Success starts before smashing the numbers
Danny Laker
Mom | Producer | Writer | Actress | Serial Entrepreneur | Author | Visionary | Investor
Hey Folks,
Inspired by recent events and even more pushed through a quote I read yesterday after recording my podcast here my new feature.
As announced, this year I'm pushing for getting a conversation, get more involved with your own journeys and take more responsibility catering my growing audience of subscribers. It's actually the first time I'm linking directly a podcast episode with my blog and pick up on the topic.
I feel I haven't spoken enough about it on the podcast yesterday, as the universe right after the recording gave me two more hints to keep going and publish this newsletter going deeper on the topic and inviting you to become not just observers but start taking action.
Monday - but also any other day - is a perfect day to take a look inward, and feel into the moment. It's the day I use to centre myself and keep my meetings to a minimum, focusing on listening on my inner voice and let it bubble up to the surface.
Here's a simple Monday exercise, before you continue reading.
Take a blank piece of paper and it might need some practice in the first round, but try it out:
(Feel into the words, what of that is part of today, what is lost, reframe it, what would have been different if they had seen you as you are?)
Success is more than money, likes or applause
So in case you lose track of what I'm talking about, I recommend to listen to my podcast, which I recorded entirely unplanned. And my dog didn't like it at all and he's barking in the background towards the end, but I remembered and had to share instantly because like the title says: 'Remembering more of you is your power!'
After recording the episode the first 'coincidence' (which I don't see as such) happened. I randomly opened one of my favorite books 'The Creative Act: The Way of Being', by Rick Rubin. I opened the chapter 'Success' and it was really coincidentally. I smiled to myself and what I read blew my mind, as it was underlining what I had talked about in the podcast:
'How shall we measure success? It isn't popularity, money, or critical esteem. Success occurs in the privacy of the soul. It comes in the moment you decide to release the work, before exposure to a single opinion. When you've done all you can to bring out the work's greatest potential. When you're pleased and ready to let go.
Success has nothing to do with variables outside yourself. To move forward is an aspect of success. This happens when we finish a work, share it, and begin a project. Whatever comes after this quiet feeling of accomplishment is subject to market conditions. Conditions beyond us. Our calling is to make beautiful works to the best of our ability. Sometimes they will be applauded or rewarded, sometimes not. If we second-guess our inner knowing to attempt to predict what others may like, our best work will never appear.'
It's a quite long quote, but I saw it as crucial to have this full paragraph here to dive deeper.
Who you are inside, is not some woo woo it is essential to have success. Success is not money, as it is short lived, if it's just for you. Success is not just the visibility or the public persona if you don't really have something out of it. Observe how these young musicians, artists often fall into depression who got to a lot of money through their first movie, single, or as youtuber to a big audience, becoming visible and rich over night. We label them as successful. How come, most of them are not happy in themselves, despite the money, prestige etc.?
No surprise so, that we - as down to earth, mindful business people say, this is show business, that's part of what you become by being part of it or start talking down on the greed, the lavish lifestyle of the rich and famous.
Success 'has nothing to do with variables outside' as Rick Rubin puts it. It's the inner feeling of being happy with what you accomplish. It simply means: setting an intention, knowing you, knowing your strength and weaknesses, being aware of opportunities and taking action. The action is already success in itself. Cause we got it from the mind into the body. Putting whatever we have to offer out to the world in it's most pure form is exactly, what so many people fear. And honestly I have been running like crazy from this responsibility.
Vision and Awareness is not enough.
I'm sure, we all agree that a visionary mindset means to open up to all the potentials and possibilities surrounding us. Yet, there is one caveat to it. Potentials doesn't equal possibilities. Often we see a potential and limit ourselves with tons of excuses, why it could fail, why it's not going to work out and so we limit the potential to basically to only the most logical in our limited mindset existing next steps.
Problem is, we often forget what we are capable of. There's so much more inside of every single one of us that needs to be put out. Funny part - and I'm talking about that with a lot of examples in my podcast - is that we dim our own light by listening more to the outside variables than to what this little voice inside has to say. Living up to the potential, realizing your vision, achieving your goal or manifesting - it doesn't matter how you name it, is linked to the responsibility your power holds. The old stories we've been told and keep telling ourselves is basically letting us feel drained, worn out and waking up in the morning wondering, why is it so hard? Why does it look so easy for XYZ? Or we keep pushing ourselves telling our reflection in the mirror 'Hard work now for an easy life'. How often have you been telling yourself, 'when this project is over, when this client is closed, when this chapter in my career is done, when the next promotion is achieved, everything will be chill, easier, more relaxed - you name it.
And now next question, how often did you find yourself in the same situation over and over and over again - making you realize their is this next mountain to climb, to again have the illusion of a better, easier, chilled, self-driven, autonomous life?
Wanna get out? Life is supposed to be fun and not hard. And this doesn't mean you have to miss any of the pleasantries and luxury - actually it's the opposite.
If you feel life is draining - well, you're off track, for sure.
领英推荐
How do I get started: Get back on the path of success
Listen.
To the voice deep within. No, honestly, do that. You say it's all bs?! That's a first signal, actually high time to take action and make it audible again. If you don't have this little voice inside this feeling about what sparks you with joy, love, positive emotions. If you say I have difficulties to feel that, well, than let the dark part come up. The anger, frustration, anxiety, fear, hate, complaint. Feel something? Is your body moving, can you hear something that is connected to that? Maybe the anger at someone? Maybe at your lazy employees, or the unfair boss, or even the culture of your company that is not adhering to diversity standards? Or maybe it's the rebellious employee, you'd love to get rid of, but I mean, who can layoff a pregnant woman? You feel disempowered and so you turn it into anger, blaiming it on your own judgement or that of HR, maybe you even let the anger out on the HR staff, or the Head of Department, where she works. Maybe this is something that makes you so angry, because at the same time you have an opportunity to get the perfect replacement. So, instead of taking action and looking at the root, you swallow your disempowerment and feel this arousing emotion inside your body, let life force runs through your veins, getting you all upset. Remember the melting of roadblocks I spoke about in one of my most recent newsletter? I recommend going back there, if you can't recall. Because this is a deep dive, essential to understand to take the right action.
Take it seriously. Melt the road block.
The block can be ignored by finding someone else to blame it on or simply 'live with it' and 'accept' the situation. Nothing unpleasant comes into your life just to be accepted without looking and questioning how to solve it, so that you feel better. It's part of the success that springs from creating this change, being limitless, searching for a way how to 'melt' the roadblock. It is part of the creative process, or better part of the success story. As it's a part of melting a block inside of yourself, that has basically shown up in form of this situation, this person, this dilemma. Look at how this situation is preventing you from getting what you want, namely resolving the situation with the pregnant worker, who's not a match to your vision and mission and is not aligned with you and thereby your business growth, scale or even survival? These dynamics, are often so deeply routed that it can shatter entire businesses. As it brings you to the limits and grey zones of ethics, leadership, and if you're not stabilized in who you are and proud for what you have as your superpower and link it to the success story - meaning the accomplishments and putting yourself out there in its most authentic form, it can backfire in many ways. I once got suit out of nothing by my former co-founders. I won the case, as I successfully melted the block - inside out, and in retrospect I learnt a lot and not how to get contracts better prepared and equip for all pitfalls and eventualities, but moreover it helped me remember something inside of me that was hidden, that took me to the next level of personal and professional development.
Approach with clarity.
Setting boundaries does not mean to stop trusting and micromanage everything, have a stricter list of criteria in the hiring process. Include more personality tests or assessments that screen the dark parts of the personality - although, this is what you learned you should do. And isn't that what the title of this section suggests?
No, not exactly. We often mistake setting boundaries with setting up walls. This is not success, and doesn't lead us anywhere. With this mentality we even hold more back of our secret sauce, our success and go even more in the rigid control of what we allow and what we simply prevent from happening. 'If we second-guess our inner knowing to attempt to predict what others may like, our best work will never appear.' Therefore after such an event occurred and we melted the roadblock successfully it is crucial to set boundaries by being clear to only allow in what serves our mission. And here you see the full circle moment of it all: This can only happen if we KNOW what we want and detach from the 'outcome'. If there is another roadblock - which maybe the case - we spot it faster, know faster how to channel our energy and how to strategically melt the roadblock.
This is one of the modules that I cover in my 60-days private intensive 'The 10-figure CEO'. How we are successful along the way, stepping in our power, trusting on our judgement - undivided - with no outside reassurance needed. DM me for more. The example I gave you was just one constellation among a gazillion of different scenarios.
The second push to publish this feature today, came through one of my coaching clients this morning, as the topic again came up of being limitless to be successful, and it was basically making me going deeper, where this article came basically out, as a creation. And as I told myself as this year's mantra: I don't hold anything back - and follow my intuition, it's my invitation to start exploring, remembering and deciphering who your are, to stand all the challenges.
The limiter is often what we 'read into it' and this comes from the unresolved pain, trauma, experience, stories, conceptions, or even experience of the hear-say of others. Wouldn't it be fantastic to have this clarity coming from just you?
Go back to the beginning, to your list, if you haven't done it yet do it. To take the first action step. Ask yourself: Have you been honest? Start investing in yourself. This is the first step of getting what you want putting this energy in yourself.
Don't ignore it, if this strikes a chord and reach out to get it on.
All-in!
Danny
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Reads that inspired this feature
'The Creative Act: The Way of Being' by Rick Rubin.
Can't recommend it often enough! It's one of the most easy to read, most inspiring books I found in the last years. In my opinion a must have!
Going deeper
Superhero Quote
Fill in a quote from your own superhero. If you feel stuck or don't know or triggered (like, what a bs, what a none sense, or if you feel you can't find an answer and say: I don't remember anything I was really good at). Start investing in YOU today.