The Big Possible

Sunrise in the desert is quite a beautiful thing. The night will make way when the sun comes. It always will.

Today, I woke up long before the sun in Palm Springs. I came to visit my parents while they were in town for a short trip. And so this morning I woke up and watching the darkness from the balcony of my hotel while I sipped a hot black coffee, I came up with this realization that our lives are like great cycles of darkness and light, of not knowing, and then realizing.

The reason this realization is important will come in a moment, but first, let’s continue with this beautiful present story. As the darkness around the hotel slowly lifts…

I watch one by one the lights of the windows of my neighbors across the courtyard flicker on. And groggy, disoriented humans begin to Scutter on their respective balconies. The clouds overhead slowly transition from black, to dark magenta, and then fiery purple, to a dull gray and now, a perfect gradient of white fluffy tops on the east and smooth steel gray bottoms on the west.

My sleepy neighbors in bathrobes walk aimlessly in the courtyard below unaware of the great victory that just happened. The light has conquered the darkness once again.

The reason I am brought to this reflection has a lot to do with the recent growth of my business. The pursuit of my dreams. Faith. When you are reaching for a dream, there is inevitably going to be a delay.

It might help to imagine the process of realizing a dream to be like the gears of a great old machine spinning up to start for the first time in a long time.

There is magic happening under the surface when you start to move towards your dreams. But the present you, the one that has just begun the journey is approaching this new dream in the darkness.

No just because there is darkness and there’s no signal, there is no feedback…

None of this means you should stop.

No, it actually means you need to lean into your faith a little more. The sun will not be held back so don’t start panicking about the dark.

Hold.

Stay in the game.

Repeat whatever mantra you have to to keep yourself from listening to the willow Wisps and the sirens in the night. Don’t let the fearful pull you down to the depths of their numbness. Stay with it. Resist the urge to give up, to throw your dream away. 

The sun will come. It always does.

Stick with it.

Keep going.

Cultivate more faith, and trust that when you put in the effort, you will get your miracle at the end.

Links and Info:

• For more insights and resources, visit The Big Possible.
• Hosted by Noah Scott and Luke Baumbach, cofounders of The Big Possible Creative Agency.
• Have a big idea or need help creating video content? Reach out to us at thebigpossible.com.

Ready to elevate your podcast with stunning video content? Visit thebigpossible.com to learn how we can help bring your vision to life.

You are f***ing strong.

Let that phrase hang in the air, pulsing with its ferocity, like a static charge, a thunderbolt. And let that then enter your body, reverberating through your bones, the pulse of the words sending ripples of energy through your blood starting in your chest, and echoing down through your fingers, through your shins, and blasting into the floor through the soles of your feet in pure, unobstructed power.

You are a f***ing strong.

Today is a day you celebrate. Today you celebrate discovering your true strength. Today you stand at the first step of a solid white stone stairway leading to the heavens.

Just let your imagination chew on the visual here: behind you is a decade long adventure in the dark, fog obstructed swampland of your own doubts, your frustrations.

For all this time you’ve been walking in circles, blinded by the illusion that this vicious swampland was real, that it could threaten you, and keep you stuck.

But today, for the first time, that illusion is broken. Like a ninja in Naruto escaping a genjitsu, you shatter the illusion of this evil swamp, and realize that you are standing on the true path: the path you were born to walk.

And even though you were only on the first step of the staircase, you feel unlimited power cascading into you through every pore of your body, through your soul, the electricity of this power burns away all of your doubt, all of your fear, you are unstoppable.

Today do you know with certainty that this is the path you were destined to walk. It makes fatigue disappear, it wipes aside the superfluous temptation of gluttony, the ringing disappointment of taking a wrong turn. Today you cannot fail.

Today, you are f***ing strong.

Links and Info:

• For more insights and resources, visit The Big Possible.
• Hosted by Noah Scott and Luke Baumbach, cofounders of The Big Possible Creative Agency.
• Have a big idea or need help creating video content? Reach out to us at thebigpossible.com.

Ready to elevate your podcast with stunning video content? Visit thebigpossible.com to learn how we can help bring your vision to life.

Common sense, Buddhism, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) all tell us that frequent negative thinking causes problems for us. Depression and anxiety are both marked by higher than normal negative thinking, and you even feel bad in your body when your thoughts are pessimistic or hurtful to yourself.

This all makes sense, but many people think they’ll never have the discipline to meditate or the time to do CBT exercises and finally be rid of negative thinking. But if they knew what awaits them on the other side, I think a lot more people would buckle down and do what it takes to get their negative thinking under control.

Freedom to Be in the Here and Now

Ram Dass famously titled his breakthrough book Be Here Now. The title is part of what made the book so popular: it immediately gets to the point of all spiritual seeking. When we aren’t thinking over what happened in the past or might happen in the future, we have all of our mental resources devoted to life in the present.

And guess what? All life is lived in the present. That means you can wring so much more joy out of your moments on earth. Now, it doesn’t mean that nothing bad will ever happen again or that you’ll never feel a second of pain for the rest of your days. But it does mean that you will move past that pain more quickly, and you’ll not have to feel bad now because of a possible future pain.

Thoughts Become Actions

When it comes to our happiness, the words we speak and actions we take are always more powerful than the ones we think — but everything starts with how we think and feel inside.

When we control our negative thoughts, we become a much more positive presence in our families and communities. That creates a snowball effect, where people see us as positive and so they reciprocate. Over time, we learn to be more outgoing and engaged with others than we might have been otherwise.

By ending a pattern of thinking, we eventually change the whole pattern of our life. 

Unlock Energy

If the recent increase in energy drink consumption tells us anything, it’s that people are tired. But no matter how much caffeine you consume, your body will eventually adapt, and you’ll need those four Red Bulls a day just to feel normal.

But when you get negative thinking under control, you tap into more energy than you knew you had. Using strategies to fight negative self talk (like CBT) can help fight depression. With a positive inner monologue, we feel more alert, energetic, and ready to take on the day ahead.

Links and Info:

• For more insights and resources, visit The Big Possible.
• Hosted by Noah Scott and Luke Baumbach, cofounders of The Big Possible Creative Agency.
• Have a big idea or need help creating video content? Reach out to us at thebigpossible.com.

Ready to elevate your podcast with stunning video content? Visit thebigpossible.com to learn how we can help bring your vision to life.

Confidence is a not-so secret weapon of the super-achievers. With it on your side, you can stop hand wringing over doubts and start pursuing your goals fearlessly.

What’s even better is that confidence creates a virtuous circle. The more confident you are, the more likely you are to explore your world and reach for goals. This leads to more adventures, develops new skills, and results in more achievement. These, in turn, create more confidence.

While personality and life experiences can affect the confidence you have now, there are things you can start doing today to improve it. And once you get the ball rolling, you’ll begin to build more and more confidence.

Chase (the Right Kind of) Fear

As we’ve mentioned before, there is usually fear standing between you and your next big improvement in mastery over a skill. So you want to be on the lookout for fear. If you confront it, it can guide you to new levels of success.

Obviously, you want to pick the right kind of fear. Many fears are worth listening to, like staying inside during a terrible storm. But fear that stands between you and a new level of mastery? That’s the fear you are looking for.

Stop Apologizing for Your Skills and Success

Many of us have been led to believe that we should keep our skills and success to ourselves. We think talking positively about ourselves is bragging. This leads to talented people unable to promote themselves.

You don’t have to talk on and on about your abilities, but you do need to stop apologizing for them. Embrace them, and allow yourself to promote them when appropriate.

Stop Comparing Yourself

We can’t help but see a 22 year-old Bitcoin millionaire with a Ferrari and think, “Wow, I’m a failure.” But that kind of negative self talk builds up over time. It’s especially bad if you use social media, and scroll through images specially selected to make people’s lives seem happy, successful and full of good times.

There is only one fair comparison you can make: you in the past vs. you now. If you are working on yourself, you are doing great.

