Monthly Archives: February 2018

How To Get Off Your Butt And Finally Get Started

WARNING: This message contains some profanity, whose sole Purpose is to help you finally get into action doing what you love. I think you’ll like it, but you may not. If profanity isn’t your thing…. do not ready any further. Do so at your own risk.

Do you want to know what stops most people from really getting results in a new business idea or life transition?

It’s not a lack of time.
It’s not a lack of money.
It’s not a lack of having startup funds to create your dreams life or business.
And it’s not a lack of knowing where to start.

But, that’s what most people believe. They need more time, more money, more funds and they need to know EXACTLY where to start.

Let me be clear: NO.

It’s simply not the case.

Most people spend all their time gathering information about how or where to start, but they never actually start.

Most people are “getting ready” to get ready. They are 99% ready, but still not in action… why?

It’s simple….

You haven’t hit your “Oh, fuck!” point yet.

We’ll call it the O.F. Point for brevity in the rest of this blog.

Typically there are two ways to finally get started.

The first is the most common way…

You wait until there is an “Oh, fuck!” amount of money in your bank account, and you finally need to take action… because you finally hit your O.F. point.

Human beings are designed to avoid uncertainty…. However, when you hit your O.F. Point – all the stories you’ve told about time, money, resources and clarity go out the window… because you don’t have the luxury of procrastination or delay anymore.

We tend to only to need to hit our O.F. Point when it comes to projects and goals that are uncertain.

I’ve never met someone who had a cheat meal that they treated like their dream business they haven’t started yet.

“Sorry, I don’t have the time to eat that chocolate and yummy carbohydrate…” said NO ONE EVER.

“You know what, I need to have a better understanding of how exactly I am going to eat each bite of this delicious cinnamon roll before I start eating it…” said NO ONE EVER.

“Actually, I need to have at least $5,000 in startup capital before I enjoy this delicious bag of movie popcorn this weekend…” said NO ONE EVER.

Or… if you enjoy a glass of wine every now and then. How many rules do you have about drinking wine?

Do you treat your wine, chocolate, popcorn, cinnamon rolls or any other dessert or enjoyable food experience like you treat your dream business?

Do you delay, do you talk about all the reasons why not? Do you wait for your circumstances to change before you take action?

“Well, there is no wine in the house right now… so I guess I’ll never have any wine….” said NO ONE EVER.

If you wanted a glass of your favorite red and it wasn’t in your current experience or circumstance… you would get off your butt and take generative ACTION to create your desired outcome.

So… the short of it is this… treat your dream business like you treat chocolate, wine, popcorn, cinnamon rolls or any enjoyable food or beverage.

Have little to no rules about what has to happen before you take action, if it isn’t in your current experience or circumstance, stop declaring what’s missing and get off your butt to create the thing you want to experience.

And, for the love of gluten-free chocolate chip cookies, stop telling yourself you don’t have the time, the money, the resources or the clarity and JUST BEGIN.

Stop gathering information about how to begin and start gaining experience about what beginning feels like.

HINT: it will feel messy, imperfect and scary.


If you do not do this… you will stay the same until you hit your O.F. Point.

I said there were two ways to go…

The first way is what I described above… your O.F. Point. It’s more painful than the second way to go about it.

In the second way…. it’s far simpler, but required a lot more faith and courage from you.

And… for this second way… there is a perfect role model for how to create success, and it’s not who you think.

Forrest Gump – is perhaps the worlds best role model for success.

He shows up, to whatever life is presenting him, he doesn’t overthink it… and in his southern accent simply says… “OK”.

Be like Forrest and just say “OK” to whatever life is serving you with right now. Say “OK” and then take the action to do what you love with baby steps.

Don’t overthink it… just take action and improve as you go.

So, it’s your choice… you can either wait until you hit your O.F. Point… or you can be like Forrest and just say “OK” right now… no matter what your circumstances may be.

Tell me… which path will you choose? And why?

Remember to get out there, take action and make your Purpose real.

Your biggest supporter,

Mastin

P.S. Remember to treat your dreams like you treat your favorite dessert.

How To Know Which Path To Follow

Want to know which path to follow? I can help.

Let’s start here:

Ban the words “I don’t know” from your vocabulary.

And… any similar or derivative type phrase or sentiment.

Here’s the thing: you won’t always “know” and if you need to “know” before you get started to start taking action… then you will never… ever… ever… know.

If you want to know which path to follow, give up the idea that you need to know anything. Give up the idea that clarity is something that happens at the beginning of the journey. Give up the idea that you will have a perfect plan. Give up the idea that you have to do things perfectly.

