How Brooke Janousek Went From Compliments to True Confidence

It’s one thing to talk about style shifts. It’s another to hear someone describe how that shift changed how they walk into every room. 

Brooke Janousek felt successful on paper but disconnected from how she was showing up. As CEO of a fractional CMO consultancy, her style was polished, professional, and totally… fine. She was receiving compliments about her outfits, but they didn’t reflect the creative, powerful, elegant badass leader she was evolving into… until we worked together to figure out her personal style.

In this episode of The Visibility Shift, Brooke reveals what it really looks like to step into a bolder, more aligned version of herself, especially in a corporate environment where blending in often feels safer than standing out. Her story is an example of a lived-in, real-world scenario of what visibility can look like when you stop dressing to play small and start feeling confident in what you wear (and the body on which you wear it).

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2:39 – What felt off about the external validation that Brooke received about her style

4:35 – Why compliments about Brooke’s style post-transformation felt different 

5:37 – How it feels to show up as an elegant badass with an edgier style

9:29 – The pressure and expectation of dressing to match the client’s industry

12:20 – How Brooke has learned to stay consistent with her style, no matter the situation

14:39 – The difference energetically in how Brooke shows up before vs. after defining her style

16:35 – How Brooke’s style transformation plays into her personal brand

20:25 – The impact of the pandemic on Brooke’s (and other women’s) sense of style at the time

24:05 – Women as deserving of investing in something for themselves

26:47 – Practical benefits for Brooke after discovering and undergoing her style transformation

28:39 – How embracing your style can affect your perspective about your body 

33:42 – What dressing with intention means to Brooke after going through this process together

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Full Transcript

Ellie Steinbrink: Welcome to The Visibility Shift, the podcast where style becomes your most powerful strategy for being seen, standing out, and leading boldly. I'm Ellie Steinbrink, stylist and personal brand coach, and if you've ever thought, "My style just isn't working anymore," take this as your sign. You're ready for your next level. And instead of launching into a panicked shopping spree, what you really need is a strategy. A style strategy that reflects where you're headed, not who you used to be or who you think you need to be to fit in.

Because when your style aligns with your brand and your vision, everything shifts. You lead with more presence, you attract the right opportunities and clients, and you fully step into the woman you're becoming. Because showing up as yourself, that's the most strategic thing you can do. Now let's get visible.

Hello everyone, welcome back to The Visibility Shift podcast. I am so excited to introduce you to a client and honestly a really dear friend of mine. Her name is Brooke Janousek.

She is currently the CMO of Garage Experts based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, but in our time working together—the few years that we've worked together—she's also had various different roles as a CMO, including running her own business as a fractional CMO. What I'm most excited about in this conversation is you're going to hear everything from, "Clothes are really not the point of the transformation," but really what happens to you energetically and as a leader and as a person when you move through this process.

You're going to hear her talk about how, before we started working together, she would get amazing compliments—endless compliments—about how stylish she was, but what it feels like to get those compliments but not actually feel like herself on the inside. You're going to hear her talk about transitioning from a time post-COVID years of feeling like all she was doing was wearing athleisure clothes, and how she transitioned from that into naming her style as "elegant badass."

You're going to learn about what it meant for her to learn about her body and learn about the silhouettes that work best on her body, and how that was a complete game changer for her. I think most importantly, you're going to hear her talk about what it means as a woman, as a leader, and the shifts that can happen when you invest in yourself in something like this.

Let's get right into it. I can't wait for you to listen in. Brooke, welcome to The Visibility Shift. So glad to have you here.

Brooke Janousek: Thank you, I'm honored to be here.

Ellie Steinbrink: So I had to actually look back to see what year it was that we actually started working together, because it's been quite a few years that we've done this now. And it was, as far as I am—if my records are correct—it was 2023, which feels crazy.

Brooke Janousek: Yes. I know. I'm glad that you said that because I was like, "I know it's more than," I mean, we're getting close to three years now. So it's a great relationship.

