Start. Through this book, we’ve gone on a journey together, and you’re only getting started. It’s your time—to create, to grow, and to expand. No more waiting, no more sitting on the sidelines, and no more analysis.
You know where you’re headed in life, and now you have a strategic plan of attack. Using the 1% Rule, you can now take powerful dreams and ambitions and move forward every single day.
If you don’t start now, this becomes entertainment. Or worse, it becomes another piece of material that sounded powerful, yet didn’t turn into real-world results. Each time you create a new insight or gain an awareness of what’s possible in your life and don’t execute, you lose the life force within you required to truly believe.
Don’t take it lightly. It’s your time.
No matter where you’re starting today and how disconnected you may feel from your vision, no matter what your general outlook on your life is, everything can change in the span of a few months.
Whatever you do, get off the sidelines and into the arena. Put yourself in the game of life and watch how everything changes once you go from the stands into the game. Not only will your vision and possibility shift, you’ll change the way you walk into a room, hold space in a conversation, and see the world. There is an unmistakable energy associated with living your path and dreams out loud in a world telling you what to do and how to do it.
It’s easy to be a critic and to use your own inability to move the needle forward on your vision to attack others playing the game. However, time will pass and one day you’ll wake up wondering why you spent your entire life watching someone else live out their dreams. Because no matter what happens on the field, they’ve won.
You won’t learn invaluable skills when you’re on the sidelines. You won’t change your mindset. You won’t sharpen your craft and your confidence watching others. You won’t create this inner belief of fortitude that only comes with self-reliance. You won’t create your masterpiece if someone else is painting the brush strokes. Only you can, and there is no more waiting, there is no more time.
Take a moment and take yourself to the end of your life. We have no idea how or when it’s going to happen, but we all know it will happen at some point. Imagine your last few breaths, surrounded by the people you love, the people you’ve created a life with.
Look around, and smile. As you do, ask a simple question:
Did I do everything I could in this experience of life, given all the gifts I’ve been blessed with?
This is not an answer you can fake in the moment, and you wouldn’t want to anyway. Mortality cuts right to the truth, and you’ll know how to answer. Sure, this is a little extreme and it’s fabricated. But I’m often asked what drives me so much in life. People will ask me how I’m so ambitious and inspired, and I’ll often reply:
How could you not be so driven and inspired? Don’t you know that this experience is a gift?
As we mentioned earlier, your why must make you emotional and compel you to action. Personally, my why is deeply rooted in knowing time is finite, and I need to do everything I can to maximize the gifts I’ve been given. You too have been given countless gifts. No matter what your story is, what challenges you’ve faced, you’re here, and you have a story to tell unlike any other.
It is a tragic thing to waste potential, and you and I have so much of it. It’s within us, calling us to extract it and give it to the world, to serve ourselves through serving others. Don’t waste your potential, because when you drop the narratives and stories you’ve been creating, you recognize the truth: you are so much more powerful than you give yourself credit for.
I hope this is the last personal development and success book you ever read. Okay—not really. But I do hope you put it into action in such a way that you finally create the momentum you’ve been waiting for. I hope I meet you one day and you tell me about all the results you created. Not for my ego, but because you did the work. You realized your time is now and chose to stop waiting.
You don’t have to wait for another New Year’s or your next birthday to come around—it’s time right now. Every moment you put off is another moment where the resistance wins and continues to pile up victories. Remember, the resistance wants to keep you small. The resistance wants to distract you from your dreams or tell you that you’re not good enough. It wants to keep you chasing certifications in business to stop you from actually launching. It thrives on throwing you off course when you see your soul mate, and it tells you he or she is too busy in the coffee line. It loves when you click submit on a new program or course and then ask for a refund because it’s not the perfect timing. Every time you let the resistance win, it comes at the expense of your self-trust. The great news is, your next opportunity to overcome the resistance is right now.
Even though it’s technically never too late to get started, life gives us windows of opportunity. These windows are where magic is created, and the right conditions are thriving and ready. The seeds have been planted, the right amount of water and nutrients have been absorbed through the soil, and the sunlight has been bountiful.
In other words, it’s time. The window of opportunity exists right now. If you wait, it may not be available to you any longer, at least not in the current capacity and format. Years ago, when I chose to extract myself from the East Coast environment and start a new life out West, I knew I only had a certain window of opportunity. If I didn’t take the leap at that moment, I knew I’d be stuck forever.
