Are you up for a challenge? Ready for an experience that can change everything for you?
If you didn’t run away as soon as you read that, you’re in the right place. I want to ask you a very personal question: Have you ever had an experience that changed everything for you?
If you’ve spent any time with me, or listened to my TEDx Talk, you know that my experience was actually from a movie. It’s true. The movie Jerry McGuire got me… Now - before you judge me - I know this moment ONLY happened because I was ready to change my life for the better. I was ready to start rolling with the punches instead of trying to control every aspect of the life I had built.
Let Life Love You Back
In the middle of that movie, as Jerry’s mentor Dicky Fox was talking about his philosophy on loving life, it hit me. If you love your life - your life will love you back. So, how was I to begin loving my life when, frankly, it wasn’t a life I wanted to love? It wasn’t that my life was terrible - from an outside perspective. I’d built a thriving law career and once I hit burnout central, I became the CEO of one of the biggest inspirational, life-changing organizations in the entire country.
But things were churning inside and I knew something was off. That nagging little voice was warning me. I was perpetuating the same exact routine that nearly killed me at my law firm. I was spinning my wheels to zero traction.
I knew I needed to do something different but starting that process felt like I needed to climb the biggest mountain with no gear. I felt unprepared and inexperienced to take on life in the way I had coached so many others to do. And if ever there was a case of overthinking every single thing, it was me, in those moments. The solution to joy was (and still is) simple.
10 Seconds, Reallly?
For me, it started with a simple 10-second ritual - declaring I LOVE MY LIFE every morning from a place of gratitude. The moment my feet hit the floor, instead of me hitting the alarm clock, I made a conscious decision to declare that I would love my life, no matter what. And each time I said this - my life loved me back more and more.
So why am I telling you this? Because I want that for you. The more I declared my love for life, no matter what, the more it became true that this simple pivot was something so many people could employ - regardless of circumstance or resources - to create a massive pivot, enough to shift reality. The solution to joy is easier than all the fighting and pushing I was participating in every single day.
ILML- I. Love. My. Life. (Period.)
I built something to bring this simple, joyful truth to reality - not just my reality but the reality of anyone who would listen. I linked arms with my purpose. I let go of my fear because I knew that living a life without purpose was scarier than anything else I had experienced or could experience in the future.
I’ve got a challenge for you. It starts with that one simple, yet profound, ritual… and blossoms into so much more. This ILML challenge is simply asking you to love your life, from where you are, no matter what. Because what I've learned is this: the more you speak love into truth, the more clarity you have, the more alignment you experience, the more joy you summon.
- Adam Markel, author of The I Love My Life Challenge