What does it mean to cannonball with confidence
so today
we are going to start with a little bit
of self-reflection
so i want you to think back to when you
were 10 years old
and it’s a hot summer day now you might
remember
heading to the swimming pool or to the
lake
or to a rock wall that you were going to
jump off
for me when i was 10 i headed to the
swimming pool
and i can remember kicking off my
flip-flops before i
even got in the door i was so excited
to be there with my friends and i would
head over immediately
to the diving board i would do that i
don’t know if you remember
between a run and a walk the one that
the lifeguard always had to say
slow down because i was so excited
to be there as i was waiting in line
there were two diving boards you could
choose from a low board
and a high board i chose the high board
all of a sudden it was my turn
and i grabbed those ends of those
railings and i started to climb up
i remember that feeling of that metal in
my hands and that
metal on the bottom of my feet it was a
little warm i actually skipped over a
few rungs to get to the top
and when i got to the top
i ran off and made this
impressive splash
a cannonball do you remember those
and when i came to the surface i looked
around
and i wanted to make sure that everybody
was watching that my friends
saw that incredible cannonball
well now i want you to bring your mind
to where you are
right now your story your circumstance
and it’s a hot summer day and you’re
heading to the pool maybe by yourself
maybe with the kids maybe with your
grandkids
and you see that diving board
and you head over and you think
you know what this is great i used to do
this i have that i have that fearless
exhilaration i had when i was 10 year
old i think i’m going to try it again
and you get in line and your heart
starts racing
and it gets to be your turn
and you start climbing and at the third
rung
you’re stopped in fear
lack of confidence you’re stuck
why is it that we lose our confidence
as we get older
can any of you relate to what i was just
talking about in that story
of feeling as though you’re stuck
and you just can’t quite take the next
step
well statistically speaking you may find
it relatable
because believe it or not 70 percent
of people have felt stuck or are stuck
in their lives right now
and only 3 out of 10 people are
satisfied
where they are in their life 3 out of 10
confidence the definition of confidence
is trusting in your abilities
being able to take on challenges day to
day and feeling successful
at times when we get older
our confidence may begin to slide
our bodies change i check that box
our relationships change i check that
box
we face life altering experiences
like loss of loved ones health issues
retirement i want you to think of these
three words and reflect on these
do not resign
it’s not a time to throw in your
resignation
but rather it’s a time to explore
it’s a time to rediscover and a time
to reinvent well
amy how do we do that how do we do that
when we’re feeling as though we’re
losing our confidence
in three different ways the first way is
through self-reflection
secondly self-reliance
and lastly self-affirmations in our life
right now think of where you are in
your journey the decades of service
that you’ve given the lessons you’ve
learned the mistakes
you’ve made the knowledge that you’ve
acquired
when you think about where you are in
your journey
right now it inspires you
because you look back at what you
accomplish and you think wow
i did that remember
so when this friend of mine went back to
those job requirements
and self-reflected they said oh yeah
that’s right
in 1997 i managed that budget
of a million dollars i checked that box
and remember in 1999 i was heading up
that team of people for that project
those experiences translate
i want to challenge you to think about
your accomplishments
i like to call this developing your
highlight reel
we all have them but we tend to forget
i’m not just thinking about thinking
about what you did last week
last month in the last year
but actually taking time to reflect
on those experiences those stories those
mistakes that you’ve made
over the last 10 15 maybe 20 years
and use that experience to propel you
forward
your highlight reel you know it’s a
challenge
because a lot of times we want that
instant gratification oh i did that last
week perfect i’ll put that on there
that’s what i want you to do to build
confidence
is to take the time to self-reflect
and create your highlight reel
self-reliance let’s talk about that
self-reliance is trusting in yourself
in your abilities being brave
it takes courage to build confidence
it takes courage to not compare yourself
to others
and that’s a challenge these days with
social media
and everything at our fingertips
to not compare yourself to others and
not try to keep up with others
but be brave and pull your safety net
out
if you need to about eight years ago
i lived in germany and as part of that
journey and that experience
every february there was something
called a ski break
i know it sounds crazy doesn’t it i
still pinch myself
when i think of those trips but every
february and if you’re european you will
be able to relate
there was a week holiday where you were
able to travel
and ski each year we went to a different
place this particular year
we went to italy we traveled with other
families
there were about 12 of us and about day
three
i was tired i have to be honest
i’ll put it out there full disclosure i
was
the weakest link i was i was the weakest
link of the group
i ski i’m a little bit more of a blue
green
apple strudel hot chocolate kind of
skier
and that morning at breakfast i heard
some rumblings
a lot of the group wanted to go to this
particular part
of the mountain that was challenging
