If I asked you to pick a word that you want to be known for, what word would you choose?
In a world that seems to push us to be rigid and divisive, and to hold on tightly to our differences and our egos, what if we pushed back and chose another way to be? Another word? What word do you want to be known for ---when you walk into a meeting or conference or a party or sit down at the dinner table? When people describe you, what words do you hope they say? Or, what do you say about yourself?
Here are some options from The Confidence Project “Word Box.”
Respectful. Open minded. Gracious. Dignified. Civil. Intelligent. Inclusive. Thankful. Curious. Well read. Patient. Polite. Thoughtful and thorough. Or how a client recently described himself to me, “I’m a gentleman,” he said. A gentleman. He also said, “I’m disciplined and hardworking and compassionate and personable and adventurous and flexible. And I’m cautious, but brave – brave enough to start and run my own business for 25-years.”
I asked him, "If I were to ask your clients about you, what would they tell me?”
“They’d say, “He’s professional, reasonable, fair, dedicated, a problem solver, for sure. He’s compassionate about our situation and tactful when he has to deliver bad news and trustworthy. My business is 100% referral. For 25-years, my clients have trusted me.’”
I asked him how he thinks his wife sees him and his adult daughters and his parents and siblings and peers and friends. You know, his people! His list of words was impressive. Not that he was trying to impress me. He wasn’t. I was asking him. He simply spoke from his heart with Confidence.
It is never too late to choose your words and to live them out. And when you do, you’ll feel more Confident and other people will have more Confidence in you.
It’s a virtuous cycle going up! And the view is amazing! Enjoy it.
Thanks for reading.
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