Master Secret: Know where your inspiration lies.
Strategy: The road is long, so plan stops on the way.
"Death may very well be the single best invention of life; it clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now, the new is you, so what are you going to do with the time you’ve got given?" Steve Jobs
Some refer to inspiration as a daily reset button; it's an opportunity to discover daily possibilities anew. The most motivated people in the world still have moments where clear decision-making is a struggle, so fueling stations must be planned on the road to success. The need for refueling stations is prevalent when we’re planning to reach new destinations and experiences because we don't know how long the trip will take. Some read great books, others listen to music and some get inspiration from seeing others break through their own barriers to success.
In business, as in our personal lives, many find their motivation comes from economic manifestations; that is, having the money to do what they want to do.
Many industry experts and leaders in biology have postulated some reasons behind why so few actually succeed. Successful people have found the inspiration behind why they do what they do, as previously discussed in this book. Look at the back-story behind every successful person, and you’ll certainly find a reason why they got up in the morning, aside from the obvious economic benefits. The rest of us are seemingly stuck in a kind of robotic, almost mechanical cycle of routine, focused on the prosaic realities of paying the bills and waiting for the weekend. In our attempt to find inspiration, we can quickly negate it by clinging tightly to security and routine, coupled with the illusion that we may reach our dreams regardless, and still with yesterday's mind-set. Nothing could be further from the truth. Small daily rituals encourage big change. And that change is what's needed for a change in our future. Keeping ourselves inspired to continue performing those small daily rituals that serve to push inspiration forward is key to living your passion now.
Steve Jobs once said that his motivation for making the “big” decisions in his life was the realisation that his time on Earth is limited. We only have a certain amount of time here to make a difference, so whether the decision made was poor or successful, it made little difference. If it was poor, he learned from it, and if it was successful, he learned from it.
I have to admit that my inspiration lies in the most unlikely of places. I find my inspiration in the stillness of graveyards and cemeteries, because it put things into perspective...
About two years ago, I was driving on my way to an appointment and I received a call from my customer telling me that he had to delay the appointment time by at least an hour. I was passing a cemetery on my way there, and I honestly don’t know how or why this happened, but the car seemed to just drive itself into this beautifully-appointed and maintained cemetery. I passed tomb stones of every size, description and faith, which were all lying there, waiting for the next visitor. As I pulled the car over and stepped out, a sense of disquiet suddenly hit me. It was truly a strange feeling.
Seeing all of those past lives lying buried beneath the dirt truly shifted something in me. Something inside me wanted to validate that my life had meaning, purpose and passion. I started to question: "What if my life purpose wasn’t on track? What if this wasn’t my purpose? What if I didn’t have the courage to make the big decision and move past fear to do what I ultimately love? What if the self-doubt I was suddenly feeling was trying to tell me something about my way forward?" As you can imagine, my ego took control of the entire thought process, and before I knew it, I started to use supporting thoughts to validate what was, in hindsight, fearful thinking.
Upon acknowledging this fearful mindset, the strangest, most peculiar thing happened. As I looked around at all the graves and descriptions, “Beloved father of… Loving mother of... Born June 11, 1945, Died July 17, 1979", I experienced a sense of being guided by the energy that came from these seemingly dead gravestones. I cannot explain my experience in words exactly. I summed-up my feeling by one emotional phrase: "Live YOUR life". The feeling was not one embedded in the tenants of routine, my economic situation, or even being of service. It was at this precise moment that a wave of clarity resonated within me. See how the word “YOUR” is capitalised? This is for a reason. I believe this was a clear message, aligning me to live my true purpose, which I now know is to help shift others into their personal truth.
Many of us are busy asking for guidance on how to live our lives. The primary reason why we do this is fear of the unknown, which is the largest fear of all. What if we choose a direction and it doesn’t work out for us? What if we embarrass ourselves? What if we lose money, time or both? These are all good questions, but they are irrelevant in the face of death.
In an effort to secure our dreams, we attempt to emulate success by looking at others' experiences as a template to discern how to live our life. This is very helpful to do, but only you are the master of your destiny.
Your DNA has never existed in the world prior to now. Your purpose, mission and passion should be to find what brings the most joy, happiness and fulfillment to your life. Close your eyes for a moment and ask yourself: "What would you do if failure wasn’t on the table?" Then make moves towards it, without reservation.
Contrary to popular thinking, people rarely get lucky in life. They work hard, and they know how to inspire themselves and their immediate world around them. They offer the best service through gratitude, passion and personal knowledge. We can all find excuses as to why we can’t do something or be somewhere. We also inherently know that our successful results are directly linked to the effort, passion, and service we provide others. It’s also interesting to note that a fulfilling career in the service of others encompasses a passionate mind-set that often leads to a better quality of life for ourselves.
