Some time ago, I committed to doing a 30-day video challenge. A business coach asked business owners and entrepreneurs to join her in making at least one video every day for 30 days. At first glance, the challenge looked like too big of a challenge for me. I mean really, who has time to make a video every day?
And, what about putting on make-up and making sure my hair was done (things I don’t worry about on a daily basis working from home)? Where was I going to make these videos? The list of questions kept growing longer and longer. Before I knew it, I had talked myself out of the challenge.
Then a funny thing happened. I heard a still, small voice reminding me that I could find the time and the means to do anything I wanted to do and needed to do.
Just like that, my perspective changed. I made the decision to do the challenge and not worry about “the how.” Here’s what I learned:
If It’s Important Enough, You’ll Find a Way. The reason the challenge caught my eye was because my business mentors have been telling me and my fellow coaches that we need to add videos to our website, e-newsletter, etc. I knew learning how to be comfortable on video while giving great content was important. But that felt really far outside my comfort zone. I love writing. I love speaking. I love coaching. But being on video, on YouTube, on the Internet? Not so much.
Here’s the thing, though. I am committed to doing whatever I need to grow my business. If that means learning how to make videos, then that’s what I need to do. It’s important to me that my walk matches my talk. I can’t tell clients to do one thing and I do another. It’s important that I am a woman of integrity in my business and my life.
Don’t Let Discomfort Stop You. My day one video was H-O-R-R-I-B-L-E. My outfit looked bad. My background was bad. I stumbled over my words and my eyes were looking all over the place. I was uncomfortable and it was very obvious.
It helped a little though that just about everybody else’s video was just as bad.
But I kept at it. And guess what happened? As the days progressed, I became more comfortable in front of the camera. I started being more concerned about the tips I was giving than all the other stuff. And I got better! If I had quit after that first day or two, I would never have
improved.
Breaking free from your comfort zone means being uncomfortable. But that discomfort can lead to big things.
Do What You Can, With What You Have. Prior to the video challenge, I kept telling myself that I would start doing videos when I was able to get them done professionally in a studio. The problem with that thinking is that I just kept putting off something I could easily have done in my house, at the beach, or in the flower garden, for example. When I paid attention, I noticed that the “big-time coaches” were doing their videos everywhere.
So, I took my Flip video camera and just started shooting videos in all kinds of places. I didn’t need a studio. I didn’t need a full makeover. I didn’t need several wardrobe changes. I just needed to make the decision to make it work with what I had. Uncomfortable for the perfectionist in me? You bet! Rewarding? Absolutely!
Done is Better Than Perfect. Yes, I’m one of those people who can get stuck trying to make everything just right. I learned fairly quickly during the challenge that “perfect” wasn’t going to happen. I decided not to let that stop me. I knew if I waited around for doing the perfect videos, I’d be waiting a long time.
With video, and so many other things, the more you do it, the less uncomfortable it becomes. You may never reach perfection, but often, perfection isn’t necessary. What is important, is getting the job, the project, the product, etc. done. You can always improve the next time.
I have to admit, I didn’t do my video for a couple of days during the challenge. But I did a whole lot more than if I hadn’t gotten started in the first place. Now, I can honestly say, I actually enjoy making videos. (You see that every Friday on Morning Coffee with Joyce.)
The lesson here is that you can do things that are uncomfortable. Even though those things that at first seem hard, are possible for you when you decide to step out of your comfort zone. As Paul said in Philippians 4:13, you can do all things through Christ who gives you strength.
