A Few Things About Playing Big

. . . realizing my voice deserves to be at tables that matter, and acting accordingly.
 
. . . submitting an article to the NY Times, and not only to blogs read by a few people.
 
. . . taking seriously my desire to be in major media and getting trained to be in it.
 
. . . saying the controversial stuff in my writing.
 
. . . speaking up, speaking up, speaking up.

. . . we need to become extremely skilled at dealing with fear.
 
. . . we need to learn to live with fear as our travelling companion — present, but not in our way.
 
. . . we need people who “see the future that hasn’t arrived yet,” who see a vision of us playing big before we see it.
 
. . . we need training in the tactical stuff: speaking with power, pitching for impact, negotiating with strength and grace.
 
. . . we need purpose, because purpose lifts us out of fear into a bigger game.
 

Would you play bigger if you were less dependent on others’ praise?

 
Van Gogh sold his work in exchange for sandwiches. People many not “get” your work during your lifetime, and that doesn’t mean it isn’t valuable.

Would you play bigger if you were less afraid of criticism?

 
If we are afraid of criticism, it’s pretty hard to play big, since playing big means being revolutionary and that means invoking criticism.
 
Often the criticism we are most afraid of is what we already believe (deep down) about ourselves. When we change the beliefs we have about ourselves, criticism bounces off.
 

The Dalai Lama said it, not me.

 
“The world will be saved by Western women.” That’s what he said.
 
That will be pretty hard for us to do if we aren’t playing big.
 
Love,
 
Tara
 
Learn more about my women’s Leadership–Share Your Voice–Change the World program, Playing Big, HERE. Today is the last chance to sign up for a free call about the program. Sign up here, to listen live, today 12-1pm PST, or to get the recording.