The Leap of Your Life
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Don’t miss your moment. This one moment, the way it looks and feels, will never come back to you. This one is unique and needs to be treated as such. Here are some ways to miss your moment and look back with a heavy dose of regret:
Lack of presence. Presence and awareness are one and the same, and without them, your life-changing moment can pass right in front of you without your undivided attention. Presence is where we mold our experience and achieve a powerful level of clarity.
Lack of courage. Deep down you’ll know it’s your moment. However, without courage, you won’t take the next bold step. Instead, you’ll tiptoe around the sidelines. You’re waiting for permission. Yet, that very same permission is only granted the moment you choose it.
Lack of trust. Your moment requires a level of trust and faith long before any proof of the result shows up. It reverses the logical pattern of “once I see proof, then I’ll step into it.” However, that’s amateur thinking designed to get you nowhere fast. Masters don’t need proof; they create it.
Listening to your inner critic. Any times during your moment, your inner critic is going to be screaming in your ear. Stop, it’s not the right time, get real—this isn’t going to work. We’ve all heard her, and she’s relentless. If you take her word, you’ll miss your moment.
Listening to those who don’t believe. There are plenty people out there who gave up on their dreams telling others to do the same. Don’t listen. Sometimes, these people have great intentions, but it doesn’t matter. It may be a loved one, and often it is. It’s up to you to move forward no matter what happens.
Tomorrow, Everything Changes
If you don’t commit to change after your moment, it will fade. Time will pass, and you’ll find more reasons why not to do not. When I experienced my moment on that frigid cold New Year’s Eve night, I knew I would never be the same. However, when I woke up, I was in a completely different emotional state, with much less clarity. Flipping the phone on and seeing the picture reminded me of the power of the moment, and I relistened to the voice note.
For a split second, I doubted myself. But then, I completed these two actions, and they further cemented knowing what I needed to do. By adopting this mindset, you’ll cultivate a deep level of trust, knowing it’s only a matter of time until your leap comes to life.
Leap Tip: Change Requires Change
Tomorrow, change something. Anything. What matters is that you leave the familiar past that’s keeping you stuck. Keep it simple: take a new route home from work, speak up when you’d stay silent, say “yes” to an invite you’d shy away from. This energy rips us from our comfort zones and provides creative energy.
Before moving on, what is the one thing you’re committing to changing tomorrow? Keep it simple, and make it matter.
Bridging the Gap
When I left my voice note, I gave myself 12 months. Even then, I felt it was a short timespan to upend every part of my life, but I knew if I made it longer I’d lose the spark. There is nothing more deliciously satisfying to fear than the passing of time, and logic slowly killing your dreams.
Fast forward six-and-a-half months, and I’m packing the last of my possessions into a small U-Haul, ready to drive cross-country and begin my quest. Here I was, leaving people I loved, businesses I had created from scratch and the comfort of the known.
What I didn’t have in bank account zeroes was replaced by ambition, enthusiasm, and the vision I’d crafted. That day, I turned the car on and drove off waving goodbye to my family and the life I’d known.
The truth is, I didn’t know what was coming. All I knew was I was giving it a shot, giving myself a chance. And the worst-case scenario was I would come home with my tail between my legs and a great story.
Four days, enough caffeine to kill a horse, and a heavy dose of Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the USA, I’d made it to my destination. Without hesitating, I chose to celebrate the initial journey by taking a hike near my new home. It was sunset, and I was spent from the drive but running high on enthusiasm.
With my heart pumping and legs burning, my breathing was taxed. I took a moment to look up. And that’s when I saw it.
Forget about a double take, I must have done five. Stunned by its beauty, I unplugged my headphones to get connected and present. And that’s when it hit me. I looked down on the phone screen and looked up. Slowly, I raised the phone to match the horizon until it was level.
The purple hazed, sun soaked, Arizona sunset was welcoming me to my new home. As tears flooded down my face, I realized I was experiencing the picture I’d created that night: the same exact shade of purple, with the sun just at the right spot with a towering cactus that was just slightly off center.
Just like the picture. And that’s when I lost it.
Chapter 9 Key Takeaways
Your moment transforms your life. In this moment, you know exactly what you must do, and you’ll know by how it feels.
Declare, commit, and execute. Follow these three principles to ensure you maximize your moment and never look back.
