EP: 119 The Power Of Luxury: What’s Behind A Luxury Mindset With Neen James

 

For this episode, we have a return guest! Neen James, an Aussie who loves luxury, including Tiffany mugs and especially champagne, is back on the podcast! And this time, she’s going to talk about luxury. What do you think when you hear the word luxury? Does it feel unnecessary? Does it feel indulgent? How about amazing? Or even necessary? As you will hear in my conversation with Neen, she set out to learn how having one can benefit us personally and professionally and what’s behind a luxury mindset. Neen has used her research to work with large, well-known companies all over the world.

During our conversation, Neen and I discussed:

1. What a luxury mindset is, and why was Neen interested in studying it?
2. What the results were from the study that she completed on luxury mindset with a research firm.
3. What the luxury mindsets are and how they impact us at work and personally.
4. If we need to be “rich” monetarily to possess a luxury mindset?
5. Various examples of living with a luxury mindset.
6. How we as working women can adopt a luxury mindset if we don’t have one.
7. The benefits of a luxury mindset, and more!

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Listen to the podcast here

 

The Power Of Luxury: What’s Behind A Luxury Mindset With Neen James

I am so excited to announce that we have a returning guest, Neen James. She is an Aussie who loves luxury. She loves Tiffany mugs. She gave me one after our first work together. She loves champagne, She even mentions it during the show. She is back on the show. If you didn’t tune in to Neen’s first show, I believe she is the tenth episode within the whole history of the show. She’s such a blast and I’m glad that she has taken some time to be back with us. She is my 119th-episode guest. Neen, thank you so much for being here.

Last time, we talked about how attention pays. This time, we’re talking about something totally different. We’re talking about luxury. What do you think when you hear the word luxury? Do you feel it’s unnecessary? Does it feel indulgent or icky even? How about amazing? Do you feel amazing when you think of luxury? Maybe you’re like, “I need some luxury in my life.” Maybe you think it’s necessary. As you’re going to read my conversation with Neen, she’s set out to learn what’s behind a luxury mindset, and how having one can benefit us personally and professionally. Little did you know about having a luxury mindset could benefit you.

In addition, she has used her research to work with large well-known companies all over the world. During my conversation with Neen, we chatted about what a luxury mindset is and why Neen was interested in even studying it, what the results were from the study that she completed on this luxury mindset with a research firm, and what the mindsets are. There wasn’t just one mindset or type of luxury mindset. She explains that there were different types, and how they impact us at work and in life.

When I think of luxury, I thought erroneously that we need to be rich. I asked her, “Do we need to be rich monetarily to possess that luxury mindset?” The answer is absolutely not. We discussed various examples of living with a luxury mindset and how we as working women can adopt this type of mindset even if we don’t have one now, and what the benefits of a luxury mindset are.

Before we get started, here is more about Neen. Neen James is the author of nine books including Folding Time and her most recent, Attention Pays. She was named one of the top 30 leadership speakers by Global Gurus several years in a row because of her work with companies such as Viacom, Comcast, Cisco, Virgin, Johnson & Johnson, and the FBI, among others.

 

 

Neen is a leadership expert who delivers high-energy keynotes that challenge audiences to prioritize focus in their work and lives. Understanding that attention and productivity can only come from clarifying what matters most, audiences leave Neen’s keynotes with practical strategies that they then can personally and professionally apply to get them where they need to be.

Compelling in delivering presentations, Neen is adaptive and responsive to the unique needs of live virtual and hybrid experiences. With a strong background in learning and development and managing large teams of various organizations, Neen is the perfect fit, and I can say that she absolutely is because we’ve had her at our organization.

She’s the perfect fit for organizations that wants systems thinking-based implementable strategies. After working with Neen, their employees are able to create space and allow the freedom to avoid distractions, stop interruptions, prioritize daily objectives, and say no to requests that steal time and focus from real goals and priorities. Neen earned her MBA from Southern Cross University, and the certified speaking professional designation from the National Speakers Association. She has received numerous awards as a professional speaker and partner in the international education company thought leaders global.

Before we get started, if you’re enjoying the show, please make sure to leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. As I always say, if you’ve already left a rating and review, I thank you so much. Your support of the show and the content that I’m creating for the show means the absolute world to me. You can always share the show with your friends, family members, or colleagues on your social media feeds. Don’t forget to tag me there, and I can give you some love back. Thank you for sharing the show wherever you can. If you haven’t yet downloaded my freebie, 10 Steps to Being Brave at Work, go get it over on my website at BraveWomenAtWork.com.

