I am a footballer, and have a very simple brain that has been knocked around far too many times! Make no mistake, simple works for me. If things are too complicated, I often go into meltdown, so, it is a necessity for me to keep things simple. I also find this helps enormously with the people I speak to and work with. It is my greatest mission to create long-term change in people’s lives and to do that, I need to make things simple.
I was trying to get a Zoom video-call happening the other day. It was the first time I had done a Zoom call with this particular person, whose name is Jenny. We got the video happening, but no sound. Both of us tried everything, to no avail. Well, actually, clearly we didn’t try everything, or else we would have been talking!
Just as a side note here, when you say you’ve ‘tried everything’, your brain switches off to further solutions. So, my advice is, don’t say you’ve ‘tried everything’ until you have found the answer and achieved the success you want!
Okay, off my soapbox and back to the story. I called Jenny on the phone, we tried a few more things, and I then I had a brain wave. I said, ‘let’s close it down, shut it off and try again.’ Jenny, agreed, so I ended the call, I ended the Zoom meeting, shut it down, opened it up, called her again, and guess what? It worked! I could hear her, she could hear me, and we had our video meeting. I know what you’re thinking right now, ’Big Deal!’ Well, you see, I actually do think it’s a big deal.
I am not very technologically savvy. Whenever I have an issue, even a small one, I panic. I’m extremely grateful for the people who know what they are talking about, and who often help me. One man, in particular, is my website guy, Patrick. I call him far too often, for things that I know he is wondering how I could be so clueless, and not work myself. Nine times out of ten, he will say to me, ‘Have you tried turning it off, leaving it a while and then turning it on again?’ I try it, and predictably I say, in embarrassment, ‘Oh, that seemed to fix it! Thanks!’ This is not just for my computer, it’s for my modem, my phone, my laptop, software apps and many other devices.
In fact, it happened to me just this morning. I was on LinkedIn, trying to send a message, when it froze on me. I tried a couple of times and then finally decided to close it down for a while and open it up again. Guess what? It worked. So, the question that we need to ask ourselves, as I ask myself regularly is, why do I so often complicate things and think there needs to some confusing and obscure solution, when the answer is as simple as switching it off and then switching it on again?
Switch off, take some time out and then go again
Again, you may be asking, ‘what’s this got to do with anything other than restoring software and devices?’ That’s a great question! Here’s my answer; I think we could apply this same process in our life when things don’t seem to be working the way we want them to. Let me give you an example, I work with many talented and aspiring authors. One thing I know about writing a book, is that you end up looking at, reading and immersing yourself in your book for many months. You may have heard the saying, it’s hard to see the forest for the trees.
After a while, it’s easy to get stuck in a manuscript that you’re not happy with, but not know what to do to fix it. More than several times, people I’m working with, have been in this situation, and so just put their manuscript aside for a few weeks, then come back to it with fresh eyes. All of a sudden, they can see what needs to be done, they go on to finish their book and are very happy with the result. Effectively, they were able to switch off from their book, leave it for a while and then turn it on again, and, the answers came.
Have you ever been in the middle of some sort of conflict with another person? It can easily become a slinging match, as each person feels that their argument is the right one. Well, I don’t know about you, but I’ve never won an argument. Even when I’ve made my case to the point when the other person backs down, I still haven’t won. I have created a rift in a relationship. The times I most effectively deal with conflict is when I listen to the other person’s point of view, without reacting, go away for a while to think about and process it, then come back with a fresh perspective. In these cases, it has always worked out well for both parties. The problems were solved by switching off the arguing, reflecting for a while and then turning the dialogue on again, with the answer.
Have you ever been stuck with a problem you can’t solve? Have you ever plateaued with your training or wellness aspirations? Have you ever realised that if you keep doing the same thing over and over you will keep getting the same results? I was a personal trainer for fifteen years and I loved most of it. The thing that always frustrated me was that I could never really breakthrough financially. I always just lived hand to mouth. Now, don’t get me wrong, I was making great money, but, I had to work hard every day for it, and, I was spending as much as I was earning. I just felt stuck and didn’t know how to break through. So, at the time, I just kept working harder and more hours, thinking that would be the solution. That’s actually called, insanity!
