Teresa de Grosbois: Igniting Wildfire
Everyone is buzzing with excitement because my grandmother is taking us all to the movies. It is a big deal because we never go to the movies. I look across the room just in time to hear Mom say, “Teresa de Grosbois can’t go. She is too little.” I’m devastated. My three year self makes up “I am too small to play with the big kids”. And that inner dialogue sticks.
So what does that mean? I grow up spending my time either trying to prove that I am not too small to play with the big kids or desperately terrified that I am. That dialogue gets in the way when I have to do something that requires influence. It can easily get in the way when I have to step out on stage in front of 1,000 people. I have learned to calm down my inner child.
The reality is our inner dialogue is neither good nor bad. It just is. That little three year old version of me who created that was just trying to protect me. When I can really fall in love with that three year old child who created that, I can realize that the inner dialogue of “I’m too small to play with the big kids” actually motivated me to become an expert on influence.
Shawne Duperon: Do you have any tips for those with influence already?
Teresa de Grosbois: No matter how influential you are, there are always situations that challenge and confront you.
If you just look at me, for example, this book launch that I am working on right now for Mass Influence is a much bigger game than I have ever played before. I am no longer just wanting to go after bestselling author titles. I have been there and done that. For me, I am driven to see if can I get this book out there globally, hundreds of thousands of copies sold so that we can actually cause shift and change in the world. I have got my own inner dialogue coming up. I am really confronted. So I receive mentoring. For example, Bryant McGill has offered to do a mastermind call with me to help me figure out how do I share a campaign this big. I have even had guidance from people like Randy Gage and Joel Comm. It doesn’t matter how big of an influence game you are playing. You are always going to run into situations that confront you and where you are not feeling like you know what you are doing. Find those people that can mentor you through them and step past whatever it is that is in your way, whether it is inner dialogue or lack of skill.
