Walking into the room anyway

When I was in middle school, I was a second-string junior varsity guard on my basketball team. My older sister was on the starting lineup of our high school varsity team. She got a lot of attention, and I wanted some of that.

So the following fall, I dragged myself to tryouts to see if I could elevate my basketball game. Fifteen minutes in, I broke my right pinky finger trying to catch the ball. I walked off the court holding back tears, both embarrassed and relieved. I knew basketball wasn’t my thing, and I never looked back.

You can imagine how shocked and amused I was, decades later, receiving an invitation from Hall of Fame coach Vivian Stringer to speak at her Division One women’s basketball team luncheon at Rutgers University.

Coach Stringer had many seniors on her team preparing to leave and enter the real world, and she wanted me to share my experience of building a successful fashion brand without any business training.

I didn’t say yes right away. I was intimidated. What could I possibly offer a room full of elite athletes? It felt so far outside my fashion world.

But the talk was scheduled the week before my daughter’s basketball tryouts, the same age I was when I walked off that court. And when Coach Stringer invited my daughter to sit with her, that was it. I said yes.

As I started thinking about what I would share, something became very clear. Those players already had everything they needed to succeed. They were already fearless. They had already proven that to themselves over and over again.

What mattered most was for them to trust that they knew, to trust themselves anyway.

Standing in front of that room, I had the usual butterflies. Right before I began, I said a quiet prayer to myself: “God, universe, please guide my words and help me stay out of my way so I can be of good use and in service to the people here.”

I’ve learned that the butterflies never truly disappear, but they shift and they transform me.

What I’ve come to realize is that butterflies are a sign you’re stepping out of your comfort zone. They’re a signal that you’re growing into more of yourself.

So if there’s a part of you right now that’s hesitating, overthinking, or trying to control the outcome, just remember this:

You were created to walk into any room because you will meet more of yourself there.

Sally

Quote Of The Week

“The feeling you want to run from is often the one leading you forward.”