Resistance affects all creative calling or pursuit. Whether you’re a creative, or you’re launching an entrepreneurial venture, starting a new health regimen, any pursuit of education, change in mindset, when helping others, any matters of the heart, being brave, and more.
It’s an invisible, insidious force that prevents us from doing our work. It’s fueled by fear.
Use resistance as a teacher. Let it guide you to identify what holds you back from pursuing your art/endeavor.
The enemy is a very good teacher
Dalai Lama
Imposter Syndrome and Isolation:
Feeling like an imposter signifies genuine creation. People that don’t question whether they’re enough or feel like they’re enough aren’t truly creating something worthwhile! This part hit me like a ton of bricks.
Remember that you’re never alone in your creative journey.
When you’re creating, you’re never alone because your art is with you. Imagine those you’re serving with the art you’re creating – let this field you.
The Mindset of a Professional:
Don’t talk about your art excessively, focus on creating.
The sinister thing about excuses – they’re actually valid. Push through your excuses and finish your art.
Build the habit of putting in the work. Mistakes happen, push through.
Professionals commit to their craft full-time. Amateurs don’t. Professionals show up, they master technique, and expose themselves to both good and bad judgement from the world. Professionals push through despite fear.
You have the right to work, but for the work’s sake only. You have no right to the fruits of work. Desire for the fruits of work must never be your motive in working.
Bhagavad Vita
Embracing the Work:
Resistance, not external factors, is the true enemy.
Work for the sake of the work itself, not for the potential fruits of your labor.
Cultivate a professional mindset and treat yourself as a corporation.
Don’t talk about your art, unless you’re sharing it to help others in their own creations.
Develop a routine to put in the work. Don’t let mistakes stop you. The purpose of routine is to get over resistance and build your effort muscle.
This was a great little read with some powerful lessons. If you haven’t yet, follow up on this book with two books titled Linchpin by Seth Godin, and Steal like an Artist by Austin Kleon.
Your own self-concept is much more important than worrying about what others think.
It’s time to get out of your own way.
Patterns in your life reflect your own behaviors.
Emotional Mastery and Personal Growth:
Mindlessly scrolling on social media is a coping mechanism to avoid discomfort.
Master your life by mastering your feelings.
Confirmation bias can be rewired to change your perspective.
All change, no matter how good, is wholly and completely uncomfortable.
Breakthroughs happen through micro shifts and consistency.
.01% changes every day lead to significant transformations.
Adversity fosters creativity.
Releasing the past and grieving are processes that require feeling and letting go.
Self-Acceptance and Authenticity:
You’re stuck with you. You can’t leave yourself even if you leave a place or situation.
Your mind can get stuck in the past, like a loop when you don’t deal with how those experiences impacted you.
Others are more focused on themselves than on judging you.
Seek approval from yourself, not others.
Connect with your inner child and listen before rushing in to help.
Habits, Purpose, and Happiness:
Be okay with being disliked and anticipate it while taking action.
Inner work is essential for personal growth and understanding triggers.
Validate your feelings to become stronger and support others.
Problems aren’t solved by positive thinking alone.
Principles shift from short-term survival to long-term success.
Habits have a compounding effect over time.
Discover your purpose and what you’re willing to work and suffer for.
Recognize emotions and choose how to respond to them.
Sit with discomfort and allow yourself to feel without forcing happiness.
True happiness comes from small joys, gratitude, and meaningful relationships.
Life requires growth and finding joy in simple and transformative experiences.
Schedule time for play and avoid overbooking yourself.
Meditation examples:
Meditate in a quiet peaceful area & invite your highest future self to sit down with you. Imagine what they say to you, how they feel, what they look like, how they behave, what their facial expressions communicate. Don’t go in with a laundry list of things to ask them, just be open and ask for their powerful guidance. The point is to merge yourself with your future self. Listen to their message, it should be uplifting, affirming and helpful, not negative.
Imagine your current self talking to a past self 3,5,7 years ago. Should be recent enough that you can relate to this person but far enough that you’ve changed. Imagine sitting down in a place you used to go to a lot or live in, then imagine you’re giving your past self pieces of your current life and all the information they need to go from that person to the person you are now. You can hand them car keys, email, bank account information, an outfit, instructions on what to do for your career, day to day habits, etc.
Close your eyes and re-enter a memory. Really feel the experience & find the feeling in your body where you become uncomfortable. Follow the feeling and ask it show you where it started from. Then superimpose a new narrative to your younger self who experienced this memory in order to start the process of letting go. Imagine that you (a wiser older self) is imparting some wisdom to your younger self. Give the specific instructions why that this is absolutely for the best and although they can’t know it yet, there is another experience that is far far better in store for them. Who does this younger self need to call, what do they need to begin doing, and what they need to stop doing? Impart that wisdom to your younger self. Imagine telling yourself that everything is going to be ok. Their fears are largely unfounded and good things are coming, and life will turn out good in the end. You can’t change what happened in the past, by shifting your perspective you can change how you arrive now. You can change the story, and you can change your life.
