How An Introverted Recluse Became A Popular & Purposeful Public
Speaker
I often do not know what I'm going to share in this section of
the newsletter until it's time to share it. I believe this is
consistent with the arrangement I have with my CEO (Cosmic
Enlightened Officer, i.e. God).
The guidance I receive from my CEO is on a 'need to know basis.'
So, today I was a bit surprised when I realized I wanted to
share a before and after picture from my life; one that spans
about 3 decades, taking us back to my early days in my own
veterinary practice, long before Life On Purpose Institute, and
even before I had any real sense of my own true life purpose.
At that time I was a pretty frightened young man, trying to
figure out the secret to making a go of it with my veterinary
practice. I spent an exorbitant amount of time in my back
office, playing with my computer, and whatever accounting
software I used at that time, trying to figure out why we were
struggling so much financially.
What I didn't realize until later after hiring my first coach,
Judy Billman, was that I was terrified of people, so all my
attention was spent either with their pets when I was in the
exam room, or hiding out in the back office. And if the truth be
known, I still enjoy 'hiding out' from time to time. I would say
by nature I'm more of an introvert than an extrovert except for
one thing -- I feel I've been called to this planet to share the
possibility of living on purpose with the rest of the world.
And this purpose allows me to tap into a wellspring of passion
that provides me with fuel and propels me to reach beyond my
comfort zone as an introvert and do such things as speak in
public all around the country, especially to professional groups
and to spiritual communities. And one of the biggest paradoxes
of my purposeful life is that I love speaking in public ONCE I
get over the trepidation I always feel at first.
But one thing that has always served me well during these times
is something my karate sensei told me once before my first
tournament. "It's ok, Brad, to have butterflies in your stomach.
Your job now is to have them fly in formation." In other words,
the nervous energy can be converted to a positive purpose.