This post is part of my book Conspire To Inspire: Everything Is Awesome When You Are Part Of A Team

Michael Paine @strangerarray

Copyright © 2015 Michael Paine

2 MEL ROBBINS

Mel

I used to have Netflix. I canceled their service in order to have more time. They have a good thing going with the streaming service. I like that better than owning actual physical movies or TV series on DVD or other formats. However, for me I watch less and less movies the older I get. Also I have trouble staying awake during them. Even the ones I like. As for television I get bored easily. Most all shows are formulaic and are repetitive yet they just change the costumes and character names. I have nothing against watching TV. I have watched countless hours myself. I just cannot sit still long enough to watch an entire show because my mind is always coming up with things that I would rather be doing. So I go and do them.

Sometimes however I am in situations or places where I do have to be there for a long period of time. When I did have Netflix I found a plethora of short videos called TED Talks. Their website best describes them: “TED is a platform for ideas worth spreading. Started in 1984 as a conference where technology, entertainment and design converged, TED today shares ideas from a broad spectrum — from science to business to global issues — in more than 100 languages. Meanwhile, independent TEDx events help share ideas in communities around the world”. So one of the times I was somewhere I did not want to waste my time so instead of looking at news, which is never “new”, I decided to watch some TED Talk videos on YouTube. This is where I first found Mel Robbins.

Who is Mel Robbins you ask?

“Mel Robbins is a powerful motivational speaker who is trusted by global brands to inspire change, challenge thinking and accelerate personal and business growth. Her TEDx Talk on "How to Stop Screwing Yourself Over" has over 2 million views, and her book on the brain and productivity, “Stop Saying You’re Fine”, is a business bestseller that has been translated into four languages. She started her career as a criminal defense attorney and went on to launch and sell two companies, led strategic change initiatives inside leading global brands and ultimately step into the media business, working on-air hosting shows for FOX, A&E, Cox Media Group and now CNN.”

Mel, in her Ted Talk “F— YOU –”, spurred me into action with her 5 second rule. And, spoiler alert, despite the video’s title and Mel’s spunkiness, there is not profanity in the video. So go ahead and watch it. You will see how you have been doing the 5 second rule wrong your whole life. Mel is another individual I have never met and now I am doing my life different because of her. She has kindled something in me that seems to have always been there. It is not like she even had to unlock a door, she just opened one in me that had been closed.

Along with James Altucher and Claudia Azula, who I will introduce you to later, Mel believes in the power of ideas and allowing yourself to explore the ones that you have rather than dismissing them. She advocates taking action even though “you will never feel like it”. I find this helpful because I know that she is right. There are things that I put off because I never feel like doing. But when I do them I feel better. For example the other day I changed out the towel bars in my bathrooms. We had towel holder rings. I hated them. I do not like the way the towel gets scrunched up on the ring and it makes me not want to dry my hands. Weird I know. The thing is we had already bought replacement strait bars to put up. And then the replacements sat there on the counter. For weeks.

Finally, I disliked the situation so much I did something about it. I put away the excuses. I didn't have enough screws for the project. I went and bought them. The store is only five minutes away. After removing that excuse I had another one. I did not want to have to paint the spot where I removed the old rings. So I just would not do that. I would put that off. Excuses always get in the way. The challenge is to remove them. Once those obstacles were removed I got my wife's help to mark the holes for the new mounts and then boom! I put up the new towel bars.

The next morning I was super happy about what I had done.

What is Mel doing now?

Go to her website: http://www.melrobbins.com/ to find out. She has a section about events that she is going to take part in and link about her contacting her for speaking engagements.

CTI