I believe making a difference to your world all starts and ends with you (Change your INSIDE Story)
Heading through The Cook and Fiji Islands towards our final destination with just a ruck sac and a pile of CD’d, I started to have a creeping sense of misgiving. What on earth was I doing? And why was it I felt such a feeling of resentfulness from the locals towards a the travellers arriving on these paradise islands?
I was 8 months in to a 12 month round the world trip and never felt so uneasy in any destination Id been to. I kept hearing stories or misfortune and bad experiences befalling travellers.
I’d already travelled through South Africa in an open sided lorry into sole rough neighbourhoods and never felt nervous or felt the need to lock my ruck sac to the bed. Same in Singapore, Thailand, Australia, and New Zealand I never felt any misgivings, but now heading to the USA via the Cook and Fiji Islands which had posters displaying tropical paradise Islands. Well, I’d never felt so wary. You could not relax your guard for one second in these places.
Thankfully when we got into Fiji we were warned about the locals, and we got to meet a few colourful characters on a local bus, as we found our way to a safe haven on the coast and some glorious days diving on the reef.
Followed by literal hell.
Next stop The Cook Islands! That’s my advice. The miserable welcome and fake smile you could literally see through the people waiting in line to take your travellers money? And the rolling of their hands when they asked for your money was an obvious sign. Myself and my travelling companion for this stage of my travels set off for beach hut we had booked has a short board walk to the sea. It looked ideal.
From all the negativity I was experiencing I got a strong urge that I needed to change the statements I was hearing my self say, and made a quick decision to change the way I was thinking or else this was going to get horribly worse, and who knows what would befall myself and my travelling companion.
I started an internal story of what I wanted to happen for myself and set up my new experience, ignoring the lousy service and treatment I’d received so far from the locals. I strongly suggested my travel companion did the same.
Needles to say he didn’t.
I took a nap when we arrived and then stepped out of the cabin to meet my companion on the pier. He asked if I’d locked the cabin and I said no. (Having faith my stuff was safe).
When we walked the few steps back all of his CDs, Cd player and speakers were stolen.
Now the odd thing was that they had been under My Cd and speakers and they thief would have to my CD player and CD’s to get to his.
Happily the thief only touched his stuff and not a single CD of mine or my CD or Speakers were missing.
We naturally reported theft and were made to wait for a very long day in the police odffice on the island, then verbally threatened by the police officer in charge. Astonishing behaviour and no doubt an aunty of the well known petty criminal.
Here’s the thing.
Even though the journey felt daunting at times, I knew how to protect and change circumstances for myself by telling a new internal story. With a turn of phrase I knew that I was safe so allowed me to go for all the adventures I wanted to have, and by integrating a new story I saw and got the experiences I wanted to have.
Even when the path ahead of me wasn’t clear, I guided myself internally through it,which altered how the world responded to me.
I noticed that I inspired people all along the way with my experiences, and then more so when I shared my magical change of circumstances in my journey with friends back home.
The hardest bits in these travels when turned around became the best stories in the end.
I grew through each experience. It changed my life for the better as I use this in every aspect of my business and life today.
Tackling my ability to sustain a clear perspective and maintain a strong focus in your business will be just like this.
It will feel daunting and off putting, especially at the beginning with so little time and expertise of being internally conscious of the stories you tell.
But the rewards for you of going on that journey will be nothing more than great.
I coach people who are ready to change their stories that aren’t serving them, and design a new inside story that radically has the world respond to you in radical ways.
Want to know what having me as your personal guide looks like?
DM me for help with your getting a clear focus on the inside story for the outcome you want to achieve for your business.
