Has your Instagram feed been feeling a little dull lately? Do you feel like every time you want to post on Stories, you’re forcing it? Like you genuinely can’t think of anything interesting to say?

No, it’s not that you suck at marketing. The culprit is probably that your life has gotten same-y, and we need to shake things up! We’re talking about the part of personal branding that so often gets overlooked: intentionally living a life worth sharing.

The most magnetic agents are the ones who bring pizzas on closing day, host supper clubs, try watercolor on a Saturday morning, and let all of it spill into their content in a way that’s 100% uncopyable. They’re not necessarily the ones with the most perfectly polished and curated feeds.

This episode will make you slam your laptop shut and go do something fun.

Your Content Has a Living Problem

Your content doesn’t need to be the most insightful, most educational thing someone’s ever read. It just needs to make them feel something, and the easiest way to do that is to share a tiny moment from your real life that they can actually relate to.

Emotion creates connection, connection creates loyalty, and loyalty is what turns followers into clients.

But the problem is that you can’t share micro-moments if you’re not having any. If every week looks exactly the same — showings, emails, school pickup, repeat — your content is going to reflect that. When someone asks how you’re doing, and your honest answer is “busy,” that’s a sign that life might need a little more… life in it.

Chelsea came home from skiing recently and, by the time she got to the bottom of the hill, had already come up with three marketing takeaways (Kayla thinks she’s a nerd for this!). She wasn’t actively trying to come up with these insights, but since she was doing something unusual for her, her brain lit up.

That’s what we’re after, a life with enough spark in it that the content writes itself.

Why Fun Is a Business Strategy

Real estate is a relationship business, and yet so many agents are skipping the part where they actually build relationships — because they’re spending all their time doing things that feel productive.

The networking event, the broker meeting, the real estate conference… These things aren’t bad, but they’re not the whole picture.

What if some of that time went toward a book club? A running group? A supper club with your favorite people? Golf, tennis, painting — anything that puts you in rooms with real humans who aren’t there to talk business?

Those connections are where the referrals come from.

Chelsea shared a great example: at her step-sister’s baby shower, her step-dad’s aunt came up and started gushing about Chelsea’s Instagram. A friend of a friend mentioned her mom follows Chelsea and loves her account. These aren’t people Chelsea pitched to. They’re people who got pulled into her world because she made it worth following.

You don’t go to parties and talk about your membership or your listings. You just show up as a full human being, and that is the strategy.

Why New Experiences Make You More Magnetic

Psychologists have found that new or unusual experiences expand our perception of time. That’s why summers as kids felt like they lasted forever — every day had something new in it. A sprinkler under the trampoline. Blowing bubbles in the driveway. Little markers that made each day distinct.

As adults, if you described this week versus last week, there probably isn’t much difference. We’re showing houses, meeting clients, picking up kids, going to the office. When nothing’s new, time flies (and not in a fun way). You blink and the year is gone.

But novelty fixes that! Try a new restaurant. Take a different route home. Eat dinner outside on the patio instead of at the table. The novelty of it creates a memory, and memories give you something to talk about, share, and connect over.

Kayla gave a perfect example: she remembers the nights she grabbed plates and took the kids to eat outside way more than the hundreds of regular dinners at the table. It’s a tiny change, but it’s powerful.

When you add novelty to your life, you become more interesting to be around because you actually have more to bring to the conversation. That magnetism shows up in your content, your client relationships, and your overall energy.

Kevin’s Rule and the Art of Trying New Things

We came across this concept through Kevin from the Big Ass Calendar company.

Kevin’s Rule is simple: every other month, put something on your calendar that you’ve never done before. It doesn’t have to be extreme. You don’t have to jump out of an airplane or run a marathon. It just has to be new.

Kayla started her own list, and here’s what she’s working with so far: watercolor painting (already started — and loves it), voice lessons, hosting a supper club, painting a canvas in her backyard, and a family trip out west to Colorado.

What Kevin’s Rule does is give you something to look forward to with a real date attached. And almost immediately, it gives you things to talk about. Kayla guaranteed that after sharing her list, she’d get DMs from people saying “you should try this teacher” or “I’ve always wanted to do that too.” That’s the curiosity loop in action.

And yes — you’re probably going to be bad at some of these new things at first, but that’s actually fun. There’s something genuinely satisfying about getting better at a skill over time, whether it’s cooking, golf, watercolor, or singing.

