A (2:41)

We call it the hawk when it comes is. And the thing is we get it off of boat. Two things of water. It's like the lake. Lake Michigan is right there. So we ride off the Great Lakes and then the river rips through the city. And yeah, there's no cold like Chicago cold, but that's why Chicagoans are so real, is because the cold keeps us honest. And then we get Chicago summertime shy, which is one of the best summers you will ever have. I never knew growing up in Louisiana, I thought I loved hot weather, but I really love hot weather in the summertime in Chicago. Because you've earned it.

C (3:12)

Yep. I think that's why we roll so well. We're both southerners from the get, you know, South Carolina, Louisiana. We know what those hurricanes are about. We know what you know growing up in the south is about. Gene, let's set the table for the audience. You know, you've been a media personality. You've. You've been in the media, you're now coaching and speaking and doing all these things. But what did it all start? I mean, have you always had the personality, the media personality? It feels like it, yeah.

A (3:42)

I started when I was 17, I in New Iberia, Louisiana, where I'm from. Shout out to the home of Tabasco sauce. I was speech. Right. Well, you know, I come from a family of storytellers like my dad was. He could tell the same story and listen, it didn't even have to be true. And to this day, I don't know which one of his stories are fully true or not. But they all made sense and they all made us laugh and like we would always one up each other during the holidays. And this is both sides of my family, we would gather around for the holidays and talk and whatever. So I feel like I was trained as a kid to tell stories, to amplify other people's things, like, because the thing is, the best stories are not the ones that are just about you, they're the ones that are about other people too. Right. And so when I was in high school, I was in speech and debate and the local radio station always liked to hire local kids because the nearby university had a great mass commercial department. And so they were like trying to keep talent in the area. They were looking for people. My speech and debate coach sent me over to the local country western station, I might add, to go and audition for a gig. I got it and I was working. That was my after school job. I would like get off school and then I go over to the radio station and work until it turned off. I don't know if you're old enough to remember when AM radio stations used to go off at night, but I had a whole FCC license and I turned that bad boy off.

C (5:15)

That is crazy. I've forgotten about that. That's.

A (5:19)

Yeah.

C (5:19)

Jogging the memory, brains. But I grew up with the dad and family that all listen to talk radio, you know, on AM and everything else. Maybe that's where my passion came from. Maybe, maybe I remember.

A (5:30)

Listen, the seeds. The seeds are always sewn and you don't see them until you like hit middle age and you start to realize that you have become your parents and that you do things that they do for better or worse, you know. But that's where it all started for me. And I didn't even think it was a career, to be honest, because it felt like a hobby. It was. I was like, I was. I can't make money doing this. It's too much fun. And from there, when I went away to college, that's how I got up to Chicago, went to Northwestern and I was working on the radio station for fun, for free and got an internship and next thing you know, I have a whole career.

C (6:06)

Seven time Emmy winner at that, right? Yeah, yeah.

A (6:09)

Regional Emmys here in Chicago. Because I moved from radio to tv. It was kind of a, an opportunity that came up. And then, you know, you just do work, you submit it and people like it and you're like, what? I got Emmys minor packed away. I usually, I usually boast about them, but I just moved, so I haven't put my shelves up and things like that to have my brag wall up. But the thing about awards is that therefore what you used to do, you know, what you have already done for me, it's always, what are you gonna do next?

C (6:44)

Ah, I like that. I might take that. Yeah, I'll give a little. I'll put a little JS on the end, you know, there you go. I'll give you attribution. Not gonna steal anybody. But I love that, you know, because that I do see a lot of people that live in the past. And look, we got. I always like to, you know, reflect on the past. But, you know, I also say the only thing you get from looking back is a sore neck.

