Fiercely Operating in Your Personal Power

my son just recently turned 18.

one of his birthday gifts was a book

that asked the question

how many people does it take to make a

difference

the answer is simple it’s one it takes

one person to make a difference

and the book walks through various

concepts based on the power

of one it illustrates the beautiful fact

that we

all have the power to make a difference

the sad part is we don’t always realize

that

the reason we pick that particular book

for him is because

he like many of us needed a reminder

of his power you see earlier in the year

he participated in a talk about what it

was like to be a young black man

in america in one of his responses to

a question about how he copes he

expressed

i’m not in a position and i don’t have

the power to do something

right now so i make sure to remember how

i’m feeling when i’m angry or frustrated

so that when i am in the position in the

future

to do something about it when i do have

power i can make sure i remember how i

felt

and use that to bring about change

now it was heartbreaking to hear him

essentially say he felt

powerless to change the injustices that

he was seeing

in the world but i can certainly

understand where he was coming from

we’ve all felt powerless at some point

in times in our lives

even as adults so you could see how a

then

17 year old might have felt

that’s why i was so proud that one week

after he turned 18

he cast his ballot in the first election

that he was eligible to vote in

he finally felt he was in a position of

power

seeing my son go from powerless to

taking action

caused me to think about the real

definition of power

what’s the first thing you think of when

you hear the word

is it force control

corruption the word often has a negative

connotation

but power essentially is the ability to

influence

or control an outcome power can come

from money

or fear but also from knowledge and

skill

or the perceived right to influence

think entitlement it can be meant

and used for good or bad

the one type of power we can all develop

is personal power

that’s the type of power my son felt he

lacked

but it’s actually the type of power we

can ultimately

all possess it’s the power within us

that comes from utilizing the strengths

competence and confidence we gradually

acquire

throughout the course of our life so

while you may not have a fancy title

you still have power some of us have

more influence

and authority than others but we all

have power

and that power your personal power

and the actions you take you take can

impact your life and the lives of others

in a positive or negative way

depending on how you choose to use it

i believe we should redefine our

thoughts about power

by recognizing the importance of our

individual personal power and the

importance of making decisions

that use that power for good if we all

sought to make one positive action each

day

even if small think about the kind of

world transformation

we would see so let’s break down

personal power into two concepts

to see how it can help us all bring

about positive change

first we’ll talk about possessing

knowledge or skill

which are your strengths then we’ll

discuss having the confidence to use

and share those strengths strength

is the quality of being strong

physically

or mentally and it’s also the first

component to personal power

using your personal power can be done

through physical acts

such as casting your ballot in an

election

just like my son did or as an act of

service

such as volunteering at a non-profit or

school

while identifying and utilizing your

physical strengths

can be easy what about your mental

strengths

how do you identify those and how do

those

factor into your personal power

your knowledge ideas and experiences

are all a part of your power for example

as a black woman serving on a board that

isn’t diverse

i use my mental strengths and knowledge

to ensure

diverse perspectives are represented at

that organization

now you might be wondering how do you

identify your

mental strengths especially when you’re

young

or in early adulthood and trying to

figure out who you are

or how you fit into the world

mentors coaches teachers and bosses

all are great resources to help you

identify

and uncover your strengths

or discovering your strengths can happen

when you try something different

you’d be amazed what you learn about

yourself when you try something new

every time we take a personality test

or other assessments that evaluate our

aptitude or ability

they can be very helpful in identifying

our strengths as well

there are quite a few free legitimate

assessments

that can provide insight into your

strengths

for example i did one that told me i’m

a connector a multiplier i think

in terms of possibilities such as

wouldn’t it be great if i connected this

person

with that person because together

they’re the perfect combination to

complete a project

i’m always looking for ways to connect

two or more things

to make something even bigger and better

that assessment helps me to discover my

love

for strategy and determining how to

bring

resources people ideas

and technology together to accomplish a

goal

it’s one of my strengths that makes me a

great marketer

and that i share freely with others

confidence is the other vital component

to your personal power

and it’s the feeling of self-assurance

and appreciation

for your qualities and your abilities

competence is also important to being

confident

because competence is the ability to do

something successfully or efficiently

confidence comes from knowing your

thoughts ideas

and opinions are valuable it can be

expressed in the way you walk

talk or even carry yourself confidence

can be having the courage

to advocate for yourself because you

understand

your worth you know the value you add

and what you deserve

it can even be advocating for others

women are often taught to be seen and

not heard

to be modest or humble and to not really

talk about our accomplishments

however your voice and using your voice

to share your ideas and experiences with

others

is a great way to use your personal

power so once you identify your

strengths

and what those are become confident

enough to share them

see i’m confident in my competence

at marketing so much so i do it as my

day job

but i also have a business so that i can

work on passion projects on my own

i even speak and write about marketing

and i also volunteer

my expertise to organizations by serving

on boards

in a marketing capacity i believe that

doing all of those things not only makes

me a great marketer

but i see it as a way for me to share my

knowledge and expertise

as a form of giving back and you can too

in your own way using your own strengths

it’s really transformational when you

choose to use your personal power

to benefit others finding ways to use

your strengths to bring about positive

change

will make you a better citizen and

that’s when

you are fiercely operating in your

personal power

maybe it’s through teaching a course to

aging adults

to allow them to understand and embrace

technology

or mentoring young women and sharing

your knowledge

in an area you’ve mastered so that you

are helping to prepare the next

generation of leaders

there are so many ways to use your

physical

and mental strengths and exercise your

power

we are all powerful simply because we

have the ability to change

and influence things by using our mind

and through our actions

every time we act in service of each

other

by offering our talents time and energy

that’s an act of personal power whether

it’s mentoring or donating to a charity

or volunteering for an organization that

is trying to solve a world problem

and voting to help create a world that

benefits us

all we each have the ability to do

things that make an

impact it’s up to you how you use your

power

to change the world if you don’t

remember anything else from my talk

please remember these words from plato

which can apply to everyone

the measure of a man is what he does

with his power

thank you