I have
recently “discovered” Earl Nightingale. Ever since I started the latest phase
of my “adult” life I have been reading, watching and listening to anything that
will help me refine my life philosophy. By
the way, Jim Rohn defines being an adult is when you finally realize and start
to take responsibility for your own life. No one else or no circumstance is to blame for your success or lack of
success. Mr. Nightingale is a terrific philosopher and guide. I suggest you
look him up, you will be surprised – he is everywhere.
In what I
listened to recently, he paraphrased an article by Marjorie Nagle (sic) called
The Big Me Within. It was about the FACT that 99% of us are ruled by a Little
Me.
Little Me is
the Me that does what everyone else does so as not to attract attention to
one’s self. Little Me is weak, thoughtless, scared and uninformed.
Think of
high school, the kid that was bullied and you didn`t say anything or help out.
Doing things or wearing things so you would fit in. At college, not calling a
prof out for something you didn’t agree with or agreeing just to get the exam
question right. Think of work, and just
producing what everyone else produces so you don’t “rock-the-boat”. How about just remarking on a civil injustice
rather than writing Parliament. The list goes on. And on. And on. And on.
Back to
Caruso... He was about to get on stage for his first Aria when he was overcome
with tremendous stage fright. He was spasming in fear. Sweating profusely. He
recognized he would not be able to perform if he did not overcome his fright. He
was struck with a thought, “The Little Me on the outside is strangling the Big
Me on the inside”.
Caruso stood
at the side of the stage and started whispering to himself; the rest of the
cast and stage members thought he had flipped. He was whispering things like, “SHUT
UP!”, “GET OUT”. By the time his cue came, the Little Me had been routed and
the Big Me was in command. He proceeded to sing an Aria like no one had ever
heard. He received a standing ovation and thus was launched one of the greatest
operatic careers ever.
Only when
Caruso recognized that a weak force was controlling him, and acted upon that,
did the stronger force come through. And it is THE SAME FOR EVERYONE. And it is
not just stage fright I am talking about. It is starting a new career, a new
business, a new class, a first date...
Each of us
is made of two forces. (Not quite Star Wars, but almost.) One force made of our
talents, strengths and abilities the other force made of the cynic, the critic,
the doubter all of which try to bury the good forces. One of these MUST win and
when it is the Little Me it is because we don’t know and recognize our own
strengths.
A tiger is
being forced to sit on a stool by a little man with a chair.
Let your
tiger out. If you don’t know your strengths, sit down with a paper and write
out everything you can think of. If you can’t think of any, start asking your
friends and family and you will have a list of strengths and abilities sooner
than you can imagine. Once you have that list – start building on it - - and
focus on them. As soon as that Little Me shows up when you are performing one
of your strengths – point out to Little Me there is no more room in your life
for him.
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