It wasn’t until I decided to turn it off, get away for a while, and come back that I realised what the answer was. That was fifteen years ago, and 2 years after that defining light-bulb moment, I was retired from personal training and was a full-time author and speaker, in a totally different financial position. I have enjoyed this wonderful life for about thirteen years now, and, am looking forward to many more years of bliss. So, what about you? What is it that you are struggling with, stuck in or want to change? What are you persisting with, but feel like you are just spinning your wheels? Are you ready to switch off for a while, leave it to get some fresh perspective and then turn it on again, expecting that the answers will appear? It’s amazing how this works.
You have seen it work with your computer, your phone, your tablet, software applications and many other devices, right? Did you know that your brain is the most sophisticated device there is? It will do anything you program it to do, but sometimes, like technology, it can freeze, shutdown or get stuck. Instead of getting stressed, depressed or feeling helpless and hopeless, why not try something simple? I want to encourage you, this week, whenever you feel like you are struggling to break through with something in your life, simply turn it off, leave it a while and then turn it back on!
I have spent a vast majority of my working life teaching people the concept of one-day-at-a-time. As a personal trainer, I encouraged clients they could increase their fitness one-step-at-a-time, improve their nutrition one-meal-at-a-time and change their life one-thought-at-a-time. When I started mentoring aspiring authors, I taught that a book, no matter how big or small, is written just one-word-at-a-time. This is a pretty simple concept that most people can understand, but, can they stick to it? That’s the question. It seems difficult, especially in the first couple of weeks to commit to this one-day-at-a-time concept. That’s why I want to help you with it, and, dare you to take up my 63-day challenge.
The honeymoon period is the most dangerous period of all, when it comes to trying to create long term change. Why? Because, after a flash of motivation and/or inspiration when we decide to lose weight, make money, write a book, or whatever else we get inspired to do, we often do too much, too soon and run out of puff as quickly as the novelty period wears off. The biggest mistake many people make, as they try to permanently change something in their life, is to think it’s about mental toughness, willpower or requires some sort of natural ability. Very quickly people realise they don’t have that mental fortitude, the willpower or the talent and so talk themselves out of success long before it could become a reality. Are you relating to anything I’m saying so far?
I think we are all aware that our habits determine the results we get in life. So, the question was, how do we change the bad habits and create better ones? Then came along the idea that you can develop a habit in 21-days. So, many people, including me, thought that we could hold on, and, tough it out for 21-days with the promise that new and powerful habits could be created. Well, we all know how that one worked out, don’t we? If we actually made it through to the end of the 21-days, we were often grateful and proud that we did it, but then couldn’t wait to return to our normal way of doing things. The magnetic pull back to our old ways was too strong.
So, what do we know? We know we need to change habits to change the outcomes we are getting in life, and, we know it won’t happen in 21-days, right? So, how long will it take and how do we do it? That’s what this week’s blog is all about, and, the answer is right here for anyone and everyone ready to take action and willing to commit to 63-days to change their life, forever. Yes, I said forever! I know that’s a big statement, and I understand it may be hard to believe, but who convinced you that achieving anything significant had to be hard? Who actually provided undeniable and substantiated evidence that the process to create massive and amazing change was only for the lucky or talented few? I am here to tell you, that you are born to be amazing and destined for great things, if you just decide to take up the 63-day Challenge.
Change your DNA!
For over 20 years Keith Abraham has researched how top performing people harness their PASSION, achieve their GOALS and FOCUS on what’s most important to bring the best out of themselves and their businesses. He has discovered the link between best performance, and people who are passionate about their life. Here’s what Keith knows;
It takes 21 days to create a new habit.
It takes another 21 days to strengthen your resolve to embed that habit, so your poor habits cannot overpower it.
It takes a final 21 days to make your new habit part of your DNA forever.
In this process, at the end of 63 days you will have forgotten about the old habit and have established new and powerful ones. I want you to reflect on the significance of this for a short time, as I tell a true story. I was once talking to a group of Lawyers about this very same concept a few years ago, specifically around health and well-being. I offered them seven simple basic actions they might consider implementing into their daily lives, one being to just drink an extra 500ml of water per day. You know how sceptical lawyers are, right? Well, one of the attendees came to me at the end of the session and explained to me how busy she was, but that she would commit to just one, drinking the 500ml extra of water each day.
