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What if I told you that the way you experience your life as a woman entrepreneur is directly related to how you show up to it?

MY STORY

In my former career as an engineer, I was used to being one of a few women in the room — sometimes the only woman.

I didn’t realize it at the time, but knowing I wasn’t like everyone else and feeling like I wasn’t like everyone else, changed the way I showed up to my job every day.

I would often find myself:

• Overcommitting to projects just to PROVE MY VALUE

• REMAINING SILENT even when I knew I had something to offer

• Or, UNDERVALUING what I personally could contribute to the group

It wasn’t until an eye-opening experience working with a coach that I realized: It wasn’t the men in the room that were making me feel less-than — it was me.

I was creating my experience BY THE WAY I WAS SHOWIGN UP — and not just at work, but everywhere I went.

This realization made me learn something about myself that I’ll never forget:

How I show up
IS UP TO ME.

and how I show up
IS EVERYTHING.

From that moment on I devoted my life, and now my career as a coach, to showing up firmly planted in knowing that I MATTER and helping other women do it too. 

Today, in everything I do, I show up as equal.

Let’s go a little deeper…

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO SHOW UP?

Leadership is mastering the way you show up — and in your case, it’s about being the BOSS.

Showing up as a leader is different for everyone, but it could look like this:

• Slowing down to notice how you feel in a given moment

• Being brave to follow through without holding back

• Taking imperfect action without fearing the results

Showing up can give you a sense of internal alignment, or a place where what you think, feel, act, and say, all work in harmony. In this state of being, you’re never pretending. You can flow between uncomfortable and excited with ease knowing that you have everything you need to be successful.

IF SHOWING UP HAD A VOICE it would sound like clarity.

IF SHOWING UP WERE A FEELING it would feel like rooting your feet firmly into the ground being confident in what you stand for.

With a willingness and practice, you can show up as a leader everywhere you go.

The way you show up is your personal “IT” factor, without it you are awash in a sea full of everyone else.

Each of us has access to the same information, the same scripts, and the same “how-to” guides to achieving success.  Who you are with the knowledge you already have is the key to your success.

The way you show up is your competitive advantage.

3 Powerful Ways to
SHOW UP #LIKEABOSS

Show Up Unattached

In our transactional culture, it can be difficult to show up without being attached to an outcome. Remaining open to the possibility of something greater than you imagined, breaks through what is limiting.

Show Up Knowing

In stark contrast to knowledge and skill, inner knowing means, “I’ve got this, I’m made for this project, and I’m worth being paid this much.” Or, simply feeling the fear and doing it anyway. When it comes to running your business, no one can do it like you.

Show Up Without Apology

Throw away the words, “I’m sorry.” Devote yourself to making the shift from “all about you” to “all about them.” This means, if you’re late, thank the person waiting for their patience, instead of apologizing. If someone questions your pricing, don’t apologize, let them know you take their investment seriously.

Originally published with Women Entrepreneurs Inc.

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