Last week I received an opportunity that I could not pass up. It was doing something that was out of the box for me, something that I could not ease into and WAY out of my comfort zone.
It was what I wanted, I just lacked the years of experience that normally would make me feel comfortable taking on something this ambitious.
I could have said “No” due to the fact that I felt I was not ready, but I didn’t.
I said “Yes!” and felt that euphoria you feel when you are excited about a brand new, sparkling opportunity.
Wait for it…
Then all the personal vicious attacks got very loud in my mind.
“You can’t do this! Are you kidding me? You are not good enough to complete this task, let alone do it well!”
“You’re an idiot Julie. This was a stupid idea better left to someone MUCH more competent then you are!”
“How can you not screw this up? You know you are going to screw this up - don’t you?”
On and on it went.
For 10 straight days before the event, I had a migraine ranging from something I could not ignore, to one so bad that I needed to lay down in a dark room for a whole day.
Still, I would not go back on my word.
This opportunity was a chance to network and help other like-minded equestrians.
It was a chance to not only give back, but to listen to inspirational stories that were beyond anything I had ever heard.
The day I left for the event, the headache was gone. It was almost as if the devil had tried his hardest to keep me from accepting this opportunity and it was then that I realized how important it was that I go.
I was nervous in the beginning, but once I got rolling, I was fine and got some really positive feedback.
I didn’t die. The sky didn’t fall and I am here to tell you that not only I can do it, but so can you.
This story isn’t about me – it’s about you. It’s about your hopes and dreams and what kind of legacy you want to leave. It’s about the type of business you want to create and the impact you want to have on the world.
From my experience, many of us, (yours truly included), have said “No” to opportunities because we feel unworthy of it.
Deep down you may feel as though you want to take that step, but you need more time to perfect your craft or practice that speech. You need to master a certain skill that you don’t yet have that will make the whole experience perfect (or as perfect as it can be in your mind).
I am here to tell you that you CAN do it and that you are as ready as you will ever be.
You are worthy of wonderful opportunities and you are ready for your next level.
THIS IS WHAT I WANT YOU TO KNOW:
Even if you are scared (and you will be), you can still make a difference and you can still perform the task that has been assigned to you – for not only yourself, but to help others get where you want to go and truly change your life, you will be uncomfortable. It's better if you embrace being uncomfortable and make friends with the anxious, nervous feelings now, rather than continuing to torture yourself about how unready you feel.
THIS IS HOW YOU GET TO YOUR NEXT LEVEL
You may be asking: “How do I get to my next level?”
You train for it!
Your next level in life will have opportunities for you to try something different, use new skills and set yourself up to truly change how you view the world and how others view you.
To have the chance to receive these new opportunities, you need to already be at that next level mentally. In other words, for the Universe to bring you what you want, you need to be vibrating at the level where the new opportunities are.
We do that by changing our mindset and creating the feeling of our next level.
For example, let’s say you are a sales rep and you dream of being a solo entrepreneur. These two vocations use different skills and can have different mindsets. The sales rep works for a company with set hours, the entrepreneur works for him or herself and is always on the clock. The sales rep may rely on other co-workers to close the deal, the entrepreneur is flying solo and won’t have anyone to rely on except themselves.
Most importantly, the sales rep receives a portion of the commission when they sell the product, while the entrepreneur will receive the whole commission, not just a portion of it.
For the sales rep to get to their next level of being an entrepreneur, they must truly feel as though they are already in that space as a successful entrepreneur. We do that by meditating on what it would actually feel like to be that successful person.
What types of experiences would that person have? What would it feel like to have sold an extremely large deal or speak to a large audience? What would it look like to be wholly compensated for a product instead of just receiving a small percentage of the money? Where would you live? How would you dress? Who are the types of people you would meet and work with?
All of the activities, feelings, and actions that surround this entrepreneur need to be experienced as if they were truly happening to you right now. Your mind doesn’t know the difference between what is real and what isn’t, so your mind is picking up on the feeling of being successful and the energy that goes along with it.
Once you have experienced those feelings, you will vibrate on that level which will attract what you want to come to you.
Have the courage to try and you will be rewarded with not only unexpected opportunities, but the chance to shine, and more importantly help others.
LET GO OF WHAT THE PERFECT OPPORTUNITY LOOKS LIKE:
Do yourself a huge favor and let go of what you think success looks like.
Many of us have a very specific picture of what we think success looks like. You may be surprised to find that your view of success changes as you age or once you have achieved certain milestones in life.
Success comes in many forms and means different things to diverse people.
If an opportunity does not look super successful or like what you pictured in your mind, it could taint your vision and your initial reaction might be to say “No”.
Don’t.
Decide right here and now that you will entertain anything that looks like it could not only help you, but help someone else as well.
Say “Yes!” to a group that may need a speaker even if there are only 10 people attending.
Say “Yes!” to going to a new city to meet with other like-minded people – even if it means it may cost you money to travel.
Say “Yes!” to helping someone else shine as it may lead to opportunities you couldn’t even dream of.
Letting go of what you think success and a good opportunity looks like takes off the shackles and narrow view of how you think you can be successful.
TWO RECOMMENDATIONS:
Don’t say “No” to any opportunities, especially if you feel unprepared and even if it may not look the way you think it should.
You are more ready than you think. The opportunity would not present itself if you were not already competent in that area. You can get always get better and develop certain skills you may be lacking, but you ARE WAY MORE READY than you know.
Say “Yes!” to opportunities even if you don’t see it as an immediate way to make money. You never know how far your kindness will go, touching others and helping them when they call should be viewed as an honor.
The secret to success is helping others shine, freely offering your services to give them opportunities. This allows you to be recognized as the generous person you are and will strengthen their bond with you.
The bottom line is that you are ready, you are competent and you are worthy. The only place to go is up from here and to put it simply – my motto is:
“I help you, you help me and we help them – everybody wins”.
What opportunity is currently in front of you that you can say “Yes!” too?