Burn the Ships

Every single day someone between the ages of 29 to 45 is waking up with the thought, “this is not the life I wanted.” Sadly, few are willing to do anything about it. Would you be willing to do anything about it? Sure, it’s easy to say yes. The difficulty is putting that yes into action. Since saying yes, look back at your life - are you truly following through with that yes, or have years passed by and you still aren’t any closer to where you want to be? 

When are you going to do something about your own life?

Your life is your responsibility - no one else’s! 

What are 3 things you need to do right now to start obtaining the life you really want? And, by the way, what do you really want for your life? (It’s important you answer this question with complete clarity, direction, and focus. Shooting in the dark or having some idea will only lead to more ambiguity and confusion, which ultimately can lead to depression and unhappiness). 

The average human does not even reach 40% of their potential. COME ON not even 40% - that’s ridiculous. To me this is devastating. 

 One of the reasons why I believe we love going to the movies, concerts and are enamored with celebrities is because they have at least stereotypically reached their potential. They are living the dream, and many people wish they dared to do it. Well, that courage comes from trusting in God, believing in yourself, and having an abundant and invincible mindset. 

Your belief of success must be higher than your belief of failure. 

 We have more certainty of what celebrities are talented at or trying to be skilled at than we do our own talents. Why is this? Famous individuals branded themselves and declared to the world “this is what I am going to be known for” and then went after it, not allowing others to stop them. They were 100% committed. What mindset do you need to have to be 100% committed to your dreams?

Perhaps, it's time you burned your boats and stopped rescuing yourself away from your dreams.

Burning the ship alludes to the point of no return. In colonial times, commanders would order their men to burn the vessels when they landed in hostile territories, to take retreating off the table forcing their soldiers to have to conquer or be conquered.

Sometimes to really get committed at something we desire, we must burn our mental ships. We all have safety rafts or ships that take us away from the territory or goals we are too apprehensive to attempt to defeat. Our negative self-talk does this. However, when we burn our mental ships, you are telling yourself you cannot turn back - you are committing. Once the ships are on fire, your only option is to move forward and normalize the new emotions running through your body, so you either move toward your goals, do nothing, or die trying! That is the eviction you must have. Are you ready to burn your ships? If so...

Pour the gas and light the match. 

 People who have “made it” never gave up on developing, polishing, and persevering their goals. Again and again, we hear how some model, musician, or actor was told they would not make it, but they chose to believe in themselves more than in that person’s belief. Yet, so many people choose to have the different belief system – believing in others opinions than the certainty of their self. 

Now, not everybody desires fame, but most people desire to become their best – of reaching their fullest potential. The only way to do that is to be you - to entirely be you. (If you don’t know how to be you, continue following this series to learn how too be and find you). You have to remember not to allow others to dictate your life or to let you fall off course. You must go after your dreams full heartedly, removing failure from the table, and not taking "no" for an answer. Even when times feel hard, and you are overcome with fear and doubt, you must believe you can and will persevere, with the belief and faith that you have made it to your highest potential – to that ultimate dream your heart yearns for day after day. 

Becoming your best self is a journey, not a destination.

We admire and love the 1% not because of their bank account, but for their courage. People who made it give us hope. You may never know if that A-lister doubted herself the entire time working towards her dreams. The lesson is she did it with doubt and fear. Her hopes and ambitions were more prominent than her apprehensions. 

Come on, light the match.

-Elizabeth Louis

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Elizabeth Louis