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I’ve shared with some of my close friends and relatives that I attended a sales event that was life-changing.

While I am a life-long learner and attend events regularly, when I sit in the audience I often feel disengaged from what everyone else is experiencing around me.

This time, however, I was challenged by something that the speaker said about being open and taking that expert hat off so that I could be fully immersed into the experience.

Because I didn’t want to have that empty feeling in the pit of my stomach or to tell my husband once again that the event was ho-hum, I actively worked on being fully present and open.

I knew this event had a different vibe and I wanted to be part of the community but still felt something stopping me.

After giving myself permission to “go deep”, it all began to make sense.

My struggle had nothing to do with the event or the dozens before it.

The issue was that I had a little voice inside my head that told me that I was “too much” – and that made me less than all of the other people attending the conference.

• Too bold

• Too outspoken

• Too opinionated

• Too cocky

• Just plain too much

And, when I walked into the room, when I walked out, when I stood in line waiting to get in the ladies room, and when I was waiting in line at the restaurant, all I could feel was how I didn’t fit in.

After a lifetime of being told I was “too much”, I couldn’t connect to what was going on because I was preoccupied by what everyone else was doing and what I thought they were thinking about me that I forgot to just be me.

Several years ago, my mother bought me a photo with an Oprah Winfrey quote in calligraphy below the picture that reads, “I was once afraid of people saying, “Who does she think she is?” Now I have the courage to stand up and say, “This is who I am.”

Less than.

The BIG lie.

If I could time travel back to that moment in time, I would choose to stand tall and remember the saying that hangs on the wall in my office.

Who am I?

I am amazing.

I am bold, brilliant, and beautiful.

I am strong and courageous.

I am loved and loving.

I am outspoken, opinionated, and a bit cocky.

This is who I am.

And, it’s definitely not less than.

ACTION ITEM: The Upside Challenge this week is to answer the question, “Who am I?” so you can use it as a bridge to position yourself in a manner to get what you want.

So, who are you?

Let me start you off.

You are amazing. You are brilliant.

Life is change. Growth is optional. Choose wisely. Lead Upside.

Turning Possibilities into Realities,
Lisa Marie, President/CEO
Upside Thinking, Inc.
LisaMarie@UpsideThinking.com
951.334.9162