Latest / Revolution of Purpose Podcast / Stop Waiting to Be Ready: Take the Step That Becomes You

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Stop Waiting to Be Ready: Take the Step That Becomes You · Revolution of Purpose Podcast

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Welcome to the Revolution of Purpose Podcast. I'm your host, John Streit,
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and each week we bring you conversations with thought leaders, entrepreneurs,
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and individuals who have aligned their life with purpose and
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created extraordinary results. So I'm going to live through it and accept it
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radically with grace and hope and love. I mean,
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I would be proud to be in this council. It was an honor. I had
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so much fun. Tune in every Monday for the Revolution of Purpose solo
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show and every Thursday for Revolution of Purpose Conversations.
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What is that thing that you're going to do when you feel ready?
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Seriously, what is the thing that you know you want to do,
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but you keep telling yourself, I'm just not ready yet?
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Maybe you're waiting to start the business or to have the conversation,
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to make the move, to apply for the opportunity,
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to end something that you know has run its course, or to
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start something that you've been dreaming about for years. Put yourself
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out there. Whatever it is, you've convinced yourself
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that at some point in the future, you're going to wake up and finally
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feel ready. My friends, what if that day never comes?
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Because here's something I've discovered. You don't always feel ready
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before you make the decision. Sometimes you have
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to make the decision, and then the decision creates
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the person. Who becomes ready. Welcome back to the
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Revolution of Purpose podcast. On this solo show, I want to ask
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you about something very specific. Why do you
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stop doing the things you feel like you should do because you just feel like
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you're not ready? So there is this myth of readiness.
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I think we have this idea that before we make the
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big move in our lives, we're supposed to have this overwhelming sense of certainty
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that somehow everything is going to line up.
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The fear is going to disappear. The questions are going to go away.
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And we're going to wake up one morning and think, today is the
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day I have arrived. I am ready. But think
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about some of the biggest decisions that you've ever made.
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Did you always feel ready? Were you really,
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truly ready? Or did you make the decision and then
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you figured out how to become the person capable of living that?
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Because I think that's how transformation actually happens. We don't become
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courageous and then go do courageous things. We do courageous
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things, and through doing those things, we become courageous.
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We don't become confident and then step out into the opportunity.
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No, we step out into the opportunity, and by taking that step,
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the confidence develops because we discover,
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wow, we can really handle this. We don't
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always become ready and then move. Sometimes movement
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is the very thing that makes us ready. So what
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are you really waiting for? I want you to think
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about something right now. What are you waiting to feel ready
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for? And then ask yourself another question. What does ready
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actually mean to you? Does it mean that you're no longer
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afraid? Does it mean that you no longer have to know exactly
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how everything is going to work out? Maybe it means everyone around
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you doesn't have to approve. Does it mean that there's no possibility
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of failure and then you know you're ready? Because if that's what you're waiting for,
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you're going to be waiting forever. There are things
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in my own life that I've stepped into without knowing exactly
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how they were going to turn out. And looking back,
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I can see something now that I could not see then.
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I wasn't supposed to have everything I needed before I started.
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Some of what I needed could only be developed through that
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journey. The confidence, the wisdom,
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the very relationships that brought it about, the resilience,
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the experience, even the clarity. Those things weren't waiting for
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me at the starting line. They were waiting for me along the
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road. And sometimes we don't even fully discover
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who we are until we start moving.
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Let's take Oprah for an example.
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You know, today we know Oprah as one of the most successful and
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influential media personalities in the entire world. But early in her
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television career, Oprah was not yet, well, Oprah,
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not the Oprah that we know today. She was working in
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a small television studio in Baltimore,
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and she was struggling in that traditional anchor role.
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Eventually, she was removed from that evening
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broadcast. Now imagine experiencing that moment
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without knowing the rest of the story, because we have the benefit
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of looking backwards. We know what Oprah became, but she didn't have
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that perspective while she was living it. Think about how easy it
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would have been to interpret that as experience leading to
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the evidence that I'm not good enough. You know, what if she's like, this is
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telling me right here, I'm not cut out for television. What if
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this experience is telling me I was wrong about myself all along?
