Authenticity happens Authenticly

I have been struggling to make moves forward with my business plans and with my writing due to a lack of confidence. I ask myself what I want to get out of all of this. People come at me and say I should be a motivational speaker but I see it as total hypocrisy. I don't see myself as motivating. And that is not to say I don't have a great story that could motivate people but I question what it means to motivate people at all. In my mind I am best motivated not by a person telling me how they have faced challenges and then over come those challenges. Instead I want proof that we can all overcome that one big thing that we think is holding us back. I am motivated by people that teach me the skills I need to make a difference and that to me that begins with education. I don't just want to be a motivator I want to teach people something about life. I want to find a simple idea or skill use it to get them to see the world in a different way.

So how can I do that? My plan is writing books for children with lessons that can get them to understand themselves and the world more clearly. I think we have become overrun with so many forms of communication that we have lost sight of the message and clarity has disappeared. I want to bring back that clarity of the mind and teaches kids how to think, act and react in a clear way that will gain them appreciation and success in their lives. By teaching them a true skill I bring to the table more than a story that they can use to power themselves, I bring a plan that they can follow and as they see themselves succeeding they become self motivated.

I think my hesitation before now has been I didn't want to be something I wasn't. I'm not the guy to tell you my life was hard, every one's life is hard. Mine wasn't made harder from my disability, in many ways it was an advantage. I don't want to be inauthentic talking about struggles that I didn't face, or challenges that didn't really stop me. I don't want to talk about how my disability made me the person I am today and that if everyone looks at their challenges the way I did they can turn their lives around. That isn't my story.

My story is about taking advantage of what I have and going forward. Not letting attitude slow you down, and setting goals for yourself so that you can benchmark your life. This isn't unlike most people's advice. What makes me different is that I used my disability to help me gain every advantage I could. I used it as a tool and I used it as a reason to say don't feel sorry for me because I have a plan and I am going somewhere.

My message is to be that motivated person with ideas and real advice. Being a role model not as someone to others to follow but as one that says be comfortable with who you are and you will be your own role model. I want to encourage others to be the best person they can be for themselves. By being authentic, showing your fears, discussing your setback, you allow yourself to struggle and make mistakes without being ashamed of them. Use these set backs to guide your character, and know what not to do and how you do not want to feel. And with this reflection on personal experience you become a person who is vulnerable to emotion but powerful in spirit and humble enough to not crush the person behind you but instead offer them a hand. Give them the same advantage you have and then compete on the same level. The lesson is we are all in this together. Life isn't this race to be the best. If everyone is just in it for themselves them we are all losers.

source: http://www.businessinsider.com/you-dont-have-to-be-a-risk-taker-2014-3