Let’s face it. We play it safe. We like things that are guaranteed and easy. We aren’t too thrilled about venturing outside of our comfort zone.
But you may be sitting there right now with an idea, a vision of something you want to do, but feel it it’s a little crazy. You may be concerned about what others think and are allowing other people’s opinions to guide your decisions.
Remember…. People crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones that do. People who take leaps of faith and follow their intuition are the ones who are truly happy and at peace. If you don’t have peace about something in your life, chances are, it’s not right for you.
Thinking outside the box is important for anything you do in life. This gives you fresh ideas and makes you excited about your life. But I’m talking about more than that. It’s about going against the grain.
Last night I made steak tacos. When I was reading my recipe online, (thank God for internet cooking tips!), it said, cut the meat against the grain, it will make it taste better. As I was cutting it, I thought, how many times do we follow the crowd? Act to get approval from others?
What would happen if we followed our guts, our hearts and really trusted ourselves? What if we ignored that little voice of fear and just took action?
You are given a purpose in life – it is like a fingerprint that is uniquely yours. I truly believe that if there is something you cannot go a day without thinking about that you must take it seriously, no matter how crazy it seems.
Here are some crazy people that did not follow the crowd:
Robin Chase, Founder of Zipcar
“I was 51 yrs old with $78 left in the bank. I launched a new company, Zipcar. It was crazy. If I failed, I would have been embarrassed and penniless.” (Today, Zipcar has 350,000 members using 6500 cars).
James Dyson, billionaire engineer behind Dyson Vacuum Cleaners
“I spent about five or six years developing a completely different kinkj of vacuum cleaner. I built over 5000 prototypes to get the system to work. Every year I was getting further and further into debt. In the end, I owed something like 4 million. I took out 2 or 3 mortgages on my house. If I failed, everthing I owned would have gone to the bank. Everybody thought I was completely mad. As it turned out, I repaid the bank loan within 5 months of launching the product. (now a billionaire from his ideas)
Kit DesLauriers The first person to ski from all Seven Summits
“We were the only team to climb Everest. There were no safety nets, no fixed lines established, freezing winds. We had to spend an unplanned night at 26,000 feet, with very little food and water. The next day, we skied the Lhotse Face, 5,000 feet of blue ice on a 50-degree slope–by far the most intense ski descent of our lives. At one point, we ran out of oxygen. I kept telling myself: “Don’t sit down and die. Just keep going.” It’s really easy to let your mind get a hold of you, but the journey taught me we are much more than our minds.”
Tim Westergren, 44, Founder of Pandora Radio
“In the winter of 2001, Pandora was out of money. We had a choice: cut our losses and throw in the towel or find a way to keep going. We decided to keep the company alive and start deferring salaries. Ultimately, over 50 people deferred almost $1.5 million over the course of two years (a practice that is illegal in California). When we were finally rescued by an investment in 2004, I had maxed-out 11 credit cards.” (Pandora is worth over 4 billion today)
We live our lives being imprisoned by fear. But fear must be challenged if we are to do anything significant with our lives.
The majority of your limitations are not real, they are in your mind. Fear, uncertainty, stress, anxiety, lack of confidence, the past, limiting beliefs and patterns. When you master your mind, you can create anything and everything you want.
You have what you need. You are destined for greatness. Get out of your own way and do what is deep in your soul. That is why you are here on this earth. That is what will bring your prosperity and joy.
Don’t follow the crowd, follow your heart.
