Words can’t express how excited I am today.

Today is the official launch of DontSettle.org – a new project I’ve been working on.

Over the past couple of months, you might have noticed the phrase “Don’t Settle” creeping into this site’s blog posts and (eventually) onto it’s own page. The slow release of the message has been intentional. You see, I’ve known that those two words have resonated with me because I live my life by them. My wife Lisa and I make decisions with that phrase in mind. We ask ourselves if, in the course of choosing a particular path, we would be “settling” for average or mediocre. If so, we don’t do it.

What I didn’t know, however, is if “Don’t Settle” would resonate with others. To find out, I could have written a big blog post called “Don’t Settle” but I chose not to (until now) because I wanted to see if the message cut through. Did those two words scream louder in the minds and hearts of readers more than any of the other words surrounding them?

The answer has been a resounding “Yes!”

As a result, I’m launching DontSettle.org. The site will be focused on equipping and empowering you to create a life you don’t want to escape from – to build a life in which you DON’T SETTLE. There are a lot of things planned for the next few months and I would like to invite you join the DON’T SETTLE movement.

The site is young and it’s early in the process – but what better time to get involved? The message can only spread and the community can only grow with your help. And that’s what I’d like to ask you for.

How You Can Help

If you’re ready to join the DON’T SETTLE movement and create a life you don’t want to escape from, there are a few ways to get involved and help:

1. Visit DontSettle.org and subscribe the RSS feed or subscribe via email. (If you’re reading this via email, you’ll have to visit the site directly.)
2. Join DON’T SETTLE on Facebook and then invite your friends to join us.
3. Friend up DON’T SETTLE on Twitter and tweet about the site. (Click here to make that really easy.)
4. Share the site on your favorite bookmarking website (StumbleUpon, Delicious, Digg, Reddit, etc.)
5. Let me know what you’d like to see from the site. How can I help you on your journey to live a life in which you DON’T SETTLE?
6. Consider guest posting. If you’re a blogger, or if you feel like you have something to add, visit the site’s Guest Post page to find out how to contribute.

Your encouragement and support has been so valuable to me and I can’t build this next phase without your help. It would mean a tremendous amount to me and to the lives of others if you would help spread the word using one or more of the methods above.

A Quick Note on the Future of TravisRobertson.com

TravisRobertson.com isn’t going anywhere. In fact, I’ve got some great new things planned for it. I will continue to post 2-3 times per week here and I will be introducing some new content (and content types) over the coming months.

The primary focus for TravisRobertson.com will continue to be small business strategy, entrepreneurship, and leadership. They are the core elements that have built this site and I intend to develop those themes more fully.

As a result, there are simply a lot of topics that don’t fit within the defined scope of this site and needed a home. I had to choose whether I would expand the scope of TravisRobertson.com or if it was time to launch something different. After much consideration and counsel from others, I decided to create DontSettle.org.

Share Your Thoughts

I’d love to hear your thoughts either on this site or on DontSettle.org about the new direction. What would you like to see from both sites moving forward? How can I better serve you?

Thanks again for everything!

DON’T SETTLE!
Travis

“We should have captured this on video!”

That was the first thing out of our mouths when it was all over. Sure, the world would have seen me and my brother screaming like little girls at a Justin Beiber concert. But it would have made for great video.

It all started a few weeks ago when I noticed a number of wasps flying around in our backyard. At first, I didn’t think much of it. But then they started showing up in our house.

My wife, Lisa, and I couldn’t figure out where they were coming from. We just knew that it was a problem. So I walked the perimeter of the house and looked for a nest. I checked the trees, I checked underneath a balcony, I even looked at our neighbors homes just to be safe – nothing. Just a bunch of wasps with no nest in sight.

So we went back to suffering with a problem we had no clue how to fix.

A few days later, my brother came over to watch football with me. We were enjoying the Titans game when a wasp flew out of the fireplace into the room. It turns out they had built a nest in our chimney.

Now, I really only know two facts about wasps:

1. Wasps don’t like their nests messed with.
2. Wasps sting.

However, I don’t like my nest messed with either and they were annoying me and my lovely wife. It was time to fix the problem.

My brother and I evaluated our three options:

1. Call the landlord and let her deal with. Given that it was Sunday, we knew it would take a day or two to get it resolved.
2. Call an exterminator and send the bill to the landlord. Again, tough to find an exterminator on Sunday during football season.
3. Light a fire. This seemed the obvious option. After all, what could go wrong?