Then… you will start to know the right path to follow.

Here is another tip: trade the idea of finding your passion or your Purpose for solving problems in the world.

A funny thing happens, when you take the focus off of yourself and instead focus on solving problems of the world… you tend to not only survive… but thrive.

And… even cooler than that… when you focus on solving problems that you love to solve… that is how you find your Purpose and your passion.

However… you will never “know” the right path.

Here’s something that not everyone will tell you: we are all just guessing.

Everything I do is an educated guess. Put another way… it’s an educated experiment.

We tend to take trying new things, taking risks and putting ourselves out there waaaaaaay to seriously.

If you viewed your life as an experiment in solving problems that you love to solve instead of some pressure cooker of perfection and clarity and needing answers before you start…. you would get so much further along in your life.

Trade perfection for experimentation….

Trade finding your Purpose and passion for solving problems…

Trade needing clarity and “knowing” for just trying things out and seeing what happens…

Trade needing certainty and safety for calculated risk and facing uncertainty…

Trade big lofty goals and dreams for tiny baby steps that move you forward each day…

Do this daily… and pretty soon you will know exactly which path to follow.

You got this.

Remember to get out there, take action and make your Purpose real!

Your biggest supporter,

Mastin

The Fastest Path To A Life Of Freedom

Freedom is something we all dream of.

Financial freedom. The freedom to live how we see fit. The freedom to go on the epic journey of discovering our life’s purpose and helping others.

The freedom to be who we really are, without holding back, hiding or needing to change to fit in or accepted.

These days, it seems that our yearning for this freedom has been dimmed by negative news, violence, divided view points and pessimism about the direction the world is heading.

But – there is a cure. For you… and for anyone who wants it.

Do you want to know what it is?

We must choose to participate joyfully in the sorrows of the world.

Said another way: you are allowed to be happy, even if others around you are not.

Said another way: stop being over-responsible for other people’s lives and start being responsible for yours.

Said another way: resign as the general manager of the world, the universe, and the multiverse.

You see – nowhere is it written that for you to be happy, everyone else needs to be happy first.

Further… nowhere is it written that you will be able to juggle all the responsibilities of everyone in your life for them.

There is a BIG difference between being responsible and OVER-responsible.

If you are over-responsible in your business, you will get stuck… fall short… and never have actual freedom.

If you are over-responsible in your business, you don’t own a business… you own a job. And when you stop, the business stops.

When you are over-responsible in your romantic life, you keep changing yourself to please others… but you are never pleased, and resentment builds up.

When you are over-responsible in your relationships… you do not set the example for others to follow, but instead… set aside your dreams to support the dreams of others (the problem is… you are teaching those around you by your example not to follow their dreams, but to set them aside).

When you are over-responsible in your spirit life, you try to control everything and can’t surrender to a Higher Order of things.

You see – trauma, fear… these things are like a cancer in our lives.

And, when you allow your trauma and fear to stop you… you are like a cancerous cell that helps to kill the very body it inhabits.

So…. you must decide to get healthy. To heal your trauma, to doubt your fear and to love the part of you that lived in that for so long… just getting by… just surviving.

As you get healthy… you will promote health in those around you.

Waiting to be happy until others are happy makes about as much sense as waiting to not be a cancerous cell until other cells around you are not cancerous.

What’s ironic, is that by not allowing yourself to be happy, healthy and purposeful… you perpetuate and support the very thing you want to change.

By being over-responsible for others… you never allow them the gift of discovering who they really are… and you also deny yourself that same gift.

The cure?

Let it all go… focus on your happiness… focus on your Purpose… and focus on serving others from a place of healthy boundaries and faith in their ability to figure things out.

The paradox of life is this: you must be self-ish so that you can be self-less. You must be less responsible… so that you can be more responsible.

Get my drift?



Make it a great day and as always…

Remember to get out there, take action and make your Purpose real.

Your biggest supporter,

Mastin

How To Make Sense Of A Senseless Tragedy

This is a radical idea… but let’s try it out for a moment and see how it goes…

What if NOTHING is going wrong?

Have you considered that the pain of your life is the motivating factor that is pushing you to grow and evolve?

The question that your pain is asking you is a simple, yet profound question…

Will you align with your Soul, or will you turn away?

What does that mean, though? “Align with you Soul…”

Sounds good, but WTF does it MEAN?

Here are five beliefs that are common when you aren’t lined up with your Soul:

1. I am powerless to change.
2. My happiness is dependent upon what other people do or think of me.
3. Only when I am perfect, will I be enough.
4. I am not supported.
5. There is no purpose to or for my life.

When you act out of these beliefs, life is stressful, life appears tough, and you stop growing.

When you have these beliefs, it means that you are caught in the web of your Survival Patterns™ (those pesky irrational fears that keep you stuck) and that your past is running your future.

When you are feeling negative feelings, like guilt, shame, etc. – you are not living in the moment… you are living in the past.

The aim must be to LOVE these emotions and decide that these emotions are not who you are…. just emotions that are passing through you, seeking healing.

One of the best and fastest ways to heal… is to seek out the positive intent of every situation.

This is a mind-bender… and something that takes practice. However, the more that you practice this idea, the better you will feel and life will begin to come into balance and make sense.

Seek the positive intent of every situation.

Every person does what they do, because they believe, on a certain level, that there is a positive intention behind their action.

Many times, that so-called positive intention is unconscious. They are positively intending to survive, and there may be unconscious Survival Patterns™ that are running the show.

It’s a positive intention to survive.

Even if the situation or someone else’s behavior harmed you, the way to get free is to forgive, let go and seek the positive intent.

What’s the positive intention of someone who hurt me, Mastin?

This is a deep question.

And – here’s the answer… the positive intention of someone who hurt you was this…

They were trying to find some way… anyway…. to free themselves from the pain they were in.

And, they did it in a way that was not wise and caused you pain.

This doesn’t make it right. BUT – if we can see that they are trapped in a nightmare of unconscious pain, then they turn from a demon into a scared/wounded child who is seeking solace from their demons.

Seeking the positive intention does not justify what happened to us, but it helps us find empathy… the empathy to know that no matter what someone did “to us” – that they were also doing the same thing, or worse, to themselves… and most likely… someone did the same thing, or worse, to them.

In this way, we can begin to be open to the idea… the nothing and no one is “wrong.”

They are just seeking to feel better because they don’t have the tools or the awareness to act otherwise.

This means… they are growing… and so are you.

When you judge something as “wrong”, you miss the lesson because you are in blame of the other.

This doesn’t mean you should accept injustice. However, if you ever want to truly heal… and put an end to what was done to you… that can only happen from a place of love.

If you hate the people that hurt you, that hate you, you join the darkness with them.

We must begin to see the pain behind the harmful acts of others.

Nothing is wrong; we are growing.

They are in pain… and seeking relief in any way they can.

It’s not their “fault, ” and it’s not your “fault.”

Soul Grow is a big deal… and can be painful.

Today, see the positive intent of all that seems “wrong” in your life…, and you will become open to a deeper and more empathetic view of yourself and all those that you know.

Here are five beliefs to take on today… that will help you align with this perspective and thus, your Soul:

1. I am a powerful being who can change anything and at any time.
2. My happiness is dependent upon the meaning I give the events of my life.
3. I am enough right now. I am perfectly imperfect, right now.
4. I am supported.
5. There is a beautiful and unique purpose to my life.

Focus on growth… on forgiveness and on empathy.

You’ll see the world with new eyes.


Nothing is wrong; all has been sent for your growth.

Today, dig deep roots… and grow through it.

Remember to get out there, take action and make it real.

Your biggest supporter,

Mastin

The Real Meaning of Valentine’s Day (and it’s not what you think)

Well – it’s Valentine’s Day.

Depending on how you view today you are either feeling the love or not. But, due to the commercialization of Valentine’s Day – it’s highly likely that you do not know the true meaning of today. When you figure out what this day is really about… you may see it differently and decide to feel different about it. Sound good?

Valentine’s Day is rooted in a celebration of the 3rd Century Roman Saint Valentine. Its purpose was to recognize “courtly love” – stated another way… love that focused on nobility and chivalry.

When you look further into the meaning of the word “Valentine” we find the root Latin word “valentia” or “valence” – which means power and strength.

So, today is not about measuring your worth based on if you are single or in a relationship. It’s not about feeling bad for yourself or shunning other people’s love if you are single and it’s not about chocolate and roses.

Today is really about power, nobility, and chivalry. And – there is nothing more powerful than the act of love. Not in the romantic sense, but in the truest sense of the word, love is a verb… and “to love” someone in the highest sense means to have an unselfish and compassionate concern for something.

It is in the dedication of service… with a heart of compassion… that true power is harnessed. And, nothing is more needed today.

Nothing is more noble, more chivalrous or more powerful than a truly loving act.

Today and all days…. remember this.

YOU have the power to love. Starting with yourself. Connecting with a higher power or cause… and extending it to others.

It may be easy to have compassion for those that you love easily. Today, make sure to include yourself and others you disagree with as well.

