When I walked through the doors of @meta yesterday to be keynote speaker of the International Women’s Day event for @ipgmediabrands, I wondered for a moment what I had to offer.
Standing before a room full of locals & expats who held powerful positions in the media industry, how was I qualified to speak?
But it was precisely that moment when I had an epiphany.
The truth is- no matter how much we might have done, we’ll always feel like we’re never enough.
Yet, if we recognize that the gift we each have lies not in what we have done, but in who and whose we are, we can be confident that what we have to offer is— enough.
As I started sharing based on the theme “Her Story in the Making,” I challenged us to ask ourselves- what is YOUR story in the making?
Because no matter where we came from, no matter what the staggering odds we had against us in life, we each have the power to rewrite its ending.
My story started with my day of birth- a tragic day of grieving because I wasn’t a boy. My story then unfolds with parts of my community grieving when I had a girl, then a second girl.
I could see uncomfortable shifting pulsing through a corporate audience with an unusually intimate talk. But as people came up after, in tears, to say “thank you for articulating MY story,” I learnt one thing- no matter how little you think you can offer, one truth will always triumph—
If you be you, your story will carry your message through. And I promise you- THAT’S ENOUGH.
You, with all your hurts, shame and failures in messy chapters— are enough— if you’re determined to write your ending for a purpose greater than you.
Your pain matters-It’s what makes your story worth telling.
Your failings are what moves people from darkness to light, apathy to action.
The world doesn’t need another perfect actor.
If you show up as who you are, in all your imperfect glory, the outcome might just surprise you.
So today, would you treasure your life story in the making? It may not be perfect, but it has a purpose.
And that, my friend, makes it enough. You are more than enough. You have more to offer than you know.