Find Out How to Help Others

A lot of people misunderstand confidence. They think it means being full of yourself. But really, the most genuinely confident people have put their own personal hang ups aside, allowing them to fully engage with helping others.

Helping others makes you feel good, builds genuine connections and focuses your thoughts on the positive. Plus, when you are busy helping others (while still taking time for self-care) you aren’t busy worrying about yourself.

Dress for Success

Have you ever slipped into a brand new dress or suit and instantly felt like a million bucks? Your posture improves, your smile widens, and when you look in the mirror, you see a better version of yourself.

The way we dress not only tells the world what to expect, it tells us what to expect from ourselves. Dressing powerfully is one of the quickest, most effective ways to create confidence instantly. You just need to match the dress to the context — a punk rocker’s big concert requires something a little different than a young lawyer’s first day on the job.

Links and Info:

• For more insights and resources, visit The Big Possible.
• Hosted by Noah Scott and Luke Baumbach, cofounders of The Big Possible Creative Agency.
• Have a big idea or need help creating video content? Reach out to us at thebigpossible.com.

Ready to elevate your podcast with stunning video content? Visit thebigpossible.com to learn how we can help bring your vision to life.

You ought to smile more even when you're not feeling it. Let your default resting mode be one of bliss, contentment, kindness. It might feel weird or even sacrilegious to whatever struggle you are currently facing, but truth be told, why do you need to frown or take things seriously? Your zest for life should never be diminished just because the thing is hard does not mean you cannot find joy in it. The heaviest burden you'll ever carry is distraction. The reason this is the truth is that your consciousness becomes split between two realities. 

One part of you is longing for a reality that is not in the present. This is the definition of distraction. You’re getting pulled in two directions.

And when your consciousness is split in this matter 

You might find that one part of yourself is sitting there resenting the gods and all the decisions of the past that brought you to the spot on the map. So now that you are physically here at this place on the spot on the map, your active mind is grumbling, and cursing at all the wrong turns and obstacles.

This mind of yours is stuck in the past - only able to see the darkness of bad choices. 

Your other mind is the mind that even though it is still here now, it’s being held hostage by this brooding villain that is your ego. As your unhappy mind throws a tantrum, it chokes the true mind, the present mind from coming to the surface. 

And so this current spot on the map remains unseen, hidden in darkness of the past.

When you smile, you give the true mind in your subconscious the power to regain control of your vision. You begin to see this current spot on the map as paradise, because frankly, it truly is just that. You witness the now, the present glory, the place you are chosen to be.

This only happens when you let go of your vengeful grumbling ego and entertain the true owner of your consciousness with gratitude, presence and joy.

Here is where you belong. Here is where you bend the matrix and pull back the curtain of darkness to reveal the paradise that is this current spot on the map.

Links and Info:

• For more insights and resources, visit The Big Possible.
• Hosted by Noah Scott and Luke Baumbach, cofounders of The Big Possible Creative Agency.
• Have a big idea or need help creating video content? Reach out to us at thebigpossible.com.

Ready to elevate your podcast with stunning video content? Visit thebigpossible.com to learn how we can help bring your vision to life.

Feelings are insidious. Nothing will keep you rooted in complacency stronger than a feeling of fear or hesitation. Let that be one side of the coin, the dark side of the coin.

Now when the other side of the coin is showing, you might be granted a feeling of courage and motivation that will spur you to get off of your chair and into the arena. 

What is the solution to become the master of your feelings? If you could not only be aware of your feelings but also be the master, what would that enable you to accomplish?

In the morning, you wake up, the stiffness of the muscles and the cold out of the covers keeps the feeling of fear wrapped over you like a lead vest. But the moment you grow out of the bed the inertia of that moment disrupts the fear and you stand pure and naked ready to seize the day. From this point, it is your choice what feelings to wear to carry you throughout the day.

The two sides of the coin can be flipped whenever you decide. So often, you get it in your head that you are not worthy to feel the liberated, powerful thoughts. What causes you to imagine that you are not worthy of a miracle? Is it not simply that you are looking backward, transfixed with the dark side of the coin that flipped, is it not that you have simply built a habit of feeling hesitation and this habit in shrouds you like gravity, drawing you into its lonely, pitiful embrace because it doesn't want to be discarded.

