CONCLUSION
I’ll See You on the Open Road
The word commencement, which we are accustomed to hearing at graduations, does not really mean the end of something but rather the beginning of a new journey. You are about to embark on a brand-new life, one where you get to shift into a higher gear in every area of your life that you select.
My goal has been to distill for you the steps I’ve taken and the steps taken by extremely successful people whom I know and study, so that you can top yourself consistently and live the ultimate life that you desire. I’ve given you a lot of tools, ideas, concepts, research, and action steps, but at the end of the day, it’s very easy to read a book and not implement what it teaches. I’ve been guilty of that in the past myself. I think we all have been. But this is not that type of book, and you’re no longer that type of person.
Regardless of whether you ride a motorcycle regularly, used to ride years ago, don’t ride but have always wanted to, or had zero interest in riding before this book, I know that you now see some powerful and profound parallels between motorcycle riding and aspects of your life and career that you want to take to the next level. Yes, I’ve been using the motorcycle simply as a metaphor; however, adding this incredible hobby, pastime, and/ or mode of transportation to your life could be a game changer for you as it was for me. Whether you take lessons, rent a motorcycle on your next vacation, or decide to own one, I challenge you to bring all these lessons to life through the experience of actually riding a motorcycle. Trust me, done safely it’s one of the coolest experiences of life.
My single request of you is that you allow the action you take as a result of this book to make you change. Let this be the context, let this be the moment, and let this be the time that you actuate all that you’ve experienced in this book.
My final challenge to you is a call to action. When you started this book, I asked you, “When you hear the phrase shift into a higher gear, what comes to mind?” Now that you’ve experienced the content of this book, I ask you that same question again.
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Now compare what you felt this phrase meant at the beginning of this book to how you feel and how you responded now.
Big difference, isn’t there? That’s a great thing. We’ve unpacked so much amazing material in this book.
Key Lessons from Each Chapter
Let’s do a quick yet necessary recap of the key lessons from each chapter, because I want to make sure that you got everything I offered in this book.
Get 1% Better Daily
It’s my sincere hope and prayer that from chapter 1 you gleaned a powerful understanding that it’s in the small, incremental shifts that big change and transformation take place. You’re already doing great things, or you would not have made it this far in a book like this, so I applaud you. Now simply take all you’ve done and shift it into a higher gear. Remember that riding is a journey, not solely a destination. Enjoy the ride, because there is no there . . . there. Keep in mind that your best is behind you, so you must use your present to get 1% better each and every day.
The Movie of Your Life Is Meant to Be Experienced in 3-D
I hope that chapter 2 really rocked your world and is still bothering you in a really good way. I pray that from this landmark chapter, you’ve adopted a totally new mindset about learning to live 3-D. And although most of us were never taught to live three-dimensionally, I hope that now you understand the power of living wide, long, and deep. Some of the most remarkable people in human history didn’t live that long, but they changed the world because they lived their years to the fullest. From now on, my friend, promise me that you’ll invest in living the width of your years and the depth of your years, while you celebrate the length of your years. Celebrate the width and depth along the way as well.
Either Change or Be Changed by Change
What I enjoyed unpacking for you in chapter 3 was the importance of acceptance. Always remember that when you ride the motorcycle of life, you have to accept the elements as they are, but as a great leader committed to change, you also get to see things better than they are and ultimately make things the way you see them. Any change worth pursuing is going to make you walk through all six phases of the change process: It must change, I must change it, I can change it, I will change it, I am changing it, and I have changed it!
Celebration is also a very important part of making it through your change process. Get through each phase with a grateful and inspired attitude and you’ll not just change but transform.
Lean into It and Put Your Wait into Your Future
Chapter 4 was a challenge to get you out of Just Enough land and focus on really going in on the things you want in order to create success in life. We talked about putting both your weight and your wait into the things that matter most to you. We also talked about the keys to cultivating excellence and how excellence must be your new standard if you want to successfully shift into that higher gear. Remember to be like a stamp and stick to one thing until it delivers.
Kick Back Your Kickstand and Focus on Truth vs. Facts
The moment you use an excuse, you engage the kickstand and stall the ride of your life. Yep. The motorcycle of your life can’t and won’t function as long as the kickstand is down. Every excuse that you give yourself is another kickstand that supports your bike, but just know that you’re also not going anywhere. Remember to use the power of cognitive reframing to turn old excuses into powerful and purposeful declarations. And no matter how expensive your house, car, clothes, or that next vacation—nothing is more expensive than your excuses! Don’t rely on excuses. Ride the bike properly and rely on yourself.
Faith Your Fears to Death
If you’ve never watched The Karate Kid, Part III, make sure you watch it. Great movie! In chapter 6, I really pushed you to get honest about the role that fear could be playing in your journey toward success. Remember that you have only two choices in life: to live your dreams or live your fears. It’s really that simple. And although you probably listed a lot of fears that you may now be wrestling with, as we all are, there are only two that you were biologically blessed with. Outside of those two fears, all else is learned behavior, and you can learn faith just as quickly as you can learn fear. Also remember that fear is only doing its job. So feel the fear, appreciate the message it’s trying to send you, and take action anyway, because that’s the definition of courage.
