What Does "Show Them What You Can Do" Mean?

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Summary

• In terms of showing "them" what you can do, "them" is other people - but perhaps more importantly, "them" also includes one's inner voices of doubt.
• The "do" in "what you can do" means reaching your full untapped potential. This may be to please others or, perhaps more often, in spite of their criticism and doubts. 

Full Transcript

Hopefully you had a chance to see the first post in this series where I discussed the meaning of, “Get Yourself Out There.” In this post I will talk more about the second part, which is “Showing Them What You Can Do.”

In the first post, we talked about how “Get Yourself Out There” means getting your authentic self out there and no listening to nay-sayers. We also talked about how “there” is the place that matters, and the importance of not spending time in places that don’t matter, that are low impact.

But, with “Showing Them What You Can Do” – what do I mean by that?

Maybe the first thing to think about is: who is “them?” The obvious answer to that may be: other people. But perhaps more important - and this is a dynamic that professionals sometimes miss when trying to navigate their career – is that “them” can also be that resistance inside your own head. “Them” may be those internal voices that keep saying, “you can’t do it”. “Them” may be those voice of doubt or those internal voice that keep trying to convince you that, “this isn’t for you.” While it’s important to show other people what you can do, it’s just as important to show those voices of resistance and doubt inside your head what you can do.

In terms of, “What You Can Do” – for me, I think this has to do with manifesting your full potential. Let’s be clear: YOU have not reached your full potential. The reason I know that is because: nobody has. We all can do so much more than we do. “Showing What You Can Do” means diving deep into your potential that is untapped or in areas you are trying to develop.

You want to be a force of nature. I know for me, and this may be true for you, often times you may be eager to show people what you can do because you want to please others. But just as often if not more so, you may want to show what you can do in spite of their doubts or in spite of their criticism, that you can do it. I know not everybody is wired like this, but for me, that’s a really powerful motivator.

So that’s what “Showing Them What You Can Do” means to me.