Voice, flow, and authenticity.

It’s really hard to speak up - and out - when you feel like your voice isn’t resonating with your inner self.

That’s what happened to me a lot the last few years. I was doing my best to find my voice again after a lot of success several years ago, but I’d languished. I wasn’t motivated. I wasn’t feeling connected to my work, and as a result, I was doubting my contributions and the value of my writing.

Whether your voice is through written words or spoken words or social media or in a coffee shop, having a voice that resonates with your own values is critical to having it heard.

You see, we can sense when someone is faking it. I knew I was, but I was hoping I could push through that by force. But it doesn’t work that way.

Many of you are familiar with the concept of “flow”, that sense of time flying when you’re in a zone of amazing work, connection, and authenticity. When you’re bringing your best self to bear, when the words just tumble out, when you know your subject matter so well that it’s almost like an adrenaline rush of power and knowledge and excitement all in one.

That’s almost impossible to achieve when your inner voice and the one you’re expressing to the world are in conflict.

If I’ve learned anything these last five years or so, it’s that there’s nothing wrong with my ability to write. I still have valuable knowledge and perspective to share. But I can only tap into those stores when I’m at what I’d call peak authenticity; when my inner compass is pointing in exactly the same direction that I’m heading, whether that be personally or professionally or both.

As I’m learning more about Strength of Voice and what makes it come together, one thing is crystal clear:

A voice that resonates with others has to resonate with you, first.

That seems overly simplistic, so much so that I dismissed the concept at first. But it’s not simple, by any stretch, and it is absolutely not a given.

Next time you find yourself wondering why your voice isn’t resonating, why what you have to say isn’t cutting through the noise, ask yourself whether it’s coming from a rock-solid place of flow and authenticity, or whether it’s something you’re trying to create from an unstable place.

I promise you, it makes all the difference.