By Stacie Clifford Kitts, CPA

A couple of weeks back you might remember that I bravely agreed to be a guest on Critical Mass the radio show on OCTalkRadio.net . I say bravely because if you know me well, you know that I am not a public person.

Yah yah – I am building an internet presence. And I regularly post to my blogs. But I do all that while sitting safely behind a desk in my quiet little office. But to put myself out there – you know to venture outside my “safe space” to be in a public arena – to be on “stage” – ‘tremble’ – not exactly something that I am comfortable doing.

You see, I was never the kid signing up for drama class, or participating on the debate team. I did not run for student government or even compete in sports. Although in the fifth grade, I was in the choir – I dabbled in gymnastics – and I made the cheerleading squad – I am not really sure what was going on there. I suppose the fifth grade was a year of anomalies for me.

But maybe in those days I was just too young to realize what appears to be the overriding theme, that whenever I stand before a crowd with people expecting me to say something intelligent or to be entertaining, let’s just say that I suffer from one of the most dramatic cases of stage fright that you will ever see. And regardless of how much I prepare or what techniques I use, the blood pressure will rise, the adrenalin will flow, the shaking will begin and while my face starts to glow a bright shade of red, I always wonder if this will be the moment when my ears will actually melt and slide off my head.

Now I don’t want to give the impression that I am a quivering mass of jittery anxiety, absolutely not, because frankly that would not be an accurate description of my personality. I am great in small groups, I have no trouble speaking my mind, and I can fight a good battle when needed. I am not a push over by any stretch.

But with all that said, I think my level of appreciation for people who are willing to step outside a typical comfort zone or who are willing to explore new avenues or concepts is somewhat enhanced. Frankly, I admire people who just put it out there – no doubt. And it is exactly that same willingness to put it out there that made me interested in contacting and interviewing Ric Franzi – author of Critical Mass The 10 Explosive Powers of CEO Peer Groups.

Ric and his partner have created a dynamic format to market their business and to highlight talented CEO’s and business owners here in Orange County. And I am excited to share with you in an upcoming post what I have learned about Ric, CEO Peer Groups, and Critical Mass the Radio Show. So please be sure to stay tuned.