Ellie Steinbrink: It's been a good ride. One of my favorite things to say about you and our relationship is that I remember you so distinctly telling me at the beginning, when we first started, that you were always getting compliments about how stylish you were. So I want you to take me back to that time before we started working together.

You were getting compliments. You were getting all of the external validation about your style. So I'm curious, what felt off for you?

Brooke Janousek: That is a great question, and honestly, I was thinking back to that too. I did get compliments, and the compliments were more like, "Oh, you look cute today," or, "You look good today," or, "I like you're wearing," and they were just, compared to what I get now, they just seemed a little benign or almost that people didn't know, they knew that they liked what I was wearing, they knew that, "Hey, she looks good but I don't know how to articulate it."

Now, since we've been working together and I'm dressing differently and I've really embraced my style, the compliments were coming from strangers, crazy amounts coming from strangers, people I know. Then there are things that are like, "Oh my gosh, you look so great today." And sometimes even they're complimenting my makeup or my hair versus the clothing itself.

So I've definitely noticed that I'm carrying myself differently, and they're complimenting the whole Brooke, not just the clothes that I was wearing, which I think is key.

Ellie Steinbrink: Yeah, and I'm so curious as to what your answer might be about what was the difference?

Brooke Janousek: Well, I will say the difference for sure: I didn’t know how to dress, to be honest. Yes, I knew things that I liked. I knew that I had a certain style, that was very clear. I knew what I liked and didn’t like.

But I didn’t know how to put it together so that it looked well together, but it also looked good on me. There were things that I was wearing that definitely did not look good on me. Now there are things that I’m so confident, when I try it on, I’m like, “Nope, not at all, not for me. It looked great in the photo, not for me.” Or it’s a hell yes when I try it on.

So I think what’s changed is just how I carry myself, and what I wear absolutely has changed.

Ellie Steinbrink: Yeah, and I’ve seen that shift in you. I think one of the most exciting parts for me is when I can see the confidence build in my clients, from the point where we’re learning and just trying to figure out what is it that you like, and then I felt like every season and every iteration that we did, you became more clear.

I almost feel like you became a little more risky, a little more edgy. Can you talk to me about that? Because for everyone listening, one of the things that Brooke and I—well, I do this with every client—but when Brooke and I were working on defining her personal style, we were working on personal style words.

You had named three personal style words, which honestly, off the top of my head, I can’t remember, because what we ended up categorizing all three of those as is elegant badass. Now, I just want to remind you, Brooke is a CMO. She’s been in various different CMO roles, including running her own fractional CMO business and being the CMO in various different companies. So I’m curious, how does it feel to show up as an elegant badass in the C-suite?

Brooke Janousek: I absolutely love elegant badass. To be honest, I don’t remember what we originally had either. I know charismatic was one of the words, but I feel like elegant badass is just a step above charismatic. It speaks to the exact evolution that I’ve had working with you, and just stepping into that feels so much better for me personally.

I will say one of the things I noticed—and you’ve noticed this too—I post on Instagram now what I’m wearing. I never did that before, and I am now confident about what I’m wearing. I’m proud to be wearing these clothes. I feel like I look good. And they’re not thirst trap posts. I’m not doing it because I’m trying to get something out of it. I’m doing it because I feel like, “I look like an elegant badass today. This is what I’m wearing to work. This is what I’m wearing out to brunch. And I want people to see it." I even created a highlight now on Instagram where it’s like, “Hey, I want you to see, this is kind of the evolution.”

I will also say elegant badass was a compliment given to me. Do you remember this story?

Ellie Steinbrink: I do. Yes. You’re right.

Brooke Janousek: Yes. So, I actually moved to California for the summer two years ago. I had just arrived in Santa Monica. I had been driving cross country, just arrived, had my dog with me, and I was wearing one of the outfits that you had styled. It was this really cute white Gap dress, I had a Clare V. hat on, I had these slides, and I had this crossbody bag.

