Who Are You?

We are going to start this week off with a powerful question, a game, and an exercise. However, I have to warn you that you may not be the same when you are finished if you participate in the game and the exercise.

The question you may have guessed from the title of this newsletter. Here's the question; "Who are you?" Now, when I ask you this question, I am not looking for your name. That is your name and how you identify yourself, but that is not who you are. This is where the game comes in. Take a moment and really think about that question and say out loud, "Who am I?" Really..... take a moment and ask yourself that questions and see what answer you get.

If you started to say something like, "I am a 27 year old manager at a warehouse, who makes $50k year and I have a wife and a six month old daughter", then congratulations on your newborn daughter but all you have done is describe a little about yourself. I now know that you identify as a manager at a certain income level, a husband, and father. However, you still have not told me or yourself, who you are.

So the game gets a little harder. Now you really dig down for the meaning of who you are and take a moment to reflect on this simple yet powerful question; Who are you? This time, say "Who am I"? and really put some thought into your answer before reading on.

Ok, I know some of you came straight here without asking but that's because you don't recognize where I am going with this. However, I assure you that before we finish, I will tie this question into something that can make a big difference in your life, or the life of someone else, if you share this newsletter. So, if you haven't already taken the time to dig deep on this question, give it a try. Take a deep breath.... and ask, "Who am I?"

Now that everyone has reflected deeply on this question, I have to say that in playing this game with so many people, this is the common response when people dig deeper; they say something like, "I was born in 1975 in a small town North of Nashville, TN. I grew up in a family with Mom, Dad, and a sister. I was good at sports, had average grades and went to college for logistics. I am 5'10" tall, weight 197 pounds and I like football, soccer, and having a beer with buddies on Friday." However, once again, you did a great job telling me about your history, your physical description, and your likes but you still have not told me or yourself, "Who" you are.

At the risk of frustrating you if I asked you to try one more time, let me tell you where I am going with this and then allow you to ponder this question throughout your day. You see, most people don't know "Who" they are. Growing up you were told what you needed to do in order to be happy and successful in life. So you got a job, went to the military or college, worked hard, got the spouse, had the children and 15 years into this plan you realize, you thought once you did all this you would be happy and successful. However, you're living paycheck to paycheck, you're stressed, you feel stuck, and you watched your parents live out this same plan that you're on and now they are retired, have health issues, and they too still have financial concerns.

You see, growing up, you're told to "Do" this action so you can "Have" these things, and then you will "Be" happy, successful, healthy, whatever outcome you were promised. Regardless, the order of life was to 1: Do something so you could; 2: Have something that would make you; 3: Be something or someone. Now, along comes George and he asks you the simple question "Who are you" and you don't even know who you are.

Let's say you want to be a leader in your organization. You look at around at people in leadership positions and you think that you have to do what they did to get their position so you can have a leadership position in your organization. So you further your education, work extra hours at the expense of your family and health so you can climb the corporate ladder and then one day, you get the title and proudly proclaim that you are a leader. Then you learn the hard way that leadership is not a title and every day is a struggle for you and since being a leader isn't really what you wanted. You wanted what you thought being a leaders would give you; respect, confidence, trust, purpose, influence, happiness, whatever it was.

This is why even if you are in a leadership position within your organization, and I asked you, "Who are you?", you struggled like everyone else to answer that question. This isn't just people. Organizations would struggle to answer this question. Then again, when you have people in an organization that don't know who they are, how could you expect the organization to know who or what it is.

So what does all this mean? It means this; stop trying to do things, so that you can have things, thinking that when you get them you can be something. If you want to be a leader then start by asking yourself, why do I want to be a leader? If you want to be a leader because you think people will respect you or it will bring you happiness, then start by BEING a person who respects other people. Be a person with integrity, that people can trust, and they will start to respect you. You don't need to be in a leadership position first for that. Start BEING a person who is happy, by being grateful for the things in your life, appreciating people, having great energy, and smiling. You don't need to be a leader first. You need to change the order that you have been living by and 1; Be what it is that you want, then you will; 2: Do the actions that will allow you to, 3: Have what you want.

Do you get that? You're so much more than your description of yourself. You are not a physical human who occasionally has spiritual experiences in this world. You are a spiritual being having a human experience at all times. You are amazing. You have so much more potential in you than you realize. You have given away so much of the power you thought you had in this world but you have so much more power than you could ever realize. When you describe yourself and think that is who you are, you're limiting yourself. And when you see yourself from that limited perception you start to live your life from your physical self, your social self, or your career self. That's why you start with actions rather than starting with your Self and who you are Being. When you live from your higher Self, then who you are, is who you are being in that moment.

Who are you simply comes down to who you are being. So let me ask you again, "Who are you?" Who or what are you being? Are you living out your life being a victim of circumstances that occurred in your life? Then that's who you are because that's who you are being. In order to change who you are, you have to change who you are being.

I mentioned there would be an exercise for you to do, (If you wanted), in this newsletter. The exercise is; take 5 minutes today or any time this week. Look into a mirror and ask yourself, "Who am I" and just stare at your reflection for 5 minutes. This could be the hardest thing you have done in a long time. Some of you will smile. Some of you will get angry. And some of you will cry. It could change your life because from that moment forward, you will have the option to live from that small perception of your self or from the unlimited potential of your Self and it will change who you are being from now on.

I have spent a lot of time focusing on you (The individual) in these first five newsletters. And I want to thank you for sharing with your networks, which has helped us reach over 3,200 subscribers in just five newsletters. The reason I have focused on the helping you to better understand yourself is because next week we will focus our discussion on LEADERSHIP and announce dates for a 10 Day Leadership Challenge here on LinkedIn.

As exciting as that is, I don't want you to forget today's exercise. It lays the groundwork for everything else we will discuss in future newsletters. If you are enjoying these newsletters, please share them with your network. You never know who could use these messages.

I care about all of you and I will demonstrate that through my actions.

George Wheeler