I was thinking about professionals the other day. It didn’t matter what kind of professional, just someone who is really exceptional at what they do, like a golfer, a surgeon, or public speaker. We often look at professionals in awe of how amazing they are, and the words we think or say are, “I could never be that good.”

That kind of thinking puts us in an “all or nothing” mindset, and that kind of thinking is very unhelpful because it scares us away from our greatness. These professionals didn’t start out exceptional. Their first tennis match was not at Wimbledon. Their first surgery, they definitely just watched. And their first speech is not one they want remembered. They started out terrible! So how did they become exceptional? They stuck with it! They practiced. And they challenged themselves each day to get better and better. Simple, right? Yes, but not easy.

Who and what do you want to be? It’s our mind that is stopping us from greatness, NOT our ability! It’s that horrible voice inside our head that we allow to creep in and cast doubt with thoughts like, “I’m not good enough or talented enough.” Doubt is definitely fear, but it’s also failure felt in advance! Doubt facilitates our failure before we even try—and that’s not O.K. Today, I am shining a light on your greatness!

Let’s GO! WE GOT THIS!

Beth

P.S. Professional comes from the word profess. In Latin, that word means “to declare openly.” The definition says nothing about skill or ability! So today, I’d like us all to declare opening who and what we want to be!