The World Doesn’t Need More Performers. It Needs Grounded Leaders.

Remember who you are before the world taught you to forget~Prince Williams

I had a conversation the other day that stuck with me. It circled around one powerful truth: help people remember who they are before the world taught them to forget. That phrase lives deep in me. It’s not just something I teach. It’s something I’ve lived.

Because I’ve been that person. The one who checked all the boxes. Said all the right things. Walked into the room and made sure I had it all together. But if you looked closely, you’d see it. Performance. The world rewards performance. We’re praised for putting on the mask, staying composed, pushing through, and acting like nothing phases us. But at what cost?

The truth is, the world has enough performers. What it needs are grounded leaders. Most people don’t even realize they’re performing. They just know something feels off. No matter how hard they try, there’s this quiet pressure to measure up, to prove something, to protect the image. It’s not that goals are bad. Ambition is beautiful. Aspiration is powerful. But when your goals start to turn on you, when you fall short of the image you built in your head, that’s when the imposter shows up.

The imposter doesn’t need much to take over. You already feel like you’re not enough. Then something doesn’t go your way. Now you’re not just disappointed. You’re exposed. So you put on the mask to save face. You perform. You push harder. Smile bigger. Pretend it didn’t shake you. But inside, you’re spiraling. And no one knows. This is where most people get stuck. In that loop between insecurity, perfectionism, failure, and performance. And they confuse it with leadership. But it’s not leadership. It’s survival.

There’s another way. It’s not about performing. It’s about remembering. Grounded leadership doesn’t come from pretending to have it all figured out. It comes from knowing who you are, even in the moments where you feel the most unsure. It means showing up rooted in your truth, not trapped by your image. It means leading with vulnerability, not emotional overflow. It means being able to say, I don’t have the answer right now, but I’m open to learning. I’m not afraid to ask for help.

That’s strength. That’s the type of leadership the world needs. Not someone who fakes it under pressure, but someone who feels it, owns it, and rises through it with presence and clarity. This is what I’ve learned. This is the message I live. This is what Drive Alive is built on.

Remember who you are. And lead from that place.