This time is different. You can feel it, can't you? I know you can, because I can too.
It Started As A Dream
In his book, As A Man Thinketh, James Allen wrote--"The greatest achievement was at first and for a time a dream. The oak sleeps in the acorn, the bird waits in the egg, and in the highest vision of the soul a waking angel stirs. Dreams are the seedlings of realities.
When you commit to a dream, your life is forced to change. Your growth forces the egg you're in to crack. You've outgrown it. You're ready to fly.
You've Moved Beyond Your Dream
You are reading this blog post because you walked away from your old life long ago. You've stepped over the line and reached a point of no return. Your decision has been made. You won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. You're no longer dreaming, you're realizing.
As Dr. Robert Morehead has written--you are done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions, mundane talking, cheap giving, and dwarfed goals. You no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. You cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, diluted, or delayed. You will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.
Your coming success is inevitable--you're on the brink of explosion. You're on the final frontier behind the curtain.
And here's why:
1. You No Longer Care What The Outcome Will Be
Jeremy Piven, the famous actor, was recently interviewed by Success Magazine. During the interview, he mentioned that, as an actor, the only way to work is to go out and audition for specific roles.
The challenge most actors/actresses face is that they get in their own way. It doesn't matter how much homework they've done. If they're too tied to a specific result, they can't be present in the moment. They can't truly perform their art. They come off as desperate. They get in their own way. Their performance isn't what it could have been.
Jeremy said that when he quit worrying about a specific result, he was able to be present during his auditions. He was able to be completely who he wanted to be. He wasn't trying to be what he thought others wanted him to be. He performed his art.
If he didn't get the gig, either they didn't get it or it just wasn't the right fit. So he moves on to the next.
In this way, he's able to get the jobs he's supposed to have. He's not just trying to get anything he can get.
You are the same way. You are raw and real. You are present and perform on your highest level because you aren't dependent on a particular outcome. You have an innate trust that everything will work out for you if you're authentic. You trust in the universe--your higher power--to take you where you need to go.
2.You Know Who You Are
With so many people floating through life, a person with a strong sense of identity will emerge from the crowd. This is not a forced act, but a natural and organic evolution.
According to psychological identity theory, there are four stages of identity development.
At stage one, you have no identity. You blindly accept whatever ideology or values system was taught by your parents or family members.
At stage two, you begin expanding your social circle, but you passively go with the flow of society without questioning. You lack authenticity and obsess over fitting in and pleasing others. Like stage one: no true identity.
At stage three, you begin to experience an identity crisis. You realize you've been faking, copying, and blindly following your entire life. You begin to question your choices and values. This leads you to explore new lifestyles, belief systems, choices, friends, and cultures.
However, at this stage there is little commitment and depth. Instead, it is endless searching for the next thing. Most people are stuck in a perpetual identity crisis. They have no clue who they really are.
At stage four, you have courageously voyaged through your identity crisis and autonomously committed to a particular identity (i.e., ideology, occupation, relational values, etc.). You continue to explore. However, this exploration is grounded on foundational beliefs and a clear sense of who you are and what your direction is in life.
Every person must pass through the identity development process. Few reach the capstone. Most never obtain their own identity. But you have. That's why you're here. That's why you're about to explode.
3. You Have Clearly Defined Your Purpose
The two most important things a person can come to know in their life are:
- Who they are
- What their purpose is
Every other form of knowledge is empty if these things are not clearly understood. However, once a person knows these things, the universe conspires to their aid.
Garrett Gunderson calls this, Soul Purpose.
Jeff Goins calls this, Your Calling.
Paulo Coelho calls it Personal Legend in his book, The Alchemist.
Many others have called it your destiny, your super-power, and your higher purpose.
The best part is, you get to choose how your life story will unfold. Contrary to popular belief you are the designer of your destiny--the author. A co-creator. You must be the designer, because if you aren't, someone or something else will do that work for you. And it won't be fun. You'll hate it. It will be intense pain of regret. Standing beyond the door of indecision is still a decision--albeit a horrible and unnatural one.
