What is one mindset shift or action that helped you overcome your fear or hesitation about putting yourself out there professionally?

I co-founded a venture-backed startup, and as a part of an accelerator we participated in, I was given advice by some investors to give 110% effort in anything I do, so when I look back, I know I gave it my all. We were encouraged to reach out to friends, family, and the network we wouldn't even think of professionally to put ourselves, our company, and our work out there. If we are pouring our blood, sweat, and tears into our business (or even our careers), what's stopping us from fully embodying that in all of our professional channels? Since then, I have always shown up with 100% on social media, at networking events, and at pitches. Sometimes there is still fear, but fear is overcome with action, and I refuse to look back and say I should have acted on that. So I act through fear, so I never have regrets. I do the LinkedIn Live, I send the newsletter, I am a guest on the podcast, and I show up alone to networking events. I may not always succeed, but I always try my best and take action.

When I first started my copywriting business, I would hesitate to "sell." Instead, I'd share client wins, which reflected well on me—and which I still do because I love my clients and am always proud of their accomplishments, whether I supported them or not! But once I learned that selling is a service, that telling people what I do and allowing them to decide to invest in themselves through our work together was a gift, I completely changed my tune. Sometimes the little devil on my shoulder still tells me to be more humble, but I now truly believe that NOT telling them about my business hurts us both. Plus, what's the worst that could happen? They say no, and I make a new friend? Sounds pretty good to me.

The key mindset shift was treating my LinkedIn profile like a landing page rather than just a resume. I focused on strategically placing job-specific keywords in my headline, About section, and Experience sections, and I added a targeted sentence about helping introverts get interviews. This intentional approach made me realize that putting myself out there didn't have to feel uncomfortable, it just needed to be strategic. The results spoke for themselves as profile views and messages increased significantly.

I've learned that when I know I have people supporting me, that goes a long way toward making me feel more comfortable putting myself out there. If I am thinking about doing something new, for example, I'll talk to people I trust about it. Or, if I want to go to a networking event, I'll ask if anyone on my team wants to come too. Simply having people in my corner gives me a lot more confidence in myself and what I'm doing.

The mindset shift that changed everything for me was deciding who I am before I walk into the room. For a long time, I saw everyone else as above me. I'd think, They're more experienced and more successful. That story alone created all the fear and hesitation. So, I changed the script. I started seeing myself as a "pro athlete", not in an arrogant way, but as an identity. If I'm a pro, my job is to show up, share what I know, and help the person who is still where I used to be. When I hold that identity, I'm not comparing myself to others. I'm simply doing my work. The mindset that "I'm the best person to deliver my message and my story" removed most of the fear. It reminded me that staying small doesn't serve anyone, and that putting myself out there professionally is part of the responsibility that comes with the life I've chosen.

Listen future leader, you can only prepare so much, but in the end we are all just figuring it out in real time. The turning point for me was accepting that waiting for the perfect moment was really just another form of hesitation. There is never going to be an absolutely certain moment when you say, "I'm ready." Stepping forward before you feel ready is what builds the confidence you think you're supposed to start with.

For me, the real breakthrough happened when I realized that being open and vulnerable is a form of service, not a way to pump up my ego. The second I got rid of the thought of "Will my posts/talks make me look like an idiot?", and started asking myself "Could I possibly save someone's bacon, some future security lead from repeating a mistake I've made?", it was a whole lot easier. Tangibly, I came up with this one rule: share one useful and unequivocal insight every week (which could be an incident lesson, a working control, a question boards should ask) and the rest that does not connect to be okay. Changing the paradigm — from seeking validation through performance to contribution — not only made the fear bearable but also the steadiness achievable.

I would say that for me, what helps me most mindset-wise is simply having the proof of success and positive outcomes from putting myself out there in the past. When I started my business, for example, I had to take a major leap of faith and put myself out there in so many different, pretty major, ways. Now, a few years later, I've had more success than I would have ever expected, and I know that I wouldn't be where I'm at without taking those leaps back then. So when I am hesitant about putting myself out there now, I just remember that doing so in the past has only ever led to great outcomes, so why would it be any different now?

Many people cannot put themselves out in their profession and be visible. I used to be one of those. I changed my mindset once I realised that being visible is not about promoting yourself only. It is basically a contribution, not just standing out in a group of people. I noticed that many leaders would help others just by sharing their practical experiences. They gave simple lessons when sharing their failures and business patterns. But these lessons reduced the friction for newcomers. It did not make them stand out in a group of people. It made them responsible for teams, partners, and operators. These people actually benefited from the insights of experienced people. I realised this, and my whole hesitation disappeared. Now I focus on being clear and useful to someone, not just trying to be a perfect leader.

Getting over my fear of failure was one of the hardest hurdles that I had to overcome, and the way I was able to do it was through a cost benefit analysis. In my mind, I started thinking about the pain I would go through by staying where I was vs the pain that it would take for me to change. I realized that in any situation where the pain of staying was higher than the pain of transformation, I need to change course. One the flip side, I also measured my comfort. If I am too comfortable where I am, I know I need to move and change. This mindset has led to many changes in my career and personal life that have been for the better. I know that this has helped free me from the shackles of doubt and fear.

