Break the Mold

Have you ever walked into a room full of accomplished, gifted, impressive women and quietly asked yourself what am I even doing here? Have you spent years trying to fit a mold that was never designed for someone like you  only to wonder if the problem was you all along? In this episode of Mosaic Sparks, confidence coach, author, and host Lesley George delivers the truth that will set you completely free the very thing that makes you feel like you do not fit is the exact thing that qualifies you for everything you have been chasing.

This episode is for the woman who has been shrinking her uniqueness to fit someone else's standard. The woman who has been waiting until she looks more like everyone else before she steps fully into her purpose. The woman who has been apologizing for the very gifts, experiences, and perspectives that make her completely one of a kind. Lesley challenges every woman listening to stop performing the version of herself that fits the mold — and start fully inhabiting the version that was sent to break it.

Because the woman who does not fit the mold is not the problem. She has always been the solution.

You will leave this episode with:

• Why the thing you have been seeing as your greatest limitation is actually your most powerful competitive advantage
• How to stop comparing your journey to everyone around you and start owning what makes you uniquely qualified
• Why authenticity is not just a personality trait — it is your most powerful leadership strategy
• 3 Quick Wins to show up fully and unapologetically as yourself starting today

This episode is for you if: ✔ You struggle with imposter syndrome and feeling not enough ✔ You have been playing small in spaces where you were called to lead ✔ You are a woman entrepreneur, author, or creative who has been waiting to feel more ready ✔ You are done shrinking and ready to show up as exactly who you are

"The woman who does not fit the mold is not the problem. She is the solution. Stop trying to fit in and start showing up fully. The miracle they have been waiting for has been you all along." — Lesley George | Mosaic Sparks

