Welcome to another edition of Unshakable, Unbreakable, Unstoppable Stories with Bonnie Jean.
Ever had a secret dream? But when you had a chance to live that secret dream, you froze?
I had one of those moments in the sixth grade. It started when I had to memorize the Hippocratic Oath and recite it in front of my sixth grade class.
When I got the assignment, I was so excited about the chance to stand up in front of my class and speak. That was my secret dream: speaking and performing in front of people.
I had that Oath memorized backwards and forwards. I practiced and practiced and practiced so that I could recite it without even thinking and make something that uninteresting be entertaining so my audience would want to listen.
The day of the speech finally came. I was nervous, but I knew I was ready. I stood up and stared at the dozens of pairs of eyes staring back at me. Then quiet little me started speaking.
I delivered it perfectly, just like I had practiced. Everyone clapped when I finished, and I loved that feeling. Even my teacher was smiling.
A few days later, the entire sixth grade class in the school gathered for ‘Greek day.’ I’m not sure how many kids there were altogether, but between the three or four different classrooms, there had to be close to a hundred.
Anyway, as all the kids were gathering in the gym dressed in their togas, my teacher told me that because I did such a good job with the Oath, she wanted me to recite it in front of everyone. Right then. Right there. In just a few minutes.
Being an obedient student, I nodded, affirming that I would do it. But I wasn’t prepared to speak in front of such a large audience. I wasn’t mentally ready. Perhaps if she had given me some warning the day before, I could have practiced and been ready to face everyone my age.
Shortly after everyone took their seats, I went up to the podium after my teacher introduced me, looked out at the crowd and started speaking. I got through the first line. And the second. Then my mind went blank. Completely, totally, 100% blank.
I couldn’t remember the next word. Or the next. Or any other words of the oath. I stood there, frozen, not saying anything. Not blinking. Not breathing. Nothing. When I realized the speech was lost to me, I looked at my teacher, told her I forgot the words and sat down, completely embarrassed and humiliated.
The worst part was that I let my teacher down. She believed in me enough to give the quiet girl in her class the chance to live her dream, and I blew it. From then on through college, I hated standing in front of a live audience because I was afraid I would freeze again and not remember what I was going to say.
I kept beating myself up over that one moment and convinced myself I was a horrible speaker who hated getting up in front of crowds. Deep down, my dream still existed, but I kept it buried to save me from further embarrassment.
What I should have done was learn from my mistake so that I could be better the next time. That’s how I would have gained confidence.
Confidence in something you’re good at comes from repetition. I let one bad experience keep me from living my dream.
Don’t do what I did. Don’t give up on your dreams just because you don’t succeed right away.
You have to start somewhere, and most people start being really bad at something before they have a chance to be really good.
When you learn what you’re better at than anyone else, that is the foundation of your unshakable confidence.
To Your Dreams,
Bonnie Jean
P.S. Please don’t wait as long as I did to find your unshakable confidence! Life is really much more fun when you set goals and take action to make them happen. No matter how old you are, you can be an unshakable, unbreakable, unstoppable Dream Doer today! To help, I want to give you three FREE gifts, which includes the entire audio book of The Dream Doers and the Summer of Secrets. To claim your FREE gifts, visit TheDreamDoers.com now.
