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Creative Burnout & Getting Your Spark Back With Mia Rae Stephens · The Confident Entrepreneur With Jennifer Ann Johnson

• 0:38
  Jennifer Johnson: We have all been there staring at a blank screen, feeling like we have absolutely nothing interesting to say.
• 0:46
  Jennifer Johnson: Wondering if we've run out of ideas forever.
• 0:50
  Jennifer Johnson: Content creation can feel incredibly overwhelming, especially when you're in one of those creative ruts where everything feels forced or uninspired.
• 0:59
  Jennifer Johnson: But here's the thing I've learned creative blocks and feeling stuck aren't permanent states.
• 1:04
  Jennifer Johnson: They're actually a normal part of the creative process, and there's strategies to work through them and rediscover that spark.
• 1:12
  Jennifer Johnson: Today we have the pleasure of speaking with Mia Ray Stevens, who is a brand strategist and creative director who helps businesses fix the message behind the marketing.
• 1:24
  Jennifer Johnson: So what they actually say will actually sell.
• 1:28
  Jennifer Johnson: We're going to explore practical ways to break through creative blocks and find inspiration when it feels like there's absolutely none to be found.
• 1:37
  Jennifer Johnson: And create content that feels real, that feels authentic, even when you're not feeling your most creative.
• 1:44
  Jennifer Johnson: Thank you so much for being with us today.
• 1:47
  Jennifer Johnson: I'm really excited to just delve into content creation.
• 1:52
  Mia Rae Stephens: Yeah, thanks so much for having me.
• 1:54
  Mia Rae Stephens: Um, creative blocks are not just common.
• 1:57
  Mia Rae Stephens: They are definitely part of the process, like you mentioned.
• 1:59
  Mia Rae Stephens: And the key is not avoiding them, but leading in and having the right strategies in place.
• 2:03
  Mia Rae Stephens: So I'm excited to dive in.
• 2:06
  Jennifer Johnson: Well, we're gonna talk about really normalizing that experience because you said that's a very normal process, but really, how common is it for content creators to feel stuck and uninspired and feel like, man, this has never happened to me before.
• 2:21
  Jennifer Johnson: Is this supposed to happen?
• 2:23
  Jennifer Johnson: Why do you think it's supposed to?
• 2:25
  Mia Rae Stephens: Yes, the answer is yes.
• 2:27
  Mia Rae Stephens: It's extremely common for people who create for a living, but especially for someone who creates for a living because it's output all the time.
• 2:34
  Mia Rae Stephens: And it's not normally because you ran out of ideas, but because you're maybe overthinking it.
• 2:39
  Mia Rae Stephens: Sometimes it's overconsumption, you're taking in a little too much information, and it's can create some um confusion in what you're trying to put out there.
• 2:50
  Mia Rae Stephens: And then sometimes your nervous system is tapped out, or we'll call it burnout.
• 2:54
  Mia Rae Stephens: So our brains are not meant to be in this constant output mode with no periods of input and rest.
• 3:00
  Mia Rae Stephens: We have to fill that well as well.
• 3:02
  Jennifer Johnson: We all need rest.
• 3:03
  Jennifer Johnson: We do, even when it's content creation.
• 3:06
  Jennifer Johnson: So I'm curious about your own experience with this.
• 3:10
  Jennifer Johnson: Have you faced it before?
• 3:11
  Jennifer Johnson: Is this something that happens too often or is it seldom?
• 3:16
  Mia Rae Stephens: Yeah, I have faced it before.
• 3:19
  Mia Rae Stephens: I'm gonna be completely transparent.
• 3:21
  Mia Rae Stephens: I'm uh this question brings up a very specific time in my life.
• 3:25
  Mia Rae Stephens: I was going through um a big shock.
• 3:27
  Mia Rae Stephens: My world had been turned upside down, my um marriage ended unexpectedly.
• 3:33
  Mia Rae Stephens: And so I was picking up the pieces for me and my children who were also in shock.
• 3:37
  Mia Rae Stephens: And when you were in a place like that, the last thing you're thinking about is creating content.
• 3:43
  Mia Rae Stephens: Of course, definitely, definitely I've been there.
• 3:47
  Mia Rae Stephens: Um what got me through it were a few things.
• 3:50
  Mia Rae Stephens: One, I leaned on my team and didn't try to carry it all myself.
• 3:54
  Mia Rae Stephens: And actually, this was the first time in my life that I was forced to do this, was to not carry things myself.
• 4:00
  Mia Rae Stephens: I had no other choice.
• 4:01
  Mia Rae Stephens: I had three little ones who were depending on me.
• 4:04
  Mia Rae Stephens: And isn't that the hardest lesson to learn?
• 4:06
  Mia Rae Stephens: Yes.
• 4:07
  Mia Rae Stephens: Sometimes it does have to be forced.
• 4:09
  Mia Rae Stephens: Right.
• 4:10
  Mia Rae Stephens: Because I've never done that before on my own, is lean on other people fully.
• 4:14
  Mia Rae Stephens: And these people are capable.
• 4:16
  Mia Rae Stephens: So I have my right hand, her name is Brianna.
• 4:19
  Mia Rae Stephens: She's been my right hand for about seven years now.
• 4:22
  Mia Rae Stephens: And I I pulled her in.
• 4:24
  Mia Rae Stephens: She didn't know everything that was going on, but she knew that I needed to lean on her more.
• 4:27
  Mia Rae Stephens: And she rose to that occasion.
• 4:29
  Mia Rae Stephens: I gave myself space to heal.
• 4:31
  Mia Rae Stephens: I I had to, right?
• 4:33
  Mia Rae Stephens: I couldn't just force output.
• 4:35
  Mia Rae Stephens: There's just no way at when you're going through certain things to continue forcing it.
• 4:39
  Mia Rae Stephens: And a lot of times when you give yourself that space to heal, the spark can come back when you take the pressure off.
• 4:46
  Mia Rae Stephens: And it can come back in an unexpected moments.
