Beverlee Rasmussen CEC PCC In June, two of my staff members attended the World Domination Summit (WDS) in Portland, Oregon. This summit is best described as a summer camp for entrepreneurs and creative thinkers mixed with TED talks and dinosaurs.
I asked my staff members if there was anything they wanted to share about what they experienced there. Avery, our creative director at SBC, jumped up. Here’s what she wanted to share with you.
From the heart of the World Domination Summit
First, let me say this, it’s not a great idea to tell the border guard at the airport that you just got back from a conference called “the world DOMINATION summit”. They (surprisingly) don’t think of inspiring speakers and dinosaur costumes. Instead, the look in their eyes says something like “did you just go to a cult meeting about trying to take over the world? What are you…an evil villain? No way you’re coming back to Canada.” And to get out of it, you have to show them silly photos of you in a dinosaur costume.
The World Domination Summit was an inspiring weekend where I connected with a community of creative thinkers. I heard 12 speakers present on topics such as building a second brain, sitting with ambiguous grief, finding play in your every day and opening your mind to limitless possibilities.
Throughout these talks, there was one over-arching theme that stood out to me. It can best be incorporated in a quote:
We are the stories we tell ourselves.
Limiting beliefs
No matter your background or where you are in life, we all have limiting beliefs. They are the ideas or mantras we’ve learnt from our society and other people’s fears. Things like “I’m not good enough”, “No one will support me”, or “I have to be perfect”.
It turns out that those are completely, absolutely, without a doubt, 100% made up. They are as real as a bright pink elephant with a boa-constrictor for a trunk. Yet, they have a real-world impact that influences our outlook of ourselves and what we believe is possible.
And the good news is, since these beliefs are made-up, we can change them. We can make up a better, supportive, kind narrative about ourselves. We can tell ourselves a different story that creates a positive, real-time impact.
Sometimes it’s scary to make that change.
There is a part of us that clings to these ideas because the alternative is we say “I’m great” and then we inevitably mess up. So now we’re just liars with a big ego or even worse, it confirms we actually aren’t good enough. So it feels safer to stay within our limiting beliefs because at least “I’m not good enough” is reliable. We can always meet that standard.
It’s at times like these that we can turn to our community.
There are people out there who will get you. And these things that “aren’t good enough”, are actually our strengths. They are the things that make us unique and they are our biggest offer to the world. Usually, they are the things that made us light up as kids, and our limiting beliefs have told us to squash them. When we change the story we tell ourselves, we open the door to the people we need most.
When we change the stories we tell ourselves, our dreams become reality. No matter what your limiting beliefs whisper in your ear about how “unlikely”, “silly”, or “irresponsible” it is. Tell yourself stories about how amazing you are (because it’s true) and speak out loud about your BIG dreams. It will attract people who’ll uplift you.
“The man who thinks he can and the man who thinks he can’t are both usually right.”
Henry Ford
Do you say “I can” or “I can’t”? There are limitless possibilities. They are waiting for you. It’s all in the stories we tell ourselves.
From, Avery
What are your thoughts?
What do you think about Avery’s takeaways from WDS? Do you have any stories or thoughts about this topic? Feel free to leave a comment. We want to hear from you!
Until next time, enjoy your Entrepreneurial Journey.
