Show Notes
Anya Pearse is like the mobile libraries of our childhood. You would look forward to it arriving and be welcomed in with open arms to a cave of wonders filled with exciting and nourishing resources to cosy up with.
She is the first to have a reassuringly apt reference in any conversation - be it a book, an article, a podcast, a poem… she can contextualise our experience in any moment within a wide world of others' experiences, reflections and wisdom - which is hugely comforting, inspiring and humbling. If we “read to know we are not alone”, Anya compassionately shares what she’s discovered to help us feel this directly.
As a child herself she was “baffled, yet intrigued” by the behaviour of those around her, and now combines a researcher’s curiosity, a poet’s turn of phrase, and a comedian’s sense of timing to help those she encounters gain insight and compassion into what they do.
She is no stranger to tricky times, having lived with a disabling chronic illness for 16 years; reimagining it as her spiritual path helps her to bring a particular kind of hard-won grace, wisdom and empathy into her work.
The Head of Positive Psychology at The Museum of Happiness, where she co-facilitates their Certified Happiness Facilitator Training, she is an intuitive adviser, and Fellow of the Positive Psychology Guild. She consolidates her interest in “the science of what makes life worth living” with an MSc in Applied Positive Psychology, focusing on the concept of “self-as-instrument” – how our own qualities of attention, openness and presence impact others and create our first intervention.
Anya invites us to consider patterns, meaning and connection within ourselves and the universe to which we may previously have been blind: “Dots can be connected, allowing patterns to appear. Clarity and new ideas start to flow.”
As a coach, you too are a treasure trove of magic for your clients. And you can show up with it through bringing resources, energy, compassion and inspiration into your marketing as well as into your coaching practice.
We will be talking to Anya about what it is to bring our full selves to our interactions - and interventions - to creative moments between two people.
On the surface, this Marketing Masterclass is about (repurposing) content, resources and showing that you are the best guide for your ideal client.
Underneath, this time with Anya will be a mind-expanding dance with joy, a celebration of the self and about how to take things slowly...
More from Better Bolder Braver
What happens when we rethink coaching and marketing through a neurodivergent lens?
What if better coaching, and better marketing, came from doing less?
Seth Werkheiser is a writer, musician, a "wizardly guide to platform independence" and the founder of the Social Media Escape Club. I met Seth for the very first time whilst creating this episode! We talk about escaping social media without a rigid detox plan, why a newsletter beats a feed, the "work-work balance" almost nobody admits to, and why community - not content - might be the actual antidote to burnout. We also cover: Seth's path from third-generation musician to music blogger (2001) to AOL Music editor to email marketer for record labels and a music publicist - and how that same "help creative people get seen" mission has never really changed
In this episode, I get to profile one fabulous member of the Better Bolder Braver community, Simon Hill. Simon is a coach, facilitator and consultant who works with people-helpers of a particular kind - leaders in charities and social purpose organisations - and he's been part of our community for two years now, most recently taking the reins as chair of our book club. We talk about what actually happens in a community like ours - how the thinking and feelings associated with marketing are slowly absorbed (after the eleventh time, or in Simon's case, the fifteenth), and how marketing starts to feel more human and less daunting. We cover the five P's of Positioning, the power of kindness at work, why good contracting is quietly brilliant marketing, and Simon's beloved concept of entering every conversation without Memory, Understanding or Desire - or as he calls it, “MUD”. There's humour, there's parenting, there's talk of doodling, and there's a couple of very good book recommendations.
What if your best marketing move wasn't saying more - but asking better questions? In this episode, I'm joined by Rob Lawrence: seasoned podcast producer, experienced coach, and - I'll be honest - one of my marketing heroes. Rob is also, rather wonderfully, the reason Better Bolder Braver exists at all. It was his generosity in inviting me onto the Association for Coaching podcast that kicked the whole thing off. Together we explore one of the most liberating ideas in good, ethical marketing: that coaches are already equipped with one of the most powerful marketing tools there is. They just might not have recognised it yet. What we talk about Why asking questions often generates more engagement than sharing expertise - on LinkedIn, in podcasts, and in life How "holding the space" in marketing creates the same trust and intimacy as a coaching relationship The connection between self-awareness in coaching and self-awareness in marketing Why you don't need to say something new every week - and why saying the same five things, creatively, is actually the goal How questions can move your ideal clients through the Journey of Consciousness - from "I didn't know I had a problem" to "I'm ready to work with you" The difference between posting publicly and taking conversations offline - and why Rob's quieter LinkedIn strategy works beautifully Rob's 10-year weekly mastermind with his Australian counterpart Steve Palfreyman - and why he calls it his single biggest business secret How to translate your best coaching questions directly into your marketing