"Build an audience," they say. But how? Like this.

When I was a kid, I was REALLY shy.

So shy that when our family moved to a new neighborhood, I refused to go outside and introduce myself to the other kids.

It was the summer before third grade. New school. New everything.

I wanted more than anything to have friends to play with. I’d seen them out there playing kickball, racing each other, roller skating.

But no way, no how, was I going to go out there and… speak. 

My dad ended up walking me up to a group of kids and handling introductions for me. Sure, they taunted me for years about that. But mostly, it was worth it. We had a ton of kids on the block and had a great time playing, hiking in the woods, and basically being feral. 

You’d think that great object lesson about how wonderful things happen when we learn to speak up would have stuck! 

But you’d be mistaken 😀

That same fear was a huge part of why I became a writer.

When I write, I can mull the words over, writing and deleting, finding just the perfect words to express what needs saying. 

It’s been rewarding to use this skill to help my clients for nearly 20 years now.

But something weird would happen every time I needed to speak rather than write. I’d freeze. I’d hear word salad coming out of my mouth and know nobody was following along. Then I’d feel embarrassed and panicked. 

I’d often warn people: “I’m far more charming in writing than I am in person.” 

You know, to manage expectations. To protect my future self from feeling like a total dork after the inevitable revelation of my dorkiness.

Sound familiar at all to you? 

But even writers can’t hide forever!

I knew the only way to get better at speaking was to do more of it. Stupid Catch-22s.

So when Stacey Lauren invited me to join her Find Your Voice Challenge last year, I jumped in. Worst case, I’d spend the 17 days feeling supremely dorky, and nothing would change for the better.

But it would probably be fun.

After all, everything Stacey does is fun. As one of my clients, I’ve seen her do CRAZY stuff, like walking up to complete strangers to do street interviews, doing stand-up comedy, and building a humongous following on social media after years of not even having active profiles.

What happened? 

… I started two podcasts.

… I started talking to more humans (you’re not a bad lot!) and met new friends and clients.

… I became comfortable with “doing stuff messy” rather than trying to make stuff perfect before anyone could see it.

Before…

Preparing for a Zoom call meant making sure my folding screen background made the ‘studio’ look perfect. 

I’d fuss over my hair and makeup. It seemed really important.

I ate a lot of TUMS.

Now…

If we’re going to be on a Zoom call together, you’re going to see either the inside of the barn or some scenic spot here at Idyllwild Woods.

While we DO now shower daily (hooray for hubby and son, who have set us up for mostly off-grid hot showers), it’s rare that I do much with my hair or even apply makeup.

I’ve gone live on social media with a moment’s notice.

I’m still kinda dorky. But it’s survivable!

I actually discovered that I usually really LIKE talking with people. (This could be because the people in my life are pretty cool.)

That’s one reason I wanted to tell you about the Find Your Voice Challenge. The doors open later this month, and I’m doing it again.

This Thursday at 1 pm Eastern, I’ll be going live with Stacey in the Entrepreneurs Gone Wild group on Facebook to talk about this 17-day challenge. It changed my life the last time I did it - and I can’t wait to see what I’ll learn this time.

If you’re someone who’d like to feel WAY more comfortable speaking up, being seen, and being yourself, I’d love to do this challenge with you!

If you’d like, I’ll send you an invitation for Thursday’s Live (there will be a replay) so you can find out more, too. (The Challenge is not free, but it might as well be… Stacey has it priced really, really reasonably.)

A little insider info here…

When I first met Stacey back in 2021, she was not even on social media. Since the first time she ran the Find Your Voice Challenge until now, she gathered an audience of 28,151 (by my count). And if you’ve ever gotten to hear people in her audience talk about their experience, it’s a total love-fest! The way she teaches audience-building (and that’s what this boils down to - and more) is FUN and effective. And '“no ads” ain’t bad, either.

What could happen in your business and life when you find your voice?