- Well, before I went up to speak,
I heard those words over and over in my head
as I wanted to compare myself and wish I could yell
and you know, preach the paint off the walls like they do.
Well, God's words gave me so much peace to just be me.
Hey, I'm Terri Savelle Foy, your cheerleader of dreams.
Thank you for joining me today.
Can you believe I've been recording
these little podcasts since 2008?
Well, it really helps me to know
if you want to keep receiving them if you subscribe.
So, I wanna ask you to push
the little red button right below
and let you know that I appreciate it so much.
So, how do you stop comparing yourself to others?
Now, I shared something on Instagram recently.
And if you go to my page real quick,
look at the photo of me
in a blue and white polka dotted dress, you can see this,
apparently this resinated with a lot of people.
We had like 850 comments, thousands of likes
on that one post.
I was like, what is going on?
Well anyway, what I wrote was,
I said, you know, it's no secret that I sound like a kid.
In fact, my voice gets laughed at quite a bit
and it gets on some people's nerves, I understand.
I wear a lot of makeup.
I love stilettos and bright colors.
I love filly clothes and sparkles.
I have big Texas hair. (laughing)
I don't shout when I preach.
I couldn't if I tried.
I barely move from the podium, you know, when I minister.
I like props, you know, lots of 'em.
I'm very routine.
I'm not spontaneous at all.
And then I wrote in that post,
I said, why am I telling you
all this useless information about me?
Because years ago,
I was speaking at the same conference
with so many amazing, fiery incredible speakers,
like the phenomenal Christine Caine,
and before it started, the Lord said to me in prayer.
This is what I heard in my prayer time.
I made you exactly the way I wanted you.
Be yourself and you'll be embraced.
Well, before I went up to steak,
I heard those words over and over in my head
as I wanted to compare myself and wish I could yell
and you know, preach the paint off the walls like they do.
Well, God's words gave me so much peace to just be me.
And I remember that night, I was shocked.
I received a standing ovation
and we sold out of all of our books and resources.
Thank you Jesus.
Now, I'm telling you this for a reason.
If you're quiet, God made you that way.
If you're loud, God made you that way.
Whatever your style is,
it's part of the way that God packaged you for your calling.
Now, here's the exciting part.
When you fully accept your uniqueness,
God can open doors in your life that cause people to wonder
how in the world.
Bottom line, be yourself and people will embrace you.
Now, I want you to know today
that your uniqueness is what causes you to stand out.
Even though some people can't stand my voice,
and they'll write some tacky things about it
from time to time,
at the same time,
it's been the very thing that's caused others to tune in.
So, the uniqueness of my voice is what got their attention.
Whatever your uniqueness is, let God use it.
Don't try to be like anyone else.
But there's one thing I wanna share with you real quick
that enabled me to defeat insecurity and comparison
and develop confidence in my uniqueness.
Now, this is one thing you must do
to build your own confidence.
I can sum it up in four words.
A little bit more.
And you might be like, what?
I'm saying, do a little bit more
than the average person is willing to do.
You've heard that phrase,
people are rewarded in public
for what they practice in private.
Let me repeat that.
People are rewarded in public
for what they practice in private.
See, the ones who make it look effortless,
they're the ones who practice the most
when nobody's looking.
So, if you wanna build your confidence
in who God called you to be,
practice, work hard behind the scenes,
put in the extra hours.
See, whatever God has called you to do,
work hard in silence.
Another words, prepare, practice, be the best
and I'm telling you your confidence will sour to new levels.
Why?
Because you put in the work.
You know, I've heard stories of successful people,
like Larry Byrd.
He would shoot 500 free throws
before he even went to class every morning in high school.
Jim Carey would sit in front of the mirror,
contorting his face for hours perfecting his skills.
Well, that's why he became worth $20 million per picture.
Or you think about Michael Jordan.
Hew would spend his off seasons
taking hundreds of jump shots a day.
His coach Phil Jackson said it was hard work
that made him a legend.
He said when Jordan first entered the league,
his jump shot wasn't good enough.
He spend his off season while everybody else is on vacation,
he's taking hundreds of jump shots a day
until it was perfect.
Winston Churchill,
said he practiced his speeches compulsively.
Vladimir Horowitz, he was a famous piano player.
He said, if I don't practice for a day, I know it.
If I don't practice for two days, my wife knows it.
He said, if I don't practice for three days,
the world knows it.
All I'm saying is excel in what God has called you to do.
You know, the bible says study to show yourself approved.
And you know, I think about me personally,
if you only knew how many hours I spend studying,
reading, listening, preparing messages.
Sometimes as I feel like something's wrong with me.
But then I heard this phrase.
The quality of your preparation
determines the quality of your performance.
So, all those hours I spend behind the scenes,
it developed my confidence in who God called me to be
and in my performance on stage.
So, people are rewarded in public
for what they practice in private.
People even ask me, how do you have the confidence
to speak on stage to thousands of people?
It's because I'm convinced that what I'm teaching will work
and because I've studied and studied and studied.
So, my confidence in my preparation
helped me not compare myself to other people
or my style with other motivators and ministers.
Successful people in every field
are often said to be blessed with talent,
or even just lucky,
but the truth is many work harder
than the average person can even imagine.
Now, I wish I could share with you
the six other things I've done
to drastically change and prepare for what I'm doing today.
In fact, I want to give you my personal notes.
It's a seven point checklist
to distinguish yourself for success.
But first,
let me tell you this story real quick about Picasso.
I think this is so funny.
It was a lady at a marketplace, she saw Picasso
and she said, Picasso, can you draw me portrait?
He said sure I'll draw you a portrait.
He reached for a pen and paper and in 30 seconds
he sketched an identical portrait of this lady.
He handed it back to her and he said that'll be $30,000.
She said, Picasso, how can you charge me $30,000
when it only took you 30 seconds?
You know what he said?
It took me 30 years to be able to do that in 30 seconds.
So, what am I saying?
Successful people have the habit
of doing what unsuccessful people don't want to do.
Now, I just want to remind you today
that God is preparing you for greatness.
You may not feel comfortable,
you may not feel worthy or deserving,
confident or as good as other people,
but if you embrace your uniqueness
and start practicing behind the scenes,
God will open doors for you that no man can shut.
So, don't compare yourself to anyone else.
And the very thing that sets you apart from others,
are the very things that will cause you to stand out.
Does this help you today?
If so, would you give it a like,
you know, by pushing the thumbs up button
and be sure to subscribe
so I can continue to keep you motivated to live your dreams.
That's what I'm here for.
Again, I want to give you even more
by giving you my seven point checklist
to distinguish yourself for success.
Now, this was one of the points right here,
but I want you to have the other six
because I'm telling you from experience,
when I got fed up with my life
being in a rut, being insecure,
I started doing these seven things
and it catapulted my life to places I only dreamed of.
So, all you have to do is click the link in the description
to get your free seven point checklist.
And hey, be sure to follow me
on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter,
so I can cheer you on to live your dreams.
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Thanks for watching.
I'm cheering you on.