Helping Out
Last month I was asked to assist in a Networking Hub here in Indy. I quickly accepted the opportunity to help an online friend in whatever capacity I could. How difficult could it be, right? Maybe send a few emails out letting others know the Networking Group had added a new monthly meeting, help set up beforehand, yea, I can do those things.
What I didn’t anticipate was being asked to sit on a panel to discuss social media and how it has affected my business. I received the email, along with 4 other local business owners. Apparently, they knew what was hitting them. Oh, man, what did I get myself into? I am not a public speaker; I’m more of a one on one type of person.
A Bit of Anxiety
Once committed, what was I to do? I know, I could tell them sorry; I’ll be out of town that week. Good thing I didn’t, because the snow cancelled the meeting and now it is rescheduled for next week. Okay, so I am staying out of town. No, no – not a good thing to keep avoiding what may be a wonderful education.
Everyday leading up to “the” day left me wondering if I were up to the task. I told myself, I probably know more than the audience, but what if the audience ask me a question I don’t have an answer for? Ah, anxiety! But why? I am been pretty successful at this social media stuff, at least locally.
Being Remarkable
The meeting was supposed to be on Wednesday. On Monday, Seth Godin sent me the motivation I needed to “go for it”. No, Seth’s not a personal friend, but I receive his blog by email and there it was, the exact motivation I needed. Seth said:
Think about how often your goal at a conference or a meeting or in a project is, “don’t screw up!” or “don’t make a fool of yourself and say the wrong thing.” These are very easy goals to achieve, of course. Just do as little as possible. The problem is that they sabotage your real goals, the achievement ones.
It’s not stupid to have a stated goal of starting several ventures that will fail, or asking three stupid questions a week, or posting a blog post that the world disagrees with. If you don’t have goals like this, how exactly are you going to luck into being remarkable?
Just Do It
Stepping out of my comfort zone makes me a bit nervous, because I don’t know what’s on the other side. It’s better than not trying at all! Today, I look forward to the meeting next week! Not without a bit of anxiety about saying the wrong thing or not having the right answer….. no……. because I am on my way to being REMARKABLE.
What has kept you from being remarkable?
