Be yourself, just like me.

What was the most inspiring part of my presentation at the Fast Company Innovation Festival last week?

If you ask me, it was the fact that I was just actually on the stage at that high-profile event. Being there was a testament to my tenacity in overcoming so much setback these past few years and persevering against such odds. It was the fact that I worked so hard to overcome my own doubt and fear and built up my self-confidence to continue the work I set out to do 20 years ago.

It was the fact that I didn’t sleep hardly at all the night before and still brought all my love and high energy to the stage. Is wasn’t nerves from fear or anxiety that kept me up, but something silly like being so happy that I didn’t each much dinner. That, paired with a glass or two of wine on an empty stomach before bed, was a recipe for insomnia. I should have known better! Ah well. I’m not perfect, never claimed to be. And maybe my experience will help you avoid doing it in the future, haha.

It all worked out just fine. BETTER than fine, actually.

It felt great to be picked to speak there. And what made it so great was what the event curator said to me, “you’re so meta, Dillan. We need to make a category for you.”

Damn right.

If you ask people who came up to me or sent me DMs afterwards, they said they were inspired to be brave and look past social conventions and constructs and really rethink who they are and want to be. They felt encouraged because they heard me say they are OK just as they are and the secret to self-acceptance is loving people and accepting them as they are, without taking on their expectations.

“This talk changed my life,” someone said on Instagram.

Amazing.

Especially amazing considering I felt so far away from this being my reality just a few years ago, when my “self” was totally in upheaval and I felt disoriented and discouraged. It’s rough enough to feel that way but WOW! what made it even worse was this silly idea that people have that I’m supposed to be perfect and have everything figured out all the time. So when I share the truth of my process as I’m FIGURING IT OUT, some people take that to mean I don’t know what I’m doing. More on that coming soon.

And then there’s the fact that some people keep expecting me to be talking about my transition all the time even though I said a long time ago that wasn’t my mission, my message or my purpose on the planet. Adjusting to that stigmatization and stereotyping has been a slow climb back from frustration and resentment. I’m making great progress, still. I was determined to be an out trans* person who isn’t making a career out of talking about being transgender, but instead sharing the incredibly relatable themes and experiences about identity, transformation and self-acceptance that people of all identities can relate to.

That’s not so hard or complicated to understand, right? I don’t think so.

And being up on that stage was proof of how far I’ve come in persevering with my work and that message despite the amount of resistance I have faced and continue to face. I was up there doing a victory lap for anyone who has been knocked down over and over and still keeps standing up saying, “not finished yet!”

It helped that I watched ROCKY and THE KARATE KID as mental preparation for this presentation.

See, what was most inspiring about that experience was the effect I had on the people. It wasn’t the exact words or concepts or ideas I shared, although they were hopefully insightful. It was because I shared the truth of who I am, who I was, who I want to be and who I’m becoming and let them in on the process. My process was the inspiration. My vulnerability in sharing about it was the inspiration.

I didn’t get up there expecting them to do anything I haven’t done myself. I just asked them to be themselves and I’m inviting you to be YOURSELF, just like I am.

See what I did there?

And I’m just getting warmed up.

See that talk last week was sort of final proof for me that this information is wanted and needed. That people are READY for it. I’ve done some beta tests in different venues and settings these past few years and now I know the time is right.

And I want your help. Are you interested?

Some folks have asked if they can see the talk from last week and I’m working on that.

But what made last week so special, just like the events I’ve done these past few years, was the in-person experience. I think anyone there would agree.

So I’m asking for your help. I am one person and I can only do so much by myself. But with help, I can reach more people and bring this same message to their ears and eyes.

If you’re interested in bringing me to your community, either a workplace setting or community space or something else fun! I want you to contact me. Tell me how you can help because I want to make last week happen more this coming year.

I want to be in front of people helping them feel seen and heard and helping them get closer to being themselves.

Reach out now to help me reach more people in 2020: