Robb Braun isn’t famous. At least, I don’t think he is.
What you’ll see in the video below is a talk he gave at Toastmasters. Not at some fancy conference.
But he has a great message. And he’s right. As kids we all had our own song, that sense of who we were, what we felt was special about ourselves, and how we saw ourselves in the world.
But as Robb says, over time most of us learn to quieten that song, because it rarely fits in with what is expected of us…from our families, our schools and our friends. We turn down the volume in order to fit in and not rock the boat.
His message resonates with me because I often ask my coaching clients questions which point in the same direction. I ask them to think way back to when they were young, and to think about what they were best at, what their gifts were, what thrilled and excited them.
It’s a sad truth that many of us have gifts that were pushed aside at some point, either by others who felt they had no value, or by ourselves in an attempt to please the people around us.
Of course, if you do think back and identify a gift you put to one side, there is no guarantee that it will help you in your work life today. But it might. And even if it doesn’t, your life will be richer for getting back in touch with something that mattered so much to you when you were young.
About the author: Nick Usborne is an online writer, copywriter, author and coach. Read more…