Hello Misfit Nation! Welcome to another edition of "Lessons for Hannah!"
In November of 2016, we introduced a new format that we are putting alongside our regular episodes called “Lessons for Hannah.” Hannah is my daughter and one of the main inspirations for the Misfit Entrepreneur. I wanted to have a place where she could go and learn from her daddy and his Misfit friends throughout her life….even after I am gone. If you haven’t listened to the first episode of "Lessons for Hannah," I urge you to as it gives some more background and tells the amazing story of how Hannah came to be in our lives.
"Lessons for Hannah" are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I have learned which I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I’m going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don’t hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We’d love to share it.
This week’s Lesson for Hannah
Hannah, I recently hosted our 3rd annual Grow Thrive Revive event with my business partner in the venture, Evan Money. Yes, that is his real name. Each time we do the event, it gets better and stronger. It is a unique event in that we keep it small – 15 to 20 people. Our goal is to not only provide an amazing experience, but to really focus with our guests to help them have real breakthroughs both personally and professionally and get the tools they need to double their business or more over the next year.
It is always interesting as people are not sure what to expect when they come in and then we start teaching and doing our focused sessions, and at some point it clicks for each attendee.
One of the best parts of the event – and where we see some of biggest breakthroughs, is when Evan takes everyone through an exercise in ROF. The Return on Forgiveness.
Think about that for a second, the Return on Forgiveness. In fact, Evan will tell you that the best return you will ever get is the return on forgiveness. But, what does that mean?
It means that the more you forgive in your life, the bigger benefits you will get. How does that work? Well, a lot of us carry around some very heavy burdens and loads in our lives due to anger, resentment, and apathy to negative events or those that have wronged us in the past. These burdens weigh us down, eat at us, and act like a dead weight holding us back. They occupy our thoughts and keep us from thinking about the more important things in life – like what we need to be doing to find higher levels of success and deeper relationships with the ones we care about.
And don’t get me wrong, most of the time, people have every right to feel this way. In fact, many people, including our guests at Grow Thrive Revive, have been through some really bad times which I won’t go into detail on.
But, if or when they ever get to a point where they can truly forgive those for their wrongdoings – the results are incredible. It is like the giant albatross is lifted from their back. They see life differently. They shake off the things that have held them back. They leave their old self behind and almost renewed in a lot of ways.
There are so many stories of this. One that Evan tells is about a young man living in the inner city, who was abused by his father. The young boy named Emmitt was very good at writing. So good, that his friends told him he should put on a play. So, he did. He failed. In fact, he failed several times over and over. All the while, he carried this major anger toward his father. It ate at him almost daily. He got to a point where was ready to give up. But, before he did, he decided he would do one last show and that before he did it, he would just forgive his dad. He did it for himself. He just wasn’t going to carry the burden any longer. After he did so, he had an inspiration and re-wrote the whole show. It was a success. In fact, over the next year, his income went up over 1000% and he had successful show after successful show on his way to bigger stardom. And he credits the thing that changed…that made the real difference was when he finally forgave his father. Who is Emmit? His full name is Emmit Perry Jr. You know him as Tyler Perry, one of the most successful directors, producers, and actors of our time. Imagine that. Just by forgiving someone, a whole life can change.
Yours will too if you practice Return on Forgiveness in your life.
In fact, sometimes the biggest return on forgiveness is when you forgive yourself. It may not always be outside influences that affect us – but a guilt or burden that we carry from our own actions that eats at us and weighs us down. At some point, you have to come to terms with it. At some point, you must not push it aside any further and confront it head on in your life. I know, because the person I had to forgive in my life years ago was me. I carried some guilt and regret from actions in my past that I kept buried. They made me feel like an impostor at times, a fake. But, it was all in my head the whole time. Finally, I had a enough and had two choices. I could let these things continue to pull me down and let them win, or I could shed them and move on. I chose the latter. I truly forgave myself. I wrote a letter to myself forgiving me for those few things out of an otherwise incredible life that I had done and that were holding me back.
As soon as I finished the letter, I instantly felt different. I felt better. I felt like I could see things more clearly and I felt a new level of energy.
Hannah, and for those of you listening, forgiveness is the answer to many of the biggest issues we have in our lives. Write a letter to those you want to forgive. Drop the dead weight and the negative feelings that are holding you back. And remember, the person that you may need to forgive the most in your life, is yourself.
Resolve to practice forgiveness and learn the true power that it holds for you and watch the difference in makes in all areas in your life.
Hannah, I promise that if you make it habit to forgive, it will be one of the greatest things you can do to live at your true potential.
I love you,
Daddy
Best Quote: Resolve to practice forgiveness and learn the true power that it holds for you and watch the difference in makes in all areas in your life.
Misfit 3: