Hello, my fellow extraordinary Americans. Welcome back to the show. For today’s guests we have Shelby, Jo Long. Shelby is a serial entrepreneur, senior vice president, author, podcaster, and professor. She is the CEO of the Business Dynamics expertise project and role publishing partners. She’s a senior vice president of the strategic advisor, both of whom are about 10 high-level CEOs. That helps small businesses. She’s also a professor of communication studies at Rocky Mountain College. 

Shelby authored the book called I See your genius, Transform your idea into income where she talks about identifying the value of unique genius monetization strategies for your ideas and a step-by-step process to create income from your expertise. Her passion is to help you discover and harness the power of your own genius so that you can be financially free. She came from relatively humble beginnings and is an embodiment of someone that taught and acted in certain ways to overcome great odds to become very successful. I believe that she’s an extraordinary American, so I’ve invited her as a guest on this show. 

Shelby, welcome to the show. How are you doing?

Hey, thanks. Thank You for that introduction, that’s a very nice introduction. So, thank you for that.

OH no like no problem. I have a question. So, I know you’re a serial entrepreneur. You’re an author. You’re a podcaster, your professor. Can you tell us a little bit more about yourself, your background, and how you got started? 

I would say the serial entrepreneur part is more of a recent part of my story, rather than the foundational part. But just kind of a broad background I am a communication studies professor. I teach business communication and I have been for the past 17 years here at Rocky Mountain College. But then I also my other background to that is that I’m a collegiate debate coach and I’ve been in Collegiate debate for much longer than that. 

So, I coached for five years before I started working here, and I competed when I was in college. And so that’s kind of the background to it. So, I’ve been in academia for quite some time. And then I got the entrepreneurial bug more and probably I’ve been working on and off the organization consulting and organizational culture and all sorts of training activities. And then I decided to formalize that into practice probably four years ago when I started my business consulting and coaching business. Now, as my business partner would say, I keep collecting businesses because it just makes sense to put businesses together. 

So, you can have more power in the marketplace, but I do have my own business dynamics, which is where I help people create businesses out of their ideas, their genius. And then I’m on the strategic advisory board, as you said, with the 10 high-powered CEOs, and then I have a publishing group too and I’m one of six directors in that publication. The group that kind of formed out of publishing my book. So, there are a few different places, but it just seems like there’s more opportunity when there are more people involved in that collaboration space key, which I think my background speaks to. 

But Shelly, it’s pretty strong that you are managing to do so many businesses simultaneously, it requires a certain level of thinking and a certain work ethic to even do that. And like I think most Americans would want to know what that work ethic exactly is. 

But like I wanted to ask you, what is? What is your, what was your strategic goal and vision regarding your life and your career altogether? Like from the beginning till like right now.

Another kind of interesting background of mine. I grew up on a farm, so I grew up on a farm and ranch and I, you know, I did all the farming and ranching responsibilities like feeding cattle and driving a hay truck and a harvest truck in the summer. 

You went from that to being a serial entrepreneur like OK, what is the story behind that?

Both my parents are entrepreneurs. My dad’s a farmer, but he was also involved in local politics, and I grew up in that space, which means there are not much harder workers anywhere than when on a farm. You don’t ever have a break when you’re on a farm and you’re busy year-round. And there’s always something to do and so, there was that kind of background, and my dad and my mom, really. My mom’s a real estate agent. My dad ran the farm, so he was definitely part of their identity, and part of my foundational skills is from that. 

And then and I never really had the desire to start my own business, not until later I was, I was pretty comfortable in the school setting and pretty comfortable in the debate world, and pretty comfortable in communication, teaching communication, and then then I started to think of the power of those ideas outside of the classroom and how important I think it is for students to think about their skills outside of the classroom. And then I thought it was important for me to think about that. 

Now I have a pretty robust business helping people discover that transition and what can make that transition and then you know, you ask about all three, I do have three businesses and I’m still teaching part-time. But how does it kind of make it all work together? It does come down to my work ethic, but it also comes down to that everything is pretty aligned and it’s when you want to build a business or when you have the desire to build the business around your genius and your expertise. There are a lot of things that are attached to it. It’s not just one thing. It’s not just a solo message that you have or a solo. For an audience that you’re speaking to, there are a little many different ways to attract audiences and communicate with audiences and it speaks to discipline. 

So, they all kind of work together. So, they do work with businesses on the strategic scaling level, but a lot of that has to do with communication and understanding your goals, and understanding the network of how to get there. There’s a lot, there’s a lot of communication pieces to that too. So, all the pieces are very synergistic because I talk about the same things in many of the spaces. So, communication skills are really leadership skills, so. That’s kind of the broad overview of that, but it does come from farming back.

You know, I find it interesting because you know a lot. Most people like it, they normally exchange their time for money and they’re working for other people’s companies. But you came from a farm and then you had an entrepreneurial like you had parents who are entrepreneurial and like as like they had an entrepreneurial spirit. And then you basically show people how to monetize their ideas. I mean, business is out of it, but I feel like that should be done on like a national scale, you know like it should be done for more people, because then more people could be they could be free to live out their dreams, but they’re not able to do that because they’re too busy exchanging their time for other people’s business.

I totally agree, but I totally agree with that. And but it’s a lot of it too is about it’s, it’s a lot about mindset too, right? Like what we’re taught, you know that what’s normal is for you to go to school and to find a job and to retire from a job. And I think that narrative really changed. Particularly over the past couple of years. The pandemic and well, and it was, even before the pandemic just kind of sped things up. But there are so many opportunities, and the marketplace is just exploding with the ability to connect with people all over the world and to be able to create an impact in a lot more places than just the region that you grow up in. 

And I think it’s, not undiscovered because people have discovered it, but now it people taking the opportunity and understanding, you know, I help, I help people develop kind of their side hustles and then eventually they can be making enough money in their side hustle to get out of their business like there’s. You can either drop it all, or you can either build it and then jet, but there’s a process to do that, and there’s a way to do that, depending on your resources and the time that you have.

So, the reason I’m bringing it up is that you’re a professor in college, but most colleges don’t teach all that. They are basically either giving you a liberal arts degree or some degree that. Or they’re teaching you how to become a good worker for somebody’s company. They’re not actually teaching what you’re teaching, which is basically how to monetize your ideas and, like, turn them into a business, and become financially free, like to make a good start as it starts inside the hustle. But then slowly you want to use it and grow it and then you can leave this thing and just follow your passions as usual in colleges and universities all across this country and even across the world. They don’t actually teach. That, like there’s a system in place to make you go Through a 9 to 5 and I mean, I don’t know. Maybe it’s changed a lot in the last two years, but still, a great majority still believe in that System, you know.

I agree with you. I completely agree with you on that, but I don’t know if it’s intentional if that makes sense. I think it’s part of the curriculum and it’s kind of what you do. And I mean. Really, it’s the same skills as a liberal arts degree or a business degree. This teaches you skills and then what students, or graduates do with those skills, whether they start their own business or whether they get into a job. Whenever that is, then it’s just the application of that, but just even the thinking about what are the possibilities. And I think that’s one thing that was why I started my own business because I wanted to discover the possibilities and the impact I could make with my genius outside of the classroom and that it’s and. And I think I’m. I feel like I’m doing it at the right time. Many people are seeking an opportunity to find a new way to be fulfilled with what they’re doing and to create a job that they want to do, and I think it’s a good time to do so. 

I’ve been discussing like I’ve interviewed a lot of other entrepreneurs and they’re all agreeing that the reason for that is because there’s no job security, you know, like you could be working and there used to be something called job loyalty back in the day. But that’s absent in today’s world companies could just fire you just like that App Store. There’s inflation. On continuously and then the wages are not matching up with inflation you have to adapt.

But the one thing I do know is that when I was in college, I wish there was somebody that taught me what you were teaching through, like your book or through your programs where you have this idea and you monetize it instead of like a senior design project. I did an engineering degree, but instead of like a senior design project, the project would be something like hey, start a business, come up with a business idea, and show me a way to monetize it. Give me a business plan and execute this. And I’m going to grade you on. That and then you just become financially free while you’re doing a College like that would Have been the ideal college setting. You know, this is what should be taught in universities, but it’s not. It’s not become mainstream. That’s my point. 

And I don’t think It is. It will be next semester, but both of my Classes are going to Do that. So that’s what I would do next semester with my classes because it’s pretty intuitive.

Oh really? 

To me, it’s intuitive for me, but like you have to have a pretty, secure idea of who you are and what your skills are and what your strengths are, and then what’s your passion. What are you passionate about? Whom do you want to talk to? And then what problem are you solving? So, there is a step-by-step. Access to it. So, I’m going to put it to the test this next semester. 

That would be awesome, actually. But, Shelby, what is the biggest lesson you learned? Ultra New Year doing? Business and just teaching people how to do it. How to do their own business. 

I think there are a few first of all, for yourself as an entrepreneur, it’s important to. Trust yourself and trust those people around you and surround yourself with people with trust in people that that that you can learn from. And that’s not even necessarily a mentorship opportunity, even though mentorship is so key. But to be around people and to be having conversations in the space that you have to want to be in? I think that’s Key because. We get stuck in this mindset of, you know, I’m comfortable here, My skills. I can use them here and think about them. You know, in academia I’ve used those skills. I’m a good teacher. I like being in the classroom. I like all of those things. I have to really test it and I really have to shift my mindset and trust my expertise and my genius when I take it outside of that space because I’ve been here for so long, I think there are a lot of people that are in that space too that they’re in a space, they’re comfortable and but then they don’t… It’s risky and it takes a certain mindset to be able to do that, and trusting yourself is first and key to it. So, I’d say that and to be around people that you trust.

And then, It’s OK to take risks and I think that’s another part too, about being an entrepreneur. At least the lesson that I discovered along my journey is that it’s risky. And yes, with the economy we can’t necessarily control the inflation pandemic, the shutdown, or whatever it is that you have to be able to adapt to. And move and pivot what you’re doing to be able to match the situation and when you create a business out of the genius of your ideas. Easy to do, but it’s much more adaptable and malleable than you know a certain job in a certain industry, and I think that’s what makes it doesn’t necessarily make it recession-proof. But it does allow you to adapt it because it comes down to your core principles that you decide for your core offer and then adapting it to the situation around you. So, I think those are kind of the two lessons, trust yourself and then don’t be afraid to. Move and shift Your ideas?

A lot of people are afraid of taking financial risks to start a business. Because you know, sometimes like a lot of the times it takes capital out. I wouldn’t say a lot like most of the time it takes capital unless you’re doing something like an online business or something like that. Like it usually takes capital to start, but there’s always a big risk and a lot of people have families. And they have commitments and they got to do their job as well. What would you tell them? What would you tell somebody that wants to start a business but is afraid of the financial risk but wants to set themselves free? 

I would say that yes, it is a risk, but you can do it in a way where you can pay for the changes. You go along. Stopping cold Turkey and shifting to something takes a lot of resources. Shifting to another industry, shifting to another career that takes resources. But there is a way, particularly in this industry, where the open marketplace where we have to build our ideas, you don’t have to do it all at once, you can build upon them, and then in the process that I take clients through the discovery of the other opportunities that you have, it’s not just the one thing that you’re developing. There are many different arms to that and different ways that you can interact with your audience. 

I teach people how to put together a curriculum or program for their core offer for their coaching business or consulting business, or if they are, if they’re a service-based industry like a private medical office, how can you develop a consulting arm for your business? And it’s not something that you can do something you can do in addition to your other job and develop on that, and then you always want to be responsible and like, make enough money for the next step. So that’s kind of a way to think about it and that’s maybe less risky than other entrepreneurs, but that’s a way that you can test your ideas in the marketplace and build upon your ideas in the marketplace. 

So that is pretty true, Shelly. But a lot of people think entrepreneurship is just daunting and it’s pretty challenging. So, What was something that was really challenging for you during your entrepreneurial journey and how did you exactly overcome it? 

My biggest challenge? My biggest challenge Comes down with. It came down to adapting to a new audience and when I made the transition to the classroom. You know, teaching in a classroom and all these principles and ideas that I teach, and I test, and I make sure the audience is understanding. Very valuable information communication principles that are key to business. And then when I stepped into the business space, the challenge was that that expertise doesn’t just shift across.

