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Hey there, Maureen Chana here, founder of the MindSight Academy, neuro coach to executives, leaders, entrepreneurs, and a neuroleadership trainer using insights from neuroscience to help you flourish and exceed expectations. Welcome back to another episode of Lead to Excel Podcast. This episode is inspired by Bat Millard's story and song, and I've titled it If only I can imagine. I watched Bart Millard's movie about his life, and it just made me reflect quite a lot, putting into consideration what's going on in the world at the moment with COVID-19. COVID-19 has brought a lot of stress to people, panic attacks, fear, anxiety, and all due to the uncertainties of life. A lot of people are in self-isolation, a lot are in lockdown. Some have been in lockdown for weeks, and people struggle with the fact that they're losing their freedom to do what they want, and it's created a lot of worrying and anxiety for people. And watching this movie made me think, it made me reflect, and it made me appreciate life. And it's in times like this that instead of worrying about what we don't have, worrying about things that are out of our control, this is the time to sit back and take stock and then plan and move forward. Okay, I can't go out. So what do I do with my time? What do I do with myself? Some people are worried about their businesses. Some people on zero-hour contracts, they've been laid off, they have no money, they have no money coming in. A lot of entrepreneurs are unsure about how they're going to survive. There's just a lot of uncertainty. And it's uncertainty is something I talk about a lot because the brain doesn't like uncertainty. The brain likes being in control, it likes knowing. And when it doesn't, it freaks out basically. So instead of letting the uncertainty control your actions and create the anxiety and fear, you take control of what you're doing and start planning your life. You know, in a way, it's it's time to, like I said, take stock and decide okay, there are things that I would have loved to do that I've not been able to do. And now is a good time to start putting those things into action or at least planning for them. This podcast, which I've titled If I Can Only Imagine, and what I want you to do is if there are no obstacles in your life, what are the things that you imagine you could achieve? I just want you to stay calm and just think. If I can only imagine what I would love my life to be like without any challenges, if there are no obstacles on my way, no fear, what would I do? What would my life be like? What do I want to achieve? What do I want to be? What are those things I would have loved to have done that I've not been able to do? Either because I've been so busy, so preoccupied with life, the fact is that life has now made everybody stop. I suppose some people are not stopping, some people are just carrying on, but that's okay. But if you're in a position to stop, this is a good time to stop and think and then plan. There's nothing that you can't achieve in life if you put your mind to it, plan, take actions. The only limits that we have in life are the limits that we place on ourselves. Henry Ford says, Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right. So whatever you decide your life will be is exactly what you will get. However, you decide the world is, is exactly what the world becomes for you. Because you see the world not as it is, but as you are, and that's why this is a time to stop and just imagine what life would be like without those filters that we've put on from our experiences from the past. This is a time to now take charge and do the things that you really want to do and do the things that truly give you joy. What is it that you want to do that you've been putting off? Is it starting a business? Is it starting a new job? Then this is the time to put your CV in order. Start looking at the jobs that you want to apply for. This is the time to start learning new skills that will help you get that job. Is it going into leadership? Is it progressing into leadership? There's so many online courses you can do at the moment. Equip yourself. Don't make yourself a victim of COVID-19. Arise and take charge and do what you really want to do. Achieve what you've always wanted to achieve. Be the person who you know you really should be. Many adults today have made themselves victims of life. You wonder why they think the way they think, why they behave the way they behave. Many people do not introspect about themselves, do not ask the questions. And this is a time that we really need self-awareness. Self-awareness is what will enable you to understand yourself, understand the world, and understand people around you. Self-awareness is your key to achieving success. Self-awareness is your key to being able to stay calm in the midst of a storm. Because you know what? This too shall pass. COVID-19 will come and go. The question is, who will you be at the end of it? Where will you be at the end of it? Will you be the same that you were at the beginning of this disruption to what you'll be at the end? This is the time to really equip yourself with everything you need to be different because you know what? The world will not be the same ever again. Something has shifted, something has changed. The way people work, the way people interact, the way people view themselves, there's a shift in the world basically. This whole crisis has emphasized for me personally more than ever before that you know what, as much as we go through life thinking we're in control, we're not. But in the midst of that lack of control, you could be in control. What do I mean by that? How you respond or how you react determines your level of control. Because as human beings, there are a lot of things that are beyond our control, there are a lot of things we can't control. The way people behave towards us, the way people behave in the world. I've sat and listened to a lot coming from people, from media, a lot of false information, and also interestingly, the way people interpret situations, the way people interpret things somebody has said. It's so interesting how each of us views the same situation so differently. It's all a choice though, because the way I see it, I've seen people get so heated. Oh, the government didn't react quickly, the government should have reacted sooner. You know what? What are you doing? The government obviously are reacting based on the information they have. What am I doing? I need to keep safe and I need to make sure I keep everyone around me safe or anyone I come into contact safe. So I've got a responsibility. Are you doing what you should be doing, or are you looking out to find out the things other people are not doing? The Bible says take out the speck in your own eye before you start looking to pluck out the log in somebody else's eye. Are you the one that waits for opportunities to come to you? Or are you the one that creates opportunities for yourself? This is the time to create opportunities for yourself. Don't sit down waiting for things to come to you. You've got the downtime now to really go for what you truly want. The only fear you should have is fear in itself. Success is not being afraid to accomplish your goals. Never be satisfied with past performances. Learn from the past and move forward and achieve even better than the past. You are your own diving engine. You are also your own brakes. So question yourself what you're doing now. Are you moving forward or are you putting your brakes on? You will always have the doubters and naysayers, but you are the only one that can prove them right or wrong. Your breakthrough is determined by how badly you want something. How determined are you to see your endeavor to the end? How determined are you to ensure your business does not fold up? How determined are you that in spite of anything, you will get up and go forward and succeed. You can always blame someone else or something else. You can blame the economy, you can blame the coronavirus, but the fact is that you just need to believe in yourself and get up and do whatever it takes for you to excel. Rewire your brain, be fearless, become limitless. If you haven't subscribed to my podcast, please don't forget to subscribe wherever you listen to this podcast, and please share this podcast with other people. Put a review, a comment, and if you've got a topic you want me to discuss, put it in the comment as well so I can get onto it. And I wish you every success, perfect health. Please stay safe, stay at home, protect yourself, protect our NHS workers, protect other people. And I sincerely wish you all the success that you desire through all this. Good luck and see you in the next episode.