I love it when students share their struggles in real-time, and then send me an update after their breakthrough, because it really shows the Rare Faith principles in action. It’s one thing to read a story after everything is already hunky dory. It’s an entirely different thing to watch it unfold.
The following comes from Stephanie Lee who attended Genius Bootcamp, was a Mindset Mastery Program Participant, and who was always very open about her struggles and ultimately graduated with honors. She had such a profound (albeit gradual) transformation that she decided to go on to Facilitator Training so she could help others experience a breakthrough, too.
This girl really gets it (I think because it was such a struggle for her), and has always been a tremendous cheerleader for others in our programs who experience the struggle as well. In her words:
“I attended Genius Bootcamp …and took so many notes. So, so many and I had so many great takeaways… Towards the end of the last day …I wrote what takeaways …caused a visceral response in me …even if they didn’t seem earth shattering, and even if I wasn’t sure how to implement them in any other ways beyond remembering them and choosing to trust them…
“I …copied the page where I wrote [my] takeaways and glued it in my current journal. I also made a smaller, second copy, laminated it, and am using it as a bookmark for my daily planner. It’s a little thing but it has helped focus my thoughts on the kind of person I want to be and what I need to do daily – especially in moments of doubt – to BE that kind of person. It’s also helped me bring my creative power into the NOW …when I’m drifting into a space of believing that BIG changes are the only ones that will serve as real evidence of my growth in living these principles.
“When Leslie shared the concept of ‘prospering by degrees’, I was so overcome with emotion at the realization of how much God had blessed and grown me in little, cumulative ways since the very first time I went to GBC…
Yes, Stephanie attended more than one Genius Bootcamp because she was intent on really ‘getting it’, and helping others. She continued:
“It had been so easy to believe that I was ‘still stuck’, ‘still struggling’, ‘still not having had an major breakthrough’. [And] In the 6 months since this last GBC where this truth was shown to me, I have been prospered by even more degrees that feel like nothing short of miraculous.
Notice the following shift in her perspective and expectation. When this happens, new outcomes are initiated:
“I’m going to trust that this is a trajectory that will continue for me, especially as I remind myself daily of my three takeaways.
“Maybe my ‘major breakthrough’ is right around the corner. Maybe it will come bigger and better than I ever could have manufactured. Maybe it will come in degrees that build upon each other exponentially, and six months from NOW, I’ll be circling back here to to share it with you all. I’m anticipating being on the listening end of your exponential growth too…”
UPDATE – three months later:
“…Just 3 short months ago (which, if my math is right, is equal to roughly 3 years in Quarantine Time) the solution to a situation I wanted resolved seemed so far and big that I wasn’t sure how or when it would happen. Imagining it being resolved 6 months down the road seemed SO incredibly optimistic. Comical, even.
“We had partnered on an investment property with my cousin and his wife and I was trying to figure out how to create his share of the profits that I had used for needful things for our family over the past 4 1/2 years. The original contract stated that he would receive all his profits with the sale of the house and not during ownership. My fear-based, completely un-researched, totally guesstimated numbers said that what I owed him felt reachable, but every time a little money came in, it went to something else – a car repair, other bills, etc. It felt like everything was working AGAINST me accomplishing this worthy goal [of paying him back]. It was frustrating, to say the least!
To give you some of the back story, here is where she was coming from. This is an excerpt from a post she shared last year about this issue:
“I knew I had used the money for needful things but it wasn’t my money to use. I felt HUGE guilt and shame. I set the goal of generating that money by June 18th …when my cousin and his wife were [going to be] here on our land for our family reunion.
“Not only did I not generate a single penny of that, but I also fell behind in other areas financially. I really had to rely on the lessons in the MM program to help me know how to navigate all that but at one point I had a phone call with Trevan where he helped me SO much. The time had come where there seemed to be NO WAY the money could be generated in time but I knew that the months of effort had grown me in big and important ways. I needed help recalibrating my approach with the goal and what to do if the goal didn’t happen in time…
“It challenged every core belief of failure, brokenness, and unworthiness that I had buried. Those feelings had to come to light and I had to look at them and give them to Heavenly Father in order for me to have even a sliver of hope that this goal could be accomplished.
“I prayerfully asked if the goal was right and received confirmation that it was. I prayerfully asked Heavenly Father to give me the ideas and stamina I would need to accomplish the goal. I pursued all opportunities I could. And…EVERYTHING got harder. (Click here to read how she got through it in the post: Desperate for $6000.)
Back to today:
“But the takeaways I got from my time at GBC helped me recalibrate my faith and I felt a slow increase in peace around the situation…a trust that it WOULD work out. I even started affirming “won’t it be amazing to look back on the incredible miracles that happened to resolve this?!!”
“I started planning for those miracles.
