I introduced him and then left the room to grab some paper and pens.
When I walked back in 30 seconds later, it had already happened…
Everyone had leaned forward.
All eyes were wide and fixed on him.
They were riveted.
Amazing. Every time, I thought to myself as I put the materials within everyone’s reach and sat back to watch the magic unfold.
For the next hour, I watched my firecracker – I mean, my father – light up the room with his POWER and PRESENCE.
I’m sure you’ve met, or at least witnessed or followed, someone like this before.
They take a stage, or simply walk into a room full of people, and everyone knows they have arrived and can’t help but give their attention.
They speak…and people lean forward, hold their breath, and sit at the ready to receive.
How do they do that?
And why is that so many of us
– as spouses, parents, professionals, entrepreneurs, and messengers –
struggle to be noticed, let alone seen and heard?
Okay, really quick, make a quick mental list of the people you know or have followed who exhibit this Power and Presence. Got your list?
Now, ask yourself, what are the common denominators that make them so magnetic?
Are these people…?
- Attractive Physically
- Skilled
- Passionate
- Demanding
- Purposeful
- Loud
- Experienced
Well, in my dad’s case, he really had volume working for him. (LOL – my mom and siblings would call this an understatement.) It was probably the decades of projecting his voice over tractor engines and across the fields that conditioned his pipes and his capacity for making his presence known in a room.
But there was more to it…there was a REASON for the increased volume in these scenarios.
Some would call it excitement, or even mania, but I think his Power and Presence were at their highest of heights when these 2 components were at play:
DIVINE INTENTION
When my dad was talking about his core message and tools for accelerating human performance, there was no doubt that it was what he was here to do and share. And anyone watching could tell that he felt that divine intention to his core – that he had been given a gift that had to be shared…and it felt AWESOME to share it.
STORY/EVIDENCE > PASSION
The guy knew the power of his message, and he shared his personal story up front. He’d come upon these ideas when he was a teen and used them to accelerate his performance in academics and sports. Some of the stories he told were unreal – running 15 racks of Call Shot on a pool table which, for those of you who don’t know, means that he sunk 225 shots (at $100 per shot) without letting anyone else have a turn.
And he had helped others increase their performance along the way. With just a few simple tools and concepts, he’d helped people speed-read books, memorize impossibly long lists, swish free throws, drive balls down the center of a fairway in the heat of a tournament, or inspire some shock and awe on a pool table. He even had helped someone get over their fear of leaving their home. And in his words, he loved ‘the jazz’ of watching people achieve and accomplish things they had deemed difficult or even impossible before meeting him.
By the time he finished sharing some of his own experience and a few other stories – evidence that the audience in front of him could get the same results – HE WAS LIT UP. Physically, he stood taller and had bounce in his step, in spite of a back injury that regularly laid him out in bed with pain. His countenance was bright and expressive. His hands and arms moved a mile a minute, and so did his mouth.
No wonder he couldn’t wait for the next moment to get in front of someone who would listen to him share his message.
The same is true for any of us who have a message we need to deliver…
I believe that every person is born with a Divine Intention, Purpose, Gift, and/or Message – and when we are uncovering it, experiencing it, and sharing it, WE LIGHT UP. Our energy field literally sparks, glows, and grows. We feel tapped into the Source of our purpose and overwhelmed by the energy and information that flows in and through us so easily. We feel fully PRESENT and IMMERSED in the moment. Untrapped by time and space. Undistracted. Clear. Focused. Aligned. On purpose.
We feel like we have finally shown up to our lives.
And when we connect that message to our Experience, or our Story and all of its Evidence that our message contains some magic elixir that actually helps others, it takes on a more compelling quality – not just for our audience, but for us! When we realized, “Hey, this stuff worked for me, and it’s working for others, and it can help those people deal with their horrible pain/problem,” all of a sudden, all of our energy rallies behind getting that message into the hands of the people who need it.
Our story matters.
In my book, it is the key to activating the Power and the Presence we all crave when it comes to sharing our message.
A mentor recently asked me to share a moment when I felt the most Powerful and Present, and I immediately flashed to the exact moment…
It was a moment culminating 6 months of these types of moments. From the moment I hit SEND on that first announcement of my intention to write, publish, and launch a bestseller in 6 months (September 2012), I experienced the Power and Presence that comes when we are walking in our Divine Intention and know the power of our Story and all of the Elixir it contains.
In 6 months, I…
- developed a badass bestseller launch campaign that was all about IMPACT
- helped a dying client finish his book in 30 days
- supported half-a-dozen messengers and their books through the self-publishing process
- worked on two successful Amazon bestseller campaigns
- created an amazing webinar experience for Upside-Down Mommy supporters
- wrote, published, and launched Upside-Down Mommy as a bestseller in 3 months
- spent more time with my family and at Disneyland than in several years past
- completely relaxed and enjoyed the holiday season with my family
- co-developed curriculum with messengers and trained them to facilitate
- designed, marketed, and filled 2 amazing transformational events
So that moment…
We were at the end of Day 3 of a transformational weekend, where I (and a few messengers) had helped 30ish people clarify their dreams, move through their biggest fears and challenges, and take their first steps.
My personal story of the unfolding magic of the 6 months prior had set the tone for the entire weekend. If all of that could occur with and for me, then why not for them?
I was standing on the side of the room/stage, and while I was completely IMMERSED in the moment, I was also WITNESSING every single delicious detail of it…
I smiled at the sight of one of my dearest friends/clients pounding the keys and taking the room to new heights with her soulful voice.
I welled up with gratitude at the sight of several of my mentors in transformation and business, completely immersed in the experience, working on their own dreams and breaking through to their next levels.
And then my heart nearly exploded as I watched one beautiful soul after another own their dream on a trampoline.
And then I noticed I had begun jumping with them.
And I laughed and raised my hands to holler and cheer them on.
And then I realized…
I had finally shown up to my life.
This was ME, being and doing what I am called to be and do, celebrating the fact that I had become the author of my own story (on so many levels), and creating a space for others to do the same.
Mmmmm… Mmmmm… Mmmmm…more of that, please!