What differentiates the good from the great? Everyone has the potential to be great, but there are a few key things that differentiate those who want to be great and those who actually embody greatness.
The difference between a good life and a great life is simple. Living a good life means doing only what you need to do in order to get by. Whereas living a great life means going that extra mile to not only improve your excellence, but to also bring excellence to those around you.
1. Mindset
When you look in the mirror what do you see? Many of my clients will only see themselves as they are in the present moment -- complete with all of their present stresses, financial obligations, family responsibilities,
Focusing on your perceived faults, insecurities, or your past will only bring you more of the same. Instead, make it a point to direct your mind towards possibility, potential, and your ideal future. Your life aligns itself with your dominate thought patterns.
Instead of seeing the present version of yourself in the mirror, why not see yourself as your desired future self? Look in the mirror and see what is possible for yourself. See yourself as the CEO, a millionaire, the next Hollywood starlet, an engaged parent, or someone that gets the promotion at work -- there is no better day than today to start believing that it's possible.
2. Actions
What do you spend your time doing every day? Do these activities and actions align with your goals?
For the next three days, track your activities every 15 minutes. After doing this for three days, I realized that NONE of my actions were in service of my defined goals. I was spending all day everyday avoiding the very things that would exponentially advance my life and business.
If you are actually taking action on things that move you closer to your goals two things will happen. First, you will work less -- way less. Second, you will reach your goals faster and more efficiently.
3. Busy-ness
Busy is a trap. We fill our lives with things that keep us distracted and divert our focus from being great. You could really only do five things everyday to rock your life. But the key is to do the RIGHT five things that move you towards your dreams, instead of doing a million of the wrong things.
As you move through your day, be sure to check in with yourself and ask, "Will this action move me closer to my goals?"
4. Attachment
Attachment is a two sided coin. There is your attachment to the present and your attachment to the future.
Being overly attached to your current reality will only perpetuate more of the same. It's important to recognize when you're commiserating with others about your struggles and your limiting beliefs. What you focus on grows, so spend time focusing on what you want in your life, instead of what you don't want.
There is a fine line that comes with focusing on your future. It is important to be clear on what you want, but it's also equally important to not be attached to exactly how it shows up in your life. This narrow focus can keep you from seeing the magic of surprise. Your future could be knocking on your door, but you'd ignore the opportunity because it didn't look like you anticipated it to look.
In order to be great, it's important to plan, but not to over prepare. Allow for life to surprise you once in a while!
5. Resentment
Usually on our path to reaching our goals, we end up doing some things that we don't love but are necessary either for our survival or to up level our lives. For a lot of people, this can look like working a job that you don't enjoy or compromising your ideal living situation.
This is the tricky part. If you really want to achieve greatness, you need to start embodying your greatness now. Not only do great people refuse to waste their energy on resentment, but they also understand that resentment only breeds more of the same.
If you're unhappy or resentful in your current situation, I can guarantee that it's carrying over into all other areas of your life and keeping you from the greatness you desire.
A great way to change this is to find a way to fall in love with and be exceedingly grateful for your current situation, no matter what it looks like. My best tip to do this is to think of the situation as an opportunity and play in it.
Your subconscious mind does not know the difference between your external reality and your internal reality. You can totally trick it into thinking what you want. If you're a waitress waiting to make a big break in the film industry, treat it as a top level, starring role. If you're an entrepreneur with a day job waiting to quit, act as if it's your company and you are the CEO.
6. Celebration
We're all raised to believe that bragging is a terrible practice. But the reality is, continuing to live in the Land of Humble will not make you great. Celebrate your accomplishments -- every accomplishment should be fully embraced and shrouded in gratitude.
Failure to do this is akin to saying, "I am not worthy of celebration and I don't care if good things happen." On the road to greatness it's critical to remember that everything is worth celebrating. Dwelling in the energy of celebration and gratitude will inevitably create bigger and better opportunities.
What are you celebrating today? Drop your BIG CELEBRATION in the comments below so we can celebrate right along with you. The more we celebrate ourselves and others, the GREATER we as individuals and as a collective become.
Let the brag fest begin!