Be Where You Are

As entrepreneurs, it's easy to want to be further along than we are. To want to be more successful, have more clients, make more money. And that desire is great. But it's really really important that we enjoy and appreciate where we are. In fact, that we want to be where we are, right now.

Because this is the only now that exists. And if today you want to be 3 steps ahead of where you are, guess where you'll want to be when you're 3 steps further than today? That's right, you'll want to be another 3 steps ahead. So you can live your life in a perpetual state of not-quite-there-yet, not-quite-enough.

And that place sucks. Trust me, I've lived there most of my life.

But it's not just that it sucks. It's also that you're going to take much longer to actually take those next three steps, because it's like you're running in quicksand or out in the air. If you are not really where you are, then you cannot take the steps that you need to take right where you are to get to the next destination.

So today, really take a realistic look at where you are, and find the gratitude for that. Know that the universe doesn't make any mistakes. The place you're in today is perfect for the part that you've been elected to play. Really appreciate and enjoy it. Savor it, even.

And from that place, look at what you really want to do. What would be the most effective, the most enjoyable, the most powerful, the most invigorating, the most frightening, the most alive step for you to take. Then lovingly take that step, and see where it leads.

Not being where you are is a sinister form of self-hate. It's a way of avoiding confronting that part of you that feels not okay because you are where you are, because you are who you are. But that exact part is the part that you need to really get involved in order to get to the next step.

I like to ask my clients to imagine they're going to be stuck in this exact place for the next 20 years. What would they need to change about how they feel about themselves in order to be okay with that. That's your clue to what needs to be loved, what needs to be accepted.

This is not just entrepreneurs. This is an epidemic. I remember years ago seeing a study that said that most american, regardless of their income level, thought they'd be satisfied if they earned just  about 10% more. Turns out that's an illusion. The only way to be satisfied is to be satisfied right now.

So see if you, just for a week, can practice being supremely satisfied with yourself and everything in your life, all the time.

Give it a shot. See what happens. Report back.