A (7:08)

That's 100 truth. Or you end up. You end up looking in the rearview mirror and you end up with running into. When running into what's in front of you. And that doesn't do anybody good. Listen, we have to know and look at the past to learn from it so that we don't make the same mistakes going forward. But don't be that person that peaked in high school. There's better that, you know, you have ahead of you and you know what I'm saying? Some people, like, they had really great lives when they were 18. Like fam you152 now you really need to start thinking about something else other than that. Like, you know, that's just my perspective. I'm always one to look forward and look about, you know, because I had a boss who said to me, you know, a. In radio, there's this thing, in music radio, there's this thing we call forward motion, where you're always pushing to the next thing. And I think as. As. Because a lot of what we do, you know, in radio is really related to. To your expertise in marketing. It's about pushing the message forward, like, because people don't care. Like, they already heard the song you just played. Yeah, we could tell you what it is if you really liked it. But what you really care about is what's coming up next, because that's going to keep them listening. Right. And so when. When I learned that philosophy, it really helped me to start looking ahead because people who can project what's happening next are the ones who are going to be successful and. And always on top of what's going on. But it is informed by where we've been before, for sure.

C (8:39)

What were some of the. I mean, maybe the media background, your training, your. I mean, like, what was the motivation? I mean, Fearless Authenticity, I think about that name and it's very direct, which I like. But I have to think some things in your life help paint that picture for you and talk to me about some of the inspiration and where that came from.

A (9:07)

So for me, discovering Fearless Authenticity has been sort of a circular path because it started with my media work. Um, I had a boss who told me one time, same boss with the Ford Motion. He was very influential. And I think we all have those mentors in our lives that. That do it, but because they help us to see things and that helps us to. To get to our philosophies. But he said to me, he was like, I don't pay you to play the hits. I pay you for what you say in between the hits, because that's what's going to make people stay, because they can get these hits anywhere else. And this is before Spotify and, you know, all the different streamers. I heart all of this stuff.

C (9:50)

Yeah. Only knew what was coming. He was so right.

A (9:53)

Exactly. He was a hundred percent right. And so it, it's. And it. Then it started when I went into TV. I realized every station is talking about the same 4 stop top stories. The reason why we watch particular stations, if we do nowadays, is because that's the, the, the perspective we want to hear that news from. Same thing with, if we only get our news online. Like, some people love tmz, some people love msnbc, some people love Fox, you know, because it's something about the people who are there that keep us there. There are a bunch of other marketing podcasts. There's something about you that resonates with the people who vibe with you and the way you give that information. So what? So that was kind of the first realization that my perspective mattered. Then I started to realize when I looked back at how I grew up, because I'm adopted, and I started to realize that your identity has a lot to do with how people connect to you. And I think what happens to a lot of us, like our mamas and our daddies always told us the same thing when we went off to school. Just be yourself. You're going to find your friends, your friends are going to find you, but nobody tells you how to do that. And that when you get outside of your house, if you had a happy house to begin with, right. You start to have all of these other influences that tell you what you should be doing. And I hate that word should, because it's more of a judgment than it is a direction. And what I learned, looking back at how I grew up, a lot of what I was doing when I was younger was trying to fit in, trying to please, trying to do these things. And I think as a young woman, especially I'm a Gen Xer, so there were still a lot of gender roles that I felt I had to fulfill first or whatever, but really it's about what resonates with you and understanding that when you, you know, do something that feels right in your gut, then you're on the right path and you're doing what you're supposed to do. I think a lot of us wake up at middle age and wonder how we got where we were. And some of that is because of the choices we make along the way. And that's really what fearless authenticity is to me, is all of us staying true to who we are, trying to grow in the way that we want to grow, to do the thing we want to do. And our purpose finds us that way. Because we're all like pieces of a puzzle, Ryan. We all fit together, and we're all here to do something particular. We don't have to know what it is because it's going to find us, but we have to be true to ourselves to do that.

C (12:31)

Yeah.

A (12:32)

It's the truest brand, if you will.

