Lyndsee Nielson's Linkedin Analytics

My friend Gil is retired. Though he and I have been friends for quite awhile. I met him while he was still working as a security guard at the museum where we both worked. Gil, stationed at the front desk in the lobby, protected the treasures of the varied collections in the museum by overseeing visitors and patrons while I, sitting behind a desk a few floors up, oversaw the membership department. We crossed paths extensively when the exhibition opening events that I was responsible for planning and executing twice a year rolled around. The guards were the keeper of keys. So he’d accompany me to the basement and help bring up the tables, chairs, and stanchions; having keys to the freight elevator that could take us to all floors, as well as the massive loading dock garage doors where I could allow the caterers access. But my favorite encounters with Gil were when I came down to the lobby to see the art he’d been working on recently or ask about which book he was currently reading. Because Gil also has one of the most brilliant minds I have ever encountered, and he creates beautiful pieces of art. 🌌 He is into photography and the moon. 🎨 He collects discarded fragments of humanity on his walks through the city and assembles them into magical, vibrant collages. 📚 He has given me many well-loved paperback books and also the book that inspired me before my trip to Morocco. 🗺️ We have shared quite a few travel stories. So when he told me that his art was going to be in a gallery in Houston—𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸—you better believe I was going to be there for *𝗵𝗶𝘀* opening event! He had always been so supportive of me and my openings, and now, this time, I could be there for him. To celebrate his incredible work and to be a friendly face in the crowd. To admire his art and all the time, effort, and brilliance he’d put into creating something beautiful. To be there for my friend, like he’d always been there for me. 🥹 I’ve always been a firm believer that the best thing about a job is the people you meet. That’s what you’ll probably remember most in the end—the connections that you made and the way people made you feel, not your stats and reviews, not even your bulleted resume achievements (unless you’ve remembered to document them). And I’ve been so unbelievably fortunate to have found some of my forever friends in the workplace. Because that’s what matters most to me: 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙬𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙟𝙤𝙗𝙨. ♥️ Photo: Me and Gil at his art show last weekend

I would fall in love with the material and then turn it into something others could love too. In my former role as Head of Membership at the Harry Ransom Center, I was responsible for planning two large exhibition events each year, celebrating the material from the collections with our incredible members and closest friends of the museum. These events were a big undertaking and each one took me about 3 months to plan, coordinate, and execute. But before any of that could even get underway, I threw myself into researching what the exhibit was about. 📚 I’d check out books on the subject and read through the label text for the materials that would be on view. 🔎 Often, the curator of the exhibition would show me the materials up close and give me backstory for the selections and the overall narrative of the exhibition. ✨ This gave me a first-hand view of the subject. Sharing additional context and shedding light on why it was important. The best way for me to do something is to fully invest in it. To devote my time to getting close to it, understanding it, and experiencing it. To fall in love with it, and then to share my love for it with others so that they might love it too. ♥️ ** I’m Lyndsee Nielson, owner and lead creative at LyndseeLoves. I bring this same amount of care and love to my ghostwriting work, and honestly to every kind of work that I do. If you’re interested in how we might work together, please reach out or take a look at my website! [link in the comments and in my profile]

I was walking down this road in London, not entirely certain where I was headed. I would’ve missed it if I hadn’t almost run into someone standing, stationary, on the sidewalk. They were looking at the wall, a long stone wall stretching quite a ways. If I’d been in a hurry, or actually heading somewhere with a purpose, I might’ve been frustrated by them blocking my way. But thankfully, I had the good sense to slow up and take a look, too. There was a series of photos, attached at eye-height, along the wall. People, in varying poses and activities, spontaneous windows into their being. It was beautiful. Inspirational. Uplifting. Sometimes, if we aren’t careful, we miss these details. Oftentimes, even when they’re within our sightline, we are occupied. Or they’re less flashy than other things also vying for our attention so they go overlooked, unnoticed. Or they’re hidden, and unless we are present in the moment, we might miss them. But, details have the ability to change everything. To stop you in your tracks. To remind you what really matters. Happy Friday, friends! Keep looking for the magic ✨ ♥️ Lyndsee #storytelling #travel #lyndseeloves

Truly the best thing about LinkedIn is making friends with people you may never have otherwise crossed paths with. Becca Rusinko, PMP is a ray of light and super kind. She felt incredibly personable even before we ever got to chat on a Zoom call. When she asked me to talk with her about my experience of LinkedIn and what I’m doing in the world, I of course said yes. Check out our video below and watch me talk with my hands, discuss the many ways I think doing it your own way is best, and hear about my big plans for the future 🥰 #linkedin #friends

