Using your voice for change
Ready to use the power of your voice and video to create positive change?
Have you ever been afraid of something and didn’t do it?
How did that feel?
At some point in all our lives, we’ve all experienced fear and we’ve let it stop up from:
- Moving forward.
- Taking action.
- Speaking up.
Today on episode 282, we’re diving into getting past our fears by using the power of our voices and video.
Welcome to episode 282 of the Amplify Your Awesome™ podcast.
I’m your host Yong Pratt and this week we’re taking a bit of a departure from our regular topics like content creation and repurposing to dive into something that’s been on my mind and in my heart and probably yours as well.
Let’s dive in…
I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t normally watch the news because it tends to make me anxious and often puts me in a state of fear and a lack mindset.
When I began seeing some very heated posts in my social feeds, I went to investigate.
When I did. I was mortified. I was angry. I was sad. I let the fear of what I knew I needed to say out loud to all of you creep in.
Total transparency…I hesitated whether or not to even RECORD THIS PODCAST EPISODE.
Do I continue releasing the episodes I had already planned on releasing?
OR
Do I want to open up and have a conversation about hard things and the injustices that have risen to the surface?
I’m choosing the latter and I hope that’s okay with you.
Before we dive into the deep conversation, I want to give you a little backstory that’s been stirred up and has risen to the surface as of late.
Some of you may know this about me. Others may not…
Yong’s Backstory
I grew up in a small town in Northeastern Nevada, just down the hill from where I live now. That fact in and of itself is totally unremarkable.
What made a mark on me during childhood was the dynamic of being raised by bi-racial parents in a predominantly Caucasian town. My dad is caucasian and my mom Korean. There was a smattering of Hispanic families in town along with those of Basque and Italian heritage.
For years, my brother and I were the only Asian kids at our elementary schools. My brother, who was dark-skinned with black hair and brown eyes, was often passed off as being maybe Hispanic. He was fiercely confident and the life of the party and was always surrounded by friends.
I, on the other hand, was a fair-skinned, red-haired, freckled-faced kid with a weird name that rhymes with some rather unpleasant words that kids on the playground would often chant.
Looking back, I see a kid with very little self-confidence and because of that, I was extremely shy – never wanting to get called on in class, never wanting to stand out and be remarkable in any way because I looked so different. This was in stark contrast to my desire to figure things out in my own way but heaven forbid I break a rule.
I remember hearing people ask if I was adopted, especially when I was with my mom because other than maybe the shape of our eyes and faces, we looked nothing alike to most people.
I remember the way some people looked at and treated my mom. Today we call it racism. Back then, no one thought differently of it, at least where we lived.
I remember just being embarrassed to be Asian because it made me different.
And when I went back to Korea at the age of 9, I stood out like a sore thumb. So much so, in fact that everywhere we went, strangers would literally surround me and reach out their hands to touch me. They’d pinch my cheeks. They’d rub my skin because it was so white. They’d stroke my hair.
The worst part is that they thought it was okay to treat me like an object – like a doll on display because I looked different from them.
Even as an oddity, my life was never in danger because of the color of my skin, like so many are today.
So as the events over the past few weeks have unfolded, it’s brought back these stories and the realities of race in our country.
Dealing with hard topics
As I so often do when faced with a situation or event that comes with big emotions, especially those that cause me to question my own beliefs, I tend to retreat inwardly and objectively observe the world around me in order to process.
To some, me not showing up and voicing concern or anger or sadness may look like I’m standing on the sidelines doing nothing. Like I’m letting the fear of speaking up stop me from using my voice for good, for change.
That’s not the reality at all.
I’ve come to learn that as an Emotional Projector according to my Human Design, part of my strategy when it comes to making decisions [like the decision to create this email] is the necessity of riding out my emotional waves – experiencing all the highs and lows.
And holy cow, have there been some low lows lately in the face of the terrible injustices that have befallen our world. Riding this emotional wave brings me the clarity I need before speaking or acting.
Now that I’ve gained some clarity, have really looked into my beliefs, and have started hard conversations with my girls, here’s what I know with certainty.
- It’s time to examine or reexamine our own beliefs
- It’s time to have more hard conversations
- It’s time to think about what the future will look like if we do nothing or don’t say anything
- It’s time to think about what the future COULD look like if we DO take a stand
- It’s time to stand up and speak up, my friend.
- It’s time to be part of the positive changes that are so desperately needed in our world, especially in the US right now.
How?
By using the power of our voices to bring about the changes we wish to see in our world.
And one of THE best ways to share your voice is with video – especially live video because it’s real, it’s raw, and it’s unedited.
So, my friends, I have an invitation for you.
If you’re ready to be a voice for change, I invite you to join me inside my Super 7 Live Video Challenge that kicks off on Wednesday, June 10.
And because I know so many of you want to find a way to use your voice, I want to GIFT you this challenge. All you have to do is request to join our new community, Creators Landing.
It’s a challenge I’ve sold for $77 and includes a simple framework to make the most impact with your voice on video.
It’s a framework that’s taken me from being scared of pressing record to now loving the medium.
It’s a framework that’s cost me literally tens of thousands of dollars and over a decade to create and I want to gift it to you because I believe in you.
I believe in your business and your message.
I believe in the power of your voice to create positive changes in this world.
And just think about the momentum, not to mention the compound effect we could create by uniting our voices for good.
If you’re ready to use your voice for change, request access to Creators Landing and get the challenge as Yong’s gift. s
For 7 days, we’ll dive into the whys and hows of live video and a single week, you’ll have all everything you need to show up confidently and consistently on video and be a voice for change.
Video is powerful.
Your voice is even more powerful and it’s absolutely time to use it to create the positive changes you wish to see in our world.
Cheers to using your voice and video!
See you inside the challenge as Yong’s gift to you.
Yong
