You’ve probably heard the expression “Talking yourself out of doing it”, and if you think about it, what that literally means is you tell yourself that you can’t do what you want to do. You have an idea that you want to pursue and you actively keep yourself from doing it. This happens because we have defense mechanisms installed in our brains to keep us safe, two of those being rationalization and justification. When you rationalize or justify you use logic to come to the conclusion that what you want isn’t actually in your best interest. This is often misplaced, and what it is actually doing is protecting you from the discomfort of change.

So what I’d suggest, is when you feel that hint of inspiration, trust that feeling and pursue it. Don’t limit yourself because it’s the comfortable thing to do. Your brain will want to tell you something else but your intuition knows what is truly best for you.

This topic is the summary of a few different quotes all wrapped into one simplified expression - Take your shot. It was probably most inspired by my recent obsession with "Hamilton", and the song that goes “I am not throwing away my shot”. Hamilton had the slightest opportunity in sight, and even though he probably was going to fail he chose to act and take his shot, becoming one of the most influential historical figures in the United States.

Then there’s the quote by Wayne Gretzky, featured by Michael Scott in one of my favorite shows The Office “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”. I love the perspective of putting two outcomes side by side - Taking action and failing versus not trying at all. In not taking the shot at all, you guarantee that you’ll fail because you  never give yourself the chance to succeed.

Then last, one of my all-time favorite quotes, “Don’t pump fake the money shot”. The money shot is the shot you take when everything is on the line. It decides the game, and if it goes well, you’re the hero. To pump fake is to second guess, to not take decisive action, and if you hesitate during the most pivotal moments then you’re going to miss the opportunity. 

So basically in three different ways I’m saying the same thing - Take your shot. Trust yourself and go for it, even in the face of failure and resistance, because it beats the alternative every single time.

It’s important to recognize that self-improvement is a dynamic process. As a past interview guest Brian Mazza says, “Nothing changes if nothing changes”, so making progress in your life requires you to do things differently. When it comes to making these changes there are two schools of thought that have different implications, and that’s the difference between lifestyle changes and life changes. 

A lifestyle change is an adjustment to the way things already are. It’s a subtle shift in intention that makes something new more of a priority. You implement a new morning routine that includes gratitude and meditation, you start eating healthier, or you schedule more time to be with loved ones.  You use a lot of the same resources you previously had available, but you just use them in a different way.  

A life change is different. It’s a permanent shift in the way things are in your life, and it comes from more major decisions and commitments. You move to a new city, break up with your partner, or start a side hustle. Life changes bring on periods of transition where you need to choose how to allocate resources in a new context, which actually is a great opportunity to set new expectations. Naturally as you set new standards, you will be making lifestyle changes that align with your evolving circumstances. 

So there’s a place for both lifestyle changes and life changes. Life changing events don’t come around everyday, and rightfully so because they are challenging and exhausting, but when they do come you need to seize them.

This is something that causes so many people to fall short, and I don’t want that for you. Let me start by saying I admire you and your thirst for knowledge. You accessing this resource right now means that you value education, and probably identify as someone who enjoys learning. That’s a trait that will take you far in life, but only so far if you don’t apply what you learn.

When it comes to the books you’re reading, the podcasts you listen to, the courses you’ve purchased, even the conversations you have with mentors and colleagues, are you actually using that knowledge in a meaningful way? The content of the learnings can feel good in that it satisfies your curiosity and entertains you to some extent, but beyond that does it actually make a difference in your life? 

That’s where I want you to be honest with yourself and really think about this. Think about how the things you’ve learned have actually helped you to think differently, feel differently, and most importantly how you’ve started doing things differently. Your actions are the truest expression of your intentions, and if your behaviors and mannerisms don’t change, then it’s likely that the lesson didn’t create a lasting effect.

There’s no 'one size fits all' to this approach, but what I do know is that you need to take action in some capacity to truly use the information you’ve acquired. It’s not enough to learn, at some point you need to apply it to generate results in your life.

One of the biggest enemies of personal development is procrastination. In order for you to grow, you need to take action. You need to acquire new experiences and get in the habit of doing the right things in order to truly accelerate toward your potential. Procrastination is often bad because it prevents you from taking the actions you know are best for you, leaving you short of becoming the person you know you can be.

