SO, YOU THINK YOU’RE A BLOGGER?
Blog, they tell me. It’s easy and people want to know the “real” you. My immediate question is who are these people and why in the world do they want to hear from me? I suppose we will soon see if anyone besides my Mom and family take a minute to read this!
As an entrepreneur, I challenge myself to be bold each week. I commit to at least one thing that will push me beyond my comfort zone. This week’s bold move – you may have guessed it – START BLOGGING. Get out of your perfectionist head and get busy. Action always kicks the ass of perfectionism. I am thankful to have learned this as a leadership coach and now pass it along to clients. Bold means something different to everyone. For some it might be asking for a raise. For others, it might be speaking up in a meeting and finding your voice.
I once saw a bold move in a team meeting when a manager stood up to a bully of a boss and told him no. In front of many, he firmly stood his ground and said he wasn’t comfortable proceeding with what was requested of him and wasn’t willing to compromise on something he thought wasn’t ethical, practical or the right thing for the company. Gulp. I think the rest of us had a contest seeing who could be most invisible or make the least amount of eye contact with each other. Most of us agreed with what he was saying but were paralyzed by our fear of joining him in his boldness. He didn’t get fired and the room didn’t explode and these weekly meetings going forward had a much different tone to them. Thanks to this brave soul and his willingness to be bold. It obviously made a lasting impression on me. I am still talking about it, admiring him and recalling this when I am looking for the guts to stand up and speak up.
In comparison, my bold move looks very different. Bold can be big or small and is all relative. Being bold takes guts and a willingness to push out of your comfort zone. Bold moves get us to peak performance. Bold moves move us beyond our competitors. Bold moves take courage and teach us to trust in the unknown. Bold moves tease us out of comfortable complacency.
For me, the bold part of my blogging challenge isn’t the writing part; it is the getting out of my own way to become accepting of anything less than perfect. For me, it is much easier to edit endlessly, scratch out the less than perfect mumbo jumbo, wonder what people will think about it, (My Mom loves it! Thanks Mom) give up and walk away than just take the leap of faith and get past my own ego to actually make something happen. People want real, not perfect. So for me – this week – here is what bold looks like: Trust my intuition, write something authentic and tell my inner critic to pipe down already.
