The Impact of Being Real On Air Creates Unexpected Relationships

On this blog, I talk about the importance of embracing your true self, and allowing the real you to shine through. Connecting with others begins with embracing what you may think is weird about yourself, and if you suppress that, you’ll struggle to connect with the people who genuinely share the same perspective that you have. In 2022, I fully embrace this mantra that simply says “The people I’m looking for are looking for me”. I use this in all aspects of my life, and it takes the pressure off trying to appeal to everyone because it’s simply not realistic that you will connect with every individual that you encounter. That’s not the way life works. I’ll give you an example of how saying what I felt got me into trouble but it also fostered a beautiful relationship. While I was in Charlotte on WPEG Power 98 in the mid 90s there was a middle school called Coulwood. There were a lot of fights going on with the students, and one morning I got on the air said that’s not Coulwood, that's Crazy Wood. Boy Did the phone lines light up with parents being upset with me.I had to go to the school to apologize to the principal and I told them I was sorry and I felt bad when I got over there.The students were mad at me , but we formed a beautiful relationship. I became a mentor to the students and became friends with the teachers. I still work with the students in Charlotte Mecklenburg school system. I was trying to be funny on the air by being myself and it kind of worked out. How about if I did not take that risk? I am not advocating making students feel bad because they have problems at their school, but it caused a reaction and started a conversation in that community. So, my advice is to embrace your uniqueness, explore individuality, and take some of those insights and use them for your own communication style. As a personality radio coach, I encourage you to distinguish yourself from others. That’s what I do, and that’s what I try to practice every day. I’m very misunderstood to this day but remember, the real you will attract genuine connections, and it means taking a risk every day whether people will accept you for you or not. And if they don’t connect, that’s not the person that was looking for you.