“Your voice is who you are. Maybe not the “you” you carry around each day, but the one yelling from inside, demanding to be heard.” – James Victore
We live lives that are all too often diametrically opposed to how we feel inside. We do and say what we think we ought to….even when the words betray who we are inside. Why? For most of us, it comes from the lessons we’ve learned from others. Often, these messages come from well meaning individuals that have also learned to live these same constrained, limited lives.
In his book, Feck Perfuction, James Victore calls on everyone to disregard these lessons. To stop pursuing perfection and to “find out who you are and do it on purpose.” Be who you are. Have an opinion. State it. Do not let this world convince you to bow your head and recite the party line…whatever that party line might be. Victore’s work seems to call us to really be who we originally started out to be. He reminds us that the things that made us weird as kids might well make us great as adults. Remember the words of Sally Hogshead (in her book, Fascinate) when she says that different is better than better. Or the words of Oscar Wilde when he says to be yourself because everyone else is already taken.
What do you fear most in life? I suspect that when that question is asked…you didn’t think of spiders, snakes, dark spaces or falling from planes. I think you probably thought of being seen by others. For some it is just the fear of being seen. For others, it is the fear of REALLY being seen. We create in our minds this idea of what we are supposed to be…perfection as we define it (or as we think the world has defined it). This perfection stops us from striving…from trying to reach our goals…or even from trying to have real human connections. Victore is not saying don’t try to be the best you can…and I’m not implying you shouldn’t do your best. But…when effort moves to perfectionism and stops you from moving forward…then it is not valuable in your journey.
Ultimately, this book is not written as a textbook or even an inspirational read. It is Victore’s attempt to encourage readers to be introspective and, hopefully, force change. It is not written in a traditional format… or really like any traditional book. Victore has written a collection of thoughts that are broken into logical chunks for reading and (more importantly) processing. “This book will reintroduce you to your voice, reconnect you with your weird gifts, and help you find your purpose.” It can easily be read over a couple of days…and then re-read on occasion to make sure that you are applying the ideas and freeing your mind to create…to be who you were meant to be. That isn’t a one-time step…it is a life journey. This book, like many others, is one of the tools in your toolbelt. A tool that can be used whenever needed to help build…to help refine…to help protect…the you that we all need.