I met the talented comedian Kyle Cease over the weekend and watched him perform his interesting mix of inspiration and humor.
During his show, Kyle explained how in the early days of George Carlin’s comedy career, George Carlin would get up on stage and, within a few minutes of starting his set, watch half his audience walk out of the club.
Now I’m sure it wasn’t easy for George Carlin to watch those people leave. Even George Carlin wanted to be liked.
But he knew his style of comedy didn’t appeal to everyone. And he didn’t mind that half the audience walked out because he knew that the ones who stayed would become loyal, rabid fans.
And don’t we all need to grab ourselves some loyal, rabid fans in life? Don’t we all need to “find our tribe” as the branding and marketing folks like to say?
Well to do that you have to fully accept and embrace who you are and be okay knowing that not everyone is gonna love you.
For instance, recently a friend left a great job in corporate America to begin coaching and training business leaders. Things are off to a slow start, they’re not going as well as he’d like and he’s questioning his decision to leave the stability of a great corporate job and take the entrepreneurial leap.
He asked me for my straight-up opinion on whether he has a blind spot that he can’t see and if I had any ideas about what he should do.
You need to be targeting the Christian community, I said.
This wasn’t what he wanted to hear.
He prefers to talk to mainstream audiences. But it’s so apparent that ministry is where his heart is!
When I hear him speak to secular audiences it’s as if he’s physically holding part of himself back because he wants to include more “God talk” into the conversation but he’s afraid of offending anyone.
No, No, NO!
I say, fully embrace who you are, like George Carlin did, and watch half your audience leave.
If you’re afraid to do that, just like my friend, you’ll end up watering yourself down in an attempt to get everyone’s approval and end up not pleasing anyone — including yourself!
So think about it.
Where are you holding yourself back to make sure half your audience doesn’t walk out on you?
Are you perhaps staying with the wrong half of the audience when you should be walking out on them?
After all, if you’ve stopped sharing your brilliant ideas at meetings because they’re always shot down maybe you work for the wrong company.
And if you’re tired of telling your guy over and over again how you like to be treated and he still doesn’t get it maybe you’re with the wrong guy.
At the end of the day, we all want to be liked but here’s the Truth:
It’s not your job to make people like you. It’s your job for YOU to like you and give the world more of YOU!
Start working on THAT and then sit back to witness the miraculous shift that happens. You’ll naturally start to attract the people and circumstances into your life that are in alignment with who you are.
Likewise, it’s not your job to get people to like what you wear. It’s your job for YOU to like what you wear.
Today’s VPOD, for instance, isn’t for everyone. This vintage Thai blouse is a bit too avant-garde for some. A bit too flashy for others.
But it’s just right for someone and maybe that someone is you!
Available at Daughter.
(To receive the VPOD free via email with detailed size and price information, sign up for the growing email mailing list here. Your information will never be sold or shared and you can easily unsubscribe at any time.)