ANTI-MAGNETIC ARCHETYPE #1
THE PARROT
"If I follow their exact steps, I'll succeed"
Believing your knowledge, skills and/or internal compass are insufficient, you attempt to reverse-engineer the success of others through 'proven' formulas and Holy Grail courses. Terrified of the vulnerability that comes with trial and error, you outsource your decision-making to external methods rather than risk trusting your own Inner Authority—which feels like certain failure.
...it's likely The PARROT has a lot of "pull" right now, and is costing in more ways than you may realise.
→ Hiring mentors to give you the "correct" answer so you don't have to choose
→ Outsourcing your marketing, messaging or any other part of your magnetism to experts
→ Always looking for solutions that provide step-by-step guidance and guarantees
→ Prefer reverse-engineering others success than finding your best approach
→ Hiring mentors to give you the "correct" answer so you don't have to choose
→ Outsourcing your marketing, messaging or other parts of your magnetism to experts
→ Always looking for solutions that provide step-by-step guidance and guarantees
→ More interested in reverse-engineering others success than finding your best approach
IF You'RE:
Signs The PARROT is running the show
MIRROR, MIRROR ON THE WALL
Never living a life that's fully yours. Always feeling like you're failing to fill someone else's shoes, not realising that you fit your own shoes perfectly -- and they're the only ones that will be comfortable. Living with a sense of anxiety about whether or not you're "doing it right", not trusting yourself enough to experiment and then pivot. You'll spend your life looking to others for guidance and never realising the well of wisdom that lives within you.
Never learning to trust your own wisdom
THE COST TO YOUR BEING
Leaders who borrow other peoples frameworks, scripts and advice are ones who are disconnected from their internal guidance system, their natural gifts of empathy, intuition and insight, and who'll never fully feel worthy or capable of leading others -- whether that's their team, their clients or their audience members. So they'll second-guess their decisions, delay taking action, and leave their team (or clients) feeling unsure as to whether they're capable of leading them, which will in turn impact culture and their performance.
Not instilling confidence in those you lead
THE COST TO YOUR LEADERSHIP
As long as you're trying to emulate others and follow formulas to "get branding right", you're delaying the most important aspects of personal branding: finding your voice, refining your message, and uncovering your onlyness factor. In other word, the things that allow you to stand out, to make the competition redundant (you're either the perfect fit for someone or you aren't) and play the long-game aka becoming a thought leader rather than "just another (insert your title here)".
Never finding your voice or owning your story
THE COST TO YOUR BRAND
You end up building something that isn't yours. Which means not only does it not honour your strengths, preferences or natural way of operating... but it can also amplify your insecurities, take its toll on your energy, and never allow you to tap into your full potential as a service provider or creator. Because your unique intersection of skills, gifts, ideas, perspectives and experience are what add up to become the greatest gift you have to offer your future clients/customers.
Building a business that doesn't fit you
THE COST TO YOUR BUSINESS
(NOT SO)
THE HIDDEN COSTS OF OPERATING FROM THIS ARCHETYPE
NOW FOR THE GOOD NEWS
THE PARROT'S MAGNETIC POTENTIAL
The Parrot's patterns are simply the unhealthy expression of the natural strengths you were born with. And once we become conscious of them, they can be transformed into a higher expression that puts an end to the "self-sabotage" (in quotations because this is actually just a form of self-protection) and becomes a part of your toolkit for success.
THE GIFTS HIDING IN THE SHADOW OF THE PARROT
While we can slip into this archetype at any point, it's most common when we're earlier on in the journey, and this is where one of the most underrated gifts exist: in the not knowing. See, the more we know, the more out mind becomes burdened with options and an awareness of how everyone else is doing things. But remember that saying, "Ignorance is bliss"? This has a lot to do with what we call Beginner's Luck. It's a lot easier to 'get lucky' when we're tapped into a blind optimism in that lack of awareness around what it supposedly takes to succeed. So to tap into this particular gift, it's about seeing your own "limitations" as gifts and allowing your naivety to guide towards simplicity while also embracing the curiosity and openness of beginner's mind.
SACRED GIFT
AUTHORSHIP
CONSISTENCY
STRENGTH
DEPENDENCY
SHADOW
YOUR ALCHEMICAL MAP
We fall into the shadow when we're operating from fear and doubt, but it's just the other side of the coin to the strength, which we already have within us. The real magic though? It's in accessing the sacred gift, which we earn with time and through alchemising these shadow patterns.
The outward expression of all you are, this is what most think of as personal branding, as it's about how you choose to position and package yourself in the outside world, from what you wear to how your website is designed.
Harder to measure, but easy for others to sense, this is your energy, your vitality, that spark people feel when you walk into a room (or the dark cloud, depending on your mood). This energy gets poured into all of our interactions AND our creations, so it's essential to your magnetism.
How you're showing up in the world. The actions you're taking (or not) the habits you've adopted (whether they're helpful or not) and the way you express yourself. Our actions can change our reality including how we feel, so it's next in line.
Your belief systems and the stories you hold about everything -- from yourself and your own potential, to other people, to how the world works. Our thoughts manifest as reality, so until our beliefs align with our desires, we'll struggle.
