Tell me about a time when you met someone or saw something that led you to believe you were capable of more.
While being interviewed by a journalist today, I was asked about just that.
I instantly thought of Haben Girma.
I saw Haben speak several years ago at a large conference (Archangel) produced by Giovanni Marsico.
Everything about the speech was captivating, but what changed my world was who was there with Haben.
It was her service dog.
I had never seen a person with a service dog on stage, of any size, before that moment. And this was no ordinary stage – this was a huge event!
I’d always had a little dream in the back of my mind of being a speaker and disability advocate.
But I had shut that voice down: “people with service dogs can’t be speakers at big events”.
Wrong!
After that day, the little voice started to grow, and I stopped trying to suppress it.
I continue to lean into that dream: last year I had my first paid international speaking engagement! Of course, my narcolepsy service dog was there with me.
I strongly believe that we all need to see examples of people ‘like us’ to break false beliefs of what we can do.
It’s actually the topic of one of the chapters in my upcoming book about overcoming fear to reach your potential.
I’d love to hear YOUR stories about seeing an example of someone ‘like you’ doing something that helped you to expand your views for your own possibilities.
I may even reach out to ask if I can use your story in my book!
