Pushing Past Fear "it's worth it..." An Interview with Ashley Laiko
Sharissa: “I do want to just close out with if you have one last piece of advice for a woman who is sitting there just on the precipice of writing her story. If you could tell her one thing, what would it be?”
Ashely: “Oh man, okay. It would be, you can’t let fear stop you. Anything that’s worth doing is going to be scary. And that fear is no joke.
I mean, even to this day when I post or submit, oh my gosh, I get this pit in my stomach and I feel terrified. I literally feel physically ill from it. But once you push past that and then you know you’ve accomplished it, you see it get posted or published and then you get the feedback, it is all 100 percent so worth it and just knowing that other people are going to be able to see your story and to grow and know that they’re not alone and to be inspired by your story, that is all worth it.”
Ashely Laiko continued to pour out a tremendous amount of encouragement throughout the full interview with Project Seed Money. She shares about how writing has been a large part of her life but when it came to writing and sharing things that were personal to her she faced a multitude of internal battles. Not wanting to seem like she was coming off as complaining about her life she kept it to herself. Eventually her calling to share more about her personal story was too loud. She started with very small challenges to herself and even still her prepared posts would sit in her drafts while fear ran the show. Over time she continued to build courage and committed to sharing one personal story on her social media accounts every Sunday. The responses she received were overwhelming in the opposite way she had always feared. Now, pouring into her inbox were messages of similar stories to her own. Praising her for being able to speak the truths they’ve long hidden. Those individuals may not be ready to share just yet, but Ashley’s bravery gave them the opportunity to be seen.
Ashley has continued to her commitment to herself by sharing personal stories each week for her audience. This vulnerability has earned a tremendous amount of trust as well as helped to encourage her to keep sharing. In addition to currently writing her own book, Ashely teaches a combination class she’s created called Beyond Survival. From her website: “Her goal is to provide a safe space for survivors to heal, learn and build back the confidence that often gets ripped away from victims.”
You can find more about Ashely on her website: www.ashleylaiko.org.