As I dive deeper into the world of marketing and online biz, I continue to come back to the same thought: Traditional approaches to business/marketing/advertising prey on the insecurities of the individual and remove autonomy from the consumer.

Fuck that.

People buy shit they don’t need and sign up for things they’re not ready for because compelling copy convinces them that the marketer knows without a doubt what they need and what is best for them.

To be clear, there is a HUGE difference between a marketer knowing more than the customer and extending an invitation, and a marketer using compelling copy to convince a customer of the need for something that they do not in fact need or are not ready for.

Autonomy is, and always will be, sexy.

It’s time for a better way, and my suggestion for the path there might be a bit different than you think.

When I was a practicing physical therapist I always believed that the way to fix the broken system was from the bottom up, by empowering the patient, by educating them, by giving them autonomy and helping them realize that what they thought absolutely mattered.

Marketing is no different.

If we want to see an end to sleazy tactics, we’ve got to empower the customer, give them autonomy, and encourage self-trust.

The most effective way to do this? By doing it for ourselves first. Yeah, I flipped the script just a little bit there. Hear me out.

All too often I see folks say they empower people for a living, and yet they are swimming in a sea of self-doubt and being anything but confident.

How can we ask our people to do the very things that we’re avoiding? How can we expect folks to have the confidence and self-trust to avoid sleazy sales and demand better from marketers if we aren’t showing up with that same level of confidence and self-trust…especially when we’re in the role of the consumer?

Someone smart once said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” I think that fits nicely here 😉

Despite being in “launch mode” for my Instagram Intensive, my content this week on IG and on my podcast has focused on confidence and self-trust.

I posted this list of 10 Tips for improving confidence and followed it up on Thursday with a podcast episode on the same topic that expanded on each point, and honestly, I’m really proud of that episode.

It’s very easy to provide nebulous suggestions like “value your opinion” (I legit almost used that as one of the tips then checked myself) but I spent a few hours on both the post and the episode, fleshing out actionable, tangible suggestions and I hope that if you need them, you find them helpful.

• ​CLICK HERE to check out the post.
• ​CLICK HERE to listen to episode 284

My top 10 tips for improving confidence

1. Put your oxygen mask on first
2. Do MOAR things that YOU love and enjoy
3. Celebrate yourself and others
4. Take ownership for your successes and victories
5. Take responsibility for the outcome(s) of your decisions
6. Surround yourself with confident people
7. Do MOAR things that you're good at
8. Practice contentment and acceptance
9. Say no to things you want to say no to
10. Be scared but do it anyway

My goal with everything I do is to instill confidence and promote self-trust. I believe those to both be super-powers, and such catalysts for success. I received some really good feedback about the post and the episode, so after my AM frustration I decided it would be best to share them with you and provide a solution instead of just bitching about things.

It’s time for me to go play some volleyball, but as always, I love hearing back from you.

Cheers to confidence and self-trust.

It’s time to change the game.

PS— wondering what MOAR means? Check this out.