C (12:34)

That's true. And a lot of people struggle with it. I'm going to go down two roads with you, Gene, because I got two sides of this. I want to. I want to break that down. What you just said, one about fearless. Like, one. It's in short supply, I think, you know, in today's. You could use more of it, fortunately. Yeah, it's a. And then I'm going to give you two sides of the coin. Like, I, you know, like any good marketer, I love speaking on both sides of my mouth.

A (13:03)

Love it. I love it.

C (13:04)

But I love it because I think they're kind of related. Like. Because I think it's in short supply. But then I also feel like sometimes people think they're being fearlessly authentic, but it just rubs everyone the damn wrong way. Like, and you know what I'm saying? So, like, there's this line for me of being not trying to be liked and to be yourself, but if you're selfishly authentic, that doesn't get you very far either, you know, and so I'd love for you to kind of dig underneath. I think you know where I'm going with this.

A (13:40)

Yeah, I know exactly where you're going. Because this is a conversation I have often. I believe part of fearless authenticity baked into it is the idea that this is how we really build true community. Because if we are true to ourselves, then we find our people and our people find us. And it is also baked into this that we are in service to each other. Not here to please each other, but to be in service. There is something that I can do that you cannot. Right. And there is something you can do that I cannot. And we are here to share that with each other, that it doesn't work any other way. That's. That's what community is really about. And I think as a fellow Southerner, you understand what I'm talking about. When you're from a small town, you understand how we are all connected, how the ecosystem is connected to each other. I think when we get into and. And this is not down urban life, because I love living in a big city, and Chicago's like a. Like, you spent some time here. It's like A really big, small town.

C (14:42)

I lived in Manhattan six years Avenue for six years. You know, I've done it. Yeah. Yeah.

A (14:49)

But the. The thing is, is that if we keep in our minds and in our hearts the spirit of service, that what I am good at is to be used in. In service of a greater, higher good, then I think we get away from the selfish part of it. Now, some people's authentic selves might be kind of selfish. That means they got some growing to do. And I think, though, as you look at yourself, you start to see where you need to grow and where you've gone wrong. And it's easier for you to take that feedback when somebody's like, you know what? That hurt my feelings. Or that did not serve us as a group, as a team. There's nothing we can do, especially nowadays, that doesn't involve teamwork. And I can tell you, almost every company I go into that brings me in. A lot of times they bring me in to talk about their external communication issues. But. And I know you know this because you've probably seen it in your work 9 times out of 10, the issue is almost always an internal problem in communication with each other. Like, they need to get their story together inside before they're able to do it outside. And we focus so much on what we put out into the world that we forget about what's happening on a smaller level. So for me, fearlessly authentic is not a. A pass for you to be a jerk. It is a responsibility for you to be your best self, to be the highest version of yourself that is in service to other people. Because that's the only way we move together as a world. You know that. Because, like, the world is getting smaller and expanding at the same time. Like, the way that technology has brought us together has also separated us. And I think that the more we lean into the human connection, and I know that this is resonant with your work, the more we lean into those relationships and things like that, the better off we're going to be. But the only way those things are really real is if we are real about it ourselves.

C (16:50)

Yeah, there it is. I love that breakdown. I was worried. I did not think I could stomp Gene Sparrow by any means, but I do struggle with that sometimes. I see some people that think they're acting authentic, and I think they are, but I'm like, damn. I mean, you know, like, we can't.

A (17:08)

They're using it.

C (17:09)

We can't polar. Polarize everybody, you know?

A (17:11)

No. Like, no, it's not about that it's. It's. I. Because I think the. The more in touch I get with where I am, the more confident I am with where I am, and the better I am to let other people. Like, I get to stay in my lane, and I get to own my lane, and I'm. And then I'm more happy to let other people do what they have to do around me. It's made me a better leader. It's made me a better collaborator. It's made me better for my clients. Like, I don't. But I do think some people get lazy and say that they're being authentic. Well, this is just who I am. That's. When you start talking like that, then it's in service to you. It's not in service to somebody else. And then you're frankly just being a dick. Like, no, don't do that. Don't do that.