We grabbed one of those quick-start logs, placed it in the fireplace, grabbed a couple of rolled-up magazines as backup weaponry, opened the flue and quickly lit a fire.

All hell broke loose. Wasps started dropping into the fireplace. Roughly eight of them escaped. My brother and I ran around the room like banshees trying to swat them without getting stung. It was awesome.

Now, I can’t say that lighting a fire is the approved method for removing wasps from your chimney – but it worked.

And I learned seven valuable lessons for dealing with problems in your life – let’s take a look!

Lesson #1 – Problems Usually Start Small

A wasp here, a wasp there. Just kill it and move on.

An upset client here, an upset client there. No big deal. You can’t please everyone, right?

Sometimes it really is no big deal. Other times, there’s a problem you’re not seeing that needs to be fixed before it grows into a nightmare. If you can catch it when it’s small, you can save a lot of time, money, and headaches.

If something seems amiss, it probably is. Pause for a second to evaluate whether the signs you’re seeing point to a larger unseen problem before dismissing it.

Lesson #2 – Problems Don’t Go Away on Their Own

If you recognize there’s a problem, don’t expect it to go away on it’s own.

Maybe it’s a problem employee. Maybe it’s a problem client. Maybe it’s a problem with your processes. Whatever it is, don’t expect the problem to right itself without your involvement. Be proactive.

Lesson #3 – Determine the Source of the Problem

Knowing that there’s a problem and knowing the cause of the problem are two different things.

I knew we had a wasp problem. What I didn’t know was what was causing the problem which meant that I couldn’t fix it. Simply saying, “We have a problem,” is usually stating the obvious. Work at trying to find the source of the problem and don’t just treat the symptoms.

It may take a bit of time before the problem becomes evident. Keep at it – it’s not always obvious.

Lesson #4 – Evaluate the Possible Solutions

Every problem generally has a range of possible solutions. Work through them before making a decision. Weigh the pros and cons of each and discuss them as a team where necessary. Seek the advice of others.

Before lighting a fire, we sought the advice of those who came before us. We Googled “wasp nest in chimney.” Also, remember that some decisions shouldn’t take a long time. As in our situation, sometimes the best choice is obvious.

Lesson #5 – Keep Fear in Perspective

Were we afraid of getting stung? Yep. But it seemed worse to live with an entire nest of wasps in our chimney and run the risk of being attacked while waiting for someone else to fix the problem.

In reality, we knew that if we could get the fire started quickly and keep escapees to a minimum, the risk would be a lot smaller than hundreds of live wasps that could continue to venture into the house. We put the fear into perspective.

Make sure that you’re more concerned about not fixing a problem than you are of the short-term conflict involved in the resolution.

Lesson #6 – Just Light the Fire

In other words, get it over with quickly. Very few people like conflict so they try to avoid it for as long as possible. Remember Lesson #2. Problems don’t go away on their own.

If you know the right course of action, don’t delay the inevitable. Just light the fire and deal with the fall out. It won’t get any easier if you put it off.

Lesson #7 – Revisit the Problem Area Frequently to Prevent a Recurrence

Apparently, wasps aren’t smart. They built a nest in a chimney. I assumed that after the first fire they learned their lesson. However, the next day, I noticed a few flying outside the chimney.

As a result of not wanting to give them any ground to start over, we continued to light fires every few days. The wasps have now moved on to another location and I don’t have to think about the problem very often. However, had I only lit that one fire, it’s possible they would have returned. We had to apply consistent pressure for a while to make sure the problem was really gone.

Do You Have Wasps in Your Chimney?

Problems are going to arise in business and in life. It’s not a matter of if, but when. Just follow the steps above and you’ll be able to quickly address and fix them before they become disasters.

And one more thing: capture it on video.

Share Your Thoughts

How do you deal with problems? Do you see any steps missing from the list? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Photo Credit: Samucs

I’ve had an insanely busy week. As a result, I’ve completely dropped the ball on writing a blog post this week. When I sat down to write, I was reminded of a question I heard recently.

The question?

What would you do in your life if you were absolutely confident that you would succeed?

And then it hit me. This is a great opportunity to try an idea I’ve had for a while – an open discussion. I spend a lot of time on this blog expounding on ideas. That makes sense since it’s my blog.

But what I really love is the dialogue and the conversation with you. So I want us to try an open discussion in the comments around a single question. It could bomb since it’s possible nobody will respond, but who cares? I also don’t know how often we’ll do these. However, this week seems like a great week to try it.

So, in the comment section at the bottom of this page, answer this question: What would you do in your life if you were absolutely confident that you would succeed? It could be anything. Just have at it – no restrictions.

