Putting Yourself Out There

After my recent email about why hiding doesn’t help, I started thinking about how much I’ve put myself and my ideas out there this year, even though my instinct is often to hide.
 
I’ve put myself out there online, through blog posts and emails and interviews and Instagram posts and groups chats and a survey and launches of things like the #ContentFreedomChallenge and email coaching (which is my new favorite thing, by the way—and I still have a couple of spots left for this year!).
 
I’ve also put myself out there in person, through mastermind groups and boss vacations and weekend retreats and meetups.
 
It’s not always easy for me. Sometimes I would rather hide (and from the responses to last week’s email, so would you). But by continuing to put myself out there, I’ve grown an immense amount this year—which is one of the key ways I measure success.
 
I’ve deepened my understanding of who I am, what I know, who I’m for, and how I can help—and as I’ve shared pieces of that journey, I’ve come to understand you in a much more meaningful way as you open up and share with me in return.
 
I’ve also learned a ton about my process, about how I work best, about my tendencies (good and bad), and about how I can best help you create meaningful connection with the people who need to hear what you have to say. (They’re out there.)
 
So in light of all that learning, this post has two purposes.

The first purpose of this post is to encourage you to make your own list of how you've been putting yourself out there.

I think we often don't give ourselves enough credit. We default to, Oh, I'm not doing enough when that's not always true. So take five minutes to write down (or just think about) all the ways you put yourself out there. And celebrate those wins!

The second purpose of this post is to tell you that I’m retiring the #ContentFreedomChallenge. 

It was so right for some people, but not for others—and my aim is to make all of you feel like you can do this work, not to make it feel overwhelming. So I’ll be sharing the challenge materials by email one more time and then I’ll be making space for something similar but less overwhelming that I’m really excited to share with you. Thank you to everyone who participated in and shared feedback on these first two rounds—I learned so much from you!
 
The last round of the challenge is beginning November 23! Yes, that's today.

I sent this note out by email last week, but in the hustle and bustle of getting out the door to visit my family for Thanksgiving, I forgot to post a note here on the blog as well. So if you've been interested in joining in on the challenge but you never signed up, send me a message. (You have to reach out this way—don't just sign up for my email list. I want to make sure you get the challenge if you want it, and a message is the only way to do that!) Let me know by December 1, 2015, which is when I'll return from Thanksgiving break.

Now I know this last round of the challenge is going to begin right before American Thanksgiving; I debated about this, but ultimately decided to just go for it—I want everyone to have these materials as an option while they plan for 2016. Anyone who's not ready to do the work yet can save the emails until they are!

With that, I wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving (or normal week, if you're not in America).

With much love,
Erica