Personal note
I am most delighted in my home office on a day like today, when the entire landscape seems to be covered with whipped cream. Yes, we had snow starting last night and continuing today, leaving me in splendid solitude with a computer and a head buzzing with dreams. So here goes…. April will be “Coming Out” month for introverts. Stay tuned for details!
Such a program I have for you – fun and empowering. I can hardly wait to share this with you.
In the meantime, Minnesota Wellness Educators is presenting an all-day seminar called “Stress: The Silent Killer,” and I am one of the speakers with “The Angina Monologue.” I well know the effect of stress, and how it almost killed me with a heart attack. In fact, 85% of disease is now known to be stress-related.
Speakers will include, besides myself, Michael Monroe Kiefer, Ph.D. and founder of the PowerMind Institute; Lori Bestler, CH, Strategic mind coach; Katie Fahnel, DC, of Body Harmony Chiropractic; and Lynn Wilson, RN, founder of MN Wellness Educators. Cutting edge information on the newest health practices can be yours for an incredibly low fee! In fact, I’m told you can now bring a friend FREE if you register. So, Register now at http://mnwellnesseducators2.
Are you afraid of success … or is it something else?
Has someone suggested to you that you fear success? Or have you thought it about yourself? If so, what is it you are really afraid of?
I had to think about this some years ago, when I was starting out as a speaker. An enthusiastic and supportive friend of mine would say, frequently, “Maybe soon we’ll see you on Oprah’s show,” and I would shudder in horror and immediately cut back on any activities that might make me more visible.
I was being sabotaged by two fears, both involving the possibility that I wo
uld appear foolish and fail miserably. The first was that I simply had no knowledge of how to prepare for an interview, and the second was that I would be thrown questions that were skeptical or even hostile about my expertise, and I would be frozen, unable to answer.
I thought some people were just born superbly capable to handle these situations, while others (myself), were not. Some people are actually born to be “cool” in circumstances that would fluster the rest of us, but I failed to realize that being a good interviewee, and fielding difficult questions, are simply learnable skills. Just because some people are born to be superb athletes doesn’t mean that others can’t learn and enjoy swimming or playing tennis.
Being told you “fear success” doesn’t really help solve the problem, does it? I always felt that I was really being told that I lacked will power, or backbone: something essential but difficult to visualize, much less grasp.
I know now that somewhere out there are templates for every situation you might encounter but don’t know how to handle – yet. Here are a few resources:
- Need to express yourself better in public? Try reading “Communicate That!” by CBS radio host Roshini Rajkumar.
- Flustered by sudden questions or comments that you don’t know how to handle? Communications specialist Sharon Ellison has some great techniques for you in her book, “Non-Defensive Communication.”
- And if social situations you have never encountered give you sweaty palms, you can find exactly what to do when you consult Letitia Baldridge, author and expert on contemporary manners, and former social secretary to Jacqueline Kennedy. In her “New Complete Guide to Executive Manners,” she covers everything from dressing, gift-giving and table manners to travel and differences in international culture.
You don’t ever have to feel alone and in a panic. Others have walked the same path and marked it out clearly for you to follow. They weren’t any more special than you are, but they realized they had to learn the ways in which to make their dreams come true.
So select your guide and set out on your trip to success!
The Confident Introvert
“What are they afraid of?” my department manager used to ask after meetings in which a number of department members sat, silent and resentful, while he was unaware that his habit of springing surprise agenda items and asking for an immediate decision was very upsetting to these talented, educated introverts. Understanding, appreciating and utilizing the skills of introversion are foreign ideas to some – even to introverts. Now you can read about it in
The Confident Introvert.
Order now at http://www.ConfidentIntrovert.