But you have clearly defined and written down your purpose which is why you're here. You've been reading it for days, weeks, months, and years. You've been refining and shaping it. You have it memorized--but you continue to read it anyways. You meditate and pray over it. It's part of you--you can no longer see or define yourself without your purpose.
4. You Have Clearly Defined Success
"No, I'm 100% sure Mom. When I'm old enough to drive, I want a blue van with smurfs painted on it. I don't care what people will say, that's what I want."--Marie Forleo at age 7
You're about to explode because you've defined success for yourself. You don't care how other people or society define success. That stuff is a destructive distraction--an endless rabbit hole leading nowhere. At best, it represents stage one and stage two identity development--no identity and inauthenticity.
But you've moved well beyond that. You're completely secure in who you are and what you want out of life. What other people think about you is none of your business.
5. You Are Correctly Motivated
"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power."--Abraham Lincoln
No matter how talented you are, if your motivations are impure, you'll eventually lose everything. I will preface this by saying I'm a huge Lance Armstrong fan. However, the whole world was witness to his reckless destruction. Winning meant everything to him. And he was willing to do it at any cost. Ultimately, he lost all of his friends, his family, and even his ability to compete as a result of his relentless need to win.
Like identity development, there is a four stage hierarchy of motivations.
At stage one, you are motivated by fear. Everything you do is to avoid punishment or negative outcomes. According to decision theory, this form of motivation is prevention focused.
At stage two, you are motivated by reward. Everything you do is to get what you want. If you are religious, you follow the commandments solely for the blessings it provides. If you are in business, you do only that which you believe will get you ahead. Thus, you are promotion focused.
Both stage one and stage two demonstrate extrinsic motivation, which is far less powerful than intrinsic motivation.
At stage three, you are motivated by duty. You're going to do what you believe you should whether you receive a reward or not. You have no fear of punishment. You are intrinsically motivated. But there's a lack of passion. There's a lack of life that will take you beyond human ability and reasoning.
At stage four, you are motivated by love. You have moved beyond worry for your own needs. Your aim is to bring as much joy to each individual as you possibly can. Your love transcends human reasoning. It drives you to do things most would consider crazy. You no longer live by conventional rules or wisdom. You are directed by the highest and purest power in existence.
"Perfect love casteth out all fear."--1 John 4:18
6. You Live Your Principles
"Many of us have convinced ourselves that we are able to break our own personal rules 'just this once.' In our minds, we can justify these small choices. None of those things, when they first happen, feels like a life-changing decision. The marginal costs are almost always low. But each of those decisions can roll up into a much bigger picture, turning you into the kind of person you never wanted to be."--Clayton Christensen
Motivations are shaky. It's highly possible that Lance Armstrong was once motivated in beautiful ways. Indeed, he has done some amazing things like start his Cancer Foundation: Livestrong. Yet, as a person gets power, it is almost inevitable that his or her motivations will shift. Heavy weighs the crown.
Because motivations are a sandy foundation, you must build your life on something bigger than yourself--even bigger than your vision.
Your foundation must be core principles. Of this, Stephen Covey has said, "Principles are self-evident, self-validating natural laws--like gravity. It's different than a value. Values are subjective; principles are objective. If you drop something, gravity controls. The lesson of history is that to the degree people and civilizations have operated in harmony with correct principles, they have prospered. At the root of societal declines are foolish practices that represent violations of correct principles. Principles, unlike values, are objective and external."
Clayton Christensen has said that 100 percent commitment is easier than 98 percent commitment. If you commit only 98 percent, you will certainly fall well below that. You'll justify your behavior over and over. It's a slippery slope. I've done this before. I tell myself I'm going to eat well 90 percent of the time. But the external circumstances always get the best of me. I'm at a party and the cake looks too delicious. So I reason with myself that this time it's okay. The problem is, that happens way more than 10 percent of the time.
