028 | Bet on Yourself: Taking a Gamble for a Life Worth Living w/ James Mayer

Hello, good people, and welcome back to Life is Sound with me, your host, James Mayer. Today I've got a story for you that I think is more than worth sharing. Over the past few days, I met up with somebody who I've been coaching and what they revealed to me, I was so inspired by the decision and the step they chose to take in life. I really thought I wanted to share this with you. So I actually asked him, can I share this story on the podcast for people to hear? And he was like, of course. So I've been helping Eoghan in a coaching capacity. He's at a bit of a crossroads in his life, you know, career, few other things. And what we did is we looked at a timeline of his life to look at patterns both positive and negative and how those things can affect him today and how they can affect things like decision making. So as we went back through Eoghan'S timeline, he became aware of times in his life he's took a gamble on himself and it's paid off. So I asked the question, what was it in your life that you were embodying at that time that enabled you to take the gamble for it to pay off? Because we do not get taught that once we've been something or we have known something, it's muscle memory. We can tap back into that energy at any point. So that version of himself that took the gamble for that time in life and it paid off, for him, it bettered his life, he learned something. What was it you were doing at that time? What were the ingredients in your life that were working for you at that time? So I've asked Eoghan if I can share this story because I think it's such a great reminder for us when we want to take that leap of faith, when we want to move in the direction we want to be moving in, which is difficult. When we're bound by things like our identity, our jobs, our responsibilities, having to make money. All these things can restrict us from taking one step closer to our dream and staying in the lives that we know we do not really want. That feel a bit mundane, that feel a bit like Groundhog Day. We have this yearning and this calling to just go for something beyond that. So we did an exercise where we looked through Eoghan's life and we were looking for patterns of both positive and negative things that might have affected him. And what came up for him was times in his life when he's took a gamble on himself and it's paid off. So I asked the question, what were you doing at that time in your life that enabled you to embody the energy you needed to be able to move into the thing that you wanted to pursue, the thing that levelled up your life, the thing that got you moving forward? What were the ingredients in your life at that time? And in his own time, he's obviously processed these things. He's looked at the timeline more in depth, spent time with his own story. And when we met up the other day, he told me, I've quit my job and I'm moving to Italy. I was like, wow. From what you told me last time to what you're saying now, wow, that's profound change like that and that's how quickly we can make these life changing decisions that are going to give us experience, value, knowledge. That's what we're here for, to learn, to grow. We'll never know what these things were like if we don't choose to pursue the thing we know we need to be pursuing, the thing that you feel here, the knowing, the gut. Now, the importance of this exercise is when in life do you ever spend the time with yourself and look at the span of your life and things that have occurred, the things that have shaped you as a person, the things that have moulded your mindset, the things that have given you strength, the things that have added to weaknesses? When do we ever look at these things as a linear time period and spot the patterns and dot to dot and see what makes us up as humans? Where our vulnerabilities might be, where we can be stronger, where the work needs to be done? The tune in here, the tweaks there to get us to the destination that you desire, whatever that looks like for you. This is a really powerful exercise. So Eoghan works in the wine industry. His passion is in wine, and he's a 25 year old man with dreams, and he's at a crossroads in life where he's working for somebody else in the wine industry, and he knows it's not where he wants to be. He's got aspirations. He's doing things in the industry himself. He wants to make a stamp and his own mark in that industry, and I believe he'll do that even more so after him taking this step. So when he said to me, I've quit my job, I'm moving to Italy, I'm going to go and work at a winery for seven weeks for harvest season in Italy, the place of wine. He's going to be soaking up culture. He's going to be getting invaluable lessons from the land, from the people. Would he have got that same experience if he stayed in the place he knew he didn't want to be? And my reaction was, wow, bro, that is incredible. I felt so proud that somebody has quickly made that decision based on looking at their life and spending time with it and just journaling and writing things down, what's been coming up for you? And spotting that there was a time in his life where he took a gamble on himself and it paid off. So if it paid off, then what if it was to pay off. Now with the thing he knows he wants to take the step with. And as he shared this with me, this is another great reminder in life that when you tell people things like, I'm going to do this, I'm going to quit my job, I'm going to move to Italy for seven weeks, people will start putting their limitations on you. They quickly