A weekly connection for quick bits of motivation, new perspectives or an uplifting story that align with Dotted Line as an agency.

“Remember tomorrow.”
Jesse Itlzer

After attending a tremendous Entreleadership Summit (for those that aren’t familiar with the program, the content is focused on equipping and developing leaders to grow healthy teams and small businesses) last week, I am reminded of one of my absolute all-time favorite speakers from a previous year’s event, Jesse Itzler. In his talk to the event audience, Jesse shares stories from building several high growth companies, his personal and familial adventures, and other life resume builders. Jesse shares how he focuses on living life with as much adventure and fulfillment as possible.

In his talk, Jesse draws on his experience inviting a navy SEAL to live with him for 30 days. Jesse wanted to learn the “secret sauce” of grit and mental perseverance from a figure who was operating at a level he couldn’t even comprehend. The first day the SEAL shows up at his house, the SEAL orders Jesse to the gym to tackle pull-ups. Having self-declared that he could only do 4 pull-ups at a given time, the SEAL coaches (or forces) Jesse to complete 100 pull-ups before they can leave. In his talk, Jesse shares that there is statistical research that shows when your mind is telling you that you’re done, that you’re exhausted, that you cannot possibly go any further, you’re only actually at 40%.

I love this story because it highlights that the limitations we put on ourselves are self-imposed.  Last year, when I started training for a half-marathon, I remember thinking “there is NO WAY I can run 13 miles.” And by taking it one mile at a time, working on my mental toughness, and building grit, I learned I could tackle it one small piece at a time.

Last Monday I had lunch with a friend, and we were talking about the importance of having an abundance mindset. Most people are conditioned with a scarcity mindset. Limited resources, short-term thinking, and lack of opportunity. Scarcity mentality is what keeps many of us from achieving our goals. An abundance mindset refers to the paradigm shift that there is plenty for everyone. Opportunity and abundance are born out of our grit. We each create our own luck. The small things we do daily, and the way we speak to ourselves, create the environment for what we are becoming.

As I head into this week, I am remembering Jesse’s words and training my mind to look for possibilities. If we don’t win this pitch, good – we’ll win the next one. If we have a failure, good – we’ll get it right next time. Possibility is everywhere, we just have to remember tomorrow.