C (18:00)

Exactly.

A (18:02)

Who.

C (18:03)

You know. Part of the reason I was pumped to have you on the show, Gene, is I feel like this book applies to a lot of people and a lot of things. I think it's business leaders. I think it's, you know, hell, soccer moms, you know, Like, I mean. I really mean this. Like, I do think it covers the gamut because there's a lot to learn here. Talk to me, though. In your mind, who did you feel like you were speaking to?

A (18:34)

So there are a few different people I was talking to most of all myself. Like, some of it was just about how I move through things. And, you know, when you go through the book, there's a. I tried to include a lot of different perspectives. Like, I have a podcast as well that's on pause right now because the book has overtaken my life. But the whole point of it was to find out how what I believe to be true applies in other places. So I've talked to people wide, ranging from authors to business leaders, other marketers, authors. I think I said that already. Entertainers, comedians, actors, writers, all these different kinds of people. To see entrepreneurs, you know, to kind of see where this happened. And I found it to be true everywhere, in every phase of life. And when I first started doing this work, Ryan, there were people who told me. And it still happens in some of my trainings when I go in, they're like, I'm gonna try this out on my kids today. Because, you know, like, there's a part of my process that I. I taught. I call it Live It, Tell It, Sell It, Live it is about you. To me, it's the three elements of how we communicate, live it is about you. You have to understand how you affect other people. Tell it is about the, the vehicle by which we do it, the stories that we tell each other, because those are the things that. That's the connect and then sell. It is about the people you're talking to because you're always selling something. But you got to know something about the people you're talking to and you have to talk to what they care about. If you don't talk to what they care about, then all you're doing is having a monologue and hoping somebody else listens. It is not a two way street. And unfortunately we don't do that with our young people. And so when I first wrote the book, I was really writing it for my clients, like the different kinds of people that I encounter. But what I've learned, because now I'm teaching at Northwestern in a grad communication program and a lot of my students are fresh out of college, still kind of searching for themselves and trying to find their voice. And I have figured out that my work, I think, works best for people who are in transition somewhere. They're either trying to level up, maybe in the corporate gig they have, trying to get to the next level up, trying to break through to the executive level or break through to the C suite or maybe just get out of middle management or into middle management so they can start moving up. The things for kids, young. I shouldn't say kids, but they kids to me, young people who are entering the workforce for the first time, the transition from college to real life is even harder than it's ever been, I think, because the job market, the competition, the competition that these young people have been under since they started, like, you know, the shift from saying I'm trying to get grades to actually giving results is a very different thing. Like I told my. The first day of class last quarter that I taught, I said to them, look, your grade in here doesn't matter to me. I was like, you're gonna get an A if you're better at the end of this quarter than you are right now. And they looked at me like I had sprouted horns. They were like, what? I was like, I got assignments and stuff like that, but legit. You will get an A in this class if you just do the work. And by the end of it, what you turn in for the first assignment, for the last assignment looks better than what you turned in from the first. And it's all about performance and how you deliver. So if you're better, then you got an A, so don't worry about the grade. And literally, some of these kids imploded on me, like, because they can't. I was like, but, honey, at work, nobody gives a damn about your. Your grades that you got in college or grad school. What they care about is, can you deliver what it is you need to do? And they looked at me like, is that the key? And these are kids that are about to be, you know, interviewing for their next job. So I. So I think, like, maybe for the soccer moms, the ones whose kids are growing up and they're going back into the workplace or they've started a side hustle that they've done while their kids were little, and now they want to turn it into a legitimate business. I have a lot of entrepreneurs who've asked me for help. I think. Yeah, that's who I wrote the book for. It's not who I initially wrote the book for, but that's who it's for is anybody who's trying to navigate a change in what they're doing.

C (22:53)

Yeah. I'd argue that any brand could learn how to take their brand this direction. In. In a way, I. I want to talk about speaking sensationally while also validating a point. I graduated from Clemson with a 2.01. You had to. You had to have a 2.0 to graduate. And I'd put my lifetime earnings off of GPA up against anyone else in that graduating class.

