I had an unexpected day where I didn't end up doing much of what I had planned to do.

Today was the last session of a 5 Week PKM (personal knowledge management) course that I've taken twice this year to increase my skill of managing information and boost my personal productivity.

After hearing shares of people’s breakthroughs, I fumbled through an emotional share of my own... trying my hardest to hold back tears as I tried to talk in front of 200+ people across the world on zoom...

One of the projects I had on my 'project list' was to publish an article I made a decision to write 5 months ago.

Because it seemed like such a difficult article to write, I wanted to use the "timeframe" of the course as a constraint to get myself to write and publish the article.

After working on it for the last 2 weeks, I finally (and quietly) hit 'publish' yesterday.

When I first finished writing, it landed at 3,000 words. Once I finished editing... it became a 4,500+ word article.

The editing process took a lot longer than I planned.

During the last session today, Tiago (the guy who created the course) talked about how we'll be able to take on "riskier projects" as our skills develop over time...

Publishing this article just so happened to be the riskiest project I've done by far this year since launching my website back in May (which was my project in the last class).

The reason why this project is risky is because the article is personal.

Isn't it interesting how the more personal something is, the more risky it feels?

The article is all about Overcoming My Fear of Writing.

Because I don't usually speak up and like to hide in the background, especially in big crowds... I decided to use the opportunity to flex my "courage muscles" and share with everyone that I had finally published my article.

And also promised to share it in the community forum.

Writing and publishing (in silence) is one thing... sharing your work with people is another. I wanted to keep practicing sharing.

My heart was pounding so hard the whole time I was talking. I felt like I stuffed up all my words!

Note to self: Do not watch the replay... lol

If you write or do your own marketing... You probably already know that the hardest thing to write is to write about yourself and your personal story.

Because you're taking yourself down memory lane and stirring up all the emotions you felt as you experience the things you went through again.

From a business and marketing stand point, this article is necessary for my business.

Because I'm teaching and helping people with their writing... it helps them see that I wasn't "born" with this talent.

I wasn't even one of those kids who loved to write and journal and dreamed of becoming an author one day.

I grew up hating writing with a passion.

So when people read my story, it will also help them understand why I do what I do.

Ever heard of this quote:

“You teach best what you most need to learn.”

Very true in my case.

In a world where we judge people for their results, we often don't see how they *got* to that result. We tend to quickly assume "Oh, they must be born talented!"

I feel that it's important to show people where you were BEFORE you became good at something. Where we're not just showing and celebrating results, but focusing on embracing the process.

That's what's missing in our social media highlight reels these days, and why the overarching theme of my personal brand is mostly about showing you how I stumble, fall and iterate my way to "success".

Because I want to give people the encouragement they need to keep going, and to provide a bit of inspiration and entertainment for when the going gets tough.

Enjoy the article! Hope you get something out of it.

Jen x

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P.S.

My focus went out the window this afternoon after attempting to get back to work after a late lunch.

So I went out for a walk with music in my ears (R&B jams) to help me process what happened today.

Crying was so not part of the plan...

Now, I need to go share my article in the wonderful community as promised.

Then, also share it on Facebook tomorrow.

I am the most active on Facebook of all the social platforms cus that is one of the places where I practiced my writing in the last 5 years.

Feel free to connect with me on Facebook if you haven't already.

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