A Personal Story Behind a Public Voice
A story of redemption has power. People love a winner, but the struggle is often what makes a story relatable. When social media presents a version of life that bends reality, hearing how someone rose to a challenge can feel refreshing.
On the Inner Edison Podcast with Ed Parcaut, Liana Zavo shared her own transition from teen mom to media mogul. Her conversation centered on the power of personal stories and the framework that helped shape her path.
As a public relations and media expert, Zavo helps CEOs and entrepreneurs articulate their vision through media sources, with the goal of increasing profitability and brand awareness.
Her book, B.E.P.I.C.: Be Seen & Be Heard, presents five approaches to transforming your life, finding your unique voice and using your authority to pursue media opportunities. The framework begins with internal work and moves toward how you present yourself to the world.
What Does B.E.P.I.C. Stand For?
Zavo organizes her approach around five connected ideas:
- B: Belief. Examine the thoughts that shape how you see your future.
- E: Empowerment. Use positive affirmations to support a more intentional mindset.
- P: Personal Satisfaction. Develop a brand that reflects the reality you want to create.
- I: Inner Voice. Make room for reflection and a more authentic message.
- C: Courage. Ask bigger questions and challenge your comfort zone.
These are not five unrelated branding tasks. In Zavo’s framework, each builds on the work before it. Belief provides the foundation, while courage brings that internal work into your personal and professional life.
B Is for Belief
Zavo starts with belief and its role in shaping your future. Her premise is that beliefs, positive or negative, develop through repeated thoughts. The thoughts you return to become part of the way you understand yourself and your possibilities.
Her message is simple: before you can be, you must be able to see. She encourages visualizing the future you want and speaking your dreams aloud as part of building an ambitious, purpose-driven life.
Within this approach, belief is the foundation for a positive life built through intention. It asks you to look at the future you imagine, not just the circumstances you have already experienced.
To reflect on this part of the framework, ask yourself:
- What thoughts about my future do I repeat most often?
- Are those thoughts positive or negative?
- How would I describe the life I want to build?
E Is for Empowerment
The next step is personal empowerment. Zavo’s message is that a negative mind cannot produce positive results. In her framework, changing the mindset is part of changing the direction.
She presents daily affirmations as one of the most powerful ways to make that shift. She also points to their promotion by some of the greatest thinkers as part of the case for practicing them.
The original explanation compares a positive affirmation to a seed. Repeating and nurturing it daily allows it to develop into a belief. That connects empowerment directly to the first part of B.E.P.I.C., the role of repetition in shaping what you believe.
For your own reflection, choose a positive statement that expresses the future you described. Use it as an affirmation, then consider how it relates to the thoughts you already repeat. Keep the focus on the mindset work rather than treating an affirmation as a promise of a particular result.
P Is for Personal Satisfaction
Personal satisfaction marks the move from internal work to outward expression. Zavo describes it as establishing a brand that matches the reality you desire.
At this stage, your intentions are no longer only something you speak to yourself. You express them outwardly through your branded message, or, in the language of the framework, out to the universe.
This step builds on belief and empowerment. You have considered what you want to become and the thoughts that support it. Now the question is how to express that direction through your brand.
It is also where cultivating your unique voice becomes a central task. Rather than separating personal growth from branding, Zavo connects the two.
Try writing a short description of the brand you want to establish. Does that description match the future you pictured? Does it express what you want to say? Use those questions to examine the connection between your internal intentions and your public message.
I Is for Inner Voice
As you develop your personal brand, Zavo encourages reflection and meditation to find your inner voice. This part of the framework is about becoming centered and discovering the inner space within yourself.
Listening inward is presented as a way to strengthen the unique voice behind your brand. In Zavo’s approach, that voice helps distinguish your message from others and build authenticity.
She connects that authenticity with both business and everyday interactions. The work is not limited to what you say in a media appearance or a branded message. It also concerns how you express yourself in daily life.
The emphasis here is on solitude and listening. Set aside space for reflection, then ask: what do I want my message to express? Which parts feel true to my own voice? Let those questions guide your review of the brand description you wrote.
C Is for Courage
The final part of B.E.P.I.C. is courage. Zavo connects understanding your creative ability with becoming more willing to lead courageously.
Belief in yourself and your potential creates room, within her framework, for bigger questions:
- How can I make a difference?
- How can I make an impact?
- What habits are needed to make these things happen?
Her message is that asking bigger questions encourages the courage to live a bigger life. That includes becoming more comfortable testing your comfort zone so you can grow and evolve personally and professionally.
Review those three questions and choose one to answer in writing. Then name a habit you want to practice as you explore your answer.
Explore the Conversation and Choose Your Next Step
For people seeking support with visibility, profitability and brand development, the episode also points to Zavo Media. Its dedicated team offers digital marketing and advertising, website development, media and public relations support, branding and product launch services.
For inspiration without those services, the conversation highlights the What Makes a Woman Podcast and the Million Dollar Woman Club, which is presented as a source of daily inspiration.
You can also follow Ed Parcaut’s Inner Edison Podcast for more interviews about business, entrepreneurship and related subjects.
Start with one part of B.E.P.I.C. Write down what it means for your own voice, brand or next step. To continue the conversation about the episode and the ideas it raises, reach out to Ed.
