When you were a baby, you were asked not to cry.
When you were a child, you were asked to sit still and silent in class and listen to what the teacher had to say. Maybe you remember saying something in class and your peers laughing at you.
Talking back to a parent and getting in trouble. Trying to win an argument with an adult and be outsmarted.
As an adult, you also experienced the dread of having said the wrong thing.
Did I talk too much? Did I insult someone? Did I forget to attribute credit to someone’s idea? Did I make an insensitive joke?
Unsurprisingly, you might be choosing to keep your head low, not taking too much space.
Do your job, and do not share much, especially on social media.
There is too much risk. You could be cancelled, no?
You can keep your ideas to yourself and your immediate circle if that is what you choose. No judgement from me.
But here are 15 reasons to share your ideas publicly if you feel called to do so.
1. We are bombarded with news that make their money by stimulating our fear or anger responses. We need more content that speaks to our higher selves. If you can provide that, you would be doing the world a service.
2. You have a unique perspective formed by your individual experiences. If you do not share it, nobody else will. There are people out there that will only get the message if you share it.
3. Sharing is giving back. The world needs more role models and more access to wisdom. You have achieved something. A great team, business, marriage, relationship with your kids, body, or experiences.
Sharing what you are up to shows people possibilities they would not have imagined. It also provides them access to the beliefs and mindset of someone who has achieved that thing.
4. Having a habit of sharing your insights trains you to look for them. That’s a great way to become present in your life. You live your life with an eye to the story you will tell.
Sharing your learnings from your challenging experiences gives a new powerful meaning to your journey. Helping others by sharing what you learned through your challenges is fulfilling. You did not suffer for nothing.
5. Writing helps you clarify your thoughts and is often a therapeutic process. Comments and feedback can help you sharpen your ideas even more.
When you are creating content, you spend less time consuming content. You get more in touch with what is true for you.
6. You build a body of work and a legacy your kids and grandkids can access.
7. You create a diary and documentation of your experiences and evolution. This allows you to connect with your younger self and people in earlier parts of their journey.
I ran a parenting course recently. All I had to do to remember how it feels to expect or have a newborn was to read the blogs I had written at those stages of my life.
8. Blogging or microblogging on social media is one of the best self-awareness exercises you can do.
I started blogging in 2016. After a year or so, I realized I had written a lot about personal development and leadership but nothing about advertising. This was my cue to leave my job at Google and become an executive coach.
9. We are inherently creative, and writing can be so much fun. The process can feel like play, from the spark of inspiration to creation to publishing. There is no boredom anymore. Waiting in a queue? An opportunity to whip up a post.
10. Sharing content equalises the playfield and is the closest thing we have to an idea meritocracy.
Everything you thought was holding you back can be overcome when you share good ideas that resonate with people. Your age, location, colour, gender, clothes, or education become irrelevant.
11. You are more likely to find and engage with like-minded people who share your values. Your content weeds out the non-compatible people and attracts those who are a good fit. You can build a worldwide community.
12. Your content assets are workers who work while you sleep. Media is one of the very few ways to create leverage.
You write an article once, and thousands of people can read it for many years to come. Imagine having to talk to all those people one-to-one to share your ideas.
13. You attract opportunities to you without needing to chase them, knock on doors or cold-call. The people you attract are warm towards you as they read something that resonated, and they are the ones who reached out. You have to work less to sell yourself to them.
My writing attracted a book contract from Penguin and a TEDx invitation. Also, hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of business for my coaching company.
14. You future-proof your career. A robust personal authority and brand will serve you now and in the future. You can change jobs or businesses and your personal brand is still an asset that helps you regardless of what you do.
A business brand only serves a particular company; when you move on, you leave it behind and start from scratch.
15. Writing has been proven to help keep your brain sharp and young. Enough said:-)
If you feel excited to start sharing more of your ideas with the world 🌍, my coaching program Thought Leader begins on the 20th of March. It covers writing for social media, blogs, newsletters, and even a book.
During the 2-week live experience, we will be covering the following:
- How do I find my unique writing voice to amplify my impact?
- How do I choose what to write about and where to share my ideas so that writing is an effortless and fun process?
- How do I improve the quality and consistency of my output so that I build my authority?
- How do I expand the reach of my writing so that I make more of a difference?
The program is accompanied by a writing challenge (the winner gets featured on my socials and newsletter). Also writing prompts, social post examples, coaching calls, and a Facebook community.
I can’t wait to see you sharing more of your ideas online.
Take care,
Caterina
Additional resources
Check out the latest episode of The Leaderpath Show, The surprising truth about high performance here.
