How do you measure up?

In his book, What To Do When It’s Your Turn, Seth Godin talks about, The pain of having to measure up in a world that keeps telling us that we don’t, versus the pain of being “free”.   The pain of living with the opportunity to make difference. 

It’s what I call, the pain of deciding not to measure up at all. 

When I was in medical device sales, it was a constant rat race of measuring up. Every case, every day, every week, every month, watching the sales. How was I going to measure up against the guys in the room, the people in my district, the state, the nation? 

The competition was invigorating and grueling at the same time. I was always working harder to do more and more.  Because inevitably there were days when I found out I came in one device short, for the month, the year, making presidents circle or being first place.

Oh, the pain. 

But when I left, I traded it for a different kind of pain. The pain of saying, Here, this is my heart. This is what I was made to do. What do you think? 

I had such a hard time trying to figure out what to call my new role with HeartStories.

I am by default, the President.  I’m also the CEO and the “Chairman” or Chairwoman of the Board.  Do any of those sound like the me you know?

No way.

I needed a title that actually represented the role I wanted to play, the reason I started the company. 

This was serious business for me. So I journaled about it. I worked with coaches about it. I went through an entire naming program to come up with our tagline among other things, which included needing to name my role.  Many thought I was over thinking it.

But I knew I wasn’t. 

Then, one day, in a Skype session with Victoria Prozan, while sitting in an office at INK PR in Austin with Starr, the name Chief Love Amplifier emerged. I almost squealed with joy. I knew it, the second I heard it. That was me. That was my heart. My HeartStory. 

I want more than anything to amplify love in this world. 

I want women to love themselves more, love each other more and to spread love to the ends of the earth.  There is no real life, without love. 

I’ll never forget the day I changed my LinkedIn job title to Chief Love Amplifier, I got so much flak. In the results-driven world I previously called home, I was giving myself this title?

I’ve had everything from come-ons, to flat out being made fun of.  I was told that no one would ever take me seriously with that kind of title. People told me I needed to stop goofing off and get serious.

It was painful.

I thought about changing it to president or CEO so people would take me seriously. Then, I remembered why I had that name in the first place.  It had nothing to do with earning respect by other’s standards. 

It has nothing to do with measuring up. 

I started HeartStories to create more love. That starts with me, loving myself enough to deal with the pain of not measuring up.  

At least not to their standards. 

I’m choosing to make a difference.  I’d rather live my life amplifying love in the world around me any day, than to hold the highest ranking on a sales report.  

I’d rather have a headstone that reads: She amplified love to everyone she touched. Than she ran a cool company or she was the number one sales rep.

What about you?  Where’s your pain?

Your path almost certainly doesn’t look like mine.  We all have our own paths.

Where in your life are you trying to measure up?  Trying to fit in? Never feeling like enough?

There is an alternative, but it isn’t easy.  Easy isn’t worth it.

You can choose to exchange measuring yourself against someone else’s standards, for setting your own.

You can light your world with the light only you can shine.

Will you? 

To more love,

Crystal

P.S. If you need a little encouragement today check this out.   #YoureEnough