Sean Stephenson: Leave Then Breathless and Don't Screw Up Your Life!

If you believe predictions that do not empower you, you will wither away and die. You better have very clear in your mind what you want for your life. When you own something, then you have the power. I am not disabled. Sure, I'll take the handicap parking privileges. You can take a stand for anything you want in your life. You can say, "That's it, I'm I'm done. I'm taking a stand for my health.

When we're most frantic is when we are most detached for how we're behaving. I love the fact that we don't know when we're gonna die.

It's so awesome. And I love that we're gonna die. It's not fair. It's not fair. It's not fair. But it's not fair is the most limiting disease on the planet.

That your life could change on a dime for the worse and that you need to be grateful for the problems that you have right now. I have to warn you, what you're about to see is going to be intense.

He's a therapist, self-help author, and motivational speaker. He began delivering motivational speeches at age 17. He stands only 3 feet tall, has fragile bones, and must use a wheelchair. He's Sean Stephenson, and here are his top 10 rules for success.

Never believe a prediction that doesn't empower you. When I was born, the doctors told my parents that I would be dead within the first 24 hours of my life.

35 years later, all those doctors are dead. [LAUGHTER] [APPLAUSE] And I I'm the only doctor that remains. Never believe a prediction that doesn't empower you. How many predictions have been thrown at you your whole life? If you believe predictions that do not empower you, you will wither away and die. Either physically die or your spirit will die as you just walk around the world like a carcass that is just following the masses. You will be given a lot of titles in your life. You will be told so many different things. You must only listen to that which empowers you. I have a belief that has served me in my life, and that is that everyone is rooting for me to win, even those that do not know it.

You better have a vision for what you want.

You better have very clear in your mind what you want for your life, what you want for your family.

What you want for your business.

So many of us never take the time. We don't see the value in truly shaping and molding pictures in our mind of what we want our life to look like. We think that's a waste of time. We think that's woo-woo. We think that's like the movie The Secret. Listen. Seriously, there is something to vision because you are gonna face moments in your life when the doors will be closed. If a door is closed, does that mean you are not allowed to have what's on the other side? I don't believe so. Sometimes you're gonna have people and events feel like that they're chasing after you. Barreling down on you.

Does that mean what you want's not for you?

I don't believe so. I believe you showed up here because whether it's clear or not for you yet, you have somewhat of a vision for what you'd like to have. And this is just a means to an end.

You're here to learn about how to grow your business, how to put more money into your pockets and into your families and into your dreams. But more important than your business is I want you to set up a clear vision for what you want for you, for your life.

Because if a person does not have their vision clear, And they constantly get blown around by the winds of life. They're constantly— they're grabbing for straws. They're just chasing something. Get very clear. What does your life look like 1 year from now, 5 years from now, 20 years from now? Whatever you despise or hate owns you.

When you live at cause, you have the results that you want.

And the way that you get the results that you want, and this is the next word that you're going to write under that, is you have to master the art of ownership. You have to own it. Don't tell me why you're not in great shape. Don't tell me why you don't have the money that you want. Don't tell me why you're unhappily in relationships. You know what? Because honestly, That's your thing. You have to own that right now you are where you are so that you can go where you want to be. And when you own something, then you have the power. Is you are not your condition. You are not. I am not disabled. Sure, I'll take the handicap parking privileges. But that does not define me as a man. Not able? I've been looked at and treated my whole life as if I am not able. I have had to rise above and show people that the only disability is one's refusal to adapt. You have to adapt to whatever environment you're in, even if it's prison. And what does adaptation look like? I think it looks like celebration. Because when you meet people that are celebrating their life, you want to be around them. You want to learn from them. You want to do business with them. You want to hire them. Look, if you do not want to be seen as a prisoner or a convict when you get out of this, or even while you're in this, then it's an attitude. It is a belief in yourself that you bring value to the human race, no matter what your current condition, title, or stature is. Because if I believe that I'm disabled, I would wither up, I would be shy, I would be insecure, I would be afraid, I would act like I need your help. And the rest of humanity would be okay with that. But I choose something else. I choose to be strong, I choose to be a leader, I choose to have words to move this planet. I'll tell you why I was born. And I hope it inspires you to find out why you were born. I was born to rid this world of insecurity, because when a human being is insecure, they do stupid stuff. When we feel like we're not enough, we chase external validation and external objects to try to tell us we're enough. So in order to get off your butt, what does one have to do? Stand. They have to take a stand. It takes strength to stand. It takes effort to stand. It takes changing your perspective to stand. And you will stick out when you stand. Amongst every sea of people, all that sea of people that are stuck on their butts, you take a stand, you will get noticed. You can take a stand for anything you want in your life. You can say, "That's it. I'm done. I'm taking a stand for my health. Today, I start my exercise regime. I am hiring a fitness trainer. I am making this happen." You can take a stand for anything you want. You can say, "That's it. In my career, I'm taking a stand. I'm not going to spend that 4.2 hours that the rest of America watches a day of television. I'm going to work on my business. And I don't know when that amount of money will show up, and I'm not worried. I'm just going to work on my business, do what it takes, and move in that direction." You could take a stand for—

