Do you have a challenge in your life and think it is too big to solve? Whatever your situation, using this phrase by Marie Forleo “Everything Is Figureoutable” will help you make it all work out. This is your time, we can do this together and here is powerful advice from Marie’s book that you can apply right now.
“The world needs that special gift that only you have”- Marie Forleo
Have you been feeling frustrated or worried lately? Now more than ever, it is time to banish those thoughts, look at what is important and figure things out in a way that gives you joy. Let’s start with something Marie shares at the end of her book – some wisdom a palliative nurse shared about the 5 things people say at the end of their lives. It won’t come as a surprise. It is four words:
“I Wish I Had”.
Listening to those words-what comes to mind? Do you start to feel doubt, or wonderment? Either way-the words take on a strong meaning and carry with them weight of a life well lived or a life with regrets for not taking action.
Here are four things to ask yourself when you need to figure out next steps:
- “What holds you back from going for your big dream or aspiration?”
- “Imagine death is imminent. Finish the following sentence at least twenty (more if needed). I wish I had, I wish I had, I wish I had”
- If you believed to your core that everything really is figureoutable, what would you now do?
- Please complete the last challenge by hand-grab a journal turn off electronics. Your future self is going to write a letter to yourself: I’d love you to let go of, I’d love you to start, I’d love you to remember.
Pretty heavy stuff, right? Okay now we can reverse engineer those things and get you to a place where all of the answers come to you easy breezy.
In her , Marie walks us through a process of realizing that once we remove the barriers that we have been allowing to sabotage our thinking, things become straight forward. She shares personal stories and here are two that stood out to me:
The first is from a mother who learns that her daughter, who was a competitive dancer and had scoliosis and could no longer dance. I can relate to this because my own daughter has debilitating health issues that have altered the way she can play sports and even do activities with friends. This mom came to realize that once she accepted the situation she could figure out the path her daughter could take for happiness which was above all else what mattered most * page 48 in the book
Do you have a challenge with a loved one and think – there is no way I will make it through? Check out page 48 in Marie’s book, to find inspiration and see that in the valley is where we gain our greatest strength-you just have to open the window and let the message flow in to your heart.
The second story Marie shares about her relationship with her husband and a trip they were trying to take. They nearly miss their flight-and I could relate to this story on so many levels-from working to the last minute and getting caught in traffic, to missing the cut off to check a bag so she buys a carry on and stuffs as much as she could fit, to taking a bus at JFK and having only minutes to make it through security and get on the plane. In the end-they made their trip to Spain through many hurdles and at each step of the way, decisions were made, persistence was there and a desire to find a way to make it happen. If you travel-you won’t want to miss her story in Chapter 9: Refuse to be Refused.
Do you have a story about refusing to be refused-not allowing anything to stop you? How did that feel? In the moment, it was shear stress, but on the other side, you probably looked back and realized you felt a little invincible right?
I can remember years ago, there was an issue with getting a client’s instrument to a trade show. The night before-their featured product wasn’t going to arrive and we were on the west coast, the instrument was in the mid-west. I started to think-there has to be a way because…everything in trade shows is a yes-it can be done. I asked the client if they had any instruments closer-the answer was yet-Colorado. Great, next step-find a truck to drive it out to Anaheim. Check. What I didn’t know is there weather conditions that added to the mix. The instrument arrived 15 minutes before the show opened. I was told we would have to wait until after the show that night to bring it out because forklifts couldn’t come on the floor.
At that moment, I could see the panic on the client’s face because they had demos scheduled with VIP customers all day. Instead of waiting until the end of the day, I got 6 men to lift the instrument and walk it on the floor-sort of like pallbearers- if you can imagine!
Everything was figureoutable. It started with refusing to be refused.
Now if you are thinking to yourself, yes but-fill in the blank and therefore can’t possibly do…this. The answer is you can.
Marie Forleo’s 7 Tips To Figure Anything Out:
- Define Your Dream-You know how much I love writing things down. And according to Marie-you are “42% more likely to succeed” by writing down your dream. Here are two resources for you – Rachel Hollis Start today Journal and Chalene Johnson Push Journal. Both will help you stay on track daily and achieve your dreams.
- Define what you want-make a list!
- Get Real about your Dream-Choose the one dream you want to achieve most.
- Make a specific, measurable and actionable plan.
- Start Before you Are Ready-So many of us self-sabotage and find reasons not to start-don’t let this be you!! Remember the exercise we started with? Looking back on your life? This is probably the most important advice above all else. Chris Krimitsos just published a book-you can find it on Amazon-Called Start Ugly. It is a small little book that if you are stuck you should pick up and make it a plan to read it before the end of the year!
- Progress not Perfection-this is probably the thing I am most guilty about. Does this happen to you-procrastinate because it just isn’t quite good enough-ask yourself is it 90% good? Then it is good enough! Here are some tips Marie advises to eliminate the temptation to wait for perfect:
- Take small steps – and ignore big drama
- Plan ahead for problems
- Expect and embrace self-doubt
- Ask What’s the next right move
- Use the power of positive quitting
- Cultivate patience
- The Secret to Lasting Success-don’t go it alone!
- Invest in figureoutable friends
- Be a figureoutable force for good work
Hopefully these tips have helped to realize anything can be worked out-it takes a belief in yourself. Always remember you are worth it.
Gratitude: A big thanks to Marie Forleo for lifting up so many women. This book is a must read.