Yes, I Can!! (Shut up, Poison Ivy)

31 Aug Yes, I Can!! (Shut up, Poison Ivy)

If you know me, you know that I love teaching others information that can enhance their personal or work life. Over the years, I’ve developed a comfort presenting to others. I’ve spoken to groups as little as 5 to crowds of over 100. So why was I thrown off balance when I was given the opportunity to present for the Better Business Bureau’s Industrial Women event?

I applied for the opportunity a few months prior. I waited and waited but didn’t hear back from them. So, I followed up, thinking I had missed the bus. The BBB team had experienced some technical difficulties with the applications and were in the process of making the selection. Joy of joys, I ended up getting an email telling me I have been chosen to present. YIPEE!! And, the event was in 2 weeks. “YIKES! OK. I got this.”

The following week, I had a call scheduled to get more details of the expectation. “We’re changing up the program a bit this year. We’re going to have 4 TED style talks. So, we’d love for you to do your presentation in a 15-minute TED style.”

“Sure, no problem. That’s great” I replied. We talked a bit more about the topic and ended the call. Within minutes my internal voice started shouting at me “you can’t do a TED style presentation. You have to have it all memorized. No notes, no cheat sheet. Call them back and say NO!”

Every day, I would teeter between fear/failure and courage/determination. It was an internal battle of the minds. A true example of the angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other.

We learn in my program Secrets of 6-Figure Women that we all have these inner voices that work hard to keep us in our comfort zone. I introduced my inner critic Poison Ivy in the workshop and previous blogs because she’s a huge part of my life and the culprit of my limitations. She was doing some fine work in making me believe that I wasn’t cut out for the BBB presentation. It took a lot of self-control to get myself to sit down at my computer and work on my presentation, practice it and resist the temptation of backing out. And believe me, there were times I came close to giving up.

What did I learn from the experience? Well, actually nothing. Because I knew what Ivy was trying to do. I recognized her sneaky slippery ways and I know that the things we need to do are the things that scare us the most. I know this because I teach it over and over to the participants of my program Secrets of 6-Figure Woman. The teacher is always a student.

To teach is to learn twice.
Joseph Joubert

I hope that from my story, you’ll grab every opportunity that comes your way. Don’t let fear, limiting beliefs or self-doubt stop you. Life begins at the end of your comfort zone and when we move outside of our comfort zone, we see it’s never as bad or as scary as we make it out to be.

With love,

Cindy