One year ago my Shark Tank episode aired on TV.
4 Million people watched me pitch Liberate to the Sharks. When I reflect on this experience I am transported back to the night it aired, and I feel so many things.
I feel proud, special and seen.
I got on the show! My episode aired! I was FUNNY!
I also feel sad, judged and defensive.
I received praise for “holding my own” in the ‘Tank, and I received criticism for, well, I’m not really sure what… failing?
Overall, I mostly feel strong. I worked through numerous challenges and learned so much from the prep work, the filming, and the airing of the episode.
My biggest takeaways:
1. It’s scary to put yourself on a stage and expose your soul and/or your work to a room full of strangers. This is true if you’re presenting a project at your company, singing at a concert, giving a toast at an event, or pitching to Mark Cuban. It takes guts, courage, and charisma. You should be proud of yourself for doing those things.
2. People will always have opinions. Good ones, bad ones, accurate ones, wrong ones. The definition of an opinion: a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge. With that, please don’t read too much into the opinions of people you don’t know. I accidentally did, and it made me very sad.
3. Everything in life is a double-edged sword. In my experience, good and bad are a package deal. With one choice, comes the lack of another. With the positives that came from my TV debut, along came new difficulties I didn’t foresee. When we accept that there is always a double edge, I believe this makes it easier to take experiences, feedback, and newness in stride. Aim to make the good outweigh the bad.
This Shark Tank resurrection serves as a reminder to me, above all else, to be kind to yourself and to others. Act with grace and celebrate who you are. THAT is where the goodness lives.
A few resources that help me:
With love and light,
Liv
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