I got my hair cut today, and the stylist changed my part. I had grown up parting my hair on the right. Looking in the mirror, a righthand part made my hairdo look like the magazine photos I was copying. When I was old enough to realize my mistake, using a righthand part was already a habit. In college my friends teased me that I had “Clark Kent hair”.
Remember the Christopher Reeve Superman movies? Clark Kent always parted his hair on the right as part of his disguise. Then when he ripped off his shirt to become Superman, his hair switched to a lefthand part. We always laughed because his entire disguise consisted of the righthand part and a pair of eyeglasses. Well, I had the eyeglasses too.
In a way the glasses were a protective barrier between me and the outside world — my own disguise. Although I wore contacts for a while in college, I realized I felt more comfortable wearing eyeglasses. With glasses I was incognito, with no one seeing the real me hiding behind the frames — the superstar I knew was within me.
Too many of us hide behind our “Clark Kent” personas. We put on a “normal” face for the world, so that no one can tell we are different. Especially so no one can tell we believe we are special. Because others might scoff if they knew, we hide our specialness. Because we might fail, we deny our dreams.
We all have a spark of greatness inside, a unique contribution we can make to the world. What are your dreams? What could you do if you weren’t afraid of failing?
I’ve decided my days of being Clark Kent are over. I’m going to let my inner Superman shine. For starters, I’ve published my first book. It combines my long time dreams of being both an author and an artist. Putting out that book was symbolic for me — stepping out to achieve one of my dreams and to show the world that I believe what I have to say is important.
Why don’t you join me? Do the thing you’ve always dreamed of. Become the success you’ve always known you could be. Throw off your Clark Kent disguise and show the world your special talents. Come on, show me your “S”!
I got married on the beach too–at sunset on Maui. Photos at http://brws.com/wedding
“Do the thing you’ve always dreamed of. Become the success you’ve always known you could be.”
This is excellent advice, Betsy. So many people dream their life away without ever seeing one of those dreams become reality. Whether it is fear of failure, lack of knowledge, complacency, or just plain laziness, they watch their lives pass by without pursuing any real purpose – just making a living, doing what they have always done to survive.
It’s time to break the pattern, break the mold. I have done more new things in the past couple of years than I had done for many years. My dream isn’t realized yet, but I’m continually doing things to bring it closer to reality. And I’m having fun doing it!
There is a dream in all of us if we only search for it. There is potential for success in everyone if we only work for it. Let’s show the world how special we are. Here’s to success for us all!