Courage Comes From Our Community

“The secret of life is this:  When you hear the sound of the cannons, walk toward them.”  Marcel France

The act of launching an online business took a tremendous amount of courage for me. Although you may not get this from my online persona, I love to fly under the radar. I tend to spend most of my time introspectively (with the exception of the hours I spend at rock concerts) and my personal style is infused with an ambiance of understatement.  Though I love expressing myself, I enjoy staying quiet and very much value my anonymity (one of the main reasons I heart being a New Yorker).

So, the fact that I was not only starting a biz of my own, but that I was developing a me.com website, really challenged me to present and promote myself in a way that felt entirely uncomfortable.

Yet, I am full of conviction when it comes to taking a stand for what I believe in.

I know I have a powerful story, message and purpose to share. Though it requires me to constantly go against my quiet, subtle, and reserved nature, I am fully committed to getting it out there. I feel strongly that it’s my responsibility to do everything in my power to communicate my truth.

I believe with all my heart that the more we all speak up, the quicker we will gain traction with healing this world we live in.

While I’ve been stepping out of my comfort zone and speaking my truth online for the past several months, I hadn’t yet done so in front of a larger, live audience … until this past weekend, that is!

It was totally bold and wild, it felt bizarrely uncomfortable and over my head, but in the words of late self-help luminary, Susan Jeffers, “I felt the fear and did it anyway.” I told my story into a microphone in front of a room full of influential entrepreneurs including Derek Halpern, Jonathan Fields and Ramit Sethi, as well as dozens of media folks. And it was incredible!

So how does someone like me who is truly just an introverted nerd with a deep affinity for reading and writing step onstage (both figuratively through my online business and literally) like I did?

I have a rip-roaring strong community.

Recently, I started working with a solid group of women who’ve come together to support one another to take a bigger stand for their message. Through the mentoring and support of Selena Soo, we are all taking the risk to step to greater levels of visibility on behalf of our personal message and purpose. The fact that we all have each other to cheer us along is massive.

As a matter of fact, as I look back on all of the major things I’ve accomplished, I have to say they’ve all been done in the context of a super strong support system. (Left to my own devices, I’d still be scrawling away in my journal, while working on corporate ethics and compliance behind a desk under fluorescent lights somewhere in Jersey.)

When I traveled around the world, I had a strong community back home who believed in me and encouraged me from afar. After I found myself in an unfulfilling corporate job, my husband called me day in and day out to ask if I had given my resignation, until I finally quit. Then, before I launched my online business, I nestled into the support of three — yes three — groups dedicated to cheering one another on. They helped me beyond measure to launch this site.

As independent as I am, every single risk I’ve ever taken has happened in the context of a strong community.

This week, I want you to think about your own community. Who are the people in your life you can lean into for support so you can step out in a bigger way? Who are the people you can support so they can step up to their next level?

One of the quickest ways to get what you need is to give it to someone else; call it karma if you want. I’ve seen it over and over again in my life. The more I show up for others in the ways I desire being shown up for, the quicker I receive support in the ways I most desire.

Consider this: if you had just 1% more courage to take a risk in life, what would you do?  Feel free to leave a comment below.

As always, I send you my love.

Warmly,

Jenn