A (23:19)

There you go, brother.

C (23:21)

And. And Even, you know, 25 years ago, you know, people were not. Didn't really care. It got, you know, maybe your 4.0 got you in the window, got you in the door 25 years ago, but it didn't get maybe any further than that. You know, maybe.

A (23:37)

Because, listen, that's. And again, this is what goes back to what we're talking about earlier, about the past. That was something you did. It is not what you are doing.

C (23:46)

That's right. What's speaking sensationally?

A (23:50)

Yeah.

C (23:50)

You know, like, talk to me as a marketer. That probably is what stuck out the most. Speaking. Writing, talking. And a lot of people are uncomfortable with that because I think they think immediately that it's overselling or theatrical or something. But I don't think that's what you mean here.

A (24:12)

Not at all. Not at all. The reality is, is that the way we connect is through oral communication. As human beings, we are hardwired for stories, and we are most hardwired for stories that we tell to each other. I bet if I asked you what was on Your to do list for today, just off the top of your head, without looking at your phone, you could probably remember, like, three out of the 10 things that are on there because they're the most important things to you. But if I asked you to tell me a story from your last family or from a family gathering when you were five years old, I bet you could remember it. Why? Because you remember stories. We connect through stories so many different ways. Our brains, like, activate in different ways. Whether it's the, you know, our vision because we're imagining something, whether it's our senses, like, we remember what something smells like or what something sounded like. And the neural activity that the more neurons that are firing off, the more likely we are to remember something. A list doesn't have that kind of context. And so to me, the best people to lead, the best people to sell, the best people to market, the best people to do anything are the ones who can tell the stories that people remember. We remember commercials from 20 years ago. Why? Because they told a good story visually, auditorially, or whatever the word is from an audio sense, visually, whatever the case is. Like, even if it's a catchphrase, it's a catchphrase. The reason why we remember those, you know, catchphrases from back in the day, like, what was where's the beef? You know, because that those three words have a story built into them. And so when I say speaking sensationally, I think that many of us have become way too dependent on texting people, emailing people, and there is not a lot of nuance in the written word, the way we communicate through those ways in books. Absolutely, because we have a lot more characters that we can use. But when we talk about social media, when we talk about, you know, texting and all those different things, we've become so reliant on that that it has damaged our relationships and part of it. It has also damaged our way that we communicate with each other. A lot of the young people that I'm starting to teach now are the ones who were in important developmental stages during the pandemic when they weren't interacting with people as much outside of their, you know, the people that they were in their pods with. And you can tell because they're not communicating ver as well. And I'm sorry, I don't care how good of a tool I AI is, and it is. I don't care how good of a tool email and text and whatever other technology is. Next is nothing will replace our ability to understand when somebody is explaining Something to us. And nothing will replace the way we get motivated when we are inspired by hearing other people speak. And that's the way stuff gets done. So if you can't speak sensationally, you're missing a part of what it is you want to do, whether that's selling your business or the products that your business or the services that your business provides, whether it's, you know, leading your team to get the results that you've been tasked with doing, whether it's, you know, taking something to the next level or actually speaking to audiences or being on podcasts, whatever that is. If you can't do that, success is going to be hard.

C (27:52)

The technology is great, but the biggest skill set I see missing is the ability to talk. And they would call it. They would classify what I'm saying as selling. I'm not necessarily saying selling, but making what they're talking about and understanding how to talk about it in an exciting way. That's a missing skill set.

A (28:14)

And you know what? I would argue there's nothing wrong with calling it selling. I think that we have an aversion to calling it selling. But listen, man, just.

C (28:22)

Even I.

