We recently connected with James Whittaker and have shared our conversation below.

Hi James, thanks for joining us today. We love asking folks what they would do differently if they were starting today – how they would speed up the process, etc. We’d love to hear how you would set everything up if you were to start from step 1 today.

If I were starting all over again, I’d launch a podcast that helps a specific audience solve a specific (and significant) problem.

This would improve my communication skills, give me access to extraordinary people, create a content machine on autopilot, upskill my expertise, and build a strong foundation to grow my business.

Also, in the early days, it’s important to focus on building assets and resources that you can use to provide to your audience. As you start helping them alleviate their painpoints, they’ll become willing supporters — 10 people becomes 100 people becomes 1,000 people. But it all starts with bringing the 10 people into your mission so they can serve as advocates for you.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I grew up in Brisbane, Australia.

The first profession I felt called to was financial services, where I spent more than a decade working with some great people, eventually overseeing an adviser team with $2 billion under management.

In 2012, I moved to the United States to study an MBA, which was nine months in Boston, MA, and three months in Shanghai, China. That journey opened my eyes to the entrepreneurial world for the first time, and I was instantly attracted to those my age — and younger — who were following their dreams, taking massive risks, and forging their own path. Inspired, I went on to launch products and companies in more than a dozen industries.

After moving to Los Angeles, California, I was invited to meet with a group of people who were making a film about Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, the bestselling self-help book of all time. Shortly after, I came on board as executive producer of the film and author of its companion book (which has since been translated into 15+ languages).

Today, all my work revolves around a simple mentality: Win the Day. Specifically, that each day, if you do not make the decision to win, you have automatically made the decision to lose.

This stemmed from a debilitating anxiety disorder that deeply impacted my younger years where I made a vow to never be a victim ever again, a journey that would eventually be published in Success Magazine.

From now until my dying breath, I’m on a mission to help as many people as possible to adopt the Win the Day mentality so they can find meaning, growth, and impact in their lives – and inspire the next generation. I do this through business consulting, private coaching, keynote speaking, and Win the Day with James Whittaker podcast.

I’m grateful to have personally coached leaders in 20+ countries, including Olympic gold medallists, billion-dollar CEOs, and special forces operators. However, I’m most proud of everyday people who reach out to tell me that they’ve finally been given the key to unlock their own prison.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Something that aspiring and ambitious entrepreneurs alike need to remember is: if you don’t share your story, no one else will.

The journey to becoming a personal brand is a difficult one. Not difficult in terms of what content to post; after all, there are a thousand ways to do that. Difficult in terms of the mental battle of how you want to be portrayed and worrying what others will think. So let’s blast that one, first of all.

The biggest shift for me was adopting the mindset that “To the right people you can do no wrong, and to the wrong people you can do no right.” For the right people, they need your encouragement, experience, and expertise so they can level-up in their lives. And for the wrong people, well, they’ll always find something to complain about so don’t even worry about them.

In short, create content for the people who need it.

Next, let’s move on to more tactical strategies to build your social media presence. I’ve been able to amass more than 10 million views across the various social platforms. Almost all of it has come through content repurposed from my Win the Day podcast.

I’ll let you in on the ‘how’ shortly. Before that, we need to remember that we’re in a content-driven world. You absolutely must be telling your story if you’re serious about building your authority, credibility, and impact.

If you’re struggling to create content, here are some tips:

1. Start a podcast.
Nothing has upgraded my relationships and opportunities like a podcast. Better yet, you can do it for next to nothing, and will have the most effective avenue to start generating an additional five-figures in monthly revenue to your business. One caveat: you do need to do it the right way, which most people don’t. For some tips on that, read this: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/10-lessons-from-100-podcast-episodes-james-whittaker/

2. Interview people.
This improves your mind, gives you incredible content, and a fast-track to establishing extraordinary relationships.

3. Get people to interview you.
Many of my clients are better at answering questions than they are coming up with things as they stare down the barrel of a camera. And that’s me, too. So get someone to interview you or pretend someone is interviewing you and just answer the questions.

4. Make relevant content.
Think about what you know that your target market doesn’t know that would make their lives easier. If you go and look at my TikTok account, you can just scroll through the thumbnails and you’ll see exactly how I do that.

If you can focus on those four things, you’ll have more content than you’ll know what to do with and your story will be everywhere.

If you’re serious about being the authority in your industry, you need to be regarded as a thought leader, and that means leading by example. So start putting content out there regularly.
You’ll get access to massive opportunities and it will make the sales process 100x more efficient because of how much goodwill you’ve established by adding so much value through your content.

Tell your story or no one else will.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Recently, I was lying in bed at 11pm. Then a thought randomly entered my mind, “Is your involvement with this business strengthening you or weakening you?”

I was taken aback because I hadn’t even been thinking about the business in question. I was simply trying to get some sleep, so there was absolutely zero conscious signaling that this was a question worth asking.

Immediately, an answer revealed itself, “It’s weakening me.”

I was amazed, but before I could let it go, another question prompted, “Is this your path?”

“No.”

“What do you need to do?”

“Leave.”

Questions were being asked and, just as quickly, answers were being provided – without me having to do a thing.

The next day, I reflected on the unusual events and realized that it was a conversation that needed to happen and the path forward was clear: I would immediately remove myself from the business in question – a business that I consciously enjoyed with people who had become close friends. Remarkably, it’s probably the easiest professional decision I’ve ever made.

Confidence in the leap came from 39 years of intuition, and through many mistakes made in that time by not trusting that intuition. What I have realized since is that deep down you know when something has reached its logical conclusion – and not everyone is meant to be in your life forever.

The harder you resist, the stronger the signal, which can manifest in terms of greater stress, irritability, and a strangulation of your creativity.

When you’re in spiritual alignment, and can declutter your mind, you become open to The Universe and all its gifts. Shortly after making the decision to leave something I’d dedicated years of my life to, I was presented with opportunities to strengthen the connection with my family, grow my core business, and expand my professional circle, things that are all exceptionally important to me.

Whether it’s a business partnership, a relationship, or any other commitment, remember that staying true to yourself is the most important thing – even if that means it’s time to move on.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://jameswhitt.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jameswhitt
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jameswhitt
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jameswhittaker1/
• Youtube: https://bit.ly/WinTheDayVideos
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jpwhit Win the Day podcast: https://jameswhitt.com/podcast