• 4:48
  Mia Rae Stephens: It can come back on the walk on the beach, or I threw myself into the gym to help me mentally.
• 4:54
  Mia Rae Stephens: And my best ideas came while lifting weights or on the treadmill, right?
• 4:58
  Mia Rae Stephens: So just pouring into yourself a lot of times can bring that spark back.
• 5:01
  Mia Rae Stephens: And then I think most importantly is turning that pain for me, it was pain that caused that creative block, turning that into purpose.
• 5:09
  Mia Rae Stephens: So at the time I was running a marketing team for a mortgage company.
• 5:14
  Mia Rae Stephens: And what I realized was I must not be the only person going through something like this.
• 5:19
  Mia Rae Stephens: And while I'm not like gonna go out there and talk about divorce to the clients, what I realized was there's a lot of other single women trying to figure out how they're gonna run a household or buy a home for their kids.
• 5:32
  Mia Rae Stephens: And I did some research and found out that single women, at least at that time when I did that research, were the fastest group, fastest growing group of homeowners.
• 5:40
  Mia Rae Stephens: So I created content around that.
• 5:43
  Mia Rae Stephens: And would you believe it?
• 5:45
  Mia Rae Stephens: It ended up being our best content up until that point.
• 5:48
  Mia Rae Stephens: Realtors were sharing it because it resonated with them and it helped them, you know, reach a certain clientele.
• 5:55
  Mia Rae Stephens: And it did, it did really well.
• 5:57
  Mia Rae Stephens: And there came back my spark.
• 5:59
  Jennifer Johnson: You know, you mentioned something interesting where you said that you had to lean on someone else.
• 6:04
  Jennifer Johnson: So many times we, as not just individuals, but as women specifically, I think, feel like because we have to go to someone else for help, that it's a sign of weakness when in fact it's being very smart.
• 6:19
  Mia Rae Stephens: Yeah.
• 6:20
  Jennifer Johnson: Right?
• 6:20
  Jennifer Johnson: In the fact that you can actually ask for help.
• 6:23
  Mia Rae Stephens: Yeah, it feels weak in that moment because I feel like women are still trying to prove themselves, right?
• 6:29
  Mia Rae Stephens: Like we we do it all at home and we do it all at work, and um, we're just kind of still in this place of trying to prove that we belong in this space.
• 6:39
  Jennifer Johnson: Very true.
• 6:40
  Mia Rae Stephens: But yeah, it is, I I will say, what felt like could have been a weakness leaning on someone else, it took more strength than anything else I had done.
• 6:49
  Mia Rae Stephens: And so I pulled from that power to keep propelling me forward because it was hard.
• 6:54
  Mia Rae Stephens: It's hard.
• 6:55
  Mia Rae Stephens: It's like having self-control, right?
• 6:56
  Mia Rae Stephens: It's a hard thing.
• 6:58
  Jennifer Johnson: But you can do hard things.
• 7:00
  Mia Rae Stephens: You can always do hard things.
• 7:01
  Jennifer Johnson: Yeah.
• 7:02
  Jennifer Johnson: You know, when you're looking at consuming other people's content, right?
• 7:06
  Jennifer Johnson: I call it the fake the Facebook white picket fence syndrome where you're looking at what everyone else is doing, you're consuming their content, and you're like, I'm at a at a content drought because I feel like everything has been done before.
• 7:20
  Jennifer Johnson: What's your take on that, that um mental state that people get in, kind of rut, I guess, that they get in from consuming other people's content?
• 7:30
  Mia Rae Stephens: Yeah, I think sometimes that's the worst thing you can do.
• 7:33
  Mia Rae Stephens: Like I love taking in other people's content.
• 7:35
  Mia Rae Stephens: You find inspiration in places you don't realize, even if it's not in your field sometimes, especially if it's not in your field.
• 7:41
  Mia Rae Stephens: But what happens sometimes if you're taking in too much content and comparing yourself to other people or comparing the business you're running to other businesses, you might not realize it, but you then kind of piggyback on what they're doing, and you think what I'm doing is not working, so let me do that.
• 7:56
  Mia Rae Stephens: And then someone else comes along and you're like, Well, this isn't working, so let me do that.
• 8:00
  Mia Rae Stephens: And what you're doing is creating whiplash for your buyers, right?
• 8:04
  Mia Rae Stephens: Like they're coming to you, they're getting to know you.
• 8:07
  Mia Rae Stephens: They might be right here on the buying journey from here, and you're trying to get them here, and then you cut them off because you're starting all over again and you're creating confusion.
• 8:19
  Mia Rae Stephens: And when you cut off someone on a buying journey, you've lost them most of the time.
• 8:23
  Mia Rae Stephens: Now you're starting over, so then it feels like you're getting nowhere.
• 8:26
  Mia Rae Stephens: So, yes, overconsumption is is a big trap.
• 8:31
  Jennifer Johnson: It is, but I I do agree.
• 8:32
  Jennifer Johnson: I mean, I look at things that other people are doing, and sometimes I take a variation of it and I use it because I'm like, oh my gosh.
• 8:39
  Jennifer Johnson: And and I know that it's been done a million times before, but it's never been done my way or with me or with my team, right?
• 8:46
  Jennifer Johnson: And that kind of for me, that breaks it up.
• 8:50
  Jennifer Johnson: Yeah.
• 8:51
  Jennifer Johnson: How do you tap?
• 8:51
  Jennifer Johnson: I know you kind of touched on this a little bit because you said you said that you were using your experience of your relationship, and that kind of catapulted something for your business, but how do you tap into your own experiences, even when you're like people aren't going to be interested in that or or it's not relevant?
• 9:12
  Jennifer Johnson: How do you tap into that and how do you plug it in to make it work with your business?
• 9:18
  Mia Rae Stephens: Well, first of all, I think you can make anything work.
• 9:21
  Mia Rae Stephens: Like you can apply any story right to your clients one way or another.
• 9:25
  Mia Rae Stephens: I think sometimes it's taking yourself out of your environment, going for a walk outside, like really stepping away.