I would have found an anchor to hold me there and would have rationalized why moving across the country and leaving everything I’d known in search of meaning wasn’t a good idea. I would have given in to staying, and waiting, and then I never would have taken the leap.
Taking the leap is much like going skydiving—once you decide to go, you need to register as fast as possible. Because let’s face it, jumping out of a perfectly good airplane is an idea we can easily talk ourselves out of.
We can blame the timing, our busy schedules, the insane level of fear. We can search Google for horror stories and accidents. We can say the weather isn’t right, anything to keep us from taking the leap of faith. Every time I’ve jumped out of an airplane, I wanted to back out at the last moment, but I’ve pushed through the resistance.
Once you’re climbing to 15,000 feet, there’s nowhere to go. It’s actually much less nerve-wracking at that point, because there are no other options available. It’s you, the pilot, and the other jumpers, and there’s only one way down: straight out and through.
There’s no hack.
There’s no shortcut.
There’s no turning back.
This level of trust required can be terrifying, yet exhilarating at the same time. The moment we let go and our hands come free and we realize we’re dropping at 120 miles per hour, the world opens up.
It opens up because you made a bold decision in the moment and didn’t let fear win. When you’re bold, the world will respect you and open itself up to you.
But you’ve got to choose it—right here, right now.
NOTHING WILL CHANGE IF YOU DON’T
We’ve all met the person who talks a big game and tells us their world-changing intentions over and over. How they’re going to quit their job and start their dream business, launch a six-figure sales funnel, and get in the best shape of their lives.
They’ll give us a mouthful of their intentions and maybe even post on Facebook about their big plans. Strangers will compliment their discipline and drive, even though they haven’t shown one ounce of either. Time will pass, seasons will change, and things are not only the same, they’re further away from the goal.
Maybe this person is you. We’ve all been there. This common example outlines a simple, yet powerful reminder:
Nothing will change if you don’t.
If you’ve been operating under the same exact inputs for years, it’s fantasy to expect the outputs to magically change because you read a book or went through a seminar experience. Sure, you will achieve the insight and unlock the possibility within you, but it’s not enough.
Nothing will change if you don’t.
So, what will you change, starting right now? Do that.
YOU WON’T FIND YOUR SOUL MATE ON TINDER
You won’t find your soulmate on Tinder.
You won’t create a 6-figure funnel after reading Expert Secrets.
You won’t be spiritually on fire after three meditation sessions.
You won’t have a six pack after hiking your local mountain once.
Hate to break it to you, but this is real life. I can’t tell you how many times someone has told me about their latest venture and how it’s guaranteed to bring in $20,000 a month in passive income.
A few weeks later, I’ll go to the site they created and it no longer exists. Their expectations were a level 10, yet they didn’t have the courage to go through the ugly, intense, and sometimes excruciating process of creation.
Sure, there are unicorns in life, but I’m not putting my life on the line for a mystical creature — even a cute one. We’re living in a world where we want the result without the process. The process is where the magic happens, where you stretch yourself, get uncomfortable, and—you know—experience life.
We’re led to believe it will all be easy, but we’re responsible for believing it. I’m all about dreaming big, creating powerful visions, unlocking the possibility—and then putting in the work.
The work isn’t sexy, easy, or fun. These words are being written on a Saturday at 4:06 a.m. when it would be much easier to sleep. This is not easy right now—it’s not supposed to be. My eyes are bleeding and I’d love to go to bed.
And what I keep noticing time and time again is people who want something but aren’t willing to commit to the process.
(Hell, I’ve been there countless times.)
If you want to find a relationship that sets you on fire—put in the work.
If you want to create a thriving, profitable business—put in the work.
If you want to feel deeply connected—put in the work.
There’s no way to slice it. Sure, you can speed up the process with deep levels of immersion, focus, and intensity, but there’s still a process. The farmer doesn’t plant the seeds and wake up the next day yelling in frustration because the tree hasn’t bloomed. No, they understand the process, that with the right amount of sunshine, time, patience, and water, the tree will grow.
But you’ve got to want it and you’ve got to fall in love with the process more than the outcome. That’s why you read this book. Now it’s time for you to become these principles and be the beacon your social circle is looking for.
As you continue to live the principles we’ve showcased in this book, your vision and path will evolve. It’s a beautiful, organic process that will stun you time and time again. Along your path, you’re going to receive hints, messages, and opportunities you never had the perspective to see when you got started.