And I’m just walking down the street, and a guy stopped me, literally stopped me. He goes, “I love what you are wearing.” I said, “Oh, thank you so much.” And he goes, “You are an elegant badass.” And I was like, “What?! That is the best compliment I’ve ever received.” And I texted you and I was like, “This is it. This is what my style is. This is elegant badass.”

Ellie Steinbrink: That’s right. You were like, “I am an elegant badass. That is it.” Because I think it hadn’t been that long after. I think it might have been one of our first iterations. You know, being in that CMO role, in the various different CMO roles you’ve been in, did it feel edgy or risky to you to claim such a bold style? Because I gotta say, and kudos to you, Brooke, you take risks, you take risks with your style, not only with your life, but with your style too. Did it feel scary to do that in the roles you were playing in?

Brooke Janousek: You know, to be honest, if I had been still dressing the way that I was before I met you, and then just randomly you’re like, “Hey, you should wear this more risky thing,” I would not have felt comfortable. I would have thought, “Oh, people think she’s trying too hard,” or whatever.

But because I’ve really come into my own, I’ve seen and felt the difference of how much more confident I am, it doesn’t feel risky. I’m proud. I’m like, “This is who I am, and I’m owning it.”

Also, I feel like there’s a little bit of liberty being in marketing. I feel like marketers kind of have this, a little bit of a pass, to be known as a little edgier, a little riskier. But I do feel comfortable with the risks I’m taking versus before, I don’t know that I would have been.

Ellie Steinbrink: Every audience knows that I also had a background in marketing, so I spent 20 years in marketing. And I agree with you. I do think there are some liberties. Like when you’re thinking about maybe a role in the finance industry, for example, versus a marketing role, there are definitely liberties.

But at the same time, I remember feeling a lot of pressure to show up and look a certain way, especially when I was meeting with my clients who maybe were in those different industries. So I know you’re not giving yourself enough credit, but there really was some risk-taking in that process.

Brooke Janousek: I will also say that you hit the nail on the head, you felt a little bit of pressure. I also, when I was in the ad agency world in my twenties, so when I was baby Brooke, we always said dress for the client.

So we would have a client that was a division of Toro, and they wore steel-toed boots and jeans every day, so I dressed down. And then we had Allstate Insurance, and they were buttoned up, and so I wore suits.

So we definitely dressed for the client. But I also think there was this unspoken expectation that because we worked at an agency, we had to be cool. They expected us to be a little bit edgier with our fashion. I just think back to some of the things I wore and, oh goodness.

Ellie Steinbrink: We’ll leave that in the past.

Brooke Janousek: Yes, yes, please.

Ellie Steinbrink: But yeah, you’re right. But honestly, what you’re saying is not a new story. I want to talk a little bit about the time when you were running your own business and you were the founder of a fractional CMO business.

Did you ever feel that pressure, again, coming back up from your old agency days, that old rule you had been taught that, “Whatever your client is, whatever industry you’re in, you need to also match that”? Did that come up for you?

Brooke Janousek: It did. I had a varying range of clients when I was running that business, and so I still used that kind of as my barometer of “dress to the client.”

If I was on-site, I would ask questions ahead of time: “What is the dress code? How do your employees dress?” Because I did want to be mindful of that.

But it was easier to dress because I knew I had variety in my closet, and I knew everything I was going to wear, I was going to feel confident in. It was just more like, “What’s appropriate for their handbook or whatever?”

I know you and I have talked about that too. Even when you were interviewing for roles, and even when you took this full-time role, you asked me, “What does the handbook say?” Because I was like, “Oh, now I need corporate clothes again,” and you're like, “What’s the handbook say?”

So I do think that still comes into play.

Ellie Steinbrink: Something to note here is that this is a struggle for a lot of women in terms of figuring out the dress code.

I think the trap we can find ourselves falling into is when we enter into a new workplace, or we find ourselves in a new industry or in a new role, the temptation is to look around us and let that be our cue as to how to dress.

