We are not always going to feel like going on stage or showing up.
The last two weeks have had some ups and downs. Life is full of phases and cycles, and this week was it’s own mini phase and cycle of ebb and flow.
So, when we have to show up for our business and create compelling content, how do we honour both the messages that are coming in, but also stay present in our biz?
The truth is, it’s a careful dance of self-care and action-taking.
How does this apply to speaking and communication? Well, we are not always going to ‘feel like’ going on stage, appearing at that networking event, being on video, or otherwise ‘showing up’.
But professionals show up. Every day. They show up, do the work, BUT they also know when to lean back and listen to that inside nudge to take time for the self.
I’ve had some emotionally challenging news this past few weeks. One of my singing teachers & mentors from my time at McGill University, Prof. Winston Purdy (pictured with me below), passed away. I didn’t even know he was in hospital.
This news made teaching my students and seeing my clients the next day very poignant, and, at times, challenging. I thought of phrases I used that I had learned from him.
When we work with a coach on a weekly basis for two years, they see parts of your soul that your own spouse may never see. It’s very vulnerable. And beautiful.
So when one of your mentors passes on, it can take some time to adjust to that new reality.
How are you going to show up as a Pro in 2018?
However, it occurred to me that my Prof. Purdy also lives on in the legacy of teaching and guiding of voices that are still singing and working on professional stages & schools all over the world!
What a great thought!
But, when I started to think like a Pro, I found where I needed to balance and where I needed to take the space to honour my teacher on my own. Through teaching and passing on the knowledge and learnings he shared with me.
I honoured my teacher in my teaching, my rehearsals, my coaching and in my own meditations this week. And I showed up for my clients and my students.
My question to you is; how can you show up as even MORE of a pro in your work? If you want to be more visible in the world – be it online, on video, or on a stage, what does that look like?
Can you see it clearly in your mind? Good. Make it happen.
Go ahead – share with us how you are going to show up as a Pro in 2018. What do you have to Shift in order to make it happen?
Jen Lang, Voice and Communications Coach