The story you leave out of your content could be the reason someone connects with your work.

I sat down with Philip McKernan, author of One Last Talk, who has helped Olympians and World Cup athletes and consulted with the US Army and the Pentagon. We get into why your origin story matters, how to recognise the gifts you undervalue, and why the fear that drives success can eventually become exhausting. Philip walks me through his framework connecting story, gift, and impact, then coaches me live through my discomfort with promoting my upcoming book. A simple drawing exercise leads to a challenge I wasn’t expecting about who I’m letting down by holding back.

If you’re building a personal brand but feel uncomfortable sharing your story or promoting your work, I think you’ll get a lot out of this conversation.

Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
02:00 The business pitch that needed a personal story
07:00 Philip’s own origin story
11:00 Helping an athlete reconnect with his purpose
17:00 Finding the gift you overlook
21:00 When fear-driven ambition becomes exhausting
24:00 Why I’m not afraid of my business disappearing
34:00 Buying a castle when business was down 95%
38:00 Building a better relationship with yourself
40:00 Why asking for help feels uncomfortable
43:00 Philip coaches me through a drawing exercise
47:00 The challenge I wasn’t expecting
54:00 Why being visible can feel frightening
57:00 An exercise to uncover your story
1:03:00 Understanding what your happiest days reveal
1:09:00 Learning from your darkest days
1:16:00 How sharing your story creates connection
1:18:00 Final thoughts and where to find Philip

If you enjoyed this episode, please like and subscribe, share it with your friends, and leave a review. I read every single one.

Learn more about the podcast: https://nathanbarry.com/show

Follow Nathan:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nathanbarry
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanbarry
X: https://twitter.com/nathanbarry
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thenathanbarryshow
Website: https://nathanbarry.com
Kit: https://kit.com

Follow Philip:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philip_mckernan/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philip-mckernan
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@philipmckernan
Website: https://philipmckernan.com

Featured in this episode:
Kit: https://kit.com
One Last Talk: https://onelasttalk.com
The Ladders of Wealth: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Ladders-of-Wealth/Nathan-Barry/9798893312393

Highlights:
02:00 The business pitch that needed a personal story
21:00 When fear-driven ambition becomes exhausting
43:00 Philip coaches me live
47:00 Why we undervalue our own work
57:00 An exercise to uncover your story

Most creators try to grow by posting more. More content, more platforms, more hours. But the biggest creators and thought leaders grow in a very different way, and most of it happens behind the scenes.

I sat down with Domonkos "Doma" Eross, founder of Flowin, a creative agency for thought leaders, to talk about what actually drives audience growth right now. We get into his seven strategic steps to succeed as a thought leader, why creator partnerships are the number one source of growth in the creator economy, and Doma’s outreach technique for landing dream clients.

If you've ever wanted to know the systems the biggest creators use to consistently grow their audiences, I think you'll get a lot out of this conversation.

Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
01:33 How Doma started working with thought leaders
03:03 Why direct outreach works
03:33 The Manchester United cold email
05:05 Why a well-packaged pitch gets attention
06:49 Using credibility to get past the first filter
08:06 How office hours turned into clients
09:13 Leaving energy vs lingering energy
10:13 Why curiosity beats a target list
11:59 How your network compounds
12:54 The seven steps to succeed as a thought leader
13:18 Step 1: Develop exceptional knowledge first
14:17 Step 2: Define your mission and theory of change
16:19 Step 3: Build an ecosystem strategy
18:21 Matching your ecosystem to how you make money
19:51 Step 4: Turn your ideas into the right content
21:18 Protecting clients from the wrong projects
22:38 Step 5: Build the right team
23:12 Why team size and influence don't correlate
24:55 How James Clear decides what to work on
26:32 Building a team around impact
28:26 The most surprising role on a thought leader's team
30:53 What thought leaders know about saying no
32:17 Focus on your craft and outsource the rest
33:22 Step 6: Creator partnerships, the #1 source of growth
35:14 Why Creator Network works better than list swaps
37:19 How partnerships work at a smaller scale
39:00 How much growth Creator Network drives
40:27 Why partnerships are a win-win
41:22 Set up partnerships before your podcast episode airs
44:27 Why the creator economy isn't competitive
46:32 What Doma has learned from his clients
47:57 Step 7: Build and perfect your organic channels
48:13 Why your newsletter is the only channel you own
49:56 Building a newsletter that sounds like you
53:05 The three phases of a book launch
54:15 Teasing your book in your newsletter
55:26 Why you need to book podcasts months ahead
56:08 The concentrated strike approach
56:34 How to pitch the biggest podcasts
58:48 Which podcasts actually sell books
59:50 The people behind podcast bookings
1:01:36 Using a live event to launch a book
1:03:37 How Doma runs Flowin
1:05:08 Why Doma doesn't want to scale
1:06:40 Final thoughts

If you enjoyed this episode, please like and subscribe, share it with your friends, and leave a review. I read every single one.

