Just like a character in an MMO, everyone has room to improve. By acquiring the necessary learnings and experiences, one can achieve the next level version of themselves. Kim Sutton talks about embracing an attitude of constant learning about ourselves and the people around us. She also delves into the power of saying no during the right moments for you to grow and realize your vision.
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How Do You See Your Next Level Version?
If you haven’t heard me talk about it before, you may be surprised to know that when I am not hosting the show or when I am not working on marketing strategies and automation strategies for my clients, I am an avid video gamer. I can become very addicted, obsessed with the video games that I play, and they can eat up hundreds, if not thousands of hours of my time. While this might seem like a negative thing, let me tell you, it has played well into my business.
Everyone is constantly leveling up by learning more about themselves, their businesses, their capabilities, and so much more.
For any of you fellow gamers out there, I want you to think of games like World of Warcraft or Guild Wars, and any of those MMOs where you will earn experience, level up by completing tasks in games, and you will reach the next level. In World of Warcraft, you can start as an elf, human, or any variety of species. As you complete tasks, you level up your character, gain new skills, learn new skills, and advance to the next level. In our business and personal lives, the same is the case. We are constantly learning more about ourselves, businesses, families, body’s capabilities, confidence, and so much more, and we are constantly leveling ourselves up. I thought as a teenager that when I graduated high school, that was going to be one milestone.
When I graduated college, I would know everything I needed to know about adulting. I was wrong. I had no idea that as a 22–year–old graduating college, I got to say from one of the top art schools in the country that I wouldn’t know a fraction of what I needed to know to adult. I had no idea how much I would learn about myself, mindset, confidence, relating with other people, succeeding in business, succeeding personally, and about child–raising. I’m still learning a lot about child–raising. I need to put that out there. I didn’t have a clue that my learning journey had only begun.
Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts.
While learning that one plus one is two is a huge accomplishment for children, learning the ABCs and read like my kindergarteners are doing right now is one step of learning. There is so much more learning to be done as we progress. I don’t care if you’re thirteen reading about this episode with your parents, you’re eighteen, graduated high school, in your twenties, possibly in college or out there in the workforce already, or you’re 60, it’s likely that you are still learning about yourself every single day.
I still learn about myself and the health conditions that affect me in my family every single day. I don’t say that we have a lot of health issues but there are things going on. You’ll know about them as this month progresses that I’ve learned a tremendous amount about it because in order to reach my next level being, I needed to learn more. A few years ago, I read Brené Brown’s Dare to Lead and the book challenged me in the all–the–best–ways–possible all the way through. She didn’t talk about this directly but one thing that sparked my mind was, what do I need to do to be the next–level version of me?
What does the next–level version of me do on a daily basis and life look like? What does she read and listen to? How does she relate with her family and clients? What does she do in her business and for herself personally every day? I started to think about these things because I wanted to know how I could be a better leader for myself, my family, clients, and my community. When I say community, I mean both professional and here where I live in Ohio. How could I be the next–level version of me in the best way possible without stressing myself out and working 20 to 22 hours a day? What would that look like?
Now I want you to think about what the next–level version of you looks like. How much do they sleep? What do they eat? How do they spend their leisure time? What are they reading? What do they do in their spare time? How are they connecting with their family, friends, and/or loved ones? How are they relating with their clients? What is their mindset? What are they delegating because they understand that not everything needs to be done for themselves?
I want to take a quick detour on that question because I want to remind you that regardless of whether it’s activity around your house or activity in your business, not everything needs to be done by you or by someone who you live with. For example, I hired out for our lawn service because I have no interest in mowing my lawn and it was killing my husband’s back to do it. I realized that investing $30 a week to have our lawn mowed would save my husband 2 to 3 days of lying in bed because his back was killing him.
Some of the biggest nos in life can equal great yeses when you allow them to happen.
What does next–level you give up so that they can gain in other areas of their life? Not every no is a bad thing. Remember that some of the biggest noes in our lives can equal great yeses when we allow it to happen. As you’re thinking about what next–level you look like, if you have a vision board, I want you to take a good look at it and see what it’s showing you. Is your vision board filled with material objects? Are you measuring your success based upon whether or not you are achieving those materialistic wins? Is your vision about how you want to feel when you achieve that next level?
I’m staring at my vision board right now. I’ve moved my office from where it had been for a couple of years to a room in my basement. Now my vision board is constantly in my face. That might sound like a bad thing. I want to tell you that it is an amazing reminder every single day to always strive for the next–level version of me. There is only one material thing on my vision board and it is a Disney castle because I cannot wait to take my family there, but the rest of my vision board is words. Some of those words include building a brand that matters, connection, impact, something to believe in, thank God, imperfect is perfect, take breaks, create a thriving team, make a show that matters, stretch, be in the business of doing good, happiness, and I will.
Next Level Version: Whether it’s an activity around your house or in your business, not everything needs to be done by you or by someone you live with.
How does your heart feel at the next level of your business and life? How is your mindset at the next level of your life? I want you to think about all these things and decide whether or not you are taking actions on a daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly basis that reflect the journey that you need to take to reach the next level you. I would love to hear your thoughts, so head on over to TheKimSutton.com/PP710. Until the next episode, go forth and make it a positive and productive day.
