Last week, I was a guest speaker for a room full of cancer researchers and doctors at Queen’s University, in Canada. I was invited to come talk about impossible goals, and share the framework I’ve designed around it to help people create their own (which will be featured in an upcoming book of mine).
To introduce myself I told them a story of who I am and where I’ve come from. I turned my weaknesses into strengths and declared that I have no accreditation, or formal education. That I’m a former high school drop out that went on to become a best-selling DJ, a comedy stage hypnotist, successful tech co-founder, a climate solutions motivator, and eventually an author that shares my story. I used PowerPoint to show pictures from all these disparate parts of my life, and I told this room of doctors and researchers that I would one day win a Nobel Prize for being part of solving climate change. That was my impossible goal, and I was here to share them how to create their own.
I am uniquely qualified to speak on this topic. The story of how I got here are my credentials. And now they have me, this unique expert, in the room with them.
Shortly as I started my framework and led them through each part, the head doctor spoke up.
“My mind has already shifted, I can really see the value of this when creating research grants, because we get stuck in writing them the same way every time”, he reported in front of everyone.
I had only started and I’m being told how valuable this material was by the most senior person in the room.
What started as a personal journey, extending into climate solutions, is now having an opportunity to amplify into cancer research.
To get to this moment I had to overcome my own story in my head about why I don’t belong in this “ivory tower”.
And here’s one more thing, one detail I chose not to share with them in that moment – I had never previously delivered this framework before. This was my first time. In a room full of doctors and cancer researchers. I’m all about collecting stories to share, and this was one I wanted, including that little detail.
I’ve boiled down that all of my best stories involve me “overcoming” an obstacle, which almost always is me. My fears, which include feelings of being in danger, or fears of humiliation.
When I talk about mindset, and my usage of mindset tools, this “overcoming” piece is a major one.
Of overcoming a story about why you shouldn’t even try to do something. There’s no better showcase of this than being willing to speak an impossible goal into the world, and I can be a walking demo of that.
These stories of overcoming stand out, because without “overcoming”, it’s just another day. Same old, same old.
On this day it was not the same old.
When was the last time you overcame your own fears of judgment from others? How can you use the evidence of that to help the next time you need to overcome your next obstacle?
Would you like to do some “Overcoming” with me and start 2025 with huge momentum with a focus on new money generation? Check out The Big Drive for more information.
