I had this persistent nudge that whispered: Pay attention. There's something here. Maybe I have something to create, too. So I had to surrender to the idea of the inevitable of having to get on social media, but I just didn't want to be "another coach." I didn't want to follow the same path or be swimming in the sea of the same.
The Nudge That Wouldn’t Go Away
It started as a hum.
Not a dramatic revelation. Not a moment I could point to and say, “that’s when everything changed.” Just a quiet, persistent pull that began years ago and refused to leave. The thought was simple and inconvenient: “There is something more here. Something you are meant to build, not just support.”
I ignored it. For years I got very good at ignoring it.
I channeled that energy into being exceptional at supporting other people’s visions instead. I consumed knowledge, earned authority, built systems, and coached others through transformations. Every time I helped someone else step fully into their next level, the hum got a little louder. And every time, I turned it back down with the same reliable response: Someday. When I know enough. When I’m ready.
Here is what I know now that I didn’t know then: that hum was not a distraction. It was an invitation. And every time I said 'Someday', I was declining it.
This four chapter series is the story of what happened when I finally stopped declining — and the four stages every capable person moves through to get from quietly hiding to visibly building something that is entirely their own.
The first stage is the hardest to admit.
For years I called it humility. I told myself the work spoke for itself. What I couldn’t see was that staying hidden had stopped protecting me and started limiting everyone who needed what I knew.
But the declaration alone isn’t enough. Because the next thing most capable people do is go back to preparing.
Seventeen browser tabs. Three unfinished courses. A note called “ideas” that keeps getting longer. The market doesn’t pay for potential. It pays for a process that solves a specific problem for a specific person.
Once you have built something real, the next trap is assuming your language for it is the right language.
There is a gap between how you describe your work and how the people who need it describe their pain. Closing it means listening first — then standing in front of your work consistently, without censoring the real message.
Which brings us to the part nobody talks about enough.
Most people do the hard work, show up for a week or two, get some traction — and then life happens. Sustained influence is not about trying harder. It’s about building a system that doesn’t require heroic effort to keep going.
If you have ever felt that nudge— the quiet certainty that you have something worth saying, paired with the equally quiet certainty that it is not quite time yet — this series is for you.
Not the version of you that has it all figured out. The version that is ready to stop waiting for that version to show up.
The nudge does not stay quiet forever. This is where it starts to get loud. What nudge is starting to get loud for you?
Thanks for Reading - Portia
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