Franklin Taggart's Unconventional Life Blog

  I was recently introduced to Brooke Monaghan by our mutual friend Audrey Holst. Upon meeting, I found Brooke to be a kindred soul in her outlook and unwillingness to settle for the status quo. We both decided we needed to interview each other, and I'm so glad we did. (Her interview on Your Own Best Company will be released next week!) In this episode of Brooke's podcast, Transcend Your Dichotomy, we had time to go deep with several topics. First, thanks to Brooke for giving me the space and time to share my story. Some of the other twists and turns we took: ** My skepticism and suspicion around the term 'thought leader" and those who would be quick to identify themselves as such. ** What it means to be a coach and to discover that calling in different ways. ** The power of working alone, not in isolation, but in solitude. ** My rapidly intensifying interest in AI and the impact it may likely have on the ways we work and live. You can listen to the episode on the plat...

The beginning of this video is a story from Michael Neill about being offered a TV series to showcase his coaching. After a few coaching sessions had been recorded, the idea was canceled because the camera wasn't able to see what was happening beyond a somewhat normal conversation. The transformation wasn't visible. In this Coffee Break I share a few thoughts about why it's difficult to articulate the value of what we do because much of the experience is in the invisible, subjective world of feelings, desires, and thought. The best we can do is describe maybe only a few sides of a multi-faceted jewel. Add to that the evolution of what we do and offer, and the different audiences and contexts we deliver to, and it's any wonder we can talk about it at all. I have a couple of resources if you're struggling to articulate your work into a message that people will understand and act upon. First, there's the Top-Floor Elevator Pitch Bundle, which includes two courses a...

▼▼▼Watch or Listen Below!▼▼▼ Perfectionism is a part of the human experience that has many definitions and is perceived by some to be a positive character trait while others view it as an obstacle to success. It’s a common factor that isn’t related to one personality type over others, isn’t limited to high achievers or low, and can affect people at every level of self-image. If you’ve ever believed that you had to show up a certain way to be accepted or had to have all your circumstances exactly in order before you could start working on something or have hidden something you’ve done after comparing it to the work of others, you’ve experienced perfectionism. Audrey Holst is a coach who guides perfectionists and stressed-out high achievers and performers that are ready to start enjoying and living the life they've worked so hard for. She teaches her clients simple and practical tools of self-discovery to move through old patterns of perfectionism into greater freedom and open-hearte...

  ▼▼▼Watch and Listen Below!▼▼▼ The online education industry has been in an explosive growth cycle for the past two decades and it doesn’t appear to be slowing. Online courses offer small business owners a way to scale and grow their revenue without having to add more time-based services or personnel. Today’s guest, Jason Van Orden helps authors, academics, and speakers turn their expertise into new streams of scalable income such as online courses. He draws from more than seventeen years of experience, including creating multiple successful brands, launching over 60 online courses, teaching more than 10,000 entrepreneurs, earning seven figures in online course sales, and generating 8 million downloads of his podcasts. His mission is to help visionaries with impactful ideas to connect with the people they serve best and the problems they can most uniquely solve. Since 2005, Jason has helped thought leaders to reach a larger audience with their ideas, create new income str...

▼▼▼Watch and Listen Below▼▼▼ Karen Diffey helps ambitious, committed introverts tap into their natural strengths to become inspiring, authentic, and confident leaders. She’s on a mission to help introverted women leaders be the best version of themselves - competent, fulfilled, and happy in work and life. She says “I know how overwhelming it can be not believing what you’re really good at. Revisiting challenging situations and constantly wondering how you could have handled things differently. As confusing as it may seem, there is a path from where you are now to stepping up to achieve your next level goals and I can show you the way.” Her clients describe her as intuitive, insightful, calm, and a guiding light to clarity. She challenges performance risks in a productive and positive way, building resilience and confidence. About herself, she says, “Personally, back in 2014 I was a Finance & Business Director. Outwardly, I was confident and put on a good show. Inwardly, I struggl...

Watch or listen to the episode below. After realizing that climbing the corporate ladder held little appeal for him, Carl Dierschow discovered through a compelling journey that coaching was his calling. He’s an experienced business and career coach as well as a guide to organizations in strategic planning, organizational alignment, and product and service development. He’s an Associate Certified Coach through the International Coach Federation and has received further certification from both Comprehensive Coaching University and The Forton Group. He is the sole US representative of Small Fish Business Coaching, a coaching practice uniquely suited to provide business coaching to small businesses worldwide. He also writes the weekly blog, The Values-Based Business. More information is available at https://www.smallfish.us/ Attract Customers to your Powerful Mission webinar http://www.webinar.smallfish.us/ Subscribe to The Values-Based Business blog at https://valuesbased.biz/ Conn...

 I've had a couple of good days of rest after a particularly full and challenging year. I'm excited to have a few days to recover and clean out the corners to get ready for 2017. Before I do that, I'd like to send gratitude to so many people. While it wasn't the easiest year, I was surrounded by love and goodness in a multitude of forms. I'm grateful first to Monica and B, and our little dog, too. For those who don't know, my dad spent the last year living with us in between independent and assisted living facilities. I didn't know the extent to which he would need to be taken care of, and our little family rose to the occasion. We made sure he was clean and fed, and Vinnie would have little visits with him. We had another family member for a few months in the midst of that. The identity isn't important, but it's only to say that we had our hands full.  Thankfully that chapter is closed. Despite the added stress and overwhelm, we managed to stay ...