I’ve been in a reading slump lately so when I went to the library a few weeks ago I picked up several small novels >200 pages. I’ve found that reading smaller books when I’m not feelin’ it gives me an incredible sense of accomplishment. It’s akin to putting gym clothes & shoes on, going to the gym and working out for 2 minutes. Sometimes showing up is half the battle.
I had never heard of the author or the book. The Greatest Salesman in the World by OG Mandino. I really wasn’t expecting much because the cover looks kind of gimmicky but I’m so glad I didn’t judge it. It was truly a gem! I’ve been in the personal development world since my daughter Amani was born, which means I’ve read a lot of books, watched a ton of mindset/growth YT videos & listened to endless podcasts on this topic – just totally and fully immersed myself in the world. My intention was to be a good role model for my daughter.
After a while, I realized a lot of these books contain similar themes, just written in a different way or with a slight tweak. The reason I liked Greatest Salesman is because it takes what everything you’ve probably learned and heard throughout your life and intertwined these important life lessons in a really simple, Aesop’s Fables type of story in less than 110 pages.
The following principles were highlighted in the story:
Start today. Form good habits and cultivate the discipline to stick to those habits. Have a leaner’s mindset with discipline as the foundation. Once the foundation is set, dive deep and repeat.
Embody love. Be love, share love. Embrace the day with love. End the night with love.
Be persistent. Keep going until you succeed.
You are a miracle & there’s no one in the universe exactly like you. You’re gifted with a powerful mind, special skills, and certain physical and mental abilities. This means your potential is unlimited.
Use time wisely. Focus on what matters. Work hard, cherish relationships, be present and express gratitude. Time is something you can’t ever get back.
Don’t let emotions dictate your life. Emotions aren’t facts and they aren’t truth. Master them.
Remember, this too shall pass. Be the light, smile and laugh often.
You’re in control of you, this is powerful. You’re in control of your emotions, your work ethic, how you show up in the world, how you cultivate relationships, what you spend time on. You’re in control of that and so much more.
Actions cure all. Anyone can come up with an idea. Anyone can create a plan. Anyone can set goals. None of that is worthwhile or matters unless you make the first move. Start today, start now.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help.
Some really great quotes that I found striking are below:
True wealth is of the heart, not of the purse.
Whatever aid I give thee will be as a grain of sand compared to the mountains you must move for yourself.
The rewards are great if one succeeds, but the rewards are great only because so few succeed.
Never feel shame for trying and failing because he who has never failed has never tried.
Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough.
As I repeat these words daily, they will soon become a part of my active mind but more important, they will also seep into my other mind, that mysterious source which never sleeps, which creates my dreams, and often makes me act in ways I do not comprehend.
I will consider each days effort as but one blow of my blade against a mighty oak. The first blow may not cause a tremor in the wood, nor the second, nor the third. Each blow, itself, may be trifling, and seem of no consequence. yet from childish swipes the oak will eventually tumble. So it will be with my efforts of today.
Never will I be of concern that my goals are too high for is it not better to aim spear at the moon and strike only an eagle than to aim my spear at the eagle and strike only a rock?
This was a very worthwhile read! I loved the story and found that it helped me remember the wisdom of the lessons much more easily. Also that was very concise and really did its job – rekindled my love of reading and inspired me to reach for another book.
We moved around a lot when I was younger, never spending more than 1-2 years in one place. This made it really hard for me to make and keep friends so I always felt like an outsider. My home environment was inconsistent and tumultuous. This recipe was a catalyst to entrepreneurship. Both the seedling and soil.
What remained constant was the library, and the incredible stories and new worlds contained in the books.
I remember the first few books that enchanted both my mind and soul as a young child.
My dad would take me to the library every week. As soon as we got there I would make a beeline to the children’s’ section and grab as many individually packaged bags that I could – bags that contained a singular picture book and it’s companion audio cassette tape. When we came home I would run to my mini radio boombox and insert the first tape. The sound of the voice narrating Cat in the Hat wafted into the living room and into my ears and my heart. Dramatic – absolutely, but it was love at first sound.
Love at first story, my little heart pitter pattered, just wholly reveling the remarkable words strung together. Words into sentences, snapped together perfectly like legos building a magical, fantastical story in my head.
I learned English this way.
I would listen over and over, enunciating along, rewinding, stopping, eyes bright, finger tracing the jagged black outlines of the wild and beautiful green ham.
I think this is where it began.
The library and books. The art, and stories.
They helped shape me.
They helped me break rules, to learn, listen before I spoke, to create, to be strange, to not settle. They cultivated in me a desire for something different. To crave a better, bolder world. They were an escape. A dialogue between myself and my soul, between me and the author.
A story, my story – a path, an imperfect trail. Onward.
This isn’t a typical self development book. There is no feigned positivity. No fluff. Only truth about how people become the best in their field.
What does relentless mean?
Grover writes that there 3 types of people in the world: Coolers, Closers, and Cleaners.
