I decided to take the time to be a little transparent and share some things about my personal journey to walking in greatness. Many times I have found myself “getting in my own way” by allowing fear of failure, fear of success, or even fear of the downright grind and hustle getting to get in my way. I often think, “Do I really have to only get 4 hours of sleep a night to become a catrillionaire? I don’t know about you, but I like sleep. Especially, in the winter months, when it is cold and dark in the early mornings, but I digress…
I also think, “Am I really willing to take some risk in order to see some rewards?” We all have a risk tolerance and for some of us, it is higher than others. It is important to find out that risk and take calculated steps in order to see some success.
I also find myself missing opportunities. Like this past weekend was Homecoming at my college. I just wrote a book and it would have been a great place to set up a vending booth to promote my book, but I didn’t even think about it until 3 days before the game and wasn’t able to successfully pull it off. I knew Homecoming was coming. It happens every year, yet I didn’t think how I could take advantage of all the alumni, many of my friends, and loads of people being in one place at one time. I got in my own way by not taking advantage of the opportunity. Even if I didn’t sell any books, it would have been great advertising and marketing tool for the book.
A few weeks ago I went to Las Vegas. When we landed and I caught a taxi to the hotel, I noticed UNLV and thought to myself, “You could have reached out to them to do a seminar.” I already do seminars at colleges and universities on Financial Literacy and other topics. I was gonna be in Vegas anyways, so why not take the opportunity to promote my business as well. Even if I didn’t do UNLV, there are many colleges and universities in the area I could have reached out to, but I got in my own way by not even thinking along those lines while visiting.
Finally, what about opportunities that drop into your lap? You know the ones you weren’t necessarily looking for, but out of nowhere, they appear? Are you gonna let suspicion or that fact it wasn’t part of “your plan” stop you from at least seeing if it is a viable opportunity? Or will you try it and take advantage of it, even if it was not on your radar? Will you stand in your way and say, “I never wanted to do this or I didn’t think it would happen like this or will you move forward? Remember: Many are the plans of a man, but YAHWEH’S purpose will prevail, Proverbs 19:21. Sometimes things just don’t go like we think they will and that’s just fine!
So to sum up what I’ve learned…
- Stop being lazy. And stop looking at things I do for my business as a job. This is my passion, right? So it shouldn’t be work, but pleasure!
- Always look for opportunities everywhere you go. Whether it be to the grocery store or concert. Whether on vacation or a work related conference, look for an opportunity to promote or grow your business and reach out to people in advance of traveling to schedule meetings.
- Look into every opportunity, especially the one’s you didn’t expect because these just might be your blessing. We don’t know it all. If we did, we wouldn’t need faith. So don’t put something to the side just because you don’t think it lines up with “your” vision.
I’ve learned a lot over the last 2 weeks so I hope this helps someone else, “Get out of Your Own Way” too!
