Years ago one of Nike’s ad campaigns was “If you’re not living on the edge, your taking up too much space.” The meaning of that for me was to be willing to get out there, be willing to take risks and apply massive action to your goals, which is generally, how I live my life… “On the Edge.”
As many of you know, Friday morning I decided to complete an application for a grant being given by Chase / Living Social to 12 small businesses for $250,000 and to qualify and even be considered for the grant, we had to earn 250 votes for our business…within 36 hours! Here’s where ‘living on the edge’ comes in.
The application process and voting began in May and all throughout the month of June, friends on Facebook would post about this and each time I saw one, I would enter my vote for them. Occasionally, the thought of entering Women’s Prosperity Network went through my mind, but I didn’t give it much consideration, thinking it was too much of a long shot and/or wondering if it was the real deal.
And then it happened! On the morning of June 29th – with voting ending at midnight on June 30th, as I was doing my morning journaling and meditation, I realized that one of the goals I had been working on for the past couple of weeks, was a breakdown of how WPN would use a cash infusion of $250,000 to expand our mission and reach more women worldwide. Duh!! Here it was, an opportunity to receive a grant for that exact amount of money I had been creating a visualization for! I knew I was supposed to submit the app and dismissed the fears and concerns that immediately surfaced … “Oh no, we’ll never hit it. I have so many other things to do today. It’ll be so much work. If I email my list, some people will get mad or unsubscribe.”
I stepped into my full power of certainty and shared the mission with my sisters, Trish and Susan, and then with my email list, Facebook friends and quite frankly – anyone I could. I became laser focused on getting these votes and qualifying to go to the next round. The community support in sharing our mission was outstanding and we are all so grateful for the people who voted, who helped spread the word and who were there online with us at 11:59 pm as the voting ended.
Last night at about 10 pm (as I was cleaning up after my son’s birthday party), we were only at 186 votes. I was tired and the thoughts of giving up and saying “Oh well, I guess it wasn’t meant to be. This was a crazy idea anyway, etc.” were running through my head, BUT I didn’t let them win. I knew I had to really give it my all and get to work. Now was not the time to be tired. We were approaching the finish line and you don’t give up the race before it’s over! And we went to work. For the next 2 hours my sisters and I reached out to anyone we knew who was awake and asked for support. Throughout those 2 hours my commitment and certainty never wavered, in fact, my faith and resolve in us achieving the end result (which is really the growth and expansion of WPN for the benefit of women worldwide – not just getting this particular $250K), grew stronger with each vote that came in.
Did we make it? Not quite. At midnight we were at 236 votes … and that’s okay. I stand in my commitment and knowing that we will get the funding to continue our mission. I stay laser focused on the end result, in continuous action towards the goal and allow the “How” to reveal itself. The grant from Chase / Living Social was just one possible “How” and in the last 36 hours, 2 other possible “Hows” have appeared. First, on Friday I received a call from a gentleman I just met 3 weeks ago who said he’s working with a group of investors who are looking for businesses to invest in! Then on Saturday I received a call from another gentleman who I’ve only met once, who wanted our help in promoting an event. He too shared that he’s working with a group of investors looking for companies to invest in! Will either of these pan out? I don’t know. What I do know is that the more I set my intention and stay in action towards the end result, with full faith that we will achieve it, the more opportunities will appear and WPN will absolutely receive what’s needed to fulfill our vision and our mission.
Lessons From the Edge:
- I love living on the edge! The energy and excitement of those 36 hours was exhilarating! During the voting process I met so many wonderful people and it opened up conversations with people I hadn’t connected with before.
- Stay committed to the achievement of the end result. Consider all of the Olympic athletes (over 17,000), who have been giving their all for years to achieve this goal, and only a small percentage of them will walk away with the Gold. Our job is to always do our best, never give up, and to stay in consistent action with faith and belief that the goal will be realized.
- Do the work — whatever it takes! Completing the application brought additional clarity to our vision, putting my effort into getting the votes fueled my desire and commitment even further.
- Trust your inner voice. When I got the inspiration on Friday morning to submit the app, I immediately took action. Should I have listened to the inner voice earlier in the month? Perhaps (but I don’t know for sure). The lesson learned for me here is to take an extra moment when my inner voice speaks to me, to fully consider and feel into the idea that is offered.
What About You?
- What is your big bold audacious goal?
- How do you want to see your life and your business in the next year, 5 years, 10 years?
- Create a visualization of what the end result looks like, focus on it mentally every day and then take some action step towards it consistently.
Through the years this has been a hard lesson for me to learn, but I know I’ve finally got it:
Our job is not to worry about the “How,” our job is to focus on the end result we desire and to stay in continuous action towards the goal and allow the ultimate “How” to appear. It’s not always the “How” we expected it to be. Be open and willing to receive surprising miracles!
I’m ready … how about you?
Be sure to join me this Wednesday, “Independence Day” for a special message on WOW Wednesdays, our weekly teleclass that kicks off at 9 am (http://wpnglobal.com/wow)