your family. You know, instead of tonight going out with the guys, instead of going out with the girls, we're gonna have dinner at home, and maybe if your kids are younger, we're gonna have a sleepover in the living room and we're gonna talk about what's going on in their school. Or maybe you take a stand for your relationship and you say, tonight we're not going to dinner and a movie. Tonight We're taking a walk, and I want to know what's going on with you in your life right now. And I know I've not been present, and I've been thinking and worrying and scared, but I want to be here for you. I don't know what it is for you.

I just know that if you take a stand, your life will get better.

Is your life out of control? Think about it. Do you feel like you're not quite sure what's gonna happen next, and you're wondering if it's gonna get any better, and, and you can kind work yourself into a frantic mess? I've learned what it is that causes that. It's the lack of observation. More specifically, the lack of observing your own ego, the lack of observing your own behavior. When you get all caught up in chaos, you're really not thinking about How do I look right now? And I don't mean physically, like what am I wearing and do I look sexy or handsome? I'm saying, how am I coming off right now? Am I calm or am I screaming? Is my voice soothing or irritating? Observe yourself. The more you observe, or what they call observe the ego, the better chance you have of channeling your energy to outcomes that you want. When we're most frantic is when we are most detached for how we're behaving, when we're totally blinded by the circumstances of pain and worry and fear that we forget that we're actually able to observe ourselves. And when I am observing myself, my life just seems to run better. So if right now you feel out of control, observe your behavior and make these little changes as you go. When you look at yourself, ask yourself, do I want to be screaming right now? How am I making this other person feel? How am I holding my body language? What does my voice sound like? Am I tensing my body? Do I look open? How are the people around me reacting to me? Observe yourself. Observe your ego, and you will get control of your life. I promise you. It is one powerful yet simple technique. Pity is a drug. Is a drug. Pity is a drug.

And when I see people that are feeling pity, and I've been in that space, you know what it does?

It's like you're just getting your smack and you're getting your veins all ready, and then you're like, oh man, I'm just I'm lonely, I'm scared, I'm unhealthy.

And you just keep slapping that vein and then you shoot it up and you go to somebody and you tell them, you're like, oh my, you know, my husband left me, my wife left me. Or, oh, you know, I've always been overweight. Or, oh, you know, I'm unhealthy and this isn't my fault. It's my doctor's fault. And we just keep shooting up this drug and then people are like, oh sweetie. "Come, come, I'm gonna love you right now." And you get this love hit that you think is love, but let me tell you, it ain't love.

It's pity. It's a drug. 'Cause then you go, "Well, you know what?

I don't have to do anything about this 'cause I'm getting attention. I'm getting affection. I'm getting money. I'm getting something out of this. So I just— I'm just gonna keep doing this." And I'm not trying to be up on the stage and say, "I don't do that." I've done this with you. But if you're going to be honest, you're going to tell me you know what I'm talking about. And when you live in effect, you keep going back to that drug of pity, pity, pity, pity. And you cannot live in that space if you want to live the life that I believe you were designed for. Because the clock is ticking, is it not? None of it—

I love the fact that we don't know when we're going to die. It's so awesome.

And I love that we're going to die. I love it. You know why I love it? Because it makes sweet. You got to live forever. You've seen those vampire movies. The vampire's miserable. He's like, "Oh, I have to do this another day." Be happy you're gonna die, 'cause it makes this sweet. It makes this awesome. I want everybody to give death a round of applause. Look, my life has not been easy.

I'm gonna let you into something that I don't share that much.

My life There are things that I cannot do and never will be able to do without assistance. I could sit here and say, "It's not fair I need help getting dressed. It's not fair I need help getting on and off the toilet, getting in my wheelchair. It's not fair that when I get into a vehicle, I have to ride in a child's car seat for safety. It's not fair that I get trapped in elevators. It's not fair that most people tower above me. It's not fair, it's not fair, it's not fair." But it's not fair is the most limiting disease on the planet. I think fairness is an illusion. I do not believe that you got something better than me.

