My favorite quote ever is Marianne Williamson’s “Our Deepest Fear.”
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
You may be wondering what this has to do with marketing. Let’s take a closer look at “we are powerful beyond measure.” We are all using our power, all the time, whether we’re conscious of it or not. Almost 90 percent of thinking is subconscious, which means we operate on autopilot most of our lives. If that’s the case, we’ve got to look at what’s hardwired because it’s responsible for our outcomes. We want to take notice of what we’re thinking about, as it informs our actions. The outer is created by the inner.
So, how are you using your power? In other words, how are you thinking about marketing? Do you think marketing is annoying to people? That no one is going to buy in this economy? That you need more training before you can market yourself? That you need to lower your fees until you earn a certain credential?
If any of these resonate, I bet you’re using your power to attract struggle and lack. The first thing we’ve got to do is awaken to what we are REALLY thinking. Take a hard look at what keeps us from letting our “light shine.” I’m not talking about symptoms such as time management or procrastination, or lack of marketing know-how. Nope. I don’t buy any of that, actually. I’m asking what is driving that behavior? What fear? What self-limiting thought or question lingers for you? Still, after all these years.
Since you own your power, it’s simply a matter of getting back into the drivers seat to harness it, taking advantage of one of the greatest gifts we have—the ability to change our fear-based thinking.
“As we are liberated from our fear” we stop worrying about the future and get present to what we deserve and who we’re capable of becoming. Our new way of thinking becomes hardwired over time and helps us create the sustainable business that “liberates others” and allows them to experience our gift.
It then becomes a habit to use our power to generate a continual flow of clients, making money doing what we love, and receiving accolades for work done well.
And it all starts with getting conscious. Are you ready to harness your power so that you’re creating what you want for your business? Are you ready to let your light shine?