When I first started being intentional about charging forward to create better results in my life, I always had a sense that I wouldn't be entrusted with bigger responsibilities and bigger rewards unless I appreciated and took care of the little tasks and tiny opportunities that were right in front of me.

And I've realized that this is how opportunities work.

In your life right now you have a handful of opportunities.  We overlook these opportunities because we don't want to be bothered by the task of dusting them off.  We want opportunity to pick us up, but it only works the other way around.

As soon as you open your eyes to the opportunities that are already in your life and take advantage of them no matter how insignificant or "not-worth-the-trouble" they may seem, then life will send you more.  And they will get bigger and bigger as you go along.

This is what I would tell myself to stay on track:

I can't expect life to send me bigger stuff if I'm not willing to show that I can take care of the little stuff. 

You gotta just start.

I've learned alot from this little book that really only does its best to drill one principle into the reader.  And that is...Poke. The. Box.

Poking the box means releasing your need to see things in terms of failing or succeeding and instead see things in terms of: "Well if I do this, what will happen?  If I do that, what will happen?"

It's with this different way of thinking that I was able to try new things, push my limits, and even start this blog.

If you have an accountability partner, a good thing to add for discussion is, "How did I poke the box today?"

Poking the box can feel a lot like "going for the no" (Go for No is another key paradigm-shifting book you need to read).  It can feel like you're putting yourself in a position to fail, like you're making a mistake, like you don't know what you're doing.  But this is the kind of world that the really amazing entrepreneurs live in.  And they make this world their friend.  They make poking the box the very key to their radical success in creating businesses and lives built on their values and their terms.

So go.  Poke the box today and keep doing it.  See where it takes you.

I've been sharing with fellow OWL peeps -something called the "What Makes Life Work Binder" - a tool I've first put together for myself over the course of this year to keep the stuff of my life organized and help me pay attention to what things make my life work in different areas like health, biz, blogging, etc.  Anyways, I will break down the binder format later so that you can start putting together your own.  Right now, I'm going to skip ahead and give you this resource for your currently non-existant What Makes Life Work Binder! ;)