I recently told my coach that I would love to sign off all my posts and emails with:
“I may also be full of shit.”
It’s not because I don’t stand by the things I write.
It’s because there are always other valid perspectives.
And some of those may be better than mine.
But the main reason is that I often feel like I’m actually full of crap.
My guess is that this is probably true for many entrepreneurs.
Here are 3 reasons why you might feel like this and how to deal with it:
1. You get that authenticity is bullshit.
Let’s face it. You can never really be fully authentic when you’re showing up online to attract clients and make money.
There’s nothing wrong with this but it needs to be acknowledged.
You can have the intention to be as real as possible and still feel like a fake because much of what you’re doing is ultimately in service to growing your business.
Instead of “being authentic”, we can aim to show up with as much integration as possible.
Not integrity – integration.
Integration of two identities: business owner + who you are at your core.
I feel particularly full of shit when I’m focusing too much on one of these over the other.
For example, the first version of this email was way too ‘business me’ so I trashed it.
If you find that something you’re doing feels like this, consider checking to see if you need to bring some different parts of yourself to your work.
2. Everything is temporary.
Entrepreneurs tend to be voracious learners.
Consistently learning leads to new points of view.
So what you’re teaching or talking about right now may not hold up in the future.
There are things I recommended years ago that I no longer think make sense.
For example, I used to advise clients to create a freebie to start building their email list.
But now, I recommend first building your list through live workshops to find out what your audience values. You can then create a freebie based on what you learn.
Accept that you’ll contradict yourself at some point.
This isn’t because you’re full of shit. It’s because you will continue to evolve as a person and business owner. And that’s a good thing.
3. You’re worried you’re starting to sound like people who are full of shit.
Have you ever wondered how certain ‘thought leaders’ got so popular when they’re not saying anything of real substance?
I’m looking at you Simon Sinek.
If you’re being too general, you may start to feel like you’re sounding a bit like them.
Their widespread appeal comes from making broad statements that sound deep but are in fact mostly meaningless.
This is why it’s so important to stand for something specific.
When you are speaking directly to a particular person at a certain point in time, your message will have a better chance of cutting through all the generic bs.
The truth is, you will always feel like you’re full of crap.
Because you are constantly assessing yourself and your work.
You care about creating something valuable.
This feeling is a necessary companion to creating great work.
Even if it means creating some subpar work along the way.
But you know, I may also be full of shit.