raise your voice. be visible.
one of my words for 2015 is bold. it’s meant to remind me that i need to have a bold voice, and be boldly visible, in my niche. bold reminds me that i need to stand out, prominently. and bold reminds me that i need to be fearless… i cannot let fear hold me back from sharing my message.
the funny thing about raising your voice and being visible is that we have to keep pushing ourselves futher. if it feels comfy, it probably isn’t bold enough!
i feel like i have spent quite a lot of time actually, sharing my message with the world. sometimes i feel like it’s all i talk about! sometimes i worry i am starting to sound like a broken record, saying the same thing over and over again.
but it’s actually a very small number of people who have heard my message, relatively speaking. the world is a massive place, and i truly believe that the lighthouse can help so many women in biz who are feeling stuck, lost, overwhelmed, isolated, or ineffective.
so if i believe that, and i do, isn’t it then my job to do everything i can to make sure that the people i wish to help know that help exists?
there’s a phrase: “if you build it, they will come.” sadly, i don’t think that is true. you’ve actually got to get the message out that you’ve built it. people don’t just magically know!
so how do you do that? how do you get your message in front of more eyes. how can you create a signal boost, so to speak?
i am actually asking this very question right now in my own biz. here is my brainstorm:
one of the things that i think many of us struggle with is the thought: “who am i?”
who am i to write a guest post for that prominent blogger? who am i to apply for that major award? who am i to rock the boat by sharing my idea? who am i to ask to interview that person whom i admire so much? who am i to speak at that event? who am i to approach that person about an idea for a joint promotion?
we think these thoughts as though who we are is not special enough, or important enough, or influential enough, or expert enough, or in the *in crowd* enough… or whatever.
who am i to ____? i am just a ____.
one of the things i am trying to do as a strategy is to flip my thinking on its head. to take whatever fear or block i have and flip it around so that the opposite becomes what matters. this is what i wrote on my wall beside my desk:
who am i NOT to share this message?
in other words, who am i to withhold the lighthouse from the people that i truly believe it will make a difference to?
when you think about it that way it becomes clear. it’s not about me at all. or any of us. it’s about the message. it’s about the mission we are on. it’s about the people we wish to serve.
how selfish would it be to withhold what we do from them just because we can’t get past our own fear, or get our ass in gear, or simply do what it takes to get our message out there?
and so we must be bold.
what action could you take today to give your message a little signal boost, to get what you do in front of more eyes, or to build your audience in some way?
if it would make a difference to just one other person, isn’t it worth a try?