To get the party kicked off, here’s my answer:

I would stop procrastinating on an e-book I’ve been working on and get it finished. I believe it can and will succeed, I’m just in the self-doubt phase of the project where I question everything about it. This is also why I have a team of fellow entrepreneurs I meet with on a weekly basis to hold my feet to the fire. I’ll no doubt hear about this on Monday.

What would you do?

Photo credit: Stuck In Customs

“How’s it going?” I asked my dad as I entered the garage. He’d spent all morning cleaning it out so we could pull the boats in for the winter.

“Oh, fine,” he replied sounding exasperated and tired. “Look at this,” he continued holding up some tool that appeared to be either some type of hand saw or a torture device.

“What is it?” I asked. Anybody who knows me also knows that I’m the least handy person in the world. It’s actually a joke among friends and family. I usually ask my wife Lisa to fix stuff. Or my brother if he’s in the area.

“I don’t know. It looks like some sort of hand saw,” he said making the motion he assumed one would make if using the thing. “It was one of my dad’s tools.” He looked at it a second longer, chuckled half-heartedly, then tossed the saw into a bucket that was piled with more tools I couldn’t name (let alone use).

He must have seen me staring at the bucket because he went on to tell me that he was finally going through all of his dad’s tools and would either find someone to gift them to or he’d just throw them out.

It wasn’t until later that evening, in a conversation with my mom, that the gravity of this struck me. She explained that, as a kid, my dad wasn’t allowed to touch these tools. Doing so would elicit a beating. Even as an adult, my grandfather wasn’t fond of him going near them. Now, five or so years after my grandfather’s death, my dad was touching the very things that were so important to his dad – but he was getting rid of them.

This was part of the legacy my grandfather left. I loved my grandfather, but this is a lousy legacy.

Will Your Legacy Fit in a Trash Can?

I wrestled with this thought over the following days. I actually outlined this post a couple of weeks ago – two days after this conversation. But I’ve been sitting on it because it’s so personal. And painful.

And important.

You see, we all leave a legacy. Some are painful. Some are sad. Others are forgettable. A select few are great. My dad’s legacy will be great.

I also want to leave a great legacy – one that can’t be piled into a bucket and thrown away. But great legacies don’t just happen. Great legacies are made through intentional dreaming, turned into goals, which then lead to action.

If you don’t intentionally create your legacy, what you leave to your kids and grandkids will be little more than a collection of “things” that fit in a trash can and act as a reminder to people of a life not lived with purpose and intention.

If you’re still breathing, it’s not too late to change the legacy you’ll leave behind. We can’t undo the past, but we can take responsibility for it and take corrective and deliberate action for the future.

So what are the warning signs that you’re creating a legacy that will end up in a trash can?

Warning #1 – You Think Your Legacy is About You

You’re going to die. If your legacy is about you, it will die with you. Leaving a legacy is about impacting the lives of those you come in contact with (for better or worse) so that they carry a part of you forward. The sooner you understand that legacy is about relationships, the more time you will have to impact the relationships that matter most.

I’ve ranked mine as follows: Lisa (wife), kids (whenever they come – it’s a placeholder ), parents, family, friends, business partners/clients/audience. The steps I take to make a positive impact on those relationships will vary. But one thing is for sure, if at any point those relationships become about me, I will cease building a legacy that’s great.

Warning #2 – You Don’t Begin With the End

In his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey wrote, “Begin with the end in mind.” This is sound advice for those who want to leave a great legacy. Most people never spend time thinking about how they want to be remembered by the ones they most cared about after they’re gone.

But this is exactly where you need to start. What do you want your spouse to remember about you? What about your kids? Your friends? Your business partners and clients? The list goes on. If you don’t know how you want to be remembered, you won’t know where you’re going and how to get there.

A map is useless without a destination.

Warning #3 – You Don’t Honestly Evaluate Where You Are

A map is also useless if you don’t know where you are – even if you do know where you want to go. This takes a level of self-honesty that most people find too painful. If you’re not willing to take an honest look at the mistakes you’ve made and the person you are, you’ll never become the person you say you want to be.

This also isn’t about piling on the shame and guilt. It’s about admitting where you’ve fallen short, asking for forgiveness where necessary, and making different decisions moving forward. Some people will have longer roads to travel than others. However, the reward for those who do this step is greater than you can imagine.

Warning #4 – You Don’t Create Goals

If you don’t have goals, you won’t leave a great legacy. Once you know where you want to go and where you are, you have to create goals that will get you to your destination.

