I just love this quote…
“It is better to live your own destiny imperfectly than to live an imitation of somebody else’s life with perfection.”
― Anonymous
I think all of us at one time or another saw others’ successes and behaviors and tried to duplicate or mirror them, hoping for similar success.
In reflecting back, how did that work for ya?
When I started in the professional speaking business, I was exposed to so many fabulous speakers who had various approaches to delivering their wisdom. In my early stages, I think I tried each one of them… Some had limited success and others, well, iccccccck! It was easy to stop mirroring the actions that didn’t work for me, but for those that had some degree of success, I kept trying to make them work. But honestly, it never “felt right.”
When I finally had the guts to just be myself on stage — THAT’s when things started to happen for my speaking career. Really.
I wasn’t conflicted about who I was anymore, and my confidence rose because I knew that I could rely on myself to deliver content the way it worked for me. NO more thinking, “how would xxx handle this question,” or “how might yyy handle someone inadvertently turning out the lights during my program.” Instead, I just did what I felt best. This effectively eliminated a layer of thinking, which is especially important when having to think on your feet.
I like to challenge my clients to have congruity with what they feel, what they think, how they act and what they say. That’s why I love the quote at the beginning of this article. Hope it helps you.
