“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.”
~Dr. Seuss
Yesterday, along with several thousand other people here in Austin, I had the privilege of seeing and hearing some amazing speakers at the Get Motivated! conference. The line-up included Colin Powell, Rudy Giuliani, Stanley McChrystal, and Southwest Airlines CEO Howard Putnam (among others). But my absolute favorites were Mary Lou Retton and Bill Cosby.
Mary Lou Retton spoke about her journey to the Olympics and the improbability of her winning the gold medal. (Just six weeks before her Olympic competition, she had knee surgery!) Her message was “don’t let anyone tell you that you CAN’T,” and her incredible energy was infectious. She mesmerized the audience.
Bill Cosby spoke just after Mary Lou and was obviously the favorite of many. He was hilarious, of course, but he also touched on spirituality. He had several great quips, using the lyrical genius of James Brown as his talking points, including “Get up!” and “Do it!” — each of which he would punctuate by imitating James Brown’s “Hah!”
But reflecting back on the day, I think what made these two the most enjoyable to me was that they were authentic about who they are. Neither one tried to be something else or give a message that wasn’t true to their experience. It was a great example (and lesson) to just show up, be yourself and let your light shine. Definitely very motivating.