When Coolers are given a job, they complete it. Don’t expect anything exceptional. They don’t aspire to create an impact.
Next are Closers. Closers deliver higher quality results than Coolers. They can be exceptional, but too many variables involved in the task can throw them off because their knowledge base and arsenal of skills are limited.
Cleaners are 10 steps ahead of everyone. They’ve achieved mastery because they’re highly skilled. They’re the first ones to get there, and the last ones to leave – in the gym, at the office, at PTO meetings. They don’t second guess themselves. They’re not focused on other people, they’re focused on winning.
Cleaners continue to push after everyone’s had enough. They’re able to achieve the flow state as first described by Dr. Csikszentmihalyi. They know who they are, and are comfortable with their dark side. Not only are they comfortable with the darkness, they thrive on it.
Pressure doesn’t deter cleaners. When everyone’s panicking, they’re the ones staying calm and who everyone else looks to in chaotic times. The intensity they train at is so far beyond what everyone else puts in that they don’t compete with anyone else, only themselves. They’re experts in their field, and they’re so in tune with their instinct they make calculated decisions with confidence and without hesitation. Cleaners stand alone. They’re misunderstood by everyone else and trust few people so their inner circle is extremely small. When everyone else is celebrating, cleaners are already thinking about the next goal, the next game, the next project.
Golden Circle is comprised of the following: Why, How, What
WHATS: what products, what services, the job function, external factor.
HOW: how the WHATS are delivered. How something is different or better.
WHY: purpose, cause, or belief AKA internal factors. The why of a company is not to make money, making money . Companies that know their why differentiate themselves from companies that don’t know their why.
Companies with a strong WHY include Apple, Southwest Airlines, Disney. Those who have a strong why but diverge against it create an imbalance, and people notice. Example used is when Volkswagen created an incredibly high end car with all the bells and whistles, but this car didn’t align with their WHY – Volkswagen literally means “people’s car,” and is associated with the everyday person, the hipster, and should embody inclusion. Even though the high end car they put out had the best specs and was rated high, it was a failure and an volition of the Celery Test.
The limbic system is a portion of our brain that is responsible for feelings such as trust and loyalty. “Gut feeling” is actually derived from the limbic system, though it isn’t related to our logical, analytical or rational side, which is why sometimes it’s hard to put into words why we make the decisions we make.
Putting your WHY into words allows you to give a rational basis when you make decisions. As a leader, putting your WHY into words leads to accessibility and scalability even as your business expands. Those who follow you will be able to read and explain WHY which is important because the leader won’t always be there.
Visceral limbic feelings leads to loyalty. WHATs such as product, services, features are not WHYs and don’t lead to loyalty. WHATs are a proof of WHY.
Hire people who believe what you believe. The Celery Test is the power to filter decisions through your why. You can go to conferences, read books, get guidance and advice, but if it doesn’t align with your why, you’re wasting energy, time, and money.
TIVO failed because they were about WHATS – what their product did, what services they provided, etc. They used WHAT marketing rather than WHY marketing in order to rationalize the appeal of their product, leading to low sales. Sirius is another company that used the same tactics.
Partnerships are composed of WHY and HOW people. This type of relationship works because they WHY people have the vision, and the HOW people create a track to execute that vision.
Example of a WHY and HOW partnership that was incredibly successful is the Disney brothers relationships. Roy is the older, more practical brother who understood economics, business and finances, whereas Walt is the visionary who was always imaginative, optimistic and had his head in the clouds.
It’s important to have a WHY because WHATs never stay stagnant, especially in this technological era. Services, product features, price, etc. are constantly updated, but the vision, meaning and philosophy are inherent and don’t budge.
Anyone can be loud and have energy, but not everyone can be clear. Being loud to me is analogous to social media use in our current generation. On the exterior you can have fancy cars, perfect unblemished skin, a thicc booty and a 6 pack but clarity and why comes from the inside – it’s deep, never changing, and not fleeting.
Sinek describes the following leaders as being clear and having charisma, not just being loud: Dr. King, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs. Being loud rallies people, but clarity and charisma inspires.
This book is important. It’s made me realize why I have’t attained ‘success’ yet. Essentially, I haven’t developed and expressed a clear Why. Am I a how person or a why person? I think I’m a why person who has been trying to be a how person. I’m trying to learn too many different skills in order to execute a blurry vision. I have to stop, focus, and develop a solid vision. In Tom’s interview with Tai Lopez seen here: https://impacttheory.com/episode/tai-lopez/ he talks about having a tombstone goal. Create a tombstone goal and reverse engineering that – if I want the end of my life at age 90 to look like this, this and this, then I have to do these following things by age 80, and so on and so forth. Not only did this book highlight the importance of having a clear vision, it also helped me understand the difference between being loud versus being clear. Charisma and confidence is exuded by people that are steadfast in what they believe in. They derive power and strength by having a crystal clear vision, not by being the loudest around. Loud people eventually run out of steam, whereas people with charisma and clarity are more consistent because the message they deliver and their philosophy does not alter.
