Yesterday morning I woke up to discover that somehow a glass of iced tea had been spilled on the table where my MacBook Pro was and no one thought to look underneath it when they cleaned it up, so my poor MacBook sat in a pool of liquid all night long. Needless to say, when I tried to use it, the screen was black and I couldn’t tell if it was on or off… it just wasn’t working.
This is when most people would FREAK the fuck out. And I even did for a minute too. My first thought was, “Great, I now own a $2,000 brick.”
But then I realized this was just a test from the Universe.
Which meant my next choices and actions were super important. I could either react and make choices based on who I used to be or am currently… meaning freak out, worry, yell, get mad, lose my cool and turn the whole situation into something bigger than it really was.
Or I could act like the 2.0 (aka: next-level) version of myself–the author and business owner I want to be–and I could stay cool and realize that it was time to put my actions where my belief is.
Because I’m always talking about acting as if what you want is already yours. And this was a test from the Universe, challenging me to step into the identity of the 2.0 me.
The business owner and author I want to be makes $50,000+ a month and doesn’t worry about money. Ever.
So if I want to be that person and not keep being the 1.0 version of me, I had to make decisions about what actions to take AS THAT PERSON and not as who I am right now.
The normal, 1.0 action would’ve been to take the computer to a repair place and then wait it out, using my old-ass Dell laptop until I heard back from the shop (that’s exactly what I did last time liquid got spilled on my MacBook Pro). But I realized taking those actions would just continue to hold me in lack thinking and keep me stuck as the 1.0 version of me.
So I asked myself, “what would the $50k a month version of me do?”
My first instinct was to find a computer repair place to take my MacBook Pro, and then go to the Apple store to buy a new MacBook. Because that’s what the $50k a month version of me would do.
Someone who makes $50k a month, every month, doesn’t worry or stress out about money. And they sure as hell don’t drop their computer off at the repair shop and then wait around to see if it’s OK.
They drop it off and go buy a new one. And if the old one gets fixed–great! Now they’ll have two.
I knew that’s exactly what I had to do if I wanted to act as if and show the Universe that I truly am ready to up-level my thinking and my income. It was the only option.
So I dropped my MacBook Pro off at the repair shop. Then I put on my ‘Pump Me Up’ playlist of songs that make me feel super high vibe and drove to the Apple Store to buy a MacBook Air. Paid in full, with cash.
Yes, it was scary to do this. Acting as if sometimes is (OK, a lot of the time it is). Because it requires you to have faith in the unknown and to trust fully that if you take the actions that the up-leveled 2.0 version of you would take that it will come back to you.
And I don’t know about you, but I’m beyond ready to be the 2.0 version of me and along with it, make the income and impact that I dream of making. I’m beyond fed up with lack mentality and am fully ready to bust through to the other side. My actions support that desire.
Here’s the problem that most people have: they think it works the other way around.
Most people think that in order to be the 2.0 version of themselves, they have to sit around waiting for the money and opportunities and success to show up first, so then they can step into the next-level version of themselves.
But it doesn’t work like that.
From my experience and everything I know and have learned about creating your dream life and having everything you want, it requires you to leap… before the net appears. If you keep waiting for the net, you’ll stand on the cliff forever.
It’s in taking the actions in faith that causes the net to appear.
Most people don’t operate that way. And that’s why most people don’t have and won’t ever have all that they want and dream of.
Dreams and achievements require risk. They require pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. They require you to commit to being the 2.0 version of yourself–in whatever way you can–right now.
Otherwise the things you dream of and want for your life will always be “one day” or in the future, but they will never be here and now. They can’t be, because that’s not how it works.
Most people have to see it to believe it, but really you must believe it before you will ever see it. Period. Belief comes first.
And this is why most people live mediocre lives that don’t at all fulfill them or make them happy. Because they’re always waiting.
Until they win the lotto. Until they save up the cash. Until they get all their ducks in a row. Until they feel ready. Until, until, until…
It’s fine if that’s how you want to live your life, waiting “until.” Just know that you’ll be waiting for a long time. Maybe even forever.
But if you want to create your dream life right now and achieve your writing goals and whatever else you want, you can’t wait until. You must take action, every single day, as the 2.0 version of you.
Sometimes that means sitting your ass in a chair every day and doing the writing. Sometimes it means pushing ‘publish’ on that book you’ve been revising forever. Sometimes it means making an investment in something, even when you have no idea how you’ll pay for it.
And sometimes it means ponying up $1,027 cash to buy a new MacBook Air.
The cool part of all of this is, the more you do this, the more you take action and make decisions as the 2.0 version of you, the more money, opportunities and success will show up for you. And it will happen faster and faster the more you do.
Your results will always be in direct proportion to your faith in the unknown and your willingness to jump off the cliff before you can see the net.
When I quit my $70k a year day job in 2012, I had NO CLUE what I’d do or how I’d make money. But I jumped anyhow.
When my husband and I needed to take an unexpected trip from New York to Texas for his grandpa’s funeral, we had no idea how we’d pay for it, but we packed up our stuff, fixed our car and drove to Texas anyhow.
And it’s in doing actions like this and taking risks and having faith that the most magical things that have ever happened to me showed up.
I put in my two-weeks notice at my day job and a few days later I discovered I had $12k built up in my 401(k) that I could take a lump sum of to help me survive until I found a way to make money again. Two weeks later, I got a $1,200 a month freelance project and it grew from there to where I am now.
My husband and I made the decision that we were going to Texas for the funeral, so we packed our bags, fixed our car and canceled all our appointments for the week. A few hours later $2,500 cash showed up unexpectedly in my PayPal account from someone who decided to get off the fence and jump into working with me on their novel.
And I fully 100% believe that NONE of that would’ve happened if I hadn’t first made the decision to act as if I was already the 2.0 version of me and trust that by doing so, it would all work out.
Isn’t it time you started to BE the 2.0 version of you?
Before you’re ready. Before you can afford to. Before it’s convenient.
BEFORE.
Dream life or bust,
#DreamLifeOrBust #DailyThinkDifferent