There is a vast difference between dreams and goals. Dreams usually sound like this: “One day, I hope to start my own business.” I’m sorry, but, “hope” doesn’t get you anywhere – action does. Businesses don’t just happen. Legacies don’t just happen. Relationships don’t just happen. Money doesn’t just materialize in the bank. You have to make it happen.

So what are you doing to make things happen?

Goals are actionable steps you can measure that move you closer to your dream. You need to always have a set of goals that you’re working on every day. Then constantly review and update them to make sure they’re still in alignment with what you ultimately want out of life.

Warning #5 – You Don’t Take Risks

Creating a great legacy will require taking some risks. I’m not necessarily referring to skydiving or entrepreneurship – though these are certainly fine risks for some people. I’m talking about risks that are personal to you. Books aren’t written about people who “played it safe.” Stories aren’t told at family reunions about “safe” Uncle Joe. Yet so many people play it safe.

Why? Because of fear. What we fail to realize is that there is healthy fear and unhealthy fear. If we don’t distinguish one from the other, we act as if all fear is the same. It’s not.

Fear can be a good thing. Hold a gun to my head, and I’ll be afraid. Hold a gun to Lisa’s head, and I’ll be afraid. In these types of situations, fear is a healthy response intended to heighten our senses and keep us alive.

Unfortunately, fear also pops up every time I’m about to hit “Publish” on one of my blog posts. Every. Single. Time. What if nobody likes my post? What if nobody reads it? What if it causes everyone to unsubscribe? I’ll never get another chance. And on and on it goes. This is irrational and unhealthy fear that many call F.E.A.R. – False Evidence Appearing Real.

I don’t know who coined the acronym, but I love what Brian Clark wrote about F.E.A.R. is his post titled Is F.E.A.R. Holding You Back?:

F.E.A.R. is an illusion. Something we fabricate in our own minds and pretend is real. It’s a fairy tale we tell ourselves that keeps us from doing what we really want.

Did you catch that? It keeps us from doing what we really want. We often use F.E.A.R. as a signal for what we shouldn’t do rather than as an indicator for precisely what we should do. In reality, we’re confusing the feelings of fear and anxiety. What you’re really feeling when you think you feel fear is anxiety.

I don’t know if that feeling ever goes away. I know that, for me, it hasn’t. Truthfully, I kind of hope it doesn’t. Not because I enjoy the feeling (I don’t). But because it reminds me that I’m pushing myself and testing my limits. And that’s what real risk is – the kind that allows you to build a great legacy. If you continue to push and test your limits in spite of the F.E.A.R., you will be that much closer to leaving a legacy you can be proud of.

Warning #6 – You Settle

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you may have noticed a phrase appearing in more of my posts. The phrase? “Don’t Settle.” In fact, it’s now become my mission statement for this blog and for my life. My goal is to help people get to the point in their lives where they don’t settle any longer for a mediocre and average existence. We were created for a purpose. We were created to do great things.

Unfortunately, too many of us settle for far less than what we’re capable of. It’s easier to settle. It’s easier to give in to the F.E.A.R. It’s difficult to wake up and live every day and evaluate every decision with the idea that you won’t settle.

But it’s what you must do if you want to leave a legacy that is great.

Your spouse, your kids, your friends, and your legacy are waiting on you to fight for them. They want you to be great. Don’t Settle.

Late last week, my wife Lisa came down with some cold/flu thing so we swung by our nearest Redbox to pick up a movie. What we ended up with is the ultra chick-flick “Letters to Juliet.” Other than being your typical, predictable film, it was cute.

Then something unexpected happened. Toward the end of the movie, one of the characters said something that knocked me upside the head:

“What” and “if” are two words as non-threatening as words can be. But, put them together side-by-side and they have the power to haunt you for the rest of your life.

If you want to create a life you’re proud of, build a legacy, and live a life with few regrets, you need to wrestle with the “What if” questions right now. Here’s a tip: read them as if you’re at the end of your life looking back. Then ask yourself what you can change in your life today. I’ve broken them into categories to make it easier to think about the different areas of your life.

Warning: You will ask these questions eventually. Better now than when it’s too late to do anything about them.

Career
What if you started that business you dreamed about for years?
What if you made your living doing something that made you feel alive?
What if money were no object? What would you do?
What if you could answer that question with, “I’m already doing it”?
What if your unemployment was really just an opportunity to try something new?
What if you didn’t accept that “this is how life works”?
What if you didn’t spend 2 weeks each year escaping from the work you do the other 50?
What if you found a job that combined your strengths and passions?
What if you spent less time in front of the TV?

