6 Steps for Turning Fear into Dreams...a thread.

STEP 1: Get stoked

Stoke is unbridled enthusiasm. Words like passion and motivation don’t even scratch the surface of getting stoked. Think of it as potential energy or a compressed spring waiting to explode.

Stoke is what transforms dreaming into doing.

For me, it’s stories like the USA Men’s Rafting Team trying to break a speed record on the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. https://vimeo.com/208176323 

STEP 2: Get fear out of the driver’s seat

We are going to pretend fear is a person. Fear is your friend. But, let’s follow @GilbertLiz lead in her latest book “Big Magic.”

“Dearest Fear, Creativity and I are about to go on a road trip together. I understand you’ll be joining us, because you always do … You’re allowed to have a seat, and you’re allowed to have a voice, but you are not allowed to have a vote.

You’re not allowed to touch the road maps or suggest detours; you’re not allowed to fiddle with the temperature. Dude, you’re not even allowed to touch the radio. But above all else, you are absolutely forbidden to drive.”

Not an Elizabeth Gilbert fan?

This 2 minutes video from Will Smith time very well spent.

STEP 3: Label objections are excuses, not reasons.

Play a little game with me. Don't take it personally, it's just a game. Assume that everything on your list of reasons you can't do something is just an excuse. rather than an actual reason, its a place to hide.

Look, I don’t know you. I don’t know your situation. Maybe your roadblocks are absolutely legitimate. But just for this experiment, may I humbly suggest: Assume that no matter how real you think they are, try assuming they are just excuses.

STEP 4: Find a quiet place with something big to write on. A blank piece of paper will do.

Get calm, get centered, do your sun salutations, whatever it takes.

When you’re focused, look stare at black piece of paper.

STEP 5: Ask yourself one question

Now that you’re in the right space — you are focused, fear isn’t driving, you are stoked, and all those things on your list are just excuses

— ask yourself: What comes next?

Let go of all the "reasons" (remember, this is a thought experiment) and just answer the question:

“What comes next?” Or better yet, “What comes now?”

Find the next smallest step.

@jamesclear talks all the time about the power of a 1% improvement...so what's the next micro-action you can take?

STEP 6: Write that next thing down and go do it

And when you are done with that, and you don’t know what to do next, go back to Step 1, and repeat.

Imagine what would happen if you repeated this process again, every day, for three months, six months, a year?

What might that look like?

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