During my health coach training I’ve come across so many amazing people who want to blog and share their message but are held back by the fear that they don’t know what they’re doing or don’t think they’re good enough. Usually those are the people that have something really important to say too. Take Tanya of Tanya’s Healthy Living for example, her lack of technical knowledge had been putting her off starting her blog. However, we worked together and go her site up and running in no time at all. Now she’s on her third blog post and there’s no stopping her!
I think the fear of just having a go is most definitely a creative thing, whether it’s writing, painting, acting, speaking, blogging etc the fear of people not thinking they are good enough means they fail to take action.
But the thing is, no one ever (unless they’re really exceptional) starts off good at anything, people have to throw themselves in to the fray, get messy, make mistakes and find their weaknesses before they become good. They HAVE to pretend to know what they are doing in order to actually, know what they are doing.
I remember when I was a student and I was desperate for work that would fit around my course. I was signed up to a load of different agencies so was flitting between waitressing, bar work, being a chamber maid, working as a kitchen porter washing the dishes and one day a call come in asking if I knew how to do silver service. Let me tell you, I didn’t. But because I’d done some waitressing already I thought what’s the problem and I said yes. I went along to my first gig as a silver service waitress at a VERY swanky black tie dinner in Cardiff Castle without having a clue what I was doing. As I stood in the line to be given my table for the night, panic set in. I didn’t have the luxury of googling or youtubing back then so I really did go in to it blind. I asked the girl next to me if she could quickly just refresh my memory as it had been a while since I’d done it. She did, I completed my shift with no problems and I did plenty of other silver servicing shifts to get me through college.
But I took the chance. I went in blind and come out with a new skill.
I think Sarah Wilson put it perfectly when she told this story on her blog:
Take Michelangelo. His rivals persuaded Junius II to hire him to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. They knew Michelangelo didn’t use color and had never painted in fresco. They were sure he would turn down the commission because he’d be too scared to fail, or he’d accept and stuff it up. The former they’d use as proof of his lack of talent. The latter…well, the amateur results would show him up as a failure.
Michelangelo accepted the gig. And this is what happened.
He showed up. He decided he was a painter who could paint in fresco and colour.
He did the work. He went through the motions.
Thus, he became a fresco painter who captured colour better than anyone in, arguably, history.
So my message for Monday is get out there and show the world what you DO know. It really doesn’t matter if you get things wrong or you don’t get any readers – the main thing is that you’re cultivating your talents and eventually, you’ll get noticed!!
PS: This subject has prompted me to design my first e-course/coaching package which will go live tomorrow (if you’re interested please sign up for my newsletter as those on my list are going to be the first to hear about it and receive a special offer!)
Well done Rachael! I didn’t realise the ecourse will be up and running this soon hope it goes well for you x
Sheena, launching tomorrow but starts 20th may. Huge discount for iin’ers & subscribers) x
Well done Rachael,wishing the best in this new venture .Aoife
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Love this Rach! You’re so so right and as you say, it’s not just about blogging, it’s about SO many things in life. Thanks to your “getting shit done” push at the weekend, I got my .com blog up and running, just got to get the readers now LOL
Best of luck with the eCourse, it’s going to be awesome!!
Daz 🙂 X
That’s excellent Rachael, best of luck and so looking forward to it.
You are so right here Rachael. This post reminds me back in the 60’s when I went for interviews. I was a shorthand typist and they said could I operate a telex machine. I said yes and did what you did asked someone to remind me how it worked. I had never even heard of a telex machine. Then I had to work a dictaphone, same thing there, I said it was a bit different to what I was used to and could they just show me. So I was learning all the time by doing this !!
So true. All great points! 🙂 Thanks for posting!