Thread by @mariepoulin

THREAD. I've talked about this before, and I think it bears revisiting. I remember ~10 years ago thinking to myself that my fear of being in front of a camera or on stage was going to hold me back in business, (and probably in life too) and I *hated* that.

Most people are surprised to learn this. They think I am very comfortable and natural in front of a camera. I have a YouTube Channel. I have done a live webinar every week for over a year. But people only *see* the past year; they don't really know what it took to get there.

This morning a client mentioned something about me having to get ready for my office hours and I casually brushed it off like, "what do you mean? I just have to show up!" and he was like, "sure but you have prepare, right?" and I was like, nah, it's the guest that has to prep!

And he shook his head and laughed, and it made me realize just how far I'm come in this regard. I still have SO much to learn, but interviewing, facilitating, being on video, editing video, putting yourself out there... it's a lot of work, and it is has paid off in so many ways!

Some part of my younger self KNEW that this work was necessary, and I was just going to have to figure it out, no matter how awkward the journey felt.

It takes so much damn courage to put yourself and your work out there. For some people it seems to come so easily. For the rest of us, holy shit it takes a lot of work. But it's the only path to impact: putting your work and your ideas out there, especially UNFINISHED.

Stop waiting for your work to be "ready" or perfect before you share it. Don't wait to ship YouTube videos until you figure out some editing software. You're going to be way better the 100th time you do something than the first time. Get it out of the way sooner than later.

FEEL THE CRINGE, AND DO IT ANYWAY. Your future self will thank you!

I've shared this before but I'll share it again. I have done so many things to work through this fear, here are some that had a big impact:
1. 100 Day video challenge. Made a vlog every day for 100 days. YES, it was uncomfortable AF. And i learned a ton.

2. Hired an incredible leadership coach, @TanyaGeisler . Holy shit is it ever powerful to have someone else reflect back to you your brilliance, and give you permission to step up. This unlocked a whole bunch of stuff I needed to work through in therapy 🙃

3. I hired a speech coach to help me put a talk together when I got invited to speak. This helped me learn to clarify my thoughts and ideas into a cohesive format.

4. @shinebootcamp - I was SO lucky to be able to join the original cohort of this to put together a talk, and to practice being on stage in a safe + supportive environment. What an incredible event, truly, forever grateful.

5. I joined the East Van pillow fight club in Vancouver. We had to come up with an alter ego and "Stage entrance" - I was Marie Slamtoinette. This felt like a safe (haha) and hilarious way to practice being on stage. (I even sewed my own costume)

6. Joining the Supernaturally Shy Intro to Acting (Meisner technique). This was the most difficult thing I've ever done, and has impacted my life in so many ways I can't describe in a tweet. I am so grateful to my teacher, who "didnt think i was gonna make it" 🤣

I cried through ~70% of those classes out of sheer nervous energy. I don't consider myself particularly sensitive, but that work was the most confronting and difficult work of my life, and holy F has it ever helped me in the real world!

SO... every now and then when I notice myself brushing off how easy it is to show up and talk to people on the internet, in front of many other people on the internet, I remember how that fear used to hold me back, and how far I've come.

I believe courage is a HUGE life and business advantage, so i will keep flexing that muscle, even though it feels awkward.
Keep going. Keep showing up.

I wrote about this a while back and might be interesting to those of you working on those fears currently: medium.com/@mariepoulin/t…