I’ll never forget his red shoes pacing the stage, for all intents and purposes acting like a complete asshole (at least that was my perspective of him). But then he opened his mouth and blew me away with something profound…
People don’t fight or follow ideas; people fight or follow other people.
We both know that you are here to change the world, right? To leave it better than you found it? To elevate the conversation and lead people to something better, something deeper, something more? You have more than a message, you have a movement inside you with the power to alter humanity.
So what’s the problem?
Photo by Alexandru Zdrobău on Unsplash
Most of us are afraid of being seen.
We have a story in our past (or the past of someone we know) that says being seen is scary, dangerous, too big a risk.
And our beliefs usually boil down to this:
===>We are not enough. (Not perfect enough, skinny enough, smart enough, talented enough, etc.)
===>And we are also too much. (People are going to yell at me, judge me, ridicule me, stalk me, hurt me, etc.)
Sound familiar?
Because what if we get seen and people DO NOT like us? What if they (*gulp*) HATE us? And what if they are so unkind to our work that we never want to show our faces in the light of day again?
OR… what if they LOVE us? What if they go bananas for our work? What if too many people line up all wanting our attention and we just can’t keep up with the demand and energy of being so… SEEN? (*faints*)
Whether we’re looking at failure or success… trolls or super fans… we tend to feel the same fear.
So how do we prevent this from happening to us?
We don’t.
I’m not here to sugar coat it for you. That’d be irresponsible. When we stand up to be seen, we get seen by both the lovers and the haters.
But I promise, there is hope.
What can we do then?
1. Focus on the people who support us.
Surround yourself with people who will cheer for you, love on you, go to the mattresses for you, etc. And then… LEAN INTO THEM!!! A tribe doesn’t do you any good if you don’t ask for their help when you need it. (We’re sacred rebels, remember? Not mind readers.)
2. Handle the old stories.
The ones I mentioned above? Yeah. Those. If I were to put you on stage in front of a bunch of other sacred rebels, what would be your top 3 reasons for freaking out? THOSE are most likely your stories. Handle your ish because you don’t have to be perfect or even “just right” to let people see you. I promise, your fans won’t actually care.
3. Be more committed to your fans than you are to your fear.
Know your why. Write it down. Refer to it often. And take courage knowing the difference you’ll make in the life of your fan is MORE important than the random troll who happens to stop by.
Sacred Rebel, you deserve to be seen. You are worthy and you are worth it!
I’m not here to tell you that being seen isn’t scary. It is.
I’m here to assure you that being seen is within your power.
I believe in you.
Loves & hugs,
