Put Yourself Out There

I’ve been hankering to write on a more personal note, but this is a business blog. And so I find myself weaving things that feel highly personal into a narrative that addresses professional issues. People always say, “business isn’t personal.” Well, I respectfully disagree. If you are working with, selling to, or extracting value from persons in your business, it’s personal. The line between personal and business is quickly disappearing anyway.

My last post was about trust in the workplace and how more managers should trust their staff. Today I’m thinking about courage because I took a small personal risk last night, I did something the required me to put aside some totally manufactured, but very real-feeling fear of sharing a It came to me in only minutes after writing three pages of random thoughts, arranged with a cadence and rage and grief. The subject matter is not important here; what is important is that I shared it. I put it in the universe for someone else to read and to give me unvarnished feedback.

I’ve always loved to write, but since winning many creative writing awards in high school, I lost my mojo. I was tethered to college papers, serious work and serious play in college. I got out of practice. I stopped sharing. I kept it to myself in scattered bits in secret drawers.

But last night, I did it. In fact, I got so bold as to share with one of my best friends, Valerie Laken, a Pushcart-prize winning author and professor of creative writing at UW-Milwaukee. I knew she would be supportive because she’s an amazing mentor to friends and students, but I’ve always been intimated to share with her because she is so good! The idea of sending a 6th grade quality poem to a successful fiction writer was more than a little unnerving.

But I did it and almost instantly felt lighter.

So how does this translate to me in business, or to you in business, and to us in business? Just as the fear of sharing my creative writing was anxiety Share a little more and hold back a whole lot less. The fear of introducing a new idea, standing up to a manager who’s bullying you (you know who you are).. The world needs your ideas, your thoughts, your words and if the person with whom you share them makes you feel like the world doesn’t…well, it’s time to find a new person…NOT a new you.

Thanks for reading, K

If you’re up for a good read, check out Valerie’s book Dream House. Her short story collection, Separate Kingdoms will also inspire and evoke. She’ll be in Madison in early November for a reading. Ping me if you want to meet there or look for my post with the date/place/time.

To get started finding courage, you can read Anne Lammots’ instructions on life, Bird by Bird or Eric Maisel’s Coaching the Artist Within.