“I’ll figure out” is commonly thrown around these days – but did you know there’s a hidden cost of saying it? In fact, trying to figure it all out on your own is the biggest mistake you can make as an aspiring thought leader. 

Today, I will talk about the hidden cost of saying I’ll figure it out. This is especially important if you are serious about fulfilling your purpose. If you are at this point where you want to create something important – whether a podcast, documentary, memoir, TedX talk, video game, foundation, or even a movement – and despite knowing what you should do, you’re not taking enough action. You’re probably trying to figure out how to get out of your own way on your own. Yet, anxiety, imposter syndrome, procrastination and caring about what others think are holding you back. Then this episode is precisely for you. 

Now, saying “I’ll figure it” out in and of itself is not a bad thing. It’s being resourceful. If you look at the common characteristics of those who rise to the top as influencers and thought leaders who are respected and heard, the majority of them were resourceful to begin with.  

Ultimately, you don’t know what you don’t know if you have never attempted to be a thought leader before. Using an employee mindset to an entrepreneurial ambition is not going to cut it either. The bravery necessary to pull this off is unlike the risks that consultants and employers can shoulder. 

What happens if you are left to figure this out on your own is that you’ll spin your wheels and waste a lot of time trying to reverse engineer what the best thought leaders are doing. Being resourceful to the point that you're pushing yourself and psyching yourself to do things that feel embarrassing, hard, and scary doesn’t mean that you should. 

You don’t need to turn a certain age like 50 or 60 to become an official thought leader, and then to finally fulfill your purpose. You don’t need to waste time reinventing the wheel and forcing yourself to pull yourself together before becoming a thought leader. You don’t need another courageous, motivational, nor mindset quote to get you over one hurdle. You don’t need more marketing and sales tools online to help you work through the logistics of becoming a thought leader (if all you needed was more templates then you’d already be one).

You need more courage to actually execute on the things that feel scariest, to step outside of your comfort zone, to get past rejections, and to move faster despite setbacks so you become unstoppable in the pursuit of your purpose.

Why try to figure out things on your own and reinvent the wheel when I have already cracked the code for aspiring thought leaders? Also, share this with someone who is having a hard time doing everything it takes to become a fearless thought leader! 

Highlights

Burnout: There are times when resourcefulness can backfire. Being too resourceful, if not done efficiently, can lead to you doing everything on your own and this leads to burnout. This could also impact your family’s quality of life as well as the people around you. Being resourceful can get you in trouble especially if you’re trying to do something you haven’t done before.

Mentorship: There’s a lot that you do not get to see behind-the-scenes that your favorite thought leaders had to do to rise to the top. They, too, needed a guide or mentor to speed up their timelines or boost their motivation despite their losses or to show them best practices to kick-ass in life. 

Courage: This is the missing piece that stops even people with years of experience from stepping up and saying they have an important message to share and that they should be heard. That’s what distinguishes a fearless thought leader from someone who someday dreams about fulfilling their purpose on their terms.

Take action: Stop waiting for the world to ask for your insights and recommendations. It’s your duty to find meaning in your life and to bring attention to the causes, mission, solutions you know you have been called to lead.

Passion: You need incredible passion to do what’s necessary to share your message or solution with the world and for it to make a real impact. Faking the funk is not going to be enough. 

Strategy: If you haven’t picked up the pace to become a fearless thought leader, it’s isn’t because you lack the right marketing tips and hints. You can find those things online. But what’s not there is a guide who can boost your courage and overcome your fears.

Recalibrate: It takes courage to reset some things when setting out to fulfill your purpose.

Resilience: It takes several steps that must be modeled, taught, rehearsed, and enhanced over a specific duration of time so that you can get to the point that being knocked down from a pedestal won’t stop you from pressing forth.  

Anxiety: You need to change your relationship with your anxiety so that you can take the biggest leaps available as early as possible.

Intuition: You have to regain access to your intuition so that you can go put yourself out there and be the loudest bullhorn for your mission, cause, or solution.

Network: Confidently engage with thought leaders and build powerful relationships before you need them. 

Creativity: Regain access knowing how to use your imagination to help seek growth opportunities that will help define you as a thought leader. 

Authenticity: Stop caring about what others think when it comes to your voice and quirky, imperfect, real personality (many people sanitize themselves when first aspiring to become a thought leader and this doesn’t work). 

Emotions: Tell your story in a way that evokes strong feelings and gets people excited about your mission, cause, or solution.

Trust: Learn to trust yourself again so that you can pick new and relevant standards for yourself and execute with consistency.

About Melissa Llarena

Melissa brings a makerspace mindset that is laser-focused on creatively making space for courage for those with a big message to share with the world. A makerspace is a collaborative workspace with very different tools meant for making things fueled by active imaginations. In a makerspace, the goal is to inspire new creations. In Melissa’s program called Courage Makerspace ™ we are making space for courage in your daily life so that you can become an incredible thought leader who has the courage to connect, communicate, and create something incredible that will have an impact on the world. 

What makes Courage Makerspace™ different is that it uniquely brings an interdisciplinary and creative approach to high-performance coaching. This online program is based on psychological principles, the art of storytelling, and incorporates proprietary experiential tools that harness the power of our imagination. Melissa has infused proven strategies and insights that have empowered clients around the world.  Her background includes a psychology degree from NYU, an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, and she holds a Transformational Coaching Academy certificate based on Tony Robbins principles and Landmark Education insights. She is a native New Yorker who has lived/worked in Paris as well as London, and courageously relocated to Sydney, Australia with her family.

Catch her Tuesdays for a new episode of An Interview With Melissa Llarena, where she brings the world’s most creative, curious, and courageous entrepreneurs to your earbuds.

Want to be a COURAGEOUS thought leader?

If you intend to become a thought leader and have the courage to communicate your message with precision, book an appointment with me in the next 24 hours. We’re going to assess where you are on this confidence journey, then we’re going to put our heads together and come up with a step-by-step game plan to define how you can rebuild your courage when you need it. Book this free session by going to http://www.melissallarena.com/sessions.

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