Play Big, Take Risks AND Go Home

We know when we are playing small don’t we? You know those times when your gut says you should say or do something bigger and more meaningful than the same old same old. What holds us back from thinking bigger or doing bigger? And why is the saying play big OR go home? Why can’t we do both?

We hear a lot about finding our passion, work your passions live your passions. But what really is passion? I have come up with 3 new rules to live by which are:

Play Big
Take Risks
And Go Home

Play Big- Forget passion and replace it with ‘excitement’

Many of us get completely confused over the word ‘passion’ we think that something is wrong with us if we are not ‘passionate’ in every moment. We look at others who are supposedly ‘passionate’ and we think they know something we don’t. The truth is it is easier to reconcile the energy of passion if we transpose it with the word “excite”.
When we are excited we have energy, exuberance and we are contagious in a good way. For example I get itchy revved up excited when I am engaged with others who are as committed to growth and learning as I am. I get excited when my daughter who is 19 is excited and she is excited a lot! I get excited when I think about the energy and potential each of has to make a bigger difference in our environments. I get excited when I think about the unknown future and the fact that I am not supposed to know how it all turns out. I get excited when I think about how many people will benefit from my new book and how having one person read it could transform their work and their life.
We stop playing big because we have lost our ‘mojo’ our excitement. We stay small because we have become complacent in the results we have created and we know that growing to the next level requires a JOLT and a commitment to regaining excitement.

A few questions for you to ponder:

What excites you?
When do you feel the most excited?
What can you do to create more excitement?

Take Risks- Playing Big is for the Brave

Playing big requires taking risks. This is why many of us stay small, because we are perfectly fine- thank you very much where we are. We don’t want to spend more, learn more or do more. We feel maxed out already and may fear that taking risks may mean losing support from those we love, losing respect from others if we fail and ultimately the fear of succeeding which means EVERYTHING changes.

The point is there is absolutely ZERO excitement if we don’t step off the ledge.
Think of the last time you took a big risk; it scared the “you know what out of you” right? But how did you feel afterwards? Exhilarated, energized and alive- YES. When we take risks then others around us feel as if they too can take risks and that they too can play big and that they too can feel excited about breaking through to a new level.

Finally We Can Go Home- And Have it All

Whatever ‘all’ means to you is what having it all means. For some of you it might mean having a job you enjoy, the freedom to spend time with your kids and participating in a favorite hobby. For others it might mean taking enjoyment in being an empty nester and planning trips with your partner in between your hectic work schedule.
The point is we get caught up in ‘either/or’ thinking versus ‘and’ thinking. We can take risks, play big AND have a great personal life at home. We can take risks in our personal relationships and ask our partners to play big with us, to create more excitement in life, to choose to move away from the mundane and focus on more depth of love, intimacy and connection. You see playing it big simply means not playing small, not staying in the comfort of safety and moving with change not fighting it. Whether you are a leader or not you have the potential to completely inspire others through your willingness to play big, take risks and go home. We can inspire others through our example and that my friends is playing big.

Do you have a story about shifting from small to big? Send it to me info@cherylcran.com