Who's life are you NOT saving?

Recently on my drive to an early-morning appointment, I plugged in my favorite song from Mumsford & Sons,  Little Lion Man.  It's amazing what a well versed lyric and uplifting melody does to the psyche. Better than a double-shot of espresso!  

Then an awful thought occurred to me, followed by intense emotion.

What if all the songs that inspire and uplift me had never been written?  

There are so many  small things that make such a great big difference in our lives. A song  that energizes us, a word that uplifts us, a story from that book that tugged our heartstrings ––what if the collection of these small things makes the difference between joy and depression–– the degree of difference that gives special meaning to our lives?

That thought led to another idea... what if the people that wrote the songs, told the stories, or shared the words of encouragement had never done so?  What if each one of them surrendered to the critical voices that are all too common,  

"You're just not good enough.  You'll never be good enough.  Just quit."

Too many people give in to the fear and criticism inside them.  I've been there myself...  I still remember times when I've been so hard on myself that I refused to follow my passions and dreams, believing that the world was better off without me even trying... but those thoughts are lies.  Have courage.  Have Faith.

You make a difference.
The stories that you tell others about overcoming adversity, inspire others to overcome their own weaknesses...

Even if it's just sharing about someone else’s victory, stories of overcoming can directly or indirectly have a profound impact on hundreds or even thousands of lives around you!

Many of the moments that have impacted my life greatly are a result of such stories.  My friend, and business owner, Frances is a great example.  Her story of how she became a millionaire–– before she had even more than $100 dollars to her name–– is an inspiration to me. 

"I became a millionaire the day when my father-in-law said to me that I would never amount to anything but a coffee-shop girl.  No one had ever treated me like that.  I was so angry, I got in his face and told him that from that day on, I didn't serve coffee... people would serve coffee to me.  That month I started knocking on people's doors to sell their houses for $1,000 dollars.  I sold ten houses and nobody could tell me I was the coffee-shop girl anymore."

What about the stories that you don’t tell?  

What about the excellence that you resist pursuing because of your self image and fear?  What if your story is that one degree of difference that someone down the line was waiting for to make a change for the better?

You have a responsibility to your fellow man. A responsibility to overcome your obstacles to become an inspiration to others.

Don't underestimate yourself. Be bold.

Realize, that you have the potential to impact people's lives in a profound ripple effect with every positive actions and every act of courage, love, or compassion that you have ever shared in your life. 

You may have become the story or memory in someone's mind that makes them one degree better.

That one degree better is compounded over time into millions of positive interactions… but then… 

...so have the negative thoughts that you have had about yourself or shared with others.  

Those vibrations have also been broadcast into our world.

This is why self pity is a waste, and destructive. When you hold yourself back from overcoming, when you hold yourself back from creating–– and inspiring others to create!

When you hold yourself back from doing the thing that you were designed to do, (your calling, your destiny)  you are stealing from the world the gift that is your life. In your selfish self pity, you are denying the world the one degree of better that makes a difference.  

Who’s life could you be saving, simply by pursuing excellence in all your dealings… in overcoming your adversity… and in becoming the you that you were destined to be?  

I know it’s hard…  but who said it was supposed to be easy?  Do the right thing anyway.    Push yourself to be the best version of you. Then inspire others with your story.

Pour Water on the Seeds

Thank you to my anonymous reader who asked me to list ways we can develop the seeds of greatness within!

The following are a few suggestions:

• Keep a gratitude journal

Gratitude is one of the most powerful forces that works in our psyche.  As counterintuitive as it may sound, writing down what you're thankful for sends a message to your subconscious that says, "I am worthy,"  "My life is valuable."   Writing down the your victories over obstacles reminds your subconscious that if you could win in the small things, you can win in the big things.   

I routinely write in my journal a list of the things I am thankful for and the victories I have collected.  The activity makes me feel empowered, and can be a powerful force in the order of developing a strong, positive self image.

• Create a Mission Statement for your Life

Stephen Covey, in his book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, writes about the value of creating a life mission statement. He encourages you to involve every member of your family.  What your life mission statement does is it focuses your mind on determining your values.  Remember, values are your roots.  

You need values, principles, and strong character to live a fulfilled life.  A well-thought mission statement crystalizes your code of life.  It allows you to measure your weekly, monthly, yearly actions against your code.  Are your daily actions coinciding with where your values are?  Or are you fooling yourself and creating inner stress by living out of harmony with your deepest values?

