On the Journey to Brilliance: Are you READY?

You are standing on the Banks of Now, along the River “Challenge”.

On the other side are the Shores of Growth and New Adventures beyond which are More Adventures, other Rivers of Challenge and numerous and various Pinnacles of Success.

Within the River separating these two shores are some of the elements that promote Growth, the difficulties to Develop your Strengths, the struggles to Increase your Capabilities: The elements to EXCEL on your Journey to Brilliance.

What lies between you and the fast flowing river is that first step: The Plunge.

Are you Ready to take that step?

If not, Here may be fine for you. You can live a long happy life without much change or challenge. Without challenge there is little chance of failure.

Taking the step - The Plunge - takes Courage. You will face your fears and you will realize, the hard way, that not every attempt will succeed. You will grow and find that the strengths within you are stronger than you imagined. If you continue, in addition to Courage, you will need Determination, Grit, Will, Honesty and Humility. A Sense of Humour might also serve you well.

What lies beyond that first step? Hard work. Possible failure. Reflection. And, regardless of how well you succeed or spectacularly fail, Growth.

Draped just before that last step are the Curtains of Doubt: Of not being Ready. Of Not being Good Enough.  Of Looking Foolish.  Of Mediocrity. The Uncertainties of What-if.

And, then there is the Fear of the Falls of Failure.

Are you Ready?

Once past your self-imposed obstacles, the journey from the Banks of Now to the Shores of Growth is never without risk. What are the risks? Can they be mitigated? And, should they occur, what are the impacts? What will happen if you find yourself tumbling over those Falls of Failure?

This is LIFE in the Metaphorical Land of What-IF where Perils are seldom life-threatening, and often hardly memorable after a few years. What could be the worst possible result? At the base of the Falls of Failure there is usually the Pond of Pause and a place to rest. There is most certainly a Rock of Reflection, where you can take a good long look at yourself. And there are undoubtedly Rocks of Contemplation where you can determine your best next steps.

The routes back up, when you choose, are the Incline of Acceptance of What Is, back to the Banks of Now (the less challenging route). Should you choose to reflect, you will have succeeded in gaining experience, and with it wisdom and insight. That failure was singular. There may be other routes across that will serve you better, or for which you are more fit, sometime in the future - when you are ready.

The other route up from the Falls of Failure is over the Stones of Grit, across the Boulders of Determination and up Rocks of Resilience, and if you succeed these challenges, you might well land directly on the Shores of GROWTH – maybe just not be quite where you had originally intended.

Once on the Shores of Growth, heading towards the numerous and various Pinnacles of Success, are more rivers of Challenge to cross.  What will you need to succeed?

Paradoxically, much of what you will need you will have developed through your workout through the river or up the rocks from the Falls of Failure: Self Reflection; Contemplation; Grit; Resilience; Determination; Belief in yourself; Confidence; Insight; Wisdom; Willingness to try and being ok not “succeeding”, Humility and undoubtedly a chuckle or two.

You can do it yourself.  Many have.

Or, you can partner with a coach. Coaches, as thinking partners, are like swimming, rowing and climbing coaches: Provoking you to shift perspectives; Challenging your mindset; Empowering you to weigh and mitigate risks and overcome challenges; Enabling you to excel and accelerating your pace of growth. The experience of the journey is yours, along with all you give and all you gain. It might be quicker, possibly more enjoyable.

I can coach you on this Journey to Brilliance – if you are up for the work. It won’t be easy. It won’t be comfortable. You will definitely grow. How much you grow – is up to you!