Mar 25, 20203 min read

Want Impact? Stop Hiding.

Updated: Apr 1, 2020

I spent too many years wearing "professional" colours. It's time to go BOLD! Loving that jacket!

You want to impact the people around you, help them, and create a better future. I get it. While that's all wonderful, you still hide yourself behind feelings of being an imposter, just needing to learn X, or hitting that next milestone to feel "ready" to take the next action. How far is that getting you? Have you made any progress?

Hiding

We hide for many reasons. Not feeling worthy, deserving, or enough in any way, is rooted in fear & safety. We're taught from a young age to blend in, to not test limits, and to listen & accept... not ask questions. The world is the way it is and we better see things for how they are, not how we would like to see them in the future. It works now, why change it? So we hide & do what we're told. Somebody else has already figured out all the answers and we just need to follow their exact path. If we make a mistake or fail it means it wasn't our fault, we were just following directions.

"[Hiding is] shifting the blame outside of ourselves and giving away our power."

None of this is taking responsibility for ourselves or our actions. It's shifting the blame outside of ourselves and giving away our power. It's so easy and makes us feel safe.

Solopreneurs

As solopreneurs, we are still afraid to have our face out there. It's our heart & reputation on the line, but it's also our character & livelihood. Others reflect their fears on us, and all of a sudden we take a step back to make them feel better & so we can fit in again.

Remember, we do not choose how other people feel or perceive things. Stop letting other people hold your power and start putting yourself out there. Only you control you.

"Only you control you."

Getting away from the employee mindset of comfort, risk aversion, and conforming to the rules as is, will help us realize there are other ways to solve problems. Entrepreneurs thrive on change, risk rewards, and challenging the status quo in hopes of something better.

Impact & Attention

Power comes from knowing who you are, what you stand for, and what you can bring to the table. That is a very individual thing, but by owning it, you can create a better version of yourself and accomplish a lot more.

Having an impact on someone requires gaining their attention in some way. Seeking attention in and of itself is not a bad thing, it's the motivation for doing it that determines how we feel about it. Are you looking for validation? Are you seeking status or impact?

Who aims to benefit? You or everyone?

Attention is important to connect and build relationships. Relationships (with people, places or things) are important to create impact. Impact, whether it starts as pure data or not, is emotional. Emotion is arguably how all decisions are made.

Relationships

The world is shifting from a "who we know" to a "who knows us" economy. As things continue to migrate online and the world becomes even more of a global community, the noise is ever increasing. We begin to know a lot of people but our attention is divided.

"Having those badass skills is only 1 piece of the success puzzle."

People care more about their problems than yours, so they focus their attention on who in their space can help them right now. Seeking out new people is a lot of effort, so they go with who they know...meaning, getting clients and work is becoming more about building connections to us rather than reaching out to new contacts/leads. Note: I know that sounds a bit crazy right now, but take a step back and just observe the shifts happening. Are you relying on your awesome skills to help you attract clients? Having those badass skills is only 1 piece of the success puzzle. If you're the world's best kept secret, you will struggle. If you're the world's #1 "good enough" expert, you'll be busy. This isn't about fairness, it's about people wanting simplicity.