Close the Gap to Find Your Voice

Today’s newsletter will be short but punchy. Frankly, I forgot to get my kid’s Valentine’s Day exchange gifts and cards ready for them, so it’s a rushed morning from the get-go — something I’m less than thrilled about. 

What does your ideal morning routine look like? Share with me in our chat today.

For some of you, it might be a surprise that I often post these love letters to you on the day they go live. For others, it won’t. 

The surprised bunch will be surprised because sage business advice tells you to batch your content ahead of time and not leave yourself in a lurch like I have today, where you’re scrambling to get ready and to write the thing you L-O-V-E writing. 

The non-surprised ones will think, “Well, that’s Kimberly!” They know me more personally. They’ve seen me show up on Zoom, camera-ready at times and ready for a run at other times. They’ve seen me fall (literally, fall. I fell twice last week). They’ve seen me laugh through pain, cry tears of joy for the silliest things, and consistently let myself be fully in the moment, whatever that moment might look like. 

They probably also read my now double-bestselling book, Discovering Something Greater, which I co-authored with three other ladies. That book hit #1 on the Women & Business bestseller list again yesterday! You can get your free Kindle copy here through today only or hit reply, and I’ll send you a signed paperback copy. Here’s picture proof:

In Discovering Something Greater, I discuss the importance of knowing your adjectives. This, by the way, has proven to be a favorite section, so let’s discuss it more here.

Inside Discovering Something Greater, I talk about using your voice to claim what you want. 

Your voice, by the way, is also how you show up in the world. It’s representative of who you are, so that when you do things — like, say, opt to write your newsletter on the day it goes out most of the time so that you can share the full pictures of the life particles around you with your audience — it doesn’t come as a shock to your readers. 

Sometimes, showing up unapologetically and sharing that you forgot to do your kids’ Valentine’s before their exchange that day has the opposite effect of shock. It’s refreshing. It’s less staged. It feels more authentic. There are a few adjectives!

But here’s where the gap comes in.

There are two sets of adjectives that can be used to describe you.

The closer these two types of adjectives are to each other, the better. That’s because the more you can show up fully as yourself, the easier it is to share your voice, pursue your big goals, and fail forward (or fall forward, like me, both physically and in business, but that’s a story for another day). 

The question becomes, how do you find both sets of adjectives? 

For your aspirational adjectives, the exercise is relatively easy on paper but thought-provoking in practice. 

Sit down and list ten words you think best describe you. 

Then, whittle that list down to 3. Just 3. 

I used to do this exercise with my copywriting clients to really get to the heart of their voice. This exercise also lets me differentiate how to write for businesses in the same industry repeatedly. It’s a muscle you have to flex when writing for your tenth car accident lawyer (something I did back in the early days of my entrepreneurial career when I ran a copywriting agency). 

For your actual adjectives, you’re going to look for clues. 

Last week, some supported this newsletter as a paid subscriber. When you sign up as a paid subscriber on Substack, you can share a small note with the creator about why you signed up.

Here’s what she said (sharing with permission):

“I supported you as I love your vulnerability. You are authentic. I love that you are sharing more of your love of the Bible. You are showing all of you and I love you showing up.”

Vulnerable. Authentic. Showing up fully.

That comment and similar comments helped me see that I found my voice. I’m showing up here for you authentically because there’s alignment between my aspirational and actual adjectives.

You can do the same to determine where there’s room to grow. 

Look for comments on your posts. Ask people you trust about how they’d describe your voice in your business. 

People are offering you these nuggets of advice, but to see them, you just have to know where to look. My hunch is that now that your eyes are open to this concept, you’ll start seeing both validation and growth opportunities in more corners of the web, more conversations, and more of your work. 

Now to those Valentines… because squishy hearts and rainbow Skittles won’t put themselves together this morning. 

Save 50% off of Storytelling Marketing and Map Your Year today through February 17th using the code LOVEYOURVOICE.

Use the same code, LOVEYOURVOICE, and save 10% off any Roadpreneur merch today through February 17th! Shop here. I have the Explore, Earn, Exhale sweatshirt and wear it every week. SO soft!

Grab your copy of Discovering Something Greater today only on Kindle for FREE! 

If you want to sell anything online, I’m a huge fan of ThriveCart as your shopping cart. Not only can you set up your products easily, but you can also set up an affiliate program so that you don’t have to track sales and can automate payouts. That’s a huge plus when you’re working with others to share the cool things you’ve created! 

To save:

I had big plans to make my own planner, but then I found these from Paper & Plan Co, and they’re working out great! I’ll happily share how I tweaked it to work with the format I wanted to create in another post. For now, go grab yours and get free shipping using the code KIMBERLY.