I returned to the firm three months later, to follow up, and this lady immediately came up to me. She looked different. In fact, she looked amazing. ‘What have you been doing? More than just drinking an extra 500ml of water per day, I’m guessing?’ She went on to explain how, after a couple of weeks, she had started feeling so much better with just drinking extra water, that she started eating better, exercising regularly and she was feeling wonderful. She had a beam on her face, colour back in her cheeks and she was looking fabulous. All from the commitment to make one simple, seemingly insignificant change over 63-days.
The rest of this blog is devoted to those who are up for a 63-day journey to transform their lives. If that’s you, the rest of this blog is for you, if it’s not, thanks for reading this far and have a great day. If you are still with me, here are the next steps:
Step One – Send me an email to andrew@andrewjobling.com.au and let me know you want to take part in the 63-day challenge. Then I will send you the documents you need.
Step Two – Decide on an area of your life you want to focus on. Is it health & well-being, family, relationships, career, financial, spiritual or other?
Step Three – Pick one to five (no more) very simple, seemingly insignificant actions, you will commit to for the next 63 days. For example; eating something within 15 minutes of getting up, drinking more water, making an extra sales call, spending 15 minutes extra with your children or anything else that you know you need to do.
Step Four – Get clear on why making these changes is important for you, your family, your life and the purpose you are here for. I will send you a sheet to help you with this.
Step Five – get into action, focus on one day at a time, track your results (with the tracking sheet I will send you), find an accountability partner and make NO excuses for missing even one day.
Your goal is to win each day, by ticking the box on the few things you are focussing on. If you are willing to follow these steps, and commit to this 63-day challenge, your life will be unrecognisably amazing in just a few short months.
Last weekend I did something I am very proud of, and, something that will hold a fond place in my memory for many years to come. So, of course, I’m going to write a blog about it. The important thing about this message is that I want to ensure it comes across with the achievement being much less about me and what I accomplished, and far more about the power of a team, a group, a club, a community or whatever you want to call it. I bonded with a new group of people and shared an experience with them that will live on… evidence about the power of the tribe.
I very fortunately came across a wonderful lady name Elizabeth and her husband, Adam, who own and have created a wonderful community at CrossFit Southeast, in Rowville Victoria. We connected, I did a talk to her members and then not too long afterwards she told me that she had entered a team in the Spartan event in March 2019, and, asked if I would like to join the team. Now, Elizabeth is very persuasive, and before I had the chance to wriggle my way out of it, somehow, I had said yes and was booked in to compete with the team in this Spartan event. I had no idea was it was, what was involved, whether I could do it or whether I even wanted to do it!
I started doing some training at the CrossFit box, and, it hurt! And, as happens, time quickly passed, and this Spartan event approached faster than I expected or was prepared for. I still didn’t know what to expect, but Elizabeth kept telling me it would be okay because we were a team. That somehow didn’t comfort me that much. As a professional footballer, I knew that, even though it was a team effort, there would be pain and suffering involved! Anyway, I did know, that whatever would be thrown at me, I would somehow get through.
The day came along, it was last Saturday, and we were due to start our wave at 12 noon. At 10am that morning it was already 35°C (95°F), and, heading towards 40°C (104°F). As I was driving to the event, about an hour out of Melbourne, I could see the smoke from a serious a bushfire happening in the general direction I was heading. This is not a great sign! As I arrived, it was hot, it was windy, it as dusty and it was dry. I couldn’t believe how many people were there, thousands, of all different ages, stages, shapes and sizes. I started feeling a little better, but still I was quietly pooping my pants! I located Elizabeth and Adam, and then met up with the team. Some I had met before, others not. Right from the beginning, we all had one thing in common; we were all about to do something that was going to hurt and something that for many of us was an unknown. So, straight away, there was a connection between us all.
Together Everyone Achieves More!
We had to jump over a high gate just to get into the starting area, and, I nearly tore my hamstring before we even began!! Keep in mind, I am 50 plus GST this year! Then the gun was fired and off we went. The aim was to stay together as a team, but this was initially a little hard for me because I have an ego and my tendency is to sprint off out in front to show my prowess, but, I resisted this and stuck with the rest of the crew. I really wasn’t sure what to expect and so every turn and each obstacle was an adventure.
Over the course of the next two hours we faced twenty obstacles which required us to climb walls, climb ropes, lift weights, carry heavy sandbags, walk through swamps, crawl through the mud under barbed wire, swing across monkey bars, toss spears at a target and many other challenges that left us all muddied, blistered, grazed and sore. We all got through because we worked together as a team. The old cliched acronym for T.E.A.M is Together Everyone Achieves More, and, as schmaltzy as it sounds, it is so true! We made it because we were a team. If we had all taken off and run our own race, there is a chance that not everyone would have made it back across the finish line.
