Penny Casselman [00:00:08]:
Welcome to the Pivot with Passion podcast. Hi. I'm Penny Casselman. I believe everyone is deserving of a phenomenal life, and that life starts when you grab a red marker and claim what you truly desire. Regardless of where you came from, where you're at, or where you think you're headed. Life is what you make of it. And when you learn to pivot with passion, your world explodes with opportunities. Go grab your favorite beverage, and let's shake things up as we explore how to pivot with passion.
Penny Casselman [00:00:47]:
I had just been mic'd up. And as I took the stage, the camera was rolling, the lights were on me, and the audience was intently waiting for me to start. I got 4 minutes into my 5 minute story, and suddenly, I froze. I had temporarily lost my mental spot in my story. I can't tell you even now how long I stood there? Maybe 40 seconds? Maybe 20 seconds? Maybe it was 10. I really have no idea, but know that it felt like forever. Now my friend, this just happened 3 days ago. I entered another speaking competition.
Penny Casselman [00:01:42]:
I swore I would never do it again. There were a few reasons why I chose to do it. One. I'm extremely competitive. I've said this before. I like a good challenge, and so when it first was offered to get involved with this. There was a little piece in the back of my mind going, come on. You know you wanna do it.
Penny Casselman [00:02:04]:
You know you wanna do it. But, really, the reason I wanted to jump in is because this competition was for the National Speakers Association here in the United States. I've been participating in this group now for about 1 year. Most of our gatherings are educational. It's a time for us to network, but not for us to, quote, perform or deliver our own talks. So I chose to do this because it would be in front of all of my Ohio constituents, and a friend of mine said this would be a great opportunity for me to get exposure and become more familiar with other speakers. I'm the black sheep in most circles because I am not afraid of public speaking. Obviously, it is what I am moving forward with as a profession.
Penny Casselman [00:03:02]:
But if you had asked me what I'm most afraid of when it comes to public speaking, I would have said before this event was I'm afraid of my microphone not working or the lights cutting out, of a fire alarm of someone having a health crisis in the audience. Those would be things I would be fearful of. I don't think it ever crossed my mind that I would lose my place in delivering a story and stand there staring back at the audience trying to recall what was next. Yeah. That was rough because then what ended up happening is this was all peer judged. I did get valuable feedback. And make no mistake, I was devastated. I suppose it's like when you ride a bike and maybe your chain derails and you hop off and you kinda have to then angle it back onto this wheel, and then it finally clicks in and you can just zoom off.
Penny Casselman [00:04:14]:
That's what happened when I lost my spot. The chain fell off. I had to pause long enough to get everything realigned until I knew where it went, popped it on, and took off. I finished my 5 minute talk. So, one, I was proud of myself for hitting a hiccup, standing there, knowing I could recall the content if I focused, and I did. But in turn, what happened, clearly, this was a competition. There was zero chance that I was going to move forward with that glaring of a snafu in my talk, which was very disheartening to me because I'm competitive. But then I started to get very upset because this was the first time anyone in this organization had heard me talk, and I dude there with a blank look on my face.
Penny Casselman [00:05:13]:
Let me tell you. By the end, when I stepped off the stage. I felt like a complete fraud that I should not be a speaker. See, you can't do it. So tears were forming in my eyes, but then something magical happened. People came up and shared stories of witnessing a similar thing happen to a speaker or something along their own journey that is very relatable to what I had just experienced. So what I thought was going to completely alienate me and set me aside actually helped me make some connections with people that I had never yet talked to in that group. You might think that's the end of this story, but, oh, my friend, it gets way better.
Penny Casselman [00:06:10]:
So hang tight with me, and I'll fill you in on the magic that occurred later on that evening. It's time for a clarity cocktail. May the odds be ever in your favor. Effie Trinket from The Hunger Games. My friend, I don't know if you have scene, that movie, or read that series of books. Let me just set the stage that the movie kicks off with a lottery where children are randomly selected for a, quote, chance to become part of a fight to the death adventure, and the guys is the winner then has their family set up for life. I would say the movie is very strongly a commentary about the have, the have nots, teamwork, compassion, friendship, love, you know, all the good ingredients for a movie. But Effie is the overseer of this lottery.
Penny Casselman [00:07:22]:
He says to all eligible entrants. May the odds be ever in your favor. And I love this for this episode because we forget the odds r in our favor all the time. Now I am not a religious person. I consider myself much more spiritual, and I often refer to the universe as having my back. Whether you call that God or ether or spirit or universe or any other host of names. I think collectively, regardless of how you view things, your belief holds true that this, insert your name here always has your back and that we simply need to have faith That whatever is thrown in our path will work to our favor. I can guarantee that you've been around someone who is a constant complainer, a Debbie Downer.
Penny Casselman [00:08:32]:
And rather than take any form of personal responsibility, they complain, and that can be exhausting. Now my friend, I have been that person at certain points in my life. I am not proud of those moments as I have grown as a person. I can identify those times. I know why I was doing it, but I also now have perspective that it was happening for a reason. And if I look back now, I'm happy where I am today, which means I went through something unfortunate to get me somewhere where I'm thriving. So may the odds be ever in your favor is such a good reminder Because in going through something unexpected or hard or challenging or difficult, you come out realizing something has to change Because you don't wanna go through it again, because you desire something better, bigger, more meaningful. As you move through your day to day, your week, your month, your year, remember, may the odds be ever in your favor because, my friend, I know that they are.
