Posted on Friday, April 20, 2018

What If You Could Be Who You Want To Be… Right NOW?

by Greg Knapp

Greg, you can’t just be what you want right now. That’s silly. Hold on a second, Mr. Doubter. It might not be what you think. Read on and then yell at me if I wasted your time.

Have you ever said anything like this to yourself?

Self, I wish I were a…

Writer
Entrepreneur
Musician
Business owner
Speaker
Teacher
Preacher
Actor
Artist
Tech developer

Have you followed that up with statements like these?

I’m not really a writer, business owner, teacher, musician, etc.
I could never make a living at that.
I don’t know enough to do that.
My work isn’t good enough to be that.
I would probably fail at that.
My friends would laugh at me if I tried that.

I have. I’ve talked myself out of a ton of fun, adventure, art, and good work before I even had the chance to try.

Everything we do really well now, used to be something we couldn’t do at all.

But I discovered something that changed all that for me: How to define who I am.

I am what I do, what I think, what I believe, and what I feel.

How do you define a writer? Isn’t it someone who writes? Isn’t a musician someone who plays music? Isn’t an entrepreneur someone who starts and runs a business? Is there anything in these definitions that says you have to be great at it, or make a living doing it? Is there anything that says you have to be a huge success and never have failed at it?

No!

So, I don’t let those concerns stop me anymore. When I want to be something, I just start doing it. That doesn’t mean I’m great at it immediately, but I am doing it. At that moment I become what I’m doing.

Why not you?

If you want to be an entrepreneur start working on a side business today.
If you want to be a teacher – teach.
If you want to be an artist – create art.
If you want to be a singer – sing!

You can be what you want right now. Just by doing it, you become it. Do it more, become more.

But whatever it is, why not start doing it today? It will flip a switch in your mind to make what you want to become possible.

You might hate it. You might fail (temporarily).

But you also might love it and realize this is what you were made to do. You might just end up living that life of purpose, meaning, and joy that you always imagined.

Once you start doing it, you can truthfully say,
“I am an entrepreneur.”
“I am an artist.”
“I am a teacher.”
“I am a _____.”

This doesn’t mean you will immediately become great at what you love, but at least you’re now doing it and becoming it.

Don’t miss how important this process is in really finding your Passionate Purposes. Most of us drift through life not knowing what we really want to do or why we’re here. Some of us try to figure it out. We come up with ideas and feelings, but we’re never quite sure we’re really living out our purpose.

If that sounds like you then start by doing the work to figure out your potential Passionate Purposes. (My free ebook, 5 Steps to Finding Your Purpose, and my longer book, GO! How to Find and Pursue Your Passionate Purpose, can help you with that.) And then start taking action in pursuing a few of them.

Try out all kinds of things that interest you and see where they take you. Taking action on one of your interests could lead to a burning passion that becomes your vocation. (It might even lead to a lifelong purpose that brings you great joy and wealth!) Or, you could find you really aren’t that excited about it after all. If so, just mark that one off your list and move on to your next potential purpose.

Trying new things allows you to figure out who you really are.

Taking action is the only way you will really know. But don’t try out all your ideas at once. One or two at a time is plenty or you’ll become so scattered you won’t accomplish anything.

Try at least one new thing this week and tell me how it goes. If I can help you with anything, just ask.

I want to give as many people as possible my free eBook, 5 Steps to Finding Your Purpose. Please forward this to a friend who needs it. If they click here, they can get the free eBook.

Let’s GO!

Posted on Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Once I Become Successful, Then I’ll Worry About Fulfilling My Purpose

by Greg Knapp

Greg, that idea about finding and pursuing your Passionate Purpose sounds great, but haven’t you heard of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs? You have to take care of the basics befor you go after self actualization. Once I’m a success, then I’ll worry about my purpose.

I’m a big believer in Maslow’s theory. If you don’t have anything to eat or a place to live, you’re probably not as concerned about going to a museum to look at a piece of art. I get it.

But, I think finding and pursuing your Passionate Purpose helps you get everything else you need to live – not just to live better.

Definiteness of purpose is the starting point of all achievement. –W. Clement Stone

Most people have heard of Viktor Frankl’s classic, Man’s Search for Meaning. (If you’ve never read it, start reading it today.) He gives his account of what it was like to be in a Nazi concentration camp during WWII, and then he turns to the importance of purpose.

Frankl found that if a prisoner had no purpose left in life – if he saw no hope – he was doomed. If, however, a prisoner saw a purpose in life he could cling to, his chances of survival dramatically improved.