I have to speak about things differently and I have to apply things differently because in a business time is money and if you don’t if you’re not thinking about a return on investment or not thinking about what is this information going to do? For your business and how can it make a difference in your business? There was a change in the expertise that, yes, the principles were the same, but I had to communicate about them in a very different way. 

OK, I think. I think that was a challenge for many businesses, particularly during the pandemic, when they had to communicate with their clients in a very different way. If you’re in the insurance industry or the real estate industry or the restaurant industry like you’re the way that we communicate, we’re no longer in a handshake society, right post-pandemic? Maybe now, we’re getting back there. But we had to change the way that we communicate and the way that we relate to each other. And I think that’s a challenge for all business owners. And that was one of the biggest challenges for me was discovering that my expertise is maybe very comfortable and very fluid in one space, but in another space, I have to think about it differently. 

So, it was a mindset challenge, but then also it’s pretty humbling too and I think that’s one of the biggest challenges of being an entrepreneur Is going through that and understanding that I don’t know all the answers. I have to be able to pivot and move and understand the needs of my audience. I think that’s one of the biggest challenges I had… 

I think there’s this one entrepreneur that he talked about, you know, you have a strategic goal and vision that remains fixed. But you have to reiterate six or seven times and keep pivoting until you find the solution. But a lot of times people, they want to do, they have a strategic goal and vision, but they don’t pivot. They continue to work at it and then they. Just keep failing again and again, and then they just give up. They had to think about it in A different way, right? And that, I think, does dissuade a lot of People. 

This failure is not fun. Nobody likes to fail, and then it’s not fun. Nobody likes to fail, so it’s.

And most of it’s more like a mindset, though, right? Like you can see failure as data collection or data and like collecting data. And it’s not really a failure, it’s merely a stepping stone to success. Right. And it’s sometimes just like a mindset like that, a mind shift that basically makes a difference between success, ultimate success, and just a failed business.

100 percent, 100% that’s so true. And even though it’s you can see failure as a step, a stepping stone towards success. When you’re in it, it doesn’t feel that way because it’s hard and nobody likes to fail, and you have this great idea, and then it just flops. Yes, it’s data. Yes, it’s something to move towards that. But then then maybe, but it’s like I said, it’s humbling and it is about mindset, and it is about surrounding yourself in a community. Is supportive and that can help you in the direction of the pivot you know. 

So, it’s just yes. But it does come down to trusting yourself and trusting your true foundational genius, and that it does have value, and that you just haven’t figured out the right way to introduce it to the marketplace. OK, but that’s a challenge. I think that it’s a mindset challenge. And being in a community is really key to helping get through that. 

It’s usually all about identity and then mindsets and thoughts and actions that come from that. And this is something that I’ve been wanting to ask you. Right. So you know, in your book, which I’m going to ask you later about in this interview, you mentioned foundational identity, knowing who you are. And then I was thinking about how like my own show, its story America, where it’s about American identity applying to financial freedom and how our identities about freedom and it’s about the entrepreneurial spirit. And it’s about the pursuit of happiness and finding a way. What are your thoughts on the American identity, and as it relates to entrepreneurship and financial freedom? 

I think that’s it. That, you know, financial freedom and the American dream. And you know, that’s all kind of tied in together and that you can be here and be who you want to be and create the empire that you want to create and to have the freedom to be able to do that. 

So yes, I agree with that. But then you have to take this, it doesn’t just happen, it’s a journey and you can continually take steps towards that journey and some people might not ever be done right. You could be the richest man in the world and still not be done creating your empire, right? 

So, it’s not even about achieving an academic American dream, it’s more about the pursuit of the American dream and you and I feel that it’s an opportunity that we have to do. But I kind of feel that too, when I work with clients about creating a business out of their genius. It’s your opportunity to share that with the world and it’s your opportunity to make an impact. You’ll transform someone’s life if you get your idea out there because your story will connect with somebody, and your inspiration will inspire somebody else or a business or a partnership. Whatever that is. 

Inspire them to take that next step. And create something else in the American dream. We have such an opportunity to do that and the fight, you know, we talked earlier about the financial freedom there is, there’s a lot to be said for, you know, spending a lot for not trading your time for money because our time is pretty limited. You know, I’ve got 2 little kids, I’ve got a 7-year-old and a 10-year-old. I have a husband I like. I have a family and three businesses and I teach. So, it’s like all of these things.