I think where I’m leading—where we’ve talked about and also where I’m leading my clients—is we’re looking inside first to define that. And we’re just matching the level of dress that is appropriate for wherever we’re going. So if you’re going to be on the weekend having brunch with some girlfriends, that’s a different level of dress versus being on stage when you’ve keynoted. But your personal style still remains the same.

Can you talk about how you’ve learned to navigate staying consistent with that elegant badass, no matter if you’re on the weekend or on a yoga retreat—which you’ve just come off of, actually—or if you’re on stage keynoting? How have you learned to navigate that through this process?

Brooke Janousek: Well, I think to your credit, relying heavily on your advice, and we talk about, “Okay, who’s going to be in the audience?” or, “What are you doing this weekend?” or, “What do we need to pack for?”

I know sometimes I’ve traveled to be on panels and things like that, and there’s this juxtaposition of, “Okay, I’m going to keynote in the morning, and then that night I have a cocktail party,” or whatever. So really kind of trying to figure out, how do we make all of this work?

But I think relying on, again, that confidence that I have, that no matter what I wear, because I feel good in it, I’m going to carry myself differently, and that’s going to help me, while still making sure I’m playing by whatever handbook rules I need to. But I just appreciate that I have the flexibility now to know what is appropriate for what situation.

Again, that’s a lot of credit to you and working with you, and helping me understand, “This is how one outfit—literally two pieces—can be dressed up or down simply by changing the shoes and the bag.” That makes it really easy for me.

Ellie Steinbrink: Yeah, flexibility for sure. I’m curious about, in these moments when you had big moments in business, in your work life, if you can remember how you felt pre-working with me versus after we started to find this personal style for you, could you make a comparison between the two in terms of energetically how you show up?

Brooke Janousek: Oh yeah. I worked at a company before meeting you where every day we wore jeans, T-shirts, and tennis shoes. That was just our dress code.

Again, talk about dressing to your audience, we were working with blue-collar contractors, so I never wanted to be overdressed or, honestly, call attention to myself in a way that I didn’t want to. So jeans, tennis shoes, T-shirts.

When we started working together, I was like, “I have mostly athleisure wear.” That’s really all I have. I didn’t have a lot of the staples. So learning how to get key pieces that we can build around has really been helpful and increased my confidence.

That was a great time in my life. I felt confident wearing the things that I was wearing because I was in the environment that called for it. But I think now, it’s just a different kind of confidence. It’s one where I feel beautiful, I feel authentic, like I know that I speak differently, I know I carry myself differently.

Not that I didn’t have confidence before, it’s just a different type of confidence. And it’s hard for me to articulate other than I feel it in my body and how I carry myself.

Ellie Steinbrink: I think sometimes though, that makes all the difference. That really is what stands out to me, especially when you were talking about prior to working together and getting compliments on your outfit.

That feels different, as opposed to when you also know on the inside, it feels very aligned, and then you get a compliment on top. It’s just like a cherry on the top.

Brooke Janousek: Yes, absolutely.

Ellie Steinbrink: An area I want to talk about is, since you are a Chief Marketing Officer, and you know everything there is to know about brands, I’m curious to know, how has this style transformation for you played into creating your own personal brand?

Now, when you were running your own company, you were the brand. But even now, as the CMO in another company, creating your personal brand is still important. So what would you say the connection is, or how important has style become in terms of creating your own personal brand?

Brooke Janousek: Yes. One thing that I do very well—and started to do this when I started my company—was just start posting on LinkedIn.

You will also—if you go back to when we started working together—you can see the difference in the tone of how I posted and what I posted about. I have gotten more brave, more vulnerable, and more authentic.

What I’m finding is those three words—the brave, authenticity, and vulnerability—are coming through because that’s how I genuinely feel, and that’s who I am.

I don’t think that I really came into understanding that’s who I really was until I felt better about myself. And I don’t want to say, “Oh, fashion has done everything,” because I’ve done work outside of working with you and stuff. It’s the whole package.

It’s working on myself in therapy, and working on myself spiritually and emotionally and physically, and all of that comes together. So I think that really comes through.

So if you see me post on LinkedIn, or if you see me present, not only do I look different in how I dress, but I feel like it is really aligned with how I feel. And that comes through. And you know, I get DMs all the time.

"Thank you for being vulnerable. Thank you for being brave." And being those two things, I don't feel like can happen without being confident. Because you have to have that confidence to put yourself out there.

Ellie Steinbrink: Yeah. A hundred percent. And you're capturing exactly what I wholeheartedly believe about style, which is—and honestly, when I first started working with clients five years ago, we kind of skipped over the whole style mindset, inner work, get clear about who you are and where you're going. I mean, it happened to some degree, but it was honestly like a 30-minute call. Now it's a much more drawn-out process.

But what you're saying basically is what I was learning, that it’s one thing to go and find and buy a cute outfit and then all of a sudden you feel like you're ready to go. Often, I found out that was not the case. That if you're not energetically ready to wear a bold outfit or wear an outfit that says, “This is me,” that really is a difference maker.

So I think all of what you're saying is so true. A transformative style doesn't come just by walking into the store and you walk out and you're a changed person. It's the work we did together. It's the work that you're doing on your own. It's the work that you're doing to step into yourself and just become more comfortable with yourself and say, “You know what, maybe I was these versions of myself in the past, but I'm ready to let those go and this is who I am now.”

That's why I think, honestly, your style transformation has been so successful because you've really stepped into that, you know? No apologies.

Brooke Janousek: One hundred percent. And I love what you said about energetically. So I have two points on that. One, when we met, I was wearing a lot of black, to be honest.

Now the bold colors that I'm wearing—thanks to you—people comment on that. They're like, “Oh my God, I love how colorful you are,” or, “I never would have put that together, but it looks so good.” So that’s an energetic shift.

You're right on that though. People aren't, if they're not ready to step into it, they might not take as big of risks, like you’ve said I've taken. But it's fun for me now because I feel confident in that, in how I feel, and how I've shifted and changed and evolved.

Ellie Steinbrink: I wholeheartedly agree about that. It's funny you mentioned black, and I was also thinking about athleisure. Because honestly, when we started working, it was 2023. And even though that was technically three years past the pandemic, you were in a spot, I think, of feeling really stuck and just like, “All I wear is athleisure to work.” And then, “I could literally turn around and go to the gym and wear the same outfit that I wore to work.”

And I remember you saying, “I felt like I was in such a funk.” A lot of women felt that way at that time, where they kind of just lost themselves. The pandemic was a reason, for many reasons, to sort of feel confused and lost.

But then I think there was a “before the pandemic” and “after the pandemic” in terms of our style. I found a lot of women, like you, saying, “I don't really resonate with what's in my closet anymore. I'm not really sure what to do next.”

That's why I think this work was also so important for you, because you were ready. You were in a transformative process already and you were ready to take that next step and get curious about what does this next re-invention of Brooke look like? No black. I mean athleisure, some athleisures, some really cute athleisures, but definitely colorful because that's your personality.

Brooke Janousek: No black, yes. That’s a great point. Like, it should be reflective of your personality, which is why I loved that when we first met, you’re like, “Give me some words. What do you think your style is?”

That was hard for me to articulate because I was like, “Well, no one’s asked me that before. I don’t know if I even know how to define my style.” So I think I just gave you words of, “This is how people view me,” or, “What I’ve been complimented on,” like charismatic, things like that. That’s kind of how those things came to be.

But I do like—and I don’t know if it happens with the other clients—but I do like how we start to come into our own and we’re like, “Oh no, I’m elegant badass.”

Or you and I have been talking recently about embracing a little bit more of our feminine side. Like, I know I’ve reached out to you before and said, “Hey, I kind of want to wear flowy dresses. It’s summertime and I want to sit outside on the patio and read my book and have a glass of wine.” “Yeah, let’s play with the femininity a little bit.” So I like that we’re still evolving.

