Here is a list of books that have helped shape my perspective in life and business. This will definitely be a part one. I actually created this a few years ago, but these books still live strong. I still stand by them today!
Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferazzi
This book was amazing in learning how to best network and build relationships with people. Keith focuses on giving and helping people without any pretense for reciprocation. Built on a philosophy of when you give to people it will be given back to you. Maybe from someone else or that person. It’s an idea of something I truly believe. If you give and help people it will come back to you. This book is one of my faves. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/ee2Hpr
The 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferris
This one is a great concept of designing your life and having it’s elements work for you to what you desire. Some of his concepts are a little overboard, but overall the book is a great read and changes the way you think about designing your life and lifestyle. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/evJYol
The Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell
A basic well done study on economics of business and the culture of how trends/products hit their “tipping points”. Malcom talks about the different types of people that aid in the process. A good mind shifter in thinking big. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/fJ6ceF
Outliers by Malcom Gladwell
Yet another fave of mine. Malcom does a study on successful people, why and how they’ve become that way. He talks about opportunity, hard work and talent. One of my favorite chapters is the 10,000 rule which many people have come to talk about. The idea that it takes 10,000 hours of practicing your craft to hit your tipping point of where enter into professionalism and success. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/hzW6g7
A Million Miles and a Thousand Years by Donald Miller
A book recommended to me by my homie Jeff Holt. This book shapes your perspective on creating better life experiences, essentially a better story. Experiences come through in our art and the more we make memorable moments in our lives the better our stories become. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/i4Vp2j
Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kawasaki
Robert has many books on the subject of money, but learning and understanding how money works is a key essential in running a business. He talks about learning to see cashflow and how it works. This series of books goes hand in hand with the 4-Hour Work week. Learning how to use money to give you financial freedom and design the lifestyle you want to live. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/ffIdiO
The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
Creating a life of art isn’t an easy process. In The War of Art, Steven talks about the resistance and how it keeps us from creating. The resistance being that thing inside of us that makes us want to be lazy instead of getting to work. A perfect read for any artist. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/f0GmXb
The Brand Called YOU by Peter Montoya
In the business of a freelance artist, YOU are the brand. Everything you do is a projection of who you are and what your brand represents. This is a great read to help understand the idea of a personal brand and it’s outlets. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/faG2Ot
Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuck
Yet another great idea, but a little over the top in some areas. Still a great quick read on using the world of social media, blogging, and the web 2.0 world to boost your brand. Youtube stars have taken this idea to a whole other level. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/h6kPhj
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Here is a list of books that have helped shape my perspective in life and business. This will definitely be a part one. I actually created this a few years ago, but these books still live strong. I still stand by them today!
Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferazzi
This book was amazing in learning how to best network and build relationships with people. Keith focuses on giving and helping people without any pretense for reciprocation. Built on a philosophy of when you give to people it will be given back to you. Maybe from someone else or that person. It’s an idea of something I truly believe. If you give and help people it will come back to you. This book is one of my faves. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/ee2Hpr
The 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferris
This one is a great concept of designing your life and having it’s elements work for you to what you desire. Some of his concepts are a little overboard, but overall the book is a great read and changes the way you think about designing your life and lifestyle. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/evJYol
The Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell
A basic well done study on economics of business and the culture of how trends/products hit their “tipping points”. Malcom talks about the different types of people that aid in the process. A good mind shifter in thinking big. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/fJ6ceF
Outliers by Malcom Gladwell
Yet another fave of mine. Malcom does a study on successful people, why and how they’ve become that way. He talks about opportunity, hard work and talent. One of my favorite chapters is the 10,000 rule which many people have come to talk about. The idea that it takes 10,000 hours of practicing your craft to hit your tipping point of where enter into professionalism and success. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/hzW6g7
A Million Miles and a Thousand Years by Donald Miller
A book recommended to me by my homie Jeff Holt. This book shapes your perspective on creating better life experiences, essentially a better story. Experiences come through in our art and the more we make memorable moments in our lives the better our stories become. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/i4Vp2j
Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kawasaki
Robert has many books on the subject of money, but learning and understanding how money works is a key essential in running a business. He talks about learning to see cashflow and how it works. This series of books goes hand in hand with the 4-Hour Work week. Learning how to use money to give you financial freedom and design the lifestyle you want to live. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/ffIdiO
The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
Creating a life of art isn’t an easy process. In The War of Art, Steven talks about the resistance and how it keeps us from creating. The resistance being that thing inside of us that makes us want to be lazy instead of getting to work. A perfect read for any artist. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/f0GmXb
The Brand Called YOU by Peter Montoya
In the business of a freelance artist, YOU are the brand. Everything you do is a projection of who you are and what your brand represents. This is a great read to help understand the idea of a personal brand and it’s outlets. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/faG2Ot
Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuck
Yet another great idea, but a little over the top in some areas. Still a great quick read on using the world of social media, blogging, and the web 2.0 world to boost your brand. Youtube stars have taken this idea to a whole other level. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/h6kPhj
1/24/14
Onken’s Reading List Part One
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masterfully aligning perception and reality through personal branding
Here is a list of books that have helped shape my perspective in life and business. This will definitely be a part one. I actually created this a few years ago, but these books still live strong. I still stand by them today!
Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferazzi
This book was amazing in learning how to best network and build relationships with people. Keith focuses on giving and helping people without any pretense for reciprocation. Built on a philosophy of when you give to people it will be given back to you. Maybe from someone else or that person. It’s an idea of something I truly believe. If you give and help people it will come back to you. This book is one of my faves. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/ee2Hpr
The 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferris
This one is a great concept of designing your life and having it’s elements work for you to what you desire. Some of his concepts are a little overboard, but overall the book is a great read and changes the way you think about designing your life and lifestyle. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/evJYol
The Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell
A basic well done study on economics of business and the culture of how trends/products hit their “tipping points”. Malcom talks about the different types of people that aid in the process. A good mind shifter in thinking big. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/fJ6ceF
Outliers by Malcom Gladwell
Yet another fave of mine. Malcom does a study on successful people, why and how they’ve become that way. He talks about opportunity, hard work and talent. One of my favorite chapters is the 10,000 rule which many people have come to talk about. The idea that it takes 10,000 hours of practicing your craft to hit your tipping point of where enter into professionalism and success. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/hzW6g7
A Million Miles and a Thousand Years by Donald Miller
A book recommended to me by my homie Jeff Holt. This book shapes your perspective on creating better life experiences, essentially a better story. Experiences come through in our art and the more we make memorable moments in our lives the better our stories become. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/i4Vp2j
Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kawasaki
Robert has many books on the subject of money, but learning and understanding how money works is a key essential in running a business. He talks about learning to see cashflow and how it works. This series of books goes hand in hand with the 4-Hour Work week. Learning how to use money to give you financial freedom and design the lifestyle you want to live. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/ffIdiO
The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
Creating a life of art isn’t an easy process. In The War of Art, Steven talks about the resistance and how it keeps us from creating. The resistance being that thing inside of us that makes us want to be lazy instead of getting to work. A perfect read for any artist. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/f0GmXb
The Brand Called YOU by Peter Montoya
In the business of a freelance artist, YOU are the brand. Everything you do is a projection of who you are and what your brand represents. This is a great read to help understand the idea of a personal brand and it’s outlets. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/faG2Ot
Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuck
Yet another great idea, but a little over the top in some areas. Still a great quick read on using the world of social media, blogging, and the web 2.0 world to boost your brand. Youtube stars have taken this idea to a whole other level. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/h6kPhj
1/24/14
Onken’s Reading List Part One
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Your personal brand feels off but you can’t explain why. It’s not your logo or colors. It’s a coherence problem, a structural gap between who you are and how you’re seen. Here’s what to do.
