Who Are You Not To Shine?
I took a session with a brand new coaching client this week. The session left me inspired, and to be frank, slightly miffed.
This new client, (let’s call her Dara) sent me into a bit of a whirl. Reason being: this girl was remarkable. Truly talented. More self-aware than most “enlightened” people you meet. Kind-hearted and hard-working. The kind of woman who prides herself on taking care of others, sees every person she encounters “as someone’s daughter,” “someone’s father,” “someone’s friend”, and instills a level of compassion and humanity that is nearly impossible to find in the cut-throat industry in which she works. The type of woman whose personal brand could inspire a legion of women just like her.
And she couldn’t see it for herself.
We were working on developing her blog and her personal brand and at one point, she said: “Why would people want to listen to me? Who am I?”
I asked her: “Why NOT you? Who are you NOT to shine?”
Perhaps it sunk in, perhaps it didn’t. Either way, Dara has been on my mind so much that I considered writing a whole blog about empowering all people to shine, but then I rolled my eyes at myself. (I have my own “Who am I?” moments, too.)
So instead, I’ve opted to simply dole out some tried-and-true advice on being an entrepreneur, building a brand and putting yourself out there. Hopefully it helps shed some light on why we all have not only a right but an obligation to let our voices be heard.
Here’s to shining, and most importantly, to shining light on each other.
Tip #1: Content, Content, Content
In his book, Contagious, author John Berger explains that in just the span of two days, more content is produced and published on the internet than all the content that was created from the beginning of time until 2001. Just wrap your brain around that for a second. This may cause you to feel, well, intimidated. Perhaps that your content is thus just a a needle in this digital haystack. Well, I am here to tell you that that’s simply not true. You have a tribe, a brethren, a community, a client base that needs your voice. No matter how big or small they are (right now), they need you. So, talk to them. We are blessed to live in such an era where the resources of editorial, video, social media, newsletters, webinar, tele-seminars, workshops are at our disposal every minute of every day. Find the one or few that work for you and pump out that content like gangbusters. If you’re delivering content that’s authentic to your audience, they will find you and you will grow. John Berger’s discovery affirms that the old adage “Content is King” clearly still rings true, so let it inspire and motivate you to reign.
Tip #2: Simply Be a Risk Taker
There are two alternatives to falling. The first is to stay exactly where you are. The other is to fly. Launching, reinventing or leaving a business is risky, but it is those risks that will show you what you’re made of. As a true entrepreneur, you have to silence the critics, the real ones and the imagined. As long as you remain true to yourself, it’s totally cool to get weird, act a fool, stir the pot and disrupt the norm. In fact, it’s necessary. One of my favorite quotes in the world goes: “I’d rather regret the things I did, than regret the things I didn’t do.” Perhaps why that’s we have found each other here, in this article. Because I simply decided to make my own rules, and since you’re reading this, I gather you are too. So, see you in the sky.
