There’s a very bad example of my public speaking skills out there from the time I gave a talk at a TEDxSMU event about using the senses to access the present moment. I wanted to convey this theory I have about Einstein’s Theory of Relativity and how it relates to consciousness… but I became so nervous because all these eyeballs were looking AT me. I could feel their expectation. I could feel their judgement. I could FEEL all these energies coming into my system and I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to run. I guess the “flee” part of my stress response was fully on board. My mind was confused. My brain felt like it shut down and I went into auto-pilot and fully off-script. It makes me cringe when I think about it. I didn’t consciously know yet how to use my body to ground me.

Because that moment for me was pregnant with such high expectations, the fall could have been devastating. I really didn’t adequately prepare for giving a talk like that and I could have beat myself up for it. The great thing about fully taking responsibility for your grown-ass adult self is that you can own your shit. You can own it while learning from it. It’s just a choice in how you view things – I think of everything as a blessing and I don’t believe in curses.

You guys hear me talk all the time about how your life can change in any moment. It boils down to the fact that in every small moment, we have a simple choice. Even if you are faced with something big, the choice in the moment is super small.

Have you ever wanted something so much that it truly frightened you? Yesterday, I realized I am deeply afraid of wanting what I want both personally and globally. What if I don’t get it? I would truly have to accept that I can’t always get what I want and that kinda pisses me off.

Some people may think that it’s lofty to want to change the world. I think we deserve a better world than what we are living in and I think it is up to us to change it. I’m not asking you to get out there and Jane Goodall or Gloria Steinem or MLK, Jr., it – I’m talking just right now in this moment, what can YOU do to become a better version of yourself?

Are you with me on this? Let’s DO THIS!