Have you ever felt misunderstood or confused because you were different?

I have.

As a sensitive kid who wore his heart on his sleeve, the way I connected best with others was by expressing what I was feeling. But because most other kids opted to bond over sports talk and pop-culture, I sometimes got bullied and felt like an outsider. Needless to say, I didn’t view my openness & transparency as a gift (let alone something I could leverage to help others).

Thankfully, I flipped the script on the belief that my vulnerability was a weakness. It’s helped me build hundreds of meaningful relationships, own my authentic voice, and led to all the work I am doing with Are You Being Real.

What gift could YOU learn to embrace and use for good?

Ask yourself the following:

•What trait do you see in yourself that makes you feel negative, alone or misunderstood?
•How could you reframe that negative trait into something positive?
•How can you use that newly minted gift/strength to help others?

Ready to dust off your gifts and use them for good? Then tune in to Episode 204 of Are You Being Real. Our guest, Sloane Trugman, has also grown to embrace her unique gifts, and in this episode, shares how she went from hiding under her bed to standing up for others – which led to her speaking on the TEDx stage, and at the United Nations.

Wishing you an incredible week full of love and service to others!

Much love,
Mark

PS: One of the most impactful ways we can stand up for others is to have more love for our fellow humans and nature. Next week, I’ll be interviewing TEDx speaker, filmmaker, and activist Leslie Coutterand about her latest project that’s ALL about love. What is her project exactly? Stay tuned to find out.