Risk/Fear
What if you didn’t care what other people thought of you?
What if you acted in spite of your fear?
What if you said “Yes” when fear told you to say “No”?
What if you said “No” when fear told you to say “Yes”?
What if you didn’t quit?
What if you did quit?
What if you failed knowing that at least you tried?
What if you didn’t fail?
What if you didn’t learn from your failures?
What if they laughed at you?
What if they gave you a standing ovation?
What if you tried out for that team or applied for that position?
What if they say no?
What if they say yes?

Relationships/Family
What if you worked as hard on your marriage as you do in your job?
What if you spent more time with your kids and less time with your work?
What if you made the phrase “I love you” part of your daily life?
What if you called your parents more often?
What if you said, “I’m sorry”?
What if you said, “I forgive you”?
What if you said, “Thank you”?
What if you did something unexpected for someone you love, just because?
What if you did something for someone who couldn’t give you anything in return?
What if your memories were filled with more laughter than tears?
What if you cared as much about others as you do about yourself?

Health
What if you exercised just 20 minutes each day?
What if you quit smoking?
What if you lost weight?
What if you ate better?

Finances
What if you had no debt?
What if you spent less money?
What if you saved more money?
What if you gave more of your money?
What if you cut up your credit cards and consumed less?
What if you paid for things with only cash?
What if you didn’t measure your success by how much money you made or stuff you had?

Spirituality
What if you prayed more and worried less?
What if there is a God?
What if that God loves you?

Live Without Regrets

What if you could do it all over again?
What if these questions weren’t filled with regrets?

What if you got to the end of your life and never wondered, “What if?”

It’s better to ask, answer, and act on the “What if” questions now rather than wait until you’re older or until you’re told you have just a short time to live. We can’t go back and change what’s been done. But we can learn from the past and change how we move forward.

Don’t settle. Don’t accept status quo. Don’t wonder, “What if…?” It takes courage. But your family, your friends, the world, and your legacy are waiting on you to live with courage.

Photo courtesy of fadedmilkyway

What makes a great leader? Is it an MBA or the title of President of the United States? Is a great leader born with certain personality traits? Do they develop certain skills that anyone could learn?

Do I have what it takes to be a great leader? Do you?

If you look back through history, you will find that great leaders do not all share the same set of skills or personality traits. You may find a lot who were talented speakers. Others possessed spectacular minds. Some were unexpected leaders like Harriet Tubman who shocked the world with their bold actions.

Being a great leader is not about skills or personality traits. While your skills and personality traits will impact how you lead, great leadership is much more than that.

Being a great leader is about heart. If you study the great leaders throughout history, you will find that they shared five qualities. These five qualities are not the only qualities of a great leader. However, they are five qualities that every great leader possessed.

Quality #1 – Great Leaders Care Deeply About a Group of People

Behind every movement, every cause, and every vision is a group of people who need help. Great leaders don’t see a cause – they see a child dying of a preventable disease or an abused woman who needs compassion and help to break free from an abuser and begin a new life.

Great leaders don’t see employees. They see individuals who have dreams, goals, families to support, and a desire to be valued. They see people who deep down want to make a difference in the world and who want to matter.

Great leaders see people not as what they are, but as who they can become. Then great leaders make it their vision to see those people transformed.

Quality #2 – Great Leaders Are Deeply Passionate About Justice

Great leaders possess a strong sense of right and wrong. They believe that injustice must never be tolerated. More often than not, it is this deep-seated sense of justice that spurs them to their initial actions.

They have a vision for what their world could be as opposed to what it is. It is the closing of this gap that motivates them.

Quality #3 – Great Leaders Confront Fear and Take Risks

It is impossible to be a great leader without fear and risk. If it were possible, anyone could do it. It’s easy to see great leaders as fearless men and women filled with a supernatural courage. But this is not at all accurate.

It’s not the lack of fear that makes a leader great. It’s acting in spite of the fear that makes them great. Risk will always involve fear and it is the presence of fear that paralyzes so many of us. Only those who acknowledge the fear and still choose to act can hope for greatness.

Quality #4 – Great Leaders Don’t Need A Title

Too often, we buy into the lie that to be a great leader requires a position of influence. We think being a great leader requires the title of CEO, vice president, pastor, team leader, etc. What we fail to remember is that people who hold those positions were great leaders before getting them.