We were there to help each other get over walls. We were there to help each other lift crazy heavy sandbags to the top of a 10-metre pulley. We were there to support the ones who couldn’t get across the monkey bars without help. We were there to do extra where others couldn’t do an activity, like climb the rope. We were there to run with people who felt like stopping. We were all there to give the word of encouragement and support just when someone needed it most. There were plenty of times when I needed that word of encouragement, a high-five or a pat on the back. Wow, the power of a tribe!
The most horrible part of the process was the 30 burpees that each person had to do if they didn’t successfully complete any of the obstacles. This is where we all needed help. 30 burpees done alone is tough, but, 30 burpees split between several people is a piece of cake. Then, at the second last obstacle we each had to throw a spear and stick it in a target. There was only one attempt and each miss cost 30 burpees. I went first, and with a loud, guttural and native roar, I launched the spear and scored one for the team. Yes, I was proud of myself. Then, I watched with horror as every one of the remaining ten people in the team missed the target. I counted, with trepidation and fear as the burpees racked up to 300! Then together as a team, we got them done. Finally, we climbed that last rope net obstacle, over the top and down the other side and together we ran across the finish line. We were victorious and together as a team. It was a great feeling and there was an instant bond between all of us.
As I look back at the things I have achieved in my life, it has been not because of me, but because of my tribe. My team mates at St Kilda FC shared the journey with me, my partners in my personal training business inspired me, my publishers for my books supported me, and, my Spartan tribe encouraged me. There is so much power in a tribe, so, this week I want to encourage you, no matter what you are aspiring to achieve, find a partner, a coach or a tribe of people to connect in with. The help, the support and the encouragement will lift you to any heights you want to reach. Just know, as you move forward in your life this week that, whilst the spark may come from you, the power is with your tribe.
There are many quotes, definitions and descriptions for the word faith, but two are my favorites. The first comes from the bible, and is in Hebrews chapter 11, verse 1 and states; faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. The second is a quote by author Phillip Yancy and says; faith means trusting in advance that which only makes sense in reverse. Either way, the power of faith is knowing that, if we keep taking the right actions, the things that are not seen, or seem to be not working, will be seen.
This message was very powerfully delivered at church last Sunday by my pastor, Seka. To really reinforce the message and make it seem more tangible, she talked about the formation of clouds. She was actually referring to a particular story in the Bible about someone, and I can’t remember specifics, who had been praying for rain. God had promised rain, yet for many days there were no clouds in sight. This person was not seeing the clouds form and so was assuming God had not answered his prayer. This is where Seka talked about some research she did into the formation of clouds. She had googled the Bureau of Meteorology and found the following description for the formation of clouds:
Clouds form when the invisible water vapour in the air condenses into visible water droplets or ice crystals. There is water around us all the time in the form of tiny gas particles, also known as water vapour. There are also tiny particles floating around in the air – such as salt and dust – these are called aerosols.
In other words, the water is there, even if we don’t see it. The invisible gas particles are floating around until they condense and turn into visible water particles, hence clouds. In other other words, what is unseen will be seen! So, what does cloud formation have to do with you and myself? Well, let me tell you, Seka was very excited about her meteorological discovery and how it gave some actual science and tangibility to this idea of faith. But let’s see how it works in real life.
The following is a true story I recently heard on an audio. It’s about a young guy who was out of work and desperately trying to find a job. He was not really qualified, had no tangible skills and so, as you can imagine, was not even getting to the interview stage for many jobs. After having many frustrating conversations, he randomly approached the owner of a manufacturing company and asked for a job. The owner listened while the young man stated his case and then said, ‘Sorry son, we just can’t afford to put anyone on at this stage.’ The young man then said, ‘No problems, I understand.’ Just as he was walking away, he stopped, turned around and said to the owner, ‘I’ll see you tomorrow morning at 8am.’
Have faith and keep showing up
The owner looked at the young man, stunned, wondering if he was a little slow, then said, ‘What do you mean you’ll see me at 8am? I just said we didn’t have a job for you.’ The young man then replied, ‘No, what you said was, you couldn’t pay me.’ The owner, still baffled, said, ‘So, are you telling me that you will turn up at 8am tomorrow and work for no money?’ To this the young man replied, ‘My father always said, it’s better to be working than not, so yes, I would like to work anyway.’ The owner, head still spinning, said, ‘Okay, see you at 8am tomorrow.’
