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On The Other Side of Fear: A Recap of Summit of Greatness 2022

In this article, entrepreneur and Greatness community member, Lydia Rees, shares her biggest takeaways from the Summit of Greatness 2022.

As I type this article, I am sitting on a plane on the way back to the UK and reflecting on not just the Greatness Summit but how the decision to join the Greatness Academy has had a profound impact on my life.

I have followed Lewis for many years across his social media platforms and often listened to his podcasts for inspiration regarding my business and mindset.

At the start of the year, I saw the “5-day free Greatness Challenge” appear on my Facebook, and I jumped at the chance to register.

At the time, I was feeling lost and overwhelmed. From the outside looking in, I was holding everything together. But, in reality, it was the exact opposite; I was a busy mum of two boys trying to balance life, work and start a new business.

I joined The Greatness Academy and started seeing the positive impact it had on all areas of my life. So when the opportunity arose to attend The Summit of Greatness a few months later, I decided to fly to Ohio.

Flying halfway across the world to be part of a 3-day summit may have seemed a little crazy to anyone looking in. Especially when I was trying to balance everything at home, self-doubt crept in, and I questioned my decision.

 “I could be spending this money on the boys.”

 “Who do I think I am doing this?”

“Everyone else will be so much further along than me.”

 However, a week earlier, I had listened to Ed Mylett’s book “The Power Of One More”, and his words ricocheted around my head.

“You are one decision, one thought, one meeting away from a completely different life.”

I knew this event would be life changing, so I booked my tickets and drove three hours to London to get my flight.

“You are one decision, one thought, one meeting away from a completely different life.”

It isn’t easy to summarise all the emotions I felt during the three days. I had attended virtual events, but nothing compares to the power and energy of a live event. It was one of the most valuable personal development experiences I had ever attended.

Walking into the Summit, I found it difficult to see the “greatness “within me; I had battled with self-confidence for as long as I could remember, so I was a little tentative to see what impact this would have.

I walked to the venue to attend the workshops. As I opened the doors, a wave of incredible energy hit me! A sea of genuine smiles. The members of Team Greatness made you feel like they had known you all their lives.

Constant was this vibe throughout the whole weekend. The uplifting energy of the team never wavered. It was so inspiring, and they never failed to put a smile on my face (even when jet lag toyed with me until early morning)

Experts from around the world flocked to educate and inspire us. The topics ranged from business, mindset, relationships and spirituality, and there was something for everyone.

One of the many things that stood out to me over the weekend was Lewis’s energy throughout the summit and his unique ability to hold the crowd’s attention the entire day, reflected by the crowd’s energy.

However, when the speakers hit the stage, the 1000-plus crowd was still quiet, hooked on every word. Everyone had an important message to relay; all of them stood out to me, but I will mention Rory Vaden.

Rory Vaden is the New York Times bestselling author of ‘Take the Stairs’ and ‘Procrastinate on Purpose.’

He resonated with me as he talked about fear, and fear was an emotion I was all too familiar with. On many occasions, I procrastinated and avoided saying yes to business opportunities due to fear and self-doubt.

He relayed a story about buffalos and cows and their different reactions to a storm.

I wasn’t quite sure where he was going with the story, but as he continued to explain, it began to hit home.

He told us that when storms come, they almost always brew from the West. And then what happens is they roll out towards the East. 

Cows can sense that a storm is coming from this direction. So, a cow will try to run East to escape the storm. 

So as the storm comes from this direction, it catches up with them. Quickly.

Without knowing any better, the cows continue to try to outrun the storm. 

But instead of outrunning the storm, they run with the battery, maximising the amount of pain, time, and frustration they experience from that storm.

Humans do the same thing all the time.

We spend so much of our lives trying to avoid the inevitable challenges that coincide with difficult circumstances. Circumstances that our choices have unwillingly paved.

Buffaloes wait for the storm to cross right over the crest of the peak of the mountaintop. Then, as the storm rolls over the ridge, buffaloes will turn and charge directly into mother nature’s rage.

They run at it, and in doing so, they run straight through it, minimising the amount of pain, time, and frustration they experience from that storm. 

It is the same severe storm, but the two animals react oppositely.

It’s a beautiful metaphor for all of us because even though we’re in different places in life, we all have storms.

My “storm” was self-doubt, which had continuously resided inside me, impacting my life in many ways.

I felt enormous gratitude rush over me as I began to think about the amazing friends, connections, opportunities and knowledge this summit had presented me.

You would think I was holding it all together, but in reality, the negative talk was constant. I was saying no to business opportunities, talking myself out of ideas I had come up with, turning down events and not reaching my full potential because I thought I wasn’t good enough.

I knew that dismissing opportunities and not ‘showing up’ would prolong my frustration. Nevertheless, I let fear dictate my decisions and ran away from the storm rather than facing it head-on.

As I listened to Rory, the realisation began to hit me. I looked around the theatre, taking it all in; this fantastic experience would not have been possible if I had let the self-doubt inside me win. This life-changing event would have been lost to me.

I felt enormous gratitude rush over me as I began to think about the amazing friends, connections, opportunities and knowledge this summit had presented me.

It was a testament to the quote, “everything you’ve ever wanted is sitting on the other side of fear.”

I left the theatre processing Rory’s words, and I’d let self-doubt dictate my life for far too long.

As I walked down the streets of Ohio, I pulled out my phone and opened an email I had received earlier this week.

 A company asked me to give a talk about fitness to mums. Instinctively, I was ready to say no, but something Rory had said earlier in the day had a powerful resonance:

“You are most powerfully positioned to serve the person you once were.”

I smiled to myself as I hit ‘send’. My answer was a confident ‘yes’.

I realised that to make positive changes, you must be willing to be vulnerable. You need to have the courage to acknowledge and face your fears, just like the Buffalo. But, in doing so, you will make such an effort to live a life of greatness.

The three days ended, and I felt energised to start this new phase of my life. There was an overwhelming sense of gratitude that I had the chance to experience this incredible event with amazing people and If you ever get the chance to attend, I encourage you to do so.

You really are one decision, one thought, one meeting away from a life of greatness.

About author

Lydia Rees

Lydia is a pre and post natal specialist, her goal is to help thousands of mum’s become the best versions of themselves through health, fitness and mindset.

 

Lydia does this by teaching mums that they too can put their needs alongside their children’s to reach their goals, without facing the guilt associated with that. 

 

Based in the United Kingdom, she is a mum to Louis, 15 and Tripp. Lydia has recently set up an active wear range for mums, which consists of maternity workout wear to take you from pregnancy and beyond called Ashina Active.

 

Follow Lydia by visiting her at:

www.lydiarees.com

www.ashinaactive.com

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