• 9:32
  Mia Rae Stephens: For me, that's what works.
• 9:33
  Mia Rae Stephens: It might not be what works for everyone else, but not forcing yourself to try to create content and just kind of work through what you're what's going on in your life.
• 9:42
  Mia Rae Stephens: And I feel like for me, those connections come very easily.
• 9:46
  Jennifer Johnson: So I don't know if that's helpful, but for me, it's just a very natural but that makes sense because I know sometimes like people say, Oh, my best ideas come to me in the shower, right?
• 9:57
  Jennifer Johnson: Out on a walk, fresh air, and we're gonna talk about some strategies in a little bit, but that makes sense.
• 10:03
  Jennifer Johnson: It's getting you out of where you were and just kind of changing the playing field, yeah, I guess.
• 10:11
  Jennifer Johnson: Wouldn't you say?
• 10:12
  Mia Rae Stephens: It does wonders, yes, absolutely.
• 10:15
  Jennifer Johnson: So, okay, this leads into systems or processes that you can put in place when you're actually feeling stuck.
• 10:24
  Jennifer Johnson: Like, you know, do you have a I call them a tickle folder where you can go to to be like, all right, this is gonna help me?
• 10:31
  Jennifer Johnson: Or do you leverage the use of AI?
• 10:34
  Jennifer Johnson: Because that's something that that we probably do need to talk about in this conversation, right?
• 10:39
  Jennifer Johnson: Because that is the the biggest thing happening right now.
• 10:43
  Mia Rae Stephens: Yeah.
• 10:43
  Mia Rae Stephens: I know there's a lot of concern over AI taking our jobs.
• 10:47
  Mia Rae Stephens: And what I really is AI will not take your job, but the person who learns how to use AI will take your job.
• 10:53
  Mia Rae Stephens: So if you can't beat them, join them.
• 10:55
  Mia Rae Stephens: Learn as much as you can.
• 10:56
  Mia Rae Stephens: We're still early in this game.
• 10:58
  Mia Rae Stephens: Learn as much as you can about AI and how it can help you in your role.
• 11:02
  Mia Rae Stephens: I I view it as my broke little assistant, who I don't have to pay, or maybe I pay a little bit a month for my subscription, but um definitely lean on that.
• 11:12
  Mia Rae Stephens: Um, but yeah, having a content bank is very helpful.
• 11:16
  Mia Rae Stephens: So getting ideas in, um, even if it's a note on your phone or when you're driving, you just voice note yourself.
• 11:23
  Mia Rae Stephens: Just keep anytime ideas come to you, even if you don't know how it's going to play into your marketing just yet, but you know it's a good idea, jot it down because maybe in a few weeks something will happen, you'll realize this is where this fits in.
• 11:35
  Mia Rae Stephens: And then also, I think people shy away from reusing content.
• 11:39
  Mia Rae Stephens: You can reuse content.
• 11:40
  Mia Rae Stephens: Oh my gosh, you're so right.
• 11:42
  Mia Rae Stephens: Yes, reuse content.
• 11:44
  Mia Rae Stephens: I Instagram right now has trial reels, most people have access to it.
• 11:47
  Mia Rae Stephens: You can take a reel and repost it every single day and just change the cover or change the background music, like play around with different things, change the hook at the front and see what works, and it won't show it to the same people every day.
• 12:00
  Mia Rae Stephens: It's beautiful, it's like magic.
• 12:01
  Mia Rae Stephens: So you get to test things out and you're producing content.
• 12:05
  Mia Rae Stephens: But even for your followers or people who like actually using it and showing it to the people who've already seen the stuff before, how many times do we have to hear something before it sticks?
• 12:14
  Mia Rae Stephens: Right.
• 12:15
  Mia Rae Stephens: Is it eight?
• 12:16
  Mia Rae Stephens: Is it eight?
• 12:17
  Mia Rae Stephens: I the rule is seven.
• 12:18
  Mia Rae Stephens: For me, it might be 40.
• 12:19
  Mia Rae Stephens: I don't know.
• 12:20
  Mia Rae Stephens: For my kids, a million.
• 12:21
  Mia Rae Stephens: But yeah, it's the the rule of seven.
• 12:24
  Mia Rae Stephens: We've all we've all heard of that.
• 12:25
  Mia Rae Stephens: It takes seven times before a concept or a thought really sticks.
• 12:28
  Mia Rae Stephens: But how many times do we like see something and we're like, oh, I did see this before, and I meant to save it?
• 12:34
  Mia Rae Stephens: So reuse content, switch something up a little bit, maybe a little something in the caption, maybe different pieces, but reuse that it that is absolutely acceptable.
• 12:43
  Mia Rae Stephens: I wish people did more of that, and then also normalize pauses.
• 12:47
  Mia Rae Stephens: Like it's okay to take a little step back, it's part of the process.
• 12:51
  Mia Rae Stephens: Sometimes I said this already, but don't push.
• 12:55
  Mia Rae Stephens: You sometimes you step back.
• 12:57
  Jennifer Johnson: Step back right.
• 12:58
  Jennifer Johnson: And that's gonna I that's another question I have for you, but but back on the topic of reusing content, okay, because I'm gonna ask you a question that it's it's social media specific.
• 13:10
  Jennifer Johnson: And so many of us feel like we have to post something on Facebook and then something completely different on Instagram and something completely different on LinkedIn.
• 13:21
  Jennifer Johnson: Does it matter?
• 13:22
  Jennifer Johnson: Can we just post the same thing to every channel?
• 13:25
  Mia Rae Stephens: Yeah, I mean, there's two answers.
• 13:28
  Mia Rae Stephens: I think it is there is value in switching things up.
• 13:34
  Mia Rae Stephens: Like if you have if you're posting three things for the week, three things, maybe slightly change it up.
• 13:40
  Mia Rae Stephens: And maybe if you're posting something on LinkedIn on Monday, take that, switch it up a little bit for Instagram because the caption is going to be different, right?
