True story. I teach other people how to tell stories and free their voice….and I so often get stuck in my own sh*t around this very topic. I think it’s often the case that we are well suited to guide others along the terrain of our own struggle.
Here is a question I recently wrote out to myself: what if I told you that the only way to get close to the vision you have for yourself, your work, the world …is to practice being imperfectly that…in public?
Why public? Because the practice I need is not so much about the writing…it’s putting the writing out there. Not the crafting the stories…but the setting the stories free… to play my small part in creating a different world. Like almost every one of us, so much of the inner critic baloney that keeps me stuck comes in the form of a two headed monster called Fear of Not Good Enough…and Fear of What People Will Think.
Who are these “People”? I don’t always even entirely know….most of them are faceless paper tigers who live somewhere out there in the internet. But what I do know is this: the only way for me to meet my fear ….is to practice with it. And as someone who has spent much of 44 years holding back…I need a whole hell of a lot of that practice.
So I share my stories in service of working with and through the forces that hold my writing, filming, work and life back. I share for the women before me who couldn’t …and my daughter..and me. I share these stories because I know from experience that you find your voice by using it. You bridge the gap between where you’re at and where you want to be …with practice. With each tiny bold imperfect step. I share because I also know that, without practice, a voice that has spent a lifetime held back always runs back to its old hiding spots.
For the next 30 days I am re-booting my voice in an effort I am lovingly calling #freemyvoice on Instagram and Facebook. Feel free to follow or follow along! My medium, as always will be stories. Many of those stories will be about multitude of ways I lose my voice..…..because I know that the telling of them is how I will keep discovering it.
Are you looking to do some of your own voice work via story? Here are a few other upcoming opportunities for us to work together:
- I’m teaching a 6 week class in Oakland called Six Weeks to Your Signature Story Oct 3-Nov 7th 3:30-5pm. It will be at Atmysphere in Oakland…more details soon!
- I’ve got a few spots open this fall for my foundational 4 month coaching program. If you’re intrigued I’m happy to offer you a complimentary 45 minute story strategy session you can sign up for here!
