--- how the 30 day challenge challenged me.
The past 30 plus days have been an interesting experiment for me to SHOW UP each day to my GHC community.
To remind you, it was while attending the Social Media Week Lima 2018 conference in June, that coach and speaker Tiffany Lanier (#LivewithTiffany), challenged me to SHOW UP!
"I don't know how it will change you - or your community- but I know it will. Just SHOW UP!"
Her words struck to the core of me. Last fallm at the 2017 TRIBEWRITER conference I attend each year, the message I came home with from Jeff Goins and friends was "Don't quit. SHOW UP. Don't starve."
Hmmm?
I was starving. Oh not literally, obviously, since I'm in a battle to lose weight right now. But I was starving in the sense that I was struggling to connect with my clients and therefore generate enough income to not just pay some bills, but provide for other things as well.
As Tiffany shared her wisdom with me I realized I wasn't SHOWING UP. In fact the only thing I had done was NOT QUIT. Though I thought about it several times. Ren had to talk me down more than once when I suggested that perhaps I should just go get a J.O.B and let someone else tell me what to do. And pay me regularly. Ren keeps reminding me that this is what I am supposed to be doing.
But I was 'starving' because I was not SHOWING UP! I knew it as soon as Tiffany spoke those words.
Just SHOW UP!
So I have! For 30 days now I have been SHOWING UP on my Facebook Live personal page. And so have you!
You are a huge part of the gift of SHOWING UP.
Each day someone new from my GHC community joined me on FACEBOOK LIVE between 10-10:20am (that's the time frame I gave myself to show up in). I was amazed at the people who would watch LIVE:
- SoNow Sisters from my local networking group.
- Clients- current and former- hopefully some potential future clients
- Younger women I mentor
- Other women who mentor me- coaches, authors, friends
- Friends from church
- Distant friends from former churches
- My College roommate and classmates
- High school besties and my basketball coach
- Even my Mom showed up as did one of her high school friends
I never knew who would join me LIVE or in the comments after they listened to the recording.
Your presence in itself is a gift.
But more than that, I loved the way you engaged with me.
- Sometimes it was just a hello to let me know you were with me.
- Frequently there was a comment or an emoji for encouragement.
- Often there was a scripture or quote or insight that helped build on whatever we were talking about
- Several times a week it was a text or private message from someone to continue the conversation privately.
When I SHOWED UP- YOU SHOWED UP!
You are the real gift for me!
But there were other gifts as well.
SHOWING UP meant I had to …
- pay close attention to what I was noticing so I had something to share with you each day.
- get going with my day so I would be ready to meet with you. (I needed the time commitment.)
- Be real- or as real as I could be at that moment.
I didn't have to be real- but showing up 30 days in a row means an awful lot of pretending if I am not being authentic. We all know we can wear a mask for a little while, but masks are hard to keep on for the long haul. It gets hard to breathe under a mask too.
It also meant I tried new things I had never done before.
- Like using FACEBOOK LIVE for one thing. I had used it before, but not in a way that actually engaged my audience. I prefer to record so I can edit and re-record when I don't like how I said something. But I wanted to SHOW UP REAL. So… you got me as I was. Some days that was dressed down or much longer than I (or you) might have liked.
- Or Like trying the new SMOVE MOBILE selfie stick/gimble (a word I never used before) to record. Sometimes it worked. Often I needed to recharge or reinitialize or something. But I learned /am still learning a new skill.
But the biggest thing I had never done before was SHOW UP every day! I have had a tendency to SHOW UP when…
- I felt like it
- or had time
- Or I felt like writing
- (insert many other excuses here)
But when I SHOWED UP- YOU SHOWED UP!
There's something valuable in that statement. Truth that is not just truth in this moment, but in all of life.
Our SHOWING UP empowers, enables, encourages -
gives permission to others to SHOW UP also.
Have you noticed that?
When we are REAL in relationships, we give others permission to be REAL with us.
When we are HONEST about our stuff, it encourages others to own their stuff too.
When we TAKE OFF OUR MASKS and reveal the good, the bad, the most times messy in our lives, so many others in our world breathe fresh air for the first time as they take off their masks as well.
When I SHOWED UP- YOU SHOWED UP.
When You SHOW UP- so will your world.
What a REMARKABLE GIFT to your world!
How did this SHOW UP Challenge change me?
I'm not so afraid anymore to SHOW UP.
I won't do it perfectly- I might not even do it right-
I may go too long- or not have great lighting-
Or SHOW UP late.
But I am willing SHOW UP as ME.
Flawed
Real
Sometimes without any makeup on
To Invite YOU to SHOW UP as YOU!
SO…what did this SHOW UP challenge do for you? You know I'd love to hear from you.
Thank you for your remarkable gift of SHOWING UP in my world.
Kathy
P.S. Starting August 1- September 1, I'm going to be continuing 30 days to SHOW UP -
we will be talking about how to know what we want to BE and to DO.
I'm calling it …
enVision YOU!
for those who want MORE!
Keep watching, I'll be sharing more about that over the next couple of days. I hope you will join me.
Here's to SHOWING UP!