If you’ve heard me speak or watched any of my clearly professionally produced videos, you’ve probably caught a reference to the story of David and Goliath. Maybe it’s my CRC upbringing, but I’ve always been fascinated by the story of this young kid kicking the ass of a 7 ft giant…which is not really how my Sunday School teacher framed it, but rather how I choose to remember it.
The story, parable, or whatever you want to call it…embodies all that is Big Deal Energy – your perceived disadvantages are your greatest advantages.
Disadvantage or Advantage?
Most people see the story as an underdog miraculously defeating a giant, but what everyone doesn’t take into account is that David didn’t win in spite of his disadvantages (his small size, lack of armor, and slingshot); he won because of them. He refused to fight by the established rules of close-quarters combat, which everyone, including Goliath, expected. Goliath was big, slow, and weighed down by a sh*t ton of armor, cause he was expecting to fight someone within arm’s length. David was like, “What rules?”
Flip the Script.
People will always underestimate you, as they did with David. His entire life as a shepherd gave him a unique skill: lethal accuracy with a slingshot at a distance; this was his disadvantage in a world of swords and armor. He refused to follow the unspoken rules and to fight like everyone else; instead, he flipped the script to favor his unique strengths – he was deadly accurate from a distance, cause it was either that or be eaten by a wild animal (I imagine they were quite a bit bigger back then).
You don’t have to play by the rules someone else set; they were never designed to benefit you; they exist for the insecure and mediocre, who only stand to gain by you staying quiet and hidden.
David questioned the unwritten rule that the fight had to be close-combat.
Big Deal Energy asks you to question the professional rules telling you to blend in or hide parts of yourself.
David identified his unique skill with a slingshot.
Big Deal Energy wants you to identify your quirks, weirdness, and unique experiences—the things you may have been told are disadvantages—and own them as part of your story.
David reframed his disadvantage as his advantage.
Big Deal Energy teaches you to reframe your disadvantages as central to your story, because it’s given you the skills and resilience you possess today.
Conforming is not an option; true power (and your Big Deal Energy) comes from understanding that the things making you different or “weird” are what flips the script in your favor.
It’s time to show Goliath who’s boss.
