Ok, but what year is it?
I received a very long text today from one of my connections on Facebook. A woman who decided she needed to send me a message to explain why she wouldn’t like or follow my business page.
It was because we use the acronym AF in the description.
Now, I’m pretty sure it isn’t 1820 right now, though I don’t own a rocket car I do have the option of buying a robot that would vacuum my house. Seems future-y enough, right?
She did acknowledge that her issue stemmed from how she grew up, taught in no uncertain terms that anyone who swears is scum and scourge. Fair enough. We’re all damaged in some way from how we were raised.
My response to her was kind. There’s no point in being anything else. I thanked her for sharing and said that diversity in opinion and action makes the world interesting.
Then I blocked her and cheered. I got it right.
See, when you define, clearly define who your business serves and who you are, people edit themselves out. They choose to follow or not follow of their own volition. No pre-qualifying prospects required on your end of things.
If someone doesn’t like swearing, they are not the right client for me. End of story.
It’s not that I swear every other word, and certainly not that I don’t have access to an impressive vocabulary. Studies have shown that people who employ expletives in their vocabulary are in fact far ahead of the average person in language use.
It’s entirely that I choose to show up in my business, and online, as authentically me. Like it or lump it, what you see is what you get.
I think it’s disingenuous to the point of being unethical to play a role or pretend to be someone else. Art cannot be made without a large amount of putting oneself into each piece. A business that is heart led doesn’t function if the heart is false.
I do appreciate that the world has changed, and dramatically so. Clutching at how things should be may make a person feel better, but it puts you immediately out of step with how things are.
Find your happy medium in how you show up in your business. Accept that not everyone will like or love you. Cheer when they full on want to shut you down. And then keep doing what you’re doing.
