GREENBLASTERS!

I’m so sorry about last week.

I launched my community Speaking Heroes, and in the craziness, I completely forgot to write, much less publish, this Greenblast.

But this morning, in our daily Speaking Heroes Coffee Chat on Zoom, something really important came up:

The idea of OWNING YOUR PAIN when you speak to people.

I’ll give you 2 examples of this, which will help you think about:

• What DIFFICULTIES have you faced / do you still face as an entrepreneur?

• Are they RELEVANT to the problems your customers face?

• How do you TALK about them to help people understand you?

• And why does this MATTER?

Story #1: Pain as purpose (Part 1)

On the Zoom call this morning, one of the Speaking Heroes members shared they were dealing with some physical pain, and it was affecting the way they spoke.

They also said it made them less confident when talking to people because they’re worried they sound “weird.”

It immediately struck me, because I know that their business is about helping people with physical pain.

So I asked them:

“Why don’t you mention this pain to the people you’re talking to?”

They responded:

“If I’m selling wellness, and I’m not well, why would they buy from me?”

This made me pause.

It also made me think of another story which I told to the group, and which I’ll share here:

Story #2: If it’s affecting you, own it

I walked into my client’s office in Kensington Market and sat down.

We chatted about the guitars he had on his wall, but I was worried:

He didn’t seem excited to have me there, and wasn’t making eye contact.

I felt a bit bad, like maybe he didn’t like me or something.

We started working together, i.e. he showed me a presentation he was going to do soon, and I started asking him questions.

In this process, I learned something:

The reason he has guitars on his walls, and his company is named after a musical term, is because:

He has autism, and he grew up being excluded, but playing guitar allowed him to make friends.

All of a sudden, EVERYTHING made sense:

• his communication style

• his love for his company

• his mission of helping outside-the-box entrepreneurs

Now, back to Story #1:

Pain as purpose (Part 2)

What I told the community members on the Zoom call this morning was:

Story #2 is an example of an entrepreneur who had something that was affecting the way he spoke, and his communication confidence too.

But when he shared about growing up with autism:

This crucial bit of information made me instantly relax, and feel comfortable that he DID like me but just has a diagnosis that makes eye contact difficult.

Also, it made me ROOT for him even more, because he had been vulnerable with me by sharing his story.

Finally, it made me trust he truly gives a shit about his work.

In other words:

His pain became an asset.

So what?

Being different, or being in pain, affects you.

It affects how you talk, and how confident you are speaking to other people.

But it also might be tied to the REASON you started your company.

If this is true, then you should absolutely share it with people.

Whether you’re:

• a female entrepreneur helping other women

• somebody with a disability advocating for others

• a minority helping underrepresented founders raise money

• or somebody who dealt with something difficult that they now coach other people through

(All real examples from entrepreneurs I know)

Talk about it.

Tell people on Zoom calls if you’re dealing with it.

Write about it on social media.

This way, it becomes a recognizable part of your story that people will resonate with.

And you don’t have to fucking hide it anymore.

❤️

That’s IT for this week!

Please reply and share if you liked this, and…

Greenblast, OUT 🚀