IE092 Miroslav Petrovic: Public Speaking Mastery: Transform Fear to Inspiration - The 'Metafear' Revolution

Our guest for this week is Miroslav Petrovic, speaker, trainer, facilitator, and thought leader.

About Miroslav

Miroslav came to Australia as a refugee at the very young age of four. Throughout his youth, he struggled with a speech impediment where he would stutter whenever he tried to speak to a stranger or a person he didn’t feel connected to. Miroslav suffered from teasing and bullying which caused him to close himself off from the world even further, thus creating this neverending spiral.

He found solace and peace in meditation. It allowed him to make a deeper connection with himself and people noticed the change. As time went on, people were more and more interested in his story, looking to learn what he has through the process of self-exploration.

Through public speaking, Miroslav discovered a way of “active meditation”. He immersed himself fully into his gift and the more he perfected his crafts of speaking, teaching, and facilitating he kept opening up himself even more.

He is known for his exploration of concepts such as Metafear as well as embodied speaking, teaching, and facilitating which we go through in much detail in our episode. Check out his TEDx talk on The Metafear Revolution here!

Connect with Miroslav:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheMiroslavPetrovic
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/miroslav-petrovic-7bbb5474/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjiuBQU4G531OuclCtfVgAQ 
• Website: http://www.miroslavp.com/

In This Episode We Canvas:

• What Is Metafear?

Miroslav breaks down the concept of Metafear and we dive straight into the pure essence of his teachings. Placing fear as the central concept for personal growth and development is an enchanting perspective to have and it’s already clear why people say that Miroslav’s talks, you’re able to hear a pin drop.

“Metafear is essentially looking at fear as a gift that can transform who we are. And when we approach fear from this perspective, it stops being something we have to conquer or fight or win over, but it becomes an inspiration and a life source itself. And the only thing that’s really changing, in one aspect, is the way we’re relating to and approaching it.” - Miroslav Petrovic

• How Do We Face Fear?

We often have these predefined situations in our head that vaguely represent to us the notion of facing fear. But it’s not really important if “swimming with sharks or “base jumping” first comes to mind because, as Miroslav beautifully points out, that “it’s not about what it looks like it’s about what it feels like”. It’s about the emotional process that we establish in relation to fear and finding a way of letting it flow through you.

“For me, it’s like, the small things…  Like when you go for a dance and you can feel sometimes that your body is rigid and you’re dancing just to be like someone else. And then it’s like ‘How does my body want to express itself?’. And then you feel that sense of ‘Oh, that’s a bit vulnerable!’ To me, vulnerability is a sign that we’re embracing Metafear. It’s just about embracing the habitual patterns we have and then finding your way through them.” - Miroslav Petrovic

• Why Do We Meditate?

Miroslav’s understands that the purpose of meditation is preparational to an extent. In a way, it is a tool that allows us to prepare our body for the intense experiences about to come. To him, it’s about “noticing the resistance and then learning how to soften into it”. A really inspiring perspective on such a popular concept in the realm of personal growth and improvement.

“For me, meditation is not the thing that you do with your eyes closed. That’s what it looks like from the outside. From the inside, it teaches you how to cultivate stillness, so things can move through you… And that for me is embodied presence. When we can let our minds and our emotions become still and we can use and move them through the body.” - Miroslav Petrovic

• Stepping Into Fear

In this part of our discussion, Miroslav explains what stepping into actually means for him. He elaborates on the relationship between embracing fear and inspiration. He shares that his personal experience came only recently in the past six months. This experience is, to an extent, often referred to in a religious context as stepping into the “divine realm” or even “facing God”. Miroslav however, provides an explanation that’s probably relatable to everyone.

“When you step into fear… in my experience, it means you’re meeting the full potential of what you’re capable of. When you step into that realm, it’s like you’re so completely open to inspiration you yourself don’t know what’s coming next. It’s like inspiration overload!” - Miroslav Petrovic

• The Power of Public Speaking

There’s an element of poetic justice and beauty in the fact that an extremely introverted, 4-year old boy grows up to be an amazing public speaker. Miroslav feels indebted to the craft and feels that it has given him so much. He believes it’s a transformational opportunity like no other, for everyone. That is why you can often see him bring people out on stage during his talks.

“When you have living people with you that are open to seeing you, that is the most transformational thing you can experience, especially if you step into the space of Metafear, exposing a part of yourself that’s never been seen. That’s instantly transformational!” - Miroslav Petrovic

Miroslav’s Message of Inspired Evolution

I don’t even know where to begin with this one because having Miroslav on the Inspired Evolution podcast was really a special experience for me personally. His openness and honesty are stunning and the way he allows himself to be vulnerable is just beautiful. We’ve talked a lot about Metafear, meditation, embodied presence all of which are concepts that help us elevate our being and existence. These are the tools and the mechanisms for “the how”, but as Miroslav points out, you yourself are the only one that has both the ability and the responsibility to act accordingly.

“It’s your duty to fucking act… what happens after that is not in your control!” - Miroslav Petrovic

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