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Ditch the Act: Reveal the Surprising Power of the Real You for Greater Success
Be human. It’s the only way to get ahead in business today.Competition today is fiercer than ever. It seems that every job candidate is flashing a world-class resume and every business competitor is the absolute best at what they do. Don’t be fooled. People exaggerate. And don’t be discouraged. By revealing stories of failures, setbacks, and personal flaws without shame or fear, you exhibit greater self-confidence than your competition. You cultivate connections with serious, smart people, and you build loyalty that lasts. Ditch the Act shows how to present your humanness―imperfect and flawed but honest, resilient, and willing to learn―in strategic ways to achieve clear, defined goals. It provides an actionable program for building an authentic, long-lasting personal brand, explaining why exposure is important and how it cultivates more durable connections than any polished persona can. By creating a personal brand that’s honest and authentic and that reveals personal struggles, you’ll build stronger, longer-lasting relationships―and achieve greater success. Careers and businesses based on authenticity and truth aren’t just more rewarding than those founded on hyperbole and the “hard sell.” Because they’re founded on durable, robust relationships, they’re rock-solid―and better withstand business uncertainty and tough times. Ditch the act, be real―and jump ahead of the competition before they even know you are there.
336 pages, Hardcover
Published October 29, 2019
About the author
Leonard Kim
4 books22 followersLeonard Kim is a marketer who wins a lot of awards despite being a self-described expert at failing. But failing can't be the only thing he is good at since Fortune 500 companies, NYT bestselling authors and venture capitalists, book publishers like McGraw-Hill Business, large media publications like Forbes, CMO, Fast Company, Fortune, Adweek, Entrepreneur, and hundreds of others, and more than 500,000 followers think otherwise.
Leonard was raised by his grandparents, of which his grandfather, Robert L. Landis, was an all American hero who served in the United States Air Force, fought in three wars and retired from both the Military and Armco (AK Steel), the biggest steel manufacturer in the United States.
Leonard's story began in 2010. He stopped paying his electricity bill for six months, had to shower in the dark, then was served an eviction notice. He thought he would spend the rest of his days living under a bridge until he called his mother who then called his grandmother, about how Leonard was about to be homeless. Surprisingly his grandmother took him back in (even though she originally disowned him when he was 16).
According to his TEDx Talk, Why You Should Let Your Fears Guide You (recognized as a top TED Talk by Inc., Forbes and Mashable), by the end of 2011, Leonard was so fed up with constantly failing year after year, that he wanted to end it all. Luckily for us, that didn't happen. That's because sharing these struggles and hardships is what led his content to being read over 14 million times, while either touching or inspiring the lives of people all across the world.
One thing Leonard does extremely well is within the niches of marketing people and professional development, most commonly referred to as personal branding. He holds workshops at companies, speaks at conferences, works hands-on with executives and entrepreneurs who run 8 figure+ businesses, provides consulting and teaches his craft through online courses.
Leonard also coauthored a book with his business partner at InfluenceTree, Ryan Foland, called Ditch the Act: Reveal the Surprising Power of the Real You for Greater Success and runs a weekly radio show called Grow Your Influence Tree, where he does free personal brand consulting live on the air.
What brought Leonard to where he is today is a mixture of transparency, vulnerability and being his true, authentic self. So many people talk about the importance of these things, but how many people really know how to implement it, let alone teach others how to do it? Leonard does, and he shares the steps through two formulas:
Book: The eight-step brand process teaches readers how to own and expose who they truly are, form meaningful relationships that move the needle and ultimately, uncover the greatness that already exists from within, to stack success
Workshops and Courses: The four V's teach attendees how to claim their vision, discover their voice, turn up the volume and command validation
Leonard lives in Los Angeles with his beautiful wife Angie (who after one year of meeting him, is now heavily invested in growing her personal brand) and their very lovable chihuahua, Roo, who loves to eat peanut butter and bananas.
P.S. As people are only great at two to three different things in life, whatever you do, do not take any advice that Leonard provides on how to diet (because he eats too many cookies and cupcakes) and on how to save money (because he is often seen indulging too much at the Viceroy Hotel in New York).
Email: Hello@LeonardKim.com
Websites: LeonardKim.com | InfluenceTree.com | DitchTheAct.com
Leonard was raised by his grandparents, of which his grandfather, Robert L. Landis, was an all American hero who served in the United States Air Force, fought in three wars and retired from both the Military and Armco (AK Steel), the biggest steel manufacturer in the United States.
Leonard's story began in 2010. He stopped paying his electricity bill for six months, had to shower in the dark, then was served an eviction notice. He thought he would spend the rest of his days living under a bridge until he called his mother who then called his grandmother, about how Leonard was about to be homeless. Surprisingly his grandmother took him back in (even though she originally disowned him when he was 16).
According to his TEDx Talk, Why You Should Let Your Fears Guide You (recognized as a top TED Talk by Inc., Forbes and Mashable), by the end of 2011, Leonard was so fed up with constantly failing year after year, that he wanted to end it all. Luckily for us, that didn't happen. That's because sharing these struggles and hardships is what led his content to being read over 14 million times, while either touching or inspiring the lives of people all across the world.
