Imagine if Ghandi had said “Eh, I don’t want to talk about my ideas with too many people. I’m shy.”

How different would history look?

How different would the world be if everyone who had a profound talent or an amazing strength, instead of sharing it with others, decided to hide it out of “shyness.”

I realized a while ago that much of my shyness was just plain old self-centeredness. I was more concerned with how others viewed me, than with contributing to those I could help.

It’s one thing to say that I want to become less shy and more socially confident for myself: to achieve something amazing in my career, to increase my income, to become famous.

But what if we went a step further? What if the main motivation for overcoming shyness was to fulfill our real potential and contribute the maximum value we can put into the world?

Does that make the project of overcoming shyness take on a different urgency?

Banging on someone’s door to “sell” them something is one thing. Banging on their door to tell them that their lawn is on fire is quite another.

Same basic activity, but a very different motivation. And therefore a different outcome.

When in doubt, take a hard look at your motivations. You might be surprised at what you realize.

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Justin Aquino

As Founder and Head Coach of Cool Communicator, I lead our coaching programs and classes. Our programs help you improve professional communication skills, including public speaking, presentation skills, assertiveness in the workplace, impromptu speaking, and more.