Today, before you allow the gravity of your past choices direct your thoughts towards fear and doubt, give a loud roar to the heavens and let your first push through the gates of the day be filled with an irrevocable momentum towards claiming the miracles that truly belong to you. Make a great clash on the boundary of your positive thinking. Push the barrier. Make a new record and shift the scales of gravity Forever toward the light

Links and Info:

• For more insights and resources, visit The Big Possible.
• Hosted by Noah Scott and Luke Baumbach, cofounders of The Big Possible Creative Agency.
• Have a big idea or need help creating video content? Reach out to us at thebigpossible.com.

Ready to elevate your podcast with stunning video content? Visit thebigpossible.com to learn how we can help bring your vision to life.

The swing of the pendulum leads to the center. yesterday, I had a chat with my coach about loneliness. About the feeling that happens when you lock yourself up with willpower and dedicate yourself to a mission.

The old identity will have to be burned off in order to step into the role of someone who can complete the current mission. The challenge is that the old identity has built a home inside of your head. This identity is full of deep roots that reach far into the cracks and corners of your mind.

In order to flush this old you out you’ll need to go deep away from things that give it power, away from the pool of distractions. That means seclusion. Like a rehab center for an addict. It’s time to remove yourself from the reward cues of the old identity.

And part of those cues might be your social life, your dating life, your TV… Just like fasting for the soul, or letting a field life follow, blocked from the sun and rain you will need to burrow in the abyss of your cocoon.

In this process, it might feel like you are swinging on a pendulum between intense highs and lows. This is the death of the old identity, the victory of your willpower, the rebirth of your new mission. On one side of the pendulum swing, your ego will kick and thrash… at that side of the pendulum your ego plows you into depression, squirming and screaming  “get me out of here” - begging and pleading for an end to the seclusion, an end to the fast.

On the other side of the pendulum, as you maintain your seclusion, you will find intense almost perverse pleasure in seclusion to the point where your ego might say something along the lines of “I never want to leave this spot… I’ll just hide here forever”

And you’ll binge in indulgences rationalizing that you “earned” it. 

And you continue to swing.

Back and forth back and forth

The game is to hold on as long as possible until you reach the center. Once the pendulum slows and then stops, you have achieved victory over the old identity and have found peace with the new.

Links and Info:

• For more insights and resources, visit The Big Possible.
• Hosted by Noah Scott and Luke Baumbach, cofounders of The Big Possible Creative Agency.
• Have a big idea or need help creating video content? Reach out to us at thebigpossible.com.

Ready to elevate your podcast with stunning video content? Visit thebigpossible.com to learn how we can help bring your vision to life.

I went to the bookstore yesterday. It was nostalgic. I slowed my pace to take him to smell of freshly printed pages, filled with a slightly chemical stuffiness. As usual, I didn’t bring my phone with me so I was virtually unreachable, in a place that felt like an alternate dimension.

I wandered slowly through the aisles, letting my fingers run across the spines of all the thoughts and experiences of countless artists, sharing their stories.

The science section filled me with wonder as I imagined the level of mastery these authors would have to develop, especially in these various eclectic fields, from neuroscience, to weight loss, and even structural engineering. The path towards mastery is never a single route.

From this point on the map, there are an infinite connection points, byways, and offramp‘s all leading to a special place of knowledge and mastery. You have the choice to become whatever you desire.

That thought should truly be liberating.

More liberating than any other. If your path was indeed the correct path, would there be any cars for shame? If your path was leading to a legendary gold medal that only you could achieve, would you berate yourself for not being good enough?

If your path was leading towards unending joy and a piece so stable nothing could shake it, would you feel anxious about the future?

That is the truth for all of us. We stand at a crossroads today, between a path that will bring us our mastery, letting our stories land on the shelf next to the greats: Vonnegut, Hemingway, Tolstoy, King… 

We are given our own path towards greatness.

