The $9 Trillion Secret to Thriving at Work | Michelle Silverthorn | TEDxWCC
Do me a favor. Look to the person to the left of you. Your other left professor. Now, now to the right. Now, behind you. All right. I have some bad news for you. Three out of the four of you are not engaged in your jobs. You're not enjoying them. And it's costing companies $9 trillion dollar a year. But it's costing you years of your life because you're not thriving at work. But I have a secret. Look all around you. Every single one of you knows how to solve this. You know how I know because you've all read a book. Okay? Maybe you've heard of a book. Maybe you know some of you. Okay. A book, any work of fiction, and a book, that noble and ancient relic that some of you may not be familiar with. It tells a story. And for most books, works of fiction throughout human history, they tell a story of a hero or heroes on a quest, on a journey, overcoming obstacles, finding fulfillment, seeking purpose. At the end, they tell a story of thriving. For me, thriving at work means you are the hero of your own story. Every day you move that story forward. Every day is a new chapter that you are writing. So, how are you going to do it? The secret is in the word thrive. Start with the letter T. Tell them who you are. Who are you on this journey? What is your in common parlance? Your personal brand. Answer this question. Who are you? For me, I am a mom of two awesome daughters. I am an immigrant. I am a lawyer. I am a best-selling author in my family. But you're not the only one reading this story. So the next thing you need to do is what do people assume about me? The people who I work with. Do they assume I am smart or a leader or anxious or trustworthy? Because your goal in telling people who you are creating that personal brand is you are bridging the gap between who you know you are and how other people see you. So the third question you're going to ask yourself is what do you want people to know about you? And as you go on your hero's journey, that's the person I want you to set out with, your intentional person that you're putting out there on this journey. So, you're on this journey. That's great. But then you have the first villain. Do I deserve to be here? Oh, did I deserve that promotion? Should I go for that job? Self-doubt. Oh, self-doubt is a really hard one. But here's the thing. All heroes have self-doubt. You know who never has self-doubt? Villains. Their plans never work, but they never have self-doubt. Heroes though, heroes have self-doubt all the time. So, here's what I need you to do. I need you to handle that self-doubt. That's your H and thrive. And handling your self-doubt means you need to recognize when the self-doubt arises. Is it in meetings? Is it on group calls? Is it when you're trying harder projects? And once you recognize it, what are the skills, the actions, the behaviors that you need to master so you can overcome that self-doubt? And then as you're going forward, keep track of your success. Keep track of your momentum. But most of all, friends, check your emails. If you use the word just, just checking in, just a quick reminder, just wants to let you know, stop it. Stop using the word just. Stop undermining yourself. You deserve to be here. All right. So, you're on this journey. Everything's looking great, but where are you going? The R in Thrive is about your road map. I need you to redo your road map. Don't tell me what you want in your career in 20, 30 years. I may not know you then. We're not those kinds of friends. Tell me what you want to achieve by the end of today, by the end of this conference, by the end of this week, by the end of this month. Because you know what keeps people interested in heroes journeys? Every chapter there's a new goal, a new obstacle to overcome. And that's what will keep you interested in your journey, the shortterm goals. Set short-term goals for yourself so you can be engaged. So you're redoing your road map. You're handling your self-doubt. You are telling people who you are. Now, who's with you? Who's on this journey with you? Think of Lord of the Rings. You have you have Sam Wise Ganji. You have your hobbits. You have your friends, your peers, your colleagues, your co-workers. They're going to support you. They'll hold you accountable. You'll compete with them. And there's Gandalf. He's in his wagon. That's who you have with you as well. Not telling you the whole story, but he's there, right? That's your mentor. That person's going to offer you advice and guidance, but let me tell you what the I in Thrive stands for. The I stands for the other person you need. Do you remember the scary elf queen, right? beautiful and terrible as the dawn. You need a gladriel. You need a champion. Your eye in and thrive is you are going to identify your champion. Identify your champion. Someone who is going to say, "I will slay dragons for you. I will speak up your name in rooms you are not in because I am going to make sure you succeed because with their help, let me tell you what's next. You have the V and thrive. You are going to be visible. You are venturing. You are taking risks. Is the montage scene. Everyone loves a good montage scene in the movie. So, you're out there. You're amping it up at work. You are seeking out those high-profile assignments. You are speaking up in meetings. You are asking for that promotion you know you deserve because now you are visible. Now you are seen. People are valuing you. They're bringing you into meetings. They want your advice. And I know it can be hard. It can be hard to step out there to be visible, to speak up. But here's the thing, every hero's journey starts with them leaving home because it is hard to leave spaces that are comfortable. But the thing about growing and changing is we don't grow and change from spaces of comfort. We grow from spaces of discomfort. And that is how we are going to thrive. Because now you are out there. You have your map and you have your champions. You are handling that self-doubt, but you know what's going to happen in every movie, in every book. Now, we have the big boss battle. It's Thanos. It's the conflict. And that's not just one in your career. There are going to be many times where you've tried something and you failed or you stumbled or you didn't succeed. And sometimes you think it might be easier to go back to when I was invisible, when I wasn't thriving. I'm going to accept that I will be three out of four people and I'm not going to thrive here. And that is your last E in thrive. T H R I V E. Embrace your resilience. Answer this question for me. When you think of the times in your life where you have been the happiest, the proudest or the most satisfied with what you have accomplished at work or at school or in life. What are the values that come to mind? Think of your values. Teamwork, gratitude, integrity, financial security, community. Because success, real success, is holding on to those values every single day. And whenever those obstacles come, you use those core values and you overcome them every single time. So that's it. That's your secret. The $9 trillion secret that everyone to the left and to the right and around you, they already know. You're the main character in your own story. You are the hero of your narrative and you deserve to thrive. So get out there, go write your story. It'll be the greatest story you'll ever tell. I can't wait to read it because it's the story of you. Thank you.