Lately, I’ve been in content creation mode – deep in the process of building structured trainings, refining language, recording videos, and troubleshooting all the moving parts that go into building impactful learning. And somewhere in the middle of all of it, I caught myself drifting. Not mentally, but energetically. I dreaded the days I had to record videos. And when they came, it was take after take, trying to get it right. Let’s be clear. I was performing. Not in a theatrical sense, but in that familiar, slightly rigid space where the focus is more on controlling the outcome than on being present to the process.

I know the difference. We all do, if we’re honest. Performance feels unnatural. It comes with pressure, control, and a constant internal scan for how we’re being perceived. It’s more about managing perception than it is about connection. Presence, on the other hand, requires something else entirely. It asks us to stop observing and start participating. It’s what happens when we drop the mask and show up as our actual selves, even if we’re still in process, still becoming.

What’s tricky is that performance is often rewarded. Especially for those of us who’ve spent a lifetime learning how to read a room, anticipate expectations, and keep things moving forward. That ability can serve you well until it starts to cost you something. 

When we over-rely on performance, we disconnect from ourselves. And over time, that disconnect spills into our work, our relationships, and even our sense of self. We start to wonder who we actually are – or if we’ve just become a collection of roles we play for others. But here’s the thing all y’all. If your life feels like a role – or a series of them – maybe it’s time to rewrite the part.

The truth is presence is harder. It means risking a little more. There’s no mask to hide behind, no rehearsed version to fall back on. But presence also brings us back to what matters. It’s the difference between delivering content and leading learning. One fills space and checks a nebulous box – ‘just get the videos done’ – while the other invites transformation. That’s the kind of work I want to be doing. That’s the kind of work that makes all the rest worth it.

It doesn’t take a business or a platform or a grand plan for performance to show up. Sometimes it kicks in the moment we consider being visible. Sharing an idea. Speaking up in a meeting. Saying out loud what we really want. The moment there’s even a possibility of being seen, that old instinct can creep in – the one that thinks, ‘Get it right. Look the part. Don’t mess this up.’ And just like that, we’re no longer present. We’re managing perception again.

The important thing is recognizing the pattern and working to replace the belief that created it because without that shift, presence won’t stick.

I know. There’s that inner work thing I keep talking about. Here’s the thing. Everything, I mean everything, begins and ends with you. Your beliefs shape your outcomes. Your expectations influence your results. Paraphrasing Abraham Lincoln, “Whether you think you can or can’t – you’re right.” 

So as for me, I’m going to keep recording videos and doing my level best to be present. I get to experience the moment and connect to my own material – but more importantly, the person watching has a better experience because I’m present. That presence gives them space to tune in, tap in, and turn on.

If you’d like to be part of my viewing audience and see how it’s going, drop a comment or send me an email. I’ll get you a link to the course I referenced – and yep, it’s live.

In the meantime, the people we’re meant to serve are waiting.

Presence or performance – you get to decide.

I hope you choose presence. Because I think the real you? Divine.

#FlyAboveSoarBeyond