• 13:48
  Mia Rae Stephens: You're gonna do a longer caption on LinkedIn than you would do on Instagram because you realize that people on Instagram are there for and or no read at all on LinkedIn or maybe learn and engage with that content a little bit more.
• 14:03
  Mia Rae Stephens: So you can use the same content.
• 14:04
  Mia Rae Stephens: Sometimes I like to switch the day up a little bit, but even if you're posting the same piece of content on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram, just switch it up for that platform because the people on that platform have different needs and desires with the content that they're taking in.
• 14:25
  Jennifer Johnson: Yeah.
• 14:26
  Jennifer Johnson: So you also mentioned something about taking a break, and that taking a break is fine.
• 14:32
  Jennifer Johnson: But at some point, where how do you, or what advice I should say, do you have for people who want to create content that it's obviously authentic, that's who they are, but they feel like they're forced to produce it.
• 14:49
  Jennifer Johnson: They feel like I can't be sitting in this chair being forced to do it.
• 14:52
  Jennifer Johnson: Now I know that you mentioned, you know, keep a little file for things later, much like I take a picture of something, I will be on a trip, or I'll just be out for a walk, or I'll be doing something.
• 15:03
  Jennifer Johnson: And I'll be like, huh.
• 15:05
  Mia Rae Stephens: Yeah.
• 15:05
  Jennifer Johnson: I have a thought and I take a picture of something, and then I post it like three, four weeks later, or whatever, when I'm doing my content, and I'm like, I have the great picture for this caption.
• 15:17
  Jennifer Johnson: I have the great, you know, this great post.
• 15:19
  Jennifer Johnson: What is your suggestion around that?
• 15:22
  Mia Rae Stephens: So specifically the question of when it feels hard to continue making or that pressure to make content.
• 15:27
  Jennifer Johnson: Yeah.
• 15:27
  Jennifer Johnson: Right.
• 15:28
  Jennifer Johnson: And the pressure to make authentic posts because you can do superficial stuff that just doesn't really matter.
• 15:36
  Jennifer Johnson: But to really make the the posts that are gonna help you move the needle when you're feeling like I just don't, I don't feel this is authentic.
• 15:47
  Mia Rae Stephens: Right.
• 15:47
  Mia Rae Stephens: I think you kind of go into your own experiences, and obviously this changes depending on what business you have or what brand or service you're offering, but think about what could have helped you in this stage of life, even if it was six months ago.
• 16:01
  Mia Rae Stephens: Like go back to what helped you, what you heard that propelled you forward, um, what got you out of a rut, and then kind of reframe that for your clients or your audience.
• 16:14
  Jennifer Johnson: Kind of the serving others attitude versus why I'm, you know, I'm posting it for publicity, but if you come at it to the point of I am doing this to serve someone else who probably feels like I did, is that kind of what you're saying?
• 16:30
  Mia Rae Stephens: Yeah, I think it's it's looking at it from what could I have used at this point?
• 16:36
  Mia Rae Stephens: Sure.
• 16:37
  Mia Rae Stephens: Because then someone else wants needs to hear that as well.
• 16:41
  Mia Rae Stephens: So just kind of going back into your own experience, and then when you're speaking from your own experience, even if you're not saying it's your experience, right?
• 16:47
  Mia Rae Stephens: But you know where you're gathering this information from, it's going to automatically become more authentic.
• 16:52
  Mia Rae Stephens: And then also I think sometimes we put so much pressure on ourselves and things do come across performative, and we don't want that.
• 17:02
  Mia Rae Stephens: So I I don't do it.
• 17:04
  Mia Rae Stephens: Like I think that there's we have options, right?
• 17:08
  Mia Rae Stephens: Like we can I see some wonderful interaction on reels and posts where it's literally someone like driving their car, they're not looking at the camera and stuff like that, but it's just b-roll footage, or it's them just walking into a room, and so um, yeah, sometimes it can feel hard to create content and like try to feel and look your best self.
• 17:30
  Mia Rae Stephens: First of all, a lot of content that does really well is when people aren't feeling or looking their best self because it's more relatable.
• 17:36
  Mia Rae Stephens: So maybe take that pressure off yourself, and I need to maybe practice what I preach on that, but we all do it's it's true.
• 17:45
  Mia Rae Stephens: Like I would tell somebody that to unflue in the face, but then myself, I'm like, I can't go on camera because of this.
• 17:50
  Mia Rae Stephens: Take 50.
• 17:52
  Jennifer Johnson: Take 49, take 50.
• 17:54
  Jennifer Johnson: Oh my gosh.
• 17:56
  Mia Rae Stephens: Yeah, and then sometimes you just don't have it in yourself to like take a million photos or videos and edit a bunch of stuff.
• 20:28
  Mia Rae Stephens: So then then don't like go through your camera roll and see what sparks in your mind and just use that.
• 20:37
  Mia Rae Stephens: It doesn't have to be a whole big to-do all the time because that will burn you out.
• 20:43
  Jennifer Johnson: So, talking about pressure, what are some low pressure ways that the low pressure content formats, I guess, that you can get back into creating when you've gone through that block and you've taken a break?
• 20:59
  Mia Rae Stephens: Um, yeah, so if you have gone through that block and you've taken a break, hopefully you've you went out and lived your life a little bit.
• 21:05
  Mia Rae Stephens: Even if it's just, you know, you took yourself on a date to downtown Naples.
• 21:09
  Mia Rae Stephens: It's my favorite thing to do for myself, right?
• 21:11
  Mia Rae Stephens: And sit with my thoughts and sit on the beach.
• 21:14
  Mia Rae Stephens: And um, hopefully doing something like that will give you some content.
• 21:19
  Mia Rae Stephens: Uh, but low pressure, some some b-roll or even just a photo of you that you scroll through your camera roll and you're like, I actually feel great here.
• 21:27
  Mia Rae Stephens: Like just post that one photo with text on it or Canva.
• 21:30
  Mia Rae Stephens: I mean, go to Canva and create just um some informational posts with I mean, you can make some beautiful posts on Canva.
• 21:38
  Mia Rae Stephens: And like carousels.
