Live Your Best: Challenge 1

I have a lot of ideas. Great ideas. Ideas that will change the world. Something tells me you do, too.

Then life gets busy, or you don't feel confident, or maybe someone really awful tells you your ideas are worthless and you put them on the back burner of your mind. The way-back burner. And you might even forget about them while they boil over and make a huge mess inside your head. Sadly, you only remember them when someone else gets the same idea, actually makes something out of it and everyone else loves it.

Today, I am rescuing one of my ideas from that awful place known as Someday Land and I'm sharing it with you all.

I am a firm believer that change is best made in small, manageable bites. Baby steps. If you wake up one day and say to yourself, "I want to be Supermom" or "I want to be a star" or "I want to be the next Oprah," well, good for you! Pat yourself on the back -- you just determined your goal. Step 1. But, how are you going to get there? Odds are, you're not going to teleport to success or even take the fast track. You're going to have to persevere and it's going to take a long time. It's going to require patience.

I recently finished reading the behavioral economics book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. It's amazing and full of evident truths that we're afraid to acknowledge. In it, Gladwell asserts that the formula for success is simply this: Opportunity + Hard Work. He cites a large number of well-known and oft-acknowledged examples (including Bill Gates) and every single one of them follows the formula. No one makes it big only because they rose above adversity. They all had a golden opportunity and the determination (including effort) to make it happen.

In connection with reading Outliers, I have been thinking I need to change. Everything is fine; don't worry. I've just found myself in a weird place: contentment. I always get a little uncomfortable when I'm content with life because it means I'm not going anywhere. I'm not improving, I'm not making an impact. I'm stuck! And I don't want to be stuck  (I'm claustrophobic).

So, I've devised a little game plan to help me (and maybe you, too) to get out of Contentment Land and on my way up to bigger and better things. I'm calling it Live Your Best. And every so often, I'm going to create a challenge for myself and document the completion of said project. Here's where you come in: I have to be accountable to someone. And who better than the World Wide Web? After all, I'm still making homemade bread every week, still eating 50% raw and still no-pooing because I committed myself to it on this blog. Here's a secret about me: I'm a little flaky, unless I know someone is counting on me. Then, I'm 100% loyal. I'll do whatever it takes to follow through. Maybe you are the same way.

I'm also sharing this challenge with you because it might be easier to complete them if I know I'm in good company. I often find the journey is easier when you have travel mate. So, feel free to participate as much as you want in this challenge, too. I think it could be especially awesome if you blogged about your experiences too, and then shared the link with everyone. This is your official invite!

Here's our first challenge. Are you ready?

Choose a person (neighbor, friend, family member) you know could use a little pick-me-up. Give them a call, write them a letter, bring them a potted plant or a special treat or just your sweet face to show them you care.

That's it!

Now, be aware that the more difficult you make the challenge, the more you will grow as you complete it. I advise you not to pick your best friend or your closest sister or someone popular you want to impress. Choose a person you might not see eye to eye with, or someone you feel you need to get to know better.

Listen to your heart. It might be telling you right now who you need to choose.

You (and I) have one week to complete the challenge. When you're finished, write about your experience and link up here.

Great things don't happen just because we want them to. Be the change you want to see.

Are you in?