How to Stand Out With Confidence and Achieve Your Potential Fear of standing out keeps people playing small. Learn how to stand out with confidence and achieve the purpose and potential designed for your life.

Let's face it. It's not always easy to stand out, go against the grain or make a bold statement. It can feel easier to go with the flow than to swim against the current. When you step out, you can be seen and can feel uncomfortable. People might label you, point fingers and even judge you. You might even fear failing, and rightfully so because having anyone see you fail is terrifying. The horror of being in the spotlight keeps many people from ever stepping out and being true to their beliefs, opinions, and themselves. Fear keeps transformative thoughts and ideas buried, often resurfacing later in life when people ask themselves, "what if?"

What if I had stood up for what I wanted? What if I had taken that risk? What if I had raised my hand and spoken my truth…. would my life have been different? Could I have made a difference? Would I have been happier?

There's a perceived risk to standing out, but there's also a risk to playing safe. You might never fully experience who you are, what you're capable of, or the impact you could make. You may miss out on your true potential or living your purpose. But how do you step into your truth?

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It takes confidence to be authentic to yourself. You have to be willing to stand up for those things that make you who you are, even though they are sometimes different from the majority. You have to be ready to scrape your knee from time to time and get up and try again. This level of vulnerability is where many people shut down brilliant ideas, choose to play small and become average because they're too afraid to stand out. The good news is we all have confidence inside of us; it's a mindset that will get you through your toughest moments and to the vision you have for your life.

For years, I had zero confidence in my stature. A woman at 6'1" is like being a human unicorn, one that people stare at, point at, and sometimes want pictures with. For years, I did a hip lean to make myself shorter, which, unfortunately, gave me scoliosis later on in life. And for what? Were two inches going to make me blend in or stand out less? Why was I fighting who I truly was? Why didn't I want to own being taller than everyone in the room? The answer was the same reason it scares a lot of people to be different; I was afraid of judgment. I was afraid of ridicule, stares and rejection.

And, as life has it, I got caught in its hamster wheel. I was focused on advancing my career. Being happy and authentic took a far back seat.

Then, one day, it hit me. I wasn't living. I was existing and merely going through the motions of an average life. I wasn't stepping into who I was designed to be because I sorely lacked the confidence to differentiate myself. I wore flats while admiring everyone else's heels. I kept my entrepreneurial ideas to myself while I worked to advance big corporations. I became frustrated because I saw potential going to waste, yet I wasn't willing to do anything about it.

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I realized that I was playing small in every area of my life, including how I presented myself when I walked into a room. I realized I had been given one of the greatest assets, yet my fear of it didn't allow me to channel the true benefits. How does one get noticed for a promotion, seen by a suitor or chosen for anything? They have to be willing to stand out. Even people lucky enough to win the lottery were confident enough to buy a ticket, but they had to play to win.

Whereas many people need to do something to stand out, I just had to show up, my height was what caught everyone's immediate attention, why was I rejecting this gift?

I needed to be confident to stand up and stand out. I began rejecting this idea of being my worse enemy and talking down to myself, and I began being my best advocate. I no longer focused on how others would see me but on how I saw myself and wanted my legacy to play out. I told myself that it was ok to scrape my knee; anyone who ever made anything happen in life went through their own set of trials, it's all part of the growth process. The turning point in my life was when I began trusting and believing in myself and accepting who I was, then everything else fell into place.

I threw away my flats and bought those heels I had always admired. I started trademarking and patenting my ideas. I began to be unapologetically me, and if you didn't see my shine, then maybe you weren't meant to, and I was ok with that. People began to receive me differently because I accepted who I was. I became more positive, happier and more at peace. And the more I respected who I was, the more respect I received from the people around me. My circle around me also changed; more positive and entrepreneurial people now surrounded me.

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Standing out can be intimidating. But would you rather wonder what life could have been like or would you have rather lived it? If you want to be like everyone else, expect life to be average. If you're afraid to put out a product or service because of rejection, then be ok with someone else coming along and bringing that idea into the world. If you decide to play small feels safer, realize that will be a choice you'll live with through eternity.

Work on changing that mindset to support you and your vision for your life. You are the only one that can make changes to get you where you want to be. Are you living the life you dreamed, or are you playing small because you're afraid of standing out?

Learn to accept who you are. That's the person that will get you across the finish line. Focus on being authentic to the person you were designed to be and believe in that person. You are one in almost eight billion. Don't be afraid to step into that value. The right people will see your shine, and the universe will make adjustments as you become who you were designed to be and do what you were made to do. Confidence is a mindset, and you've already got it within you. Shake the dust off if you can't already see it.