Just over a week ago I spoke to a room full of inspired women (and two amazing men) about the impact they want to have on the world, and making sure it was embedded into their business’s purpose and vision. If you had asked me at any time prior to the talk I would have told you how nervous I was and questioned why the hell I was doing it. Even in those times when I knew I could do it I would still question if my talk topic was wrong or if I knew enough about it to be giving a talk at all.

But guess what? I pushed through, stood there and spoke about my ideas, thoughts and passions. And they listened. Afterwards — when I got off the stage — the connections I made were amazing. In those post-talk conversations I then got a further chance to speak about what it is I do and understand how it relates to others, plus hear their valuable stories. For me the lesson was huge:

It is so easy sometimes as business owners to hide from communicating our ideas and work. We think we are communicating through social media or diligently writing blog posts (both of which are very important) but constantly pushing ourselves beyond our comfort zones and reaching out via an intentional quest for influence, impact and transformation is the only way to grow your business and spread your message.

I have just told you about the fear I experienced. Fear of not being good enough, not knowing enough, people not liking me or making a fool of myself. I know you have these fears as well. But in that moment — and across that whole day — when I was not afraid of being seen real magic happened. I gave my talk, I connected, I listened and my business and my message took a big leap forward.

And why wasn’t I afraid to be seen? I elevated the impact I wanted to have above my own fears and worries. I knew the key was to get out of my own way and make the story in my own head not about me but about those I wanted to connect with.

This is definitely not about changing who you are. It is not about being an extrovert or an expert at networking. It is about stepping into the spotlight and sharing your own bold ideas and thoughts in a genuine way in order to inspire others. Each and every woman I spoke alongside at the Inspired Women event did this. They shared their ideas, thoughts and vulnerabilities in order to pass on a message that was important to them and hence became important to the audience.

After all, it is having a real impact on the world which drives us. Using your business as a force for good and being intentional in your work each and every day. But we can’t do this if we don’t show up and get in front of people.

So… have a think about how you can be seen and show up in 2016. How can you stop thinking about your own roadblocks and start focusing on the people you want to serve? It doesn’t have to be a talk (even though I highly recommend it) but it should push you outside your comfort zone, embrace your unique point of view and be true to yourself so you can connect with those that care.

It might be emailing a website you love to write a guest post for. It might be finding a new medium to tell your story, like podcasting. It might be doing that first video post or offering yourself for an interview. Whatever it involves, know that the feelings of fear will come (as they always travel with anything exciting) so embrace them, revisit the impact you want to have and keep going.

If you happened to be in the audience at the “Inspired Women” event I spoke at in Melbourne thank you for being such a loving and enthusiastic audience. And as always if you have any questions, need any support or just want to chat send me an email.