“You walk in, plant yourself squarely on both feet, look the other fella in the eye, and tell the truth.” —James Cagney on acting

As I read over that quote, I realized that it could stand alone as a post, with nothing added.

But then I wouldn’t get to yammer and what’s the fun in that?!

As some you know, I’ve been digging into my dark past as an actress lately and looking at stages of all kinds – soundstages, theatre stages, boardrooms, blogs, twitter – anywhere we speak and want people to resonate with what we say. That is the work that gave rise to my latest outing, Creating Irresistible Presence.

What I’ve discovered is, a stage is a stage is a stage.

And the actors who regularly turn in riveting, Oscar-worthy performance know that putting on lots of layers, playing “at” a character or parroting someone else’s performance will never work.

It’s all about peeling away all the layers of fluff and telling, breathing and living the truth out on stage, in front of God and everybody.

Terrifying stuff, no?

But oh man. When you can feel the words you are saying down to your bones and you know the audience is truly with you – there are no words to describe the joy of that moment.

Isn’t that what we all want?

To feel our lives and our words are anchored in our very core and to know that, when we speak, those who are listening really get us?

The only way I know to get that is to do the same thing a fine actor does.

Stand in the wings, get stage fright, screw up your courage, step out into the spotlight and tell your truth.

And the very, very best part is, when we can actually DO that, we find that we are not only irresistible to our audience …

we are irresistible to ourselves.

(And if you are an entrepreneur, this is also where the revenue honey-spot is, so you get another excellent bene.)

Delicious.

I’ll be “going deep” on this whole idea of creating irresistible presence (with the help of the uber-fab ElizabethPW) at Creating Irresistible Presence Sept. 23-25 in Atlanta, GA. We will talk about all of this plus how we craft a message around it, build a business around it and take it out into the Great Big World in truly effective ways.

I hope you will consider joining us: http://irresistiblepresence.com

(notes from the editor: yes, I will be there in Atlanta, speaking & attending the event!! and, yes, the links above to IP are affiliate links. if you don’t want to share the wealth w/ me, then just type the link in your browser, no worries. ~ EPW)

About Sarah Robinson: Sarah Robinson is Chief Of the Hooligan Tribe, escaping mediocrity in life & business one adventure at a time. Her blog, escaping-mediocrity.com not only journals her personal adventures in breaking free from the stranglehold of mediocrity, but also offers insights, tools and a “tribe” for those who feel pulled toward the same adventurous life. Find her on twitter at @SarahRobinson or on her blog Escaping-Mediocrity.com

“How will Live Your Truth change the world?”

The problem is I don’t think of it that way.

The great work of my life is not to go out and force a revolution. It’s not to make people change.

The great work of my life is to live my own truth.

To take massive, inspired, uncomfortable action. To be 100% myself, 100% of the time. To speak what everyone thinks but no one says.

And to do all that in public.

As a visible example of how it can be. Of the potential anyone has to create a life, to create a business, that is a natural expression of who they really are.

That’s all I have to do.

That’s all I can do.

The revolution happens because my example is infectious.

Something about what I am doing, the truth that I speak, the person that I am, wakes people up.

Wakes them up to the fact that there is more to life than living the should’s, that there is more to life than conforming to expectations, that there is more to life than paying the bills and buying the stuff and finishing the to do list.

That there is a real world.

And once you’re aware of the dissonance between who you really are and this bullshit you let yourself conform to, once you’re aware of the potential for relationships based on loving the entirety of a person instead of who they should be, once you’re aware that you can have the life you always wanted but didn’t think it was okay to have – you are changed forever.

Once you know, you can never go back.

As soon as you know, by your very existence, you become another example of what’s possible.

And you, in turn, infect everyone in your world.

To change the world, you don’t have to change the world.

To change the world, all you have to do is live your truth.

#thatisall

What does “change the world” mean to you? How are you (or do you want to) change the world?

I’d love to hear your thoughts & comments below!