“…I [had a] conversation with our Real Estate coach to determine if the house had appreciated enough to sell, pay back my cousin’s initial down payment plus his share of the rent profits plus his share of the sale profits. A year ago, it wasn’t there yet.
“[But] Between researching the market, talking to a RE agent where the house is in a different state, talking to my cousin about selling, etc etc. it took weeks to determine that it was, indeed, a good time to sell.
“Then March 13th hit. For us in our state, it was the turning point of the pandemic when everything started shutting down economically. People were freaking out, holding on to their money except to buy food. I was sick with worry that we were one month too late to sell the house to be able to cover our numbers and that it might take years to recover. I feared the worst for our economy.
“I emailed our RE agent where the house was and asked her opinion. She said that as strange as things were, the RE market was still going strong. We went ahead and put the house on the market and received four offers on the first day – all at or above asking price. We accepted one of those offers from a couple who had been looking to buy a home in that neighborhood for years because their grand kids live around the corner.
“We had to replace the heat pump to the tune of $3000 for the sale, but the miracle was that I had just received a check for a little over that for an online course I had created for someone else in January. We had the money to fix it without having to go into debt! What a fun feeling!
“Escrow went so smoothly and we closed on the sale on April 30th, EVEN in the midst of a pandemic!
Stephanie finally had the money to both pay her cousin back and come out ahead.
“Not only did I get the breakthrough in the situation I was dreaming of, but I also have experienced other breakthroughs in the way I THINK… I’ve felt the personal experience of knowing ABOUT a principle, vs. KNOWING a principle.
“I can absolutely see how the timing of everything in this situation was absolutely perfect, and that, though I feared my imperfect thinking would delay things working out or make them work out worse than we wanted, I see now that part of things ‘working out’ has been in the solution showing up bigger and better [only] AFTER I chose to think differently.
“I can honestly say that I don’t wish that my uptight, fear-motivated phase 2 goal last year of generating the money I owed my cousin came to fruition last year. I have learned SO MUCH about myself in the year since, that I know will serve me so well as I go about creating even bigger goals in the future. I don’t see how I could create big goals without sabotaging them, without also having had the changing experiences of thought that I’ve had in this struggle.
“I’m not exaggerating when I say that I feel like a new woman. Not because of the accomplished goal, but because of who I have become in the struggle. THAT was a choice, friends. It was a million little choices to think a new thought when I felt pulled by fear. THAT feels like the key to any breakthrough.
“P.S. Sometimes, for me, ‘incredible miracles’ are just things working smoothly – which is exactly what happened for me. In my habit of waiting for the other shoe to drop, I was always in fear of …[having] someone say ‘Oh, wait. We were wrong. It’s not going to work out that well.'”
To sum up, it is a process.
The breakthroughs are there for those who persist. It sometimes takes longer than you want it to, but it’s never late.
If you’re going through a rough spot wondering if you’re breakthrough will EVER come, just know you’re in good company. Nobody experiences the breakthrough without the struggle, so I encourage you to view the struggle itself with gratitude. It’s part of the formula. It means you’re on the right track. Thank God for the struggle, and cling to your hope like a pit bull. Let yourself feel all the emotions and trust that they are working a change in you.
The down days, and your doubt and fear sessions only have a negative impact on your ultimate success if you believe they do. I let myself feel upset when I am upset, but I do it with an expectation that it’s temporary and designed to help me appreciate the success when it comes. I feel it all with an intent to pull myself together as soon as I’m ready (I only give myself a few days tops), knowing and trusting that the Lord understands my humanness and has compassion for what I’m feeling.
I know Stephanie felt all these things, and determined to hold on to her hope anyway. When it was enough, when the refinement and purging was finally enough, her breakthrough came.
Look at what the Lord has already done for you. Acknowledge and remember his mercy already extended. Notice that he’s got you even in this very moment. The thing you fear is not really upon you, in this moment. Start there. Be grateful for all you have right now, and declare your hope even if you don’t feel it. It begins with a decision, not a feeling. You don’t feel hope because you feel hope, the actual feeling of hope only comes after you decide to choose hope.
It’s a battle. I know. But our community is here to support you in it. I hope you’ll join us in our Rare Faith Discussion Group, or for more structured guidance and instruction for integrating the principles into your life, invest in yourself. Join us in the Mindset Mastery program for step by step assignments that help bring you to that breakthrough. There’s a plan for every budget, click here to learn more.
__________________
Stephanie now leads our Weekly Forum discussion for members of the Rare Faith Insider’s Club. Come join the conversation! Bring your questions and share your own experiences. Learn more here.
- Rare Faith – Gracelyn WILL be remembered - April 29, 2024
- Rare Faith Free class tomorrow (replay available) - April 25, 2024
- Rare Faith What we do to ourselves - April 19, 2024
One Response
Thank you Leslie
As I am searching this message has catapulted me to a needed snd significant new understanding