Some changes look negative on the surface but you will soon realize that space is being created in your life for something new to emerge. – Eckhart Tolle
Change. It’s one of those things that is always tossed around as inevitable yet so many still try to avoid it, whether we are conscious of it or not. I recently experienced something that made me really stop and think about how we many times fear change, or see it as such a negative thing it almost paralyzes us.
This is what happened.
When the new iPhone iOS7 came out, from my perspective, it seemed as though everyone hated it. Typically when Apple launched as new iOS, people got so excited. Including me. New features. New toys. Awesome, right? But with iOS7, all I heard was what a nightmare it was and be ready to have a ton of time on your hands to relearn how to use just about everything. The issue that stuck out most to me was the changes in iCal, which basically runs my life. Every move I make is on iCal, even trash day.
Life has been a little upside down and nutty for me the last several months, and the last thing I needed was my iCal messed up. Seriously, in my mind, if that happened, I would have to crawl into a hole, for real.
The update could wait. It was too dangerous and scary. At least that is what I thought, based on all the noise on the social web. So I waited. And waited. Until…
Facebook launched the new app called Paper, which is actually a really cool & new way to experience Facebook. But, I had to have iOS7 to get it. OMG. Are you kidding me? So it happened. I decided it was time to update my phone. The thoughts running through my mind were crazy. But I took the plunge. And pressed update…and waited.
What comes next is truly where the lesson was for me. After several months of fearing the update, fearing losing all of my information, fearing not being able to use my lifeline called iCal, I turned on my phone and to my total disbelief, it was awesome. Everything was essentially the same, only a bit more awesome looking. More intuitive. More seamless. More new. That was it.
In business and in life, we can see change as negative, or we can see it as opening up more space, creating new opportunity, creating more awesome. Whether its making that long overdue change in your team, systems, or programs, whether it’s a relationship that’s run its course, not all change is negative. Once we accept that, it is truly amazing how much time we can save and awesomeness we can create.
(shared with LOVE from Nina)
You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do. -Henry Ford
How many great biz ideas do you have right now that you have not taken action on? How many times have you talked about doing something awesome and never followed through?
Many of us can relate to the questions above, and its what I call a shipping problem.
You see, we can have all the most awesome ideas in the world, but unless we “ship” them, launch them, initiate them; they are just awesome ideas that will never have any impact on our business or the world.
If you find yourself unable to ship, there may be a few things happening that you need to explore.
Are you afraid?
Do you not have the resources or knowledge?
Do you have too much on your to-do list?
Are you a perfectionist?
All of these things are real and worth exploring, but not always an excuse to not ship your idea. Now I’m not talking about a $100K remodel, I am talking about ideas, programs, products or services that can bring value to your world and help grow your biz.
Typically, what I have found working with my clients and community, is it is all four that stop so many from creating awesome. So lets break it down.
Fear
Most of us fear failure to some degree. But if we are going to ever create awesome, we have to use that fear as creative fuel, bust through, and do it anyway. It’s takes a TON of courage to create stuff. And even more courage to launch and ship it.
Resources + Knowledge
In today’s world, there are a gazillion resources at our fingertips as well as information to help us ship our idea. We just have to want it bad enough to find those resources and knowledge.
The To-Do List
In order to do important things; we have to let go of our obsession with the to-do list. If we get really honest with ourselves, most of the stuff on that list can be deleted, moved or delegated.
Perfectionism
Is deadly. The idea that something is ever going to be perfect enough is one of the most dangerous thoughts we have. Why? It can prevent us from doing just about anything. And guess what? It’s never going to be perfect. Ever. Its not meant to be perfect and neither are we.
I wrote my new book, Follow Your Heart, on January 1, 2013. I sat on it for almost 9 months. Why? Fear, my perceived lack of resources, knowledge and my to-do list. I have long lost the need for anything to be perfect, however, this did creep into my head when I recorded the audio version of the book. For real’s. Upon listening to the book, I began to judge its contents, to the degree that I had to stop listening or I probably would not have shipped.
As I prepare to finally release my book into the universe on January 26th, I see how I was 100% responsible for not shipping. Regret? Never. But what an incredible lesson it was for me, to always remember to look in the mirror, and realize my ability to create awesome and ship awesome is my choice.
(shared with LOVE from Nina)
(Park City, Utah, captured by my awesome iPhone)