Love is not about just romance… that’s more attraction and passion.

True love is the unconditional acceptance of something or someone… as it is. You can’t love something if you will only accept it if it changes.

Make sure to include yourself in that kind of noble and compassionate love today.

And…. do you see Valentine’s Day differently now?

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Remember to get out there, take action and make your Purpose real!

Your biggest supporter,

Mastin

What To Do When You Don’t Feel Good Enough

The feeling of “not being enough” can stop us dead in our tracks.

Maybe you’re thinking:

Who am I to start this business?
Can I really be a good parent?
Do I really deserve to get paid abundantly?
Am I special enough to have a unique purpose?
Who am I to be great?

These questions do not produce quality answers.

When you are tapped into your confidence, when you know with certainty that you can and will thrive in your life’s unique purpose… when you believe in your heart of hearts that the life you desire IS possible…

That’s when you are unstoppable.

But, the problem is clear.

Not feeling enough is a hard feeling to overcome, especially if you’ve been stuck in feeling that way for a while.

And – you can break free from this feeling.

But, it’s not how you might think.

You see… in order to dissolve the feeling of “not enough” the first thing we must do is…

Admit that we are not enough.

Now – wait for a moment and let me explain.

That might sound like bad advice and perhaps not what you thought I would say.

But, hear me out.

I want you to think of yourself as a raindrop.

And, you dream of being a massive wave.

A raindrop, all by itself… can’t be a massive wave.

But, when it connects to a Power Greater than itself, the Ocean, it can fulfill it’s dream of being a wave.

You are the same.

By yourself, disconnected from a Power Greater than you, in isolation – you are not enough.

But, you can choose, in every moment, to surrender and connect to a Power Greater than you.

Be it a Higher Power or Higher Calling or Higher Purpose… when you connect to a Power Greater than you, you align yourself with a larger energy.

When you join that larger energy, you are more than enough.

So, when you’re feeling “not enough” – from this moment forward, choose to see that as an opportunity to connect back to a Power Greater than you.

And, you’ll see… that the “not enough” feeling will dissipate.

With God, all things are possible.

With Purpose, all things are possible.

With Love, all things are possible.

Tap into that Greater Power, today.

When you do, you’ll feel more than enough.

Remember to get out there, take action and make it real!

Your biggest supporter,

Mastin

How To Bring Your Vision To Life

If you dream big dreams or see a vision for what’s possible in your life – or if you feel called to make this world a better place… then you have vision.

Perhaps you’ve never thought of yourself as a visionary before, or maybe you have, but chances are that you are one.

If you are upset with the current circumstances of the world and see or feel how it could be better, then you are a visionary.

We are reminded in the Bible that without vision, people perish.

In order to live our destiny, our highest intentions, our dharma, our purpose, we must allow ourselves to dream.

But, we must do more than dream. One of the greatest pain points in my life has been having a vision, but not knowing how to bring it to life.

Over the course of my 14-year entrepreneurial journey, I’ve started many different companies. Some won, some didn’t.

Each time I’ve come closer and closer to the vision I imagine for myself.

And there was one key piece of advice that I heard that changed it all.

A mentor said to me that there are two important places to stay focused when it comes to building your dreams.

The first is on your vision.

What do you see for yourself in 5-10 years? What’s the BIG dream?

Be detailed in every area of your vision.

The finances, the impact, the relationships, the career, the travel, health, etc.

But, that is not all.

The second place to focus is to ask yourself what are the major things (no more than 5) that have to happen this year to bring that vision to life, and based on those major things that have to happen this year, what are the top 5 things that have to happen in the next 90 days to bring them to life?

So, we must be simultaneously focused on the vision and the next 90 days.

Which means that we must re-evaluate what we think is important, and make sure it’s lined up with the major outcomes we want for this year and the next 90 days.

Which means there are a bunch of new things I must start doing, and there are a bunch of things I must stop doing.

As a visionary, the “stop doing” list can feel like you’re killing your own children, which is an awful feeling.

But must remember our Thoreau…

“If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.”

I read this quote almost 20 years ago and had no idea what he was talking about. But, not I get it.

There are three parts to this quote that I want to break down.

1. Castles in the air = your vision

There are two parts to building your foundations under them:

2. Your 90-day focus
3. Your daily habits to support your 90-day focus.

So the three parts are:

1. Have a vision (castles in the air)
2. Set your 90-day focus on the Top 5 outcomes that have to happen to bring your vision to life.
3. Create daily habits to support your 90-day vision.

This is what Thoreau meant by build foundations under the castles.