Something I've done to help overcome these fears is intentionally putting myself in situations where I have no other choice but to do things that intimidate me. For example, saying 'yes' to things like speaking engagements before I have the chance to overthink things, because saying I'll do it prevents me from being able to back out. Or, traveling for work-related things because if I am going to be traveling somewhere, I have no other option but to do it.

There is no better way to overcome hesitation or fear of putting yourself out there, professionally, than to take courses in public speaking or participate in any theatre production, ideally community theatre. Note: This does not mean taking part in social media. At the root cause of all hesitation and fear, is a desire not to be embarrassed. Most focus on their own failures much more than other people ever will. When a person learns how to strategically embarrass themselves in a safe environment, they quickly learn there was never anything to fear, but fear itself. They learn hesitation is just time wasted enjoying life. And when you realize how little things matter, you can stop taking yourself so seriously, and start behaving more professionally.

The key mindset shift for me was establishing a clear principle about what I share on LinkedIn. I decided to only post information that I would be comfortable with people outside my trust circle knowing. This boundary gave me the confidence to highlight my professional passions and accomplishments without hesitation. Having this guideline helped me put myself out there while maintaining my sense of privacy and control.

This desicion was not about self-promotion - I treat visibility as a part of true leadership responsibility. Teams are looking for clarity and confidence from their leaders. And leaders shape the narratice, set trends and directions, always highlight the path for others. I consider open communication, sharing insights, ideas and takeaways, and stepping into the public stage as a part of my duty. At the same time, I realised that this is my genuine nature. That's how the hesitation vanished. And I started doing what a leader owes to people who trust them.

The single biggest mindset shift for me was letting go of the need for polish and focusing entirely on purpose. When I started Co-Wear LLC, that fear of putting myself out there—of being judged as a Latina minority founder, or judged for my products—was paralyzing. I kept trying to sound perfect or look like a huge corporation. That attempt to be flawless was actually what stopped me from moving. The moment I shifted was when I realized the business wasn't about me. It wasn't about looking perfect. It was about solving a real problem for real women who couldn't find clothes that fit or celebrated their curves. That's a human issue. So, I stopped rehearsing my pitch and just started telling the real story of why I founded Co-Wear. I stopped trying to sound like a CEO and started speaking like the woman who was tired of seeing beautiful clothes that didn't fit real people. When you shift your focus from impressing people to connecting with them—through honesty and shared purpose—the fear just disappears. Authenticity beats rehearsed lines every single time.

The change for me was realizing visibility is helping people, not bragging. My fear of posting usually came from imagining everyone judging every word I wrote. Reframing it as helping a past version of myself made showing up way easier. Simple rule that helped me: talk less about my wins, more about problems I solved and what I learned. Focusing on being useful instead of perfect took off all that pressure. My consistency built trust, and the fear of "putting myself out there" turned into normal, manageable discomfort instead of this massive thing blocking me.

I initially avoided sharing our work because I believed people wouldn't be interested and that our organization wasn't big enough. My perspective shifted when I realized my goal should be to educate my community rather than promote myself. We started sharing actual installation projects along with examples of rebate achievements and safety guidelines, which people found genuinely useful. The shift to viewing social media content as a form of service delivery rather than self-promotion made it easier to keep up with. As a result, our organization attracted better employees and built stronger customer trust through consistent, brief updates. The aim of being visible and honest became more important than trying to appear perfect.

Starting small helped. I shared several GitHub projects and wrote technical blog entries that demonstrated our solutions to particular challenges, such as .NET Core LINQ query optimization and Redis-based SQL endpoint caching. The process of building confidence through small achievements happened naturally, without requiring overt self-promotion. I also transformed my perspective on visibility by starting to see it as a way to share engineering knowledge rather than as a form of personal promotion. Sharing insights and solutions with others fosters positive interactions with both colleagues and customers.

I eliminated my concern about self-exposure because credibility develops through offering trustworthy thinking that makes it easier for others to rely on my ideas. My approach to communication evolved when I shifted from trying to impress others through my speaking and writing to focusing on delivering high-quality, decision-based content. A CEO or legal adviser needs specific, relevant information to proceed with confidence. The absence of obvious risks often only becomes clear when someone has previously studied cases that ended in failure. Our clients at Octopus typically come to us after their businesses experience failures caused by poorly designed vehicles, unmanaged regulatory risks, or discrepancies in their operational structures. I share my internal frameworks with clients so they can prevent future problems. This involves helping them identify hidden control points in group structures and build contractual agreements that protect against substance risk. The work became more valuable when I stopped thinking about self-promotion and instead focused entirely on providing practical value. That shift eliminated my hesitation. My focus became helping others make stronger decisions rather than trying to appear successful. The value of that work speaks for itself.

I experienced my first major change when I shifted from viewing self-promotion as something uncomfortable to understanding that sharing our team's work and learnings was actually a form of collaboration. The process of explaining our quality control methods and ingredient research findings to others became clear to me as a way to educate people who could benefit from our help. This new perspective eliminated my self-doubt because I saw that the focus should be on our mission and the facts we present, not on promoting myself.