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Neen, welcome to the show. How are you?

I’m fabulous. What a treat to get to come back to some of your audience. I remember I was in Episode 10. You’ve done so much since then.

You were one of our most popular episodes. I just love to hear you talk. I love your philosophies. I love the work you do. Thank you so much for coming back and having some fun with me.

It’s an absolute privilege.

I have seen your business pivot. We talked about bravery and resilience. I’ve seen that you’re focused. I know you still talk about Attention Pays. We talked about that in the first conversation, but your focus has been shifting and widening from the last time we talked to luxury branding and mindset. I am on your email list, and I have been loving those emails because I don’t think about luxury very often.

I don’t know if you remember this, but you gave me a gift many years ago as a thank you for working with you on another project. You sent me this beautiful tea cup. It was from Tiffany & Co. I still have it. It’s gorgeous. It’s a prized thing that when I do have a cup of tea, I’ll use that. You are creating that luxury indulgent mindset or indulgence feeling like taking care of yourself mindset a long time ago. I just wanted you to know that.

I love that. Everyone deserves a little bit of luxury in their day whatever it looks like for them.

Everyone deserves a little bit of luxury in their day, whatever that looks like for them. Click To Tweet

Since we talked last, what has been driving that whole mindset around luxury and luxury branding, and that whole thought?

I’ve always been a girl who loves a little indulgence if you even describe anything about my career. I use a Tiffany coffee mug every day because I think that I’m worth it and I deserve it. It’s those little tiny additions that we can make in our day. I’m the girl who loves to have fresh flowers on my desk. Even when I’m traveling as much as I do, I always have a flower in my hotel room. There’s something about us prioritizing beauty and paying attention to those things. To me, that has always been very important.

What I’ve noticed is if you track my body of work, to give you a little bit of an accelerated view, I grew up in corporate business in Australia. I did a lot of work around productivity, focus, and attention. I believe that this luxury mindset work is the evolution of that. You might remember years ago, people used to say time management is the answer. It’s not the answer because that’s stupid. Nobody can manage time because time is going to happen whether you like it or not. Time management is out the window.

What I realized was it’s not time management but attention management. The reason why Attention Pays became so popular is because people needed a system to be able to help them pay attention to what matters most. When that book was released, people loved it. I still love it and get asked about that program. What I also realized was we now have to think about who and what deserves our attention. Frequently, we think about everyone else first. One of the things I’m encouraging some of our leaders to consider is luxury means very different things to different people. Luxury doesn’t necessarily mean expensive. It is my belief that luxury is about experiences, not things. That’s how we’ve been helping our clients to elevate those experiences for the people that they serve.

 

That’s interesting. I think it depends on the person that’s listening to it. When I hear luxury, I’m thinking of an expensive car like a Lamborghini or a big vacation or around the-world-trip. It doesn’t have to mean that. I also use the example of the Tiffany tea cup. It’s not a tea cup from Target, although I love some Target too, but it’s elevating your experience. Is that what you mean?

One of the things we need to think about is we all deserve to be nurtured and taken care of in whatever form that takes for you. Luxury to me is an everyday choice. I believe in luxury as an everyday choice we can all make, whether it is about just having a little bit of a nicer product in your shower as you’re getting ready for work in the morning, or whether it is the luxury of burning a candle to create a beautiful smell around where you work. It’s about little tiny ways you can elevate that.

It could be about the podcasts you listen to and the books that you read. Luxury does mean different things to different people. When I did a luxury study, there were a couple of words that came up consistently, and you’ve already used two of them. Those are high quality and indulgent. Whatever that means to you also helps point to your luxury mindset.

You’ve always said, “I’m a girl that has to have a little luxury.” If you haven’t tuned in to Neen’s episode in the wayback machine, go back. It was super fun. We talked about her love of champagne. I think you still are a big lover of champagne. Why did you decide to run a study on the luxury mindset?

As a thought leader, I’m always looking for opportunities to elevate the things that I can do for my clients. I do a lot of work in luxury and legacy brands. Understand that I’ve always thought luxury was a mindset, so I went to a research firm that works with a lot of thought leaders. I remember saying to Susan, “I believe luxury is a mindset. Can you go out and find evidence that makes that right?” She was like, “Neen, research doesn’t work like that. We will go out, do a study, and see what comes back.” Part of the reason why I wanted to do that for my clients is because I thought it would help them differentiate themselves and the brands that I work with.

