“Without laws and religion, one cannot imagine the degree of glory and grandeur that human knowledge might have achieved.” ~Marquis De Sade 1740-1814~

We all start out in life defiant and slowly but surely have it beat out of us

Hey you,

It’s #2.

How big of herd do you follow?

Notice I asked ‘how big’ and not ‘if’ you follow a herd. We all follow or belong so it’s no matter of if; it’s simply a matter of the size of the group.

I believe there are two main herds that people gravitate towards: the “Scared shitless of  rocking the boat because they fear change and what people will think of them” herd or… a renegade herd.

Being a part of a renegade herd can be lonely. So of course it isn’t popular because it asks you inherently to defy the majority. And yet I keep hearing from people I respect that for you to succeed on the highest level, you have to be disobedient.

Disobedient to what you ask?

Right or wrong is not one of my criteria here. There is no “The way” to live that guarantees you a disease-free, freak accident-free, flawless existence. At least I’ve never come across one. So all we have to go off of are man made edicts, formed and adhered to by large and small groups that tell us what we should or shouldn’t do and what’s wrong and what’s right.

Now something to keep in mind is that whenever you see someone behaving a certain way or saying something that you believe to be wrong, at their core, somewhere deep, they think they’re right or justified in what they’re doing. This is why the saying, “A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still,” makes so much sense.

So the question of the day is “What’s right for you? And as a unique being brought here with your own special talent and preferences, how do you move towards what’s right for you and not impose on someone else’s right to pursue peace and prosperity?

Another question for anyone who believes greatness lies within is… “Do you have the courage to pursue what is right for you in the face of a massive society that tells you you’re wrong, stupid and inferior and will do so gleefully at every chance they get?”

Answering “Yes” to this question is what I believe will free you to live the life that fulfills you at the deepest level.

More times than not, the well meant, “Good” opinion of others shuts up or shouts over the voice within which in reality, is where you need the MOST approval from and from where approval is generated in the first place because the meaning you give any experience becomes the experience.

When we seek the approval of people who don’t have approval for themselves it’s like going to a bankrupt bank and asking them for money… they have nothing to offer you. Wait. That’s wrong. They do have something to offer you and more times than not, it’s SHIT.

The majority of people can put on a show of being know it all’s but the wiring under the hood is bad. These are the people who are willing to tell you the 8 jillion reasons why what you want is wrong, scary, dangerous, stupid, odd, crazy, etc. Especially if it loosens their strangle hold of manipulation they’ve got you in.

Everything Is Impossible Until It Isn’t

This is why disobedience is such a dominant trait in people who used their personal achievement to make their mark on the world. The masses are paralyzed by the unknown, what they perceive is impossible. People who turned visions into realities are frightened just the same but they lean into the fear instead of shying away from it.

And that, my friend is the genesis of any fucking brilliant achievement; pushing beyond fear.  Not the absence of it.

Now if you think you face a daunting task in realizing your dream, just kick on back, relax and watch some quality T.V. here for a few minutes here today and look at this example of having the odds stacked majorly against you of what Gandhi started out against.

A little background for this clip first…

In this part of  the story it shows how Gandhi’s battle for the liberation of his country started in South Africa where he finally stopped letting fear being the boss of him. Here in this clip he is rallying his people join him in this fight…

I’m pretty sure if I remember right, this speech brought tears to my eyes after I saw it the first time. After I watched today, it did the same. And not because I give two shits about Indian people being oppressed. I see in this clip what the human spirit is capable of, what I’m capable of and I want to feel this level of courage vibrating through every fiber of my being.

Now of course, this clip was from a movie, but the outcome of India receiving their independence from the British through this man’s and the people of India’s defiance of the majority was 100% the real fuckin’ deal.

How to Bring Out The Little Bad Ass Gandhi Inside of You

In order to pursue what’s right for you, you have to being willing to ignore or tell the non-believers in your vision to fuck off politely, or not. But before you can do that you have to be able to tell that part of you inside, that tells you that you aren’t worthy of greatness to fuck off. Otherwise you’ll never be able to muster the strength to do it to others.

