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Lisa and I and our kids went on a little trip. We were hanging out with a bunch of people, and I was overwhelmed with just how amazing they all were. They were all entrepreneurs… coaches, futurists, designers, inventors, artists, writers, producers, and on and on.
It made me realize something that rather shocked me. I live in an area that feels depressive. I mean the spirit of the place. I’m not the only one who thinks this. And I work hard to rise above it so that I feel I play my game above that oppressive atmosphere. But hanging around those people made me realize that even though this might be true about my game, I’m still playing small. I suddenly saw that I am still affected by a limited mindset, scarcity thinking, and a victim mentality. I saw, right before my eyes, that there was still some self-pity and small-mindedness that was still clinging to my mind. My my that’s sticky stuff! Isn’t it? I was watching Lex Fridman’s podcast as he interviewed the artist-designer-architect Neri Osman. He asked her what she thought about the whole manifestation concept… if it was true or not. Her answer was perfect, I thought because it wasn’t just a straight-out yes or no, but nuanced. Which is how I think of it. She gave an example of working with her team on a project. Her team said her idea was impossible. She said let’s pretend it’s not impossible. Let’s just pretend it’s totally possible and just do it! And they did! I don’t believe in the magical/supernatural manifestation either. But I have “manifested” things in my own life that just years before I would have considered impossible. It reminds me of one young woman’s video where she said she believed in the power of manifestation. She said just two years ago she dreamed of becoming a marathon runner. Impossible! She wasn’t even athletic. But she started training, reading and researching, hanging out with other runners, joined a running club, started with smaller races, and built up her repertoire until two years later she ran an actual marathon. Now… two years ago this was impossible. But she pretended it wasn’t and behold she manifested it in her life. This is exactly how it has worked for me. That was my actual tactic: Let’s just pretend it’s possible and see what happens! In a nutshell… when I left the ministry in 2010, I was bankrupt in so many ways… including financially and literally. I knew I had to go to the school of life and heal myself of some unhealthy attitudes about money, success, business, marketing, sales, promotion, etc. So I did! I actually said to myself, “Let’s pretend it’s healthy to want what I want and that I can make a living through my cartoons, art, writing, speaking, and facilitating spiritual growth through coaching and community! Let’s pretend it’s not greedy or ambitious or sinful and let’s see what happens!” And here we are. Yes, it’s been hard work and determination and surrendering and trusting and believing and so on, but it worked.
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