What about Failure?
Any change in direction is going to require decisions, and the outcomes of these decisions are unknown. Sometimes we experience success from those decisions, but more often than not, we experience failure. I believe failures or road blocks exist as a barrier to determine how badly we want something, separating those with a deep desire to persevere from those who want it only when all the conditions line-up.
Find your Inspiration for when things seem bad.
The fact of the matter is Picard was right; we can make no mistakes and still lose. The answer to many of life’s challenges comes down to our want and persistence to uncover another way around our road blocks. This needs to form part of our everyday thinking and decision-making process. We need to constantly challenge the status quo to further develop our problem-solving mind-set. Challenges are everywhere, road-blocks are evident, trials are common, and our attachment to outcomes is constantly being monitored. Yet, success is still well within our grasp. Once we make a clear decision about our state of mind, we discover our ability to arrive at our destination is always within our capabilities. The few who believe and live this mentality do manage to accomplish their desires, while according to others, they just so happened to be “lucky”.
Keep your mentality elevated and discover where your inspiration lies. It's the only way to continue when we're wading through failures on the road to success.
Always remember that your mentality creates your reality, but your inspiration maintains your mentality.
To leave you with something wonderful, we often discuss the analogies of wheelbarrows and how each of us pushes certain wheelbarrows forward at difference speeds and at different times. We also sometimes toss out old loads for new. Let's see which ones we push forward.
Wheelbarrows:
Below are popular wheelbarrows that, perhaps, resonate with you:
1. The Need for Success Wheelbarrow
2. The Need for Love Wheelbarrow
3. The Need for Dreams Wheelbarrow
4. The Need for Security Wheelbarrow
5. The Need for Fulfillment Wheelbarrow
Some thoughts on each…
1. The Success Wheelbarrow: Depending on our level of ambition and our definition of success, this first wheelbarrow is an obvious one. Despite it being extremely difficult to define, it is also extremely sacrificial for most. Upon reaching a measure of success we deem as congratulatory, most of us tend to raise the bar to an even larger goal. There’s nothing wrong with that, so long as we recognise and celebrate our current achievement. For entrepreneurs, this wheelbarrow holds a special kind of reward that surpasses financial freedom; it's who we end up becoming from the struggle in attaining our goal.
Take home message: "Success bestows many rewards."
2. The Need for Love Wheelbarrow: Some say we only make two real decisions in life. The first is a decision out of the LOVE for someone or something, and the other is because of the FEAR of someone or something. Endeavour to make decisions out of love. Our need for love and acceptance is why many of us push Wheelbarrow 1 so hard—to be recognised. Yes, money will bring with it a lifestyle and the smoke screen of security for a time. But LOVE is well and truly the only eternal wheelbarrow that’s always available for personal and professional growth, and it has the magic to continue beyond our physical existence.
Take home message: “Love what you do."
3. The Need for Dreams Wheelbarrow: Someone once said dreams are given to us for the purpose of accomplishing them. How often do we push dreams forward with tenacity? When was the last time you pushed your dream wheelbarrow forward? When was the last time you took hold of the handles and wondered whether you still wanted to push this wheelbarrow? Is it worth it for you? Has life and routine tightened its grip around your chest? Even in our full-time jobs, there are still people who pursue their dreams. How? They do just a small amount every day. An hour per day pursuing a dream is six weeks worth of eight hour days per year. Imagine what a great start six weeks could mean towards pursuing your dreams while you're still paying the bills and lubricating life’s wheels.
Take home message: “Living the Dream.”
4. The Need for Security Wheelbarrow: Often the cry of the long-term employee or complacent individual is the need for security. There’s no such thing as security. Anyone can be successful and anyone can lose his or her job whilst aiming for security. Pushing the illusion of security/safety can stop some of the most wonderful discovery moments from happening in our lives, preventing us from pursuing our passions. The other irony here is life itself is an impermanent thing, so how and why are we obsessed with pushing a seemingly permanent strategy forward with such tenacity? Embrace the unknown, do your research, become an industry leader through innovation in order to manifest your dream in your desired field. Do whatever it takes.
Take home message: “There’s no such thing as permanent security.”
5. The Need for Fulfillment Wheelbarrow: This wheelbarrow is only felt by being of service to others. Think about the most fulfilling times in your life and you’ll find that being fulfilled is both the most satisfying and rewarding experience. Some may ask, "Why?" Well, it is different for everyone, but the explanation I resonate with is that fulfillment is food for the soul; it nourishes the heart and mind to want to continue helping others, and in turn, be of greater service to the world.
Take home message: “Fulfillment is the true path to happiness.”
Discovering what’s important to us may change at different times in our lives. The trick is knowing what’s more important, and to begin pushing that wheelbarrow forward with tenacity.