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Own Your Impact equips experts and leaders to transform their expertise into meaningful influence. Host Macy Robison reveals how successful thought leaders use deliberate systems—not luck or volume—to amplify their authentic voice and create lasting impact. Through practical frameworks and strategic guidance, you'll discover how to build a self-reinforcing ecosystem of Core Resonance, structured Content, a Central Platform, strategic Connections, and intentional Commercialization. Whether you're just starting to share your expertise or scaling an existing platform, this podcast delivers the roadmap to turn your ideas into purpose-driven influence that resonates far beyond what you might imagine possible.
[00:00:00] Last week, I walked you through how the resident thought leadership system evolved over the past year, how the five Cs led to the archetypes, how the tree metaphor gave way to the flywheel, how the four E's emerged from going deeper into core resonance. And I ended with this idea I. Thought leadership is an infinite game.
[00:00:21] There's no finish line. There's no moment when you've arrived. There's only the ongoing work of deepening your resonance, refining your message, and staying in the game so the momentum can compound. Today. I wanna build on that because understanding that this is an infinite game is one thing. Knowing how to make your next move inside that game is something else entirely.
[00:00:41] We are standing at the threshold of a new year, and if you're like most of the thought leaders I work with, you're probably feeling a mix of things right now. Excitement about what's possible. Uncertainty about what's uncertainty about what to focus on. Maybe some pressure to have it all figured out before January 1st.
[00:00:57] So let me offer you a different way to think about the year ahead. [00:01:00] Not as a blank slate where you have to design the perfect plan, but as the next chapter in an infinite game, you're already playing. Here's what we're gonna cover today. I'm gonna share how I'm thinking about my own next moves, not because I have it all figured out, but because I think there's value in watching someone else make decisions in real time.
[00:01:18] And then I'm gonna give you a framework for thinking about your own year ahead, and I'll close with an invitation to keep going deeper, whether that's through this podcast, through working with me directly or simply through the ongoing practice of showing up and sending out your signal. Let's start with why this moment in time matters so much.
[00:01:36] There has never in a more important time for people like you with ideas that matter to make your voice heard. I know that might sound dramatic, but I deeply believe it's true. We are swimming in noise. More content than anyone could ever consume. More voices competing for attention. More algorithms deciding what gets in and what gets buried.
[00:01:56] More AI generated content, flooding every platform, [00:02:00] and in the middle of all that noise, something interesting is happening. The power of gatekeepers is shifting. You no longer need a publisher to write a book. You don't need a TV network to build an audience. You don't need a major conference to invite you before you can share your ideas on a stage.
[00:02:16] The tools to create, distribute, and monetize your expertise are more accessible than they've ever been. But here's the thing about a world with fewer gatekeepers, it means more responsibility falls on you. You have to decide what you stand for. You have to figure out who you're trying to reach. You have to build something that cuts through the noise.
[00:02:36] Not by being louder, but by being clearer. In order to own your impact, you have to help people pay attention, and that starts with sending out a clear signal. A clear signal has never been about volume. It's always been about resonance. It's about saying something true in a way that's unmistakably yours to the exact people who need to hear it.[00:03:00]
[00:03:00] That doesn't require a massive crowd. It requires an audience of the right people paying attention, and that gets built one connection at a time. One piece of content at a time. One aligned decision at a time. The resonant thought leadership system exists to help you do exactly that, to help you stop chasing tactics that weren't designed for your wiring, and start building something that actually fits who you are.
[00:03:24] And the deeper you go on who you are. The more you understand your essence, your experience, your expression, your embodiment, the more you have to share and offer. So let me share how I'm thinking about my own next moves. Not because I have some master plan, but because I want to model and embody what it looks like to make decisions inside an infinite game.
[00:03:46] Here's what I know I'm building toward in 2026. First, I'm writing a book. I've been developing this system for over a year now through client work workshops. 51 episodes of the podcast and I'm ready to put it in a book that [00:04:00] captures the resident thought leadership system, the archetypes, the four Es, maybe one piece of them, I'm not sure yet, and I don't have a publication date yet.
[00:04:08] I don't have every chapter outlined, but I've started, I've started the process of writing my proposal, which is what I help my client, Luvvie Ajayi Jones teach inside the book Academy. And as I talked about last week, starting before you're ready, is how the work reveals itself. So I'm excited about what that makes possible.
[00:04:27] Second, I'm building toward creating a practitioner certification program. One of the things I've learned this year is how powerful the archetype framework is as a diagnostic tool. It changes how people see themselves in their businesses, and I've had so many of you already who have taken the archetype assessment and shared it with other people, shared it with clients, shared it with friends, to help them understand themselves more clearly as well.
