Roll on October/ November – the worldwide release of my book ‘Weighed Down’ looms closer and closer! It feels more real than ever right now as I have held my sample book in my hands and have had the chance to see my writing on pages in a book. Whilst there have been moments of doubt along the way – a dream coming true is certainly exciting. Doubting myself has been something I struggled with – and in fact one of my chapters in the book is Beyond Doubt – the time when I had to tell myself that anything was possible if only I could change my mindset and the way I was thinking.
Grab opportunities
In May, I had a wonderful opportunity to speak about “Weighed Down – from fat to fab in your 40’s and beyond” in front of an audience. Dr Marshall Goldsmith was in Dubai launching his book “How Women Rise” and I was honoured to be given a few moments to take the stage, hold the mic and talk about my upcoming book. The room filled with a mix of wonderful and inspiring women, all professional and oozing with confidence. They inspired me to deliver, and whilst I had butterflies fluttering in my stomach for days beforehand, I realised that we are all women, here to help one another, lift each other up and rise high in unison. It was my chance to share and if I inspired one person in that room that day, then my time on stage was successful.
It dawned on me at the time that the last time I stood and addressed an audience was 8 years ago when I was teaching. The difference was huge – back then standing in front of a class of 30 or so children was an everyday norm. I had some nervous jitters – I can hear them in my voice, but my nerves did not stop me – and for that I am very proud. With anything that comes our way the fear of not continuing may stop us in our tracks and stops us from grabbing opportunities. Not everything is perfect the first time round, I try to learn from my mistakes to do a little better each time. So have a watch and a listen to my first time talking to an audience for a long time. I loved every minute of it!
Not very different to my first few weeks as a teacher many years ago. In fact, a child vomited over the new classroom carpet on my first day of teaching, I was extremely nervous myself but that was the job I had signed up for and got to love.
Stepping into the unknown
So what did I learn?
- Grab all the opportunities that come your way
- Don’t say no!
- Be yourself – an authentic version of your own self
- Speak from the heart and with passion – you have a voice just allow yourself to be heard
- Have faith in your beliefs and values
- Know that you can and do inspire others
- You create your own doubts and they control you – if you allow them too
- Those fluttering butterflies you feel in the tummy – work with your nervousness and imagine the feeling you will get after the event
Stepping out of a comfort zone is never easy, but its is not impossible!
Will I aim to get better at speaking to an audience? – hell yes!
Will I get nervous? – maybe!
Will it stop me? – no way!
Next steps – plan a BOOK LAUNCH. One where I have to speak and be my authentic self and talk about ‘Weighed Down’ – why I wrote the book and what it means to me.
