Welcome back! It’s been a clusterfuck of a couple of months, but we have a new episode for you and it’s all about fear and visibility – eeek!
Let’s dive in…
What we talked about
Part of having your own business, creative or otherwise, is being the public face of it – and this comes with a lot of terror for a lot of people. We explore why this might be the case, and also through a neurodivergent lens. Creative fear looks different for everyone – and also changes for each of us over time.
We always try to be honest on our podcast, so listen in to hear us both share some of our own experiences around creative fear and being visible – from Sarah letting other people read a draft of her novel, to Carla exhibiting art for the first time, and for both of us delivering work to clients and waiting for their response. The type of fear we feel does depend on the context – and we think this is probably true for most people.
And beyond our work, we’ve also both experienced conflicting and contrasting emotions around visibility in other things – public speaking, dancing – where in some contexts we’re comfortable and in others we’re very much not.
While talking about this stuff there’s an inevitable fear of judgment from people we love, hold dear, or respect – and worrying they will see us differently.
There’s the ever-present imposter syndrome, the anxeity that we might be “found out” any day now (this is a false belief, but still scary). And as late diagnosed ND creatives, we have a lot of leftover inner voices warning against being too much, or boasting, or not fitting in.
We also talk through masking and the process of unmasking, the challenge and also liberation of being wholly yourself and rewriting copy or reworking your brand & content to reflect who you are and be more authentic, and how fear impacts all of this.
Overcoming fear around visibility
Strategies for getting more visible without succumbing to the fear (or at least without letting the fear win) include remembering your why – rooting what you’re doing and saying in why you’re doing it. Sharing personal stories as the way to stand out to your most ideal clients, and consistently sharing your work – because people need multiple reminders before they “see” you and remember you (and of course this all helps to build the magic Know Like Trust).
Community and connecting both within your own industry and outside it are really important – not for comparison, but for support. Collaborations can be a wonderful way of being visible without quite so much fear, as it’s not just you doing the thing, and genuine connections are more likely to foster future goodness.
We chatted about how age and experience really shifts your perspective, and fear feels different, and the things you worry about or fear also change over time and with experience. As we get older it’s common to stop caring about judgment from others, and to show up more freely as your true self.
It wouldn’t be Creative Reboot without a tangent, and this episode’s tangent involves putting websites or your brand slogans on your bum… maybe listen for the context of that one!
Most of all, we want you to know that you are the main and ultimate differentiator in your creative work (and indeed in your non-creative work – no one else can be you). Fear will probably always be an element of creative business (and we are annoyed it never fully goes away), but you absolutely can move through it, work with it or in spite of it, and still succeed. And being your truest self really does help to cut through the noise in many spaces – authentic as a word is overused, but the concept is still valid.
And finally, a reminder that people are never paying as much attention as you think they are – so fear or no fear, you’ll need to talk about your work a lot more than feels comfortable to get it in front of the right people, noticed and remembered.
As ever, we’d love to know your thoughts and experiences around this – drop us a note and tell us!