I’m currently reading “The Think Big Manifesto” by Michael Port
Think you can’t change your life (and the world)? Think again.
He uses the above quote from Henry Thoreau and then challenges you with a few questions:
1) What are your castles? (your massive stretch goals)
2) What do you value above all else?
3) What is the last thing you would give up and why?
4) What do you dream of?
5) What is your perfect world?
I used to always skip answering questions in books because it felt awkward, slowed down my pace of reading, and took thought. Things changed when I realized that the goal shouldn’t be just to finish the book but to learn from it. Now, unless the questions are really Lame-O or don’t apply (ie. how did it feel to give birth or something like that), I try to take a few minutes to answer with the first things that come to mind.
Here’s what I answered to the above:
1) The Armoury brand and system having a worldwide impact
2) Character, wisdom, family, health
3) The Armoury location and opportunity it provides to coach and make an impact
4) Speaking & positively impacting a million lives (or more)
5) A world where everybody is fit, strong, healthy, & jacked. If the average person had a higher level of strength (both physically & mentally) it would massively impact the world. If I don’t do my part to turn the tide (even just a little bit) both in my community & worldwide then I’m failing to fully leverage my purpose, gifts, & passions.
There you have it, that’s what I wrote.
This literally took me two minutes to do during my morning reading ritual. It helped give me renewed clarity and motivation to make the most of this day and appreciate the opportunity to help people get a little bit stronger.
What are your castles? (ie. your big goals and dreams? They should feel scary or even embarrassing to utter)
Do you dare do this exercise? (note: it doesn’t count to just think about it, you actually need to write your answers down on paper)
It’s tough to end up with a castle in the sky if you’ve never considered what yours is.
This makes it more likely you end up with a shed that is very much on the ground in place of what could have been your castle in the sky. Build castles not sheds,
Matt