Transcript

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What if the very thing you've been apologizing for your entire life, the thing that makes you feel like you do not fit right, is actually the exact thing that qualifies you for everything you have been chasing. Don't move. Don't skip ahead. Because this episode might be the most important conversation you've had all year. Welcome back, sparklers. Welcome to Mosaic Sparks with me, Leslie George. And we are in episode five of our mini-series Leadin' Upologetically. So in the last four episodes, we were in Wakanda. So we're leaving Wakanda and stepping into the colorful, magical, heartbreaking, and profoundly beautiful world of the Mag Rigaux family. Today's episode is for every woman who has ever sat in a room full of gifted, impressive, accomplished people, and quietly, almost silently asks herself, What am I ever doing here? So, Mirabel, as in every family, every child receives a magical gift on their fifth birthday. A door opens, a candle glows, and a gift is revealed to the whole family and the whole community. Louista gets supernatural strength. Isabel grows flowers wherever she walks. Dolores hears everything. Cameo shape shifts. Every single member of the family has a clear vision, which is impressive, and a celebrated gift. And then there is Mabel. Her door never opens. The candle never glows for her. And she grows up in a house overflower overflowing with miracles, as the one person who, by every visible measure, has none. Does this resonate with anyone that's listening? Are you someone that because you may not have any outward gifts, think that you're not gifted in your family? I know for me, and I shared this on a pod before, because I did talk about Mibelle before, because there's so similarities for her and I. Where I'm in a family of husband is a photographer, son is a graphic designer, daughter takes pictures, other daughter does video. And so for many years I was kind of like in a funk. Like, I don't have any gifts. But what I had to realize is that my gifts are different than everybody else, right? So as we continue with Mirabel, her family tries to include her, the community tries to be kind to her, but the silence around Mirabel's gifts is louder than anything anyone could say. She is the exception, you know, that whispering behind her back. The one who doesn't fit the pattern. The glitch is an outerwise, otherwise perfect system. And she is the one who saves absolutely everything. So, what I need you to understand about her is before we go any further, her lack of an obvious gift was never a mistake in the design. That was the design. Her family had become so focused on their individual, spectacular gifts that they had completely stopped seeking the cracks forming in the foundation beneath them. They had built their entire identity on performance and perfection so completely and for so long that the whole structure of their house was quietly crumbling. And nobody could see it because they were all too busy being impressive to be honest. But not Maribel, she could see it because she was not distracted by a gift that made her feel separate or superior. She wasn't performing for the community's approval, she was simply always being herself, being very curious and caring, observant, persistent, and most of all, present. And that made her the only one who was actually paying attention to what truly mattered underneath all that magic. Now, I need to ask you something and be honest. How many rooms have you walked into, whether they're boardrooms, masterminds, networking events, church rooms, community gathering, where everyone around you seemed to have the obvious and celebrated gifts, the massive platform, the impressive credentials, the polished brand, the track record that speaks before they ever open their mouth. And you sat there doing the math on yourself thinking, what do I actually bring to this table? And why did I ever come? And do I really belong here? So if you've ever felt this way, and I know that you have because I have two, and I need you to hear me with everything I have, the very thing that makes you feel like you do not fit is often the most precise and specific thing that qualifies you for the room. The gaps you notice that everyone else walks past, the questions you may ask that no one else is asking, the perspective you carry because of your experience, others have never had to live through. And the way you connect with people at a more human level that goes so far beyond credentials and titles, and it cannot ever be measured. That's nothing to sneeze about, sparklers. That is everything. Mirabel didn't lead from power, she didn't leave from a platform of impressive gifts. She led from something pure, unfiltered, completely unapologetically authentic. She was relentless and sometimes uncomfortably herself. And that was enough. More than enough. It was exactly enough to save her entire family and restore what was broken and heal what had been dying for years. Not in spite of who she was, because of exactly who she was. And I want to push even deeper here because her story reveals something about the dangerous pressure that we put on ourselves to be spectacular, to be, to be perfect, when we are actually called to be significant. Spectacular gets applause. Significant changes lives. Spectacular is about what people can see and celebrate in a moment. However, significant is about what actually matters and what endures. Maribel was not spectacular by anyone's visual standard, but she was profoundly and permanently significant. You don't need to be the most impressive woman in the room. You need to be the most authentic, courageous, and completely honest you. Because there's a problem in so many different industries, even in your community or your family and generations, that only you with your exact story, your exact wounds and wisdom that your exact, completely one-of-a-kind way of moving through the world can solve. The moment you stop performing the vision of yourself that fits someone else's mold and start fully inhibiting the version of yourself that was sent to break it, that is the moment everything changes. So, as you know, with every episode, I want you to take the thing you've always seen as your biggest limitation. That thing that makes you feel like you don't quite belong, and reframe it as your most powerful asset. Write that down at the top of the page. Then write three specific ways that the exact thing has made you stronger. More equipped or more uniquely qualified than someone who never had to face it. Your story is not a liability, it is your greatest competitive advantage. Audit what you're consuming. So if the social media accounts, the podcasts, the communities, or the spaces that you've been spending time in consistently make you feel behind or less than or even not enough, they're costing you more than you realize. So this week, replace one source of comparison with one source of genuine affirmation. Curate what goes into your mind with the same intentionality you give to what goes in your body. So I'm gonna leave a brag formation for you. I do not need to fit the mole to belong in this room. I was made to break a mole and build something better. My story, my voice, my gifts, and most of all, my uniqueness are exactly what the world has been waiting for. The woman who does not fit the mole is not the problem, she's the solution. So stop trying to fit in and start showing up fully because the miracle they've been waiting for has been you all along. So, sparklers, that we come to the end of this fifth episode of our miniseries. I want to thank you for joining for all of the episodes. This is something that I wanted to try to see if you if you resonated with these mini-series. And before I say goodbye and and get ready for episode six, I want to just give a shout out to our listeners in Japan. Our listeners in the in Japan, they they keep showing up, and so just want to do a shout out to our listeners in Japan. And we also have some listeners in Russia. So shout out to you in Japan. I hope that you are enjoying this pod. Please feel free to share it with your friends, family, and co workers. And don't forget to leave us a review. So, until next time, or I'll catch you over on the last episode for this mini series over on episode six. Bye for now.