I recently guested on a podcast episode that was so insightful and fun and the host and I vibed so much that we agreed we should do part two. I asked her how long she’d been doing the podcast and it has been about a year. Then she shared that when she was asked to launch the podcast, she was terrified, and it took her six months to start it. SIX months!!

I couldn’t believe it. She is such a natural, energetic, engaging host. She then shared how she felt invisible and unseen by her family during her childhood so when it was time to pick a college degree, she decided to choose theatre because she wanted to get the attention she craved all her life.

But after her degree, she was petrified to stand out. Even though her friends encouraged her to get into TV journalism, she could not fathom the thought of the teleprompter freezing or not working, putting her on the spot to speak without a script on TV. That ONE pretty unrealistic fear stopped her dead in her tracks.

She did not feel equipped without a script to bring her bold dream to reality and to stand out authentically as a journalist.

She decided to totally pivot, get married and have kids, and pick a safe career working with the government, where she could go back to being “invisible.”

Now, decades later, she so loves hosting her podcast that she is seeing how boxed in she has made herself. Even the current podcast parameters (which are not hers but the organization she works for), make her feel limited and constricted. She wants to create her own podcast and she shared how she has all these ideas stirring that she wants to see come to fruition in the next couple of years.

Can you relate of wanting greater visibility yet being terrified of it?

I share in my book, It’s Your Time to Shine Girl, that “physically minimizing our presence communicates a lack of authority, influence, and power. It conveys doubt about our right to be present and take up space, to be seen fully, to be visible enough to be acknowledged.”

I write, “in her book, Professional Troublemaker: The Fear-Fighter Manual, author and influencer Luvvie Ajayi Jones shares that many of us have, “had so much practice shrinking ourselves and trying to make ourselves smaller that when it's time for us to take up space, we don't even know how. Even when we are called, we run. Even when we are celebrated, we tell people it's too much. Even when we're told to speak, we use a whisper.”

This is what my amazing host did for decades until she was finally able to take that leap and put herself “out there” launching the podcast for her organization, scared to death, not realizing HOW much she would love it and the possibilities that would open up for her…just by taking that uncomfortable first step.

When we play bigger in our mind, when we believe in the infinite possibilities abounding all around for us, the veil is removed from our eyes and we see more of what is true. It’s our openness to the possibilities that unveils the opportunities that connect with our brilliance!

Maybe you’ve always been told you’re too sensitive, too different, too much to handle, or too “out there” with your thinking, which made you shrink back and hide your brilliance. Perhaps because of society’s pressure and what it says one “should” and “shouldn’t” do, you’ve resigned yourself to playing small and keeping your ideas to yourself to fit in, to belong.

But is that truly working for you? Are you feeling truly seen and appreciated for who you are by dimming your lights?

Of course not!

Which is why this subject of visibility is so present to me right now because I’m seeing this repeating pattern of women making themselves blurry or invisible because they’re scared. And that makes me feel sad because I just know how amazing they would be if they’d just give themselves the permission to unveil their full brilliance.

In my first book, Frumpy To Fabulous Flaunting It, (an Amazon Bestseller for weeks over a decade ago!), I shared a quote in the final chapter that still has so much meaning to me. It’s in the book The Expression of You by Martha Graham;

“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening" that is translated through you into action. And because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium; the world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is, nor how valuable, nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open"

Yes!! You have a unique distinct divine design that is meant to be visible, valued, and vouched for in your professional arena of choice.

Maybe you got tired of all the criticism and backlash you endured for speaking up or standing out the way you were “supposed” to as a woman. So you held yourself back, muted yourself, and hid your superpowers to the point where you may have even forgotten what they are and how you feel when you permit your full self to shine.

Maybe your brilliance made other people feel “less than,” so to compensate, you contorted yourself, shrunk yourself, and diminished yourself so you wouldn’t offend. Now this may have become your default and you tell yourself that’s the way it has to be.

As I share in It’s Your Time to Shine Girl, “The world needs your brand of brilliance whether it knows it or not. There are people out here yearning for someone just like you to say what’s in your heart, to be who you’re meant to be, to build and create the products, services, or experiences you have been uniquely shaped to birth.”

Your impact in your arena will be unstoppable and undeniable—if only you allow yourself to come out of hiding and shine like the bright star you are.

Your brilliance shining = impact = greater recognition = more income = legacy. This requires visibility!!

In the new world of work, visibility is more important than ever. You can’t hide under a rock now can you, if you want to advance and be impactful? With hybrid and remote work structures in place, visibility is even more challenging than it used to be for women.

We each have ideas, expertise, abilities, strengths and a unique contribution to make to the world, no matter how large or small. Your people want to hear from you.

They want to know your point of view, perspectives, priorities, and position. Yet many of us shy away from marketing ourselves or making shifts in our thinking or ways of being even when we’re unhappy or downright miserable where we are.

But until you own your spotlight, you are depriving the world of your unique magnificence.

This is why I am challenging you to take a TINY baby step to get on a FREE Clarity Call with me to discern if my Visibility Elevation & Accelerator Private VIP Package is right for you.

The fear of visibility shows up in SO many ways and I want to help women who are ready to flip the script to level up and elevate their visibility AUTHENTICALLY in this 5-hour intensive session with me so that their impact, income, and influence increases! This five-hour two-session intensive private customized coaching, brainstorming, ideating, clarifying, and illuminating session is meant to accelerate and elevate you if you’re ready to MOVE forward and upward. Interested? Visit the Visibility Elevation & Accelerator Private VIP Package website if you want to learn more.

Reach out to me HERE!

In the meantime, here's to your continued unveiling!

Natalie
The Brilliance Unveiler

Next Women’s Circle Event, May 21st!

If you are in a season where you know things have to shift and you truly care about your impact, come and join me at my next WCC event which will be held on May 21st, 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Maryland Innovation Center, and it will be about—visibility!!

The event titled Visibility Unveiled: Stepping Up and Standing Out in Your Arena is going to be about how we harness our platforms, perspectives, and privileges to ignite change in our spheres of influence.

Register today for May’s WCC and sign up for a very special experience. For more information, watch this video.

Are you excited to join me?
REGISTER HERE

Are you terrified at getting more visibility?

Next Women’s Circle Event, May 21st!

Do you find yourself constantly saying you’re too busy?

Invisibility at Work?