Get out of your way, get out of your head
“It’s all in your head - Get out of your way”
This book! (chefskiss)
Not only did I read it twice, but both times I also could not put it down and finished it in one go. I clearly remember the first time I read it, which was right when leaving my old corporate job and I was FUELLED by my mission and didn’t care if anything would call me crazy. I just knew this was the right path because it was MY path.
And this book just fuelled this fire, and made me even more unapologetic about creating this business, this life and to do what I am called to do because it lights me up like nothing else. Russ spoke to me in this book on so many levels, and to this day I haven’t even listened to one single song of his (which I will consciously change with today, and point of writing). As the book is filled with quotes from his songs, I am even more intrigued to listen to the full stories and his message, which deeply resonates.
The key message is this: believe in yourself so much, that nothing can push you off your path, and delusion is needed to keep you going even if there is nothing that may prove you are on the right path, except for your faith in yourself.
Other nuggets I could not stop myself from highlighting throughout this book:
“You decide whether to be your greatest obstacle or your biggest fan (…) Defeating your own self-doubt is the biggest obstacle to overcome”
It is what I preach day in and day out, you make a conscious choice every day, whether to believe in yourself or to succumb to your self-doubt. Every day you have a new chance to prove it wrong, and your dreams right. The first and hardest hurdle in life is to demolish that wall of disbelief that you can reach the other side. Others have done it before, I have done it, and so can you.
“Put yourself into the life that you want. Close your eyes and surround yourself with whatever you are manifesting. Immerse yourself at that moment. More important than what it looks like, embrace what it feels like (…) Feel the success so deeply that you genuinely believe it’s going to happen tomorrow. If it doesn’t happen tomorrow, believe it is going to happen the next day.”
When being delusional do it with all your senses, BE your best self who lives that amazing live first, then DO what it takes to get there so you can have it. Make decisions based on where you want to be, AS your empowered self, then go for it and do the inspired action. Learn to know that it is going to happen, unattached from the when.
“You have to be delusional to even start, let alone to keep going. You have to be the first person who thinks that you’re going to achieve what you have set out to (…) That level of self-belief is the kind of insanity that is required to succeed (…) Limitations and boundaries are put on dreams by nonbelievers, quitters, and bitter people who didn’t have the balls to go after their own dreams.”
The lightbulb was not invented by those who did not believe that electricity can be used in your home. we would still heat with wood and have candlelight dinner every day if that would have been the case. The key to making something seemingly impossible POSSIBLE, is you believing that it is, and you will find a way.
“Your passion is that thing that connects you to the truest version of yourself (…) To find your passion. Start by answering one question: What fills you up with the most enthusiasm when you think about it? (…) What do you do that uplifts your spirit?”
You have your dreams and passions for a reason, to make them real. Following them is what makes your journey in life the most fulfilling and exciting journey. The obstacles you have to overcome are the lessons you need to learn to grow yourself. Giving up on your dreams is giving up on yourself. There, I said it. “Limitations and boundaries are put on dreams by nonbelievers, quitters, and bitter people who didn’t have the balls to go after their own dreams.”
“That passion requires an insane level of self-confidence and a thick skin, because in order to succeed you have to believe in yourself more than the average person. And the average person is offended by that supreme confidence. You will piss people off. Accept that.”
Never hesitate to pi$$ off non-believers and keep on LEADING on a path others may seem impossible so they can see what can be possible if you keep on believing and moving towards your goals. Yes, you will lose some folks along the way, but you will also win powerful peers who keep on seeing the best in you, love you tough, and guide you to your next level. This is not a lonely path to take!
“What most people don’t realize is that when you are honest about your vulnerabilities and when you wear them like a proud badge, then you block others from weaponizing your vulnerabilities against you.”
Your vulnerabilities are your greatest strengths and what sets you apart from others. They may be the one element in your story that makes it highly successful because people can relate. There is no such thing as oversharing. If people still tend to judge you for it, it is because of their own insecurities and it makes them feel better about themselves and therefore got nothing to do with you being vulnerable in the first place. So imagine the impact you could have on someone’s life by sharing your most vulnerable story.
“When nothing works keep working (…) Have tunnel vision on a goal and keep your head down. Don’t distract yourself and disrupt your momentum with the constant need to look up and look around. You have to master the balance of awareness and focus. You’ll know when to look up.”
The only tunnel vision you will ever want is the one on your goals, don’t get distracted by short-term wins or pleasure if they do not contribute to your long-term vision. Keep on taking consistent steps, every single day, stay positive, and with your head high and you will become invincible.
“Move with a purpose. Move with urgency. Move like you’re trying to make it happen by tonight (…) Putting something off until later is a sure-fire way to never do it.”
Fail forward fast, and keep going. Success comes with consistency, what if it would have taken you just one more day of trying to find the solution? To blow up? To get that job? You know the drill “Quit on a good day, never on a bad one”. And don’t overthink important decisions, sometimes you just got to go for it, more often than not I can assure you the worst possible outcome will not be lethal, so there is nothing really to lose and only to win.
“It is essential to recognize your achievements and to feel gratitude for your wins, large and small. Gratitude is your way of telling the universe, “Thank you, I’ll have some more.”
Gratitude for what you have now, never takes away from what else you can get out of life, on the contrary, feeling grateful is a high vibe energy, the more you are grateful for what you have the more you will have to be grateful for. It multiplies.
“As long as you are becoming the best version of you, you will not disappoint yourself. If you ever have a crisis of faith, you will always have the answer: The answer is YOU.”
No other thoughts on this one are needed, YOU are the answer, the key, the one to make this happen. And you choose to do so, or you choose not to do so.
I clearly loved this book, and will 100% read it again. If you want to give it a try too, click here!
JD’s rating: 11/10 (because I decide so)
