If you’ve ever been called ‘nice’ – and most of us have, at some point in our lives – you may feel as if you’ve been damned with faint praise. Being nice – agreeable, pleasant, easy-going – is a good thing, some of the time. But sometimes it can be a curse, especially when you’re a creative type who wants to be seen and heard. Nicky says: I realised early on in life that I had a natural ability … [Read more...] about Is being too nice holding you back from having an impact?
Trailblazing Creatives
Does it really make a difference when you tell stories on social media?
Over the past few weeks I’ve been conducting a social media experiment. Having lost my mojo and gone through a phase of posting hardly anything for months, I re-engaged by setting the intention of finding and sharing stories on Facebook and Instagram rather than just posting pictures with short captions or random updates. My hope was that sharing stories that made a point would create more … [Read more...] about Does it really make a difference when you tell stories on social media?
Stop hating self-promotion and start letting people fall in love with you
Self-promotion. What does it mean to you? To me it means anything that helps to raise my profile and reach the people I most want to work with. It’s about me but it’s not all about me, if that makes sense. So I was shocked when I Googled ‘self-promotion’ and at the top of the page was the following definition: “The action of promoting or publicising oneself or one’s activities, especially in a … [Read more...] about Stop hating self-promotion and start letting people fall in love with you
Don’t get stuck in a compartment (with a weirdo) – celebrate your whole self
Are you old enough to remember those ancient railway carriages that had compartments? You know, the ones with bench seats that, if you were travelling on the last train home, you would avoid like the plague in case a weirdo sat next to you? Well, I do. I got stuck in one once and couldn’t get out – but that’s another story. Compartments. You get stuck in them and can’t get out. So why oh … [Read more...] about Don’t get stuck in a compartment (with a weirdo) – celebrate your whole self
Why storytelling helps you to show up rather than show off
A few years ago, when I was training to become a public speaker, I came up against a barrier. Whenever I did an exercise that required me (an introvert) to ‘go bigger’, I resisted. My worry was that people would think I was showing off. It was only after receiving consistent feedback that I wasn’t being annoying or over the top that I accepted that what felt like showing off to me was having a … [Read more...] about Why storytelling helps you to show up rather than show off
What a drag queen taught me about the power of sharing your story
I’m a big fan of Netflix. I’m always looking for TV series to get stuck into and, a couple of weeks ago, on a whim I decided to start watching RuPaul’s Drag Race. I was soon hooked on the format – The Apprentice for drag queens – and found myself in awe of the transformation these guys went through and what a high art drag is when it’s done to this level of perfection. But more than that, I was … [Read more...] about What a drag queen taught me about the power of sharing your story