As I write to you, I am gearing up for a big weekend of celebration in my life. This weekend I am celebrating the decade anniversary of my podcast. It has been amazing to see the kind words and well wishes that have poured in from people all around the world congratulating me on this major milestone. However, not enough people know the backstory and the adversity that I faced to get to this achievement in my life. None of us are exempt from adversity and setbacks in our lives. On the other hand, how we handle those setbacks shapes our success or failure. My goal is to share a few insights with you on how to start fresh in your life and empower you to hit the reset button so you can see results and realize your dreams. Dare to take your life back!
- Never allow a setback or failure to define you. While many people see my life today, not everyone knows the full story of my journey to success. I am a highly respected thought leader that has empowered people all around the world to fulfill purpose and maximize their greatest potential. However, to really appreciate this you have to hit rewind and go back to the years of development that brought me to this point. Many years ago I was just a person with passion and a vision. I did not have the resources, reach, or relationships to make that vision a reality. In fact, if you have followed my work, then you know I have shared how my business almost collapsed three times, I felt I would never succeed, and some even accused me of being too ambitious. During my seasons of adversity, I wanted to give up so many times. In fact, the very podcast that is turning a decade old this weekend was one of those things that I wanted to give up on. However, it was the encouragement of a dear friend and mentors in my life that gave me the strength to keep going. Refuse to build monuments to your mistakes. More importantly, understand that failure is never final in your life. Failure is not a barrier to success. Failure is often the catalyst to success in your life. So never allow failure to define you. Failure is simply the classroom that cultivates our capacity for greatness.
- You must surround yourself with people that lift you up. When you are trying to create a new beginning in your life, you cannot surround yourself with people that only identify with your past. You must fill your life with people that identify with your power and the possibilities of what your life can become. In other words, you need to surround yourself with people that will lift you up. When I decided that I was going to take a hiatus from my podcast and that I was going to give up on my business for good, it was a dear friend that lifted me up in that season. This friend gave me the space to process through my feelings and to tune into my heart. More importantly, this friend affirmed the greatness in me and reminded me that this was only a season. This friend saw something in me that I did not have the perception to see at that time. I would often tell this friend that I did not know if I could do any of this anymore. Yet this friend continued to encourage me and reminded me that I needed to get back to doing what I was born to do. If it was not for this friend, I would not be celebrating a decade of my podcast, more than a decade in my business, and all the incredible victories I have experienced along the way. I often say that you can hang out in the pond with ducks and geese. Or you can ascend into the mountains and soar with eagles. Your associations determine your ascension. More importantly, your partnerships shape the possibilities of your life.
- Establish that you are not going to have a breakdown but you are going to have a breakthrough. As someone that has trained and developed leaders around the world, I have had to walk many leaders through times of crisis. In those moments, I cannot depend on motivational speeches or books to provide the answers. No, in those moments I must draw from experience and share how I have navigated personal crisis in my own life. It is difficult to provide crisis leadership and crisis strategies to someone when you have never had a personal crisis. On the other hand, when you have experienced a personal crisis in your life you are able to speak from experience and help navigate people through seasons of adversity and uncertainty. One thing I have discovered is that pressure is not a curse in our lives. It would be great if everything in life was always peachy and perfect. On the contrary, we live in the real world and you will face seasons of crisis in your life. Pressure is not an indication that something is wrong with your life. Pressure is an indication that change and growth are happening in your life. You can try and avoid the pressure or you can welcome the application of pressure to your life. Pressure is not designed to become your prison. Pressure is designed to propel your life forward. So when the heat is turned up realize that this is your opportunity to go higher and to honor the seed of your potential. There is no progress without pressure.
- Know when to hit the reset button on your life. One thing crisis has shown me over the years is that change is inevitable. Most people are creatures of habit and they fear change. However, without change our lives become crippled and we never grow. Have you ever felt stuck in your life? When you feel stuck it is a good indication that it is time for something to shift in your life. Regret will always rule the life of the person that does not know when to hit the reset button on their life. A reset is not a pause. A reset is ultimately the reboot of your life. Essentially, what I am trying to say is that a reset is not just restoring your life to a previous condition. A reset is ultimately embracing a new beginning in your life. Too many times we want to go back to how our lives were before. The purpose of a reset is to make your life better than before. What season have you outgrown? What relationships have expired in your life? What is frustrating you and preventing you from moving forward? What cycle needs to be interrupted for change to happen in your life? The purpose of a reset is to give you a new vision and ultimately to create a new version of your life. Hitting the reset button not only recharges you but it empowers you to reclaim your life!