The Edgy Business of Showing How Much You Care
The main bit of magic that I teach social purpose entrepreneurs and creative pixies is how to find and tell their story. This is an inside out job — we dig deep into the story threads of our life to find our WHY? story.
Once we have that story (and it will change and evolve) we gain coherence, meaning — and therefore, power.
I recently had an a-ha moment working in a group with one such story.
Lisa Matzi is a gifted entrepreneur and UX designer. As a teenager, she became desperately worried about the degradation of the planet. She developed insomnia. She felt utterly alone, unable to understand why more people weren’t as alarmed as she was. The insomnia worsened. Eventually her mother took her to a good therapist and she found someone who could give her sensitivity a place. Today she runs And the Future, a brilliant environmental awareness group, among other great projects.
I have listened to umpteen talks and TV shows about the state of the planet but none moved me as much as hearing Lisa share how much she cares. There were more than a few teary eyes in the room.
A penny dropped.
So often we are taught that being visible is about “getting out there and making yourself seen”.
This is inherently limiting — and actually not that interesting.
VISIBILITY is only really compelling when it involves being seen for what we care about.
That’s also why it’s scary. In a hardened, cynical world it takes courage to allow others to see what we care about and -more importantly- how much we care.
It’s vulnerable. And that’s why it’s powerful.
A simple exercise I invite clients to try out is to make a 1-minute video talking about something you care about. It can be anything — your dog, the tree outside your window, street food, whatever. The only rule is that before speaking, you connect internally to how you feel about this thing. Speak from that heartfelt place. Then share it!
Allowing that care to speak is what makes any content come alive. It will always touch and move your audience. Our world is hungry for that level of care because secretly we all feel it.
Happy Earth Day! May we all show wild care for our planet.
++ The next VISIBILITY program starts May 11.
