We’ve All Screwed Up, But What Did You Do Next?
I grew up at 8,000 feet in a tiny town deep in the mountains of Colorado. Aspen—heard of it? That's me, above. And, no, I'm not the glitterati—my parents tromped us into the mountains every weekend, giant frame packs, cans of baby oysters and fishing poles to catch rainbow trout for dinner. We played soccer and shopped at City Market—so normal! But you know what I paid less attention to? Sunscreen.
Less than 50 spf at 8,000 feet is like sitting at a tanning bed for 17 hours per day. Read: no bueno for young skin. Fallout? This lady's skin is massively flawed. Freckles, moles, sun spots—dermatologists rub their hands together when I walk in at the sheer number of flawed spots they get to take off of me.
And, the rest of me is covered in flaws too—my experienced steeped in mistakes and bruises, scars and face-in-palm moments I'd kill to erase from my memory.
You know what else is flawed? You. And every single person around you. It's what makes you, you. It's what makes them, them.
As Richard Powers says in the book, The Overstory (which my husband alerted me to when he read my email from last week on the subjective nature of truth):
“The greatest flaw of the species is its overwhelming tendency to mistake agreement for truth.”
DAMN. Read that again. Our biggest flaw—as humans—is to mistake being on board with whatever someone saying for it being true for you. Oy vey!
Listen, as I said last week (and maybe then I'll be done on this topic?) is that we all have to come to terms with the sh** we've been through. That sh** creates a lens through which we see the world. That becomes our story, and in essence, what is true for us. And people want to know what that is because, ideally, they'd like to avoid the same mistakes you've made that make you, well, flawed. But more than flawed, steeped in perspective, knowledge, and insight.
Share that. Please. It's what will set you apart and get people to pay attention to you, make you a thought leader and a mentor to people you've never even met. That's what builds a legacy.
xo, Lindsay
ps. If you're a leader, an entrepreneur, or an athlete looking to take your story to the next level, and want to create an impact never before seen, I've got you. Snag a free session with me here, and we can dissect and reframe what your personal or business brand story is, and how to ladder that up to high-impact messages so we can get you on the road to creating your movement and your legacy, starting now.
