One of the thought leaders I’ve come to admire is Kary Oberbrunner. If you’re not familiar with Kary, he’s an author, speaker, and coach, but what he really does is ignite souls to find their passion and purpose in life.
His “tribe” is aptly dubbed the Igniting Souls Tribe, and he and his business partner David Branderhorst have built one of the most engaged followings I’ve seen.
I witnessed this firsthand at the 2015 Igniting Souls Conference in Columbus, Ohio. I’m an avid consumer of Kary’s content but sticking around top thought leaders always yields new insights. Here are just 5 of my favorite Oberbrunner one-liners:
1. Where your focus goes, your energy flows.
This is a simple but powerful concept that applies to both positive and (unfortunately) negative things. I’ve witnessed the incredible creativity and energy that flows when locked on “whatever is true.” I’ve also experienced frustration and depression when focused on anything negative, whether it’s as small as a headache or as large as my college loans. Stay focused on what matters!
2. You must remember your future.
The context of this quote was a discussion about fear. Human beings can be so affected by the fear of something that hasn’t even happened yet that we’ll physically react with sweaty palms, shaking, and a faster heartbeat. Kary talked about reverse-engineering this process. “Remember” a good future, and your body and mind will react accordingly with confidence, assurance, and faith.
3. Confusion repels, clarity attracts.
Kary likens personal branding to a frequency on the radio. Turn on any station and you’ll find they play a certain type of music and stick to it. You never find variety stations that play heavy metal on one track followed by hip hop on the next. No one would listen. The lesson here? Broadcast one frequency, and you’ll draw in the audience you’re working so hard to attract.
4. Market before you manufacture, promote before you produce.
Remember the last movie trailer you saw? Consider this: that trailer was released before the movie was even completed! This is one of the biggest mistakes people make when offering products and services: they market after they finish the product, rather than before.
5. Success isn’t something you achieve, it’s someone you become.
Success is more mindset than metrics. Kary reminded us that true success begins and ends with credibility — that if you are in the personal brand business, you ARE your business. People only follow brands they trust; no one opens and Coke and experts to pour out Sprite. The common trait of sucessful people is singularity.
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Early in my podcast career, I interviewed Kary on the topic of making the leap from “day job to dream job” and it’s one of the best interviews I’ve ever done.
- Listen here: BYP 8 – Day Job to Dream Job with Kary Oberbrunner
I also featured Kary’s Igniting Souls podcast on my top 5 list recently. It’s one of my favorites — I never miss an episode. His content (and style) is raw and unfiltered, but that’s part of the charm for me. I’ve personally encouraged him to podcast regularly and hope he finds it in his busy schedule to do so.
Download Kary Oberbrunner’s “One Sheet” here:
Finally, I recommend you check out Kary’s very own “One Sheet” which he generously made available to listeners of our podcast interview. This is a quick-start framework to creating a clearly defined product for a clearly defined market. Skip over this at your own risk!
It’s been a few years since I’ve been following Kary and we’ve quickly become kindred spirits. In early 2015 we both went to attend Ray Edwards Permission to Prosper conference, roomed together, and ended up both speaking at the event.
They say friendships are forged in the fire — and for me, Kary Oberbrunner has helped fan the flame. Check out more of Kary at karyobrunner.com, or better yet check out Kary’s Amazon author page. His books are tremendous, especially Day Job to Dream Job.
