The Power of Language: Finding The “Right” Way To Talk About What You Do

One word, one sentence – said with a certain emphasis – can create a sonic boom in someone’s awareness.
It can attract or repel.
It can open you up or shut you down.
It can make the sale or kill it.

How many times do we get caught up in trying to say things the “right” way?
How many times do we not say anything at all, because we are afraid of being judged (negatively)?

It’s why so many of us entrepreneurs get caught up in “getting our messaging right”.
Trying to find the “right” (most powerful, clear, compelling) words to connect with and attract our ideal customer.

I struggled with this myself, spending years and lots (and lots) of money getting help to find the “right way” to talk about what I do.

You will save yourself some time, money and angst if you get this one thing… There is  no “right” or “wrong” way to talk about what you do. The lack of clarity you have is a representation of your fear… of being seen, being more successful, being wealthy, more powerful, etc. Once you address the fear, your message flows easily out of you!

Here’s another challenge with the concept of using the “right” words: the same word can have different meanings to different people. A word that has a negative impact on one person, can have a positive impact on another.

As MindValley CEO, Vishen Lakhiani, author of “The Code of the Extraordinary Mind” says:

   “Language is one of our most powerful pattern recognition systems”

What language teaches us to see, we can see. For example, the Russian language has words that differentiates between many different shades of blue. As a result, they can actually see and identify more shades of blue than most English speaking people. (Isn’t that fascinating?) 

We live in what Vishen has termed “the culturescape”: a tangled web of human beliefs, habits, ideas, philosophies, and religions that govern how we live life. The culturescape installs us with beliefs.

To be truly free, unique, and authentic you have to go through the process of looking at your beliefs and disentangling your True Self from who you believe you “should” be. It’s not about “fixing” or “improving” yourself (you are NOT broken). It’s about accepting yourself.

One of the most powerful things I’ve heard recently is by Hay House author Robert Holden:

“No amount of self improvement will make up for a lack of self acceptance”

Once you are willing to accept ALL aspects of yourself (especially the parts we have been taught to hide, reject, judge, feel ashamed of, diminish) there is no longer anything to be ashamed of, or to hide.

When you are willing to embrace your light AND your darkness – to be whole – you are much more powerful. You are so much clearer about your message and you easily find the language to effectively communicate who you are and what you do.

You are no longer entangled in the safety net of the ‘culturescape’.
You start thinking differently, like some of the worlds most extraordinary people.
You start showing up as the entrepreneur, creative, maverick you were born to be.

So where do you start?

Start by questioning what you are doing and ask yourself: “Does this have meaning to me, or am I just following some societal expectation?” (Also known as a “Brule” – a word coined by Vishen which means “bullshit rule”).

Then, throw out the “right” and “wrong” boxes and give yourself permission to show up and shine, speak, write, teach in a way that is authentic to who you are. After all, if you are always following the crowd, how will you ever stand out?

Eventually, you will become “Unfuckwithable” – which is a state of being where nothing can touch you. How’s that for some new language? 🙂