Execute now, or you’ll miss your moment. No matter how small the action step may seem, this takes your moment from an experience to becoming your reality.
CHAPTER 9 LEAP POWER STEP
Take a moment to reflect on one time you experienced your moment and didn’t act. What stopped you?
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Now, take a moment and reflect on one time you experienced your moment and followed through. What did this feel like?
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Notes
1 https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/15/us/felix-baumgartner-skydiving.html.
2 https://emersoncentral.com/texts/essays-first-series/self-reliance/.
3 https://marianne.com/a-return-to-love/.
PART II
Turning Point: You Will
Never Be the Same
This is it. It's what you came for: the transformative power only the leap of your life can bring; the raw, unabashed energy of carving your own path; the sleepless nights, because you're writing the story of your own life. And because it's yours, it's already the greatest story ever told.
As we close out Part II, you now have a powerful perspective on your leap. We've covered it all, including how to ensure you have the ride of your life and don't miss it. We've gone deep on how to know it's yours and crafted a vision that compels you.
And now we're at a turning point. If you don't feel ready, then don't flip the page and keep going. I need you present, I need you ready. Because when you flip the page, you are entering into the unknown. It's the place where anything can and will happen.
When you're ready, I'll see you there.
Part II Turning Point: You Will Never Be the Same
Out of everything we covered in Part II, what resonated the most?
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Why did this specific piece resonate with you? Dig deep.
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What are you committed to fundamentally changing for you to integrate the information you've gathered to this point? Be detailed.
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PART III
The Leap of Your Life
The great affair, the love affair with life, is to live as variously as possible, to groom one’s curiosity like a high-spirited thoroughbred, climb aboard, and gallop over the thick, sun-struck hills every day. Where there is no risk, the emotional terrain is flat and unyielding, and, despite all its dimensions, valleys, pinnacles, and detours, life will seem to have none of its magnificent geography, only a length. It began in mystery, and it will end in mystery, but what a savage and beautiful country lies between.
—Diane Ackerman
CHAPTER 10
The Business Leap (Purpose, Unleashed)
Corporate accounts payable, Nina speaking. Just a moment.
In 1999, the movie Office Space was released with minimal fanfare. Starring a young Jennifer Aniston, the movie flopped. Years later, it’s considered a cult classic and one of the most influential comedies of its time. It’s hard to find anyone who hasn’t seen it, and the references are endless.
The movie hit it big because it connected with a core theme: people’s disdain for their work, including the disconnection stemming from a life off purpose, surrounded by people you don’t like. It’s an over-the-top yet honest look at how we spend most of our time.
And (unfortunately) true.
Often, the biggest, boldest and most impactful leaps you’ll ever take will happen with your work. A study conducted in 2017 determined that only 19% of people are fulfilled and satisfied in their work life.1 I’d say that number is understated, and what most consider satisfied is a low standard to clear. Regardless, the status quo isn’t working.
To be fulfilled with our lives, we must feel connected with the value we create for others. We must find meaning and purpose where we spend most of our time and energy. Otherwise, we’ll be out of alignment, and find ourselves stuck. This feeling spreads like a cancer to all the other areas of our lives, and then we wonder why things aren’t working.
The slide to mediocrity with our work is a slow descent starting with taking the safe path others have sold us on.
But it doesn’t have to be.
Your Business Leap Will Impact Your Entire Experience
Your business leap is the gateway to unparalleled levels of purpose and meaning. It’s the obstacle in the way from you feeling inspired. It’s what’s holding you back from thinking and being big and bold. Once taken, there is a radically clear before and after.
The before is robotic, routine, and stagnant—the same routines, with the same people every day. There are big promises, yet little to show for them—an insignificant increase in salary and perks, with uninspiring work; a lack of challenge, and spending more of your energy on politics and busy-ness.
Your after is a sense of autonomy and freedom. You’re in a place of thriving. You experience fulfillment that can’t be found when you live another person’s vision. You have vigor for what you do, and you’re excited about the journey. It’s not something you want to avoid, it’s something you can’t imagine not doing. When it’s hard, you don’t care. It’s the first thing you think of in the morning and the last thing you think of at night.
When you hit this state, it’s what Warren Buffett refers to as “tap dancing to work.”2 You feel re-invigorated, even though you’re on four-and-a-half hours sleep. You smile at adversity, because you’ve chosen this path. Most importantly, your mindset has completely shifted: You don’t have to do anything.
