Are You Thinking Big?

One of my favorite quotes from Nelson Mandela is: “There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.” He poses a very cerebral and serious question. Are you someone who settles? Do you think you may be playing small? If so, I invite you to dig deeper. What is it that beckons you to say, “I am capable of more…” Is it a voice in your head, or perhaps the voice of an old teacher or parent? Is it an intrinsic feeling from deep down which surfaces when you are not “busy” in the daily grind?

As humans, science tells us we naturally seek equilibrium. If we are tired, we sleep. And when our body is done resting, we wake. Just because equilibrium is what our body naturally seeks, the questions I pose to you are: should you be pursuing that same steadiness in your business…in your life? Is it OK to settle? Or is it more natural to seek to evolve and grow?

As a Practice Building Consultant, my role is to coach and recommend certain actions but my passion is to watch those I help evolve and grow to make their dreams a reality. In the end, it is not me making the final decisions. For my Members, or anyone for that matter, it is ultimately their job to pick and choose which thoughts and actions will lead them into the “Big League.” Undeniably, if you are thinking big your actions will surely follow.

The Big League isn’t necessarily composed of primarily revenue-driven people. It shares the likes with those who can say they are happy, fulfilled, ignited by their business, and happy to go into “work”— heck it’s filled with people who don’t consider what they do really work. These heavy hitters have big “at-bat” potential. They can see the future they are creating for themselves and they choose to drive their life there.
So how do you make it to your future or reach the Big League? After all, it’s there waiting for you to decide when to meet up with it. Here are a few pieces of advice to take, leave or even just ponder:

1. Be genuine. Listen and be true to yourself. If you make it to your future and find it passion-less, empty, and not genuinely you—will you find happiness?
2. Be a planner. Make daily conscious decisions which move you in the direction you need or want to go. Plan time to sit down with yourself, your team, your family and look at what you really want. Then make a plan to help get you there each day.
3. Be a risk taker. Contemplate the “what ifs.” There is no dream too big, or idea too unreachable. After all, “You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose sight of the shore.” – William Faulkner
4. Be resilient. Learn from mistakes and move on. Dwelling on what hasn’t worked or the possibility that it won’t never got anyone anywhere. Remember, how you bounce back speaks more than the fall.

If you feel you are settling and playing in the “minor league” of sorts, there is no better time like the present to start addressing changes in your actions, thinking, and overall mindset to join the likes of those in the Big League. I wish you the best of luck, passion and courage to get you there.

Think big, play big! 
Katie Rios
Practice Building Consultant
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (800) 846-1555
www.aaepa.com