But her legacy is only created when she makes a decision to come from out of the shadows and to the front of the room in order to share the lessons that she has learned through her experiences. There is power in transferring the lessons we have learned to others who are currently experiencing a pain that we have already overcome. Our past painful experiences have great value because it can position us to create a ‘how to’ blueprint for others to follow for their own breakthrough. Over the past 11 years in my business, I have discovered that one of the biggest challenges that prevents women from coming out of the shadows to share their stories is FEAR – fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of inadequacy, fear of judgement, fear of the unfamiliar, and even fear of success. Fear stops women from going after what they truly desire; and makes them believe that their chances of success are so small that it’s worthless to even try.
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Fears are deep-seated and are often subconscious, which can mean women are not always aware of what it is that’s holding them back.
All too often, fear Fear is a limiting influences women to stay quiet and invisible instead factor that of courageously giving voice distracts women to their knowledge, experiences and expertise and leads to and pursuing what they are fully capable of. excuses.
Some of the most common reasons why women allow fear to hold them hostage and prevent them from sharing their stories include: • Lack of confidence. Many women are riddled with self-doubt and self-limiting beliefs. They don’t believe in their own strengths and abilities and, therefore, lack the confidence to find share their stories from a place of power. • Feeling unqualified. Women are oftentimes their own worst critic and talk themselves out of sharing their stories because they don’t feel qualified. Feelings of ‘Imposter Syndrome’ settle in and prevent women from taking the ‘stage’ to speak their truth and give voice to their stories. • Comparison to others. Instead of being laser focused on the power of their own story and journey, some women waste valuable time comparing their story to others. They question whether or not their story is going to be received well by others and make massive impact. They often assume that if their story isn’t a story a tragic or traumatic story that it doesn’t hold value. As a part of my Academy, I teach women how to immobilize their fears about speaking and sharing their story and to treat fear as a cue to take action, not use it as an excuse.
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