lots of black diamonds lots of
challenging courses
i remember overhearing
somebody say well i really want to do
that today but i’m not sure amy can do
it
and to be honest i had to rely on myself
on my instincts i had to realize that
you know what i know i can’t keep up
with you today and that’s okay
because you need to go and enjoy that
and i’m going to go do something
different i’m going to rely
on myself to be brave step out of my
comfort zone
so i kid you not i walked over to the
reception desk
and each day they had a list albeit in
it it was in italian
there was a list of activities that you
could participate in
i went over to the reception desk and
and there is this beautiful bowl
this beautiful ceramic italian bowl
filled with biscotti
well of course i had to grab one and i
was going to turn around
but this gentleman said bonjourno
i looked on either side of me and there
was no one standing there it was just me
he said hello i’m giuseppe i kid you not
his name was giuseppe
you can picture it in your mind and he
said you know what come join me today
come join me today on this snowshoe
adventure
why not right everybody else was doing
something that they enjoyed and were
confident about
why not i’ll give it a try and that
picture right there in that slide that
is me
that is me standing about i don’t know
seven kilometers in
to a hike in snowshoes which i had never
done before
crazy but so much fun
rely on yourself be brave trust your
instincts
the incredible rbg
once said ask yourself
how do i add value to my organization
and society
do i have a purpose that motivates me
to be my best self
about nine months before i turned 50 i
was sitting
in my house and it was quiet
i never have a quiet house i’m a wife
and a mom of three but at this point in
my life
two of mine had flown the nest and one
was in high school i was sitting there
and i was feeling stuck i didn’t know
where to go i was
asking myself these questions who am i
where am i
it was almost as if i was standing on a
road
with a map and i didn’t know where to go
i took that time to become my
own historian history
that word alone has the word story in it
you’re the keeper of your stories be
your own historian self-reflect
i created my highlight reel i used the
experiences i had
as a journalist early on working in pr
and my experiences as a wife
a mom a daughter a sister
because remember those experiences
translate
and it was right there i knew what i
wanted to do
i wanted to challenge myself i wanted to
rediscover and reinvent
and explore new opportunities i wanted
to embrace that feeling of being a
novice
so i launched a podcast crazy as it
sounds
this not so tech savvy woman said
you know what i’m going to do it i had
never listened to a podcast in my life
i honestly was more of a book on tape
check it out from the library type of
woman
but i did it and after many trips to the
genius
bar many youtube tutorials
and the power of google just think what
you have right now
at your fingertips how many times do you
google during a day
i was ready to launch my podcast
i was ready i remember the day like it
was yesterday
i sat in my office and i took a deep
breath and i went for it
it was a solo cast so that’s just me
talking
and at the end i so wish you could have
been
in the office with me because i was
high-fiving myself i was given a little
happy dance
i was thinking i just recorded the next
emmy
winning podcast episode i just know it
until i went back to check where the
file was
on my computer and you know what
i never hit record
no this woman this 50 year old woman
that was going to take on the world
by starting a podcast and and sharing
her message
couldn’t even remember to push record
fear it’s ever present
it takes up bandwidth in our mind every
day
but we can’t be stopped in fear
right we have to trust in our abilities
we have to be brave
and you know what we have to take that
cannonball that plunge
into that water and trust our abilities
you can’t talk defeat
and expect victory
i heard that two years ago in a
conference i attended
and i love it it’s so powerful you can’t
talk to feet and expect victory
our words inspire our actions
think of the incredible muhammad ali
he said i am the greatest of all time
he said that before he even knew he was
and he knew he had to believe it or no
one else would
we have enough people telling us we’re
not good enough
we need to shift that mindset with
self-affirmations
right treat yourself
as you would your guest of honor
when you have people to your home when
you welcome them to your house you
welcome them with love
and kindness and generosity and respect
start talking to yourself as you would
your child
or your best friend
i am healthy i am strong
i am beautiful whatever those
self-affirmations are for you
write them down put them on a piece of
paper
put them in your nightstand in your
purse on your mirror wherever
you can reflect on those in quiet
moments
you are the hero of your story
you are the historian of your life
do not resign
explore rediscover
reinvent
and now i want you to go back for a
moment with me
to the beginning of my talk
and i want you to picture yourself
at that swimming pool on that hot summer
day whether you’re there alone with your
kids
with your grandkids with your friends
i want you to walk over to that high
dive
and get in line and your heart’s going
to be racing because you’re so excited
and you look up at that ladder and you
climb to the very top
and when you get there you run
to the end you
wrap your arms around your legs like
you’re hugging yourself
uncomfortable heck yeah
pretty no but you’ve got to start ugly
and make that impressive splash that
cannonball
with confidence
and when you come up to the surface
take a deep breath and simply say
look at me now
thank you