In todays ‘Voice Note from The Wilderness’ I’m talking about the moments in business where I feel about nine years old. The moments when I’m transported back to that shy child at school, feeling awkward yet trying my best to put myself out there and talk to the other girls on my table who all seem so confident. Yet inside I am wilting and shrinking and wondering why I’m not like them.
Someone asks me to talk about what I do at a networking event and I can feel myself shrink. The confident pitch I was told to have ready disappears and what comes out sometimes feel too vague and rushed and I just want to move on and talk about something else. I watch other people network with ease, wafting out business cards, scheduling in meetings, and wonder why that feels so impossible for me.
I think a lot of creatives and introverts know this feeling.
For a long time I thought that was something I needed to fix. What actually helped wasn’t getting better at selling. It was building a brand that could hold that space for me.
When your brand identity is genuinely cohesive and true to who you are, people arrive already trusting you. The brand speaks when you can’t. It shows up confidently so you don’t have to perform confidence you don’t feel and feel like you are pushing yourself to sell and market in ways that feel just so so wrong.
It doesn’t cure the shyness. I still feel it. But I no longer need to override it quite so hard, because I’m not showing up quite so shrinking and wilted. My brand is there with me, doing the part I find hardest and giving my strong roots if I feel a bit shaky.
If you recognise yourself in any of this and if sales and visibility feel genuinely hard rather than just something you haven’t mastered yet know that you aren’t alone!
As ever, I love hearing from you in the comments if anything resonates or you recognise those shy child feelings too so feel free to share :)
Links I mention in this voice note:
My customisable brand kits created to help business owners show up with ease and support that inner shy child to feel more confident!
Struggling with this too? Explore Rewilding your Business with my support.
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