100 Ways: to Put Yourself Out There
When I was 15, my favourite subject at school was French. I desperately wanted to live as an exchange student in France, but mum and dad said no as it was too expensive. So, I decided to get a casual job to pay for it myself. Everyone thought I was crazy. The other parents at the school thought my parents were even crazier for letting me go on my own. Here I was, going to live with a family I had never met on the other side of the world!
By the time I was 16, I had saved enough money to go and live with my pen friend (yes we had pen friends before Facebook!) and her family in Toulouse, which is a beautiful city in the South of France. I went to school, joined the ski club, visited Paris and improved my French. It was such an amazing opportunity and one of the first experiences I had of really putting myself out there. I was scared to death, but I just knew that I didn't want to get down the track and regret that I didn't do it.
Me with Santa on the Champs Elysees in Paris, December 1995
It takes courage and vulnerability to put ourselves out there and it's the same when we're trying to create content. It's not comfortable, and we face every fear and objection not to. We may say things to ourselves like:
What I have to say isn't good enough
I'm not smart enough
People will judge and laugh at me
People will stop following me
What could I have to say that hasn't already been said?
And yet, this is part of the experience; to test your potential and to see what happens. I find that the real underlying reason why we fear putting ourselves out there is that we don't know what will happen. We have no control over the outcome.
And yet the irony is if we don't put ourselves out there, we're in less control. The world is then in control of us, and we're at the peril of our environment and economic circumstances. When we don't put ourselves out there and out of our comfort zones, we live a life half lived. We risk regret and not achieving our potential. Even if things go wrong, it's better than never taking the chance at all because we grow and learn from the experience.
Brene Brown, the author of Dare to Lead says that "To be vulnerable - to really put yourself out there, and lean into it - is to live courageously."
The more you put yourself out there every day, the more it just becomes second nature, and you can shift from overthinking to executing.
Here is a list of 100 things you could do to put yourself out there. Have you done any of these?
Travel
Put your LinkedIn profile up
Ask to interview your favourite celebrity or expert
Write a book
Write a blog
Record a podcast
Apply for that dream job
Join a meetup group
Ask to speak at an event
Create an event and invite your ideal clients
Nurture your top clients, check-in and ask them how they are
Run a webcast
Talk to a recruiter
Write a press release and get in the media
Share your story
Learn to be funny, attend a comedy course
Do a video blog
Create a whitepaper
Hire a stylist
Travel somewhere you have never been
Live overseas for three months
Go to an industry conference
Create that invention
Busk out on the street
Record a song and publish it on Youtube
Enrol in the course you've always wanted to do
Ask someone on a date
Buy that designer outfit
Rent a sports car for the weekend
Get a cleaner
Get the house redecorated
Invite someone you admire to lunch
Pay to be mentored by your favourite expert
Join a gym
Create a Youtube Channel and share your expertise
Create a website
Buy your domain name (your name[.]com.)
Start your business
Undertake the redundancies you have been avoiding
Ask for help (counsellor, coach, etc)
Talk to your family
Work out what you can do to help someone in need
Join a choir
Write a book, business or wine review
Write to the author of your favourite book and tell them how much you enjoyed their latest book or blog
Book a table at a conference for your best clients
Send a thank you gift and personalise it for your clients
Create a vision board
Tell someone you love them
Ask for a pay increase
Give someone the feedback you have been putting off
Ring your accountant and sort out your finances
Talk to a doctor about your health and get a check-up
Talk to a personal trainer about getting your exercise routine in place
Ask for an upgrade on your hotel room if you've been a loyal customer
Volunteer your time for your favourite charity
Get that hairstyle you have always wanted
Start your clothing range
Set up your online store
Reach out and ask a store owner to stock your invention or product range
Ask your clients for a referral
Do a live video on your social media
Set up your profile on Fiverr or Upwork
Join a mastermind
Join a cooking class
Attend a speed-dating event
Sell your unwanted items on eBay or Facebook Marketplace
Host a dinner party or BBQ for your friends to meet
Wear that bright outfit you've always wanted to
Apply to do a TEDx talk
Design a survey and ask your friends to complete
Set a sales goal for your business
Send a book proposal to a publisher
Attend an art, pottery or design class and get your creativity flowing
Learn a language
Try using the local language when you travel
Talk to the chef at your favourite restaurant and tell them how much you like their cooking
Compliment someone on what they're wearing or on what you like most about them
Take the initiative to book something fun for a date night with your loved one
Book tickets to see your favourite band
Say no to people wasting your time and energy
Run a marathon
Learn how to surf
Join a tour of a local city
Rent a room in an Airbnb and stay with locals rather than a hotel
Attend an Art Gallery or Exhibition
Spend Christmas in another country
Go to school in another country
Host an exchange student
See snow for the first time
See the beach for the first time
Organise for your family or friends to rent a house at the beach for a week
If you're travelling alone, join a tour group
Do canteen duty at school
Coach your kid's soccer, netball or footy team
Learn to play an instrument
Build an online course in your area of expertise
Share stories of your childhood with your kids
Teach your nieces and nephews about your favourite hobbies when you were a kid
Join a book club
What have you done to put yourself out there? What would you add to the list?
Jane Anderson is a Strategic Communications expert, speaker and the author of 7 books including the upcoming “Catalyst Content.” With over 20 years of experience helping people to communicate confidently, she is obsessed about creating human connection to drive business growth in a world of disruption and automation. To inquire about her working with you or your organisation please contact us here.