Lisa Nichols tells the woman who fired her early in her career, now sitting in an audience of 3,300, that confronting fear and embracing imperfection is what makes you relatable. She describes the night before her Oprah appearance, paralyzed by judgment, and argues that leaping despite uncertainty builds resilience no matter how you land.
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She said, I have to release you to find your dream. So my supervisor calls me into the office and she said, Lisa, what do you want to be when you grow up? I was about 23. I said, I want to be the best accounts receivable manager ever. And I swear I saw her cringe. And she said, mm, I don't know. She says, I give you a list of 120 people to call, and when I get it back, there's like 89. I don't know what's happening. I said, "Oh, don't worry. I'm doing you a favor. I'm taking off everyone who can't pay." She says, "People are asking for you when they call." I said, "I aim to please. Yes, yes." She said, "This is a collection company. They shouldn't be asking for you." She said. I have to release you to find your dream. I said, release me to find my dream. Do I clock in tomorrow and look for it here? She said, no. And so I got fired. 22 years later, I walk out on stage in front of 3,300 women. And this woman, when my sizzle reel was playing, me on Oprah, Larry King, this woman's in the front row and she's crying. And all while I'm speaking, all while I'm speaking, she's crying. And I go, you know, I can bring up a few tears, but I'm like, haven't even gotten started yet. She's crying. I go over to her and I said, excuse me, ma'am, you've been crying for like 2 and a half hours. Why are you crying? She said, because 22 years ago, I released you to find your dream and you found it. That was the same woman who fired me. Yes, yes? Yes, yes. So that very thing— so look fear in the face and then stand on the edge. Hold fear. Don't wait for the fear to leave you. Hold fear in one hand and passion in the other and leap. Leap. Because only one of 3 things are gonna happen. One, you're gonna fly. 2, you're gonna fall and hit something soft. Or 3, you'll fall and hit something hard and need a Band-Aid. Either way, you've been built to last. Either way, you'll get up and do it again. Either way, you'll play full out. Yes, yes? Yes, yes. Either way, you'll show up. Yes, yes? Yes, yes. Either way, we'll get the best version of you. Yes, yes? Yes, yes. Either way, it's your time right now. You assume you have forever. I'm saying you need now. Yes, yes? Yes, yes. I'm saying be radical enough, be outrageous enough, be unapologetic enough to hold fear in one hand and passion in the other and leap anyway. I'm asking you, are you willing for the sake, not just for you, but for the person who's sitting in that dark corner. And when you let your light shine and you pass by them, your light for a moment lightens up their corner just enough for them to see themselves. Yes. Yes. Yes. Just enough for them to recognize, I'm still in the game. Yes. Yes. Yes. And so I want to share this with you. When I called my— when I was called to be on the Oprah Show, I remember the night before. I was afraid because Oprah's team had come to interview me. And in the interview, I shared something that I didn't expect to share. I shared one of my darkest times in my life. And I was being featured on Oprah as the teacher of The Secret. And so, it was an expert, expert. And I wasn't comfortable with what I shared and being called an expert. I just want to stay inside those moments that cause you to slow down. Do you know what I mean? And the night before, I was packing to be on the Oprah Show. I was so riddled with fear. I'm crying. It should be the happiest time, but I'm crying because I'm afraid of being judged. Say judged. Judged. And that will hold so many of us back. The fear of being judged. That will hold so many of us— that will cause you not to leap. When you become more concerned with other people's perception of you than you are of your own truth. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. I got caught up in the 56 million people that would watch me on Oprah. I got caught up in their perception of me, what they would think of me if they knew that the expert from The Secret was going through that or had gone through that. And so I called one of the few people that I can call at 4:30 in the morning because I stayed up all night. And I called my friend and I said, I'm so nervous. I'm so afraid. And he says, oh, let me pray for you. And he said a prayer that shifted everything for me, and I just want to pass it on to you. He said, God, thank you for helping your imperfect child to serve your imperfect children. And in that moment, everything shifted. In that moment, I realized that in my imperfection, I'm perfect for you. Yes, yes. In my imperfection, I'm perfect for you. In climbing over my fears, in climbing over my discouragement, in climbing over my issues. In that, I'm perfect for you. And so, there's not one thing you can be afraid of that doesn't make you perfect for us. Not one thing. Not one thing you can go through. Not one thing you can come through. Not one thing you can be on your way to that doesn't make you perfect. Say, perfect. Perfect. Say, perfect. Perfect. To do that thing that you've been designed to do, to say that thing you've been designed to say, to bring that experience that you've been called to bring, you are perfect. Say, perfect. In your imperfection. Say imperfection. Imperfection. When you become perfect, really, we no longer can relate to you. And all we ask is this. If you enjoy this, you might want to check out her full program on Mindvalley. And also leave a subscribe on our YouTube channel.
