2 min read

You don't have to be born with it.

You don't have to be born with it.

I sometimes think that successful people are born with these innate gifts that us mere mortals don't have. It seems like every time I hear a great entrepreneur talk about their life, it goes like, "Oh I've been selling things since they was 7!" It gets me down. I had no interest in business until I turned 18. I kept thinking that means that I just don't have it, I just wasn't born with what it takes.

But today I call bullshit on that!

Tonight I was transcribing a popular talk I gave at my work. I'm a pretty self-critical person, but while I was watching myself all I felt was pride. Sure, I'm no professional, but I did really well!

It touched me. I was that kid who blanked out in front of the entire school during 5th grade. In 8th grade, I would wait until after class was over and beg my teacher to let me give her my presentation alone, just the two of us. Speaking in front of other people terrified me. And in college, I enrolled in a Public Speaking course, and tried really hard... and I got a 'C'. A 'C'! She said, "Look, your speech writing is good, but this is a speaking class, and your public speaking abilities are awful."

Clearly, I wasn't one of those super humans who are born to be on a stage.

I didn't give up.

And now, I've had hundreds of people attend my talks, and rave about them months (sometimes years!) later.

Holy shit. Me? Is this real life?

So you, reading this. It's possible to learn how to get great at things that we weren't born with. So, go do it! You might just have what it takes, no matter what you did when you were a kid! What a relief.


PS- If you want to know how I did it, I joined Toastmasters International and went to meetings every week. I also started volunteering for speaking slots and I just kept practicing on a regular basis. It's really that simple, and if I did it, anyone can.