I was scared to death of it.

In fact, it was a class for college freshmen.

But there I was, twenty-one years old and with senior units, forced to finallybite the bullet and take Communications 101, otherwise known as Speech Comm. 

Yeah, the one where you have to stand in front of class, all by your lonesome, and … well, talk and stuff.

(((Yikes)))

Our first assignment was a “how-to” speech. Two to three minutes tops. How to do anything. Make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Tie your shoes. Make a cup of coffee. Whatever. Sounds easy enough.

But when it was my turn to “how to,” I showed the class how to refuse to give my speech. 

Nope. Not going up there, teach. I’ll take the F. Whatevs.

Our next assignment was to give a 5-minute talk on a current event. So I found the perfect story on the front page of the local newspaper.

Apparently, the Millers Outpost clothing store (remember them?) had been selling gang-related t-shirts. No bueno.

Fast forward to D-day, as in “Don’t Chicken Out and Get Another F” Day …

Mrs. Comm Teacher asked who wants to go next. In a moment of courage I raised my hand. Let’s do this!



BUT … the pretty girl next to me raised her hand at the same time. So, of course, I gave her the floor. Ladies first, ya know.

She stood in front of the class, pulled out a newspaper, and said …

“Today I will be discussing the controversial sale of gang-related attire at Millers Outpost stores.”

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

I was devastated. Thunder stolen. Sabotaged by my own chivalry.

And then, five lonnnnng minutes later, it was my turn. All eyes on me. 

But I wasn’t getting up from my seat. I pleaded with Mrs. Comm Teacher to let me pick another topic. I can give my talk next week! I mean, who wants to hear the same talk twice?

Needless to say, she wasn’t having it. I had no choice. 

Here goes.

I stood up, faced the class, felt my heartbeat pound through my chest, opened my mouth …

And crushed it.

Not only did Mrs. Comm Teacher love it, but so did my classmates. 

And so did I.

Who knew?

The introverted guy — the one who barely spoke to anyone — was a pretty darn good public speaker.

I’d found something I was good at without even trying to be good at it. And my whole life changed because of it. 

The rest is history — the YouTube videos, the keynotes, the podcasts, the mastermind presentations, the live Money Mind Academy lessons.

By identifying what I was good at without trying, I worked on getting better at it and now earn a living doing it.

So ask yourself, what are YOU good at without trying? What gift, strength, or ability seems to flow through you, effortlessly?

Then imagine what would happen if you actually tried. How could your life change? How could you change someone else’s life?

I always say that our purposes are right under our noses. We just can’t see them because we think they’re either too easy or too silly.

Easy is good. Easy is a strong indicator of purpose.

And if you think your purpose sounds silly, just remember that there’s a guy online who’s made millions of dollars by showing thousands of people how teach a parrot to talk.

Speaking of public speaking, today I’m onstage at my buddy Dr. Ben Lynch’s Dirty Genes Summit. 

What do I have to say about genes? Well, not a whole lot. That’s not my expertise. But one of the major keys to healing your body is a strong mindset.

When setting a health goal, the same success principles apply. Sign up below to listen in.

www.dirtygenessummit.com (My talk is TODAY ONLY.)

Damn, this post is long. My bad. It’s a chai latte day. Caffeinated AF.

Today on The Quote of The Day Show, speaker John Addison returns to further encourage you to find what you’re good at without trying, and then try!

Enjoy!

Enjoy today’s quote. Leave a comment below and let us know what you think!

Sean