Believe It. Declare It. Act on It. The other day I was talking with a young man who asked me for some advice. He wanted to know more about my story. As I shared with him, I realized a common characteristic about many of the successes in my life. It's something I believe that anyone can utilize in their own pursuit. But first, let me share some of the backstory... When I was a junior in high school I was on the lacrosse team but didn't play in a game all year. My senior year I decided I wanted to be a starter so I skipped basketball season during the winter and worked on my stick skills to get ready for the spring lacrosse season. I threw the ball against the school’s brick wall every day for a few months. Lefty, right, righty, lefty. As we walked out to the field for our first practice I declared to my coach that I wanted to play first midfield. He laughed at me and said, "Yea, right." I said, "I've been practicing all winter coach, just give me a chance." Coach Antonetti gave me a shot and made me a starter for our first scrimmage. I won most of the face offs and scored three goals. After the game Coach Antonetti came up to me and said, "Congratulations. You're on the first midfield." I ended up going to Cornell University and played lacrosse. I didn't see the field all of my freshman year and didn't play much in the beginning of my sophomore year. But one day after practice I asked my coach to give me a shot as a defensive midfielder. He said he would and I started the rest of my time at Cornell. When I moved to Atlanta, GA after college I got a job waiting tables. After a few weeks I declared that I need to find a bartending job because I was getting my masters degree in teaching during the day and needed more flexibility and money to pay for my schooling. I remember walking around Buckhead in Atlanta and meeting a guy outside a bar who turned out to be the manager of a new place. He asked if I wanted a tryout and I said yes, despite never having bartended in my life. At the end of my first night he said, "It's clear you don't know how to bartend but we will teach you. We love your energy." That job paid for my grad school and taught me so much about serving. When I was 27 I declared I was running for the City Council of Atlanta and walked door to door to 7000 homes. I lost the election but did my best. (That loss ended up leading to me writing and speaking. Reminder: Failure doesn't have to define us, it can refine us and ultimately be a gift. Fail Forward.) My friends still remember the day I told them that I was going to be a writer and speaker. They said, "We were thinking... What? How? Yea right, sure, whatever... but you said you were going to do it, just started doing it and you did it." When I wrote The Energy Bus it was rejected by over thirty publishers initially. I still have a vision book where I declared my book was going to be a best seller. It took five years for that to happen but it happened. This all leads me to what I realized about my journey and the advice I gave that young man. Perhaps it will help you too. You must BELIEVE IT is possible. You must DECLARE IT by speaking what you want to be. You must ACT ON IT and create it into existence. Looking back I realize that I declared everything I wanted, was willing to work hard to achieve it, wasn't afraid to fail and here's the big kicker... I believed it was possible. Yes, I had moments of doubt. That's very normal. But ultimately my faith and belief were greater than the doubt. I find that a lot of people get ideas, insights, strong impulses to pursue a dream, a job, an opportunity, a relationship, but then fear and doubt sets in and so they don't go for it. They feel unworthy so they don't pursue it. Instead of declaring it they let fear, doubt and unworthiness talk them out of it. They don't believe it's possible so they never create the life that is meant for them.
I believe God gives us insights, intuition, ideas, and visions for our life and our job is to believe that they are possible and act accordingly. Because, without action ideas never become a reality.
Don't say, "that can't happen." Don't laugh at the possibility. Don't feel unworthy. Don't think, "I don't deserve that." Instead say, "I'm here for a reason. There is a plan for my life. Give me an opportunity and I'll make the most of it. I don't know how it will happen, but I trust it will. I believe anything is possible." Then declare it and act on it! I'm not special. I didn't tell you examples from my life to impress you. I shared them with you because I realized they reveal the keys to creating the life that is meant for you.
Believe it. Declare it. Act on it. The best is yet to come!
- Jon
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