Tue, 5th Aug 2025
DON’T BE A CHICKEN
There’s a story I love about an eagle’s egg placed in a hen’s nest.
The eagle hatches alongside the chicks, grows up scratching at the ground, clucking, pecking, and flying just a few feet at a time. All her life, she thinks she’s a chicken, because that’s what she sees around her.
And so, she never questions it.
One day, she looks up and sees a magnificent bird soaring high above the clouds.
“Wow,” she says. “What’s that?”
“Oh, that’s an eagle,” says one of the chickens. “He’s the king of the skies. But don’t worry about him – you’ll never be that. We’re just chickens.”
And the eagle lives and dies believing it.
She had the wings.
But she never used them.
What I’ve come to realise is this: it’s so easy to absorb the limitations of your surroundings.
To shrink yourself to fit what’s expected.
To internalise someone else’s version of who you should be, until it becomes your own.
Even as performers, as creatives, as leaders we’re not immune to this.
Sometimes we don’t even realise we’ve clipped our own wings.
So if something in your life feels tight, small, or less than true, ask yourself:
- Am I acting like a chicken… when I was born to be an eagle?
- Am I hiding what makes me powerful?
- Am I listening to people who say, “Don’t even bother looking up”?
- Am I staying grounded out of fear, when I was meant to soar?
Don’t let someone else define your sky.
You were born with potential.
You were born with goodness and trust.
You were born with ideals and dreams.
You were born with greatness.
You were born with wings.
You are not meant for crawling, so don’t.
You have wings.
Learn to use them and fly.
— Rumi
BACKSTAGE PICKS
✒︎ Podcast: How to Stop Doubting Yourself & Get Anything You Want in Life
✒︎ A Quote You Didn’t Know You Needed
“Oftentimes you’re sitting around waiting for somebody to pick you, waiting for somebody to make the opportunity, waiting for somebody else to see what you hope people recognise, but you got to see it in yourself first.”
– Will Packer
Until next time. Remember to breathe deeply and sing boldly.
Forward this to someone you know who deserves to fly!
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Nice post! 1754738102