The Best Years of Your Life… Now!

Another cost of greatness will be the effect upon your existing relationships.

Most people define themselves by their relationships.

How their friends, acquaintances and family members “see” them is who they believe they are. This changes as you become self-actualized.

Your friends and acquaintances will become a byproduct of who you believe you are.

You will no longer feel the need to be a “part of a crowd” or to “fit in”.

This will be a radical departure from the norm for many who undertake the journey into personal greatness. So much so, that it’s not unusual for some to feel apprehensive about even considering any change to their current friends and acquaintances. Let me put your fears to rest.

You will find any changes that take place will be a normal natural progression. If you decide that your current friends and acquaintances are a bad influence. You may have to “cut the umbilical cord”. This would be the most extreme situation. In most cases however, one of two things is probably going to happen:

1. Certain friends and acquaintances will turn out to be fully supportive of your desire to do what is necessary for your journey into personal greatness. You may find that they too have embarked upon their own journeys. These relationships will continue and deepen over time. Both of you will discover mutually fascinating aspects of each other as your trust and support becomes the cornerstone of your relationships.

2. You will find that certain friends and acquaintances will react with skepticism, question your motives and your approach or will be offended that you somehow think you are better than they are! Pay attention, this can happen on a subtle level or be very obvious.

It’s hard to believe that people who you now consider to be your friends or acquaintances could be offended at your desire to better yourself.

It’s a fact!

It will surprise you who (if any) will have this reaction. You see, your personal determination and decision to take a journey into being the best that you can be is a direct threat to those who have decided (for whatever reason) that the life they are now living is as good as it’s going to get. You are in essence telling them that you have decided that there is more that you want to discover…that you want more out of life.

The “oh you think you’re better than me” reaction is more common than you think.

Overtime as you become more familiar with the infinite degrees of personal greatness you are capable of achieving, you will begin to recognize those individuals who have “given up”. What you may also find is that they also recognize you as someone who has not “given up”. You may without any intent on your part, become an intimidating reminder of their own lack of desire and determination to better themselves. Your energy and enthusiasm is overwhelming. Your light is too powerful for those who cover and subdue their own.

What I’m saying here is this: If you embark upon a journey into personal greatness your friends and acquaintances are going to change over time! They will be replaced wonderful new relationships with like-minded individuals. You will have the kind of people in your life who will enhance and empower you. This is a good thing!

The “others” who see you as a threat to their own “world view” will remove themselves from your life. Just don’t be surprised at who it is or when it happens…because it will!

-Bob Baran

There are several costs which equal the total price of greatness. Being misunderstood is one of them.

The unique manner you use imagination, intellect and emotions often falls out of the “normal” steps of logic most people use. They simply don’t “see” how you arrived at your conclusions. Therefore, your thinking is faulty. The problem is always with you, not the inability to expand their own thinking.

Because they can’t “think out of the box” they assume anything that doesn’t fit into the box must be wrong. Being misunderstood is the result.

On the other hand, the first thing a creative thinker comes to realize is that by its’ very definition, a “box” is always limited in size and ultimate functionality. Which means any thinking taking place within that box is always forcing the thinker to obey its’ finite options. This keeps the thinker trapped inside the box.

You will find yourself alone

it only stands to reason that you will find yourself “alone” while working through your creative process. Trying to explain yourself before you are able to manifest your dreams can be fraught with confusion (on the part of others) which results in your being misunderstood. I learned this the hard way when I was in the commercial audio production business.

As one of the top 50 radio producers in the United States (I’m on the List of Recommended Creative Resources of the National Association of Broadcasters) I was often called upon to create new, original music and jingles. Early on I came to realize that you can’t expose a Client to your creative process. Putting a few rough instrumental tracks together in order to illustrate “where you are going with a musical idea” was always a nightmare.

They never “heard” or could “see” where I was going with the music. All they could hear and see was the literal manifestation of the incomplete musical idea I played for them! No matter how I set up the presentation, the first reaction would always be something like: “That’s not how it’s going to sound is it?”

My solution was simple: I let them hear it when it was 95% completed instead of 15% completed! No degree of “imagine this here or that there” will ever replace “what do you think of this!”

A bird in the hand is worth two in the imagination

Being misunderstood has a way of magically changing itself into one of your having “vision”. That is when you begin to manifest your dreams. Suddenly you find yourself labeled a “visionary” by the same people who initially misunderstood or outright rejected your (new) way of thinking.

Remember: People are not going to question the inability to use their imagination. They are going to question your ability. So to keep the overall cost of achieving your personal greatness under control, keep your creative process to yourself. Share it only with those who understand it and support you.

The far more expensive cost to you is to doubt yourself and thereby abandon your creative process. Trust yourself and get something done. You can always “edit” and tweak it later. Having “a bird in your hand” always sings the praises of your visionary undertaking… Quite loudly!

It’s hard to doubt what you can see, feel, hear and touch…

-Bob Baran

This is the first posting under “The price of Greatness”.

This will begin a series of posts appearing during the coming weeks and months. It will be an ongoing blog that has to do with the real cost of personal greatness.

It also directly links to what Gwen and I are trying to achieve with The Intentional Prosperity™ System Life Coaching Program. Helping you to achieve the greatness you are striving for.

I was inspired today from an article about Steve Jobs (Apple). It was about the history of the iphone. Of course the first part of the the story dealt with the extremes of emotion his staff went through during the “creative process” that ultimately led to the final successful product. Which brings up an important point:

The price of greatness means any endeavor that does not test every aspect of your imagination, intellect and emotions, is not transforming you… from where you are to where you want to be.

If anyone tells you different, it’s because they haven’t accomplished much in their own lives…or they would know better.

It’s very easy to emulate what has already been done. On the other hand, creating something that is new, original and unique is a statement of who you are and what you believe. This is very different than repeating or duplicating what has already been done. What you accomplish becomes a reflection of who you are. Not you simply repeating what someone else has already done (for their reasons and their dreams).

The world is full of imitators.

Imitators take the already traveled road because its the one that’s already paved. These are individuals who don’t want to pay the price of greatness. Ironically, even though the road may be paved they tend to stumble, fall and ultimately fail. The reason: It’s a very crowded highway. Full of other imitators! Each one copying everybody else.

All taking place while the originator of the highway is busy being focused on creating the next stretch of road.

There is a part of you that is original, unique and waiting to be expressed. It is your genuine self… Your true self and the source of your unique creative process. A way of imagining, thinking and doing things that is unique only to you. Living life from your true self always makes amazing things possible.

You are a “one of a kind”. Nobody else has had your experiences or uses the imagination, intellect and emotions the way you do. This means creating your life’s journey, from your genuine self, will always result in an original, unique, self-constructed road…A road that is a byproduct of the journey you take for your reasons…in order to accomplish your dreams.

“The price of greatness is a life well lived”

-Bob Baran