Awe

Are you shy? Or nervous about pinging that person you wrote the article about to let them know you’re saying nice things about them on the internet? I am sometimes.

There’s an old Richard Feynman story, about a lesson his dad taught him, to disrespect uniforms. It’s not an excuse to be an a******. It is a reminder that you should always look past outfits, titles, and status signalers. There’s a regular person beyond the appearance. You can’t ever forget that.

But it doesn’t make it less intimidating from time to time. Especially when it comes to how we see ourselves in relation to the uniform in question (or the big boss, or the massive follower count, or the…)

Enter Josh Spector’s advice to “Never Be In Awe Of Anyone”:

In my work running digital media for The Oscars for nearly a decade, I worked with some of the world’s most talented people.

Brilliant, successful, creative people who I admired, learned from, and respected.

But I was never in awe of them.

That’s why I was able to benefit from my experiences with them.

Because being in awe of people – no matter their status, talent, or experience compared to yours – holds you back and stunts your growth.

Underlining Spector’s whole post, is the reminder that you know something.

Yes, YOU.

You’ve got some stuff to offer.

And, if you can stay focused on your you-ness, with some confidence in what you have to offer (like, for example, from your Personal Archive), then you don’t need to worry about the fancy person across the table from you so much, because you know what you are bringing you to the table (which is… YOU).

Easy to say, hard to remember, but only at first.

Don’t be in awe of anyone else, just be your awesome self.

Ps. Or, as the (usually credited to) Oscar Wilde quote goes, “Be yourself; everyone else is taken.”