• 21:40
  Mia Rae Stephens: I love carousels with information because it's like storytelling and it keeps people engaged.
• 21:44
  Mia Rae Stephens: Right.
• 21:45
  Mia Rae Stephens: Those are low pressure, and then also maybe take that break to just interact with other people.
• 21:51
  Mia Rae Stephens: Like both genuinely take in their content and and like and comment and interact with them and build that community, and that will spark something in itself.
• 22:01
  Mia Rae Stephens: But then also when you come back, you have these people waiting for you to applaud you.
• 22:06
  Mia Rae Stephens: Nobody's going anywhere, by the way.
• 22:07
  Mia Rae Stephens: Like, I don't mean, I'm so sorry I haven't posted in a week.
• 22:10
  Mia Rae Stephens: Like, trust me.
• 22:12
  Mia Rae Stephens: Unless you like left them on a cliffhanger and with the most like incredible story ever, they didn't notice.
• 22:18
  Mia Rae Stephens: They had no idea you were gone for a week or maybe even a month at times.
• 22:22
  Mia Rae Stephens: Like they they really don't know.
• 22:25
  Jennifer Johnson: And thank you, Mia, for pointing that out because so many people think that you know the social media revolves around them, and you know, half the time your stuff isn't served up to half of the people, three-quarters of the people that are that like you or are friends with you on social media.
• 22:41
  Jennifer Johnson: So there's that too, right?
• 22:44
  Mia Rae Stephens: And there's always new um audiences, like you have new followers and that's brand new to them.
• 22:50
  Mia Rae Stephens: You can take an old post, put it on your stories, and ask a poll question about it, or ask, would you like to see more of this?
• 22:57
  Mia Rae Stephens: Or do you remember when I posted this?
• 22:59
  Mia Rae Stephens: I'm gonna come out with something similar, or you know, reuse that content and get interaction on that and and send people to something old and create conversation there.
• 23:09
  Jennifer Johnson: And and that this whole conversation right here that we're having about you know, people don't see you all the time or know that you're you're missing from social media, hopefully will bring someone's anxiety down a little bit when they're like, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, my business is over, my life is over because I haven't been posting on a regular basis on social.
• 23:31
  Jennifer Johnson: Because I know that a lot of people have high anxiety over that.
• 23:35
  Jennifer Johnson: That's a thing.
• 23:36
  Jennifer Johnson: Uh, they feel like if they're gone for two days or they go on vacation for a week, that their account is done and they're gonna have to start all over.
• 23:44
  Mia Rae Stephens: Yeah, everything's burned to the ground.
• 23:46
  Mia Rae Stephens: No, that pressure in itself will keep you suck.
• 23:50
  Mia Rae Stephens: Like we're we are past that, I think.
• 23:54
  Mia Rae Stephens: Just as like, I don't know, this generation.
• 23:58
  Mia Rae Stephens: I I we're past that.
• 23:59
  Mia Rae Stephens: Like everybody's out there trying to live their life where nobody, nobody notices.
• 24:04
  Jennifer Johnson: They really don't.
• 24:05
  Mia Rae Stephens: They really don't.
• 24:06
  Mia Rae Stephens: I mean, they might notice a little bit if you're gone for months and months and then they're worried about you.
• 24:11
  Mia Rae Stephens: But if you go take a break and you come back like with this renewed energy, that's what people are gonna notice is your renewed energy.
• 24:18
  Mia Rae Stephens: They're not gonna notice that you didn't post for two days.
• 24:21
  Jennifer Johnson: Mm-hmm.
• 24:22
  Jennifer Johnson: What habits or practices do you see practiced a lot that have actually help you prevent from being stuck in the first place?
• 24:34
  Mia Rae Stephens: Um, I think so.
• 24:36
  Mia Rae Stephens: I I'm kind of speaking from both sides of NLP here.
• 24:38
  Mia Rae Stephens: I'm saying don't overconsume content or information.
• 24:42
  Mia Rae Stephens: Sometimes that can burn you out.
• 24:43
  Mia Rae Stephens: But at the same time, I make sure that I am consuming things in my industry.
• 24:48
  Mia Rae Stephens: So I obviously am in marketing and I have marketing for Chapman Insurance Group.
• 24:53
  Mia Rae Stephens: So it's important for me to keep this flow of information and stay on top of my game.
• 24:58
  Mia Rae Stephens: Like what's going on in the SEO world and what are the trends on Instagram and What trial reels?
• 25:03
  Mia Rae Stephens: What's this?
• 25:03
  Mia Rae Stephens: And how can we use that?
• 25:04
  Mia Rae Stephens: Right.
• 25:05
  Mia Rae Stephens: You know, like just learning things about psychology.
• 25:08
  Mia Rae Stephens: I have my team reading a book that has nothing to do with marketing, and we are relating it to marketing and psychology.
• 25:14
  Mia Rae Stephens: Um, just taking in, and you need to stay fresh.
• 25:18
  Mia Rae Stephens: You do.
• 25:18
  Mia Rae Stephens: I love podcasts.
• 25:20
  Mia Rae Stephens: Love the story podcasts.
• 25:23
  Jennifer Johnson: Because it just it's one form of you're just sitting there listening.
• 25:26
  Jennifer Johnson: You're not having to read and absorb and you're just listening.
• 25:30
  Mia Rae Stephens: And then also, we're busy.
• 25:31
  Mia Rae Stephens: Like we're so busy running to work after dropping the kids off.
• 25:35
  Mia Rae Stephens: Where I even if you don't have kids, like life is just so so busy.
• 25:39
  Mia Rae Stephens: So that's lifey.
• 25:40
  Mia Rae Stephens: Yeah.
• 25:41
  Mia Rae Stephens: Yes.
• 25:42
  Mia Rae Stephens: It's lifey.
• 25:42
  Mia Rae Stephens: Absolutely.
• 25:43
  Mia Rae Stephens: Yeah.
• 25:43
  Mia Rae Stephens: I there is a podcaster I listened to.