Great leaders believe they can make a difference without a title. They don’t see titles as prerequisites for leadership. They understand that people don’t follow titles – people follow passionate leaders who believe in them and inspire them to greatness.

Quality #5 – Great Leaders Recognize Their Dependence on Others

It’s easy to look at a great leader and perceive them as above the movement and people they led. However, great leaders doesn’t view themselves in the same light. Instead, they think of themselves as a component of the movement. Great leaders recognize that they are fully dependent on others to see out their vision.

Consequently, great leaders inspire others to greatness. Martin Luther King inspired a generation. Winston Churchill and Teddy Roosevelt inspired nations to greatness. A movement has to be greater than the leader if it hopes to survive since leaders come and go.

Bonus Quality – Great Leaders Are People of Character

Originally, I wasn’t going to add this one in. Not all great leaders have been people of character. You can have all of the above and not have character. When that happens, evil generally results. Let me give you an example: Adolf Hitler. Hitler was an evil man. However, he was also a great leader. Hitler possessed all of the above qualities but they were born out of a heart that desired evil.

If attaching the word “great” to Hitler makes you uncomfortable, I’m thankful. It should. It should also make it clear to you that there is a vast difference between great leadership and Great Leadership.

True greatness is more than just the ability to get people to buy into your vision. True greatness is about leading people into a vision born out of character and integrity. It is ultimately your character that determines whether you will be a great leader or a Great Leader.

That’s also why many of those whom we consider great leaders were people of faith. Their faith instilled in them the character which directed the above qualities.

Share Your Thoughts

What do you think it takes to be a great leader? Who do you think of when you hear the term “Great Leader”? Are there Great Leaders in your life? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

In 1519, Captain Hernán Cortés landed in Veracruz to begin his great conquest. Upon arriving, he gave the order to his men to burn the ships. As I imagine it, someone then laughed and Cortés promptly thrust his sword into the man’s chest. After which, the rest proceeded to get hammered on rum by the glow of the blaze. Almost like a bloodier version of The Pirates of the Caribbean with Cortés played by Johnny Depp.

Here’s the lesson: Retreat is easy when you have the option.

Let that ruminate in your brain for a moment. I had to.

We all cling to something that acts as our escape hatch or our exit strategy (in the negative connotation). It’s our safety net “just in case…” What we fail to do is honestly complete that sentence. We lie to ourselves. If we were honest, we would say, “This is my safety net just in case I get scared.”

We postpone action until we no longer feel fear. Either that, or our actions are shallow attempts never designed to succeed. In reality, we must learn to act decisively in spite of our fear.

Burning Things that “Make Sense”

“That doesn’t makes sense.” We love that phrase. We love to hide behind it. We tell ourselves that certain things don’t make sense. It would have “made sense” for Cortés to keep a ship or two if not his entire fleet. But Cortés was on a mission and he knew that the only way to keep himself or his men from quitting on the mission was to take that option off the table.

What Cortés did was force himself and his men to either succeed or die. Retreat was not an option. I believe that to truly achieve the level of success we each desire, there are times when we need to “burn the ships.”

The question we have to ask ourselves is this: What are my ships? What am I afraid to let go of?

I can’t answer that question for you, but I can give you some areas to consider as you ponder the question, “What ships do I need to burn in my life?” Take a look at them, then feel free to add your own in the comments below.

As you consider each one, if it jumps out at you, ask yourself why. What is it that makes it hard to burn? Is it a false sense of obligation to it? Is it fear of the unknown? Is it fear of being perceived as a failure? What is it?

• Your Current Job – Are you afraid of trying something new? Are you comfortable? Are you convinced that this is as good as it gets?
• Your Field of Employment – Have you been dreaming of a career change? Does every ounce of your work drain you? Are you a people person stuck behind a computer screen? This is one I had to wrestle with.
• A Bad Business Deal – Why is it a bad deal? Why can’t you let it go? Do you feel obligated to the relationship?
• An Unrealistic Dream – Sometimes this is the toughest one to spot. I enjoy watching TV shows like American Idol because you get a chance to see people who are willing to put it all on the line in front of a national audience for their dreams. During the tryout rounds, you’ll witness as people who are ill-prepared give what they believe to be a stellar performance. Unfortunately, they don’t recognize the lack of skill in themselves. It’s sad because they are neither willing to put the work into accomplishing their dreams nor willing to modify them accordingly. Instead of dreams they have fantasies and that is a sad state for anyone to live in.

What are other “ships” that often need to be burned? What “ships” have you burned? How did it feel at the time? How does it feel now?