I’m a tryer on of things. Perhaps it comes from being born in the Year of the Monkey, but I’m driven by curiosity. I want to know firsthand…to taste…to feel…to explore. I desire a myriad of experiences.

In college, I tried on a sorority. I tried on feminism. I tried on sports. I tried on pre-med, art classes, nursing school, public relations, and journalism. And I tried on a hell of a lot of different kinds of parties. Some fit well and others did not.

And in each of these places, I found bits of what is true in me.

After college, I tried on living in Florida, Atlanta, Colorado, and Oregon. I tried on traveling. And I tried on staying put. I tried on corporate life and I tried on entrepreneurship.

In all of these experiences, I discovered morsels of my own perfect gospel.

I’ve tried on many relationships. I’ve been to Burning Man and Mardi Gras. I’ve salsa danced and tantric danced and belly danced. I’ve invested in real estate and the stock market. I’ve made money and I’ve lost money. I’ve had successes and failures.

Each one of these undertakings has opened up new windows inside myself, allowing me to see a new facet of my multi-passionate psyche.

I am a seeker. I am on an unending and relentless quest to uncover my truth.

I’ve giggled at the peak of a mountain, cried in the desert, and screamed at the night. I’ve hated myself and loved myself. I’ve been kind, compassionate, loving…and I’ve been mean, judgmental, and curmudgeonly. I’ve loved and I’ve lost and I’ve let go.

And knowing those things are all part of living my truth.

Find what is true in you.

Do whatever it takes. Let no class be left unattended. No trip left untraveled. No path left unwalked in your quest to find your true self. Find what is calling you. Listen to your inner whispers.

Yes, this will take you though pain and failure and fear. But, it will also result in discovering your passions. You will unveil the truths inside you. And at the end of your life, you’ll be able to look back and say “Hell yes! That was the ride of my life!”

The people who are truly creating long-lasting, success know themselves.

They know their truth. They live their truth.

And to be clear, truth is absolutely and utterly different for every one of us. Some of us will choose to live in a mansion and others will choose to sleep under the stars.

There is no right answer. There is only the answer that is right for you.

When you start focusing on how you can expand and grow through living your truth, beautiful, wonderful, magical things begin to happen. You magnetically attract your right audience. They come flocking to you in droves. People have an internal radar that recognizes individuals who are in their own truth. Because they feel the passion. They sense authenticity.

Finding your truth and living in it day by day, minute by minute is not an easy road. It means you take the most frightening path. You begin to do those things that scare you the most. When we are pushing our own envelope, it feels absolutely, insanely terrifying. And it may take you through profound changes in your work life, your relationships, and your inner world. You will shift. You will rock your foundation and your core.

But, for anyone who really wants to create success and freedom, here’s the thing. It is essential to find your truth.

To live the life you really want, you have to get uncomfortable. You abandon the illusion of security that is daily routine. It starts with your willingness to take risks, leaping into those places that scare you the most. And you know what they are.

You have to look in the mirror and say, “Screw you fear! I am done with your lies.” And instead of listening to the stories you’ve played in a loop inside your head over and over, begin to ask, “Is this true? Is this my truth?” And the barriers that have prevented you from being your biggest self will begin to fall away.

This is when life becomes really delicious. It’s when you are raw and energized and in love with every single person that you meet. You are connected to your true self.

So do what it takes to step into your full power as a human being. Be curious at every turn. Keep asking “Why?” Find your Great Work. And then be wildly generous with your assets. Share your joys and your gifts with others.

Speak your truth. Embrace your truth. Live your truth.

And I’ll be right there with you on the journey.

So adventurer, what do you seek? Let me know in the comments below…

About Wendy Maynard: Wendy writes MavenDiary.com, a blog about how inspired entrepreneurs can express our truth through personal branding and online marketing.

When I was a kid I created a music video for a project in my grade school’s gifted program. It was a story of an injured girl in a wheelchair who overcame her challenges to walk by the end of the song, set to “What a Feeling” by Irene Cara … but the video never got made.

