Melinda: Hey, good morning! You know I do these Facebook lives and I do a lot of trainings on a regular basis. And one of the things that’s always interesting is when I tell people that I’m an introvert. They’re like “There’s no way you’re an introvert. It can’t be possible! You’re always out there, you’re always on the on Facebook, you’re always doing trainings, you love being on stage. Like, how can you be an introvert?” And it’s true, I am an introvert. And so I want to share with you how you can be seen in your business even if you’re an introvert. Because I find that a majority of the entrepreneurs out there are introverts.

Now I probably fall on the scale of being more in the middle, like I don’t know if I’m an introvert and extrovert, or the most outgoing introvert. I don’t know… But what I do know is that as an
introvert I have got to find time, create time, and make time for renewal in a quiet place alone. Maybe with my husband because he’s also an introvert. But I can put myself out there and you can too! We just have to really pay attention about how we refuel.

So when to give you some insights today that helped me, as an introvert, to put myself out there constantly in my business. Because that’s where the magic happens, right? You can’t stay hidden behind your computer at the safety of your desk! You got to get out there if you want to share your message and help people that you’re meant to serve!

So the first thing that I’m crystal clear on is “why”. Why do I do this every day? Like the great big “why”, not so I can get clients and make money. I would call that a pretty decent “why”, but when you get those clients and make that money, what is that gonna mean to you? And keep really digging in to identify your “why”. When you know your “why” it is a pull and a calling that helps you overcome so many challenges, and frustrations, and fears, and doubts. It just kind of minimizes them and put some in perspective. So when I remember why I’m doing this – because I want to help other entrepreneurs and coaches live the life of their dreams, live their full potential – and I have the ability to help them do that, I’ve got tools and resources and an insight that can help them. So I got to figure out how to get myself out there.

And then to know your people, know your tribe, know your community, know what their challenges and their struggles are know, what their yearning desires and deep goals and dreams are. When you know this you can have massive compassion for them, and it really helps you to kind of set your fears aside or any doubts you might have, and be like “you know what? It’s all about them. It’s not about me”.

So that’s as an introvert. I always make it about them. Before I start a Facebook live, I envision who am I talking to, not just an audience of people, but very specific people, like “Patty’s on the line. I’d be talking to Patty right now.” And I envision there’s one or two or three people that I’m talking to, to help communicate something to them. So it takes it from this great big audience, down to a very intimate conversation that a lot of people get to have privy to, right? So make it about them, and that becomes fuel that helps you to overcome those fears and doubts. It’s like “you know what? I’m super nervous, I don’t know if I’m good at this, I don’t know if I can do this, but I’m going to because I have information that will help somebody else on their journey. And that’s what love to do. I love to help people be their best and do their best.”

The other thing that I do is refuel regularly. This is so important for an introvert! In fact, I start my day, I don’t refuel, I start by getting fueled up. And I take this so seriously, and I think this is one of my secret weapons: I have anywhere from a three to four hour window in the morning for my rituals, my morning ritual with my husband, and I’m getting ready for work and getting ready for the day. And it’s very intentional, where we’re working out, I’m doing meditating, I’m making sure I’ve got a good breakfast, my green smoothie that I make every morning. So I’m filling up my physical body, my mental body, my emotional body, my energetic body. I’m filling it to the place of overflow so that I can give of the overflow right when I first get started. When you’re fully fueled and charged, and you’re working on all cylinders, it’s a lot easier to put yourself out there. Your fears don’t they don’t have the hold on you because you’ve got the energy to move through those fears and doubts.

So start by fueling yourself now. This takes discipline. Took me years to get to this and yes, I know you’re saying “but I have kids, and I’ve got little ones, and they’re going to school.” And that’s true! And I understand that. I had step kids I was getting ready for school, making those lunches, taking them to school. All that stuff happened. And you figure it out. Because you prioritize yourself. That’s a big deal right there: you prioritize yourself and your self-care so that, not only can you start your day from a place of fueled up, but then throughout the day, I take little refuel breaks. And it might be just five minutes where I go out back and walk around in the backyard with the sun, get a little bit of vitamin D, a little bit of recharge. It might be that I go and, you know, one of my indulgences is NCIS. I might go sit and watch one episode and I just completely disconnect. Or I might go on a walk, or I might go get a Starbucks, or get a manicure, take a nap. Doesn’t have to be big or extravagant, but how can you refuel in little snippets and pockets throughout the day. It keeps your energy up so that you can give from that overflow continuously.

And then the last thing that I like to do is when I’m going to events, whether it’s a networking event, or a party, or a gathering, or whatever it might be, doing a training, being on stage, whatever it is, I like to set intentions. Like “what are my intentions?” And I try not to get too big with them, right? If I’m gonna go to, like at my mastermind when there’s 50 of us, it’s like “okay, we can do this.” And I really set my intention. I was like “I want to connect with two people while I’m here.” And I get super focused. So when I get in it doesn’t seem overwhelming that I’ve got to connect with everybody. It’s like, “I’m gonna connect with two people”. Or if I’m in a networking event it’s like “you know what? I want to have five conversations and get five business cards. Or get ten people to enroll into my lead magnet.” Whatever it is, I set my intentions so that I don’t have to feel, like “oh my gosh! I’ve got to talk to everybody here”. And then I can be conscious and diligent about how I move through this space. So those are some of my secrets to how I, as an introvert, put myself out there on a regular basis. I hope that’s helped you.

Now one of the last thing that I do is – I usually have. I call it a wingwoman, accountability partner, a friend, a colleague, whatever you want to call it. And I have that person that I share my intentions with if I’m going to an event, or a networking event. And we partner up beforehand and it’s like “this is what I want to get out of the event.” And we tell each other that, we go to the event and we help each other. And so if I have a wingwoman, like Patty let’s say, you’re my wing woman, and we go to a networking event, you might know John and you bring him over to introduce him to me. So I don’t have to put forth all that effort as an introvert to go over aintroduce myself, right? So that having a wing woman, or that accountability partner along with you really helps to put yourself out there.

So I’m gonna keep this series going because I hear a lot about “how do I put myself out there, how do I be seen, I’m an introvert, it’s really hard.” So I’m gonna kind of dissect this and several of these Facebook lives. But if you’re an introvert, I’d love for you to comment below. What’s one of the tips that helps you put yourself out there in your business? Comment below and let’s collectively create this for all the introverted entrepreneurs out there, so that we can get our message out there, so we can be seen, so we can serve the people waiting for the solutions and resources that we have for them.

I believe in you. I know you can do this! I’m so proud of you! And post below. I want to hear what you got to share on this topic.