A Crazy Story About Booking A Guest And How We Need To Keep Going

I was sitting at the park reading a book literally called “The Holy Shit Moment” which makes this story that much more interesting.

I had felt like giving up on the podcast at this point. Like a creative does.

The weight of creating just felt a bit unbearable for the moment.
And then I had a really cool manifestation moment that to this day gives me chills.

I was thinking about it today when I heard Ryan Holiday talking about giving up.

Even Ryan Holiday Feels Like Giving Up

He’s published like 14 books and counting that have sold many millions of copies.
And his digital writing has probably been read billions of times.

The guy knows how to write.

Yet, I heard him share something reassuring for any of us creators.
Maybe it’s especially fresh and important to me because I’m working on a book right now.

He said, “It’s the most incredible thing when your book finally hits the shelves. You look back at when it was just a tiny idea and you think of all of the times that you almost gave up, but kept going, and now it’s done. Here it is.”

In this way a book is like a little metaphor for any ambition we have.

In a way, life itself.

It’s often the case that you feel like giving up.

The Great Creators Kept Going

Sometimes we question if we’re doing things the right way (we can learn a lot of lessons from some great creators who had unbeatable patience like Mr Beast, or more recently the creator of Baby Reindeer, really overcoming and sticking with a goal to see it through)

Because the reality is, like Ryan Holiday, and many, maybe all others, I often feel like giving up at times.

And I’m about as focused and resilient as they come.

But it is challenging for all of us in the beginning.

The truth is it can be hard to keep going when we don’t see “results”. But, this is a wild story that combines the topics of “luck” and “patience”.

As a podcaster I have continued to push forward.
Through many ups and downs.
So many challenges.

But I keep going. Like a true professional I put in the practice and I publish.

Rinse and repeat. Over and over again.

’Til the night closes in.

You Can Only Connect The Dots Looking Back

Anyways, like Steve Jobs infamously said,

“You’ve got to find what you love. The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.

But you can’t connect the dots looking forward. You can only connect them looking backward. So we have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in our future.

Trust in something- your gut, destiny, life, or karma. This approach has never let me down. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on.

So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.”

​So, even though I often feel like giving up on my big dreams, I will never settle.

I recently took my kids to the park for a “short play time”. But they wanted to stay longer.

I purposely left my phone at home, didn’t bring any music, or a journal so that I could meditate.

But once the quick trip turned into a few hours I went to my car to grab a book.

(I always keep one back-up book in the glove box)

And I thought “Oh ya” when I found “The Holy Shit Moment” by James Fell.

It was a book I picked up years ago that I had “planned on reading.”

So I cracked ‘er open and started learning about the fact that epiphany is the true catalyst to big changes in our lives.

At this time I had been feeling particularly down about the podcast.
One of those moments in the journey that things just felt a bit slow. A little repetitive. And I wasn’t feeling much momentum.

The Crazy Sign To Keep Going

Now telling this part of the story almost feels fake.

Too unreal to be true. But it is 100% the truth. I went to bed later that night, still feeling a bit off about the progress of the podcast. But when I woke up in the morning I had an email.

Not just any email. But an email from James Fell’s Team asking for him to come on the Just Keep Learning podcast.

I couldn’t believe my eyes. I did a double take. I double checked the email address, the websites and confirmed that the email seemed real.

And then I even went to the book just to confirm that it was indeed the same James Fell.

It was a crazy moment and I hope this story helps you keep going with whatever you are working on too.

These moments will start to happen more and more as you get increasingly aligned with your big dream.

Remember, the only way we can connect all of these dots is looking back.

So don’t settle, keep making decisions with your gut, keep taking action and these moments will start happening for you too.

PS. Here is the actual email in case you’re curious.