I work with clients all the time who feel as if they have a message to share, but don’t know where to start. Often, they’ve even built speaking careers – careers built on sharing a message and changing lives – and yet, they find themselves re-evaluating their topics when it’s time to put their words into writing. Why?

Because, while they may be great speakers, they may not have really stopped to hone in on what their real message is.

I’m not talking about the sales and marketing message. I’m not talking about the list of benefits that you provide your clients when you go to convince them to hire you. I’m not even talking about the topic that you speak on because you have years of experience at it, nor the topic you speak on because someone else thought you’d be good at it. No, I’m talking about the topic and message that fires you up when you speak about it; the one that so inspires you that it’s hours past time to go to bed before you even look up at the clock; the one that you dive deeper and deeper into because you love it and you’d do so whether you got paid for it or not.

Anyone can write a book or build a speaking career, really. Writing and speaking are really nothing more than marketing skills. But as an audience member, I’m sure you’ve read a book or attended presentations that have fallen flat – maybe they contained fabulous information and were highly valuable, and you may have even recommended them to others, but there was still something missing.

And then there are the books and speakers and messages that connect, they don’t leave you alone, they come to mind again and again because they stir your heart and soul. And maybe, you can’t even pinpoint why it touched you so much, except that something about it lit you up. That’s the writer’s and the speaker’s love and passion for their message coming through.

Wouldn’t you like to stir hearts and minds like that?

First, you have to know it for yourself. From there, the rest will follow.

Here are three key questions to help you begin to tap into your true message:

What do you want to be known for? When you put something in writing, or speak about it to a large audience, you’re naturally going to be associated with it. Putting it in writing though, will often carry it further and make it last longer as books remain on shelves and are passed around, or stored in libraries (yes, even in the digital age!). So, don’t just ask yourself what you want to be known for today. Ask yourself what you want to be known for over your lifetime. What do you want people to say about you, your work, and your message after you retire? What do you want them to say that you brought into this world? If a building, piece of artwork, or book were being dedicated to you, there’d be just a sentence or two about what you stood for and how you inspired others. What do you want that sentence or two to say about you? The goal is to tap into a deeper sense of presence, meaning and values for yourself; to uncover and tap into an even deeper sense of purpose and passion to fuel the work you do.

What subject, if you knew more about it, would be incredibly valuable to your clients? Brainstorm this one. Just start by throwing things onto the list. Then take a look at the list from a couple of different angles. First, notice which areas are there because you yourself are interested in learning more about them versus the ones that are there because someone else thinks it’d be interesting to add. Second, notice which areas you can recognize as being valuable to offer to your clients, but are areas you have no interest in developing (these make great opportunities for strategic partnerships!). Third, notice how well each topic may or may not tie into what you want to be known for. It may be helpful to rate each idea you’ve brainstormed in some way using a 1 to 10 scale for yourself. The idea is to narrow the list down to just one or two top areas of interest to start exploring. Spend the next three to six months focused on learning, exploring, and sharing your opinions, information and insights on that topic. If you find it starts to bore you, that’s information to pay attention to! If you find you want to keep going further with it, that’s information to pay attention to also!

What do your clients REALLY want? So often in business we think we know what our clients want, and then we try to deliver that to them without ever actually stopping to ask. Even when we do ask, are we really listening? And, are we asking the right questions? Before my kids were born, I volunteered for a short time with the Make-A-Wish Foundation. It was both beautiful and heart-wrenching at the same time. One of the things that stood out to me in the training though was that, when you ask a child what their wish is, don’t just pay attention to the first thing they say. More often than not, what they really truly want, is actually the second or third thing they’ll say. Some of it has to do with how much permission they feel they have to dream big, and ask for what they really want. Some of it has to do with the brainstorming process and what comes to mind first. There were a number of reasons for it, but I’ve realized over the years, that it’s not just true with children in dire situations. It’s true of all of us. First, make sure you’re asking the right questions. Then, make sure you’re listening – not just to the first things that come to mind, but to the deeper truths that follow.

These questions can and will take time to answer. In fact, exploring them may in some ways take the remainder of your career as one thing leads to the next in a never-ending process of evolving. Ultimately, when you find the area in which all three of these questions intersect – your purpose and passion, plus your knowledge base, plus your audience – that’s where you’ll find the magic.

And isn’t that what entrepreneurship is all about?

May 2013 Issue