Kiss Pettiness Goodbye

One of the most important life lessons I’ve come across lately came from Eben Pagan and that was the concept of “Blessing That Which You Want”. Most people never break the loser connection in their mind that tells them automatically that whenever someone else gets something and they don’t, that they lose.

This kind of thinking will only push what you want away. If you use your candle to light other candles, you don’t lose anything – your candle stays lit. You want to cultivate a taste for seeing others succeed without you.

Learn to love it and celebrate it.

Realize: it’s another one of “us”. We’re related. It’s a win for us. Their win is raising the bar for humanity and tide is rising in every way. This thinking allows us to get past a lot of emotional and psychological blocks.

Celebrate a fellow being you’re close to achieved something – so enjoy it and celebrate it with them, and feel the inspiration of we humans as a species having achieved.

Defiance In The Name of What?

What do you want out of life?

How would life be if you could have it YOUR way? Well, this is where paint that picture, the all important picture that I believe all renegades who defied the odds have so they could turn their dreams into reality.

Now the following part is all Rich Schefren. This is a tiny sliver that I’ve sliced out of the forest’s worth of his material I have. I believe to my core that by my sharing this with you, that it prepares you to be a better customer for him. Ground he doesn’t have to cover, you know. But the chances are high that you are one of his customers or on his list.

And if you aren’t, I’d love to take the chance to tell you that there is nothing of his that isn’t worth you going out and buying. He’s a fuckin’ champ and this is a taste of his raw brilliance.

First Steps To Your Ideal Life

Clarifying your ideal life is a three step process. Here’s a quick overview of the steps we’ll take together:

Step 1: Determine which things you definitely don’t want in your life

Step 2: Determine which things you definitely do want in your life

Step 3: Define what an ideal day would look like for you

You’ll see how these all tie together and why they’re in the specific order presented as we go through them together.

You should be very excited right now. In less than one hour from now, you’re going to have greater clarity about what you truly want out of life than perhaps, you’ve ever had before.

And that’s going to help you more than you realize (right now) and when designing and blueprinting your business.

So, what are we waiting for… let’s get the party started…

What You Don’t Want

We start the process by first thinking about all the things you don’t want in your life.

Does that sound strange? If we’re trying to determine what we want our life to ideally be, why start with what we don’t want?

Well, it’s simple really. Most of us are a lot clearer on what we don’t want in our lives than we are about what we do want.

And by surfacing those things that we don’t want in our lives, we stand a much better chance of clearly identifying what we do want. Plus, we can make sure that the life we do design for ourselves is absent all these negative things you’re about to list.

That stated, here are your instructions:

Take 15 minutes to make as long of a list as you need, of everything you don’t want in your life. Try not to think too much, just write whatever comes to mind. A good place to start is thinking about the things you currently deal with that leave you stressed, frustrated, worried, embarrassed and unfulfilled.

Examples: What I Don’t Want In My Life

  • Responsibilities that keep me away from my family
  • Having to pretend I’m something I’m not
  • A business that’s reliant on one marketing channel
  • To have over half of my work-day scheduled
  • To feel overwhelmed by clutter and too much information
  • A business that’s overly reliant on my own efforts
  • A business where I need to worry about our overall customer service levels
  • The pressure that comes from a business that’s really a string of promotions

Your turn…

What You Do Want

Now that you have greater clarity on what you don’t want in your life, it’s time to shift 180 degrees and focus on those things that you do want.

For right now, it’s important that you steer clear of money and material things. There will be time for those things later. Also, realize that those things are just means to an end and right now we’re focused on the ends not the means.

So here’s what you need to do:

Take 15 minutes to make as long of a list as you need, of everything you do want in your life. Once again, try not to think too much; just write whatever comes to mind.

A good place to start is thinking about the things you’ve experienced that have made you happy, proud, excited, blessed and fulfilled. Also, you can use the list you just created of what you don’t want to spur ideas of what you do want.

