All in

I’ve been thinking about the advice we are sometimes given by well meaning parents, teachers and members of the general public. ‘Don’t put all your eggs in one basket’, ‘have something to fall back on’, ‘get a balanced education’, ‘don’t rock the boat’. Obviously this is coming from a place of protection and concern and is also reflective of their individual experiences growing up in a very different world.

But has anyone ever achieved greatness in any field by moderating themselves? You tend to hear more success stories about people going all in. Sacrifices, late nights, putting in the 10,000 hours, all the rappers who, started from the bottom now we’re here. Started from the bottom now my whole team here (making it rain). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RubBzkZzpUA

Why not go all in? Either you win or you learn and you can’t bubble wrap yourself against life. Up until recently I would’ve given the same advice. Go for the stable job, don’t rush into a relationship, stay in school kids! But life’s not a straight line of school-uni-job-retire anymore. The jobs of the future don’t even exist yet and the technology is developing so fast my head is spinning like a top!

We all have dreams of being Drake-like but how can we go from the behind the safety railing of a cliff, to the edge of a cliff, to leaping off the cliff and tolerating a bit of free fall before our parachute opens.

A clear vision: What is it that you actually want? If you put in a ‘whatever’ order to the universe (or pizza hut) then you might get an all anchovy pizza that arrives cold in the morning when what you actually wanted was a piping hot margherita at 7pm. You need to get specific on what you dream is. A stack of hundreds to ‘make it rain’? A different job? An all anchovy boyfriend? Once you’ve got a clear vision in your mind palace, you can take steps towards it.

Face those fears: If things are scary, we tend to try and avoid them and get into a cycle of trying to outrun them and they snowball. Much better to stop still, look them in the eye and shout, ‘you have no power-over-me-power-over-me-power over me’ like Labyrinth. Sob! David Bowie! https://youtu.be/NQh-VDcpkyw

You can do this using EFT (emotional freedom technique-youtube Brad Yates) . “Even though I’m scared my parachute won’t open, I love and forgive myself” or writing about it.

90 year old you: Imagine the advice your 90 year old self would give you. ‘Stop watching Drake on YouTube and write a blog featuring Drake God damn it Yvette!’ Wow. I’m one sassy Grandma. But imagining yourself in the future is helpful to putting your current fears and hesitations into perspective. So dream big, face your fears and get some perspective. And remember these words for Drake (See older me? It was research! ) ‘Sometimes it’s the journey that teaches you a lot about your destination’.

Love and light and word to your mother x Yvette