Let's be real here. Everyone has something they're hiding.

I'm not talking about dark secrets or that lie you told your mother in grade school that you still feel guilty about.

I'm talking about your greatness.

Yes, you heard me. YOUR GREATNESS.

You've got a superpower, a hidden talent, an ESSENCE that is radiating from your heart and yet you hide it from the world.

There are 3 main reasons why we hide our greatness.

And there are 3 small steps we can take to UN-do this habit that's holding us back from our dreams.

Here’s why we hide our greatness:

1. We are afraid of failure. Believe it or not, failure is actually important in life. Ask any successful entrepreneur how many times they had to fail before they succeeded? Brené Brown was only half-joking when she called the TED conference the Failure conference—since every successful person up on that stage was there because they were willing to fail in order to succeed. Willingness to try and fail is actually what sets us up for greatness. So stop using failure as an excuse for hiding your greatness!

2. We are afraid of success. Some of us are afraid of success because we might actually have to accept happiness. Then what? What happens when there’s no more conflict, nothing left to strive for? We might actually be—no don’t say that word….bored! Some of us have a survival mechanism that’s addicted to struggle. So we keep ourselves small and in hiding so we don’t succeed and so life is always “hard.” And then we pat ourselves on the back for having tried so hard, and feed our self esteem from that struggle. I’m here to suggest an entirely different way of operating, where we are operating from our greatness—from the assumption that we don’t need to prove anything—we are already great! If we were to allow our greatness to shine through, achieve success, and we finally access that feeling of ease and flow, imagine what else we could create from that place? If success is not a destination, but a continuum of wins that are aligned with our commitments, we will never be bored, and fear is bankrupt!

3. We are afraid of responsibility. Responsibility is simply doing what you say you’re going to do. When we are out of integrity with our commitments we don’t always act from responsibility. Then we guilt-trip ourselves for it (believe me, I used to be an expert in this) and let the inner critic make us believe we’re bad and wrong for it. When we show our greatness we have to get responsible for our commitments. And that’s scary. But if we stop making ourselves bad and wrong, and judging ourselves every time we aren’t totally responsible, we might actually make it out of the driveway! I have to admit, getting responsible is actually really refreshing! It sure beats not fulfilling on our dreams and commitments and then sulking about it!

Ready to get a taste of your own greatness?

Here are my 3 Baby-Step Solutions to these fears that will finally get you out of hiding!

1. Declare what by when—not how! Ever get caught up in “how am I going to pull this off?” Ever shy away from declaring a deadline because you don’t have a strategy in place? The biggest misconception about declaring a commitment is that you need to know the how. When you stop worrying about the how and start declaring your what by when you open up the energetic channels for things to start moving. Suddenly you spring into action, get creative and your greatness starts to show it’s teeth!

2. Post a visual of your commitment. Sometimes you’ve got to see it to believe it. Once you’ve declared your what by when, put it on a sticky note on your bathroom mirror. Put it on the window behind your desk. Put it on your laptop so you see it every time you open up your computer. It’s hard to avoid taking action towards greatness when you’re reminded all the time of your vision. Make it pretty, make it simple, but just make sure it’s visible!

3. Get support. Support is important for 2 reasons: First, when you have support you’re held accountable. Arrange for someone (a friend, a colleague, or a coach) to check in on you at the date and time you declared you will deliver on your commitment. Second, having support means you have someone to go to when there’s a breakdown. Breakdowns are actually normal (making a big deal out of them only prolongs them). On the other side of every breakdown is a breakthrough! Getting supported by a professional coach can get you in touch with the possibility that each breakdown brings, and help you reaffirm your commitment and get back on track.

If you’re ready to stop hiding your greatness once and for all, follow these steps! If you need some support, let’s talk. Remember, baby steps are all you need—the greatness is already inside you.

In awe,

Melaina

P.S. I'm outing my greatness! My superpower is designing and facilitating life-changing programs so you can go out and change the world, your way. I've had a new program ready to roll for a month, but guess what? I was hiding my greatness...And the greatness of the dozen experts I'm collaborating with! NO MORE! Click here to see my latest program PURPOSE + PROFIT that will change your life or the life of someone you love. No shit, no kidding. Because my mission is to be of service, and I can't do that by staying small. Love you all.