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The following is a transcript of this podcast episode:
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Alright, this is Tripp Lanier again. I’m glad you’re back.
Here’s a quick recap:
Throughout this series we’ve been talking about how we can grow who we are on a personal level and yet feel out of alignment with our work in the world. This leaves us feeling drained and dissatisfied.
So is there a way to have our work line up with what we truly value? Is there a way to have our profession and business create the lifestyle we ultimately want?
In part 1 we talked about what really makes our professions satisfying beyond a big paycheck. And in part 2 we talked about the five big mistakes guys are making that keep them overworked, underpaid, and on a downward trajectory.
Now let’s talk about what we can all do to avoid making these mistakes so that we can get off the hamster wheel and put our work in line with a life that lights us up.
Here we go…
Step 1 — Turn Pro
To borrow a phrase from The War of Art author Stephen Pressfield, if we want to keep our lifestyle business out of the ditch then it’s essential to turn pro — That means we approach the most important aspects of our life as if we were being paid to do it professionally. That means doing what’s most important first instead of hoping we’ll find the time later.
Instead of hoping for a better outcome, as a pro we take full responsibility, get in the trenches, and invest the time, energy, and money into ourselves.
We approach our life and business like a player at the top of his game. We follow the example of professional athletes and the high performing professionals in every industry. We put a structure in place, we put powerful people in place that will keep us on the right track.
(Go ahead — imagine any guy you admire who is at the top of his game. Do you think he’s isolated and getting soft? Of course not. He has people who support and challenge him to show up as his best.)
When we turn pro, we create our own structure to keep us on track and on a positive trajectory. We stop treating our lives, relationships, and business as if they were a Sunday afternoon hobby.
Which means it’s time to stop playing in the shallow end of the pool, and…
Step 2 — Own Our Inner Authority
Owning our Inner Authority means stepping out from under our fears and into our most powerful mindset — no more hiding out, no more playing a role in order to fit in. It means we embrace all of the experiences and interests that make us unique.
You see, each of us has spent thousands of hours learning and integrating something we value deeply. And this is the arena where our unique sense of authority resides. Embracing this allows us to establish a genuine connection to the people we know and care about. We stop tolerating the schmoozing and use our Inner Authority to powerfully connect with the people we resonate with most.
When we own our Inner Authority, our ideal clients and customers say, “This is my guy. He gets me and what I care about.”
Which brings us to…
Step 3 — Hone your Super Power
As we discussed earlier, it’s not enough to just be a “guy that everybody likes.” We don’t want to get stuck in the professional “friend zone.” We don’t want to simply offer the people we care about something that would be “nice” to have.
We need to make a real difference in their lives.
Honing our super power means building upon our Inner Authority — the experiences that make us unique, the things we already know and love — to provide our ideal clients with something they just gotta have.
It means we gain a deep understanding of their world, and use that insight to make a significant impact to something they really care about. It means we know how to powerfully communicate the value of what we offer. Instead of stammering and feeling uncomfortable talking about our work, we feel confident because we’re offering something we know will make a significant difference in their lives.
And while this may make us irreplaceable, we’re not out of the woods just yet…
Step 4 — Design Your Optimal Business and Lifestyle
In order to avoid getting buried by our own creation, it’s essential that we design the life and business we want to have. We can’t just focus on the money and hope the rest of it all works out on its own. We can’t expect that money alone will guarantee the fun, free time, and balance we ultimately want.
This means we put that free time in the calendar and take it. We design our work from day one to stay off of the hamster wheel. This means we take into account where we want to live, the costs of our lifestyle, and the costs of our business. We design a system that can cover this without driving us nuts.
We gain an understanding of the system we need to create so that — even if things get a little slow — we can stay relaxed. We design a system that keeps us at our best so we don’t have to live in constant fear, resentment, or scarcity.
But we still haven’t tackled the biggest one yet…
Step 5 — Connect and Work with Others
It’s a waste of time to try and reinvent the wheel. It’s far easier to succeed when we connect with other likeminded badasses that are fighting the good fight.
It’s through working with a coach or a powerful mastermind group that we:
Upgrade Our Mindset — Being around other powerful men keeps us sharp, pulls our head out of our ass, and helps us see the opportunities that are right in front of us.
Challenge Ourselves to Bring Our Best — Healthy challenge keeps us from playing small. Challenge keeps us from getting soft and letting our fears get in the way of doing what we really want to do.
Get Stuff Done — Being accountable to others holds our feet to the fire and ensures that we will follow through. Having others there means we can’t bullshit ourselves for very long.
Now I mentioned in part 2 that I was an expert in the 5 mistakes I discussed. And I’m a big believer in the powerful ideas I just shared with you because they’ve helped me overcome those mistakes.
At one point I seemingly had all the pieces in front of me to build my dream business but I had my head up my ass. I was so frustrated that I almost gave it all up. This mindset almost cost me the opportunity to create an amazing lifestyle business based on my calling.
Authority: How to Align Your Work, Lifestyle, and Impact
If you want to hear more about this then you can click here to download the entire Authority ebook and audiobook program.
This ebook/audiobook goes into this work and lifestyle alignment topic deeper and will help you see a greater possibility for you and what you truly want.
Again just click here to check it out.
Thanks for listening.
