these photos and this is what she was looking, looking like now this year, this is what she's looking like. And again, it really depends. Cause a year updating your website with a lot of photos is a lot, but.

Um, because I'm thinking of like some high end, um, high profile people and I think they update their website like at least every two years, right? So it really just depends on like your field and if you have enough funding for that. But really the root of what I'm saying is making sure you just have enough professional photos, um, to make sure that it aligns with who you are today.

Okay? Super important. So investing in your visual identity. Honey, yes, if you have questions on you know, how do you do your makeup? How do you do your hair? It goes back to our other point ask for help Okay, you guys can go back and look it is like horrific. It's so bad I used to have very bad hair days.

Okay Let me tell you, um, on the news station, I used to get emails sent to the news station about my hair. Open. I'm transparent. It's fine. We can laugh about it. But they were right. Like, my hair was terrible. Okay? Um, I didn't know how to do my, like, eyebrows back in the day. Oh my God! Like, thank God for the glow up!

Like, thank Thank you Jesus. We are so happy because When I say if I was still looking like that, it would be a problem. Okay, it would be like, what are we doing? But I asked for help. I asked for help. I asked my friends and you know, it's so funny one of my girlfriends I remember one day this is back when I really didn't know what I was doing and she just looked at me She just said do you mind if I help you?

And I said, yes But I thought I was looking good. I thought I was fine. I thought I was okay. And I was like, wow, she was telling me about my eyebrows. She was saying that like your, your eyebrows are way too thick. Like pull it back. Okay. Last mistake that you can make when it comes to launching your personal brand is you could be doing a lot more right now.

When you should be doing less Okay, if you are asking me danielle what that doesn't make sense. I have so much I need to do I am a firm believer that doing less is launching you to doing more And I say that because I think right now you are probably focused on Doing all of the things, getting all of your to do list items checked off, right?

Like you're trying to, you know, go to this networking event, be involved in the community, go to work, do the job, do the podcast. Like you're trying to do all these things, hang out with friends, be in a relationship and along the way. You don't realize, but all of those things are only getting like 10 percent of your time.

Okay. So when you are launching your personal brand and as you're building it, wherever you are in this stage, I encourage you to focus on one thing. And I'm speaking from experience because if you go back into the previous episodes, I talked deeply about where I was during that time, thinking I can do everything.

Right. And so I encourage you, my friend to do less because it will launch you to doing more. So if that looks like just, if you're doing a podcast right now, and that looks like just doing one podcast once a week or doing it every other week, you put in all your energy into that. And watch how it will launch you forward.

Watch the amount of views go up, watch your content get better. Watch your speaking get better because you're putting so much energy into that. Okay. Even look at your business pouring into one. System and say, you know what? We're going to focus on really increasing our content in our email list, right?

Like we're going to pour so much love and emphasis and making sure that every single word is spelled right. Writing an email to our email list and you will see your email list. Like, just advance and increase, but more importantly, you'll see people start responding. They're like, who is this person on the other side?

I like this, right? Whether it's working out. Let's even talk about that. It's the top of the year. I know many of you are working out right now. Okay. How consistent are you, honey? Okay? Is it every single day? Is it four times a week? Is it five times a week? Right? Like, focus in on one thing. And I used to really believe, I'm telling you, I used to believe that I'm like, I can do all these things.

Like, I don't know what people are talking about. Like, I'm out here doing it. And honey, I was. Exhausted. Okay. So learn from me and understand that these mistakes are just to give you an overview of like, hey, as you're going into 2025, I encourage you to just take some time to yourself. Ask yourself, are you doing any of these things?

Are you having limited beliefs on yourself? Are you not asking yourself, Are you asking for help because you're afraid that you're going to get denied? Are you unwilling to pivot because you'd rather be where you are because it's comfortable? Are you not willing to invest in your visual identity?

Because maybe you may not have the funds, but who could you ask to help get you there? And then are you doing two or three more things than you should be doing right now versus just focusing on that one little thing that you know, if you do that. It's going to launch you even further. Okay. So five mistakes that you should avoid as you are building yourself up, going into 2025, I hope that you take note of every single one.

They're just for you. And it's just to remind you that where you are is exactly where you're supposed to be. Okay. So as you're going out into today's world, as you're. Moving forward in your day to day, if this episode really resonated with you on any cylinder, on any circumstance, like, honey, go ahead and share it with at least five people, because I promise you, if it's blessing you, it's going to bless them.

And then also, I encourage you to continue moving forward. forward, whatever that looks like for you, whether it's being still moving forward, whether that's working out, whether that's reading a new book, whether that's trying that thing that keeps nudging you, but you're like, I don't know what that looks like.

Or maybe it's even going all in on the thing that you're afraid of because maybe it actually might work. So whatever that is, friend, I encourage you. I believe in you and I love you in the meantime. Thank you guys for watching. We'll see you next week. Thanks for watching the Authentic Media Podcast YouTube.

At Authentic Media Company, our mission is to help you develop an authentic brand so you can make the impact that you are called to make. If you got anything from today's episode, make sure you drop a comment down below. I'm interested to see what your takeaways are. And if you haven't already, make sure you're subscribed to our YouTube channel so you can be the first to know when we drop our newest.

In the meantime, have a great day.