Personal Growth

Why You Shouldn't Be Reasonable

March 12, 2008

Hi! I'm Marie

You have gifts to share with the world and my job is to help you get them out there.

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Have you ever gotten stuck being “reasonable” about life?

A few weeks ago I almost got snookered. Here’s what happened.

I was speaking to a group of entrepreneurs about productivity and well-being at a conference in Walt Disney World, Orlando Florida. I was thrilled to share the power of transformation as it relates to productivity, wealth and well-being.

Being a gal who likes to balance business and pleasure, I built fun time into the last day of my trip. Since my flight back to NYC wasn’t until 5PM, I had time for roller coasters and Mickey before heading home.

On Sunday morning I woke up at 8:30AM and headed down to the concierge desk to find out my options.

I asked the woman behind the desk for advice on visiting the parks. I said, “I really want to get on the new roller coasters in Hollywood Studios AND I would love visit the Magic Kingdom. Do you think I could visit both parks before I have to leave for the airport at 2PM?”

She quickly answered, “No way! Two parks in one day before 2PM? Impossible! Just pick one and have a good time sweetheart.”

Slightly deflated, I agreed to buy a single park pass and make the best of it.

By this time, it’s almost 9AM and I need to choose a theme park and get on the right bus to get me there.

Scratching my chin I thought, “Which park is going to maximize my pleasure? Hollywood Studios OR the Magic Kingdom?”

Since the Magic Kingdom bus was there and the Hollywood Studios bus wasn’t, I took it as a sign from the Universe that I was meant to go to the Magic Kingdom- as if the Universe cares :).

As I stepped onto the Magic Kingdom bus, I was struck by how unbelievably packed it was with crazy kids and their frantic parents.

Instantly, I thought, “No way Jose! This park is going to be nutso!” I looked up and noticed the Hollywood Studios bus pulling up along side us.

“Stop!” I yelled to the driver. “I want to go to Hollywood Studios!” Thankfully, he let me off and I jumped on the other bus.

(Of course, as I was getting off one bus onto the other I was totally second-guessing my choices. “What am I doing? Did I chose the wrong park? Should I have stayed on the Magic Kingdom bus? Am I crazy for being this neurotic about an amusement park?”)

I called Josh for some love and reassurance and he graciously gave it to me. (Bless that man!) Within minutes I was at Hollywood Studios.

As I neared the entrance, I realized the park hadn’t even opened yet! I was perfectly on time. Once they let us in, I headed straight for the Rock N Rollercoaster starring Aerosmith. I had heard about this ride from other travelers and was so psyched to be one of the first people on it for the day.

This killer coaster ride takes you from 0 to 60 mph in 2.8 seconds while playing amazing rock music by Aerosmith.

The time was now 9:14 AM. I then headed straight over to the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror – my second ride. Here’s what it’s like.

You get seated aboard a rickety old “freight elevator” and as your journey progresses, the elevator enters a pitch-black shaft. The elevator starts to rise and then unexpectedly, the cables “snap” and the vehicle plunges 13 stories. The elevator abruptly rises once more, with an erratic series of shorter drops and climbs. It was another awesome ride!!

Now the time was 9:35 AM. Hmmm.

Those were the only two rides I wanted to go on in Hollywood Studios and obviously, I had lots more time to play. So I upgraded my ticket to a “Park Hopper Pass” and jumped on the next bus to the Magic Kingdom baby!

Once I got to Mickey Land, it was 10:10 AM. For the next 3 hours I went on the exact rides I wanted to: Space Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Haunted Mansion and Big Thunder Mountain.

When it was all done, I took a bus back to my resort and had time for lunch and relaxation before heading to the airport.

So what’s this all got to do with NOT being reasonable? Everything.

You see, most people in the world underestimate what’s possible. They think small, act small and live small. It’s not that they’re bad or malicious, they just haven’t looked outside of what they already know.

And anyone who underestimates themselves, by extension, will underestimate what you’re capable of.

In this case, it was not only feasible but EASY for me to cruise through two theme parks in half a day. The gal I spoke with in the morning totally underestimated what was possible for me because happily visiting two parks in a half a day was outside of what she knew to be true.

If I had listened to her advice, I would have played small. I would have kept thinking “What if….”

When it comes to your life, don’t be reasonable. Trust me. You can have it all.

Everything I treasure in my life has come out of willingness to be unreasonable.

I exceed expectations because I don’t let them limit me.

Any time I take a quantum leap outside of what’s “reasonable” I am rewarded beyond my wildest dreams. Whether it’s finding the love of my life, or the simple exhilaration of riding a new rollercoaster, exceeding expectations yields miracles.

Be unreasonable and exceed the expectations you set and others set. Know that you can be incredibly wealthy – inside and out. You can have a fantastically successful business AND a phenomenal personal life. You can have a loving, satisfying and wonderful relationship with someone who adores you. You can make a difference in the world doing what you love. You can become whomever you want to be – no matter what your age, race, or gender.

Don’t listen to the naysayers, or succumb to the limits of mediocre minds. Don’t be reasonable. As Walt Disney himself said, “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.”

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