The Leap of Your Life

by Tommy Baker

  Using the following question, you’re going to start to fill in the blanks by doing a marketplace brain dump. This is about letting your imagination run wild with options. Don’t judge them, and don’t put any pressure on why something may or may not work. No idea is off the table, because working through options will increase your creativity.

  You do this by asking a simple question: Given everything I’ve just uncovered, what problems are currently in the marketplace that I could provide solution(s) for?

  There are all types of people with all types of problems you could be the one helping them find a solution. To get the ideas flowing, you’ll need to identify at least 20 solutions. Surely, you’ll discard most, but there are going to be two or three from this list that connect with you.

  They strike a chord for several reasons: you spot an opportunity, it feels right to you, and it blends all the things you already love while being connected to the purpose statement.

  With this in hand, it’s time to clarify it down into one concise statement to ensure you’re clear and so are the people you’re looking to serve.

  Step 5: Construct Your One-Liner

  What do you do?

  “I, uh . . . I do real estate.”

  My client was playing small; he provided people with an experience unlike any other when purchasing a home. But here he was falling into a common trap: minimizing himself and missing countless opportunities.

  When most people are faced with this question, they either play small or lack clarity. The truth is, if you’re lacking clarity, then the marketplace will, too. Sometimes, we’re unwilling to have clarity due to telling others who we really are. Often, we’re afraid to declare what is most important to us for fear of not being good enough. As a writer, it can be daunting to declare I am one. Why? Because now I’m on the hook. I’ve put myself out there and declared to the world what I am, and I have to live it every single day.

  One of the most powerful exercises I’ve done for my businesses and my clients comes from Donald Miller of Story Brand.2 His exercise, called the One-liner, is what it sounds like: distilling what we do into a concise, clear, and compelling sentence or two.

  Miller developed the one-liner from the Hollywood world, where a screenplay is approved or rejected based on a few sentences. If it was compelling enough, it’d make the next stage. What he realized was all effective one-liners were broken down into three distinct parts. These included:

  The problem you’re solving. This is where it all starts, and how you can connect with people immediately. Why? Because often, we’re all in our own worlds, focusing on our problems and what we need solutions for. The moment you can declare what’s going on in someone else’s life as well as they can, you have connection.

  For example:

  “Travel is incredibly stressful.”

  “Learning guitar can take triple the time it should if you don’t do it right.”

  “Moving cross-country can be the most chaotic experience of your life.”

  “Most entrepreneurs have no problem creating a bold vision; it’s what happens after.”

  Simple, concise, and to the point, the problem is designed to hook the right person into learning more. Emphasis on the word right: if they have the problem you’re declaring.

  The process you use to solve the problem. Once the problem has been stated, it’s time to transition into the unique process you use to create the solution to the problem. Using the preceding examples, we continue:

  “Using our patented process and relationships with top airlines and airports . . .”

  “Our system has been proven on thousands of frustrated guitar students all over the world . . .”

  “Our done-for-you, nationwide service eliminates guesswork and helps you focus on what matters.”

  “Through comprehensive coaching, consulting, and content . . .”

  The payoff, or solution. Last, we finish with the payoff, solution, and/or benefit the person is bound to experience by solving this problem. This is the resolution and the clear after. For our preceding examples, these are:

  “Allowing you to skip the lines and arrive at your destination with peace of mind.”

  “Give you all the tools you need to become a great guitar player in half the time.”

  “You’ll have the smoothest move of your life.”

  “Helping you reverse engineer your success in half the time.”

  Simple, right? I’ve been taught this exercise countless times and have performed it on my clients. This is a simple rundown, and if you want to learn more, make sure to visit Donald Miller’s work in the Resources section.

  No matter where you find yourself today, clarity is a process, never a destination. That means refining and re-imagining your one-liner must be done at least once a quarter as both you and your business grow and expand. Even if you’re currently working for someone else, go through this process and come up with the one-liner you’d like to have.

  This instantly creates a shift in your mind and compels you to make more powerful decisions and business leaps to make your one-liner real.

  Mastery Creates Meaning

  Meaning is what we all want to feel in our lives and work. We want to feel we’re valued and making someone else’s life better. Part of mastery, as introduced earlier, is the acquisition of skills to help you become valuable. Through the process of identifying, practicing, refining, and integrating these skills, you improve. In a noisy digital world where most seek shallow, right-on-time skills, you separate yourself from the pack and start to fall in love with your craft.

  Part of this equation is creating a skill focus and refinement plan for your success, which we’ll tackle now.