True to his word, the young man turned up at 8am. He knew no-one at the factory, had no direction from the owner, so he just started sweeping the floor and generally tidying the place. After a few hours, some of the other employees noticed him and asked him to help them with some of their jobs. He did, with gratitude. After the first day was over, he said goodbye and headed home. The owner didn’t expect him to show up again, but at 8am the next day, there he was. By the end of the week, he was known and liked by the whole team, and, he was fitting in doing a great job.
The owner later admitted he didn’t expect the young man to arrive at work again for the second week, but, guess what? At 8am on that Monday morning, there he was, ready to go. This went on for three weeks, until the boss, seeing what a great job he was doing, started feeling guilty and paid him for that week. He then offered him a full-time paid position with the company. The young man made himself indispensable to the owner, and, had faith, that if he kept showing up and kept doing a great job, the unseen money would become seen. And, it did!
What a wonderful story about the power of faith. It’s hard to master, but is the one belief that will attract and deliver the most abundance to you. To just know, without doubt, fear or worry, that the unseen will become seen is powerful and illusive, but, has already materialised many times in your life to this point. As a baby, you couldn’t walk, but you had faith that with persistence you would, and, you did. This is just one of many examples of the unseen faith you have had. You just now need to re-engage this powerful belief.
I am enjoying a great deal of flow and success in my life at the moment. I truly feel as I am absolutely on purpose, and consequently, book sales are happening, speaking bookings are coming through, I’m being flown to the USA to launch my new book and everything I have been hoping and praying for is crystallizing into those visible water droplets. It’s taken many years to get here, and the main reason is because I finally let go of doubt, fear and worry, and I now have faith that the unseen will be seen. You can do the same! Start that wellness regime, follow through and just have faith that you will get the results. Keep making those phone calls and just know that the unseen sale will be seen. Keep sending off submissions and applications and believe in your heart that the answer you want will appear. Keep giving love unconditionally, even when it’s not being reciprocated, and have faith that it will come back to you in abundance.
I have very quickly developed a strong Christian faith, and have seen powerful evidence of this trust in my life. But, you don’t need to be a Christian to believe that the unseen will be seen, you just need faith and confidence. You see, depending on your thoughts and actions, you send out a strong message to the world that states your intention. At that point, you can stop worrying, keep believing, keep acting and know, without any shadow of a doubt, that what is not currently seen will be seen in no time at all.
Have you ever heard it said, in one form or another, that; at any point in life, we are either down, falling down or getting up after falling down? I don’t know if that sounds like it’s a little overly negative or not, but as I look at my life and where I am now, I can see a lot of truth in that statement. It’s not negative, it’s the truth. It shouldn’t discourage you, it should instead absolutely encourage you. A great mentor of mine puts it another way, after hearing it herself at a seminar. She now lives by the principle that, the pendulum swings.
So, what does that mean? It means that if you are down, it won’t be long – with the right attitude and actions – until you are up again. If you look at the motion of a pendulum, you will know that it starts high and swings to the lowest point possible and then it begins to rise again to the top, before it heads back down. If we subscribe to the principle of the pendulum, we will know that, as I suggested at the start of this blog; at any point in life we are either down, falling down, or getting up after falling down. It seems to be how life works, have you experienced it? I want you to know this week, that, whilst this may be a common and predictable pattern of life for us all, we can shorten the time at the bottom of the swing and lengthen the time at the top by our thoughts, emotions, attitudes and actions.
Firstly, to anyone reading this who is feeling discouraged, flat and unhappy about where you are currently at in life, be encouraged knowing that the pendulum is swinging, and, you will be back on top soon, if you believe it and focus on it. I truly believe we are meant to be happy, healthy, wealthy and purpose-driven people. I know you and I have been put on this planet for a reason, to make a positive impact. Our lives are meant to be joy-filled and bring joy to others. I also believe that we can easily get complacent at times when things are going well, which can start the downward swing sending us back to the bottom of the curve.
