\u201cOh yes, but what if you FLY?\u201d<\/p>\n
Hello my favorite reader in the world. How are you doing on this spectacular Monday? I am so happy to connect with you again. And thank you all for your lovely responses to my \u201cShine!\u201d email from last week. I have the shiniest newsletter readers in the world! I loved from hearing from so many of you from across the globe!<\/p>\n
Recently I was coaching someone for a Very Important Thing. The expectations were high \u2013an international audience, live streaming, with some people wearing suits AND ties AND other people wearing HEELS and PEARLS\u2026you get the picture. My client was nervous. Very, very nervous. He kept getting lost in the details of his speech. He was having a hard time breathing. He was shaking.
\nI totally get this. I\u2019ve been there. I know what it\u2019s like to be really nervous. And I\u2019m sure I\u2019ll be there again.<\/p>\n
You know what? Being nervous is part of the game most of the time. It\u2019s not a bad thing. If you didn\u2019t give a shit, you wouldn\u2019t get nervous. Being nervous means YOU CARE. But how do you DEAL with being nervous? That\u2019s the zillion-dollar question. I always say that if your fear is greater than your passion, your ambition, and your talent, the fear wins. Every time. You\u2019ve got this dragon living inside you who lives on your doubt. Every time you question yourself, hesitate, or compare yourself to others, you feed that dragon. And sometimes it gets to the point where that dragon has totally taken up your WHOLE body from the inside and the words coming out of your mouth are actually the DRAGON speaking \u2013 \u201cI can\u2019t do this.\u201d \u201cI\u2019m not good enough.\u201d \u201cI\u2019m going to screw it up. Again.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n I\u2019m a dragon slayer. That\u2019s part of my job. (You know my younger sister, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, right? This slaying thing kind of runs in the family\u2026.although my parents SUCK at naming their children.) The way to kill the dragon is with compassion and love. Tell that dragon that it has no place in your mind, because you are better than that. You rock. You\u2019ve done so many wonderful things in your life, and giving this presentation\/taking that test\/sailing through your job interview\u00a0will be one of them. Breathe low and slow. Try to exhale as slowly as possible; slower than you ever have before, and feel the tension leaving your neck and shoulders. Remember why you\u2019re there. You\u2019re sharing something. Just telling a story to someone else. Speak from the heart.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also quite helpful to keep in mind that if you DO make a mistake, you\u2019re showing your humanity. Your vulnerability. Your human side. And that\u2019s the side people connect with. No one ever walked out of a presentation and said \u201cOh, did you see those digits? I really felt that spreadsheet in my heart.\u201d \u00a0People remember the passion you shared your story with. Your motivation to share. The tale that only you can tell. People relate to other people. And you, dear reader, are one of them.<\/p>\n Kill that dragon with confidence. B-R-E-A-T-H-E. And know, if you do slip up, it only shows that you\u2019re one of us.<\/p>\n