Maria Asuelimen Keynote on Taking Up Space
Once again, I want to thank you all for committing to be here.
This year’s Conference is very special and unique because as the curator this is the one event that I have created with so much intent.
The theme “Take Up Space” is a mantra that burst from my spirit in the Spring as I watched a series of events around me unfold.
As 2023 began, I started to be aware of opportunities that existed that I didn’t take advantage of, causes and issues I could have helped that were left unattended and I began to question my reserved approach to business and life in general.
I wondered if my actions matched the talents and gifts that had been bestowed on me.
It all came to a head in late Spring when I was having a conversation with someone in senior government about my company and she said to me, “You all are a hidden gem that stuck with me and I pondered on it for a long time.”
You see, I have always loved to be hidden, in fact, for years I intentionally hid my genius and quieted my voice. I had this mentality that it was more pious, noble, and dutiful to be behind the scenes, to be undercover and hidden.
I believed that one fine day, someone would come and dig me out and discover my treasure.
Naturally, I’m an introvert and I dislike attention. I’ve always been very happy and content with the company of my internal chatter and I’ve relied on my internal motivation and data center for information and decision-making all my life.
However, that comment by the senior government official I met with kept ringing in my ear and I decided to investigate it to explore what benefit I was providing by being hidden and I found none.
I asked myself one question and it was ”What do you want?” As I walked through answering this question truthfully and completely, I realized that my overly reserved approach to business was limiting me from opportunities.
Let me be the first person to tell you this today. If you feel that there is more for you to see, do, and experience in this world, you will have to go and take it and make it happen yourself. No one is coming to find you in the caves where you are hiding, in the words of the famous motivational speaker Lisa Nichols “You are your own rescue.”
Now let me break this down a little further so that we are all on the same page as to what the theme “Take Up Space” truly means!
Take is a verb, an action word! It means to lay hold of something with one’s hands, reach for it, and hold it. To take requires you to reach for or move towards what you want, transact or fight for it, and possess it.
In the phrase “Take up Space” I’m using Up as an adverb to mean – towards a higher/more advantageous position, or destination. Up is all about the direction toward a better stance, position, or condition. Up is toward a promise or a goal.
Space in the phrase I’m using as a noun is the thing that you want, it could be a better quality of life, improved health, larger market share for your business, or a fulfilling relationship.
When you think about the word space, it is used to describe real estate, both the building and the land, it is used to describe business markets, territories, geographic locations, and industries. It is also used to describe digital footprint for example cyberspace is the virtual network that allows online communication to occur.
Space is also used to describe the expanse in the universe that is not Earth so you see, space can be ambiguous and vast and or specific and defined.
In the coming year 2024, I want to encourage you, I want to implore you, and I am motivating you to execute decisive action that will move you to possess what you want and put you in a better place. This is what “Take Up Space” means. It means to sit in your seat.
As I mentioned earlier I am very sure that everyone who is here at this conference was meant to be here. This year’s conference is unique because the theme is exclusive. It is not for everybody.
You see this message will not resonate with everybody. This message will resonate with people who know that they want more and can get more but have resigned to their current state only because of circumstances.
This message will only resonate with people who down on the inside, still want to fulfill their utmost desires but have become discouraged.
This message is for people who have matured to the place of knowing what they want and having the confidence that they deserve to get it. So I’m saying to you, you are not the Kay Cera, Cera crowd, whatever will be will be, you’re not the “It doesn’t matter” crowd.
You are the people who understand the significance and relevance of taking up space and sitting in your seat.
Elie Wiesel the Holocaust Survivor and Nobel Laureate said. The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference.
Why do we need to take up space? We need to take up space because if we don’t, hatred, ugliness, and evil will continue to occupy us because vacuums do not exist.
Do you remember when we were in elementary school, we had assigned seats with our names on them, why?
It was easier for the teacher to give instruction, form relationships with each student, and organize the classroom.
Or think about even at home, I bet you have your preferred seat at dinner and when you’re home, you sit there.
That is how life is.
We all have gifts and talents that have been positioned strategically in us and designed for a specific purpose. If you would have never allowed anyone else to sit in your seat in school or your favorite chair in your own house now, why would you allow someone else to sit in the seat of your life?
This is why we need to take up space!
Someone else is in your place, someone else is occupying where you are supposed to be, someone else is writing the book you should have written five years ago, someone else is implementing the idea you’ve been nursing, right now as we speak, and profiting from it.
And you know what, they are not even as talented as you are, and worse of all, they may even have the wrong motives for doing it.
