IS BEING VISIBLE SCARY FOR YOU?

When we open to visibility, it’s a journey of self-discovery, not just a sharing with others.

So why would you even want to be visible? Being visible or truly seen, whether by the people you’re closest to or by your business followers, is required for genuine connection. Without it, life remains superficial which ultimately doesn’t get anyone very far.

It feels to me like learning to do this takes time and courage. All the best things in life require courage. Winston Churchill said that courage is the greatest of all the virtues because without it, none of the others can exist.

I’m not talking mostly about outward visibility; I mean actually letting people see, hear and feel who you are beneath the surface.

Pretty much everyone is scared or even terrified of being visible. Some people are so scared of the vulnerability required, even in a safe, loving relationship that they throw the relationship(s) away rather than revealing themselves. The revealing isn’t just to another person; it’s to ourselves.

WHY IS IT SO HARD OR SCARY?

For one thing, when you’re visible, you may not like what you yourself see. That can be embarrassing, humiliating, disconcerting. At its most extreme, it could uproot what you fundamentally believed about yourself.

Being fully visible to your business followers isn’t the same as airing dirty laundry. It does, however, require being vulnerable and sharing the human experiences that pretty much all of us go through.

WHAT'S THE REWARD?

The reward is genuine connection. We're wired for connection in this human body in this human world. Even when we're introverts, loners, scared mo fo's.

I’ve been working for the past few years and especially since the very difficult past 7 months, when a series of life pummeling things happened, to show more of who I am to a wider audience.

It’s not a requirement to let the whole world know about every trial and tribulation you’ve been through. That’s what we all know as TMI. What I feel people appreciate deeply, though, is when they can relate to your struggles and victories because you share your vulnerabilities.

Here’s to our mutual courageous visibility. What’s your experience of visibility been like?

P.S. This is another reason entrepreneurship is the modern spiritual journey -- because it requires visibility to gain clients and that requires the kind of showing up that leads to real growth and connection.