The One Ability You Have That Can Change The Game.

Summary

The author overcame severe stage fright to pursue their passion for public speaking, demonstrating that starting and persisting, regardless of initial ability, is key to mastering a skill.

Abstract

The narrative recounts the author's journey from a socially awkward individual with stage fright to a confident speaker. Despite the fear of public speaking, the author's desire to make an impact led them to embrace the challenge of delivering a sermon to a large audience. The first attempt was fraught with panic, but the author persevered by relying on prepared notes, which eventually led to a successful delivery and positive feedback. This experience marked the beginning of a transformative process, where repeated practice and failure eventually led to improved speaking skills and self-assurance. The author emphasizes that greatness is achieved not by the perfection of initial attempts but by the commitment to improvement and the courage to continue despite setbacks.

Opinions

The author believes that personal growth and skill mastery come from the willingness to start and persist, not from innate talent alone.
They suggest that fear should not be a barrier to pursuing one's passion and that courage is acting despite fear.
The author quotes Franklin D. Roosevelt and Zig Ziglar to reinforce the idea that starting, even with the possibility of failure, is the first step towards success.
They reference real-life examples like Nick Vujicic and Claire Wineland to illustrate that physical disabilities do not preclude the ability to achieve and inspire.
The author echoes Malcolm Gladwell's theory that mastery requires approximately 10,000 hours of practice, emphasizing the importance of a learning curve and the inevitability of mediocre results at the outset.
They advocate for embracing criticism and failure as part of the learning process, arguing that these experiences are stepping stones to creating a masterpiece.
The author concludes with a quote from Winston S. Churchill, underscoring the belief that success is not permanent, failure is not fatal, and the true measure of success is the courage to continue.

If you can start, you can finish!

I remember the first time I had to face an audience, it was a sermon in my church- I had to give a Sunday school class to an audience of nearly a hundred people. Well not necessarily that I had to, it was more of, I wanted to. Okay, let's backtrack a little to give you some perspective. Up to that point, I've always been haunted by the words of Khalil Gibran;

“You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself, that you truly give.”

At this point in my life, I was constantly soul searching, I wanted to do more with my life. It wasn't about having a good job and a nice place, but what could make me whole and give my life some sense of purpose and meaning. what better way than to go for my passion- speaking and making an impact in peoples lives. But the problem was, I could not talk in front of an audience. I had stage fright- severe stage fright. I am someone you would refer to as socially awkward. In my lone time and in my head, I could give the most powerful and exhilarating speech, but not before anyone, and certainly not before an audience of this size.

At this point, I have talked myself into why I have to. For certain I know I will hate myself and never forgive myself if at least I didn't try. So I allowed my desire to make a difference to outweigh my fear of public speaking. I approached the head pastor and laid down my request, which I knew the outcome beforehand. He has always wanted me to take more responsibility at my local church and he was just excited I finally came through.

“Whatever is worth doing, is worth doing badly until you get it right.” - Les Brown

I knew I was going to flop, and I was ready for it. I may hate myself after I flop- sure! But I will resent myself more if I didn't try at all. So I had one week to prep and put my materials together, which I did diligently. I even went as far as writing an entire speech and an introduction. But I didn't want to speak from the note. I love to speak extemporaneously- from my heart. I took the notes anyway as a safety net. I prepared for the one-hour sermon like a general preparing for war.

Thus came the day, and I was introduced, with my journal and bible in hand, I climbed on the pulpit, opened my bible and journal, lifted up my head to have a look at the audience, and that was when it started- I panicked. Immediately I saw those eyes and faces glued to me, my heart failed me. My mind shut down! I literally can not remember anything at all. Everything I have been studying for the past 7 days, was literally nowhere to be found. I started mumbling some words, which today, I do not remember what the hell I was saying. I felt a lump on my throat, it felt like someone was choking me and my heart rate increased- I am officially in panic mode right now.

“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear.” - Franklin D. Roosevelt

Now I have one thought- turn over to my head pastor and call it quit. But at that moment, something occurred to me, that why don't I just read what I’d already written down on my journal. Somehow this little thought saved me and also saved the day. I turned to my notes and started spilling out what I've written, starting from the introduction. And I kept going, on and on until somehow, my mind began to remember the thoughts and ideas I forgot. That was how I kept talking for the next 60 minutes.

In the end, I got a round of applause and many positive feedbacks, and even though within me, I knew it wasn't great, I learned that it wasn't as bad as I had imagined it. From that time to this very moment, I have given plenty sermons and done numerous speaking engagements that at this point, whenever I have the chance to speak, I usually can't wait to get there and speak, if not for anything but to hear what I have to say. The process of doing it over and over again, failing over and over again, has strengthened my craft, grew my confidence and made me a better speaker.

“You do not have to be great to start, but you have to get started to be great.” -Zig Ziglar

Do not judge yourself by your inability to get something done at the first go. No one was born with an already finished talent. Even those with the innate qualities, (like athletes for example) have to put in some amount of time and effort into practising their craft. The greatest ability you are blessed with that guarantees your success is that you have the ability to improve and get better. Nothing is written in stones. There is not one thing that you're doomed to never be able to do. But we know, unfortunately, that some people are born with physical disabilities which have greatly impacted their lives. But we've seen stories and testimonials of many so-not-fortunate people who despite their disabilities have broken that barrier. Nick Vujicic is a good example here. Claire Wineland, the star YouTuber who passed 2 years ago from cystic fibrosis. Lived an incredible and inspiring life despite the unfortunate circumstances that surrounded her right from birth.

When you get on the race track of anything you wish to do, there is no denying the fact that you are going to suck. And that's just okay. It's one of those things you would have to go through. You will embarrass yourself, you will be criticised, as you rightly must. Accept it and say to yourself that it is the learning phase- I know I can get better if I continue to work on this. That is your superpower. That is why humans are the most unique species on the planet- we can start off bad, but when we stick to tasks, we come off as masters.

In Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers, he narrated the story of those who seem to be as the title stated, Outliers- rare, gifted and unique individuals. And what made them stand out to such degree is a culmination of various factors. Not the least of which is, a ridiculous amount of time spent in honing their crafts. He pointed out that someone who’s mastered his craft has invested roughly 10,000 hours into their work. This goes to show that, to attain excellence there’s a learning curve. A curve that you must, and you should go through. There is no shame in producing mediocre results if you are just starting out. Let the haters hate, the critics criticize. The good news is, you are on your way to producing a masterpiece. Keep going and fail forward.

The One Ability You Have That Can Change The Game.

If you can start, you can finish!

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”