The Miracle Equation
by Hal Elrod
(Also by Hal - Miracle Morning which he references a lot in this book).
Impact
For me, the best to chapters of the book are 4 & 5. Here are a few of the takeaways:
The goal is not the goal
Because we don't want to fail, we scale our goals back. We go for what is probable vs. what is possible. With this relationship to goals, we hold ourselves back.
Time after time, when we fail to hit the result of the goal - we slowly condition ourselves to aim lower (because we don't want to fail).
So reaching the goal - something tangible we set out to do from the start - is not the way to look at goals.
Instead...
The purpose of a goal is to become the person who sets goals - to develop the qualities of a goal achiever.
This comes back to what I tell my clients (authors): If you are going to measure your success by book sales, you are setting yourself up for disappointment. How much is enough? I have a client who is selling on a average a book a day. I explained to him that this far more books than the majority of authors sell - yet, he clearly is unsatisfied. Instead, I explain that books open doors. Writing and publishing a book may seem common, but it's still a noble accomplishment since most people never follow through to completion.
So why set goals?
Because who you become through the process of pursing the goal will serve you for the rest of your life. Who you become is far more important than what you achieve. The goal becomes the vehicle for which you apply yourself and discover what you can only discover by doing the work.
The purpose of setting a goal is not to hit the goal. The real purpose of setting a goal is to develop yourself into the type of person who can achieve your goals, regardless of whether hit any particular one or not. Some goals you'll reach, others you won't. It is who you become by giving it everything you have until the last moment - regardless of the result - that enables you to develop the mindset and behaviors (and discipline) to ultimately achieve bigger and bigger goals the rest of your life.
Hal gives the example of Lewis Howes, founder of The School of Greatness. Although Lewis never achieved his goal of becoming a professional athlete, the pursuit of that goal led him to develop the grit to achieve another goal - one that ultimately has had a bigger impact on the world than his original goal.
Failing Forward
Of course there is an entire book on this topic.
Moving toward peace
For me, the book began to open some doors to insights in Chapter 4: Becoming Emotionally Invincible. I've been stuck for a long time and much of what I write and reflect on reveals my resistance to what is. I feel this becomes a bigger problem as we age, since we have so many experiences that we can filter out as 'good' - it's easy to get stuck in the loop of nostalgia about how things used to be so much better.
But in truth, if you could really put yourself back where you were, you'd find a mix of both good and bad.
Apply the 5-minute rule: Whenever something bad happens, give yourself up to 5-minutes to feel bad about it and then move on. Take the lesson for what it is and create an action plan that can help you avoid the pain in the future.
Recite the 'Can't Change It' mantra: It is what it is. You can't change what happened nor can you change what will happen. All you can do is accept it all unconditionally and conserve your emotional energy.
Choose to accept life unconditionally before it happens and you will always be at peace.
Ready to become a miracle maven?
Miracles are not contrary to nature, only contrary to what we know about nature ~ St. Augustine
I felt drawn to this book because when I went through Landmark, I declared at the end of the training that I am a catalyst for miracles.
Here are some highlights & takeaways from the book.
In order to assimilate the lessons, you must put them into action in your own life. Create a BHAG or mission.
Once you have a mission, you can begin to apply the miracle equation to solve it.
The equation is simple to state, but difficult to apply:
- Unwavering faith that you can achieve the goal.
- A willingness to put forth extraordinary effort every single day till the end regardless of your results along the way.
Grab a notebook and write down your commitment.
Distractions are a big obstacle for me, so I'm starting small. I'm writing down on a pad what I'm committed to for the 30 minutes. I'm using Timeular and it's been especially powerful in helping me stay focused.
Create your daily mantra:
I am committed to maintaining unwavering faith that I will Insert your mission and put forth extraordinary effort until I do. There is no other option.
There is no plan b.
Hal's challenge came in the form of a money goal. It was not about the money, but rather about becoming the person he would need to become to achieve the goal (20k in 10 days).