It would elevate their sales conversation if they understood the mindset of the person who was sitting in front of them. It would also help people understand themselves and how they show up in the world as well. If you think about women leaders, particularly, we have a significant number of pressures on us. If I could help all of the women leaders that I work with serve the clients and their teams in a more elevated way, that’s one of the reasons I did it. I just had this theory and the premise was luxury is a mindset. Was I right? If so, tell me more about that. What I discovered was there’s not just one luxury mindset, there are four. That’s what was so fascinating about the research.

Do you mind sharing maybe a high-level summary of the archetypes or the four types that you found?

I’d be delighted to. As you’re tuning in to this and as I’m saying things to you, see if anything resonates because then maybe you can discover what you are just by listening. There are four luxury mindsets. Let’s talk about the first one. We call her the Reluctant and Removed. What’s interesting about her is to her, luxury is hard. She is the woman who says, “I’m too busy and overwhelmed. Luxury is not a priority for me. I’ve got so many other things I need to spend money on, luxury is not one of them.”

It’s a little bit outside her comfort zone. It’s not that she won’t buy luxury, it’s just that when she does, she doesn’t feel super comfortable doing it. She will probably seek the input of others for the decision, and she also will keep it to herself because she doesn’t want people to judge her accordingly. Chances are, you have in your audience here that are like, “That’s me.” That’s our first one.

The second one, let’s talk about the Pro Prioritizer, pro meaning professional. This is the woman who to her, luxury gives her a sense of confidence and therefore, power. She’s the person who dresses for success. She’s focused on her career and development. She’s also under the belief that women have to work harder than gentlemen in order for them to succeed. She’s certainly a team player. She’s very focused on thinking about how the brands she works with are long-lasting and reliable.

Something interesting about her is she’s practical, but she also wants to make sure that the brands that she’s associated with have a very high awareness of their social and environmental impact. I have a girlfriend like this. She will wear the Diane von Furstenberg dresses because she knows the brand. She likes what they stand for and those dresses last for a long time. The pro prioritizer will spend money on luxury and be very focused on her career.

The third person is our Confident and Content. They are like, “I got this. I’m happy at work and at home.” Luxury is not a top priority for her. She’s the person who says, “It doesn’t have to be expensive in order for it to feel special.” When she does make a luxury purchase, she feels very good about it. She probably doesn’t consult a lot of people to do it. She’s also good in an organization of promoting herself, and she has that confidence. That’s why she’s called confident and content.

There is our last of the four. As soon as my researcher gave me the readout, she looked me in the eye and was like, “Neen James, this is you.” This one, we call the Luxury Lover. The luxury lover is the person who goes, “I’m worth it. You deserve luxury.” Think of Oprah, “You get luxury.” This is what this person is about. They not only enjoy it for themselves but they also want to share it with everyone else. They have a deep belief that women deserve luxury, and they look for ways they can incorporate it on a daily basis. It is their belief that it will improve your quality of life. They also feel a lot more confident than many women that we surveyed.

When they make a decision to purchase luxury, you probably can’t talk them out of it. There are some brands that need to leverage this Luxury Lover. Not only does the luxury lover believe they’re worth it but they will also tell everyone about it. These become your brand advocates. They will post on social media, refer to their network, and also write you client testimonials. When you think about those four types, Reluctant and Removed, Pro Prioritizer, Confident and Content, and Luxury Lover, chances are you see yourself in one of those four.

Luxury is a mindset, and there are four of them: reluctant and removed, pro-prioritizer, confident and content, and luxury lover. Click To Tweet

I have some questions about the four. I’m trying to understand they’re very distinct categories. It’s not that one is better than the other, it’s just your preference. Can you graduate or shift at certain times in your life to certain categories?

That’s an important question. At our core, we probably have a view of luxury that resonates with one of those four. However, depending on where we are in our careers also determines how we might respond to luxury. For example, when you think about the commonalities in these, every single group said that luxury was about experiences, not things. Every single one of the group said luxury is a reward for hard work. All of them agreed that luxury can be experienced at every income level. Understand that this was an attitudinal study. This wasn’t about demographics or how much money people made. This was about how people think about luxury.

