This content was created by Thomas Anglero. This content was uploaded by Thomas Anglero. This is a podcast episode titled "Episode 161: Are You a mental Slave" (PODCAST) published 2022-08-21. It is a solo motivational monologue hosted and narrated by Thomas Anglero in which he relates a personal anecdote about meeting a timid man at an event to illustrate themes of authenticity, self-expression, and resisting social or workplace conformity. The episode challenges listeners to stop worrying about others' opinions, avoid hiding within cliques, reclaim their moments, and declare “I am no one’s slave.” The host closes with contact and social media information (anglero.com and common platforms). Tone: inspirational/self-help.
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Hello and welcome to the Soul of Innovation podcast. I am the host, Thomas Anglero, and my mission for this podcast is to share with you those private thoughts and reflections that I have being one of the top keynote speakers around the world on technology, motivation, and innovation. I hope you truly enjoy all the lessons I share, all the dots I connect that sometimes are just really difficult to get out but it's all for you. I truly hope you enjoy this episode.
Welcome to the Soul of Innovation podcast. I am Thomas Anglero, and I want to share with you a story, a story about what happened to me recently. I was at this event, a lot of people from different ages, different levels of society, you name it, just a normal big event with a lot of people having a lot of fun. I was standing talking to this guy who's the CEO of a company, and this gentleman who I had never met before comes up, very shy, timid, and he introduces himself. I introduced myself, and I'm just having a good time, you know, making fun of the CEO who I've known for a long time.
And I told the guy, hey man, just relax, you know, this guy doesn't bite, you You know, the CEO doesn't bite.
And he tells— he looks me dead in my eye, no hesitation, no humor. He says, I don't have that luxury. I stopped. I was wondering if he was joking. And I said, come on, You could joke with this guy, you know, and still he's staring at the CEO. He's not making any eye contact with me whatsoever. He goes in a lower voice, "I don't have that luxury." And then it hit me, my man, this guy is 45 years old plus.
Okay, we're not talking about a kid right out of school who's intimidated by the boss being there. Never mind the boss, the CEO of the company being there. We're talking about a grown man who cannot be himself, who cannot attend a party and express himself, but he spends the whole time at the party staring at the CEO like a stalker. Showing no emotion, not trying to have a conversation, just staring. Now the problem wasn't just the staring. The problem was that he chose not to exist. He chose not to exist and 45 years old. So my question to you is this: have you chosen not to? He said that he did not have that luxury.
He did not have that choice that he could joke around in front of his boss.
What the hell is that? What luxury has anybody taken away from you? Who's told you you can't be yourself at work? Who told you you can't be yourself at home? Flip it around. Would you listen to anyone, anyone in your life if they said, you know what, you're not allowed to be yourself at home. You're not allowed to go home and have a good time. You're not allowed to go home and take a shower you're not allowed to go home and eat. You think that person is nuts. I think a person is nuts when they, when someone tells you they convince themselves that they're not allowed, they don't have the luxury of being happy, having humor, and intercommunicating with another human being. Have you sold yourself out? Are you in a situation when you're at work or you're at some type of environment where you are not yourself, where for some reason you feel you don't have the luxury to be that? I think it is incredibly important to be professional. That is fine, but professional does not mean to be a freaking mummy, to be someone with no emotion, to stand there semi-erect and just wait for the CEO to laugh so you smile too. Is your life boiled down to the fact that you, at your age, don't control your own smile?
Sounds like slavery.
Are you in self-inflicted slavery? Are you always yourself? So many people tell me, "I can't always be myself. I can't behave that way." Well, listen, if you act yourself and it's so horrendous that that way, that if you being yourself is, is, is gonna offend people at work, then you gotta check yourself. What the hell's wrong with you that you're so offensive to people at work?
Think about it.
Are you that bad a person? You're not. But if you answer that question yes, you really got some work to do. When the hell are you gonna be yourself? When are you gonna take control of your life? When are you gonna take control of the moments that make up your life? Life is every single moment. This moment right now that you choose to listen to this podcast, that this very moment is yours. No one's dictating to you that you can or cannot listen to this podcast. You made that choice.
You're in total control.
Congratulations. Seriously, more power to you. So why the hell don't you act like yourself when you're at work, you're at play, you're at school, you're walking down the street, you're in a bus, you're on a train, You're sitting in the grass in a field. You want to just laugh. Are you worried about other people? They think about you.
Why?
Why is the obsession of what other people think about you so damn important? Every time you hold back from being you, every time you think about what someone else is thinking about you, they own you. You're a slave.
And they didn't even pay for you. You're a slave. You wonder why there aren't amazing people around you.
No one wants to be around somebody that is emotionless. It's not really themselves.
Something's not right about you. Let's flip it around. This is a really interesting one.
There are groups at work. A lot of people like to become part of a group at work, and then becomes very cliquey. If you're not familiar with that expression, it means people form groups within a community.
So within a community, you got all these different groups. You got, um, just for example, like people with red hair, people with blonde hair, people with black hair.
They're all grouped together.
That's cliquey, right? Groups.
You have groups at work.
Those groups are places that people hide, places that you hide. What stops you from going outside your group? Are you such that your entire life is defined by this group, or the 8 hours, 10 hours you're at work? Are you a slave to some definition, some boundaries that's been put up?
Why do you have to be part of a group? Why do you have to do what everything that group says? Why do you have to go to lunch exactly when that group goes to lunch? Why can't you just be your ultimate you? Why can't you just be you and tell the group, you know what, I'm bringing my own lunch. While you guys are at lunch, I'm gonna listen to a podcast, I'm gonna read a book, I'll listen to an audiobook, I'm gonna get some more work done. Why don't you redefine what makes that group? And that group would turn that group into a reading group, to turn that group into a poetry book group, totally turn the group into a singing group, tell them into a guitar group. But damn, do not conform. Conform, you're selling yourself out. You know, it's not hard to be an amazing person. It's not hard to be the person that everybody wants to fall in love with. You just got to be you, but you got to be brave enough to be you all the time. The thing is, if people see you and you're real cool and everything, and the times that you're alone, you're not cool, God forbid the person that falls for that trap, and now they're spending time with you and they realize what the hell's wrong with you.
Isn't that horrible?
Or flip it around. You spend time with someone else, you realize, who the hell is that? Isn't this horrible? Don't sell yourself out. All the time, be you.
Do not think about what other people are thinking. One, they don't care. I guarantee you people don't care. And number two, they're envious. One thing I've learned in life, your closest people to you, at times when you need sympathy and love, and times when you want to celebrate with joy, they'll be so damn envious. This is a constant. It's crazy. And those few people who aren't envious Those are people you end up marrying because they're amazing. I want you to go forth and spread beauty and light. I want you every time you hesitate, when you're on public transportation, walking down the street, in a classroom, in a meeting, anything, I want you the next time you hesitate in doing what you naturally feel is right, to say, "I am no one's slave." I am no one's slave. Say that right now. I am no one's slave. You are free. I am no one's slave. I love you all. Break the bonds, the mental bonds, social bonds, societal bonds, work bonds, and rewrite your story because I Am no one's slave. This is Thomas Anglero. I truly, utterly, deep in my DNA, believe in you. Because you're no one's slave. Until next time.
Thank you for listening to that episode. If you want to contact me, you can contact me on my website at anglero.com, and you can also subscribe to the newsletter, or you can find me anywhere on social media with Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter. Thank you so much, and I hope to hear from you very soon.
