For some reason whenever I travel my brain opens up. I mean really opens up. As soon as the airplane lifts off the ground it’s as if the expanse of the sky has literally penetrated my brain with a huge influx of air as if to take the deepest breath I’ve had in months.
I begin to remember things I want to have on my To Do List—the more strategic things. I remember books I want to read, people I want to study and goals I really do want to accomplish in my lifetime. In the past several years, the more I study human behavior and the power of our thoughts the more people I want to study.
I wish I had a full year to study more about the Wright Brothers and how they pursued their goal of getting an airplane to lift off the ground. I wish I could talk to Thomas Edison and ask him how he developed such a healthy mindset. “I have not failed, I’ve just found 10,000 ways that didn’t work.” How many people have that level of perseverance today? And what an incredible mindset…I just haven’t found the right combination yet. Here here!
I have a goal to write a book incorporating interviews from numerous sports heros and coaches I have. I want to understand how they get the level of competitiveness that they just don’t give up on any play or any point. And how do we bring that level of commitment to our jobs and passions? I want to build a bridge from the sports world to the working world. To infuse the same level of commitment, determination and belief that an athlete has.
Personally although I really wanted to be Chrissie Evert when I was growing up my gift is not to be an athlete. In my late thirties when I took up the game of golf I found I did have some aptitude, and a very competitive nature. But that wasn’t a surprise as I’ve always loved being one of the boys.
I don’t have the endurance of an athlete although I love lifting weights and body building, cardio bores me to tears and I do it as a necessary means to an end. I do however have incredible stamina and endurance when it comes to working on a project, starting a new offering or creating a new venture (like my Women’s Retreat). That is where my level of belief in myself and my abilities to create the vision I see really shines.
But that didn’t happen overnight. For much of my life I looked to others for validation. I continually looked for the “right” way to do things and I never thought I had enough knowledge to be the best. Once I started my own business (nearly seven years ago) I developed a whole new set of tools. I became an implementer, instead of being attached to the safety net I lived on the extreme edge of risk.
I learned by trial and error. Some lessons felt painful, others were exciting and helped me see how I was given a gift to support and encourage women to make serious life changes through my coaching, speaking and writing. Part of this was made possible by my experience in professional sales. That’s where I developed incredible persistence for reaching my goals. I learned to view situations from many angles including being in the shoes of the person or people I was attempting to help through the solutions the company I worked for offered.
Another of the gifts I found I had was the ability to quickly become a trusted advisor to the executives and high level managers I met with and worked with to solve their problems. My clients knew they could count on me regardless of what happened. That’s where my commitment came in.
I don’t share this to toot my own horn about my life experience but to share with you how I have been able to see where my gifts and talents are. I know that I have endurance (often in the form of persistence and never giving up) I know where my athletic ability lies (being a trusted advisor, someone my clients can count on) and I’ve learned how to accept the devastating losses and turn those lessons into fuel that feeds my next endeavor.
If I’m at home my routine is fairly structured. I’m also very aesthetic, what I see has a big impact of me and I need a change of scenery to get out of the routine. This is part of why, I’m able to open up to the expansiveness of possibilities when I take a trip.
In order to dream and commit yourself to something that may seem impossible right now you’ve got to get to a point where you can not only visualize it, but feel it, see it and be in that moment of where it is live for you and live that experience. When I’m not traveling I can use a long walk to gain a similar effect to help me lost track of time, get out of the routine, breathe in fresh air and open up to the world of “possibilities.”
If you want to bring a new experience into your life—a new job, the dream vacation, connecting with a wonderful partner, getting that promotion you’ve always wanted, you’ve got to create space to dream it which requires disengaging from day to day life. Do you know what you need to break free of the routine and expand your mind? Share your experience of creating expansiveness and new ideas with me and encourage other readers too.