I worked hard for many years to get myself to the top of my professional football career. From the age of 16, starting at the bottom of the pile as a fresh-faced kid with aspirations of being a star, to the age of 21, when I finally cracked the senior team to stay, I had to work, climb and trust that the pendulum would swing up to the top. I struggled in the under 19 team and improved over the first couple of years. I was knocked unconscious and carried off on a stretcher in my first senior level reserve grade game. I worked gut-bustingly hard to make it to the top and play my first senior A-grade game, and, then tumbled back down as I then missed out on selection, despite playing well every week, for the next 20 months. When I finally worked back up and played that second senior A-grade game I was strong, prepared and ready to make my mark, which I did for 2 years, but just as the pendulum was at the top of its swing, I got complacent and it started swinging down again.
Master the fast turnaround
In that period of complacency, I naively and ignorantly thought I had made it to stay. I stopped training with the same intensity, I started getting distracted and tempted and my performances started to decline. Over the next two years the pendulum hit rock bottom. On this particular bottom of the swing moment, it was a Saturday morning in October 1987. I had just played in a reserve grade grand final two weeks earlier, and I read something in the newspaper that morning shattering my world. I saw my name in the paper. Normally seeing your name in the newspaper would be an exciting thing, unless it is amongst a group of players sacked from the club!
I knew my football career was going to come to end at some time, and, I knew the pendulum would eventually swing through the bottom point. I just didn’t expect it or want it to occur when it did. But it happened predictably, at that time, because of my thoughts, attitudes and actions. I was a mess. I was shattered. I was only 24 years old and had planned a long and successful professional football career, for at least another ten years. What would I do now? I stayed far too long in the pits, because I didn’t understand, at that time of my life, that the pendulum always swings, and I would eventually be out of the pits and be back on top again. Again, my thinking, attitudes and actions kept me at the bottom for far too long.
It was a long time before I was able to pick myself up, turn myself around and use this time of my life as a positive foundation for greater things. Looking back, two things are glaringly obvious. The first; in the context of my life today, that event was the best thing that could have happened. If I had stayed in football, would I have gone on the become an author and do the things I am able to today? I doubt it. So, it really was a good thing, not the earth-shattering event I perceived it to be at the time. Secondly, I took far too long to pick myself up, get my attitude right, find the positive and get the pendulum swinging up more quickly. I needed to master the fast turnaround. Let me tell you, these days I have mastered it and my pendulum is swinging up, and, staying there far more and far longer than it is at the bottom of the motion.
Where are you in your pendulum cycle at the moment? Are you flying high and living the life you dream of? I hope you are, and I hope you continue to do so. It is my strongest encouragement that you keep focusing on the great work you are doing and keep your attitude and thinking in line with success. That way, when you experience the downward swing of the pendulum, you will be able to master the fast turnaround and be back on top as fast as is possible. Are you struggling, feeling down-and-out or in the pits at the moment? As my wonderful mentor says to me, it’s okay because the pendulum swings and you will on top again soon. The secret is to learn the lessons and find the good, while you are down there, then, take positive action and, in no time at all, you will off the bottom and swinging back up to the top.
In each of my blogs I want you to know three things. Firstly, I want you to know, very clearly, that I am not perfect, I muck up at times, and I am always learning. Secondly, I don’t portray life to be all roses and cream and give you the impression that you won’t experience challenges. Thirdly, and most importantly, I want you to know that, no matter what circumstances come your way, you are good enough, strong enough, capable enough and resilient enough to handle it, and, turn the most devastating adversity into the most wonderous joy and success. All you need to know, is that the pendulum swings.
It’s interesting what many people perceive as dumb, stupid or weird. I think anyone doing things differently to the majority can easily be seen in that light. Different scares many people. Different seems wrong to the mainstream. Different makes people look like they are not quite with it. The fact is that different often represents genius, achievement and innovation. It is my goal in life is to live differently, be different and achieve different, so I am okay with being seen as dumb, stupid or weird. I hope you feel the same and won’t get offended, but will be complimented when you are called dumb.
Back in the 1950’s two teenage boys, Jon and Tom, were sitting together in an ice-cream shop having a milkshake and donut, when a younger teen, named Billy, walked in. Jon said to his friend Tom, ‘See that kid who just walked? He is the dumbest kid in town.’ His friend asked why. ‘I’ll show you, watch this.’ He called Billy over and said, ‘Hey kid, I have a gift for you. I’ll give you either this one dollar note, or these two new shiny twenty-five cent pieces.’ Billy looked at the choices, looked at Jon and said, ‘I’ll take the two shiny ones. Thanks.’ He took the coins and went off about his business. ‘See what I mean?’ Said Jon, ‘The dumbest kid in town!’
