Wow, I can hardly believe that I just posted my very first video on YouTube and I feel pretty good about it. About the video, yes, but more about taking personal responsibility and finally working through the fear that I felt about posting videos. I have my 12 year old fearless daughter to thank for that and for this post. It’s what I like about kids; they don’t succumb to fear. My daughter posts her videos and shares her thoughts with the world regardless of who may not like it and I have learned a lot from her. She handles her emotions about it like a champ!

Recording and posting this video reminded me of the anxiety that I used to have about such things. I worked through the fear of speaking publicly years ago and can now work a stage like you wouldn’t believe! I’m in my element when I’m on stage in front of a group of powerful women and I can say that being in front of a camera doesn’t bother me much either. By now you might be asking “So what was the fear about then Leisa?” Well, it was about feeling exposed and not in control. You see, when I’m on stage speaking, I have a good idea of who I’m speaking to. I get to choose who I get in front of and what I say and the audience is fairly limited. I’m prepared for this.  But posting a video of me talking about something I’m passionate about on a social media site exposes me to the world and for me that was a little scary.

People can be ruthless in their commentary and critique everything from your hair to what you are wearing to your grammar to everything and that was part of the fear; I wasn’t ready to feel the sting of people’s critique. But I also wasn’t ready for the praise that may come as well. Ahhh, the dichotomy of it all.

 If you watch the video you’ll notice that I am completely natural. I purposely wore no makeup and kept everything simple. I wanted to present myself JUST AS I AM in the raw. This is me y’all. As much as I talk about being your authentic self and being transparent I felt it necessary to present myself as such in my first video. But other’s may not feel that way and that’s OK with me. I’m a very simple girl and that translates into every aspect of my life.

I know that working through fear isn’t always easy. But knowing who you are-powerful, Divine, beautiful, love-and knowing that nothing anyone says about you can change that helps. When you are completely confident in who you are you can move forward through life and not worry about what others have to say about you. You can understand the place they are in and the source of their comments and give them the space to be where they are and know that it has nothing to do with you.

One of the most valuable pieces of wisdom I ever received was that “I am above no one and I am beneath no one.” Embracing this teaching has proven to be powerful for me and it has provided me with the ability to resist personalizing what other’s have to say about me. Reminding myself of this has been invaluable in helping me take responsibility for my own existence. It has taken some time as it relates to publicly posting videos but I’m happy to say I’m here and I’m excited.

I hope that you will take this to heart and whenever you are feeling fear about something know that no one can do it for you but you. We can look to others for inspiration but the power lies within you. so push fear aside, remember who you are and do your thing!

In luv and Dessert,

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