Just and Only – Two Powerful Four Letter Words by @ChristyALaverty

by Christy Laverty | Featured Contributor

The words we use have power. And when it comes to the words “just” and “only” I have a few things to say about using them, or rather not using them. These two four letters hold a lot of power and not necessarily in a good way.

Let me explain.

I believe words hold power but it is the power that we (you and I and the collective we) give words. Words have meaning. Words make us big. Words make us small. Words can keep us small or set us free to be as big as we want. And I don’t like to use the words “just” and “only”. Of course, there are exceptions to every “rule” but I firmly believe that we should all use just and only as little as possible when using them to describe ourselves, the work we do and about our businesses.

Here, let me give you a few examples of what I mean.

“I am only a small business.”

“I am only one person.”

“I am just a solo entrepreneur.”

“I only sell posters.”

“I just service a small group of people.”

Using “just” and “only” keep you small. They are small words that can have a big impact on your mindset, how you represent yourself to others and how you teach people to treat and see you.

I help entrepreneurs earn media mentions, press and publicity and mindset is key to stepping out into the spotlight. You need to believe you are enough. Heck, you are enough! Using “just” and “only” to describe you and your business in the media is not going to help you step into the spotlight and hold on to the light. Those words speak to how you see yourself in relation to your industry and competition.

Let’s swing back to those examples I shared above. Let’s take “just” and “only” out of the sentence and see how much more powerful the sentence is.

“I am a small business.”

“I am one person.”

“I am a solo entrepreneur.”

“I sell posters.”

“I service a small group of people.”

Do you see it? It was a small change but has so much impact.

So, stop using those four-letter words! Quit using “just” and “only” to describe who you are, what you do and how you help people!

Christy Laverty

Hi. I’m Christy Laverty!

I’m so excited to be here getting the chance to share my knowledge with the She Owns It community.

I have spent nearly 20 years working in some of the biggest television and radio newsrooms in Canada. I have seen my share of good, bad, and ugly story pitches and press releases. So, now I am sharing tips, tools, and techniques with entrepreneurs so they can better pitch the media to get mentions, press, and publicity.

It’s a win-win-win really. I get to help people share their business and mission with the world, entrepreneurs learn how to better connect with journalists for press and publicity, and, finally, I get to help my Journalist friends get better stories to share with their audiences.

When I am not doing my media and PR thing, I am blogging, occasionally filling in on the radio, playing news anchor, and I also teach in the journalism program at a Canadian college.

So where else can you find me?

Swing by my website and social media channels for tips, techniques, and strategies to help you get media mentions, press, and publicity. Oh, and of course how to work with me.