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Fear of Speaking: Doing the Thing You Think You Cannot Do
The Fear of Speaking Held Me Back for Years
I was afraid to speak in front of people. That’s why I had to do it and decided to turn public speaking into an action that would become a part of my DNA.
My fear of speaking was holding me back because I was saying no to opportunities that were destined to broaden my horizons. I thought of what former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt had said so many years ago…
“You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”
It was 2006 and I had just arrived in my new city. After resigning from my job as a classroom teacher at the end of the school year, as well as giving away my best real estate clients to others who could better serve them I decided to relocate as part of my life reinvention. I was ready to start my new business on the internet. Within a couple of weeks I came to the realization that working from home was going to be a lonely proposition.
This led to a search for volunteer opportunities in my new community. The international service organization Rotary held weekly meetings. I showed up to see what it was all about. Soon they asked me to do a talk on this new internet business I had been telling them about. I was scared to death but knew they were supportive of my endeavors and wanted to do more. On…