Penny Casselman [00:09:54]:
You just have to look to find it. And now back to the episode. Cheers. We are back, and I'm excited to share with you part 2 of this unfortunate story at the beginning and the magic that ensued. So after my deer in headlights moment on stage. I was looking at an approximate two and a half hour drive home, which is a long time to think about what just happened. Now I rarely eat fast food. Usually, I will eat it when I am on a road trip because there are just not that many options unless you want to get off and go further into a town you are unfamiliar with.
Penny Casselman [00:10:44]:
And one of the places I like to go is Burger King because they have an possible burger, which I think is very delicious. But about 45 minutes out from being home, I was just tired. I was getting hungry. And my friend, let me tell you, neither of those are a good combination with me, I e enter hangry, but I happened to catch an exit sign that had a Burger King. I got off the exit and then suddenly realized this exit had an a and a b. I had no concept which one I was supposed to take for Burger King, and you guessed it, I picked the wrong one. So this just increased my drive home as I had to snake my way back to the freeway, then I started driving home again, passing sign after sign for yet another Burger King. And I thought, I am not getting off the road again because I'm really getting tired and hungry, and I don't need another mishap.
Penny Casselman [00:11:53]:
About 25 minutes out from home, and I'm in much more familiar area. So I saw another Burger King sign and said, okay. Just get off here. Find the damn Burger King because I don't wanna eat when I get home. I don't wanna think about doing anything. I'm gonna go through a drive through and get some food. Get off the freeway. 2 miles in, I arrive at the Burger King.
Penny Casselman [00:12:19]:
It is a 24 hour Burger King. There is not 1 car in the parking lot. All the lights were on, assumed it was open, made my way to the drive through, placed my order, and pulled up to the 1st window. The gentleman tells me what I owe him. I look at him. I go, one moment. I need to find my wallet. I'm digging through my purse, pulling out candy and Kleenex and a bottle of water and all kinds of I finally find my wallet.
Penny Casselman [00:12:51]:
I turn to hand him the 10, and waiting for me on the end of his arm is a Burger King crown. Now mind you, I didn't ask for the crown. I had only just ordered my food and pulled to the 1st window to pay. That was the extent of my conversation with this gentleman. I give him the 10. I take the crown. I hold it in front of me and I turned to him and I said, you know what? I really needed this today. I said, thank you so much for this crown.
Penny Casselman [00:13:27]:
And I immediately put it on top of my head. And he looked at me and said, did you have a bad day today? And I said, yes. Yes. I did. Then he looked at me, took a breath, and said, well, you rule, my friends. I can't make this shit up. Of all the Burger Kings that I passed, I guarantee had I stopped at any other Burger King on my path, I would not have had the cashier stick out his arm and on the end of it sit a Burger King crown. It was magical.
Penny Casselman [00:14:07]:
And in that moment, I immediately thought it doesn't matter what happened in that speaking competition. It's done. It's over. Did I learn something from it? You bet I did. Did I connect with new people? Yes. Did I pull on some heartstrings with my message? Yeah. I did that too. And regardless of the outcome, I still rule and deserve a crown of any kind.
Penny Casselman [00:14:37]:
It was amazing. I I just drove home From That Burger King on a complete high because that small interaction with a complete stranger had given me the perspective that the odds are in my favor and that everything is okay regardless of how I performed in the competition. Now you may not have such overt magical moments happening after an unfortunate situation. But I guarantee that there are probably glimpses that if you pause long enough, You will find someone handing you a Burger King crown. So here's what I want you to know, my friend. Regardless of where you're at, where you have been, or where you think you're headed, you are one choice away from everything you desire. And you are empowered to choose a new perspective at any time. Just using the story of me forgetting what to say, I could have looked at that as this proves I am not meant to be a speaker.
Penny Casselman [00:15:53]:
This proves I have no business and having a podcast or sharing my thoughts with other people, or I can look at it and say, everybody has moments like this. Lots of times, nobody else gets to see them. Everyone got to see my moment. But what I realized is I'm not gonna stop. I'm gonna keep going because the odds are ever in my favor. I want you, my friend, to pick up your red marker and pivot with so much passion that you step into the phenomenal life waiting for you. I believe in you even if you can't yet see this for yourself. And side note, because you know I can't resist.
Penny Casselman [00:16:43]:
We are close to the end of January 2024. If you, my friend, would like a red marker of your own to claim your phenomenal life, to pivot with passion, to take a stand and make this year your year, hop over to the show notes because in there will be details about how you can get your hands on a red marker. Take care. Be well, and my friend, I will see you next listening to this episode of Pivot with Passion. If you've been feeling stuck, exhausted, or frustrated, this is your permission slip to go grab a red marker and claim the life you desire and deserve. If you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend, and then hop over to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts because my goal is to put a red marker GERD in everyone's hand, and I need your help to spread the word and make that happen. Until the next episode. Go grab a red marker.
Penny Casselman [00:17:57]:
Get excited for your future and make your 1st move to pivot with passion.
