We are half way through the conference. The theme is shaken, not stirred (very James Bondish, we are in London after all).
Some of the lessons I have taken away so far are also very Bond-like. The first two speakers have spoken about getting out of our heads because what we are thinking about just leads us down a spiral and we do not think of the possibilities that exist.
When you are stuck, you choose how you want to think about the situation. We can choose to be positive and see possibilities, or we can choose to be negative and spiral into negativity.
Think about a day when you woke up and knew the world was going to be your oyster. How did your day go? Now think of a day when you woke up and felt like crap. How did your day go? What changed? It was, after all, only a thought. You control the thought to have a great day or not.
When you have positive thoughts, you are powerful, you are in the zone. Most people have a voice in their head that is there to protect them and make them feel safe. Sometimes it is good to listen to it, but most of the time it is better to free the voice that is being suppressed by the safety voice.
Our Deepest Fear by Marianne Williamson shows us our possibility.
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness
That most frightens us.
We ask ourselves
Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God. Your playing small
Does not serve the world.
There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking
So that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, As children do.
We were born to make manifest The glory of God that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us; It’s in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,
We unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we’re liberated from our own fear,
Our presence automatically liberates others.
What are your thoughts?
Have a great weekend.
—Vijay
About Friday Food for Thought (FFfT)
I frequently attend conferences and retreats on entrepreneurship and leadership and while I am away, the J2 team picks up the slack, allowing me to learn to be better at what I do. I wanted to share what I was learning with my team, so I created the weekly FFfT emails in November of 2015 and have been writing them ever since.
Before long, the J2 staff began sharing the FFfT emails with their friends and family and now other leaders have asked to be included, which led to the creation of this newsletter. I hope you enjoy!