• 25:46
  Mia Rae Stephens: Her name is Caitlin Rhodes.
• 25:47
  Mia Rae Stephens: She has her creator.
• 25:51
  Mia Rae Stephens: And I've known Caitlin for a while now.
• 25:53
  Mia Rae Stephens: I and I seeing her grow has been incredible.
• 25:56
  Mia Rae Stephens: She's done big things.
• 25:57
  Mia Rae Stephens: Instagram actually did a collaborative post with her recently.
• 26:01
  Mia Rae Stephens: She's just taken off.
• 26:02
  Mia Rae Stephens: But her podcast is phenomenal.
• 26:04
  Mia Rae Stephens: And she has this thing called Money Walks that she coined, which we've all done this, right?
• 26:10
  Mia Rae Stephens: But she actually put a name to it, which I love when people put a name to something.
• 26:13
  Mia Rae Stephens: And she says, listen to a podcast, go for a walk, and see what comes from that.
• 26:18
  Mia Rae Stephens: And her like lucrative ideas came from her going for a walk and listening to a podcast, or maybe sometimes not listening to anything, going for a walk.
• 26:25
  Mia Rae Stephens: I think that is listening to podcasts and taking in content or taking in information but while you are on the move, it does something so different.
• 26:39
  Mia Rae Stephens: That's why my best ideas came on the treadmill.
• 26:41
  Mia Rae Stephens: But go outside.
• 26:42
  Mia Rae Stephens: I mean, it's even better.
• 26:43
  Jennifer Johnson: Exactly.
• 26:44
  Jennifer Johnson: See?
• 26:45
  Jennifer Johnson: So this may go hand in hand with that, but what is your advice for content creators who feel that they have shared everything that they possibly know?
• 26:55
  Jennifer Johnson: And I have nothing left to say.
• 26:57
  Jennifer Johnson: What's your advice?
• 26:59
  Mia Rae Stephens: Um, well, you have a new audience, hopefully.
• 27:03
  Mia Rae Stephens: And you think about brands that I mean, everyone knows Nikes just do it.
• 27:09
  Jennifer Johnson: Like everybody else.
• 27:10
  Mia Rae Stephens: Repetition builds trust.
• 27:12
  Mia Rae Stephens: They have been repeating this for decades.
• 27:14
  Mia Rae Stephens: They're not switching it up.
• 27:16
  Mia Rae Stephens: Now they apply it to different things, right?
• 27:17
  Mia Rae Stephens: They'll apply it to different campaigns, but it goes back to just do it.
• 27:21
  Mia Rae Stephens: We we get what that means.
• 27:22
  Mia Rae Stephens: So, yes, they've said that a million times.
• 27:25
  Mia Rae Stephens: Do you think they're stopping that anytime soon?
• 27:27
  Jennifer Johnson: I don't think so.
• 27:28
  Jennifer Johnson: Because it works.
• 27:29
  Mia Rae Stephens: And confusion often happens when you reinvent yourself too much.
• 27:33
  Mia Rae Stephens: So I think a lot of times people put pressure on themselves to say something new.
• 27:38
  Mia Rae Stephens: And I even, there are times where I have to remind myself of my own principles that I preach, right?
• 27:44
  Mia Rae Stephens: I and go back to that because I'll put that pressure on myself.
• 27:49
  Mia Rae Stephens: But when you are switching your message so often or trying to reinvent yourself, you confuse your client.
• 27:56
  Mia Rae Stephens: And sometimes you just need to keep saying the same thing over and over again.
• 28:00
  Mia Rae Stephens: And you referenced it, the rule of seven earlier.
• 28:03
  Mia Rae Stephens: That repeated exposure builds trust.
• 28:06
  Mia Rae Stephens: And trust is the step that happens right before someone hits by, right?
• 28:11
  Mia Rae Stephens: Or becomes a client.
• 28:12
  Mia Rae Stephens: So I my advice is say it way more than you think you need to, because that message might be old to you, but it's made by someone else.
• 28:25
  Mia Rae Stephens: And someone who is not the expert on what you're speaking on, they do need to hear it over and over again.
• 28:30
  Mia Rae Stephens: And they need to hear it applied to different wins or applied to, I mean, obviously it depends on the industry you're in, but um, I mean, I run the marketing for Chapman Insurance Group.
• 28:42
  Mia Rae Stephens: Now I'm very blessed to have a really good product to work with.
• 28:45
  Mia Rae Stephens: We are the number one rated insurance agency in Southwest, Florida.
• 28:49
  Mia Rae Stephens: We have an in-house claims department.
• 28:52
  Mia Rae Stephens: Not many people can say that.
• 28:53
  Mia Rae Stephens: We have the most carriers, uh, most access to carriers than any other insurance agency in Florida.
• 28:59
  Mia Rae Stephens: And we have really, really good people, right?
• 29:01
  Mia Rae Stephens: I have a really good product to work with and I am blessed.
• 29:05
  Jennifer Johnson: And I've heard commercials that you do.
• 29:07
  Jennifer Johnson: And oh my gosh, they are phenomenal.
• 29:10
  Mia Rae Stephens: Thank you.
• 29:11
  Mia Rae Stephens: And but but why, like, what am I gonna reinvent there?
• 29:14
  Mia Rae Stephens: These are the things that people care about and they're true.
• 29:17
  Mia Rae Stephens: So why reinvent it?
• 29:18
  Mia Rae Stephens: Like, why, yes, do we freshen things up?
• 29:21
  Mia Rae Stephens: And yes, do we change our strategy from time to time if we feel like we need to move in a little bit of a different direction or we're we're getting attention but not clicks?
• 29:31
  Mia Rae Stephens: Um, yeah, we'll we'll do, we'll switch things up so that the right people are hearing the message the right way.
• 29:36
  Mia Rae Stephens: But I'm not gonna reinvent like what the actual message is.
• 29:42
  Mia Rae Stephens: This is what makes us different.
• 29:43
  Mia Rae Stephens: We're we're we're wonderful because of that.