Change Your Emotional Home Address
Everything changed for me when I learned that anything in my life that I said I wanted could be boiled down to an emotion. The engine of the motorcycle of your life is indeed the quality of your emotions. The quality of your emotions is at the center, the very core, of who you are as a person. Remember that you will always find your way back to your emotional home. Whatever emotions you want to experience on a daily basis, make a decision not just to want to feel the emotion as if it’s in some faraway place but to actually embody the emotion. Be honest with yourself as to the emotions that until now have run the show in your life, and make an intentional choice today that you will now live at a new emotional home. You have a new address, and gratitude lives there with you each and every day.
Pick Your Posse on Purpose
I hope that one of the greatest messages you gleaned from chapter 8 was the importance of the relationships and connections in your life, because who you ride with is vital. What did you learn from your posse audit? Regardless of the results, I’m hoping that it helped you realize that we must be intentional about all the relationships in our lives, especially if these folks are going to ride with us on the journey.
Do you already have mentors, mates, and mentees in your life? Is it time to shift those connections to the next level? At this season of your life, what accountability partners and masterminds do you need in order to better your best?
Remember that it’s ultimately your relationship with yourself that is most important. You will always ride with yourself. You can’t not ride with yourself, so always work harder on yourself than you do on anything else, and you’ll be successful.
Your Life Should Know Only Forward
Chapter 9 is one of my favorites because it really focuses on developing a deep desire to always move forward in life. Regardless of what happens in your life, no matter what goes wrong, no matter who leaves, no matter what opportunities you get, no matter what doors don’t open—my friend, understand that you were built to go forward only! You were meant to live your life in Drive. Motorcycles are built primarily with one gear, and that’s Drive. By staying in Drive, you get to avoid the other, less productive gears—Park, Reverse, and Neutral—that often come along depending on the various circumstances in life. No matter which gear you may find yourself in, you can always shift higher by applying the various cure strategies that I outlined in this chapter.
Take Your Rightful Position
If by reading this book you’ve realized that you’ve been playing too small, then congratulations. That’s a fantastic thing to understand, because you can’t change your condition until you change your position. It’s time to take your rightful position. The days of you sitting on the motorcycle of your life backward and living as if the best of your life has already happened are over! And whether it’s The Lion King or Black Panther, the message is still the same: you belong on top. You belong in control of your destiny. The best way to take back control is by realizing that da cat don’t care. Regardless of your own limiting beliefs about yourself (which we all have), you were born to be amazing. So stop focusing on the failures and successes of yesterday, yester-week, yester-month, and yesteryear; shift higher by taking your rightful position. Return to your throne.
There’s No Spare on a Motorcycle, So Avoid Blowing Out Your Tire
Because we live in such a fast-moving world, we often take potholes for granted. In cars, we just run right over them without a second thought. However, because we are living the bike way, potholes can be deadly, so we must avoid them at all costs. Being a defensive driver has never been more important than it is when your goal is to shift into a higher gear. Will you be able to avoid all potholes? Absolutely not. However, there are four types that can do some major damage; you’ll want to practice swerving as much as you can so that when potholes arrive, you won’t be as affected. As high achievers, we can easily fall prey to the potholes of burnout, isolation, overwhelm, and rejection that keep us from enjoying the ride of life. Maneuvering is the key. Enjoy the ride, but stay on the lookout for potholes and prepare for them in advance by making sure you keep your eyes on the road.
A Goal Always Works Harder on You Than You Do on the Goal
It’s my sincere hope and prayer that from chapter 12 you gleaned clarity around the key difference between goal setting and actual manifestation through goal getting. I hope to have inspired you to reach higher by setting higher standards for yourself and those you influence. Remember, a goal is simply a predetermined success point. If I could speak with you privately, I’m sure that anything you would tell me that you want could easily fit into one of the ten categories of goals that I listed in this chapter. But it’s not enough just to have a goal; you need to break the goal down into the smaller actionable steps that you can take on a daily basis to manifest it. Whatever you wish to accomplish, use the eight R’s to help you not just talk about it or dream about it but actually pull it off, my friend. You’ve got this!
Wow. That’s a lot to cover in one book, but somehow we did it. Did you have a favorite chapter or a chapter that maybe wasn’t your favorite because it challenged you the most? If so, please share your experience with me and the rest of the Shift Higher community online.
I sincerely say thank you! Thank you for giving me the chance to cultivate the potential inside you. Thank you for giving me the honor and opportunity to pour what I know and who I am into you through this book. Thank you for your commitment to yourself. Thank you for the action you’re taking to better your best and live life to the fullest, because when you do that, you make this world a better place for all of us.
To help you with integrating all that you’ve learned, I offer you a list of a few of what I think are the best next steps.
Implementation Tips
• Keep this book on your desk, nightstand, bookshelf, or somewhere else close by. The more you see it, the more action you will take on its contents. Proximity is power.
• Share this book with your coworkers, colleagues, friends, family, and social groups. Encourage them to create a book club or discussion group around this book.
• Visit www.ShiftIntoAHigherGear.com for tons of free book bonuses and to join our amazing global online community of readers and implementers of this content.
• As I taught you in chapter 8, find an accountability partner and work together through your lessons, discoveries, goals, and action steps. Success is always better together.
• Take a selfie of yourself holding this book and tag me @Delatorro in it; encourage others to buy a copy of this book wherever books are sold.
• Give yourself a huge reward for finishing this book. Many people start, but you finished, my friend!
• Consider attending our Full Throttle Experience conference. Visit www.FullThrottleExperience.com/ShiftBook for a special message, invitation, and gift from me. I would love to meet you in person and facilitate a process where we can install these and other principles to help you shift into a higher gear in a fun, experiential, high-energy four-day live event.