Just yesterday, I was invited to be on a seminar. It was a virtual seminar called The Virtual Summit. I was the expert in marketing, but the conversation took a turn. See, the host asked me a question. They asked me, “Hey, Doug, there’s all these people that are trying to run online businesses and grow them exponentially.” Which is a big word to use when you talk about business. But they’re trying to grow their businesses and while they’re doing that, they’re worried about social media.
They don’t want to post on their own social media pages. Now, you might be wondering, what does this have to do with the daily growth hack if I’m not in a business that’s online? Well, it has everything to do with it, because what I told him, was the reason that people aren’t actually posting on their own personal accounts, is they’re worried what others will think of them.
Now, when I told this to the moderator, he was actually shocked. He was like, “Oh, man, you’re totally right.” The reason is, I see this all the time. Now, I see with my coaching clients when I do deep dives into their businesses, and into their lives. Now, I get the benefit of doing this in a very intimate setting and I’ve been doing it for a very, very long time. Now, but I also see this with my marketing clients.
I own two agencies. Within those agencies, we often get asked questions from clients about how they can brand themselves or market themselves to a higher level. Yet, they’re not willing to take the steps necessary to put themselves out there, right? They’re not willing to post on their own personal page. What I’ll hear things like, “Well, Doug, I’m just going to post on a business page and that way I can post about this side hustle that I have.” Or, “I’m going to post about what my real dream is. My real dream is to coach men or to mentor women,” or to whatever it may be for that person. But they only want to post on a business page.
Well, I can tell you that I’ve tested recently, and business engagements on social media, Facebook, in particular, has gone down by over 400%. That’s not a good strategy. But really what I want to know is, why aren’t you putting yourself out there? Now, I’ll use social media as an example for this daily growth hack. Why aren’t you posting your true passions or what you’re really doing on social media? The reason that is, is fear, right?
You’re afraid what some people will think about you. You’re afraid that some people will make fun of you if you fail. Or maybe you’re afraid that you’re an imposter and you have imposter syndrome. What I will relate to you that, if that strikes a chord with you, is it didn’t really kinda fake it ’til you make it, you would just stay the same. We all do it. That’s okay.
By putting yourself out there, that gives you the leverage and the opportunity to grow. Now, this doesn’t have to be just social media. How many people are just not going to the gym because they’re scared what other people think of them? Or, how many of you are not saying something, or having that conversation in a relationship because you’re worried what the other person will think. Or, you’re worried what the people around you will think.
Maybe you’re still in a relationship that’s not serving you, and you’re worried that your friends, your family will think, “Ah, I can’t believe you got out of that relationship. What are you doing? That person’s amazing.” They don’t know what’s inside of you.
But the truth of this whole story is, nobody cares. Nobody cares about what I’m doing or what you’re doing, right? Because they are concerned with what they’re doing at the moment. Right here as I film these daily growth hacks, I film on video. I walk into my office, and if you’re listening to this on audio, you could imagine I walk into my home office, I flip on the camera, and I talk about my experiences and what’s going on for me. The way I get leverage in that is because I’m coaching clients. I’m coaching people on a daily basis and helping them overcome their hurdles.
That’s what I want to do for you. That’s why I produce these. Now, I could easily make fun of myself and I’ve talked about these in other daily growth hacks, where the lighting’s not good, or the background’s not good, or I’d been you all night with my infant, or whatever it may be. These are all stories. The truth of the matter is, most of you haven’t even thought about anything that I’m doing if you’re watching this or my voice while you’re listening to this.
You’re thinking about yourself. That’s great. Knowing that is the spotlight affect. And then go back to a previous daily growth hack, right here where we talk about the spotlight affect, and that was when we talk about the spotlight is actually on you, or you think it is, but it’s only on you internally, right? The spotlight is only on you in the sense that you are the only one worried about what you’re doing. Nobody else is.
I ask you, why are you not putting yourself out there? Why are you not putting yourself out there on social media or putting yourself out there on business, taking risks? Really going after what you want to, because you’re worried what other people think. Again, the truth is, most people don’t care. Those that do care and those that are putting you down, they’re trying to pull you down because they’re scared about what they’re not doing.
Remember, there are two ways of having the biggest building in town. One way is to build it up with integrity and with hard work, so you have the biggest building. The second way is to burn everybody else’s down. A lot of you have friends and family that are burning buildings around them. They’re trying to take you down because they’re scared because you’re going up and becoming the author of your own story. They’re scared you’re going to leave them. Or, they’re scared that, you know, by you becoming the author of your own story, you’re showing them what they’re not doing.
When I talk about what lies below the surface, and that’s the surface of your excuses. What really is happening? If you’re not going to the gym because you’re worried people are going to look at you funny, what really is happening there, right? What are you really worried about? What’s really the worst thing that’s going to happen? If you’re not putting yourself out there on social media and I can tell you at least 30 people that I know that are listening to this daily growth hack on a regular basis, have had business ideas that you’ve had, for over a year, yet you haven’t done anything to move them forward.
I’m here with a loving calling you out of saying, you’ve got to push forward. Put it out there. People will jump on your passion. They’ll look forward to helping you out. Worst case scenario, if you try something. You fail, you dust yourself off, you learn from that experience, and you continue to grow. The best part, if you’re being yourself, you’re living your life and is the author of your own story and not somebody else’s.
Here’s another news fact for you. People don’t care what you’re doing, in fact, the stories that you probably created about what other people think of you, aren’t probably true, right? They may not even exist. I encourage you to clear those up as well. But that’s a whole nother conversation. Right now, what I want you to do is, grab your journal. Write out your Five to Thrive. What I want you to do is, write out one thing in each of those areas, and we all have them, why you’re not moving forward.
Now, what I want you to do once you’ve done that, right? That’s the first step. Do the work. Write those down. And then what really lies beneath that? What are you worried about? What is scaring you? What is stopping you from stepping into your own power and actually doing those things that you love? Why are you worried about what other people think? Is this in a relationship or is this in a business idea, right? Do you have a business idea you want to run with or a business you want to start?
Whatever it is, write it down and then write down the worst things you can think of. Now, what I want you to do is a bonus for you, is when you think about putting this out there into the world … Let’s just imagine I’m going to use Facebook or LinkedIn, whatever you use on social media, but imagine putting this idea or thought into the world and putting it out there. I want you to think right away if you did, who were the first three people that come to your mind, that you’re worried that they’re going to say something. Like, “I can’t believe you’re doing this.”
Who are those people? Now, what I want you to do is talk to those people. Talk to them about what you want to do and understand their point of view. Step into your uncomfortability, step outside of your comfort zone, and that’s where growth happens. This is what’s going to allow you to grow and become the author of your own story.
That’s it for me today. Remember, go to authorofyourownstory.com, where you get more tips, tricks, and insights and deeper dives into these. We’re also going to be going over to Facebook and doing Facebook live, so we answer your questions live. I’d love to have you there, and I’d love to have you know about them. The only way to get access is to go to authorofyourownstory.com and get on that newsletter. That’s it for me today. Go out, have an amazing day, and enjoy yourself.
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