Hey, Did You Read the Sign?

Signs are all over the place. I’m not talking about the advertisement or freeway signs; I’m talking about the signs that are meant especially for you. You know, when you’re on your cell phone while you’re driving and ran through a red light or you reached to put in a different CD and almost hit the car in front of you. These are all signs. The sign is you should pay attention. The next time you might not be so lucky.

There are other signs that you might be getting but aren’t paying attention to. I’ll give you a personal example. In high school I always got A’s in speech class. When I went onto college I also aced speech class. I never gave this much thought or credit. Quite a few years later I took a facilitator course through work. For three days I listened attentively and took notes. On the last day we each had to give a presentation. After I finished mine the other students gave me feedback. They were shocked that I was so enthusiastic and full of energy because while as a student I was very quiet. My presentation was well thought out, organized and presently very professionally. I basically “turned on” when I got in front of a group. I realized much later that I received basically the same type of feedback when I interviewed for a position. They were shocked because I was bubbly, as they put it, and yet when it came to answering a question I was very knowledgeable about the subject. For years now I have been a member of Toastmasters International and I get the same kind of comments. I have very natural expressions and mannerisms. I exude enthusiasm and energy when I speak and that I’m knowledgeable in what I speak about.

The point with all this is that I was given signs of my ability to speak and express myself throughout my life but I wasn’t paying attention. I didn’t give it the credit it deserved.

My question to you is there signs that you have been given that you haven’t been paying attention to?