“You seek too much information and not enough transformation.”
(Shiri Sai Baba)
This is a two-part post about my next book: Turning Inspiration Into Action: How to connect to the powers you need to conquer negativity, act on the best opportunities, and live the life of your dreams.
Part One
Have you ever had great ideas that never get done? Do you get inspired and excited one day, and then return to your same old routines the next, without taking action on the ideas that got you so fired up? Ever wonder why?
At conferences and gatherings of like-minded people, it’s easy to get everyone inspired about something new. As an exhibitor, it was always a simple task for me to get potential customers excited about a new service. However, I used to complain that their ‘enthusiasm’ didn’t seem to survive the trip home. I was frustrated when they failed to take follow-up action once they were back at work. Last year, I wrote a post about it, How to Maximize the Benefits of Any Conference.
A month after the post was published, I was invited to speak about turning conference inspirations into action. The very thing I had just written about! To introduce myself, I shared a simple process that I use to make big transformations in my life. I showed the audience how I applied The Process to athletics, to business, to family life, to spiritual life, and even to my love life! Then I led the workshop, showing how they could apply the same process to turn conference inspirations into action upon returning home.
The Process has led to some big transformations in my life… and taken me on a wild ride — working ten different jobs, living in more than ten houses in seven states, owning four businesses, moving cross-country four times, marrying, raising two children, divorcing, marrying again, and raising two more children. Although I never ended up exactly where I expected, each transformation has enriched my life beyond measure. Each step in The Process has helped me become more than I was before. Each step also revealed new opportunities, many of which I was not able to see before I took that particular step. That’s how life is. It’s constantly changing and so are we.
I seem to have a creative ability to see what everyone else sees, but have different thoughts about what I observe, and notice unique trends. When I looked back over the eight big transformations of my life, I noticed a pattern that was consistent with each one. The pattern was this: three key questions and three “powers” drove the transformational process I’ve been using to create the life of my dreams.
Gravity
Having big ideas that never come to fruition stops you from living your absolute best life. And it’s a very common problem. It’s the problem when a person begins a gym membership after New Year’s but then stops going by February. It’s the problem when a great idea from a conference doesn’t survive the trip home. It’s the problem when your resolution to see a good friend every month gets postponed until it drifts back into years… Perhaps it seems like you just got too busy, or something else got in the way, or you didn’t have the time, energy or budget to fulfill your idea after all. But guess what? There’s a secret problem hiding behind all the ‘reasons’ why big ideas don’t come to fruition.
The real problem is… gravity! The forces of procrastination, self-doubt, worry, cultural expectations, even family and friends, can hold your life in place, like gravity. If they are more powerful than the forces you’re using to change your life, your big ideas never get done.
Let’s say a notepad resting on a table represents your life as it currently is. The notepad will not move because the force of gravity is holding it in place. It will stay there forever unless a force greater than gravity pushes or pulls it in a different direction. So, suddenly a big idea comes along. For example, you witness an act of kindness, reminding you of your lifelong goal to start a charitable foundation. That idea contains energy. It’s a force. But it’s only a weak one, like a light breeze.
Gravity responds to this new force, and gravity is more powerful. Gravity says, “How are you going to start a foundation? You don’t have the money, the time, or the talent.” And so your idea stalls and your life doesn’t move forward.
Lightning
When I was speaking about turning conference inspirations into action I felt different, in an amazing way, than during any other speaking engagement of my career. I could feel inspiration striking me like a lightning bolt. My daughter was there and she felt it, too. Walking back to the hotel, she said, “Dad, Turning Inspiration Into Action is your book!”
Filters
When an idea strikes me, I use filters to say YES to opportunities and inspirations that are in alignment with my heart, and I quickly say NO to everything else. I call these filters My 7 Wonders. They are the most important things to me. They are:
- My One True Love
- Family
- Friends
- Fitness
- Finance
- Adventure
- Business
The speaking engagement touched me deeply. The idea of writing a book that could help others begin a journey to their best life touched me deeper still. It moved me. I felt it. And that gave it power!
Around the same time I saw a super cool seaplane land on the lake in front of our property. I thought, “Wouldn’t it be great to own a seaplane?!” While the seaplane was super cool, and seemed appealing, it was not a fit for any of my filters. It was not a match for what I truly cared about. I could not feel it in my heart. So I let it go.
Doing the Work
On my way home from the speaking engagement, I called a friend to ask a favor. Then she asked what I was doing in Austin. I told her about my workshop, how excited I was about it, and how my daughter said that it should be the subject of my first book. She replied, “You should do that at our conference.”
Once I began working on my idea with that first blog post, it began to take on a life of its own, leading to a speaking engagement, then a book and then another speaking engagement. Was it serendipity? Was it coincidence? I don’t know what it should be called but I do know that doing the work taps into a real power.
My Three Questions
I believe a better self is always possible today, every day, for the rest of my time on this planet. It’s through transforming the person I am that I create the changes I want in my life. The Process I use to create my absolute best life is based on these three simple questions… WHAT inspires me? WHY is it important to me? HOW will I bring it into my life?
I hope you found this post useful in your own journey through life. In part two, I’ll reveal the three powers I use to overcome gravity, turn inspiration into action, and live the life of my dreams…
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