The more important a call or action is to your soul’s evolution, the more Resistance you will feel towards pursuing it. Resistance is the most insidious force. You feed it with your fear. And you beat it with action.
Too many talented people stop themselves before they ever really start. And it's all because of roadblocks that aren't even real. That's why most people sit on the sidelines, stuck, while others who recognize their talents, share their message, and make an impact.
Our own fear has the power to cripple and disfigure our lives before we wake up to its existence. Too many of us have become drunks and drug addicts, developed tumors and neuroses, succumbed to painkillers, gossip, and compulsive social media use, simply because we don’t do that thing that our hearts, our inner genius, is nagging us to do. It’s the still, small voice, telling you as it has ten thousand times before, the calling that is yours and yours alone. You know it. No one has to tell you.
Resistance
Resistance is the most toxic force on the planet. It’s the root of more happiness than poverty, disease, bad breath, and unsightly belly fat. To yield to Resistance deforms our spirit. It stunts us and makes us less than we were born to be.
The more important a call or action is to your soul’s evolution, the more Resistance you will feel towards pursuing it. It aims for the center of your being, your genius, the unique and priceless gift you were put on earth to give that no one else has but you.
Its role is to stop you from the calling or action it most wants to stop you from doing, and use it to guide you to the calling or action you must do.
The pursuit of any calling in writing, painting, music, film, dance, or any creative art, however marginal or unconventional.
The launching of any entrepreneurial venture, enterprise, or endeavor whose aim is to help others.
Any act of political, moral, or ethical courage, taking a principled stand in the face of adversity, or changing for the better some unworthy pattern of thought or conduct.
Any program designed to overcome an unwholesome habit or addiction, including but not limited to drugs, shopping, TV, gossip, alcohol, and the consumption of all products containing fat, sugar, salt, or chocolate.
Any diet, health program, or activity whose aim is to flatten abs, tighten buns, or otherwise reduce unsightly fat.
In other words, any act that rejects instant-gratification in favor of long-term growth, health, or integrity will elicit Resistance. It kicks in when you pursue a calling in the arts, launch an innovative enterprise, or evolve to a higher station morally, ethically, or spiritually.
Resistance is the most toxic force on the planet. It’s the root of more happiness than poverty, disease, and unsightly belly fat. To yield to Resistance deforms our spirit. It stunts us and makes us less than we were born to be. It’s a call to create. Hitler wanted to be an artist. But it was easier for him to start WWII than to face a blank canvas. Resistance beat him.
Imposter Syndrome
One of the biggest challenges you'll face as a changemaker is "Imposter Syndrome." You may feel that, because you're not an "authority" or "expert," you have no business leading anyone, anywhere.
Most changemakers are fated to feel like imposters most of the time. Because their best work involves doing things they've never done before - sometimes things that no one's ever been done before.
If you feel like an imposter, you’re in good company. Thomas Edison, The Wright Brothers, J.K. Rowling. Feeling like an imposter is a natural response to doing something you’ve never done before - and possibly something that no one’s ever done before. You should feel like an imposter. Because creative work, by definition, involves doing things that have never been done before.
"Imposter Syndrome" has been around long before the term was coined in 1978 by Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes. It’s the chatter in our head that reminds us we have no business raising our hand, jumping in the water, or standing on stage.
But that's the nature of innovation. So embrace imposter syndrome. It's proof that you're innovating, leading, and creating something new. Imposter Syndrome is a sign you're healthy, and that you're doing important work. Yes, you're an imposter, acting in the service of generosity, and seeking make things better.
3 Common Roadblocks
Roadblock # 1 - Expertise: “I’m not expert enough to do this.”
Most people think you need to be swimming in accolades, Emmy's, New York Time best sellers, and Nobel Prizes before you can create something that matters.
Alysha Price: It's Not Complicated: Alysha created her signature program, 'It's Not Complicated', by combining her personal experience as a single mom, and being raised by a single mom, with her background in a non-profits, and her mediation skills.
Rodrigo Flamenco, Frame Freak Studio: Rodrigo created 'Frame Freak Studio' and broke free from a horrible situation in his home country of El Salvador, earning $550 per month to six figures a year.
Roadblock # 2 - Topic: “I don't think my topic will be profitable.”
Most people think you have to teach business, tech, or how to make money online to have a product or service that sells.
Jaime Amor, Cosmic Kids: Jaime Amor created Cosmic Kids by combining her passion for Yoga, Storytelling, and On-Camera Acting. Today, desperate parents are turning to Jaime's videos in search of a physical outlet for their kids.
Geoff Chalmers, Double Bass: Geoff Chalmers created a Bass-based community, Discover Double Bass, by harnessing his "fanatical" passion for bass and teaching in order to create step-by-step lessons that make playing bass as easy as possible.
Roadblock # 3 - Saturation
Most people think, "the market is already saturated with my topic, and there's no space for me."
Kim Constable: The Sculpted Vegan: Kim Constable created The Sculpted Vegan fitness and eating program because, as a vegan, homeschooling, bodybuilding mom of four, she struggled to find resources on meat-free body building.
Mike Michalowicks, The Pumpkin Plan: Mike created a financial system designed to 'eradicate entrepreneurial poverty', after he successfully launched multiple startups and lost everything because he was following conventional wisdom.
A New Perspective
You make it innovative. Being ‘new’ to the space means you’re more likely to think outside the box, offer fresh perspectives and bring new ideas to a particular problem. This makes you more likely to create innovations that ‘experts’ or academics would never have considered.
You make it achievable. You don't have to be lightyears ahead of your audience to lead them forward. In fact, if you were an "expert", your audience might feel like your work was untouchable, you were intimidating, and your results were unattainable. But being closer to where they are brings things within reach.
You make it relevant. The fact that you're just a few miles ahead of your audience actually makes you more relatable, relevant, and effective. You were just where they are now, so you can speak from recent experience, not from untested academic perspectives, or from theories that are decades old. Your experience will be more fresh and relevant.
Embrace These Truths
So yes, innovation by its nature exposes you to the feeling of being a fraud. Of course you’re not sure it’s going to work. How could you be? There’s no manual, no proven best practices, no hardcover rulebook. The very nature of innovation is to explore and experiment, and create a better way.
You won’t have certainty. Requiring certainty and control over external events is a recipe for heartache and frustration. And if you need a guarantee you’re going to win before you begin, you’ll never start.
Trust the process. The alternative is to trust the process, to do your work with generosity and intent. To accept every outcome, and to discover what doesn’t work on your way to finding what does.
Yes, you’re an imposter. But you’re an imposter acting in service of generosity, seeking to make things better. When you embrace imposter syndrome, instead of working to make it go away, you choose a productive way forward. The imposter is proof that you’re innovating, leading, and creating.
It’s a good sign. The discomfort and skepticism you feel is exactly why you need to embrace a disciplined process. It’s not easy or comfortable to switch from a lifetime of compliance and convenience to work with a new rhythm, a new set of principles, and a new way of being in the world. Discomfort is a good sign. It means you’re beginning to step outside your comfort zone. And that’s where the magic happens.
Beating Your Biggest Enemy
If tomorrow, by some stroke of magic every dazed and benighted soul works up with the power to take the first step toward pursuing his/her dreams, every shrink in the directory would be out of business. Prisons would stand empty. Alcohol and tobacco industries would collapse, along with junk food, cosmetic surgery, infotainment, pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, and the medical profession from top to bottom. Domestic abuse would become extinct, as would addiction, obesity, migraine, road rage, bad breath, and dandruff.
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