What If Shannon Watts Had Stayed Silent?

What a wild moment, getting to be in conversation with Shannon Watts this week on an Instagram Live -- the founder of Moms Demand Action, which has, as she told The Cut, "changed the political calculus, sidelined the NRA, and passed hundreds of gun-safety bills at all levels of government."

But I was struck, as I was researching her, that she went from stay-at-home mom horrified by the Sandy Hook shooting to activist and movement leader almost overnight, with nearly 10 million volunteers a decade later.

And y'all -- it almost didn't happen because of the amount of people who told her she wasn't an expert. AND her own inner demons around public speaking. 

BTS: the Live happened because SHE COLD DM'ED ME. It turns out, getting over public speaking nerves is top of mind for her not just because it's her own story, but because Moms Demand is as much about empowering us as it is about passing gun laws.

In fact, you can't have one without the other.

PROGRESS ONLY HAPPENS WHEN WE SPEAK ABOUT WHAT MATTERS TO US, LIKE WE DESERVE TO TAKE UP TIME AND SPACE.

I think it might have helped me get even clearer about why I bang on about voices. As I've said a billion times, lord knows it's not about sound waves or really any one of our unique vocal patterns or why we picked the habits up.

It's about how we feel free anyway.

No matter what.

It's about how we claim voice justice and decide HOW I SOUND WHEN I'M TALKING ABOUT WHAT MATTERS IS EXACTLY RIGHT AND EXACTLY WHAT'S NEEDED.

Watch our convo here.

Ooh!

AND two other pods came out this week too, that I recorded long enough ago that I don't entirely remember what I said hahahaha.

But they might crack something open for you.

First up: this one is THE FUNNIEST THING I'VE EVER BEEN ON. And it's the pod I used to listen to back in 2018-2019 when I had no idea I was going to write a book and then get asked to BE ON the pod and OH MY GOD.

Comedian Deborah Frances-White is a total hero of mine, and if you don't already listen to her pod, The Guilty Feminist, this is your strong nudge to check it the heck out.

And then this interview dropped as well, on a pod that's #1 in alternative health?? (That link is the YouTube video in case you like visuals.)

Considering I was the main speaker at MAC Cosmetics' global conference in Miami last week (!!) and that I've got gigs with political and government organizations in DC in the fall, I'm naming this moment: YES WE ALL HAVE VOICES NO MATTER WHAT INDUSTRY.

Hi. I like your voice.

Sending it and you big love. More coming soon on the how-to-pitch front (I've gotten so many requests for a workshop on my methods and WHAT EVERYONE GETS WRONG) and I'm reopening the Permission Pop Up sales in August if you want to work with me IN PERSON THIS FALL and become the next Shannon Watts.

It is within reach.

For now: get a really good hug today, if you can.

Write me if you need a virtual one.

And if you're a romantic, I see you.

Samara