ABOUT MOON MEDIA COACHING

When I was 28 years old, my sister was killed in a hit and run, and my husband left me on the same day. It was one of the most painful experiences of my life. The night before I was about to sign my divorce papers, I caught a glimpse of my face in the reflection of a TV screen. My cheeks were sunken in, and there were dark circles under my eyes. I couldn’t take my eyes off of my own eyes. They were a bottomless pit of despair and sadness. And at that moment, I reminded myself of my sister who had just died. Her eyes always reflected that level of intensity and pain. How had I never really seen it before?

That is when it hit me. I had no idea what my sister had been going through. My sister had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder a year before, and during the toughest time of her life, I was absent, too self-absorbed in my own life, pretending to be happy as “the doctor’s wife.” And in my sexless marriage, I was living in denial, not truthful, and vulnerable about my real needs and desires, putting myself second. My voice was blocked, my spirit broken. I painfully admitted to myself that I had no idea who the hell I was. I could not communicate, empathize, or really connect with anyone.

By getting honest with myself, I had to make some difficult choices. I could either keep reliving the same patterns and stories and, thus, keep attracting the same situations and problems or I could change. I chose the latter. This started me on a 10-year journey of extraordinary self-growth, discovery, and adventure. I had to decide who I wanted to be. How was I going to show up in the world?

I came to New York City from Port Vila, Vanuatu, over 10 years ago, after serving two years in the Peace Corps as a teacher trainer and policy writer for the Ministry of Education. As cliché as it sounds, I came with no money and no job but just the dream that this great city would triumphantly lead me on my path. Luckily, I landed in the West Village thanks to dear friends (never underestimate the value of friend equity). My first job was as a radio producer for Mel Robbins long before she became a daytime talk show host. Although I was grateful for the opportunity, I knew that producing was not where my true talents lay. I told my boss that I was quitting; he fought to keep me and asked me what I needed to stay. Confidently, I said that I am supposed to be a media coach. And from that day forward, that is what I have done. I can proudly say that I have excelled at it.

1. Your truth has to be aligned with your message. It’s easy to be told to say this or say that, but if you don’t believe what you are saying with all your heart, people will know. You must be in the right relationship with your brand. This means getting clear on exactly what you want to say to the world and how you want to say it.

2. The media landscape is constantly changing, and you need to grow and evolve with it to stand out, so your voice is heard. For example, certain social media platforms are better suited for certain messages and brands. Companies now have in-house leaders who are the face of their organization and/or have brand ambassadors to promote their services and products, or both. Anyone with the right know-how, charisma, and drive can be an influencer. In addition, we used to only communicate with conservative formality, but nowadays, everyone is acting like your new best friend. In recent years if you were in the personal branding space, it was a one-person show. Nowadays, people are getting savvy to the fact that if they partner with other thought leaders for their webinars and trainings, they provide more value and impact, which in turn generates more revenue and creates more raving fans. Coming together is the key because with more voices, more people can hear the message. For instance, the #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter movements have significantly proven that your message can go viral and single-handedly change our social values, structures, and laws for the better. It is now more important than ever to be conscious of your words so that you don’t alienate your audiences but instead unite them. Bottom line, you need to keenly understand the most effective ways to communicate and connect with people in today’s media world and envision its future path.

3. Master flow so you can unleash your creative genius. Flow takes surrender, presence, and practice, and feels expansive yet grounding and joyful. Releasing limiting beliefs, fears, and judgments helps to clear the mind and accelerate flow. It is creating an opening within yourself to connect to your inner genius while being receptive to others. When you are in flow, you drop into your heart’s intelligence, and your passion speaks for itself. It is the most effortless and revolutionary shortcut to being great.

4. Don’t be afraid to be empathic and vulnerable. Being empathic shows you care, and being vulnerable shows you are human. Both disarm people and help them to trust you. When people feel safe and trust you, they are more likely to give you their attention. Once you have their attention, you can create meaningful connections by sharing your mistakes and hardships as well as your insights and triumphs. Then the connection between you and another person or audience can become secure. When this bond is established, messages can flow and inspire change. The magic and irony of empathy and vulnerability is that with a gentler, softer approach, you can accelerate a perspective shift and spark a positive movement. 

5. Embrace your emotions. When speaking, you are often told by people to show less emotion or that you need to show more emotion. It’s confusing. Which one do you do? You want to be able to let emotions rise to the surface and live there without losing control. It takes skill and focus as well as giving yourself permission to fully feel. You can train your emotional body to be like an instrument, playing notes that are high or low, intense or soft, and fast or slow. By doing this, you invoke curiosity and interest and take me on an emotional journey because I feel what you feel. Artfully sharing your emotions is a powerful tool to connect to other people’s emotions and stories. Creating this connection is of the utmost importance because only then will your message be received. Embracing your emotions means honoring their power while giving yourself the freedom to play and express.

6. Be on the forefront of offering new, progressive ideas, perspectives, science, research, and stories. Basically, be open to new ways of expressing yourself. Are you providing the same old generic content, or are you challenging people to think differently? Sometimes we think we are sharing groundbreaking information when really we have just repackaged a bunch of old ideas and concepts together. The most talented thought leaders are pioneers in their industry, sharing new discoveries so we can collectively evolve and grow. This requires letting go of old paradigms and belief systems and replacing them with an openness and flexibility to learn and be transformed. When you surrender, you reinvent yourself. 

I love seeing the transformations that people go through with practice and play. I love the co-creative journey of brainstorming, sharing ideas, and problem-solving with clients to come up with their brand messaging and content. I love helping people take down their walls and move past their fears so that they courageously take high-spirited, creative risks when expressing themselves. And I love knowing that a seed of a message lights up in people and grows and grows until it radiates out into the world and ignites a movement.