It is very cool to me that every four years in the United States, we let go of the old and embrace the new. Let go of your political affiliations for a moment and take that in. Yesterday marked the end of one era and the beginning of another. Analysts have been providing us with their views of this experience for the last few weeks. What went well in the last four years? What went badly? What will he do in the next four years? How will he approach this crisis or that?
I call it a do-over. Pass go and collect $200. It is better than a New Year’s Resolution.
I love do-overs. An opportunity to try again to get it right, whatever “it” is in your world. I have been giving this a lot of thought.
We hold on to angst and guilt over mistakes made. Angst and guilt show in our face if we let it. A do-over offers the chance to let go of that angst and move on. You can be a new person in 2013, the person you have always wanted to be. You can define yourself in a new way, in a way that makes you feel better about yourself and offers your audience a new view of the new you.
It starts with you. How will you define yourself in 2013? Take the old material and rework it in a way that defines you better for the New You. Give yourself a new start.
The people you meet make impressions of you based on the information you send out. You are actually defining yourself in a mirror based on the “stuff” you send out. If you send out “stuff” composed of bad decisions and awkward moments from the past, then that is the vision that people will have of you.
It is like a mirror. Right now I want you to see me as a skilled, competent professional with knowledge and skills that can help you so much that you will buy my services. Actually I am in my jammies with bed-head writing at a messy desk in the semi-dark dawn badly in need of a shower. You would never know my true state if I didn’t tell you. I hide it so you get the best impression of me, the impression of me I want you to have.
The President of the United States, on the occasion of his inauguration, probably feels messy and badly in need of a shower in his head. He faces many difficult challenges in the next four year. He might have regrets and concerns mixed in with a little confidence about his accomplishments in the past four year. But today he projects a clean, shiny and proud image, confidently facing the future with lots of fans behind him. I admire his air of confidence. I want to go with him.
That can be you. What are you projecting? When I talk with you, what impression will I get about your view of your future? Are you confident or weighted down by past mistakes? Will I believe you have lots of fans behind you?
Don’t allow anyone to see your messy bed-head. That is your business. Only send out positive confident vibes. That is all I want to see from you today!