Chelsea also loved the idea of turning this into a content series. Imagine: Chelsea Tries New Things in Lake Country. Every other week, you commit to something new and document it. You don’t skip the real estate — you layer it in. After showing houses today, here’s what I tried.

The real estate is the cake. The fun new thing is the cherry on top. Together, they make content that’s genuinely worth watching.

Micro-Moments, Rituals, and the Content That Comes From Them

You don’t need a packed social calendar to have interesting content. You need rituals.

A ritual can be small. Coloring for ten minutes before dinner. Lighting a candle and pulling out the good dishes on a Tuesday. Pouring a mocktail and watching your reality show. Getting iced coffees with cute striped straws before church on Sunday. These aren’t big, elaborate events but intentional little moments that make the day feel different — and give you something to share.

The same principle applies to your business. Always bring pizza on closing day? That’s a ritual. Keep showing it. People will start to associate you with that pizza place. Someone will comment because they love that spot too. Suddenly, you’re not just an agent with a sold banner — you’re the agent with the pizza, the one who makes closings feel like a celebration.

That’s what we mean by a curiosity loop. When something unexpected shows up in your content — a wine bottle in the passenger seat with a seatbelt on, a cinnamon latte from your favorite local coffee shop, your coloring book on the kitchen counter — it makes people pause.

We also love what we call layering the crud sandwich. There are things in our lives and businesses we don’t love doing. But if you add a little spark of joy on either side of it — a coffee you love on the way, a podcast in your earbuds, a fun snack waiting for you after — now you have something to document. You started a talking point. You made the thing more bearable and more memorable at the same time.

How to Stop Being a Secret Agent and Start Being Interesting

You may be wondering: Isn’t it unprofessional to post about my personal life?

Here’s our honest take: What’s actually unprofessional is a feed full of copy-pasted graphics, no face, no voice, and Happy National Donut Day posts that any agent could have posted. That tells someone nothing about who you are or why they should trust you with their largest financial investment.

We’re not saying go show yourself taking shots on camera. We’re saying show a glass of wine from the local winery you love and mention that you take clients there sometimes. That’s just being human!

And if your content repels someone, you’re doing it right. If you try to talk to everyone, you end up connecting with no one. Imagine going on a first date and answering every question with “everything.” What do you like to watch? Everything. What do you like to eat? Everything. That’s not charming — it’s forgettable. But say “I love Grey’s Anatomy” and suddenly you’ve given someone something to respond to, even if they don’t watch it.

Your Instagram feed shouldn’t look like a commercial but like a TV show, one people actually want to tune into. And in order to have a TV show worth watching, you have to be willing to let people in.

And of course, always mix in the real estate; you’re never NOT the agent. But you’re also the local mom with the Thanksgiving tradition, the agent who delivers pizzas on closing day, the girl who shows up at every community event like the little mayor of town. That is the brand, and it’s what sticks in people’s minds.

Play Is Not a Waste of Time

This one’s for the Enneagram 3s, the type-A planners, the agents who feel guilty the moment they step away from their desk.

Kayla read this in Create Anyway by Ashlee Gadd, and it hasn’t left her: play is not a waste of time.

We were not made to just work. We were made to rest, to create, to enjoy the life we’ve been given. And when we allow ourselves to do that — really do it, not just scroll from the couch but actually go try the new thing, go to dinner with the friends even when we’re tired, say yes to the thing that sounds a little scary — that’s where the memories are made and where the stories come from. That’s where the brand lives.

Kayla pushed herself off the couch on a tired Saturday night to go to dinner with friends, and she had so much fun. She still remembers that night vividly. You know what she doesn’t remember? The nights she stayed home and watched TV!

So here’s our challenge to you: before you add anything new to your calendar, start by looking at what you already do that’s fun. How can you document it? How can you bring it into your stories? How can you use it as a metaphor, a talking point, a curiosity loop?

And if you really can’t come up with anything, make your Kevin’s Rule list. Pick six things you’ve never done before. Schedule one, commit to it, document it, and just see what happens.

You’re going to start showing up differently. People are going to be drawn to you and not even fully know why. The referrals, the loyalty, the brand that people talk about — it all starts with one simple decision:

Go have a little fun.

This episode was edited by Adrienne Cruz.