Who inspires you?

My youngest son was born in 14 minutes.

The cord was wrapped around his neck three times, so I didn’t really have a choice about the speed at which he needed to arrive. It gave the phrase ‘do or die’ some significance.

The nurse plopped him on my chest for about 1.5 seconds before whisking him off to the NICU.

He’s 15 now and fine.

But the way he arrived into this world set the tone for nearly every day of his existence since then.

Something inside guides him to do what the rest of us don’t. Or what we believe we can’t. Do or die.

I talk about him pretty frequently in my private community, MORE. And it occurred to me today that while it’s far from abnormal to brag about your kid, it is highly unusual to use a 15 year old as an example for how to do life. (Particularly in a community of women.)

So what makes him so special? Why should anyone who isn’t his mother see inspiration?

I could wax poetic about his accomplishments in sports and academics all day. And yes, they would blow your mind. But that’s not it by half.

Skill can be learned. Knowledge can be attained. Those are available to all of us.

The things that surprise me most come from some place else entirely.

He doesn’t ask if he is too big or small, too slow or fast, too smart or not at all.

He doesn’t wonder if he will be loved if he is free.

He doesn’t ask what the world wants from him or of him.

He doesn’t stop unfolding to make other people comfortable.

He just decides what he wants to achieve and then makes it happen.

He works on it until it’s complete to his standards, never asking anyone else if it’s good enough. He relies on an internal barometer to measure self-worth – and nothing and no one can stop him (I’ve tried) until he has reached what he’s after.

It’s all very uncomplicated.

Prioritize. Clarify. Move.

See more happy? Go be it.

Perhaps the most inspiring thing the boy does is to remind me that we are all capable of living this way: Comfortable in our skin, pursuing our passion and feeling great, if we can only let go of expectations in favor of our hearts.

Who inspires you and why?

Use the comments.

An open letter to Simon Sinek…

Just like you, I wake up every day inspiring people to do what inspires them.

I know you’re on a mission to create a new industry to show people how to help others. (I’ve seen the memes and videos about wanting a “Help Others” section in bookstores.)

My question is: What if the answer to helping others IS self-help?

Doing good feels good.
And when you feel good, you do more good.
More and more empathy comes when you feel good.
It’s an upward spiral of feel-good chemicals.

In fact, your TEDTalk and your highly successful programs all came from your own journey of self-help.

You’ve spoken about how pretending to be happy, hating your life (though you had things that “should” make you happy), led to depression and isolation.

You took an inward journey to find your passion again. Your WHY.

 And that thing you discovered became something to help other people with — but it was born out of you helping yourself. 

I imagine a world where everyone does exactly that.

I see self-help and development as the way to elevate us all. It changes the world.

Happy people make other people happy. Fact.

We are far more effective at sharing, giving and inspiring when we FEEL GOOD.

When we’re not pretending. Not feeling isolated and alone.

When we finally understand that self-help and self-care are not selfish, but actually SELFLESS.

Help yourself and you make a true and lasting impact on everyone else with that beautiful ripple effect.

In one of your videos, you spoke about how you want a world where people wake up happy every day, looking forward to going to work and coming home fulfilled.

I submit that fulfillment is an inside job. It starts and ends inside each of us.

The fact is you and I do the same work.

My job is helping people be the best version of themselves because it makes a happier planet. It frees people.

And people who feel good do good.

You said people take more risks and get more creative when they have trust.

What about learning to trust yourself?

What about getting so comfortable in your skin that you know you can handle anything?

What about knowing that whatever the world gives you, you can stand in who you are?

What about knowing you are enough?

Happy people make people happy.
People who feel good do good.
Helping yourself helps the planet.

Isn’t that inspiring as hell?

I’d love to chat with you about this.

– Becky