Developing a Better You

Tag: Lisa McMann (Page 2 of 2)

RISK = The Price of the Life You Really Want

We’re a family of artists. My wife Lisa is an author, our son Kilian is an illustrator/graphic designer, our daughter Kennedy is an actor, and I’m a musician. These are typically not stable career paths. One thing I’ve learned in watching each of us follow our dreams is that you have to take risks in order to have the life you really want.

Today, Lisa is a New York Times bestselling author of twenty-two books and counting, but there was a time when she quit her job to try to make it as a writer and made no money for two years. When she did sell her first book for a relatively small amount, we rolled the dice again and invested that money back into promoting her career versus improving our standard of living.

Kilian has made a name for himself as a highly talented designer for the craft beer industry. I recently attended his highly popular class called Design With Beer In Mind, a part of Design Week Sacramento, that he envisioned, organized, and taught in. Kilian is loving the freedom and creativity his position affords him, but it came with a big risk. A year ago, he quit his secure job to go freelance and lived off his savings while he hustled to get his desired career off the ground.

Kennedy recently landed her dream job starring as Nancy Drew on a television series coming to the CW network this fall. But for a very uncertain shot at playing that highly coveted role, she took the risk of turning down a supporting part on another show that was guaranteed to air, even knowing that Nancy Drew might never get picked up for a series.

Having the life you really want requires risk. Your dreams won’t be handed to you. Planning, preparation, and hard work are all important, but at some point, you’ll be standing on the edge of a cliff. The life you desire will be just on the other side of a big gap. To reach it, you have to make the leap. You might make it. You might fall short. The only way to know is to jump.

That’s a risk I’ve recently taken. I left a comfortable, secure job as a musician to try to make it as a writer. My first manuscript secured me a top agent which I’m thrilled about, but so far, I have a growing list of rejections from publishers. Will I ever make it as an author? Will the risk pay off? I’m not sure yet. But either way, I’m glad I took the leap. Whatever happens, I’ll never have to live with, “What if?”

So how about you? What does your dream life look like? What risks would you have to take to make it a reality? Are you willing to take them? Visualize the life you want. Plan and prepare for it. Do the work. And when the time comes, take a deep breath, screw up your courage, and jump. If you do, you’ll take another step toward Becoming Yourself.

The Santa Affect: 3 Simple Ways to Give Where You Get

Give and Get: Santa PuppyGiving is supposed to be a selfless act. I get it. But if you’re like me, sometimes it helps to have a little extra motivation to give. Here are three simple ways to give where you get something in return.

1. TIME – when we give our time to help others it sweetens the time we spend on ourselves.

Give and Get: Time ClockWhen I volunteer my time at Furnishing Dignity, an awesome local organization that provides free furniture for people transitioning from homelessness, I honestly don’t always feel like fighting traffic to get to the warehouse by 7:30 am. And hauling heavy couches up to 2nd floor apartments isn’t at the top of my fun list either. But those sacrifices buy me a smile from a single mom whose apartment was empty 30 minutes ago that is now completely furnished. I arrive home reminded of how beautiful my house is and how fortunate I am. I enjoy and appreciate my life so much more when I give some of my time to help others.

A NEXT STEP: check out volunteermatch.org for volunteer opportunities in your area (you can sort by area of interest and commitment level)

2. TALENTS – when we share our talents with others we encourage them to share theirs with us.

Give and Get: Talent SkillsOne of my favorite jobs as my wife Lisa McMann’s assistant is sorting her fan mail. She’s an amazing NY Times bestselling author of 19 books and counting. Many of the letters she gets are from kids who thank her for sharing her talent for writing and tell her that she has inspired them to write their own stories. Her office wall is covered with drawings kids have made of her characters. An author’s life is not an easy one. I’ve had a front row seat for over a decade of her rejection letters, harsh critics, high-pressure deadlines and brutal tour schedules. But she loves it and has a gift. She fights through all the hard stuff to share her talent with others. And she gets a lot of love and joy in return. Your talents may not get you fan letters but if you can find a way to use them to help others, I bet you will be appreciated. And you just might find yourself on the receiving end of someones else’s gifts.

A NEXT STEP: think of one way you can use a talent you have to brighten someone’s day and knock it out this week.

