November 22Insist on Yourself
Insist on yourself; never imitate. Your own gift you can present every moment with the cumulative force of a whole life's cultivation; but of the adopted talent of another, you have only an extemporaneous, half possession. That which each can do best, none but their Maker can teach them. No one yet knows what it is, nor can, till that person has exhibited it. Where is the master who could have taught Shakespeare?
Ralph Waldo Emerson—Self-Reliance (1841)
The first sentence of today's reading is perhaps the strongest call to action in the entire essay.
“Insist on yourself; never imitate.” This mantra is all you need to take into every day as you continue to explore that which only you can do best.
You are your Maker. Your own gift is a giant bowl of stew made up of every person, every interaction, every experience, every thought, and every observation.
No one else has what you have.
Today, insist on yourself.
Challenge Question
- What in your life or your business feels like an imitation?
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