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YOU…the one who is feeling all bad about yourself right now. Feeling like you’re not doing it right, feeling like you’re failing, feeling like you’re stuck and like you’ll never have the life you want.
YOU…who has done so many amazingly ridiculous things in your life, jumping through fire, bursting through fears, only to come out the other side bigger and brighter. And then once you land on the other side, you’re all like “yeah, whatever, that wasn’t a big deal. And what I really want is to cross fire while riding a unicorn, bareback, and I’m not good enough to do something like THAT, so I must be a loser.”
YOU…who has forgotten how great you are. How smart and interesting and funny and loving you are. Who is always there for your friends. Who makes children smile. Who makes kitten coo. Who gives her heart and learns and grows and keeps brushing the dirt off and getting back up when you fall.
YOU…who has survived a broken heart. Many broken hearts. And is still willing to love. Still willing to put herself out there to be vulnerable and judged.
YOU…who has started your own business or written your own blog or tried something different and got bummed because it didn’t turn out the way you wanted it to.
YOU…who sometimes doesn’t want to get out of bed or face the day or deal with the crumbs on the counter or call back any of the messages in your voicemail box.
YOU…who are scared and sensitive and worried that you’ll never have what you want, be what you want, get what you want, reach the state that you desire.
This is for YOU. And this is for ME. To remind us both that we are the heart and soul of this world. We are the ones that care enough to make things different. The ones who know that change, on a big level, starts with change within us. The ones who are striving to be our best so we can deliver the best and make changes, for the best. If we didn’t care about affecting change, we wouldn’t be caring about pushing ourselves to the next level.
And anytime we push or move to the next level, we enter into an epic battle of US vs. US. The Mind vs. Matter. And in these moments, we MUST NOT FORGET HOW AWESOME WE ARE. How far we’ve already come. How capable we are. How much magic we can make and how many impossible things we already make possible.
Keep on going. Get out of bed. Start writing that book. Put together that new program. Start your non-profit. Take that trip. Fall in love. And smile knowing that no matter how unknown the road is, you’re still on the road. Keep walking.
We want what you have to offer. We want you to show up. We want you to succeed. And we want you in this world shining brightly. DO try this at home. Do whatever it takes.
*Disclaimer…when I said “YOU,” I also meant “ME”. We’re all in this together.
Let’s start celebrating the ways in which we’re awesome. I’ll start. Then you go. Leave a comment below with some things you want to celebrate about yourself, or ways that you get yourself out of a slump. And if this resonates…share with your friends!
It’s been almost a week since the dawning of the new year and I don’t know about you guys, but there is always this point where I’m like “YEAH!!! This year is gonna be awesome! I’m gonna do THIS, and THAT, and THAT and I’m going to start right this second.” And then naturally, the days go by and you forget and then you feel bad about yourself that it’s already been 8 days and nothing really has changed. But then, I realized that already this year, I’ve gained new clients, I picked up an entirely new skill, I’ve traveled twice, and once out of state, where I’ve met new friends, and done something I’ve never done before. And realized that it’s all good. I’m doing stuff.
So if you’re doing what I was doing…take the pressure off yourself. Know that you’re doing more than you realize. Be kind to yourself. And realize you’re doing and being everything you need to, right now.
So this year I want to incorporate more of YOUR questions into my blog and I’ve already gotten some great ones. Today’s started out being about business, but I’ve applied it to your whole life. Faaaaaaaaaaancy.
Mai writes, “Can i really be full authentic on my blog, showing warts and all. Or do I still need to present some kind of a front, to sell? I mean it’s a lot easier and more “inspiring” to post happy go lucky, cheerful, successful images. And how honest do we get? before it is detrimental.”
Mai, I absolutely love this question and the short answer is YES. Be yourself. But here’s the long answer….
I believe that you should use your blog in exactly the way you want to use your blog, and the fact you’re asking this question is telling me that you’re yearning for more authenticity. My personal opinion is that the more authentic you are (people are…in general), the better. People don’t really buy “services” anymore, as much as they buy “YOU.” People want to know you’re real. People like to know that you’ve gone through something that they’re going through. And ultimately if they’re hiring you, they’re going to get YOU. Not the dumbed down version. So show up as the real one right away.
I don’t agree that it’s more inspiring to see only happy-go-lucky images and successful stories. On the contrary I think it is far more inspiring to see humanness and the broad spectrum of how that shows up. Struggle, and sadness, and overcoming fear, and feeling defeated, as well as happiness, joy, love and busting through your own barriers. I’m far more inspired by a real story than I am by someone who “seems” to have it all together.
And with that, a short story. When I first started my blog, most of my posts were based on my real life, but in the way that I was talking about something that had happened or that I was scared of, instead of sharing from the depths of the experience. It wasn’t until a few months in that I actually started to get vulnerable. Share things that were ugly, scary, embarrassing, hurtful, sad. I cried on camera. I admitted to things that I’d always hid away deep inside. It was terrifying. And it wasn’t until I did all that that my readership grew and I got much more support and my business doubled. People could identify with it. They said they were inspired by it. They shared it with their friends and sent emails and wanted to work with me.
I think with anything, you need to do what feels right, while at the same time pushing your edges. If it doesn’t feel right to go full out right away, don’t. But definitely do go further than you think you can. You’ll find a spot that feels right.
Regardless if you have a blog or not, I think this question brings up an even deeper human issue. I think this is all really about needing and wanting to be loved. So much that we do things we think will make people love us, and hide the things we think are unlovable (like warts). It’s a choice on how you want to be in your business, blog, or life. You can choose. If you want to experience realness…be real. If you want to be loved for exactly who you are…be that person.
And with that, I will leave you with this…I think Cyndi Lauper said it best when she said “I see your true colors and that’s why I love you. So don’t be afraid to let them show. Your true colors are beautiful.”
Have you guys ever had this experience? Tried to change yourself or hide yourself in order to be more lovable? Share your thoughts in a comment below and share with your peeps.
Share What a year. I don’t know about you guys, but I feel like this year changed me in ways that all my previous years combined didn’t. The amount of things that happened, things I learned, things I did, and changes to my core self and life, is pretty extraordinary, and not only in the [...]
Share What are your biggest life/love/biz questions?? I wanna knowwww!! So I can answer them for you. Leave a comment below or send them to me at sally@sallyhope.com so I can include them in my new series. Also…new blog post up verrrrrrrrrrrry soon. MWAH!
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