I was just now reading a post on Facebook from one of my mentors talking about what it’s like to work from flow, and I realized that my idea of flow is when I’m constantly taking big risks.
I take big risks often and unlike most people, I LOVE the fear associated with taking those risks.
I was having a conversation with someone the other day about how I need (no seriously, NEED) to put myself into a really risky situation, money-wise, to the point of us possibly losing our home and living on the streets, before I’m willing to commit to doing what is necessary to increase my income substantially.
“That’s fucked up”, they said.
“I know”, I replied.
But the thing is, I also know myself and I know that I produce better under pressure.
Give me a deadline and I’ll leave it forever, right up until the last hour, when I’ll finally say to myself “okay, I guess I should get this done now…”! And then I can hammer it out in under an hour, usually.
But if I started working on it right away and gave myself days or weeks to get it done, the process would be slow and painful and the work produced likely wouldn’t be very good because I wouldn’t be working from flow (under the pressure).
It’s like when I hired my last publicist. I just straight up told her to send me the bill so I could pay it right away. I didn’t have the money to pay her that month, I’d already spent it on mentors, my team, and other things. But I’d been saying I was going to “save up” to hire her for awhile and I just never did it.
Why?
Because there was no pressure. No sense of urgency.
It wasn’t until I said, “okay, take my money NOW” that I felt that pressure of “OMG, now I need to make $15K in the next few days to cover her payment as well as the other payments that will be coming off my card this week!”, and then guess what happened? I made $15K in 4 days ($16,067 to be exact).
That wouldn’t have happened had I not had that “OMG I NEED to do this NOW” pressure on my shoulders.
I LOVE that pressure.
I get that some people don’t and that it freaks them out and makes them feel uncomfortable. Hopefully that’s not you. If it is, well, you’re not gonna get much value out of this email. 🙂
Anyway –
I’m not saying I don’t love to plan and prepare for things. I do! And I try REALLY hard to stick to the plan because I know the plan is better for me than just winging it. I know that I’d be much better off emotionally if I just followed through with the plan.
Except –
I DON’T WANNA. Because secretly I LOVE the chaos and the uncertainty.
I love TO plan, I don’t love to actually FOLLOW the plan.
Messed up, I know. But that’s the truth. 🙂
Do you ever sit down at the beginning of the month and say to yourself “Okay this is IT. No more messing around. It’s time to get serious. I’m going to plan out my sales activities, my offers and my marketing for the month and I’m actually going to stick to it this month!”.. .
And then about a week into the month you’re like…
“Yeah… no.”
Fuck the plan
Fuck the plan
Fuck the plan!
You don’t need a damn PLAN!
What you need to is to be able to make decisions fast and take quick actions.
Act first, think later. Act first, and the plan will follow. The universe LOVES action and speed. It doesn’t like it when you try to plan out every last detail because then it can’t show up in the way it wants to show up and provide for you.
And let’s be honest:
Even YOU like action and speed.
You like it when you lose weight quickly, right?
You like it when you make money quickly, right?
You like it when you grow your email list quickly, right?
If you’re anything like me (which I assume you are, otherwise why would you be here?), you actually ENJOY taking big risks and the uncertainty that comes from taking them.
You run TOWARDS fear, not away from it. Because you know that when you embrace your fears, only then can you truly overcome them.
Right?
RIGHT?
I know. 🙂
I actually LIKE to throw myself in the deep end because then I have to LEARN how to swim if I want to, ya know, not DIE. It’s the same with money. I like to spend A LOT of money (on stuff that matters, mind you, not just “STUFF”) because then I have to EARN back that money so I don’t end up broke and on the streets.
I understand that this is a messed up mentality for many people.
But I believe it’s a great quality to have because it forces you to do the hard work that so many people avoid, and at the same time, experience all of the things you want to experience but always believed you couldn’t afford.
I bet you’ve been told to “live below your means”, right?
Or to first save up for something before you buy it.
Or to work hard now and enjoy life later.
All of that stuff is complete and utter CRAP. Do I think you should go out and blow all of your money on new cars, trips around the world, and fancy furniture for your home? NO!
What I’m saying is that in order for you to fully trust in the universe and yourself, and in order for abundance to flow to you freely every single day, you must be willing to take big risks. Especially with money.
Of course, be SMART about it and make sure you’re also saving money, investing it in money-making opportunities, and ensure you aren’t spending for the sake of spending. That’s just plain stupid.
But spending to learn?
Spending to increase your long-term happiness?
Spending to improve your life?
All worth taking big risks for!
I know that every time I take a huge risk, good things happen for me (though sometimes not in the way I expect!).
Like when I hired a full-time assistant who I had never spoken to before and just trusted was the right person for me and my company. She turned out to be one of the best things to ever happen to me and my business would not be where it is today without having her by my side.
Like when I quit my last $100,000 business overnight and never looked back because it just didn’t feel right anymore. And now I have a crazy successful, multiple 6-figure business that I am wildly obsessed with.
Like when I spent $6,000 on my first ever coach because I knew I needed the support if my business was ever gonna succeed. She taught me all about mindset and how to grow my coaching business through the power of my thoughts. (In other words, she changed my life.)
Again when I spent $15,000 on my next coach, and $20,000 on the next…
Every time I take a big risk –
And FOLLOW THROUGH with whatever tasks are necessary –
I get incredible results. Whether financially, physically, emotionally - whatever.
Big results come from taking big risks. Don’t avoid taking big risks that could change your life. RUN towards them!
I know that taking big risks works. I’m living proof of that!
I don’t need to know HOW it’s going to work out, just that it WILL, and that comes from INSIDE. That comes from me trusting my gut. That comes from doing my daily mindset practice around success. That comes from BELIEF and TRUST.
I don’t need to see the path in front of me, I just need to know it’s there. To trust I’m being guided. And to take a big risk by following the unknown plan. Because YOUR plan? The one that took you hours (if not days) to create? It doesn’t factor in those unexpected events that WILL happen, or how to deal with resistance on your own part, or even how OTHERS will respond to yur plan.
Your plan sucks.
So no, I don’t want your damn plan. You can take your plan and SHOVE IT. I am not even remotely interested in it! I’ll continue to follow flow and be guided by intuition, not what some PLAN says.
Learn to look fear in the face every day and say –
“I know this is really scary and risky, but I TRUST that it’s the right decision. I KNOW in my gut that I need to do this.”
And then you, leap.