Why Finding Your Voice Changes Everything

Strike!

How do you find, let alone assert your voice amid the noise in our 24 hour news cycle and media frenzy fixated on fads and feuds?

There is so much pressure to blend in, to go with the wind, to be an echo. But what's the trade off? The danger, if this trajectory remains unabated, is that our unique message, our mystique, our voice risks being drowned out and smothered. Your voice matters!

The "voice" is not merely an instrument employed for singing or public speaking. Of course your voice can be expressed in a myriad of ways including through words and song, but it is much more than that.

In her book 10 Steps to Finding your Voice author Karen Hutton defines voice as a unique point of view and way of seeing the world. In this article I use the noun "voice" as a metaphor for your reason for being, your core message, your gifts, talent and strengths, your unique selling proposition, your contribution to the marketplace.

The voice is what resonates deep within you and it articulates what matters most to you. It's what makes you come alive. We pay a huge price when we fail to pay attention to and articulate our voice. As Dr. Martin Luther King put it, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." Your voice matters!

Author Laurie H. Anderson was more forthright, “When people don't express themselves, they die one piece at a time.” Similarly when our voice is drowned out or smothered something begins to die in us. According to author Norman Cousins, "The tragedy of life is that we let something die inside us while we live." Your voice matters!

And the stakes get even higher. Benjamin Disraeli hit the nail on the head, "Most people die with their music still locked up inside of them." Your voice matters!

Finding your voice is critical to unlocking and maximising your potential and achieving productivity. And the marketplace is richer, the world a far better place when we each find and activate our voice.

Just like in an orchestra, the magic happens when each voice, each element finds it's unique expression. There is more beauty, more buoyancy, greater synergy and increased productivity when you are in your element and when you give voice to that which matters to you. Your voice matters!

Finding your voice is not just good for your bottom line. Finding your voice changes everything. It changes the way we see ourselves and the lens through which we view others and the world around us. It changes what we value and how and why we do what we do including business.

Our voice is not something we discover "out there" or conjure up and scribble on a business plan or print on a glossy brochure. It's something deeply ingrained in us. It's our latent potential. It's intrinsically woven into the fabric of our being.

But our voice is oftentimes a casualty of our social conditioning and expectations, environmental factors and our own doubts, fear, self sabotage and limiting beliefs. Your voice matters!

Despite the onslaught, our voice, our unique personal significance, like a $10 note which despite diminishing quality due to the wear and tear still retains its original value.

Suffice it to say, like precious metals and gemstones, our voice needs to be extracted and mined right below the surface where it sometimes remains buried. It then needs to go through a process of refinement to extract its latent potential and then released to add value to the marketplace. Your voice matters!

Leadership guru Steven Covey famous for his bestselling and groundbreaking book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People describes "voice" as the 8th habit, the game changer, which shifts the pendulum from effectiveness to greatness.

And in his book The 8th Habit, Steve Covey argues that the essence of greatness is the ability to find your voice and to inspire others to find their voice. Your voice matters!

Poet Maya Angelou asserts that "a bird sings not because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song." What's your song? What's your message? What's your unique contribution to the marketplace and humanity? What gives you the right to be heard? What makes you stand out? And what do you stand for? What makes you you? Your voice matters!

On a personal note, since finding my voice I have discovered a new zest for life, gained more clarity about my reason for being and my contribution to the common wealth of humanity. I have found my "song", so to speak, and it literally makes my heart sing.

Consequently I have recently founded an enterprise which is more in line with my voice and purpose and which has provided me a platform to inspire others to find their voice. Your voice matters!

Finding your voice changes everything. But oftentimes it's the road less traveled. To paraphrase Robert Frost's famous poem, two roads diverged in the woods and I took the one less traveled by, in this case finding my voice, and it made all the difference. Your voice matters, today!

P/S. I'd like to hear your story. Your story can inspire others to find their voice. Have you found your voice and what does this mean to you? Why do most people "die with their music still locked up inside of them"? Any thoughts on how to find your voice? And what came to mind while reading the article above? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Author: Wilson Gacangi Mucai. Wilson is the Founder, Chief Visionary Officer and Principal Consultant at Find Your Voice, an organisation which exists to inspire individuals and organisations to find their voice and maximise their potential. Wilson is a keynote speaker, writer and entrepreneur. He lives in Adelaide, Australia. www.yourvoicematters.today