The Power of Wanting Something Badly

About 6 months ago, a C-suite executive approached me about a talk he was prepping to give to 1500 employees.

He said to me, “I’m gonna be honest with you. Last year, I bombed. I’m apparently not very fun to listen to. I cannot have a repeat performance at this year’s conference. Can you help me?”

So we jumped in.

I met with him virtually every 3 weeks to re-write his script so it would resonate as genuine and not “corporate speak.”

I watched him present it, and suggested tweaks he could make to his delivery…

…to the way he stands and moves, to his pacing and use of inflection.

And each week, little by little, he got better and better.

A few weeks ago, he practiced the talk in front of 3 of his executive board members, and they were speechless.

Jaws on the floor.

“Uh…how did you do that?” they asked him.

The answer was simple:

He dug in.

He risked feeling silly, asked questions, tried on new behaviors, and practiced for five minutes every single day.

And within a few months, he became the absolutely best version of himself up on the stage.

And here’s the great thing: the transformation will be with him FOREVER.

He will never, EVER go back to the person he used to be.

I wish you could see the smile on his face when he presents now.

He knows how good he is, and he radiates confidence.