That just wasn’t important or realistic for a 6th grader to do.

And my life slipped into a thousand other compromises and shoulds and reasonableness.

The college student interested in taking classes in literature and economics and science and math but picked just three majors because that’s how many blanks were allocated on the admissions office form.

The law student who loved figuring out the nature of society by its legal systems, but took & passed the patent bar because lawyers with science backgrounds were supposed to go into intellectual property law.

The lawyer who loved saving people in civil clinic from negligent landlords, but got a job in a fancy biglaw firm because that’s the job that magna cum laude law review editor law school grads were supposed to get.

The adventurous & crazy woman who got married and bought a cute house in the suburbs and filled it with stuff and had a kid, because that’s what grown ups do.

The business owner who wanted freedom and challenge and to help people, but who practiced financial planning and wrote estate plans and long form sales letters because that’s how people make money.

Until I couldn’t freaking stand the pain of being out of sync with myself anymore.

As scared and unsure as I was, I hoped there might be something else, some other way of being, some other way of living life and making business, that would be real. That would work for me. That would make money. That would be it.

A way to make money that is a natural expression of who I really am.

A way to live life, a way to be successful, a way to be fulfilled, a way to change the world that is a natural expression of who I really am.

Live Your Truth is not just my tag line. It’s not just the name of my website. It’s not just something tattooed upon the inside of my left wrist.

Live Your Truth is the Great Work of my Life.

And if you are reading this post, you also have a Great Work.

And you know, deep in your bones, what it is.

But it scares the crap out of you.

Because you don’t believe that you can do it, or that you have permission to do it, or that it’s that important or valuable, or that it’s realistic or possible or okay with the people in your life, or that there’s a way to make money at it.

But you must do it.

Because not doing it would be wound part of your soul.

Eventually, even kill part of your soul.

And I refuse to watch that happen when I know I can help you.

This year I will be launching programs where I’ll lead you through different aspects of bringing your Great Work, your personal Truth, into manifest into your life.

It will include programs on recognizing your Truth, that natural expression of who you really are. On speaking it and finding others who resonate with it. On creating with it, and taken action on it. On marketing it. On getting paid for it.

The part that I can offer you right now is the tool of creating videos to communicate your truth online.

I invite you now to learn how to use the tool of online videos to find & bring your great work into manifest into your business. To communicate your truth online.

And this works even if you don’t know your truth. Even if you have not yet realized your Great Work.

Because the only way to find your truth is to speak it.

Right now, buy a seat for the 3 Days to Video live virtual workshop – or if the dates/times don’t work for you, the 4 Weeks to Video self-study program.

Stop waiting on your life to start and join me on this adventure.

I’ll see you there.

(I’d like to thank Michael Bungay Stanier & his book “Do More Great Work” for the inspiration for this post!)

Do you know your Great Work?

Are you still searching?

Are you waiting for something before you start living your truth?

I’d love to hear from you below!

What camera do I use, how do I set up the lighting, where should I shoot, where do I host the video, how do I to edit, what software should I use, etc. ….

But that’s missing the point.

There’s one thing, one huge most important thing, that must be in your video, or you are wasting your time.

To learn how to make your own videos, check out my newest video program 3 Days to Video live virtual workshop or get the free Quickstart to just learn the basics!

So what questions do you have about making videos? What has your experience been with video?

I’d love to hear from you!

The only way to find your voice is to speak it. Every day.

Check out the first video in this series: Live Your Truth Principle #1: Combine Passion With Skill

If this video resonates with you be sure to check out 6 Weeks to Live Your Truth group coaching program — in this program, you’ll have an opportunity to find & practice speaking your voice!

So in the interest of Being Real and Being Uncomfortable, here’s the truth of what’s going on w/ me right now.  Cause everything is not all rocking-out and super-cool all the time … sometimes, it’s confusing, stressful, crappy, and weird.

Oh, and by the way, you also hereby have permission to not be happy all of the time too.