Valuing Self, Self-worth, and Qualifications…
I’ve learned many lessons about pitching while on my journey to pitch 100 times.
One of my biggest lessons centers on overcoming the feelings of rejection, and is at the top of the list of lessons learned. Among them all, here is the most important life lessons I’ve learned:
Saying “no” to myself is worst than being told “no” by someone else. This is one of the best lessons to learn in life! Have you ever taken yourself out the running before someone else did? Decided you weren’t good enough to do this or that? That was I. On this journey, I learned some valuable lessons around self-worth and valuing self. I realized that most of the time, I had an inner-dialogue that would talk me right out of greatness. This scene would play out in my head:
Me: Squeaky you should do this to be great. Start now putting the things in place to be great. Step out now.
Inner voice: Are you sure you can do that? What makes you the expert or authority on this? Surely, there are people more qualified than you to do that! What will people think? But you’ve never done this, that or the other before, how can you do that?
Me: Maybe I shouldn’t. I’ll wait until I get a few more whatevers before stepping out to do that.
Sounds familiar? Well, Donald Trump’s presidential campaign is the best way I can justify the point I am making. Many of us will look at a list of qualifications and because we are shy two or three of the entire list of qualifications, we decide we aren’t right for the job, or that we shouldn’t be seated at the table. But Donald Trump, with almost no political experience, never quit, never seemed to doubt his capabilities, or allowed people to talk him down from presidency. He stood completely convinced he was right for the job! He was sure that what he didn’t know, he could figure it out. His presidential win changed my thinking around valuing self, self-worth, and “qualifications.” I made a decision not to take myself out of any race any more! I learned to completely trust my skills and myself and what I don’t know, is simply an ask or book or try away.
~Excerpt from #100Pitches: Mistakes I’ve Made So You Don’t Have To
