I’m almost too embarrassed to share this, but…

Just yesterday, I was looking at some of my recent conference footage to share with a client. There I am on stage at the conference, leading some Bollywood dancing. Yes I use Bollywood dancing to teach some of my content and because it’s fun.

In the footage, the entire audience is up and dancing..

I am dancing away and the whole time my mouth is wide open! My partner who was passing by asked me helpfully ‘Why do you always dance with your mouth open?’

So embarrassing.

I wanted to curl up and die… then as a professional speaker and presenter, I embraced Vairagya.  

A Sanskrit word, Vairagya (be careful how you say it!) means non-attachment to the outcomes. It frees you from the possible disappointment of your expectations. Do your best and leave the rest.

An ancient idea, that I learned from my beautiful wise yoga teacher Kanchi Rao.

Without Vairagya, you might be too embarrassed or scared to take a risk or try once, fall flat, and never try again. Vairagya allows you to overcome the fear of failure.

Please don’t get me wrong – this still means you turn up doing the work and delivering your very best.

Embracing Vairagya I saw that the audience loved the Bollywood dancing. They were all up and dancing, and the formal feedback was terrific. I have, though, now learned to dance with my mouth shut!

The one thing I have learnt in my 15 years as a speaker is that Vairagya frees you to act, no matter the context. It’s the trade secret that every professional speaker uses. They may not use the word, but that is our mindset 100%.

And oh, I know you are keen as mustard to see the footage – so here it is for your eyes only. Don’t panic, you only see a bearable portion of the ‘open mouth dancing’ bit.