My good friend of 12 years, Nathan Rooke, is an innovator, a businessman, a family man, a humanitarian, a philanthropist, and a dreamer. Once a year we would meet for lunch and catch up on our lives and our news. It was effortless to spend time with him. He’s a soaker of information. He listens with curiosity. He’s kind and encouraging. He’s also a thinker and a strategist; whatever he sets his mind to he will only pursue it one way: with excellence. We would share both business and personal stories. We would talk about our dreams and aspirations. We would speak openly of our challenges. With each visit, I would walk away inspired and grateful for his friendship. It’s not quantity that grows friendships; it’s quality. One of my favorite things about Nathan is how wonderfully present and engaging he is.
What happens when we are present? We are confident. We speak with confidence. We walk with confidence. We engage with confidence. When you are present, you carry a presence about you. This presence is what draws people to you.
Everyone has a presence. Yes, everyone. How do you present yourself, right now, today? Choose your presence. And stay true to it. (“How do I do that, KT?”)
Well, you can start your day like this “Today I choose to be present with everyone I come into contact with. Everyone matters, today. I will show humans that I am present. They will see it in the way I look into their eyes. They will feel it in the warmth of my smile. They will know it through my kind words. They will experience me simply being the best me. All I know is, when I am present, I exude a presence that positively impacts others.”
Please don’t ask me to contextualize this for you. You decide. You choose. What are your favorite yous? Live you – today.
How well do you engage in the moment, with the people standing in front of you? How easily distracted are you from what is presently happening in your current environment?
As a business leader, there are added benefits to being present with your presence. To list a few off the top of my head: camaraderie with your colleagues; happy staff that feel valued; heightened productivity; and teamwork in daily operations. When we are not vying for position and we’re content with our present place, our authority increases. Authority is the permission to ‘be’ who we are in the position we are entrusted with.
When we are engaging, we activate our inner-confidence. With inner-confidence is the contentment that, who we are, right now, is perfectly perfect. With this peaceful assurance, we can humbly walk in authority. What do I mean by authority, as there are many definitions? The one I am referring to is the power to influence others, especially because of one’s commanding presence.
The simplicity of being present can magnify our confidence; our confidence enlarges our presence; our presence expands our authority; our authority heightens our influence; and our influence increases our impact.
The times I am most inspired by people are in conversations that emerge because we are effortlessly present. In these moments, gold nuggets transpire and my day is doused with inspiration.
To those I’ve been in contact with either serendipitously, momentarily, seasonally, or lifelong journeyers: thank you for being present with me. You have no idea the type of impact you have when you share your presence with me. Thank you for choosing to be present with your presence. Don’t stop. It created a magic between us that can only be manifested through your inner-confidence. To the ones I have not yet met or not yet come into contact with: I look forward to encountering your presence.
World renown author, Wayne Dyer, writes, “Stop acting as if life is a rehearsal. Live this day as if it were your last. The past is over and gone. The future is not guaranteed.”
Karen Thrall