you are ready

So today I did something that really stretched me.

Pushed me out of my comfy cocoon. Made my palms a little sweatier and my heart beat A LOT faster.

I was asked to present a segment at the Melbourne Spring Fashion Week Industry Event. Our GM of Merchandise at lululemon was part of a panel of speakers for the event and he wanted to bring an element of our culture into play – people, leadership and personal development. This called for one thing and one thing only – Vision & Goals – and it just so happens to be my bag baby!

When I was asked, I swear this was my thought process – ‘Wait so let me get this straight? I get to share my favourite thing in the world with a huge bunch of people and inspire them to live their dream lives?’ That was a #hellyes from me. How stoked was I to be offered this rad opportunity?! I clearly jumped at the chance.

Later I googled the website revealing just how big this event was – immediately enter self doubt, that inner critic that always rears her ugly head at times like these – “But you’ve never spoken to 500 people before? What if you have a mental blank and freak out on stage? Why do they want to listen to YOU? You only have a few days to prepare, can you handle this? But you won’t be as good as person X, or Y”  . . . blah blah blah.

You can imagine the boost of confidence the devil on my shoulder was providing me. I kept imagining all the worst case scenarios and watching these train wrecks play out in my mind.

I know this content inside out, I’ve presented it numerous times before. Why was I letting the context and size of the event derail me? So instead I shifted to all the things I did know – everything I had going for me and the reasons it would be a success. The conscious brain can only hold one thought at a time – it’s not actually possible to think two things at once – so I decided to replace my nightmare vision, with one of positivity and success.

I also shifted my focus from WHAT I wanted to say, to WHO I wanted to be. This changed things dramatically. So instead of getting caught up in the detail – I took a step back, a deep breath, and connected to who I wanted to be for this audience today. I wanted to connect to them authentically, share from the heart, speak confidently, have fun and inspire them to live BIG.

“People will forget what you said and what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou.

So when I heard my name called and made my way up onto the stage, I stared out under the bright lights and said to myself ‘You’ve got this’.

And as I shared sone of my goals with the audience (hosting Love Your Life retreats, international speaking engagements, life coaching and giving back to the community) I realised that I was actually living into part of my vision right NOW. I was presenting at my first large-scale speaking engagement . . . I had to pinch myself. It’s amazing what happens when you follow your passions and declare what you want. The universe has a way of putting you exactly where you need to be – there are no such things as coincidences.

Sure there are always things to improve on, we’re not aiming for perfection, but instead growth.  One of my favourite quotes that came out of the event today was this – “If you don’t learn to fail, you will fail to learn.” So the idea is fail quickly! Learn your lessons early on so you can move forward and evolve.

So you know all those things you’ve been wanting to do? You think you’re not ready, but how will you know till you try?

Seize the moment. Jump in headfirst. What’s the worse that could happen?

Set your sights higher, and drown out the devil on your shoulder by focusing all your energy on what you want to create.

You are so ready for this.

“Trust yourself. Create the kind of life you will be happy to live with all your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks or possibility into the flames of achievement.” – Robin Sharma