No one ever broke that down to me in three steps, so I am sharing with you the outcome of 20 years of pondering that quote.

So, let’s put this wisdom into practice in your life.

Here’s what you need to focus on:

1. What is your big vision/dream for your life in the next 5 years? What is your business/career/vocation like? What is your romantic life like? Your health and wellness? Your family? Your money? Your impact? Your purpose?

2. What are the top 5 main things that have to happen to in the next 90 days to bring this vision to life?

3. What will your daily habits be to support these 5 outcomes in the next 90 days?

4. What do you need to start doing?

5. What do you need to stop doing?

Together, we can bring your vision to life.

Remember to get out there, take action and make it real!

Your biggest supporter,

Mastin

Speak up – This isn’t a popularity contest

Speak up… speak the truth with love. That’s the name of the game.

Here’s the truth… not everyone will like it. Keep speaking from your heart. Keep speaking the truth with Love. Keep your compassion and your empathy.

Remember, this isn’t a popularity contest. It’s not about if someone “likes” or “follows” you. It’s about you staying aligned with your Purpose… what you value most and who you really are.

This isn’t about being liked by everyone… if you want to be liked by everyone you will never change your life or the world. When you can like yourself… rest easy with yourself… and when you serve others… that’s what’s most important.

Know this: when you trade the need to be liked for everyone for the need to speak your truth… you change your life and the world.

Trade the need for approval from others to approving of yourself… and then let the chips fall where they may.

You’ll rest easy… and remember… social media has a delete button… use it.

And keep speaking up.

Remember to get out there, take action & make your Purpose real!

Time’s Up

“What I know for sure is speaking your truth is the most powerful tool we all have.” – Oprah Winfrey

We will look back and see January 7th, 2018 as a turning point.

Our mission here at Team Mastin is to end emotional trauma in our life time.

This includes helping as many people as I can speak up, heal their wounds/traumas, and let go of their guilt/shame and step into a life of Purpose.

Over the past 10 years I’ve worked with 99% women in this pursuit.

Last month was a huge step forward.

As Ms. Oprah Winfrey was honored as the first African American Woman to recieve the Cecil B DeMille award, she gave a speech that is for the history books.

Today, it’s a new world. 

Two things for you to do to today:

1. Watch’s Ms. Winfrey’s riveting speech all the way to the end. (Then share it with any woman or person who has been marginalized/abused today. Share it with your children. Your sisters. Daughters.)

2. Donate to the Time’s Up Fund for women who need legal representation for cases of sexual abuse/assault and harassment/discrimination.

Welcome to a new world. Today is the first day of a new era.

Together, let’s keep building a world where no one ever needs to say “me, too” again.

Remember to get out there, take action & make your Purpose real!

Embrace the S T R E T C H! Outside of your comfort zone.

I feel inspired to write today about the idea that MASTERY requires a constant attempt.

That is – there is no time to stop growing.

And part of growing is always doing personal development work of some kind.

It could be a desire to master your business, or master your body, or your family or your creative expression.

Whatever it is, it requires us to grow. And growing means we need to always be stretching outside our comfort zone.

And it means that we should be surrounding ourselves with mentors and teaches to help us grow!

This is a BIG ONE.

I am always trying to surround myself with people who know more than me, or can FEEL deeper than me, who are super creative, super successful, super soulful or who are more childlike than me.

All of these things are aspects that I want to create more of in my life.

And so I’m constantly setting goals outside my comfort zone, constantly putting myself in personal growth environments and giving just a little bit beyond my comfort zone.

One of my aims in life is to constantly feel the S T R E T C H.

Not to get too comfortable.

To feel a little uneasy, not as punishment, but as growth.

It’s like working out. I know I’ve REALLY had a great workout when I’ve push myself just beyond my comfort zone.

This is when the exercise is really working.

Same thing in yoga – the yoga stretch begins when it gets uncomfortable.

I don’t think that we should push ourselves so hard that we tear ourselves (or the muscle), but just enough so that it’s a little uncomfortable.

This is a good thing.

Because it is this discomfort that helps us to keep growing.

When things are easy and routine and the same, we feel safe, but we don’t always feel fulfilled or happy.

So, it is the dedication to learning, the dedication to growth and the dedication to living slightly uncomfortably that brings the magic in life.

This is how it is for anyone who achieves at the highest level.

And if you want to add major spiritual, emotional and financial octane to the fuel of your life – then make your life about service.

Serving others is where it’s at. And if we are always growing at that, we are on track for massive inner and outer success this year!

So, where in your life can you S T R E T C H it out? And get a little uncomfortable?

Remember to get out there, take action & make your Purpose real!