Hey, it’s Marie Forleo and you are watching MarieTV, the place to be to create a business
and life you love, and today I have got a question for you. Have you ever walked away
from a really good thing whether it was a business that was making money, a high paying
job that you were pretty good at or a relationship that was cruising along just fine? I know
I have and it wasn’t easy, but here's the deal. Sometimes the only way to create what
you really want means walking away from the sure thing you already have. Before we dive
into this, I want to share a little line from Jim Collins, the author of the classic book
Good to Great. Jim says:
“Good is the enemy of great and is why so many things don't become great. We don't have
really great schools because we have good schools. We don't have great companies because
we have so many good ones…
…And when we look back over a life and see if it is a great one, we don't see many -- because
it's just so easy to settle for a good one.”
Now if we unpack this a bit we'll see that there's two main factors that keep us trapped
in good land.
1. Comfort – whether it's a certain amount of money that you're used to making or a warm
body next to you when you're watching Game of Thrones, sometimes it's hard to walk away
from the sure thing you already have because you're not sure if you're going to find something
out there that's better to fill the void.
2. O.P.E. (Other People’s Expectations) – tough to ignore, but fun to dance to.
The reason OPE is so hard to break free from is because we don't want to disappoint people,
we don't want to let them down and of course we don't want to rock the boat, but if you
want to shift anything from good to great you've got to be willing to shake some shizz
up, which is exactly what I had to do when I walked away from over $1 million in revenue.
Yes people were disappointed and yes people thought I was crazy pants; a little side note,
if people think you're crazy pants, you are probably wearing the right pants.
Here's the story. Back in the day I had two awesome programs; one was an annual conference
that we held at Donna Karan's Urban Sense Center and the other was a year-long mentorship
and travel program called Adventure Mastermind. Both of these programs sold out each year
with a waiting list. They were fun, they were life-changing, and they were like nothing
else on the market, and they were both really profitable. However, I was having this inner
tug inside that it was time for me to clear the decks and work on new projects that would
allow me to change as many lives as possible. I'm not going to front; this was not easy
to do: A - $1 million is a lot of freaking money, and B - I love what I do, and it was
hard for me to disappoint so many people who wanted to take those programs but then wouldn't
have a chance to. So I couldn't deny what I knew to be true which was that it was time
for me to walk away. And that's what I did.
Now check this out. About a week or so after I decided to take those programs off the market,
I got a call from Oprah's folks to be on Super Soul Sunday. Coincidence? Maybe, or maybe
it was meant to be because you can't have really amazing stuff show up in your life
if you don't have room for it.
Let's wrap this up with a few things to keep in mind:
First of all we always say that if it ain't broke, don't fix it, but if it ain’t broke
it doesn't mean that you should keep it. Furthermore, things don't have to be crashing and burning
around you in order for you to walk away. You can leave on a high note, things don't
have to get dramatic and they don't have to get crazy.
Second, as Jim Collins said, “Good is the enemy of great. Complacency can be a curse,
so watch out for it.”
And the final thing to remember, and yes you can tweet this:
“It takes courage to begin something, but it can take even more to end it.”
So now, I'd really love to hear from you. What should be cut loose in your life? Is
there something that you're ready to let go of, or maybe you're afraid to let go of that's
good, but it's keeping you from something that's create? Maybe it's a revenue stream,
a relationship or something else. Leave a comment and let me know.
As always, the best discussions have been after the episode over at MarieForleo.com,
so go there and leave a comment now.
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Stay on your game and keep going for your dreams because the world needs that special
gift that only you have. Thank you so much for watching and I'll catch you next time
on MarieTV.