inspiring – #RealTalk with Rachel Dawn

A few weeks ago, Facebook released a promotional tool for “business pages” housed on their site. It’s a video that starts with, “we are in the business of….” And gives a very brief overview/description of your business. Like a 15 second mini-commercial.

I followed the link to create my own for my writer/speaker page. Facebook did all the work for me, I just had to fill in the blanks and make my selections and it would spit out a professional marketing tool. I picked all my favorite pictures and clicked “next”, then the tagline pops up: “We are in the business of…..” I sat staring at the blinking cursor in the empty text box.

What business AM I in?

Why does this page exist?

What IS the point of all this?

Why am I doing this?
And how do I even begin to put that into 160 characters or less?!!

You want me to summarize my life’s purpose in less than a dozen words?!

I literally closed the window and didn’t look at it again for two weeks.

It ate at me, that I couldn’t articulate why I do what I do, and how to explain it to someone – simply.

I started to meditate on the reasons why I write, why I share vulnerable parts of my life and my story, why building my platform on social media even matters…. I started to really think about all of it.

I thought back to a question I had asked myself about a year ago, “Rachel, what are you passionate about?”. At that time, I made a list and that list helped me to put things into perspective. I was able to prioritize my time/energy/focus on the things that really matter to me, and put aside things that I was mildly interested in, or that were just eating up my time.

A few key words started to float to the surface of my mind: Hope, Inspiration, Dreams, Belief, Freedom.

Finally, I decided on this: “We are in the business of restoring hope, igniting dreams, inspiring change, and leading people toward freedom.”

The video turned out absolutely delightful. (if you want to watch it: My Business Video)

I wished I could have gone into more detail about each of those items on there but I certainly can here:

Restoring hope
for the hopeless.
Because I once was.

Igniting dreams
for those who have forgotten how to dream, or lost the ability to believe in them.

Because I lived in that place, the place where everything I once dreamed about seemed too far out of reach, broken, ruined, and you don’t know how or where to begin again.

Inspiring change
I realize I cannot changing anybody. Ever. Period.
But by sharing my story of how my life has changed, I can help people see that change is possible, and achievable, and desirable and inspire them to seek change in their own lives.

Leading people to freedom.
Freedom? Freedom.
Freedom from shame, freedom from fear, freedom from guilt, freedom from bondage, freedom from entitlement, freedom from their past hurts, failures and bad decisions.
Woah. That’s a big one. A pretty tall order. And it’s the one thing I’m most passionate about. But can I really do that?
No, I cannot make anyone free, I cannot give anyone freedom myself. But, I can lead them to the Source of True Freedom, where I found my own.

If I achieve all or any one of these things, in the life of even one person who visits, likes, or follows my page, then it will have been successful in its purpose.

So what business am I in?
I’m in the business of loving and encouraging people. I’m in the business of (trying my best) to show people the character and person of Jesus in real life, even if it’s over a computer screen. I’m in the business of making myself vulnerable so people feel less alone about their own failures and shortcomings. I’m in the business of extending grace, ’cause God knows I need my fair share! I’m in the business of helping people live in the fullness and wholeness they were created so that they may identify and go after their own purpose. I’m in the business of positioning them to see and believe that it’s possible – no matter what they’ve been through, or from where they are starting. I’m in the messy human being business.

But that’s WAY more than 160 characters ;)What business are you in?