There are lessons to be learnt in your journey.

I stepped cautiously into the professional speaking industry about 3 years ago. And this is what I learnt.

Back in 2021, I wanted to "up my game" as a small business owner. I had been a facilitator and coach for some time and was curious to enter the coveted world of professional speakers 🎤 .

All my instincts were telling me that it was too difficult and there was no way I would make it. But a small voice in my head kept nudging me to take a small step and just see.

And so I did. Here are the small steps I took and what it taught me:

🌟 I attended meetings and talks by associations such as APSS, PrimeTime and Keynote Women Speakers. I can't remember the content of those talks but 𝓘 𝓭𝓮𝓯𝓲𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓵𝔂 𝓻𝓮𝓶𝓮𝓶𝓫𝓮𝓻 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓹𝓮𝓸𝓹𝓵𝓮 𝓘 𝓶𝓮𝓽. The speaking community is lovely and so ready to help newbies. It was in one of these sessions that I met my speaking coach Simone Heng -Human Connection Specialist whose guidance literally changed my life!

🌟 I wrote a book. Ok, this was not exactly a small step 😅 but I completed the book in small steps. At times I felt I was going backwards when the company that was supposed to help me publish my book filed for bankruptcy 😓 But I kept going and met an amazing publisher Timmy Bauer and editor Chas Hoppe who kept me motivated and on track. 𝖲𝗈𝗆𝖾𝗍𝗂𝗆𝖾𝗌 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗌𝗆𝖺𝗅𝗅 𝗌𝗍𝖾𝗉𝗌 𝖼𝖺𝗇 𝖿𝖾𝖾𝗅 𝗅𝗂𝗄𝖾 𝗒𝗈𝗎'𝗋𝖾 𝗀𝗈𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖻𝖺𝖼𝗄𝗐𝖺𝗋𝖽𝗌 𝖻𝗎𝗍 𝗂𝗍'𝗌 𝗍𝗁𝗋𝗈𝗎𝗀𝗁 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗌𝖾 𝗆𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗆𝖾𝗇𝗍𝗌 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗐𝖾 𝗍𝗋𝗎𝗅𝗒 𝗅𝖾𝖺𝗋𝗇.

🌟 Listening to client needs. Becoming a speaker, ironically, made me a better listener. Because when I speak, I need to address the needs and concerns of my audience. And the only way to do that is to listen to the challenges and issues of the audience and speaking to that. Sᴘᴇᴀᴋɪɴɢ ɪꜱ ᴀᴄᴛᴜᴀʟʟʏ ʟɪꜱᴛᴇɴɪɴɢ!

There are lessons to be learnt in your journey.

It's often not what we expected. Agree?

If you are on a journey, keep going. And do share with me what are some lessons you've learnt:)