Taking a Leap of Faith

 

We like to end every episode of The Nooner Show with the famous quote by Margaret Shepard,

“Sometimes your only available transportation is a leap of faith.”

It’s a nice sentiment, but what does it really mean? Are you supposed to make a life-altering decision and then just go for it? Is it blind faith? I don’t think so.

Major life-changing decisions need to be well thought out. You have to plan, organize, work hard, and often struggle in order to reach your goals. But there comes a point after you’ve made all the right decisions to lead you in the direction of change, that you can’t analyze things any further. Hard work will only take you so far. And when you reach that point, there’s only one thing you can do. You have to rely on faith.

If you have a goal or dream burning in your soul and you’ve analyzed the pros and cons of that dream and developed a plan, then at that point you just have to take a leap of faith. You have to believe it’ll work out.

In other words, put the action in place. Lay the groundwork first. You won’t know until you try. And if you don’t try it, someone else will. So why not let it be you? It could be the one decision that changes your life forever! Why the hell not?

 

 

Alter Ego…don’t leave home without it.

I’m sure you’ve all heard of alter egos. But what is one, exactly? An alter ego is a second self, a totally different and unique version of yourself. If you’re shy and reserved, maybe your alter ego would be bold and outgoing. If you’re normally a home-body, your alter ego might be an adventurous adrenaline junkie.

These days, it seems like every movie that comes out has something to do with superheroes. And while superhero movies are certainly entertaining, they’re also great sources of alter ego inspiration.

Peter Parker has his Spiderman alter ego, Bruce Wayne has Batman, Barry Allen has The Flash, Bruce Banner has The Hulk. All of these characters created a persona for themselves that was far different than their original selves, but it allowed them to do incredible things. Peter Parker was a nerdy high school kid, but as Spiderman, he was a hero.

Now I’m definitely not suggesting you put on a superhero costume and run around town chasing criminals. But there’s a real benefit to creating your own alter ego. It can help you be fearless enough to do things you wouldn’t normally do or exhibit parts of your personality that don’t normally shine through.

So how can you do this?

First, decide what traits you want your alter ego to have. Do you wish you were more outgoing? More confident? Quieter, louder, more adventurous? Make a list of goals and desired traits. Then give you those traits to your new alter ego.

If you’re normally afraid of public speaking, think about what your alter ego would say. “I’ve got this! I’ve got all the confidence in the world!”

Having an alter ego isn’t like having an imaginary friend or pretending you’re different than you are. It’s simply about empowering yourself to take bold steps in your life. Have fun with it. You can even name your own alter ego. Even Beyonce had an alter ego named Sasha Fierce. What will yours be called? What will it allow you to do?

Creating an alter ego can give you the confidence to go after the things you want in life. Whether you’re looking to change up your habits or simply live life a little more boldly, having an alter ego can be hugely empowering.

Maybe it’s time for you to go from Clark Kent to Superman, or from Bruce Banner to The Hulk. What will your alter ego bring out in your life? Give it a try and find out!

 

 

Ask and you shall receive…not always true, but you still have to ask, what if?

Back when I was preparing to open our first business, a coffee & ice cream shop, I spent a lot of time researching the industry as well as building my mind muscle. I read numerous motivational books and attended several business workshops. One of the books that I read and relied on for inspiration was The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale. To this day, it remains one of my favorite books.

In the forward of the book, there was a message that asked for readers to help spread their message. After reading it, I decided that I wanted to help. I wrote to the company and asked them for 100 free books so that I could give them away at the grand opening of my new business. I had planned a big grand opening event (any excuse for a party!), and I wanted to entice the first 100 visitors with freebies.

I ordered all kinds of things to give away. As it got closer to the big day, the shipments were piling in our garage. The boxes arriving were small to medium in size, but unfortunately, nothing big enough for 100 books. No big deal, the planning and organizing continued.

Every day I would go through a few of the boxes and begin to organize the supplies. After a couple of weeks, I was opening the remainder of the boxes and to my surprise, one of the medium sized boxes contained 100 condensed versions of The Power of Positive Thinking! I could not believe it!

That was a lesson I will never forget. I gave away all the books, except for one. I kept one for myself and have it displayed on top of my bookcase facing my desk to serve as a reminder to never be afraid to ask for something. It isn’t up to us to decide how someone wants to answer our request. So go ahead and ask for it! Why the hell not?