One thing Leonard does extremely well is within the niches of marketing people and professional development, most commonly referred to as personal branding. He holds workshops at companies, speaks at conferences, works hands-on with executives and entrepreneurs who run 8 figure+ businesses, provides consulting and teaches his craft through online courses.
Leonard also coauthored a book with his business partner at InfluenceTree, Ryan Foland, called Ditch the Act: Reveal the Surprising Power of the Real You for Greater Success and runs a weekly radio show called Grow Your Influence Tree, where he does free personal brand consulting live on the air.
What brought Leonard to where he is today is a mixture of transparency, vulnerability and being his true, authentic self. So many people talk about the importance of these things, but how many people really know how to implement it, let alone teach others how to do it? Leonard does, and he shares the steps through two formulas:
Book: The eight-step brand process teaches readers how to own and expose who they truly are, form meaningful relationships that move the needle and ultimately, uncover the greatness that already exists from within, to stack success
Workshops and Courses: The four V's teach attendees how to claim their vision, discover their voice, turn up the volume and command validation
Leonard lives in Los Angeles with his beautiful wife Angie (who after one year of meeting him, is now heavily invested in growing her personal brand) and their very lovable chihuahua, Roo, who loves to eat peanut butter and bananas.
P.S. As people are only great at two to three different things in life, whatever you do, do not take any advice that Leonard provides on how to diet (because he eats too many cookies and cupcakes) and on how to save money (because he is often seen indulging too much at the Viceroy Hotel in New York).
Email: Hello@LeonardKim.com
Websites: LeonardKim.com | InfluenceTree.com | DitchTheAct.com
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 12, 2020
To advise women that they should “share their trauma” to be considered authentic at work...no.
Working mothers, “Exposure Resume” is bunk and if you work somewhere that subscribes to this mentality, look elsewhere for a job.
Working mothers, “Exposure Resume” is bunk and if you work somewhere that subscribes to this mentality, look elsewhere for a job.
Read
October 25, 2019You’re familiar with the saying “it is better to have tried and failed than not to have tried at all.” Now, how about wearing that failure on your sleeve like a Red Badge of Courage?
The premise behind Ditch the Act: Reveal the Surprising Power of the Real You for Greater Success (McGraw-Hill Education) is that showing vulnerability and authenticity is a better strategy in business and life than the stereotypical polished persona you always believed would win friends and influence people. So basically, ditch the act.
Until now, people who have openly talked about their failures, it seems, are people who have experienced a fair degree of success and can laugh at their miscues. But authors Leonard Kim and Ryan Foland preach that sharing your real inner self is in fact the very roadmap to succeeding in the first place.
“I consult with some of the biggest brands in the world, and what I constantly see lacking in executive leadership is the candor to let their authentic selves shine through,” writes Keith Ferrazzi, bestselling author of Never Eat Alone and Who’s Got Your Back in the book’s foreword. You need to “position your ‘not so good’ moments into teachable lessons that make you more approachable and, frankly, more human.”
If 50 percent of new businesses don’t last five years and 50 percent of marriages end in divorce, why sweep the reality and lessons of half our existence under the rug? Kim and Foland set out to demonstrate how “revealing your failures and weaknesses is an essential element in building and sustaining a viral personal brand to help propel your relationships, your career and/or your business.”
The rest of the review: https://booktrib.com/2019/10/ditch-th...
The premise behind Ditch the Act: Reveal the Surprising Power of the Real You for Greater Success (McGraw-Hill Education) is that showing vulnerability and authenticity is a better strategy in business and life than the stereotypical polished persona you always believed would win friends and influence people. So basically, ditch the act.
Until now, people who have openly talked about their failures, it seems, are people who have experienced a fair degree of success and can laugh at their miscues. But authors Leonard Kim and Ryan Foland preach that sharing your real inner self is in fact the very roadmap to succeeding in the first place.
“I consult with some of the biggest brands in the world, and what I constantly see lacking in executive leadership is the candor to let their authentic selves shine through,” writes Keith Ferrazzi, bestselling author of Never Eat Alone and Who’s Got Your Back in the book’s foreword. You need to “position your ‘not so good’ moments into teachable lessons that make you more approachable and, frankly, more human.”
If 50 percent of new businesses don’t last five years and 50 percent of marriages end in divorce, why sweep the reality and lessons of half our existence under the rug? Kim and Foland set out to demonstrate how “revealing your failures and weaknesses is an essential element in building and sustaining a viral personal brand to help propel your relationships, your career and/or your business.”
The rest of the review: https://booktrib.com/2019/10/ditch-th...
May 8, 2020
Kim is a psycho
May 11, 2020
Ryan Foland is a good friend of mine. I love this book because it's consistent with his personality -- open, honest, authentic. Ryan figured out early on the inutility of putting lipstick on a pig. If you're a pig, go with that. Find your story, and share it, bruises and all, because it's the bruises that convince us you are human -- like us. What's really great about this book are the worksheets and careful sequential steps that take you from beginning to savvy pro in personal branding, getting your story out there, and sharing it in ways that spark lively discussion. This is a great handbook for those who are getting started in the personal branding world we all live in now whether we embrace it or not.
August 23, 2021
Self-promoting and just not very useful.
August 24, 2022
Maybe not the best book but makes you think a lot.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews