So, I'm off to Victoria to the Western Canada Book Fair..or something like that.
I have to give another speech.
I've shared that it's not, well, my best talent in life.
I was so bummed out last time, that I had blown my speech.
I shared this with a friend from my hotel room in Toronto.
She sent me this note back, and I thought I would share it with you.
Kim I hope you don't mind, but I will save this speech for the rest of my life.
I'm not sharing to make myself sound 'wonderful' or brag about how fabulous I am.
I'm sharing to inspire you or anyone you know who in those 'big' moments ...stumble.
The words of my dear friend Kim Christie:
You didn't "blow" the speech.
What you did is fail to contort yourself into a vision of what you … and
you alone … deemed to be an appropriate and "good" speaker. But
you're not a speaker … you're a wholesome artist, a mom, a friend … a real,
live girl! :)
What's happening on the internet right now … and I mean, like, ALL OVER THE WORLD … is that even experienced "speakers" are pointing a camera at themselves and just blathering away on the front porch. Because it's more honest. More real. People connect with you more when you are absolutely authentic. And you're not a statesman. You're a beautiful, fresh, ADORABLE crazy creative Full-of-Love-and-Goodness farm girl. You're honest and unguarded and unpracticed. There's nothing complicated or conniving or controlling in your world … and that's what people are ACHING for right now. The polished perfection and contrivances are driving the world mad. Everywhere the veneer is cracking. Because we all want it to. Because every last one of us is sick to death of pretending to be someone we are not. So your speech was perfect. You were absolutely you … unsure, a bit overwhelmed by all the fanfare, tripping it up a bit … in other words, Positively CHARMING.
You're trying to "impress" a room full of people who wish like crazy that they were YOU! They want to be young and lithe and uncomplicated. They want to swing in the sunshine and run laughing out of a shabby shack chasing a precious and perfect Lily. They want to be able to whip up apple pie on a whim, from scratch, without a recipe. Every single person in that room got a taste of someone laughing, someone hesitant, maybe flustered … and they were hooked IMMEDIATELY. Because you are absolutely Real and absolutely Perfect. No one who meets you, or sees anything at all that you've ever created, or visits your farm or drops into your blog … doesn't fall IMMEDIATELY in love with you. The only thing you can do to mess that up is train and contort yourself into being a polished persona. They're a dime a dozen and everybody's sick of that.
What's happening on the internet right now … and I mean, like, ALL OVER THE WORLD … is that even experienced "speakers" are pointing a camera at themselves and just blathering away on the front porch. Because it's more honest. More real. People connect with you more when you are absolutely authentic. And you're not a statesman. You're a beautiful, fresh, ADORABLE crazy creative Full-of-Love-and-Goodness farm girl. You're honest and unguarded and unpracticed. There's nothing complicated or conniving or controlling in your world … and that's what people are ACHING for right now. The polished perfection and contrivances are driving the world mad. Everywhere the veneer is cracking. Because we all want it to. Because every last one of us is sick to death of pretending to be someone we are not. So your speech was perfect. You were absolutely you … unsure, a bit overwhelmed by all the fanfare, tripping it up a bit … in other words, Positively CHARMING.
You're trying to "impress" a room full of people who wish like crazy that they were YOU! They want to be young and lithe and uncomplicated. They want to swing in the sunshine and run laughing out of a shabby shack chasing a precious and perfect Lily. They want to be able to whip up apple pie on a whim, from scratch, without a recipe. Every single person in that room got a taste of someone laughing, someone hesitant, maybe flustered … and they were hooked IMMEDIATELY. Because you are absolutely Real and absolutely Perfect. No one who meets you, or sees anything at all that you've ever created, or visits your farm or drops into your blog … doesn't fall IMMEDIATELY in love with you. The only thing you can do to mess that up is train and contort yourself into being a polished persona. They're a dime a dozen and everybody's sick of that.
