When we say trusting ourselves, which self are we talking about? Which parts of ourselves can’t be trusted?

That’s what we’re exploring today with returning guest, Ilise Benun. We discuss how confidence is a byproduct of action, what made her so angry that she decided to start her own business 35 years ago, building tolerance for silence and small experiments, and why she puts her phone number in her newsletter, on her website, and in the “from” line of her emails.

If you haven’t already, check out our previous conversation in episode 165: Are your clients bringing out the best in you? Engineering the Evolution of Your Business with Ilise Benun and episode 467 of Marketing Mentor on How to Free Your Time.

More About Ilise: Ilise Benun is the founder of Marketing-Mentor.com, the go-to online resource for creative professionals who want better projects with bigger budgets, through which she offers business coaching. She is also a national speaker and author of 7 books, including "The Creative Professional's Guide to Money," three online courses via CreativeLive and Domestika.org, and The Simplest Marketing Plan – all tailored to the needs of creative professionals. She has also been hosting the Marketing Mentor Podcast since 2008, with over 465 episodes at the time of this recording.

🌟 3 Key Takeaways

Drop the belief that “I need to know” — what I’m doing, what my niche is, have all the ducks in a row. Approach life and business as an experiment. You’ll know what’s not working much earlier than what is.
Absence blindness: we don’t see what’s not there, but in the silence things are happening
Be careful about taking advice from someone who has too much at stake in terms of the decisions you’re making.

📝 Permission

To listen to someone else. Find someone you trust, and just try something that they suggest—then see what happens.

✅ Do (or Delegate) This Next

Make a list of various selves; for example, the old self vs. the new self; rational self vs. the irrational self; the critical self vs. the compassionate self; the morning self vs. the afternoon self. Note who you trust most with business decisions, and which ones might be better to sideline.

🔗 Resources Mentioned

Ilise on the web, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube
Ilise’s Quick Tips newsletter (with Magic Money Formula)
People: Terri Trespicio, Jenn Lederer
Jenny’s Substack
Tools: Vocaroo.com, LinkedIn mobile app, How to add LinkedIn’s audio intro (10 sec)

📚 Books Mentioned

🎧 Related Episodes

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