Knowing Your Core Values Helps You Develop Content

Tech Savvy 101 is a series of posts designed to help demystify some terminology so you can get your brain around what it really takes to start getting your tech savvy on.

If you teach a technology workshop and help women find their own tech savviness, why do you begin with core values and not the technology stuff?

Well it’s like this. As I’ve said before, content really is the king, of all of it. And so very shortly after you start to receive the technology “know how” pieces of creating a web presence, you’ll be up against a different kind of question. A few of them in fact. And most of them will stem from:

What do I put on here? or
What do I write and say about my me & my biz?

Simple enough questions. Not so much with the answers. Because there’s only one person in charge of knowing what makes you tick.

In fact, all the BEST help I’ve ever received from my own teachers, coaches, mentors was about content. It might not have always been web content. It was usually the content of me. And how I define that. And being clear about what I do and how I help people. And shifting my perspectives around so I could see more of a situation, more possibilities. Like what it looks and feels like from my client’s point of view.

I start with values because it helped me with purpose. All of these types of questions sort of connect back to understanding your Purpose. And if you’re thinking about creating your first web presence or doing better with the one you have, you get to answer the Purpose question for those too.

And Purpose feels so big. Like, it’s the million dollar self-help question. What is my purpose?

Enter Irony Of Life

It’s usually right in front of us. Something too small and insignificant to allow ourselves to recognize it as real value for someone else… (especially not our right people; no, not them) because it’s not big enough. It’s not Save-The-MuthaF’n-World, make-Mother-Theresa-weep and Gandhi-roll-over big enough.

And I didn’t really realize it until I did some work on myself. I discovered the content of me. I discovered what I value, what truly makes my heart sing and juices me up. It’s something that was inside me all along.

Or maybe it was I never found the answer outside of me.

Attracting Perfect Customers

And one day, I was reading a book called Attracting Perfect Customers. Reading a chapter called Be On Purpose To Your Mission. Eek! What was my mission? I had somewhere between no-and-some idea of what my mission was. It was one of those big life questions.

So I kept reading and as I allowed myself to let go of what didn’t make sense or my anxieties about not knowing more than I did because I thought I should or not doing as well as someone else similar to me was doing and instead give myself permission to go with what did make sense… and invest in my right now so I can get to where I’m going.

And I found my core values. The things I know I need for sure, or it just ain’t worth it.

And once I had my core values, I had a clarity. To help me with the next business (or personal) question (because we know it’s all mixed together anyway).

And once I had my core values, I knew what passion felt like. Because I was there… in it. I had to find it to get in it. This was big.

And with clarity & passion, I had purpose. It wasn’t this big thing, and didn’t need to be. Because for now, it is the reason I get up every morning (which is an empowering change all by itself and another post). And that I look forward to that; getting up, working, becoming more myself each day or every time I write something. And that is big enough for me!

So this is why I start with values. Defining my values brought me back to me so I could understand what I need from any situation. And even when I don’t know what I need at the moment, I can look to one of my values for inspiration. A guide for me when, I can’t necessarily see the next step.

Knowing my core values always lets me know if I’m living my definition of personal integrity. And if my business is even close to that definition, or if I want to get closer to it; which is where the authenticity and aliveness lives.

Values. Know Yours?

I’ve just given you a partial overview of some of the stuff I cover, when I work with my tech-savvy clients. I help women create and be in charge of their own web presence (which could be a website OR a blog, whatever you want). Knowing your core values helps you build a strong content foundation and combines with your new web skills.

Together, we crank up the fun and wonder (oh, did I just reveal two my most favorite core values?) to uncover a place on the web for you and your goodness. A place that is your business. Your very own web presence.

Let’s chat.

Otherwise, here’s something to help you with those first few posts…