Embrace the Embarrassment…it’s the MM way

I first met Bob Proctor when I attended one of his six-day trainings. I was and am in total awe of this gentleman.  At 84-years-old he was working at full speed. There he was sharing his understanding of how fantastic this life can be, far beyond my own comprehension. Bob Proctor had celebrity status for me, and I’m here to tell you that you should definitely meet your heroes.

Of course, I wanted to make a great impression each day of the training. I showed up to the course with the hoped that I’d get the opportunity to speak with him one-on-one. Daily, I put on my most professional outfit, which for me, always included a pair of heels.

In my head I was sure I could make it six days in heels, like a champ. The problem was that my body was telling me something else. By the end of Day 3, I felt my body start to fight back and the pain from my heels kicked in. So, I made a deal with myself. For one day only, I would hide in the class of eighty people, play small, and be sure not to be seen by my idol. That day, I wore not just flats but my running shoes. In addition, my vanity was weighing in, and I couldn’t handle the look of my running shoes with my professional clothes, so in addition to wearing the running shoes, I decided (just for one day, afterall) I’d wear a comfortable pair of jeans with a professional blouse and business jacket. For the most part, all that would be seen would be the blouse and jacket, right?

Well, not so much.

You see, unbeknownst to me, Day 4 was Picture Day. That’s right, I was going to have the opportunity to have my picture taken with Bob Proctor. By the time I realized this was happening there was no opportunity to change my clothing. I was mortified. Not only did I feel soooo under dressed, I felt like my outfit was so disrespectful to the appropriately clothed Mr. Proctor and his partner Sandy Gallagher.

I had two choices, hide in the bathroom and avoid the picture all together or pull up my big girl panties and embrace the embarrassment. I told myself that at some point in my life I would look back at this moment and smile. There was something significant to be gained.

Gratefully the professional photos taken were from waist up but I wanted to remember this moment knowing that I would be looking back on it as inspiration for something else in my life. So, I asked a colleague to take a photo of the whole experience. I’m sharing that here.

Looking back, of course I see that the embarrassment was all in my head. He was gracious about it, and frankly nothing happened. It was all about me beating myself up unnecessarily.

My one regret is that I spent the afternoon focused on my embarrassment, rather than really having my attention on the learning for the day.

I know what you’re thinking– maybe it’s time to accept practical foot wear, Susan?

Hmmm, yeh, no. I don’t see that one changing anytime soon, but good effort!