100 Ways to Put Yourself Out There

When I was 15, my favourite subject at school was French. I desperately wanted to live as an exchange student in France, but mum and dad said no as it was too expensive. So, I decided to get a casual job to pay for it myself. Everyone thought I was crazy. The other parents at the school thought my parents were even crazier for letting me go on my own. Here I was, going to live with a family I had never met on the other side of the world!

By the time I was 16, I had saved enough money to go and live with my pen friend (yes we had pen friends before Facebook!) and her family in Toulouse, which is a beautiful city in the South of France. I went to school, joined the ski club, visited Paris and improved my French. It was such an amazing opportunity and one of the first experiences I had of really putting myself out there. I was scared to death, but I just knew that I didn’t want to get down the track and regret that I didn’t do it.

It takes courage and vulnerability to put ourselves out there and it’s the same when we’re trying to create content. It’s not comfortable, and we face every fear and objection not to. We may say things to ourselves like:

• What I have to say isn’t good enough
• I’m not smart enough
• People will judge and laugh at me
• People will stop following me
• What could I have to say that hasn’t already been said?

And yet, this is part of the experience; to test your potential and to see what happens. I find that the real underlying reason why we fear putting ourselves out there is that we don’t know what will happen. We have no control over the outcome.

And yet the irony is if we don’t put ourselves out there, we’re in less control. The world is then in control of us, and we’re at the peril of our environment and economic circumstances. When we don’t put ourselves out there and out of our comfort zones, we live a life half lived. We risk regret and not achieving our potential. Even if things go wrong, it’s better than never taking the chance at all because we grow and learn from the experience.

Brene Brown, the author of Dare to Lead says that “To be vulnerable – to really put yourself out there, and lean into it – is to live courageously.”

The more you put yourself out there every day, the more it just becomes second nature, and you can shift from overthinking to executing.

Here is a list of 100 things you could do to put yourself out there. Have you done any of these?

1. Travel
2. Put your LinkedIn profile up
3. Ask to interview your favourite celebrity or expert
4. Write a book
5. Write a blog
6. Record a podcast
7. Apply for that dream job
8. Join a meetup group
9. Ask to speak at an event
10. Create an event and invite your ideal clients
11. Nurture your top clients, check-in and ask them how they are
12. Run a webcast
13. Talk to a recruiter
14. Write a press release and get in the media
15. Share your story
16. Learn to be funny, attend a comedy course
17. Do a video blog
18. Create a whitepaper
19. Hire a stylist
20. Travel somewhere you have never been
21. Live overseas for three months
22. Go to an industry conference
23. Create that invention
24. Busk out on the street
25. Record a song and publish it on Youtube
26. Enrol in the course you’ve always wanted to do
27. Ask someone on a date
28. Buy that designer outfit
29. Rent a sports car for the weekend
30. Get a cleaner
31. Get the house redecorated
32. Invite someone you admire to lunch
33. Pay to be mentored by your favourite expert
34. Join a gym
35. Create a Youtube Channel and share your expertise
36. Create a website
37. Buy your domain name (your name[.]com.)
38. Start your business
39. Undertake the redundancies you have been avoiding
40. Ask for help (counsellor, coach, etc)
41. Talk to your family
42. Work out what you can do to help someone in need
43. Join a choir
44. Write a book, business or wine review
45. Write to the author of your favourite book and tell them how much you enjoyed their latest book or blog
46. Book a table at a conference for your best clients
47. Send a thank you gift and personalise it for your clients
48. Create a vision board
49. Tell someone you love them
50. Ask for a pay increase
51. Give someone the feedback you have been putting off
52. Ring your accountant and sort out your finances
53. Talk to a doctor about your health and get a check-up
54. Talk to a personal trainer about getting your exercise routine in place
55. Ask for an upgrade on your hotel room if you’ve been a loyal customer
56. Volunteer your time for your favourite charity
57. Get that hairstyle you have always wanted
58. Start your clothing range
59. Set up your online store
60. Reach out and ask a store owner to stock your invention or product range
61. Ask your clients for a referral
62. Do a live video on your social media
63. Set up your profile on Fiverr or Upwork
64. Join a mastermind
65. Join a cooking class
66. Attend a speed-dating event
67. Sell your unwanted items on eBay or Facebook Marketplace
68. Host a dinner party or BBQ for your friends to meet
69. Wear that bright outfit you’ve always wanted to
70. Apply to do a TEDx talk
71. Design a survey and ask your friends to complete
72. Set a sales goal for your business
73. Send a book proposal to a publisher
74. Attend an art, pottery or design class and get your creativity flowing
75. Learn a language
76. Try using the local language when you travel
77. Talk to the chef at your favourite restaurant and tell them how much you like their cooking
78. Compliment someone on what they’re wearing or on what you like most about them
79. Take the initiative to book something fun for a date night with your loved one
80. Book tickets to see your favourite band
81. Say no to people wasting your time and energy
82. Run a marathon
83. Learn how to surf
84. Join a tour of a local city
85. Rent a room in an Airbnb and stay with locals rather than a hotel
86. Attend an Art Gallery or Exhibition
87. Spend Christmas in another country
88. Go to school in another country
89. Host an exchange student
90. See snow for the first time
91. See the beach for the first time
92. Organise for your family or friends to rent a house at the beach for a week
93. If you’re travelling alone, join a tour group
94. Do canteen duty at school
95. Coach your kid’s soccer, netball or footy team
96. Learn to play an instrument
97. Build an online course in your area of expertise
98. Share stories of your childhood with your kids
99. Teach your nieces and nephews about your favourite hobbies when you were a kid
100. Join a book club

What have you done to put yourself out there? What would you add to the list?

__________________________________________________________________________

Jane Anderson is a Strategic Communications expert, speaker and the author of 7 books including the upcoming “Catalyst Content.” With over 20 years of experience helping people to communicate confidently, she is obsessed about creating human connection to drive business growth in a world of disruption and automation. To inquire about her working with you or your organisation please contact us here.