--CHAPTER 2-- Get Ready For A Personal And Professional Growth Spurt "Remember the good old days when spam only came through your computer?" This first year of building your social media machine, putting yourself out there, just being yourself, may be the most uncomfortable and vulnerable year of your life-especially for shy and perfectionist types. (Again, welcome to my world.) You will be learning social media in a very public way. You will feel awkward because you will misstep and have imperfect moments. As professionals, we love feeling polished and competent at our craft. We often won't even try something if we think we won't be good at it. I see this all the time. I've been teaching dance to adults for twenty-one years and the most highly educated professionals can be the hardest to teach in a group lesson. They spend much of the time thinking they look stupid, they are no good, and that they should just quit. This internal monologue presents as tightness in the body, inability to keep the beat, and complete discomfort. Those who are more relaxed in their lives tend to learn better in a social environment because they seem to go with the flow more naturally. Striving for a polished, competent, professional front is a great way to create barriers for your own journey as well as in connecting with others. Hiding behind the mask of professionalism may seem easy. People see you up on a pedestal for your amazingness. It feels great to be lauded, but the pedestal is a lonely place. It can become a cage, with increasing expectations of greatness suffocating you. Even worse, if you misstep and fall off that pedestal, it can be socially devastating. So why not start with your feet safely on the ground among the other mortals? Besides, who wants to be perfect, anyway? Perfect people are boring and just make others feel like they are not good enough. Remember, missteps and imperfect moments get people interested in what you are doing. People enjoy seeing process, evolution, and imperfection. Mostly, they like it because they can't even imagine themselves doing what you are doing; they would be too scared. When you do it, you become a superhero to others. So, sit down, strap yourself in, and get ready for the most fun roller coaster ride in your personal and professional evolution! Why Become An Influencer As A Professional? The dream for most professionals is to do the work they love for clients who want their services, while earning more and working less. Most professionals never achieve the dream because: They don't know how to market the services they love to do They don't know how to attract clients who want their services They try to work harder rather than smarter, resulting in earning less and working more It is sad to watch many of the most talented professionals in the world not achieve the financial and professional success they deserve and be surpassed by less talented, less dedicated, but more outgoing colleagues. These talented professionals' stories of why they have not realized their full potential financially and professionally often have these common themes: They are humble They are introverts They do not like to talk about themselves because they are harshly judgmental of their own words You can be the most talented person in the world, but if no one knows who you are or what you are capable of, you will never realize your full potential, professionally or financially. You will also not be able to help the clients who need you most. What a shame! In walks social media. Social media can get the word out about your awesomeness, especially if you are truly outstanding at what you do. Our striving for perfection, and our expectation of it in others, is what drives our fear-which often comes out as criticism. How often do you have an advertisement show up that makes you say, "Seriously, who would buy this stuff?" How often does someone post something, and after spending a few minutes watching it, you say, "Well, that's three minutes of my life I'll never get back!"-or is it just me? If you are nervous about stepping into the limelight, you have every right to be! It is scary to put yourself out there, especially in a professional setting. You never know how someone is going to react to what you are posting. Secretly, we all want to be patted on the back for a job well done. However, if that is your sole motivation, you will lose your authenticity as you give in to the glamour of social media accolades. Resist the temptation to mold yourself to professional expectations and instead put your real self out there. It is scarier than the mask of perfection, but it is easier in the long run because you can stick to the truth of who you are. This translates to continuing to be the real person people will meet. The real you is the right you; it will be easier to stand behind and be proud of that version every minute of every day. So, what are the boundaries on being the real you? There is too little, too much, and just right. Too little equates to bending to professional expectations-leaving your audience yawning and reaching to look at someone else's feed because you have nothing unique to say. Too much comes off as OMG, please make it stop-those shares that trigger anger, fear, or disgust. Just right receives reactions of Wow! because the content was weird, fascinating, funny, or novel. Over the next year, you will figure out the best mix for yourself. You will discover and harness your unique superpower (even your vulnerabilities) and your professional experiences to make those the center of your social media story. Your social media machine is going to increase your credibility and expert status so fast that you will be shocked at how quickly you gain more visibility, more clients, and more sales. Be The Change You Wish To See I originally thought the world of social media was a mundane and grandiose waste of my precious time. Eventually, this annoyance turned to curiosity and then sparked a desire in me to create a change for people. "Be the change you wish to see in the world" (Gandhi) became a guiding light. I wanted to put out information that was going to benefit other dentists and professionals while being entertaining at the same time. I wanted to put content out that would have people saying, "That was the best three minutes I spent this week." Be the change you wish to see in the world is an amazing mantra for those trying to leverage social media in the professional world. I want you to see social media not for the vanity of it, but for the formidable educational platform it is. With that as your refrain, you have an opportunity to showcase your knowledge, your passion, and your talent in a way no one else can-in a way that can help others by helping them to learn while also allowing them to discover you for the services you offer. You may have to be braver than you are right now because you are exposing yourself to the larger online world, including inevitable harsh criticism, hateful trolls, and even unkind backlash. But here's another secret of a healthy social media machine: it's armor against negativity. If you straighten up after a taunt or nasty review, throw your shoulders back, and bravely march forward, continuing to be the change you wish to see, the online reputation you have built as an influencer will continue to carry you-and you will become a more credible influencer and industry expert. Experts are not fazed by anything because they know their value. Credibility comes from long-term consistency, knowledge, passion, and connection. Social media has the ability to destroy. Social media has the ability to rebuild. Social media also has the ability to inspire and empower. As you intentionally build your personal brand through social media, you will influence what people think when they hear your name-even if it has not been great in the past. Even if you have been publicly excoriated by clients over past experiences while you were going through a less-than-stellar phase of business growth, social media offers the opportunity to redesign and rebuild things, starting right now. I have a client who, unfortunately, went through a rough time in her life. As it was happening, it was reflected in the service she provided to clients, and that period has been remembered by her small community. Five years later, when anyone asks about her business in her town's Facebook group, everyone says some variation of, "Don't go there." She came to the conclusion that she has two options. Option One is to sell the business and move to another city. Option Two is to overcome her past-putting herself out there to be known for who she is today. We did an analysis of those who commented about her business on this public forum and there were people who had never even had a consultation but were still saying she was terrible. By taking the opportunity to correct course, take to social...