Research in some of the poorest places in the world has supported the idea that a strong sense of purpose keeps people going in the direst of conditions. In many cases, it helps people live happy, healthy lives where we would think there would be no hope.

People living in third world countries have said their Passionate Purpose is to:

Help my family survive.
Educate the children in my village so they will have more opportunities.
Spread happiness to everyone I meet.
Get my village clean drinking water.
Be able to move my family to a better place where we will all be safe.

These purposes keep them motivated and inspired to live a life with meaning -to live a life that makes a difference.

A Passionate Purpose, fueled with burning desire, is unstoppable. — Greg Knapp

In fact, finding and pursuing a Passionate Purpose may be more important before you become successful. It’s what gets you up when you really want to stay in bed. It’s what gives you optimism when your circumstances can’t justify it. It’s what gives you courage to face the tough situations. And, it’s what let’s you enjoy this life, when others would wallow in depression.

My belief is that finding and pursuing your Passionate Purpose is at every level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs scale. Regardless of where we live, or how much money we make, to live our best lives we need it in everything we do.

The second you begin to follow your passionate purpose you are a success. – Greg Knapp

Let’s GO!

I now offer one to one coaching and an online coaching program for various budgets.Click here for more details.

Posted on Friday, June 17, 2016

Come on, be realistic. What does that mean?

by Greg Knapp

How many times have you been told your dream is not realistic? How many times have you told yourself you can’t do it?

When has ‘being realistic’ ever resulted in AWESOME?

Maybe you’re right, you’re not being realistic…

…But, maybe flying a plane, playing the piano, surfing, driving and earning a black belt in Tae Kwon Do – without arms – is realistic.

What?!

Jessica Cox has done all that and more. She was born without arms and refuses to see herself as disabled or as a victim.

“Naturally people saw me not having arms as a limiting factor – but I was there to prove them wrong.”
— Jessica Cox

Watch her must see video by clicking here.

The next time I start to get down and wonder if I’m being realistic or if I can do something, I’m going to slap myself and remember all that Jessica Cox has accomplished.

Let’s GO!

Posted on Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Is THIS Your Opportunity to Succeed or Give Up? — Yes

by Greg Knapp

My daughter has a stomach bug and she asked me to watch a movie with her. She decided on, Joy, with Jennifer Lawrence. It’s the story of how a divorced mother of two, living with a very dysfunctional family, went from nothing to creating a multimillion dollar business empire.

The film is loosely based on the life of Joy Mangano, the inventor of the Miracle Mop. I thought the movie was just ok, but even Hollywood messing with the truth, the messages I took from Joy are great.

We have opportunities every day – to succeed or give up – which do you choose?

Joy had family troubles, house troubles, ex-husband troubles, work troubles, financial troubles and legal troubles. Most people would have given up. Her mom did give up – she just laid in bed watching soap operas all day. Joy could have followed that example, but instead she kept making the choice to take action and succeed. (Yes, that is a choice.)

I keep noticing that the biggest difference between success and failure is not giving up. I’m not saying that’s easy. I know I’ve had times when I wanted to give up. In fact, I have given up before, and then gotten back in the game. What’s stopping you from getting back in the game? You haven’t failed until you’ve given up permanently.

What will you choose to do with your next opportunity? Keep going and tweaking it until you succeed, or get discouraged and give up?

Other people’s opinion of you only matters if you let it.

Unfortunately, just about everyone in Joy’s family discouraged her. They told her that her business ideas wouldn’t work, that she wasn’t smart enough, and she was “just an unemployed housewife.” She almost allowed them to be right.

How many people – some of them meaning well – are pulling you down and preventing you from pursuing your Passionate Purpose? How long will you let them? What can you do today to change that dynamic in your life?

Who pumps you up and supports you? Keep them close, and thank them.

Joy’s Grandma, daughter, ex-husband, and best friend believed in her. She leaned on them for support. We all need that. Who does that for you?

Action steps:

Actively seek out and spend more time with your supporters. Bounce your ideas off them. Thank them.
Avoid the energy vampires. Remember, they can only hurt you if you let them.
Figure it out: Is THIS your opportunity to succeed or give up? The answer is, yes. Which one will you choose? What can you do right now to pursue your current, best opportunity?

Let’s GO!

If this post resonated with you, Please subscribe to my blog and get my free eBook — 5 Steps to Finding Your Passionate Purpose. You can also purchase my book, GO!

Posted on Thursday, June 9, 2016

You’re So Close – Don’t Stop Now!

by Greg Knapp

You’ve done all the hard work of thinking and planning. You’ve taken action and you’ve made progress. But some obstacles have come up and you’re not sure it’s going to work. You might fail!