Authority isn’t binary. You’re not either an authority or not an authority. Authority exists in levels, stages, and progressions. Each level has distinct characteristics, distinct positioning, distinct challenges, and distinct requirements for advancement. Most people get stuck at Level One. They’re visible, active, creating content, showing up regularly. But they’re not building actual authority. They’re […]
You had the insight. The breakthrough moment, the realization, the epiphany, the profound understanding. Deep knowing about who you are, what you offer, and how you’re different. Life-changing clarity about your positioning, your value, and your authority. Then what changed? Actually changed? Behaviorally, practically, visibly? In how you show up, how you speak, how you […]
You are established. Actually established. Years in business, real results created, genuine expertise developed, actual clients served, tangible transformations delivered, proven value demonstrated. You’ve built real authority through real work over real time with real outcomes. But you don’t look established. Your brand doesn’t show it, your presence doesn’t reflect it, your positioning doesn’t communicate […]
Connor Beaton leads men into their shadows. Not the surface-level masculinity work. Not the “alpha male” performance. Not the toxic patterns disguised as strength. Shadow work. Carl Jung. Integration. The parts men hide. The parts they fear. The parts that control them when unexamined. His brand needed to reflect that depth. That willingness to look […]
You keep rebuilding. New brand, new colors, new photos, new messaging, new positioning, new website, new everything. Every six months, every year, every time it feels wrong and stops working. Hoping this time fixes it, this time solves it, this time creates the authority and positioning you need. It doesn’t. It never does. Because you’re […]
You know things. Real things. Earned through years of experience. Patterns most people miss. Insights that could transform how your audience operates. But nobody knows you know them. You’re the hidden expert. Competent. Skilled. Valuable. Invisible. The shift from hidden expert to recognized authority doesn’t start where most people think. Not with better marketing. Not […]
Devotion isn’t soft. It’s the hardest thing you’ll ever practice. Most people think devotion means passion. Excitement. The feeling you get when inspiration strikes and everything flows. That’s not devotion. That’s infatuation. Devotion is showing up when inspiration is gone. When the work feels mechanical. When no one is watching and there’s no immediate reward. […]
You redesign your logo for the third time. Still doesn’t feel right. You hire another designer. Try different colors. New fonts. Different aesthetic entirely. Still wrong. So you conclude: “I just need better branding.” But the crisis isn’t your logo. It’s not your color palette. It’s not your website design. The crisis is deeper. You […]
You can be visible without being recognizable. Most people confuse the two. They post constantly. Show up everywhere. Maximize exposure. They think: “The more people see me, the more my brand grows.” But visibility isn’t the same as recognition. Visibility is being seen once. Recognition is being remembered. Visibility is impressions. Recognition is identity. You […]
Emma Reicher was hidden. No real brand. No photos of herself. Just lofi graphics that looked student-made. She had the credentials. Maturation coach. Qigong practitioner. Psychotherapy background. Real expertise. But nobody could see her. Nobody could feel her. The gap between who she was and how she showed up publicly was complete invisibility. The Fear […]
You’re not one person. You’re three. Right now, in this moment, you’re simultaneously living as three different versions of yourself. Most people never realize this. They think identity is singular. Fixed. One coherent self moving through the world. It’s not. You have a private self. The person you are when no one is watching. The […]
You got the photos back. They’re professionally lit. Perfectly composed. Technically flawless. But when you look at them, something feels wrong. That person in the images looks like you. Same face. Same features. But the energy is off. The presence doesn’t match. When you see those photos, you don’t think “that’s me.” You think “that’s […]
About the Blogger
I was born in a low middle class conservative religious family in the suburbs of Seattle. Art was and always has been my passion, and more than that a way of life. Starting as a graphic designer, I taught myself photography, built a commercial/editorial business shooting for the worlds biggest brands like Nike, Coca-Cola, Adidas and more. I've also had the opportunity to photograph the world's biggest celebrities like Justin Bieber, Usher, Jessica Alba and more. I've curated a lifestyle around creativity and have learned a lot along the way which I get to share here.
I was born in a low middle class conservative religious family in the suburbs of Seattle. Art was and always has been my passion, and more than that a way of life. Starting as a graphic designer, I taught myself photography, built a commercial/editorial business shooting for the worlds biggest brands like Nike, Coca-Cola, Adidas and more. I've also had the opportunity to photograph the world's biggest celebrities like Justin Bieber, Usher, Jessica Alba and more. I've curated a lifestyle around creativity and have learned a lot along the way which I get to share here.
