Why do I own these boots?
Why on Earth do I own these boots?
News flash...those aren’t palm trees. And that white stuff is three feet of snow.
Why does this Angeleno now own a pair of snow boots that goes halfway up my leg? Let me see if I can explain...
When it became clear that the Los Angeles Philharmonic was not going back to work anytime soon, my first reaction was to panic.
How will I sustain myself and my family? How will I pay the bills? How will I put food on the table?
That was not a fun couple of weeks.
But then the dust settled, and I started relearning a lesson I’ve been learning over and over again throughout my entire life...panicked minds make bad decisions. So I calmed down, got some perspective, and took stock of my situation.
Almost everything I needed to do (outside of playing in the orchestra), had moved online. My kids’ school, their cello and violin lessons, even their karate school moved to online remote learning.
And what about Honesty Pill coaching? Happily, all of my clients we’re already used to meeting me online for group programs, one-on-one coaching and live events.
We started thinking about the idea of temporarily relocating—maybe even having an adventure of some kind. And we ended up in a tiny little town in southern Colorado called Pagosa Springs. We even found a brand new house in the middle of the woods near a lake that was for rent. (Fun fact...Pagosa is a lot cheaper than Los Angeles. Shocking, I know...)
So we took a leap. We put half of our things in storage, packed up the rest and, as a friend put it, “peaced-out to Colorado”.
So, why am I showing you pictures of my boots? Why am I telling you about moving to a house in the middle of the woods?
Maybe I just want to highlight a Covid Silver Lining, or maybe I just want to get you thinking about what might be possible right now. Or maybe I’m just trying to highlight the fact that even during something horrific like a global pandemic, there are still silver linings...
...if you look for them.
Here’s my question for you...what does YOUR Pagosa Springs look like? What would you do if anything was possible? And what’s holding you back?
I’m actually not going to give you permission to make excuses and tell me all of the reasons why this or that can’t happen. Focusing on the limiting assumptions and the reality of “what is” is exactly the type of fixed mindset that keeps us stuck right where we are.
“We have enough people who tell it like it is. Now we could use a few who tell it like it could be.”
~Robert Orben, (from Barbara Stanny’s book, Overcoming Underearning)
What is the cost of you dreaming big? And more to the point, what is the cost of you NOT dreaming big??
Homework: Take out a piece of paper or a journal, take out a pen, pour yourself a cup of coffee, and write down exactly what you’d love to see happen in the next six months of your life. Pretend everything you write down on this paper will magically come true. What did you write?
Then spend some time focusing energy on that every day. Rewrite that list every day. Put it somewhere you can see it. Tape it to the wall next to your computer.
What we focus on grows. That goes for the things we DON’T want too...
OK. The snow is still falling here so I’m going to go shovel the driveway again. But when I get back inside, I can’t wait to read your responses to this message. Make a declaration, make a post, send an email. Put your dream out there and then activate it.
What is your Pagosa Springs?
