I spent 30+ years talking for a living, and somehow nobody ever figured out how to make me stop. So… newsletter. 😂
Courage is a MUSCLE you keep skipping
Bridge workers think being 200 feet in the air is “relaxing”.
Not thrilling. Not terrifying. Relaxing.
Why? They’ve done it so many times it stopped being a big deal.
It’s just Tuesday. With better views.
We think courage is something you either have or you don’t.
Like a dimple or a trust fund. But that’s not how it works.
You’re not afraid of “speaking up”.
You’re afraid of something you haven’t done enough times yet.
That’s it. That’s the whole secret.
Courage is more like a bicep. Skip it long enough, and it gets embarrassingly small. Work it enough, and it starts showing up when you need it.
The problem isn’t that you’re an “introvert.” The problem is that speaking up is “unfamiliar”.
And we’re all terrified of unfamiliar things. Every single one of us.
Including the loudest person in any room you’ve ever been in.
(They just got comfortable faster.)
So here’s the actual fix, and it’s almost annoyingly simple.
Talk more.
Here’s the part we all skip: you practice courage by doing the thing more. Not by reading about the thing. Not by watching someone else do the thing with extreme confidence on YouTube. Actually doing it.
Voice notes instead of texts. A call instead of an email.
Narrate your grocery list like you’re hosting a game show and the frozen peas are today’s “Grand prize!”
No, seriously. Any time you USE your voice when you could’ve typed something, that’s a “rep”! That’s you showing up to the gym.
And little by little, speaking up in a meeting or making a toast stops feeling like jumping off a cliff. It starts feeling like… well, stairs.
Your ideas are too good to die in your chair because saying them out loud still feels “weird”.
Which brings me to something that might help…
I do a free 15-minute call where I just listen to what’s going on with your
“I want to improve my communication skills journey”.
Then give you a couple of things you can actually do right away.
No agenda. No pitch. Just a conversation with someone who’s been doing this for over 30 years. (link to sign up below)
Stellar Quotes
“We must all suffer one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret.”
Jim Rohn
“Success doesn’t come from what you do occasionally. It comes from what you do consistently.”
Marie Forleo
“Behind the Mic”
Probably the most “unique” Radio Studio I’ve ever worked in.
I was doing afternoons at KIVA, Albuquerque.
The “Historic Milne House” was built in 1917.
It’s on the National Register of Historic Places. Which means you’re not supposed to touch anything, dent anything, or breathe on it funny.
Here’s a photo:
Somehow they bent the rules so much they could put a Radio station inside!
The Program Director’s office still had the original kitchen counter and backsplash. We broadcast from what used to be a bedroom upstairs.
So naturally, ‘someone’ left a 3-foot dent in the upstairs hallway wall.
That ‘someone’ was not ME. (Technically.)
“Dan” was our “Night jock”.
And for whatever reason, Dan decided he didn’t like me.
After my shift one night, he got “in my face”.
Semi-drunk. Saying things I honestly don’t even remember now.
Here’s the thing. I don’t care if someone yells at me. Yell away.
But Dan made a specific mistake… He shoved me.
What Dan did NOT know is that I’ve been studying Martial Arts since I was six years old!
That’s a lot of “Dojo hours”, Reader!
(Brown belt, Judo—Black belt, Shito-ryu Karate)
He wound up to throw a punch. I grabbed his arm.
One shoulder throw later, his back met that historic wall at full speed.
Three. Foot. Dent.
The next day, the GM called.
Dan came completely clean about what happened, which honestly? Respect!
The GM asked if I wanted him fired. I said “No”.
We actually ended up friends. (The wall did not fare as well.)
And I will NEVER forget that house. Or those walls.
Here’s what stays with me though. Not the dent.
It’s that the whole thing could’ve gone sideways fast if I hadn’t known what to do in that moment. Experience beats panic every single time.
Dan assumed he knew what he was dealing with.
He had no idea what was “underneath”.
Do yourself a favor: Never assume what someone “knows”…
(Or what they’re going through.)
Diversions
Your Thoughts
Royce
Free Coaching!
Your voice has been with you your entire life, but odds are nobody ever taught you how to “use it”. Let’s fix that. Grab a free discovery call and let’s see what’s possible. No push, no pressure.
