Show Up
That thing that seems beyond you, take action towards it. As you act, your experience and confidence will improve — Nero Okwa
That thing that seems beyond you, take action towards it. As you act, your experience and confidence will improve — Nero Okwa
In my last article, I talked about how to turn Imposter Syndrome into a superpower. At the time of writing that I had signed up for a 3 day Product Design Bootcamp from Friday the 26th of Feb to Sunday.
The goal was to learn about design, and new product tools for building mobile apps and websites, that do not require any coding. #Nocode. It also gave me the opportunity to test my own theories.
The sessions were very interactive. I learnt about Sketching, Mastering Shapes, User Experience (UX) and User Interaction (UI) design. I also learnt about NoCode tools such as Glide, and Notion. Tools that I can use to quickly build an app concept, website and personal database. But I learnt something far more important: The importance of Letting go of Fear, Showing Up, Community, and writing Letters to our future self.
I will explain
At some point in the session everyone was meant to introduce themselves, what they do and what they hope to get out of the sessions. When it was my turn, I introduced myself, and mentioned about my objective and idea for a new product.
Then something happened
I started getting real feedback and support from everyone. On how to improve, implement and validate it. As we worked through the exercises, I realized my learning curve and engagement had increased exponentially.
Here lies the lesson:
1. Let go of the Fear — Don’t let anything hold you back from what you should be doing, what is meaningful, and what brings you joy
2. Show Up — They say showing up is half the battle. By being present, participating, and putting it out there, I opened myself to more opportunities. To the chance that something good and unexpected could happen
3. Community — When we engage with others vs in isolation, we allow ourselves and our ideas to be challenged, supported, spurred on, and succeed
‘Make Tomorrow Together’
‘I can do little; we can do anything’
4. Letter to our future Self — The newsletter from Seth Godin this morning said: What would you say to your future self? And how would you feel when you read that letter in a few months or years? I would like to say, ‘I did it’. I showed up and kept showing up
The result of all of this was I was able to build an app.
What is possible when we show up?
Conclusion
Once we let go of the fear and open ourselves to new experiences (in a community), new things begin to happen. As you stare on the surface of the shimmering water , close your eyes, and jump in.
With both feet.