That is, that is. I don’t know how you do that, that is Shelby.

Yeah, it’s.

Well, something about your work ethic is that. You have to put in a sheet and people will actually pay money for that. I mean, how do you manage to do that? I mean, you have a family, you have kids, you can. And then on top of that, you’re a serial entrepreneur, then you’re doing, you’re doing podcasts, and then you’re writing a book. I mean, wow. 

It’s a lot, but again all of my businesses and teaching are pretty synergistic, so they’ll feed into each other. And it’s not like I have. I don’t really have to prepare for class anymore, you know, because I’ve taught it. 100 times and a lot of those principles… And we talk about foundational identity… A lot of those principles have been with me for years, and so all of those things are core. That foundational identity is core to your communication and to how you are. Show up in your space in your entrepreneurial environment. And another thing is time management. You have to block your time and make sure that you reserve space. I reserve space for my publishing group. I reserve space for the Strategic Advisor Board. I reserve space for. My own business and then I definitely reserve space for my kids because my kids are only young ones.

No, that’s awesome. I mean, I keep asking about the foundational idea because yeah, I think I sincerely believe that most Americans, really think about their identity as Americans and they and their desire to be free. And they know that they’re born to be free, they’ll actually start thinking the same. They’ll start adopting these entrepreneurial mindsets. And their capabilities and their thoughts and actions and naturally they’ll start on the process like if they do like the way you did like where you find these ideas and then you try to monetize them and you think in that way and they’re focusing on their own foundational identity as an American then and then this happens on a mass level that there can be a lot of change. And not just the economy of this country, but overall, everything else, because it all comes down to identity, ultimately. And that’s the reason why I started extraordinary American in the first place.

Yeah, it does come down to identity and not only the identity that you think you are but the identity that you want to be.  I talked about this in the book too, because I made the transition from a full-time professor to an entrepreneur, and that’s a challenge. Today I talked about how challenging it was to adjust my communication and whatever, but it’s from a very comfortable place where I. Enjoying what I was doing, and I still do enjoy what I’m doing. I love teaching. There’s something about it that really feeds me. But then to step into the unknown and the uncertain, and I think that’s part of the American dream, the extraordinary experience that we have is that, yeah, it’s uncertain, but we have the opportunity to create. And to innovate and discover ways to make it viable. And you can make as much money as you want, and maybe you want to make.

Shelby, I agree. 

Maybe you make 20 grand. Maybe you want a million, whenever you can do it. Whatever you want, you just have to. Step into that space.

I’m saying that our system is treated like all the universities and colleges like they’re not doing what you’re suggesting. They’re basically trying to make you a worker, but that but the real American identity is about that entrepreneurial spirit.

As you said, it’s about thinking in a certain way. It’s about being. You should be having courses and classes that teach you how to be an entrepreneur and how to do business and how to monetize. That is the true American identity, because that’s the spirit. That’s what we were founded upon, like, that’s what. You did, right? Like you’ve basically got an extraordinary American, which is why I have you on the show, you know because you’re doing what people should be doing on a mass level already. 

This is the future of our country. If we do it in this way there will be, there will. Be a great positive change. And I truly believe that. But I want to ask you, Shelby, what is the biggest hurdle that most Americans have when it comes to realizing the American dream and how would they overcome this hurdle?

That’s a big question. I think there are, and I don’t think we can abandon corporations, right? As we say, it’s going to Be a pretty Big economic shift, everybody. Jump ships and they’re entrepreneurs. But there is an opportunity, but there is an opportunity. But because the foundation of, you know, our corporations and the automotive industry and all those things like those are pretty foundational things that we have. And you can be innovative in that space. But I think that I think the challenge is tradition and I think there’s, you know, there’s that it’s this comfort that we have in these spaces where maybe we’re not making those big decisions and where maybe, maybe not necessarily in school, but like even our parents and the former generations, like you get into a job and you stay in this job because it’s secure and you’ll retire and then you can live out on Social Security like that dream, that dream is gone, right? 

