– English Lyrics

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

I'm in Barcelona, Spain. It's 2004.

I'm a newly minted Nebraska Wesleyan

grad

[Applause]

with a degree in business and Spanish,

sweating.

But I'm sweating in my first real suit

as I nervously stare at a room of

managers at the Ritz Carlton Hotel

Company. I'm sweating because I'm now

expected to translate an eight-hour

workshop from Spanish into English.

Because, you see, I'd sold myself as

fluent to this company in Spanish.

And I was technically

fluent enough to ace those classroom

exams,

but not nearly fluent enough to carry

the weight of a workshop in front of

seasoned execs at the Ritz. In that

moment, I was a deer in headlights,

overconfident, out of my league, and

very aware of it. Those first couple of

weeks at the Ritz were rough. I tried to

fake my way through, pretending,

bluffing, nodding along. My stomach hurt

and I wanted to quit. My next trip was

to Santiago de Chile, and it was more of

the same. I couldn't sleep. And sometime

during that trip, something snapped. For

my physical and mental well-being, I

started to drop the act. I started to

ask for help. I said, "I'm not sure.

Could you explain that again, please?

And the incredible thing was people

leaned in. They slowed down. They taught

me. They even trusted me more.

Pretending

it's like a bad translation.

It never lands right.

But honesty rings true.

Over those next few years, I got to

travel the world for work. Dubai, Osaka,

Bogotaa, Cleveland.

And I showed up differently than I did

in Barcelona. I came with questions

instead of a performance. I stopped

trying to be the smartest person in the

room and became a sponge instead. And

through that time, I learned something

that changed my life. Curiosity is a

superpower.

Curiosity opens doors. bravado never

could.

But here's the thing. The pressure to

perform and pretend like you know what's

going on isn't unique to 21-year-old me

in that Barcelona boardroom.

I still struggle with this at times. I

mean, we're taught this, right? Ben even

talked about it earlier tonight. Fake it

till you make it. And sometimes that is

good advice. Sometimes you need to

project confidence when you're nervous.

But somewhere along the way, many of us

stopped faking confidence and we started

faking competence.

We nod along in meetings, even if we're

lost. We bluff an answer so it doesn't

look like we didn't prepare.

And we pretend to know what's going on

so nobody questions why we're in the

room. This isn't just a personal habit.

It's a cultural one. It's a habit that

is quietly killing trust and our

relationships.

Our collective inability to stay curious

and admit I don't know is hurting us

more than we think. So why do we do

this? Well, research says that belonging

is more important to us than almost

anything. We want to be part of the in

crowd. We want to be seen as capable and

credible and smart. So, we pretend in

order to protect our image and our ego.

But here's the irony.

Saying, "I don't know. Let me find out."

might ding your perceived competence a

bit. But saying, "I do know," and

getting found out,

that's a strike against your character

and your credibility. That is much

harder to come back from.

Wharton School professor Adam Grant

reminds us that saying I don't know

isn't an admission of ignorance. It's an

expression of intellectual humility.

And here's the opportunity. Saying I

don't know often invites connection. It

turns a one-sided conversation into a

two-way dialogue. It creates space for

the other person to teach, to share, to

step in. When I say I don't know, I

build trust more than lose it. And that

trust, connection, and curiosity has

helped me build what I do today. I spend

most of my time working with executives

and teams, helping their organizations

around the world navigate

transformation.

Whether we're starting innovation labs

or launching strategic initiatives or

designing the workforce of the future,

there's a common refrain I hear over and

over.

I wish my team was more curious. I wish

we learned faster and were more

adaptable. I wish I wasn't so addicted

to being right. That last one came from

a CEO.

You see, even the most self-aware

leaders admit it. There's a deep pull to

defend, to be certain, to hold on to

being right.

But in a world that changes this fast,

curiosity is more valuable than

certainty.

And intellectual humility is not a soft

skill. It's a competitive advantage. In

fact, one of the first things that

companies ask me to do is help them

unwind this very habit, this reflex to

fake knowing or being right. And here's

what I tell them. Be confident, not

counterfeit.

