Release the Shackles of Mediocrity!

Release the Shackles of Mediocrity! By Lisa Jimenez

Imagine a BIG production company came to you with a huge budget and a line-up of the biggest names in Hollywood to make a movie of your life.

Tell me. Would anyone want to go see it?

And, if they did, would it be pegged as a great adventure; filled with outrageous risk and incredible quests? Would it be a famous suspense movie; peppered with dramatic events where you turned victim to victory? Would it be an empowering love story? A heart-warming example of a person who knows how to really love?

In other words.

Are you living a life worth watching?

And If not, why not? What's keeping you from really living?

In all the research I did for my book Conquer Fear! I noticed a common thread weaving within every success story. Every person had some amount of hidden fear they had to deal with in order to breakthrough mediocrity. And they were willing to do it!

We've already spoken extensively about hidden fears being the biggest culprit that hold you back and keep you from really living. (If you need strategies to overcome this, get a copy of "Conquer Fear!") What I want to talk about in this article is something beyond that.

It's about living in mediocrity.

In a recent radio interview I did, several people called in to ask why they can't make their life work. They can't seem to stay motivated and focused long enough to create a breakthrough success. I've had countless people share their lack-luster lives with me and ask, "What is wrong with me?"

Have you ever asked that question before? How many times have you set a goal for yourself that you are excited about, and then, within a very short time you get sidetracked and stop doing the things you know you need to?

Are you lazy? Do you lack discipline?

I don't think it is either of these. I believe it is your beliefs about letting yourself really live - really love - really succeed! Many people think they're just not meant to live an outrageous life. And that belief holds them in bondage of mediocrity!

When I was a little girl, my parents would often visit some special friends. These friends had a daughter named Michelle whom everyone (including my parents) affectionately called, "The Princess." Well, I guess there can only be one princess because I was referred to as, "The Duchesse." I can still remember how much I hated that nickname. Now, mind you, I know a Duchesse is royalty. But, in my five year old little mind the Duchesse did not symbolize royalty. To me it clearly meant "second place". I began to see myself as second place.

Fast forward 5 years. I'm in my first dance competition. What place do you think I came in? - Second place!

Fast forward 10 years. I'm in my first beauty pageant. What place do you think I came in? - Second place!

Then, the next year I'm in the Miss Teen USA contest. I've completed all but one final competition. The reigning queen approaches me during the break and says, "Lisa, you've got this thing. Just go out there and give a great interview and you're going to win!" The interview process was my strongest ability. This was going to be a sure thing. But when I took hold of the microphone, I froze. All I can remember saying is a bunch of unintelligible words and soon the announcement came. Lisa Jimenez - first runner-up - SECOND PLACE!

It was a self-fulfilled prophecy of my beliefs. I just didn't see myself as first place.

What about you? Do you have any silly childhood nicknames or past experiences that are limiting you? What are they? Are you willing to expose them - deal with them - and breakthrough them? Until you break free from these lies they will limit your success and keep you in mediocrity.

When I finally realized I had created a pattern of second place, I began changing that belief. I began seeing myself in first place and that helped me behave like a first place winner - which helped me become first place.

Several months into my breakthrough, I received a little box tied with a satin ribbon from Michelle's mom. Inside this box was a tiny princess carriage made of gold. It came with a note that read, "Lisa, you are always a princess to me." I keep this tiny, golden carriage out in my office. It reminds me that I am created for first place! It gives me the courage to surround myself with people that SEE me (and themselves) as "first place" too.

How do you see yourself? When you look in the mirror at your reflection, what and who do you see? Do you see that childhood nickname, those past failures, painful regrets, second place?

Or do you see a National Sales Director? A multi-millionaire? A loving friend? A powerful entrepreneur? Do you see yourself as "First Place"?

Your personal perception of yourself defines your reality.

It's true that success is the combination of belief and time. The more belief you have, the less time it takes.

Cultivate your internal value! And surround yourself with others who hold you accountable to your greatness - and their own!

I want this success report to be an electric current of energy that will motivate you to throw yourself out into the world to make a difference - a big difference. It's about tuning in and turning on. And you begin this process by believing you are meant to achieve great things. Only you can release the shackles of mediocrity.

What bold, outrageous difference will you make this last month of the year that will greatly contribute to yourself and to others? What steps do you need to take today to begin?

Make it a great month and leave 2007 with a bang!

Richest blessings,

LISA!
Lisa Jimenez M.Ed.