We can’t trust that we’re going to have that. So being able to live in a space where we can create our own future, and I think that’s the biggest one of the biggest challenges is like getting away from a comfortable space into an uncomfortable space. The unknown economy and the unknown entrepreneurial journey, I think that’s the biggest challenge to going from something that you should be doing to something that you want to do. I think that’s those. That’s a space that is not only. It might be encouraged by our politics. I don’t know if I’d say that, but it is a training, you know it does train for being involved in our general economy and being involved in our general economy is looking for a little bit different because there’s a lot of side hustles. The gig economy is a real thing, right there. You could be an Uber driver and an entrepreneur. You know, it’s like you can do anything that you want. You just have to figure out a way to get there. 

I was talking to one of my colleagues over… He is a professor of entrepreneurship in Pennsylvania… And he said, 40% of the students that graduate from a colleague who teaches are going to be in the gig economy. 

And so, he’s going to use my book in his class because. It teaches you how to make a business out of your gig, right? If you’re a musician or you’re an actor or whatever it teaches. Teaches you the process of how to create and I business around your ideas and that it’s something that I think speaks to kind of this shift or the shift that might need to happen to have more of that inspiration and creative thinking on the outside to be able to. Yes, contribute to the economy, but not necessarily in the way that we might think traditionally that need to do so. 

No, totally. Yeah, I agree with you on that. 

So, Shelby, I need to ask you about your book. I see your genius transforming your idea into income. Can you tell us that like the audience, a little bit more about the premise of this book and how you got started and a little bit more about the book in general? 

To start off, it wasn’t supposed to be a book about my entrepreneurial journey turned into that. And then it and then what the core piece of the book, a core piece of the book is the path of monetization called the Magic of Monetization, which is the whole second and third sections. How we think about our expertise differently, how we position our ideas with the right audience in this wide-open marketplace, and how we articulate to a certain audience what the value is and what problems we solve. So that’s the majority of it and then I walk people through the process. That I help my clients do when discovering the power of their expertise. 

But then the background, so that’s kind of the core piece of the book is the way I get it, it’s the how-to of how to do those things and it’s the process that I walk my clients through. But then the background of that too gets into. I discovered it was so important to have a connection to your foundational identity after I was in a car wreck at the end of my junior year of high school, and I had a traumatic brain injury. I was in a coma for 16 days. 

And I was in rehab after that. Very, very fortunately, I was able to return at the end of my junior year of high school. I was able to return to school my senior year and I was blissfully ignorant that I wasn’t really all there. I just went back and did all the things that I did before I participated on the debate team. I was on the student council. I was in all the AP math and English classes. Because that’s what I had set up. That’s what I had. That’s just what I’d done, and I didn’t do them as well, but I was in that space, and I do feel like they made a full recovery from the brain injury. 

But it took a while to do that, and it was about three years after the wreck happened where I. Kind of felt like all the synapses were firing again. And in the book, I contribute a lot of that recovery to my core foundational skills, which I feel are also synonymous. The core of my Business is communication skills and understanding your core intuition and your core genius of being able to adapt your communication to an audience because that’s really what an entrepreneurial journey is all about adapting your experience to someone else’s experience. 

So, they pay for their problem to be solved, but that’s really, I feel that my participation in debate and speaking and communication was a way that I recovered. But then I also feel that that was laying the foundation for my business, so a lot of interesting synergy in those two pieces, the recovery from the brain injury and then the foundation of my business. 

I think it’s really crazy how you found the core because I think a number of years ago, I mentioned probably early in the century that I read a book about … It was about Neuro Linguistic programming … and it was about how everything stems from your core identity. And then from that comes your thoughts, actions, beliefs, and all of that about reality and the world around you. And from there come your capabilities and what you’re capable of, because without your belief system, without the right beliefs, you’re not going to have the capabilities, right? And then from there comes your deeds, behaviors, and actions, and then and then you influence the environment. Around you. And so. Like good for. 

Yeah, that’s so, yes, there’s so much synergy with those two things. It’s like discovering. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I just kind of went back and did everything that I did, but it was so core to how I operated my brain and how I solved problems, and how I understood the world around me. Which sounds very similar to what. 