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But something interesting happened instead. Oprah eventually
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moved into daytime television, and that's
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where the very qualities that didn't necessarily fit the traditional evening
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news anchor role became some of her greatest
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strengths. Her ability to connect, her empathy,
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her curiosity, her willingness to be authentic
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and emotional and vulnerable and present with
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other human beings. And ultimately, that's what helped her discover
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the kind of television she was uniquely equipped to create.
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Here's why I think that matters. Sometimes you don't discover
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who you are by sitting somewhere trying to figure out who you are.
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Sometimes you discover yourself by moving,
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by trying something, by learning, by adjusting, by getting
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rejected, by getting redirected. You discover
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something about yourself that you could not have discovered from the sidelines.
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And here's the mistake that we make. We interpret something that
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it is evidence that we can't do something. It's evidence that we're
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not ready. But sometimes it is not evidence that
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we're not ready. It's just information. It's showing us something.
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When you get that rejection, ask yourself, what is this
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showing me? Maybe this isn't the right room for me.
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Maybe this isn't the right method for me. Maybe this isn't the right expression of
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my gift. But that does not necessarily mean that the gift
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is not there. That's why you've got to be willing to move,
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because clarity often comes through that movement. You take
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a step and you learn something. You take another step and you
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learn something else. And eventually you look around and you realize this
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journey wasn't just taking me somewhere. This journey was
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revealing me to myself. Identity comes
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before the evidence. And this
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is where identity enters this conversation. You know, we talk so much about
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identity on this podcast. If you've listened, you've heard me say your identity
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creates your destiny. And most people want evidence before they're willing
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to change how they see themselves. And they'll say, when the business
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succeeds, then I'll be the entrepreneur. I'll believe in
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myself. Or when people start listening to me, then I'll
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believe that I have something worth saying. Or when I get the opportunity, I will
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believe I'm qualified. When I accomplish that
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goal, I'll finally believe I'm capable.
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But transformation works in the opposite direction.
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You have to begin becoming the person before
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the evidence completely supports it. And that's why one of the foundational ideas
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I teach is be it and you will see it. If you've heard me for
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a while, you've heard me say, I'm not a fan of fake it till
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you make it. I don't believe in that because I believe everything
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we do is an authentic expression of ourselves, and it is so
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sacred and so honest. There's nothing fake about it.
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So instead, I say, be it and you will see it.
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You begin showing up as the person that you're becoming. You begin
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making decisions as that person. You begin speaking
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as that person, and you begin establishing the standards.
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Of that person. You start walking through doors as
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a whole different person. The identity of this person who
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can accomplish your goals, and eventually your external
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reality begins catching up with the internal
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transformation that you've done. And here's something I really
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want you to hear is that the old version of you may never
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feel ready for the life that the new version of you is capable of creating.
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Think about that. You're asking your current identity for
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permission to step into something that requires a new identity.
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Of course it feels uncomfortable. My friends, of course there is
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uncertainty. Of course, part of you says,
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what do you think you're doing? Who do you think you are?
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But maybe the better question is, who do you think you're becoming?
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Please pardon me while I interrupt your podcast episode with a quick message.
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If you're enjoying today's episode, can I ask you one small favor?
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If you're watching on YouTube, just please take a second to hit that little bell
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share it with someone who needs some encouragement today.
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a friend. These simple actions make a tremendous difference in
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the growth of this show. They help these conversations reach
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more people who are searching for hope, searching for purpose,
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searching for practical mindset tools that will transform
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their lives. And if you're looking for even more motivation,
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mindset strategies, and purpose-driven content, I would love
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to connect with you on social media. You can find me on Instagram,
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YouTube, and TikTok @johnstreetofficial. Also, I'm on Facebook
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and LinkedIn. Just search for John Street. And then one last very important
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thing. If you've ever found yourself asking questions like,
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why am I here? Am I living my purpose?
10:40
How do I get unstuck in life? How do I take my
10:44
life to the next level? Then I would love to invite you to
10:48
schedule a free clarity call with me.
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Let me be clear. This is not a sales call. This is not a coaching
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call with someone from my team. This is nothing prerecorded. This is
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a real one-on-one coaching conversation with
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me. And together, we will explore where you are, where you
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want to go, and what may be standing in your way. My goal
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is simply to help you gain greater clarity, direction,
11:14
and momentum in reaching your goals. To connect
11:18
with me, to schedule your clarity call, or to learn more
11:22
about the Revolution of Purpose coaching programs that I offer,
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please visit johnstreet.org Or reach out to
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me on any of the social media platforms I mentioned. And now let's
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get you back to today's episode, because perhaps the
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person that you've been ready and has been waking up every
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morning and getting in your head about how you can't do something
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isn't quite ready yet. And that's okay. You're just not trying
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to stay that same person. You're trying to take a step into becoming.
