How to Really Matter in Life

A friend of mine has a tattoo that says, “You are what you do when it counts.”

Last Friday you read the story of The Two Marines, Corporal Jonathan Yale and Lance Corporal Jordan Haerter, who stood strong in the path of a truck bomb. Their actions and ultimate sacrifice saved the lives of 150 men. I hope it reminded you of how easy you have it in life. I hope it also inspired you to come back stronger this week, to make a difference, and to live a life that matters. (Click here to read the article if you missed it.)

We all face challenges in life. They are rarely life threatening, as was the case for these two young men, but oftentimes our struggles seem insurmountable. Still, we have no other choice but to Step-Up, to overcome procrastination, to do the work. To earn it.

When the time came, Corporal Yale and Lance Corporal Haerter stepped up. When it was time to Man-Up, they did. They did so because of promises made to their families:

  • Their Marine Brothers
  • Their families at home
  • Their country

Likewise, you read ETR to improve yourself because of the commitment you made to your three families:

  • Your family at home
  • Your family of clients in your business
  • And your ETR Family that supports you every day

Corporal Yale and Lance Corporal Haerter did all they could do.

But you and I haven’t.

There are still more people that we can help. We must not be satisfied with what we’ve done so far.

One of my mentors, Dave Kekich, says, “The world’s highest achievers have the highest levels of dissatisfaction. Those with the lowest levels are the failures.”

You must be dissatisfied. You might be a hotshot 6-figure earner but have you really done all that you can do? No! You can and must do more!

Let’s face it, we’ve been spoiled in life. We’ve been born into enormous opportunity. We’ve been able to make money doing what we love. Over the last four years we’ve watched as our investments have gone up and up and up. We’ve become complacent. We’ve forgotten what it’s like to be hungry, truly hungry.

Here’s what I see today when I speak at seminars, when I read letters from ETR readers, and when I do question-and-answer sessions on our ETR Facebook page.

I see too many people with untapped potential. I see too many experts holding back because they are scared. I see a many great people stuck in small mindsets because they are worried about what others think of them and their BIG ideas.

The SMALL opinions of others are stopping you from becoming your BIG SELF. Do not let this stop you from living a big life.

We need to regain our hunger. We need to Think Big. We need to Man-Up.

You must get out of your comfort zone – no matter how successful you have been – and you must be more than a big fish in a small pond. You must overcome the negative influence of the little opinions of small-minded people. You must play up a level by attending more seminars, investing in coaching, and seeking out mentors. That is how you evolve into your Big Self.

Who is your Big Self? What is your Big Self?

I have Matt Furey to thank for introducing me to my Big Self many years ago.

Your Big Self is the person that you know you can be, but for some reason you are holding yourself back from becoming.

Your Big Self is what you see when you close your eyes and imagine what you could accomplish if you could never fail, when you imagine the success you should already have, when you picture the impact that you know you truly can have in your community, your country, and the world.

Your Big Self is Point B…and you’re stuck at Point A right now.

As the old saying goes, “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor.

It is my challenge to you to look deep inside yourself, re-ignite that burning desire, summon up your highest levels of dissatisfaction with how your business is doing right now, and use that as the fire to fuel your success.

But I am a hypocrite. As I sit here telling you what to do with your life, I realize that I have much to do in my own. I have big goals and dreams that have not been met. Some suffer from procrastination, others from fear. Change, I must. Step-up, I must.

How will I do it? I will do it the same way that you will accomplish your goals. I will become better.

In order to achieve the goals we want to achieve, we must become the person we need to become.”

Like you, I must avoid the little opinions of small-minded people that keep us stuck in a fishbowl of mediocrity when we need to be swimming in the ocean of incredible opportunity. We must step-up and get outside our comfort zones, we must play up a level, and we must surround ourselves with people better than us.

It’s time to Man-Up and become the people we need to become in order to achieve the goals we want to achieve.

Let’s do this. Let’s push harder. Let’s support one another.

Let’s all do what we are all capable of doing.

Here’s to being dissatisfied, to taking action, to becoming your Big Self, to Stepping-Up, and to doing what matters.

Because you are what you do when it counts.

[Ed Note: Craig Ballantyne is the editor of Early to Rise (Join him on Facebook here) and the author of Financial Independence Monthly, a complete blueprint to helping you take control of your financial future with research of proven methods in your career, in your business and in your personal life. He has created a unique system to show gratitude and appreciation to stay on track for these goals each and every day. Click here to follow the exact 5-minute system you can use to improve your life.]