Illuminating the Validation Paradox
It’s funny how 12 minutes can change your perspective on someone.
Prior to his TEDxLincolnSquare talk, I first met Jeffrey Shaw while in the speaker’s greenroom.
The first thing I noticed were his unbelievably sharp outfit, including the shoes.
And then, he went on stage and I totally got lost in his thoughts and forgot how cool his shoes looked.
Listen, I’m a photographer, I get distracted by shiny things from time-to-time, but, once you start talking, the focus leaves the window dressing and gets focused on the heart of the matter!
Here’s a description of Jeffrey’s talk, per TEDx:
Are you living a life of awe? According to speaker and author Jeffrey Shaw, you can be—but not if you’re trying to go it alone. He uses the African concept of Ubuntu to illuminate the Validation Paradox: we need others to reach our full potential. “When we dream alone, even our biggest goals are too small,” says Shaw. We all have closets to come out of—ways that we’re bigger than we let on; to break free of limiting expectations we have to let others see us for all we are. Shaw’s talk is an invitation to throw open the door and embrace the bigger, brighter, and bolder life waiting on the other side.
Since we met at TEDxLincoln Square, I’ve been following Jeffrey’s work in the personal branding space, and have really enjoyed reading his take on it all - it is aligned with how I approach branding from a visual image perspective.
In addition to his book, Lingo, he also is the host of his own Podcast, Creative Warriors, which is a must listen if you are interested in stepping up your personal brand to the next level! I have taken some notes while listening to a few of these interviews, so, I suggest you do the same, :)
PS - For those of you who aren’t in the know, I mail out these blogs 3x a week, and lemme tell you, they’re a real party, so, if you’d like to get in on this, sign up for it here and I’ll throw in a free gift for you, because I care, :)