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Someone different, into becoming the person that's living your goals.
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There are moments when life invites us into something before we feel
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completely equipped for it, and the invitation itself
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becomes part of your transformation. There's another reason
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some people don't feel ready, and this one can be incredibly powerful
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because sometimes we've convinced ourselves that we're too late.
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Sometimes we've told ourselves we don't feel ready because
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we've missed it. We missed the boat. We've waited too long.
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We've gotten too old. Maybe you're listening to this
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and you're 40 years old. Maybe you're 50. Maybe you're 60.
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Maybe you're 70. Maybe you're looking around at people who
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started earlier and then they're doing something similar
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to what you're doing and you're like, I should have done this years ago.
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I've missed my opportunity. How many of you get on social media
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right now and find every 25-year-old saying they're a multimillionaire in their Lamborghini
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and living in their homes in Dubai and the Swiss Alps and you're like,
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how did I miss it? It's too late for me to reinvent myself.
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This dude with a washboard stomach and all these abs
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is telling me that he's so rich with AI and all I know how
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to do with AI is ask ChatGPT what I should have for dinner.
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I just want you to know, if you feel like that's you and you feel
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like you have missed your boat, you have not. Think about Vera
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Wang for a moment. You know, Vera Wang is synonymous with bridal
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fashion, But her dresses are absolutely astounding.
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They're gorgeous. But she didn't spend her 20s building
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the Vera Wang bridal empire. You know, she was a competitive figure
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skater when she was younger, and then she built a successful career in fashion,
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including years working at Vogue and then later Ralph Lauren. And it
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wasn't until the age of 40 years old that
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she entered the bridal design and opened her own bridal
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boutique. She was 40. Now think
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about that through the lens of identity. At 39 years old, the identity the
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world would eventually associate with the name Vera Wang had not
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even emerged yet. That chapter was still ahead of her.
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And I want somebody listening to hear me today when I say this: you
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have no idea what chapter of your story you
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may still be standing in front of. We have created these
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imaginary timelines for ourselves. I should have figured
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this out by 25. I should have known this by 35.
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I should have accomplished this by 40. I should be financially at
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this point by 50. I should have found my purpose
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by now. According to whom? You know,
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who established this deadline for you becoming
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your goal-achieved life? Maybe you aren't behind at all.
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Maybe you're just still becoming. Because everything you've
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lived through up to this point, the successes,
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the disappointments, the careers, the jobs, the relationships,
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the things that worked out and the things that failed spectacularly,
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those things have developed something in you that the next chapter
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requires. Vera Wang did not arrive at 40
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empty-handed. She brought decades of experience
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with her. Her previous chapters weren't wasted simply because they
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weren't the final chapter. And neither are yours.
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That's why I don't want you to sit here thinking, I should have started 10
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years ago. Maybe, maybe you should have, but you didn't.
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And unless somebody listening to this podcast has figured out time travel,
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you can't, you can't go back and do anything about that.
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All we have right now is today. So what
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can you do? Start today. There's that
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old adage, when is the best time to plant a tree? 10 years ago.
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When is the second best time to plant a tree? Today.
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10 years from now, you don't want to be sitting there and saying, I wish
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I had planted that tree. You don't want to be saying, I wish I
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had started 10 years ago. All we have is today. So today
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is the day to make the decision. Today is the moment to decide
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who you are, to allow the shift in your identity, to decide that
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you don't have to be fully ready. To walk into this new
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chapter of your life? The question's not,
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why didn't I do this sooner? The question is,
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who am I willing to become today? And that
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brings me to something else that we've got to understand.
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We have to stop interpreting fear as a stop
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sign, because sometimes fear means this matters
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to me. But I haven't done this before.
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Sometimes fear means I'm stepping beyond the boundaries of the identity
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that I've known. But it doesn't mean you can't create
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that new identity. It doesn't mean you can't be it and see it.
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Fear does not automatically mean that you're going in the wrong direction.