  Your Skill Game Plan

  I’m throwing a ton at you, for good reason: this is the gold that will ensure your leap is a success; it’s a system to get you on a path of expertise and mastery others will willingly pay for. Let’s take what we’ve discussed earlier and break it down in an actionable, practical path for you to start using today.

  Step 1: Brain Dump

  Your first step in the skill-acquisition process is to put pen to paper. Specifically, identify all the possible skills you could work on to enhance your purpose, passion, and business. Don’t worry about their validity, write whatever comes to mind. Aim for at least 30.

  Step 2: Categorize

  Once you’ve completed your brain dump, it’s time to categorize your skills in the different categories we identified earlier in the chapter. Don’t overcomplicate this; it’s pretty obvious where we find ourselves on our skill path. If you can’t decide between intermediate and professional, you’re an intermediate. Feel free to ask others for feedback, but don’t get lost in doing so.

  Step 3: Deletion

  Next, you’re going to step away for at least an hour and come back to your list. Now, you’re going to delete up to 80% of your list and ensure what remains is the essential. Note: some of these are skills you want to pursue, but it’s not the right time or season for it.

  Step 4: Focus

  Now, you’re going to identify the two core skills you’re going to strategically focus on during the next six months. Ensure these are only the highest level in value for your current business or leap, and for the industry and people you’re committed to serving.

  Step 5: Craft Your Game Plan

  Lastly,, it’s time to craft your game plan. Your game plan for skill acquisition is which specific skill you’re going to focus on, how you’re going to do it to provides yourself with crystal clarity so there’s zero chance you get distracted. Often, people approach skill acquisition aimlessly, only to wonder why they’re not improving while others, who started much later than they did, are seeing incredible growth.

  Your skill game plan involves:

  Focused practice time

  The concept of deliberate practice by performance researcher Anders Ericsson has been beaten to death, for good reason. It works. What makes deliberate prac
tice different from, say, normal practice? Intent, focus, with an outcome in mind: to get better and increase performance.

  For example, it’s different from picking up the guitar and playing the same chords you’ve always known over and over again. (This is me, FYI.) This is how most practice: repeating the same patterns. Deliberate practice is staying focused when you’re learning a barre chord, your fingers are killing you, and your mind wants to quit. Not only does it want to quit, it wants to smash the guitar Kurt Cobain style and leave the room in a blaze of glory.

  In other words, it’s not fun or comfortable. You’re being stretched to your limits, and this is where real learning and growth happen.

  Studying and learning

  Second, you’re going to be studying hyper-specific content taught by experts associated with your skill. This is quite different from seeking general information, and your goal is to get vertical. Meaning, you’re going to go deep. For this, ensure you’ve strategically chosen content (books, podcasts, academic texts, videos, etc.) in line with your goals.

  Hiring someone above your level

  Last, hiring someone for feedback on your skill is crucial to success. The right person will be a notch or two above you. They’d have the skill proficiency you’re looking to acquire. This is the person who gives you powerful feedback along the way and is worth their weight in gold. Without this last piece, it’s very easy to give up long before we achieve breakthrough.

  Let’s explore two simple examples for clarity on this process:

  SKILL: Public Speaking

  How to talk like TED book, steal-the-show book, online course.

  Every day, ship one piece of content in the realm of speaking (speaking itself, video/audio, etc.).

  Enroll in a local Toastmaster’s speaking organization with a weekly meeting and direct speaking feedback.

  SKILL: Copywriting

  Online copywriting email course where you handwrite sales letters.

  500 words of copywriting every single morning.

  Hire a copywriting professional for feedback and submit your best work to be evaluated.

  Seem like overkill? Good. Skill acquisition can easily be put off, because you’re not going to feel like it every single day. You’re going to want to skip it. Those who become the best in their field strategically acquire new skills or shape the ones they already have time and time again.

  Putting It All Together

  At this point, we demystified the conventional wisdom of purpose and passion. You should be feeling clear, confident, and ready. We’ve also identified what you’re uniquely better than most at, and how to showcase this value to the world. Remember: although this conversation usually only occurs in the context of business, knowing this is crucial to any of your leaps.

  Armed with this knowledge and focus, it’s time to craft the vision for your leap and never look back.

  Chapter 7 Key Takeaways

  Light your life on fire. The two crucial ingredients are your purpose (and the vehicle of delivery for it) plus your passion(s). Without these, you won’t cultivate the enthusiasm required to stand the test of time.

  Craft your one-liner. Clarity on how you deliver your value to the marketplace is everything. If you’re not clear, how can you expect them to be? Be bold and specific.

  Mastery creates value and meaning. Although purpose and passion are crucial, skill acquisition and the pursuit of mastery are unparalleled for results and meaning.

