You have this, but do you use it?

Alice Walker said, “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.”

This quote was on my mind this morning for obvious reasons – today is, after all, Election Day.

As a young adult, I didn’t understand my power. I thought that because I didn’t really understand politics, that I wasn’t entitled to express my opinion. That was for older, more experienced and more educated people. So I didn’t vote in any elections until my late 20s.

I had a similar experience in business when I started out. Other “experts” seemed more worthy of success, and I reasoned that until I had more experience, I couldn’t claim that power.

Looking back, I can see clearly how this mindset of thinking I had to “earn the right” (a.k.a. deserve it) held me back more than anything else in life and business. I tolerated a tremendous amount of mediocrity, which showed up in the form of fear and procrastination. Luckily, through my own personal transformational journey, my eyes were opened to all the ways I gave my power away.

Of course, understanding you have power and exercising that power are two different things.

So my challenge to you today is – what are the ways that you give away your power – in your business, relationships, and even in the promises you make to yourself? When do you hold yourself back because you don’t think you deserve it, or understand it well enough, or don’t want to compete or risk offending someone?

Don’t buy in to internal or external voices telling you that you don’t have the power to create what you want. #Riseup and #Vote!

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