I can’t believe I get to do this for a living ...

A lesson in gratitude.

I was telling some friends last night about a perspective shift I recently had.

In my journey toward success it’s been one of my goals to be able to say,

“I can’t believe I get to do this for a living.”

when referring to my business.

And what I mean by that is, I’m continually pursuing the goal of making a living that is both fulfilling and abundantly takes care of our financial needs. I think it’s safe to say that’s something most of us want.

What I came to realize earlier that day was that feeling wasn’t as far off as I thought.

It wasn’t something that I could only have “some day”.

I’ve realized that fulfillment in life isn’t dictated by our external circumstances, but by what’s going on INSIDE of us.

I was sitting with our 9-month-old, Elliot recently, and I thought about how, despite the challenges that I have in life, I have SO many blessings that so many people long to get to enjoy. Simple, beautiful things like being able to play with my baby in the middle of the day when most people might be working.

In that moment I told myself out loud, "I can’t believe I get to do this for a living,” and it felt like I genuinely believed it.

Choosing to be grateful for what I have gave me access to that feeling of fulfillment that I thought would only come with a certain level of influence, a certain level of income, or a certain stage of accomplishment.

That heart/mind-shift was huge for me and helped me to feel a lot better about where I’m at in my journey.

I’m not quite where I want to be yet; at times it feels like I’m REALLY far from it, but I’ve also come SO FAR, and I’m grateful for that.

There’s a lot of things I still would like to have, but I already have the things that matter MOST: a loving and wonderful family, my physical health, self-awareness, loyal friends, and so many other things that can be easily taken for granted in the pursuit of “success”.

By those measures, I ALREADY AM successful!

I’d like to encourage you to look at what you DO have, not always focusing on what you don’t have yet.

Look at what you have with the realization that you are blessed with things that other people would kill to have. (Gifts, family, friends, health, knowledge…)

And in that light, you quickly become a very wealthy and fortunate person!

This doesn’t mean that you have to be satisfied with where you’re at.

You might be in a really tough spot currently. — I know I am in a lot of ways! I still have so much growth I want to experience in life.

But it IS possible for us to be “Blissfully Dissatisfied” with our lives.

(A term I borrowed from Ed Mylett)

Blissful dissatisfaction is where we acknowledge the wonderful things we are blessed with and allow ourselves to FEEL good about those things, BUT we are still never satisfied with staying put and the desire to become the best version of ourselves pulls us forward each day.

Think about how you imagine feeling when you accomplish your big goals.

What things will you think to yourself? What things will you say to other people? What emotions will you feel?

Is it possible for you to feel those things NOW, in your present circumstances?

Could it be possible the only thing separating you from fulfillment a simple but profound shift in your perspective from, “I’m not there yet” to “I am GRATEFUL FOR…”?

That might be all you need to start feeling better about your own journey!

Have you ever felt this way before?

Have you ever felt SO behind or SO discontent?

Have you ever experienced a mindset shift like I had? What was it like?

How do you keep yourself in a place of gratefulness and joy, even when times are challenging?

I’d love to hear from you and learn from your story!

Stoked to run alongside you guys,

— N