Learn more about the podcast: https://nathanbarry.com/show

Follow Nathan:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nathanbarry
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanbarry
X: https://twitter.com/nathanbarry
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thenathanbarryshow
Website: https://nathanbarry.com
Kit: https://kit.com

Follow Doma:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/domonkoseross
Website: https://flowin.consulting

Featured in this episode:
Kit: https://www.kit.com
Flowin: https://flowin.consulting

Highlights:
03:33 The Manchester United cold email
13:18 Why thought leadership is the result, not the goal
24:55 How James Clear decides what to work on
33:22 The #1 source of growth in the creator economy
53:05 The three phases of a book launch

Personal brand has become one of the biggest buzzwords in the creator world. Creators everywhere are launching offers, building funnels, and posting consistently, yet very few are creating something people actually remember.

I sat down with Chris Do, Emmy award-winning designer and founder of The Futur, to talk about what it really takes to build a personal brand that stands out. We get into why most creators end up serviceable but forgettable, why branding comes down to differentiation, and the three-part framework behind brands people obsess over. Chris also shares why the real work of personal branding happens internally, how to find your voice phrase, and the trust triangle that decides who audiences believe. Partway through, he turns the interview around and starts coaching me, and we go much deeper than I expected.

If you're building a personal brand and wondering why it isn't resonating yet, I think you'll get a lot out of this conversation.

Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
01:39 What it means to un-bland yourself
02:48 Why branding is all about differentiation
03:04 Why Apple has a brand and Dell doesn't
04:31 How status and identity drive what we buy
07:29 How Target built a brand
10:42 How Kit positions its brand
11:44 Moving from features to meaning
14:11 Why most personal brands are really marketing funnels
16:11 Why personal brand work is internal
16:26 How we lose who we really are
19:04 Chris starts asking the questions
20:24 How getting sick at 24 changed Nathan's identity
21:51 Why we tie our identity to what we do
23:03 Who are you outside of your work?
23:36 Why you are the gift
25:51 How Chris answers "who are you?"
26:36 The difference between design and art
28:45 Why being true to yourself comes first
29:45 Nathan's mission
32:24 Why Chris moved from commercial work to content
33:36 Why your brand needs to stand against something
35:44 Finding your keyword and your nemesis
37:03 Why the best heroes have great enemies
40:39 The three-part personal brand framework
41:49 Chris's own brand triangle
42:33 Workshopping Nathan's personal brand
43:30 Separating who you are from your company
44:44 The story behind Chris's mission
47:25 Why all strategy is autobiographical
48:13 Nathan on feeling like a burden
49:29 Nathan's story about his stepdad
53:49 Chris's read on Nathan's story
56:36 Finding Nathan's rallying cry
59:28 Learning to accept help
1:01:26 Why we trust people who aren't perfect online
1:02:00 The trust triangle
1:04:52 How to find your voice phrase
1:08:21 Final thoughts

If you enjoyed this episode, please like and subscribe, share it with your friends, and leave a review. I read every single one.

Learn more about the podcast: https://nathanbarry.com/show

Follow Nathan:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nathanbarry
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanbarry
X: https://twitter.com/nathanbarry
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thenathanbarryshow
Website: https://nathanbarry.com
Kit: https://kit.com

Follow Chris:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thechrisdo
X: https://x.com/thechrisdo
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thechrisdo
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thefutur
Website: https://thefutur.com

Featured in this episode:
Kit: https://www.kit.com
The Futur: https://thefutur.com

Highlights:
03:04 Why Apple has a brand and Dell doesn't
14:11 Why most personal brands are really marketing funnels
40:39 The three-part framework behind Bryan Johnson's brand
49:14 Chris turns the interview around
1:05:17 How to find your voice phrase