Let me ask you something. Who put you in the balcony? Was it a teacher who told you to be realistic? A boss who implied you weren’t ready yet? A sibling who joked that your dream was “too big”? Maybe even a parent who simply wanted you to play it safe.
At some point in life, many of us receive messages like that, messages that quietly suggest we should stay where we are, not risk too much, and definitely not aim for the front-row.
But here’s the truth: You don’t have to keep listening to those messages. You can leave the balcony anytime you choose.
Sometimes the people giving us those messages genuinely care about us. Their advice isn’t meant to hold us back. It’s often coming from a place of love… mixed with their own fears.
I learned this lesson years ago when I was living in Allentown, Pennsylvania, working as a training officer for a finance company. It was a good job. Steady paycheck. Benefits. Predictable future. But then something happened.
I was offered an opportunity to work for a seminar company—a job that would put me on the path to becoming a professional motivational speaker. At the time, it felt like the ultimate dream job.
So I did what many of us do. I called my dad. I explained the opportunity and told him I might leave my corporate job to become an independent contractor. His reaction was immediate and filled with questions:
• What about insurance?
• What about benefits?
• Will the income be steady?
And the honest answers were:
No.
No.
And probably not.
Then he said something that stuck with me. “You’ve got a good job. Chrysler First Financial Services isn’t going anywhere. Why don’t you stay in Allentown and keep making good money?”
I listened to him for about half a second. Then I said, “Thank you for your feedback.” And I went on the interview anyway and I got the job.
I packed up my life, moved to San Diego, and started down the road that eventually led to my career as a motivational keynote speaker. And here’s the interesting twist.
The company my dad thought would always be there was eventually sold to NationsBank. All 450 employees at the home office either had to quit or relocate to another state. Years later, I asked an audience a question: “Can you imagine if I had stayed in Allentown because my dad told me I had a good job?” One person in the audience said something that changed everything.
They said: “You would have been living in your dad’s comfort zone.”
That night I went home and wrote the title of my first book: Whose Comfort Zone Are You In? How to live the life YOU want, and be happy every day. Here’s the important part of today’s Front-Row Friday message. My dad wasn’t being negative. He wasn’t trying to discourage me. He was simply speaking from his own lens of fear.
He wanted his daughter to have security. Stability. Predictability. And years later, he admitted something that meant the world to me: “I’m glad you didn’t listen to me.” So let me ask you. Whose voice is in your head?
So let me ask you. Whose voice is in your head? Whose words have quietly placed you in a balcony seat in your life?
And more importantly…
• Whose voice can you release?
• Which message can you reframe?
• What belief can you disconnect from?
Because the good news is this: You don’t have to stay in the balcony. You can move past general admission and step right into the front-row of your life. You are enough. You are qualified. And you have every right to pursue the life you truly want.
The balcony may be safe and comfortable, but the front-row is where life is lived! Take a moment today and ask yourself one question: What dream have I postponed because of someone else’s fear?
Then take one small step toward it. Because the moment you stop listening to limiting voices…is the moment you move closer to your front-row. And that’s exactly where you belong.
Happy Front-Row Friday!
Your Head Usher,
Marilyn