Often, brands focus on how people feel about luxury. In actual fact, we need brands to think about how people think about luxury because thoughts create feelings. People can move between them. I’ve had two audiences in the last months. A couple of people have come up to me and said, “I would love to be a Luxury Lover but at this point in my career, I am a Pro Prioritizer with Luxury Lover tendencies.” I was like, “I think that’s fantastic.” This is about awareness. None of these are wrong and better than the other.

Once you know what you are, it gives you an insight into the kinds of communications you have with the people that you serve, whether it is people in your team or your client base. That’s important because whether you work for a luxury brand or not, especially for people who are in a sales role, you want to know who’s in front of you, and what is influencing their decision-making.

Our study even went as far as to understand how long it takes each of these types to make a decision based on the price tag. We have so much data on this, but for the women here, the best place to start is to think about what resonated with you first. Think about the types of clients that you serve, and then the key to this is understanding how to speak the luxury language of the mindset that you want to serve.

This is an ocean of information. Let’s say that my luxury mindset is a 3, but my husband’s mindset is a 1. That’s what can cause issues in relationships, families, and friendships. My family might be like, “That’s showy,” if they’re a 1. My husband and I were joking about the old brand jingles and things like L’Oréal. I think it’s, “Because I’m worth it.” If I’m talking to you and you’re like, “I’m worth it,” it might rub people the wrong way because of their implied thoughts around luxury.

That’s exactly right. I was with a luxury travel client, and they provide very high-end experiences to their clientele. We had the same conversation because they might have a partnership. Let’s say you have a husband and a husband or a husband and a wife. They are coming to you and want to make a decision about planning a luxury vacation. For one of them, it might be crazy to think about some of the suggestions, and the other person might be like, “This sounds amazing.” Here’s what we found interesting. In those situations, both the Luxury Lover and the Pro Prioritizer are big influencers of the Reluctant and Removed.

In the situation you explained with your family, once the Luxury Lover makes a decision on purchasing luxury, it’s pretty hard to talk them out of it. They can provide a good case for the Reluctant and Removed, and even the Content and Confident. You just got to think through what way you’re showing up in the world. Some of you might be going, “This is all great but I don’t purchase luxury. I’m not in a luxury business, or I am not a luxury brand.” Jen, what you’re saying is important, and this is something I emphasize when I’m speaking at conferences and when I’m consulting with my clients. We have to understand the filters that we see the world through because that’s often how we communicate.

When you think of luxury, some people here might think, “I want an Hermès bag or scarf.” Whereas some people might think luxury is, “I want a higher-end Coach purse.” There are different scales of luxury.

It’s hard to level luxury. For one woman it might be, “I just want to run a bubble bath and not have my kids interrupt me,” or “I just want to read a magazine from cover to cover.” To me, that’s the ultimate indulgence, reading a book or magazine cover to cover. Because of the time, it could be a luxury. Some of us love brands. I love champagne. I love Tiffany. I will put that out there. Interestingly, you can see a luxury level because they will show you their level of luxury through the brands that they wear, carry, or talk about. However, luxury means different things to different people. Some of the common things I heard were high-quality, indulgent, special, or whatever that feels like to you.

That’s something for women to think about. It’s not only what category they might be falling in, where they’re at right now in their lives, and how they feel but also what luxury to them is. What is the scale of luxury? What would they think is luxurious? We don’t ask ourselves this very often.

That’s because we’re so busy. Most people are juggling 5 to 10 different roles in their lives through the work that they do, the communities they serve, the family responsibilities they have, and the boards that they serve on. Not to mention, even just being a good friend, sister, niece, or grandparent. There are so many different things that women juggle, all the while, being brave and resilient. What I’m trying to do is give women tools that they can use. Once they understand their own mindset and the mindset of the people they want to serve, they can then help have the tools and luxury language to ensure they’re communicating and showing up in their most powerful way.

What you just said is powerful. We all know that we fall into some luxury mindset. I’ll throw myself out. You called out yourself as a Luxury Lover. I hope this isn’t too confusing, but I think it depends on my mindset at that moment. If I’m in a negative space, I’m going to default to Reluctant and Removed. It was because I was raised very humbly and we didn’t think about luxury. When I’m healthier and in a better mindset, I can go to a 3. I’m content, happy, and don’t mind it, but it depends. Can it be situational too, based on what’s happening with me in my life?

