In my last post, I wrote about how your beliefs can stop you from sharing your best gifts in your business. Today I want to tell you a story to illustrate my point in a different way.

I had the opportunity to talk with a woman whose family immigrated to the US from Iran many years ago. Some of her family members stayed in Iran, and she had recently visited them there. She told me that her female relatives in Iran wear gorgeous clothes and accessories, have beautiful haircuts and manicured nails, and ride in expensive cars to the shops and salons they frequent.

The problem is that they are women in Iran. They wear a burqa, a black coverall required of all women who appear in public in Iran. If you saw them outside their home, you would not know that underneath the burqa they rival the fashionable women of Paris and New York.

This situation reminds me of some of you, dear Midlife Entrepreneur. You have gorgeous gifts, great passion, and a service that transforms lives. Yet you “burqa up” your deepest talents and hide them from your ideal clients. You may be so used to deflecting recognition of your brilliance that you don’t even know you’re doing it!

So what to do?

I have a simple request of you today. Look underneath the “burqa” of your beliefs and claim one thing you are really good at in your business today. It could be something like “I am really good at listening to my clients” or “I know what my client needs before she does” or “I know how to help my clients get clear and focused”.

Write it down and then tell one other person - a trusted friend or an encouraging family member - what you are claiming. (You may be surprised when they say to you, “I know you are good at that!”)

Notice how it feels to unveil some of your brilliance to yourself and others. Challenge yourself to discover and disclose other ways you are gifted in your business. Let me know what you find underneath your business “burqa”!