My full story
The journey of me being visible online started at the beginning of my studies, even though I didn’t know about any of it yet.
I started reading about personal development on blogs, on Medium, and in books. I remember that I had to read the book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen R. Covey in high school, but I only read the minimum required. We read it in English, and it was a challenge to understand it (English is not my mother tongue).
A few years later, all I was reading was English personal development books because I was hooked, and I improved my English by watching TV series.
I wasn’t even thinking about writing or creating an online business because it wasn’t even on my radar, and I studied something completely different (media technology).
The reading sparked my desire to improve, and this led me to change my profession at 22. I was unhappy and purposeless in my first job after graduation.
I had a quarter-life crisis, and now I’m glad I had it so early.
I was frustrated, almost depressed. I was crying after work every few weeks. I was wasting my time working on a project, which nobody was sure if it was ever gonna get published.
So after months of overthinking through all of the possible future scenarios and money problems, I had the guts to tell my parents and started studying from the beginning again, and something completely different: architecture.
Here’s a little secret: During that time, I was actually already writing online on Medium and my website, but I didn’t tell anyone about it. You can still read some of my really bad writing on my website (but I don’t recommend it) if you go way back.
I stopped writing when I got busy with my new studies. I didn’t see any results from my writing, and I wasn’t confident enough to share it on any social media platform to get more views.
A few years later…
I started reading online again, and something sparked the desire to change and improve my life. It might have been writers talking about their successes and financial freedom from writing.
So I started writing, and this time with the community of writers on Twitter. At first, it was about getting some extra money and writing down my thoughts on what I was learning. Of course, my writing still wasn’t good, but it got better, and I didn’t earn any money.
With every article I gained confidence. With every post and positive feedback on Twitter, I gained confidence.
The writing community helped me to continue because the goal was to write consistently and never give up.
After around 1 year, I was frustrated with Twitter because there weren’t many women there, who I realized were my target group.
The big step into visibility…
I was scared to post on another platform because friends and family would see, but I had a mission now: helping women succeed in life.
So with my heart racing, I posted the first time on Instagram for everyone to see. It was a generic post, but a big step for me.
My mission to share more positivity online and help people was more important than me getting exposed as a person who likes personal development.
My writing bubble and me gaining confidence also helped not to see it as weird anymore. In my online bubble, it was normal to post on different platforms, be visible, and share your stories and thoughts.
Additionally, the pain of being stuck in a purposeless job, chained to a chair, was bigger than the “could be” embarrassment online.
I knew, as an architect, that I wouldn’t make much money (that’s the case in Austria, not globally), and I needed to diversify my income.
And again, with every post, I increased my confidence, and I started sharing my personal stories and working on creating an actual business.
There was no stopping anymore. I’m a person who doesn’t give up when people might see me failing. I’m going to pull through, no matter what.
And that ambition, my bigger mission, and my vision of myself still keep me going to this day.
My mission is to help introverted women succeed in life authentically with their quiet power.
The negative feedback or talking behind my back that I was afraid of didn’t happen. The people who didn’t like what I was posting about just quietly unfollowed me. And I didn’t realize.
And the people who love my content, they told me so, and that made me happy.
The Learnings
Sharing your story and thoughts online is a challenge, but it’s not because it’s hard. It’s because we’re afraid of what people might think.
And we hear so many negative things about the internet: stalkers, hate comments, and just bad people. But sharing positive thoughts and stories is what the internet needs to shift again.
I had a few negative comments, but they were not really about me but about the other person being frustrated with themselves or the world.
Of course, I was angry at the moment reading them, but the world didn’t end. I deleted or ignored them.
It took me another year to take the next step by showing myself in videos and talking to a camera. By taking small steps out of my comfort zone:
- writing about my personal stories
- making professional pictures
- consistently sharing my thoughts
I gained more confidence.
And just like with posting on Instagram for the first time, I realized I had to be more visible to gain trust and make my mission come true.
Now I’m visible on YouTube, have a podcast, talk in reels on TikTok, and still write personal stories like this one in my newsletter.
I’m an introvert, and it is possible to be visible online because those are just skills to learn.
I’m an introvert, and it is possible to have fun at networking events and find real connections.
I’m an introvert, and it is possible to succeed with a calm voice and inner peace from home.
I’m an introvert, and it is possible to succeed without playing someone else.
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