Many people believe that their family and friends are truly exceptional. Even small moments of success when we are kids is a like a nugget of validation for our parents, that one day we will be great. Why do we raise kids in a world of possibilities only to turn on them, and ourselves, as adults and treat almost any achievement as if it will never be enough?
If we believe that everyone has talents and strengths, then we must challenge ourselves to actually live from that truth. To more fully live into the possibility that everyone is talented and exceptional in some meaningful way, we must begin to unravel the code of the corporate mindset and challenge the underlying assumptions that govern it. The first step is to realize that all of our previous success still counts towards our greatness and readiness to perform. If we were truly hired for the right job, then we all have enough of what we need to be successful. We need not wait until we are “ready“ to be promoted or look for a better cultural “fit.”
The main reason amazing kids don't become amazing adults is because along the way someone tells them that they can't be, and more often that they can't make money, being amazing in that way.
Glimmers of Hope
A person’s awareness that they already have everything they need is foretold by their ability to speak to their moment of truth, or what we call their glimmers. So, what exactly is a glimmer? And, what does it have to do with one’s truth and being exceptional?
In the journey of trying to figure out who we want to be when we grow up, we have transformative moments that reflect our true potential. It is rare that we can capture it on video, but here is just such an example of a young girl clearly operating in her true potential:
Often in those moments, the people around us sit in awe of our talents because they can’t rationalize how someone so young could be so wise, so full of talent, so brilliant. With so many examples of youth inspired awesomeness these days, I am amazed that we are still so amazed by it. Truth be told, these moments of awesomeness are simply young people coming into their own strengths. We are just so amazed by it because so many of us have already been talked out of our own greatness. So, to see someone so young operate so clearly in their strengths with unbridled authenticity tends to be very surprising and amazing to us.
Holding Onto Your Personal Truths
These glimmers are simply moments of truth that reflect the power of our strengths. Glimmers begin to illuminate that we each have our own true strengths and the power to live into them. The beautiful thing about this is that each person has their own glimmers and moments of truth; it is rare that any two are alike. Mine came through during a seemingly random and mundane moments of my youth.
One of my most transformative glimmers occurred at the age of 15 when was when I on a family trip in Venice, Italy. My parents were about to launch into yet another argument because they were lost and could not figure out how to read the map to get to our destination. Quite intuitively, I inserted myself into the argument and asked if I could take a look at the map. There was a serious moment of pause as they both looked at me, and although it took my Dad another few minutes to convince my mom to let her even let me try to help, I finally got my chance. I grabbed the map, confirmed our destination, located where we were, and found the quickest and easiest path to our destination. Once I had the freedom to lead, I was gone. It is was like I hit my zone and I was off and running through the streets of Venice like they were my own. My Dad even remembers that being the first moment that he really saw the power of my spirit and what I now call “my secret spidey sense.” Despite how mundane reading a map may sound, I remember that moment as the first time that my spirit was truly free to lead through my truth and I saw a next level world of possibilities for myself.
You know a glimmer when you experience it, either as the person with the strength or the person who watched it, but it is often hard to hold onto, if for no other reason than we rationalize them away. It would be easy to dismiss my glimmer as simply I’m good at reading maps and nothing more – but it is so much more than that.
For some, glimmers can often feel like such a moment of truth, such a natural expression of one’s talents and strengths, and they feel so right, that it is hard to capture just how exceptional the moment really is. It so randomly occurs, and feels so natural, that it seems like you are at home, where you have always longed to be. And, so, the impact of it being something new and different can quickly fade. Although running through the streets of Venice with my parents was more like 15 to 20 minutes, at the time, it felt like mere seconds.
Lifetime of Possibilities
Much of what you seek is often on the other side of your perceived possibilities.
Often people see it and feel it, but are afraid to openly let themselves acknowledge a glimmer, because the truth that they just experienced within themselves opens up a world of possibilities that don’t otherwise exist within the restrictions of their world view. Even after experiencing someone else’s glimmer, people will convince themselves it did not happen because it shakes their current world view of what is possible for that person and even for themselves.. Discomforted and overwhelmed by the awareness of a new world of possibilities that are generated after each moment of truth, people conclude that the whole thing was an anomaly or a freak occurrence.
But the reality is that that moment was a glimpse of just how great you really are and an indication of how amazing you are going to become, if you let it happen. It was in that moment, in Venice, that I set a new normal for myself without even knowing it. My understanding of my own truth shifted and I experienced a world without limitations. My unconscious mind then set into motion a desire to seek more of those moments and it was up to my conscious mind to catch up.
It was my luck in life to be able to continue to walk into my moments of everyday awesomeness. Even when people told me I was too “x” to succeed, my sense of self simply stepped around their limitations because I had already seen my truth and knew that just because they could not rationalize it, did not make it so. To unlock from the Corporate Mindset it is critical to reconnect with your moments of truth, to embrace the fullness of your strengths, and from there to create a more whole and complete sense of self, including all of your awesomeness.
The fear that ‘we are not enough’ and ‘don’t have what it takes, at least not yet,’ are the negative thoughts that constantly holds us back from letting our truth be realized. But If you were awesome then, then you are awesome now. So, naturally you are more than ready to be successful, at whatever you are designed to be the best at.
Getting on the right career path and finding more meaningful engagement in your life, work, and family is first about being the “truest” version of you. What are/were your golden nuggets? Which moments of truth do you need to remain more conscious of as you continue to strive forward? Or, do you need to peel back the layers of linear model of success and reclaim your truth?