Last weekend, I rented a VRBO with a few other women to have a girl’s weekend in celebration of my cousin who’s getting married. We had fun, but not the late-night, drunken, crazy kind of fun. We played games (quietly inside), did yoga, took sunrise walks, cooked delicious food, and even indulged in a reality TV show one afternoon.
The second morning we were there, eating our breakfast quietly around the dining room table, we spotted a woman just behind the wall. She happily put up a sign, waved to us through the glass (the nerve), and walked away.
Check this thing out!
Hotels Not Homes, it said, right next to a gorgeous deer (who we think she proceeded to feed, and we easily could've held up our own signs about that decision, but I digress).
She had no hesitation in making a statement, planting her stick in the ground, and letting us know we weren’t welcome there.
All we had done is show up.
And isn’t the Internet kind of the same? You’re asked to show up big, make a ruckus, share your ideas, put yourself out there, and create content consistently! So you do, only you don’t last long because…
It’s hard to put yourself out there when you know neighbors are watching your every move, ready to plant their sign in the ground and say you’re not welcome ‘round these here parts.
So, instead, you shame yourself for having a thought in the first place. You shame your ideas. You shame the way you said your ideas. You shame that little glitch in your reel (because how dare you do anything less than perfect in public). You shame your newsletter when you see the unsubscribes. You shame it all, whip out a match, and vow to burn all that creative energy and FUN to the ground.
And then, you torture yourself with those thoughts. You let it all seep between your ears, re-reading old comments, waking up late at 3 a.m. dreaming about the person who unsubscribed and how much they must despise you, and what your friends or family must think of you.
The problem is, those negative thoughts only live between your ears. The reality is:
People don’t care all that much about what we’re doing — and therein lies the problem.
I’m convinced that content these days feels so … meh … because 90% of it is so meh. That’s because creators who are just getting started, don’t want to be a focal point in their business, or aren’t writers of longer-form ideas end up playing it safe. That playing it safe doesn’t make your business glossy and interesting. It makes you play small.
Nothing crushes my creative writing heart more than seeing people with fabulous ideas wrapped in sequins put a pantsuit over those glitzy ideas just to fit in, appeal to the masses, and tip-toe around offending any readers in their inbox. What ends up happening instead is that everything sounds about as interesting as driving 25 miles per hour down a row of cookie-cutter houses trying to feel inspired.
When you’re feeling shaky about sharing those big ideas, you must find the nerve to show up even bigger.
Your writing is simply a mechanism into your thoughts. It’s how you put those big ideas you have for a side hustle, new business, a change you desperately want to see happen into the world and rally a group of others around you to make it happen. But if you can’t make any meaningful distinctions around why you’re so dang passionate about your new idea, people will coast right on by and ignore your brand.
And it makes sense to be antsy about showing up bigger when you’re showing up on a stage in front of people armed with tomatoes ready to throw, thumbs ready to comment publicly how terrible your idea is, and a reply button that’s just waiting to be pushed.
There are plenty of people on the Internet who aren’t afraid of using their voice to bring others down, so shouldn’t we feel THAT MUCH MORE empowered to use our voices to lift others up?
Strangers, like the woman who planted that sign in the backyard of our VRBO, have a strange way of making us feel like we need to shrink away. It’s in those moments that you must pull your shoulders back and push harder into your convictions. Those who disagree with you? So be it. You’re not showing up for them.
You’re showing up for the people who desperately need your breath of fresh ideas, inspiration to think differently than status quo, and the human touch behind it all to know that they’re not alone.
Consider yourself, your business, and your content the HQ for people ready to think differently, live better, and who need you to show them the way.
They’re out there amidst the sea of observers ready to give their unwelcome two cents at every corner. Don’t let them stifle your creative spirit and drive to help the ones who need you.
It’s time to have fun with your work again.
It’s time to ignore the signs being planted in your backyard in pursuit of what you know to be true.
It’s time for you to stop sending ideas wrapped in wrapping paper that’s worth ignoring and start adding sparkles of personality to your words so you can stand out as the kerosene lamp you are, ready to spread light in the darkness.
That’s exactly what I help you do with coaching, strategy, sprints, and support each week inside the Content Club. Doors for enrollment close this week. If you’re ready to put content out there that’s worth paying attention to again, join before Friday, and let’s charge into this world with our ideas a blazin’!
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Take the grind and guesswork out of blogging and email marketing. Join the Content Club for weekly templates, monthly sprints, and quarterly content strategy planning PLUS a community with me and other freedom-seeking friends in the trenches with you.
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Hi, I'm Kimberly
(and I love supporting fellow freedom-seeking entrepreneurs.)
I'm a homeschooling mom, coffee-obsessed, outdoor-lover, bestselling author, copywriter, and content strategist. I started writing in 2012 and never stopped — even through the birth of my two boys. Over the years, I've learned how to manage the chaos of kids and a self-designed career. Today, we enjoy (somewhat) relaxed days in homeschool while I simultaneously run a business that lets us run wild. I'm teaching others how to do the same through crazy-fun content and productivity-inspiring systems.
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Here's to burning the rule book in exchange for being gutsy, bright, courageous, and even a little bit wild.
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