Examples of What I Do Want In My Life:

  • A work team I enjoy spending time with
  • A workday that ends at noon
  • To have at least one meal per day with my family
  • To feel I’m making a real difference in the lives of my clients
  • Products and programs I’m immensely proud of
  • Freedom to spend time learning new topics I can share with my clients, partners and team
  • To be recognized as the world’s foremost authority on __________________ online

Your turn…

Your Ideal Day

All right, now that you’re clear about what you want and don’t want, it’s time to use this information to construct a perfect day in your dream life.

The reason being is that an ideal life is made up of many ideal days. And you are going to be really glad you listed your wants and non-wants because it makes this exercise so much easier to accomplish. So, remember to refer to it frequently when going through these exercises.

Here’s what you’re trying to come up with: What would your perfect normal day look like if there were no limitations on what it could be?

Let’s break down this question by highlighting certain words and what I mean by them:

Perfect – a day that delivers as many of those things you’ve identified in what you want, while avoiding as many (if not all) those things you’ve listed that you don’t want.

Normal – A day that isn’t a onetime event, but a routine day in your ideal life. So, no meeting with the President, or partying in Vegas or anything other than what’s routine.

No Limitations – forget about your current responsibilities, obligations, and any and all physical constraints (money, business, job, etc…) leave all that behind you if you could live your life anyway you want.

Now many entrepreneurs freeze up when attempting to write out their ideal day – so what I’ve found is it’s easier to answer questions that lead you to having it all done. In total, it should take you less than thirty minutes to power through this.

So, it’s time to play 20 questions…

When you think of this perfect day: (Be very specific. Be extremely detailed and clear)

Overall Lifestyle

Where do you live? (city, on the water, in the mountains, etc…)

What do you live in? (an apartment, a condo, a house, a mansion, a penthouse, etc…)

Who are your friends? (What are they like, what do you do together and what do you talk about?)

What hobbies do you have and how often do you do them?

What do you do for personal fulfillment?

Describe your relationship with your spouse and child. What do you do together? How much time do you spend together?

Your Business

How many hours a day do you work?

What are your primary responsibilities? What do you do while working?

What hours do you work? When do you start and finish?

What are your clients like?

Describe your work environment (Home, office, etc.)

Talk about your team – who are they? What are they like? How do they make you feel?

What about your work makes you most proud?

Your Day

What time do you wake up?

Let’s break up your day into four separate four-hour intervals…

How, where, what and with whom do you spend the first ¼ of your day?

How, where, what and with whom do you spend the second ¼ of your day?

How, where, what and with whom do you spend the next third ¼ of your day?

How, where, what and with whom do you spend the final ¼ of your day?

Getting Clear On The Life You Want

By answering the above questions, you’ll be able to create a very clear picture of your ideal day. That’s important because an ideal life is made up of many ideal days.

Defining your ideal day gives you the ability to live intentionally rather than haphazardly. You’ll be living a life of design, rather than whatever life throws your way.

Make no mistake – most entrepreneurs never take the time to figure out what they want out of life. And because of it, the business takes over. Do not think you can skip this and everything will end up ok. It won’t – unless you take the time to really figure out what you want.

And it should be obvious that one of the keys to achieving a life of freedom is to define what freedom means to you being that it’s my understanding this is one of your core values.

Besides, all the great minds throughout the centuries have always said in one way or another to begin with the end in mind. Life is funny that way. Life works better when we think backwards and then live our life forward.

Think about this question: If you don’t have the will and desire to figure it out and write down what you want, what makes you think you’ll have the will and desire to go after it?

Ok it’s me #2…

If you haven’t answered these questions I’m just gonna flat out say you’re either an idiot or stubborn ass hell and not ready for this teacher to appear. I can’t help you with either of those problems. That’s Obama’s and all his buddies in the government’s work.

If you’re in the process of taking action on this or already have I commend you. You’ve demonstrated that you’re willing to do what the majority won’t which is why they embrace and languish in mediocrity. You’re a member of the renegade elite.

Also if you have anything to add to this whether it be additional resources for people to pursue to further their success or questions or any kind of comment good or bad, leave me a note below.

Talk soon,

Note Taking Nerd #2