When you don’t fit into the box you’ve been given...

I’m feeling inspired this evening, having just finished speaking at the Pantheon Partner event in Portland, Oregon.

As I was working out in the hotel tonight, I stumbled upon the Netflix special “Sly,” a documentary on Sylvester Stallone's life.

Although there are many aspects of Stallone’s life that are inspiring, maybe the most powerful was the fact that because no one wanted to give him the lead in any movies, he literally had to write parts for himself as the lead—something rather unheard of in the long history of Hollywood.

Stallone’s communication style, demeanor, and skill set didn’t fit the Hollywood “box”—so he made his own, ultimately connecting with and inspiring millions of people around the world with his on-screen characters.

In other words, his perceived “weakness” ultimately became his “strength.”

You Don't Fit in a Drop-Down Box

This fact is moving to me because it reminds me of a recent conversation I had with the wonderfully talented Neen James, where we discussed our speaking careers together.

As I was telling Neen that I had done very few events with speaker bureaus over my career due to the fact that I speak about more than one core subject (in my case sales, marketing, leadership communication, plus a bunch of AI these days) she said to me, “You don’t fit in a drop-down box Marcus. I get it. I don’t fit in one either.?

As soon as Neen said that phrase, “You don’t fit in a drop-down box,” it struck me.

“Yep. That’s exactly it,” I thought.

And even though that may make it harder for a bureau to know where I fit to “sell” me as a speaker, it has given me an incredibly diverse and long-lasting speaking career that just keeps on evolving.

For example, next week, I’m headed to Sicily to speak to my friends at Generali for the third time. Each time I speak with them, it’s on a different subject, specific to their current company goals.

In their case, it’s my job to promote deep thought and conversation with their leaders, not give a set keynote that, again, could be found in a drop-down box.

Writing Your Own Script

Which brings me to YOU.

Life tries to put us in a box.

To a degree, that’s fine, but you don’t need to play by those rules if you choose not to.

Whether it’s your personal brand, your company’s brand, your communication style, etc. – what matters is that you lean into your individual uniqueness, ultimately clearing your own path and dictating your future in the process.

Or, as in the case of Sly, writing your own scripts.

Sure, we can take what we’ve been given, but what we’re given is generally based on everyone else’s experience.

Hollywood told Stallone he didn’t have the right stuff.

He showed them very clearly where they could put their opinions.

So that’s our challenge.

Know your strengths.

Then write your own script.

Done this way, life becomes a much more beautiful stage along the way.