Procrastination occurs for a few reasons. First is laziness, not being able to summon the energy you need to get up and do something about it. Don’t be too hard on yourself though, laziness (aka “the law of least effort”) is actually an evolutionary adaptation, and it’s difficult to overcome it. Also, you might procrastinate because of doubt. You don’t think you’re capable of succeeding in the task or behavior you need to do, so you put it off as long as you can to avoid that overwhelm and discomfort. Embedded in this is the fear of failure, which can even keep you from trying in the first place.

So, how do you stop procrastinating? You design your life in a way that makes the action you want to take easier, so you rely on less energy and effort. You cultivate necessity through accountability and commitments to give you a boost of motivation and willpower. And you consistently do the small things so that you overwrite the habit once and for all.

How do you do that? The Stop Procrastinating Program.

Something that is finally becoming a more common conversation, thank goodness, is diversity and inclusion. Our world has a sad history as it relates to persecuted and oppressed people, and even though it might not seem like it I do think we’re slowly making progress. To best understand the dynamics at play, and how we can respectfully and responsibly exist within them, we need to generate a new awareness. This is something Jimi Vaughn articulates incredibly well.

When it comes to diversity and inclusion, we need to get in the habit of being critical about our environment. We need to be intentional about inviting people and groups who are underrepresented to participate so that all voices are heard. I’m challenging myself to be extra aware of this, and I encourage you to do the same!

Let’s talk about beliefs. Your beliefs are the deeply ingrained “truths” that you see in the world. What’s interesting though is that those “truths” are actually opinions that have been formed from your unique life history. So while you might believe something to be true, someone else can believe with the same conviction that the opposite is true. This is both an important and dangerous part of our lives, because it allows for there to be diversity in opinion, which is so crucial to innovation and collective well-being, but it’s also the root of many of the issues we experience in society.

Something to note is that these beliefs exist at the level of your subconscious. They are thought patterns that have been primed and reinforced with repetition throughout your entire life, and exist at a level that is not within your conscious awareness. Ultimately, your beliefs are tied to your identity.

Thinking is a very conscious, cognitive process, and through thinking we have the ability to make intentional, conscious choices. We don’t have the same luxury when it comes to our beliefs, which to me indicates that belief is where thinking ends.

So the takeaway to this, if you really want to grow, is to challenge your beliefs. Try to make them more conscious, observe the way you see the world, and ask questions about why you believe things to be a certain way. With curiosity you can invite a new perspective into your life that may liberate you from the layers of defense and the bottlenecks that are keeping you from reaching your potential.

Today I wanted to share an inspirational quote from one of my absolute favorite books, “The Promise of a Pencil” by Adam Braun. In this book, Adam details how he took a small observation he had while traveling and turned it into the international education non-profit Pencils of Promise. One of his final pieces of advice in the book is today’s quote “Make your life a story worth telling.” 

Basically, when you look back at the way you spend your time, do you feel like you did anything meaningful, significant, noteworthy, or interesting? Did you make progress serving notable causes? Did you create something extraordinary? And did you leave people and things better along the way? There is so much to do these days, and so much being asked of you, so using this lens helps you to filter out the junk and focus on the things that matter for you and others.  

If you think about it, what makes up a good story? It’s the challenges you overcame, the risks you took, and the experiences you cherish. It’s the way that you moved forward during high-stakes moments to make progress on something that is meaningful. I call it Do It For The Story, I gave a TedX Talk about it, but this quote carries a similar sentiment. In order to live you need to put yourself in moments where you feel alive, and win or lose, when you make it through you’ll have more of a story to tell. “Make your life a story worth telling.”

In order to understand what 'encouragement' is we first need to talk about its applications. When someone is indecisive about something, you want to encourage them to take next steps. If someone is afraid, you encourage them to step through it. When someone steps into their own, you encourage them to continue pursuing that. Encouragement is about giving hope or support to someone else so that they are more emotionally prepared to take action.

If you put it this way encourage literally has the words “in courage". It’s offering someone the strength and courage they need to proceed, which begs the question, "When is courage required?" The definition of courage is “strength in the face of pain or grief; The ability to do something that frightens one.” 

The fascinating thing about encouragement is that nothing changes outside of your mindset, your willingness to face off with the fear you’re feeling. It’s the exact same challenge, with the same road ahead of you, but a little bit of encouragement gives you the lift you need to have a new perspective toward what scares you and persevere through the emotions that are holding you back. 

To summarize, encouragement is literally to offer courage so that someone is more willing and mentally prepared to take action in the face of fear. And it helps you to embrace discomfort, which we all know is the greatest catalyst to our growth.