when was the last time you felt butterflies?

Whenever it was time to leave the locker room to head to the court for warmups, I’d always get a light feeling of nervousness and butterflies in my stomach–even in my senior year of college. But, as soon as my feet hit the hardwood and the team would make our way out to start with some layups, the nerves would disappear, and excitement and confidence would take over.

I get the same feeling before I step on stage to give a talk.

Light nervousness and butterflies appear as the audio crew sets up my mic. But, as soon as I step on stage, they disappear, and excitement and confidence take over.

This morning, I woke up to some light nervousness and butterflies, which I welcomed because today is game day.

Later this afternoon (2:00 EST, to be exact), I’m hosting my first webinar in the Keep Pursuing series, which also happens to be the first webinar I’ve ever put on. I’ve been preparing and working on this webinar for weeks, so there’s no reason to be nervous about it, but since it’s something new, I want to make sure it’s a “success” in my book.

Not only is this the first time I’m hosting my own webinar series, but I’m also trying to do it differently and in an authentic way. Every webinar I’ve attended or caught the replay of has been more of a lecture or presentation—valuable but often boring. The Keep Pursuing webinar series will not be full of lectures and presentations; instead, it will be more like a live podcast recording or fireside chat with engagement (hopefully) from the audience. There might be a few slides here and there, but for the most part, it will be a conversation containing important ideas, examples, and some actionable ideas for those who attended. I’ll even be sending out handouts that will be shared after the webinar is over.

The series will have the content, deliverables, and impact of what is expected in webinars, but hopefully, it will be delivered in a much more entertaining and motivating way—we’ll see, and this is where the nervousness and butterflies come in.

Can I pull it off?

There’s also the slight concern of technology issues and coming across like a rookie; I’m a big advocate of the saying “perfect is the enemy of great,” and while I don’t need perfection today, I want to be as close as possible because today sets the stage for the rest of series, along with another creative idea I’ll begin working on tomorrow. I’ve done my test runs, and I’ll do another one today, so if there are any technology glitches, it’ll be out of my control–l’ll just roll with those punches.

Finally, the nervousness and butterflies have visited because of the importance of the Keep Pursuing series in general; if you remember, the series started last fall with the five talks I gave in person. The webinar series is the next step in continuing that series, which I believe will be my path to achieving my goal of being a public speaker—and the more I plan out the Keep Pursuing series, I know it will happen. I see my speaking career running through this ongoing series and not necessarily at conferences like I once thought. But, for the Keep Pursuing series to take me to where I am going, today and the following webinars need to continue the momentum of last fall.

I envision this series being something people talk about when it’s all done–it’s why I’ve been so intentional about the co-hosts I’ve asked to join me, the sponsors I’ve asked to sponsor each webinar, and structuring the webinars in a way that feels authentic to me so I can be my best.

So, as you can see, I have a lot riding on today. I expected to feel like I was back in my basketball days on a game day or getting ready to go on stage. I would have felt a different type of nervousness if I did not feel the butterflies this morning.

Despite the nervousness and butterflies, I’m excited about this afternoon, and those feelings only add to my excitement.

If you aren’t doing things that make you a little nervous occasionally, you’re probably not exploring the creativity that lives within—living authentically requires you to put your Self in the position of feeling a little nervous and having butterflies.

When was the last time you felt light nervousness and butterflies?

I bet something amazing happened on the other side of them!

​
See you tomorrow (or maybe today?!?) and keep pursuing,

JC