3. TREASURE – when we give money to others in need, we appreciate the money we keep all the more.

Give and Get: Water BuffaloOne of my favorite Christmas traditions is giving everyone in our family money that they can donate to the charity of their choice. I keep a selection of those charity requests we get in the mail and spread them on the floor. It’s so fun to watch everyone choose where they’re going to give and share why it’s important to them. One year we combined our money and bought a poor family in Thailand their own water buffalo through Heifer International. I still remember the quote we received about the impact of a gift like that from a farmer who received one: “If I die, my family will mourn. If our water buffalo dies, my family will starve.” That will put your Christmas into perspective really quickly.

The church where I sing and play guitar did this in a big way recently when the lead pastor encouraged the attenders to put their love into action by sponsoring an impoverished child in Columbia. By the end of the weekend, the people of the church had sponsored every single child Compassion International had in their database for the entire country! Over 11,000 kids sponsored in a single weekend (it’s a really big church). Choose to give some of your treasure away and I’m guessing you and your family will be much more content no matter what gifts are under the tree this year.

A NEXT STEP: use charitynavigator.org to find a charity you can trust

So how about it? What’s one way you can give some of your time, talent, or treasure this week? Do it because there are people all around you who could really use what you have to give. And for that extra motivation, do it because you’ll get a lot in return. If you do, you’ll take another great step toward Becoming Yourself.

The TV Commercial That Changed My Life – Part 2

In my last post, The TV Commercial That Changed My Life – Part 1, I told how an ad for the app LetGo motivated me to do some much needed purging and organization of my stuff. While the perks of the decluttering were substantial, I wrote that the real breakthrough came when I realized that this lesson on the benefits of letting go applied to my whole life. So here’s the next part of the story…

My wife Lisa and I are recent empty nesters. We’re in our late 40s and live near Phoenix, AZ. Our son Kilian graduated college last year and is living on his own as a graphic designer in California. Our daughter Kennedy is a senior in college in Pittsburgh with plans to move to New York City after graduation to continue her acting career. For years Lisa and I have dreamed of pursuing our love of travel once the kids were on their own. Now that they are, and thanks to Lisa’s job as a successful novelist, we are fortunate enough to have the means and the flexibility to do it.

But, until recently, something was holding us back – my job. As a music pastor on staff at a church, something I’ve done for 25 years, I needed to be in town most of the time for meetings, rehearsals and weekend services. That made the kind of travel we wanted to do impossible. I also had a growing itch, what I would even say was a sense of calling from God, to pursue writing, something I’ve had a passion for since I was a kid but never chased after. My job, in that form, was preventing us from pursuing those dreams. I knew that but I couldn’t let it go.

Cue my wife Lisa. She has this annoying habit of knowing what’s best for me before I do. About six months ago, we were once again talking about how one day I would cut back at work to allow us to live out our dreams of traveling and both of us writing. Finally she just asked me the question I needed to hear: “What are you waiting for?”

I was pinned and I knew it. So I did what any mature, intellectually honest adult would do: I backpedalled. I rationalized. I made excuses. She patiently listened to me for an hour as I threw up my meager defenses and slogged through my conflicted feelings. Then I finally got clarity on my hesitation to do this thing we’ve both dreamed of for so long – I was afraid of letting go. I said I was afraid of the financial impact (reality – thanks to her career, we had the margin). I said I was afraid of not doing meaningful work (reality – I could still do music for the church at a reduced rate and start writing). I said I was afraid of losing the relationships I had with the people I work with (reality – I could still see those friends on the weekends and attend meetings when I chose to). But really it came down to me being afraid of letting go. Of letting go of something that had been meaningful, comfortable and a big part of my identity for so long.

After that conversation, and a little more processing and prayer, I went in and spoke to my boss. I explained where I was at and what I wanted to do – move from a staff role to an independent contractor, cut the number of weekends per year I was on stage in half and no longer attend meetings. He could not have been more understanding and supportive. He said he could make it work. I walked out of that meeting feeling like an elephant had stopped hitching a ride on my shoulders. I was unbelievably excited about the future and the question that kept blazing through my mind was “Why I did I wait so long to let go?”

So I’m on a new adventure. With the time I’ve saved since my job status change this past July, I’ve started this blog and am working on a novel. As I write this, Lisa and I are sitting in an Airbnb in California on a three week trip to visit our son, escape the Phoenix heat and write. I am LOVING my new life!

What things in your life do you need to let go of? That extra commitment that’s exhausting you? A job? A relationship? Something that served you well for a time but whose season has ended? What excuses are you making that keep you holding on tight? What fears do you need to pry from your subconscious and lay against reality? What roadblock are you clinging to that’s keeping you from your living your dreams? My challenge and encouragement to you is this – let it go. When you do, you’ll take another giant step toward Becoming Yourself.

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