I just signed up for Facebook. I know,  you probably think I misspoke. Nope! Fourteen years it’s been in existence and I chose not to participate. Why you ask? Because I was being stubborn along with being as is said, “old school”.

Focus is one of my greatest strengths. I’ve known this for years now. I’ve done the work to determine this. But I never intended to go down the rabbit hole and not look back. I have great focus. But the key here is, I lost focus on what my goal is.

My beliefs, principals and values are completely aligned. I’ve spent hundreds and hundreds of hours in it. My goal is to connect with people in deep meaningful ways. Why on earth, wouldn’t I utilize a tool and method that’s right at my fingertips? I dare say, it was fear and ego.

My ego got the best of me for a while. In fact, for way too long. I was insecure and afraid to put myself out there. Honestly you see, this is a character issue. Every problem is rooted in character issues. The scary thing is, no matter who we are and what we do, It’s very easy to get lost on the road and off our paths. We all have challenges. Were all made from the same stuff.

Here’s a brief story.  Once I was alone hiking on the Appalachian trail.  I  used to spend a lot of time alone in thought. As I was thinking, I remembered reading that many people get lost on the Appalachian trail. I thought about this as I walked. “Who does this?” I thought. In case you don’t know, there are white markers called blazes on trees all along the trail. They’re everywhere. How can one get lost?

I’ve spoken to a few people and read many stories of people getting lost. I remember thinking, “How does this happen?” And yes, wouldn’t you know it? Just as you suspected. I got lost. I was running out of light, rushing back to my car because I was lost in thought. I had missed a blaze. “How does this happen”, I thought. “How could I have gotten lost?” “How on earth, could this have happened to me?”, I said to myself.

It did happen to me. Actually, as I recall, It took four hours of walking in the dark, to get back to where I needed to be. Simply put. It’s just easy to do. Falling off the path is much easier than one might think. Blind spots set us back days, weeks and even years. Next thing you know,  twenty years have passed.

If you’re not already where you want to be. At least in some particular area, take a step forward and come out into the light. Reach out to people you care about and people who care about you. Do not hesitate. Do not fear rejection. Use every medium you have available to let people know what you believe in. Share your passions as well. In doing this, you will be on the path to building your brilliance.

My passion is leadership and connecting with people in deep meaningful ways. How could I ever be able to do that in a cave of fear and insecurity? This is vulnerable stuff but I no longer have fear. I just decided to go for it and put it all out on YouTube. The mistakes, the vulnerability, all of it. But you know, I’ve heard, “Fear is false evidence appearing real”.  I no longer have fear. I believe, all authenticity has real meaning to people. It adds value.

This is an example of why we need mentors and to be mentored! It’s for the “ah-ha”  breakthrough moments that make our lives brighter. It’s for the betterment of ourselves and those who surround us. To me, it’s the sole purpose of Building Brilliance!

It’s not about putting content out there. It’s not about lecturing. It’s about connecting! When you connect with someone you lift them up. You lift them in the ways THEY need to be lifted up. In turn you lift yourself a little. I call that a win/win.

This has nothing to do with content. Content is just the medium by which we learn who we want to connect with. “Don’t take life too serious but be serious in who you are”. “You must step outside yourself, to be into yourself!” You know who said those things? You guessed it. Me in a day of breakthrough. Take a step outside yourself today. Don’t just think about it. Be brilliant, go do it! Go get em!

B. A. Milford