Introduction:
Becoming the Storm
Power is the capacity to create intended results. So, based on this mundane definition, how powerful are you? How often do you actually get what you genuinely want by doing what you commonly do?
It’s only natural that we don’t all expect the same things from life. Also, different people pursue different strategies, hoping they’ll produce the kind of outcomes they’re looking for. Some people believe that having a prestigious career that puts them in charge and supports an opulent lifestyle qualifies them as powerful. Others try to ensure their happiness by avoiding whatever makes them feel uncomfortable or incapable, even when doing so severely limits their scope of action. And, some of us are confident that true power isn’t so much about wielding outer reality, but rather about striving to become the person we deliberately choose to be.
In my experience, quite a few people are willing to admit that their current premises about what it takes to live well don’t always work in their favor. On the cruise of life, the occasional headwind is to be expected. Should that headwind ever turn into a hurricane, things can get messy. Most of us have experienced situations when the storm of life has gotten the better of us, be it in minor or major ways. Then again, strengthening our ability to withstand the storm has perks and limitations. Even the steadiest rock cannot control the raging surf, let alone rule over the natural forces that move the waves. Ultimately, true power isn’t about resisting. It’s about Becoming the Storm.
You’ll need to decide for yourself if you have what it takes to evolve into the kind of person who translates this concept into action. In one-on-one coaching, I work with clients who have no interest in being average. To the best of my knowledge, most of my readers also fall into that category. Needless to say, so do I. Getting rid of the burden of a normality-driven mindset is one of the most pivotal steps I’ve ever taken. From my experience, the regular person spends far too much time doing things that numb their common sense. Moreover, too many people try to escape mediocrity by honing their ability to break through barriers headfirst, only to find out that this causes frequent headaches. When your day-to-day sucks, in one respect or another, what you conclude from this situation matters. There’s no point in merely embracing the suck and getting on with life. I want you to own the suck, transcend beyond it, and never experience it again. This is what Becoming the Storm can teach you.
Redesign Your Mindset
Individuals who are more successful than most people as well as focused on making a meaningful difference tend to quickly resonate with the concept of Becoming the Storm. An outcome-focused person who cares about the value they create is usually fine with setting high-impact goals. Chances are, they don’t like taking unnecessary detours. Therefore, they’re are willing to put in the necessary time and energy to be both effective and efficient. And, they’re at peace with being seen as an outlier who does things differently than pretty much anyone else.
Such a person considers financial freedom, prosperity and overall success to be important. But also, they strive to make the world a better place for themselves, their loved ones, their clients or customers, and all of humanity. To become better at what they do, they’re up for unveiling their blind spots. They’re determined to constantly upgrade their skillset, expand their perspectives, and fully commit to reaching their goals on terms that they find truly agreeable. So, they’re open for changing whatever they need to change, about themselves, their perspectives on life, their environment, and their ways of operation in the world. To them, the idea of Becoming the Storm might be an new concept at first. But they usually like the sound of it even before they have a complete understanding of what it entails.
Becoming the Storm means taking control of the seemingly uncontrollable. To get there, you need to choose your own beliefs based on their potential to support you in creating, attracting, and allowing for the outcomes you want. But also, you need to be willing to reject, outsmart, or let go of any convictions that hold you back. Most people don’t necessarily believe what is true, but rather what keeps them within their comfort zone. In fact, “familiarity zone” would be a much more accurate term, given that many of the habitual emotions we experience while hiding under our personal “security blanket” or wearing one of our social masks aren’t as comforting as we’d like.
Neuroscience tells us that our unconscious mind functions as an autopilot run by emotional programs meant to keep us “safe”. So, when people say things like, “I cannot do that” or “This is not who I am” they aren’t telling the truth. They’re telling a reality that keeps them from identifying with whatever their unconscious mind perceives as a threat. More often than not, they avoid taking appropriate action, even in situations when they’re confident that doing so would get them desired outcomes in ways that are fully aligned with their core values. Instead, they keep reinforcing an interpretation of reality that, in one way or another, holds them back. Deep down, avoiding what they want makes them feel secure.
A Force of Nature
Leading life from within one’s comfort zone doesn’t necessarily imply feeling actually comfortable, let alone shunning all risks. It means following habitual patterns of thought and behavior that we associate with stability and continuity. In this sense, it means avoiding emotions that are more frightening or unsettling to us than whatever we experience already.
A person who works 80 hours per week, suffers from constant stress, and frequently takes risks that allow them to succeed in business might feel exhausted and even unhappy. Still, they can be blind to the fact that this is what their comfort zone looks like. They might not realize that they’re only superficially self-aware, emotionally closed-off, and largely incapable to connect with other human beings on a deep level. So, for them, leaving their comfort zone could mean doing what’s necessary to save their marriage, taking care of their health, being a more perceptive and influential leader, or figuring out how to get access to dimensions of human experience that they haven’t even begun to understand.
Regardless of what your day-to-day reality and comfort zone look like, becoming the storm in your own life means turning yourself into the most challenging while also constructive force of influence you can be. It means strategically enabling yourself to do what’s necessary to reach your full potential when it comes to individual freedom, financial success, relationships, health, self-actualization, and whatever else genuinely matters to you.
It also means ditching the compromises and quitting the habit of reiterating all the excellent reasons you have for not making wiser decisions in certain areas of your life. It means accepting that this will make others perceive you as a disruptive force in their lives as well, which they will either be grateful for or use as a pretext to complain. It means developing skills and using strategies that set you apart from those who constantly seek approval or recognition from others while relying on mainstream thinking as a point of reference and safety net. Ultimately, it means becoming unstoppable by developing a mindset that makes it easy to live on your own terms, without fooling yourself or sugarcoating your perception of reality.
Every single chapter you’re about to read describes a different facet of Becoming the Storm. In this sense, this whole book is all about answering a most intriguing question: How powerful can you be? Or rather, how powerful will you allow yourself to be?
