Diamonds in Your Own Backyard

Do you ever find yourself saying If Only?

If Only I lived in…
If Only I had a different degree…
If Only I were older, younger, single, married, thinner, richer…

Teresa came to our Discover Your YIPPEE retreat last fall.  I was taken with her energy and vivacity and was so surprised when she told us that not only had she lost her YIPPEE,she didn’t know what it was anymore.

She’d had a good career as a professor, but her university had made changes, eliminating her department.  Now she was teaching something she didn’t enjoy.  IF ONLY they would reestablish her course.  She’d worked hard to get her PhD, enjoyed working in her field and hated to give it up.  She didn’t see any options and felt discouraged.  She thought about doing something completely different IF ONLY she hadn’t made the investment in getting the degree.

The powerful process the YIPPEE retreats take you through helped Teresa completely shift assumptions about herself, her work and her options.  By the end of the retreat, she was overjoyed.  She realized she had so many more options than she’d originally imagined.

By the end of the retreat, Teresa was smiling, I DO have a YIPPEE and I can’t wait to get started!

A month after the retreat, I met with Teresa and she told me about a recent trip to Colorado.  “I was visiting some people who have built the same kind of business I’d like to build.  IF ONLY I lived in Colorado.  IF ONLY I knew people like that…”

The excitement in her voice peaked my curiosity.  It was time to break an age-old pattern.  Teresa needed to change If Only toHow Can I.

How Can Istart the same kind of business right in my own backyard?

Three months later we met again.  “You’ll never believe what’s happening.  After we talked, I thought about who I knew right here in Nashville.  I started meeting with people and exploring possibilities.  It turns out, everything I needed was right here all along!”

Russell Conwell, writer, entrepreneur, lawyer and founder of Temple University in Philadelphia, had a famous speech called Acres of Diamonds.  A man and his camel set out to find a land where there are acres of diamonds.  No doubt thinking, IF ONLY I had those diamonds.  IF ONLY I lived close by.  The man travels the world, loses his health and his wealth.  When he finally comes home, a defeated man, he begins to plant a garden and strikes something hard.  It is a diamond.  He continues to dig and realizes that the acres of diamonds were in his own backyard all along.

When you find yourself saying IF ONLY?  Pause.  And then shift the statement from focusing on what’s missing to focusing on what’s there.  HOW CAN I…?

If only I had a bigger network, becomes: How can I use my existing network?

If only I had more time, becomes: How can I spend more time on things I enjoy? (This (free) video serieshas helped many people like you with just this).

If only I had more influence in my field, becomes: How can I increase my influence in my field?

If only I had more money, becomes: How can I increase my wealth?

If only I had the courage to change, becomes: How can I make one change that will have lasting results?  (For more on this see last week’s blog!)

If only I knew what I wanted to do, becomes: How can Icreate a vision for my life?  (To create a powerful new vision for your life join us for the next Discover Your Yippee retreat!)

The best conversation always happens in the comments below, I can’t wait to hear your If Only statement and how you turned it into How Can I…

Until next Tuesday.  YIPPEE!

Elizabeth