Your literal foundations: who you are, how you were built, the state of your nervous system, and the way you naturally see and experience the world. If we don't understand these things or let them get out of whack, everything else falls apart!
FROM PARROT TO SELF-LED STRATEGIST
Magnetism isn't some switch you flick on. It's created from 5 different sources that are all essential parts of you. And since one impacts the next, you can think of this as your "Magnetic Hierarchy of Needs". I'll quickly explain what they are before diving into tailored recommendations for each of these areas specific to The Parrot.
To heal the pattern of The PARROT and step into its highest expression as Self-Led Strategist, we must work from the Inside Out.
CROSSING THE THRESHOLD
YOUR MAGNETIC MAKEUP
YOUR MAGNETIC MYTHOLOGY
YOUR MAGNETIC M.O.
YOUR MATERIAL MAGNETISM
YOUR MAGNETIC MOXIE
SO NOW YOU KNOW THE LINGO, LET'S TALK ABOUT WHAT IT TAKES TO GO FROM PARROT MODE TO Self-Led Strategist ENERGY!
Magnetic Makeup
Systems like Human Design, the Gene Keys, astrology, and the Enneagram are all fantastic places to start.
But also remember that others regularly hold up a mirror to you, so pay better attention to what they're showing you!
LAYER ONE:
Magnetic Mythology
Pull out your journal and write about a time that you didn't have a roadmap for where you were going, and had to fumble along in the dark for a bit. How did it pan out? How were you able to navigate that situation?
LAYER TWO:
Magnetic M.O.
To ask "If I knew there were no consequences, what might I try to solve this problem?"
Can you put up some reminders for yourself and maybe even create a little extra friction by making your Google & AI shortcuts harder to reach? Maybe even try turning the Wi-Fi off when you work every now and again so you can't just "quickly see what (Name) is doing"!
LAYER THREE:
Magnetic Moxie
Maybe even play your favourite hype song and stand in a power pose for a few minutes to connect to your strength.
Remind yourself that more of the path appears every time you take a step. And that if you want to become known for your brilliance and uniqueness, the only path for you is the one you're paving yourself.
LAYER FOUR:
Material Magnetism
It's a dynamic process that happens over time. By doing the reps. Building the skills. Getting to know your audience. Gaining confidence.
So set yourself a Messy Magnetism Challenge:
For the next 30 days, aim to publish twice as much as you normally do, completely ignoring your analytics. This is your new path to an Unmistakable brand presence.
LAYER FIVE:
Build Up Your Baseline
Shift Your Story
Align Your Action
Elevate Your Energy
Bridge Your Brilliance
YOUR PERSONAL ROADMAP
While this magnetic hierarchy of needs is universal, what's required to break you out of your own patterns and activate your highest potential is unique. Tap on the orange arrows to view your personal magnetism prescription.
MAGNETIC MAKEUP
The most powerful thing you can do is understand that your natural blueprint is the key to your success, and committing to a process of developing deep self-awareness about your natural gifts, tendencies and unique perspective, so that whatever strategy you create is build around them rather than overriding them. Systems like Human Design, the Gene Keys, astrology, and the Enneagram are all fantastic places to start. But also remember that others regularly hold up a mirror to you, so pay better attention to what they're showing you!
BUILD UP YOUR BASELINE
MAGNETIC MYTHOLOGY
The new belief you'll need to adopt is that you're safe to experiment and figure some things out as you go. In fact, that experimentation is the key to developing a powerful strategy and achieving sustainable success -- because without trial & error, you'll never discover what works best for YOU, which is exactly what's required for you to play the long game and become Undeniable. Pull out your journal and write about a time that you didn't have a roadmap for where you were going, and had to fumble along in the dark for a bit. How did it pan out? How were you able to navigate that situation?
SHIFT YOUR STORY
MAGNETIC M.O.
You need to replace the habit of immediately searching for answers outside of yourself the second you feel unsure or insecure, and instead giving yourself the time & space to connect to your inner knowing. To ask "If I knew there were no consequences, what might I try to solve this problem?" Can you put up some reminders for yourself and maybe even create a little extra friction by making your Google & AI shortcuts harder to reach? Maybe even try turning the Wi-Fi off when you work every now and again so you can't just "quickly check what (Name) is doing"!
ALIGN YOUR ACTIONS
MAGNETIC MOXIE
Next time you sit down to work on something that's a little scary or intimidating, I want you to take a beat to connect to the energy of adventure and exploration before you take action or make a decision. Maybe even play your favourite hype song and stand in a power pose for a few minutes to connect to your strength. Remind yourself that more of the path appears every time you take a step. And that if you want to become known for your brilliance and uniqueness, the only path for you is the one you're paving yourself.
ELEVATE YOUR ENERGY
MATERIAL MAGNETISM
Finding your voice and refining your message doesn't happen with one perfect strategy (no matter how big your budget or how experienced the strategist or copywriter you hire!) It's a dynamic process that happens over time. By doing the reps. Building the skills. Getting to know your audience. Gaining confidence. So set yourself a Messy Magnetism Challenge:
For the next 30 days, aim to publish twice as much as you normally do, completely ignoring your analytics. This is your new path to an Unmistakable brand presence.