The next day, Tom was out on his bike, when he saw the same boy who took the fifty cents instead of the dollar. He went over to him and said, ‘Hey Billy, I saw you yesterday. You know that the one dollar is worth twice as much as the fifty cents, right?’ Billy then said to Tom, ‘Of course I do, I’m not stupid. Jon does that to me at least twice every week, if I take the dollar, he’ll stop doing it!’
So, the question is, who really is the dumbest and who is the smartest? I think in this humorous example, we can work it out. Jon was adamant, based on his perspective, that Billy was the dumbest, but I believe Billy, and you, know that to be untrue. It’s so easy to look at what people are doing and make a judgement call based on what we see, what we know, what we’ve experienced and what we perceive. My first point, in this blog, is to encourage you to look beyond the surface before jumping to conclusions about the sanity and intelligence of the people around you.
If you read my blogs regularly, then I’m confident you are already on top of that first point. It’s this next point I’m most passionate about. My strongest message and encouragement for you is about protecting yourself from the people who refuse to look beyond the surface and are often jumping to conclusions about your sanity and intelligence. We must be so very careful not to be sucked into what mainstream society sees as normal and intelligent, and, how some people make you feel if you dare to step out of the mould and work to create a different life. If you are doing things that are legal and moral, but may be perceived as strange, weird, dumb or stupid by many people, you are right on track… keep doing them!
What is dumb anyway?
I was told, by more than one person, I was stupid for thinking I could be a professional footballer, and, I totally understand their perception. At the time I made the declaration I was a skinny, sickly, sooky teenager, and, not that talented. However, those people who called me stupid didn’t know was what was inside me, nor what I was prepared to do to back up my declaration. I was called crazy by many people after I stated my intention of becoming a published author. Again, I understand where they were coming from, as at the time the statement was made, I was working over 120 hours per week in two businesses, and, I had no writing skills or qualifications. Those people saw crazy, but they were looking through their filter, not mine. I saw something completely different. I knew what I wanted, and I knew what I was willing to do to make it happen.
So, you see dumb, stupid, crazy and weird are just perceptions of the person looking through a frame of reference they have been conditioned with over their lifetime. It really has nothing to do with you or what is possible for you. You are not normal, and that is a massive compliment. Normal people don’t read these type of blogs. Normal people don’t do things that go against the flow of mainstream society. Normal people don’t strive, work, struggle, persist and aspire to great things. Normal people don’t do much at all, and what they actually do, they complain about. Normal people will try to make you feel dumb, stupid, crazy and weird in an attempt to stop you aspiring for more. Why? Because cutting you down is easier than lifting themselves up to a higher level of living. I hope I am making sense.
Be inspired by, not discouraged when someone calls you dumb, stupid, crazy or weird. It means you are stepping out of the pack and swimming against the stream. When you get called crazy for wanting to run a marathon or reach an exceptional level of fitness, commit yourself to do it anyway. When someone calls you dumb because of decisions you make and actions you take to increase your financial position outside of your career, then push harder to become successful. When you get called weird for having an aspiration to become a successful author, entertainer, business person, politician, artist or academic, work harder than normal to be successful. When you are labelled stupid for chasing something that most people can’t see, then run faster, chase harder and get it done.
Steve Jobs was called crazy. JK Rowling was labelled not good enough. Elvis Presley was told he had no talent. Walt Disney was told he lacked imagination. Oprah Winfrey was told she was too emotional. Jerry Seinfield was sacked from an acting role because he wasn’t good enough. Thomas Edison was labelled stupid. Albert Einstein was told he was too slow a learner. Charles Darwin was labelled lazy. Marilyn Monroe was told she should become a secretary. I could go on and on and on. What matters is not what you are labelled by others, but what you label yourself.
We live in a world of people. In fact we are heading toward a global population of eight billion people. Everywhere you look there are people, and, whether you like it or not, those people have an opinion based on their life experiences. Some of those people are going to share their opinion with you whether you want them to or not. Some of those opinions are going to conflict with what you believe, what you desire and what you want to hear. Be ready for it, and know that when someone labels you dumb, stupid, crazy or weird, it’s actually a great compliment. It means you are striving for an exceptional life. Make your goal to be perceived as the dumbest person in town!