calculate, well, I wouldn't be able to do this because of that, I wouldn't be able to do this because of that. And they apply that to you. What are you going to do for money? What are you going to do for money when you get home? How are you going to do this? How are you going to do that? It's very rare. People go, that is incredible. Come on, let's build on this, let's go with that idea. People quickly, without even realising, will place their limitations on you. And if you are in a place where you are not strong enough in your mindset and set on the decision you are making, you'll quickly let people talk you out of the thing that is calling you, the thing that is telling you to move forward. Try this thing, it could be great. Worst case scenario, two things, it's either going to be great or it's going to be a catastrophe. Either one brings great learning. So, weeks ago, this is a guy who was in a job that he wasn't happy with, felt fed up, unsatisfied. Now, today, he's living in Italy, spending the rest of the summer, what we have left of it, doing the thing that he is passionate about, learning about that industry, growing as an individual, information he's going to be able to take forward for years to come. An experience that he has claimed for himself by saying, I am making this decision, I am going to take a gamble on myself. And this links with a post that I saw my friend Adio say the other day. Imagine, I didn't bet on myself. What is the reason we do this? What's the reason we talk ourselves out of these things? We should always be betting on ourselves. We should always take the gamble. This life is short and we're here to experience things, learn, grow. So if you have a dream, you have a desire like, Owen, take that step. But what about this? I can't do that because, like I said in the last episode, everyone's situation is unique and individual, saying that we can find a way, we can find a way. There's always a way to chase the thing and do the thing you want to be doing. You can take the gamble in the process, you're going to learn, you're going to grow. Things are definitely going to change. There's definitely forward motion, and this is something you're going to hear me saying a lot, forward motion. It's the one thing we cannot ever resist in life change is inevitable. It is going to come whether you like it or not. There's going to be times you have no control of it, and there's times it's going to be all in your control. And those moments are the beautiful moments when we get to choose our direction for the brief period before life makes the direction for us. Let's go over that again. There's moments we get to make the choice of direction up until the point life comes and makes the choice of direction for us. These are the wins when we get to choose what we want to do. Until life brings something that you weren't ready for or didn't quite want to do and tells you, this is where we're going for a while now. These are the things we don't have control of. Dreams and changes, career directions, following your passion, following your gut. These are the things we do have control of. Surely that's the wisest option for us to be following this. So in these shorter episodes, I just want to get you thinking, when was the last time I took a gamble on myself? When was the last time I felt the fear and did it anyway? I've invited Owen onto this podcast when he gets back from Italy because I know his story is going to be incredible. I heard a man speak words to me about his life, and the next time I saw it, he redirected it in a split decision. I was like, wow. Incredible. I couldn't stop smiling. He couldn't stop smiling. And I'm so proud that he made that decision. The butterfly effect is something I'm going to go into on another episode and just break down the story of the past five years for myself and how every decision has led to my life changing and growing for the better. In terms of the things I've wanted to pursue, life has still happened. The things I've had no control of, the directions I've been taken in, that's always going to happen. But the decisions I've made creatively and career wise that have led to one thing to another, this is the power of when we take a gamble on ourselves, your life gets better. It if you take a gamble and it doesn't work out, it's never a loss. It's never an L, it's a win. Those are the moments you recalibrate and go, Right, that didn't quite work. What else is out there? What can I be doing better? Which direction do I need to go in? You are always supposed to be where you are. As long as you're moving forward, things do not come to you. You cannot sit in one place and wait for things to come to you. You have to move. And that's why I'm so proud of Eoghan. That's why I wanted to share the story of taking a gamble on yourself, making the decision and going, he's got things around him that could have stopped him, a partner, a job, probably bills, like all of us, responsibilities. And he said, I'll figure it out. And that's what I want to leave you guys with today. When was the last time you took a gamble on yourself and what would happen if you did? So thanks a lot again for listening to Life with Sound. Checking back into these episodes, these shorter episodes are just a reminder to say there's only one you. There is only one you. Let's make it the best version of you and let's call in the life that we all desire, because there's enough out there for us all. So thanks a lot for listening, guys. Remember, no matter what you're going through, life is good, life is sound. See you on the next one. Stay blessed. Bye.