“The thing I thought would be my liability is the very reason I’m sought after.“
You may not know this, but in the life that runs parallel to the one you get to see in our weekly tête-à-têtes, I’m an actor.
An American actor. In New Zealand. I can’t do a Kiwi accent to save my life, and you would think that this would make it harder for me to get work here, and that I should do my utmost to force my mouth around those down under-y vowel sounds.
But I’m not going to bother.
Not only is it apparently super hard to master (without overshooting and sounding Australian), I’m living in a country where I’m surrounded by natives who, of course, are naturally amazing at it.
Now this could make me hang my head in shame or freak me out because I won’t be able to be competitive in this space . . .
BUT WHY try to compete with these actors, when I’ve got something most of them desperately covet and struggle to get their mouths around?
What’s that, you ask?
Why, a natural, home-grown American accent, baby! Which is the reason I was cast to do voiceover for this American zombie TV show (that happens to be shooting here).
Now rather than capitalize on my natural wiring and what I’m inherently good at, I could’ve spent all of my time trying to be something I’m not (and then feel really bad about it when it goes all pear-shaped).
And I probably would’ve, if I didn’t realize that the thing I thought would be my liability is the very reason I’m sought after.
It’s the same for us as entrepreneurs. We get so bogged down with other people’s messaging, other people’s programs or offerings or huge email communities or bursting-at-the-seams Facebook groups, that we often spend our time trying to figure out how to be more like them.
And we downplay or downright ignore how to be more like ourselves – and bring all that us-ness in all of its brilliance and unique-osity to our businesses.
This is a loving reminder for you (AND me!) . . . looking around and feeling like you have to be a bit more this, a little less that. More like that Warrior or Ruler over there, less like the awesome YOU that you actually are.
You know, that Explorer-ness or Creator-ness or whatever-ness is what makes you unique. What makes you stand out in a sea of others doing a similar thing you’re doing.
Your message, your story, your special way of working, your ideas, even your annoyances and bees-in-bonnets are what will call your perfect, meant-to-be people to you like a triangle brings cowboys in to dinner. (“Come and get it, y’all!”)
When my agent gets a casting notice that requires an American accent, you’d better believe I’m top of mind. She knows exactly where to find what she needs because she knows what makes me stand out.
Do you know what makes you stand out? How clear is your message? What’s your signature story? If it’s all feeling hazy, fancy coming along on the *funnest* treasure hunt EVER to figure this all out? I’d love to have a chat to see if I can help. 🙂