The more he recited his own mantra, the more he believed it.
It wasn't something he simply awoke or slept reciting... he spoke it constantly aloud and to himself. His mantra became a beacon and he was locked on to it.
The mantra allowed him to remove his petty self concerns and get his own ego out of the way. Lady luck showed up, but only because he was focused on the metrics alone. As he originally planned out a minimum number of presentations to achieve to goal, he was not focused on the outcome, but rather the work to achieve that outcome.
A key distinction
Don't focus on the outcome. It's out of your control. Focus on the work... which is within your control.
I was reminded of this recently when a box of books didn't show up for an event I was attending. Although I ordered books in plenty of time, the printer had a mechanical issue which delayed by order by 1 day. The books showed up 1 day late.
Through out the 10 days, he would set aside his concern about how specifically he was going to achieve the goal, and rather just did the work as be he knew how.
Hal was working for CutCo, an aggressive MLM. It was the proving ground for what he ultimately would teach to his reps that produced similar results.
Perception
The world we live in, the life we perceive, is a perfect reflection, a mirror image of, or our internal realty.
It's all perfect
You are exactly where you're supposed to be (and who you're supposed to be) to learn what you need to learn so you can become the person you need to be who is capable of creating everything you've every wanted.
Set aside any judgement of where you are based on what has transpired up to this point in your life. The hard fact is you where you are because of who you've been willing to be up to this point.
If you are not where you want to be (and I suspect nearly everyone is), ask: Are you willing to become the person you need to be to change where you are?
Level 10 living !
Extraordinary Effort
Focus on actions that bring your closer to the results you seek instead of spinning your wheels (and wasting precious time and energy) on tasks that have minimal impact and do little but keep you busy and distracted from the real work!
Remember to focus on the MITs (Most Important) tasks. I've touched on this concept several times in the past.
Focusing on tasks that energize you
Here's a wild idea. What if you only worked on tasks that energized you instead of draining you? Don't you think you'd get a shit load more work done?
Tasks that push you out of your comfort zone
We've heard this many times before and it's probably way too timid to really mean anything unless you can truly feel the fear that goes along with it. What do I mean? I mean you literally feel a strong aversion to the task. An example? Getting up to play or sing a song in front of an audience. Those butterfly's you feel are the fear that you want to feel anytime you are getting outside your comfort zone.
Sustained effort is to overcome obstacles
Here's what I personally experience: I start a task. I'm energized. I'm fired up. I'm making progress, and then bam! I hit an obstacle. What sustained (extraordinary) effort means to me is that you stick with it. You hammer away at that obstacle until it's an obstacle no more. Tenacity breeds talent.
My lack of skill in math has limited me in life. What happened is that I hit an early obstacle in life (because Math is a difficult concept to grasp) and rather than hammer away at the obstacle (understanding how math works and putting in the time necessary to actually solve the problems), I looked for shortcuts. I cheated. I remember from a young age cheating with a calculator that had the ability to solve more advanced problems. I remember getting answers from my classmates.
While cheating allowed me to avoid the short term pain of doing the work, it created a much more significant pain in my life related to finances.
Granted, I know math is not the only culprit - but I do feel that those who possess a talent for solving math problems do better in life.
Determine a path
What is the path that will lead you do the results you seek?
This was a big aha! for me.
We are often blind to what seems obvious after the fact.
The question so what's most important next isn't often clear. Especially if you are trying to achieve a result you've never achieved before!
Books can help give you ideas, but the work will teach you what you need to know.
Let go of the outcome and focus on the work.
You won't get it in the net if your eye is fixated on the net itself! While you were looking at the net, you opponent just stole the ball from you.
Part 1: Predetermine the process
Asking "Which activities, done consistently, will success inevitable?
Part 2: Release emotional attachment to your results.
This is the example he showed for how many years he spent promoting Miracle Morning before it became a so-called 'overnight success.'
Part 3: Schedule your process
This is something I have been putting a tone of energy into.