Confirmation That Putting Yourself Out There Was the Right Decision

bybrandonacox

2.9K followers

8 years ago

I started preaching when I was eighteen years old. I wondered at the time, who would want to hear what I have to say?

A year later when I was nineteen, a church asked me to become their pastor. And I thought, who would want me to lead them?

A little over a decade ago, I started a blog. But I did so amid much self-doubt as I kept asking myself the question, who would want to read what I have to write?

Six years ago, my wife and I started a church and I wondered, who would want to come?

But guess what? People showed up to listen to me preach. People joined the churches I led. People read my blog posts and eventually the book I wrote. And people keep joining the church we started.

I understand completely the sense of trepidation you have, as a leader, about putting yourself out there. And granted, you should certainly be wise in how you go about it, but the fact is, you should step out and lead. You should seek to influence people.

As long as people show up.

When they listen to your speeches, read your writings, and buy your products, it's confirmation that your voice was needed by someone. Hopefully, a lot of someone's.

I don't encourage you to be full of yourself. Pride sets you up for a disastrous fall. But I do encourage you to ask this simple question...

How can I contribute to the culture around me?

When you do things that are truly valuable to people, people value more of what you have to say.

So while you don't need to make it all about you, you do need to be willing to put yourself out there. And when people show up to listen, keep speaking.