• 29:46
  Mia Rae Stephens: So what if you get bored with that?
• 29:47
  Mia Rae Stephens: What if I get bored?
• 29:49
  Jennifer Johnson: What if you get bored with yeah, like is it important?
• 29:52
  Jennifer Johnson: I mean, does it matter that as content creators we're bored with the message?
• 29:57
  Jennifer Johnson: Or does it not matter because you stay the course?
• 30:01
  Mia Rae Stephens: Well, you yeah, you remember, you have to remember the why and purpose of your business, right?
• 30:06
  Mia Rae Stephens: So maybe you need to go back and reread your mission statement or or sit with it and see if if it still aligns, right?
• 30:15
  Mia Rae Stephens: But you're not saying the exact same thing every day.
• 30:19
  Mia Rae Stephens: Like maybe go out there and meet other people in in the industry, or go meet other people in like I like going to chamber events, meet other people in other industries and see how you talk about your business with them and what makes their eyes go, right?
• 30:32
  Mia Rae Stephens: Um, and and that kind of puts a a different spin on the things you can take that back to your marketing, but you're not changing really the message, you're changing how you say it or what you apply it to.
• 30:44
  Mia Rae Stephens: But like what points you stand out, don't change that because that's who you are.
• 30:50
  Mia Rae Stephens: But if you, if you know, all of a sudden you're changing what makes you valuable and you're not talking about the things that you were talking about before because you're bored with it, like, okay, but but there are so many people who need to hear this.
• 31:05
  Mia Rae Stephens: Like, what is your why?
• 31:06
  Mia Rae Stephens: Like, we want to be there for Southwest Florida.
• 31:09
  Mia Rae Stephens: We want them to have an insurance agency that they can pick up the phone and call who will answer the phone, right?
• 31:16
  Mia Rae Stephens: We want to be that company who is that lighthouse after a storm, and that is our why, right?
• 31:22
  Jennifer Johnson: That's it was very clear in all of your commercials, like that.
• 31:25
  Jennifer Johnson: You drove that home in all of your commercials, and everyone was different, but it still had the same base layer, right?
• 31:33
  Jennifer Johnson: Yeah, so I get that.
• 31:35
  Mia Rae Stephens: Yeah, we're different, we are superheroes in our own right, right?
• 31:39
  Mia Rae Stephens: Just getting that message out there, but the it really is the same message, it's just you're switching it up, right?
• 31:45
  Jennifer Johnson: So get out of your own way, kind of get out of the way of you thinking, oh, I'm bored with this.
• 31:50
  Mia Rae Stephens: Right.
• 31:51
  Jennifer Johnson: Because it's not about you, it's about them.
• 31:53
  Mia Rae Stephens: Yeah, and you can put a different spin on the same message, and you can apply it to something different.
• 31:58
  Mia Rae Stephens: Obviously, you know, I'm I'm trying to say something that would relate to any industry that you're in.
• 32:03
  Mia Rae Stephens: Um, but but don't don't go changing everything all the time.
• 32:07
  Mia Rae Stephens: Like don't get stuck in that trap because or caught in that trap, because that's where you lose people.
• 32:13
  Mia Rae Stephens: That makes sense.
• 32:14
  Mia Rae Stephens: Yeah, say it so many more times and you think it needs to be said, bore yourself.
• 32:20
  Mia Rae Stephens: That might mean that you're on the right track.
• 32:22
  Mia Rae Stephens: Do that.
• 32:23
  Mia Rae Stephens: I like that.
• 32:24
  Jennifer Johnson: That's good advice.
• 32:24
  Jennifer Johnson: Be bored.
• 32:26
  Jennifer Johnson: So if someone is listening right now and they're feeling completely stuck with their content creation, what would you what would one piece of advice be to them to get unstuck?
• 32:39
  Mia Rae Stephens: Stop, go move, go move your body, get outside, go do a stretch, shape, dance around in your living room or your office, let people watch, whatever it is.
• 32:50
  Mia Rae Stephens: Um, go move and then think later.
• 32:52
  Mia Rae Stephens: Take that pressure off yourself, remove it, take a step away.
• 32:56
  Mia Rae Stephens: Um, and then like sometimes if it's a long stop, like you're a long period of being stuck, you know, you might need just a little bit of a pause, or you might need to learn things from other industries and see how you can apply it, apply it to your yourself and to your product.
• 33:12
  Jennifer Johnson: But yeah, go move.
• 33:13
  Jennifer Johnson: Great advice, great advice.
• 33:15
  Jennifer Johnson: Well, we're going to do what I do with everybody that's on my podcast.
• 33:19
  Jennifer Johnson: It's what I call the final four, and it's four questions.
• 33:22
  Jennifer Johnson: And I'm always intrigued as to how they're they're answered because it seems like there's always something different that I learn.
• 33:29
  Jennifer Johnson: Are you ready?
• 33:30
  Mia Rae Stephens: I think so.
• 33:32
  Jennifer Johnson: So the first question is what is your favorite book that you've read, and what was it that made it stick with you?
• 33:41
  Mia Rae Stephens: Okay, so um I'm gonna be honest, I'm more of a podcast girly for obvious reasons.
• 33:47
  Mia Rae Stephens: I have started a few books recently, and it's kind of like the same thing of me trying to watch a television show because I try to watch a show and I don't have the time for it.
• 33:58
  Mia Rae Stephens: Um I started your book and it is phenomenal, and it hooked me in right at the beginning, and we'll have to have another conversation about that on a in a different day, different topic, different days.
• 34:08
  Mia Rae Stephens: I really, really love the heart behind the book and your transparency.
• 34:13
  Mia Rae Stephens: And honestly, um there if no one, if people listening have not heard read this book, go get it.
• 34:19
  Mia Rae Stephens: It was very brave how you started this story off, and I want to thank you for that.
• 34:23
  Jennifer Johnson: Thank you.
• 34:24
  Jennifer Johnson: Thank you about that.
• 34:25
  Mia Rae Stephens: I think another time we will address my full thoughts there.
