Whoops, I over-shared.
I've been writing for a long time, especially publishing personal essays in places like MindBodyGreen, where I didn't feel like I was oversharing — I just felt like I was sharing.
But, I just got a Voxer from my previous mindset coach, a woman I highly respect and admire, who said:
"I've been following along in your posts in your group and newsletter, and... well... I kind of feel like you're all over the place. As an entrepreneur, I think it's best if you share what you've learned AFTER the fact, not while you're going through it? Otherwise, you're not creating a platform for business so much as you're just creating a place for personal sharing."
She felt nervous about telling me these things.
She didn't know how it'd land with me.
But, she felt like she'd be doing me a disservice if she didn't say something.
I've been asking for mentors and, well, I'm grateful for the straight-talkers. My mindset coach is from the east coast and isn't all into the woo, though she understands that's a lot of where I'm coming from.
Still, her point when it comes to business is, "Your clients want to buy from someone they can trust. Someone who's standing for something. It seems to me you're not yet clear on that?"
The truth is, in all transparency, I AM figuring myself out. I'm going through things with my life, myself, my marriage (the image above is the post from my group where I talk about potentially exploring open marriage), where I'm shifting the paradigm and learning as I go.
Writing, and sharing with a tribe, is indeed how I process.
So where's the fine line between sharing too much personally and sharing purposefully to generate profit?
How does an authenticity coach go about learning to bridge this divide?
I'll tell you that I don't regret talking about it. It's part of my life.
And, I never aim to make it someone else's problem.
But, given that we're always learning, I think I can indeed take a step back and start sharing more openly when I've moved through it, to reach out to a trusted group of confidantes, and to also understand that I take everything with a grain of salt, because at the end of the day, everything is everyone's opinion.
What's right for me, may not be right for someone else, and I have to sit with what's true in my deepest inner being.
I believe that everything is working out for me, so even this is a fantastic learning opportunity to explore where I stand. (Whoops, isn't this what my mindset coach said I should avoid doing? Sharing before I'm ready?) ;)
So, I'll be honest that I don't have the perfect answer for you as a writing tip, but I will say that I fully agree you HAVE to know your ideal audience — and if you're an entrepreneur, then the audience member who's going to invest in what it is that you have to offer.
If I think about myself, I wouldn't invest in someone in a pivot. I would invest in someone who's solid and landed, so for myself, that's a great aha reality check in my business.
