Hot Topics    

Lessons from the African Plains



You don't know your own power until you use it

You don't know your own power until you use it

Good morning from somewhere over the Atlantic, where I have three hours left in this 15 hour flight home from Cape Town. I spent the past week in South Africa giving a few speeches, and in between, got to spend two days at a beautiful lodge in Kruger National Park, where I went on three different game drives and saw amazing animals in their natural environment. I posted tons of photos and videos on my 
Instagram account, why not take a look and give a follow?

One of the many lessons the game drive guides taught us was about the elephants. See, elephants don't know that they're three to five tons of raw power. They don't know they can overturn cars. They don't know they can squash a lion into lion juice. They don't even know that they can knock down trees just by running into them. They don't know any of that. They have no idea how strong they are.

Until the first time they do.

In other words, elephants aren't given a lesson in how strong they are by other elephants. Their parents teach them lots of things - how to eat, how to stay in their herd, but not how strong they are. They need to find that out themselves. And once they do, well, you don't want to be in between an elephant and the tree at which he's charging.

READ MORE: Turn your weakness into a badge of honor

Same thing is true with us. We don't know how strong we are until we're called on to be that strong. We don't know our power until we stand up to a bully, until we stop caring what others think of us, until we demand better service, until we raise our prices, until we stop allowing ourselves to be taken advantage of.

Until we discover the power we've always had inside of us, we'll never know it's there.

Like the elephant, you truly have no idea how strong you are.

Maybe it's time to find out.

Love,

-Peter

PS: I visited an elephant orphanage while I was in South Africa. They take in elephants who have either been injured, or abandoned by their herd for one reason or another. They're an amazing organization, that runs entirely on donations and grants. If you feel like doing something nice, why not drop them a few bucks or adopt an elephant?



Other articles by Peter Shankman


  • The value of your time = The value of your mental health

    What is your time worth to you?

    Your mental health and your time are closely related. If you're constantly running around complaining that you don't have enough time, that has a negative effect on every aspect of your life. If there's an easy way to fix that, I can't imagine anything in the world more worth the spending of a few extra dollars. read more »
  • I turn 50 tomorrow

    Here's my birthday wish for you

    (If we've been communicating for longer than a year, you've received this before. But that said, it's good to reread. It's good for all of us to reread every once in a while. (And I added a new one at #10.)) read more »
  • What to do When You're Having "One of those Weeks"...

    Just breathe and realize you can't control everything

    Ever have a truly horrible week, where within the first 12 hours, you know it's not going to get any better? Yeah. That's me this week. read more »
  • Embrace your fear

    Use it to your advantage

    The key is to embrace your fear. To let it wash over you, and to channel the energy, the excitement, and the chemicals it produces, and use them to your advantage. read more »
  • Resolutions Fail. Rituals Succeed.

    Peter talks about succeeding in the new year

    Best selling author, Peter Shankman, thinks resolutions are the stupidest things in the world. They rarely succeed, because we're a society that values "instant wins," and you just don't get them from resolutions. read more »
  • What's your Decision Altitude?

    Don't miss out by being indecisive

    Skydivers have a bunch of interesting traditions. Specific fist-bumps before exiting the plane to keep us safe. Being hit by a pie after your 100th jump. But one of them is deadly serious. It's called "decision altitude." What is yours? read more »
  • Stop being so damn hard on yourself

    Advice from motivational speaker Peter Shankman

    You deserve to be treated kindly by you. That's it. That's the sentence. read more »
  • Turn your weakness into a badge of honor

    Start thinking of them as gifts

    Stop thinking of your weaknesses as weaknesses. Start thinking of them as gifts. Because if you allow them to be, that's exactly what they are. read more »
  • Never Change to Match Your Surroundings

    Just be you

    Peter Shankman talks about driving home a lesson in being yourself with his daughter. read more »
  • Don't be afraid to fail

    Success often comes on the heels of failure

    Peter Shankman, the top keynote speaker in marketing, brand building, social media and customer service, talks about his failures and successes. read more »