• Read to grow yourself

It's one thing to read for fun, another thing to read to grow.  Loads of people spend their lives reading pulp fiction and never pick up a book that challenges them to be better people.  Therefore, their growth is stunted.  

Reading is a pre-requisite for excellence in performance and leadership.  Make sure you are reading hungrily and intentionally.  Decide WHY you are reading what you are reading in order to be more effective with your time.

Ask yourself  "How does this book enable me to work better in my field? How does this book enable me to grow closer to the best possible version of myself?

• Seek out and value mentorship, and relationships that stretch you

It's hard to keep yourself motivated and progressing through life without a strong support group and a growth environment.  The reason organizations like Alcoholics Anonymous, book reading clubs, and Parent Teacher Organizations (ha ha ha... can you tell I'm a new parent?) are so popular is because of the power of a community.   No matter the level of your current achievement, you can be associating with others that challenge and stretch you.  Continually challenge yourself!

There's a saying in Spanish:   "Dime con quien andas, y te dire quien eres."   It means:  "Tell me who your friends are and I'll tell you who you are."   And yet another way of putting it is as follows:

"You will be the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with."

-Jim Rohn

Are there seeds of greatness within you?

The tree:

Imagine a full grown, healthy apple tree.  

(For those with poor imagination, use the picture ;))

Each branch of the tree represents a role in a person's life, such as:   business owner, manager, teacher, father, brother, sister, son, daughter, friend, church-member, club-member, etc.   You get the idea.    

The leaves represent the memories of your success and failures–– the  experiences of your life that come and go.  Much like the leaves of a tree soak up light of the sun, your memories soak up the light in your life and nurture you in the different branches or roles in your life.

The fruits represent the results your life have produced.  They are what you have to show for your efforts. When you share the fruits with others, and they are good fruits, then the fruits of your life will nurture others in turn.

Finally, and most importantly, beneath the tree, holding it all together and anchored into solid ground, are your roots.

A tall tree catches much wind ~ Chinese Proverb

A tall tree with shallow roots doesn't last too long in a 
hurricane ~  Miami Common Sense

Roots are the most important part of a tree, aren't they?  They are what keeps the tree anchored to the soil.  They absorb the nutrients that feed the rest of the tree.

So what do you think the roots represent?  What purpose would roots have if we were running the metaphor into your life?  

The roots are those things that feed and nurture your psyche.  

The roots are your values, your principles, your paradigms, 

your thoughts and beliefs that hold you up.  

Top level performers in every industry are well grounded with a solid roots system.  They don't second guess their ability to succeed–– and you might thing, "of course they believe in themselves, they're already successful!"  And you are absolutely right:  success multiplies success.  However, top performers that stay top performers never forget where they came from.  They believed in themselves and the results they sought to create long before the results ever showed.

Your roots system begins in your thoughts.  Thoughts crystalize into actions.  Actions crystalize into habits.  Habits crystalize into character.  Character determines your destiny!  - From As a Man Thinketh  by James Allen

What do YOU feed your roots?

       

I remember the first time I heard the words:  "the seeds of greatness are within you."  I thought that was the most ignorant motivational hokey feel good nonsense that people liked to say.  But it wasn't true, of course.   At least, not for me.

Just look at my life, I thought.  

What have I done that's worth anything?

I never realized how terrible self talk can destroy you  until I hit rock bottom with depression.  I never realized how paralyzing the words I told myself were!  These were the thoughts and opinions I carried with me from my youth and upbringing.


Feed your roots positive nutrients with good uplifting books, motivational messages, and an environment conducive to growth.  Practice saying out loud all the things you are grateful for.  Look in the mirror and tell yourself you are beautiful.  You ARE beautiful.   The value and potential you add to the world is unique to you.  No one else in the whole planet has what you have.  There is something about you that will be able to connect with a whole network of people out there that I will never touch.  That John Maxwell will never touch.  And all you have to do is fulfill your calling!

No matter how successful you are, there is always room for growth.  Evaluate your values.  Evaluate your foundations.  And as long as you're intentionally (and regularly) drinking in positive nutrients, then you'll be able to feed the branches of your life–– which in turn will create great, lasting memories and good fruit!