You get to.
Specifically, you get to experience the following:
Your purpose is to find your purpose. Your business leap is going to unleash your purpose on the world. As we covered in Chapter 7, your purpose is a driving force. It fuels you in ways that are the greatest source of motivation you’ll ever discover.
Your passion will be unleashed. If purpose is the underlying foundation, your passion is the spark that brings it to life. A life without passion isn’t a life at all. Passion is stoking the inner spirit inside you that engages you in work with energy, curiosity, and creativity.
You’ll have complete alignment in your life. Instead of separating life into convenient categories, your leap becomes an integrated experience. There’s no clear separation between your work and who you are; they’re one and the same. Your business vision and mission become your guiding lights and put you in a state of connection—with yourself, with what you do, and with others around you.
This is simply an energy you bring where your thinking, your language and your behaviors all function like the separate ridges of a key to create alignment (see Figure 10.1). However, if one ridge is off, there is no amount of force you can use to open the door.
You’ll harness your zone of genius. Your zone of genius is what makes you you. It’s the aspects of your business or career that no one can do as well as you. They make you feel alive, and you love doing them. There are only two to three key actions that fit the zone of genius, but often we end up doing 23 things—leaving the scraps for what’s important.
You won’t want to escape or retire. When you’re doing what you love, you won’t want to escape. In fact, you’ll look forward to coming back to your work as much as going on your two-week Greek-islands vacation. Retirement is something you don’t even consider, because you know you’d lose what makes you tick. Your leap creates this connection to your work with a palpable energy your clients, employees, and peers can feel from miles away.
You’ll be creating lasting impact. In this place, you’re at your highest ability to create lasting impact. Before your leap, you realized you were doing very little to impact others. If you’re truly an entrepreneur with a business designed to shift others’ lives, but you are spending your waking hours doing Excel spreadsheets for your boss in a corporation instead, you’re not maximizing your talent, skill, and desire for impact.
You’ll have the opportunity for financial prosperity. The ability to create financial freedom is significantly increased in entrepreneurship. A recent study showed people who own incorporated businesses earn about 50% more than people with regular jobs.3
Figure 10.1 The key of alignment.
There is no doubt your business leap has the potential to change every part of your life. It’ll change your perception, your vitality, your energy and the way you engage in relationships. But you’ll never know if you don’t first release what’s in the way and create urgency. Otherwise, the potential to be anchored to the illusion of safety can and will hold you back.
And sometimes, that anchor becomes too heavy to let go.
#NotesFromTheLeap
Shannon Graham
Founder, Shannon Graham Consulting
What’s the boldest leap you’ve ever taken and why was this important to you?
Creating my Legacy program, a $150,000-a-year coaching experience for those who want to achieve the impossible. I was playing small and my value was attached to things separate from myself. In order to expand, I knew I needed to take the leap.
What did you feel as you made this leap, and what happened after?
I felt exhilarated and alive. I was feeling a deep sense of freedom, a sense of power that [made me feel] my reality was totally within my control. After, it took my income to unprecedented levels. Beyond that, it took my identity and impact in the
world to unimaginable heights.
Looking back, what would you tell someone else in a similar circumstance knowing what you now know?
Whatever you feel is beyond you is actually the beyond within you. Make the leap; God wouldn’t call you to a game you can’t play.
The Strongest Anchor Out There
None of us wakes up from our nightly slumber, starts clapping and says, “I want to spend most of my time and energy in a place I can’t stand, doing work with little meaning while I put all of my dreams on the back burner labeled ‘someday.’”
And yet, how often do we find ourselves there? The strongest anchor we’ll ever experience is our work. It gives the illusion of safety and the world tells us we should be grateful for even having a job. Phrases like it could be worse start to take over and we cling to something we never wanted in the first place.
Now, I’m not saying there isn’t a time to hold steady. But often, the adaptability of the human condition to (painful) circumstances becomes our predictable downfall. In other words, early on you and I can feel pain and discomfort, such as knowing our current jobs are slowly killing us. But time has a funny way of making the painful more tolerable. Months pass, we make the uncomfortable tolerable; we wake up seven years in the future and nothing has changed.
Worse off, we’ve missed out on the countless opportunities we could have had if we had only had the bravery to make a bold decision. As we’ve explored earlier, the cost of opportunity is real in its impact on our lives. Most people already know what they have to do.