It's okay to be the idiot in the room.

If you haven't felt like an absolute fool, wildly out-of-place, or flat-out dumb in a while.. you've probably stopped trying.

Most people think that growth should feel easy. Like a steady wind at your back. But the truth is that most of the time it just feels like you're flirting with a constant state of embarrassment. When you put yourself out there and try to do something you thought you were ready for but miss the mark - it stings. But that feeling isn't a stop sign - it's your receipt for pushing the edges of your capacity.

That gap — the one between who you think you are and who you’re actually becoming — only shows up when you take a swing and feel the resistance. That friction? That’s the forge. Everyone you admire, the ones who seem to constantly level up? They’re not avoiding discomfort; they’re sitting in the heat long enough for it to change them.

I pride myself in my ability to look like an idiot in front of people. Not because I enjoy humiliation. But because it means I’m still learning. Still entering rooms where I don’t know what I’m doing.. yet.

Most people aren’t watching as closely as your ego may think anyways. They’re too busy worrying about how they’re being seen themselves. Which means you’re free to fumble around and figure things out in your own way. Life is too short to avoid looking like a doofus.

It’s not always the big leaps that shape your life.
Perhaps it’s the small ones you were too scared to take.

And if you can’t find that ‘room’ - make one. About two years ago I couldn’t find a space that really pushed me. I wasn’t surrounded by people that held me accountable to do the thing. So I gathered up some of the people I admire the most and created The Rising Tide.

It’s not a networking group. We don’t do referrals like a BNI or Rotary group. It’s raw feedback and brainstorming for growth and the ability to scale professionally and personally. Our stance on The Rising Tide is that “this group isn’t for you.. it’s for who you want to be.”