When you're 100 percent committed to something, all of your future decisions have been made. You no longer need to worry about the external circumstances. Your locus of control is internal. You don't have to rely on willpower, which is a muscle that gets fatigued over time. You don't have to rely on your decision making ability, which like willpower, gets depleted over time. Life goes on easy-mode. Desired results occur quickly because you no longer get in your own way.
7. You Already Know You're Going To Succeed
"What are you waiting for? You're faster than this. Don't think you are, know you are."--Morpheus
Your thoughts and beliefs always lead to the reality you experience. "We see the world, not as it is, but as we are," said Stephen Covey. As you evolve and begin believing deeply in the infinite possibilities available, your thoughts almost instantaneously become things. Nothing becomes impossible.
Luck is a misunderstood concept. When it comes to success and personal progress, luck is something that occurs on a regular basis. It happens all the time. It's the only way to make quantum leaps. Linear thinking and conventional belief systems don't have the power to create irregular and instantaneous jumps.
You're about to experience massive success because you already know it's going to happen. You no longer question that fact. It's been confirmed to you spiritually. Not only that, but you experience miraculous manifestations frequently, verifying you are on the right path.
Like identity and motivation, belief also has a four stage model.
At stage one, you merely acknowledge that brilliant opportunities, such as luck or miracles, exist. However, you view these as scarce and fantastic--as unpredictable and unrealistic. Thus, you perceive the odds of your experiencing something so drastic on the same scale as winning the lottery--as less than one-in-a-million. You perceive change and success in your life as largely out of your control. You have a doubtful skepticism toward life and a bitter resentment toward those you deem more lucky and privileged.
At stage two, you begin desiring enormous opportunities and luck. You begin to believe these things can actually happen to you. Your doubtful skepticism is replaced by an open-hearted, seeking attitude. You recognize the amazing things that have already happened in your own life and those around you. Yet, you still perceive them as rare. So you continue to believe that others are more likely to have these experiences and opportunities than you are.
At stage three, you begin to recognize your ability to create luck on your own. You notice incredible things happening in your live--frequently. You have a firmer conviction in your power to create and design your circumstances. You believe the future is brighter and better than the present. You have an eager excitement for what lies ahead. You live in a state of individual flourishing and abundance. However, at stage three, you have yet to fully align with your true identity and ability. There is still room to digress and revert back to old ways. Fear and doubt can still linger, potentially returning you to your unevolved state.
Stage four initiates a point of no return. You have crossed the line in the sand. You actually can't go back. Your eyes are wide open to reality. You see things as they really are. You know that you can do anything. You have limitless power. You can walk on water. Nothing is out of your reach. Your success has already happened.
"I knew I could do it this time, because... well, because I'd already done it!"--Harry Potter
8. You Embrace Pain And Discomfort
"I discovered when I went all out, when I put 100 percent of my energy into some intense, impossible task - when my heart was jack-hammering, when lactic acid was sizzling through my muscles - that's when I felt good, normal, balanced."―Tyler Hamilton
In 2002, Tyler Hamilton crashed early in the three-week Tour of Italy, fracturing his shoulder. But that didn't stop him. "I'm good at pain," he has said. He kept riding, enduring such exquisite pain that he ground eleven of his teeth down to the roots--requiring surgery after the Tour. He finished second overall, only losing to Lance Armstrong who has since had his victory rescinded. "In 48 years of practicing I have never seen a man who could handle as much pain as he can," said Hamilton's physical therapist, Ole Kare Foli.
This is the kind of pain you embrace because you're going to be the best in the world. You know there will always be pain. You've just chosen the pain of discipline as opposed to the pain of regret.
Conclusion
You are on the brink of explosive success--defined by yourself and lived on your own terms. You know who you are and why you're on this pale blue dot. You are motivated by love. You're 100 percent committed. You know you'll succeed because it's already been set in motion. There's nothing stopping you now. You embrace the pain of discipline and you live presently.
Ready or not world, here you come.
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