Of all your LinkedIn connections, how many have you actually 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙫𝙤𝙞𝙘𝙚? "It was really neat hearing you speak!" I had the chance to join a Zoom call a couple weeks ago and answer a few questions for a series that my friend, Becca Rusinko, is creating here on LinkedIn. We discussed a variety of things ranging from building a personal brand to what type of work I do and where I see myself going from here. Once we got to the end of our discussion, she noted that it had been neat hearing me talk. She said that while she enjoys reading my posts here on LinkedIn and can hear me in my writing, there was something different about getting to see and hear me speaking. Funnily that seemed to be the overall consensus because my mom also texted me saying: "𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘘&𝘈 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘤𝘢! 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘈𝘞𝘌𝘚𝘖𝘔𝘌! 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴." Then, no joke, I got on a catch up call with another friend and she said 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜! That she loved seeing my facial expressions and could feel my energy through the recording. Maybe video really *is* how you connect with your audience? If you didn't get a chance to see it, check the comments for the link and give Becca a follow to catch the other videos in her series! 🥰 #linkedin #storytelling #video

I’m sick of the rules. I say, “𝘿𝙤 𝙞𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙬𝙖𝙮.” They’ll tell you to: Use hooks “Niche down” Post every day Write in stair-step Lots of white space Don’t be too vulnerable Talk about business stuff only Include photos with every post Only include links in a comment Be the first comment on your post Break up your sentences, no paragraphs Don’t be the first to comment on your post Some will even tell you to steal (please don’t) (𝘠𝘦𝘴, 𝘐 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘳-𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱 𝘴𝘵𝘺𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘶𝘯) They’ll tell you “be weird” Don’t use hashtags anymore Comment on popular accounts Tag popular accounts in your post Engage for an hour before posting Write like you’re a “thought leader” Make sure you respond to all comments Post at the same time and post every day! Use the same templates and definitely video And all of that advice may very well work. It could be (and in some cases is) really helpful to ensuring your message is received and it’s eye-catching in a sea of similar content. But it becomes just that: 𝙈𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙚. Because everyone is trying to do what’s already been proven to work. Prioritizing trends and falling in with the next popular person or topic.. We’re all trying to get followers fast or have a post go viral, or posting because you can’t anger the algorithm by taking too long of a break… But I think the best advice I could give is: To write what’s true to you. And to write in your own voice. And to not try to fit within some box or follow some model just because it’s what everyone is telling you to do. If you lose your own voice and your own style to some preconceived idea of “success” then you’re already starting on the back foot. At least when it comes to creating a personal brand. Because it’s supposed to be just that — 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡. So my advice? Start where you are write what you know. Find a style and rhythm that works for you. Do it your own way. They’ll try and pitch you how to’s, formulas and templates, but in a world trying to get you to assimilate, being you is what will change the world and make the biggest wave. Love, Lyndsee #linkedin #lyndseeloves

“We can figure it out, just like we always do.” 👆🏼Me talking to me. Anyone else do that? Give yourself little internal pep talks. Reminders of how much you can do. How smart you are and how far you’ve come. Sometimes my anxiety kicks in and my brain starts to spiral. My thoughts will start trying to pull me underwater and instead of making any progress, I’ll be lost at sea for awhile, paddling constantly to stay afloat. But I’ve gotten a lot better at remembering my current track record of success and 𝙛𝙞𝙜𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙤𝙪𝙩. I keep reminding myself of just how capable I am. And if I don’t know, then I’ll learn. If I can’t do something, then I’ll ask for help. If I’m uncertain about something, I’ll look for answers. If I try and fail, I’ll track the process and try something different next time. So when it comes to what I do for work and what I can offer those I come in contact with, I will always try to be an asset. Someone who is reliable and trustworthy. Who is a go-getter and a figure-outter. Because I can figure it out. Just like I always do. 📸 credit: Chad Wadsworth

I’ll be spending a little less time here and more of my free time reading. Don’t get me wrong, I love LinkedIn and am grateful for the amazing connections I have made here. But it’s also started feeling like an obligation to come up with something to share, to stay relevant, to engage. I’m starting work with two new clients and with that comes mental exhaustion as I learn new things and spend time thinking about all the moving pieces taking up space in my head. So when I have some down time, I’d like to spend it recharging. I’ll still be here, just in a lesser capacity for the time being. Otherwise, you can find me reading 📖 #read #books #lyndseeloves Photo: “I hope you find some time to read today because I know it makes you happy.” Credit to @paperplanesundays on Instagram