We simply need to start walking.

Links and Info:

• For more insights and resources, visit The Big Possible.
• Hosted by Noah Scott and Luke Baumbach, cofounders of The Big Possible Creative Agency.
• Have a big idea or need help creating video content? Reach out to us at thebigpossible.com.

Ready to elevate your podcast with stunning video content? Visit thebigpossible.com to learn how we can help bring your vision to life.

There is only one way to capture an illusion and that is to commit it to memory by closing your eyes. Let it fall to rest with a tombstone in your memories, under a shady tree that you don’t intend to visit again.

Truth and illusion cannot coexist. And sensations like FOMO are always going to remain on the peripheral horizon, forever unattainable, forever tantalizing you as a fire fly in the night, beckoning you to come closer, promising a taste, but never delivering on that promise.

You’ll find that fear of missing out in all places of the free enterprise: Wall Street, crypto, real estate… But also in social media, on Abbot Kinney, 5th Ave., Macau. What is it truly? False hope.

A promise that you will find happiness when you grasp onto the illusion before you.

And this creates so much FOMO in the process of reaching. 

So what if you aren’t holding the fire fly? So what if you haven’t captured the illusion?

Do you have all the Time in the world. And truth does not need these illusions. What do you need a real helps, the beating of the drum in the moment. The cling of the hammer forging your strength, the turn of the page in your journal, the sensation of your tools in your hand as you approach your craft.

Let the illusions dance around you. Let the panic sit on the porch outside your workshop.

Let everyone else carry-on about the narcissistic trend and pump each other up with urgency. You will return to truth. You are the hammer in the Forge. You are a light in itself.

You will return to dust, so do not chase the ephemeral. It will find you soon enough.

Links and Info:

• For more insights and resources, visit The Big Possible.
• Hosted by Noah Scott and Luke Baumbach, cofounders of The Big Possible Creative Agency.
• Have a big idea or need help creating video content? Reach out to us at thebigpossible.com.

Ready to elevate your podcast with stunning video content? Visit thebigpossible.com to learn how we can help bring your vision to life.

Imagine a path that leads towards a life with no regrets.

Just think on that, what does it truly imply, to live without regret? Does it mean that you got lucky? Does it mean that it was easy?

Or does it mean that you numbed yourself in resignation to accept that you were destined for failure?

No. It doesn’t mean any of these things.

The path towards a life with no regrets means that you tried. You pushed, you slammed your body against the door and broke through to the frontier of what you know.

It means you played. It means you found a way to laugh, to slow down and listen to every note of the Blue Jays song, to roll in the grass and to find absolute joy in challenges. It is only possible to have no regrets in life when you can learn to enjoy the act of trying.

There is no merit in gluttony, there is no substance in angel food cake or Diet Coke. Just the same there isn’t no true contentment in binge watching Amazon shows, dividing your attention at work with Instagram, or resorting to gossip to numb your own dissatisfaction.

You will always regret the acts of escape. But to live free and true, like you’re truly meant for, it means leaning into your overflowing potential, taking a step into the world of risk. It means learning to love the pain of trying something hard, learning to laugh when you struggle.

Delayed gratification is not about withholding happiness, but about learning to enjoy a more rewarding activities. Once you can figure out how to play in the arena of life when it feels right and natural to fly into the turbulence of growth, then your propensity for taking risks will improve, your ability to withstand the pressure will improve, your satisfaction will also improve. You will become an ultra joyful pioneer of possibility. Forever re-writing regret with a brush of Curiosity and amazement. 

No longer will regret even have a foothold in your mind.

Because your mind will be filled with wonder, passion, and gratitude.

So go out there and play today - find a way to enjoy the struggle.

Links and Info:

• For more insights and resources, visit The Big Possible.
• Hosted by Noah Scott and Luke Baumbach, cofounders of The Big Possible Creative Agency.
• Have a big idea or need help creating video content? Reach out to us at thebigpossible.com.

Ready to elevate your podcast with stunning video content? Visit thebigpossible.com to learn how we can help bring your vision to life.