Ever had a moment like this?
I stood before the audience.
A hundred faces stared at me, waiting. I was the keynote speaker, the
medium-sized attraction. This was it. But my mind went blank. I remembered my
name but after that there was_______________ (exactly, nothing). Just a big
space my words weren’t occupying.
The crowd coughed, trying to jolt me into
action. Somewhere in the distance a fire engine passed, siren-blaring. Perhaps
sent to rescue me. I gulped but the ground refused to swallow me up. Both of
us, the floor and I, our mouths seized shut. That’s when I walked off the
stage.
Since that accidental awkward
silence, over ten years ago, I’ve spoken publicly over 400 times. That one-off moment
taught me a great deal about preparation. “Achievement” writes journalist
Malcolm Gladwell, “is talent PLUS preparation”.
You can’t just turn up and perform. But when it comes to preparation,
the secrets for doing well in the future often lie in the journey we’ve already
made.
So, let me pose a question.
What would the line of your
last decade look like if you were to chart the up and downs?
My guess is it
wouldn’t be a straight line, but more like a pulse rate monitor. There would be
ups (I hope), downs (alas, they happen to us all, some of them whilst public
speaking) and flat bits where you really weren’t sure what was going on. Or is
that just me every morning before caffeine takes effect?
Imagine doing this on a piece
of blank paper. Horizontal line across the middle marking out the last ten years
to the present day. Vertically up the left hand side a scale from -10 (the
sad-awful stuff) rising to +10 (the amazing-proud stuff). Oh, just like that
picture there. How handy.
Imagine your line. Its course would be unique. If it
looks random, this confirms you are a human not a robot.
Now, a single line can never
capture the story of your last decade. Our
lives are rich and strange (or is it just strange to feel rich?) But doing this
simple exercise, on paper or mentally, can help pick out key high/low moments from
which to learn. A strange paradox: Preparing for the unknown. I so happen to
believe life is not an accidental mish-mash but we can influence the lines our
lives take.
The day I write this is the
10 Year Anniversary of the mentoring work of Lifespace Trust. A decade in which
our mentors have individually supported 968 young people. We’ve had ups (I’ve
just been handed a cheque for £10,000 towards our work!) and we’ve had downs (a
few significant mistakes of my doing come to mind).
Ten years ago I sat in a
café in Stratford and on a blank sheet of paper I wrote what I wanted to see
happen. Then with a clear idea of what I wanted, I talked to people who knew
what I needed to know, and who cared. This afternoon I’m going out to the same
café - but for a fresh coffee - with another blank sheet. I will chart the
course of our last ten years, like you can do yours. Then ask some questions.
Notice the highs: ‘What might
this suggest? How can we do more of that?’
Look at the lows: ‘How did
that happen? What can we learn from
that?’ Then talk it through with trusted people to get a 360° perspective.
