No Apologies

Being yourself is the bravest thing you can be

I have two daughters. Both gorgeous. One is a singer. The other… not so much.

And that’s what makes daughter number two even more amazing. She is incredibly brave in the way she embraces her differences and her life. And I’m loving her new anthem, which she sings at the top of her very unique voice.

It’s called No Apologies from Monster High (look it up). And she sings it on repeat.

Singing loud, usually supported by shower acoustics. Singing fiercely. OMG, she means it. Gloriously, unapologetically her.

Every time she belts it out, I feel a tiny spark inside me glowing and growing. That voice (that she really inhabits) is the same free-wheeling instrument I want every business owner to harness.

We’ve learned to mute ourselves. We’ve learned to edit everything we say. We’ve polished and softened and hidden behind “best practice”, calling it professionalism, strategy, corporate voice.

You know what I think it really is?

Fear. Of being too much. Too emotional. Too human.

You know what I think?

That too much, too emotional, too human are good things. They set us apart from our competitors and from all the dehumanised, generic bot-copy.

You know what I know?

When you turn down your volume, your audience can feel it. We can all feel when someone is holding back. And it doesn’t inspire confidence or trust, does it?

Authenticity as Strategy

Authenticity isn’t something you wear like an ill-fitting corporate suit. It’s something you embody from within. The sweetspot when your body and your message align.

This alignment resonates. It’s energetic because it comes from deep down. And deep down you know when it’s right. And deep down, so does your audience.

When you awaken this voice (it’s already there), there’s no need to yell or provoke. That’s the old Bro Marketing way. Making someone feel small or scared.

Your authenticity will simply open their eyes to the possibility of something to be gained. Simply and beautifully.

Simple, beautiful, flowing

It’s Sitting Right There in Your Throat

I’m a singer. I would say that at a party, and I cannot tell you how many times I heard back, “Oh god, I wish I could sing. My music teacher told me to mime.”

If I had a pound for every person who’s said that to me? Independently wealthy. Retired. Writing this from somewhere with better weather.

And whether we were told by a teacher, a parent, a partner, a boss, we’ve all been told. And we all carry the accumulated weight of being told one too many times to pipe down, keep it professional, don’t be so much. And we all carry it in exactly the same place.

Your throat.

That’s where it lives. That’s where the boulder sits. You can feel it, can’t you? The constriction.

The words that form in your heart and then just… get swallowed.

The post you wrote and deleted.

I used to sit in meetings, and apologise before I said anything, then blush, and then almost say what I meant to… but never quite, because there was something getting in my way.

The frog in my throat - and he ain’t turning into a handsome prince!

I’m a singer (I said that before) and what I know from years of working with my voice is: You don’t always have to go back and find the music teacher. You don’t have to excavate the origin story. Sometimes the fastest way through the constriction is breath. Actual, physical breath, the kind that blows fresh through you and clears the path without asking you to explain yourself first.

That’s what we’re doing next.

Before You Write, Breathe

Your voice doesn’t live in your head. It lives in your body. It’s energy.

Before you write your next post, pitch, or sales page, try this. It takes 6 minutes. You can use it whenever and wherever you need to. Once you get good at it, it’s like second nature. It’s literally breathing.

Bring That Energy Into Your Words

When you share from that grounded, centred place, your words change. They stop performing and start resonating.

Please stop sounding like everyone else.

Your audience isn’t searching for perfect and polished - they’re searching for truth and trust. For the person behind the brand. For the words that sound alive and human.

The Truth

Everyone can sing.

And if you’re ready to bring that same embodied authenticity into your brand voice let’s find your channel. Book your discovery call]