However, your vision and path won’t scream at you—she’ll whisper.
She’ll say:
Hey, hey, slow down, and look over here. You’ll be knee-deep in life, bills, responsibilities, and endless tasks. It’s easy to ignore this call.
Then, a few weeks later, she’ll whisper again:
I need you to look into this, over here. Once again, you’ll stack logic and rationalization on top of this whisper once again, saying:
That doesn’t make sense.
Time will pass, but she’s feisty and persistent. Once again, you’ll have an opportunity to listen and heed her call.
She’s testing you, and asking:
Will he or she listen to me and take the first step on the journey into the unknown?
The first step may not look like any of the vision boards you’ve created.
It may look like needing to have a tough conversation.
It may look like needing to take a new route home from work.
It may look like saying yes to something you always say no to.
Yet the moment you make a new decision, she smiles and gives you a little more. She begins to trust you, and it becomes a beautiful partnership. Now that she trusts you, she gives you the big insights, because you’ve proven you will listen to her during the low-stakes situations.
And because you’ve put in the reps, you start to trust in the whispers that don’t make any sense.
A whisper that you need to leave your environment and move cross country, now makes a lot of sense.
A whisper that the relationship you’ve been holding onto for dear life is actually the roadblock to your most powerful evolution.
A whisper that if you don’t completely pivot in your business right now, against all seemingly rational advice, you’ll miss out.
Listening to her whispers is hard because she’s not doing the work for you. She’s guiding you into a path, and then it’s up to you to put the puzzle pieces together.
Remember this, and cultivate the daily awareness and practice of tuning in to these messages. You already know what to do. Now, it’s time to do it.
100 REASONS WHY YOU’RE WORTH IT.
As we finish our journey here on the 1% Rule, I want you to be inspired. Unlike the past, I don’t want you to be inspired and excited about the outcome—not here. You’re going to be inspired by the process, the resistance, the real, daily obstacles you and I will face at every level of our growth.
It’s a different inspiration, one that is based on reality, not fantasy. Years ago, I sat in Dr. John Demartini’s office for a consultation. I’d been frustrated with my fitness business and feeling a real lack of purpose and meaning behind it, even though it’d been my dream.
You’ve felt this too, when something fueled you for a certain amount of time but no longer fuels you today. I knew it wasn’t simply the passing of time, but something gnawing and clawing at me for more.
That’s when he gave me an assignment: write down 500 benefits of closing down, selling, or moving on from your fitness business.
“500!? That’s impossible,” I said.
“I’m waiting,” he replied.
During the next hour, I almost broke my hand from the constant writing, but I identified 500 reasons. Once I got into the flow state of awareness, I couldn’t stop writing. Ever since then, I’ve prescribed similar exercises to clients to get them clear, focused, and flexing the powerful muscle of deep noticing.
Today, you’re off the hook. But we’re going to identity 100 reasons why you’re worth it. We’re going to identify the reasons why your time is now, and there is no looking back.
- You’re right here, right now.
- You’re ready to create.
- You have a powerful vision.
- You’ve got gifts to share.
- Your message is unique.
- You’re powerful beyond belief.
- You’re resilient.
- You’re open to learning.
- You’re here to grow and expand.
- You know you’ve got a calling.
- You know you’re here to serve.
- You know what to do at any moment.
- You have immense self-trust.
- You validate yourself from within.
- You’ll never quit, no matter what.
- You know there is no growth in waiting.
- You’ve shown yourself to be bold.
- You honor and accept yourself fully.
- You want it badly—for the right reasons.
- You’re a beacon here to guide.
- You’re reading this book.
- You’re ready.
- You have your entire life experience.
- You’ve developed yourself.
- You’ll never be more evolved than today.
And so it begins. It’s your time to leave the safe harbors and set upon your voyage. There is nothing else you need. These concepts, stories, and lessons are yours. Make them your own.
It’s been a riveting and humbling journey together, and I trust we will meet again out there on the seas of life. You deserve it. You know you are part of the 5% in the game of life who have the courage to listen to the voices of truth, instead of the ones of resistance.
Chart your path and fall in love with every part of your voyage: the anticipation, the first steps, the inevitable storms, the adversity, the growth, and the tears. Look at yourself in the mirror late at night and say:
I’m doing this.
That’s what it’s all about. So let’s commit right here to live out loud, and take the first step today. Your beautiful journey awaits.
Onward.