I just found out people who write for a living write even when they don’t feel like it. And a common trait among successful people is they get out of bed early even when they don’t feel like it.
Do you get it? Do you get the implications of this?! Backtrack with me for a bit: These people, who we look up to at this very moment, actually experience unpleasant feelings. Think about this: These amazing people set their alarm and ,rather than bouncing out of bed like we all envision they do, might say something like “When the hell am I ever going to be able to bloody sleep in?!” or “My mind is so devoid of anything intelligent, I make myself sick!”
Well, this changes everything, doesn’t it?
I get all sour about my circumstance, feeling like I’m spinning my wheels, and scream “what the hell do normal people do?!” So, you can imagine how relived I am to learn normal people have similar questions.
This is huge!
You know that saying “You’re a product of your five closest friends?” Ken Coleman, in the Proximity Principle says those people you hear through your radio waves or in a book could be those “friends.” It’s not just the people we’re face to face with.
Many mornings, over the years as I’ve tried to grow a business I’ve felt very alone. An outlier. Pointless. Purposeless. And frankly disconnected from real conversation with real people. When Ken told me I could count my heroes of professional achievement, among my five closest friends, I made a little mental shift.
Hundreds of hours of Donald Miller’s voice from Story Brand Podcast have streamed through my auto speakers. The guests on Spartan Up podcast; books, held in my very hands, by Tony Robbins, Bob Goff, Daniel Pink, Joe Friel and Carol Dweck; audibles by Brene Brown, Johann Hari, Simon Sinek, Grant Cardone, and Seth Godin among others inspired in me infinite ideas, plans, and visions.
If I count them as friends, it makes their intended impact more tangible; and I take my role in their purpose more seriously. I want to be a product of these people. I feel more not alone… and a part of this huge circle (as cliché as that sounds). And it feels good.
What circle makes you feel good in your humanness? When you scream profanities, does someone’s voice tell you something reassuring? Do the words you read and listen to cause you to lean in to the direction you hope for your life?
I want to be the person someone counts as their friend. I want to be the person others can look to for an example of perseverance and tenacity. So, I guess I’ll keep at it! I’ll keep typing; I’ll keep setting my alarm; and I’ll keep spinning my wheels if that’s what it takes.
And maybe someday we can be friends.
