Our Brains Need Proof Not Promises
She had 18k followers and was an Olympic sprinter.
But I didn’t know that before I shot my shot.
I was working as a barista when she pushed the door open and stood in line. My right eye couldn’t help himself; he sensed there was something that needed his attention. He got his glance and her beauty woke my system like iced coffee with a shot of espresso.
I felt sorry for the customers in front of me. I was staring and smiling at them but was mentally and emotionally stolen by the slender brunette beauty that stood behind them.
As the neglected customers finished their order and moved to the drink handoff, my heart grew limbs and began to climb my vertebrae to my Adam’s apple.
Stay calm. Relax your body language.
What should I say?
Should I say anything?
Honestly, I don’t remember what I said, but it worked. She smiled and flipped her hair, and we continued to talk while I made her espresso macchiato with almond milk.
We exchanged numbers and she added me on Instagram and immediately liked my photo. When I got home and stalked her profile, I was shocked to see her following and platform.
Olympic sprinter and a health and wellness influencer who has experienced more than most in her first twenty-four years of life.
She’s dated NFL lineman and famous actors, men with statuses and achievements that I could I only dream of, and yet, she was texting and flirting with me — an introverted kid with 293 Instagram followers but equipped with a pen and paper and a dream.
I felt the same apprehension about creating an email list that I did when she approached the cash register.
Should I create an email list?
Am I a skilled enough writer that people will want my words in their inbox?
With the sprinter with a body that put male heads on a swivel and face that made the prettiest jealous, the questions were, am I attractive enough? Am I funny or charming enough?
Even though things didn’t work out between us, the answer to those questions was yes.
And I had two humans (subscribers just doesn’t sound right) this week that liked my words enough to want them tossed in their inboxes.
Our brains need proof from the real world that we are what we claim to be or what we want to be. Affirmations without evidence are weightless words.
Rejection is inevitable. But no is simply information.
We may not be good enough now, but with enough reflection, honesty, and dedication, we will be everything we want to be one day.
Michael Jordan, arguably the best basketball player of all time, got cut from his high school varsity team as a sophomore. Two years later, he was one of the best high school players in the country. And the rest is history.
By not taking your shot, saying hi to the stunner in the coffee shop, or throwing your prose around the internet, you’re committing the worst sin of all: rejection of self.
I’ll let Michael finish this one off…
“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” — Michael Jordan
The Inside & Out email list will help you achieve your internal and external goals.
