What would you do if you had no limits?

Take the time to think about it. What if, in your business and in your life, you had nothing to stop you, nothing to limit you??

What could you do? What could you do?

If you’re bold and audacious and want to change your life, play along now.

Take out a piece of paper and write it down. “What if I had No Limits?

Be colorful, be detailed, use action words, how would you Feel??

Who would you be with? Where would you be?
Describe everything and walk around inside your picture, feel it, be there.

Now, how would you BE in that situation? What words describe how you feel, who you are?

At the heart of what I talk about and teach is this:

Everything is made up.

All rules were simply created by someone and someone else agreed. Over time some of these rules became Laws. We’ve agreed to follow those laws and we have people that interpret and enforce those laws.

When people create businesses, they look at what people (especially in their industry) have done before them. “Looks like everyone gets paid Net 30. We’ll get paid Net 30.”

My point is this: Since it’s all made up, you don’t Have to do what others have done. Well, you might want to follow the laws of the land. People are pretty attached to them.

But in your business, so what if people invoice out Net 30? Go ahead and  create your own payment plans and structures. “19% down and 6 monthly payments?” Whatever!

We’re all improvising all the time. Your daily conversations are mostly unplanned. let’s broaden that out and start playing with new rules for business and new ways to engage with people.

Make stuff up! If you’re not, then you’re just playing in the world that others have created for you to play in. Break out and create soemthing!

This is what I’m out to cause in the world:
People that are empowered and exhilarated in the creation of their lives.

What some of us miss is that you are creating your own life all of the time. Every choice you make determines your future.

The life you have now has been completely caused by the choices you’ve made in the past.

Create your own life… intentionally! 

I had a conversation with someone about expressing themselves. She said she thought she was very self expressive. My question was, “All the time?”

She said that sometimes, like with her parents for example, she acted a little different. Perhaps she would stifle a funny comment she thought of and she knows that some subjects are just not allowed to be discussed.

That isn’t being fully self expressed. If you alter your way of being, stifle yourself, hold it in, or don’t speak because you fear how someone will react, then you’re not being your most authentic you. And, you’re choosing their reaction for them.

Be you and let them be themselves in their reactions. Life gets juicy this way!

Now, nothing’s wrong. People do what people do and if it works for you, great. BUT, we’re talking about something that perhaps you do so often that it’s unconcsious. And it is having more of an effect on you than you think. It probably isn’t doing you any good.

Perhaps, when you were young you learned to be good, to not cause waves, or to “hide your light under a bushel” as the old saying goes. Maybe that’s good advice for a child of ten years. Parents don’t want their kids to grow up to be boastful braggarts. But as adults, being more free and honest with what’s going on inside allows for deeper connections, more intimacy, and more creativity.

---

So this week, really pay attention to how you act differently with different people. Do you ever catch yourself from saying something or really feeling something until later when you’re in a “safer” place? Take a moment to just feel it. Does it settle somewhere in your body? Are you warm or chilled by it? Is it tight or do you feel sort of airy and detached?

It’s good to notice because now you can see that it’s been having an effect on you and you’ve just not been too aware of it. I’m asking you to now be aware of it. Now you can  decide if it really does serve you to play a role, act a part, or shut yourself down instead of being the vivid, interesting, fun, or colorful character that you know, in your heart of hearts, that you really are.

---

I am not asking you to be a boor, a brash braggart, or an insensitive lout. While all rules and societal norms are made up, we do have customs and “rules” that are in place to keep people from beating on each other. (Not that they always work, but that’s another discussion.) Don’t go out of your way to piss people off or be mean on purpose. Just consider that being a different person when you are with different people is taking something away from you or using up your energy.

Be bold and audacious. Have fun. Laugh and love people. Be YOU as richly and authentically as you can. The world loves people like that and needs more of them!

---

Ivy Lee gave Charles Schwab a blank sheet of paper and told him…

1. List the six most important things you have to do tomorrow.
2. Number them in order of importance
3. Tomorrow morning – start with 1 and stay with it until completed
4. Only then go to 2 and repeat until the end of day.

If you don’t finish you probably wouldn’t have finished anyway – when you realize this you know when to say, “No” to a new task or give it to someone else.

That is the simple time management system Lee gave to Schwab for his managers to use. After a 90-day test period in which Every Single One of the managers had massively increased productivity, Schwab voluntarily paid Lee $25,000 (over $200,000 in today’s adjusted dollars)!

It boils down the most important items that you can find in entire chapters of time management books. It’s actually quite simple:

1) Prioritize. 2) Do the work!

---

I understand the Law of Attraction and I’m a HUGE fan Positive Thinking. But, my life changed when I finally got it through my head that success comes from consistent hard work.

Reading that makes me want to go back and change it because it seems so god-awful DUH! But, it’s true. I don’t think I’m alone in having thought that things will just work out, or perhaps something great will just happen, or someone will swoop in and help. After a few conversations this week with friends from various countries, I thnk that it may be an American thing.

(If you have thoughts about this, please comment below.)

As I’ve said a few times here before, it’s important and more fun to have a great perspective on your work; be inspired to keep working.

But, no matter what game you create for yourself to do it, what matters is that you actually get things done!

---

Try Ivy Lee’s formula for success OR as I like to call it 6ccess. Pick your most important tasks for tomorrow and then work through the list.

You may be amazed at how much you get done this week.
I’d love to hear about your 6ccess!

---