no one is you and that is your power
in every single part of your life, promise
okay, so i was today years old when i realized that this prophetic phrase “no one is you and that is your power” is from Dave Grohl….like Foo Fighters Dave Grohl, good for him!
i was expecting someone more along the lines of a, Ralph Waldo Emerson or even a, C.S. Lewis, but that goes to show you, everyone has wisdom to share. hence, why I, not anywhere close to one of the great philosophers or writers of our time (until they discover this substack somewhere on the blockchain (????) in 2542), feel comfortable writing this newsletter, because me and Dave Grohl, basically the same.
“no one is you and that is your power.” now if we really absorbed that and took it to heart, what would that belief allow us to do?
in high school, i was obsessed with this Dr. Suess quote “be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.” my best friend even painted it on a canvas and gave it to me for my birthday, it was my internal motto. we didn’t have “affirmations” at the time. as i navigated ages 14-18 in a predominately white school in austin, texas…that quote helped me not repress, but appreciate exactly who i was. which was, not white, obviously. not blonde, not obsessed with football or football players, not wanting to go to college to become a nurse, not wanting to stay in texas after college, or even high school for that matter. i did not identify with the gen. pop if you will. but there was a long time i tried, you should see my freshman yearbook photo…can we say j.crew? but it was tiring and unfulfilling, so, slow and steady i started to come into my own. i was lucky to have the same friends throughout my metamorphosis back into who i really was. sperry’s or vans, they loved me all the same. i joke, but that was extremely helpful in me owning my identity and eventually becoming proud of who i was, which took longer. it started with acceptance from those whose opinions i probably valued most at the time.
i’m sure i’m not special and many of you reading felt the same way in high school, or college but i think recalling that time is important because the desire to fit in, or be liked doesn’t stop when you’re 18. the stakes might feel higher now — we might tell ourselves we’re just trying to do the best we can at work to get a promotion or we’re trying to make the right friends or meet the type of partner we see ourselves with — and that’s why we’re morphing.
but if “no one is you and that is your power” shouldn’t we be able to have every single thing we desire (and more) by embodying the greatness already in us? if you don’t feel there is greatness within you, that’s where you need to start. there is, and if you haven’t hit it yet, dig deeper.
everything i’ve “achieved” or “gotten” in my life (in quotations because i believe it was already drawn up for me, i just had to let the universe know i wanted it) i have because i am, myself.
when i was starting out in PR i would identify the hardest workers in the agency, usually the bosses’ favorites, and i would admire how they always had the right answers, we’re always busy, always early, and always staying late. and i tried to morph. i’d say, “i need to be more like so and so, she has it figured out.” and i’d try, i’d get in early, try to have the same type of answers and opinions that she did, i’d abandon my outside-of-work life to try and cement my identity through my career. it never worked long-term. it maybe got me a couple “good jobs”, MAYBE, serious maybe there. i repressed my actual point of view on a lot of projects that would have been more successful if i spoke my mind. my mind, not someone else’s.
i’m so lucky to have had an experience with a dear friend who i worked with before starting my own agency, that transformed my confidence in my own perspective. he allowed me to be exactly who i am, and it worked. i was performing and feeling better than i ever did. i really was proud of myself, for probably the first time in my career. i’ll never be able to repay him for that, and if you’re reading Ben, love you! without that experience, i wouldn’t be able to have my own agency today, which completely relies on me, being me, and being confident about it.
if you are consciously denying the significance of your presence, thoughts, dreams, and instincts, why would the universe give you opportunities to access your true power? what have you shown you can do with it?
listen, this isn’t me being preachy, although, i didn’t have to say it like that, sorry, but it hit right?? my tone comes from the seriousness of the matter. you are a big deal, you being happy, successful, and affirmed for the person you actually are, is a BFD.
i have plenty of more examples of how you being you will get you everything you want, that i’ll continue to share over time. and for the girlies looking for love, trust me i had to tap into the depths of the samara universe to find and keep matt (my fiancè), lol. that’s a newsletter that requires more than the lemon water i’m drinking now, okay, but i’s coming.
i love you, happy wednesday, we’re all a WIP, together, okay? xo
