What’s one of the first things you do when you’re in a new situation? Do you look around and try to quickly figure out the rules? Do you observe how they dress, how they act, what they are talking about? It’s amazing how many rules you can make for yourself within the first two minutes in a new situation.

It’s no wonder that you do this. Growing up your whole life revolved around following the rules. Don’t hit your brother, say please and thank-you, and wash your hands were rules your mother repeated over and over again. At school you learned how to line up, follow instructions and play well with others.

When sports came into the picture, coaches not only explained the rules, they introduced the idea of specialized roles. Not only were you playing by the rules, there was a small and specific role you were taught to play.

When you were young, the kids who got the good grades, were picked first for the team, and the ones that had the most play-dates were the kids who followed the rules the best.
The rules when you were young seemed to be hard and fast. It was pretty easy to figure out what was right or wrong. In most situations right was right, and wrong was wrong. You lived in a very black and white world.

As you grew up, you learned that things around you where no longer just right or wrong – black or white. There were a lot of rights, and even more wrongs. It started to feel as though there was a minefield of shades of gray that you needed to negotiate everyday.

Are you constantly trying to figure out the rules? Are you looking everywhere to find the map that will get you through the minefield so you can reach your goals?

What would you say if I told you there are no rules? What would you do if I told you that the map for the minefield isn’t needed because the minefield doesn’t exist? I hope you would tell me that you were well on your way to living your life as You On Purpose!

On our three week boat trip in the Canadian Gulf Islands I learned that whales and success have an awful lot in common.

For the last several years, David, Daniel and I have been heading out at every opportunity in search of a whale siting. We go on “Whale Tours” off the coast of California whenever we are there. Last year the three of us spent a week in the San Juan Island with an eye out for any possible signs of whales.

This year’s trip was just like the others, the water’s were scanned in hope for the glimpse of that illusive whale. We know they were out there, we just didn’t know where.

How many of us are approaching our search for success in the same manner? Are you always on the look out for the signs or sources of success? Do you see and hear about other’s successes, and start looking for the spot that they found it?

On a magical day anchored off of Shark’s Spit, I learned that sometimes you just have to let the whales come to you. Our day on the spit had been great, and was already going to be high on the list as one of the best days.

As we rowed the dingy back to our boat, we heard the KOOSH and there it was - a gray whale! We watched it come up again, take a breath and head back underwater.

As we climbed aboard our boat, the whale come up with a KOOSH again. Three more times we watched what we had been searching for surface to breath out, and then surface again to take a deep breath.

We didn’t have to search for the whale, the whale came to us!

Now that I’m home and back to work, I have found all of the wonderful things that have happened to my business while I was gone. I don’t have to run around in search of it, success is right in front of me.

Success is sitting there right in front of me ready for me to enjoy it.

Is your success sitting right in front of you?

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