Show Notes:
What happens when the story you’ve been telling yourself about your career no longer fits?

In this episode, John speaks with Laura Barbante, amarketing professional in Australia whose career path took her from government work to unemployment—and back again with a renewed sense of purpose. Together, they explore what it means to rebuild a professional identity, create authentic personal-brand content, and navigate an industry being transformed by AI.

John opens with a reflection on Taylor Swift—how sheturned imperfection into identity and made vulnerability her brand. Later, he shares a story about a client struggling to see the link between the job she wants and the one she feels she has to take, and why the only way to build a brand is to simply start.

Because sometimes, suffering is okay—so long as you’re theone steering the ship.

In this episode:

• Turning career setbacks into storylines worth telling
• Finding meaning (and marketing value) in imperfection
• How AI is reshaping the marketing world—and how to adapt
• Building your personal brand when you’re not sure where to start
• Why progress begins with giving yourself permission to begin

Visit johnfialkowski.com for coaching, podcast archives, and ways to support the show.

More on this episode

Music Credits:
Intro:

Afro Beat Pop by HitsLab from Pixabay

Intermission:

Balance 2023 by VernonMaytone and Brotheration Records from Pixabay –

More from Brotheration Reggae

Lo-Fi Midnight Hip Hop  by GrandProject from Pixabay

Outro:

We Dub a long way – Instrumental by Brotheration Records from Pixabay