Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart.
Confucious
The following is a snippet from an article in The Washington Post written by Pulitzer Prize winning dance critic Sarah L. Kaufman.
While the article gives a peek into the world of ballet, it is the last sentence that devastatingly speaks to the core of “confidence.”
The ability to receive the good people offer.
Without that ability all the business and communication books in the world are of little help or meaning.
Really. . .
One night, former ABT principal Susan Jaffe and her dance partner Jose Manuel Carreno left the theater to find a table in the walkway set with chocolate cake and punch, while a crowd of fans in paper hats sang “Happy Birthday.” (The dancers’ birthdays fall in the same month.) Admirers also have given Jaffe paintings, letters and, once, a mink coat.
The gifts were astonishing, Jaffe said, and simply being greeted with appreciation after performances always moved her.
But at the final performance of her 22-year career, she made a concerted effort “to open up to the audience,” and this, she said, is when she arrived at a different understanding of those who sought only to give.
Taking bows that night, being showered with applause (and flowers), ‘was almost a spiritual moment,’ she said.
“In my whole career, I was so busy worrying about my balances and my performance that I forgot about receiving. I didn’t spend enough time appreciating being the receiver of love.”
We don’t often – if ever – put the words “love” and “business” into the same sentences.
We receive deadlines, feedback and complaints. Love? Not often. Not much.
However, confidence implies being able to receive.
What are the compliments you receive?
Is there a running theme to them?
It’s been said that compliments reveal our genius.
I love that!
So – what’s your genius?!
now THAT’S the business of confidence!
Do you want to hone your Emotional Intelligence
so as to develop and nurture successful professional relationships?
To explore how life- skills coaching can help you live your life
with enhanced confidence – and joy
please contact me
JP@thebusinessofconfidence.com
818-415-8115