[00:04:49] I want to make sure if that is something you feel like you want to do, you have tools as a practitioner to give that deeper analysis to use that as a coach or a [00:05:00] consultant as a strategist, and bring this lens to your work if it's helpful to you. That program is still in development, but I'm planting the seed now because I want you to know what's coming.
[00:05:10] If you're someone who works with experts and you've resonated with what I teach, this might be for you down the road. Third, I am broadening how I show up in the world, literally trying to do a better job of owning my impact. I feel like this year was about building the foundation. As I look back, the, the podcast was where I wanted to start.
[00:05:31] The assessment grew from all of that. The frameworks deepened from that, and next year it feels like it's time to extend the reach. That means speaking at more events. That means leaning into podcast guesting and training inside of other people's communities. It means taking this message to rooms. I have not been inside yet.
[00:05:50] I'm also looking at adding a video component to this podcast, and I would love to start bringing some of the clients I've worked with on the show with me to share what they've been creating as they build and own [00:06:00] their impact. So you can see what it looks like to have different people follow the same underlying framework, but come up with something completely personalized to them.
[00:06:08] ' cause really, at the end of the day, this work isn't about me teaching, it's about watching people, real people, apply these ideas and seeing what emerges. Fourth, I'm gonna keep going deeper on the archetypes and the four E's of core resonance. The deeper I go, the more I see how much is there, how each archetype has its own approach to content creation, connection strategies, commercialization models, how the four E's can be used, not just as a foundation building tool, but as an ongoing compass for every decision that you make.
[00:06:37] So expect more episodes diving into specific archetypes on how to use the four E's as a strategic filter on what it looks like to build a thought leadership platform that fits your wiring, that allows you to own your impact through your decisions, and own it from a commercialization standpoint.
[00:06:54] And fifth, I'm just gonna keep sharing the lessons that I find in unexpected places. For example, I [00:07:00] just finished watching the Taylor Swift documentary, the Six part documentary, about the ERAS tour, and my head is spinning with insights about what it takes to build something at scale while staying connected to who you really are about putting your audience first.
[00:07:16] Preparation, presence, the relationship between you and your audience. What it takes to keep evolving and honor where you've been, and honor the people around you who are rising with excellence to do work around you. There's so many things. I don't know exactly how those lessons or other lessons are gonna show up in my teaching yet, but that's part of the infinite game.
[00:07:37] Staying open to what wants to emerge. Even when it comes from places you didn't expect, while still ting connected to your core, it's a chance to sing new different songs with the voice that you've already established. Now, here's what I want you to notice about everything I just shared. None of this is a finished plan.
[00:07:53] It's just a direction. I know I'm writing a book, but I don't know what it's gonna look like when I'm done. I know I'm [00:08:00] building a certification program, but the shape of it is still emerging and the how is still coming to be. I know I want to speak more. I know I want to expand my reach, but I don't have a calendar full of confirmed events for the entire year,
[00:08:12] what I do have is clarity about the direction I'm headed, and that clarity allows me to make decisions. And that's how an infinite game works. You don't need to see the entire path, but you need to be on a path and you need to choose a path. You need to know enough about where you're going so that you can evaluate where the next opportunity shows up.
[00:08:29] Should I say yes to the speaking invitation? Does it move me toward where I'm headed? Should I invest time in this collaboration? Does it align with what I'm actually trying to build right now? Should I create this piece of content? Does it serve the audience I'm trying to reach? When you know your direction, decisions get simpler.
[00:08:46] Not easy. They're never easy, but they get simpler. So let me offer you a framework for thinking about your own year ahead. I've talked before about Benjamin Hardy's work in the science of scaling, and he offers a framework [00:09:00] in that book that I keep coming back to. Define your frame, raise your floor, determine your focus.
[00:09:06] So here's how I think about each of these things through thought leadership planning, and we walked through this in the workshop I taught a couple weeks ago. First, you need to define your frame. Your frame is the container you're operating inside. It's your understanding of the game you're playing and what success looks like for you.
[00:09:21] For some people, the frame is building a seven figure business. For others, it's writing a book that changes their industry. For others, it's creating enough revenue from their expertise that they could leave their job, work for themselves, retire their spouse. There's no right frame. You have to know what yours is.
[00:09:38] So here's a question for you to sit with.
[00:09:40] What does the infinite game look like for you in this season? What does success look like for that game? Not someone else's version of success. Yours, and remember, your frame can evolve, but you do need to have a frame for this season you're in right now, so that you can make decisions inside of that frame.
[00:09:57] Second, raise your floor. [00:10:00] This is all about setting a minimum threshold for your attention. When you're building something, there will always be more opportunities than you can pursue, more platforms than you could be on more content. You could create more collaborations. You could explore more tactics, you could try more things you quote unquote should be doing.
[00:10:16] Raising your floor means that based on your frame, you're going to decide what you will no longer give your attention to, so you can focus on things that will actually move you toward that goal. What are the activities that drain you without moving you forward? What are the opportunities that look good on paper but don't actually align with where you're headed?
