Owning Your Superpower

by Hilary Bilbrey

As a speaker, returning to an in-person event after 18 months of being on Zoom was everything. Speakers feed off the energy in the room and are trained to make quick pivots based on the response. It feels like riding Space Mountain at Disney – you know the basic journey, but you can’t always see the turns and loops ahead, and those are the moments that take your breath away and leave you wanting more.

In October, I had a gig lined up that required me present the same workshop six times, three a day. Day one finished and I was not feeling it. I had the chance to connect with 1000 teens that day, but I didn’t feel the joy. That’s when Shaun Derik, the Storyteller for the Dreamer and the keynote speaker asked me how it went. The conversation went something like this:

Shaun: “Hey Sis, how was it?”

Me: “Oh, fine.”

Shaun: “Fine? What was missing?”

Me: “I don’t know. It was my first time back in 18 months. I guess I need to shake out the cobwebs.”

Shaun: “What’s your Superpower?”

Me: Close to tears for no reason that I could explain. “I am not ready to talk about this right now.”

You see, Shaun had hit on a nerve. I hadn’t shown up with my superpower, and I knew it. I couldn’t articulate it yet – thus the tears, but he has hit a nerve. That night I texted him from my hotel room. My superpower is Love. I always show up in love. People feel it, and so they trust me.

Shaun texted back: Do that.

It sounds so simple, but he was exactly right. I was in my head. I was trying to impress the people who hired me to get another gig. I was thinking about what the coordinators wanted. I was trying to hit the tone of the organization. Notice, in none of that did I say, I am going to show up as who I am and connect with the audience in a meaningful way.

I kept my same workshop but changed up the tone of the slides and rethought my stories and how I was going to engage the audience. The picture in the caption is me on day 2 – loving my audience, the message and life. I had more people come up and connect with me after, pictures, calls, emails – they felt it. I felt it. It was real. I was there for them. I filled them, and in return, they filled me.

Last week, I had the honor to bring Shaun on to Sonja and my podcast (link in the comments), and we showed our audience the magic that is Shaun Derik. Humble. Insightful. Dynamic. He is an entertainer with stories, music, jokes, activities and dancing – that is his superpower. His author superpower, calling others to their own gifts. I could not be more grateful.

If you have a moment, I encourage you to give the podcast a listen: Diggin’ on 2022 Vision. If you have another minute, think about what your superpower is. Do that.?

Hilary Bilbrey is cofounder of The DH Effect. She is also national speaker, author and life coach.