Beat the Skeptics

I absolutely LOVE it when someone says that somebody else cannot do something and then they DO IT! I consider one of my most favorite hobbies to beat the skeptics! I have done it sooooo many times myself, doing something when no one else thinks I can, or helping someone else accomplish something when others say they cannot.

I dislike when other people put someone down, saying they can't do something or that something will never happen. Many people didn't think I could open my own business when I was 19 years old. One of my best friend's aunts actually said to me that I WILL NEVER do it. I will never forget how hurt I was by her saying that. I had family members who were skeptical, and even a few friends who questioned whether I would really be able to find a way.

Although I accepted and respected their views, I did not at all put any energy into those thoughts. They did not serve me. I was putting everything I had ever learned from my martial arts training mentally into action. To attract all the things I needed, to focus on nothing but the positives in every situation that came up, and keep my dominant thoughts on what I wanted and not even acknowledge what I didn't want, it all worked out. The path worked out the way it was SUPPOSED to work out, and my mentality was "I do not know how, I only know that I WILL." And that was enough.

I wrote a post on taking risks and the positives in failure, which you should read when you get the chance. How many people in our own history was told they could not do something. Lucille Ball was told she can't act, Walt Disney told he had no imagination, Elvis told he couldn't sing, Tom Edison told he was stupid, the Wright Brothers told they will never fly; imagine if they all LISTENED!??!

Beat the skeptics, that is the name of the game. And it is one of my most favorite games to play. And I love even being in the game or a spectator. Recently, my mental training mentor Lisa Sargese told me a phenomenal story about how she used The Secret to attract the most random goal that occurred to her one night in bed: to get her picture in Playboy Magazine.

She was a fan of the TV show The Girls Next Door and loved three of the girls, was thinking what it would be like to be them, made it her dominant thought, and the next day got a phone call for an interview about Peep Culture going into Playboy. They wanted to interview her based on her accomplishments on her own blog. Lisa's entire story of this happening can be read here on her blog.

Later, the author wrote a book mentioning her and later a documentary, having interviewed her there too. And one of the questions he asked annoyed me. I will quote:

...She tells me her ultimate aim is to look "hot"
and achieve stardom as a self-help guru.
I ask her if maybe she isn't deluding herself a bit.
After all, there's a big difference
between being encouraged
by a small group of ardent readers
with a like-minded worldview
and believing you're destined for fame.

But the author did not know who he was messing with:

She is unruffled by the question:

"Even if I'm deluding, if it perpetuates the delusion
that people can be rich, famous and successful,
that may give them the inspiration to continue doing it.
Just by their persistence they will succeed."

A phenomenal answer! The question did not phase her at all, and ME, I got annoyed, angry even! How dare he call my friend delusional! I did not like how he spoke of her dreams and goals with irony and skepticism! But Lisa simply found it entertaining, which is why I admire her so. And she simply sits back and smiles. After all, since those interviews, he mentions how she wanted to have a full time salary, get health insurance, replace both knees, get more people to read her blog, and get rich and famous.

Well today she has a full time salary, she got herself health insurance, she replaced her SECOND knee last month, and she now had anywhere from 150-250 people reading her blog A DAY. Rich and famous? It's only a matter of time. She showed him! 

Another one of my mentors, Master Kevin Balon wrote on one of his Facebook pages:

This is just a reminder not to let anything or anyone bring you down. No matter how focused you are on bringing about positive changes in yourself, it is almost a rite of passage to encounter those people who will dump on you or attempt in a variety of ways to ridicule you for making different choices that support your health goals and training. Don’t be discouraged – this is simply a test that everyone must pass to continue the training. Most often the biggest jerks that we encounter in life can be our greatest teachers. They are there to test our mettle – to teach us compassion, to show us some strength inside of ourselves that we must access to pass their test and move forward in strength and with confidence. If people scoff at you or (sometimes even worse) make little jokes at your expense because you have chosen to train and not sit in front of the TV – please understand that it’s all just a test – keeping yourself centered and calm in the face of all these little slaps and provocations is teaching you a different kind of inner strength to match the new strength that you are bringing to your body.

-Master Kevin Balon, 7th Degree Black Belt

I thought Master Balon's words couldn't have been any truer. That as part of our process to accomplishing great things, we must meet the skeptics, and that those skeptics can even become teachers of ours in some way. They are the challenges we must overcome in order to get to our goals. It's all just a test, and we must remain centered and controlled. 

SO I say to you all, those who have people always telling you cannot do something, YOU CAN! 

Yours in service,

ANDREW TRENTO