• 34:29
  Mia Rae Stephens: But yeah, I listen to a lot of podcasts, and if it's an audio, or if it's a book, it's normally an audiobook.
• 34:33
  Mia Rae Stephens: So I've been listening to a lot of um The Power of Your Subconscious Mind by Joseph.
• 34:38
  Mia Rae Stephens: And um I am listening to like different clips, honestly, from YouTube, like not even the whole book, but it has like blown my mind open, and it's all about mindset.
• 34:50
  Mia Rae Stephens: All about mindset.
• 34:52
  Jennifer Johnson: So perfect.
• 34:53
  Jennifer Johnson: Yeah, awesome.
• 34:54
  Jennifer Johnson: Do you have a favorite quote or piece of advice that you find yourself coming back to time and time again?
• 35:01
  Mia Rae Stephens: Yes, just say the thing.
• 35:05
  Mia Rae Stephens: Okay, clarity beats cleverness every time.
• 35:09
  Mia Rae Stephens: Now, that one's my quote, but I'll give you another quote.
• 35:12
  Mia Rae Stephens: If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.
• 35:16
  Mia Rae Stephens: That's Albert Einstein.
• 35:17
  Jennifer Johnson: So, one of those, you take your that's so true.
• 35:21
  Jennifer Johnson: Both of them are great.
• 35:23
  Mia Rae Stephens: Clarity.
• 35:24
  Jennifer Johnson: Exactly, clarity.
• 35:25
  Jennifer Johnson: What is one habit or practice that you have picked up that's genuinely changed your life?
• 35:32
  Mia Rae Stephens: Um, so EFT tapping, I don't know if you've heard of it.
• 35:37
  Mia Rae Stephens: No through sequences, and it's kind of like a form of therapy.
• 35:41
  Mia Rae Stephens: It really has changed my life.
• 35:43
  Mia Rae Stephens: It helps you like move past like maybe subconscious thoughts, and you kind of work through sequences and um you follow a script, and that helps a lot.
• 35:52
  Mia Rae Stephens: You can feel like heaviness being removed from you at that moment, or if you are having a creative block, like you can tap the ribs, you you kind of acknowledge what you're feeling, and then you kind of like let it go, right?
• 36:03
  Mia Rae Stephens: Um that and grounding.
• 36:06
  Mia Rae Stephens: So I'm sorry, I'm getting woo-woo on you guys, but it's not really woo-woo.
• 36:09
  Mia Rae Stephens: It's actually science, this is all rooted in science.
• 36:11
  Mia Rae Stephens: But if you don't understand it, it sounds a little weird.
• 36:13
  Mia Rae Stephens: But going to the beach and putting my feet on the sand, going for a walk, or sitting in in my own thoughts, but with my feet on the sand and the sun shining, because we live in the most beautiful place.
• 36:24
  Mia Rae Stephens: I like it.
• 36:25
  Jennifer Johnson: We do.
• 36:28
  Mia Rae Stephens: I'm one person who you will find at the beach many times a week.
• 36:31
  Mia Rae Stephens: But that's those those things have changed my life.
• 36:34
  Mia Rae Stephens: That tapping kind of awareness, so you're acknowledging what you're feeling and going through, and you're allowing yourself to let that go.
• 36:41
  Mia Rae Stephens: And that's going to the beach and kind of being alone with my thoughts.
• 36:46
  Jennifer Johnson: That's wonderful.
• 36:48
  Jennifer Johnson: And if you could have dinner with anyone, who would it be and why?
• 36:53
  Mia Rae Stephens: Uh, my grandmother.
• 36:54
  Mia Rae Stephens: She uh she passed away when I was 13 and she was my hero.
• 37:00
  Mia Rae Stephens: Her and my grandfather, he's still alive, but they were my heroes, and he's still my hero, um, whether he knows that or not.
• 37:06
  Mia Rae Stephens: But she was so wise, and um, I remember reading things that she wrote, and she she never like had her own career, but she was incredible at writing, like incredible, like poems and stories.
• 37:19
  Mia Rae Stephens: And I like to think that's where I got my love of writing from and my ability to put thoughts on paper in a way that connects with the reader.
• 37:27
  Mia Rae Stephens: Um, I like to think I came from her.
• 37:29
  Mia Rae Stephens: So I wish I could have a chance to have dinner with her and ask her all the things I never got to.
• 37:36
  Jennifer Johnson: That's hard.
• 37:37
  Jennifer Johnson: And you know, we always look back in retrospect, right?
• 37:40
  Jennifer Johnson: And think, if only I would have asked more questions, right?
• 37:46
  Jennifer Johnson: They're they're be uh wise beyond their years for sure.
• 37:51
  Jennifer Johnson: This has been such a wonderful uh conversation with you, Mia.
• 37:57
  Jennifer Johnson: It's been wonderful and I've um I've learned a lot, actually.
• 38:01
  Jennifer Johnson: I'm gonna let that guilt go.
• 38:03
  Jennifer Johnson: I'm gonna let it go.
• 38:04
  Jennifer Johnson: Let it go.
• 38:06
  Jennifer Johnson: If our listeners would like to get in touch with you, how can they do so?
• 38:12
  Mia Rae Stephens: Yeah, um I am posting some just free informational marketing tips on my Instagram.
• 38:19
  Mia Rae Stephens: It's MiaRay.stevens on Instagram.
• 38:22
  Mia Rae Stephens: That's the best place right now.
• 38:24
  Mia Rae Stephens: Um, and then you can catch me in the office of Chapman Insurance Group and about every chamber event in Southwest Florida as I try to um get fully involved in the community.
• 38:36
  Jennifer Johnson: And when you hear those commercials, you need to think of Mia.
• 38:39
  Mia Rae Stephens: Think of me, hopefully.
• 38:40
  Mia Rae Stephens: And the full team.
• 38:42
  Mia Rae Stephens: Thank you.
• 38:42
  Mia Rae Stephens: I really appreciate that.
• 38:44
  Jennifer Johnson: Thank you again, Mia, and thank you to all of my listeners.