“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've imagined.
As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler.”
Henry David Thoreau
Author, poet, philosopher
Today, I’m going to be spending the day with one of my heroes, Seth Godin. I’m really excited, because Seth was the person who inspired me to grow a tribe. He’s the visionary pioneer who coined the terms “idea virus” and “relationship marketing”, so I thought I’d write today’s article about the pioneering power that exists within each one of us, including you!
Your pioneering power (aka your authentic direction) is a reflection of the source of wisdom and intelligence that’s there in every human being. It shows up in your attraction to the things you would do even if you weren't getting paid to do them. It's the stuff that fascinates you; that you feel drawn to. Here’s an example: I've been fascinated with the mind, with changework and with the process of change for many years, but in 2007 and 2008, I was feeling pretty directionless. I had a lot on my mind and I was trying to figure out my purpose; my new direction. The more I tried to figure it out, the more I couldn't see what it was, so I took a learning detour for a while and started learning about the principles behind clarity. A few months into it, I had an insight; a new thought. I went to bed on a Saturday night and when I went to bed, I would have sworn that I didn't know what my direction was. Here's the thing, I would've sworn that I didn't know what my direction was, but I was at a mastermind group learning about the inside out nature of life. You could argue, "Jamie, given what you're doing now, maybe you did have a pretty good idea what your direction was." I would have to agree with you. I just wasn't consciously aware of it, or I was too busy telling myself I didn't know what it was to notice that I was right there doing it.
Anyway, I went to bed with a story playing in my head, "I don't know what my direction is." I woke up the next day. When I woke up, I knew, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that the principles that we're talking about (the principles behind the clarity, the inside out nature of life) that this represents the future of psychology. That was a huge surprise to me to suddenly know that. I called up Nikki who runs our business and I said, "Nikki, we're getting out of the NLP business. We're heading in a new direction." When I first got back to the UK after this insight, I started making videos and putting them up on YouTube. I was just talking about what I'd seen and what I was passionate about, and what I was learning, and what I wanted to share with people. At the time, it was scary because I’d been teaching a completely different approach and then all of a sudden I'm talking about this new paradigm, this new psychology that was coming into the world.
It felt strange. I felt like a lone voice in my community which was looking at a very different direction. That took some courage and it took the willingness to be criticized, but I knew it was the right thing to do. I was willing to "take that risk." As I look back at it now, it doesn't seem like much of a risk, but at the time it was scary. What really did something for me, is (from time to time) falling out of that and seeing that my feelings weren't letting me know about my circumstances. They're not letting you know about how people are going to respond to your video or your blog. They're not letting you know about the future or the past or other people. Your feelings are giving you feedback on the principle of thought taking form in the moment. As you see that more and more clearly, then what you realize is that the things that sometimes inhibit our leadership abilities are really just our own misunderstandings, our own tendency to believe that the world works in a way that it doesn't work. The world never works outside in, but we have the power to believe it does. Then we get tricked into it and we hang out there for a while and then we fall out of it.
And here’s the thing: sometimes, when you fall out of your outside-in thinking, you get a “pioneering insight”; a glimpse of the future. I'm not saying you're actually looking into the future, it's just a glimpse of what's possible for you in life. Part of your job as a leader, as I see it anyway, is to speak those visions, to have the courage of your convictions and speak them. Speak them into the world and then act on them.
So back in 2009, I started speaking my vision, and it felt strange. But I was convinced of the authenticity of these insights so I kept sharing them. One of the things I said was that it was only a matter of time before a celeb picked up on these principles, then the whole game would change. Well, a few days ago, Paris Hilton shared a photograph with her 5 million instagram followers of her on a plane with the Little Book of Clarity next to her. Six years ago, something like this was just a dream, and now it’s a reality. As Thoreau once said, “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've imagined. As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler.”
Learning the principles behind clarity has simplified my life and brought empowered my dreams. Every day, I see it doing the same thing for my friends, colleagues and clients. Boldness carries its own credibility; has its own power. I salute the pioneering spirit that lives within you!
To your increasing clarity
Big love
Jamie
PS I’m looking for 24 very specific people for Phase 1 of my latest secret project. Here’s who I’m looking for…
– You have been deeply touched by the principles behind clarity and see these principles as the future of psychology and humanity
– You have at least two years’ experience of working with paying clients and of having a profound and meaningful impact
– You are inspired to “make a dent in the universe”, and are committed to being a pioneer with this understanding
– You are a self-motivated action-taker AND you want to spend time with other visionaries who are grounded in this understanding
– You are willing to step up and play a much bigger game at short notice (even if it involves a big jump in your visibility Eg. TV interviews, Speaking at Large Conferences, National Newspapers etc)
– You can keep a secret
If that’s you, then just email me at info@jamiesmart.com, and let me know where you’re located and a little about yourself (if you don’t know what to tell me about, look at the list above for inspiration). NB: Make the subject line “Project Pankhurst JST”. I’ll be choosing people in the next few weeks. Talk to you soon! J