Ellie Steinbrink: I think honestly you’re right. That has been true for me and it’s been true with my other clients that style is not kind of a one-and-done thing.

Although, when we first started working together, we do put words to what your style is. You’re also not alone in the fact that it’s hard to articulate at first for a variety of reasons. I think just a lot of times we haven’t been asked, “What do you actually like?” in a really long time. And just give yourself a really honest answer, regardless of whatever you think you should like or not.

But style will continue to evolve with you. And as you grow personally, that may continue to shift. And you’re in a season where you want to embrace the femininity, so we’ve leaned into that.

But the elegant badass side of yourself has not gone away either. It’s just a little tangent that we’re on. And I think that’s the beautiful thing, to allow yourself to flow with it through the seasons of your life.

Brooke Janousek: Yeah, absolutely. I love that we are continuing to evolve.

Ellie Steinbrink: I am curious about, you know, if there was another woman sitting in front of you who felt like a change needed to happen and they were maybe a little bit scared to venture into whatever that would be next for her, what advice would you have for her?

Brooke Janousek: Since we started working together, I have a lot of people reaching out to me saying, “I know you work with Ellie. Tell me more.” Then I tell them more.

Then usually the objection is, “Oh gosh, I don’t know if I want to invest in myself.” It has nothing to do with the price point. It has everything to do with, “I feel like women don’t feel like they deserve or should invest in something.” And so my advice is: You absolutely need to invest in yourself.

Think about how much you pour into everybody else. If you’re a mother, you’re pouring into your children. You’re pouring into your spouse. You’re pouring into your job.

Then what’s left at the end of the day is not very much. And then you never pour into yourself. So I would definitely say this is an investment that I consciously chose to make and continue to make because the returns have far outweighed anything that I ever expected.

So you owe it to yourself to invest in yourself. It’s no different than hiring a career coach or a therapist. All of those things are investments in yourself. So look at it that way and look at it as, “This is something that’s going to make me feel better.” And take the looks out of it. It’s not even a looks thing. It's, “I’m going to feel better because I love how I look and feel inside this body.”

Ellie Steinbrink: Amen to that. Let's just take a moment to say amen, because that is really hard to do. I'm sitting here as a mom, you're sitting there as a very busy C-suite woman, and it doesn't matter if you have kids in the mix or you don't. There's always an excuse for not investing in yourself.

I think you're right. It's not just about the new wardrobe. I think that's what you've been saying this whole time. It's energetically how you're showing up differently. It's how you're trusting yourself more, because you are, even if you don't see that, I definitely see that.

It happens in our try-on sessions when you put something on and you're like, "That's a hell no. You said it before." Or, "That's a hell yes." So you're learning to trust your gut more, which is a great quality to have as a leader. You're learning to just be more courageous.

So I think there are all of these side benefits of what seems to be a fairly frivolous output, which is a wardrobe at the end of the day. But what would you say were some of the intangible benefits, not including the clothes, for you?

Brooke Janousek: Not including the clothes, and not including just everything we've already talked about, but just some practical things. I'll get a little ticky-tacky here, but just the practical, this is how you pack. This is how you can make one item that we really invent. Like, this is an investment piece. We're going to style the heck out of it.

There are things that prior to working with you, I'd have stuff in my closet and I would wear it once and I'd be like, "Man, I don't know. I just wear it with jeans or these shoes. I don't know what else to do."

You've taught me, to open my eyes to so many more things. Even the outfit I'm wearing today, I think you've styled it six different ways.

Ellie Steinbrink: Yeah, and it's so great because I was like, "Yes." Counting.

Brooke Janousek: I just love the versatility. I just never even imagined that something like that was possible. So I don't have to buy 30 items. I can buy 10 items, because we're going to style them differently.

Then also, the other thing that was really eye-opening was our first session where you're like, "Okay, this is the shape of your body. So because of that silhouette, this is how we have to wear things. We have to create shapes that you don't have."

