Creating connections: energize your path with passionate people

With the Olympics just concluded, and having returned a few days ago from the National Speakers Association’s annual conference, Influence, I am reminded of something important that I always want to keep top of mind: the people we choose to surround ourselves with matter! They can lift us up, inspire us, and make us better.

It was exciting to see the way that great athletes raised one another up — those on their own teams, and often competitors from other countries. 

I experienced the same energy of generosity and enthusiasm at the Influence conference. Speakers of great renown were happy to share their insights and ideas in informal conversations, with people who were just starting or building their speaking careers. And being in the company of speakers who are passionate about the topics they share, and excited about the impact they have, felt electric.

When you are conscious about creating connections with people who are fired up and generous, who are committed to showing up boldly and doing big things, that energy supports you to feel passionate and motivated.

And when you are generous and inspired around others, the positive energy builds! 

I feel more excited than ever to support great women to boldly create the lives they desire. I want to do it on stages and in coaching engagements. I love leading retreats, where women go deep together in great places. I am fired up when I bring my work into organizations, to guide women to show up boldly and have their biggest impact.

By developing my offerings and doing my work alongside other bold creators, I always learn, and the energy I bring to everything I do always expands. 

Reach out and see what happens

Who can you contact today who is full of bold ideas and energy, who creates new opportunities, who will generously share with you, and who will see you in your highest light? 

You may be thinking of someone like that now. Invite them to connect, one-on-one or in a small group. 

You may be thinking of an existing community of people (maybe like those at the Influence conference that I attended) that you want to tap into in a bigger way.

When you choose to have more contact with even a small number of people who are filled with enthusiasm, ideas, and big hearts, you will have given yourself a priceless gift.

It’s time to be bold!

One big way to Live Big is to be bold.

There is a chapter in my book about why being bold is so meaningful and how to bring more boldness into your life.

And, being bold is not a simple thing for many of us to consider and embrace. 

Boldness is a topic I have been focused on lately, in my life and in my work with clients. That focus led me to create a new keynote entitled, Embrace Your Bold: Amplify Your Voice and Increase Your Impact.

To present this hour-long talk, I went deep into what bold really is and how we can each build our bold. It was a great journey for me, and I have loved sharing it with audiences.

And while I cannot share all of the content of my talk here, I want to give you a few key points, as well as a take-away that I hope you will find inspiring.

What does bold really mean?

Most people have preconceived ideas about what “bold” is, and what it looks like. It’s important to know that being bold— whether that feels great to you or off-putting — does not mean the same thing, and is not the same, for everyone. 

My definition of bold used to include being loud, brash, and fearless. (And not being a loud, brash, or fearless person, I long struggled with the idea of being bold, much less how to be bold.)

What I have come to understand is that one can be bold and present quietly. One can be bold and serious. Introverts, extroverts and ambiverts, those filled with wit and those lacking humor, can all be bold.

Bold is a completely personal set of beliefs and understandings of what’s bold for YOU.

Faking bold does not work

Because many people have a concept of boldness that does not match who they are, they try and fake being bold (as they think bold is supposed to look).

If you have tried to fake boldness — as I did in the past — you have likely concluded that it does not work very well.

In addition to feeling awkward (or worse), when you try to be someone you are not it rarely comes across to others in the way you want.

The key is to embrace your authentic way of being bold. When you do that people will sense it and be responsive.

Here’s a great first step to try

To find and embrace your unique bold entails a multi-step process that I teach in my keynote.

And, here is one thing you can do today, that will help you to gently usher in boldness. 

Take one tiny step that is outside of your comfort zone.

That’s all! 

What is one small thing can you do that is beyond the edge of where you feel comfortable?

• It could be planning how you might approach a delicate conversation.

• You might wear a piece of clothing in a color you love but have hesitated to put on.

• Maybe you will propose an agenda item for an upcoming meeting that you have been thinking about but not acted on.

• You might ask someone for help.

• Maybe you will tell someone how much they mean to you.

Choose one thing and do it.

Be your bold!

When you take one very small new step today, and continue to do that every day, you will soon find that this gentle practice builds your bold.

Your authentic bold will start shining, and will continue to get brighter as you go!

I would be delighted to hear from you when you bring this idea into daily practice. Email me to let me know how it goes.

What would it be like for you to feel freer?

When July 4 rolls around each year I naturally think of freedom. You probably do, too.

What resonates for me deeply this year is how free I feel. 

Specific questions I am asking myself now are:

• How free do I feel to show up in the world boldly?

• How free do I feel to allow myself to play?

• How free do I feel to start down new paths rather than sticking to the status quo, because that’s what I’m used to.

Whether these questions resonate for you at this moment in your life, or you have others that are particular to you now, I invite you to start exploring.

How free do you feel?

Let’s consider the three questions that keep coming to mind for me. Join me in being curious and see what comes up for you.

1. Do you feel free to boldly show the world who you are — without a mask, without holding back?

I gave a new talk this weekend titled, Embrace Your Bold: How to Amplify Your Voice and Increase Your Impact.

I opened the talk by sharing the impressions I used to have about of what “bold” looked like (such as being loud, and fearlessly doing daring feats). Those concepts of boldness turned me off, and made me doubt how bold I could be.

I also told the audience how I had tried to fake being bold in the past — and how those attempts had always failed. I explained that I have learned that being bold is a deeply personal set of choices, and there are ways to find your own bold, so you naturally and genuinely amplify your voice and increase your impact.

It was a short talk. There is much more I will cover when I expand the talk to a full keynote and deliver it in the fall. For now, I am pondering many ways I want to be bolder in my life, and what hampers me.

I invite you to consider this question, too. It will likely reveal things you have not brought into focus before.

2. Do you feel free to be playful, to lighten up, and let your spirit fly — just for the joy of it?

This question came to mind for me as I spent time with colleagues who were truly playful and joyous when they spoke on the stage before and after my talk.

I yearn to tap and express more of that light, playful energy, and am thinking about how I will begin — today!

3. Do you feel free to explore new options and make changes?

I have been asking myself about changes I want to make for the past few months. I am getting get super-clear, and I have been implementing them, one small step after another.

One decision became clear for me after my wonderful month living in Paris this past winter. I want to adjust the ways I spend my time so that I can paint more and write more. My soul yearns for more space for my own creative expression, and I have started making meaningful adjustments.

What about you?

Might you be stuck in a groove out of habit — about your work, or a relationship? Perhaps you are not honoring a deep desire?

Do you love things as they are, or do you realize you are ready to make a shift?

Are you holding back on making changes because they feel scary?

Feeling free enough to ask and explore the questions is step one!

Try using this special tool!

I created a guide to help you bring full self-expression into your life. It is colorful and fun to use. You will find that the more you are able to be fully self-expressed, the freer you will feel!

Download the guide here (no email needed!), and see what happens for you. 

Let’s all make this a season to activate glorious personal freedom!