Part 4 in the MindValley Reunion=Mind Blown series, which continues next week
I was never in a place where I could not afford diapers for my babies. Can you imagine that? However, I can absolutely relate to some financial low points in my life and very scary times when I wasn’t sure how we were going to keep our utilities on. You probably have a financial low point coming to your mind right now.
When I heard Lisa Nichol’s story many years ago, I was clear that she had decided and was committed to never being in that place again, and she was willing to do whatever it took. I had not yet learned what that really looked like until I saw her speak in the flesh at the MindValley Reunion last month in San Diego.
She was already an inspiring figure to me, and I had already been re-teaching what I had learned from her to my business students at Drexel University. She taught me the “Dip” formula for telling your story in such a way that the media and your audience beg to know more, and then also how to use your body and the senses to bring people fully into your story. Let me tell you – I was enthralled, and so were the other 800 people there. She captivated and MOVED the whole room.
By the time she was done, there was not a person there who had an excuse left to play it small in their lives.
She shared her story, including what “whatever it took” looked like, and I wondered how many would be willing to do what she was willing to do – to sacrifice what she was willing to sacrifice.
There is a quote that kept me going during leaner years when I had to forego family trips, nights out with the girls, clothes and new shoes, that kept me from feeling sorry for myself, and here are a couple of variations on this:
If you will live like no one else, later you can live and give like no one else. – Dave Ramsey, Author of Financial Peace and financial savior to millions!
“Entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life like most people won’t so you can spend the rest of your life like most people can’t.” – Warren G. Tracy’s student
Sometimes a few is more like 8 or 9, if you have the resolve and can maintain your means of living.
Lisa committed herself to writing a check to herself out of each pay check into a savings account with the memo note “funding my dreams.” Each week, she committed to giving more than the last. She had no role models to teach her about savings, and she sacrificed the small things at first that I would imagine you or I would be perfectly willing to go without – getting her hair and nails done, eating out (even McDonalds,) etc. Then she moved herself and her son out of her place in with a friend. She sold her car. She sacrificed and lived the words she spoke, “Conviction and convenience don’t live on the same block.”
After 3.5 years, she went to check her balance, and all the tellers knew her by name and from her memo line. “Hey, it’s the ‘funding my dreams lady!” And soon they were all there to share the miracle of the news – that she had managed to save $64,000!
You might have seen Lisa Nichols in The Secret, on Oprah, Steve Harvey, The Today Show, and any number of other platforms, including, of course, MindValley, where I was re-introduced to her.
While I cannot capture Lisa’s enigmatic presence that had an undeniable impact on the room, I captured some other very powerful quotes and phrases that I hope you will spend some time contemplating and ask yourself what you are willing to do for your dreams.
“Scare yourself [with your goals.]” That’s how you know they’re big enough.
“Hang out with people who aren’t keeping score.”
“You don’t need the rest of the 10,000 miles laid out before you step.”
“Play full out while you’re learning through it. Love yourself through the breakthroughs.”
“Hook your caboose to someone else’s train” if you need to gain some momentum.
“Speak to inspire, not to impress”
“Be willing to walk alone to attract a crowd.”
“Don’t buy in to who you see; see who they are becoming.”
I.E. Don’t assume you can tell someone’s station in life!
“Intimacy – In-to-me-I-see.”
“Care-frontation.” The act of speaking up and standing up for someone’s growth.
“Love so loud you can’t hear the noise” – AKA “radical love”
Consider what happens when you create a big goal… “When I reach for it, good stuff happens. Will I reach it? I don’t know, but I know this feels good.”
I did not take any notes during the time when Lisa walked through the crowd, as I was completely mesmerized by her and the obvious impact she was having on people, but I know she had us all convinced that we are unicorns – miracles, really, and we are doing no one any favors by neglecting to acknowledge our uniqueness, nor the gift that we are – we only diminish who we are by pretending that we can just take our unicorn horns off and be “normal.”
I made a sketch in my notebook of wings and a halo with a thought as I checked in with how I was feeling at that moment…
“I feel like a vibrational angel.” This would not be the last time I had this feeling during this weekend, with the pinnacle being when Don Miguel Ruiz spoke on Sunday morning.
More on the MindValley Reunion speakers next week. Make sure you follow me and/or subscribe to be notified of future posts.
In the meantime, be Epic, and share how these quotes impact you.