Look around you, it seems like good people finish last, and it seems like outlandish behavior has more sway, just say or do something foolish or crazy, and voila!!! You will go viral and begin to trend. This can even make you a millionaire within a short period as brands want to advertise with trending creators.
But do the right thing and people call you a fool! I’m not saying here that everyone who is trending is trending for something negative but what I’m saying is that diligent people are working hard in their businesses and careers, taking care of their families, and being people of integrity that are not trending!
As I prepared this speech I looked up the most viral videos in TikTok this year so far. They are mostly people playing pranks, documenting high-adrenaline stunts, and videos of pets playing games, getting as much as 300 million views. Again nothing is wrong with this but imagine a video of your idea, software, book, or product getting even a fraction of that exposure.
How will that change your life?
I’m telling you all they got your stuff. They are sitting in your seat. But that’s why I’m here today.
This is what the 2023 Magnificent Leadership Conference is about, we are going after everything that is ours and we are possessing it. We are not just taking up space to gain views, likes, and followers on social media only to enrich ourselves and become famous NO we are taking up space to make an impact for good!
We are taking up space to disinfect our families, organizations, and communities from the craziness going on.
So how do we take up space?
Very simple, tell whoever is in your seat to get up. Every time you have to move up and into what you want, you have to contend for it. Life does not give you what you deserve, it gives you what you contend for and possess.
This is the reason a lot of us are indifferent, we are indifferent because we don’t want to contend. But this is the only way to take up space. Have you ever seen a piece of land that is not owned by anyone? For you to possess something, the previous owner must dispose of it.
When you go to the dealership to buy a car, it is first owned by the dealership and then you negotiate, give up some money, and sign papers before you possess it. That negotiation, financial expenditure, and time spent to seal the transaction are you contending for that car. In the end, when you drive off with the car, it costs you something.
You take up space by contending for it, I know you’re saying María how do I contend for what I want? Glad you asked.
Start researching the steps you need to take to possess what you want.
Develop your strategy of how you will go about the steps and begin to take those steps. Start from where you are and keep moving up.
Understand that there will be competition, prepare for that competition, study it, understand its advantage, and understand your advantage.
Always make the case as to why you are best suited to possess that thing and sit in that seat.
Have an action mindset, stop waiting for it to come to you. No one will give up a seat for you when they are comfortable in it.
Enlist support. No matter how talented and strong you are, you cannot take up space by yourself. You need support. Find informants people that can provide you with intelligence that will help your strategy. Seek gatekeepers, people who can open doors for you that you cannot open for yourself. Surround yourself with ambassadors that announce you in spaces you seek to enter.
When I think about taking up space the story of Joshua in the Bible comes to mind. Please, if you’re not a Christian indulge me. Joshua was a young protege of one of the greatest prophets in the Bible Moses. You know Moses, the man who led the Israelites to cross the Red Sea out of Slavery and bondage in Egypt. According to scripture, Joshua is charged by God to go and take over the promised land.
God tells Joshua in the book of Joshua Chapter 1 that everywhere his foot touched, he and his people will possess. It’s a fascinating story. If you get a chance, read it. If you are not a Christian, read it just to get the strategies on contending for something and possessing it. Read it as a fictional story.
So God gives Joshua this command “Be Strong and Courageous.” This phrase is so powerful. It is mentioned four times to Joshua when the weight of the task he had before him seemed too heavy to bear and he felt discouraged.
The story goes on to show that Joshua went ahead to take over all of the promised land that was previously occupied including the city of Jericho, the most fortified city.
I am echoing this to you today. Be strong and courageous, you can take the land! You can reclaim your seat and you can get what’s yours.
I know some of you are thinking, Well Joshua is at best a prophet from a long time ago or a fictional character that’s not even real. Show me a real example that I can relate to. Well, I got one for you, you are looking at her now. For years, I’ve had the idea of writing a book that will serve as a note of encouragement for first-time leaders. I started to scribble notes seven years ago but installed it.
I thought, what do I have to say? What experience do I have? Who will care about what I have to say, after all, there are other more accomplished and popular leadership consultants and coaches that have books.
What can I bring to the conversation? I sat on this for six years until last year when I had to lower my father into the grave and realized this life has an expiry date and whatever I want to do, I must do now.
In January, I started to collate my notes and write what came up for me. I got a publisher and pushed despite an already full plate and life challenges. I contended and submitted my manuscript in August. I am happy to report that my book, “The First One” will be out in March 2024!
What other example do you need? Decide what you want and go after it now contends for it, possess it. Be strong and courageous. You can possess the land. You can reclaim your seat. You can take up space.