  CHAPTER 7 LEAP POWER STEP

  Complete all of the above, including: identify your purpose statement, the vehicle of delivery, your one-liner and your skill gameplan. Be intentional and hyper specific.

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  Notes

  1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MgBikgcWnY.

  2 http://buildingastorybrand.com/minisode-1/.

  CHAPTER 8

  Crafting the Vision

  Tyler Perry needed cash desperately. He had put on his first play in Birmingham, Alabama and urgently needed to rent a van. So, he did what most audacious and broke 20-year-olds would do: he used his mother’s credit card. His plan was to repay her with what he made during the performance.

  The only problem was it didn’t make any money. It was a complete and total disaster. Coming home with his tail between his legs, he had to tell her. He couldn’t afford to pay her back for the rental. She was livid:

  “You never gonna make it, Junior,” she said. “You need to stop thinking about those plays. Just go get yourself a job with the phone company. Get those benefits.”1

  At this point, most would have taken her advice.

  And yet, he persisted. Coming back to his mother, he said, “That’s not my life,” he told her. “I have dreams. I have more than that inside me.” As she responded, she took a long drag of her cigarette, saying again:

  “Well, you’re never going to make it.”

  The Voice on the Inside Must Be Loud

  Tyler Perry persisted for one reason: the vision on the inside was bolder than any of the opinions on the outside. Including the vision from his own mother and the marketplace. Despite endless failures, he kept his eyes on the prize and nourished all the ingredients he would need during his leap. He is now the creator of 19 released feature films, more than 15 stage plays, nine television shows, and a New York Times bestselling book.

  But it almost didn’t happen. Perry put every last cent into producing his play, I’ve Been Changed, including renting out a 1,200-capacity theater for opening night in Atlanta. He used his rent, food, and utilities money and put it all on the line.

  Only 30 people showed up. Perry was devastated and newly homeless.

  After seven years of rejections, empty theaters, and endless bills acting as a reminder of how it hadn’t happened yet, Perry was ready to quit. He’d decided it was time to heed his mother’s advice and apply for a position at the phone company after all. Because of the benefits, right?

  It was at that time that two business partners approached him to perform one more time at Atlanta’s House of Blues. It was March 1998, and one of the coldest nights in Atlanta, and the heater was broken inside the theater. Not again, he thought.

  And yet, people waited patiently outside to enter a frigid theater and the show sold out. Rapidly gaining attention, he was able to fill two more shows at the 4,500 capacity Fox Theater. He expands:

  Every national promoter I had spoken with during the past 7 years, everyone who had turned me down, now had offers in hand to take me on tour. Before long I was playing arenas with 20,000 seats and filling every one of them.

  Approach Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta these days, and you’ll find a sprawling empire resting on 330 acres, bigger than Warner Brothers’ studio and Disney Studios combined. Near the lobby door is a simple yet poignant message: “A place where even dreams believe.”

  And that’s exactly what your vision for your leap will do for you: point you in the right direction when it seems easier to take the safe path and give up. When your circumstances and the people around you are telling you to retreat, to give in and get real.

  The truth is it didn’t make sense for Perry to keep going. Giving up after seven years is no small feat in itself, but he kept going for one reason and one reason only: he had cultivated an unshakeable belief in his vision.

  Leap Tip: Detach from Feedback

  There are real consequences to dreaming and living boldly. Sometimes, you’ll receive feedback from those who gave up on their dreams, telling you to give up, too.

  When people close to you tell you that, remember: their intention is usually good. Feedback is simply feedback, and you don’t have to listen.

  Be careful about liste
ning to people who gave up on their dreams. You don’t have to give up on yours.

  Plant the Seed and Let the Universe Do Its Thing

  Without a vision for your leap, you won’t persist. You’ll experience your first challenge as proof it’s not going to work. You’ll listen to people’s advice to get real and to play small. It’ll be an exercise in futility and you’ll say creating visions doesn’t work.

  Consider your vision a seed you plant in the ground. This is step one, without the seed the farmer will never be able to experience the gifts of the harvest. So often, people skip past this step, or do it halfhearted. They get a little excited, and yet craft a vision lacking any specifics and wonder why it’s not happening yet.

  Vague visions lead to vague results. Much like the farmer, your vision is the moment you plant your seed. But it doesn’t end there. Every single day you’re going to tend to the vision to give it the highest chance of flourishing. Although the seed gets water, sunshine, and ingredients in the soil, your vision will also get key ingredients designed to make it your reality.

  This, in turn, starts to create the conditions you need to bring it to life. There’s a moment where all the conditions come together, and it happens. For Tyler Perry, it took enough failures, financial loss, and sleeping in cars to have the conditions be just right.