Powerback 34: Who Would You Be If No One Criticized You?

Embracing this whole LauraAura thing has been an enormous challenge for me. The beliefs that have been instilled in my mind and the things that have been said to or about me have always been this quiet little voice in the back of my head:

Oh, you're full of yourself. Who does she think she is? Oh, clearly you think you're better than everyone else. How dare you want money and freedom? How dare you want to travel? You're too out of reach for us and we never see you anymore.

So instead of embracing who I've always felt like I am, I made myself smaller in order to make people around me more comfortable.

When I think of some of the people I really look up to the most, the first thing that comes to mind is how many incredibly amazing things they've accomplished. Not that they're a pompous asshole. And you know what? They're just standing in their light, inspiring people by doing the thing that resonates highest with them by being their natural selves.

Could you imagine if Oprah had never stepped into her light and embraced who she is? What if Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, the Beatles, or Elton John had never embraced who they are, what the musical world would be like without their light? Do these people ever think about being criticized? I'm certain. Because when we break it all down, they're human beings and human beings have emotions. But at the end of the day, they chose to do what calls them. They chose to use their time and their talents to make the world a better place.

Here's the thing, the only way to not be talked about is to move into the jungle and remove all communication with every human being on the planet. But guess what? Even if you do that there's still going to be someone that talks about how crazy it was you moved to the jungle.

This week, I want you to take your power back by grabbing a cup of coffee or your favorite cup of whatever, going to a comfortable, beautiful place to sit down, and I want you to dream for yourself. I want you to think: If you knew you wouldn't be criticized, talked about, or made fun of, who would you be? Who would you embrace? Who would you step into?

By always making yourself small, you're not only doing yourself a disservice — but you're robbing the world of the greatness you are hiding from.

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