As I write to you, I am coming off of an incredible week. I was able to hit some big goals and celebrate a major milestone in my business. This week my business turned eleven years old. While that may not mean that much to you, you have to understand my journey to really grasp why this is so important. As an entrepreneur that has been very transparent about his journey, my business almost collapsed three times, I was mocked and criticized, and I was told I was too ambitious. This journey has been anything but easy. However, it has produced an exceptional life and I make no apologies for that. Fast forward eleven years later and I have been featured on television, in the pages of numerous magazines and on some of the largest media outlets in the world. In addition, I have written nine books, won numerous awards and become a highly respected thought leader. What I am trying to get you to understand is that you are in control of your own destiny. You do not have to live as a prisoner to your circumstances or become a product of the conditions in your life. You are the master of your fate and you can manifest your prophetic future. I hope this piece will inspire you and ingite you to pursue a greater life!
- You first have to perceive that more is available to you. It is very challenging to help a person that has settled for mediocrity. You can give them all the motivational words in the world and it still not incite them to change. One of the things I have discovered is what we live in a culture that romanticizes the idea of change but rarely ever realizes change. Why is that? You have to first have the perception to recognize that more is available for your life. Never be deceived into believing that the best of your life is behind you. Or that this is all that is going to be in your life. Perception is a powerful prophetic tool empowering you to break free from the limitations of today in order to embrace the possiblities of tomorrow. If you want to live a greater life, then you must first perceive that a greater life is possible. Anything that you cannot perceive cannot become a present reality in your life. You have to stop seeing yourself as small and insignificant. Start seeing yourself as significant and impactful. Perception is making the decision to marry your potential and not your problems, to embrace your capacity and not your circumstances and to affirm your power and not the pressures of life. Perception is not only your portal to deliverance but it is the prophetic catlayst into your destiny. Perception changes what you are concentrating on so you can change what you are creating in your life. Your perception is the prescription for all future possibilities and opportunities.
- You must expand your paradigm for more. While it is good to perceive more for your life, you have to take it a step further and expand your paradigm. As someone that has written extensively about the mind, I always talk about how nothing changed in my life until I shifted my paradigm. Your paradigm is essentially your belief system and core principles. What we do not understand is that if our thinking is wrong then our cycles are crippled. Toxic thoughts create toxic cycles. More importantly, an undeveloped mind will always produce unfruitful moments. If you want to live your greatest life, you must understand that it begins with addressing the way that you think. If your thoughts have brought you to a place of frustration, failure and defeat, the good news is that your thoughts can also bring you to a place of success, prosperity and victory. I’ve discovered that if you will take the time to address your mind you can alter your moments. The health of your mind will determine the freedom and fulfillment of your life. A bankrupt paradigm will never produce a beautiful life. The reality is that expanding your paradigm takes work. You have to be willing to confront self-limiting beliefs and perceptions. Also, you must dare to address patterns and cycles that have robbed you of change and breakthrough. Most of all, you must be willing to replace toxic thoughts with intentional thoughts to create a life of success and prosperity. More cannot manifest in your life as long as you live with an unhealed mind. Healing the mind is how you honor the seed of your potentail and embrace the more that is available to you. The attention you give the mind will determine the advancement of your life.
- You must be willing to pursue more for your life. While the mind is such an important piece, so many people stop there. I have worked with so many people over the years and I have had to tell them that simply addressing the mind does not mean that the work is done. Now you have to move into the next phase which is called pursuit. In my life, I have discovered that you will never possess what you are unwilling to pursue. Furthermore, all progress in your life is the product of pursuit. So I want to ask you a very important question and I want you to answer it honestly. What are you pursuing? Notice that I did not say what are you dreaming about. Nor did I say what are you hoping for. I want you think about what you are pursuing. Many people mistake desire for pursuit. Desire is having a strong passion for something. On the other hand, pursuit is always reflective in our priorities. Do not tell me that you are pursuing something and yet it is never a priority in your life. Your pursuits are revealed by your priorities, investments and where you direct your energy. In order to live your greatest life, you must be willing to pursue your greatest life. Pursuit is not timid or passive. Pursuit is radical and relentless. After all, you will never manifest anything in your life that you are not willing to move towards. Pursuit is the total engagement of your will in the direction of the thing that you want the most. You literally have to be willing to hunt your destiny. You must be willing to give your all to embracing your greatest life. You will always be willing to chase after what you cherish. Your heart is located by your pursuit. Possibilities diminish as pursuit dies.
- Dare to model a big life. One of the greatest travesties in the world is to dishonor the seed of your potential. How do you dishonor the seed of your potential? You dishonor the seed of your potential by choosing the status quo and embracing medicority. As I often say, you do not serve the world by playing small. You were created to live big. However, you must first dare to play a bigger game. Stop scaling back your dreams to fit low expectations and appease the opinions of your critics. Scale up your dreams, raise your expectations and shut down the opinions of your critics. Your critics become irrelveant when you raise the bar on your potential. The seed of greatness that is within you is waiting for expression. That seed of greatness is waiting for you to stop playing it safe and start playing big. Your greatness is unlocked when you dare to push your limits, shatter barriers and defy the odds. When you dare to push beyond the status quo, you propel your way into limitless possibilities and opportunities. Your decision to live life big will empower others to break through limitations and barriers to live bigger lives. We never lose when we take leaps of faith and leverage our capacity for greatness. In fact, I have discovered in my life that what I thought was a ceiling was a simply a frontier that had never been conquered before. People look at my life today and they marvel. What they fail to understand is that they can have the same results. All you have to do is move beyond your self-imposed limitations. I stopped letting barriers intimidate me and started allowing them to birth me into infinite possibilities. Living a bigger life begins when you understand you are not limited by conditions. You are only limited by your lack of courage.