Every time I try a new idea or offer a new kind of thing online or in person, I get this sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. What will people think? Will it work? Is this going to meet people where they are? Will all of the effort be worth it in the end?
These questions are always present, and for good reason. Because sometimes the new idea doesn’t work. Sometimes I have to go back to the drawing board and try to figure out what next new thing to try. And every single time I end up feeling like I’m free falling.
I’ve had to ask myself over and over, “Is it worth it?…Do I have what it takes?”
Sinking Feeling?
That’s why MOANA hit me hard a couple weeks ago. If you watched my video about it, you know that MOANA comes to a place in her journey where she fails at something so she takes the symbol of her calling and hands it back to the ocean.
Did you hear that? She hands back her calling.
She decides that the ocean chose the wrong person for the job and she simply doesn’t have what it takes.
It’s at that point in Moana’s story where someone special (her guide) comes back and says something like, “Moana, you’ve come so far. Moana listen, do you know who you are?” Moana takes a step back and remembers who she is, her family history and the moment that she knew the ocean called her. With renewed conviction, she rises again and completes her mission.
Dang.
I’ve gone through that very process *on repeat* for three years, especially right around the time when I try something new. Why? Because I’m always hoping that the next thing…the next offering…will propel me into an easier path.
If I write a book, the launch will be easy.
If I have a strong launch for my book, the blog will be easy.
If I create a course to help people find their voices, the launch will be easy.
If I make videos to share my ideas, creating content every week will be easy.
If I use the right hashtags, getting my offering in front of more people will be easy.
Lies. All lies. None of it is easy. Every bit of it is just as much a struggle as it is a joy. Every bit is just as disappointing as it is encouraging. So why do I keep going?
The same reason you do. Because…
We are stronger than we think we are.
Our messages are more powerful than we think they are.
People’s longing to connect is deeper than we think it is.
Our destain for wasting our lives is more potent than we ever thought it was.
We know who we are.
Do This.
Look, if you’re going to create stuff and offer it to others, there is always risk involved. Huge risk. Making something and then holding it out to others is about as vulnerable as standing naked in a crowd. That’s why you want to be sure that you KNOW WHO YOU ARE and that you’re doing it without holding back.
- What led you to this point in your journey?
- What is the point at which you felt called? How did you know?
- Who needs what you have to offer?
- What is the redemptive message you’ve been called to share?
This stuff is so important. If you want to live unfrozen and live as a creator, offering stuff that represents the message you’re called to speak, you’ve got to get used to that sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach.
You have a choice. You can call it nerves or you can call it the thrill of the leap.
I am doing something new and exciting and totally risky. I’ve created an online course to help you begin the process of really finding your voice – your redemptive message – and then figure out how you’re going to use it. The course will run for 4 weeks beginning January 9th, 2017. I’m working my tail off to be sure you get way more than what you pay for. I believe that this course could be something that thousands of people could take in the future, but I’m starting at the very beginning and I’m looking for a few risk-taking creator-messengers to join me while it’s in infancy.
If you feel a tug on your heart right now in this moment, then I want you to follow that feeling and go read about the course right now: IMPACT By DESIGN: 101 Core Message course information (best viewed on a computer, but it works on your phone, too.)
But I have way more to offer you if you’re not quite sure if you want to take this leap (registration is only available through Wednesday, Dec. 14th) In the last video I made, I explained that if you’re someone who has all kinds of thoughts, connections and insight floating around inside, I GET you and I know exactly what I can do to help you decide what to say to find your most effective message.
You see, the problem isn’t that you don’t have anything to say, it’s that you have so much to say that your life-message is either spread too thin for great impact or you are paralyzed in indecision.
I can help you!
I’m doing a Facebook Live training about building the 5 layers of Arrowhead Alignment of your core message. On Tuesday, December 13th at 7:30 CST, I will be explaining this method of aligning your message with who you are for integrity, consistency, clarity, confidence and deep impact.
Download this freebie to see if you want to learn more. In it, I share the 5 layers of Arrowhead Alignment. I think this process could help you, otherwise I wouldn’t bother. I believe I’m called to help you find and build your authentic redemptive message, not just push you to say whatever comes to mind. #LoveEdits. That’s why I’m offering this to you.
*I do ask that you give me your email address so I can send you the PDF and share other resources with you. If you are already receiving emails from me, you can just click the link in the email I sent this week and you don’t have to keep registering your email address for stuff.*
It’s difficult and expensive to get a message out into the world. I want to help. And you can help me by engaging with this post on social media through your likes, comments and shares.
Kick 2017 off with some quality self-awareness and ACTION with me. Let’s do this together.
~ Andrea Joy
Life Is One Big Rough Draft
Despite my self-declared distinction as a “writer,” I prefer the movie over the book every time. It might have something to do with the fact that I think in shapes and vague images and have a difficult time imagining elaborate descriptions, so I skip to dialogue. The “Abstract Thought” room as depicted in Inside Out is a perfect example of what happens in my head.
pull out of the experience (where it is quite dangerous since who KNOWS what might happen) and close off our emotional responsiveness. From this seat in the house, we do not have to feel vulnerable or sad because we can be angry that someone did something differently than we’d hoped. Maybe it was a friend. Maybe it was ourselves. Maybe it was God. But there must be someone to blame. Rather than being open, we are closed and cynical.