As we all know, February is always the shortest month of the year. However, it does not give us a pass on being productive and staying focused on our goals. This month has been busy for me. It has been filled with projects, timelines, and opportunities. I have had to be very intentional about guarding my focus, capitalizing my time, and making the most of the opportunities that have come my way. I can truly say that 2025 is off to an amazing start for me and I am excited about all the great things that I will accomplish this year. 2025 can be your year of elevation. However, it will demand both commitment and concentration from you. Be willing to invest the time and energy to ascend to new heights of success.
- You cannot elevate your life without the elimination of something. While many people come into a new year with excitement, that excitement quickly dies as people come face to face with the reality of the work that goes into changing their lives. As someone who has trained and developed leaders around the world, I can tell you that before you can elevate something will have to be eliminated from your life. The enemy of change is our fascination with comfort and ease. You can have a comfortable life but that comfort might cost you the change that you desperately seek. Elimination means getting rid of the things that no longer serve you. It is being willing to part ways with everything that hinders your progress and seeks to hijack your potential. Elimination is never easy but it is always the catalyst that unlocks new possibilities and opportunities. Spend some time auditing your life and identifying some things that you need to eliminate. When you let go of what no longer serves you, that is when you are empowered to make space for the things that will expand and enrich your life.
- You will never elevate your life by making excuses. If you have followed my work, then you have probably heard me say that excuses are the monuments we build to mediocre lives. Those who know me best will tell you that there are few things I hate more than excuses. Over the years, I have had so many people reach out to me for mentorship. In the early days, I would just say yes to everyone and I endeavored to help as many people as I could. Now that I am older and wiser I take on very few mentorship assignments. Time taught me that most people do not want to be mentored. Most people want a babysitter that they assume will do all the work for them. I have no problem sharing wisdom and insights from my journey. Nor do I have a problem imparting lessons that have aided me on my path to success. However, what I do have an issue with is when individuals deliberately disrespect me and waste my time. I learned that most people are full of excuses and very few people are willing to execute. Most people can tell you about their frustrations and their failures. On the other hand, very few people can tell you why they are failing and not making forward progress. You can have excuses or you can results but you cannot have both. Every waking moment of our lives we are determining what we value. What we make excuses for reveals what we do not value and what is not a priority in our lives. On the other side of my excuses was the expansion of my mind and the embracing of unlimited possibilities and opportunities for my life. Instead of making excuses make progress.
- You cannot elevate your life without effort. What separates those who achieve their dreams from those who don't? It is luck, pedigree, or drive? No, the thing that separates those who achieve their dreams from those who don't is a word called effort. I could get deep and provide you with a profound definition of effort. However, I want to simplify things for you. Effort is ultimately about deciding to take action. Many people imagine the life of their dreams. Few people ever actually live the life of their dreams. Why is that? We love to dream more than we love to do. Over the years, I have been called odd, radical, obsessive, and even extreme. I could have allowed those words to bother me; however, those words are often spoken by individuals who are living average and mediocre lives. What they consider extreme I simply consider effort. The thing that trips most people up is that they are unwilling to try. I am not talking about trying one time and quitting. No, I am talking about trying, failing, and being willing to try again. As someone who has experienced lots of failure in life and business, I would not be the person that I am today if I did not dare to get back up and try again. Effort is the difference between envisioning what is possible and embracing what is possible for your life.
- You cannot elevate your life without embracing the next level. What does it mean to embrace the next level? It means that if you want a different reality you must be willing to reach for more in your life. I have no space in my life for mediocrity and I do not accommodate average. I am committed to mastery and the pursuit of excellence in everything that I do. If you want what you have never had, then you must be willing to do what you have never done. It is not hard to maintain the status quo. On the other hand, stretching will require you to step outside of your comfort zone. To embrace the next level you will have to be willing to stretch. You will have to stretch your thinking to think differently. You will have to stretch your perception to see further. You will have to stretch your capacity to make greater contributions. Most of all, you will have to stretch your belief in yourself. To embrace more you must be willing to become more. Who are you willing to become to live at the next level? Your answer to that question is what will create the shift in you and empower you to seize your destiny. Your next level is initiated through intention, accessed through growth, and sustained through development.
