Cobbler, stick to your last?

Well, I guess everybody knows this proverb: "Cobbler, stick to your last!"

And first of all, there is nothing right nor wrong with this statement. As "right" and "wrong" just don't exist in the Universe. "Right" and "wrong" are nothing but human inventions, to ease our mental pain of not being able to deal with the complexity of the world around us. But that's another story to be told elsewhere...

So, if you are a shoemaker and you love your job, then please stick to your last! Definitely!

Me personally, I'm a great admirer of the art of shoemaking! Some say, my love for shoes goes a bit too far... I just say: "You just need bigger shoe cabinets and then everything will be alright!"

But of course, the proverb "Cobbler, stick to your last!" must not be understood literally, only. There is also its metaphoric meanings which say things like: "Stick to what you have learned!" or "Stay in your comfort zone! Outside, it is far too dangerous!" or "If you don't take a risk, nothing can go wrong!" or "Be happy with what you've got!"

"Cobbler, stick to your last!" comes by the way from the same author who said "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush!" In the best case, everything should always stay the same. Forever! Oh yeah, the good old times!

Well now, if all of us would always have stuck to the old wisdom of our ancestors, we would probably still be living in caves and hunting and gathering. And maybe, just maybe, the planet that we are currently guests of, would be in a much better shape... who knows?

Anyways, it's a fact: There have always been and there will always be people who say to themselves: "What the *beep*! Let's just do it!" and then they let their lasts be their lasts and simply embark on a journey to new shores. Taking the full risk!

Just imagine, Steve Jobs would have been a "cobbler" and "stuck to his last". In this case, we wouldn't have our beloved, modern smartphones today. At the beginning, people laughed at him. The other Steve, the former CEO of Microsoft, is reported to have said, that "the iPhone doesn't have a future". Well, you know, one can be wrong from time to time... that's just human!

Steve Jobs didn't just want the bird in the hand, nor the two birds in the bush. What he wanted was them all! He wanted to be the Lord of the Birds. Or, in his own words, "leave a dent in the Universe". That's so far the most blatant opposite of "Cobbler, stick to your last!".

So far so good, but where does such common wisdom like "Cobbler, stick to your last!" come from. There must have been someone who was fully convinced that taking risks is not a good idea at all. Maybe he or she has made some bad experiences with taking risks, personally or in his or her environment. And then, he or she started believing that risk is totally bad. And that is when a limiting belief is born, which, in the brain of the believer, becomes the truth. And finally, all you need is a number of "followers" and then your personal belief becomes common wisdom. That simple!

As the name suggests, a limiting belief limits our freedom and/or abilities, which can be pretty unhelpful, as we are going to explore below. And then, on the other hand, there are all those other beliefs that help us live our lives and prevent us from going crazy because of the complexity of the world around us... Just imagine your own life, if you wouldn't believe into anything! How could you fall asleep at night, if you wouldn't believe that you are going to wake up next morning? And how would you dare to drink your coffee or tea in the morning, if you wouldn't be fully convinced that you are able to drink properly? How would you dare to walk down the stairs, if you wouldn't be 100% sure that you are capable of doing so without falling? And how would you dare to drive to work in the morning without the strong belief that you are a good enough driver?

It is the sum of all those little beliefs that is the foundation of our self-confidence which allows us to live our lives in this complex environment. If everybody would have to question everything at every single moment, the human world would fall apart immediately and forever...

Well then, the majority of those beliefs inside ourselves are pretty helpful and shouldn't be questioned or touched at all. If something works like a charm, just don't ask why! Be happy and enjoy... and don't ask why you shouldn't ask!

"The fastest way to make your luck disappear, is to ask why it is there."

But next to those helpful beliefs, there is also a number of those so-called limiting beliefs that are not good for us as we said before...

In those many years working as a speaker coach, one of the sentences that I've heard the most was "I'm not a great presenter at all. Every time I walk up on stage, I can hardly breathe and then I completely forget what I wanted to talk about."

And here it is: Yet another limiting belief that becomes the truth in a person's mind. "I'm not a great presenter" translates in our brains into "I've never been, I'm not, and I'll never be a great presenter". This is what's called a generalization. And good luck with that!

And the same is true about "Every time I walk up on stage, I can hardly breathe." Is has always been like this, is is like this, and it will always be like this! Full Stop! Have you ever heard about self-fulfilling prophecies? Well, this is one of them: Whenever this person walks up on stage and can hardly breathe, this is just another proof point that strengthens the limiting belief... a vicious circle!

Now, let's have an even closer look at this: "I'm not a great presenter at all." The question that I immediately want to ask, is: "What does it mean to be a great presenter in this person's world? And with whom or what does this person compare him or herself?"

And, whenever I ask my coachees such, I hear names like Steve Jobs or other skilled professional speakers, e.g. from TED Talks or the like. But that's clearly a totally unfair comparison, because even the greatest speakers have started small. Simply compare presentations from Steve Jobs when he started his career, with one of his last keynotes when he was CEO of Apple for the second time... All those famous speakers have started small and have become better and better, by practicing and listening to their performances and by taking feedback.

"Feedback is the breakfast of the champions." (Ken Blanchard)

So, do yourself a favor and only compare what should be compared! Compare yourself with your previous self and your future self only! Everything else is unfair and doesn't help you at all!

If you compare your second-last and your last performance, is there anything that has improved? Maybe less cold sweat? A lower pulse rate? Better breathing? A better voice and less filling sounds? Have you managed something that you weren't able to manage before? Have you made your audience chuckle for the first time? These are those little success moments that you should focus on because these are the milestones on your journey to become a better and even better public speaker!

Here's a better version of "I'm not a great presenter at all": "I'm NOT YET the great presenter that I'd like to be. But I'm getting better every time. Currently, I'm working on a better and more relaxed breathing."

If you say something like this to yourself again and again, this will have a much better impact on your pubic speaking skills than the limiting belief from the past... NOT YET is the magic formula that leaves breathing space for you and your growing. It opens doors in your mind and your brain starts believing that you can reach your goal in the future. Whereas "I'm not a great presenter!" is sealing those doors in your mind and prevents you from moving forward. By allowing your inner voice saying those bad things to yourself, the self-fulfilling prophecy is already fulfilled. A mental dead end...

So, why don't you take a couple of minutes of your time and go through your mind, searching for your own limiting beliefs. And then simply exchange the words "I can't" with "I can't yet" and just enjoy the difference... that might be the beginning of a whole new life for you! Just try it out!

And maybe, just maybe, you decide to no longer stick to your last and to set out on an exciting journey into the yet unknown... and please don't forget to send me a postcard when you're there!