Before you quit, please watch this:

Question for comments: What successes have you had that you almost gave up on? What do you do to keep going when you feel like quitting?

If this post resonated with you, Please subscribe to my blog and get my free eBook — 5 Steps to Finding Your Passionate Purpose. You can also purchase my book, GO!

Posted on Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Can YOU Really Get the Life You Want? Yes! If…

by Greg Knapp

You’re excited about the idea of finding and pursuing your passionate purpose. You’ve visited a few websites about it, watched some videos, and maybe even read a book about how to do it. You’ve been dreaming about what your best life would look like.

But…nothing’s changed. You aren’t taking action. Five years ago you were in the same situation and a year from now?

Why?

The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.
–Amelia Earhart

If you read my blog, social media posts and book, you know I’m a super positive, encouraging, optimistic guy. (And humble!)

But, let’s get real here, ya’ll. Tough love time. IF you really want to live an extraordinary life where you pursue your Passionate Purpose, I can’t sugar coat this.

If you have thought about it – or tried to do it – before and failed, you’ve made excuses.

Here are some that I’ve heard (and used myself from time to time).

Only the lucky few get to do that
I’m not rich enough
I’m afraid I’ll fail
I don’t have the right connections
I’m not a genius
I’m afraid I’ll lose all my money
You have to be really talented to do that
I don’t know how to do it
I’m afraid I’ll get divorced over it
I don’t want to sacrifice my wife/husband/kids/relationships to do that
I’m not educated enough
Now’s not the right time
It’s too hard
I won’t make enough money to live on if I do that
I’m not good enough
I don’t deserve it
People from my family don’t do that
It’s selfish and greedy to want to do that
I don’t have enough time to do everything I would need to do
I’ll do it someday

Those are just some of the excuses I’ve heard to make people feel better about giving up on their dreams. I’m sure you could help me come up with more. Some of these concerns are real. I don’t want to suggest that going after what you really want is easy and requires no sacrifice. That’s just dreaming.

But, if you really want to pursue your Passionate Purpose and go after that extraordinary life, you have got to cowboy up for a serious ride.

You really can get the life you want…if.

Do you really want to look back on your life and list the excuses why you never tried? Do you want to use your children, spouse and friends as human shields to protect you from your fears of going for something great? Do you really believe that ALL successful people are divorced, greedy, horrible human beings who sacrificed all their values to get where they are in life?

Am I going to stop talking in questions? Yes. Right now.

The reason you aren’t taking action and going after this isn’t because you don’t have talent—nothing in the world is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. It’s not because you aren’t smart enough, don’t know the right people, or don’t have enough money to get started. It’s not because you don’t have enough time. We all have the same 24 hours in each day.

Look, all the excuses really boil down to one. Fear.

Change is scary. All those excuses we listed create fear. Your mind is screaming at you to avoid fear and risk. Subconsciously, your brain is telling you that you get more out of not changing than you think you would get out of changing.

But, I really want to change. What? Your actions are so loud I can’t hear what you’re saying.

IF you really want this, it’s time to convince yourself these aren’t just wants, they are needs.

Time to convince yourself that the fear and pain that always comes with change is worth it for the chance to live the extraordinary life of your dreams.

Time to convince yourself that NOT changing is risky, too. Imagine living your whole life and NEVER going for what you could have had!

If you are tired of just getting by and letting days, months, and years slip past without achieving what you know you were put on this earth by your Creator to do, then now is the time.

Get your mindset right.
Understand fear creeps in but can be handled.
Determine what you want.
Set your course.
Take action.
GO!

How much longer will you wait?

If this post resonated with you, Please subscribe to my blog and get my free eBook — 5 Steps to Finding Your Passionate Purpose. You can also purchase my book, GO!

Posted on Thursday, April 21, 2016

Do You Know Someone Who Needs This?

by Greg Knapp

The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why. — Mark Twain

Do you know someone who hasn’t figured out their why? Someone who doesn’t even know what they really want? Someone who is struggling to find a purpose in this world?

I want to help. My Passionate Purpose is to help as many people as I can find their Passionate Purpose so they can live out the extraordinary lives of their dreams.

If you know someone who needs this information and encouragement, please pass on the link to my homepage and the link to my recent appearance on KC Live

If they are interested my book, GO! How to Find and Pursue Your Passionate Purpose, please pass on the link to it on Amazon.