That was also something I was like, "Oh, I never thought of that." So it's just like the illusion that we're creating is cool.

Ellie Steinbrink: Yeah, okay, so I remember, I think it was after one of the first seasons that we worked together. It was around Christmas time, you went home perhaps. I think your mom or your dad was like, "Brooke, did you lose a bunch of weight?" You said, "No, actually I didn’t. I just figured out what type of jeans to wear."

Brooke Janousek: A hundred percent.

Ellie Steinbrink: But honestly, let’s talk about this briefly, because while I'm definitely not in the business of making you love your body if you hate your body, I mean, that is a separate line of work that I am not in. However, let's just be honest. Both you and I have talked about this.

We're in our mid-40s. We're going through perimenopause. It seems like every other month, our body shifts and changes. I feel like these are the things that you can kind of cling onto in those moments when you're like, "Why do I feel so bloated for the past month?" You know, "What happened?"

Do you want to talk about any of that from your perspective, just how you've been able to manage through some of those times a little more easily? Although it's never easy being a woman and just feeling like you're out of control with your body sometimes. But has that made it easier?

Brooke Janousek: Yeah, because I know how to hide certain things or accentuate certain things now better than I did before.

Again, the jeans comment, just the style of jeans that I wear hides some things that I want to hide. Before it didn't, and I would look in the mirror and be like, "Oh, I don't like how that looks." And then I would get super critical of just everything.

Now I'm like, "Oh, well, I know how to dress. I know how to accentuate the positives and hide the negatives better."

Even, we just talked about this, I don't know, last month or the month before. I just said, "No more. I'm not wearing these bodycon dresses right now. No, thank you." That’s where it was like, "Well, let's get some flowy dresses in here that still accentuate your arms and create that shape, but it doesn't have to be bodycon." And I was like, "Okay, great. I feel better about that."

Ellie Steinbrink: Yeah, and it really becomes less about your body and more about, I’m a daughter of an artist and I think of things like design and balance. It's very similar with our bodies. I mean, your body is what it's going to be, and then how can we create more proportion with what we've got? There’s always ways to do that.

You're right. And there are things that when you put them on, it’s going to make you think about all the things that you're not so happy about with your body. Then there’s other silhouettes you can put on that just kind of make all of that melt away.

Once you can learn what those are, it really is a game-changer. Because honestly, I mean, can you think of a time, Brooke—I know I can—where I’ve had to go step into a situation where I’m in the limelight, whether it’s speaking or going to a networking event, and just imagine you put something on, you’re not feeling great about it because it's maybe accentuating what you don't want to be accentuated at the moment. Yet you don't know these rules yet.

And you're walking in energetically in such a bad place, compared to then just knowing what works or doesn't work on your body in any given minute, and walking into that same room and wow. I'm no longer thinking about how obsessed I am about this or that. I can actually focus my energy into what it is, what's happening in the room or the talk I'm giving instead of thinking about my outfit or how much it's bugging me at the moment.

Brooke Janousek: Yeah, I can think of many times that happened. But I can also think of times where I've observed other women doing it to themselves.

I'm like, "Gosh. That makes me sad." Not only because I know I can put myself in their shoes and feel exactly what they're feeling, but it does, it changes how you carry yourself.

Your shoulders become a little bit more rounded. You maybe don't talk with your hands as emphatically. Or you kind of keep your hands in close, and maybe the octave of your voice comes down a little bit more.

All of those things are subtle cues that you don’t feel great about what you're wearing. And it's crazy how that mindset shifts. And it really is less about what the pattern is of the clothing or the color, and more, “Is that the right shape for your body?”

That was a huge eye-opener for me.

Ellie Steinbrink: Yeah. And I mean, imagine the kind of things or people or opportunities you're going to attract to yourself in those two different scenarios.

Brooke Janousek: A hundred percent.

Ellie Steinbrink: Total difference.