I appreciate you sharing that. Much of our mindset is the choices we make and the actions we take. I grew up in a tiny little town in Australia that didn’t even have a traffic light. I’m not the girl who thought way back then that she would be living the lifestyle that she is now. I know the choices that we make around those situations, whether it be the financial investments we want to make or things. Some people grew up hearing quality over quantity. That can then create a certain mindset in us. I also grew up in a culture where you don’t talk about yourself, self-promote, and show off. Nice girls don’t do those things. This was what I was taught when I was younger.

Much of our mindset is the choices we make and the actions we take. Click To Tweet

I then moved to America and everyone is brilliant at self-promotion, and phenomenal at sharing their great successes. I don’t know if it’s as much situational. I do believe that some of it is influenced by the things that have happened as we’ve grown up and grown up in our careers. You might have a phenomenal boss, coach, or mentor in your life who helps show you a different way of looking at the world, and just that exposure can broaden your view of things.

What’s interesting about the Pro Prioritizer was all of them said that travel influenced their personal and professional development because it exposed them to different situations. They came back to their career as better professionals because of that investment in a vacation personally. Isn’t that fascinating? There are so many things we could talk about in the research. What I’d love women to consider is number one, what is your mindset? Does that mindset help serve you in the role that you have? What are the mindsets of the people around you? What kind of adjustments can you make so you’re always speaking the right luxury language to be able to be heard and understood quickly and powerfully?

Can we talk about that language? I think this applies to all of our relationships, personal and professional. I’m thinking of all the permutations. At work, people will laugh at me and say, “Pestikas, you’re a spender.” I don’t spend my money, apparently. I think of luxury a little bit differently in my own life. When I’m at work, it’s a totally different ballgame, where some people are much more frugal. Can you touch on maybe how the language would change depending on who you’re talking to you about luxury?

The Reluctant and Removed is the first one I talked about. When you’re speaking to this type of person, whatever product service or experience you’re offering them, you’re going to make it easy for them because they’re busy and overwhelmed. You’re going to use phrases like, “Let us do this for you. This is how we want to make it easy for you. We’ve created this process to streamline it for you.” If you want them to make a decision in a quicker way, make it easy for them.

If you have a very complicated system that they have to have lots of approvals for, you’re going to go lower down on their priority list because they’re already overwhelmed. You’re going to use phrases like, “Let me help you. We can plan this for you. We can do this for you,” because they already have so much on their plate. That’s how I would be helping that particular person speak the language, and understand where their mind is at right now.

If you’re talking to the Pro Prioritizer, you may want to share with them phrases that are going to help them understand that whatever you’re offering is going to help them in their career, team, or as they mentor others. An interesting thing about Pro Prioritizers that came up is they have a very deep belief that we have a responsibility to mentor others. Whatever you can share in your language that’s going to help them use whatever skills, products, or services that you have to help also develop others would be helpful. You want to talk in the language of reliability, sustainability, and long-lasting. These are important to them in your conversation.

When you think about the Content and Confident, you just want to reassure them that you can do whatever they need as far as you’re good at what you do, they’re good at what they do, and they’re the person who’s like, “I got this.” You just want to speak to that. You may also want to add in there how the product, service, or experience you’re offering is going to help them create memories with people that are important to them.

Here’s the key to speaking the language of a Luxury Lover. They want exclusive, unique, behind-the-scenes access. When you think about your product, service, and the experiences that you create, think about, “Is there something I could do for them that no one else can access?” Can they sit at the chef’s table at the restaurant or can they meet the chef, for example? If you are a financial services institution, is there an exclusive networking opportunity that you could invite them to? They are looking for things others don’t have access to because it makes them feel more indulgent and special.

Recently, I was staying on a property of one of my favorite luxury travel clients, and they got me a private tour of the penthouse. This private tour of the penthouse is at the hotel in San Francisco, the Hotel Fairmont, and it’s where every President has stayed. There’s the bookcase where they have the secret entrance where Marilyn Monroe would be let in for all those secret visits she had with JFK. That stuff is crazy. It costs the hotel nothing to show me that. As a luxury lover, I felt so privileged to be behind the scenes.

That’s cool. Now, I’m giving everybody a sneak peek. I think my husband is a Luxury Lover. Let me ask if this would resonate, and maybe I’ll be changing how I talked with him a little bit. He loves using his American Airlines credit card because we fly a lot. He sent me a text and was super proud of me because he got executive platinum or certain status on his card. I was like, “Okay.” I’m excited for him but I wasn’t as excited as him. He was so excited. Is that an example of a Luxury Lover?

