Eagles, Bears, and Uniqueness (4-17-19)

Last week was about the power of gratitude. This week’s secret is about the power of our individual uniqueness.

An eagle flies over a forest, majestic and fast. It’s flown all of its life, and doesn’t really know any different. It looks down and sees a bear, huge and full of strength. The eagle says to himself, “I wish I had strength like the bear.” The bear is huge and strong, lumbering throughout the forest. He’s always been like that, and doesn’t really know any different. He looks up to see an eagle flying, majestic and fast. The bear says to himself, “I wish I had wings like the eagle, so I could soar through the skies.”

By now you’re wondering where this Aesop fable sounding tale is going. I was preparing for a job interview and I had a conversation with a friend/mentor of mine. She’s the type of person who gives you truth in a loving way (everyone needs someone like this in their life). I tell her why I wanted the role and what my story would be for the interview. I’m going over the top to establish that I’m smart and have the marketing chops to succeed (#makingupforinsecurity). After we talk through all of this she gives me that look. The look that says, “Andrew, you’re really missing the obvious and I’m about to drop knowledge.” Then she says something like, “Everything you said makes sense. I get that it’s important to you that you show people you are smart and a good marketer, and I believe you are those things and it’s important to talk about those things. However, don’t forget that there is a lot about who you are that’s important to bring to life for these people too.” From there she listed what she saw in me that differentiated me, which consisted of strengths that I wasn’t thinking about emphasizing because they seemed too “soft” and I wasn’t sure they mattered. Essentially she told me, “It’s cool that you want to show that you’re strong like a bear, and bears are great. However, don’t forget you are an eagle blessed with flight.”

If leveraging my uniqueness is so obvious to her, why wasn’t it so obvious to me? Why wasn’t I thinking of leading with this in the interview as opposed to trying too hard to feature something else? I think there are a few reasons. I think our uniqueness is part of who we are, and at times it is easy to forget that not everyone shares what makes you you. It’s easy to fall into the trap of saying, “But doesn’t everyone do this or bring this to the table?” The answer to that is no. Also, I don’t know about you, but sometimes I look at others, get a little jealous, and say, “I want to be like that. I want to be known for that.” Maybe I feel that the organization wants me to be just like that or that people really respect/admire/value one type of person over another. Maybe I’m insecure and just don’t always have the confidence in myself that I should. Do you ever feel this way?

The secret hidden in all of this is my uniqueness is worth more than I could ever know, and yours is too. The challenge: Can you see, accept, and embrace, your uniqueness?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Bonus thought: I’d like to say that since that conversation I’ve always remembered that I’m an eagle and that I should embrace my flight. However, I’d be lying if I said that. From time to time, I still get into this, “I want them to know I’m strong/smart/whatever” as opposed to embracing who I am and what I bring.

Avatar, Waterbending, and Tapping into Strength (11-14-18)

Last week was about Pink and the Brain and taking over the world. This week is about Avatar: The Last Airbender, waterbending, and accessing strength (so you can take over the world). Avatar: The Last Airbender is one of my favorite cartoons of all time. In case you aren’t familiar with the show it is a series about being alone, finding yourself, building friendships, good, evil, and growth. All of that packed into a kid’s cartoon. Pretty deep stuff. Anyway, the show introduces you to a world where “bending” exists. Bending is the ability manipulate elements such as earth, fire, air, and water.

The picture up top is Aang, the main character, practicing waterbending. Individuals blessed with the ability to bend, leverage martial art techniques to manipulate the elements. When it comes to waterbending, one of the most important things to understand is that the more water you have around you, the more powerful you can be. So, if you’re in a desert, your waterbending is going to be weak. However, if you were standing in the ocean, your power could almost be limitless.

We’re getting a little weird, so let’s get weirder. What if I told you that we are all waterbenders? Obviously, I don’t mean that I believe we can all manipulate water. What I do believe is that we all have strengths and sources of power that we can tap into. I also believe that if we surround ourselves with the right people and energy that we put ourselves in a better position to tap into this power.

What I’m about to say will sound dumb, but hang in there with me. One of the most important things I do at work is include memes and goofy pictures in emails I send to people. Yep, you read that correctly. One of the most important things I do at work is send memes to people. It’s also important for me to wear superhero socks, be in a general state of nerdiness, constantly be making jokes, use sarcasm, and tell stories in unique ways. It’s also incredibly important for me to be surrounded by people with positive energy and joy.

If you would look at those things, you couldn’t draw direct lines to my effectiveness or productivity, so you might be wondering why they are so important. Here is how I think about it. I “bend” creative energy. I connect things and people. That’s my power. Essentially, all of those things I listed off (socks, nerdiness, good energy, sending memes, making jokes, generally giving me the space to be weird, etc.) keep me surrounded by “water”. If I can have all of these things it means I’m in the right culture, surrounded by the right people to give me what I need. If I can have all of those things, I’m a water bender standing in the middle of the ocean, where my power is near limitless. In this state, I am as powerful as I can be, and most equipped to make a meaningful difference. Is this making any sense? Have you ever felt like this, where you were surrounded by all of the right people and things to help you tap into your strength? Have you ever been on teams where you weren’t surrounded by the right things, and it was difficult to tap into your strengths (like a water bender in the desert)?

The challenge: What are the things you need in order to surround yourself with “water”? What are you doing to give “water” to others? Give someone some water today.

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Share your Light (1-14-15)

Last week was about mindsets, being a strong dragon, and inspiring others to be strong dragons. Now that we’re in the right mindset, let’s think more about what we want to do this year. Dragons get me thinking about fire and light sources, so let’s think this week about developing and sharing our light aka getting our shine on.

If you’re anything like me, when I start thinking of goals for the year one of the things I think about is where I want to improve. I naturally think about my weaknesses. At first glance, there isn’t anything wrong with this chain of thinking, but why should I just worry about my weaknesses. I have an entire collection of things I’m good at, so why I don’t I think about them during this time as well?

This is where the light connection comes into play. Our light is the collection of our strengths. These could be skills, personality traits, attitudes, leadership, etc. Why wouldn’t I make a decision to help me leverage my bright spots? This is where you can make a decision concerning what you want to do with your light. Do you want to make it brighter, share it with more people, or both (aka the jackpot scenario)?

For example, you’re good at strategic thinking and you decide to sharpen this skill even more. You make this strength shine brighter and it helps you throughout the year. Maybe you have something you are already really good at, so instead you want to share this light with more people. For example, maybe you are great at motivating people by recognizing them for their work. You decide that you want to apply this skill and make an effort to recognize more people. Share your light. This example is based off of someone I know who did this last year. They decided they would write 2 recognition notes every week and send them to different people. You can bet the farm that people benefited from this person sharing their light. I was lucky enough to receive one of these notes, and you better believe it put some pep in my stem.

Bottom line, how can you do both? How can you address a weakness, AND also work on shining your light?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry