The Mindset it takes to establish yourself as an expert
A guide for claiming your stake as an expert in your field during COVID-19 a global health pandemic. (6 min read)
What you believe in your mind to be true - is true! What I mean by this is if you think mentally “I am an experienced professional in X industry”; then you will believe it. This is how you will present yourself. As we all know that it’s easy to sign-up to the plethora of social media platforms that are available to you to broadcast your message about your business or the thing that you’re passionate about.
What is not so easy is doing it with confidence and regularity. Or silencing the “imposter syndrome”, every time you sit down to create a post. What is one to do then? Well glad you asked! This brings me neatly to the theme for this week’s blog, which is how to establish yourself as an expert in your field. Without further ado, let’s get to the up-lifting song for the blog. Let’s be inspired by the inspirational lyrics of Keala Settle, “This is Me” from the movie, The Greatest Showman.
“I am brave, I am bruised
I am who I'm meant to be, this is me
Look out 'cause here I come
And I'm marching on to the beat I drum
I'm not scared to be seen
I make no apologies, this is me.”
Today’s blog is encouraging you to step up and lean into our “brilliance” and to think about how your lack of confidence is holding you back. So we’re going to explore how you can be more confident in recoginisng your talents and abilities. In addition to looking at why you need to “back yourself mentally in your mind”. We’ll do this by looking at the following topics:
How to speaking up in your mind and cheer for yourself
How you can speak with confidence
How to speak up in your mind and cheer for yourself!
Is it like second nature to praise yourself or do you struggle? Do you find that your “self-praise muscle is under developed”? Well I’m here to tell you it’s time to give it a workout! Yeah, I know “it’s not right, and it's not OK”! Just because you haven’t been doing it or because it seems culturally alien, doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t do it. So what are some gentle ways, you “can say Go You in your mind”. Check out the list below and give something a try:
Every day in the morning or the evening (or both) mentally celebrate something you achieved be it personal or professional - What if I can’t think of something? Well if you made the bed then you’ve got something!
When you hear in your mind saying “how awful” something went, “why not instead think, that just didn’t work, NEXT idea, NEXT possibility!”
Call your friend and once a week share something that you think went well that week.
Create a powerful positive affirmation to remind you to cheer for yourself. Example: I am breaking old patterns in my life and I am moving forward with gratitude in my life.
Awesome so now you’re armed with some examples of how you can start to build “positive mental mind muscle”, let’s move onto “saying it Loud and Proud!”
How you can speak with confidence
Speaking with confidence, sounds like a grand title. People pay millions to be coached on public speaking, diction and pronunciation. That’s great, I think that investing in personal development is good. However, I believe there are some simple things that you can practice on your own. Or if you want to be held accountable, form your own club to practice with each-other. That is about being really conscious about how you frame your most favourite sayings. What I mean by this is you may not realise it, but most of the time when you speak you may say things like this:
“I think” I have done what I was supposed to do.
Others are better than me.
“Compared to x”, I am just this small.
I doubt that I’ll do it.
I never should have ……
I am not good enough.
It’s very easy to do and I’m guilty as well! If you notice these phrases in your vocabulary you can replace them with more positive ones. When you do this you’ll build your confidence and resilience. Why not try something from this list:
I have completed the task and here is what I did. (Frame with facts minus the negativity.)
I am proud of my achievements. (Accept that you have achieved.)
I am unique and focussed on working towards my goals and I’ll get there. (It’s a journey.)
I believe that I can do that and I’ll ask for help if I need it. (Belief is powerful, in addition to asking for help, makes it twice as powerful!)
I learnt from that and I can do it differently next time. (Adopt a “growth mindset”.)
I am enough. (Accept you are enough.)
I dare you try out some of the aforementioned phrases in your mind or out even out loud! I hope that you feel more positive and confident in yourself. What if I don’t believe it? Well if you say it often enough, you will believe it! What have you got to lose?
Today I am going to give you 5 tips on how to put yourself out there as an expert.
1 Write and produce content regularly on your chosen topic
Consistency is the key to many things in life, including positioning yourself as an expert. You need to publish blogs, articles, whitepapers or infographics on a regular basis with your own “By line”. Attaching your name to your work is important as is publishing with esteemed platforms or publishers in your industry. So Forbes, or getting your blog chosen for the “Medium Daily Digest” or getting a post on LinkedIn to go viral will increase your standing as an expert. There are plenty of articles out there about how to get into the aforementioned publications. So I simply say, slay the imposter syndrome and be a consistent content producer.
2 Write a Book
Writing a book may seem like a daunting prospect, but it’s about your why and your commitment. It is accepted that writing a book, even a short one, gives you a certain gravitas. Check out some tips on writing a motivational self-help book here.
3 Give talks or Webinars
We all know that there are many podcasts, blogs, webinars and conferences that need speakers. So go on, be brave and put yourself forward as speaker to any of the aforementioned. Building up a speaking portfolio will also help you to become seen as an expert.
4 Write an EBook
So you don’t want to publish a full on book? Well why not just write an ebook, design it and publish it as PDF and share it on LinkedIn and via your newsletter and through established networks that would find your subject of expertise valuable!
5 Become a Broadcaster and Share your knowledge
Start your own podcast or Youtube channel and talk on your specialist topic. Reach out and find other experts to interview and talk to on your show. Be brave and put yourself out there. Other experts love to be approached to be guest speakers, so crawl LinkedIn or the palace where experts in your industry hangout and invite them to be a guest on your platform. Go on - just do it! I believe in you 100%.
Resources
Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway, by Susan Jeffers
Mindset, Changing the way you think to fulfil your potential by Dr. Carol S. Dweck