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A PROGRAM OF THE U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE FOUNDATION
 

IOM Blog

November 6, 2019

How a Buffalo Hunter Rocked his World and So Can You

My great grandpa Cyril and great grandma Adelaide met up in Canada on a buffalo hunt in 1865.  I’m not sure if this excited me to know that I come from stock that embraced adventure or that great grandpa Cyril lived to be almost 102 back when life expectancy was 56.6 years of age for men.

I’ve always loved the idea of living life with gusto and I’d like to claim that this is how I embrace life each and every day, but the truth is, it’s not always the case.

Our personal dialogue dictates how well we live with gusto and succeed.  It limits us when we express to ourselves something like, “I’m not good enough.” Or it expands us when we say things like, “I’m going to rock this project!” This can be the difference of not getting the dream job or, in Cyril’s case, showing up for a buffalo hunt and marrying the woman of his dreams.

One thing is for sure, when we are feeling good about ourselves, we are more apt to be in alignment with our most powerful self.  What keeps us playing small, and from doing mind-blowing fantastic stuff, are the stories we create.

Stories from our past can derail our destiny.  For example, when your fifth-grade teacher gave you feedback and you took it to mean you were no good at that-one-thing, and after that you became hyper-sensitive to anything related to what was said about that-one-thing.  Over the years your story about that-one-thing grew to some crazy size in your head lowering your self-esteem and confidence, all because you simply misunderstood what your fifth-grade teacher was trying to tell you.

Can you imagine if someone, way back when, had said something about Cyril’s rifle aim and Cyril had created some big story in his head about believing he wasn’t any good with a gun.  Cyril may not have gone on to work with Buffalo Bill or Chief Sitting Bull and likely wouldn’t have had the great fortune of meeting Adelaide during the Buffalo hunt and spending the next 64 years married to her.

I’m not saying to brush aside effective feedback from others, what I am saying is to watch out for creating beliefs about ourselves and allowing them to keep us from living our boldest.

This negative thinking can limit ourselves to what we think “we deserve” and thus create a self-fulfilling prophecy of less than a marginal existence.  If you decide (And it IS a choice) to think negatively, you’ll get negative results.  If Cyril’s internal dialogue sounded like this, “They’ll never buy pelts from me.  I’m a white man with a red beard,” he would never have gone on to inherit the nickname, Poh-teen Lu-tah, “Red Beard” that the Sioux gave him.  I think Cyril rocked his own world by using a positive internal dialogue that served him well over his 102 years here on earth.

How will you rock your world?

 

Avatar photo
Michelle Lefebvre, M.A.C., CPC
Chief Executive Officer
Coach With Michelle

Michelle is the CEO of Coach With Michelle, Inc. a company that encourages and helps people Live Bigger, Bolder and Braver as leaders in their life – leaving them to love Monday mornings again.

Michelle bases her work on the notion that everyone has the ability to lead themselves and others regardless of job title and level. She is a leadership trainer, business coach, consultant and speaker. Michelle is a certified coach and mediator and has 30 years of experience working in the fields of gerontology, Human Services and teaching college. She’s been recognized with awards and has spoken at the White House alongside First Lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton and former United States Secretary of Health & Human Services, Donna Shalala.

Adding an element of fun is important for Michelle whether at work or giving back to her community. She is a former Peace Corps volunteer and enjoys running international marathons to raise awareness and funds for the eradication of Polio.

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