Shelby, what we’re talking about is probably really deep. 

You’re talking. 

So, I want the audience to know too, like, really pay attention. If you change your identity or you know who you are, and you have an identity that ruins success. Then all your thoughts and actions are going to follow accordingly. Like this? That’s the main reason. 

That’s true. 

That was the most exciting thing about the book. Like when I was looking at the book and about the summary, I was like, wow, she gets it, you know, it’s all stemming down to the identity of who you are, you know. 

I definitely would recommend my audience to read your book. It’s called I see your genius. Basically, transform your idea and income on a different note, I know that you are doing this project called the Expertise Project Shelly. 

Right. 

Can you tell the audience a little bit more about that?

The last part of the book is actually all about the expertise projects because that’s the step-by-step kind of how to create a business out of your ideas. Because there is.

So, they add the actions. That behavior is necessary to implement the identity that it’s already there. OK.

Because it has lots to do with your brand or who you are and the audience you’re speaking to. So, what’s your brand? Whom are you connecting with and then what’s your idea like? And that’s a challenging thing to break down cause your idea might have 50 steps. You need to break that down into smaller steps, palatable steps to walk people through. 

So, what’s your idea? And then How do you Launch it into the marketplace? How do you find the right place in the marketplace for it? And there are quite a few different steps involved with that because it has everything to do with positioning and speaking to your audience, understanding where the best place for your ideas is. 

And then we talk about integration. Which is building a community around and a movement around your experience and your ideas and creating a community of that transformational journey that you’re walking your audience through with your idea, so it goes through those four main phases. And then. Then it walks you through the process and that’s the expertise project, so the expertise project came before. The book came. 

So, I was launching that, I launched the program about the same time that I was starting to. Write my book and start to talk about my accident and all that kind of stuff, and then they’d all kind of gelled together. It’s really interesting. 

Like so Shelly, is there any other work that you’re currently working on that’s in synergy with the expertise project and your book? 

Yeah, I’m working on a few of them, working on a second book actually and it’s it… I don’t know what the title of it Is, but it’s going to be about the art of leadership and how you show up in your genius area. Your leadership skills. And you know, yes you can create a business out of your genius, but then actually performing that genius in the marketplace, it’s being called the art of leadership and talking a lot about how to. How to develop those skills and how to adapt those skills to the audience a lot more about it? 

It’s going to be a lot more about the audience rather than adapting your genius to that audience rather than what is your core identity. So that’s kind of the next step. And then I see a third book after this. There are going to be 3 genius spaces and of course contributing authors, but there’s I’m going to put that in the organizational space too because I do a lot of work in organizational leadership and culture and diversity and inclusion. And so that’s going to be in the third book. 

That is awesome. So, Shelby, how can our audience connect with you to get to know more about you and what you’re doing and your work, and all of that? 

Yeah, I’m. I’m very active on social media, so you can find me, Shelby, Jo Long on LinkedIn or Facebook. Uh, but my website is also Shelbyjoelong.com You find a link there that you can reach out to me or reach out to me on any social media. And I’d love to have a conversation just to inspire people to think differently about where they’re at and what they’ve been taught and what they can do? The skills that they’ve developed in the marketplace are wide open for it and I hope that people get that out of this interview. 

Well, Shelby, I mean, I wanted to let you know that you’re actually pretty much an extraordinary American when it comes to just these thoughts and actions altogether. That’s one of the reasons I got You on the Show in the 1st place because that’s basically what you have to do in order to succeed. Like you got to think in a certain way. 

And you have to basically monetize your Passion and whatever you’re passionate about. A lot of people fear going into the wild, like going into the unknown, that you’re somebody that did it and you did it with a fat like you had a family and you basically, uh, like you came from a farm and then you succeeded against all the odds. I think that your story is pretty inspirational. Your way of looking at the world is absolutely motivational, to be honest.

Oh, thank you. That’s very nice to hear. Thank you. That’s what I feel inspired to do. 

Well, Shelby, I would definitely want you to come back to the show at a later date, and I want to conclude this episode by telling my fellow extraordinary Americans that there’s an extraordinary American with each and every one of us. And it’s our duty to awaken it and unleash it until next time. Bye for now.