Finding Your Voice

This week I wanted to talk about a topic and question that I am asked often. It’s phrased various ways, but at it’s core, the question is this: HOW DO I FIND MY VOICE? We’ll be talking a lot about this in the On Mission Online Course  but I wanted to give you a few reminders today to help you in this area. 

1- PRACTICE. 
To find your voice you have to begin USING your voice. Show up and speak up. 
This can be challenging because sometimes, we mistakenly think that we’re putting ourselves out there. I guess in some small way you are, but at its core, what we’re actually doing when we show up and begin telling our story is putting HIM out there. We’re pointing back to God and what He’s done. We’re sharing the story He’s written for us and the ways He’s worked on our behalf. THAT MATTERS, friends. That matters a lot more than our comfort in staying small and hidden. 

2- EMBRACE IMPERFECTION. 
I know- this isn’t the advice you’d expect from someone trying to help you grow your business, but it’s true. We’ve got to learn to EMBRACE IMPERFECTION.  If you’re taking steps forward and practicing using your voice to create content to love and serve others well, there will be some mistakes along the way. These mistakes don’t mean that you’re disqualified- they just are evidence that you’re learning and growing. We will either WIN or we’ll LEARN and both are good. Refuse to allow a mistake to keep you stuck in hiding and grab hold of it for all that it can teach you. 

3- KEEP YOUR EYES ON YOUR OWN PAPER. 
I realize that I’ve told y’all this before, but it’s worth repeating: KEEP YOUR EYES ON YOUR OWN PAPER. Want to know the quickest way to lose your voice? By trying to replicate someone else’s. There is a time for learning from others and sitting under their teaching. But there’s NEVER a time for trying to recreate what they do in the way that they do it. YOU- yes YOU- have been given a calling and you showing up into it MATTERS. Your voice, your experiences, your expertise, your struggles, your wisdom…all of it matters for the people that the Lord is going to call you to serve. If you’ve gotten a bit sidetracked and allowed your gaze to shift onto someone else’s paper, go ahead and move it right back to your own. 

As a bonus, here’s a podcast episode from Online Marketing Made Easy with Amy Porterfield. It’s Episode #353: Your Confidence Success Path for Showing Up Online. 

We know that TRUE confidence can only come from the Lord, but in this podcast episode, Ivirlei Brookes will give you her 5-step process for showing up with confidence online. I hope that it will encourage you and help you!