Too Tired to Perform
Showing Up Without Performing
There's something nobody really tells you when you start a business.
That at some point you are going to get too tired to be anything but yourself.
And honestly, that's where the good stuff starts.
When I first started my business I was polished. Intentionally, carefully, exhaustingly polished. I wouldn't post a story without doing my hair first. I made sure the kids' mess wasn't visible in the background. I made sure you couldn't see the camper we were living in.
Not because I was ashamed of it. But because I thought it looked unprofessional. I thought my people needed to see a certain version of me to take me seriously. A cleaner version. A more put together version. A version that looked like she had it all figured out.
That version was exhausting to maintain.
The Shift
It didn't happen overnight. There wasn't one big moment where I decided to stop performing. It was more like I just gradually stopped caring about the wrong things.
I started showing up in whatever state I was actually in.
Kids in the background, fine.
Camper visible, fine.
Messy reality of building a business from home, fine.
And here's what I noticed. Nobody left. In fact people connected more.
Because the polished version of me was forgettable. The real version, the one living in a camper while building a house and a business simultaneously, figuring it out in real time - that version was actually interesting.
What I Know Now
I still think about how I present my brand. That part hasn't gone away and it shouldn't. There is nothing wrong with being intentional about how you show up.
But there is a difference between being intentional and being performative. One is about clarity. The other is about fear.
I'm not afraid of being seen anymore. The only things I'm still figuring out are the logistics - what to post, how often, which platforms make sense. The tactical stuff. But none of, that has anything to do with who I am or what people will think of me.
That part is settled.
And if you are somewhere at the beginning of this - doing your hair before every story, angling the camera so nobody sees the mess, hiding the parts of your life that feel too real…I want you to hear this:
It's okay to want to present your brand a certain way. But don't forget to still be you. Show up in your own authentic way because your people will be attracted to you by who you are - not what you're pretending to be.
The right people don't need the polished version.
They just need the real one.
☕ If this resonated with you, support my work here: Buy Me a Coffee link. If you're not subscribed yet, join below so you never miss a post and share this with someone who needs to hear it.
