We Need to Get Our Voices Out Whether Dripping with Honey or Stinging with Hot Sauce

Annie: We all have a voice. But how we use it is up to us. Are you speaking out loud and proud in your world? Are you saying what you need to say in just the right way? Sometimes we need to be strong and straight like a shot of espresso. Other times we need to be simple and sweet like a bit of honey. My blogging buddy elizabeth Cassidy and I are going to share about speaking out.
 
elizabeth: Some voices come with the sugary, succulent juice of kindness slipping off the chin. And some voices look at the seeds of a fried jalapeño pepper as their daily multiple vitamin.
 
We all have a voice that the world needs to hear. Some of us bellow from the rooftops while others talk right into their chests allowing only their heart to hear. Those are the people who drive me to distraction and back. To deny one his/her voice takes away from what the rest of us have been hammering home about.
 
A wonderful Italian proverb makes its case against silence: Silence was never written down. I say don’t leave this planet without the benefit of your voice being heard. If you are willing to see how your voice sounds, your words could change the world. Can you imagine a world without Sylvia Plath, Tennessee Williams, Lennon/McCartney or myself? I always wanted to be in the same sentence as with John Lennon. See what having a voice does? It gives you permission.
 
Annie: We need to be proud and speak without fear. Our biggest fear is of not being liked or accepted. Isn’t that silly because not everyone can like us. When we stay small and don’t dare to rock the boat with our words we live in a wizened little world. Like a crazen (a dried cranberry raisen), we feel a little more trapped every day.
 
We gotta take risks to speak what isn’t spoken. I like to call it speaking raw and real. Do you want people to get the fake you or the real deal? It’s up to you.
 
elizabeth: Fear is one of those roadblocks that prevents a pile up of thoughts from going anywhere. Blogging has allowed me the freedom to say whatever I want. Okay, I am one of these people who will never hurt or put down (except for a few politicians and then I can’t help myself) others but I will tackle an idea that rubs me the wrong or right way.
 
I will be sassy, sarcastic and over the top but then there are those moments (and they are rare) where I will be loving and selfless to the point where my family and friends won’t recognize me. But if it calls for it, then I can allow that writing side of me out of the trapdoor. And then I am only too happy to lock it up again.
 
So I am a blogger who lives to find the right phrase or word that can turn someone’s life around by making them stop and think. And making them laugh out loud. So if that makes me a lover of five alarm hot sauce, then please pass me the bottle.
 
Annie: I will pass you the bottle as soon as I’m finished with it. Ok here it comes, I just poured it all over my computer to make sure that I don’t skimp on the spice in my blog. I dare to say it raw and real because that’s what the world needs . Even though it is scary, hey I like to be liked too, I’d rather risk than die unlived. And that’s what happens when we don’t speak truth. We die with bundles of words tied up inside of us. 

 
There is a story about an Italian mailman who felt his mail bundle was too heavy. Every day he would stop by his house and drop off a few letters so his load was lighter. Years later they found a mountain of undelivered letters at his house! Don’t let your words go undelivered. Take courage, team up and go for it. Spicy, hot, sweet, straight and juicy. That’s our style and we hope it makes a difference in your world.
 
Yours in speaking loud and proud,
 
Annie and elizabeth!
 
Annie Hart, NLP Trainer, Ericksonian Hypnotherapist and Storyteller Extraordinaire, helps individuals and businesses to harness the power of change through story. She is fun, funny, fiery and out of the box. Annie believes that Stories Change the World and she can be found wildly and passionately blogging at: www.anniehart.com.
 
elizabeth cassidy, certified life and career coach for women who are looking to reach and surpass their dreams, is the founder of Branching Out Life Coaching. She is the Co-Creator/Founder of Coaches on the Edge – a blog that mixes wit and wisdom with life coaching. Visit us at Coaches on the Edge. Along with her blogging partner, Laurie Lawson, they are national bloggers for Skirt! and their blogs have been featured on USA Today.com, Daylife.com, NPR.com, NBC.com, Treehugger.com and The India Times. You can read elizabeth’s own thought provoking and amusing blogs at Branchingoutlifecoaching