Refuting Your Disrepute

Have you ever had someone say to you (or maybe about you, to someone else) something like, "you're so perfect," or "you think you're such a big shot," or "you're not the boss of me" or something along those lines?

I'm sure we've all heard things like that somewhere in our past. Dick Richards, author of Is Your Genius At Work? notes that often our strengths can be seen as weaknesses by others "for whom those traits become inconvenient or annoying." Dick calls the behavior and attitudes that produce those negative labels your "disrepute."

In his book he says, "When we become annoying and inconvenient to others, their first tendency usually is to assign a negative label to us" (p. 60).

Those negative labels given to us by others can often be powerful clues to our genius, that intrinsic power that fuels our souls.

This idea reminds me of what Marianne Williamson speaks about in her most famous quote:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

Other people may feel insecure around your genius, especially if that genius shines light on them and what they're not living into for themselves. But that's no reason to hide it.

This is just one of the activities - and insights - available at the Fourth Annual Genius Workshop with Dick Richards, Wednesday, June 23 in Fargo.

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of interviewing Dick on Life Talk Radio with Renee Rongen. This is a great opportunity to experience a little taste of the Genius Workshop.




Register today at www.bocksoffice.com to reserve your spot and Discover Your Genius!