What are You Holding Back?

I was recently meeting with a colleague who wanted to learn more about Twitter.  We had met several times and he was so excited about all the new things he was learning.  He had followed over one hundred people and had a couple dozen followers himself.  He had lurked during several Twitter chats, searched for interesting topics, and realized the power of the hashtag.  He, however, had yet to compose his first tweet. 

When I asked him what he wanted the focus of our session to be on, he said he was very nervous about jumping into the very conversations he had just said he was so excited about.  When I asked him why, he said he felt as if he did not have anything to offer.  He was amazed at the wit, brillance, and innovative ideas contained just 140 characters of those he followed and he was afraid anything he tweeted would "pale in comparison."  

I completely understood.  If you would have told me a year ago that I would be sharing my thoughts on this blog, I would have most definitely not believed you.  I rarely tweet about my posts because I too worry that what I share will pale in comparison to the amazing things I read online.  

I asked him if he would be willing to spend two minutes watching a video (see below) with me that had helped me begin to start taking more risks and put myself out there in the world of social media.  He agreed and afterwords composed his very first tweet, which I must say was not only brillant but witty as well.  

Are you holding back something that seems too obvious to share?

Video by Derek Sivers @sivers