Yes. Think about the benefits of being platinum on American, the early access to boarding the plane, maybe using the American Airlines lounge, and maybe priority tickets to something that others don’t get. What you all want to be thinking about is, “How do I speak the language of the mindset that I want to serve?” The nice thing about what you’re thinking, Jen, is that the Luxury Lovers, for example, your husband, are great advocates. They are the people who will give you those referrals to other clients and opportunities to write testimonials. They’ll tag you on social media.

People think, “How can I leverage this information for the type of business I’m in?” For example, if you’re in a credit union business, you might think about, “Of the members that I serve, and I know I have some of these, could I invite them to introduce me to other members or potential members that would be great for our credit union?” You want to think about all of the different audiences that you have and the mindset you want to appeal to, and then you learn their luxury language.

If you’re a business owner, think about all the different audiences that you have and the mindset you want to appeal to. Then, learn their luxury language. Click To Tweet

I’m mind blown. I have a lot to think about. We’ve talked about bravery, resilience, confidence, and impostor syndrome. We talked a lot about these things, speaking out, and what was taking up space. Do you think that there is any type of correlation between those items? I would put this under the umbrella of self-confidence or self-worth for women and these mindsets.

Yes, it showed up in every question. What was interesting about this particular group was how many of them tied luxury to confidence. With the Confident and Content, they feel like they’ve got it. They feel confident. Luxury isn’t as much of a priority, but they feel okay. That was a particular population. The two I want to focus our time on are the Luxury Lover and the Pro Prioritizer. Both of them said that using these luxury experiences and having these things in their life help them feel more confident. It helped them increase their self-worth because it also allowed them to deliver more quality work. What it did was it showed them, “I can do this.”

Jen, you have this one outfit. It’s your A-outfit. Whenever you put this outfit on, you’re like, “I got this. I feel good about myself.” If you put on the B-outfit, it’s not great, but you have it and you don’t want to donate it. You paid money for it, so you wear it. When you wear it, you don’t feel 100% but you fidget with it. Think about the same thing that happens here. If we could just dress in our A-outfits, we would conquer the world every single day.

What was interesting about luxury is how many of the women tied in these luxuries when they could say, “I’m worth investing in. I’m worth doing this particular extra course through college. I worth this particular suit or doing this vacation.” All of them said that luxury in their mindset was a reward for hard work. If we could stop and acknowledge that as leaders, “I work hard. I contribute to my personal life and my professional life,” maybe every time you look at that fabulous bag that you purchased for yourself, you’re reminded that you can be brave and you can step into the world with more confidence. Much of this was linked to confidence and executive presence.

For the women who are tuning in, I’ll give you that as a follow-up or takeaway. Think about that and think about how often many of us overachievers and super performers rush on to the next thing and on to the next task. It doesn’t have to be expensive. Carve out time or have a rich piece of chocolate, or maybe buy something luxurious. You’re saying that taking that time has a direct positive correlation with how confident you feel.

Correct. As women, we need to prioritize ourselves first, which goes against everything so many of you were taught as you were raised, myself included. The only way that we can serve our teams, leaders, community, church, temple, or whatever is if we’re coming from a place of feeling good. We know that to be true. In order for us to feel more confident, think about the luxuries that are important to you that you can incorporate on a more regular basis. Understand this is linked to executive presence.

You can do a very quick self-audit. I talk about this in my book, Attention Pays. Things like the clothing you wear can make you feel more powerful. Even the researcher said to me, “Neen, when I started this, I was Reluctant and Removed. Because of you, I went out and bought a new bag for work. It has no brands on it, but now when I look at it, I’m like, ‘I deserve that.'” She said it gives her a little extra feeling when she goes into a meeting. Every woman here needs to walk into a room as they belong. I walked into every space and I assumed that everyone wants to play with me. I always have.

We need to do that. We need to walk into a room with confidence because you never know who you might be inspiring, welcoming, and watching. We have responsibilities as leaders to think about how we can take that confidence, and then help others. Who can we mentor, coach, or grow up with us? It also means that sometimes, we might have to hire people to help us. Hire a coach or a personal trainer to help you. Go to a store and use a personal stylist. You don’t have to pay for that. Maybe it makes you feel better if they can help you choose your wardrobe. You don’t have to do this alone. There are people who can help you to step into the luxury mindset that you want to live on a daily basis.