Brooke Janousek: Yeah. I will send you a picture and I'll be like, "I love this," and you're like, "Nope, it's too straight for you." I'm like, "Oh, dang, because it's really cute." Then I'm like, "Oh, you're right."

Ellie Steinbrink: A learning in process, but I think it is too, kudos to you for learning, and being willing to just go try some things on. Because I think sometimes that is a hurdle in and of itself, to say, "I'm not really sure. I didn't think I'd ever look good in something like this," or, "I would have never stopped and picked that out myself, but now that I tried it, okay." You know? So that's really something I love about you is you were willing to just try.

Brooke Janousek: Yeah, that's a big part of it.

Ellie Steinbrink: Okay, so we've had so much goodness happen in this, and I feel like we could just keep talking forever. But I do want to ask you one final question. What would you say that dressing with intention means to you now, that we've gone through this process?

Brooke Janousek: This is going to sound weird, but—because it's opposite—I think about it less, because I don't stress in the morning. It's because I already know what is in my closet is what I should be wearing, and anything that I choose, anything that I pick out, is going to make me feel good.

I know that that is because we've worked together for a while, but I think the intentionality almost is that, "Hey, this is one less thing I have to focus on." I can just focus on, "I'm worried about my presentation that day," or, "I have a big meeting today," and it's like, great. I'm just going to go grab something that's going to make me feel great and I don't even have to worry about it.

So I think the intention is like, I'm staying true to myself and trusting that whatever I put on today, I'm going to feel great.

Ellie Steinbrink: That's huge. I love that answer. You nailed it.

Brooke Janousek: I'm good.

Ellie Steinbrink: Okay. Thank you so much, Brooke, for taking time to be on. I know the listener is going to get a lot out of this conversation. So thank you.

Brooke Janousek: Thank you for having me.

Ellie Steinbrink: Wow. I hope you guys enjoyed that conversation as much as I did. Isn't she amazing?

I think the thing I keep thinking about is the investment piece. Maybe it's because I'm coming off of a season where I invested heavily in myself and it felt really scary. You do wonder, "Is this the right thing for me to be doing right now?" I had those same questions in the various things that I was doing to invest in myself.

But you know what? When I fully immersed myself into it and I allowed myself to go through the experience very fully, I then realized why I had made that commitment to invest in myself because it always pays back in dividends.

Brooke said it best. It really wasn't about the clothes. It wasn't about the compliments. It was that she knew she felt differently. She was seeing so many benefits beyond just the wardrobe, benefits of learning to take risks, benefits of being more courageous, the benefit of being more fully herself and unapologetically so.

If you're sitting here thinking, "Gosh, I would love to have a transformation like Brooke had. Is that possible for me?" I want you to know that yes, it's possible for you. It's possible for any one of you who is willing to fully immerse yourself in the process and start to just get clear and to get real about what it is you want for yourself.

To start to put the blinders on in terms of what everybody else thinks is good for you, and to start to tune in to, "What is actually good for me? What would be a great representation of who I am right now and where I'm going?"

If this sounds like something you are ready to immerse yourself in, I invite you to join me in my program—the new program coming this September—called The Visibility Edit.

Instead of creating a style all around the compliments that you're getting right now and the affirmations, we're going to create a style strategy that allows you to show up more fully as yourself. That, my friends, is where the real energetic shift happens. That's when you start to draw the right people to you, the right opportunities, the right speaking engagements, the right business opportunities.

So I'd invite you to apply and get your butt in the seat come September when this starts. I hope to see you there.

Thanks for joining me on The Visibility Shift. If something in today's episode made you pause, rethink, or gave you permission to stop playing small, it would mean so much to me if you'd leave a review at ratethispodcast.com/visibilityshift.

If you're ready to stop second-guessing and start showing up as the leader you are from the inside out, The Visibility Edit is where that shift begins. Head to elliesteinbrink.com to learn more and join the next round. Because the next version of you, she's not waiting for permission. She's waiting for you. Let's make it visible.