BEING IMPRESSED & NOT IMPRESSIVE

BEING IMPRESSED & NOT IMPRESSIVE - Most of the time people think that if they can be impressive to others, they can gain influence. It's one of those wrong intentions to begin with. I've been in that situation before where being impressive with the material possessions that we have are our calling card. Heck, I was called Mr. Sole Slam, not for the brand I created back in 2011, but for the collection of sneakers that I amassed through the years. Most of us want to become the heroes of other people. We want to be larger than life.

Here's the problem with trying to be impressive and not being impressed instead.

We are not heroes, we are real life human beings. People can see the true us, for who we really are. Making it our goal to impress other people turns off people. A lot of them. And that's how I discovered the term "haters" as my prominence and influence grew. It was great for business, not for me personally. I never had the attention that I garnered before all this influence grew. And I can see and understand why a lot of people who rose to fame so quickly are struggling not just emotionally, but also mentally.

As heroes of many, we "puff" up our pride and end up being pretentious humans. It was such a turn off for a lot of people, and more importantly to myself. Today, I'm happy to be called and be known by my name by any person. I'm still struggling to this day to have the strength to tell people I don't know personally and to correct them, when they call me by my popular nickname Mr. Sole Slam. Maybe this is this moment. So if you're reading this, and you know me by my nickname only, please just call me Antonio or Antonio Aguirre. I'd be so much grateful if you do. And please, don't shorten my first name to "Anton" or "Ton" or "Tonio". Someone just called me "Tons" and "Antz". Those are not any of my names.

Going back to the topic, pride is nothing really more than just a form of selfishness, a pretense. It's only a way to keep people at arm's length so that they can't see who you truly are as a person. Instead of impressing other people, let them impress you.

I've seen so many of my peers in the industry that I was a huge part of for almost a decade struggle to keep up with trying to be "impressive", that they lose sight of who they really are. And I feel really bad for them because I know how fucking tiring it was to keep a reputation intact, instead of keeping your character intact.

It's all a matter of attitude adjustment towards yourself and others. Those that are charismatic, those that are attractive (based on attitude) to others, they're the ones who focus on other people, not themselves. That's going to impress someone like me. They know how to ask questions about others and how to listen. These people don't try to act like they're the center of attention. They also never try to pretend they're perfect.

This is also one of the reasons why I came to love and embrace myself even more. I find myself a lot more happier with what I do now. I love being a teacher, a coach and just doing what brings value to people that need them. This makes me really excited to go to sleep and wake up each morning. I really do.

I spend each day listening to other people and let them impress me instead with their growth or progress. This is what's great about being a coach for me. I get to ask the best and the right questions to people I want to see grow.

As a final word, I want to remind you something. People shouldn't be impressed with money, fame, material wealth, title or degrees. What I find really impressive today is how someone treats another person: With kindness, integrity, humility and generosity. Generosity need not be in terms of financial wealth, but of knowledge. Don't let anything hinder you from being a kind person.