They Might Be Giants

My brain is buzzing with the weight of the little nuggets of truth that I’ve picked up over the last few days I’ve spent in L.A. at the Icon Builder Boot Camp, hosted by David Fagan. I could write a blog post – or a book! – on any single one of these principles.

I wish I could somehow download my experiences these last few days into your brain. I promise you’d be a better person for it. The two full days that I attended felt like an eternity. In some ways, maybe it was; because time stood still as I learned these timeless principles.

And I almost missed out on this – for the same reason I miss out on everything else in my life. Even though I’d made a resolve to attend events from now on, as it started to get closer and closer, I was more and more hesitant to go because of something as insignificant as my to-do list. Yes, those things are important, but they are far from the most important. It’s hard to see that, though, because that’s what I’m staring at the hardest.

In the end, I decided that I probably wouldn’t regret going, but I might regret NOT going. (A test I apply to many decisions in my life.) Even though Monday is going to be hectic and I will be behind on a few things, I am so grateful that I took this opportunity to work ON my life, instead of just IN my life. That, my friend, is the trick to a fulfilling existence.

       Intermission: My favorite quote of the weekend was,  

          “Washington is just Hollywood for ugly people.” 

You may be surprised to hear me talk about this experience in respect to my life, as opposed to my business (which I don’t have). This was, after all, a gathering of entrepreneurs and business owners. But that’s the thing I love so much about business principles – they are LIFE principles.

That’s why, I think, there is so much crossover in the messages that coaches and gurus like Anthony Robbins and Steven Covey put out there. There’s really no line that separates one truth from another. The formula for success in business is the same formula for success in life, and vice versa.

I learned a lot about myself this weekend. It was an exhausting, draining experience as I gripped the sides of my brain with both hands and held it open as wide as possible – for 48 straight hours. *sigh* I’m tired.

What I really love about these events is that I am among people who can hear their yearnings, and have the courage to take the necessary action to satisfy them. It’s so refreshing to see so many fellow humans daring to swim upstream.

The conversations had over dinner are enough to fill you. These are real conversations, which I simply don’t get enough of in my life. “What are your greatest passions? How do you build a bridge from here to there? What are your greatest failures, and what have you learned from them?”

Everyone is being served up on a platter of honesty, but we are so captured in that dreamy spell of being unanimously open that no one feels too vulnerable – no alcohol included. This, I believe, speaks to the mastery of those hosting the event as much as it does to the integrity and passion of the people that came.

So, I want to pass on some of the nuggets I picked up over the last few days. Please be advised, though, that they will mean more and say more if received in a quiet place, however literally or figuratively you can make that happen.

• In order to bridge the gap between where you are and where you want to be, create a 10-year plan for your life, a 5-year plan, 2-year plan, 1-year plan, 1-month, 1-week, 1-day. This is a process of breaking the 10-year plan down to what you’re going to do today to move in that direction. Then, spend time with yourself twice a day so you can be accountable to yourself and make adjustments accordingly.  – As taught by Stevie Sullivan, successful entrepreneur
•  “Dreaming is good; doing is better.” – David Fagan, the Icon Builder
•  “Do not be a permission seeker; be a permission granter.” – Steven Memel, celebrity performance coach
• “The problem with the stories we tell ourselves are that we believe them.” – Steven Memel
•  We are solely responsible for our physical, spiritual and mental well-being. – Lori Elgin, successful life coach
• When you’re talking to yourself, ask, “Is this truth or trash?” – Lori Elgin
• There are people only you can touch and things only you can do. – Lori Elgin
• Your core beliefs can be re-decided. – Mel Cutler, creator of the Success Academy, and the Entrepreneur Revolution
• Three things that keep us from success (from a list of seven) are: (1) not seeing ourselves on the journey; (2) Failing to take decisive action; it’s time to move forward…fast. (3) The people we take advice from. – Mel Cutler

Pillow Fight! This was not only a great piece of entertainment, but an exercise to demonstrate what some of our automatic inclinations and inhibitions are. It was lead by Steven Memel, known to be a celebrity performance coach.

PR guru Michael Levine

Michael Levine, a PR master who has headed PR campaigns for stars like Michael Jackson, Charlton Heston, and Sandra Bullock, just to name a very few. He shared the following:

•        Three qualities of super successful people – and they must have all three:
•   Obsession; they possess a quality that is not just ambition. A burning, maniacal rage, like your life depended on it. (Think of an addict.)
•   Optimism; it’s paradoxical, in that it is born after a militant need to face the brutal facts. Two facts: the game is not easy; the game is not fair; but you can win. “Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.” – Gen. Collin Powell.
•   Obligation; very, very responsible – principally to themselves; they keep their word. On the rare occasion that they miss the mark, they blame themselves.
•      Human beings solve 0% of the problems they don’t think they have.
•     Homework assignment (to change your life radically, permanently, and instantly): Fire your flaky friends; because nothing will interfere with your capacity to reach your greatest potential like they will.
•   You’re capable of doing a lot of stuff good; but you can’t do anything great unless it’s something you love and something you want to be remembered for.

You’re welcome :)