It's okay to project calm when you're

nervous. It's okay to borrow confidence

so you can stand tall in a room. That is

professionalism.

But you can hurt yourself and others

when you fake expertise. It can be

problematic to pretend that you're

certain when you're not.

Confidence is a gift to others.

Counterfeit certainty is a trap.

So how do we break this habit? Well, the

first thing is to catch yourself in that

moment of hesitation, that fear of

saying, "I don't know." And when you do,

here are three things you can say

instead. These aren't just words. These

are tools. They turn hesitation into

action. Number one,

I don't know. Can you help me find out?

Number two, I'm not sure. Why do you

ask? And number three, that feels like

an important question.

Do you mind if I take some time to

collect my thoughts and give it the

answer it deserves?

Every one of these moves a conversation

forward and none of them require

bluffing. Let's try this for a moment.

Think about a situation where you felt

like you were supposed to have all the

answers. Maybe it was last week, maybe

even today. Now, imagine saying this

instead.

I don't know yet.

What would that do? What would it

change? Would it create space for

someone else to speak?

Would it lead to a better decision?

Would it make your day less stressful?

It's been over 20 years since those

weeks I spent in Barcelona.

Years later, I had the opportunity to

ask that company if they knew I was in

over my head. They laughed

and said, "Of course,

we didn't hire you for who you were.

We hired you for who you would become."

What a gift, right?

They weren't looking for a polished

expert. They were investing in

potential.

That single sentence has shaped how I

show up today. I get to show up and help

people see that not knowing isn't

failure. It's the starting line for

addressing big problems.

So, here's my dare to you all. Over the

next week, find one time each day when

you're afraid to admit you don't know

and say these four words instead. I

don't know yet.

If you're a leader, model it out loud.

If you're on a team, invite it from

others. If you hold power, make it a

safe space to use those four words. I

don't know yet.

Real excellence isn't about being

certain.

Real excellence is about learning faster

than the problem evolves.

I've made plenty of mistakes in my life,

but I've also learned faster, made

better decisions, and built better

relationships

by being honest about what I don't know,

even when it's scary.

Certainty is comfortable,

but curiosity is powerful.

May curiosity and love crack your ego

and split your heart wide open until

everything and everyone fits. Thank you.

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
fake /feɪk/ B1	verb - to pretend or imitate something falsely adjective - not genuine or real
pretend /prɪˈtend/ A2	verb - to make believe or act as if something is true
bluff /blʌf/ C1	verb - to deceive someone by pretending to be stronger or more knowledgeable
nod /nɒd/ A2	verb - to move your head up and down in agreement
curiosity /ˌkjʊəriˈɒsəti/ B2	noun - a strong desire to know or learn something
confidence /ˈkɒnfɪdəns/ B1	noun - belief in oneself and one's abilities
competence /ˈkɒmpɪtəns/ B2	noun - the ability to do something successfully or efficiently
admit /ədˈmɪt/ B1	verb - to accept or acknowledge something, often reluctantly
trust /trʌst/ A2	noun - belief in the reliability, truth, or ability of someone or something verb - to have confidence in someone or something
habit /ˈhæbɪt/ A2	noun - a settled or regular tendency or practice
humility /hjuːˈmɪləti/ C1	noun - the quality of having a modest view of one's importance
certainty /ˈsɜːtənti/ B2	noun - the state of being certain
learn /lɜːn/ A1	verb - to acquire knowledge or skill through study, experience, or being taught
ask /ɑːsk/ A1	verb - to request information or action
help /help/ A1	verb - to make something easier or provide assistance noun - assistance given to someone in need
invite /ɪnˈvaɪt/ A2	verb - to ask someone to do something or to come somewhere
powerful /ˈpaʊəfəl/ B1	adjective - having great power or influence
valuable /ˈvæljʊəbl/ B1	adjective - having considerable value or importance