It was near the end of my radio interview with John Yokoyama, owner of world famous Pike Place Fish Market, when he made what we call in the coaching and consulting world, a ‘throw away comment’. It was just an off-handed comment spoken quite casually, but it was rich with insight.
John had been sharing about the process he and his staff went through to uncover their vision of being world famous.
Then he took a breath, paused a few minutes and continued, “I have to make a choice and commitment everyday, and sometimes moment by moment to show up in a way that’s going to make a world famous difference.
One of my regular limiting internal conversations is, “I don’t want to.” “I don’t want to live my vision of creating a world famous difference or world peace.” Or, “I don’t want to solve this employee argument right now.” In the early days when I was working more at the market, I would often think to myself, ‘I don’t want to get up and go to work.’
He continued, “I’ve realized what we’ve tapped into is the same thing that great leaders of the world like Gandhi or Martin Luther King have done naturally. We must choose to live our commitment and vision each and every moment, even when we don’t feel like it and even in the moments when we doubt our vision could ever become a reality.”
I was struck by his comment - even dumbfounded. Here was someone who had succeeded in making a world famous difference with his business, and yet 23 years later in a radio interview, John openly shared that every day he had to be aware of his limiting internal conversations.
Every day he had to choose conversations that were in alignment with his commitment to make a world famous difference.
Although we may choose an extraordinary vision to “be” in our business, there is the possibility every day of not being connected to your inspiration or higher vision.
I remember many years ago when I first started my business, my internal default conversation was, “I don’t know how.” When I first got my coaching certification my conversation was, “I don’t know how to do this. How can I possibly be successful if I don’t know how to be a coach?” And I remember when I began hosting my radio show my internal conversation was, “I don’t know how to be a talk show radio host.”
When I became a regular columnist for a magazine, my conversation was, “I don’t know how to be a columnist – who the heck do I think I’m fooling anyway?!” Just like John Yokoyama, I was being called to live my vision - which was to show up for my clients, business, friends and the world in an openhearted way with the intention to create a rich experience for others that made a vastly huge difference for them.
I had to choose the conversation of my higher vision, “to run a successful business and to empower thousands of entrepreneurs to create financial security and freedom in their businesses so they could “live and love richly” in their businesses AND lives” over my limiting “I don’t know how to” conversation.
When we make a commitment to a higher vision and purpose in our businesses we are called to let go of our old limiting internal conversations and commit instead to “being” our vision every month, week, day, hour and quite literally every minute. This is what leads us forward into uncharted territory while staying the course and keeping our internal compass on true north.
Your Weekly Action Step And Practice
Be gentle and give yourself a break and realize that even great leaders in the world do not do things perfectly and experience fear and doubt at times as they move towards their extraordinary visions – and yet many succeed in seeing their vision come to fruition.
You don’t have to do things perfectly to succeed either. What successful leaders have in common is their willingness to commit and then recommit to living their vision each and every moment, IN SPITE of their fears, self-doubts and resistance.
It is human nature to doubt yourself, to lack faith in your abilities and to fear failure down to such depths at times that you wake up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night.
Most entrepreneurs stop here. To become extraordinary, one of the most essential steps you must take is to simply be willing to commit to living your vision each and every moment
The next time you experience any sort of fear, doubt, resistance or stuck-ness remember that it’s a perfect opportunity to reconnect with your vision and allow it to literally breathe life into your spirit and soul. To do this simply ask yourself, “How would someone who had the vision to _______________ handle this situation right now?” And then take action from that space.
“Commitment is a big part of what I am and what I believe. How committed are you to winning? How committed are you to being a good friend? To being trustworthy? To being successful? How committed are you to being a good father, a good teammate, a good role model? There's that moment every morning when you look in the mirror: Are you committed, or are you not?”
- LeBron James
Leslie Cunningham specializes in working with women entrepreneurs who experience fear and self-doubt in their ability to consistently make more money in their business. The end result that women achieve through following Leslie's advice and expertise is that they are able to permanently get off the emotional financial roller coaster ride and break into six-figures and beyond. http://impactandprofits.com/