Rewrite Your Story for 2020 | Jack Canfield

2020 is the worst. Now, how many times have you heard people say that this year? Are you as tired of it as I am? I know a lot of not so great things have happened this year. A lot for sure. But when you focus on everything bad that's happening and never pay attention to everything that's good in the world, you create a very skewed and negative perspective of the world that will lead you to believe that things are much worse than they actually are. And that negative attitude will make it so much harder for you to stay motivated and, and focus on achieving your goals. And so today, I would like to show you how to rewrite your 2020 story so that you're able to see the ways this year has actually been a positive year for you, no matter what has been happening in your life and in the world around you. Now, first, I'd like you to think back to March of this year, when most of us first began to realize the full extent of the pandemic and, and the impact it was going to have on our lives. And back in March, my team and I, we were busy promoting our big live events for the year. We had two Breakthrough to success weekends we were getting ready for. We had the luxury Mastermind retreat we were just about to start promoting. And we had our Train the Trainer live event scheduled with people coming in from all over the world. Now, imagine our dismay when we realized that none of these events were gonna take place. But instead of freaking out, we did a 180 degree hard pivot and got to work promoting the online trainings we already had, creating and promoting an exciting new online coaching club and Mastermind groups for our community. And in the process, we learned so much. In fact, we ended up implementing many of the long term goals that we had for our business that we probably wouldn't have achieved for another two or three years if it hadn't been for the pandemic. And on top of that, we figured out how to deliver keynote speeches online, which is something I had never done before. In March, I did a keynote presentation for Bacardi, the People who Make Bacardi Rum, which was a huge eye opener for me. Now, I received my regular fee, but I didn't have to spend several days away from home. Traveling from Santa Barbara to Bermuda, where they're headquartered, and back. And what would have normally taken three days out of my life was completed in a single morning. And because it was done online, I was able to reach a lot more people with my message. You see, I had originally been scheduled to speak to the company's 400 managers. But I ended up speaking to the managers plus another 4,000 employees who are all working from home and could watch online the presentation on their computers just like the managers were. And because all of our trainings are being delivered online now, people from all over the world can participate without having to invest the time and the cost of travel to and from our trainings. And in our Online Success Principles. Coaching Club has people from 27 countries participating and we're having a much bigger international impact. And because the group meets twice a month for four months instead of having it all packed into an intensive weekend experience, we're able to work with people over a much longer period of time, which means between sessions people are better able to integrate what they're learning and are able to come back with any questions they might have if they get stuck or if they're unclear, which allows us to help them more deeply and completely on their continuing journey of success. And on the personal front, I have spent more time at home with my wife than ever before in our 20 year marriage and that's also been a real blessing and we are more deeply in love with each other than ever. And I've had more time to exercise and take care of myself. So even though there were a lot of initial setbacks and I missed some aspects of live trainings, like hugging and dancing and seeing some of my favorite people in person, there have also been a lot of amazing professional moments to this year. And I bet that if you look back on your life this year, you'll notice the same thing. So what I'd like you to do as soon as you finish watching this video is to take a few minutes and write down everything that has happened to you this year. Go all the way back to January and write down all the major things you can remember, whether you think it was good or whether you think it was bad. And be sure to include all of the fun times and personal wins you experience, no matter how small. If you connected, reconnected with a family member, be sure to write that down. And if you stood up for yourself when someone was trying to make you feel bad, write that down too. Did you read any good books? Did you enjoy any fun times in nature? Did you spend some quality time with your family either at home or online? Did you learn how to use some helpful new online tools? Whatever it is, write it all down. And the more you can write, the better. And be sure to include the hard times and challenges too, except when you go to write them down, I want you to reframe them as a positive statement. For example, let's say, God forbid you lost your job, write down I lost my job and I survived it. Or if you broke up with your partner, write my relationship ended and I'm still okay, or My relationship ended and my life is better than ever. Now remember, the challenges you face in life may not be fun, but they do serve an important purpose. They teach you valuable new insights, new lessons, and new skills and that you can use to overcome similar challenges in the future. In other words, they make you a more capable person. So instead of telling yourself that 2020 has been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year, focus on the fact that has also been a year of powerful learning that has also included a lot of bright spots along the way. And because the fact is both of these can be true at the same time. And when you start to focus on the good instead of the bad, that makes it so much easier for you to cultivate a positive mindset and the confidence that you need to stay motivated and keep working toward your goals no matter what is happening in the world around you. And finally, I'd like to introduce you to an important concept I learned from strategic coach Dan Sullivan. It's what he calls the gap and the game. Now when people set goals for themselves and then end up falling short of those goals, all too often they focus only on the gap between what they wanted and intended to accomplish and what they actually accomplish. For example, let's say your income last year was $50,000 and your goal this year was to make $100,000 and you ended up only making $75,000. Now too many people would focus on the gap between the 75,000 and 100,000, the fact that they fell 25,000 short of their goal, and they would allow the supposed failure to cause them disappointment and frustration and low self esteem and a negative self image. But the fact is they actually made 25,000 more than last year and it was during a pandemic when a whole lot of individuals and businesses took a serious hit or ended up failing altogether. So if you focus on the gain, you feel better, you enhance your self esteem and you maintain your motivation for the future. It's a simple distinction, but it makes a huge difference in how you evaluate your year and your experience and how you experience success. Now remember to focus on the difference between where you actually started from and where you ended up, rather than the gap between where you ended up and your goal. And take time to celebrate that game and if you did take a major financial hit this past year, remember, if you're watching this, you're still here. You have a roof over your head. You have access to the Internet. You have food to eat. You have running water to drink and to bathe in. You have access to transportation and access to entertainment on your computer, and access to all kinds of free online education and a host of other things. And I really want you to stop and take this in. More than 1 billion people living on this planet are living on less than $2.50 a day. So really stop and think about that. And when you do, you have to realize that you have a lot to be grateful for. So if you didn't manage to achieve all your goals this year, please don't beat yourself up for that. Instead, focus on what you did accomplish and congratulate yourself for surviving this crazy year. Now, it's definitely going to be a year that we'll be talking about for many decades to come. And when you look back on it, you'll be able to say, I didn't just survive it, I actually learned a lot from it. So remember, no matter how crazy the world happens to be, there's always something good to focus on. And the more you pay attention to and appreciate what's good in your life, the more it will expand. I'll leave you with this quote about the law of attention that I saw on the Internet the other day. It said, the law of attention is such that everything you focus your attention on will grow larger and larger in your own awareness. And just like a drop of water on a still, calm lake, it will create an expanding ripple effect. So too will your focused attention create a ripple of expansion. Now, if you found this video helpful, please make sure to share it with a friend who may need it. And subscribe to my channel for more videos like this one and for additional success practices and resources. Make sure to visit my website@jackcampfield.com and also check out the links in the description below and let me know what you think in the comments. And thanks again for watching.