Stand Up: Own Your Voice

I just finished up an 8 week Signature Story Boot Camp course led by fabulous author Rachel Resnick and I must say, I’m a bit sad that it’s all over.  At the same time, I am eager to move onto the next step in my business + personal life, as I am figuring out that life is pretty much all about facing some pain, learning lessons, and making progress.  Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like I’ve been swimming upstream for far too many years and that my friends, makes for a tired, worn-out girl.

Signature Story Unleashed

What is a Signature Story Boot Camp? I’m glad you asked. No real calisthenics were required, but bet and believe our stiff, scrawny writing muscles and comfort zones were stretched.  The course was by far more than I imagined it would be, and hey, that’s a relief knowing that I actually invested real money into it!

First, a Signature Story is simply a story, but not just any old story. It’s not the story you want everyone to hear. It’s not the fairy tale story. It’s not like the stories your mom read to you while tucking you in a night. No. It’s the deeper story. The story you have to pull out from the crusty crevices of your war torn heart. The story behind the freaking little mask that you wear all the time so people think that you’re actually better off than you really are.

The raw, beautiful, authentic, and life-changing story.

I chuckle as I say that because I just so happened to wear a mask most of my life and I’m telling you so many people bought it. They actually thought I was happy!  Sigh.  Masks suck.  They really mess up your potential and at the same time suck the real life right out of you. You know. The fun kind of life where you smile at strangers, skip down the street, or dance in your underwear while getting ready for work.

Boot Camp = discipline + commitment + therapy

In Rachel’s Boot Camp we had weekly educational and inspiration online chats + writing therapeutic sessions as I like to call them because much of the work had us delving back into our childhoods writing about some shit.  Well, it didn’t have to be about some shit, but most of us ended up writing about the messed up, twisted events that stood out to us from our wee years.  The alcoholic father. The suicidal mother. The sexual abuse. Yeah.

Twisted stuff that shouldn’t happen to little kids. I know for me the exercises took me to some of the most painful life events of my life and though it made me shed droplets of pain onto the paper, at the same time it was very therapeutic.  After all, revisiting old wounds and especially writing about them has a way of easing the pain and applying healing balm on the heart. It’s actually quite miraculous.

The power of voice

Other aspects of the course included discovering our voice and making a commitment to growing our business in creative and authentic ways.  The owning the voice thing rocked my world because so much of my life I basically just went with status quo and staying within the confines of “normalcy” because I absolutely hated the idea of conflict or standing apart from the crowd. Plus, I wanted everyone to like me! Ha. That set me up for some disappointment!

My voice. What is my voice? I’m still discovering the rich fullness, but one thing I have discovered is that I am 100% alright with whatever my voice is!  Yes. No one else has to approve. Not my friends, exes, kids, teachers…. NO ONE!

My voice is mine and I am alright with whatever it sounds like! After all, that is authenticity right there and I’ve done enough entertaining fakeness to last a lifetime! I’m owning it! So I’m owing my voice. I’m owning my life as a matter of fact.

Interesting how bucking up to own one thing causes a trickle effect and you buck up and own other things too.  Oh, and I’m owning my finances.  No longer will I play patty cake with the poverty mentality.  No longer will I rely on others for some sort of security. No longer will I settle for menial wages when I am worthy of so much more! After all, money is simply vibrational frequencies that manifest in this place we call “earth”. 

Can we really comprehend that? Do we really realize that money is nothing more than an energetic vibration just like everything else in the world? Good lord we need to shift our perception of reality! Why the hell NOT? As I move forward with my life in this state of “awakeness”, I am so freaking excited!

Who knows the possibilities of my future? Who knows how one class, one word, one person can shift momentum in a mighty big way? Who knows if one woman who has spent a lifetime with a certain “poor me” attitude can finally make such a radical shift that ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN? Ha. I’m in. I’m on board.

Get to the guts of who you are!

If there is one thing I want to get across to women (and men if applicable) is TAKE YOUR MASK OFF.  Find a way to get to the guts of who you are. Peel back the layers. Excavate the shit. Stop pretending. God, just stop pretending! Freedom comes when you can own your truth no matter what that truth is.  Are you a mess? Own it. Are you fake? Own it. Are you afraid to do something different? Own it. Then do something about it. Be vulnerable. Go on a new life adventure. Take your garments of blame and shame off and throw them in the fire.

I’ve been there. Heck, most of us have been there. It’s time to move! There is a shift occurring. A conscious global shift.  I feel it. Many feel it.  If you will get quiet with yourself and get real with yourself, you will feel it too. Then, you’ll be way more apt to discover the power of your voice.  Jump on board. You’re worthy no matter what your past and present looks like. 

Own YOU. Discover you and your voice. Don’t give up. Don’t settle!  I’m adamant about this because I used to be in such darkness and so blind. I mean crazy blind.  But when the blinders come off, when the shackles come off, when the fucking mask comes off… Oh. My. Gawh. No words adequately describe it. Only tears of pure, authentic joy and gratitude describe it. In an explosive way.

So thank you to those who stayed with me through all those dark, confused years. Thank you to those that believed in me and loved me even when I was a hot mess. Thank you to those that are with me now, cheering me on in so many ways. I love you all. The real kind of love.  

The kind that lasts.