I am often struck by the number of people who have extraordinary gifts and talents, but are afraid to expose them to the world. How many extremely talented people do you know who are hiding their greatness? All of us have something unique and special to offer. Oftentimes we hold back and only scratch the surface of what we could be. All of the symptoms of hiding are really the same in each of us. It’s either something in our past, an incident that we felt shut the door to a promising future, or an erroneous message that we gave too much “air-time” to. Many of you may be in a job or career that stifles your greatness. But for some unconscious reason, you have chosen to sit quietly and hope for the best. Or maybe you have this great idea for a business and you’ve done all the ‘leg work’ to get it going — but fail to launch.Remember as kids when you used to play the game ‘hide and go seek.’ The person hiding went to great lengths to be inconspicuous (ducking, dodging and shifting places) to be safe and not found. However, the “seeker” takes great pride in their ability to launch into action. The challenge to find what was hidden created adrenaline that lead them on a path to endless possibilities and discoveries — their greatness. Think about it. It takes more effort to hide and stay small than to come out of hiding and do the work.I had a problem with ‘failure to launch’ in the workplace before I made the transition to explore my greatness. I clung to the safe positions. You know, the ones that kept you hidden in a cubicle, never challenging your intellect, never requiring you to present an idea/project: the one’s that pigeonhole you. The moment I made the transition to come out of hiding and step into a career that harnessed my greatness (helping other’s realize their greatness), it changed my life in ways I never imagined.Hiding BehaviorsEver wonder why your career or entrepreneurial venture seemed to ‘fail to launch’ to what you desired it to be? The real truth is your behavior(s). These are behaviors you may or may not be consciously aware of. But if you really dig deep enough you will discover that you haven’t been much of a “seeker” in exercising your greatness. What you have been communicating and actually doing is playing “peek-a-boo” with yourself. Instead of putting yourself out there and getting known in the workplace/marketplace, you do a little here and a little there. I’m speaking to those who never seem to feel they are ready and to those who hide behind fear.Here’s what hiding behaviors might look like:· The Perpetual Student – “I’m almost there, I need more training, seminars, etc.” Always preparing, never doing.· The Marketing/Branding Wimp – “ I’ll do a little and leave the rest to chance.”· The ScaredyCat – “I don’t want to be in their face.” Doesn’t want to seem aggressive.· The Procrastinator – “ I’ll do it tomorrow.” Waits till the last minute, next week, next month, next year…· The She Who Would Be Everything – “I can do it all.” Wants to do everything, never committing to one thing and doing it well.Reasons We HideWe are afraid of all sorts of things. If you ask most people what they are afraid of they’ll tell you, “nothing really.” But if you engage them in thoughtful conversation, you’ll really find out the truth. Some fears may seem trivial to others, but very real to the person who is experiencing them. We hide our greatness for many reasons. Reasons that keep us on the launching pad so long that we lose our flame for what we once hoped for: a promotion, career change, competitive salary, thriving business, and much more. So why aren’t we being our greatest selves?Some of those reasons may be…1. Fear of becoming big and powerful in the world.2. Fearing we might fail and how that is going to look to our colleagues, friends, family.3. Afraid of being found out – we aren’t as smart as we appear to be.4. Fear of looking or sounding stupid.5. Listening to a spouse or family member(s) that may not be supportive.6. Fear that our success will take us far from our comfort zone.7. Fear of money (management, bad decisions).8. Fear of making powerful connections and having influence.9. Fear of what will people think? How will they treat me?10. Holding on to old worn out messages from the past.Ask yourself this question: “What is it costing me to stay hidden in my career, business?”If you are ready to say, “Here I AM” to the world and need help doing so, contact me for a complimentary coaching session.Make the transition to greatness easier: check out my Free Special Report on, “Six Steps To Moving The Mountains In Your Life”.Read more…
Posted by Andrea Fields on October 5, 2008 at 5:33pm
If it is true that what we love is our path to greatness – then it is also true that everyone who is working for barely makes do wages or less doesn’t have to. It also means that people who feel trapped in well paying jobs don’t need to. The question now is: How do we transform what we love into cash.I once heard a story of a man who had an infinity for fixing small electrical things. Radios, mixers, sewing machines; whatever – he could fix it. He never had any formal training in electronic or electrical repair. It was just something he instinctively knew how to do. Friends and family members often brought things to him to repair. Eventually his wife got sick of all of the money he was spending on tools and repair parts and him not making any money for his efforts. Finally he decided to rent a small room so he could continue to indulge in his love; but keep peace in his home. So to pay for his work space, he started charging people a nominal fee to do their repairs.As fate would have it, a time came he got laid off from his job and his wife didn’t make enough to support them. So, he began to call to check on a few offers he had received from customers to teach, to be on call to properly set up major appliances etc. Within a month he was making more money than he had ever made at his job.The answer to the questions: How do we transform what we love into cash is: For some people, transforming what you love to do into cash is a matter of making some decision and following through on them. For some it will take a business plan, investors . . . . Still others will simply stumble into their gift. The key however is to take the time to regularly work at that which brings you joy and a sense of fulfillment.Armed with this information, I finally put aside all of my reasons, excuses, meanderings … and dove into one of my favorite activities. At first it was awkward and felt strange – like I had never made a good living sewing before. As I moved forward and started on my second piece it began to feel good. Wonderful memories of past accomplishments began to appear in the forefront of my mind one by one. As I worked on my third piece, I began to relive the emotions that made me decide to become a seamstress in the first place.I’ll keep you posted on the outcome.
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