Photo from 8,200 feet at Wanderlust Festival in Squaw Valley, CA.
I just returned from Wanderlust Festival where I immersed myself in music, yoga, and fresh mountain air for four days. I joined my wife, my sister and a bunch of friends in beautiful Squaw Valley, CA for an easy summer getaway .
Or so I thought.
Isn’t it funny how life sneaks in the big revelations when you’re least expecting it?
One of the yoga presenters that I experienced was a woman by the name of Seane Corn. I knew of her as a seasoned yoga teacher and humanitarian and I thought it would be pretty cool to take her class.
What happened in her class was both unexpected and transformative.
As I was moving through a sequence of guided yoga poses, Seane encouraged everyone in the class to ask two questions about themselves. The first question was “Who am I to ________________?”
Who am I to…
This question seemed simple enough at first. I mean who doesn’t go through life questioning their ability to go for that promotion, go back to school or finally get into better shape.
Now, I’m not really sure if it was the thin mountain air, the challenging yoga poses, or the way the question was asked, but I realized that this is a question I spend way too much time running in the background.
I realized that I have been asking myself these questions all the time without even knowing it.
- Who am I to quit my job and succeed as an entrepreneur?
- Who am I to do work that matters?
- Who am I to build a business around the life I want to live?
- Who am I to have a successful podcast?
- Who am I to charge what I’m worth?
- Who am I to take a three-week road trip this summer?
- Who am I to set big goals?
- Who am I to be brilliant, talented and fabulous?
Bringing awareness to these questions caused me to realize how often I ask them.
How dare I not…
The next question was the one that really got me. The question was “How dare I not _______________?”
This was a chance to look within and let go of the selfish notion that by playing small, I’m serving the people around me in some way.
The truth is that by playing small, I’m shrinking so that I don’t have to be judged or questioned. By playing small I don’t have to face rejection or make anyone feel too uncomfortable around me.
Most likely, anyone reading this has the luxury of living in a situation where knowledge and possibility are at our fingertips. We have easy access to fresh water, healthy food, and enough time and money to enjoy a life that the majority of the world population does not.
Most of us live in a democratic society that allows us a life of freedom to create and travel as we please, to seek out knowledge and education and lead a life that is free of persecution for our beliefs.
Given all of this abundance and freedom, how dare I not make the very most of it?
And so I started asking some new questions.
- How dare I not go big?
- How dare I not change the lives of others?
- How dare I not really go for it?
- How dare I not impact as many people as I possibly can?
- How dare I not speak my truth?
- How dare I not write a bestselling book?
- How dare I not build a business and life that I absolutely love?
- How dare I not work for myself and experience 10X the joy and meaning that my corporate job gave me?
- How dare I not give myself six weeks of vacation a year?
- How dare I not pursue the adventures I want to have?
This simple yet profound question allowed me to shift my perspective of the truth and discover what’s really possible.
The truth is that we all have an obligation to launch into a life of deeper meaning and more impact. It might not happen over night and it will probably take longer than you think, bit it’s totally possible to shift your perspective and do more than you think you can.
Do me (and yourself) a favor and answer this question:
How dare I not _________________?
What are some of the things you know you are meant to be doing? What is it that you know you must create?
Share your thoughts in the comments below. The world needs what you have to give, in only the way that you can offer it.
Live big,
Michael
