Top 3 Ways Thought Leaders Hide from their Gifts
Sometimes your greatest gifts and talents can be the cause of unwanted behaviors (hiding). It is not intentional. Deep down you know what you are here to teach. You see glimpses of your future life when you are speaking on stages, hosting a podcast or writing a book. You know who your people are, who you can help. You lose track of time when you are immersed in helping these people overcome their obstacles and teaching them your unique message.
You aren’t yet fully embracing your brilliance. You haven’t completely stepped up to own the fact that you are an expert, authority and that your message matters! So you dabble in it, you dream about it and you get down on yourself when you temporarily let the vision die a bit as you focus on your day job, home life, or other sources of predictable income.
Top 3 Ways Thought Leaders Hide
Lack of clarity. You feel blocked and as if you can’t start the podcast or blog or business yet because you don’t have the right name (or the url you want is taken). Or you don’t have the words to describe what it is you do succinctly, with a catchy few word memorable phrase. Maybe you know what you want to teach but aren’t sure who your target market is. You thought it was middle aged women on the verge of a breakdown but then your aunt told you she knows someone else doing that and you are convinced you need a new message. You know deep down what your people need but you are unclear of how to articulate it. So you wait. Wait for clarity, for that golden nugget phrase to come to you before you start showing up.
Unsure of where to start. Maybe you have clarity on your message, you’ve bought the url, announced that you’ve launched, started to tell people what you are pursuing. Then, a fog seems to hit and you have so many ideas of possible avenues to take but you don’t know which one to pursue first. You have a list of places to market your topic, social media post ideas, ways to package and sell your services, and even potential clients. However, you don’t know where to start… You feel pulled in too many directions, working on marketing and sales doesn’t feel right when the packages aren’t finalized. Calling potential clients isn’t it because you need to have something solid to sell them. It all just feels confusing, so many possibilities. So no action is taken.
Too busy. You know what actions you plan to do in a given day but the day slips away from you. You don’t have any time for this important but not urgent project. Work that is paying the bills until your new gig takes off is suddenly slammed, your family commitments are taking over and your home ‘to-do list’ has never been longer. There is simply no time to pursue this “passion project”, the timing just must be wrong.
If any of these sound familiar, you might be falling into the trap that many Thought Leaders stumble into. You might find yourself saying “I’m not ready yet”.
The good news is that all of these ways that “not feeling ready” present themselves have one thing in common. All of these symptoms are really FEAR wearing different masks and presenting itself in a different way. When it comes down to it, you can overcome each of these seemingly real “obstacles”. The truth is, fear stands for “False Expectations Appearing Real”. When you pull the mask off and bring the fear into the light, it starts to dissipate.
The next time you catch yourself hiding behind one of these reasons why you are not ready to step into your brilliance, stop and ask yourself some questions:
Is this true?
What if this is just a story you are telling yourself because you are trapped in fear?
What is the fear trying to tell you?
What is the worst thing that can happen?
What is one small action that you can take to move you closer to your future vision?
Then take action, rinse and repeat.
I recommend finding a group of like minded Thought Leaders that you can check in with the next time you feel blocked. Hiding is more difficult when you are surrounded by people who lift you up, understand your brilliance and can help you brainstorm yourself out of your own way. The world needs your unique gifts and message, the one only YOU can tell in a way that resonates deeply with YOUR audience.
