What gives me the right to interrupt?
An experience I had last week preparing for my speech made me chuckle.
As I was preparing, and even as I was walking up to the podium, a little voice of doubt kept saying "What gives you the right to give yet another speech about leadership? Haven't they heard enough of this stuff already?"
And then I started to speak, and I could see the sparkle in the eyes of the audience as they opened up to my message. At the end of the session they were lined up four deep to shake my hand and thank me for saying what I said. (People even wanted to shake my hand as I was going back to my seat!)
Wow. What I thought was an average topic ended up having a huge impact on some people in the room!
So what did I learn from this experience?
The "monkey mind" is this negative voice within me that constantly criticizes, questions, and doubts. It's a little heckler, sitting on my shoulder, bringing up all my insecurities and old, embarrassing tapes, real or (most often) imagined.
A huge zinger that my my monkey mind often tosses my way is "What gives me the right?" And this thought is a huge obstacle that tends to trip me.
Hey, if I were in a jobjob, I could hunker down at my desk and do whatever is handed to me, speak when I'm expected to speak, do what I'm expected to do, and I get paid. In a jobjob, risking my neck rarely gets me any extra credit (nor money). So why stand out when it's easier to be invisible and not rock the boat? Especially when, at the end of the day, the outcome in my bank account is the same?
But as a Solopreneur, my job IS to influence other people, to get noticed. I need to "interrupt and influence" in order to eat. If I stay hidden, if I don't stand up, then people don't find out about me, become curious, and eventually buy or refer my products and services. I lose because my venture does not move forward, and they lose because they don't get to benefit from what I offer.
What gives me the right to say what I say, is that I am speaking my truth to reach out to influence the lives and the actions of others, for the better, through my message, which eventually leads to my offers of services and products which eventually I hope they accept.
Yes, most people really don't care about who I am, what I say, and what I offer. My message flies ten feet over their heads. But it is that ONE person who I connect with, that one person who "gets it", and with whom I can build a bridge of trust so that they decide to accept what I'm offering... it's for that person that I MUST speak up. If I don't, I lose a valuable opportunity to gain a new ally and possibly someone who could lead me to new clients (and better success in my business).
And that ONE person loses because they are actively looking for the message that I'm sending, and for the benefit that I offer... and if they can't find me they will have to continue searching...
People rarely wear signs that say "Here I am, Davender, ready to hear what you have to say". I first have to broadcast my message, then respond to those who respond to it.
And then do it again for the next person and again and again. It's an important cycle - one that gives me the right to interrupt, see if the person is open, and if so, influence them to take action, helping them while helping me.
Interrupt and influence to create a win-win outcome for me and for the other person.
Does the world need another talk on self-leadership?
Yes, it was an important topic that deserved to be said. Couldn't we all use a little more inspiration? The world needs all the uplifting messages it can get.
What inspirational vibe will you contribute today to interrupt and influence someone to take positive action?
As I was preparing, and even as I was walking up to the podium, a little voice of doubt kept saying "What gives you the right to give yet another speech about leadership? Haven't they heard enough of this stuff already?"
And then I started to speak, and I could see the sparkle in the eyes of the audience as they opened up to my message. At the end of the session they were lined up four deep to shake my hand and thank me for saying what I said. (People even wanted to shake my hand as I was going back to my seat!)
Wow. What I thought was an average topic ended up having a huge impact on some people in the room!
So what did I learn from this experience?
The "monkey mind" is this negative voice within me that constantly criticizes, questions, and doubts. It's a little heckler, sitting on my shoulder, bringing up all my insecurities and old, embarrassing tapes, real or (most often) imagined.
A huge zinger that my my monkey mind often tosses my way is "What gives me the right?" And this thought is a huge obstacle that tends to trip me.
Hey, if I were in a jobjob, I could hunker down at my desk and do whatever is handed to me, speak when I'm expected to speak, do what I'm expected to do, and I get paid. In a jobjob, risking my neck rarely gets me any extra credit (nor money). So why stand out when it's easier to be invisible and not rock the boat? Especially when, at the end of the day, the outcome in my bank account is the same?
But as a Solopreneur, my job IS to influence other people, to get noticed. I need to "interrupt and influence" in order to eat. If I stay hidden, if I don't stand up, then people don't find out about me, become curious, and eventually buy or refer my products and services. I lose because my venture does not move forward, and they lose because they don't get to benefit from what I offer.
What gives me the right to say what I say, is that I am speaking my truth to reach out to influence the lives and the actions of others, for the better, through my message, which eventually leads to my offers of services and products which eventually I hope they accept.
Yes, most people really don't care about who I am, what I say, and what I offer. My message flies ten feet over their heads. But it is that ONE person who I connect with, that one person who "gets it", and with whom I can build a bridge of trust so that they decide to accept what I'm offering... it's for that person that I MUST speak up. If I don't, I lose a valuable opportunity to gain a new ally and possibly someone who could lead me to new clients (and better success in my business).
And that ONE person loses because they are actively looking for the message that I'm sending, and for the benefit that I offer... and if they can't find me they will have to continue searching...
People rarely wear signs that say "Here I am, Davender, ready to hear what you have to say". I first have to broadcast my message, then respond to those who respond to it.
And then do it again for the next person and again and again. It's an important cycle - one that gives me the right to interrupt, see if the person is open, and if so, influence them to take action, helping them while helping me.
Interrupt and influence to create a win-win outcome for me and for the other person.
Does the world need another talk on self-leadership?
Yes, it was an important topic that deserved to be said. Couldn't we all use a little more inspiration? The world needs all the uplifting messages it can get.
What inspirational vibe will you contribute today to interrupt and influence someone to take positive action?
posted by Coach Davender at 23:16
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