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THE POWER OF YOU

Today something incredible is going to happen. A woman will quit her job because she truly hates it. She’s scared, but she’ll do it anyway. A man will call office his wedding, knowing he’ll be hated for it. A 56-year-old veterinarian will start her first business, an app developer will launch her first product and a 15-year-old will start writing his first cookbook. A banker will apply for an executive role that she’s always wanted. She doesn’t feel 100% qualified but that’s not gonna stop her from throwing her hat in the ring. And a man in a bar will leave the safety of his friends to walk across the room to approach someone he finds attractive. Initially he’ll feel like he is dying inside, but it will turn out way better than he anticipated. They know they might fail or fall flat on their faces, but they do it anyway. They push themselves forward despite the feelings that scream, no. They feel afraid, but they still move. The question is why? The answer is simple. They know the secret to greatness. When your heart speaks, 54321 and move. They also know the alternative, and it’s terrifying: missing out on all that you’re meant to become. Living your life on autopilot and swimming right past all the magic opportunity and joy that your life has to offer. And the greatest risk of all? Dying before you’ve actually pushed yourself to live.

Dan in California is not going to let that happen. He’s just registered for summer classes in finance. The idea of being a 44-year-old freshman is daunting, but he does it anyway because never too old is what it means to be great. In Honolulu, Shirley has discovered the five second rule and she’s pushing herself to start living again, after losing her husband. She’s let too many “five second windows be wasted” over the last four years. Now she’s practicing everyday courage. She started with something small, beginning to walk again. That one change has opened doors that have been closed for years. In Santa Monica, Julie has used the five second rule to push yourself to make calls that made her nervous and she got two things in return, greater confidence in herself and a $5000 donation to help procure pancreatic cancer. In New Delhi, Pulkit is taking so many risks he’s using the five second rule that’s helping him grow in amazing ways. He’s now always giving his best shot at what he does, thanks to the rule. And he has a piece of advice for Dan, our 44-year-old freshman, keep pushing Dan. Pulkit knows the power of courage, and he knows the power of a push. He’s used the five second rule to finish his bachelors degree.

After a high stress week at work, Catherine wanted to just kick back and feel the buzz of a well-deserved drink and not deal, but she now knows the five second rule. Here’s what she wrote: this Friday while driving home, all I could think about was the five second rule and the idea that you have to push your way through certain situations to get unstuck. I have a significant commute so I got some good thinking time in. The industry I work in is very high stress, very deadline oriented, my hours are oddball. I am out of work by two in the afternoon. So on this Friday, before a holiday I would usually go meet friends at a local pub, have a few drinks and bitch and moan about the week. Lately, I felt as though the weekly bitch session has become nothing but an excuse for a brain numb. I feel as though I’m avoiding my life and hiding behind Bombay Sapphire (although delicious and the nectar of the gods is not a good place to hide and seek). While getting off the exit that would bring me to the pub, I started laughing. So this is what it means to push through and no, I do not feel like it. I realized what you said was 100% on. No, I did not feel like going home, looking at my finances, dealing with my who cares attitude about how I live. I wanted to kick back feel the buzz of a well deserved drink and not deal… but I did. I saw all the familiar cars in the parking lot and I drove by. Trust me, I white knuckled that drive. However small that drive was, it felt like a victory. I came home and turned on my laptop, looked at my finances, made a map. Like you I’m a runner. I was training for an ultramarathon when I got injured, the dreaded achilles. I quit exercising period. I hate the gym… hate it, but I’ve decided to go back a little at a time. I still hate it. I asked fellow runners in the local forum for help finding a doctor. After seeing the specialist, she told me the issue with my achilles is fixable and I should be out racing again by spring. This email was also part of the five second rule I don’t know if you’ll ever see it, but I wrote it and sent it.

You know, she said, however small that drive was, it felt like a victory and it truly was. In Minnesota, Kelly has made a Heart First five second decision after years of dreaming about it. 54321, she’s out of her head and she’s decided to move to France. And here’s what’s cool, now that she’s decided, the fear has disappeared, just like Rosa Park said it would. And she’ll use her brain now to figure out the details instead of allowing it to hold herself back. In London, England, Steve was suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder. He was thinking about ending his life as he rode on a ferry. He was standing next to a railing and his instincts fired up, told him to get help. The five second rule kicked in. He moved away from the railing and walked toward a steward working on the ferry. As he wrote: you saved my life today. I was on the point of committing suicide. I was going to jump off a ferry. The five second rule kicked in. It took the lowest moment of his life to admit just how lost in depression he had become, but in less than five seconds, he 54321 and discovered that he still had the courage to save his life.

And finally, James… I shared Steve’s story at a speech recently and James was in the audience. He came up to me after the talk and explained that Steve’s story had hit James close to his heart. Here’s what he wrote: Thank you so much. This was the highlight of the conference for me. Prior to losing my baby brother to suicide, I had run 18-1/2 marathons in two full. After Patrick passed, I couldn’t run anymore. Running was my escape, time to reflect and think. I didn’t want to do any of them anymore. You spoke of the soldier who was ready to jump off the ferry but did 54321 and moved on. That hit me, close to my heart. I wish my brother took five. I can never change that but I can change myself. It’s time for me to move on, back to my passion, back to my running. I’ve been fighting with myself to run a 100 miler in memory of my brother but I couldn’t get the push I needed. Today, I’m taking 54321 in memory of Patrick Stripling. Thank you so much. I will be passing this along. He posted a map on Facebook of the first marathon he’s gonna run in honor of his brother, along with a printout of the quote that I’d put on Instagram. The quote read, you have been assigned this mountain so that you can show others it can be moved. James commented, this is the perfect quote for my comeback, right next to my desk so I will see it every day and be reminded that I can move the mountain that stands before me.

Yes, you can move mountains. Whatever is happening right now, this is it. This is your life and it’s not gonna begin again. You can’t change the past but in five seconds, you can change your future. That is the power of the five second rule. When your heart speaks, honor it, 54321 move. One moment of courage can change your day. One day can change your life and your life can change the world. I want to remind you of a fact. There is greatness in you. The time to reveal it is right now.

5…4…3…2…1… Go!