A (28:24)

Right, but you got four boys. I bet your wife has to convince them and sell them on what dinner is going to be every night. And it's a negotiation. Like, literally, we are selling people on something all the time, even if it's just, you know, what couch we're going to buy or, like, I really want that piece of, you know, art or that picture, or we got to go take a family photo for the holidays. Well, no, I don't really want to do that. You know, we're always selling somebody on something, and I think the better we get or more comfortable we get with that, because there's a negative connotation to selling, as if we don't buy stuff all the time. Come on, man.

C (28:59)

Yeah.

A (28:59)

Like, we're always trying to convince somebody of something. So let's. Let's just call it what it is. Like, let's. Let's get used to it, and let's make it enjoyable. Like, it's fun. Have you ever met, like, the best salesman in the world and you're just like, you know what? I'm a buy it.

C (29:15)

Why?

A (29:15)

Because you. You sold me on it. Like, let's appreciate that again. My daddy told me, he was like, g, don't buy nothing from nobody you don't. Like. He was like. Because he said, some people. Some people, you know, can convince you to buy, you know, ice. You know, ice when it's cold outside. He was like, they should be rewarded for their. For their stuff, and we all should be at least giving it a little bit of effort. Some of us, I think, are better sellers than others, but I think we're doing ourselves and each other a disservice if we don't learn how to sell to each other. Other. It's respect.

C (29:48)

Yep. Let's get. Hashtag, bring back abs. Always be selling, you know, Always be selling, baby. Always be selling.

A (29:59)

Close that deal.

C (30:02)

Gene, what's the plan? The additional plans with promoting the book and, you know, locations people can find it and just what everything else you got going on the rest of the year?

A (30:13)

Fearlessauthenticity.com book is where you can always find everything about the book. That's where I'll have all of my appearances and things. Next stop, I'm actually going to New York to record my audiobook, which will be out March 25th. Yeah, so that. That because we pushed up some of the timeline for the. The hardcover, we didn't get a chance to do the audiobook to come out at the same time. But I kind of like the staggered way of doing things, but I'm. I'm excited to read it myself. So that's the next. And I am doing book clubs and stores. So if there's some place you want me, you know, somebody's watching and wants me to come and speak to their group or whether it's virtually or in person, reach out@fearlessauthenticity.com book and we will get you on the roster.

C (31:06)

I love that. And look, anybody listening, here's the deal. A lot of people write books, and they might be a wonderful book, but they don't have the personality to kind of get out and bring the whole thing to life. Jane has got it all. She's got the personality to talk the book, walk the book, and do it. So you need to get her on the docket. She'll sell some copies, bring some people in, and entertain you, because she'll speak sensationally.

A (31:33)

Thank you, my dear. You're so sweet. That's an endorsement. I can. I can. I can get behind. Behind. I appreciate it. It's been fun talking to you, Ryan.

C (31:41)

It's been great. I really appreciate it. Let's stay in touch. If I don't get a signed copy sent to me, I'm gonna be disappointed. So you're getting it, sir.

A (31:49)

You're getting it, sir. I'm putting together merch right now because I have, like, my dad, I've mentioned my dad a couple times. He's got a lot of sayings and stuff. I call him Spro isms. His nickname was Spro because people couldn't say sparrow. But he's, he's one of those old country men who had a lot of wisdom to share. And I put it a lot on my social media. So I've turned, I'm turning them all into T shirts and things. So you're gonna get a nice little package.

C (32:17)

Hey, I love it. Hey, guys, we're gonna have all the links to Gene stuff on the website, on social media, etc, go to ryanisright.com you'll find links to the show, highlight clips, everything included. Gene, it's been great. Can't wait to stay following what you're doing and let's stay in touch.

A (32:35)

Same same. Happy new year to you, my friend.

C (32:38)

Hey guys, thank you for making us number one. It's because of Gene Sparrows of the world that we are we bringing you the best, the brightest and hey, the most authentic. That's what we do right here on right about now.

B (32:52)

This has been right about now with Ryan Alford, a Radcast Network production. Visit ryan Alfred is write.com for full audio and video versions of the show or to inquire about sponsorship opportunities. Thanks for listening.