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Sometimes fear shows up precisely because you're finally
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moving. And courage is not the absence of that feeling.
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Courage is the deciding. This feeling doesn't get to
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make the decision for me. And my friends, that is powerful
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because now you don't have to eliminate fear before you move.
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You don't have to manufacture some magical feeling of readiness.
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You simply have to decide who gets to make the decision,
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the person that you've been or the person that you're becoming.
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So let's make this practical. I want you to identify one
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thing that you've been waiting to feel ready for. Not 10 things, but one thing.
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What is one decision that you've been postponing because you don't feel ready?
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And then instead ask yourself, what would the person
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that I'm becoming do next? I didn't
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say what would they accomplish? I said, what would they do next?
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Maybe it's sending that email or making the phone call or signing up for
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that class or starting the first page or posting the video or having the conversation.
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Walking into the room, asking for the opportunity,
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saying yes. Maybe it's saying no. Maybe it's finally
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saying, I'm making myself a priority. You don't
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have to know the next 100 steps. You need enough courage
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for one, because one decision creates
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movement, and that movement creates evidence, which creates confidence,
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and confidence begins changing the way you see yourself.
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That's how the new identity becomes real.
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It's like with Oprah. She couldn't have known where all of those steps were
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eventually going to lead. Vera Wang, at 39,
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one of the chapters that she would become most famous for had not even begun.
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Different stories, but the same principle. Stop waiting to
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feel ready. So here's what I want you to remember today. You may have
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received the feeling that you're waiting for. You may have said,
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I think I have hope to do this. Or you may have heard
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this and said, once again, I just don't think I'm ready, John. You don't
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know me or my situation. Readiness is not always about something
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you feel. Sometimes readiness is something that you
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have to create within yourself, and you create it by moving.
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You create it by deciding. You create it by taking a step
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forward while your voice still shakes a little, by saying yes before
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you know exactly how it's going to happen, by trusting that the
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person you need to become will emerge through the process. Of becoming?
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Your future is not asking you to have everything figured out
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today. It's simply saying, will you take the next best step?
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Because the life you desire is created by the person you become.
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And sometimes you become that person by stepping forward
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before you feel ready. And if you're listening to this today and you're
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thinking, John, I know there's something I need to do, and I know there's something
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more for me. I just don't know what my next decision is,
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that is why I have created the Shift Call Experience.
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Shift is a private mindset coaching experience with me
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built around one simple idea. One new decision can
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change the trajectory of your life. We will look at where you
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are. We will see where you want to go. We will see who you
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are and who you're becoming and what may be standing between those
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two realities. And then together, we'll identify one decision that
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you can begin to put action into your
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life immediately. Because sometimes you don't need another 6 months of thinking.
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You just need a shift in your perspective, a new decision,
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a new way of seeing yourself. And that decision might just be
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the beginning of everything that comes next. So if you'd
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like to experience a Shift Call with me, reach out and
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let's make this happen. You can always go to johnstreet.org
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and sign up for your Shift Call there, or also send me a message with
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the word shift here on YouTube, or if you're listening on your platforms,
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you got like Spotify or Apple or Amazon,
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then you can always send me a message at john@johnstreet.org.
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Just know that you don't have to feel ready to begin.
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Sometimes beginning is how you become ready. I hope
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you enjoyed this episode of the Revolution of Purpose podcast as much as
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I enjoyed giving it to you. I can't wait to see you this Thursday for
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our conversations episode and again next week for another solo.
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I'll see you next time. And in the meantime, continue living your
21:35
revolution of purpose.
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Thank you so much for spending this time with me today. If this
21:42
episode encouraged you, if it challenged you, or if it helped you
21:47
see your life a little bit differently, would you do me a favor?
21:49
Subscribe to the podcast, leave a rating or review,
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and share this episode with someone who needs to hear it.
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Every share helps us reach more people who are searching for hope,
22:01
purpose, and a life of greater meaning.
22:04
And if you're ready to stop wondering what's next and start living with greater
22:08
clarity and purpose in your own life, I would love to meet with
22:12
you personally. Visit johnstreet.org right now to schedule
22:16
your complimentary live purpose and clarity call with me.
22:20
Until next time, remember, your purpose is not something you find.
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It is something you awaken to, and then you choose to
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live it. Go make today another step in your own revolution
22:32
of purpose.