When The Cure were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2019, lead singer Robert Smith gave the acceptance speech while the rest of the band stood behind him. He was visibly nervous. Fidgeting. Sweating his makeup off. His signature crazy hair all over the place. His voice was shaky.
He tried to make light of it by bringing attention to how difficult it was to get up in front of all those people and speak, versus perform.
The crowd could care less and continued applauding excitedly and shouting how much they loved him.
As he awkwardly wrapped up the speech, he said “it’s probably time we just play some music”… then turned around and sort of threw his hands up signaling to the other band members that he knew what a flop that just was.
Then, the lights go down. The band grabs their instruments and the music begins.
He turns back around to face the crowd and immediately his demeanor has changed. His movement becomes fluid. His vocals pair perfectly with the melody and lyrics of the song. He sings with confidence and conviction.
He went from being intimidated by everyone in the room to completely owning the room.
He was in his element. It was beautiful.
You forgot how awkward he was just a moment ago during the acceptance speech and were completely mesmerized by him.
The camera panned out over the audience and everyone was moving to the music. Some singing along. All captivated by the performance.
I thought, what if Robert Smith had tried to become a public speaker rather than a musician and performer?
What a disaster that would’ve been. Not to mention, the world would have been robbed of seeing what we were witnessing, which was pure magic.
It’s easy to get caught up trying to box yourself into what you perceive you should be, or what you imagine society thinks you should be.
It’s those who dare to be different though, to be themselves, who typically are the ones we say have “star power” or the “it” factor.
If you’re like everyone else, well then that’s not so exciting. Let go of the need to conform.
Don’t allow yourself to blend in. Give people a chance to witness your uniqueness. To witness your magic.
You might be surprised at how being YOU is the best gift you can give to the world.