I loved speaking with Leigh Burgess, who’s a founding member of Chief and CEO/Founder of Bold Industries! In fact, we talked about so much on her podcast, The Bold Lounge, that I found it difficult to summarize! šŸ˜†Here are a few key takeaways, including why you need to protect your spark!

Defining boldness…

Since Leigh lives this and asks the question regularly, I had to think about my answer. To me, Boldness means leading when you donā€™t know two important things: the How and the What. Seriously?! Yes, it’s when you…

  1. donā€™t know how youā€™ll achieve the goal you set
  2. haven’t even defined what the desired outcome looks like.

You see, when weā€™re so precise about our definition of success, any margin of error may be defined as failure. Yet, the unexpected outcomes may be something equally goodā€¦ or even better! So I encourage you to lean into boldness.

Wisdom teaches us so much.

As young people, it can be easy to judge others. I shared a story with Leigh about how I did just that. Yet, over time, we learn that life is not so simple. And what a valuable lesson!

That’s why it’s important to realize we can accelerate our exposure to wisdom when we lean forward in boldness, because we step into a new space. If we expand our options (and the earlier the better) life can take us down such interesting roads! Because thereā€™s no one correct answer or one set path for our lives. So learn from wisdom.

What needs to be un-done?

Whatā€™s niggling the back of my heart or my mind? Perhaps it’s whispering, ā€œSpend time on meā€ā€¦or ā€œInvest in me.ā€ If you listen to that voice, you’re sure to discover something interesting!

  1. You might discover nothingā€™s niggling ā€“ everythingā€™s good and forward you charge!
  2. Or you might discover that there are big, insistent niggles telling you itā€™s time to pivot.

So listen to that voice.

Everybody is generally good and…

They want to be GREAT and they have it in them to be EXTRAORDINARY!

In fact, this is how Iā€™d like to invest the back half of my life. Whether itā€™s in my day job or through this book or through daily interactions, I see helping others define their Social Legacy as my life mission. So go be extraordinary!

My daughter’s epiphany.

Laini recently realized that sheā€™s traveled a lot more than some of her peers. So, I grasped the opportunity to encourage her: ā€œThis is part of your Offer, part of what of what you bring to benefit others when you speak with them!ā€

Being intentional about knowing what we offer can sometimes feel uncomfortable. Why? Well, we donā€™t like to brag about ourselves, or feel proud of ourselves. But in fact, talking about what we Offer benefits others. So go share your Offer!

How to direct your offer.

Once you define it, you may want to get out there! But first remember, we canā€™t scattershot our Offer everywhere. Many of us say yes to so much! “OMG that sounds amazing!” “I’m in!”

We want to learn and we’re eager to contribute! YET, if we divide our attentions too finely, we end up landing nothing. That’s why I think intentional living requires a degree of ruthlessness to define the five things I really want to do well. So be planful with your Offer.

Unlock power here.

Once you define your Offer and Offense, state your Social Legacy out loud. Then, write it down and share it with others. This is about commitment… defining where we put our time and money, and how we prioritize.

This is powerful because It helps us say ā€˜noā€™ when we need to. We all know how difficult it can be to say ā€˜noā€™, especially to things and people we care about! But if we keep saying ā€˜yesā€™ to the good, we may miss an opportunity to invest in the great. So don’t miss the great for the good.

Protect your Spark!

I love this Dante quote so much, I led a chapter with it: “From a little spark may burst a mighty flame.”

Did you realize?

We tend to diminish ourselvesā€¦ We say, ā€œthis is so smallā€ or ā€œIā€™m not doing muchā€¦ā€ But if we donā€™t lean into that spark within us, there will certainly never be a flame! Look guys, the world is so tough, and there are already so many things out there trying to quench that sparkā€¦ letā€™s not do it to ourselves!

We have to protect it in ourselves, and we have the opportunity to fan othersā€™ flames. Thereā€™s another beautiful quote: ā€œA candle loses nothing by lighting another.ā€ So let’s protect our spark and help others shine, too!

For more on your Offer & Offense, check out The Spare Room book page here.

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