You Are Powerful Beyond Measure

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.” ~Marianne Williamson

I woke up thinking about this quote today.

I’m flirting with the idea and it’s really hitting home for me, especially when I think about where things were 5 years ago.

This site started with a singular idea: that no one should have to suffer from digestive pains if they were willing to make some simple changes. And so we started blogging and wrote a simple eBook. And we put it out in the world.

And not much happened…

In 2009, when we first started this blog, 49 people came to our site (most of those hits were from us).

In 2010, 11,901 people came to the site and read something. One month we actually sold 10 eBooks.

By the end of 2011, 26 months later, after 168 posts and 1,000s of hours of work… 50,875 people had come to the site since we started it.

There were a lot of dark days in those first two years. We wondered if we were wasting our time or if we could actually help people.

So, as the pressure heated up, the hours away from our friends and family stacked up and our dreams seemed far away, we lost our way.

We All Lose Our Way

We felt like we were failing. Sure, a few people said we helped them, but for the amount of effort we were giving it felt like we weren’t making a dent. Thankfully, those few did reach out, otherwise we might not have pulled through.

This site was draining all the financial means we had and returning nothing in that area.

And our health was suffering because we kept trying harder, working more, and trying to change the world.

We tried to start different business ventures to make money on the side, like the $15,000 dollars we invested to create a podcasting software.

They all failed and stole time from helping people.

We thought we just needed to put more time in SCD Lifestyle, so we tried to leave our engineering jobs… and had to go back 3 months later.

Thanksgiving 2011 wasn’t as fun as it should have been, but it was a necessary part of the journey.

“Things should have been better”

How many times have you heard that poisonous word “should”?

“My health should be better.”

“I should have more money.”

“The government should do…”

It’s a sign of being outside of the moment – of being lost in the past or future.

The truth is: Being stuck in the past or the future will rob you of today. This is a problem because to have success, to be happy, to make an impact, you have to be present to today. This is true whether it’s health, wealth or relationships.

The word “should” is also often used by victims. And being a victim is a great way to never get the health, wealth or relationships you want. I was a victim back in 2011 on Thanksgiving and the months around it. Lots of things “should” have been different for me at that time.

If we had been better at staying in the moment back in 2011, I might not have had to write this post.

Because right now as I’m writing this, millions of people will suffer some kind of stomach pain that could have been avoided. Things should have been better for them. And that makes me sad because if we had reached them a few years ago it could have been better for them. And that is fueling me right now.

Fuel is Worthless Without Ignition

We all have a fuel inside us that makes us ready to explode when we get in touch with it – your kids, your art, your non-profit, your job, your business, or your school. You have a fuel somewhere inside you.

If the world ends tomorrow and you own all the oil in the world, but have no way to ignite it, you’re going to be a cold, hungry person.

Fuel is important and without it, there is no fire. But a spark is the one thing you HAVE to have to make fire.

So, how do you create sparks to burn the fuel that will keep you going?

• when all your efforts to get healthy are not showing any benefits…
• when it seems all your work is in vain…
• when your important loved ones are pulling away from you in life…

You get grateful.

Not the superficial grateful that is common on a day like Thanksgiving, but really grateful. I’m talking about getting into the time and space where your body is shaking with energy and you are on the verge of tears because you are so grateful for all that is in your life.

True gratitude needs nothing in return. It is a spark.

True gratitude for your health problems, for your debt, for your loved ones who are running away, but also for the money, housing, food, conversation and lovers in your life – this is the spark.

And the spark gets stronger as you feel true gratitude for all of the good things in your life as well as all the undesirable.

When you combine that spark with your fuel, that’s when magic happens.

We Are Powerful Beyond Measure

Does it seem too hard to get utterly grateful for the hard stuff in your life? Or to completely own your amazing success?

I talked with a client earlier this year who’s just barely in his 20’s. He’s been in and out of the hospital pretty much all of his teen years. And when we talked, he had been on a feeding tube for almost a year.

But he had spark. And he had fuel.

His health is worse than 99.9% of all those who will read this. And he’s spent much of his young life just trying to survive another year. Common years growing up that I took for granted.

But he was magical!

His energy, his drive, and his motivation blew me away. He was on fire and I’m grateful to have met him.

What about Kyle Maynard. Think you’ve got challenges? Watch this:

I was fortunate to sit across from this man at dinner earlier this year. I was deeply moved. He probably thought I had a crush on him because I kept watching him – just being him, being magical. It was one of the most profound things I experienced this year. He is powerful beyond measure, as are millions of others in this world I haven’t met.

We Means More Than I

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.” – Marianne Williamson

The “WE” in the quote above applies to us individually as well as collectively.

I’m truly grateful that I pulled through that low point in 2011 and didn’t settle. I’m grateful for all those who helped, coached, and listened to me.

And even more importantly I’m truly grateful to those that read, supported, followed, shared, liked and never left, even though we had a lot of growing to do.

Our little idea is growing. And it’s because of you and us and everyone.

Just this month alone over 200,000 people have come to our website (which still blows me away).

And I think it’s because WE together (us and you) are doing something massively important. We’re saving lives each and every day. And you are part of it, you spread it and help us refine it.

So thank you. You help fill me with fuel and generate sparks, which is how I’m trying to be powerful beyond measure. And so on a day like today, I’m truly grateful for you.

-Steve