Getting on stage and delivering your story can be exciting and terrifying–especially when you want to inspire and motivate others with stories that are vulnerable and close to your heart.

The thoughts. You’re plagued with thoughts like, “Hasn’t this story already been told?” and “Why is my speech going to be the one people remember?”

The nerves. You’ve got the calling to speak . . . but the nerves take you down every time! The idea of all those eyes on you makes you worry about how people are going to see and judge you.

The comparison. You’ve watched and admired hundreds of speakers. Your own life has been changed by great speakers, and you want to be the next Brené Brown . . . but you’re not Brené Brown. You just haven’t developed your own style yet.

The audience. You’re worried that you’ll lose your audience halfway through.

The blank page. You flip open a blank word document and, within minutes, you’re just scrolling through Facebook or LinkedIn, comparing yourself to other people’s business and speaking-success posts. Or just checking out cute dog videos. You’re distracted and suffering from writer’s block.

The ideas. You’ve had this story in your heart for ages, and it’s just not getting out into the world. You’ve got sticky notes and notebook pages filled with ideas that haven’t come together in a sincere, powerful way.

The how. You’ve tried watching YouTube videos about delivering great content, but it’s not enough. You “get” the how-to, technical parts of giving a speech, but you want to go beyond cookie-cutter and leave a speech legacy.

The past. You’ve tried EVERYTHING. From writing it on your own to attending countless Toastmasters meetings to taking a storytelling course, but you’re not closer to getting that speech written.

The drafts. You’ve  written feel generic, cliched, and full of inspirational bumper stickers. You KNOW you have something moving in you, but it’s just not coming out authentically YOU. The worst thing you can imagine is sounding just like everyone else.

The mindset. Negative mental chatter sets in. Maybe you’re not meant to do this. Maybe your story doesn’t matter that much. Maybe you’re NOT meant for the stage after all.