What Holds You Back From Success?
- What makes a person go after what they want?
- How do you figure out what “that” is?
- What does courage have to do with it?
- What does it mean to live safely?
It’s not what you are that holds you back, it’s what you think you’re not. – Denis Waitley
This is such a profound quote – “You” are what holds you back.
Was I making a real difference to anyone?
The answer was while I had a comfortable lifestyle, and had accomplished all of the goals I set for myself, the truth was that I had not made a real difference in the world. I realized that I had played my life safe. I realized that if I died tomorrow, while my friends and family might miss me, the world wouldn’t realize I was gone.
The grand vision of LemonadeMakers is a reality T.V. show, in which we follow the transformations of “normal” people in each of our hometowns, who are out in the world to make a difference. I had no idea how to bring this dream into being. I had a 34 year career in the financial industry and was successful in that field. I had no connections with anyone in the entertainment industry. I didn’t know of anyone in my own community who I could use as my first show. I had no followers.
I didn’t have the anything in my life, to make something like that happen. Like Denis said, what was holding me back, was what I didn’t think I was – a person who could make a sizzle reel and sell a T.V producer into making LemonadeMaers a reality T.V. show.
What I knew is I needed to become the person who could.
A person who could attract and build a community of followers, who would want to watch this show. A person who could locate the local community heroes to film their stories. A person who could get introductions to the people in Hollywood that would say yes to this show.
For years I have dreamed of going to Petra in Jordan. I have books and magazines that talk about the site. For whatever reason, this site speaks to me more than any other place that I could visit in the world. Why haven’t I went there?
Because it is still a poster on the wall. Because it is a someday dream. Because that dream is not yet coming from within me. LemonadeMakers comes from within me. It is like the air I breathe. It is something that I work at every single day. It is vital to my being alive. It is my divine purpose. It is my souls calling.
This vision taught me to let go of who I thought I was.
For years I was the introvert that was invisible. I hated being in crowds. I never knew how to introduce myself to strangers and have a conversation. I was comfortable being the fly on the wall that listened to what others had to say. All of that has changed. I let go of this need to not be seen. Now I can step out on a stage of 600 – 700 people and talk for an hour about LemonadeMakers and see my vision take root in their hearts.
This vision made me realize that the corporate job I had put so much value in, was not what I really wanted my life to be about. I have discovered hidden treasures that were buried deep within me. I discovered that I can write about what is important to me, and that my writing strikes a chord in many people. Somehow my reaction to Carl’s murder recalibrated my inner compass. I had a new direction and a better destination.
I have made some mistakes in investing with a partnership that didn’t work out. Having everything go as planned isn’t a learning experience. It doesn’t change or transform you. What I discovered about myself through that mistake was worth the price of admission, because I saw how I was still trying to play it safe by riding along on the coattails of the other business.
I discovered that the notion of being invisible was still playing a part in my life through this partnership. Sometimes this journey has felt like I’m going to die, that it will never happen, that I’m not capable of being that person. But every time those negative emotions poke their head out, I go back to curiosity. I go back to wondering what the gift is I am not seeing yet. And I start digging to expose it.
I have discovered how important curiosity, anticipation, and expectation are to having fun with change and transformation.
Your journey will be different than mine. What is the same however, is that whatever your journey uncovers is a gift. Every roadblock. Every detour. Every storm, flood, earthquake, and tidal wave leaves behind a gift if you are willing to be curious. It all boils down to “What are you doing to improve your life?”
So get excited over discovering in the debris left behind, the treasure it has exposes. Your real life begins –
- When you believe in intuition.
- When you trust in your intuition.
- When you act from the space of imagination.
