Jackie Freiberg, New York Times best-selling author of Nuts!, was the keynote speaker for The Bob Pike Group's annual conference two weeks ago. Her motivational talk was on creating a brand for yourself: what do you want to be known for? The eZine had a chance to sit down with Jackie and talk about choosing to be your best.

Freiberg often does speaking with her husband, Kevin. At one particular event, Jackie decided to try to be more like Kevin. Her acting skills fell flat, and she felt she hadn't given HER best to the client.

"I've learned that if I'm posing and trying to 'be them,' I can't be me," Freiberg said. "I want to be real. I don't want to be a poser. I can't talk about what I don't know. Trainers can't train that way either. The more you try and fake it, the more likely you will be discovered."

As a trainer, how do you build a brand and market and capitalize on what you do best? "Where are you right now? Play to your genius. You're most alive and engaged [then]. That choice is about asking yourself:

• What am I passionate about? What do I wake up so wanting to do? What comes naturally?
• What am I good at?
• What needs to be done?

When those three can come together and are most overlapped, that's when you're playing to your genius. Go to colleagues, friends who know you well. Ask them the questions. Sometimes we can't see through our own forest. Then you can craft a vision. Have that top of mind as you design your day and do those things then walk away feeling motivated."

The Freibergs have authored three books together. The first was a biography of Southwest Airlines (Nuts!), the second a biography of 15 companies doing business in distinctly different ways (Guts!), and the third is Boom! Seven Choices for Blowing the Doors off Business as Usual.

As the Freibergs wrote the third book, they really felt they had to walk their talk and be real. "We felt like every step of the way, we were having to be accountable and keep integrity to choices. We had to live those choices, a mirror of accountability. The seven choices have become a personal and professional journey. We're living it, too. It's a tough journey, but a worthy journey and it doesn't happen overnight."

Boom! is about working on yourself to build a better you, both personally and professionally. "With Boom!, read it one choice at a time. Have your [business] team read it together. Read through the table of contents. What choice resonates most with the team? Start there. Then support, coach, shake each other up. You can't do life alone. If you want to change, you can't do it alone."