We need to walk into a room with confidence because you never know who you might be inspiring, welcoming, or watching. Click To Tweet

You’re rocking my world with this whole concept. I don’t think the study is available right now online, but will you have this on your website? When is it going to be available?

You can go to NeenJames.com and do a quick search for the Luxury Mindset. There is a whole page dedicated to this. If you enter your information, we’ll be able to send you the executive summary of the research. That way, you’ll have access to not only what we’ve talked about on our show but so many other data points that might be interesting to understand how frequently people look at luxury, what kinds of things they like to enjoy, what timeframe does it take for them to make a decision, how do they think of luxury, and what influences that? There are so many pieces to this. If they go to NeenJames.com, they’ll be able to find it.

We can’t end until I ask you this question I ask everyone. I already asked you, but I’m going to see if any changes have occurred. I’m doing my own research study right now, Neen. What are 1 to 2 ways that you believe right at this point in your life and work that you believe women can be braver at work?

The first thing I would say is to assume you belong. Walk into every space assuming you belong, and that you have something valuable to contribute. You don’t just need to have a seat at the table. If the table is not right for you, then go build another table, but assume you belong and take people with you. I would also say that another way to be braver is when you walk into a room, assume that everyone wants to play with you, and hear from you. If women just stepped in, assuming they’re in the right place and they can add value and belong, then they’re going to create a phenomenal energy where people are going to be intrigued. That means we have to model this forever. Assume you belong and walk into every room like you belong.

I love that. That is different than last time. You didn’t say that last time, so I’m excited that it changed.

It’s the evolution of all the research and all these amazing women that I’ve had access to through this study.

I’m glad that I asked you. We’ve already mentioned your website, NeenJames.com. Where else can women find you on social handles? Why don’t you mention that before we wrap up?

Fortunately, there’s only one Neen James. I post every day on Instagram. You can see my adventures there. I’d be delighted to connect with you on LinkedIn as well. We also have ways that you can hear more about the research. Reach out to me on Instagram or LinkedIn. I’d be delighted to help people.

Neen, thank you so much for coming back and playing with me for a little bit, talking about luxury. It was such a joy to hang out with you.

It’s an absolute privilege. Thank you for everything you’re doing in the world, Jen.

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That does it for my discussion with Neen. I hope you found our conversation both valuable and inspiring. Maybe it has changed or even enhanced your perspective on having a luxury mindset. Think about what will be luxurious for you. Maybe it’s making a latte at home with a new coffeemaker. Maybe it’s signing up for flowers of the month. Maybe it’s taking the trip of your dreams. Whatever it is, I love to remind my colleagues and my coaching clients that you are worth a little luxury. As a reminder, please rate, review, and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. The show is also available on Google Podcasts and Stitcher. Until next time, show up, possess a luxury mindset, and be brave.

 

Important Links

• Neen James
• Folding Time
• Attention Pays
• Episode 10 – Attention Pays with Neen James
• Instagram – Neen James
• LinkedIn – Neen James
• Apple Podcasts – Brave Women at Work
• Spotify – Brave Women at Work
• Google Podcasts – Brave Women at Work
• Stitcher – Brave Women at Work

 

About Neen James

Neen James is the author of nine books including Folding Time and her most recent, Attention Pays. She was named one of the top 30 Leadership Speakers by Global Guru several years in a row because of her work with companies like Viacom, Comcast, Cisco, Virgin, Johnson & Johnson, and the FBI, among others.

Neen is a leadership expert who delivers high-energy keynotes that challenge audiences to prioritize focus in their work and lives. Understanding that attention and productivity can only come after clarifying what matters most, audiences leave Neen’s keynotes with the practical strategies they can then apply personally and professionally to get them where they want to be. Compelling in delivering presentations, Neen is adaptive and responsive to the unique needs of live, virtual and hybrid experiences. Meeting planners love working with her – they often describe Neen as the energizer bunny for their events.

With a strong background in learning and development and managing large teams at various corporations, Neen is the perfect fit for organizations who want systems thinking based, implementable strategies. After working with Neen, their employees are able to create space and allow the freedom to avoid distractions, stop interruptions, prioritize daily objectives and say ‘no’ to requests that steal time and focus from real goals and priorities.

Neen earned her MBA from Southern Cross University and the Certified Speaking Professional designation from National Speakers Association. She has received numerous awards as a professional speaker and is a partner in the international education company Thought Leaders Global.