PP 101: Born for Greatness | 4 Main Takeaways from Summit of Greatness 2018
An Opportunity of a Lifetime
October has been one of the craziest months of my life trying to prep for episode 100 and the merch surrounding it. I definitely bit off more than I can chew but it always works out!
However, at the beginning of the month, I received an opportunity of a lifetime.
I’ll tell you the full story later on, but on October 4th–6th, I spontaneously attended the Summit of Greatness in Columbus, OH. This is a monstrous conference that brings together the world's greatest minds and talents in entertainment, public speaking, fitness, health, and personal development.
I'm a very extroverted person, but the type of people I was surrounded by at this event seriously made me uncomfortable—which is exactly what I needed.
Attending creative conferences in the past has helped me find my people and tap into my gift. When I attended this event, I felt like I truly found a whole new level of conscious achievers—they were playing it big and fully believed in themselves, their mission, and their identity.
To say the least, it was an inspiring, empowering, and life-altering experience.
In this episode, I’m stoked to finally get around to breaking down the following:
The definition of greatness
Why you were born for greatness
Top 4 takeaways from the Summit
My declaration of intent for my life and creative grind moving forward
I ask that you have an open your mind, think big, and act on any concept or idea that hits home with you throughout this episode.
Born for Greatness | 4 Main Takeaways from Summit of Greatness 2018
Never Be the Smartest Person in a Room
When the biggest names in the world talk, you shut up and listen. Matter of fact, you never want to be the smartest person in the room, and at this event, I never was. My goal was to be a sponge, soak up every word, and take notes—and I took a shit load of notes.
My goal is to always take what I learn, package it up, and share it with you. There was a lot of overlap in each speaker's message, which I took as a sign of what I needed to focus on.
I have no doubt that this overlap is what allowed these people to become great in their fields of expertise.
If successful people preach the same message, that means there's got to be something to it, right?
That's why I encourage you to soak this up like a sponge and apply what vibes with you the most into your creative grind.
Before I dive into the top four takeaways from the Summit, it's important to define my definition of Greatness, and why we're born for it.
What is Greatness?
I felt like I’ve been onto something over these years as the definition Lewis gives of Greatness parallels my definition of the secret sauce, AKA the sweet spot.
Greatness is at the center of the overlapping three areas:
Finding your greatest strength (What you’re best at, comes easiest to you, and/or is your strongest asset)
Finding your passion (What you enjoy doing the most and can lose yourself in) (Strength x Passion = Gift)
Serving the greatest needs (Locating where your gift makes the biggest impact and/or serves the biggest audience)
To sum it up, Greatness is finding your gift and using it to make the biggest impact as possible.
Why You're Born for Greatness
We exist on this earth’s surface to be a part of something bigger than ourselves—not to play it safe and ignore that call.
We’re wired to create, build relationships, operate at a higher level, and become the greatest versions of ourselves.
So many of us have this potential, yet we wait for someone to give us permission to believe it. We wait for people to tell us it's okay to chase our dreams or to tell us we belong.
We often play the victim to our environment. We let adversity convince us to settle for a small life and fall in line with the status quo.
You're here for a reason.
You have a gift.
You were born for greatness.
The following four takeaways I believe are some of the main ingredients to help you find what makes you great.
Born for Greatness | 4 Main Takeaways from Summit of Greatness 2018
4 Main Takeaways from Summit of Greatness 2018
1. Have Clarity on Your Vision
"If your life was a book, and you were the author, how would you like your story to go?" - Amy Purdy (Paralympic medalist, actress, model, author, and motivational speaker).
This was my biggest struggle heading to the conference. I have big dreams, yet they're blurry, and I've been half-blindly stumbling in the right direction the last few years.
I can't have a focused path and show up with intention if I'm not sure exactly what I want and who I want to be (more on this later).
This trip gave me a new pair of hi-def glasses that help me see my vision and how I want my story to go.
Here are a few additional nuggets:
Have a clear vision of exactly who you want to be, what you want, why you want it, and when you want it to happen.
What do you want to transform into? - Shaun T (Motivational speaker, fitness guru)
Everything starts with beliefs
Power of intention—declare what you want to do and be
"Stay true and aligned to your vision, but be able to reinvent yourself." - Lindsey Sterling (Pop Star Violinist and Dancer)
2. Visualization is the Key
"Where your focus goes, energy flows." - Tony Robbins
One of the biggest things I that I continue to hear through audiobooks, podcasts, and conferences is that "Your mind is your most powerful asset."
If you can see it in your mind, you can become it.
The brain is wired to keep us safe, and often we can talk and believe our brain into doing us harm. At the same time, we can flip it and wire our brain to help us succeed. The brain believes what it sees and will reflect that into your reality, so it's up to us to practice and focus on visualization that aligns with our vision.
Tell yourself what you want to be and focus on that thought each day
Set your intentions each day
Morning meditations, mindfulness, routines and rituals can help ground you and eliminate distractions
Vision, intention, and visualization can create what currently doesn't exist in your life
3. Adversity is Necessary
Often, the curveballs in life hold us back from the things we want. When, in reality, adversity belongs in the story you create for yourself.
