Assumptions & Mistaken Identity

Chris Voss gave the keynote at a recent conference I attended, and his talk was one of the best of the entire event. He was not at all what I expected, and let me tell you why.

Everything he said made so much sense. He was smart, funny, and self-deprecating. There was a huge line at the end of folks who wanted to meet him, and when he asked the crowd how many people had read his book, almost every hand went up.

Later on, I went by his booth at the expo and confessed to him that I’d had his book for a year and hadn’t read it.

With another book in my hand (ready to buy), he looked at me and exclaimed, “Why not?!”

And then, I told him the story.

Many years ago, I followed this guy online, and guess what? His name was Chris Voss.

Everything about him felt smarmy to me, and while he may be the nicest guy in the world, I felt like he was an Internet marketing dude selling falsehoods to the “people.”

Not my person.

Chris cut me off partway through my story and said, “That guy asked me to stop using his name!”

No surprise, my vibe was spot on.

In any case, I had made assumptions about the real Chris Voss and his book due to a case of mistaken identity.

I thought they were the same guy, but they weren’t. The story I told myself all these years, the resistance I felt towards his book, Never Split the Difference, was wrong.

What about you?

What assumptions might you be falling prey to?

Perhaps it’s a story you’re telling yourself about your own capabilities.

Maybe it’s a story about someone else (insert business coach, leader, team member) that someone told you that isn’t true.

Or even worse, could you be selling yourself short because you’re mixing up a story or a person like I did?

Don’t make assumptions about others or yourself. 

If I had taken two minutes ten years ago to get curious about this book and Chris Voss, I would have instantly realized they were not the same guy. They don’t even look remotely the same, but instead, I doubled down on my belief, which turned out to be a false assumption and held me back.

What belief is holding you back? Is it time to get curious about it and see whether it’s really true?

If, by any chance, that belief is about you and your true potential, helping people step into their potential is one of my superpowers. I’d love to help you blow that assumption up either through one of my coaching programs or during a strategy day.

If you’d like to know more, feel free to reach out to me, and we can explore what that looks like for you. I’m starting a new group program in Q3 that might be perfect for you. There’s no better positive pressure than a group of peers who also see your potential.