There is a reason they chose Jackie Robinson to break the racial barrier in Major League Baseball.
It wasn’t because he was strong enough to fight, though he certainly was.
No, they chose Jackie precisely because he was strong enough not to fight, and if you saw the movie, “42” you heard that point made by Harrison Ford’s character.
My question is, in a country so steeped in racism at the time, what did Jackie do instead of fighting?
He let the world feel the weight of his brilliance.
He simply became so good they had no choice but to accept him.
Carrot Top, the crazy, red-headed comedian who’s been a long-time headliner here in Las Vegas is what they call a “prop-comic,” meaning he uses humorous objects in humorous ways to create his jokes.
Prop-comics are often frowned upon by other comedians (so are guitar-comics, by the way, but that’s my issue. 🙂
So why is it that for years the Tonight Show had Carrot Top – a dreaded prop-comic – on national TV 3-4 times per year (which is a lot!???)
He simply became so good they had no choice but to accept him.
Are you seeing a pattern here?
You are brilliant.
I don’t say that out of “rah-rah” motivational-speak.
I say that because it’s demonstrably true.
If you doubt that you are brilliant it’s likely because you are comparing – with others; with some arbitrary standard; with some crazy ideal.
But the way you are brilliant is completely different than everyone else. Therefore, comparison is an invalid, losing proposition.
It is likely that your brilliance is not any single category, but a unique combination of competencies, based on a unique combination of gifts, talents, and passions.
Example… I am not the greatest speaker, the greatest guitarist, the greatest comedian, nor the greatest entertainer in the world. However, I am the greatest unique combination of all four. (I may be the only combination of all four, but that’s OK, that’s good).
It is not bragging for me to say that because my premise is that you, me… everyone has potentially world class brilliance in some unique way.
So, how do you thrive in the post pandemic economic revolution?
(Do I need to repeat it?) Simply become so good they have no choice but to accept you. In other words…
Let the world feel the weight of your brilliance.
Step forward boldly with who you are, what you do and how well you do it. Find new ways to do it based on the changes coming.
And remember that your brilliance, when reduced to it’s essence (the first step in my reinvention process), is not a specific skill or activity. It’s a general direction and expertise.
Example… the “essence” of what I do is not speaking, guitar and comedy; it is inspiration, information and entertainment.
Once you know the essence of what you do, it’s not hard to find new ways (read: reinvent) to do that in the new world.
As Marianne Williamson famously points out…
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world.”
And it especially will not serve the new world – or yourself – as you move forward in your business, career and life, post-pandemic.
Get curious. Step out. Be bold. As you define bold. Invest in yourself. Be willing to do what others will not.
Live truly, truly live,
Mike