One of the most powerful nuggets I got from this summit came from In-Q, Spoken Word Behemoth.
He spoke of adversity through a unique and poetic lens. Often we perceive life's punches through the perspective of "this happened TO me." Instead, he insisted we see it through the perspective of "this happened FOR me." He states that the hard times in life a are bridge that lead us to the person we desire to become. We just have to see the bigger picture during these hard times.
Here are a few other takeaways about adversity I want to challenge the lens you see the world through:
Hitting rock bottom is laying the groundwork for a new foundation
Change & challenges make you dig deep and get creative
Be flexible, adapt, and roll with the punches
"Your biggest loss can become your biggest asset." - Amy Purdy
Amy lost her legs, and now her story and new legs take her all across the world
"Talk about the things you struggle with to reach your potential." - Shaun T
Share the vulnerable moments of your story to help others find the bridges in theirs
4. Serve Others First
"We're wired for generosity, but educated for greed." - Jay Shetty (Award-winning storyteller and viral content creator)
It seems that service is X-factor ingredient in the secret sauce for becoming great. All the speakers and entertainers were great—but their focus on serving others, providing value, and encouraging their audience to become their best selves really stood out to me.
Here are a few additional points that hit home with me:
We are happiest when we serve, yet the system we live in convinces us we selfishly need more
When we give freely with no expectations, things generally come back around
Giving allows you to leave a legacy
What you create and who you impact will live on far after you're gone
Born for Greatness | 4 Main Takeaways from Summit of Greatness 2018
My Born for Greatness Formula
Vision:
What do I want, and what do I want to become? (What I'm still working out is the timeline on WHEN I want to accomplish these by.)
I want to have amazing relationships with my wife, son, family, and friends.
I want to operate life in the best physical and mental shape possible. The more I focus on self-health, the more I can be a vessel to serve others.
I want to have a thriving career of being the best creative motivational coach, speaker, artist, and teacher I can be while having time and financial freedom with no debt to my name.
I want to be able to give my time, energy, and money away freely without stressing on how it may affect me or my family.
I want to leave something behind that my son can be proud of and that other people find value in.
I want to make a positive impact and empower as many people as possible in this world.
Visualization:
The more I envision myself thriving in each one of these areas, the closer I am to aligning my reality with this mindset.
I'm being conscious of the words I say to myself each day, and I'm using my words, thoughts, and beliefs as weapons for positive change in my life.
Each day, I will plaster notes with my visions and beliefs everywhere to make it difficult to lose focus.
I will wake up each morning, declare my intentions for the day, and visualize how I will execute my agenda.
Adversity:
When adversity knocks me on my ass, I will still continue to seek out the lessons and roll with the punches.
I'm constantly learning to love the crust and seeking out the opportunities that will mold my future self.
The hard times I've faced and will face on the horizon are just bridges toward my vision of becoming great.
Service:
I've been gifted with the ability to create meaningful work that amplifies my spoken message of encouragement. I excel at connecting people and building a community of like-minded people who want to contribute to something bigger than themselves.
The best ways I can impact as many people as possible during this season of my life are by:
broadcasting this message to every pocket of the planet through the podcast
cultivating and growing a community of conscious, creative achievers through The Perspective-Collective Facebook Group
pouring out uplifting art, design and content through my social channels
focusing on giving value to each person I come in contact with in-person or online
Overall, I'm dedicated to being a serving machine to my fellow humans and to using my platform for the greatest good.
This is my declaration of how I'm going to be great.
I know I was born for greatness, and that I'm here to do something special. The Summit of Greatness equipped me to confidently pursue my definition of greatness.
Born for Greatness | 4 Main Takeaways from Summit of Greatness 2018
You Don't Need Permission
I believe we weren't put on this planet by accident, to be average and settle.
YOU HAVE A PURPOSE.
It's your job to figure out your purpose by finding your gift and how you can impact others with it.
So how are you going to be great today?
Shownotes
FREE TOOLKIT TO SIDE HUSTLE FREEDOM
6 FREE resources to help you grow an audience and build a profitable creative side hustle outside your day job. Download here.
PURCHASE THE SIDE HUSTLER'S HANDBOOK PDF COURSE
The proven blueprint that’ll help you gain clarity, confidence, and a mental edge to unlock your biggest side hustling breakthrough. Purchase here.
GET A PERMANENT PODCAST SHOUTOUT
Become a future Listener of the Week by Subscribing and leaving a Rating & Review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes here.
BEST DEALS ON THE BEST DESIGN RESOURCES
Retro Supply (affiliate) - Use SCOTTY20 to get 20% OFF high-quality AI, PS, Procreate & Affinity resources. Shop here.
Design Cuts (affiliate) - Get your FREE Ever-Expanding design resources bundle pack here.
JOIN THE PRIVATE FACEBOOK COMMUNITY FOR CREATORS
Join a like-minded FREE global community of kickass creators and take your side hustle to the next level. Your tribe is waiting.
CONNECT WITH ME
CREDITS
Music - Blookah
Executive Assistant - Paige Garland
Photo & Video Specialist - Colton Bachar
Social Media Coordinator - Hannah Schick
Animation Specialist - Greg D'Amico