I recently attended an event featuring Glennon Doyle Melton. She is a fellow contributor for the Huffington Post, author of Carry On Warrior: The Power of Embracing Your Messy, Beautiful Life, and blogger on Momastery.com.
Glennon was there to talk about life's trials and tribulations. Through her book and her blog she writes about TRUTH. She writes about family and love and faith and how it isn't perfect but it is beautiful. Glennon was there in person to give us all inspiration. I sat and waited to be inspired. Then she did something that has stuck with me.
We were in a room filled with successful people. She stood up and called us all out. She told us We have a responsibility to tell our stories. We have a responsibility to inspire others. She asked Us to stand and be counted. Didn't expect that.
Glennon has built a community on Momastery.com through telling her stories. She shares her experiences raising her kids being a mom and a wife and a sister and a friend and the response she has received is incredible.
Why is that? What makes Glennon any different than anyone else?
Because she took a chance and put herself out there.
And she is changing lives.
There are people all over the world that are reading her stories and feeling like they are not alone anymore. Taking chances they might not have taken because now they believe in themselves. How does she have this impact on people? Because she had the courage to tell her stories. Now she is asking me to tell mine.
I have been asked to tell my stories before. Up to now I haven't. My excuse has always been that I have not achieved anything ridiculously remarkable. Who am I to stand up and inspire anyone.
I was wrong.
I have always believed that I needed to be someone of position and title to have the credibility to speak to others about how to achieve their version of success. Today someone set me straight. Thank you for that. My friend was encouraging me to be a part of a TED Talk Series. I tried to convince her that no one wanted to hear from me. She told me why I was wrong. And I am here to tell you so that you tell your story too.
She made it very simple. She told me that when she is sitting in the audience listening to the "president of whatever" tell her how they achieved massive success and how you can too, it doesn't resonate with her. She told me that is not something she sees herself doing or even necessarily aspires to.
And this is when she floored me.
She told me that what was different about me is that I view myself as successful based on where I am now. That she would like people to understand that if you only viewed yourself as successful for what you have accomplished, family, career, education, community, that you would then have that sense of confidence to encourage others to recognize their successes.
She is exactly right. Let's all stand and be counted. Let's actively encourage others and tell our TRUTH. You never know when you might make a dent in the universe.