You got something different.

And you didn't get something better than your neighbor sitting next to you.

You got something different. In life, no one gets better cards.

I believe it's how we play cards. And it looks like that maybe you have more or you have less than somebody. That's in your mind. It's how you're using what you are given. And I look for what's funny.

Have I cried? Have I been upset? Sure.

But I've learned that when you laugh, I've learned that when you use your resources, when you are willing to take a step stand for your life, by connecting, by treating yourself with respect, by looking for what's funny. When you do that, your life just seems to work better. But it's not always going to be easy. But easy is the precursor to atrophy. You want an easy life? Then get ready not to have your dreams. That doesn't mean that it can't be fun. Things can be difficult but still be fun.

Have you ever been really frustrated and making a really big deal out of something in your life, and then something happens and everything gets put into perspective? I had that today. I was frustrated with an issue in my life, and I was really struggling with how to move forward, what to do about it. And it wasn't that big of a deal, except I was making it a big deal. Ever been there? Making little things into big things. And then I got a cell phone call from a friend of mine that I hadn't heard from probably 6 months to a year.

We weren't really close, but we were friends.

We'd hung out several times. And the phone call was interesting. Something was different about his voice. It was a little slower and it sounds slurred. And then he proceeded to tell me he had experienced a stroke. Now he's a young guy, so this is a really unique issue, and he had to go into the hospital for a month. And he lost his ability to speak for some time, and he had challenges walking, and he had to learn how to do certain things all over again. And it was almost embarrassing how trivial of a problem I was dealing with in comparison to what my friend was dealing with. And it gave me such a matter of perspective. I mean, I was in a position where I thought, oh, it's not fair, I'm frustrated with this area of my life. And then boom, a reality check was written and cashed. And I realized I didn't have it that bad. I was making a little deal into a big deal. And I need to chill out. Because whatever it is you're frustrated with, there's a high percentage that you're making a big deal out of something that's not. We usually come together in life to deal with the big stuff, and we bond through the big stuff. It's the little stuff that gets us off track. So I ask you today, what thing or things are you making a really big deal that really aren't? And what would— what could happen in your life that would automatically change everything and you would be begging for those problems again? And you don't want to manifest that, you don't want to create that, but that, that perspective, that knowing that your life could change on a dime for the worse. And that you need to be grateful for the problems that you have right now. Because you don't want to trade them in for horrific challenges, which oftentimes can happen. So I encourage you to be very grateful for what you have today. Enjoy your problems for the size that they are. They could always be much more painful. And truly take refuge in the fact that you have a very good life. If you're able to sit around and watch a video blog, you maybe have your sight ability, your sound— your ability to hear what I'm saying auditory-wise. You have so much more in your life than you're giving yourself awareness to, and I ask that you Wake up to that. Hi, I'm Shawn Stevenson, and I have to warn you, what you're about to see is going to be intense. And well, just say you've been warned. I have a question: what do you do to get pumped up? All right, well, I'm going to show you what I do, and in fact, I'm going to take it to the next level because I want you to do it with me. I call it a dance party. Yeah. So it's going to start off really simple. Just shoulders right now.

And you might think, what is he doing? Why is he doing this?

Because it gets your body moving and it makes your spirit feel good. So we're moving the shoulders. And then we're going to start to get the arms arms inboard. Good. It's called a dance party, and we're gonna take it up a notch in a moment.

I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, he's gone crazy.

And I have, because life is meant to be enjoyed. All right, so now you're gonna lose it. Now, in a moment, when the chorus really gets going, you're gonna look around, make sure that you're alone when you do this, all right? It's called a dance party, and you do it about 3 times a day.

You just get your favorite song on and you get your move on because Life is supposed to be silly, not so serious. I know this is probably gonna be like the most watched video, but dance with me anytime you want. Are you dancing?

Are you laughing at me? You're laughing at me. I know you're laughing at me.

I would laugh at me.

You're gonna watch this anytime you want to feel good.

Hey! Hey! So— So—

So you're gonna remember, leave yourself dance parties.

Life is too short to get all serious and not have a good time.

I'm Shawn Stevenson, thanks for watching.

Thank you so much for watching. I made this video because Michael Tenry asked me to. So if there's a famous entrepreneur that you want me to profile next, leave it in the comments below and I'll see what I can do. I'd also love to know which of Sean's top 10 rules meant the most to you. Leave in the comments below, I'm gonna join in the discussion. Thank you so much for watching, continue to believe, and I'll see you soon.