[00:10:35] What would you need to say no to in order to have the space to say yes to what matters most? Raising your floor isn't about doing less. It's about protecting your capacity for the things that really matter. And then third, determine your focus. Once you know your frame, you've raised your floor, you can determine your focus, the specific areas where you're going to concentrate your energy.
[00:10:56] For me in 2026, my focus areas are clear. The book, [00:11:00] the certification program, expanded speaking and visibility, and deeper content on the archetypes and the four E's. So what are yours? Here's where the four E's of core resonances can help and become a strategic compass. Before I commit to a focus area, I run it through this filter.
[00:11:15] First, I check essence. Does this align with how I'm naturally wired and will it energize me or drain me over time? Expertise. Am I building from lived wisdom? Do I have the credibility and the authority to go deep in this area? Expression? Does this fit my natural way of teaching and communicating? Is this the right platform?
[00:11:33] Is this the right format for how I'm wired? Or can I bring more of that to this situation? And then embodiment, can I sustain this? Am I willing to take my own medicine and live what I'm teaching in this area? If something passes all four filters, it's probably worth pursuing. And if it fails one or more, that's data to pay attention to.
[00:11:53] The misalignment will show up eventually, and if you can catch it earlier, that is better. But all of this [00:12:00] is done one decision at a time. You have to know what you want right now. You have to raise your floor and you have to start making decisions. And here's the thing about decisions not deciding is a decision.
[00:12:12] When you defer, when you wait, when you keep your options open indefinitely, you're deciding to stay where you are. You're deciding to let circumstances choose for you instead of owning the impact you can actually make. I've seen again and again that the infinite game rewards, people who make moves not perfect moves, just moves in the right direction.
[00:12:32] 'cause every move generates feedback. Every move teaches you something. Every move adds energy to the flywheel. And if you make a move that doesn't work great, you learn, you adjust, you iterate, and you make another move. That is the game. So here's my invitation as we close out this year. If you are listening to this and you haven't had a chance to take the thought leadership archetype assessment yet, I would love for that to be your first move.
[00:12:56] Go to macy robison.com/quiz and take the assessment. It's [00:13:00] free. It can take anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes and it will show you which of the 10 archetypes naturally fits your wiring, and you'll get more information about it and which podcasts to listen to, things like that. Most importantly, it will get you on my mailing list, which is where I share the deeper work, announce new offerings, invite people into what I'm building, and really have a chance to share the things I'm thinking about at a deeper level.
[00:13:21] If you've already taken the assessment and you want to use those. Findings. To go a little bit deeper, the best step is to book an archetype strategy call. That is a one-on-one session where we look at your complete archetype results, not just your primary, but the breakdown of where you receive the highest raw scores, and map out what that means for your content, your platform, your connections, your commercialization.
[00:13:43] I give you a 30 day plan to get going, and if you're ready for more sustained support, I'm launching a third group accelerator on January 27th. It's for thought leaders who want to build their platforms inside of community in a group with one-on-one support, coaching, accountability over an extended period.
[00:13:59] You get [00:14:00] one-on-one calls with me. You have group calls with me. We have office hours. The best way to find out if this is a good fit is to book an archetype strategy call first, and the cost of that call applies to the accelerator. If you decide to join, I'd love to have you join.
[00:14:13] Based on how much my own work has changed over the past year, I can tell you this, honestly, what I'm building might continue to evolve this accelerator I'm offering in January might be the last one. It might morph into the certification program. New offerings might emerge that I can't see yet. That's the nature of the infinite game.
[00:14:30] But here's what will not change my commitment to helping experts like you. Build magnetic thought leadership that fits who you actually are to helping you send out a clear signal in a noisy world to helping you own your impact. As we head into 2026, I wanna leave you with this. The deeper you go on who you are, the more you have to share and offer that is not just a nice idea.
[00:14:56] It's actually the physics of residence and singing. The clear your [00:15:00] signal, the farther it travels. The more space you have in your body, the clearer and and brighter the signal is that you can send with your voice. The more aligned you are with your essence, your experience, your expression, your embodiment, the more powerful you connect with people who need what you have.
[00:15:15] You don't have to have it all figured out. You don't have to have a perfect plan. You do not need to see the whole path, but you do need to be on a path and you need to know your direction, and you need to raise your floor, and you need to just make the next move. The infinite game of this is waiting for you and there has never been a better time to play.
[00:15:33] Thank you for being part of this journey in 2025. Thank you for listening, for taking the assessments, for showing up to workshops and calls for sending me messages that shape how I teach this work. I hope to see you back in 2026 and until then, remember your ideas matter. Your expertise has value, the world needs what only you can offer.
[00:15:54] So start now. Keep going. Own your impact.