Your story is unique to you and your experiences, but sometimes, if we get in our heads, we end up questioning whether anyone really needs to hear it.

One of the first things that I ask people to do when they are writing nonfiction is to check for similar titles to what they want to write. The reaction is usually sobering. There is always someone who has the title you’ve been cradling as the one for your future book. There is always someone else who has had a similar experience to yours. There is always someone else who looks more glamorous or has more followers or is 10 years younger.

But, you are you. And they don’t have the same perspective as you. (But Cori, followers matter. They do and they don’t.)

You may not know this, but you can buy followers. You can add people and ask them to add people who then ask others to add people. There are ways to cheat the system and look more “famous” than you actually are.

As for the “prettier,” “younger,” or “more glamorous,” you just have to get over that stuff. Judging ourselves in that way isn’t helping anyone, and that’s what we’re going to talk about.

People may initially see the pretty ribbons, but when you go deep and share the parts of you that you know are important, you will resonate with people. You don’t need a perfect butt or green eyes or a cat tail to get the attention you need to your story. And if people are reading your books just for those reasons, they probably aren’t connecting with the real you anyway. And that’s not what we are going for.

When you write a book for your business, you want it to resonate and actually help people. When someone wants help with a big problem, they don’t care about your Facebook likes or how cute you are, they want you to solve their problem. Period. And all the gimmicks in the world won’t make a difference if you aren’t effective with that.

Yes, you need marketing. Yes, you need to develop a following. And yes, you need to get attention to your book. But you do that through being authentic, being vulnerable, and being you.

Look at the people you follow on social media or the books that you purchase for personal development. Are you there because you think the person is cool? Or because they can help you change something in your life?

You, my friend, can be the person that someone was looking for. You could be the one solving that big problem that no one else could quite solve. You are uniquely you, and your story is uniquely yours. And you are so worthy of getting it out there to help others. If it’s on your heart to write that book, make a big connection, and become a change maker, then you need to do it.

The world is waiting.