It's easy to say "Own Your Expertise" to other people, but sometimes it's harder to do that for ourselves.

I have a tendency to go to one extreme when I get inspired (or fired up) about something and then the pendulum swings back to the middle and I'm able to move from a more grounded place.

I've been thinking about this a lot lately because I'm very clear on what I want this year to look like.

This March will be my 14th year in business (I'm beyond grateful that ignorance is bliss). What I'm doing today is not at all what I thought I'd be doing when I started this online journey in 2008.

Side note: I remind my kids ALL the time that what I'm doing today didn't even exist when I was their age, so this is my reminder to you too. Don't get attached to what things are supposed to look like.

I know I've shared my story a zillion times in terms of what I thought I was going to be doing (I thought I was going to write ebooks and make millions of dollars. #nuffsaid), so even though my business went in a different direction (and pivoted a handful of times), the journey is what has given me the strength to own my skillset.

This is what I'm hoping this episode will do for you as well.

Step into your own expertise and #JustShowUP - we need new voices and perspectives on things.

The "Create vs. Consume" argument

You hear this all the time in the creator space.

Stop consuming and start creating.

It's a completely valid point, but sometimes consuming is what helps you get clear on what you want to create.

I read a LOT.

Probably more than I need to, but guess what? I LIKE reading and learning.

It was through my consumption that I found what resonated most for me. You can also see patterns and behaviors that start emerging when you read and learn about specific topics consistently

There is absolutely a danger in consuming more than you create, but it truly depends on where you are in your journey and whether or not you're actually "doing the work."

Until about 5 years ago I probably consumed a lot of content on anything relative to digital marketing. Whether it was SEO, video marketing, email marketing, funnels, content creation, e-commerce, advertising, copywriting, podcasting, etc.

The funny thing is that even though some of those topics aren't interesting to me (SEO & advertising are at the top of that list), I still consumed it because I felt like I had to.

I had to have an understanding of ALL the things.

This is where the old saying "Jack of all trades and master of none" comes in.

But I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing. In fact, here's the full saying that is often left out:

Think about traditional education (which in many ways is broken, but we'll leave that discussion for another time. Or never 😉).

You go to school and study general education for the first 12 - 14 years of your life (personally I think we could do without the two years of lower-division in college these days, but I digress. Again).

Once you've built that foundation, you then go on to a focused area of study.

If you're lucky with your business, you're able to find that focused area that becomes your specialty early on, but sometimes the price of admission to getting there is general education. The trial and error that comes from trying and testing new things are how we learn.

If someone had told me 10...