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