Written by: Victoria Baylor, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
What makes a voice powerful? When I was young I remember one of my earliest encounters hearing a Powerful voice... and it's not what you think. I went to the zoo in elementary school with my classmates. I stepped off the bus and into the zoo observing the elephants and monkeys. And without warning, I heard a sound that sent shivers down my spine. It was a lion's roar. The lion was all the way at the back of the zoo – miles away, yet its roar could be heard the loudest. Did you know that a lion's roar can literally travel 5 miles?
What a powerful voice! I had a similar "powerful voice" encounter years later when I heard Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's "I Have a Dream" speech during his March on Washington. He spoke to over 250,000 on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to peacefully protest racial injustice and demand unity. His voice was powerful and his voice carried a message that has lived on in my heart and the fiber of my being until this day. It's easy to recognize a powerful voice when you hear it. It moves you both physically, and emotionally and stirs you mentally. A powerful voice ALWAYS carries a message. You have a POWERFUL voice too! It's your tool to share the thoughts and ideas you carry and connect them to the world. But you have to open up and boldly use your voice.
Let's be honest – have you always used it? I think we can all admit we haven't. But there is no greater opportunity than in this new year! This 2022 year holds so many possibilities and much potential. Your voice is the gateway. Your voice has much more power than you may even recognize. I don't know about you but society, family, and other situations can make a woman question the power of her voice. Maybe you've felt that way. Perhaps you've tried to use it and have had it ignored, minimized, or "mansplained" away. If this has been your experience I'm sorry that you've dealt with that. But your voice is powerful and I admonish you to NEVER let anyone silence it. Maybe you want to use your Powerful voice to start a new business or climb up the corporate ladder. Maybe you want to use it to start an organization, serve on the board of a charity or write a book. No matter what you want to do your powerful voice is the vehicle to get you there. So don't underestimate it. If anything you want to develop it on a greater level. I want to offer you 3 ways to find your voice on a deeper level.
1. Recognize your Rareness
Do you know what the most expensive instrument in the world is? It's the MacDonald Stradivarius Viola and it is roughly $45 million dollars. Do you know why it's so expensive? It's expensive because it's rare. The Big question for you is – What makes you RARE? Have you ever stopped to think of that? Don't you think it's worth exploring? Some clues include your Personality, experiences, talents, strengths, values, creativity, intelligence, story, beliefs, etc. What can you do that others can't? What makes you different? Being rare makes you desirable & Valuable. It gives you the content & platform to use your Powerful Voice. But you have to figure it out! That's one thing I LOVE helping amazing women get clear on – their uniqueness!
When you don't know you're rare you don't know your value. When you don't know your value you will underestimate your value and allow others to do the same. Find out what makes you rare and you will find your powerful voice and message.
2. Don't listen to the nay-sayers
There has been a myth for years that bees shouldn't be able to fly. The myth dates back to the 1930s when the French entomologist August Magnan noted that a bee's flight should be impossible due to its big body and small wings. In the middle of that controversy, do you know what the bees kept doing? It kept flying. And scientists finally figured out they had it all wrong. So Let me draw your attention back to the honey bee. While all of this negative talk was going on the bee kept on flying. Who else here agrees that the bee knew its ASSIGNMENT? You see they solve a problem nothing else can solve. You're the same way. You are gifted to solve a problem. And that opens the door for you to use your Powerful Voice in a more impactful way. When you discover what it is don't let anyone else deter you. They may not be able to explain how you can do what you can do. It may not make sense to them but they keep on flying anyway.
No matter what anyone says, you have to believe there is space and room for Your Voice. Your success is not dependent upon everyone's validation. Know your assignment.
3. Believe in Yourself
The phrase "Believe in yourself" is often said so much that it may sound cliche. But it's not! The National Science Foundation did a study that revealed we think between 12,000 to 60,000 thoughts per day. Per day! For many people, 80% of those thoughts are negative. What do you think about yourself? Your thoughts will determine whether you have the courage to use your Powerful Voice! What do you believe about yourself? True BELIEF takes ACTION! When you have positive beliefs about yourself, they fuel you to take action. What steps are you willing to take to own the power of your voice? You can't wait on the world to give you an opportunity you need to find ways to make it happen for yourself. Create your own platform for your Powerful Voice to be heard. This is your year and I'm cheering you on! Use your voice powerfully!
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Victoria Baylor, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Driven by a profound sense to help High-Performing Leaders excel and showcase their Brilliance, Victoria Baylor offers her expertise in the fields of leadership development, mindset growth, and personal branding to help entrepreneurs, professionals, & organizational leaders gain the Clarity + Confidence to get out of their heads and excel in leadership. She is a Certified Mindset & Clarity Coach, NLP Practitioner, TEDx Speaker & 1 Amazon Best Selling Author whose holistic approach to coaching, speaking, and writing helps others accelerate their growth and push past their limitations.
After 15 years in research science, Victoria found her True Calling and purpose in behavioral science when she realized how easy it is for Women to lose their identities to the roles they serve in. She shares her insights & story in her TEDx talk, "You Are Who You Are, Not What You Do". This experience led her to focus on providing Coaching to help entrepreneurial & professionals (men and women) move beyond their mindset blocks and gain the personal brand clarity and strong mindset needed to operate as high-level leaders.
She also offers organizational interventions in the form of trainings, seminars, and/or team building to polish brilliant leaders. She is a writer for multiple publications and a podcast host. She serves on several boards and non-profit organizations. For fun, she enjoys traveling, cooking, and reading. She lives in Savannah Georgia with her husband and 14-year-old daughter, Reilly.
