One of the most beautiful by-products of asking this question of ourselves, once we have voiced it out loud, is what’s standing between myself and this future Holy Grail of Presenting. It asks us to logically fill in the blanks and then to step up and get out of our own way.
Let me clarify a little more, I look at the gap between where I am now, and where I need to be to play at the level of what it is I desire. What’s in the middle? How good do I need to be to play at the level of where I want to be? What do I need to learn? What Mentor do I need? What skills do I need to play at that level? Then, you can start filling in the gaps, step by step, to continually progress and right there at some stage that Holy Grail will be waiting…if you take the steps to fill in the blanks
If you aren’t good enough, you don’t get that opportunity given to you.
It’s a no brainer, it’s that simple, and that’s life and I like it this way as it requires those who want to be Great to do the work. That’s fair. That means Mastery is rewarded and not mediocrity.
Something I see all the time is people are unable to apply themselves to step into who it is they need to be, to create what they want: They wait and wait for an opportunity and play victim or seem disheartened when things don’t work out as they ‘HOPED’ in the time fame they had put aside.
My success has come from multiple and sometimes dramatic failures. When traveling the world Mentoring, I can honestly place my hand on heart and say, “I earned this”. And I did. I failed in ways most won’t get to experience as they either won’t do the work or they’ll never even understand the reality of HOW GOOD YOU REALLY NEED TO BE TO MAKE YOUR DREAMS A SUCCESS. We don’t fluke this, we can’t fluke a craft, we earn it with a desire to be masterful.
Perhaps you want to have an International Speaking Business?
If you want to speak locally or nationally, if you want to create leads and sales from your Facebook Lives, from your presentations, your workshops… you need to be playing at a certain level, you have to know where the bar is set and reach it.
And if it’s not happening now, it’s because you’re not playing at that level. It’s simple and I like that. You can have it but you need to earn it. Let go of the excuses that you’re using to justify why you haven’t got it yet and stop blaming others.
You must fill that gap, which is what I help people fill.
It becomes a fascinating conversation with clients when I’m working with them, when they’re not aware of the gap, they have aspirations of being at a certain level, yet it’s not happening and hasn’t for some time. This is the rite of passage, we have to go through it to learn from and grow.
How do I do it?
I constantly look at what I want, and where I’m currently playing, so I give myself these challenges to become that person. And therefore, by becoming that person: those challenges and goals; the Holy Grail is a natural fit.
So, when I often write down that my Holy Grail Of Presenting is X, Y or Z, I then have to understand that it takes work to get to that point. If I don’t want to do the work, I can’t have it. That’s me being realistic with 26 years of experience.
It actually doesn’t take much more energy to actually do the work. Because by not doing these things, by not doing the training, by not moving, you’re not filling that gap between where you are now and where that Holy Grail is for you in anything. And the energy it takes to suffer and feel frustrated is the same as what it takes to achieve it
What I’ve noticed, (and this is probably one of my biggest learnings), is that it takes just as much energy and focus to be worried about money and lack of opportunity, and what am I doing, than it does to apply myself, and going fuck it, I’m going to give this the best shot. So, what’s in that gap?
And when I identify what that gap is, I simply then acquire what it is I need to, to fill it:
Do I need to use my voice better?
Do I need to have a better framework?
Do I need to understand my subject better?
Do I need better models and templates?
Do I need a better social media strategy?
Do I need better relationships with the people around me nationally and internationally?
First and foremost: am I really fucking good on stage? If not, who can teach me to be better?
We need to continually step into that role, and by being consistent, what do you think happens? The inevitable! I start to bring in those opportunities, and either get close to or bring in that Holy Grail.
So, when I speak with people now who’ve reached out to me, we have a chat.
I don’t sell or talk people into stuff. That’s not the energy of who or what I want to be. Someone really wants it or they don’t. I mentor those who want it.
I don’t want to talk people into things.
if I know what my Holy Grail is, and I know that there’s someone who can teach me and I’m speaking to that person, he or she had me at hello. I want to know how often I have to turn up, how much work is required of me and when do I start. Simple. Because I wanted to start yesterday!
And by making that decision, my headspace changes, my energy shifts closer to that person that can achieve the Holy Grail. And life starts to shift with me.
If you sit on the fence, you know what you need to do, but you don’t do it; your energy is the same, your psyche is the same, everything is exactly the same. And If you stay the same: Nothing changes.
Gandhi once said ‘Be the change you want to see in the world’. When you fully understand what that means, it simply means you have to become that. You can’t tell other people or post on Facebook that you’re frustrated or angry at the way life is; you have to become the way you see life and take ownership. You have to make those choices, you have to step into that space and get the training that you need from someone who knows what they’re doing.
What I love about my presenting style, is it’s so simple. I’m not asking you to become somebody else. In fact, I’m asking you to stay you, the essence of you, by refining aspects that don’t work.
Because if you want to speak with Lisa Nichols, if you want to hold stage with Anthony Robbins or if you just want to hold stage in an auditorium in New York or London with 1000 people watching who’ve paid $500 to be there for the weekend – you better be damn good at what you do! That’s fair, I like that. And that starts with speaking to 3 people in a shit room you got for free if that’s what it takes.
The beauty, the essence of the style of Presenting that I teach, is you don’t have to become somebody else. You just have to become the fullest, most dynamic, beautiful expression of you.
When you speak from this essence, you’ll discover things you didn’t even know that you knew, you’ll discover a depth to yourself that is both daunting and the most incredible reward you’ll ever receive.
Ask. Step up and make decisions. Fill the gap.
Are you ready to play bigger?
Andrew
