Botched delivery of baby Taylor (I’m sending her back)

What a disappointing day.

Here’s the back story:

For some time now I’ve been wanting to teach myself to play guitar. I used to play a bit when I was a kid, but didn’t keep with it.

I think it’s a perfect hobby…

Other than the guitar, it’s not too expensive. It’s something you can do by yourself (which is what I am most of the time). And when you are in groups (and you know how to play), it brings people together.

Anyways… when I went to purchase a guitar in Brazil, I nearly fainted. There wasn’t a lot of selection and the stock that was there was freak’n expensive — we’re talking 4x of the price here.

Knowing that I was going to be in the states during the 4th of July, I waited to order one while here.

I ordered the guitar and like a kid on Christmas eve waiting for Christmas morning, I waited for her (Taylor is her name) to arrive.

First came the guitar picks…. then the guitar tuner… but no guitar!

I received an email from the seller that it was going to be delayed!

SOB’s… you’re killing me!

A few days later I woke to a text that my baby was going be delivered.

With baited breath, I waited and waited and it finally arrived….

CRACKED.

You can imagine the disappointment, frustration and anxiety (that I won’t be able to exchange it by the time I return to brazil). I had built up all this anticipation, excitement and it was destroyed in an instant.

Poor me, right?

F-that. I allowed myself to feel those emotions for all of 3 minutes and then shifted into ‘solution’ mode.

It’s an ability I’ve harnessed after working so many years in personal development and speaking for so long (it’s not difficult).

And you will too because:

Disappointment, frustration and anxiety are part of the speaking game. It’s IMPOSSIBLE for you to become excellent at speaking without experiencing one of the 3 and probably all of them frequently.

If you don’t feel this way at some point, you aintz trying hard enough, ma frend.

It IS disappointing when nobody signs up after a talk.

It IS frustrating to put a crap load of time and effort into a speaking event and nobody shows up.

It IS normal for you to feel anxiety about speaking in front of 100 strangers.

The trick is not to stay in those states of mind very long. Give yourself a pity party, a tantrum, a cry for a moment or two and then move on.

Knowing what you can control and what you can’t allows you to focus on the stuff that you can control and now worry about the stuff you can’t.

And if you do mess up (you will), don’t beat yourself up over it. What is done is done. Shift your perspective.

If you’re a reader of mine for any length of time, you’ve noticed how much I jabber on about mindset, psychology, perspective etc… because we (Roberto and I) feel it’s one of the most important factors of your success (or failure).

It’s a skill that you can develop and it will serve you well in all areas of your life, not just speaking.

We go deep on what causes speaking anxiety and how to create a powerful mindset so you won’t feel so frustrated (and if you do, how to get out of that state fast) in our Chiro Speaking Club.

The journey to an unshakable mindset starts here:
http://www.chirospeakingclub.com

Jeff Paro
The Chiro Speaking Club