I would love to give them my free, companion eBook— 5 Steps to Finding Your Passionate Purpose. They can download it from that link.

If you are receiving this as an email, just forward it to anyone you think might benefit from it.

All the best.

Greg Knapp

Posted on Thursday, March 10, 2016

Who Else Wants to Overcome Your Obstacles?

by Greg Knapp

You have big dreams and big plans. You have educated yourself, set your goal and worked towards it. But, you see some obstacles in your way and you want to make sure everything is just right before you act, right?

That’s how we all get sometimes. It is good to plan, but there is never a time when everything is just right. If you wait for that moment, you will never take action.

But, Greg, what if I go for it and fail? What if I’m rejected?

Great questions. This is where we remind ourselves the simple truths that we often forget. If you never take action, aren’t you failing already? If you learn from a failure or a rejection, can’t you just take action again in a better way that has a greater chance of success? Isn’t taking action how you have achieved your success so far?

Aren’t all these objections to taking action really just a way we hide from our fear?

Fear falls quickly when we take action.

Click To Tweet

I just met a new friend yesterday who reminded me of how I wasn’t taking action and was giving in to fear. I have so many things I want to launch, but I find myself waiting until everything is just right.

He asked about how I got started in radio and I remembered – I took action.

He asked how my show became nationally syndicated and I remembered – I took action.

Then I started remembering how I wrote my book, started my blog and started speaking – I took action.

Everything wasn’t even close to being just right. But, by taking action, things started to come together. I met people who helped me. I learned things that helped me. I gained momentum and confidence and kept taking action.

My new friend hit me with it hard when we were talking about how I could increase my speaking business. He said, “You should see if you can work with Dave Ramsey. He endorsed your book and you would fit in great with him.” I told him I agreed.

“Then why don’t you call him and ask — today?”

Great question.

So, I did.

I also wanted to set up a speech at a friend’s business, so I called and asked him. I took action.

It was a little scary, but it felt great.

What have you been thinking about doing but you’ve let fear stop you? Take action.

Ask.

Do.

You will be surprised how fast fear falls and miracles happen.

Questions for comment: What have you been planning but not doing? How did you take action? What happened when you took action?

Posted on Monday, January 25, 2016

Tired of waiting to be chosen? Choose Yourself

by Greg Knapp

How much of our life do we wait to be chosen? From the playground, to the “cool” group, to getting into the “right” college, to getting that job or promotion, to starting your own business…

Why do we wait to be chosen? Why give the power over your life to someone else? Choose yourself.

I’ve joined up with my friend Frank Keck of Embrace Your Freakness to start a podcast. This one talks about How to Choose Yourself. Give it a listen and let me know what you think.

Posted on Thursday, January 14, 2016

You Didn’t Win the Powerball Lotto, Now What?

by Greg Knapp

OK, I admit it. I got swept up in Powerball Fever and bought a ticket. And…I lost. And so did you. Bummer.

Wait a second. I can make this a good thing.

Greg, I love your enthusiasm but losing $1.5B is not a good thing. That’s like saying Jar Jar Binks was a good Star Wars character.

I hear you, (and please don’t ever make me think of Jar Jar again) but you didn’t lose that money, you just didn’t win.

The whole reason I bought a ticket was to try to make my dreams as real as possible. I spent some time imagining what I would do with all that money. I would travel the world (but mostly warm places). I would go on adventures. I would give more to my church, family, friends, and charity. I would take guitar lessons again. I would learn several more languages. I would live by the beach. I would still work at helping people find their Passionate Purpose. I would…

What would you do? Not just what things you would buy, but what you would do? The answer to that might just give you a peak into what you’re most passionate about.

Money can’t buy happiness, but it can pay for some awesome experiences. Go!

You lost, now what? What if you could still do most of the things on your list? Are there ways you could do that?

Why not turn losing the lotto into a positive thing? It got you to start thinking about what you really want. Now dig a little deeper. Why do you want it? Write it all down. Take those ideas and write down goals that go along with them. Start reading those in the morning and at night before you go to bed. (I know you’ve heard this before, but have you done it? It works! Try it.)

When you get sure on your what and your why, the how begins to appear. You will be shocked at all the ideas that pop into your head when you begin to focus on this. I have seen it happen countless times in my life.

You don’t have to take a huge leap, quit your job, and risk everything to follow your dream. You can start with baby steps and transition to it.

Time keeps ticking by no matter what we do. In a year you will either be exactly where you are right now, or you will be a year along your journey to your extraordinary life.

Which will you choose?

You have all the time you need to do what you were born to do. Don’t waste it.