Freedom to Be You: Tales of Happiness, Humor & Humanity

Photo by Octavio Fossatti

Here’s what happened when 316 people committed to putting aside their fears of being seen, their self-doubts and their self-consciousness, and committed to filming themselves every day for 30 days.

They filmed themselves, rain or shine. They filmed themselves on moments of heartbreak and moments of triumph….

They filmed themselves when they were feeling silly or philosophical or just plain frustrated…

And the more they filmed themselves, the more they found themselves… and the more we fell in love with them.

Here are some highlights from the 30 Day Video Challenge….

As you watch these videos, I invite you to imagine that the key to your success is being boldly, authentically, unapologetically you.

You don’t need anyone’s permission to be yourself. The only person who can stop you from being you, is you.

And the moment you give yourself permission to step up and step out as the real you — the moment you inspire yourself — is the moment you inspire others to join you.

I started the 30 Day Video Challenge, because I wanted to get really ninja at video. I thought that stepping through my fears of getting on camera and being seen, would help me achieve that next level of self-expression and growth.

What I didn’t expect, is the huge outpouring of love and gratitude I’d get from the 316 people who joined me…. And the love and gratitude I’d feel for them for showing me who they really were.

This Challenge resulted in thousands of videos — thousands of hours of creativity and expression – here are just a few of the many moments that stood out and rocked my world.

Meet the indomitable Lisa McLoughlin, founder of Green Alder Coaching and winner of our top prize (Most Transformed). In this video, Lisa busts through her fear of looking stupid on camera once and for all by, well, wearing a bra on her head and looking stupid. 😉

Meet the usually serious and profound Hung Hoang who found his inner child with this inspired opening montage of all the silly little things that make us human. You’ll also see why Hung won the “Best Looking Videos” award.

Meet Audience Award winner Dorine Nafziger, aka Postpartum Wonder Woman who dared to go to the supermarket in full superhero regalia…. Why? To start an uproar (watch the video to find out more)….

And meet Dorine’s partner in crime and winner of the Most Charisma Award: Coach Sara Ballard of Thrive with Sarah. Well, Sarah and Dorine had a lot of errh bloopers if you will on their path to video superstardom.

Now I’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Ritz, the force behind Virtual Lefty and Winner of our Most Shy to Most Comfortable Award. Well, truth be told, to really understand how much Stephanie transformed, you gotta see her first video first… before getting to the really good stuff… ?

STEPH BEFORE

STEPH AFTER

Next we got the endlessly imaginative Carmen Lund of Leap with Carmen… who won Best Message. In this video, Carmen gives us a creative experience of leaping beyond fear and into possibility:

And finally, we have the endearing Grace Shalom. Grace actually won the Worst First Video award…. Why? She shot this video on meds, while literally hallucinating… but she didn’t let a little discomfort stop her from starting the Challenge… and finishing it!

Please leave a comment below and help me acknowledge these amazing, brave souls…. For who they are in the world…

And let us know how you’re planning on celebrating your own uniquely wonderful juicy you-ness today.

Last note: If you’re watching these videos, feeling inspired, and would like to do your own 30 Day Video Challenge with our community’s support, then head over to Facebook and join the 30 Day Video Challenge private Facebook group where you can find a buddy and start your own personal 30 day video challenge whenever you like!